Besides providing a perfect environment for sea plants and animals to live in, seawater has other values, one of which is that it constantly moves, and its movements produce energy.

The most obvious movements are the waves and the tides. Winds cause the waves, and the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun causes the tides. In places like the Bay of Fundy in Canada, the difference between the high and low tide level can be as much as 40 feet.

France and Britain are now trying to use energy in the tides to produce electricity. Waves can produce electricity and some experiments are taking place to learn more about this. One of the most encouraging areas of research uses the difference between the temperature of seawater at the surface and deep down to produce electricity. 

1.Waves and tides are caused by ________ .

2.It can be inferred from the passage that __________ .

3. The best title for the passage is ______.

PART THREE: READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are 4 choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.

A

“San Francisco, open your Golden Gate, ”sang the girl in the theatre. She never finished her song. The date was 18th, 1906.

The earth shook and the roof suddenly divided, buildings crashed to the ground and people rushed out into the streets. The dreadful earthquake destroyed the city that had grown up when men discovered gold in the deserts of California. But today the streets of San-Francisco stretch over more than 40 steep hills, rising like huge cliffs above the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The best way to see this splendid city, where Spanish were the first to make their homes, is to take one of the old cable cars which run along the nine main avenues. Fares are cheap; they have not risen for almost a hundred years.

You leave the palm trees in Union Square------the heart of San-Francisco and from the shop signs and the faces around you, you will notice that in the city live people from many nations—Austrians, Italians, Chinese, and others, giving every part of the city a special character. More Chinese live in China Town than in any other part of the world outside China. Here, with Chinese restaurants, Chinese post-boxes, and even odd telephone-boxes that look like pagoda(宝塔), it is easy to feel you are in China itself.

Fisherman’s Wharf, a place all foreigners want to see, is the end of the ride. You get out, and then set out to find a table in one of gay little restaurants beside the harbor. As you enjoy the fresh Pacific sea food, you can admire the bright red paint of the Golden Gate Bridge in the harbor and watch the traffic crossing beneath the tall towers on its way to the pretty village of Tiberon. When you finish your meal, you may decide to take a boat-trip around the bay to look at the sights. You can stare at the famous , now empty, prison of Alcatraz. Then why not go to the fishing village of Sansalito—a little like London’s Chelsea or New York’s Greenwich Village—to see people painting and to look at their pictures. You will be able to enjoy a view of the city from the sea and take pleasure in the soft red and blue Spanish-type houses shining in the bright Pacific light. If you have time you might like to go by bus to Carmel, a hundred miles south of San-Francisco, where you will discover a wild and wonderful coast with high cliffs.

1. The first two paragraphs tell the readers that________.

A. everybody will be attracted by the beauty of San-Francisco.

B. this fantastic modern travel city was built by many hard-working people.

C. San-Francisco has experienced so much before it became a modern international city.

D. There are so many entertainments in attractive San-Francisco

2. How many means of transportation are suggested in the passage?

A. One          B. Two           C. Three         D. Four

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The origin city of San-Francisco is created by Spanish people.

B. More Chinese live in San-Francisco than in any other part of the world outside China.

C. Alcatraz used to be a prison but now is deserted.

D. San-Francisco lies near the blue waters of the Pacific.

4.Which is the right order of the travel route given in the passage?

A. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito.

B. Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--prison of Alcatraz—Sanalito--Fisherman’s Wharf.

C. Union Square—Fisherman’s Wharf—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon--Chelsea—Greenwich Village.

D.Union Square—the Golden Gate Bridge—Tiberon—Chelsea—Greenwich Village—Fisherman’s Wharf.

5.Which of the following can be the best title?

A. San-Francisco—a prosperous city after the earthquake.

B. San-Francisco—a charming travel city of America.

  C. San-Francisco—a city to open her Golden Gate.

D. San-Francisco—a harbor stretching over steep hills.

Situated in the Northeast region of Vietnam, Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. The concentrated zone of stone islands is famous for its spectacular scenery of caves, and forms the central zone of Halong Bay.

Seen from above, Halong Bay looks like a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a wonderful world. There is Man’s Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon winding above the blue water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which are all astonishingly like their names.

It has been proven by scientists that Halong Bay was one of the first places of human existence. It is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of coral reefs, and tropical forests, which are home to thousands of species of animals and rare plants.

The beach located along the coast of Halong Bay has a year-round average temperature of 20℃. Among the palm trees are large hotels. Visitors are seen on white sand and under the green trees are small family-run restaurants. After swimming, tourists can enjoy cold drinks. No wonder the 18h meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.

What forms the central zone of Halong Bay?

    A. 1,969 islands of various sizes.          

B. The concentrated zone of stone islands.

    C. 989 islands that have been given names.  

D. Man’s Head Island.

We can infer that the names of most islands ______.

   A. have something to do with theirs shapes.

   B. were given by the visitors in Halong Bay  

   C. were given by the geologists of Vietnam

   D. are related to their history

The author writes the passage mainly to_______.

   A. tell some information about the history of Vietnam

   B. introduce the average temperature in Vietnam

   C. introduce the beach of Vietnam

   D. tell readers something about Halong Bay

Heavy downpours last month in Rhode Island led to widespread flooding, causing millions of dollars in property damage and leaving thousands homeless. The floodwaters also poured vast amounts of raw sewage (污水) into the rivers and streams that flow into Narragansett Bay.

It sounds like the makings of an environmental nightmare, but in fact it’s just the opposite. To scientists’ delight, the sewage-loaded floodwaters have caused a well-timed growth of phytoplankton, the microscopic creatures that form the foundation of marine food chains. With more food available for fish, clams and other sea creatures, the bay’s fisheries industry is expected to benefit.

In decades past, Narragansett Bay typically experienced a late winter/early spring algal (海藻) bloom that fed creatures up and down the water column. But in recent years, the waters of Narragansett Bay have warmed greatly, interrupting this seasonal event.

Mark Berman, an oceanographer with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said the flood seemed to have sent the bay back to its normal state.

However, local, state and federal officials in Rhode Island have been battling other algal blooms that, by contrast, are causing widespread harm to the Narragansett Bay ecosystem. During summer months, sewage and agricultural runoff flows into the bay, causing large blooms. But instead of becoming food for sea creatures, much of the phytoplankton is consumed by bacteria, which grow fast in the warmer waters. The rapid bacteria growth leads to hypoxia – a decrease of oxygen in the water that can cause large fish kills. One such die-off occurred in 2003, when millions of oxygen-starved fish washed up on the beaches of Narragansett Bay.

The flood’s positive impact will probably be a one-time event, Mr. Berman said. Meanwhile, efforts to curb the harmful summer blooms continue; in 2008, for instance, Providence completed a $359 million sewage tunnel under the city designed to reduce the polluted storm overflow into Narragansett Bay.

1. Scientists believe that the raw sewage flowing into the bay will _______.

2.The potential benefit of fisheries industry relies on the _______.

3. People struggle against the summer blooms because they will ________.

4.It can be inferred that _______.

5. The underlined word “curb” in the last paragraph can be defined as “______”.

The Greenbelt, a wide belt of open land around the cities and towns of the San Francisco Bay Area, includes about 3.75 million of the Bay Area’s 4.5 million acres. The Bay Area Greenbelt is one of the largest areas of open land in any U.S. urban area. Open land is land that has few buildings and lots of natural areas. The Greenbelt’s open land includes parks, forests, beaches, and more than 8,500 farms.

What are the advantages of the Greenbelt?

The Greenbelt has many advantages for people in the Bay Area, which include:

l walking and biking areas close to the cities and towns;

l places for wild plants and animals;

l cleaner air and water;

l income from farms.

Is the Greenbelt in danger?

Five hundred seventy thousand acres of the Greenbelt are in danger. There are builders who want to build suburbs on them. If those acres become suburbs, many things will change:

l the urban and suburban area will almost double;

l many farms will disappear;

l traffic will become worse; 

l the air will become dirtier.

What is Greenbelt Alliance (联盟)?

Greenbelt Alliance, an organization that saves land in the San Francisco Bay Area, works alone and with other groups to save the Greenbelt in four ways:

1. Try to persuade people to build new buildings on land that is already urban, not on open land.

2. Make sure that the city and town governments are all making plans to save the Greenbelt.

3. Help Bay Area towns and cities to buy pieces of open land to make into natural areas.

4. Teach people in the Bay Area why the Greenbelt is important and what they can do to help save it.

1.What can we learn about the Greenbelt from the first paragraph?

A．The Greenbelt is the largest open land in the United States.

B．The Greenbelt covers much more than half of the Bay Area.

C．There are few farms on the open land of the Greenbelt.

D．There are more than 8,500 natural areas on the Greenbelt.

2.One of the advantages of the Greenbelt for people in the Bay Area is __________.

A．convenience for exercise                 B．income from sightseeing

C．cleaner city streets                      D．more plants and animals

3.The Greenbelt is in danger because __________.

A．traffic is getting worse

B．some plans to build suburbs on it

C．the suburban area has doubled

D．pollution is becoming serious

4.Which of the following is TRUE about Greenbelt Alliance?

A．It builds new buildings on open land.

B．It buys large open land for the Bay Area.

C．It educates people how to save the Greenbelt.

D．It helps the city governments make plans.