The journey two divers made some time ago to the deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be studied. The two men went down seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean inside a small steel ball to find out if there are any ocean currents(水流) or signs of life.

　　 It was necessary to set out early, so that the ball would come to the surface in daylight, and be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The divers began preparations early in the morning and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.

　　 The divers felt as if they were going down steps as they passed through warm and cold layers (层) of water. In time the temperature dropped to the freezing point. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone telling how they felt. Then, at a depth of 3,000 feet, the telephone stopped working and they were quite cut off from the outside world. All went well until some four hours later at 30,000 feet, the men were frightened by a loud, cracking noise. Even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the ball touched the soft ocean floor raising a big cloud of "dust" made up of small dead sea creatures. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite untroubled by the great water pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the faint but clear voices of the divers were heard on the mother ship seven miles away. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving three hours later, cold and wet through, but none was worse for their experience.

1. The purpose of the divers' journey to the deepest point on the earth was to find

A. if there are water currents, and life in the great depths

B. if people can stand the severe cold in the great depths

C. if there are steps in the great depths

D. if the telephone works well in the great depths

2. The divers set out early in the morning so that 　　　　　　　 .

　 A. they could return to the surface during the day

　 B. they could see at the bottom of the ocean

　 C. they could avoid the cold at night　 D. they could stay long at the bottom

3. As the divers went down to the ocean floor, the telephone 　　　　　　 .

A. kept working all the time

B. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again after they reached the bottom

C. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again at 30,000 feet

D. stopped working at a depth of 3,000 feet and began working again when they returned to the same depth

4. On the ocean floor, the divers found that 　　　　　　 .

A. there was no life but some small dead sea creatures

B. fish were swimming as freely as they do near the surface

C. fish were not swimming freely in the dark water

D. fish were not swimming freely under the high water pressure

 

Scientists used to explore(探测)on the surface of the ocean. Now they are exploring below the surface， too. They want to know about ocean water and the plant and animal life deep in the ocean.

In 1934 the scientist William Beebe dived 3 000 feet below the surface in a hollow steel ball. In 1935 August Piccard dived 10 330 feet. In 1960 his son Jean dived to a depth of 35 800 feet.

All these early dives were deep. But the divers could not stay down for very long. They had to come back up to the surface after a few seconds. Scientists needed to stay down longer to study life below surface. Gradually they succeeded.Cousteau，a Frenchman，was able to keep men down to a depth of 36 feet for one month and to a depth of 90 feet for a week.

Now scientists are developing even better equipment. With this new equipment，men can stay below the surface for days or even weeks. In 1962 Cousteau set up a research station 35 feet below the surface. Then，in 1964，he set up another station on the ocean floor of the Red Sea.This was the first undersea station to operate without help from the surface.

Many countries are now studying undersea living. The former Soviet Union has an undersea laboratory in the Crimean Sea.The United States has a laboratory 50 feet down on the ocean floor off the Virgin Islands. In 1970 five men lived there for two weeks. Then a team of five women scientists stayed in the laboratory. Next came other teams of men. All were there to explore the ocean depths and to make plans for the use of its resources. Scientists hope to find enough mineral，vegetable，and animal wealth there to provide food for the entire world.

1.In order to　　　　 ，scientists are exploring below the surface of the ocean.

A.know about the ocean water deep in the ocean

B.stay down longer to study life of the plant and animal below the surface

C.know about the plant and animal life deep in the ocean

D.both A and C

2.Who made the deepest dive?

A.William Beebe.　　　　　　　　　　 B.August Piccard.

C.Jean Piccard.　　　　　　　　　　　 D.Cousteau.

3.Who set up the first undersea station?

A.A Frenchman.　　　　　　 　　　　　 B.An American.

C.A Russian. 　　　　　　　　　　　　 D.The passage made no mention.

4.Which of the following statements is true?

A.The early divers could not stay down for very long.

B.Up to now only five women scientists have stayed in the undersea laboratory.

C.The purpose of setting up the undersea laboratories is to make plans for the use of the resources in the ocean.

D.None of the above is true.

5.The author wants to tell us　　　　 .

A.that scientists try to explore the ocean depths

B.that scientists try to make use of resources in the ocean

C.about the secret of the plant and animal life in the ocean

D.both A and B

 

阅读理解

　　What do you know about the sea? You may have seen it. Some of us have swum or bathed in it. It looks beautiful on a fine sunny day and it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? Of course, the sea is very large. In the world there is more sea than land. The sea covers three quarters of the earth. The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere, some parts of it are very great. At one spot, near Japan the sea is nearly 11 kilometres deep! Just think of it, the highest mountain in the world is only about 9 kilometres high! If you have swum in the sea, you know that the water is salty. Rivers carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are more salty than other parts. Do you know the Dead Sea in Arabia? It is very salty. Swimmers cannot sink in it! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea. It is a strange sea. In most parts of the sea, there are a lot of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. No sunlight can reach the depth of the sea. So it is completely dark. Strange fishes live there. Some are blind. Some have their own lights. Some have great jaws. With their great jaws, they swallow fish larger than themselves. The sea can be very cold. Deep sea divers know this well. At the top the water may be warm. They as the divers go down, the sea becomes colder and colder.

　　Many scientists are now making a study of animal and plant life in the sea. They hope to find new resources for mankind.

1．Which of the following statements is NOT true?

[　　]

A．Land covers one fourth of the area of the earth.

B．The depths of the sea are different in different places.

C．The depth of a sea at one spot near Japan is nearly the height of the highest mountain.

D．The salt in the sea mainly comes from the land.

2．The Dead Sea is lifeless because ________.

[　　]

A．the water in it is too cold

B．the water in it is too salty for anything to grow

C．the water in it never flows

D．no sunlight can reach the bottom of the lake

3．We can see the underlined word rough in this passage means ________.

[　　]

4．What does the writer intend to tell us in the last paragraph?

[　　]

A．The necessity(必要性)of the study of the sea.

B．The purpose of man's further study of the sea.

C．Man's limited knowledge of the sea.

D．The importance of new resources for man.

Imagine a mass of floating waste is two times the size of the state of Texas. Texas has a land area of more than 678 000 square kilometers. So it might be difficult to imagine anything twice as big.

　 All together, this mass of waste flowing in the North Pacific Ocean is known as the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch. It weighs about 3 500 000 tons. The waste includes bags，bottles and containers—plastic products of all kinds.

　 The eastern part of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is about l 600 kilometers west of California. The western part is west of the Hawaiian Islands and east of Japan. The area has been described as a kind of oceanic desert，with light winds and slow moving water currents. The water moves so slow that garbage from all over the world collects there.

　 In recent years，there have been growing concerns about the floating garbage and its effect on sea creatures and human health. Scientists say thousands of animals get trapped in the floating waste，resulting in death or injury. Even more die from a lack of food or water after swallowing pieces of plastic. The trash can also make animals feel full，lessening their desire to eat or drink.

　 The floating garbage also can have harmful effects on people. There is an increased threat of infection of disease from polluted waste，and from eating fish that swallowed waste. Divers can also get trapped in the plastic.

　 Its existence first gained public attention in l997. That was when racing boat captain and oceanographer Charles Moore and his crew sailed into the garbage while returning from a racing event. Five years earlier，another oceanographer learned of the trash after a shipment of rubber duckies got lost at sea. Many of those toys are now part of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch.

　 In August，2009，a team from the University of California，San Diego became the

latest group to travel to it. They were shocked by the amount of waste they saw. They gathered hundreds of sea creatures and water samples to measure the garbage patch’s effect on ocean environment.

63. How did the writer introduce the topic of the passage?

　 A. By giving an example.　　　

B. By listing the facts.

　 C. By telling a story.　　　　　

D. By giving a comparison.

64. What do we know about the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?

　 A. It is made up of various kinds of plastic products.

　 B. It is a solid mass of floating waste materials.

　 C. It lies l60 000 kilometers east of California.

　 D. It is described as a kind of oceanic desert.

65. Why do people pay attention to the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?

　 A. Because it may prevent the flow of ocean water.

　 B. Because the polluted plastic articles will move up the food chain.

　 C. Because it may be from an island in the pacific.

　 D. Because ships may be trapped in the floating waste.

66. The purpose of writing this passage is to____________.

　 A. warn people of the danger to travel in the pacific

　 B. analyze what caused the waste patch in the pacific

　 C. give advice on how to recycle waste in the ocean

D. introduce the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch

完形填空

　　The sea is also very big. Look at a map of the world. There is more sea than land. The sea covers 1 of the world.

　　The sea is also very 2 in some places. There is one spot near Japan, where the sea is nearly eleven 3 deep. The highest mountain in the world is about 4 kilometers high. If that mountain 5 into the sea at that place, there 6 two kilometers of water above it.

　　If you 7 in the sea, you know that the sea water is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, 8 flow into the sea, carry salt from the land into the sea, 9 the Dead Sea, which is very salty. 10 it is very salty, swimmers can't sink! Fish can not live in the Dead Sea.

　　In 11 parts of the sea, there are plenty of fish and plants. Some live near the top of sea; 12 live deep down. There are also millions of tin living things that float in the sea. These 13 things are very small. It is hard to see them. Many fish live 14 eating them.

　　The sea can be very 15 . Divers, 16 dive deep down in the sea, know this. The top of the water may be warm. When the diver goes 17 , the sea becomes colder and colder.

　　Another thing happens, when the diver goes 18 , the water above presses 19 on him. It squeezes(压榨) him. Then the diver has to wear clothes 20 metal.

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