The gigantic dam of the multi-function water control facility would be finished nine months ahead of schedule, said an engineer who is in charge of the Three Gorges Project. He said by June, the workers would have built the half-done dam from the southern bank of the river to the height of 185 meters. The Three Gorges Project will be capable of controlling the floods on the Yangtze by then and generating more electricity. And the level of the water stored in the reservoir will rise from 135 meters at present to 156 meters.
Situated near the Xiling Gorge, the easternmost gorge of the Three Gorges on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam is designed to have a length of 2,309 meters and a height of 185 meters.
It will also have the functions for flood control, power generation and navigation. It will be built from northern and southern banks of the Yangtze, which has been troubled by floods for hundreds of years.
Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project, including the 185-meter-high dam and 26 generators on both banks of the Yangtze, is being built in three phases. The preparations and construction of the first phase were carried out between 1993 and 1997. The Yangtze was dammed at the Three Gorges area for the first time on November 8, 1997. 
The entire Three Gorges Project is expected to be completed in 2009 and by then, it will be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity every year.
63. The underlined word in the fourth paragraph might mean ____.
A. places   B. periods  C. gorges   D. dams  
64. According to the passage, we know _______.
the construction will be completed ahead of time 
the biggest function of the dam is used to control flood 
the Three Gorges Dam will be finished in ten years
the dam will be 156 meters tall when it is finished
65. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The Yangtze River was first dammed in the year 1993.
B. The water level in the reservoir will remain at 135 meters.
C. The Three Gorges Dam is on the easternmost part of the river. 
D. The first phase of this project is finished in 1997.

I shall never forget the night, a few years ago, when Marion J. Douglas was a student in one of my adult-education classes. He told us how tragedy had struck at his home, not once, but twice. The first time he had lost his five-year-old daughter. He and his wife thought they couldn’t bear that first loss; but, as he said, “Ten months later, God gave us another little girl and she died in five days.”
This double bereavement was almost too much to bear. “I couldn’t take it,” this father told us. “I couldn’t sleep, eat, rest or relax. My nerves were entirely shaken and my confidence gone.” At last he went to the doctors: one recommended sleeping pills and another recommended a trip, but neither helped. He said, “My body felt as if it was surrounded in a vice(大钳子), and the jaws of the vice were being drawn tighter and tighter.” The tension of grief(悲伤) --- if you have ever been paralyzed(使瘫痪) by sorrow, you know what the meant.
“But thank God, I had one child left --- a four-year-old son. He gave me the solution to the problem. One afternoon as I sat around feeling sorry for myself, he asked, ‘Daddy, will you build a boat for me?’ I was in no mood to build a boat; in fact, I was in no mood to do anything. But my son is a persistent fellow! I had to give in. Building that toy boat took me about three hours. By the time it was finished, I realized that those three hours spent building that boat were first hours of mental relaxation and peace that I had had in months! I realized that it is difficult to worry while you are busy doing something that requires planning and thinking. In my case, building the boat had knocked worry out of the ring. So I determined to keep busy.”
“The following night, I made a list of jobs that ought to be done. Scores of items needed to be repaired. Amazingly, I had made a list of 242 items that needed attention. During the last two years I have completed most of them. I am so busy now that I have no time for worry.”
No time for worry! That is exactly what Winston Churchill said when he was working eighteen hours a day at the height of the war. When he was asked if he worried about his huge responsibilities, he said, “I am too busy. I have no time for worry.”
【小题1】 The underlined word “bereavement” in the second paragraph refers to _________.

A.having lost a loved one
B.having lost a valuable article
C.having lost a profit-making business
D.having lost a well-paid job
【小题2】Marion felt his body as if it was caught in a vice because _________.
A.he couldn’t earn enough money to support his family
B.he was suffering from sleeplessness disease
C.he couldn’t get out of mental pressure
D.he felt tired of adult-education classes
【小题3】 Marion made a list of over 200 items that needed to be repaired because _________.
A.he hadn’t been able to spare time to mend them
B.he wanted to kill his free time by repairing them
C.the items had actually been broken and needed attention
D.repairing the items helped crowd worry out of his mind
【小题4】 At the end of the passage, the author wrote about Winston Churchill in order to ________.
A.prove that he followed Churchill’s example
B.support his student’s solution to his problem
C.show that he was successful in his career
D.make it clear how his conclusion was reached

I had the meanest mother in the world.While other kids ate candy for breakfast.I had to have cereal, eggs and toast.Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich.As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'.But at least I was not alone in my suffering.My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing.We had to wear clean clothes every day.Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace (耻辱) because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.
The worst is yet to come.We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning.So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law.She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us.Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing.My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks.None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout (辍学者).
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children.I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.
【小题1】From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____.

A.not generous at all
B.very cruel to her children
C.very mean with money matters
D.very strict with her children
【小题2】Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
A.Eating differently from other kids.
B.Letting mother know where they were.
C.Going to bed early and getting up early.
D.Wearing clean clothes made by mother.
【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that____.
A.the writer's family lived a miserable life
B.all the other kids studied better than the writer
C.Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law
D.the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies
【小题4】Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The writer is very thankful to her mother.
B.The writer has a deep hatred for her mother.
C.Mother practiced economy in running her home.
D.The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up.
【小题5】The passage was written in a way of  tone.
A.humorousB.hatefulC.ridiculousD.impatient

 

Humpback whales

Humpback whales are sometimes called performers of the ocean. This is because they can make impressive movements when they dive. The name “humpback”, which is the common name for this whale, refers to the typical curve shape the whale’s back forms as it dives.

   Sometimes the humpback will dive with a fantastic movement, known as a breach. During breaching the whale uses its powerful tail flukes to lift nearly two-thirds of its body out of the water in a giant leap. A breach might also include a sideways twist with fins stretched out like wings, as the whale reaches the height of the breach.

   A humpback whale breathes air at the surface of the water through two blowholes which are located near the top of the head. It blows a double stream of water that can rise up to 4 meters above the water.

   The humpback has a small dorsal fin located towards the tail flukes about two-thirds of the way down its back. Other distinguishing features include large pectoral fins, which may be up to a third of the body length, and unique black, and white spots on the underside of the tail flukes. These markings are like fingerprints: no two are the same.

   Humpback whales live in large groups. They communicate with each other through complex “songs”.

Quick Facts

Size:

14m~18m in length

30~50 tons in weight

Living environment:

Open ocean and shallow coastline waters

Migration:

From warm tropical (热带的) waters, where they breed, to cold polar waters, where they eat.

Diet:

Shellfish, plants and fish of small size

Hunting:

Sometimes in groups, in which several whales form a circle under the water, blowing bubbles that form a “net” around a school of fish. The fish are then forced up to the surface in a concentrated mass.

Current state:

Endangered: it is estimated that there are about 5000~7000 humpback whales worldwide.

 

1.According to Quick Facts, a humpback whale ______.

A. cannot survive in waters near the shore          B. doesn’t live in the same waters all the time

C. lives mainly on underwater plants            D. prefers to work alone when hunting food

2.To make a breach, a humpback whale must ______.

A. use its tail flukes to leap out of the water     B. twist its body sideways to jump high.

C. blow two streams of water               D. communicate with a group of humpbacks.

3.From the passage we can learn that a humpback whale ______.

A. has its unique markings on it tail flukes        B. has black and white fingerprints

C. gets its name from the way it hunts         D. is a great performer due to its songs

 

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