阅读理解：

　　The word "hello" is probably used more often than any other one in the English language． Everybody in the United States and elsewhere uses the word, again and again, every day of the week．

　　The first thing you hear when you pick up the phone is "hello" unless the caller is an Englishman, who might say, "Are you there?"

　　Where did the word come from? There are all sorts of beliefs． Some say it came from the French, "ho" and "la" "Ho, there!" This greeting may have arrived in England during the Norman Conquest in the year 1066．

　　"Ho, there" slowly became something that sounded like "hallow", often heard in the 1300's, during the days of the English poet ,Geoffrey Chaucer．

　　Two hundred years later, in Shakespeare's time, "hallow" had become "halloo"． And later, sounds like "halloa", and "halloo" were often used by sailors and huntsmen． "Halloo" is still used today by foxhunters．

　　As time passed, "halloo" and "halloa" changed into "hullo"． And during the 1800's this was how people greeted each other in America．

　　The American inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, is believed to be the first person to use "hello" in the late 1800's, soon after the invention of the telephone．

　　At first, people had greeted each other on the telephone with "Are you there?" They were not sure the new instrument could really carry voices．

　　Tom Edison, however, was a man of few words． He wasted no time． The first time he picked up the phone he did not ask if anyone was there． He was sure someone was, and simply said, "Hello．"

　　From that time on only about 100 years ago, the "hullo" became "hello", as it is heard today．

　　Strangely enough, when the first telephone system was put in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878, people did not say "hello" or "hullo" or even "halloo"． They answered the phone the way sailors hail a ship, "Ahoy, anoy there!" Thank God, that telephone greeting did not last long．

　　Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another． Not long ago, people often said, "How are you ?" when they first met someone． This later became "hiyah"． Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"． Laziness is a strong force in changing language．

　　Answering a telephone call in America still presents problems, however． Telephone companies think that Thomas Edison's short "hello" is too long． Why waste time? The phone companies say． Simply pick up the phone, give your name, and start talking．

1．The word "hello" came from ______．

[　　]

A．an unknown origin　　 　B．old English

C．the German　　　　　　　D．the French

2．The writer thinks that, if used on the telephone, "Ahoy" is a word that ______．

  [ ]

A．sounds sincere

B．is pleasant to the ear

C．sounds sincere

D．sounds awkward and unsuitable

3．Expressions like "hello" and "hi" have entered the English language because short words ______．

[　　]

A．sound better

B．save the speakers time and energy

C．add varieties to the language

D．express the meaning more clearly

4．According to telephone companies, the best way to answer a telephone call is ______．

[　　]

A．to say "hello" to the caller

B．to say "hi" to the caller

C．to start talking immediately

D．to listen without saying anything

5．The topic sentence in the last but one paragraph is " ______ ．"

[　　]

A．Of course, there are other ways Americans greet one another

B．Laziness is a strong force in changing language

C．Not long age, people often said, "How are you?" when they first met someone

D．Then, someone thought that two syllables were too much and "hiyah" became "hi"

The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the America from being discovered by the people of Europe.
Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world” . Sailors were afraid that they might sail off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator(赤道) the ocean would be boiling hot.
The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000 km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,00 miles (3,200 km) wide.
Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.
There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers, it would take the ocean about more than 4,000 years to dry up. On the average, the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in some places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet---almost six miles (9.6km).
One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.
Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels(船) the crew were afraid they would be becalmed (can’t move) here. Sometimes they were.
Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is, however, not always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the far North across the paths of ships.
We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!
61. What caused people to be unwilling to explore the Atlantic?
A. There were no ships big enough to get across the Ocean.
B. Sailors were afraid of being lost in the Ocean.
C. The Atlantic Ocean was very unusual because it has few islands and the saltiest water.
D. Many incorrect ideas such as “the edge of the world”, “the equator with boiling hot water” made people think the Ocean was full of danger.
62. What is the main idea of the fifth paragraph?
A. How deep the water is.        
B. How to measure the water in the Atlantic.
C. How much water the ocean holds.             
D. How rain affects the Ocean water.
63. What does the underlined word “highway” mean?
A. High road      B. Broad way      C. Fast road           D. Main water way
64. Why does the writer think “this big ocean seems to have grown smaller”?
A. The water in the ocean is becoming less.
B. We have more and more advanced traveling tools now
C. The distance between the ocean and us is shorter.
D. The steamship has a higher speed.

Let's do some sleep math. You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, you slept in, getting four extra hours. On Monday morning, you were feeling so bright-eyed, and you only had one cup of coffee, instead of your usual two. But don't be cheated by your energy: You're still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call " sleep debt "win this case something like six hours, almost a full night's sleep.
Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get. It's a deficit (赤字)that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly sleep. "People accumulate sleep debt gradually without being noticed," says psychiatrist William C. Dement, founder of the Stanford University Sleep Research Centre. Studies show that such short-term lack of sleep
leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin(胰岛素) resistance, and heart disease. A survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that we're losing one hour of sleep each night —more than two full weeks of sleep each year.
The good news is that, like all debt, with some work, sleep debt can be repaid. Adding an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up. For the long-term lack of sleep, take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern. Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clock allowed). You may find yourself catatonic (有紧张感的)in the beginning of the recovery cycle: Expect to have ten hours' shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however, the amount of sleeping time will gradually decrease.
So earn back that lost sleep —and follow the orders of your inner sleep needs, and you'll feel better. "When you put away sleep debt, you become superman." Says Stanford's Dement, talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested.
72. The example of sleep math is used to show       .                                                                                          
A. in what case you build up a sleep debt
B. why you need six hours' sleep every night.
C. why you are full of energy even when lacking sleep.
D. you should drink coffee to keep energetic  
73. The author begins Paragraph 2 with       .
A. an example     B. a definition     C. an order     D. a story
74. By saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph, Dement means       .
A. a superman always needs a lot of sleep
B. you can become superhuman after you repay your debt
C. you will be in a good state with enough sleep
D. you will become superhuman if you don't make up for sleep debt
75. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. How can you keep energetic?     B. Can you have a good sleep?
C. What is sleep debt?             D. Can you catch up on sleep debt?

The Touchstone

  When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for very little money.

The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold.

The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are careful, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand, and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

The man bought the book because _____________.

  A. he wanted to read it            B. it was very interesting

C. there was a secret in the book     D. he wanted to find the touchstone

We can learn from the passage that the touchstone is _________.

A. pure    B. cold      C. magic      D. big

Why did the man throw the pebbles into the sea?

A. Because he didn’t want to get the same pebbles.

B. Because he didn’t want others to pick them up.

C. Because he didn’t like their ordinary looks.

D. Because he didn’t like the cold feelings.

What does the author want to tell us in the passage?

A. We should offer opportunities in our life.

B. We should seek for opportunities in the world.

C. We may seize opportunities when we are watchful.

D. We may discover opportunities when forming habits.

I still remember the days when I was a youthful student in an engineering school. I lived a casual life, without caring about the future. I smoked, drank with friends and made girl friends. Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss.

     Two years had passed and I was staring down a report card that highlighted FAIL in more than half the subjects. I didn’t care, at least not till my dad found out about it. You see, I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education, my dad financed me.

     Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking. He lost his temper but he just told me, “Son, your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”. It hit me like a roundhouse kick (回旋踢) from Bruce Lee. I was jolted (震摇) out of my bones! I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college. I owed everybody money: the grocery store, the bars, the restaurants, my friends, etc. I was living a life filled with credit.

     When I went back to college, I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off. So I decided to make some changes, drastic changes. I quit smoking, cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road, starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books.

     One year later, I went from a miserable failure to a magna cum laude (优等成绩). Life was never the same again. This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it, however small or large. Even today it still motivates me when I feel that I’m about to lose or give up. It reminds me that I can do it!

The author wrote this text with the purpose of ________.

  A. introducing his university life to the teenage readers

  B. encouraging those lazy students to study hard at school

  C. showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

  D. calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

The author didn’t care about his study until _______.

  A. he entered the engineering school   B. he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear

  C. he decided to give up smoking     D. his allowance was cut in half

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author ________.

  A. paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

  B. removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

  C. never hung out with his friends but studied all day

  D. began to live a happy life due to his good grades

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

  A. Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America.

  B. The author did well in making good friends in the school.

  C. The author made great progress with the help of his friends.

  D. Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools.