The long, lonely voyage of the Japanese ghost ship is over.
A US Coast Guard cutter poured cannon fire(开炮) into an abandoned Japanese ghost ship that had been floating since last year’s tsunami, sinking the ship into waters more than 305 meters deep in the Gulf of Alaska and removing the danger it created to shipping and the coastline on Thursday.
The cutter’s guns tore holes in the 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru, and then it began to take on water and lean to one side. In about four hours, the ship disappeared into the sea, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow.
The ship had no lights or communications system, and its tank was able to carry more than 7,570 liters of diesel fuel. Officials, however, didn’t know exactly how much fuel was aboard.
“It’s less risky than it would be running into shore or running into other ships,” coast guard spokesman Paul Webb said.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency studied the problem and decided it was safer to sink the ship than let the fuel evaporate and pollute the sea environment.
Ryou-Un Maru was probably among the first wave of the 1.5 million tons of garbage of refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, roofs and fishing nets heading toward North America since last March when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan.
As the coast guard was ready to fire on the ship, a Canadian fishing ship, the 19-meter Bernice C, claimed the rights to save the ghost ship in international waters.
Plans to sink it were paused so the Canadian crew could have a chance to take the stricken ship. A Canadian official with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that the Bernice C was unable to drag it.
Then the Canadian boat left, and once it was about 10 kilometers from the Japanese ship, the Coast Guard began to fire, first with 25 mm shells, then a few hours later with ammunition twice that size.
State officials have been working to test the danger of garbage including materials affected by a damaged nuclear power plant, to see if Alaska residents, seafood or wild animals could be affected.Which of the following is NOT the reason for sinking the Japanese ship?
| A．It had no lights or communications system. | B．It might be washed up onto the shore. |
| C．It was a danger to other passing ships. | D．The oil it carried could pollute the sea. |
The plan to fire on the Japanese ghost ship was paused because ________.
| A．the ghost ship was beyond the reach of the Coast Guard’s guns |
| B．the shells were not powerful enough to sink the ghost ship |
| C．state officials worried the ghost ship might give out radiation |
| D．a Canadian fishing boat wanted to save the ghost ship |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Japanese ghost ship arriving at US | B．Tsunami garbage heading to US |
| C．Cannon fire sinking Japanese ghost ship | D．Japanese ghost ship polluting the Pacific |
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A few years ago, when I was still in high school, I met a wonderful and warm teacher. At that time in my life, there were many changes to adjust to, apart from the usual teenage troubles. My parents had divorced, so my elder brother and I had chosen to stay with my dad. Due to the fact that he was keeping the house, we didn’t have to move.
During this time, my teacher took a special interest in me. Being my English teacher, she encouraged my mind to travel to creativity I had long given up. She brought me out of the shell I built.
She became my mother, my older sister, my friend and my teacher. The one thing she couldn’t do though was to make me more girly as growing up with only my dad and brother made me a real tomboy.
Sometimes, I would be really immature（不成熟的）, especially if she was scoring me less than others on purpose. She knew I could do better than what I was handing in and so pushed me to extend further than limits.
When I finished school and then after college I was about to leave my hometowns she gifted me a watch that every second, with my pulse, should remind me of the one person who will forever wait and love me without reservation.
Time has passed and our friendship is distant, but in my heart, soul and mind, she is the closest I ever got.
56. The writer and her elder brother chose to live with their father simply because _________.
A. their mother was expecting to have another baby
B. they didn’t have to move out of their house
C. they hated their mother remarried
D. they had a closer relationship with their father
57. How did the writer get along with her studies before she met her English teacher?
A. She was hopeless and had given up her studies.
B. She was getting along well with her studies.
C. She had some trouble with her studies.
D. She lacked interest in creativity.
58. The writer behaved herself like a boy because ________.
A. she needed the love of mother
B. she wanted to learn from her father and brother
C. she lived with only men all the time
D. her English teacher didn’t care about her
59. What was the writer’s attitude to the watch given by the teacher?
A. She considered it to be very useful.
B. She valued it very much.
C. She kept it very well.
D. She wanted to do something later in return for it.
E
Erica David lives in Pinedale,Wyoming，USA，where winter can bring temperatures of below 35 degrees Fahrenheit，howling winds，and a lot of snow．So it was just natural that she chose to study snow for her school science fair in the sixth grade．
Now a junior in high school，Erica is in her sixth year of snow experiments，and is well on her way to becoming a snow expert．She started with a basic question：Could snow fences be built to work better?
Snow fences are used to keep snowdrifts（雪堆）from covering areas like roads of train tracks，or to help build up snow where it can help with water shortages in spring when it melts（融化）．“Also，I wanted to protect my animals better from blowing snow，”says Erica，who raises goats，sheep，and pigs．
Before she could test fence designs，Erica had to figure out what would act like real snow in her experiments. “I tested flour, sugar, and salt before I settled on dishwasher powder , ”she explains.
Science fairs offer students the chance to test theories, present findings to judges, and meet other researchers. Erica’s many achievements include competing at the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge for middle school students and the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, where students from around the world present their science research.
But perhaps the best reward is that her research is already being put to good use. She has come up with an improved snow fence design, and this year she’s helping think out how to provide water supply to native plants, which have been killed off by drilling at nearby natural gasfields.
“Science fairs are an amazing experience,”says Erica. “Just pick your true feeling and go for it. ”
72. What does the passage suggest to us?
A. Science fairs are held for high school students in America.
B. Erica is the youngest show expert well known in America.
C. The environment brought much convenience for Erica to study snow.
D. The hope to contribute to her hometown made Erica experiment on snow.
73. In Erica’s hometown, snow fences may play a part in ________.
a. reducing the harm blowing snow does to animals
b. supplying water resource to the nearby gas fields
c. making up for the lack of water resource.
d. keeping the traffic smooth
A. a,b,c B. a,b,d C. b,c,d D. a,c,d
74. Science fairs are attractive to students because they ________.
A. can have their research put into practical use
B. can have their scientific ideas tested out
C. are allowed to help protect the local wildlife
D. can learn about the most advanced technology
75. Which of the following material can best replace snowing in Erica’s experiment?
A. Flour. B. Sugar.C. Salt. D. Dishwasher powder.
D
| Part-time Front Desk Position Kirchoff，Inc，a book development company，is looking for a part-time front desk office worker．This position is perfect for a person who is cheerful，dependable，and pleasant to work with．Also，you should be able to welcome guests，redirect phone calls，and take messages．More importantly，you can stay cool under pressure．You are expected to work 5：00～6：00 pm weekdays．You need to fill in some forms if you are interested． Forms can be collected at 866 United Nations Plaza，#525 New York,NY 10037 |
| Important Points to Remember When Swimming ·Wait at least an hour after meals． ·Follow the advice of lifeguards． ·Don’t dive into unknown waters．Always swim in line with the shore． ·Find out at the seaside when and where it is safe to swim． ·Don’t use floating toys on the water．Wind can easily sweep them out to sea． ·Get out of the water if you feel tired or cold．Cold can kill even strong swimmers． Help Telephone：212—543—5902 Atlantic City Beach Office |
| Arrive on time． Introduce yourself in a polite manner． Read company materials while you wait． Have a firm handshake． Listen． Use body language to show interest． Smile and nod to the interviewers． Ask about the next thing you should do． Thank the interviewer． Write a thank－you letter to anyone you have spoken to． For more information，please visit jobweb．com 368 Cooper Square，New York． |
68．If you want to work in an office，where can you get the forms to fill in?
A．jobweb．com．
B．Atlantic City Beach Office．
C．368 Cooper Square，New York，NY．
D．866 United Nations Plaza，#525，New York，NY 10037．
69．What does a person need most to be the one-hour weekday job?
A．He should he cheerful，dependable，and easygoing．
B．He has to work from Monday to Friday．
C．He can remain calm in a difficult situation．
D．He can welcome guests and deal with phone calls．
70．According to the above information，what is the right thing to do when you are swimming?
A．To keep close to the beach． B．To dive into unknown waters．
C．To use floating toys on the water． D．To swim soon after lunch．
71．The best title for the last piece of information would be_________．
A．Tips on Showing Interest in a Job
B．Steps to a Successful Interview
C．Advice on Introducing Yourself Politely
D．Body Language in an Interview
C
I’ve been told that in China，having a pet，particularly a dog，is often considered to be a status（地位）symbol because it shows the family can afford to have an animal．It’s very different here．
In Canada it’s common to have pets．Many people have dogs；many others have cats，fish，birds or rabbits．Some keep what we call exotic（奇异的）pets，although keeping exotic animals is difficult，and because it can also be hard on the animals, the keeping of some exotic animals is not allowed by law．Some people do it anyway．
I like animals．As far back as I can remember my family has always had cats．Our cats．of course，wanted to go outside and it seemed reasonable to let them wander the neighborhood finding birds to run after，trees to climb and sunny places to sleep．As we always lived in a city，however，there was a problem．I remember more than once losing a cat that was killed by a car and it was heartbreaking．
Now，my wife and I lived in a small town．We no longer have a house—we live in an apartment（公寓）．We have a cat named Callie and she never goes out except onto the halcony（阳台）so cars are no longer a problem．She’s about sixteen years old and will probably live to be twenty or more．The trouble will come when she dies．We’ve had a pet for so long that it seems like a natural part of our lives and without a cat around the room it will seem somehow empty．On the other hand，we’re getting older and，given that a cat can live about twenty years we wonder if we’ll ever have another after Callie goes.
Having a pet is very good for a number of reasons．It helps to teach children how to look after a living creature，makes them realize that animals have feelings just like we do and that, in many ways，we depend on each other．For older people like me an animal is a companion（伙伴）and a comfort to have around．A pet，properly treated, returns the favor by giving back unconditional love．Wouldn’t this world be a great place if people could learn how to do that !
64．The writer keeps a cat as a pet now because___________．
A．she feels lonely living in the countryside
B．it acts as her companion
C．her family is used to keeping a cat
D．it can helps her teach her children．
65．What will happen after the writer’s pet，Callie dies?
A．She will surely buy another one． B．She won’t keep pets any longer．
C．She will remember it for a long time． D．Her room will be empty．
66．What should people do in keeping a pet according to the text?
A．Not allow it to go out of the room． B．Catch birds for him to play with．
C．Let it wander outside as it likes． D．Not live in the city．
67．What can be the best title for the passage?
A．How to keep a pet． B．My pet，Callie．
C．Keeping Pets in Canada． D．It’s the Animal in Me．
B
Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence（证据）until now has been personal experience. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight（洞察力）and problem-solving.
“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and rebuild them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist（神经病学专家）at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn some numbers into a new order．There was also a third，hidden rule，which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem．The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups：half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake．Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group．“Sleep helped，”Born said in a telephone interview．“The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep，so it can act on the problem．”But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how rebuilding of memories occurs or what governs it．Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking．Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery，the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep，they added．
60．The underlined phrase“sleep on it”in Paragraph 1 probably means_________．
A．to delay deciding something until the next day
B．to get as much sleep as possible
C．to go on sleeping without being disturbed
D．to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning
61．Jan Born and his team carried out the experiment through________．
A．comparison B．interview C．survey D．imagination
62．It can be inferred from the passage that___________．
A．people should sleep so long as they have time
B．sleep is the only way to solve hard problems
C．people have various periods of sleep D．people know how sleep rebuilds memories
63．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．How Sleep Works． B．Sleep Helps Solve Problems．
C．No Evidence，But Well Founded． D．Born’s Discovery on Sleep．