How would we travel without maps? It would be a bit adventurous (冒险的) to set off from Oxford University to go to London Bridge if there wasn't a map of the London Underground at each station. In fact, a lot of the early map-makers were adventurers and explorers, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries.
So what did people do before there were maps? Well, it was quite easy to use natural signs like mountains and rivers if you were travelling on foot or riding a horse. People took small boats down rivers and followed coastlines. And it was much more logical (合理的) to use time, not distance, to measure (计量) journeys: the next village is a three-hour ride, for example.
In fact, in the earliest maps, people didn't draw landmarks. They drew the stars. It was very easy to see the night sky and use it for navigation (航行). The sky was a lot clearer before the light pollution from cities that we have today. When towns and cities were built, people drew road maps which gave correct distances and directions.
The London Underground was opened in 1863 and it also used a road map style. But a man called Henry Beck realized that travelling by train wasn't the same as driving your car across London. Passengers only needed to know which stations to change at. His new design (设计) for the Underground map wasn't very popular with the train companies at first. But the passengers loved it and in 1933, 700,000 copies were printed.
These days, of course, you can ride a bike, drive a car or go through a forest and know where you are exactly, using a GPS. It's really difficult to get lost!
【小题1】What was drawn in the earliest maps?

It’s a long-awaited day for China. The navy now has its first aircraft carrier(航空母舰), Liaoning.

It’s a unique experience to get to know the life in the carrier. The carrier is just like a small city on the sea. It has all the functions for daily life. There are 4 words to sum up its characters: big, small, much and high. The carrier Liaoning is such a huge one that the total length of the whole corridor（过道）could reach over 20 kilometers. But the living space for the sailors（水手）is quite small. That’s because the carrier is designed for researching purposes, rather than comfortable living. Over 1,000 sailors, both men and women, are living onboard. They are arranged among over 3,000 tiny rooms below the deck. For visitors, it’s so easy to get lost. So the first thing the new sailors have to learn is their way around. The number of female sailors is much less than that of the males, taking about 5 percent of the total. But they play a key role in carrying out some special missions.

Also, you will be surprised by the high level of education of today’s sailors. The captain said that over 90 percent of the sailors are college graduates. Six hold Doctor’s Degrees and 45 have a Master’s. The whole team is young but vigorous（朝气蓬勃的）. The complex work on the carrier requires high management abilities for the commanders onboard(在船上).

1.Why do we visitors get lost easily inside the carrier?

A．Because they don’t have a map.

B．Because the living space is quite small.

C．Because there are too many corridors for rooms.

D．Because the corridor inside the carrier is too long.

2.What does the word “high” in Line 6 refer to（指代）？

A．The aircraft carrier is high since it is just like a small city.

B．Most of the soldiers received good education.

C．The expense（花费）to run a carrier is high.

D．The high-level of their training.

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

A．Liaoning is our country’s first aircraft carrier.

B．Most of the sailors on the carrier are college graduates.

C．There are far fewer women sailors than men sailors on the carrier.

D．It is comfortable for the sailors to live in the carrier.

One of my favourite things to do is hiking in mountains. Because nobody likes the idea of getting lost, I always prepare before every trip. But what’s the best navigation tool, a Global Positioning System (GPS) or a good old map and compass? Five of my friends and I hiked through the mountains on a trail I marked. One team of three carried a GPS, and the other team used a map and compass.
It took the GPS team 3 hours and 11 minutes to get through the whole hike, however, it took the map and compass team only 2 hours and 49 minutes. The biggest problem the GPS team met was that they lost the satellite signal (卫星信号) in some places. With no map or compass, they had to walk around until they were in a place where the signal was good. The map and compass team was able to spot (认出) different landmarks, compare them to their maps and then use the compass to point them in the right direction.
When I head out on my future hikes, I’m bringing a map, a compass and a GPS to show me the way.
【小题1】The writer prepares before every trip because he doesn’t _________.