Merchant and passenger ships are generally required to have a life preserver for every person aboard and in many cases, a certain percentage of smaller sizes for children. According to United States requirements, life preservers must be simple in design, reversible( 可翻转的), capable of being quickly adjusted to fit the uninitiated individual, and must be so designed as to support the wearer in the water in an upright or slightly backward position.
Sufficient buoyancy(浮力) to support the wearer should be retained by the life preserver after 48 hours in the water, and it should be reliable even after long period of storage. Thus it should be made of materials resistant to sunlight, gasoline, and oils, and it should be not easily set on fire. The position in which the life preserver will support a person who jumps or falls into the water is the most important thing, as is its tendency to turn the wearer in the water from a face-down position to an upright or slightly backward position, with his face clear of the water, even when the wearer is exhausted or unconscious.
The method of adjustment to the body should be simple, and self-evident to uninitiated individuals even in the dark under the confused conditions, which follow a disaster. Thus, the life preserver should be reversible so that it is nearly impossible to set it on wrong. Catches, straps, and ties should be kept to a minimum. In addition, the life preserver must be adjustable to the wide variety of shapes and sizes of wearers, since this greatly affects the position of floating and the self-righting qualities. A suitable life preserver should also be comfortable to wear at all times, in and out of the water, not so heavy as to encourage to take it off on shipboard while the ship is in danger, nor so burdensome that it hinders a person in the water while trying to swim.
The passage is mainly about_____________.
| A．the uses of life preservers |
| B．the design of life preservers |
| C．the materials for life preservers |
| D．the buoyancy of life preservers |
According to the passage, a life preserver should be first of all, _________.
| A．adjustable | B．comfortable |
| C．self-evident | D．self-righting |
United States Coast Guard does NOT require the life preserver to be made ______.
| A．with as few strings as possible |
| B．capable of being worn on both sides |
| C．according to each wearer's size |
| D．comfortable and light to wear |
By “the uninitiated individual” (Para. 1, Line. 4) the author refers to the person ______.
| A．who has not been instructed how to use a life preserver |
| B．who has a little experience in using a life preserver |
| C．who uses a life preserver without permission |
| D．who becomes nervous before a disaster |
Holidays
| Holiday News Vacancies (空位) now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home lies near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome. Reduced prices for low season. |
| The Snowdonia Center The Snowdonia Center for young mountain climbers has a mountain lesson. The beginners’ costs are ￡57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment is included except walking shoes, which can be hired at a low cost. You must be in good health and prepared to go through a period of body exercises. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of lifetime of mountain climbing adventure. |
| The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime Our World Sea Trip of 2008 will be unlike any holiday you have ever been on before. Instead of one hotel after another, with all its packing and unpacking waiting and traveling, you just go to bed in one country and wake up in another. On board the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin like your home. During the trip, you can rest on deck(甲板), enjoy yourself in the games rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play. You will visit all the places most people only dream about – from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokyo and Hong Kong. For a few thousand pounds, all you’ve ever hoped for can be yours. |
What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?
A. Choose the holiday in Devon.
B. Go to the Snowdonia Centre
C Join the World Sea Trip of 2008
D. Visit Acapulco and HawaiiIn what way is the Snowdonia Centre different from the other two holidays?
| A．It provides chances of family gatherings. |
| B．It provides customers with good food. |
| C．It offers a sport lesson. |
| D．It offers comfortable room. |
What is special about the World Sea Trip of 2008?
| A．You can have free meals on deck every day. |
| B．You can sleep on a ship and tour many places. |
| C．You will have chances to watch and act in a play. |
| D．You have to do your own packing and unpacking. |
At the Snowdonia Centre, the beginners’ costs of ￡57 do not cover .
| A．food |
| B．rooms |
| C．body exercises |
| D．walking shoes |
It is often necessary to release a fish, that is, set it free after catching, because it is too small, or you just don’t want to take it home to eat. In some cases, releasing fish is a good measure that will help keep fish variety and build their population size. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) encourages fishermen who practice catch-and-release fishing to use a few simple skills when doing so. The advice provided below will help make sure that the fish you release will survive (存活) to bite again another day.
—When catching a fish, play it quickly and keep the fish in the water as much as possible.
Don’t’ use a net in landing the fish and release it quickly to prevent it from dying.
—Hold the fish gently. Do not put your fingers in its eyes. Don’t wipe the scales (鱼鳞) off the fish because it might cause it to develop a disease and reduce its chance of survival.
—Remove your hook (鱼钩) quickly. If the hook is too deep or hooked in the stomach, cut the line and leave the hook in. The hook left inside will cause no serious problem to the fish.
—Take good care of the fish by moving it gently in water. Release the fish when it begins to struggle and is able to swim.
—Do not hold fish in a bucket or some other containers and later decide to release it. If you are going to release a fish, do so right away.
With a little care and by following the suggestions given above, you can give the released fish a better chance of survival. People sometimes set a fish free after catching it because they _________
| A．don’t want it to die |
| B．hope it will grow quickly |
| C．don’t want to have it as food |
| D．want to practice their fishing skills |
Which of the following will probably make a fish ill?
| A．Taking the hook off it. |
| B．Removing its scales. |
| C．Touching its eves |
| D．Holding it in your hand. |
A proper way to release a fish is to _________.
| A．move it in water till it can swim |
| B．take the hook out of its stomach |
| C．keep it in a bucket for some time |
| D．let it struggle a little in your hand |
What is the purpose of the test?
| A．To show how to enjoy fishing. |
| B．To persuade people to fish less often. |
| C．To encourage people to set fish free. |
| D．To give advice on how to release fish. |
More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple (菠萝). The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1966, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.
The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple.
In nutrition (营养) it was all good news too. This nice tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C(维生素C) than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.
Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep market to itself. But other fruit companies developed similar pineapples. Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out the market. We learn from the text that the new type at pineapple is __________.
| A．green outside and sweet inside |
| B．good-looking outside and soft inside |
| C．yellowy-gold outside and hard inside |
| D．a little soft outside and sweet inside |
Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?
| A．It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice. |
| B．It was less sweet and good for health. |
| C．It was developed by Del Monte. |
| D．It was used as medicine. |
The underlined word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something _________.
| A．that people enjoy eating |
| B．that is always present |
| C．that is difficult to get |
| D．that people use as a gift |
We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte _________.
| A．slowed other companies to develop pineapples |
| B．succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself |
| C．tried hard to control the pineapple market |
| D．planned to help the other companies |
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me unless I got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to struggle to think up things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor café. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was. Why did the author feel bitter about her father as a young adult?
| A．He was silent most of the time. |
| B．He was too proud of himself. |
| C．He did not love his children. |
| D．He expected too much of her. |
When the author went out with her father on weekend, she would feel .
| A．nervous |
| B．sorry |
| C．tired |
| D．safe |
What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
| A．More critical. |
| B．More talkative |
| C．Gentle and friendly. |
| D．Strict and hard-working. |
The underlined words “my new friend” in the last paragraph refer to.
| A．the author’s son |
| B．the author’s father |
| C．the friend of the author’s father |
| D．the café owner |
In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras (交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?
| A．To bring Europe together again. |
| B．To honor heroes of World WarⅡ. |
| C．To introduce young theatre groups. |
| D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
| A．They owned a public house there. |
| B．They came to take up a challenge. |
| C．They thought they were also famous. |
| D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?
| A．Popular writers |
| B．University students. |
| C．Artists from around the world. |
| D．Performers of music and dance. |
We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival______.
| A．has become a non-official event |
| B．has gone beyond an art festival |
| C．gives shows all year round |
| D．keeps growing rapidly |