Treasure hunts（寻宝）have excited people's imagination for hundreds of years both in real life and in books such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island．Kit Williams,a modern writer,had the idea of combining the real excitement of a treasure hunt with clues（线索）found in a book when he wrote a children's story,Masquerade,in 1979．The book was about a hare,and a month before it came out Williams buried a gold hare in a park in Bedfordshire．The book contained a large number of clues to help readers find the hare,but Williams put in a lot of“red herrings”,or false clues,to mislead them．

　　Ken Roberts,the man who found the hare,had been looking for it for nearly two years．Although he had been searching in the wrong area most of the time,he found it by logic（逻辑）,not by luck．His success came from the fact that he had gained an important clue at the start．He had realized that the words“One of Six to Eight”under the first picture in the book connected the hare in some way to Katherine of Aragon,the first of Henry Ⅷ's six wives Even here,however．Williams had succeeded in misleading him．Ken knew that Katherine of Aragon had died at Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire in 1536 and thought that Williams had buried the hare there．He had been digging there for over a year before a new idea occurred to him．He found out that Kit Williams had spent his childhood near Ampthill,in Bedfordshire,and thought that he must have buried the hare in a place he knew well,but he still could not see the connection with Katherine of Aragon,until one day he came across two stone crosses in Ampthill Park and learnt that they had been built in her honor in 1773．

　　Even then his search had not come to an end．It was only after he had spent several nights digging around the cross that he decided to write to Kit Williams to find out if he was wasting his time there．Williams encouraged him to continue,and on February 24th,1982,he found the treasure．It was worth ￡ 3,000 in the beginning,but the excitement it had caused since its burial made it much more valuable．

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　　What am I doing with my daughter at home?Rather thanread aloud from books,we go to dinner and have a very good time．This is usually when her Morn isn't around,and this is when my little girl and I relate better．They're alone together so much．We're seldom alone．When we're alone together,she and I somehow behave differently．We learn about each other．She learns that I'm her father．I learn that she's my daugh ter．It's a strange feeling,but any parent knows what I'm talking about when I say that I often look at my daughter and wonder just whose kid she is．Where'd she suddenly come from?And why on earth did she pick Laura and me for parents?

　　When my daughter and I are alone she'll hold my hand and say,“I just love you so much,Daddy!”She's so used to my leaving that when I tell her she and I are going to hang out all night,she gets this great look on her face and says,“We've got So much to do,Dad!”There's nothing like it in the world．

　　I want my relationship with my daughter to keep growing,so I've been giving my wife a couple of hundred dollars each week and making her go to the shopping center with her girlfriends,or something-anything!

　　But this closeness is not without its problems．When I'm sitting there playing with her Barbie doll（芭比娃娃）,washing her hair,a voice in me suddenly says,“I've got to get a drink and get out of here．”Right in the middle of all this pleasantness,the voice goes,“Look at yourself!You're washingdolls!”

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　　Some expressions describe people who are important or who at least think they are．One such expression is“big wig”．In the 17th century,important men in Europe began to wear false hair called wigs．As years passed,wigs began to get bigger．The size of a man's wig depended on how important he was．The more important he was or thought he was,the bigger the wig he wore．Some wigs were so large that they covered the man's shoulders or back．Today the expression“big wig”is used to make fun of a person who feels important．People never tell someone he is a big wig．They only use the expression behind his back．

　　“Big wheel”is another way to describe an important person．A big wheel may be the head of a company,a political leader,a famous movie star．They are big wheels because theyare powerful．What they do affects many people．Big wheel gives the orders and other people carry them out．As in many machines,a big wheel makes the little wheel turn．“Big wheel”became a popular expression after World War Ⅱ．It probably comes from an expression used for many years by people who fit parts of the cars and trucks．They said a person whirled（使旋转）a big wheel if he was important or had influence．The top of something is the highest part of something．So it is not surprising that top is part of another expression that describes an important person．The expression is “top banana”．A top banana is the leading person in a comedy show．

　　The funniest comedian is called the “top banana”．The next is second banana,and so on．Why a“banana”?A comedy act in earlier days often included the part where one of the comedians would hit others over the head with a soft object．

　　The object was shaped like the yellow food— the banana．“Top banana”is still used mainly in show business．Yet the expression can also be used to describe a top person in any area．

　　A“kingpin”is another word for an important person．The expression comes from the game of bowling．The kingpin is the No．One pin．If it is hit correctly by the bowling ball,the kingpin will make all the other nine pins fall．And that isthe object of the game．So the most important person in a project or business is the kingpin．If the kingpin is removed,the project or business is likely to fail．Kingpin is often used to describe an important criminal or the leader of a criminal gang．A newspaper may report,for example,that the police have arrested the suspected kingpin of a car stealing operation．

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　　Over time．the Declaration of Independence has deeply affected American history．Phrases from the document such as“all men are created equal”quickly took on a life of their own or were applied to groups that the authors never expected．Blacks quickly used this language to challenge slavery in the United States．The ideal of equality led Northern states to free slaves in the 1780s,1790s,and early 1800s．Black and white abolitionists（废奴主义者）used the ideal that all men were created equal to attack slavery in the South before the Civil War．And civil rights supporters gathered behind Jefferson's words in their fight against racism in the 1950s and 1960s．In 1848 the delegates（代表）to the Seneca Falls women's rights conference proclaimed that“all men and women are created equal”,and the 20th— century feminist（女权主义者）did the same．

　　Other groups have focused on the document's defence of the right to rebel against an unjust government．The Declaration of Independence had a deep effect on the French Revolution;its influence was strong in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,adopted by the National Assembly of France in 1789．In the 19th century the principles of the declaration were adopted by various Latin American movements fighting for independence from European colonial powers．The declaration influences more recent struggles for national identity（身份）:Vienamese Communist leader HoChi Mink,for example,used the American document as one of the basic principles behind his fight to establish an independent and unified Vietnam．

　　The document itself continues to be an important symbol for the American people．Today．each page of the Declaration of Independence is protected．Over one million Americans view the document each year in Washington,D．C．,where it is displayed along with the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for “sport”．Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching,and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction．

　　The number of gunners,however,grows rapidly．Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led a long way away by their gunning parents．They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and guncarrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins（血管）．They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill．In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate（刺激）a desire to own a gun．

　　Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wildland habitat（栖息地）．Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population,but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting?There doesn't seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved．

　　Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone．Although most people do not shoot,they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it．The only answer,then,is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people．

　　Now,it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures．The gunners like to describe what they do as characterbuilding,but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy．If,as they would have you believe,gun-carrying and killing improve human character,then perhaps we should encourage war．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson River must remember the Catskill Mountains．They are a branch of the great Appalachian family,and can be seen to the west rising up to a noble height and towering over the surrounding country．When the weather is fair and settled,they are clothed in blue and purple,and print their beautiful shapes on the clear evening sky,but sometimes when it is cloudless,gray steam gathers around the top of the mountains which,in the last rays of the setting sun,will shine and light up like a crown of glory（华丽的皇冠）．

　　At the foot of these mountains,a traveler may see light smoke going up from a village．

　　In that village,and in one of the houses(which,to tell the exact truth,was sadly time-worn and weather-beaten),there lived many years ago,a simple,good-natured fellow by the name of Rip Van Winkle．

　　Rip's great weakness was a natural dislike of all kinds of money-making labor．It could not be from lack of diligence（勤劳）,for he could sit all day on a wet rock and fish without saying a word,even though he was not encouraged by a single bite．He would carry a gun on his shoulder for hours,walking through woods and fields to shoot a few birds or squirrels．He would never refuse to help a neighbor,even in the roughest work．The women of the village,too,used to employ him to do such little jobs as their less helpful husbands would not do for them．In a word,Rip was ready to attend to everybody's business but his own．

　　If left to himself,he would have whistled（吹口哨）life a way in perfect satisfaction;but his wife was always mad at him for his idleness（懒散）．Morning,noon,and night,her tongue was endlessly going,so that he was forced to escape to the outside of the house-the only side which,in truth,belongs to a henpecked husband．

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　He was the baby with no name．Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912,his tiny body so moved the salvage（救援）workers that they called him“our baby．”In their home port of Halifax,Nova Scotia,people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby's grave（墓）,carved with the words:“To the memory of an unknown child．”He has rested there ever since．

　　But history has a way of uncovering its secrets．On Nov．5,this year,three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave．“This is our baby,”says Magda Schleifer,68,a banker．She grew up hearing stories about a greataunt named Maria Panula 　　1　　,who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband．According to the information Mrs．Schleifer had gathered,Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children-including a 13-month-old boy named Eino-from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing．“We thought they were all lost in the sea,”says Schleifer．

　　Now,using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby's grave,scientists have compared the DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies．The result of the test points only to one possible person:young Eino．Now,the family sees no need for a new grave．“He belongs to the people of Halifax,”says Schleifer．“They've taken care of him for 90 years．”

Adapted from People,November 25,2002

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before:changes for the better,changes for the worse;changes that brought a lot of benefits to human beings,changes that put man in danger．Many things caused the changes,but,in my opinion,the most important was the progress in science．

　　Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views．It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter and of the universe;it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development．Technology in the application of science has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life．

　　The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings:in pure science-a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning:in applied science-a more reasonable sharing of material benefits,and better protection of the environment．

　　Sadly,however,there is another side to the picture．The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind．The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet．We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons．Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War,the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used,the result could have been the ruin of the human race,as well as of many kinds of animals．

　　William Shakespeare said,“The web of our life is of a minqled yarn（纱线）,good and ill together．”The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities-science seems to prove what Shakespeare said．But does it have to be so?Must the ill always go together with the good?Arewe biologically programmed for war?

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

　　Animals can move from place to place,but plants cannot．When an animal is under attack,it can run away or fight back．Plants certainly cannot run away,and they lack teeth and claws．But plants can defend themselves by using both physical and chemical means．

　　Some plants have their own ways to keep animals away．For example,the leaves of the holly plant have sharp spines（刺）that discourage grass-eating animals．Holly leaves on lower branches have more spines than leaves on upper branches．This is because the lower leaves are easier for most animals to reach．

　　Some plants,such as the oak tree,have thick and hard leaves that are difficult for animals to eat．Some grasses may contain a sandy material:eating such grasses wears down the animal's teeth．

　　Many plants also have chemical defenses．Some plants produce chemicals that taste bitter or cause an unpleasant reaction．Some plants may fight against an attack by increasing the production of these chemicals．When a caterpillar（毛虫）bites a tobacco leaf,the leaf produces a chemical messenger．This messenger sends to the roots the information to produce more nicotine．The higher levels of nicotine discourage the caterpillar．

　　Many plants depend on both physical and chemical defenses．A certain plant in China,for instance,has prickly（多刺的）leaves,and each prickle contains poisonous venom（毒液）．A single experience with this kind of plant will teach an animal to stay away from it in the future．

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