The best swimmers tend to be tall and thin with long arms, long legs, long feet, and long hands. The size of their hands gives them great “water grasp”, and only a very small hand movement keeps them afloat.

They also have great strength, endurance, insulation(隔绝) against heat loss while in water below body temperature, thus better energy conservation, low resistance(阻力) when in the water, and swimming stroke mechanics(动作技巧).

Part of the reason why some people are better swimmers than others has to do with body density. The average person’s body density is slightly less than that of water. Muscle has greater density than fat. Therefore, very muscular people tend to be poor at staying afloat. Bone has greater density than fat. Therefore, very skinny people tend to be poor at staying afloat.

Good buoyancy(浮力) is not necessarily the most important factor in good swimming, but it certainly helps. For example, great competitive swimmers—tall, thin, and usually more muscular than average—tend to have greater body density than average and less buoyancy. Many would not float very well if they remained motionless in the water. Their much greater “water grasp” makes up for it. 

The average woman contains a higher proportion(比例) of fat in her body than the average man, and the average man contains a higher proportion of muscle in his body than the average woman. Therefore, in general, women are better floaters than men. Compared with other competitive sports, the performance of women is closer to that of men in competitive swimming.

66. The underlined word “afloat” in the first paragraph might most probably mean “      ”.

     A. keeping quiet       B. swimming faster         C. floating on water    D. never drowning

67. What can we learn from the passage about body density?

     A. Higher body density reduces swimming ability.

     B. A person’s body density decides one’s swimming ability.

     C. Fat people can always swim faster than thin people.

     D. People with a lower proportion of muscle can hardly swim.

68. “Buoyancy” is important because       .

     A. it helps people to be safer in water                   B. it can help people to swim better

     C. it can never be trained to get better                   D. it increases swimming length

69. How is the whole passage organized?

     A. By reasoning and explaining.                           B. By argument and debate.

     C. By explaining one part after another.                 D. By examples and comments.

70. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

     A. How to be a good swimmer                            B. Details about swimming

C. Facts about swimming                              D. Better ways, better swimmers

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．
【小题1】By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．  

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．

By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．

More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．

The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．

The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．

A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．

Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．

“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”

She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．

1.By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．  

A．a gap you come across after leaving high school

B．a time when you are caught in a dilemma between work and study

C．a period after you find a job upon your graduation from college

D．a year off between high school and college for certain purposes

2.In the third paragraph, the underlined word “priorities” most probably means ________

A．selections         B．attractions         C．preferences       D．projects

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Men students will travel less during the gap year because of their part-­time jobs．

B．Women students will travel more but face more objections．

C．The article suggests that women travelling alone will have dangerous experiences．

D．Men students prefer to travel inside their own country to going abroad．

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

A．Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years

B．Boys Lack Courage in Gap Years

C．For Fun or for Adventure?

D．Young Women Are More Adventurous

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years. One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research.

By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out.

More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures. Men were more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities. Women were more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people.

The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit: more than three quarters of those surveyed reported increased confidence, self-reliance and inde??pendence, whereas only half of the men had that experience.

The research also showed that women were more likely to do voluntary work while trav??elling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects. One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light.

A greater proportion of women than men faced objections or criticism from their fami??lies over their gap-year plans. Among the men surveyed, lack of money was the main barrier to travel.

Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London, was a typically confident female traveller.

Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of

unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs.

“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan,” she recalled. “It was OK but one day I did get chased by one.”

She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”.

46. By referring to “gap year” the writer means ______.

A. a gap you come across after leaving high school

B. a time when you are caught in a dilemma between work and study

C. a period before you find a job upon your graduation from college

D. a year off between high school and college for certain purposes

47. According to the article, ______.

A. most of the women students will travel abroad during the summer holidays

B. one third of the women students will travel abroad in a year

C. women students are more likely to travel abroad alone

D. women students are willing to travel abroad in a group

48. In the third paragraph, the underlined word “priorities” most probably means ______.

A. selections     B. attractions    C. preferences     D. projects

49. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Men students will travel less during the gap year because of their part-time jobs.

B. Women students will travel more but face more objections.

C. The article suggests that women travelling alone will have dangerous experi??ences.

D. Men students prefer to travel inside their own country to going abroad.

50. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

   A. Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years   B. Boys Lack Courage in Gap Years

   C. For Fun or for Adventure?          D. Young Women Are More Adventurous

Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years．One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research．
By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts（地位相当者） visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out．
More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures．Men are more likely to rank “having fun” higher on their list of priorities．Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people．
The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance（自立） and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience．
The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects．One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light．
A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gap­year plans．Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel．
Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller．Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs．
“I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan，” she recalled．“It was OK but one day I did get chased by one．”
She said that she had travelled alone because “you meet more people”．

1. 1.

   By referring to “gap year” the writer means ________．

   1. A.
      a gap you come across after leaving high school
   2. B.
      a time when you are caught in a dilemma between work and study
   3. C.
      a period after you find a job upon your graduation from college
   4. D.
      a year off between high school and college for certain purposes
2. 2.

   In the third paragraph, the underlined word “priorities” most probably means ________

   1. A.
      selections
   2. B.
      attractions
   3. C.
      preferences
   4. D.
      projects
3. 3.

   Which of the following statements is TRUE?

   1. A.
      Men students will travel less during the gap year because of their part-­time jobs．
   2. B.
      Women students will travel more but face more objections．
   3. C.
      The article suggests that women travelling alone will have dangerous experiences．
   4. D.
      Men students prefer to travel inside their own country to going abroad．
4. 4.

   Which of the following would be the best title of the passage?

   1. A.
      Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years
   2. B.
      Boys Lack Courage in Gap Years
   3. C.
      For Fun or for Adventure?
   4. D.
      Young Women Are More Adventurous