1. The officers started their journey at dawn 　　　　　.

　　　 A.because they wanted to return to the mother ship in twenty-four hours

　　　 B.because the sea then was calm

　　　 C.when the sun was not too strong

　　　 D.so that they could return before dark

5. In the last paragraph the writer tried to make us believe that the present weather forecast is　 　　　than ever before.

A. more necessary　 B. more important　 　 C. more correct　　 D.more seful(DABDC)

M

The journey two naval(海军的) officers made some time ago to the very deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be explored(探索). The two men went down seven miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean inside a small ball called a “bathyscaphe” to find out if there are any ocean currents(洋流) or signs of life.

It was necessary to set out early, so that the bathyscaphe would come to the surface in daylight, and so be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The divers began preparations at dawn and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.

In time, the temperature dropped to freezing point and the men trembled(抖) inside the ball. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone describing how felt. Then, at a depth of 3,000 feet, the telephone stopped working and they were quite cut off from the outside world. At 30,000 feet, the men were surprised by a sudden, loud noise: even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the bathyscaphe touched the soft ocean floor raising a big cloud of “dust” made up of different kinds of small, dead sea animals. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite untroubled by the very large water pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the weak but clear voices of the officers were heard on the mother ship. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving there hours later, cold and wet through, but none the worse for their experience.

4. In the past, as there was no weather forecast or the forecast was wrong, 　　　.

　　　 A.few travelers dared to leave their houses

　　　 B.large storms often happened

　　　 C.a lot of rain caused floods

　　　 D.the number of the killed people was larger than now

3. Which of the following statements is not true?

　　　 A.Different people like different weather.　　 B.Different people like the same weather.

　　　 C.Farmers prefer summer rain to sunny days.D.Drivers dislike too much snow.

2. The writer gave the following examples to show how important the weather is. Which of them is not mentioned?

　　　 A.Pupils needn’t go to school if there is a storm.

　　　 B.Farmers can know what to do around bad weather.

　　　 C.Fishermen won’t go to sea if they know bad weather.

　　　 D.Pilots need to know the weather before flying.

1. The main idea of this passage is that 　　　.

　　　 A.storms can kill lives and destroy property

　　　 B.large storms left many people without homes

　　　 C.thanks to weather forecast people could leave their homes in time

　　　 C.our life needs weather forecast

5. A house destroyed by a tornado would look ___________.

　　　 A.as a hurricane had hit it

　　 B. as if there had been a fire

　　 C. as if it had been stolen by a lot of thieves

　　 D. none of the above　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (ADBAD)

L

It is important to know tomorrow’s weather. If we know a storm is coming, we can save lives and property(财产). A few years ago large storms left many people without homes. In some places, a lot of rain fell at one time and caused floods. Weathermen predicted(预报) these storms, and people left their homes in time. Years ago, storms killed larger numbers of people than now.

The weather is important to many people. Pilots have to know　 whether they can fly their planes around bad weather. Farmers have to know if there is going to be a storm, dry or cold weather. Fishermen have to know if they can take their boats out on the ocean.

Good weather for some people is bad weather for others. A lot of snow makes skiers(滑雪者) happy. But a lot of snow and ice cause problems for bus drivers, and travelers. Everybody likes sunny days, but farmers like summer rain for their crops.

Today weather forecasters use planes and satellites to check the weather. The satellite takes pictures of the earth and its clouds. Weather forecasters study the pictures and predict the weather.

4. The tornado destroys a house by ___________.

　 　　 A. sucking away the air outside　　 　　　　　 B. taking away the air inside

　　 C. making the house full of air　　　 　　　　 D. pressing the wall from outside

3. The air pressure(压力) outside the house is usually _______.

　　　 A. greater than the pressure inside　 　　　　　 B. the same as the pressure inside

　　 C. less than the pressure inside　　 　　　　　 D. a different kind of pressure

2. The walls of a house stay up when ________.

　　　 A. air pushes from outside　　　　　 　　　　 B. air pushes from inside

　　　 C. there is no pressure outside　 　　　　　　　 D. both A and B