Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄) was swimming toward the shore.

His father working in the yard saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.

Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U – turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug – of – war (拔河) between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his fresh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy asked if he would show his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my dad wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with that boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because someone has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, someone has been there holding on to you.

If you have the scars of someone’s love on your arms, be very, very grateful. Someone in your life did not and will not ever let you go.

Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they got them.

1. Which of the following is the most closely related to the underlined word “passionate”?

    A. determined   B. anxious   C. frightened   D. courageous

2.When the boy told the newspaper reporter about the scars on his arms, he felt     .

    A. painful and fearful   B. regretful and panic

    C. proud and grateful   D. excited and thankful

3.In the story the writer intends to tell us that     .

    A. scars always remind people of their past experiences

    B. wounds in the mind are more painful than those in the body

    C. a painful past always leaves scars on a person’s mind

    D. scars do not necessarily mean pain at all times

4.Which of the following viewpoints will the writer most probably agree with?

    A. Be grateful to a painful past, for you can always learn something from it.

        B. Other people’s criticism or blame may hurt you, but if it is for your own good, you should take it thankfully.

        C. The swimming hole of life is filled with danger, but you don’t need to be too serious about it as someone will never let you go.

   D. If someone hurts you, be grateful to them, for they mean no harm

Australia is famous for its beautiful beaches. And Australian people love swimming and going to the beach. But it wasn't always that way.

Different Climate, Different habits

When Europeans first invaded Australia, the only people here who were good at swimming were the Aboriginal people. The Europeans came from climates where it was too cold to swim. Also some people worried that they would get sick if they wet their whole body.

However the warm climate of Australia soon changed their attitude to swimming. At first, only men swam. They swam naked - there were no women to see them.

Cover up!

By the 1880’s and 90’s visiting the beach was very fashionable and a lot of people went there, especially in warm weather. They wore everyday street clothes - much more than people wear at the beach today.

In those days, people believed they should cover most of their body so it would not be seen by the opposite sex. Special bathing costumes were designed for women. These costumes used a lot of cloth and were very heavy when wet, making it difficult to swim.

Laws Made and Laws Changed

The government decided to stop men swimming naked．It passed a law which forbade bathing between 6am and 7pm. Many people objected to this law and wrote letters to the government asking it to change the laws. In 1903, the laws changed; people could swim in the daytime, but they had to wear neck-to-knee costumes.

The Shrinking Costume

As time passed, swimming costumes became smaller and more convenient.

At first men and women were covered from neck to knee. Then the arms became bare. Then more of the legs were uncovered．Each new change was regarded by many as shocking and rude and people wrote letters to the newspapers complaining about the new costumes. Nowadays some people go to special "nude (裸体) beaches" to swim naked．

However, most people cover their bodies more than they did ten years ago -- not because they think bare skin is shocking -- but to protect their skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

The climate of Australia _____.

       A．made European setters think differently about swimming

       B．change European setters’ swimming costume

       C．made European setters hotter

       D．made European setters swim naked

During the late 19th century, swimmers should _____.

       A．hide when they see a person of the opposite sex

       B．cover their bodies

       C．wear many heavy clothes

       D．take no notice of their clothes

According to the law just before1903, people must _____.

       A．not swim in the main daylight hours

       B．only swim between 6am and 7pm

       C．have a bath at 6am and 7pm

       D．swim with neck-to-knee costumes between 6am and 7pm

The last paragraph of the passage states that _____.

       A．people worry about getting skin cancer from too much sun

       B．people protect their ten-year-old sons from bare skin

       C．people are shocked by the sun

       D．people think it rude to swim with the smaller costumes

（A）新概念

Across the Channel

Debbie Hart is going to swim 1._____________ the English Channel tomorrow. She is going to 2._____________ from the French coast at five o'clock in the morning. Debbie is only fourteen years old and she hopes lo 3.______________a new world record. She is a strong 4._____________and many people feel that she is sure to5._____________. Debbie's father will set out with her in a small boat. Mr. Hart has trained his daughter for years. Tomorrow he will be watching her 6._____________ as she swims the long 7._____________ to England. Debbie 8.______________to take short rests every two hours. She will have something to drink but she will not eat any 9.______________food.

Most of Debbie's school friends will be waiting for her on the English coast. 10.______________ them will be Erna's mother, who swam the Channel herself when she was a girl.

Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales

　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).

　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.

　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

1.What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

　A. They are small soft rings.

　B. They are not seen from the outside.

　C. They are openings only on food fish.

　D. They are not used to receive sound.

2.Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.

　B. Trees also have otoliths.

　C. Their growth rings are very small.

　D. They both have growth rings.

3.Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

　A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.

　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

4.How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

　A. They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

　B. They want to know where they can find fish.

　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.

　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.　

Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.

For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.

Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give up for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reaching Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.

When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things---travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.

1. What prevented Nyad from taking part in the Olympic Games? (No more than 5 words)

__________________________________________________________________________

2.What does the underlined word “obstacles” mean? (1 word)

___________________________________________________________________________

3.What achievement did Nyad make in 1970? (No more than 10 words.)

________________________________________________________________________________

4.Why did Nyad believe that she had touched the other shore? (No more than 10 words)

___________________________________________________________________________