56­year­old becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic

(AP)－Jennifer Figge pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand, excited and exhausted as she touched land this week for the first time in almost a month. Reaching a beach in Trinidad, she became the first woman on record to swim across the Atlantic Ocean—a dream she'd had since the early 1960s,when a stormy trans­Atlantic (飞越大西洋) flight got her thinking she could wear a life vest and swim the rest of the way if needed.

The 56­year­old left the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast on Jan.12,2009, swimming 19 out of 25 days battling waves of up to 30 feet.The distance from Cape Verde to Trinidad is about 700 miles.Crewmembers are still computing exactly how many miles she swam.

The original plan was for her to swim to the Bahamas—a distance of about 2,100 miles—but inclement (恶劣的) weather forced her to change her plans and she arrived at Trinidad on Feb.5.She now plans to swim from Trinidad to the British Virgin Islands,ending her voyage at the Bitter End Yacht Club in late February.

Her journey came a decade after French swimmer Benoit Lecomte made the first known solo trans­Atlantic swim,covering nearly 4,000 miles from Massachusetts to France in 73 days.No woman on record had made the crossing.

Figge wore a red cap and wet suit,with her only good­luck charm (护身符) underneath:an old,red shirt to guard against chafing (磨痛),signed by friends,relatives and her father,who recently died.The other cherished (珍惜) possession she kept onboard was a picture of Gertrude Ederle,an American who became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.“We have a few things in common,”Figge said,“She wore a red hat and she was of German descent (血统).We both talked to the sea,and neither one of us wanted to get out.”

1.When did Jennifer Figge want to swim across the Atlantic Ocean？

A．After she reached a beach in Trinidad.

B．After she pressed her toes into the Caribbean sand.

C．After her stormy trans­Atlantic flight in the early 1960s.

D．After her graduation from a university.

2.Jennifer Figge had to change her plans 　　　　.

A．because she wanted to shorten her voyage

B．because of bad weather conditions

C．because she wanted to end her voyage in late February

D．because she wanted to set a new world record

3.When did Benoit Lecomte probably make the first known solo trans­Atlantic swim？

A．In 1999.          B．In 1988.           C．In 1978 .          D．In 1968.

4.For what purpose did Jennifer Figge keep a photo of Gertrude Ederle？

A．Figge would like to follow her example.

B．She had the same red cap as Figge always wore.

C．Figge also wanted to swim across the English Channel.

D．They were both born in Germany.

　　　,they set out to break the record for cross-channel swim.

A.Well equipped                    B.Well equipping

C.Well equips                      D.To equip

完形填空

　　One day a police officer managed to get some fresh mushrooms. He was so pleased with what he had bought that he offered to 1 the mushrooms with his brother officers. When their breakfast arrived 2 , each officer found some mushrooms on his plate.

　　“Let the dog 3 a piece first, ”suggested one 4 officer who was afraid that the mushrooms should be poisonous.

　　The dog seemed to 5 his mushroom, and the officers then began to eat their meal, saying that the mushrooms had a very strange 6 quite pleasant taste.

　　An hour later, however, they were all astonished 7 the gardener rushed in and said 8 that the dog was dead. Immediately, the officers jumped into their cars and rushed to the nearest hospital. Pumps were used and the officers had a very 9 time getting rid of the mushrooms that 10 in their stomachs.

　　When they 11 to the police station, they sat down and started to 12 the mushroom poisoning. Each man explained the pains that 13 had felt and they agreed that 14 had grown worse on their 15 to the hospital. The gardener was called to explain the way 16 the poor dog had died. “Did it 17 much before death?”asked one of the officers, 18 very pleased that he had escaped a 19 death himself. “No”, the gardener looked rather 20 , “It was killed by a car. ”

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Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals.

　　That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to understand what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters (缰绳) and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their cage. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, warned Chinese scientists of the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives.

　　One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It’s not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian horse became very nervous and tried to break out of his enclosure. The Australian horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It’s also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and “earthquake nerves”. A zoo keeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach.

　　A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can sense tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of Earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes.

　　A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were shut in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. (Several small quakes often come before or after a large one.) Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there were a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing.

In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing extraordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists.

1.Through the passage the writer hopes to explore __________.

2. During an earthquake in China in 1975, _________.

3.Which of the following is one of earthquake nerves according to the passage?

4.The scientists did an experiment with a group of dogs to _________.