Ⅲ.完形填空
How big is space? That is a question man has been asking since the beginning of time. When your grandparents were in school，it was __1__ that the universe was very __2__ perhaps only 5,000 light years __3__. 500 years ago people considered that the universe was only a little bit __4__ than the earth. In modern times with the __5__ of technology we are finally starting to __6__ the immense (无边的) size of the universe，and it is much bigger than anyone __7__ have ever imagined.
Scientists cannot stretch (伸展) a measuring tape from the earth to a nearby star, so __8__ do they know how far away they are? Scientists use something __9__ parallax (视差). Parallax means __10__ that they look at how much the stars move in the sky __11__ throughout the year as the earth circles the sun. This is not something __12__ to you. In fact if you stretch out your hand in front of you and __13__ your thumb, while __14__ one eye, and then the other, your thumb will __15__ to move back and forth. Stars do the __16__ thing，but our eyes are too close to see the __17__. However, if we take a picture while on one side of the earth's orbit，and then take another when we get to the __18__ side of the orbit，then we have a large enough __19__ that we can see the stars' parallax，and __20__ how far away they really are.
1.A.measured B.bet
C.thought D.proved
答案：C 根据上下文知，这里表达的是在祖父母上学时人们以为宇宙有多大，不是客观事实，所以不能用measured/proved，也不是打赌。
2.A. old B. big
C. mysterious D. small
答案：D 从后面的only可以看出，在当时大家都认为宇宙只有5000光年那么大，即人们以为宇宙比较“小”。
3.A. over B. across
C. through D. outside
答案：B across此处意为“from one side to the other”。over指“在……的上方”;through指“从……中间穿过”;outside意为“在外面”。
4.A. bigger B. smaller
C. heavier D. nearer
答案：A 这里讨论的话题是宇宙有多大，所以不是轻重远近的问题。500年以前人们以为宇宙仅仅比地球大一点。
5.A. popularity B. power
C. energy D. strength
答案：B the power of the technology指科技的力量;popularity意为“普及;流行”;energy意为“能力;精力;活力;能源”;strength通常指(具体的)力气、力量。
