Imagine living in a city made of glass. No, this isn’t a fairy tale. If you could grab your diving gear and swim down 650 feet into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington State, you would witness the secret world of glass reefs.

The reef you’d be looking at is made up of glass sponges(海绵). But how can animals be made of glass? Well, glass is formed from a substance called silica. The sponges use the silica found in ocean waters to build glass structures that will give them shape and support. Be careful! Some of the fragile creatures are up to 200 years old.

When sponges die, new ones grow on top of the pile of old ones. Over centuries, a massive and complex reef takes shape. Some sponges look like wrinkled trumpets, while others look like overgrown cauliflower or mushrooms.

Dr. Paul Johnson, who discovered the Washington reef in 2007, also found other surprises such as bubbles of methane(甲烷) gas flowing out of the seafloor nearby. The methane feeds bacteria, and the bacteria feed the glass sponges.

“It’s a new ecosystem we know nothing about,” said Dr. Johnson.

The reef of yellow and orange glass sponges is crowded with crabs, shrimp, starfish, worms, snails, and rockfish. The glass reef is also a nursery for the babies of many of these creatures and was called a “kindergarten” by scientists.

Many animals that live in the reef hang around for a long time, just like the sponges. Rockfish, for example, live for more than 100 years. Scientists are just beginning to study all the species that call the reef home.

The Washington coast isn’t the only place where a living glass reef has been found. The first was discovered in Hecate Strait off the coast of British Columbia in 1991. Scientists all over the world were stunned to see it.

1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Man-made cities under the sea     B. The world under the sea

C. Glass “cities” under the sea        D. Creatures under the sea

2.It can be learned that the glass reef _______.

A. is made up of a kind of materials called sponges

B. is a work of art made by some American scientists

C. is a new ecosystem people are not familiar with

D. was first discovered off the coast of Washington State

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The sponges must feel soft.

B. Silica comes from animals’ body fluid.

C. Methane is harmful to glass sponges.

D. Glass sponges depend on the bacteria for a living.

4.Why did scientists call the glass reef a “kindergarten”?

A. Because the babies of many sea creatures grow well there.

B. Because thousands of children visit it every year.

C. Because it is crowded with snails and rockfish, etc.

D. Because all the species call the reef home.

5.What does the underlined word “stunned” in the last paragraph mean?

A. Greatly surprised.       B. Extremely scared.

C. Highly satisfied.        D. Very pleased.

Imagine living in a city made of glass. No, this isn’t a fairy tale. If you could grab your diving gear and swim down 650 feet into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington State, you would witness the secret world of glass reefs.

The reef you’d be looking at is made up of glass sponges(海绵). But how can animals be made of glass? Well, glass is formed from a substance called silica. The sponges use the silica found in ocean waters to build glass structures that will give them shape and support. Be careful! Some of the fragile creatures are up to 200 years old.

When sponges die, new ones grow on top of the pile of old ones. Over centuries, a massive and complex reef takes shape. Some sponges look like wrinkled trumpets, while others look like overgrown cauliflower or mushrooms.

Dr. Paul Johnson, who discovered the Washington reef in 2007, also found other surprises such as bubbles of methane(甲烷) gas flowing out of the seafloor nearby. The methane feeds bacteria, and the bacteria feed the glass sponges.

“It’s a new ecosystem we know nothing about,” said Dr. Johnson.

The reef of yellow and orange glass sponges is crowded with crabs, shrimp, starfish, worms, snails, and rockfish. The glass reef is also a nursery for the babies of many of these creatures and was called a “kindergarten” by scientists.

Many animals that live in the reef hang around for a long time, just like the sponges. Rockfish, for example, live for more than 100 years. Scientists are just beginning to study all the species that call the reef home.

The Washington coast isn’t the only place where a living glass reef has been found. The first was discovered in Hecate Strait off the coast of British Columbia in 1991. Scientists all over the world were stunned to see it.

26. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A. Man-made cities under the sea     B. The world under the sea

C. Glass “cities” under the sea        D. Creatures under the sea

27. It can be learned that the glass reef _______.

A. is made up of a kind of materials called sponges

B. is a work of art made by some American scientists

C. is a new ecosystem people are not familiar with

D. was first discovered off the coast of Washington State

28. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The sponges must feel soft.   B. Silica comes from animals’ body fluid.

C. Methane is harmful to glass sponges. 

D. Glass sponges depend on the bacteria for a living.

29. Why did scientists call the glass reef a “kindergarten”?

A. Because the babies of many sea creatures grow well there.

B. Because thousands of children visit it every year.

C. Because it is crowded with snails and rockfish, etc.

D. Because all the species call the reef home.

30. What does the underlined word “stunned” in the last paragraph mean?

A. Greatly surprised.       B. Extremely scared.  

C. Highly satisfied.        D. Very pleased.

  I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．

    Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．

    Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．

    When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．

    One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！

The author wrote this text with the purpose of       ．

    A．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

    B．showing you can overcome any difficulty if you take action

    C．calling on the readers not to develop bad habits in college

    D．introducing his university life to the teenage readers

The author didn’t care about his study until      ．

    A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear  B．he decided to give up smoking

    C．his allowance was cut in half   D．he entered the engineering school

The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means that the author      ．

    A．removed his bad habits and didn’t lead a casual life

    B．never hung out with his friends but studied all day

    C．began to live a happy life due to his good grades

    D．paid off his debt and life wasn’t hard for him any more

Which of the following statements is TRUE？

    A．The author did well in making good friends in the school．

    B．The author made great progress with the help of his friends．

    C．Students were encouraged to do part-time jobs in Indian schools．

    D．Students tended to earn money for college expenses in America．

  I still remember the days when l was a youthful student in an engineering school．I lived a casual life，without caring about the future．I smoked，drank with friends and made girl friends．Little did I realize that casualness would certainly lead to loss．
Two years had passed and l was staring down a report card that highlighted FAII in more than half the subjects．I didn’t care，at least not till my dad found out about it．You see．I studied in India and unlike the United States where the students are expected to finance their own education，my dad financed me．
Then came the day when my dad found out my habit of smoking．He lost his temper but he just told me，“Son，your allowance is cut in half from this moment on”．It hit me like a roundhouse kick（回旋踢） from Bruce Lee．I was jolted（震摇）out of my bones！I couldn’t comprehend how to pay off the debts that I had accumulated in college．I owed everybody money：the grocery store，the bars．the restaurants，my friends，etc．I was living a life filled with credit．
When I went back to college，I knew that if I don’t change the way I live my life I won’t be able to pay everybody off．So I decided to make some changes．drastic changes．I quit smoking，cut off from my friends who led me down the wrong road，starting hanging out in libraries and reading my engineering books．
One year later，I went from a miserable failure to a magna curn laude（优等成绩）．Life was never the same again．This incident made me know that anything is possible if you take action and do something about it，however small or large．Even today it still motivates me when I feel that l’m about to lose or give up．It reminds me that I can do it！
【小题1】The author wrote this text with the purpose of       ．

A．he was in heavy debt he couldn’t bear	B．he decided to give up smoking
C．his allowance was cut in half	D．he entered the engineering school