Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责) the opening of that first mine.

    Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport (carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.

    Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维).

    Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.

1. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A. Asbestos mined in Canada        B. Fireproof matter

C. A “wonder” mineral                 D. A new roofing material

2. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.

A. going into roofing business      B. carrying asbestos from Italy

C. sending a trained scientist         D. showing the use of asbestos gloves

3. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A. It is like thread.               B. It feels soapy.

C. It burns easily.                 D. It is unusually heavy.

4. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.

A. show the need for more scientists

B. compare asbestos with other minerals

C. increase the sales of asbestos

D. present facts about asbestos

Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．
Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．
【小题1】Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．

Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．

Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．

Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．

1.Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A．Asbestos mined in Canada                 B．Fireproof matter

C．A “wonder” mineral                  D．A new roofing material

2.Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．

A．going into roofing business                B．carrying asbestos from Italy

C．sending a trained scientist                 D．showing the use of asbestos gloves

3.Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A．It is like thread．                       B．It feels soapy．

C．It burns easily．                        D．It is unusually heavy．

4.The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．

A．show the need for more scientists

B．compare asbestos with other minerals

C．increase the sales of asbestos

D．present facts about asbestos

对话填空（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

W: Good evening, sir. I was told that you were robbed.

M: I certainly was.

W: When did that happen?

M: About two hours ago.

W: Why didn’t you r______ it then?

M: I couldn’t. I was tied to a chair and my mouth wasf______ with something.

W: Please tell me exactly what happened.

M: I was sitting in this room watching TV when someone )k         at the door.

Without thinking, I opened it.

W: That wasn’t very wise, sir.

M: I know. I was e_____ my wife, you see, and I t______ it was her.

W: You should never open a door without going to see who it is.

M: Yes, I regret that now.

W: What happened?

M: Two men pushed inside and then t______ me with a knife.

W: Did you take a good look at them?

M: I’m afraid not, They were both w       stockings over their faces.

W: What did they take?

M: My wallet with $200 in it, my watch, and some of my wife’s j______ from my bedroom.

W: They don’t seem to have done much damage to the flat.

M: No. They had just begun to search when the dogs next d______ began to bark. They ran off. It was some time b         my wife returned and set me free. I phoned the police at once.

W: My men began searching the area as soon as we received your call. I can’t promise you that we’ll recover your property, but we’ll certainly do our best.

对话填空（共10小题，每小题1分，满分10分）

W: Good evening, sir. I was told that you were robbed.

M: I certainly was.

W: When did that happen?

M: About two hours ago.

W: Why didn’t you1. r______ it then?

M: I couldn’t. I was tied to a chair and my mouth was2.f______ with something.

W: Please tell me exactly what happened.

M: I was sitting in this room watching TV when someone 3.)k         at the door.

Without thinking, I opened it.

W: That wasn’t very wise, sir.

M: I know. I was 4. e_____ my wife, you see, and I 5. t______ it was her.

W: You should never open a door without going to see who it is.

M: Yes, I regret that now.

W: What happened?

M: Two men pushed inside and then 6. t______ me with a knife.

W: Did you take a good look at them?

M: I’m afraid not, They were both 7.w      stockings over their faces.

W: What did they take?

M: My wallet with $200 in it, my watch, and some of my wife’s8. j______ from my bedroom.

W: They don’t seem to have done much damage to the flat.

M: No. They had just begun to search when the dogs next9. d______ began to bark. They ran off. It was some time 10.b        my wife returned and set me free. I phoned the police at once.

W: My men began searching the area as soon as we received your call. I can’t promise you that we’ll recover your property, but we’ll certainly do our best.