DeathValleyisoneofthemostfamou-优题课

In a surprising discovery about where higher life can survive, scientists have found a shrimp -like creature and a jellyfish swimming beneath an Antarctic ice sheet.
About 180 meters below the ice where no light can get through, scientists had figured nothing much more than a few microbes (微生物) could exist.
That’s why a NASA team was surprised when they lowered a video camera to get the first long look at the underbelly of an ice sheet in Antarctica. A curious shrimp – like creature came swimming by and then parked itself on the camera’s cable. Scientists also pulled up a tentacle (触须) they believe came from a jellyfish.
“We were operating on the presumption that nothing’s there.” Said NASA ice scientist Robert Bindschadler. “It was a shrimp you’d enjoy having on your plate.”
“We were just gaga (狂热的) over it,” he said of the 7.5cm long, orange creature starring in their two – minute video. Technically, it’s not a shrimp. It’s a Lyssianasid amphipod, which is distantly related to the shrimp.
The video is likely to inspire experts to rethink what they know about life in harsh environments. And it has scientists thinking that if shrimp – like creatures can live below 180 meters of Antarctic ice in freezing dark water, what about other cold places? What about Europa, a frozen moon of Jupiter?
Cynan Ellis – Evans, a scientist of the British Antarctic Survey called the finding fascinating. He said it was possible the creatures swam in from far away and don’t live there permanently.
But Kim, who is a co-author of the study, doubts it. “The site in West Antarctica is at least 19 km from open seas. Bindschadler drilled a 20 cm – wide hole and was looking at a tiny amount of water. That means it’s unlikely that two creatures swam from great distances and were captured randomly in that small of an area,” she said.
Yet scientist were puzzled at what the food source would be for these creatures. While some microbes can make their own food out of chemicals in the ocean, complex life like the shrimp can’t, Kim said.
“So how do they survive? That’s the key question.” Kim Sai.
“It’s pretty amazing when you find a huge puzzle like that on a planet where we thought we know everything.” Kim said.
61．Scientists had believed that harsh environments could only have been populated by .
A．jellyfish B．mammals C．microbes D．shrimp – like creatures
62．According to Kim, the shrimp – like creature .
A．swam great distances to Antarctic B．has always lived in the region
C．gradually evolved from shrimps D．has nothing in common with shrimps
63．The finding is significant in that .
A．it marks NASA’S first Antarctic biological study
B．it proves there is marine life in the Antarctic
C．it could inspire further study of life in harsh environments
D．it shows that Lyssianasid amphipod is closely related to shrimps
64．The last three paragraphs suggest that .
A．researchers will look at the places the creatures came from
B．ice scientists will drill deeper to find more creatures
C．scientists know very little about the planet they live on
D． further research will be done about what the creatures live on
65．Which of the following statements about the discovery is FALSE?
A．Complex life usually lives on other forms of life.
B．Scientists saw two creatures in the two – minute video.
C．It is possible for creatures to live 180 meters below the ice though there is no light.
D．Scientists captured the shrimp – like creature in a camera by drilling a hole through the ice.

PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION（30 points）
Directions: Read the following three passages．Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements．For each of them there are 4 choices marked A,B,C and D．Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage．
Next time you find yourself drenched (湿透) in an unexpected heavy rain, look on the bright side – it will be a memorable experience. While wet weather may make us feel gloomy, it sharpens the memory and improves our recall. But those who feel in a good mood because it’s a sunny day are able to remember less well, according to memory tests carried by Australian researchers.
Professor Joe Forgas, who led the research, said: “It seems strange but a little bit of sadness is a good thing. People performed much better on our memory test when the weather was unpleasant and they wee in a slightly negative mood. On bright sunny days, when they were more likely to be happy, the flunked it.”
The tests were carried out on shoppers at a store in Sydney, where researchers randomly placed ten small objects on the check – out counter. On rainy days, sad music was played in the store. When it was bright and sunny, customers heard cheery music. This was done to further influence them towards negative or positive moods. After shopping, customers were asked how many of the objects they could remember. Their scores were three times higher when the weather was had and they were feeling angry, compared with those tested on sunny days. The results were published in Journal of Experimental Psychology. A report on the findings said: “They point to a growing body of evidence that the way people think, the quality of their judgments and the accuracy of their memory are all significantly influenced by positive and negative moods.”
Professor Forgas said, “We found that weather – inducted negative mood improved memory accuracy. Shoppers in a negative mood showed better memory and higher discrimination ability.”
A worse mood helped to focus people’s attention on their surroundings and led to a more thorough and careful thinking style, while happiness increased confidence and forgetfulness.
Being happy tends to promote a thinking style that is less focused on our surroundings. In a positive mood we are less likely to make more snap (匆忙的) judgments about people we meet. Mild negative mood, in turn, tends to increase attention to our surroundings and produce a more careful, thorough thinking style.
Accurately remembering everyday scenes is a difficult task, yet such memories can be on importance in everyday life. Surprisingly, the influence of mood states on the accuracy of real-life memories is still poorly understood.
56．What’s the major function of Paragraph 1?
A．To attract readers’ interest.
B．To introduce the theme of the whole passage.
C．To generalize the whole passage.
D．To describe a memorable experience.
57．The underlined word “flunked” in Paragraph2 may mean “ ”.
A．conducted B．failed C．passed D．understood
58．In the research, researchers play different music to .
A．make customers become sadder or happier
B．help customers choose what they want
C．promote customers to buy more goods
D．get customers to make a quick choice
59．According to Joe Forgas, on sunny days, people .
A．will make careful judgments on others
B．tend to pay more attention to their surroundings
C．will have more confidence
D．will have a better recall
60．What can we know from the research?
A．Forgetfulness is rather troublesome.
B．It’s important to feel in a good mood.
C．It’s memorable to experience a rainy day.
D．Gloomy days are good for memorizing things.

What will man be like in the future-in 5000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today. For man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity. As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change to the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with use. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.
71. The passage mainly tells us that ________.
　　A. man's life will be different in the future
　B. future man will look quite different from us
C. man is growing taller as time passes
　　D. man will disappear
72. What serves as the evidence（证据）that man is changing?
　　A. Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had.
　　B. Man's hair is getting thinner and thinner.
　　C. Man's arms and legs have become lighter and weaker.
　　D. Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years.
73. The change in man's size of forehead is probably because ________.
　　A. he makes use only 20 % of the brain's capacity
　　B. his brain has grown larger over the past centuries
　　C. the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time
　　D. he will use his brain more and more as time goes on
74. What is true about a human being in the future?
　　A. He is hairless because hair is no longer useful.
　　B. He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses.
　　C. His fingers grow weaker because he doesn't have to make use of them.
　　D. He thinks and feels in different way.
75. We can infer that _______.
　　A. human beings will become less attractive in the future.
　　B. less use of a bodily organ may lead to its becoming worse
　　C. human beings hope for a change in the future life
　　D. future life is always predictable

Everyone has got two personalities—the one that is shown to the world and the other that is secret and real. You don't show your secret personality when you're awake because you can control your behaviour, but when you're asleep, your sleeping position shows the real you. In a normal night, of course, people frequently change their position. The important position is the one that you go to sleep in.
If you go to sleep on your back, you're a very open person. You normally trust people and you are easily influenced by fashion or new ideas. You don't like to upset people, so you never express your real feelings. You're quite shy and you aren't very confident.
If you sleep on your stomach, you are a rather secretive（不坦率的）person. You worry a lot and you're always easily upset. You're very stubborn（顽固的）, but you aren't very ambitious. You usually live for today not for tomorrow. This means that you enjoy having a good time.
If you sleep curled up（卷曲）, you are probably a very nervous person. You have a low opinion of yourself and so you're often defensive. You're shy and you don't normally like meeting people. You prefer to be on your own. You're easily hurt.
If you sleep on your side, you have usually got a well-balanced personality. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You're usually careful. You have a confident personality. You sometimes feel anxious, but you don't often get depressed. You always say what you think even if it annoys people.
66. According to the writer，you naturally show your secret and real personality _______.
A. only in a normal night
B. only when you go to sleep
C. only when you refuse to show yourself to the world
D. only when you change sleeping position
67. Which is NOT mentioned in the second paragraph about a person's personality？
A. He or she is always open with others.
B. He or she always likes new ideas earlier than others.
C. He or she is always easily upset.
D. He or she tends to believe in others.
68. Point out which sentence is used to show the personality of a person who is used to sleeping on his or her stomach？
A. He or she is careful not to offend others.
B. He or she doesn't want to stick to his or her opinion.
C. He or she can't be successful in any business.
D. He or she likes to bring others happiness.
69. Maybe you don't want to make friends with a person who sleeps curled up. Why？
A. He or she would rather be alone than communicate with you.
B. He or she is rarely ready to help you.
C. He or she prefers staying at home to going out.
D. He or she wouldn't like to get help from you.
70. It appears that the writer tends to think highly of the person who sleeps on one side because __________.
A. he or she always shows sympathy for people
B. he or she is confident，but not stubborn
C. he or she has more strengths than weaknesses
D. he or she often considers annoying people

第三部分：阅读理解（每小题2分，满分30分）
He's an old cobbler (修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven't time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street ; he'll fix them for you right away.”
But I'd had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman (手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait”— without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap (鞋带) you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn't give in, and he smiled. He wiped his hands on his blue apron ( 围裙), looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.. ”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hot, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption (消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.
61. Why did the author think the man was a skilled cobbler?
A. Because the cobbler was old and kind.
B. Because he had observed the cobbler’s shop for a long time.
C. Because the cobbler wiped his hands on his blue apron.
D. Because the cobbler refused to fix his shoes at first.
62. Which of the following is TRUE about the old cobbler?
A. He was equipped with the best repairing tools.
B. He was the only cobbler in the Marais.
C. He was proud of his skills.
D. He was a native Parisian.
63. The sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” implies that _______.
A. nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him
B. it was difficult to communicate with this man
C. the man was very strange
D. the man was too old
64. According to the author, many people work just to ________.
A. realize their abilities B. gain happiness
C. make money D. gain respect
65. This story wants to tell us that ________.
A. craftsmen make a lot of money B. whatever you do, do it well
C. craftsmen need self-respect D. people are born equal

A．an Indian name	B．the death of the miners
C．the local people	D．a National Movement

A．the frequent wind	B．the colors of the sand
C．dream-like sights	D．the sand sculptures