A

If you and your friends wish to share a secret, you can write it in code, and no one else will be able to read it. Codes are one way of writing in secret. Ciphers (密码) are another. In a code each word is written as a secret code word or code number. In a cipher each letter is changed.

Codes and ciphers have played an important role in the history of the world. Julius Caesar, the Roman ruler who defeated almost all the countries in Europe about 2, 000 years ago, used a cipher when he sent secret messages to his troops. During the American Revolution, George Washington's spies used a kind of code to send him information about the enemy before his military action. In World War Ⅱ, the Americans "broke", or figured out, Japan's most important naval codes and got enough information to destroy a powerful Japanese fleet(舰队).

Storekeepers use codes to mark their goods. The codes show how much was paid for the goods or when they were added to the stock. Businessmen use codes to hide plans from their business enemies. Sometimes personal letters or diaries are written in code. Many people enjoy figuring out codes and ciphers simply as a hobby.

In the 16th century, codes and ciphers were very popular among scientists. They wrote messages to each other in code so that no one else would learn their secrets. Geronimo Gardano, an Italian astrologer(占星家), mathematician, and doctor, invented the trellis cipher. He took two sheets of paper and cut exactly the same holes in each one. Then he sent one sheet, which he called a trellis, to a friend and kept the other for himself. Whenever he wanted to write a message, he put his trellis over a clean sheet of paper and wrote the secret message through the holes. Then he removed the trellis and filled the rest of the paper with words that would make sense. When his friend received it, he put his trellis over the writing and read the secret message.

What does the underlined word "trellis"mean?

A. A piece of paper with many small holes.          B. A machine with a lot of small holes.

C. A letter with unreadable words and sentences.   

D. A sheet of paper with groups of Arabic figures.

Which of the following statements is true?

A. Ciphers can be broken or figured out more easily than codes.

B. You could read some words in Geronimo' s letter without his trellis.

C. The first person who ever used a cipher in history was Julius Caesar.

D. Fondness of using codes was the hobby of the scientists in the 16th century.

The best title of this passage is________.

A. Codes and Ciphers                  B. Differences between Codes and Ciphers

C. History of Codes and Ciphers         D. Inventors of Codes and Ciphers

A teddy bear from Cumbria is launching into space to raise cash for charity(慈善).

Terence, an experienced traveller who has been to Iraq, will be the guest of honour on aviation(航行) legend Burt Rutan’s Spaceship One when it flies above Earth. The mission takes off from California on September 29, and on his return the cuddly toy will be auctioned off(拍卖) in aid of the North Air Ambulance Appeal(北部空中救护服务中心).

Spaceship One is the world’s first private spacecraft, and is competing for a prestigious space travel prize. Chief executive of the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), Graham Pickering, said “flying officer” Terence had been handed over to the RAF six months ago and staff had been receiving postcards from him ever since.

He said, “Terence was a fundraising idea that really took off. We have received pictures of him in a U2 craft, trying parachuting and even looking drunk and disorderly. When the RAF finally discharge him he will be a very rare bear indeed—we just hope he does not burn up on re-entry to Earth.”

GNAAS, which needs charitable donations of more than ￡2m a year, has three air ambulances(空中救护机).

Peter Bond, spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society, said Terence’s safety was not guaranteed. He said, “This is a new and experimental craft and this will only be the second time it has flown. During its first voyage it developed technical problems but hopefully they have now been resolved.”

Since May, Terence has spent time with members of 100 Squadron(空军中队) based at RAF Leeming in Basra, Iraq, and at air shows with performing fighter planes.

Spaceship One will fly 100km (62 miles) above the Earth’s surface, just breaking through the planet’s atmosphere.

If it repeats the feat(技艺) inside two weeks, it will claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize set up to encourage the private space flight business.

Terence is ________.

A. a real bear living in England           B. an experienced astronaut

C. an air force officer                         D. a toy bear

We can infer that________.

A. after this space flight, Spaceship One will get the $10m Ansari X-Prize

B. it is dangerous for a spaceship to re-enter the earth atmosphere

C. Terence will be very safe on the flight

D. Spaceship One is just an ordinary plane

Which of the following is true of Spaceship One?

A. Spaceship One is the world’s first spacecraft.

B. The purpose of its flight is to collect money for the charity.

C. The purpose of its flight is to compete for a prestigious space travel prize.

D. Spaceship One has never flown.

Which of the following is the best title?

A. Teddy bear astronaut to lift off        B. Spaceship One to lift off

C. Space flight                                 D. The toy bear will be auctioned off

A new study shows one of the largest glaciers① in Greenland is becoming smaller and speeding to the sea faster than scientists expected. If it continues, Greenland itself could become much smaller during this century and global seas could rise as much as 3 feet.

The rates② of change that we’re noticing are much higher than expected. If these rates continue, it is not unlikely that Greenland could shrink③ by several tens of percent this century. However, it’s not known how quickly this coastal response of the Greenland ice sheet melting will have an effect on the vast inland ice.

Greenland is the world’s largest island, covering an area more than three times the size of Texas. Some 81 percent of it is covered by ice, and there are many glaciers. Glaciers are like slow-moving rivers of ice. Where a glacier meets the sea, its weight keeps it firmly resting on the bottom. A glacier’s front is the point where the water is deep enough that the glacier floats.

Since the 1970s, the front of Helheim stayed in the same place. Then it began melting rapidly, moving back 4.5 miles from 2001 through this past summer. It has also grown thinner, from top to bottom, by more than 130 feet since 2001. And over these past four years, its trip to the sea has sped up from about 70 feet per day to nearly 110.

The melting is driven by a warmer climate. Temperatures in Greenland have risen more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade. Since most of Greenland’s ice is on land, seas will rise as the ice melts. If all Greenland’s ice sheet melted, oceans would be 15-20 feet higher. Nobody expects that to happen anytime soon.

Notes:

① glacier  n.  冰川

② rate  n.  比率

③ shrink  v.  缩小

1. Which of the following about the glaciers is TRUE?

  A. Glaciers only lie in Greenland.        B. Water in glaciers is more than sea water.

  C. Glaciers sometimes float on the water.  D. Glaciers can increase the water level of lakes.

2. According to the text, we know that Greenland ______.

  A. belongs to Canada                  B. is the largest island in North America

  C. is all covered with glaciers            D. is sinking under the sea level

3. Which of the following may be the result of the disappearing of Greenland glaciers?

  A. the climate of the world will be warmer.

  B. the glaciers in other area will be bigger.

  C. It will be easy for explorers to visit the island.

  D. Some coastal cities may be under the sea.

A young boy loved football with all his heart. But being half the size of the other boys, this hopeful athlete  36  the bench and hardly ever played.
This young man was still the  37  of the class when he entered high school. He decided to try his best at every  38  , and perhaps he could play later. All through high school he   39  neither a practice nor a game, but   40   a bench-warmer all four years.
When the young man went to   41  , the coach kept him on the roster(候选名单)   42  he always put his heart and soul to every practice, and at same time,   43  the other members with the spirit they badly needed. But during his four years at college, he never   44  to play in a game,
In the last football match, the game was not going  45  . When the team was ten points  46  , the silent young man came to the coach and said “Coach, please let me  47  . Believe me.”  The coach pretended not to hear him . There was no  48  he wanted the worst player in this close playoff(决赛) game.
But the young man  49  , and finally the coach, feeling sorry for him,  50  . “All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Soon, the coach, the players and everyone in the   51  could not believe their eyes. This little   52  man, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not   53  him. He ran, he passed, blocked like a star.
The   54  was(were) soon tied, In the closing seconds of the game, he intercepted(拦截) a  55  and ran all the way for the winning touchdown(触地得分). The fans applauded(鼓掌) and his teammates raised him onto their shoulders. Such cheering he never heard.

A husband-and-wife team from California reached the Pacific Ocean after a 4,900- mile-cross
-country walk, becoming the first to backpack the American Discovery Trail in one continuous
walk. 
Marcia and Ken powers, of Pleasanton, started the travel across 13 states, through 14 national parks and 16 national forests on Feb. 27 from Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Nearly eight months later, the excited couple walked through water into the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes, a day ahead of time. 
“We are a little sad that a great adventure is over. It was a fantastic adventure. And now we go home and just do housework. It's really sad.” Marcia, who said she's in her 50s, and her 60-year-old husband traversed cities, desert, mountains and farmland before reaching the Pacifics alone with arms around each other' s backpacks.
They overcame deep snow in the East, a quicksand in Utah, close lightning strikes in the Mid- west and strong desert sandstorms in the West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off. But they enjoyed the French history of St. Louis' the beauty of the Colorado Rockies and the kindness of strangers they met along the way. They particularly remember two brothers ---- a
doctor and dentist-------who put them up in their homes, after terrible days, and a motorcyclist who gave them water after they failed to find any on Utah's lonely Wah Wah Desert.
“Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful people.” Marcia Powers said. “We got to meet people that we would never meet in our daily living at home. We got to touch it with our feet and hands and smell all its scents and hear its wildlife. It' s an amazing country,” she added.
【小题1】Which of the following about couple's walk is TRUE?