In April 2014，the world's oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in theBaltic Sea. It had spent 101 years lost in the ocean！The message was finally sent to the author's granddaughter.
A German fisherman named Konrad Fischer found the brown bottle near Kiel，Germany. He said he nearly threw the bottle back into the water after pulling it out of a fishing net. Then he noticed something inside.
The bottle in good condition contained a Danish postcard with two German stamps，dated May 17，1913. Although dampness had made most of the writing illegible（字迹模糊的），thereadable part of the message asked whoever found it to return it to an address in Berlin. It even contained two stamps to pay for postage.
From the address，researchers found that the postcard was written by a man named Richard Platz，who was 20 years old when he wrote the message. While he was hiking on the Baltic coast with a nature appreciation group，he threw the bottle into the sea. Then the researchers began a search for any living relatives of his. Sure enough，they were able to find his 62-year-old granddaughter，Angela Erdmann，who still lives in Berlin.
“It was almost unbelievable，”Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message.“That was a pretty moving moment. Tears rolled down my face."
Erdmann never knew her grandfather，who died in 1946，but says that the discovery of the bottle has made her want to learn more about him.
The bottle remained on display at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg until May 1 ．After that，the researchers examined the postcard and tried to figure out the meaning of the rest of the message.
Previously，the oldest message found in a bottle spent nearly 98 years at sea and was discovered in April 2012，according to Guinness World Records.
When Konrad Fischer picked up the bottle from the sea， ．
| A．he thought it would bring him good luck |
| B．he noticed the postcard inside immediately |
| C．he decided to uncover the secret of the bottle |
| D．he wanted to throw it back into the sea at first |
Why did Richard Platz throw the bottle with the message into the sea?
| A．He expected his granddaughter could find the postcard. |
| B．He wished the finder would send the postcard to his home. |
| C．He believed his postcard would be kept secret at sea forever. |
| D．He thought he could make friends with the finder of the bottle. |
What can be the best title for this passage？
| A．The finding of a floating bottle at the sea |
| B．A one-century-old letter to a granddaughter |
| C．The world's oldest message in a floating bottle |
| D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle |
Tom was going home at five yesterday. He got on a bus. A mother with her little boy was sitting nearby. Suddenly the boy cried. His mother tried her best to make the boy stop crying. But the boy would not do so. At last Tom said angrily, “Oh, how that boy cried! Why don’t you give him what he wanted?” “I would if I could." answered the mother quietly,“But he wanted your cap.”What time was Tom going home yesterday?
| A．At four | B．At five |
| C．At six | D．At seven |
Who was sitting near Tom on the bus?
| A．An old man with his little girl |
| B．A young woman |
| C．A woman with her little boy |
| D．A young man |
The mother tried her best to make the boy ______.
| A．wake up | B．go to sleep |
| C．not talk much | D．stop crying |
When the boy cried, Tom ______.
| A．was very angry | B．was very hungry |
| C．was very happy | D．did not hear this |
Why was the boy crying?
| A．Because he wanted something to eat. |
| B．Because he wanted to get off the bus. |
| C．Because he wanted to go home. |
| D．Because he wanted Tom's cap |
阅读理解（共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分）
On New Year’s Eve, people in Italy throw out all the old things. So there are chairs, beds, clothes and plates in the trees. In Spain, the New Year comes in more quietly. In the evening people come together to the streets. Each holds a bag of grapes. When twelve o’clock comes, people start eating the grapes. In Japan, people eat noodles on New Year’s Eve. This food is said to bring long life. Early the next morning, some families climb Mount Fuji(富士山). There they watch the first sunrise(日出) of the New Year.This story is about New Year’s Eve in_______.
| A．Italy | B．Spain |
| C．Japan | D．All of the above |
People in Spain welcome New Year by _______after twelve.
| A．eating grapes | B．eating noodles |
| C．throwing the old things | D．watching the sunrise. |
People in both Spain and Japan _______ to bring in the New Year.
| A．throw things away | B．get together |
| C．eat some food | D．climb a mountain |
Japanese climb Mount Fuji to _______.
| A．look at the stars |
| B．look for New Year’s wishes |
| C．see the sun coming up |
| D．have a rest |
The people in _______ hope to get long life from their New Year’s food.
| A．Japan | B．China | C．Spain | D．Italy |
（This selection was originally published in 1992. Pluto （冥王星） is no longer classified as a planet.）
Pluto is in many ways the strangest of the planets. It is small and has a large moon（called Charon）. Its orbit（轨道） is unusual, which may cause it to have seasons in the sense that when it is close to the sun, the liquid （液体）methane（甲烷）on its surface boils to form a kind of atmospheric haze（烟雾）. When the planet moves farther away from the sun, it starts to snow solid（固体） methane.
Pluto is not dark. Despite its great distance from the sun, the surface of Pluto is probably as bright as a moonlit night on Earth. The reason is all that methane, which is as white as newly fallen snow.
The discovery of Pluto was more accident than design. The American astronomer Percival Lowell had predicted the existence of a ninth planet（he called it Planet X）based on what he took to be irregularities in the orbit of Neptune. Today astronomers argue that these "irregularities" weren't real, but the result of instrumental error. Nevertheless, Lowell produced predictions about where Planet X ought to be（although, to be honest, the predictions changed occasionally when he redid the calculations）.In any case, in 1930 Clyde Tombaugh, doing a systemic sky survey that would have found the planet no matter where it was, discovered the planet we now call Pluto. By coincidence, its position was pretty close to where Lowell's last prediction said it should be. Was it just luck? We'll never know．On Pluto's surface, liquid methane boils to form an atmospheric haze, which would be most similar to ____.
| A．light | B． darkness |
| C．liquid | D．steam（水蒸气） |
What effect is produced by including the question "Was it just luck?" at the end of the text?
| A．The question encourages the reader to think about why Pluto is a strange planet． |
| B．The question encourages the reader to think about how planets are discovered． |
| C．The question suggests that all discoveries are luck, not just design． |
| D．The question suggests that other planets were found in different ways． |
What contributes to the brightness of Pluto?
| A．Methane on its surface. | B．Its great distance from the sun. |
| C．Light from its moon, Charon. | D．Its closeness to the sun. |
The text mainly wants to ____．
| A．give a brief introduction of Pluto |
| B．talk about the discovery of Pluto |
| C．prove the exact position of Pluto |
| D．describe the strangeness of Pluto |
Well-known as gourmets（美食家），the French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world's rich nations，according to a study published on Monday.
The average French person sleeps almost 9 hours every night，more than an hour longer than Japanese and Korean，who sleep the least in a survey of 18 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development （OECD）. Despite their siesta（午睡）habit，Spanish rank only third after Americans, who sleep more than 8.5 hours. And while more and more French people prefer fast-food chains these days or wolf down a sandwich at their desk, they still spend more than two hour’s a day eating.
That means their meals are twice as long as those of the average Mexican, who spends just an hour a day on food，the OECD’s “Society at a Glance” report on work, health and leisure(休闲) in Asia, Europe and North and South America found. The Japanese manage to spend close to 2 hours a day eating and drinking, placing them third behind New Zealanders．
Despite the limited time, Americans spend eating each day---about an hour and a quarter---U.S．obesity(肥胖) rates are the highest in the 30 members of OECD. The Japanese like to spend their rare free time watching TV or listening to the radio. This takes up 47 percent of leisure time in Japan. Norwegians spend the most time at leisure，just over a quarter of their day，while at the low end，Mexicans spend just 16 percent of their time having fun．
The OECD has 30 members. The survey covers only the countries for which proper figures were available.As to eating time，the CORRECT order is______.
| A．The French > New Zealanders> Japanese> Mexicans |
| B．Mexicans> The Japanese > New Zealanders > The French |
| C．The French > The Japanese > New Zealanders > Mexicans |
| D．New Zealanders > The Japanese >Mexicans> The French |
In the 30 members of OECD，U.S ranks first at______
| A．sleeping time | B．leisure |
| C．eating time | D．obesity-rates |
The main purpose of the text is______．
| A．to show which country spends the least time on sleeping |
| B．to tell us the French is leisure-loving gourmets |
| C．to show a survey about the time of leisure，sleeping，eating in some countries |
| D．to make a comparison to find out the best living styles of OECD countries |
How does the author develop the whole text ?
| A．By analysing cause and effect. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By making predictions. |
| D．By following the time order. |
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Hotel Amenities：Parking，Heated Pool, Television with Cable, and Coffee Maker in Room．Which hotel gives a price promise?
| A．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| B．Beach Plaza Hotel． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． |
| D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
In which hotel parking is the cheapest?
| A．Baymont Inn Ft . Lauderdale． |
| B．Beach Plaza Hotel． |
| C．Baymont Inn Hotel． |
| D．Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
If you ______ , you will probably go to Beach Plaza Hotel．
| A．enjoy seeing films without leaving your hotel room |
| B．are fond of swimming in heated water |
| C．want to eat food cooked by yourself in the hotel |
| D．are a cigarette smoker |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the ads?
| A．All of the three hotels provide television with cable． |
| B．You can keep your money in the room safe in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel． |
| C．In Beach Plaza Hotel a 24-hour maid is available． |
| D．While staying in Fort Lauderdale Plaza Hotel, you can surf the Internet． |