APRIL 5 marks the 100^th anniversary(周年纪念日)of the sinking(下沉)of the Titanic. In 1997, the movie Titanic was a huge hit all around the world. Now, the 3-D version of the movie will come to Chinese theaters on April 10.
As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the Titanic struck an iceberg(冰山) and sank on its first voyage in 1912, killing 1,517 people. A century after the accident, scientists have found something new to blame(负责任) for the sinking: the moon. Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist, led a team of astronomers(天文学家) to examine the moon’s role, according to Reuters.
Normally, icebergs stay in place and cannot move until they melt enough or a high tide(潮汐) frees them. A single iceberg can become stuck many times on its journey southward. The process can take several years.
According to Olson, a hundred years ago the moon made its closest approach to the Earth in more than 1,400 years. This caused the moon to have a much stronger pull on the Earth’s oceans than usual, which created a super-high tide. The tide pushed icebergs from shallow waters off the coasts of Canada’s provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador, into the Titanic’s way.
“Of course, the final cause of the accident was that the ship struck an iceberg,” Olson told Reuters. “It went full speed into a region with icebergs, but the lunar connection(月亮的联系) may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic.”
The research team will publish their research in the April issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.
根据短文内容，选最佳择答案,并在答题卡上按要求作答。
【小题1】 How many people lost their lives in this accident?

A．Over 2,000 people.	B．About 100 people.
C．More than 1,500 people.	D．We don’t know.

【小题2】 The underlined word “voyage” in the second paragraph really means ______.

A．航行

B．飞行

C．划船

D．游泳

【小题3】 Which of the following about icebergs is TRUE?

A．Icebergs move only when the tide frees them.

B．An iceberg can stop for some time during its travel.

C．An iceberg will move as soon as its melts.

D．It takes an iceberg several months to leave its place.

【小题4】 Which of the following played a role in the sinking of the Titanic?
a. the moon                 b. the tides             c. too many passengers 
d. the high speed of the ship    e. going the wrong way   f. the iceberg 

A．a,b,c,f

B．a,c,d,e

C．a,b,d,f

D．a,c,e,f

【小题5】. What is the article mainly about?

A．The main cause of the Titanic’s sinking.

B．The 100th anniversary of the Titanic.

C．The moon’s great influence on the Earth’s tides.

D．The moon’s role in the sinking of the Titanic.

 

It’s not easy to be an astronaut’s son．Everybody expects you to be special or perfect. I often wonder how my father ever had a son like me. I mean he’s so special and so good at everything he does. Even in middle school he was class president and captain of the football team.

Well，to be honest，I often dream about being some kind of hero or doing something special—like saving a child from a burning building or discovering a new star. I was daydreaming at school one morning when my teacher said there would be a Father’s Day writing competition for the whole schoo1. “I hope we have a winner right here in my class.”

When I got home，I started to think about what to write. My father is an astronaut. No, I wouldn’t start like that．That was the way others saw him．How did I see my father? Hmm.

I saw him sitting with me in the dark when I had a terrible dream．I remembered how he hugged me for hours when my dog Spotty was killed by a car．Yes，these were the things I was going to write．To me，he wasn’t just a world—famous astronaut．He was my dad．

My parents and I went to school on Thursday night. There were so many people in the big hall! My dad looked at me, and I shrugged(耸肩).

The third prize was announced and it was not me. I was relieved(释然)and disappointed at the same time. The second prize was announced. It was me.

I went up to the stage and read what I had written，“My father’s son”. When I finished, the people stood up and cheered. I saw my father blowing his nose. Tears were running down my mother's face.  Dad cleared his throat and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, this is the proudest moment of my life.’’

    It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I’ll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but it was enough just to be my father’s son.

 根据短文内容，选最佳择答案,并在答题卡上按要求作答。

1.The writer felt it        to be the son of a famous person．

    A．1ucky    B．natural    C．hard         D．pleasant

2.In order to      the writer would like to save a child from a burning building．

    A．become an astronaut            B．become a class president

    C．become a school team captain     D．become a great hero

3.．What did the boy probably write in his composition?

    A．A lot of special things he had done．

    B．The story of his father as an astronaut．

    C．The unforgettable time he spent with his father．

    D．The experiences his father had in middle school．

4.．The writer felt proud when he           ．

    A．got a prize in a writing competition           B．won a Nobel Prize

    C．saved a child from a burning building         D．discovered a new star

5.What is the best title for the passage?

    A．My daydream.                        B．My father’s son.

    C．My famous father.                    D．My happy family.

 

Now satellites(卫星)are helping to forecast the weather. They are in space and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere(大气), because this is where the weather forms(形成). They send these pictures to the weather station. So meteorologists(气象专家)can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.

Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare(比较)them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours .This may mean the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.

So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for 3 or 5 days. Soon, perhaps , they may forecast the weather for a week or more ahead(提前)

1.Satellites travel__________.

A．in space	B．in the atmosphere
C．above the ground	D．above space

2.Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because___________.

A．the weather satellites can do it easily

B．clouds form there

C．the weather forms there

D．the pictures can forecast the weather

3.Meteorologists forecast the weather________.

A．when they have received satellite pictures

B．after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

C．before they receive satellite pictures

D．while they study satellite pictures

4.Maybe we’ll soon be able to forecast the weather for _______.

A．one day

B．two days

C．five days

D．seven days or even longer

5.The main idea of this passage is that satellite is now used in______.

A．taking pictures of the atmosphere

B．receiving pictures of the atmosphere

C．doing other work in many ways

D．weather forecasting

 

Today is Sunday, and it is a fine day. Mary and her classmates want to fly a kite(放风筝) in the People’s Park. Mary gets up at 7:30 in the morning, and she meets her classmates at the school gate at eight o’clock. Because it’s not very far from their school to the park,they walk there. From their school, they walk down the Sixth Avenue , and turn right at People’s Bank. Then they pass a library, a bookshop and a hotel. When they see a big market(市场)，they turn left into Xingfu Road. Then they see the park on their right.

1.根据Today is Sunday, and it is a fine day.描述，可知今天天气不错。故选D，晴朗的。

2.根据they walk there.描述，可知他们步行去那儿。故选C，步行。

3.根据and turn right at People’s Bank.描述，可知选B。

4.We can know from the article(文章) that Sunday is _____.

A．snowy            B．Rainy             C．windy            D．sunny

5.How do they go there?

A．By bike           B．By bus            C．On foot           D．By taxi

6.Where do they turn right?

A．At China Bank                          B．At People’s Bank

C．At a big market                         D．At a hotel

 

Tom and Fred are talking about the year 2020．"What will our world be like in the year 2020?""I don’t know."says Fred．"What do you think?""Well, no one knows, but It’s interesting to guess.""In the year 2020 everyone will carry a pocket computer. The computer will give people the answers to all their problems. We shall all have telephones in our pockets, too, and we’ll be able to talk to our friends all over the world. Perhaps we’ll be able to see them at the same time.""A lot of people will live and work under the sea. Perhaps there will be big towns, factories and farms under the sea, too.""Machines will do most of the work, and so people will have more holidays, perhaps they’ll work only two or three days a week. They’ll be able to fly to the moon by spaceship and spend their holidays there.""I’m looking forward(期待) to the year 2020. I hope to go to the moon!""And I hope I’ll be able to live under the sea."says Fred."Won’t that be very interesting? Just like a fish!"
【小题1】根据Tom and Fred are talking about the year 2020．及下文描述,可知他们谈论的是将来的生活,故选D
【小题2】根据"Machines will do most of the work,可知选A
【小题3】根据""I’m looking forward(期待) to the year 2020. I hope to go to the moon!"描述,可知选C
【小题4】根据"And I hope I’ll be able to live under the sea."says Fred."Won’t that be very interesting? Just like a fish!"可知选B
【小题5】D
【小题6】Tom and Fred talked about          ．

A．their school life

B．some interesting news

C．their life in the past

D．their life in the future

【小题7】Machines will          ．

A．do most of the work instead of people

B．do some of the work instead of people

C．do as much work as people

D．do as 1ittle work as people

【小题8】From their talk, we know that          ．

A．only Fred hopes to fly to the moon

B．both of them hope to fly to the moon

C．one of them hopes to fly to the moon

D．neither of them hopes to fly to the moon

【小题9】Fred said          ．

A．he liked fish very much

B．he would like to live under the sea like a fish

C．he would go fishing under the sea

D．he would spend a few days on the moon

【小题10】Which of the following statements is Not mentioned?

A．People will be able to fly to the moon in a spaceship．

B．People will have more holidays．

C．Many people will live and work under the sea．

D．All the factories and farms will be built under the sea．