Surtsey was born in 1963.Scientists saw the birth of this island. It began at 7.30 a.m. on 14th November. A fishing boat was near Iceland. The boat moved under the captain's（船长）feet. He noticed a strange smell. He saw some black smoke. A volcano（火山）was breaking out. Red-hot rocks, fire and smoke were rushing up from the bottom（底部）of the sea. The island grew quickly. It was 10 meters high the next day and 60 meters high on 18th November.

Scientists flew there to watch. It was exciting. Smoke and fire were still rushing up. Pieces of red-hot rock were flying into the air and falling into the sea. The sea was boiling and there was a strange light in the sky. Surtsey grew and grew. Then it stopped in June 1967.It was 175 meters high and 2 kilometers long. And life was already coming to Surtsey. Plants grew. Birds came. Some scientists built a house. They want to learn about this young island. A new island is like a new world.

1.Surtsey is ______.

A. an island not far from Iceland    B. a new volcano

C. a fishing boat                                D. a place in Iceland

2.When did scientist fly there to watch?

A. Before the volcano broke out.       B. As soon as the volcano broke out.

C. About four days after the volcano broke out.   

D. After the volcano stopped rushing up.

3.Put the following sentences in correct order.

a. The captain found the boat was moving.      b. A new island appeared in the sea.

c. Fire, smoke and rocks were seen rushing up.  d. A fishing boat was near Iceland.

e. The island grew quickly.

A. d-a-c-b-e 　　   B. a-b-c-d-e　　  C .a-b-e-c-d　 　  D. b-e-d-a-c

4.When was Surtsey born?

A. 1964           B. 1963          C. 1962           D. 1965

三、阅读理解（共两节，40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，共30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 metres. Robert was in front.
“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”
Robert sereamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”
An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signalling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”
Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.
“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.
So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.
The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later, From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.
For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.
56．When Albert was attacked by a shark Shirley         .
A．was swimming in the sea
B．was watching him on the shore
C．was on guard at the nearby army post
D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too
57．Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.
a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.
b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.
c. They headed out to sea.
d. Robert died.
e. A fisherman threw them a line.
f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.
A．b,c,e,d,f,a B．c,a,f,d,e,b C．b,c,f,a,d,e D．c,b,f,a,e,d
58．We can learn from the passage that          .
A．the two students were brave and considerate
B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful
C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks
D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life

When I was young, my father used to grow carnations(康乃馨) ----- a kind of flower which was red, pink and white. He took care of them with much love and devotion. Every day he came back home from work, he would enjoy watching them. Everyone who saw them admired them for their beauty. And he used to tell us, “No one should touch my flowers.”

One day, my younger sister Clemence, who loved dad very much, wanted to help him. So she cut the carnations from their stems(枝干) one by one and arranged them on the ground. She believed that dad would be very pleased to see them that way.

When mom and I realized what my sister had done, we became completely speechless. However, my sister had no idea why no one showed her any appreciation. When my dad arrived, he went straight to see the flowers as usual. Seeing his flowers lying on the ground like dead animals, he was shocked at first. He looked towards the street to see if it was any of the neighbor’s children who could have done it. Then he looked at mom in silence. Finally mom, who always taught us to tell the truth no matter what, said, “No bad neighbors did this great job, only your lovely daughter Clemence.”

Dad’s face changed into a smile and then he said, “Do I have a better flower than my lovely daughter?” My younger sister smiled and hugged dad strongly.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

2. How did Clemence feel when she had the carnations cut?

3.What caused my younger sister to smile and hug dad strongly?

4.Which of the following would be the best title?

One warm May day, two eighteen – year – old students from San Francisco State College decided to cool off with a swim at Bakers’ Beach. The two students were named Robert Kogler and Shirley O’Neill. They headed out to sea for a distance of 50 meters. Robert was in front.

“Suddenly, I heard him scream,” Shirley recalls. “I looked round and saw this great grey thing going up in the air. The water seemed to be alive.”

Robert screamed again. “It’s a shark! Get out of here!”

An eye – witness, Army Sergeant Leo P. Day was on guard at the nearby army post. He saw exactly what happened next. “I could see this boy struggling with the shark in the water,” he said. “The sea was red with blood. He was shouting and signaling someone to go back, go back. Then I saw the girl. She was swimming towards him. She completely ignored his warning.”

Shirley reached Robert, and tried to take his hand.

“When I pulled, all I could see was his arm, handing by a thread,” she said.

So she put her arm about Robert’s back, and started to swim towards the shore. She kept praying “Don't’ let it attack again!” That journey to the shore seemed to last for hours. At last, as they neared the shore, a fisherman threw them a line, and pulled them both the rest of the way.

The young man had lost a lot of blood, and died two and a half hours later. From the teeth marks, experts identified the attacker as a Great White Shark.

For what Sergeant Day called “the greatest exhibition of bravery I have ever seen,” the President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.

1.When Robert was attacked by a shark Shirley          ?         .

       A．was swimming in the sea

       B．was watching him on the shore

       C．was on guard at the nearby army post

       D．was shouting and struggling with a shark, too

2.Choose the right time order of the following events in the story.

       a. Army Sergeant saw the girl swimming to the boy.

       b. Shirley saw a great grey thing.

       c. They headed out to sea.

       d. Robert died.

       e. A fisherman threw them a line.

       f. He saw a boy struggling with a shark.

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

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.         .

A．the two students were brave and considerate

B．the fisherman was adventurous and helpful

C．the experts didn’t do much research on sharks

D．the Sergeant cared too much about his own life

4. Which of the following is true?

   A．The President of the US gave Shirley a medal for bravery.

B．They were swimming in a lake.         

C．There is no eye – witness.

D．Shirley saved Robert’s life.

Valentine’s Day is named for Saint Valentine, an early Christmas churchman who helped young lovers. Valentine was killed for his Christian beliefs on February 14 more than 1700 years ago, but the day which is named after him is even earlier than that.

   More than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Romans celebrated a holiday for lovers. As part of the celebration, girls wrote their names on pieces of paper and put them in a large container. Boys reached into the container and pulled one out. The girl whose name was written on the paper became his lover or sweet heart for a year.

   Now, lovers still put their names on pieces of paper and they sent each other Valentine’s Day cards that tell of their love. Sometimes they also send gifts, like flowers or chocolate candies. Americans usually send these gifts and cards through the mail system. But some use another way to send this message. They have it printed in a newspaper. The cost is usually a few dollars. Some of the messages are simple and short, “Jane, I love you very much”. Others say more. This one, for example, “Dan, Roses are red. Violets are blue. I hope you love me as much as I love you. Forever, May.”

   Most of the newspapers that print such messages are local, but USA Today is sold throughout the United States and 90 other countries. This means someone can send a Valentine message to the lover in a far-away place almost anywhere in the world. These messages cost 80 dollars and more. An employee of USA Today says readers can have a small heart or rose printed along with their messages this year. Will this kind of Valentine’s Day message reach the one you love? Well, just make sure he or she reads the newspaper.

When was the day named after Valentine?

A. More than 1700 years ago before Valentine’s death.      B. More than 2, 000 years ago.

C. On February 14.                                  D. It is not mentioned in the passage.

Which of the following is Wrong about the ancient Romans holiday in the text?

A. Girls put paper with their names into a container.

B. Boys and girls became sweet hearts by chance.

C. Girls and boys chose life lovers in the holiday.

D. It was celebrated as a holiday for lovers.

Now lovers celebrate Valentine’s Day _________.

A. like what the ancient Romans did         B. by sending gifts to each other

C. by printing newspapers                       D. by spending lots of money

What can we learn from the text?

A. The ancient Roman girls were more easy-going.

B. Valentine was killed for not helping the government.

C. USA Today helps readers to send roses with printed messages.

D. Valentine was honored for his Christian belief and warm heart.

The text is written to _________.

A. tell us something about Valentine’s Day                 B. advertise for USA Today

C. tell us that Americans are open to express love          D. sell roses on Valentine’s Day