My love affair with the sea began when I was no more than six years old, walking along the sandy beaches. I always wanted to make the first set of footprints in the wet sand.
Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea’s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of. Soon, wearing a snorkel and a mask, I made my first solo adventures in the deep.
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, in San Diego, asking how I might learn more about the sea.
A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received. During one of their cruises that summer, I met Dr. Robert Norris, a marine geologist. He loved the sea almost as much as I did. Soon he was asking me what my plans were and where I expected to attend college. I told him I didn’t know, so he suggested I consider his school, the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor. If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter. The undersea world is not our natural world. It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes. At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark. It is easy to get lost in such a world. I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, meteorology, geology, biology, and many other things. While I was in school, I took a little of everything.
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U.S. Navy. If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn’t want that to happen. In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on expeditions so that we could explore the wonders of the deep.
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come.
【小题1】In Paragraph 5, the writer discusses “the laws of the physical world.”Which of the following is an example of one of the laws?

Curiosity is an important characteristic of a genius（天才）. You can’t find an intellectual giant who is not a curious person.
【小题1】 This is necessary if you are to have a curious mind. Some things you know and believe might be wrong, and you should be prepared to accept things you don’t know or you don’t quite agree on.
【小题2】  If you just accept the world as it is, you will certainly lose your “ curiosity”. Try to discover what is beneath(在…下面) the surfaces of things around you.
Ask questions from time to time. A sure way to discover what is beneath the surface is by
asking questions: What is that? Why does it make that way? How does it work? And so on. 【小题3】 
See learning as something that is fun. If you see learning as a burden, it will just make the
burden heavier. But if you can find learning interesting, it will open another door. 【小题4】 
Read different kinds of reading materials. Don’t spend too much time on just one
subject. 【小题5】 It will introduce you to other possibilities that may interest you.

“Racism (种族歧视) is a grown-up disease,” declares the saying on Ruby Bridge’s website along with a photo of Mrs. Bridge today, a 6-year-old girl four decades ago. In the photo, she is walking up the steps of the William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, a little black girl accompanied by two officers who protect her on her way to school.
Her name then was Ruby Nell. It was Nov. 14, 1960. She was the first black child to enroll at this all-white elementary school according to the court order to desegregate in New Orleans schools. Her story is moving -- she was a very courageous child -- and remains a significant proof against intolerance (不宽容) of all kinds. Ruby’s photo brings out another powerful image on her website: Norman Rockwells symbolic painting for Look magazine on Jan. 14, 1964, “The Problem We All Live With.”
Rockwell was an illustrator of exceptional skill and charm. He produced a vast number of unforgettable images over a long career, many of them involving children. His American kids are innocent and appealing, but often, at the same time, decidedly naughty. His method was to photograph his models, and the resulting paintings were photographic． But it is revealing to see how the artist slightly changed facial expressions from photo to oil painting in order to make his paintings communicate with the viewer. Communication, even persuasion, lay at the back of his work; this was art for effect.
“The Problem We All Live With” belongs to Rockwell’s later work, when he began openly showing his strong belief in liberty. This is a highly persuasive image. Before he arrived at the final copy, one sketch (草图) shows the little girl closer to the two officers following her than to those in front. In the finished picture, the girl seems more determined, independent, and untouched． The unfriendly tomatoes thrown on the wall are behind her now, and she, is completely unaffected．
【小题1】Ruby Nell was protected by officers on her way to school, because   .

Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea' s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of．When I was twelve, I made my first adventures in the deep．Later I would learn how to dive, expanding my world of exploration many times over．
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, asking how I might learn more about the sea．A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received．During one of their courses that summer, I met Dr．Robert Norris, a marine geologist．He loved the sea almost as much as I did．Soon he suggested I consider his school, the University of California, for my study．One year later I became a member of the freshman class．
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor（艰苦的努力）．If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter．The undersea world is not our natural world．It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes．At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark．It is easy to get lost in such a world．I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, geology, biology, and many other things．
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U．S．Navy．If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn't want that to happen．
In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on adventures so that we could explore the wonders of the deep．
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come．
【小题1】What happened to the author at the age of twelve?

CHICAGO （Reuters） - Smoking not only can wrinkle （起皱纹） the face and tarn it yellow—it can do the same to the whole body, researchers reported on Monday．
The study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, shows that smoking affects the skin all over the body—even skin protected from the sun．
"We examined non - facial skin that was protected from the sun, and found that the total number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day and the total years a person has smoked were linked with the amount of skin damage a person experienced," Dr．Yolanda Helfrich of the University of Michigan, who led the study, said in a statement．
"In participants older than 65 years, smokers had significantly more fine wrinkling than nonsmokers．Similar findings were seen in participants aged 45 to 65 years," Helfrich "s team added in their report．
The researchers tested 82 people, smokers and nonsmokers, taking pictures of the inner right arms． They ranged, in age from 22 to 91 and half were smokers．Independent judges decided how wrinkled each person' s skin was．
When skin is exposed to sunlight, notably the face, it becomes coarse, wrinkled and discolored with a pale yellow tint, Helfrich ' s team wrote．
Several previous studies have found that cigarette smoking contributes to premature（过早的）skin aging as measured by facial wrinkles, the study said, but little has been done to measure the aging of skin not exposed to light．
The report did not discuss die mechanism involved but previous research has found that cigarette smoke, among other things, causes blood vessels （血管） beneath the skin to constrict （紧缩）, reducing blood supply to the skin．
Smoking can also damage the connective tissue that supports both die skin and the internal organs,．
【小题1】When your skin is exposed to sunlight long, it-becomes all of the following but _____．