Reading Comprehension

　　In a little-known part of the counter-terrorism world, one of the most effective detection systems is a 600-pound animal that works for about 20 pounds of fish a day．

　　Since the 1960s, the United States and a handful of other countries have trained dolphins and sea lions to detect sea mines and swimmers, to recover inert torpedoes and to test objects used in Naval exercises．

　　Program officials estimate that the sea lions in the Marine Mammal Program have recovered millions of dollars of U．S．Naval torpedoes and instrumentation dropped on the sea floor．

　　The U．S．Navy kept its Marine Mammal Program a secret until the 1990s, and this spring CNN became one of only a handful of media outlets to see firsthand how the program works．

　　The program has trained about 75 Pacific bottlenose dolphins, with natural biosonar(生物声纳)that tracks better than any manmade device; and 35 California sea lions, with superb underwater eyesight．

　　Not only do these trained marine mammals track and retrieve millions of dollars in U．S．military equipment, they are also helping to save lives．

　　The Navy won't disclose whether the dolphins and sea lions have effectively intercepted terrorists attempting to do harm to any U．S．facilities．

　　"Either way, it serves as a deterrent effect．" says Christian Harris, operations supervisor for the program．The mammals can be deployed via C-130 cargo aircraft to perform their missions anywhere in the world within 72 hours．They have been used in exercises from Alaska to Hawaii, operating in great temperature and environmental ranges．They also have the capability to operate off vessels．

　　Dolphins most recently were deployed in the Iraq war, performing mine detection and clearance operations in the Persian Gulf to ensure safe passage for humanitarian ships delivering aid．Some of these Iraq war "veterans" are now back home, tasked with a new mission：guarding nuclear submarines in their homeports of Bremerton, Washington, and Groton, Connecticut．

完形填空

　　Someone said that encouragement is simply reminding a person of the “shoulders” he's standing on, the heritage he's been given．That's what happened 　　1　　 a young man, the son of a(n)　　2　　 baseball player, was chosen by one of the minor league teams．Hard as he tried, his first season was 　　3　　, and by midseason he expected to be removed 　　4　　 day．The coaches were 　　5　　 by his failure because he possessed all the characteristics of a superb(杰出的)athlete, but he seemed to have become 　　6　　 from his potential．

　　His 　　7　　 seemed darkest one day when he had already struck out his first time at bat．Then he stepped up to the batter's box again and quickly ran up two strikes．The catcher called a 　　8　　 and ran for a conference to discuss strategies．While they were busy, the 　　9　　, standing behind him, spoke casually to the boy．

　　Then play 　　10　　, the next pitch was thrown and the young man knocked it out of the park．That was the turning 　　11　　．From then on, he played the game with a new confidence and power that quickly 　　12　　 the attention of the parent team, and he was called 　　13　　 to the majors．

　　On the day he was leaving for the city, one of his coaches asked him what had caused such a turnaround．The young man replied it was the 　　14　　 remark the judge had 　　15　　 that day when his baseball career had seemed 　　16　　．

　　“He told me I reminded him of all the times he had stood 　　17　　 my dad in the batter's box,” the boy explained．“He said I was holding the bat just the way Dad had held it．　　18　　 he told me, ‘I can see his genes in you; you have your father's 　　19　　．After that, whenever I swung the bat, I just 　　20　　 I was using Dad's arms instead of my own．”