Robert Ballard was born in 1942. From an early age, he loved the sea. Ballard grew up in Southern California. He spent his free time at the beach near his home. He enjoyed fishing and swimming. He even learned to dive.
When Ballard wasn’t at the ocean, he loved reading about it. At age 10, he read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a book which describes the undersea adventures of Captain Nemo. Ballard decided he wanted to be like Captain Nemo when he grew up. His parents helped him follow his dream.
Ballard was a hardworking student. He spent many years learning all he could about the ocean. By the age of 28, he was an expert. In 1970, he took a job as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. There he studied underwater mountains of the Atlantic Ocean. He came up with ways to predict（预知）volcanoes under the oceans. Working with other scientists, Ballard also found previously（以前）unknown sea animals. These animals lived far below the ocean’s surface, where scientists had believed no animals could live.
By the 1980s, Ballard’s interests changed. He developed unmanned（无人的）vehicles to explore the ocean bottom. His first find, the well-known ship Titanic, made Ballard famous. He was not happy with just one big find, however. He looked for — and found — other well-known ships. One was the German battleship Bismarck. Another was the U.S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier (航空母舰) that sank during World War II.
Today Robert Ballard is still an underwater explorer. He also heads an organization that encourages students to learn about science. Ballard hopes that some of the students will follow in his footsteps. After all, the world’s huge oceans are mostly unknown. Who knows what remains to be discovered under the sea?What was Ballard’s dream when he was young?
| A．To be a science teacher. |
| B．To be an underwater explorer. |
| C．To be an animal expert. |
| D．To be a famous writer. |
When Ballard worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he _____.
| A．explored the undersea world by ship |
| B．thought of ideas to predict underwater volcanoes |
| C．found some unknown sea animals alone |
| D．set up an organization to teach students science |
Which is the correct order of the events mentioned in the text about Ballard?
a. He found the German battleship Bismarck.
b. He read a book about Captain Nemo.
c. He found the famous ship Titanic.
d. He became an expert in science.
| A．b-c-d-a |
| B．d-b-c-a |
| C．b-d-c-a |
| D．d-c-a-b |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Ballard’s parents felt disappointed at his undersea adventures. |
| B．Ballard didn’t like fishing and swimming in his childhood. |
| C．Ballard was greatly influenced by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. |
| D．Human beings have explored more than half of the sea. |
Photos that you might have found down the back of your sofa are now big business!
In 2005, the American artist Richard Prince’s photograph of a photograph, Untitled (Cowboy), was sold for $ 1, 248, 000.
Prince is certainly not the only contemporary artist to have worked with so-called “found photographs”—a loose term given to everything from discarded(丢弃的) prints discovered in a junk shop to old advertisements or amateur photographs from a stranger’s family album. The German artist Joachim Schmid, who believes “basically everything is worth looking at”, has gathered discarded photographs, postcards and newspaper images since 1982. In his on-going project, Archiv, he groups photographs of family life according to themes: people with dogs; teams; new cars; dinner with the family; and so on.
Like Schmid, the editors of several self-published art magazines also champion (捍卫) found photographs. One of them, called simply Found, was born one snowy night in Chicago, when Davy Rothbard returned to his car to find under his wiper(雨刷) an angry note intended for some else: “Why’s your car HERE at HER place?” The note became the starting point for Rothbard’s addictive publication, which features found photographs sent in by readers, such a poster discovered in our drawer.
The whole found-photograph phenomenon has raised some questions. Perhaps one of the most difficult is: can these images really be considered as art? And if so, whose art? Yet found photographs produced by artists, such Richard Prince, may riding his horse hurriedly to meet someone? Or how did Prince create this photograph? It’s anyone’s guess. In addition, as we imagine the back-story to the people in the found photographs artists, like Schmid, have collated (整理), we also turn toward our own photographic albums. Why is memory so important to us? Why do we all seek to freeze in time the faces of our children, our parents, our lovers, and ourselves? Will they mean anything to anyone after we’ve gone?
64. The first paragraph of the passage is used to _________.
A. remind readers of found photographs B. advise reader to start a new kind of business
C. ask readers to find photographs behind sofa
D. show readers the value of found photographs
65. According to the passage, Joachim Schmid _________.
A. is fond of collecting family life photographs B. found a complaining not under his car wiper
C. is working for several self-published magazines
D. wondered at the artistic nature of found photographs
66. The underlined word “them” in Para 4 refers to __________.
A. the readers B. the editors C. the found photographs D. the self-published magazines
67. By asking a series of questions in Para 5, the author mainly intends to indicate that ________.
A. memory of the past is very important to people
B. found photographs allow people to think freely
C. the back-story of found photographs is puzzling
D. the real value of found photographs is questionable
68. The author’s attitude towards found photographs can be described as _________.
A. critical B. doubtful C. optimistic D. satisfied
Everyone should visit a lighthouse at least once.
The most important reasons for such a visit is to realize how our ancestors(祖先) battled nature with the basic tools they had. They had only basic ways of creating light, and yet they found a way of using this simple technology in isolated（孤零零的）places to save ships from hitting rocks.
Secondly, visiting lighthouses will help us to understand the lives of lighthouse keepers. By their very nature, lighthouses were built on some rocks of cliffs. Thus, the lighthouse keepers often lived lonely lives. To walk around their small home, and imagine the angry storm outside beating against the walls, is to take a step towards understanding the lives they had.
The reasons for a visit to a lighthouse are not all so backward-looking in time. It is true that lighthouses were built in out-of-the-way places. But on a pleasant sunny summer day, this very isolation has a natural beauty that many people will love to experience. Therefore, with the gentle waves touching all round the lighthouse, the visitor is likely to think it is a world preferable to the busy and noisy modern life.
Another reason for considering a visit is that the lighthouses themselves can be very attractive buildings. Mankind could often not be content just to put up a basic structure, but felt the need, even in such an isolated place, to build with an artistic touch. The result is a view for tired eyes to enjoy.
Finally, lighthouses have a romantic attraction, summed up by the image of the oil-skin coated keeper climbing his winding stairs to take care of the light to warn ships and save lives.
67. What is the reason to look back into the past of a lighthouse?
A. To escape from the busy and noisy city.
B. To look for the tools used by our ancestors.
C. To experience the natural beauty of a lighthouse.
D. To learn about the living condition of lighthouse keepers.
68. The underlined phrase “out-of-the-way” in Paragraph 4 means ____________.
A. far-away B. dangerous C. ancient D. secret
69. Lighthouses were often built with an artistic touch _________.
A. to attract visitors B. to guide passing ships
C. to give a pleasant sight D. to remember lighthouse keepers
70. How many reasons are mentioned for a visit to lighthouse?
A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six
Reading is very important to help you learn English. To learn as much as you can from reading, you need to read different kinds of English. This book provides not only different kinds of English but also a good way to check your reading ability.
There are four parts in the book:
Part 1 is Messages: In this part somebody wants to send information in writing to somebody else. There is a test on timetable and a test on text messages.
Part 2 is People: In this part all the tests are about people. For example, there is an informal letter between friends. There is formal(正式的) English in biography(传记). There is a job application as a model to help with your writing, as well as testing your reading.
Part 3 is Places: In this part, too, many different kinds of English are shown, some informal and some formal. There is the informal English of a holiday postcard. There is also the formal English in a letter of complaint.
Part 4 is Things: You will find some descriptive writing in this part. There are descriptions of clothes and of a computer.
You can do these tests in any order you like, or you can do all the tests with a formal or informal text. I enjoyed writing this book and I hope you enjoy using it.
59. We can find the introduction to a product in ___________.
A. part 1B. Part 2C. Part 3D. Part 4
60. Which of the following is most probably written in informal English?
A. A letter of complaint. B. A computer handbook.
C. A letter of a friend. D. A story of a president.
61. The passage is most probably written for _________.
A. test designers B. students C. test-takers D. teachers
62. What is the best title of the book?
A. Test Your Reading B. Help with Your Writing
C. Learn Different Kinds of English D. Practice English in Different Ways
Do you have any strong opinion on co-educational or single-sex schools?
A supporter of co-educational schools would probably say that schools should be like the societies they belong to .In Hong Kong , men and women mix socially on a day-to-day basis .In many fields men are even likely to have female bosses .It is ,therefore, desirable that boys and girls grow up together ,go to school together ,and prepare themselves for a society that does not value sexual separation.
Some would go on to argue further that growing up with members of the opposite sex is important for personal development .Regular contact （接触）can remove the strange ideas about the opposite-sex and lead to more natural relationships .Single-sex conditions are seen as leading to more extreme opinions, and possibly even as encouraging homosexuality（同性恋）,though there is no proof that this is the case.
Those who are against coeducation often also fix their attention on the sexual side .Some parents fear that close contact with members of the opposite sex is dangerous for teenagers .They want their children to be attentive to their studies .Such parents feel uncomfortable with modern ways and the free mixing of the sexes.
A stronger argument comes from research into school results .Girls grow up earlier than boys ,tend to be more orderly and are likely to be better at languages .In a mixed class ,boys who might do well in a single-sex class become discouraged and take on the rule of troublemaker .Certainly in the UK this situation has greatly alarmed （惊动）the government for it to be encouraging co-educational schools to have some single-sex classes .In the UK the best schools are all single-sex ,strongly suggesting that co-education is not the best answer .This may ,however ,not be as simple as it looks .It may simply be that the famous old schools that attract the best students happen to be single-sex ,rather than that being single-sex makes them better schools.
72.In the third paragraph ,by saying “though there is no proof that this is the case” ,the writer means that___
A.students in single-sex schools will certainly become homosexual
B.students in co-educational schools cannot have extreme opinions
C.students in co-educational schools are likely to be homosexual
D.single-sex school conditions may or may not have effects on the students.
73.All the following arguments can be found in the passage EXCEPT that .
A.co-education can produce a society-like situation
B.co-educational schools may lead to love affairs between boys and girls
C.co-education will help develop a better understanding about the opposite sex
D.co-education can make boys perform well in mixed classes
74.Alarmed by the situation ,the UK government encourages .
A.co-education
B.single-sex education
C.single-sex classes in co-educational schools
D.co-educational classes in single-sex schools
75.At the end of the passage the writer suggests that .
A.single-sex schools are the best schools in the UK
B.being single-sex does not necessarily make a school better
C.co-educational schools are better for both sexes in personal development
D.because boys cannot compete with girls in study ,they go to single-sex schools
In 1837, the historian Carlyle made the first recorded use of the word " queue" (排队). He spoke of the French and their "habit of standing in a queue". Forty years later Paris was the best place to wait in line.
However, queuing became popular in Britain too. The Second World War was the golden age of queuing, and people joined any line in the hope that it was a queue for something to buy. This was the source of many Second World War jokes:
Shopkeeper to customer : Excuse me, miss, are you pregnant (怀孕)?
Customer : Well, I wasn't when I joined the queue.
Today, according to research in America, we (in Britain) can spend up to 5 years of our lives queuing－ as compared to twelve months looking for things we have lost. But things may be changing. Many people no longer have the patience to stand in a queue. The law of the jungle (丛林) has begun to operate at bus stops, with people using their arms to push others out of the way.
One way to make life easier is to introduce "queue management". Customers at supermarket cheese counters can now take a ticket with a number which appears on a screen when it is their turn. And while they wait for their number, they can do a bit of shopping.
In some booking offices there is also a system telling customers how long they may have to wait before they are served.
One of the latest technical progress is the use of an electronic scanner (电子识别器) which can read all the contents of your shopping basket or trolley in just a few seconds. If these become popular, queuing in supermarkets may become a thing of the past.
But some people just like queuing. One man queued all night for Harrods famous January sale, and then returned home for breakfast at nine o' clock the next morning without going into the shop.
68. The joke in Paragraph 2 implies that the young woman _______.
A. has been waiting in the queue for a long time B. doesn't need to stand in the queue
C. enjoys standing in the queue D. has stood in the wrong line
69. According to the passage, which of the following is true?
A. The British spend more time queuing than looking for lost things.
B. The Americans criticized the British for their way of queuing.
C. The British are always patient when they wait in line.
D. People queue only when they want to buy something.
70. The British try to solve the problem of queuing by all the following EXCEPT _______.
A. making a law to prevent queuing
B. telling the customers the waiting time
C. using numbered tickets to put the customers in order
D. checking the price of the goods customers buy with a scanner
71. We can infer from the passage that ________.
A. queue management doesn't work well B. there is still queuing in England
C. we don't see much queuing in Paris D. the French like queuing more than the British