The best swimmers tend to be tall and thin with long arms, long legs, long feet, and long hands. The size of their hands gives them great “water grasp”, and only a very small hand movement keeps them afloat.

They also have great strength, endurance, insulation(隔绝) against heat loss while in water below body temperature, thus better energy conservation, low resistance(阻力) when in the water, and swimming stroke mechanics(动作技巧).

Part of the reason why some people are better swimmers than others has to do with body density. The average person’s body density is slightly less than that of water. Muscle has greater density than fat. Therefore, very muscular people tend to be poor at staying afloat. Bone has greater density than fat. Therefore, very skinny people tend to be poor at staying afloat.

Good buoyancy(浮力) is not necessarily the most important factor in good swimming, but it certainly helps. For example, great competitive swimmers—tall, thin, and usually more muscular than average—tend to have greater body density than average and less buoyancy. Many would not float very well if they remained motionless in the water. Their much greater “water grasp” makes up for it. 

The average woman contains a higher proportion(比例) of fat in her body than the average man, and the average man contains a higher proportion of muscle in his body than the average woman. Therefore, in general, women are better floaters than men. Compared with other competitive sports, the performance of women is closer to that of men in competitive swimming.

66. The underlined word “afloat” in the first paragraph might most probably mean “      ”.

     A. keeping quiet       B. swimming faster         C. floating on water    D. never drowning

67. What can we learn from the passage about body density?

     A. Higher body density reduces swimming ability.

     B. A person’s body density decides one’s swimming ability.

     C. Fat people can always swim faster than thin people.

     D. People with a lower proportion of muscle can hardly swim.

68. “Buoyancy” is important because       .

     A. it helps people to be safer in water                   B. it can help people to swim better

     C. it can never be trained to get better                   D. it increases swimming length

69. How is the whole passage organized?

     A. By reasoning and explaining.                           B. By argument and debate.

     C. By explaining one part after another.                 D. By examples and comments.

70. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

     A. How to be a good swimmer                            B. Details about swimming

C. Facts about swimming                              D. Better ways, better swimmers

We know the famous ones — the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells— but what about the less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper(雨刮器)？Shouldn’ t we know who they are?
Joan McLean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’ s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”， however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why”and“how”questions. According to McLean，“When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more motivated to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’ s statement.“If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’ s invention，”said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major，“I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so constructive.” Lee is currently negotiating to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson came up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy，but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’ t be a built-in device for cleaning the window. Still wondering about this when she returned home to Birmingham，Alabama. Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever(操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the outside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’ s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’ s traffic light. It’ s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’ s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?

1. 1.

   By mentioning “traffic light”and “windshield wiper”， the author indicates that countless inventions are________.

   1. A.
      beneficial, because their inventors are famous
   2. B.
      beneficial, though their inventors are less famous
   3. C.
      not useful, because their inventors are less famous
   4. D.
      not useful, though their inventors are famous
2. 2.

   Professor Joan McLean’ s course aims to________.

   1. A.
      add colour and variety to students’ campus life
   2. B.
      inform students of the windshield wiper’ s invention
   3. C.
      carry out the requirements by Mountain University
   4. D.
      prepare students to try their own inventions
3. 3.

   Tommy Lee’ s invention of the unbreakable umbrella was________.

   1. A.
      not eventually accepted by the umbrella producer
   2. B.
      inspired by the story behind the windshield wiper
   3. C.
      due to his dream of being caught in a rainstorm
   4. D.
      not related to Professor Joan McLean’ s lectures
4. 4.

   Which of the following can best serve as the title of this passage?

   1. A.
      How to Help Students to Sell Their Inventions to Producers?
   2. B.
      How to Design a Built-in Device for Cleaning the Window?
   3. C.
      Shouldn’ t We Know Who Invented the Windshield Wiper?
   4. D.
      Shouldn’ t We Develop Invention Courses in Universities?

The old shopkeeper led me through to the back of the shop．The room was filled with boxes and photographs of people dressed in old-fashioned clothes, holding packages in their hands．

  “Who are these people?” I asked．

  “Satisfied customers,” answered young Mr．Hopkins．“We have a very wide choice of items for sale．Whenever I serve a new customer, I always take their picture．” Mr．Hopkins pointed to an ancient camera standing next to one wall．“Now, how can I serve you?” he added．

  By this time, I had started to trust Mr．Hopkins and had begun to appreciate the lovely items on sale．I needed to buy Christmas presents for my family and friends, and this seemed to be the perfect place to purchase them．I spent a very pleasant hour being shown the commodities in Mr．Hopkins’shop．No matter what I asked for, Mr．Hopkins found it for me．Finally, I bought an antique jewelry box, a pair of riding boots, a leather-bound edition of the Complete Works of Mark Twain, and a sewing machine．

  I was very excited that I had found such a good little shop．I promised Mr．Hopkins that I would come back soon．“I will tell all my friends about your lovely place,” I told the shopkeeper．

  “Please do not do that, sir”, said Mr．Hopkins．“This is a special place for special people．You must keep this shop a secret．” Then he took my photograph, and handed me the picture straight away．

  “That was quick!” I exclaimed．I looked at the photograph．In the picture I looked proud and excited holding the presents I had bought in Mr．Hopkins’ dusty shop．

  On Christmas Day, my friends and relatives were delighted with the presents I had bought for them．For weeks, my brother begged me to show him where to find this wonderful little shop．I finally agreed to take him to London to show him．

  When we arrived in London, we walked along Oxford Street, past the department store and found．．．nothing．The little shop was no longer there．In its place was an empty space being used as a car park．I checked the area again．There was the music shop, and there was the department store．In between should have been Hopkins and Son, but it wasn’t there．

  As I was staring at the place where the shop should have been, an old policeman came along．“Are you looking for something sir?” he asked．

  I turned and said “I am looking for a little shop called Hopkins and Son．I thought it was here．”

  “Oh yes,” said the policeman．“There was a shop here once called Hopkins and Son．It sold all sorts of things, but it was knocked down over 30 years ago．”

  I looked again at the place where the shop had been．Then I reached into my pocket and took out the photograph that Mr．Hopkins had taken of me holding my presents in the little shop．

  “How strange” I exclaimed．

36．How did the writer like the shop?

       A．He found it a modern big shop．

       B．He thought it a wonderful shop for all Christmas presents．

       C．He found it a dusty, old but friendly and lovely little shop．

       D．He thought it a good shop with an ancient camera．

37．Which of the following is true about the shop?

       A．It was knocked down a few weeks ago．

       B．It was a well-known little shop in London．

       C．It was a special shop selling special presents．

       D．It was between a music shop and a department store．

38．The word “the commodities’ in the 4th paragraph means _____．

       A．the writer’s works                 B．the goods in the shop

       C．Mr．Hopkins’ photographs    D．Some presents left by other customers

39．Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

       A．Christmas Shopping                     B．Hopkins and His Son

       C．The Strange Little Shop        D．The Strange Experience