How could we tell time if there were no watches or clocks anywhere in the world?

The sun was probably the world’s first “clock”, except in the far north, where the Eskimos （爱斯基摩人） live．There, it’s dark most of the winter, and light most of the summer．But in most of the world, people have used the sun fooday, if you don’t have a clock that shows time, you still know that when the sun shines, it’s day, and when it’s dark, it’s night．The sun can not only tell you whether it’s day or night but also it’s morning, noon, or afternoon．When the sun is almost directly overhead, it’s noon．

People who live near the sea from the tides．In the daytime, for about six hours, the water rises higher and higher on the beach．And then it about six hours．The same thing happens again at night．There are two high tides

and two low tides every 24 hours．

Seamen on a ship tell time by looking at the moon and the stars．The whole sky is their clock．

In some places in the world the wind comes up at about the same

time every day or changes direction or stops blowing．In these places

the wind can be the clock．

A sand clock is an even better clock．If you had fine dry sand in a

glass shaped like the one in the sand will take another hour to go back again．

1．From the passage we can know there are _____ ways to tell time besides the clock and watch．

   A．3                             B．4                          C．5                                   D．7

2．The Eskimos in the far north can’t use the sun for a clock because ______．

  A．they know very little about the sun

  B．the sun there never goes down in winter

  C．it’s too cold for them to go out to watch the sun

  D．it has long day and long light summers

3．The underlined word “tide” in the passage means _______．

A．洋流                        B．潮汐                       C．海啸                             D．波浪

4．In which page of the newspapers probably read this passage?

   A．News．                   B．Science．               C．Advertisement                D．Sports．

5．What’s the best title for the passage?

   A．Different Ways to Tell Time                          B．How the Clock Was Invented

C．The Development of the Clock                       D．A Useful Machine to Tell Time      

There was a boy in India who was sent to a boarding school by his parents．   1  being sent away this boy was the best student in his class．   2   the boy changed when he went to the boarding school．His grades started dropping． He   3   being in a group．He was lonely （孤独的）all the time．And sometimes he even felt like killing   4  ．All of this because he felt no one loved him．

     His parents started   5   the boy．So his dad decided to travel to the school and talk with him．

     They sat on the beach near the school． The father started asking him casual questions about his classes, teachers and sports, After some time his dad said, "Do you know   6   I am here today, my dear son?"

     The boy answered back, "to check my grades．"

     "No, no, I don't care about your   7  ," his dad replied．"I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me． I only care about you．I only want to see you   8 ．YOU ARE MY LIFE．"

     These words   9   the boy's eyes to fill with tears （泪水）．He hugged （拥抱） his dad． They didn't say anything to each other for a long time．

     Now the boy knew there was   10   on this Earth who cared for him deeply．He meant the world to someone. And today this young man is one of the best students in a university and no one has ever seen him sad!

1．A．After                  B．Before              C．By                D．For

2．A．But                 B．And               C．Although         D．Since

3．A．liked                B．enjoyed             C．hated            D．appreciated

4．A．yourself             B．herself             C．myself             D．himself

5．A．worrying about                            B．laughing at

      C．giving up                              D．staying away from

6．A．how                  B．when              C．where           D．why

7．A．sports                B．classes            C．grades            D．teachers

8．A．awful                       B．happy              C．hard-working      D．angry

9．A．caused               B．allowed             C．taught           D．told

10．A．nobody             B．someone           C．anyone            D．everybody

Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure(冒险)---those who have climbed the highest mountains, traveled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an immediate excitement from a risky(冒险的) activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds. I would consider bungee(蹦极) jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place(perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon) 200 meters above the ground with an elastic(有弹性的) rope tied to your ankles. You fall at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that about 2 million people around world have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities which most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliff(悬崖).
For the reasons, some psychologists explain that many people think their life in modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly(持续的) in danger. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was a continuous battle (战争)for survival.
Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in comparatively safe conditions; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to look for danger in activities such as bungee jumping.
【小题1】Are there many people who are taking part in the dangerous sports?
【小题2】How many kinds of dangerous sports does the writer refer to?
【小题3】How long does a bungee jumping usually last?
【小题4】What do many people think of their life nowadays?
【小题5】What does the writer tell us in the last two paragraphs?

Around the world more and more people are taking part in dangerous sports and activities. Of course, there have always been people who have looked for adventure(冒险)---those who have climbed the highest mountains, traveled into unknown parts of the world or sailed in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an immediate excitement from a risky(冒险的) activity which may only last a few minutes or even seconds. I would consider bungee(蹦极) jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place(perhaps a bridge or a hot-air balloon) 200 meters above the ground with an elastic(有弹性的) rope tied to your ankles. You fall at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that about 2 million people around world have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities which most people would say are as risky as bungee jumping include jumping from tall buildings and diving into the sea from the top of high cliff(悬崖).

For the reasons, some psychologists explain that many people think their life in modern societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly(持续的) in danger. They had to go out and hunt for food, diseases could not easily be cured, and life was a continuous battle (战争)for survival.

Nowadays, according to many people, life offers little excitement. They live and work in comparatively safe conditions; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to look after them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to look for danger in activities such as bungee jumping.

1.Are there many people who are taking part in the dangerous sports?

2.How many kinds of dangerous sports does the writer refer to?

3.How long does a bungee jumping usually last?

4.What do many people think of their life nowadays?

5.What does the writer tell us in the last two paragraphs?