Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales
　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).
　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.
　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.
　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.
　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.
　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.
　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.
【小题1】What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

第三部分阅读理解 (共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读短文，从每题所给的四个选项 (A、B、C和D) 中，选出最佳选项.
A
Years of storms had taken their toll on the old windmill（风车）. Its wheel, rusted and fallen, lay silent in the lush bluegrass.
　　I hadn‘t walked across our old farm in fifteen years. Fifteen years ago，rain or shine, I used to walk this path each day to see Greta. She always made me smile, even after my sister and I had just had a big quarrel. I would help Greta with her chores. Then we would enjoy her delicious homemade chocolate cookies and ice cream. Being confined to a wheel chair didn‘t stop Greta from being a great cook.
　　Greta gave me two of the greatest gifts I‘ve ever received. First, she taught me how to read. She also taught me that when I forgave Sister for our quarrels, it meant I wouldn‘t keep feeling like a victim(受害者). Instead, I would feel sunny.
　　Mr. Dinking, the local banker, tried to foreclose on Greta‘s house and land after her husband passed away. Thanks to Pa and Uncle Johan, Greta got to keep everything. Pa said that it was the least he could do for someone talented enough to teach me to read!
　　Soon folks were coming from miles around to buy Greta‘s homemade cakes, pies, breads, cookies, cider, and ice cream. Greta even had me take a big apple pie to Mr. Dinking who became one of her best customers and friends. That‘s just what Greta was.  She could turn anyone into a friend!
　　Greta always said, "Dear, keep walking in sunshine!" No matter how terrible my day started, I always felt sunny walking home from Greta‘s house---even beneath the winter starlight.
　　I arrived at Greta‘s house today just after sunset. An ambulance had stopped a few feet from her door, its red lights flashing. When I ran into the old house, Greta recognized me right away.
　　She smiled at me with her unforgettable twinkling blue eyes. She was almost out of breath when she reached out and softly touched my arm. Her last words to me were "Dear, keep walking in sunshine!"
56. Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. What Greta taught me              B. Greta would never die
C. The past sunny days               D. Keep walking in sunshine
57. What can we know about Greta from the passage?
A. She was kind and forgiving         B. She was rich and generous
C. She was energetic and confidence    D. She was practical and helpful
58. The author used to go to see Greta every day mainly because _____.
A. Greta could treat the author with delicious food
B. Greta could give the author comfort
C. the author could learn how to read from Greta
D. the author could learn something valuable from Greta
59. What can we learn from the passage?
A. Greta lived a hard and lonely life.
B. Greta was loved and respected by all the people there.
C. Greta must be a relative of the author’s family.
D. The author had been out of touch with Greta for fifteen years.

He lost his arms in an accident that took his father’s life. Since then，he has had to depend on the __31__ of his younger brother.__32__ writing with his toes，he was completely unable to do anything in his life. But when the two brothers grew up，his younger brother __33__ to separate from him，living his own life，as many normal people do. So he was __34__ and didn’t know what to do.

A __35__ disaster befell (降临) a girl，too. One night her mother，who  __36__ from mental illness disappeared. So her father went out looking for her mother，__37__ her alone at home. She tried to prepare meals for her parents，__38__ to overturn the kerosene light (煤油灯) on the stove，__39__ in a fire which took her hands away.

Though her elder sister showed her __40__ to take care of her，she was determined to be completely __41__.At school，she always studied hard. Once she wrote the following in her composition: “I am __42__.Though I lost my arms，I still have legs; I am lucky.__43__ my wings are broken，my heart can still fly.”

One day，the boy and the girl were both invited to __44__ on a television interview program. The boy told the TV host about his uncertain __45__ at being left on his own.__46__，the girl was full of hope for her life. They both were __47__ to write something on a piece of paper with their toes. The boy wrote: My younger brother’s arms are my arms while the girl wrote: Broken wings，__48__ heart.

It is true that __49__ can strike at any time. But if you decide to be strong，the hardship will __50__ to be a fortune on which new hopes will arise.

Once there was an old farmer, with a horse which was almost as old as himself. He __16__ one morning with his young son, 17   the horse before it died. Father and son walked, 18 the farmer did not want the horse to be 19 . ?
They met two men on the road20 said: “Why are you walking, farmer? You have a horse. It's __21__to market.” The farmer knew that this was__22__, so he rode on the horse, __23__his son walked. ?
Then they met two old ladies. “__24__are you doing up there, farmer? Can't you__25__how tired your boy is?” __26__the farmer got down, and his son rode__27__. ?__28__, three old men stopped them. One said: “Why are you walking, farmer?__29__. It's too hot for an old man like you to walk today.” So the farmer got up　 30__his son, and they__31__. __32__, a young woman passed them. “Why aren't you walking?” she asked. “It isn't __33_ to market. Give your poor old horse a rest.”
So the farmer, and his son, got down__34__.
It is a fact that you cannot please__35__the people all the time.

It’s what he did _________ what he said that moved us.　 A. except for 　 B. but so

　 C. instead 　 D. rather than