The top-selling album (唱片), Songs of the Humpback Whale, was made public in 1970. This collection of nature recordings changed the way many people thought about whales, and it helped save thousands of whales' lives.
The album might never have been made without a sound engineer named Frank Watlington. In the 1960s, Watlington was making underwater recordings when he noticed some strange, deep sounds. He realized they were coming from whales. Watlington played the recordings for a pair of scientists named Roger and Katy Payne. When they listened, they fell in love with these beautiful voices at once.
Katy Payne studied music as well as animals, and she was greatly surprised by how the whales communicated using sounds like an opera (歌剧) singer. She also noticed another interesting fact: the sounds had clear patterns. According to scientists, an animal sound with a repeating pattern is called a song. Some scientists even compared these singing animals to musicians.
The Paynes thought that other people should also hear the beauty of the whales' songs. So
Roger I made the recordings into an album. Al the time when the album came out, whales were often caught, killed and traded for money. Some kinds were even in danger of dying out. Most people had never thought that whales could communicate through songs. But after hearing the album, they began to think differently.
The album led people to take action to save whales. Musicians began using whale songs in their music, and whales were included in movies and television shows. In 1982, a ban to stop deep-sea whaling was made. Before it, in the 1950s and 1960s, more than fifty thousand whales per year were killed. After it, the number went down below two thousand.
It might seem impossible that just one album could help save the lives of so many whales. But this album told people secrets about whales that had long been hidden under the sea. It allowed whales to finally share their songs with the human world.
30. What is the purpose of the passage?
| A． |
To call on people to save whales. |
| B． |
To tell how a good album was made. |
| C． |
To show that whales are born singers. |
| D． |
To introduce an album and its stories. |
31. Who first found the special voices of the whales?
| A． |
A song recorder. |
| B． |
An opera singer. |
| C． |
A sound engineer. |
| D． |
An animal scientist. |
32. What fact about the whales surprised Katy Payne?
| A． |
They could talk with scientists. |
| B． |
They could sing like an opera singer. |
| C． |
They could repeat interesting sounds. |
| D． |
They could communicate through songs. |
33. Which is one of the values of the album?
| A． |
It successfully stopped deep-sea whaling. |
| B． |
It helped people understand whales better. |
| C． |
It made some music and movie stars popular, |
| D． |
It encouraged musicians to work with scientists. |
When Mr. David retired (退休) , he bought a small house in a village near the sea . He liked it and hoped to live a quier lift in it .
But to his great surprise , many tourists came to see his house in summer holidays , for it was the most interesting building in the village . From morning to night there were tourists outside the house . They kept looking into the rooms through the windows and many of them even went into Mr. David’s garden . This was too much for Mr. David . He decided to drive the visitors away . So he put a notice on the window . The notice said “If you want to satify your curiosity (好奇心) , came in and look round . Price : twenty dollars .” Mr. David was sure that the visitors would stop coming , but he was wrong . More and more visitors came and Mr. David had to spend every day showing them around his house . “I came here to recite , not to work as a guide , ” he said angrily . In the end , he sold the house and moved away .Mr. David’s house was so ________ that many tourists came to see it .
| A．small | B．quiet | C．interesting | D．surprising |
Mr. David put a notice on the window in order to _________ .
| A．drive the visitors away | B．satisfy the visitor’s curiosity |
| C．let visitors come in and look round | D．get some money out of the visitors |
The notice made the visitors___________.
| A．more interested in his house |
| B．lose interest in his house |
| C．angry at the unfair price |
| D．feel happy about the price |
After Mr. David put up the notice ___________ .
| A．the visitors didn’t come any longer |
| B．more and more tourists came for a visit |
| C．no tourists would pay the money for a visit |
| D．fewer and fewer visitors came to see his house |
At last he had to sell his house and moved away because _________.
| A．he did not like it at all |
| B．he could not work as a guide |
| C．he wanted to buy a new expensive house |
| D．he could not live a quiet life in it |
There are some special traditions in Hawaii . People there are very friendly and always welcome visitors . They give visitors a lei , a long necklace of beautiful fresh flowers . Men wear bright flowered shirts , and women often wear long flowered dresses .
In Hawaii you may find some traditional Chinese , Japanese and Philippine holidays . Of course , many holidays are from the United States . People call Hawaii the Aloha State . Aloha means both “hello” and “good--bye”. It also means “I love you ” .
Usually when people from different countries , races or traditions lives together , there are serious problems . But in Hawaii there are few problems , people have learned to live together in peace .
Hawaiians earn most of their money from tourists , most of whom come from the mainland and from Japan . The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies . Japanese are also starting business and buying more and more land .The underlined word “lei” in Paragraph One means ____________.
| A．a necklace of flower | B．a plant in Hawaii. |
| C．a group of flower | D．a flowered dress |
Which of the following is TRUE about the people in Hawaii according to the passage?
| A．They live together in peace. |
| B．There are no problems at all in Hawaii . |
| C．It is difficult for them to live together . |
| D．There are serious problems among them . |
Most of the rich men in Hawaii are _____________ .
| A．Japanese | B．Americans and Chinese |
| C．Japanese and Americans | D．Chinese and Japanese |
The holiday in Hawwaii come from ______________ .
| A．America | B．Philippines | C．China and Japan | D．All the above |
From the passage we know that Hawaiians are mostly __________.
| A．rude to others |
| B．friendly to others |
| C．visitors from the mainland |
| D．tourists from Japan |
BEIJING--Lights went out for an hour at some famous landmarks and homes all over the world on March 28 for Earth Hour 2010. It is a global event created by the WWF(World Wildlife Fund) to make people pay more attention to climate change.
From the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge to the Eiffel Tower in Pari sand London’s Houses of Parliament, lights went out to encourage people to cut energy use.
Organizers said the action showed that a great number of people wanted the government to take measures to fight global warming by the end of 2010. "We have been dreaming of a new climate deal for a long time," said Kim Carstensen, head of a global climate organization. "Now we’re no longer alone with the dream. We’re sharing it with all these people turning off their lights," he said.
Australia first held Earth Hour in 2007 and it went global in 2008, attracting 50 million people. WWF is hoping one billion people from 1,000 cities in nearly 90 countries will take part in the event.
Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai, the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and many other famous buildings in China also joined in this event.The event "Earth Hour" was created to make people pay more attention to __
A. Sydney Opera House B. climate change C. March 28According to the passage people who took part in the event__ on March 28.
A. turned off the lights for one hour B. turned down the lights for 2 hours
C. turned on the lights for 3 hourscreated Earth Hour event first in
A. America, 2008 B. Canada, 2010 C. Australia, 2007__ famous landmarks are mentioned in the passage.
A. Four B. FiveC. SixThe Earth Hour event was created by __
A. Global Climate Organization B. World Wildlife Fund C. Kim Cartensen
Expressions cover all parts of our life. They may be around your ears every day. You may know a lot of Chinese expressions that describe how you feel. Here are some English ones for your enjoyment.
Have Your Heart in Your Mouth
This expression means that you’re really afraid or anxious about something. When your heart starts beating so much that you can feel a thumping(怦怦跳) in your throat, it may feel like you "have your heart in your mouth."
Have Butterflies in the Stomach
How did butterflies get in your stomach? Well, those really aren’t butterflies in there. It is a way of describing those nervous feelings you might get before a test or a very important decision.
These stomach flutters (跳动) are normal and happen to many people. Some people believe having a few butterflies might even help you perform better.
Sick as a Dog
If you’ve ever been very sick, you may have used this expression. Because dogs eat just about anything they find, they often get sick. So it’s all right to describe someone who’s not feeling well as being "sick as a dog".
Under the Weather
When it’s rainy all day outside, how would you feel? This expression comes from the idea that bad weather might hurt a person’s health and mood(心情). The expression "__" is most probably used while you are watching a thriller.
A. have your heart in your mouth B. sick as a dog C. under the weatherSomeone believes__ if you "have butterflies in the stomach" before a test.
A. you’re sure to fail B. you will forget everything C. you might do betterIt’s __ to say somebody is "sick as a dog" when he is not feeling well.
A. impolite B. suitable C. wrongWhen somebody says "under the weather", he must feel
A. upset B. happy C. calmAll expressions discussed in this passage are about
A. health B. habits C. feelings
A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him round. Thinking nothing of it, he continued.
Finally, he went to the check-out line, but the old lady got in front of him. "Excuse me," she said, "I’m sorry if my staring at(盯着看) you has made you feel uncomfortable,it’s just because you look like my son, whom I haven’t seen for a long time"
"What a pity," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes," she said, "as I’m leaving, can you say ’Good bye, mother’? It would make me feel so much better."
"Sure," answered the young man. So, when the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, mother !"
As he stepped up to the check-out counter(收银台), he saw that his total was $127. 50. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only buy a few things!"
The clerk replied, "Your mother said that you would pay for her. "The young man was __ that day.
A. doing some shopping B. having a walk C. visiting his motherThe old lady stood__ the young man on the check-out line.
A.beside B.behind C.before__ wasn’t an honest person in this story?
A. The clerk B. The old lady C. The young man At last, what the young man had to pay was __ what he expected.
A. more than B. less than C. as much as We know from the story that the old lady__
A. liked shopping B. had a son C. paid nothing