The Mississippi

The Mississippi is a great river whose relationship with man goes way back beyond its discovery in the 16th century．The River Indians used it as a highway and as a source of food, and it was they who gave it its name—“misi” meaning “great” and “sipi” meaning “water”．When the length of its branch, the Missouri, is added to it, the Mississippi becomes greater． 1 ．From the source of the Missouri to the tip of the delta （三角洲）, it is 2, 480 miles long．

Great rivers are likely to suffer floods．In 1927 the Mississippi flooded 26 thousand acres, sweeping away farms, towns, everything in its path．In 1938 its floods drowned or killed 200 people and made millions homeless．Today the river has largely been controlled． 2 ．

Industries have spread down some of the waterways of the delta, but otherwise the delta is a remote place, the homeland of a little colony of French Canadians that the British drove out of Nova Scotia in the 18th century．They still speak French, mixed with English, Indian, Spanish and Negro idioms．They keep to themselves, farming the rich soil of the delta． 3 ．

4 ．Pioneers who first reached its banks wondered not only where it went, but what lay beyond．In 1764 the French founded a city on the right bank of the river, and named it after their king, Louis XV．This city, named St．Louis, became the jumping-off（起点） place for the adventurous men and women who opened up the Great Plains, and the way to the Far West．

Some 40 years earlier, at the beginning of the 18th century, the French had founded another city just above the Mississippi delta, New Orleans． 5 ．New Orleans is one of the great ports of the world, and one of the greatest terminals for both sea and river traffic．

A．It was the Mississippi that made the city what it is

B．Levees, high banks built of earth, hold back the flood waters

C．Therefore, as we know, it’s the third longest river in the world

D．It is known that the “Great Water” has also been a frontier river

E．However, they paddled up and down the Mississippi in their boats to seek their fortune

F．The “Great Water” always remains a threat, for the streets of the city are below the level of the river

G．They call themselves Cajuns, who have actually been leading fairly primitive lives and preserving their own traditions

The history of inventions leading up to the modern computer is a story of people trying hard to create machines that complete many tasks automatically, such as adding up large numbers, controlling airplanes in flight, etc. Many of the earliest methods of recording and counting data still remain mysteries (something that is not understood).

In England you can visit Stonehenge, where a mysterious collection of large stones has stood since 1,500 BC. Scientists have never discovered the stones’ purpose. However, by observing the way the sun shines between the stones, many people believe Stonehenge was used to predict the seasons and eclipses (蚀) of the sun and the moon.

Another early method of computing was a brass calculator, which existed in Spain nearly 1,000 years ago. The machine was shaped like a human head, with numbers instead of teeth. The shape became its undoing; some people were afraid the machine was supernatural, and destroyed it. In early recorded history, calculators that used the sun, or objects in the night sky, were developed to be used on ships to explore the world beyond the Tigris-Euphrates Valley of southwestern Asia. One such device, dating from the first century, worked with a system of gears designed to track the orbits of stars and planets. These orbits became the marked routes for ships.

In ancient Rome and Greece, one of the earliest machines ever used for processing numbers was the abacus. This simple collection of beads has been used for centuries in China and other Asian countries. The abacus is built with columns of beads attached to a rectangular wooden frame. Inside the wooden frame is a crossbar that separates each column of beads into two sections. In the Chinese version there are two beads above the bar and five below. Each column of beads means a different range of numbers. The first column from the right represents ones, the second tens, the third hundreds, etc. By moving beads, calculations are quickly completed. Because values are shown by positions, the abacus is very valuable in teaching arithmetic to blind students.

Experienced users operate the abacus very quickly. After World War II, a speed competition was arranged in Japan between the fastest calculator operator in the US Army and an employee of the Japanese Post Office using an abacus. The American was defeated easily by the moving beads of his opponent.

62. What does the author mainly talk about in this passage?

A. Old methods to manage data.　　　　　　　　 B. The great inventions in science.

C. The mysterious historical events.　　　　　 D. Theory and practice in computing.

63. How does the author try to prove his point?

A. By making comparisons.　 　　　　　　 B. By analyzing the cause.

C. By telling a true story.　　　　　　　 D. By giving examples.

64. The underlined word “undoing” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.

A. cause of bad luck　　 B. reason for change　 C. way to escape　　 　　 D. loss of power

65. What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. The fast development of computer science.　

B. The use of abacus in Japanese Post Office.

C. The inventor of the first modern computer.　　

D. The invention of the first analytical engine.

完形填空

　　Did you know that all the people of Hawaii live on volcanoes? Hawaii is a chain of 1 in the South Seas. 2 of these islands grew up from the 3 of the ocean.

　　Twenty－five million years 4 , Hawaii didn't exist. 5 , thousands of feet 6 the water's surface, the floor of the ocean cracked open. A volcano that had 7 its way out from the 8 centre of the earth had 9 its way through the earth's crust. Molten(熔化的) rock called lava flowed from the crack. When the lava met the 10 water of the sea, it 11 . As the lava continued to flow, layer upon layer of hardened rock was 12 the ocean floor. Slowly, the volcano built a mountain 13 to break through the surface of the 14 . An island was 15 . Many other volcanic islands grew up near it.

　　Over time, rain 16 the rock of the islands to form soil. Seeds 17 the wind took roots and grew until the islands became 18 with plants.

　　This took thousands of years. Today, Hawaii is 19 growing. Its active volcanoes have 20 added several hundred square kilometers to its area.

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完形填空（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）

One day a few years ago we had a guest of the uninvited variety. In fact, it was a bird,   1 a sparrow.

“What’s that?” I asked when I first heard the gentle thumping(重击声). “It sounds like Joe is outside playing basketball,” my wife, Anita, said. She   2  and listened more devotedly. “It’s coming from the  3 .” she said. “Maybe it’s one of the little kids.”

We rushed out the door. Jonathan, our youngest, was  4 to make trouble. “If he’s making holes in the wall again…” I said as I searched there. No children       5  . But there was that  6  again, coming from right up there.

And that’s when I  7  the sparrow. It was flying  8 just inches below the ceiling. It was  9 trying to get out, but couldn’t see that the way out wasn’t up, but down 10  the open door. So the bird continued  11  its wings and hitting its head against the  12 .

“Poor thing,” Anita said. “It must be  13  .”  

“Well, maybe it’s because of us,” I said as I moved toward it. I tried to show the bird how to glide（滑翔） down to get outside, but that only seemed to  14   it more. “Why don’t we just 15 for a few minutes?” Anita suggested. “I’m sure he’ll    16 eventually.” So we went back into the house, where we continued to hear the ongoing  17  .Then suddenly, it was silent. We looked into the garage, and our uninvited guest was gone.

“See?” Anita said. “I told you he’d succeed.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But how many knocks on the head did it 18  him?”

I’ve thought about that little sparrow through the years. Just like that sparrow, we often meet situations we don’t know how to  19 . Born to go upward, we don’t even consider the possibility that something good might happen if we stop flapping（拍打）around and just glide  20 a little bit.    

1.                A．for example     B．rather than      C．or rather  D．as well

2.                A．hurried         B．paused         C．ignored   D．confirmed

3.                A．basement       B．kitchen         C．garage   D．hall

4.                A．easy           B．happy          C．sorry D．angry

5.                A．in all           B．at all           C．above all  D．after all

6.                A．guest          B．voice           C．noise     D．sound

7.                A．watched        B．found          C．realized  D．caught

8.                A．carefully        B．gently          C．patiently  D．anxiously

9.                A．eventually      B．unwillingly       C．obviously D．thoroughly

10.               A．through        B．over           C．below D．beyond

11.               A．shaking         B．breaking        C．striking    D．injuring

12.               A．wall           B．floor           C．door  D．ceiling

13.               A．clumsy         B．painful         C．amazed   D．terrified

14.               A．frighten        B．comfort        C．confuse   D．calm

15.               A．leave          B．scream         C．relax D．escape

16.               A．put it aside      B．leave it alone    C．give it up  D．figure it out

17.               A．accident        B．achievement    C．struggle   D．trouble

18.               A．cost           B．offer           C．earn  D．owe

19.               A．classify         B．handle         C．debate    D．conclude

20.               A．up            B．back           C．forth D．down