The question "How long do fish live?" is not as simple as it seems. There are thousands of different kinds
of fishes, and they are quite different from each other in size and life period. What's more, it is not easy to
find out just how long a fish lives in its natural state.
     We can find out how old a fish is by studying its scales, but we can not say how long more it would have
lived if we had not caught it.
     We may keep fishes and record their life period but we can't be sure that this is the length of time they
would have lived had they been left alone.
     We may make marking to show how fast the fishes grow so that we can calculate the age of the largest
on record, but unless this large fish dies of old age we are still not in a position to know its natural life period.
     Unlike human beings, fishes do not stop growing when they have grown up. They continue to grow as
long as they live, although the speed of growth slows down in mature fishes.

1. What can the scales of a fish tell us?

A. Its age
B. Its life period
C. Its size
D. Its growth speed

2. How can we find out the natural life period of a fish?

A. We ought to keep a fish with great care.
B. This article refers to no way of settling the problem.
C. We must go on recording while we're keeping a fish.
D. We should make marking of its growth speed and calculate its life period.

3. In the last sentence "mature fishes" refer to _____ fishes.

A. young
B. sea-water
C. fully-grown
D. fresh water

    If you want to get the most out of the study of a language, you must also read for pleasure: novels, plays,
travel books, and so on. And in reading books of this kind the important thing is to get on with the reading; to
try to grasp what the writer is going to tell you in the book as a whole. This is impossible if you stop and think
over the meaning of every single word which happens to be unfamiliar (不熟悉). You can not enjoy a story if
you stop half a dozen times on every page in order to look up words in the dictionary. You may even prevent
yourself from understanding the story as a whole by doing this.
    When you are reading books of this kind, therefore, you will usually have to rely mainly on (依靠) the
context (上下文) to help you. If you meet an unfamiliar word, do not let it take too much of your attention
from the main thread (主线) of the story. In all probability (可能) you will meet the same word again a few
pages later on in a slightly different context, and each time you see it your understanding of it will become
more exact.

1. The phrase "to get on with reading" in the passage has the same meaning as "_____".

A. to try to grasp the meaning of every sentence in the book
B. to try to catch the meaning of every word in the book
C. to try to understand all the writer is going to tell you
D. to try to understand the main idea of the book

2. When you meet new words in reading such kinds of books, you'd better _____.

A. stop and look them up in a dictionary
B. stop and think them over
C. try to guess their meanings from the context
D. have none of them

3. From the passage the best way to read novels, plays and travel books is _____.

A. to read very slowly
B. to read quickly and not too carefully
C. to read very carefully
D. to read very seriously

4. The best title for this passage is "_____".

A. Read for Pleasure
B. Get on with the Books
C. Reading Skills
D. The Importance of Reading

    Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like
a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws (爪) on its wings when young. They
build their homes about 4.6 m above the river, an important feature (特征) for the safety of the young. It is
called the hoatzin.
    In appearance, the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on
the underside. The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its
nearest relatives are the common bires, cuckoos. Its most striking feature, though is only found in the young.
    Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using
these four claws, together with the beak (喙), they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like
primitive bires must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly, they lost their claws.
    The drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20:00, but in
April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two seven birds for
producing purposes.

1. What is the test mainy about?

A. Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons.
B. The relatives and enemies of hoatzins.
C. Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon.
D. The appearance and living babits of hoatzins.

2. Yong hoatzins are different from their parents in that _____.

A. they look like young cuckoos
B. they have claws on the wings
C. they eat a lot like a cow
D. they live on river banks

3. What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?

A. They had claws to help them climb.
B. They could fly long distances.
C. They had four wings like hoatzins.
D. They had a head with long feathers on the top.

4. Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

A. To find more food.
B. To protect themselves better.
C. To keep themselves warm.
D. To produce their young.

    As many as one in five US teenagers have some degree of hearing loss, according to researchers. They
say the problem is growing.
    Teenagers really don't pay attention to how much noise they are exposed (暴露) to, Josef Shargorodsky
of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston told Reuters. "Often people won't notice it, but even slight hearing
loss may affect language development," said Shargorodsky, one of the researchers.
    The study compared surveys from the early 1990s and the mid-2000s. Each included a few thousand
teenagers. In the first survey, about 15 percent of teenagers had some degree of hearing loss. Some 15 years
later, that number had risen by a third, to nearly 20 percent. 
    "This certainly is big news," said Alison Grimes, an ear doctor. Hearing loss is very common in old people,
Grimes said, but she added that it was worrying to see it happen in the younger age group.
    In babies and young children, hearing problems are known to slow language development. The science is
less clear for teenagers, but it is easy to imagine how being hard of hearing could affect learning, said Grimes. 
    The reasons for the rise are still unclear. When researchers asked teenagers about noise exposure-on the job,
at school or from activities, for example-the teenagers didn't report any change. But Shargorodsky said that
might not be true. "We knew from before that it is difficult to ask this age group about noise exposure-they
underestimate (低估) it." Few people would call it noise when they listen to music on their MP3 player, for
example. "There is a difference between what we think is loud and what is harmful to the ear," said Grimes. 
    Although it's not clear that the MP3 players cause teenagers' hearing loss, Grimes said it was still a good
idea to turn down the sound and take short breaks from listening.

1. According to the researchers, in a US class of 40 students, about _____ students have some degree of
    hearing loss.

A. one
B. five
C. six
D. eight

2. Which of the following statements is true according to the article?

A. Slight hearing loss does not influence learning.
B. Only a few old people have hearing problems.
C. Hearing problems can slow language development.
D. Noise exposure is clearly noticed by teenagers.

3. About hearing loss, it can be inferred that _____.

A. the reasons for the rise have been found
B. MP3 players are to blame
C. listening to loud music may be a cause
D. noise is the main reason

4. The article was written to _____.

A. warn teenagers that loud music might be harmful
B. explain what kinds of noises might affect studies
C. suggest that teenagers shouldn't listen to loud music
D. show how important hearing can be for learning

    Scientists recently found three kinds of animals living two smiles at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea
(地中海). Their small bodies have many cells-each about the size of a large sand-but they are animals. The
most exciting thing about these creatures, is that they don't seem to need oxygen to live.
    What biologists know about life so far is that only one-celled (单细胞) animals can live in spaces that have
no oxygen, and those animals who have many cells can visit these places, but cannot live there. These newly-
found creatures could change that idea.
    The animals live in a super-salty lake under the Mediterranean Sea. It may seem strange to think of a lake
under the sea, but the water in the lake is so salty that it cannot mix with the seawater above it, and the water
in the lake is even saltier than normal seawater. Ordinary seawater has oxygen in it-which allows animals like
fish to live-but the water in the lake doesn't have oxygen.
     Finding animals down there is surprising. The scientists at first thought they were the bodies of dead
animals floating (漂浮) into the lake from somewhere else. But later, they found "these dead bodies" appeared
to be alive. Some of these animals had eggs, which suggests they were reproducing (繁殖); and their old skins
suggest that they had lived there long enough to grow. But scientists still don't know how the animals live
without oxygen. More studies are needed, and maybe biologists will need to rethink (重新考虑) what they
know about animals.

1. At the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, the scientists found _____.

A. many one-celled animals
B. three kinds of living animals
C. some dead animals bodies
D. animals that look like fish

2. What is special about the super-salty lake?

A. The lake water doesn't mix up with the seawater above.
B. Animals with many cells began to live in the lake.
C. The water in the lake has much more oxygen.
D. The water in the lake has different colours.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A. The lake under the Mediterranean attracts many visitors.
B. The animals in the super-salty lake catch scientists' attention.
C. One-celled animals may lay eggs to reproduce.
D. More animals can be found in the super-salty lake.

    Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was
mined for the first time on the North American continent.H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop
for roofers, was responsible for (对…负责) the opening of that first mine.
     Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material
and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which
looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his
hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all.You can well imagine that
he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport
(carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home.
This young man found great vein (岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.
    Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of
magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen.When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a
mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy
fibres (纤维).
    Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads (线), but they have found
thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called "cloth of stone".

1. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A. Asbestos mined in Canada
B. Fireproof matter
C. A "wonder" mineral
D. A new roofing material

2. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by _____.

A. going into roofing business
B. carrying asbestos from Italy
C. sending a trained scientist
D. showing the use of asbestos gloves

3. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A. It is like thread.
B. It feels soapy.
C. It burns easily.
D. It is unusually heavy.

4. The author's main purpose in writing this passage was to _____.

A. show the need for more scientists
B. compare asbestos with other minerals
C. increase the sales of asbestos
D. present facts about asbestos

    Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
    Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology
will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
    E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My
working hours aren't necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office.
This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she'd been born before electronic
mail became such a practical tool.
    The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun-see a
great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one,
you may tire of telling the story.
     With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the
friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as
much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your
convenience.
     E-mail is also an inexpensive way to stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few
parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
     We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They
don't take the place of any of the old ways.