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Before 1945, hardly anyone outside of New Mexico had ever heard of Alamogordo. In 1960 its population numbered 21,723. Ever since 1898, when the town had been built by the Southern Pacific Railroad, Alamogordo had been a lonely town. The land around it was largely desert, and largely empty.
Because it was isolated and because the weather was almost always clear and peaceful, a spot of desert near Alamogordo was chosen as the last site for the first atomic bomb ever exploded. The secret name of the test was Zeo.
At dawn on July 16, 1945, the atomic bomb was set off. Observers agreed that they had witnessed something unlike anything ever seen by men before, a huge, colorful fireball, more brilliant than the sun flashing as it rose for miles into the air. Never before had men released so much power at one time, nor had any nation ever possessed weapon as terrible and destructive as the atomic bomb.
For several weeks, the test was kept secret. When an atomic bomb was dropped from an American plane on Hiroshima, Japan, newspapers and radio stations all over America told of the test of the bomb in New Mexico. Almost everybody was amazed to learn where the bomb had been made and tested; the deserts of the Southwest had hidden the secret well.
When news of the atomic bomb and its destructiveness was announced, people all over the world wondered what other new weapons were being prepared in the New Mexico desert. Some people doubted that the secret of making atomic bombs could be kept from other countries. Some even doubted the wisdom of using so powerful a weapon. But no one doubted that a new kind of war—and a new kind of world—had begun at Alamogordo, one summer morning in 1945.
36. What is the main topic of this passage?
A) The secret of Alamogordo.
B) A new kind of war.
C) The destructive force of the first atomic bomb.
D) The selection of the test site for the first atomic bomb.（A）
37. Which of the following is the main reason for choosing Alamogordo as the test site?
A) It always had an enjoyable climate.
B) It was connected to other cities by a railway.
C) Its location would hide the secret well.
D) It was situated in southwestern New Mexico.（C）
38. When was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima?
A) As soon as the secret was revealed
B) At dawn on July 16, 1945
C) Immediately after the test
D) Several weeks after the test（D）
39. After the first atomic bomb explosion, everybody agreed that ________.
A) it was wise to choose Alamogordo as the test site
B) man had entered the age of nuclear warfare
C) it was not wise to use such a powerful weapon
D) it was not possible to keep the technology of making atomic bombs secret（B）
40. The tone of this passage is one of ________.
A) anxiety
B) satisfaction
C) encouragement
D) fear（B）
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