Washington — The largest ozone (臭氧)hole ever observed has opened up over Antarctica, according to the scientists of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They believe it is a sign that ozone — destroying gases produced years ago are just now causing the largest quantities of ozone to disappear.

　　This year’s South Pole ozone hole spreads over about 28.5 million square kilometers, an area three times larger than the landmass of the United States.

　　Pictures of the hole have been offered by NASA. The hole appears as a giant blue mass, totally covering Antarctica and stretching to the southern tip of South America.

　　“The last time the ozone hole was close to this size was in 1998, when it spread over about 27.2 million square kilometers,” NASA said.

　　Paul Newman, who works with NASA’s Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument on a NASA satellite, said ozone watchers had expected a big hole this year, but not this big.

　　The Antarctica ozone hole, first observed in 1985, is caused by the depletion (损耗) of Earth protecting ozone by human-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, known as CFCs.

　　“Even though these chemicals were not allowed to use from the beginning of 1987, they remain in the atmosphere and will continue to do so for years,” Newman said.

　　“This year’s large hole may have been caused by a change in a swirling high-level air current over Antarctica, which circles the area and contains the zone hole,” Newman said.

56. The text is mainly about ____ .

　 A. the discovery of the largest ozone hole           B. the discovery of the Antarctica ozone hole

　 C. the history of the Antarctica ozone hole          D. the size of the largest ozone hole

57. The time 1985 was talked about in the text because it was when the Antarctica ozone hole ____ .

　 A. was watched by Newman   B. was first closed   C. disappeared   　 D. was first watched

58. There is a giant ozone hole over Antarctica because ____ over there.

　 A. human-made chemicals have protected ozone     B. ozone has protected the earth

　 C. human-made chemicals have destroyed ozone     D. human-made chemicals have increased ozone

Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.
The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.
The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.
A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.
Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.
Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.
【小题1】According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

Between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, some humans discontinued their wandering hunting and gathering and settled down to farm. Grain was the first domesticated crop that started that farming process.

The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6,000 years old and refer to the Sumerians. Sumeria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers including Southern Mesopotamia. It is said that the Sumerians discovered the fermentation (发酵) process by chance. No one knows today exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread or grain became wet and a short time later, it began to ferment.

The Sumerians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be the first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a “divine drink” which certainly was a gift from the gods. The word beer comes from the Latin word bibere, meaning “to drink”, and the Spanish word cerveza originates from the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.

A vitamin-rich porridge, used daily, beer is reported to have increased health and longevity and reduced disease and malnutrition (营养不良). The self-medicating properties of alcohol-rich beer also eased the tensions and stresses of daily living in a hostile world. The use of yeast (酵母) was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air.

Considerable scientific research took place in breweries (酿酒厂) in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was Studies Concerning Beer where he revealed his knowledge of micro-organisms. By establishing that yeast is a living microorganism, Pasteur opened the gates for accurately controlling the conversion (转换) of sugar to alcohol.

Another discovery in beer brewing was the work of Christian Hansen, a Danish scientist, who successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the resulting yeast multiplication (繁殖) methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved.

1.According to the passage, who was the first to brew beer?

2.The last two paragraphs mainly talk about 　　   　 .

3.According to the text, which of the following is NOT true?

4.Which would be the best title for the text?

CONCORD， N.H.—Torrential rain forced hundreds of people from their homes in parts of New England on Sunday， as water flowed over dams and washed out roads.
The governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts declared states of emergency. Maine’s governor also declared a state of emergency for one county. “It’s a very serious situation，” said New Hampshire Governor John Lynch， adding that forecasters were predicting 12 to 15 inches of rain by the end of the storm in parts of southern New Hampshire. “It continues to change and the situation continues to worsen.”
In some towns， police and fire crews used boats to get people out of their homes and stranded cars after hundreds of roads were damaged. Others got around in kayaks(皮船). Some towns shut down， not letting anyone pass except emergency vehicles. “The town is cut right in half，” said Glenn Laramie， police chief in Andover， N.H.
A dam in Milton， N.H.， was in danger of failing， which could send a 10-foot wall of water downstream， the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. People downstream were being evacuated from the town.
In Massachusetts， cars were pulled from flooded streets in downtown Peabody， about 20 miles north of Boston， and about 300 people were evacuated from an apartment complex for seniors. Businesses stacked sandbags at their doors， trying to prevent damage from water that at one point rose to waist-deep.
Some parts of New Hampshire had seen 7 inches of rain by midday Sunday and forecasters said up to 5 more inches might come during the day. About 100 residents were evacuated from their homes in Wakefield， N.H.， because of concerns about two dams in the area.
Flooding in New Hampshire in October killed seven people， carried off homes and washed away miles of roads down to bedrock.
In Maine， flooding was reported on 60 roads in the southern part of the state， said governor’s spokeswoman Crystal Canney. More than 50 homes in Sanford and several in Kennebunk also were evacuated， state officials said.
【小题1】Which is NOT true according to the article？

A Swedish man was dug out alive after being snowed in his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media reported on Saturday.
The 45-year-old from southern Sweden was found on Friday, February17, too weak to say more than a few words.
He was found not far from the city of Umea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a ruined car until they dug their way to a window and saw movement inside.
The man, who was lying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, said he had been in the car since December 19.
“Just incredible that he’s alive considering that he had no food, but also since it’s been really cold for some time after Christmas.” a rescue team member told regional daily Vasterbottens- Kuriren, which broke the news.
Ebbe Nyberg, duty officer at the Umea police, said police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time.
“We would not make up something like this. The rescue services were on site too and saw the same as us.” he told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.
Umea University Hospital, where the man is recovering after being rescued by police and a rescue team, said in a statement he was doing well considering the circumstances.
Doctors at the hospital said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food. Besides eating snow, the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like(休眠似的）state, physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.
“A bit like a bear that hibernates. Humans can do that.” he said. “He probably had a body temperature of around 31 degrees which the body adjusted to. Due to the low temperature, not much energy was used up.”
“Why the man ended up under the snow in the forest remains unknown,” police said.
【小题1】Who found the Swedish man in the snow?