Tim Welford, aged 33, and Dom Mee, aged 30, both from England, were keen on (=like... very much) rowing boats. They made a plan to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. The name of their rowboat was “Crackers”. It was about seven meters long.

     They set out from Japan on May 17,2001. They had rowed nearly 5,500 miles when their boat was hit by a fishing ship on September 17,2001. Luckily they both escaped unharmed, but their boat was badly damaged and they had to abandon( = stop)their journey.

　 　In a radio interview, Dom expressed his disappointment and explained how the accident took place.

　　“A fishing ship came towards us with nobody on the bridge and ran us down. It all happened so quickly. I managed to dive into the water. Tim felt it would be safer to stay on board. He was trapped inside as the boat was driven under the water. Finally some people appeared on the ship and saw me in the water. I shouted at them to stop the ship and to get Tim out. When the ship stopped, I eventually saw Tim, and I was very, very happy that we were still alive. We were very disappointed that we couldn’t reach San Francisco. But we are alive. That above everything is the most important. ”

41. How long had Tim and Dom been at sea when their boat was hit by a fishing boat?

A. For one month　 　           B. For two months. 

C. For three months.　　        D. For four months.

42. According to Dom, the main reason for the accident was that________.

A. Tim and Dom were too careless

B. the speed of the fishing ship was too fast

C. nobody on the fishing ship saw them

D. their rowboat was not strong enough

43. Dom said that the most important thing in this accident was that________.

A. their rowboat was not damaged

B. both of them existed after a dangerous time

C. they enjoyed this journey

D. they failed to reach San Francisco

44. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Some people on the fishing ship saved them.

B. Tim and Dom were going to San Francisco in the rowboat because they had no money to buy airplane tickets.

C. Dom dived into the water when the accident happened because he thought it would be dangerous to stay on board.

D. Dom told people about their dangerous experience when he was interviewed on the radio.

Schedules, as the 21st century people know, simply did not exist in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are upset if a plane arrives an hour late. Our ancestors weren’t upset if an April ship didn’t show up until June. They began to worry in July and were often happy when it showed up in August. When a long-distance ship finally did get to the port, the whole city became busy and excited. Businessmen hurried down to check the goods they had ordered. The ship would probably stay in port for at least three days, often a week, to take on businessmen, give the sailors a rest, find out about the latest news, weather conditions, and so on.

Travel time could only be approximate. One never knew when the winds would be good. So even though “average sailing time” was given, time could change considerably, shortening the voyage by up to 25% or putting it off by up to 500% or more! The average run from England to Boston was about a month and a half, but there were also voyages of three months. One voyage in 1640 lasted six months!

Travel time is not the same in both directions, due to the winds and currents. This is especially true in the Caribbean, where winds are from the southeast the entire year. Ships sailing west across the Atlantic spend longer than ships sailing east, and the contrary winds can prevent a ship from actually making it to the harbor even if it gets close. One ship was held off the North Carolina coast for 17 days before being able to land!

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A. No sailor was allowed to have fun when the ship reached land.

B. People in ancient times didn’t care about other people’s safety.

C. The ship would leave for a voyage when all of the preparations were made.

D. A long-distance ship would create a lot of excitement in the place where it landed.

2. According to the passage, travel time can’t be fixed due to ___________ .

A. the people at the port                                B. average sailing time

C. the changeable climate                          D. the businessmen and the sailors

3. The underlined word “currents” in the third paragraph means __________ .

A. the movement of water                         B. the movement of winds

C. direction of the traveling ship         D. travel time of ships

On April 24^th, another natural disaster—the oil spill(泄露) in the Gulf of Mexico, happened．Millions of dollars have been used to help stop the spill and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．
But governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run.
Of all of today's environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tons of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．      
However, we should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research, in the past, was stopped by the oil, gas, and coal．
If the world's millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效_{高☆考♂资♀源?网}的）,we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．
【小题1】What is the passage mainly talking about?

根据中文及首字母提示，在空格内填写短语。运用Module 7 Unit 3-5以及NCL23,24,27,28中学到的词组翻译短语。（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
【小题1】Before you draw a conclusion, you should ________ (深思) it again and again.
【小题2】There is no doubt that all students ________ (极想) succeed in their study.
【小题3】 We attended our friends’ wedding ________ (不久前的一天).
【小题4】Li Lei always helps the persons ________ (需要) without hesitating.
【小题5】It is believed that his nationality is not r________ (毫无关系) whether he is a novelist.
【小题6】He is good at his job but he seems to ________ (缺乏信心).
【小题7】I have been so o________ (忙于工作) that I haven’t had time to see my parents.
【小题8】My classmate’s idea has never a________ (吸引我) very much.
【小题9】We believe the priest is responsible for our ________ (精神安慰).
【小题10】Mr Robot ________ got off the ship than he was stopped by a man who wanted to sell him a diamond ring. (刚一……就)

With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.

       Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil. Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.

       Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious. Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material. In the end, it breaks down naturally. There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.

       Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible. In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean. If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.

       Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage. Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!

       We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil. Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on. Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.

       If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的) — and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year. If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.

What is the passage mainly talking about?

   A. Oil spills pollution.                                            B. What oil pollution is.

C. Oil tanker accidents.                                     D. How to reduce oil pollution.

How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A. By giving a description.                                    B. By making an argument.         

C. By giving an example.                                        D. By drawing a diagram.

What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A. Transportation depending more on oil.      B. Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.

C. Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea.   D. More environmental damage being caused.

Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A. We should build safer oil tankers in the near future.

B. We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.

C. Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.

D. Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.