The report came to the British on May 21, 1941. The German battleship Bismarck, the most powerful warship in the world, was moving out into the Atlantic Ocean. Her task: to destroy the ships carrying supplies from the United States to war-torn England.
The British had feared such a task. No warship they had could match the Bismarck in speed in firepower. The Bismarck had eight 15-inch guns and 81 smaller guns. She could move at 31 nautical miles (海里) an hour. She was believed to be unsinkable.However, the British had to sink her. They sent out a task force headed by their best battleship Hood to hunt down the Bismarck. On May 24, the Hood found the Bismarck.
It was a meeting that the German commander Luetjens did not want to see. His orders were to destroy the British ships that were carrying supplies, but to stay away from a fight with British warships.
The battle didn't last long. The Bismarck's first torpedo (鱼雷) hit the Hood, which went down taking all but three of her 1 419 men with her.
But in the fight, the Bismarck was slightly damaged (损坏). Her commander decided to run for repair to France, which had at that time been taken by the Germans. The British force followed her. However, because of the Bismarck's speed and the heavy fog, they lost sight of her.
For two days, every British ship in the Atlantic tried to find the Bismarck, but with no success. Finally, she was sighted by a plane from Ireland. Trying to slow the Bismarck down so that their ships could catch up with her, the British fired at her from the air. The Bismarck was hit.
On the morning of May 27, the last battle was fought. Four British ships fired on the Bismarck, and she was finally sunk.
61. The Bismarck sailed into the Atlantic Ocean _______.
A. to sink the Hood B. to gain control of France
C. to cut off American supplies to British D. to stop British warship reaching German
62. Many people believed that Bismarck could not be defeated because she _______.
A. was fast and powerful B. had more men on board
C. was under Luetjens' command D. had biggest guns than other ships
63. We learn from the text that on 24 May _______.
A. the British won the battle against the Bismarck
B. the Bismarck won the battle against the British
C. the British gunfire damaged the Bismarck seriously
D. the Bismarck succeeded in keeping away from the British
64. Luetjens tried to sail to France in order to _______.
A. have the ship repaired B. join the other Germans
C. get help from the French D. get away from the British
65. Which of the following is the immediate cause of the sinking of the Bismarck?
A. The British air strikes. B. The damage done by the Hood.
C. Gunfire from four British ships. D. Luetjens' decision to run for France.
Don’t you think it interesting that there were strange coincidences(巧合) in the deaths of President Kennedy and President Lincoln? For example, John Kennedy was elected president in 1960 while Abraham Lincoln in 1860, between which was a hundred years. Both men were killed from behind, on black Friday , and with their wives on the spot. The two men were born exactly one hundred years away, as were their murderers, Lee Oawald and John Booth. Perhaps the strangest coincidence is that President Kennedy’s secretary , whose name was Lincoln, advised the president not to go to Dallas, where the president was shot. President Lincoln’s secretary, named Kennedy, advised the president not to go to the Ford Theatre, where the president met his death.When President Lincoln and President Kennedy were killed, their wives were_______.
A.at the cinema | B.at home | C.behind them | D.with them |
“Black Friday” means that ________.
A.the American used to be in black on the two Fridays. |
B.the two Fridays saw sad happenings |
C.it was dark when the two men were killed |
D.it was cloudy when the two men were killed |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.Lincoln’s death had something to do with Kennedy’s |
B.There were one hundred years between the two presidents’ deaths |
C.There were one hundred years from Lincoln’s taking office to Kennedy’s |
D.The two secretaries were born on the same day |
A small town in southwest Britain is banning (禁止) plastic bags in an attempt to help the environment and cut waste-a step that environmentalists believe is a first for Europe.
Shopkeepers in Modbury population 1,500, agreed to stop handing out disposable plastic bags to customers on Saturday. They said paper sacks and cloth carrier bags would be offered instead.
Last month, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic grocery bags. Internationally, laws to discourage the use of plastic bags have been passed in parts of South Africa and Ireland, where governments either tax shoppers who use them or fine companies that hand them out. Bangladesh already bans them, and so do at least 30 remote Alaskan villages.
Modbury, about 225 miles southwest of London, has also declared a bag ammesty (宽限期), allowing local people to hand in plastic bags that have piled up at home. They will be sent for a recycling.
The Modbury ban was the idea of Rebecca Hosking, who saw the effect of bags on marine life while working in the Pacific as a wildlife camerawoman. She said response in the town so far had been “really positive”.
“Modbury is quite an old-fashioned town and a lot of people have wicker(柳条) baskets to go out shopping anyway, ”Hosking told Sky News Television.
The World Watch Institute, an environmental research agency, states that 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year in the United States alone. More than 500 billion are used yearly around the world.The underlined word “disposable” in the pas
sage probably means .
A.ac![]() |
B.valuable | C.environmentally-friendly | D.long-lasting |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.most of the people in Modbury continue to use plastic bags |
B.fewer and fewer plastic bags will be used in the world |
C.San Francisco is the first city to ban plastic bags in the world |
D.most countries in the world have passed laws to ban plastic bags |
Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?
A.Environmental Protection | B.Big Cities Banning Plastic Bags |
C.British Town Banning Plastic Bags | D.Effect of Plastic bags on Sea Animals |
US researchers have found traces of an ancient lake on Mars recently, increasing hopes of discovering evidence that billions of years ago the Red planet hosted life.
The lake, which dates back some 3.4 billion years, appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, said the team from the University of Colorado.
“This is the first clear evidence of shorelines on the surface of Mars,”said Boulder’ s research associate, Gaetano Di Achille, in a study published in the latest edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
“The identification of the shorelines and accompanying geological evidence allows us to calculate the size and volume of the lake, which appears to have formed about 3.4 billion years ago.”
Analysis of the images has shown the water carved out the canyon (溪谷) in which it was found, which then opened out into a valley depositing (使淤积) sediment (沉积) which formed a delta (三角洲).
“Finding shorelines is a great discovery to us,” said assistant professor Brian Hynek, adding it showed the lake existed at a time when Mars was thought to have been cold and dry.
Scientists believe the oldest surfaces on Mars formed during the wet and warm era known as the Noachan epoch, about 4.1 billion to 3.7 billion years ago.
The newly discovered lake is believed to date from the Hesperian era and postdates the end of the warm and wet period on Mars by 300 million years, according to the study.
Scientists believe deltas next to the lake may well hold secrets about past life on Mars as such places on Earth have become the natural deposits of organic carbon and other markers of life.The size of the lake found on Mars is ______.
A.80 square miles | B.1,500 square miles |
C.3.4 billion square miles![]() |
D.300 million square miles |
When the lake existed, the weather on Mars was ____.
A.hot and wet | B.wet and warm | C.cold and dry | D.cold and wet |
Why do scientists think deltas near the lake may hold secrets about past life on Mars?
A.Because similar places on Earth have become natural deposits of marker![]() |
B.Because someone has put secrets about past life on Mars there. |
C.Because past life has been found in other deltas on Mars. |
D.Because some people are said to have already seen life marks there. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The Noachan epoch was a wet and warm era. |
B.The lake might have existed 3.4 billion years. |
C.The discovery can’ t fully prove that the Mars once hosted life. |
D.The lake traces prove that there exists life on Mars now. |
Social Program: 22nd—26th August 2011
Monday Evening—Study Centre or Sports Park
Study Center: The school will be open from 7.45 pm to 9.35pm.
Sports Park: Aerobics, Swimming or Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card).
Tuesday Evening—Cinema
Cinema: To get your free ticket, you must write down which film you would like to watch. See the leaflet on the board for this evening’s UCI Cinema program. For more information about the films, visit the UCI website www.uci.co.uk or see the film section in this week’s Time Out magazine.
Wednesday Evening—Study Centre of Tennis Coaching
Study Center: The school will be open from 7.35 pm to 9.35 pm.
Tennis Coaching: With former Junior Wimbledon tennis player Stuart Silvester.
Thursday Evening—Chinese Party
Chinese Party: Come along and enjoy the hospitality of the Chinese students! You can try delicious Chinese food and learn about Chinese traditions. Please note that you should eat your evening meal at your home-stay, as the food is a taster and not a full meal. Non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks will be served.
Friday afternoon—Historical Walking Tour or Sports Parks
Historical Walking Tour: This afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit parts of Norwich you may have otherwise missed, with a professional guide. In medieval times Norwich was the second most important city in England and this afternoon you can learn some of the interesting history of our fine city.
Sports Park: Badminton, Basketball, Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card), Football, Squash, Swimming or Volleyball.
Please sign early if you wish to play any of the sports listed above.You can do all the following things during the weekday except ___________.
A.going to the cinema | B.going to the Chinese party |
C.taking a historical walking tour | D.taking a mountain climbing tour |
The passage may probably be found ___________.
A.in a school’s bulletin board | B.in a school’s text book |
C.in a latest newspaper | D.in a fashion magazine |
From the passage we know that ___________.
A.students have to pay for the film tickets |
B.some of the students in the school are Chinese |
C.Norwich is the second largest city in Britain |
D.the school is closed during the daytime |
From the passage we can infer that __________.
A.students in the school can have access to computers |
B.students in the school only have morning classes |
C.the school often serves Chinese food to students |
D.every Friday afternoon the students will have a tour |
BEIJING—Seven prestigious universities in China announced Sunday that they would begin using the same independent exam —besides the national one —to test students hoping to gain entrance to them in 2011.
The seven are Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Normal University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Xiamen University and Hong Kong University.
Students who want to gain entrance to any of the seven universities will only have to sit one independent exam, according to the joint announcement.
“This will help lighten tile students’ load, otherwise they must take several exams for different universities,”said the announcement.
Passing the exam could result in more than one interview chance, giving the students more opportunities to choose their favorite universities.
China’ s college entrance exam system is undergoing reform as universities aim to select students based on independent criteria rather than just using the results of the national exam.
In 2003, Peking University and another 21 universities were allowed to pilot (试用) the reform by using their own criteria to independently select five percent of their students.
Now nearly 80 universities across the country have the right to select talented students based on their own exams.
Education experts regard universities selecting students according to independent examinations as conducive (有助的) to better understanding where the students’ talents lie.
Although this may be the case, it has also created problems as students may sit many different exams as they often apply for a number of universities.
To relieve students from such pressures, the national education outline (2010—2020) released in July this year encourages high-level universities to group together to use the same exams. If students want to be admitted to the seven prestigious universities, they can______.
A.only pass the interview. |
B.only take the national exam. |
C.only take the independent exam. |
D.either take the national exam or the take the independent exam. |
What’s the purpose of students sitting one independent exam to gain entrance to the seven universities?
A.It can reduce students’load to take several exams. |
B.The universities will have the same standard to test students. |
C.There will be less trouble marking students’ test papers. |
D.It can avoid fierce competition among these universities. |
If students pass the independent exam,they will ______.
A.take the national exam. |
B.have one or more interview chances. |
C.be admitted to one of the universities. |
D.he trained to be adapted to universities life and studies. |
What is the advantage of universities selecting students according to independent examinations?
A.Students needn’t take the national exam. |
B.Students’education cost can be lowered. |
C.Students abilities and talents can b![]() |
D.It can encourage middle schools to recommend more qualified students. |