Around the world more and more people are ___1___ dangerous sports and activities. Of course there have always been people who have ___2___ adventure—those who have climbed the ___3___ mountains, explored unknown parts of the world or ___4___ in small boats across the greatest oceans. Now, however, there are people who look for an immediate pleasure from a ___5___ activity which may only last a few minutes or even ___6___.

I would consider bungee jumping to be a good example of such an activity. You ___7___ from a high place about 200 meters above the ground with an elastic rope ___8___ to your ankles. You ___9___ at up to 150 kilometers an hour until the rope stops you from ___10___ the ground. It is said that 2 million people around the world have now ___11___ bungee jumping. Other activities, ___12___ most people would say are as dangerous as bungee jumping, ___13___ jumping from tall buildings and ___14___ into the sea from the top of high rocks.

Why do people take part in such activities as these? Some psychologists(心理学家) suggest that it is because life in ___15___ societies has become safe and boring. Not very long ago, people’s lives were constantly under ___16___. They had to go out and hunt for ___17___, and life was a continuous battle for survival.

Nowadays, according to many people, life offers ___18___ excitement. They live and work in relatively safe condition; they buy food in shops; and there are doctors and hospitals to ___19___ them if they become ill. The answer for some of these people is to ___20___ danger in activities such as bungee jumping.

1. A. escaping from       B. taking part in     C. going in     D. taking in

2. A. looked up      B. looked into C. looked for  D. looked around

3. A. lowest    B. highest       C. beautiful    D. wild

4. A. sailed     B. swam  C. jumped      D. crossed

5. A. safe B. excited       C. funny  D. dangerous

6. A. years      B. seconds      C. hours  D. days

7. A. jump      B. run     C. walk   D. cross

8. A. followed B. tied     C. brought      D. took

9. A. go   B. run     C. fall     D. fly

10. A. falling  B. running      C. flying D. hitting

11. A. tried     B. looked for  C. found  D. studied

12. A. that      B. which C. it D. what

13. A. hold     B. include       C. find    D. contain

14. A. swimming    B. running      C. diving D. sailing

15. A. old       B. modern      C. past    D. formal

16. A. safety   B. imperfection      C. danger       D. perfection

17. A. animals B. food   C. water  D. dangers

18. A. few      B. little   C. much  D. many

19. A. look at  B. look into    C. look for     D. look after

20. A. look for       B. look after   C. explore      D. find

Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic Adventure novel by Jules Verne. The story starts in London in 1872. One day in the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman, accepts a wager(赌注) for £20,000, which he will receive if he travels around the world in 80 days.
Phileas Fogg sets off immediately, with his servant Passepartout. They reach Suez(苏伊士) quickly. While landing in Egypt, he is watched by a British detective named Fix, who is in search of a bank robber. Because Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal, he follows secretly, as they are getting on a ship to Bombay.
After more than 20-days of travelling, they arrive in San Francisco, and then get on the train to New York. During that trip, the train is attacked by Indians, who take Passepartout away. With some soldiers’ help, Fogg succeeds in freeing his companion. To make up for the lost time, Fogg and his companion hasten on to New York, and catch the steamer for the crossing of the Atlantics. They arrive in Ireland in time to reach London before the deadline. However, once on British soil again, Fix arrests Fogg. Although the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up—the actual bank robber had been caught several days earlier. Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, sure that he has lost the wager.
However, the next day Fogg learns from the priest that he is mistaken in the date, which he thinks Sunday but which actually is Saturday, due to the fact that they gained a full day on their journey around the globe, by crossing the International Date Line. Fogg immediately sets off for the Reform Club, where he arrives just in time to win the wager.
【小题1】The reason that Fix wants to arrest Phileas Fogg is that                  .

Around the world coral reefs(珊瑚礁) are facing threats(威胁) brought by climate change and great changes in sea temperatures. While ocean warming has been the primary focus for scientists and ocean policy managers, cold events can also whiten corals. A new study by scientists compared damaged to corals exposed to heat as well as cold stress. The results show that cool temperatures can cause more damage in the short term, but heat is more destructive(破坏性的) in the long run.

Climate change is widely known to produce warming conditions in the oceans, but extreme cold-water events have become more frequent and serious as well. In 2010, for example, coral reefs around the world faced on of the coldest winters and one of the hottest summers on record.

During a unique experiment, corals under cold temperatures suffered greater damage in just days compared with heat treated corals. Yet the researchers found that corals were eventually able to adjust to the cold conditions, make their health stable and continue to grow. However, over the long term corals subjected to heat suffered more greatly than those in cold, with evidence of severe whitening and growth stoppage, which leads to death.

The coral’s ability to adjust to cool temperatures surprised the researchers, who say the study’s results show the complexities(复杂性) of monitoring coral health in response to different environmental factors(因素).

“Global warming is associated with increases but also decreases of temperatures,” said Deheyn, one of the researchers. “Not much has been known about the comparative effects of temperature decrease on corals. These results are important because they show that corals react differently to temperature differences, which is important for future management of coral reefs in the field of climate change.”

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Corals are unable to adjust to temperature changes.
B. Cold temperature causes greater damage to corals.
C. Hot temperature helps coral reefs to grow quickly.
D. Heat and cold damage corals in their own ways.

2.We can learn from the passage that ??????? .
A. scientists used to pay no attention to the effect of cold events on corals
B. 2010 witnessed one of the greatest temperature differences on record
C. corals prefer warmer conditions to cold temperatures in the long run
D. global warming has nothing to do with the decrease of temperature

3.According to the research, ?????????? .
A. corals may continue to grow in cold events after a few days
B. cold events help corals grow more quickly in a short time
C. corals show no response to hot temperatures in the first days
D. corals are whitened mainly because of warm temperatures

4.Scientists reached the conclusion through ???????????? .

A. news report????????????? B. scientific study????????????? C. great imaginationD.natural conditions

Around the World in Eighty Days is a classic Adventure novel by Jules Verne. The story starts in London in 1872. One day in the Reform Club, Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman, accepts a wager(赌注) for £20,000, which he will receive if he travels around the world in 80 days.

Phileas Fogg sets off immediately, with his servant Passepartout. They reach Suez(苏伊士) quickly. While landing in Egypt, he is watched by a British detective named Fix, who is in search of a bank robber. Because Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal, he follows secretly, as they are getting on a ship to Bombay.

After more than 20-days of travelling, they arrive in San Francisco, and then get on the train to New York. During that trip, the train is attacked by Indians, who take Passepartout away. With some soldiers’ help, Fogg succeeds in freeing his companion. To make up for the lost time, Fogg and his companion hasten on to New York, and catch the steamer for the crossing of the Atlantics. They arrive in Ireland in time to reach London before the deadline. However, once on British soil again, Fix arrests Fogg. Although the misunderstanding is quickly cleared up—the actual bank robber had been caught several days earlier. Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, sure that he has lost the wager.

However, the next day Fogg learns from the priest that he is mistaken in the date, which he thinks Sunday but which actually is Saturday, due to the fact that they gained a full day on their journey around the globe, by crossing the International Date Line. Fogg immediately sets off for the Reform Club, where he arrives just in time to win the wager.

1.The reason that Fix wants to arrest Phileas Fogg is that                  .

2.During his time in America, Phileas Fogg spends a lot of “unexpected” time             .

3.Does Phileas Fogg win the wager at last? Why?

Foods from Around the World

Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries. Here are four people’s experiences with foreign food.

Shao Wong is a student in France. He comes from China. “I’d never tasted cheese or even milk before I came here. Cattle are rare in my part of China, so there are no dairy products. I tried milk when I first arrived in France. I hated it! I sampled cheese too, but couldn’t manage more than one bite. I love ice cream, though, and that’s made from milk.”

Birgit is from Sweden. She traveled to Australia on vacation. “I was in a restaurant that specialized in fish, and I heard some other customers order flake. So I ordered some too and it was delicious. Later, I found out that flake is an Australian term for shark. After that pleasant experience, whenever I see a new food I try it out on purpose. You know why? I remember how much I enjoyed flake.”

Chandra is a dentist in Texas. She originates from India. “I’m frightened of eating new foods because they might be made from beef. I’m a Hindu, and my religion forbids me to eat meat from the cow. It’s a sacred animal to Hindus, so that’s the reason I can’t eat hamburgers or spaghetti with meatballs.”

Nathan is American. He taught for a year in China. “My friends gave me some 100-year-old eggs to eat. I didn’t like the look of them at all. The insides were green, but my friends said the color was normal. The Chinese put chemicals on fresh eggs. Then they bury them in the earth for three months. So the eggs weren’t really very old. Even so, I absolutely refused to touch them.”

Life in a new country can be scary, but it also can be fun. Would you sample a 100-year-old egg? Would you order shark in a restaurant?

1. What kind of girl is Birgit?

A. Religious.  B. Brave. C. Confident.  D. Open- minded.

2. Chandra is frightened of eating food made from beef, because _________.

A. It’s against Hindus’ religion.

B. She is a doctor and she thinks beef is not easy to chew and digest.

C. She is an Indian.

D. Hindus think beef is not tasty.

3. The underlined word “Sacred” in paragraph 4 means _________.

A. frightening B. large   C. man – eating      D. greatly respected

4. What can you infer from this passage?

A. Foods that are well known to you may not be familiar to people from other countries.

B. Despite (虽然) cultural differences in food, have a try and maybe you’ll get used to it.

C. A vacation is a good way to learn about new foods. Be sure to go on vacation more often.

D. People dislike eating new foods only because their religion forbids it.