My love affair with the sea began when I was no more than six years old, walking along the sandy beaches. I always wanted to make the first set of footprints in the wet sand.
Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea’s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of. Soon, wearing a snorkel and a mask, I made my first solo adventures in the deep.
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, in San Diego, asking how I might learn more about the sea.
A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received. During one of their cruises that summer, I met Dr. Robert Norris, a marine geologist. He loved the sea almost as much as I did. Soon he was asking me what my plans were and where I expected to attend college. I told him I didn’t know, so he suggested I consider his school, the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor. If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter. The undersea world is not our natural world. It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes. At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark. It is easy to get lost in such a world. I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, meteorology, geology, biology, and many other things. While I was in school, I took a little of everything.
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U.S. Navy. If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn’t want that to happen. In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on expeditions so that we could explore the wonders of the deep.
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come.
【小题1】In Paragraph 5, the writer discusses “the laws of the physical world.”Which of the following is an example of one of the laws?

A．Water pressure.

B．Various ocean animal life.

C．The appearance of the water.

D．The different colors of the ocean.

【小题2】In college, the writer took many different types of courses because he _____.

A．was not sure what he wanted to study

B．was advised to take them by Dr. Robert Norris

C．believed it would help him succeed in the Navy

D．thought they were needed to fully understand the ocean

【小题3】The writer joined the Navy to _______.

A．develop his leadership skills

B．get along with people under stress

C．learn about the dangers of the ocean

D．gather specific information about ocean life

【小题4】What would the writer recommend to students who want to be underwater explorers?

A．Spend time examining your talents.

B．Join groups to learn to get along on a team.

C．Interview explorers to see if they are happy.

D．Study as many ocean-related topics as you can.

Loma just had to get in touch with someone：“I had to tell my best friend something important. I tried calling her but I couldn’t get through. So I sent her an e-mail and then I spoke to her on MSN. Without technology I would not have been able to tell her. ”

Staying connected with friends and family is important for us. That’s why we asked our readers to tell us how cell-phones, e-mail, blogs, text messaging, and personal pages help them keep in touch. More than 1,500 responded.

Most of them told us they couldn’t live without technology：80％of teens said they need technology to stay in touch. Almost 30％said they’d be completely out of their friends without their cell-phones and other methods of communication.

What do they do when they’ve got news they need to share now? Most teens say they try to reach their friends by phone. But if they don’t reach them, they use QQ, e-mails, and text messaging to get the words out.

Lots of people use one way of communication—like text messaging—to get a friend’s attention and then use another where they can talk more. “My friends and I always tell each other everything that happens. So I send them text messages to tell them to come online so we can talk about it,” said Sabeiha.

 “When planning to get together with friends”, Julian said, “the easiest and fastest way I know is to send a text message to my contact group.”Jocelyn said. “If I want to go to see a movie with a few friends, I usually send text message to them. By telephone, you have to call every single friend one by one. But text messaging allows you to send the same message to as many as you’d like, which saves a lot of time. ”

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

    A. E-mails.     B. Blogs.         C. Personal pages.    D. Personal letters.

What do most young people use first when they have news to tell their friends?

    A. MSN.      B. QQ.            C. Phones.          D. Text message.

The underlined part “get the words out” means“      ”.

    A. send the message          B. send the e-mail

C. talk with their friends       D. meet their friends

In which part of a newspaper can you find this passage?

    A. Sport.       B. Education.       C. Technology. D. Culture.

My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard.     1  Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.
My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon.  2  She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.
   3   Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us.   4   She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.
Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is!   5  This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

A．She enjoys listening to classic music.

B．As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort.

C．She loves her students and cares for them.

D．She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals.

E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.
F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.
G. Can you tell us something about your mother?

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its problems  too.
One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and  the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it became of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever you tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.
【小题1】What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

A．Staying on the farm.	B．Moving to the countryside.
C．Leaving home for the city.	D．Running away from the school.

【小题2】Which of the following is true about the writer?

A．He is very old now.	B．He is in good health.
C．He prefers driving a car.	D．He lives in the city now.

【小题3】 In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

A．express his opinions about way of life	B．describe his life in the countryside
C．an interest in the outside world	D．persuade the reader to live in the city

【小题4】How is the passage mainly developed?

A．By inferring.	B．By comparing.
C．By listing examples.	D．By giving explanations.

I always carry at least $3 in my car and also in my pocket. I save it for the person who asks if I can “spare some  36 ”. Smiling and making eye contact, I always   37 very cheerfully with a comment like, “Yes, I would love to”  38 “It would be my pleasure”. And I give them the  39  .

Then I  40 it with my next $3 for the next person. I   41 spend this money myself. I honor the idea that it belongs to the  42 of the next person who asks for it. Three dollars is a small  43 , yet it means a lot to the person who might only expect 25 cents,  44 when delivered with respect to them.

I have also formed the habit of carrying  45 I think the needy may be able to use. I carry hats, socks, gloves, and an umbrella. Recently I  46 some care packages for the homeless. It  47 to me that things like band-aids, toothpaste, aspirin, combs, as well as food would be of use. I imagined that they would need things that are not easy to  48 , so I chose plastic or paper containers. The folks who  49 them were delighted.

But I think it’s not just that I give them things that  50 . It’s that I see them for the beautiful ray of lights that they are. I know that they are  51 expressions of God and that this is how they are at the current time, not who they are. I am  52 to also give a hug and a smile with the money. And I always remember it is they who bless me with the  53 to be kind! What a joy! I felt  54 good and proud of what I had done. See, that’s the added  55 about completing acts of kindness —you feel fantastic.

1.                A．change         B．energy         C．time D．spare

 

2.                A．represent       B．respond        C．show D．explain

 

3.                A．and            B．nor            C．or   D．otherwise

 

4.                A．bill            B．$3             C．cheque   D．chance

 

5.                A．select          B．provide         C．recall D．replace

 

6.                A．ever           B．almost          C．never    D．always

 

7.                A．possession      B．business        C．account  D．position

 

8.                A．amount         B．price           C．count    D．total

 

9.                A．seriously        B．specially        C．especially     D．slightly

 

10.               A．tools           B．clothes         C．pictures   D．items

 

11.               A．sold out        B．put together     C．divided into    D．looked for

 

12.               A．appealed       B．referred        C．pointed   D．occurred

 

13.               A．pull            B．combine        C．break D．find

 

14.               A．received        B．accepted       C．gave D．bought

 

15.               A．uses           B．minds          C．cares D．matters

 

16.               A．strange         B．unique         C．rare  D．curious

 

17.               A．sad            B．regretful        C．glad  D．sure

 

18.               A．opportunity     B．trial           C．possibility D．convenience

 

19.               A．as             B．not            C．much D．so

 

20.               A．disadvantage    B．bonus          C．dream    D．voice