In April 2014, the world’s oldest known message in a bottle was discovered floating in the Baltic Sea. It had spent 101years 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), the readable 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 researcher began a research for any living relatives of his. Sure enough, they were able to find his 62-year-old grandfather, Angela Erdmann, who still lives in Berlin.
"It was almost unbelievable," Erdmann said upon being presented with her grandfather's bottle and message, as quoted in The Local. "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 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 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 grandfather 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 grandfather. |
| C．The world’s oldest message in a floating bottle. |
| D．The oldest Danish postcard in a floating bottle. |
Why Melbourne? Having long lived in the shadow of Sydney, Melbourne has become a Mecca(圣地) for fashion and design and cultural centre of Australia, with an enjoyable programme of festivals
What to see? The City center’s grid（格子） system of streets conceals a maze of lanes and turn-of-the-century arcades where you will find the best cafes, bars and boutique shopping. The hidden secrets tour(00613 9329 9665,hiddensecretstour.com) guides will make sure you find what you’re after, whether it is fashion, art and design or wine. From 34 per person .
Where to eat? Melbourne is a paradise for gourmands（美食家）. And its top chefs use fresh produce and have a talent for the experimental. But for something different, indulge your culinary senses with an Australian Wine Tour Company trip. Departing from the city centre daily. You will taste wines at four of the region’s best vineyards. It costs from 48 per person, including all wine tasting, lunch and a visit to Damien Chandon(00 613 9419 4444. austwinetourco.com.au) .
Where to stay? The nunnery is an old convent（女修道院） on the edge of the city. It has double rooms with breakfast from54 per night (00 613 9419 8637, nunnery.com.au).
How to get there ? Qantas(0845 7747 767, qantas.com. au) flies from Heathrow to Melbourne twice daily from 766 return, including taxes.
More information Contact the official tourism site for Melbourne at visitmelbourne. Com/uk.
Use the links below for more on
Destination guide: Melbourne
Click here for our Melbourne page
60. To get more information about Hidden Secrets Tour, you should call____________ .
A. 00 613 9419 4444 B. 00 613 9419 8637
C. 0845 7 747 767 D. 00 613 9329 9665
61.If you are interested in Australian wines, you will have to pay___.
A. 48 B. 54 C. 34 D. 766
62.Where can you find the passage?
A.In a magazine B.On the Internet C.In a guidebook D.In a newspaper
63.The passage is written to__________.
A.introduce places of interest in Australia
B. tell readers to travel to Australia
C. offer tourists some information about Melbourne
D. introduce the history and culture about Melbourne
Two third of the singles looking for love in Britain turned to the Internet last year, according to figures made in public yesterday. Special sites offer introductions to smokers, Roman Catholics, tall people, beautiful people, frequent flyers and vegetarians. Technology has brought about a great change in the dating games.
A survey by Parsnip, a Briatain branch of Europe’s largest dating service with more than 1.5 million members, says that 65 percent of the 5.4 million Britons looking for a relationship used online dating services last year.
A spokeswoman for Relate, the relationship advisor, confirmed the a figure of two thirds feel it all right. “Doing it online allows people quite a lot of privacy, because they can do a bit of quite research and look around from the comfort of their own home. You don’t have to meet a middleman or go to an actual dating agency office, which takes a lot of courage.” She said.
There are more than 100 independent online dating agencies in Britain. Parsnip says that 50 percent of single people believe they will meet a suitable partner through the Internet, from 35 percent six months ago.
Mary Balfour, the founder, say that Internet has changed the dating industry complexly. “It’ s like a return to old-fashioned love letters.” She said “You don't’t base your initial judgement on how someone looks or what his or her figure is like. You e-mail or talk before uou actually see each other. Everybody you know who is single these days has at least had a good look at a dating site, introduction agency or personal ad. They have to, because al the old matchmaking institutions have gone. People work harder, settle down later and live more isolated lives. They are much more likely t end the day with a DVD and a can of beer than by going to a villlage dance. ”
56.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Brirish singles go online for love. B.British singles like going online
C.Going online for love is dangerous. D.New ways of dating in Britain
57.The followding statemints are false EXCEPT that singles____.
A.don’t have to do any research at all B. needn’t go to a go between
C. need to actually meet each other D. Have to go to a village dance
58.According to the text, about ____ Britons dated Online last year.
A. 3.5million B.1.5 million C. 2.7 million D. 1.9 millon
59.From the passage, we can learn that______ .
A. old-fashioned love letters become popular again
B. online dating services are out of date
C. half singles believe they can meet a suitable partner online
D. online dating needs a lot of courage
For many men an women today,the image that a watch communicates is more important than the time it tells. “Complications”---features that go beyond simple timekeeping—are an important part of a watch’s image. Today’s watches offer a host of complications that suit almost any personality . These features include altitude trackers ,compasses, lunar calendars ,USB drivers , and even devices that measure the effectiveness of golf swings !
Creativity is also a key element in today’s watches , for men as well as women. The Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don’t even look like watches . The company’s popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell the time . It looks more like a futuristic bracelet then a watch. Another Japanese watchmaker , EleeNo , makes a “handless” watch . Using a ring of circles to keep time , this watch makes an excellent conversation piece.
In the past, the image of a man’s watch was quite different from that of a woman’s. Men’s watches tend to be bolder, larger, and more complicated than women’s watches, which were more likely to look like jewelry. Today, the differences between men’s and women’s watches are disappearing. Watchmakers are adding diamonds to their fine watches for man. And for women, they’re designing larger watches that contain complications. For example, some women’s watches now have calendars that show the phrases of the moon. Others show the time in two different cities, a handy funtion for business travelers. However, women still pay more attention than most men to the external beauty of a watch. And unlike men, women are still more likely to purchase watches that suit particular items in their wardrobes.
72.According to the passage, one type of watch complications can show you____________.
A. appointments for the day B. which direction is north
C. how much weight you’ve put on D. a list of telephone numbers
73.What is the true information about the watch made by EleeNo?
A. It uses different hands to keep time. B. It’s rather popular.
C. It doesn’t look like a watch. D. It’s much fun to talk about.
74.What does the writer imply about watches for women?
A. They are not as simple as they used to be.
B. They need to improve their quality.
C. They have fewer functions and jewels.
D. They don’t last as long as they used to.
75. What is the main topic of this article?
A. Why women are likely to buy more watches than men?
B. The differences between men’s and women’s watches
C.Current trends in the watch industry.
D.Useful tips for purchasing watches.
The summer beach season is prime time for shark attacks. It seems like sharks are attacking all the time. But that is something of an illusion. The number of attacks is very small.
How does a shark hunt? Muscles and fins give the shark its speed and maneuverability in the water. A shark’s front fins act like the wings of a plane and let it “fly” through the water. The tail acts like a high-power propeller
But the big thing that gives the shark its edge in the ocean is its sensory package. The package includes the shark’s eyes, ears, skin, nose and mouth, as weir as electric sensing.
A shark’s nose is probably its most important sense. If you were to put a single drop of blood in a swimming pool, a great white shark could smell that. And they can tell the direction that the smell is coming from.
Sharks handle their electric sensing using cell located in the head. Whenever something moves using its muscles, a shark can detect the electrical impulses flowing to those muscles. A shark can electrically “see” anything that has muscles even if it is hiding or the water is not clear.
Sharks even have vibration sensors in their skin. Even something moves near the shark, tubes pick up the pressure changes and hairs inside the tubes send signals to the brain. This extra sense allows a shark to turn quickly and attack again.
When you put all these different senses together , it makes the shark a nearly ideal hunter. A shark can detect prey from miles away and then use eyes, electrosensing and movement sensing to home in.
Strangely, sharks do not seem to use these senses to home in on people. The very low number of sharks tells us that sharks do not hunt people in a regular basis. On the other hand, people love to hunt sharks, Millions of sharks die every year. Without protection, extinction is a definite possibility.
68.From the text, we can know that_________________.
A. it is true that sharks are attacking all the time
B. a shark can see anything that has muscles even if it is hiding.
C. sharks deal with their electric sensing using cell located in the skin
D. what gives the shark its speed and maneuverability is fins and muscles
69.What gives the shark its edge in the ocean according to the text?
A. Its muscle. B. Its nose.
C. Its sensory package. D. Its fins
70. The underlined phrase home in on means___________.
A. swim B. move C. hunt D. smell
71.In this text, the writer implies that__________.
A.there ara many shark attacks B. humans beings should protect sharks
C. human beings dislike hunting shark D. sharks’ nose is very important
Professional adventurer Mike Horn never met a challenge he didn’t welcome. In fact according to Horn, “The impossible exists only until we find a way to make it possible.”
As a child in Johannesburg, South Africa, Horn excelled at sports and loved adventure. But it wasn’t until he moved to Switzerland in 1990 that his life of adventure really began.
Horn had always loved sports and taking risks, and he was known for his crazy feats. He traveled in the South American Andes Mountains in the early 90s and then in 1997 crossed the entire continent on foot. He finished by floating 7,000 km down the Amazon River!
In 1999, H orn began a solo trip around the world following the equator,without the use of any motor-powered transportation. When he finished successfully 17 months later, he became the first person to accomplish the feat.
Horn’biggest challenge to date came in 2006. He and a fellow adventurer walked from Russia to the North Pole in the sunless winter. Traveling through the winter darkness, he encountered polar bears and many other dangers.
In 2008, Horn began another unique adventure –one that will take four years to complete. Instead of trying to achieve more personal goals, Horn is now dedicated to sharing his knowledge and experience with others.
He calls his latest expedition the “Pangaea Expedition.”with “Pangaea” standing for “a Pan Global Adventure for Environmental Action.”By the end of this expedition, Horn will have traveled 100,000 km and crossed all of the continents and oceans. But this time he won’t be going alone: He’s choosing young people from around the world, aged 13 to 20, to accompany him. Twelve young men at a time will participate in one of 12 different projects, ranging from studying glaciers to treating water sources.
The journey will take place onboard Horn’s 35-meter saiboat , the Pangaea which will become a floating science class . Along with a team of scientists, Horn plans to teach the young explorers about protecting and preserving the earth.
In perhaps his most important expedition, Horn will pass down his passion for Earth’s wonders to the next generation.
64.Which of the following is NOT ture?
A. He met with polar bears and many dangers in 2006 when Horn walked to the North Pole with another adventurer.
B. He loved sports, Earth’s wonders and taking risks.
C. It took Horn 17 months to complete his solo trip around the world without any Motor-powered transportation.
D. He really began his life of adventure in te 1990s.
65. The underlined sentence probably means____________.
A. He was afraid of challengers B. He never met challengers
C.He didn’t welcome challengers D. He was willing to meet challengers
66. In his latest “Pangaea Expedition”, Horn__________.
A. will have covered 100,000km and crossed only all the continents
B. will choose young men to take part in the 12 different projects
C. will be going around the world by himself
D. intends to teach the young men how to make expeditions
67. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Mike Horn-an adventurer with a cause B. The Pangaea Expedition
C. How Mike Horn makes expeditions. D. How to make expeditions.