The Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was at his home when the attack took place. Officials say he was shot in the head at long range by a sniper. He ?as taken to hospital, but doctors were unable to save him. He was suffering from severe head and chest injuries. No group has said they are responsible, but the Tamil Tiger rebels are the main suspects. Security has been tightened around the capital with police checkpoints and helicopters circling overhead. Mr. Kadirgamar was a key figure in the government, and both the President and Prime Minister have visited the hospital.
Who has been assassinated according to the news?
A. Sri Lanka's Prime Minister
B. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister
C. Sri Lanka's Minority Leader
D. Sri Lanka's separatist's leader
It was such a chunk of foam that doomed Columbia and its seven-member crew by puncturing its wing during liftoff. NASA spent two-and-a half-years and millions of dollars to prevent another occurrence, and the July incident forced the agency to ground the shuttle fleet again until it could resolve the issue once and for all.
As a result, NASA will return three external fuel tanks to the manufacturer for analysis and redesign. Agency human space flight chief William Gerstenmeier says this means a shuttle cannot lift off before March, but emphasizes that March is only a planning target.
"We shouldn't he thinking of the launch date as March. We put a planning target out there and now we're going to do a detailed engineering assessment and analysis and start seeing if that makes sense. Then when a couple weeks have gone by and we've got enough intelligence together, then we can pick a launch date."
On Wednesday, NASA was accused of rushing, Discovery to launch in July, skipping safety improvements that led to the repeat foam shedding. The accusation came from seven members of a much larger group of experts who had overseen NASA's shuttle safety modifications after the Columbia tragedy.
NASA had planed to launch its space shuttle ______ in September.
A. Discover
B. Atlanta
Columbia
D. Atlantis
听力原文: There're more than 40 universities in Britain—nearly twice as many as in 1960. During the 1960s eight new ones were founded, and ten other new were created by converting old colleges of technology into universities. Meanwhile the number of students more than doubled. By 1973 about 10% of men aged from eighteen to twenty one were in universities and about 5% of women. All the universities are private institutions. Each has its own governing councils, including some local businessmen and local politicians as well as a few academics. The state began to give grants to them fifty years ago, and by 1970 each university derived nearly all its funds from state grants. Students have to pay fees and living costs, but every student may receive from local authority of the place where he lives a personal grant which is enough to pay his full costs, including lodging and food unless his parents are rich. Most students take jobs in the summer holiday, but they don't normally do outside work during the academic year. The Department of Education takes responsibility for the payment covering the whole expenditure of the universities, but it doesn't exercise direct control. It can have an important influence on new developments through its power to distribute funds, but it takes the advice of the University Grants Committee, a body that is mainly composed of academics.
How many universities were there in Britain in the year of 1960?
A. More than40.
B. Loss than 18.
C. More than20.
D. Less than40.
SECTION B PASSAGES
Directions: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to the passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
听力原文: Early one morning, my husband turned on the radio. Suddenly he exclaimed, "That has to be Rod. No one else talks like that!" We listened attentively and heard the announcer say, "You've been listening to an interview with Dr. Rod Smith who has been telling you about a breakthrough in AIDS research that he and his colleagues have made."
We both had had Rod as a student and had agreed that he was absolutely the slowest student we had ever had. He spoke slowly, moved slowly, and wrote slowly. We suspected that he thought slowly. When he took an examination, he could never finish it. The unanswered questions kept him from having high marks.
During his senior year, Rod announced that he wanted to go to graduate school, but no graduate school would accept him. He kept trying and a year or so later the department of biology of a large university allowed him to en- roll in a few classes on a trial basis. They discovered that he was talented in basic research. He was then allowed to enter the master's program, and later the PhD program. He cheerfully persevered. In six years he could proudly add the title of "doctor" to his name. His professional career began and we lost track of him, until we heard his slow, steady voice that morning.
Why did the couple recognize Rod's voice on the radio immediately?
A. Because Rod was the most naughty student they had ever had.
Because Rod now is a famous politician who always makes speech on radio program.
C. Because Rod now is a famous scientist in area of AIDS.
D. Because Rod always spoke with an unusual slow voice since he was a student.