APRIL 5 marks the 100^th anniversary(周年纪念日)of the sinking(下沉)of the Titanic. In 1997, the movie Titanic was a huge hit all around the world. Now, the 3-D version of the movie will come to Chinese theaters on April 10.

As anyone who has seen the movie knows, the Titanic struck an iceberg(冰山) and sank on its first voyage in 1912, killing 1,517 people. A century after the accident, scientists have found something new to blame(负责任) for the sinking: the moon. Donald Olson, a Texas State University physicist, led a team of astronomers(天文学家) to examine the moon’s role, according to Reuters.

Normally, icebergs stay in place and cannot move until they melt enough or a high tide(潮汐) frees them. A single iceberg can become stuck many times on its journey southward. The process can take several years.

According to Olson, a hundred years ago the moon made its closest approach to the Earth in more than 1,400 years. This caused the moon to have a much stronger pull on the Earth’s oceans than usual, which created a super-high tide. The tide pushed icebergs from shallow waters off the coasts of Canada’s provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador, into the Titanic’s way.

“Of course, the final cause of the accident was that the ship struck an iceberg,” Olson told Reuters. “It went full speed into a region with icebergs, but the lunar connection(月亮的联系) may explain how an unusually large number of icebergs got into the path of the Titanic.”

The research team will publish their research in the April issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.

根据短文内容，选最佳择答案,并在答题卡上按要求作答。

1. How many people lost their lives in this accident?

A . Over 2,000 people.            B. About 100 people.  

C. More than 1,500 people.        D. We don’t know.

2. The underlined word “voyage” in the second paragraph really means ______.

A. 航行         B. 飞行       C. 划船      D.游泳

3. Which of the following about icebergs is TRUE?

A. Icebergs move only when the tide frees them.

B. An iceberg can stop for some time during its travel.

C. An iceberg will move as soon as its melts.

D. It takes an iceberg several months to leave its place.

4. Which of the following played a role in the sinking of the Titanic?

      a. the moon                 b. the tides             c. too many passengers 

d. the high speed of the ship    e. going the wrong way   f. the iceberg 

      A. a,b,c,f    B. a,c,d,e    C. a,b,d,f     D.a,c,e,f

5.. What is the article mainly about?

A. The main cause of the Titanic’s sinking.

B. The 100^th anniversary of the Titanic.

C. The moon’s great influence on the Earth’s tides.

D. The moon’s role in the sinking of the Titanic.

Modern life is impossible without traveling. The fastest way of traveling is by plane. With a modern airline you can travel in one day to places which it took a month or more to get to a hundred years ago.

   Traveling by train is slower than plane, but it has its advantages. You can see the country when you are traveling through. Modern trains have comfortable seats and dining cars. They make even longer journey enjoyable.

   Some people prefer to travel by sea when possible. There are large liners and river boats. You can visit many other countries and different places. And traveling by sea is a very pleasant way to spend a holiday.

Many people love to travel by car. You can make your own timetable. You can travel three or four hundred miles or only fifty or one hundred miles a day, just as you like,You can stop wherever you wish where there is something to see, at a good restaurant where you can enjoy a good meal, or at a hotel to spend the night. That’s why travelling by car is popular fpr pleasant trips,while people usually take a train or plane when they are travelling on business.

1. From the passage we know the fastest way of travelling is _______.

        A. by train     B, by sea      C. by plane

2.The underlined word “they” in the 2^nd paragraph refers to _____.

A.  modern trains in the country

B.  comfortable seats and dining cars

C.  the travellers on the modern trains

3. If we travel by car, we can__________.

A.  make the longer journey enjoyable

B.  travel to a very far place in several minutes

C.  make our own timetable

4.When people travel on business , they usually take ______.

A.  a plane or a car

B.  a train or a plane

C.  a boat or a train

5.How many ways of travelling are mentioned in the passage ?

        A.  Four      B. Three      C. Two

Modern life is impossible without traveling. The fastest way of traveling is by plane. With a modern plane it takes one day to travel places which took a month or more to get to a hundred years ago.

Traveling by train is slower than by plane, but it has its advantages（优势）. You can see the country you are traveling through. Modern trains have comfortable seats and dining-cars. They make even the longest journey enjoyable.

Some people prefer to travel by sea when possible. There are large planes and river boats. You can visit many other countries and different parts of your country on them. Ships are not as fast as trains or planes, but traveling by sea is a very pleasant way to spend a holiday.

Many people like to travel by car. You can make your own timetable. You can travel three or four hundred miles or only fifty or one hundred miles a day, just as you like. You can stop wherever you wish --- where there is something interesting to see, at a good restaurant where you can enjoy a good meal, or at a hotel where you can spend the night. That is why traveling by car is a popular pleasant trip, while people usually take a train or a plane when they are traveling on business.

1.From the passage (短文), we know the fastest way of traveling is ____.

A. by train   B. by sea    C. by plane    D. by car

2.If we travel by car, we can _____.

    A. make the longest journey enjoyable

    B. travel to a very far place in several minutes

    C. make our own timetable

    D. travel only fifty or one hundred miles a day

3.The underlined (划线的) word “They” in the passage refers to (指的是)____.

    A. modern trains in the country

    B. comfortable seats and dining-cars

    C. the travelers on the modern trains

    D. the slower ways of traveling

4.When people travel on business, they usually take ____.

    A. a plane or a car         B. a car or a boat

    C. a boat or a train            D. a train or a plane

5. How many ways of traveling are mentioned (被提到的) in the passage?

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

World Future Society
People
People may live for up to 120 years and use new technology to help when people go blind, deaf and have other problems. The number of people over a hundred years old could go from 135,000 today to 2.2 million people by 2050. By 2015 people think that 100 million workers will be able to work from home for a company in a different country by using the Internet.
Money
Worldwide e-business will become even more successful with online shops that sell special products for each person, which will be brought to their house the next day.
Environment
The technology for making energy from wind and the Sun is growing very quickly. In the future wind and Sun energy could become much cheaper and many more countries could use it. This would be very useful in poor countries. The air in big cities would also become much cleaner and healthier as a result.
Society and culture
The Internet will help to create more worldwide friendships. Families may spend more time together as people will be able to do 24-hour online banking and shopping.
Technology                  
The new science of “nanotechnology” (very small robots or machines) will make all sorts of products smaller and lighter. Very, very small machines could take away rubbish, make things in factories, and help inside the human body by taking away fat. By 2012 people will be able to wear these small machines that look like watches, which will give them lots of information about their body and keep them healthy.
【小题1】What does the World Future Society do?