Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm. How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof!

　　 What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.

　　When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners, collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people.

　　Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur quite frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down.” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky.

　　56. What is this passage about?

　　A. A sad story. 　　　　　　　　　　　　B. A rain of fish.

　　C. Australia’s northern part.　　　　　D. The damage done by floods.

　　57. Fish-falls occur in Australia_________ .

　　A. quite often 　　　　　　B. on large farms

　　C. only in winter　　　　　D. when the air is calm

　　58. It is a known fact that ________.

　　A. one should watch where one steps

　　B. Bill Tapp is a scientist who studies farming

　　C. the natural world can never create waterfalls that fall upward

　　D. the seasons in the southern part are different from those in the northern part

　　59. The word “infinite” is closest in meaning to _________.

　　A. easy 　　　B. difficult 　　　C. countless 　　　D. dangerous

It was the last day of July and the long hot summer was drawing to a close As for me．1 was out of spirits，and，if the truth must be told, out of money as well，During the past year I had not managed my finances as carefully as usual；and 1 was now limited to spending the autumn economically between my mother’s cottage at Hampstead and my own in town.

? My father had been dead for some years，and my sister and 1 were the sole survivors of a family of five children. My father was a drawing-master before me He had been highly successful in his profession and my mother and sister were left economically independent after his death.

??? The view of London below me had sunk into the black shadow of the cloudy night, when I stood before the gate of my mother’s cottage I had hardly rung the bell．When the house door was opened violently．My worthy Italian friend，Professor Pesca，appeared in the servant’s place，and rushed out joyously to receive me．

??? I had first become acquainted(熟悉)with my Italian friend at certain great houses，where he taught Italian and I taught drawing What I then knew of the history of his life was that he had left Italy for political reasons and that he had been respectably established for many years in London as a teacher of languages It once happened that I saved him from certain death by drowning while we

were swimming in the sea at Brighton Afterwards he overwhelmed(淹没)me with the wildest expressions of affection and exclaimed passionately, that he would hold his life at my disposal from then on, and declared that he should never be happy again until he had had the opportunity of proving his gratitude．Little did I think that the occasion to serve me was soon to come．

? Pesca dragged me in by both hands into the parlor, where my mother sat by the open window, laughing and fanning herself．Pesca was one of her especial favorites，and his wildest strange acts were always pardonable in her eyes．

? “Now, my good dears．”began Pesca．“listen to me The time has come I recite my good news．I speak at last…'Hear, hear!”said my mother, humoring the joke“I go back into my life，and I address myself to the noblest of men，who found me dead at the bottom of the sea，and who pulled me up to the top. What did I say when l got into my own life and my own clothes again? I said that my life belonged to my dear friend，Walter, for the rest of my days Now,”cried the enthusiastic little mall at the top of his voice．“happiness bursts out of me at every pore of my skin．For I have found a job for you”

1.The first two paragraphs of the passage serve as an introduction to——

A. the financial situation the writer then faced?

B. the season that the story was set in

C. the family members of the writer????????

D. the successful profession of the writer’s father

2.The underlined word‘‘sole’’in the second paragraph probably means‘‘????????? ”

A．main??? ????? B. only??? ????? C. lucky ??????? D. possible

3.It can be learned from the passage that Pesca ??????????

A. used to be a politician??? ???????

B. was a successful drawing-master

C. was quite close to the mother ????

D. wanted to give the writer some money in return

4.According to the last paragraph，Pesca was more than happy because ?????????? ?????

A. he went back into his life????????

B . he met his dear friend again

C. his friend ever saved his life?????

D. he had done something good for his friend

I like _______ in the autumn when the weather is clear and bright.

A. this         B. that       C. it       D. one.

I like _______ in the autumn when the weather is clear and bright.

A. this               B. that                 C.it      D. one

Alex London Research Laboratory (ALRL) is part of Alex Co., Ltd., a major Australian medicine-making company. Opened in 1992, ALRL specialises in the development of new medicines for the treatment of heart diseases．
A position is now open for a Research Operations Manager(ROM) to support our growing research team at the new laboratories in Hatfield，due to open in the autumn of 2010．
Reporting to the Director，you will help set up and run the technical and scientific support services of our new laboratories now under construction．You will be expected to provide expert knowledge about and be in charge of all areas of ALRL’S Health and Safety，and to communicate (沟通)with support employees at ALRL’S laboratories based at University College London．Working closely with scientists and other operations and technical employees，you will manage a small number of research support employees providing services to help with the research activities to be carried out at the new laboratories．
Candidates(申请人) will have experience of both management and research support／technical services．Knowledge of research operations and excellent communication skills are necessary. Education to degree level is also desirable．
If you are interested in this position，please send your CV(简历)to Alex London Research
Laboratory，University College London，Hatfield，London，W1E 6B7 or by email to ALRL@alex.co.uk．
For more Information．please visit www.alex.co.uk．
1．What can be learnt about the new laboratories from the text?
A．They have not yet been set up．
B．They are in Hatfield，Australia． 
C．They belong to University College London．
D．They are new workplaces for Australian researchers only．
2．What are the duties of a ROM，according to the text?
a．to carry out research activities  
b．to be in charge of ALRL’s H ealth and Safety
c．to help run the technical and scientific support services
d．to manage a small number of research support employees
A．a，b，c．    B．a，b，d．   C．b，c，d．    D．a，c，d．
3．What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?
A．The technical skills of a would—be ROM．
B．The practical experience of a would—be ROM．
C．The personal information of a would—be ROM．
D．The necessary requirements for a would—be ROM．
4．What is the purpose of the text?
A．To describe the job of a ROM．
B．To provide information about ALRL．
C．To announce an open position at ALRL．
D．To make known the opening of the new laboratories．