When a Swedish ship that sank in 1628 was recovered from the port of Stockholm, historians and scientists were overjoyed with the chance to examine the remains of the past. The ship construction showed how ships were built and operated during the seventeenth century. In this way, artifacts, objects made by human beings, provided a picture of daily life almost 400 years ago.
Underwater archaeology-----the study of ships, aircrafts(工艺品) and human settlements that have sunk under large bodies of water-----is really a product of the last 50 years. The rapid growth of this new area of study has occurred because of the invention of better diving equipment. Besides the Swedish ship wreck(残骸）,underwater archaeologists have made more exciting discoveries such as the 5000-year-old boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
Underwater archaeology can provide facts about the past. In ancient ports all over the world are ships sunken in the past 6,000 years. There are also sunken settlements in seas and lakes telling of people’s way of life and their systems of trade in ancient times.
Underwater archaeologists want to study these objects to add to the world's knowledge of history, but they have to fight two enemies. One enemy is treasure hunters who dive for ancient artifacts that they can sell to collectors. Once sold, these objects are lost to experts. The second enemy is dredging machines(挖掘机）often used to repair ports. These machines destroy wrecks and artifacts or bury them deeper under sand and mud. By teaching the public about the importance of underwater “museums” of the past, archaeologists are hoping to get support for laws to protect underwater treasures.What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the passage?
| A．To provide background information of the topic |
| B．To attract readers' attention to the topic |
| C．To use an example to support the topic |
| D．To offer basic knowledge of the topic |
The aim of underwater archaeology is to_________ .
| A．explore water bodies |
| B．search for underwater life |
| C．study underwater artifacts |
| D．examine underwater environment |
Underwater archaeologists are worried because_____.
| A．sea hunters have better diving equipment |
| B．their knowledge of world history is limited |
| C．dredging machines cause damage to the ports |
| D．sold artifacts can hardly be regained for research |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce a young branch of learning. |
| B．To discuss the scientists' problems. |
| C．To explain people's way of life in the past. |
| D．To describe the sunken ships. |
A few days ago my wife sent me out to buy something. When I came home, I handed(交给) her a paper bag and said, “Here are the apples you wanted.” She looked in the bag, and then she looked at me. “I told you,” she said slowly, “to buy some eggs.”
I felt worried about my absent-mindedness, so I went to see a doctor. He was a very kind man. “I have seen many people like you. It’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “If you know you are absent-minded, you are all right. But if you do not know you’re absent-minded, you may be really in trouble.”
“Many famous people were absent-minded,” the doctor told me. “Thomas Edison(爱迪生)was standing in line(排队) one day to pay his taxes(税). When he arrived at the window, he found that he had forgotten his own name. He had to ask the man who was behind him to tell him who he was.”
I felt much better and got up to leave. “Thank you, doctor,” I said. “How much do I have to pay you?”
“Ten dollars for the check-up(检查),” the doctor said.
“But doctor, I did not have a check-up!”
For a moment the doctor looked puzzled. Then he said, “Oh, yes, it was the patient before you who had a check-up. How absent-minded I am!”It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that when the author’s wife heard what her husband told her, she was ______.
| A．excited | B．surprised | C．sad | D．proud |
The doctor took Edison’s story for example ______.
| A．to show absent-mindedness is common among people |
| B．because he liked telling stories |
| C．to make the author laugh |
| D．to make fun of Edison |
The underlined word “absent-mindedness” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
| A．a feeling of anger |
| B．a feeling of sadness |
| C．an emotion (情绪) of excitement |
| D．a trouble in which people often forget this or that |
According to the passage, who was (were) absent-minded?
| A．Only the author. | B．The author’s wife. |
| C．The author and the doctor. | D．The doctor alone. |
The world is filled with many interesting sounds. Some are very pleasant to hear; others are unpleasant to our ears. In a day, you probably hear hundre
ds of different sounds.
All sounds are different. Some may be soft; others may be loud. Some sounds are high; others are low.
Some sounds are useful. Without sound we c
annot talk or listen to one another. The ringing alarm clock (闹钟)makes people wake up. The hooting of a horn (喇叭声) on the road warns careless people of danger.
We make sounds by making things move to and fro(来回地). This to-and-fro movement is called vibration (振动). It means moving up and down or forwards(向前地) and backwards(向后的) very fast. This makes sound waves(波).
We can make sounds in many ways, for example, by shouting, clapping our hands and striking the table. We can make sounds only by making things vibrate. We can talk because we can make our vocal cords (声带) vibrate. Our vocal cords are in a sound box or voice box. Two vocal cords vibrate when our lungs(肺) force the air through them. We can make sounds ______.
| A．by making things still |
| B．by making things vibrate |
| C．by making things jump up and down |
| D．by changing the positions of things |
Some sounds are useful because ______.
| A．they can wake people up |
| B．they can warn people to be careful when they are crossing the road |
| C．they make it possible for people to talk or listen to each other |
| D．all of the above |
When the air is through our vocal cords, it can make them ______.
| A．vibrate | B．breathe the air |
| C．talk to each other | D．move forward and backward |
Sounds are different because ______.
| A．different sounds have different vibrations |
| B．different sounds have different sound waves |
| C．different sounds have different vocal cords |
| D．both A and B |
Surtsey was born in 1963.Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's（船长）feet. He noti
ced a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano（火山）was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom（底部）of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November.
Scientists flew there to watch. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967.It was 175 meters high and 2 kilometers long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came. Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.Surtsey is ______.
| A．an island not far from Iceland | B．a new volcano |
| C．a fishing boat | D．a place in Iceland |
When did scientist fly there to watch?
| A．Before the volcano broke out. | B．As soon as the volcano broke out. |
| C．About four days after the volcano broke out. | |
| D．After the volcano stopped rushing up. |
Put the following sentences in correct order.
a. The captain found the boat was moving. b. A new island appeared in the sea.
c. Fire, smoke and rocks were seen rushing up. d. A fishing boat was near Iceland.
e. The island grew quickly.
| A．d-a-c-b-e | B．a-b-c-d-e | C．a-b-e-c-d | D．b-e-d-a-c |
When was Surtsey born?
| A．1964 | B．1963 | C．1962 | D．1965 |
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
Why is more and more land becoming desert？ Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow(吹) the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water. Without plants， the land can become desert more easily. Deserts ________.
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because __________.
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above. |
After reading this passage, we learn that __________.
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
Lots of people have hobbies. Some people collect old coins or foreign stamps; some do needlework; others spend most of their spare time on a particular sport.
A lot of people enjoy reading. But reading tastes differ widely. Some people only read newspapers or comics, some like reading novels, while others prefer books on astronomy, wildlife, or technological discoveries.
If I happen to be interested in horses or precious stones, I cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm. If I watch all the sports programs on TV with great pleasure, I must put up with the fact that other 
people find sports boring.
Is there nothing that interests us all? 
Is there nothing that concerns everyone—no matter who they are or where they live in the world? Yes, dear Sophie, there are questions that certainly should interest everyone. They are precisely the questions this course is about.
What is the most important thing in life? If we ask someone living on the edge of starvation, the answer is food. If we ask someone dying of cold, the answer is warmth. If we 
put the same question to someone who feels lonely and isolated, the answer will probably be the company of other people.
But when these basic needs have been satisfied—will there still be something that everybody needs? Philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live by bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else—apart from that—which everyone needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here.
Being interested in why we are here is not a “casual” interest like collecting stamps. People who ask such questions are taking part in a debate that has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet. How the universe, the earth, and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who won the most gold medals in the last Olympics.This text is most probably taken from ________.
| A．a research paper | B．a course schedule |
| C．a personal letter | D．a book review |
Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
| A．Philosophical questions are as interesting as collecting stamps. |
| B．Thinking about philosophical questions is a serious interest. |
| C．Figuring out who we are and why we are here is man's basic needs. |
| D．Philosophy has universal appeal and concerns everybody in nature. |
The author believes that ________.
| A．no existing subject can interest everyone in the world |
| B．different people may have different interests and concerns |
| C．everyone has to figure out who we are and why we are here |
| D．people in modern society pay more attention to philosophical questions |