He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life graces our greeting cards and day-timers.

Fifty years after his death, his shock（乱蓬蓬的一堆）of white hair and hanging moustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton ,Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.

Around the world , universities and academies（研究院）are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s “miracle year” when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time ,light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.

Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more changes in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunications, lasers, televisions and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world.

He escaped Hitler’s Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism（法西斯主义）and racial prejudice. His FBI (美国联邦调查局)file ran 1,400 pages.

His letters expose a disorderly personal life ─ married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy.

The first paragraph implies that Einstein __________.

A. had the gift for politics and music

B. had run for president before he worked at his research

C. was an excellent violinist

D. was more a political leader of a musician than a thinker

When you think of Einstein, what typical appearance was formed in your mind?

A. Funny and humorous, with an air of a musician.

B. Wearing very wide trousers and a moustache, with an image of an actor.

C. Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache, with an image of thinking .

D. Black long hair and moustache, with his eyes deep set.

Why was 1905 called Einstein’s “miracle year”?

A. Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity.

B. Because he made important discoveries of space, time, light and matter.

C. Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity.

D. Because he wrote five important articles to help people understand space, time , light and matter better.

Which of the following is not true about Einstein according to the passage?

A. When he was absorbed in his research ,he didn’t care for his family.

B. He tried to amuse his family and friends in his spare time.

C. He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics.

D. His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields.

Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins.

Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called aquariums is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world.

By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums.

The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world’s largest fish.

Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits.

Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets.

1.Which aquarium opened again after its rebuilding ?

A. The Monterey Bay Aquarium.           B. The Adventure Aquarium.

C. The Georgia Aquarium.                    D. The first aquarium in London.

2.Which of the following is NOT mentioned to have kept fish as pets?

A. The ancient Sumerians.       B. The ancient Romans. C. The Chinese. D. The ancient Indians.

3.Which of the following is correct?

A. People were not interested in fish until the middle of the eighteen hundreds.       

B. The Moneterey Bay Aquarium is regarded as the best aquarium in America.

C. Plants, fish and other sea creatures could not survive together under sea.          

D. People have to change the water in a tank frequently for the fish to live there.

4. The passage is written mainly       .

A. to tell people the importance of keeping fish as pets

B. to explain why people want to visit aquariums

C. to let people know the development of the aquariums

D. to describe different aquariums

5.What does the underlined word “aquariums” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. Exhibition centres where people can watch and enjoy different species of fish.

B. Small boxes made of glass, where people keep fish in, usually at home.

C. Places which shows visitors the underwater life in the bay.

D. Places which provides the public with many chances to experience life under the sea.

Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins.
Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called aquariums is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world.
By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums.
The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world’s largest fish.
Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits.
Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets.
【小题1】Which aquarium opened again after its rebuilding ?

Aristotle was a Italian thinker.

           A       B  C    D

Despite the fact that it has never been seen almost everyone is familiar with the legendary unicorn(独角兽). Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times. The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn--- the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope. Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign. Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn.

According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely careful as it was very fierce and dangerous. A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this amazing animal without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn dashed angrily. Hopefully, the creature could then be caught when its horn was stuck in the tree.

When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the power to offer protection against person. It was believed that nobody could be harmed-by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn. Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king. In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold. What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino(犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature. A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino.

1.Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?

2.To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT ____.

3.The last paragraph is mainly about ____.