The ocean bottom，a region nearly 2.5 times greater than the total land area of the Earth， is even today largely unexplored. Until about a century ago，the deep-ocean floor was completely inaccessible and hidden beneath waters averaging over 3，600 meters deep. Totally without light and subjected to intense pressures hundreds of times greater than at the Earth's surface，the deep-ocean bottom is a strange environment to humans，in some ways as forbidding and remote as the outer space.
Although researchers have taken samples of deep-ocean rocks for over a 
century，the first detailed global study of the ocean bottom did not actually start until 1968，with the beginning of the National Science Foundation's Deep Sea Drilling Project ( DSDP). Using techniques first developed for the offshore oil and gas industry，the DSDP's drill ship，the Glomar Challenger，was able to maintain a steady position on the ocean's surface and drill in very deep
waters，taking samples of rock from the ocean floor.
The Glomar Challenger completed 96 voyages in a 15-year-research program that ende
d in November 1983. During this time，it sailed 600，000 kilometers and took almost
20，000samples of rocks around the world. Those samples have allowed geologists to reconstruct what the planet looked like hundreds of millions of years ago and to make out what 
it will probably look like millions of years in the future. Today，largely on the strength of evidence gathered during the Glomar Challenger's voyages，nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics (构造学) and continental drift that explains many of the geological processes.
The samples of rocks drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also provided a climatic record stretching back hundreds of millions of years. The information of
past climatic changes can be used to predict future climates. The underlined word" inaccessible" in Line 3 means .
| A．unrecognizable | B．unreachable | C．unusable | D．unreasonable |
Why does the author mention "outer space" in the first paragraph?
| A．The Earth's climate millions of years ago was similar to that in outer space. |
| B．It is similar to the ocean floor in being strange to the humans. |
| C．Rock formations in outer space are similar to those found on the ocean floor. |
| D．Techniques used by scientists to explore outer space were similar to those used in ocean exploration. |
Which of the following is TRUE of the Glomar Challenger?
| A．It is a type of submarine. | B．It is an ongoing project. |
| C．It has gone on over 100 voyages. | D．It made its first DSDP voyage in 1968. |
The Deep Sea Drilling Project was significant because it was .
| A．an attempt to find new sources of oil and gas |
| B．the first extensive exploration of the ocean bottom |
| C．made up of geologists from all over the world |
| D．supported entirely by the gas and oil industry |
Which is NOT mentioned in the passage as being a result of the Deep Sea Drilling Project?
| A．Geologists were able to determine the Earth's appearance millions of years ago. |
| B．Two geological theories became more widely accepted by scientists. |
| C．Geologists observed forms of life never before seen. |
| D．Information was revealed about the Earth's past climatic changes. |
Three Yale University professors agreed in a discussion that the automobile was what one of them called “Public Health Enemy No. 1 in this century”. Besides polluting the air and overcrowding the cities, cars are involved in more than half the disastrous accidents, and they contribute to heart disease “because we won’t walk anywhere any more,” said Richard Weeinaman, professor of medicine and public health.
Speaking of many of those man-made dangers of the automobile, Arthur W. Galson, professor of biology, said it was possible to make a kerosene-burning turbine car that would “lessensmog by a very large factor”. But he expressed doubt whether Americans were willing to give up moving about the countryside at 90 miles per hour in a large vehicle. “America seems wedded to the motor car—every family has to have at least two, and one has to be a convertible (敞篷汽车) with 300 horsepower,” professor Galson continued. “Is this the way of life that we choose because we treasure these values?”
For professor Sears, part of the blame lies with “a society that regards profit as a supreme value, under the illusion that anything that’s technically possible is, therefore, morally justified”. Professor Sears also called the country’s dependence on its modern automobiles “terrible economics” because of the large horsepower used simply “moving one individual to work”. But he admitted that Americans have painted themselves into a corner by allowing the national economy to become so dependent on the automobile industry.
“The solution,” Dr Weeinerman said, “is not finding a less dangerous fuel but a different system of inner city transportation. Because of the increasing use of cars, public transportation has been allowed to wither (衰弱) and grow worse, so that if you can’t walk to where you want to go, you have to have a car in most cities,” he declared. This, in turn, Dr Weeinerman contended, is responsible for the “arteriosclerosis (动脉硬化)” of public roads, for the pollution of the inner city and for the middle-class movement to the suburbs.The main idea of the passage is that_______.
| A．Americans are used to traveling by cars |
| B．American public transportation is growing worse |
| C．American people’s health is threatened by automobiles |
| D．American car industry caused disastrous road accidents |
It can be inferred from the passage that.
| A．Americans prefer cars to anything else |
| B．Americans are interested in fast automobiles |
| C．kerosene-burning engines cause more problems |
| D．kerosene-burning engines are green transportation |
In Paragraph 3, Professor Sears implies that.
| A．more attention should be paid to social effects |
| B．technology is always good for people |
| C．technology is a sword with two sides |
| D．US doesn’t care about the environment at all |
According to Dr Weeinerman, the best solution is.
| A．to look for a fuel alternative |
| B．to walk to where people want to go |
| C．to control the production of the automobile |
| D．to improve public transportation |
Below is a housing guide for students going to London.
University accommodation (住所)offices
Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords (房东). Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organizations. The advantage of using your university accommodation office is that you can get some support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students.
Property papers: Loot and Renting
Loot is an important source (来源) of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers.
Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www.renting.co.uk.
Accommodation agencies
The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that: you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters.
Noticeboards
Around the universities you will find a number of noticeboards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online noticeboards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. However, advertisements from landlords can be problematic.
Word of mouth
Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. However, don’t suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friend it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source.
Family
Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice.What is the advantage of using Loot?
| A．There are some good bargains. |
| B．It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting. |
| C．It gives you personal information about other co-renters. |
| D．Their website is designed mainly for students. |
A good agent can help you ____.
| A．know more people |
| B．find cheap accommodation |
| C．get the right accommodation quickly |
| D．get free information about most accommodations |
The information passed on by word of mouth is important because____.
| A．it is better than that found through any other source |
| B．the final year students always offer better information |
| C．the landlords have little valuable information |
| D．it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised. |
For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
| A．University accommodation offices. | B．Loot and Renting |
| C．Noticeboards. | D．Family |
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim(苗条) and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity — or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
| A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
| B．They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles. |
| C．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
| D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly about the relationship between _________.
| A．Americans and the French |
| B．children and adults |
| C．fast food and overweight |
| D．life style and obesity |
The text is mainly developed __________.
| A．by contrast | B．by space |
| C．by process | D．by classification |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A TV interview. | B．A health report |
| C．A food advertisement. | D．A book review. |
After nearly 50 years of separation，an elderly woman has been reunited with the family that she feared was lost to her forever.
Celestine Thompson left Mississippi when she was 14 years old and eventually settled in New York，where she spent more than 30 years of her life，according to WLOX 13News. After surviving a fire in 1992，Thompson was in a coma（昏迷）for two years and has since experienced memory loss. The 90-year-old found it difficult to recall details about her family.
But later she remembered the name of her nephew Clarence Woodway. Then another woman who knows Thompson in Mississippi was able to track Woodway down and help reunite Thompson with her large family.
“In our minds，my brother and I were talking that she wasn’t here anymore，because we hadn’t heard from her for a very long time，”Donald Davis，another one of Thompson’s nephews，told the media.“You know，we were overjoyed when we found out that we had gotten in contact with her.”
A few of Thompson’s relatives visited her in New York，and then arranged a larger reunion which was held this past Saturday in Gulfport，Mississippi，the Associated Press reported.
Thompson now lives in Greensboro，Alabama，with a caretaker，and，although she is yet to meet them all，she has regained quite a sizeable family of 23 nieces and nephews，64 grand nieces and nephews，66 great-grand nieces and nephews and 34 great-great-grand nieces and nephews，according to the Associated Press.What can we know about Thompson?
| A．She suffered memory loss and forgot everything about herself. |
| B．She lives with a caretaker and her relatives in Alabama at present. |
| C．She’s lost contact with her family since she left her hometown |
| D．She had a larger reunion with her family members in Mississippi. |
Who helped Thompson get contact with her family?
| A．A woman who knows her. |
| B．People from WLOX 13 News. |
| C．The Associated Press. |
| D．The caretaker she's living with. |
How many generations are there in Thompson’s large family?
| A．"Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
What can we learn from Thompson’s story?
| A．Great hopes make a great woman. |
| B．Time and tide wait for no man. |
| C．Life wonders can really take place. |
| D．Misfortune will tell what fortune is. |
A sun-starved Norwegian town has finally seen the light—by installing giant mirrors on the surrounding mountains to reflect rays onto its market square.
The small town of Rjukan sits deep in the narrow Vestfjord Valley，in the Telemark region south-west of Oslo. The towering peaks that surround it rise to almost 2,000 meters above sea level and block out the sunlight for half the year, meaning Rjukan residents live in a permanent shadow from September to March.
But all that changed this week, with the official launch of a project first proposed a century ago. Three high-tech mirrors，with a combined reflective surface of 50 square meters, have been put into operation on a ridge(山脊) on Gaustatoppen mountain，brightening up the previously gloomy town center by flooding it with up to 600 square meters of sunlight.
Twenty-first century technology has made the $850, 000 project possible, with heliostats—computer-powered mirrors—shifting every 10 seconds to track the movements of the sun during the day.
But the idea to lighten up the dark town actually dates back 100 years. Rjukan was originally founded as a company town for Norsk Hydro, which set up a fertilizer plant here to make use of the hydro power from the nearby 104 meter Rjukanfossen waterfall. The story goes that the aluminum(铝) and renewable energy company’s founder，Sam Eyde，wanted a way to brighten up the existence of his shadowed 1aborers--and also to make them work more effectively during the winter.
The local newspaper published a suggestion by local bookkeeper Oskar Kittelsen to use a mirror to reflect sunlight onto the town，and Eyde picked up on the idea. Technological limitations of the day meant the plan never came to fruition，however, and instead northern Europe’s first cable car was built in 1928 to give Rjukan residents sunlight exposure at the top of the mountain.Rjukan residents used to 1ive in a permanent shadow from September to March .
| A．because it sits near the ArcticCircle(北极圈) |
| B．because it is located in a deep valley |
| C．because the sunlight was stopped by peaks |
| D．because it 1ies to the southwest of Oslo |
The underlined word“flooding”in the third paragraph means .
| A．covering | B．counting |
| C．widening | D．viewing |
Norsk Hydro set up Rjukan because .
| A．there were quantities of cheaper labors |
| B．there existed large amounts of hydro power |
| C．it was very convenient to use water |
| D．there was rich aluminum and water resources |