The surface temperature of Venus reaches some 900F. Added to that is an atmospheric pres- sure about 90 times Earth' s: High overhead in the carbon dioxide that passes for air is a layer of clouds, perhaps IO to 20 miles thick, whose little drops consist mostly of sulfuric acid(H2SO4) . Water is all but nonexistent.
Born with so many fundamental similarities to earth, how did Venus get to be so radically different : It is not just an academic matter. For all its extremes, Venus is a valuable laboratory for researchers studying the weather and climate of earth. It has no earth' s oceans, so the heat trans- port and other mechanisms are greatly simplified. In addition, the planet Venus takes 243 earth- days to turn once on its axis, so incoming heat from the sun is added and distributed at a more leisurely , observable pace.
16. Venus is similar to Earth in __
A. size and density B. distance from the sun
C. having atmosphere D. all of the above
17. The greatest value in studying Venus should be to__
A. allow us to visit there B. understand Earth better
C. find a new source of energy D. promote a new space program
18. The main idea of this passage is about _
A. problems of space travel B. scientific methods in space exploration
C. the importance of Venus to Earth D. conditions on Venus
2
Tourists were surprised to see a woman driving a huge orange tractor down one of Rome' s main avenues. Italy' s political leaders and some of its male union chiefs are said to have been even more puzzled to see that the tractor was followed by about 200,OOO women in a parading proces- sion that took more than three hours to snake through central Rome.
Shouting slogans, waving flags and dancing to drumbeats, the women had come to the capi- tal from all over Italy to demonstrate for "a job for each of us, a different type of job, and a soci- ety without violence" . So far, action to improve women' s opportunities in employment has been the province of collective industrtal bargaining. "But there is a growing awareness that this is not enough, " says a researcher on female labor at the govemment-funded Institute for the Develop- ment of Professional Training for Workers.
Women, who constitute 52 per cent of Italy' s population, today represent only 35 per cent of Italy' s total workforce and 33 per cent of the total number of Italians with jobs. However,their presence in the workplace is growing. The employment of women is expanding considerably in services, next to the public administration and commerce as their principal workplace. Official statistics also show that women have also made significant strides in self-employment. More and more women are going into business for themselves. Many young women are turning to business because of the growing overall in employment. It is also a fact that today many prejudices have disappeared , so that banks and other financial institutes make judgements on purely business con- siderations without caring if it is a man or a woman.
