What do you know about the sea? We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it?

     The first thing to remember is that the sea is very big. When you look at the map of the world you will find there is more water than land. The sea covers three quarters of the world.

     The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere. Some parts of the sea are very shallow. But in some places the depth of the sea is very great. There is one spot, near Japan, where the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain were put into the sea at that place, there would he 2 kilometers of water above it ! What a deep place !

     If you have swum in the sea, you know that it is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, which flow into the sea, carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are saltier than other parts. There is one sea, called the Dead Sea, which is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea!

     In most parts of the sea, there are plenty of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also millions of tiny living things that float in the sea. These floating things are so small that it is hard to see them. Many fish live by eating these.

     The sea can be very cold. Divers who go deep down in the sea know this. On the top the water may be warm. When the diver goes downwards, the sea becomes colder and colder. Another thing happens. When the diver goes deeper, the water above presses down on him. It squeezes him. Then the diver has to wear clothes made of metal. But he cannot go very deep. Some people who wanted to go very deep used a very strong diving ship! They went down to the deepest part of the sea in it. They went down to a depth of eleven kilometers !

When does the sea look beautiful?  

A. When it is calm.               B. When the weather is fine.

       C. When there is a strong  wind.     D. When there is a storm.

How much of the earth’s  surface does land cover?  

A. 15%.       B. 25%.        C. 30%.         D. 45%.

Why does the writer cite（引用） the sea somewhere near Japan? 

       A. To show that the sea in some places is very deep.

       B. To show that the sea in some places is very shallow.

       C. To show that its depth is 9 kilometers greater than the height of the highest mountain.

       D. To show that its depth is 11 kilometers greater than the height

          of the highest mountain.

Which of the following statements about the Dead Sea is NOT true?

       A. Swimmers cannot sink.         B. It is a safe place for swimmers. 

       C. It is extremely salty.           D. Fish can be found in it.

Hundreds of people lined up at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, but they

weren’t there to catch a train. They came to New York City’s famous railroad station to trade in old dollar bills for the new George Washington Presidential苊 1 coin.

The gold-colored coin is the first in a new series by the U.S. Mint（造币厂）that honors former U.S. Presidents. The Mint will issue(发行) four Presidential苊 1 coins a year through 2016. Like the popular 50 State Quarters program, which issues coins in the order in which each state joined the Union, Presidential苊 1 coins will come out in the order in which each President served. The George Washington coin is the first to be released. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison coins will come out later this year.

The Presidential 苊 1 coins will be the same size and color as the Sacagawea Golden Dollar. However, there is an important difference. For the first time since the 1930s, there is an inscription（题字）on the edge of each coin. Each coin will show a different President on its face, or head side. It will also show the President’s name, the order in which he served and his years in office. The other side of the coin will show the Statue of Liberty and the inscriptions “United States of America” and “苊 1”.

There will be one Presidential苊 1 coin for each President, except Grover Cleveland. He will have two! Cleveland is the only U.S. President to have served two nonconsecutive（不连续的）terms.

The last President scheduled to get a coin is Gerald Ford because a President must have been dead for two years before he can be on a coin.

Why did people line up at the railway station?

    A. To book train tickets.             B. To exchange money.

    C. To visit a coin show.              D. To visit the station itself.

In which order will the Presidential苊 1 coins come out?

    A. Each state joined the Union.       B. Each President was born.

    C. Each President took office.        D. Each President died.

It can be inferred from the passage that         .

    A. there are no words on the Sacagawea Golden Dollar

    B. the new coin can buy more than the old coin

    C. the new coin takes on a white color

    D. the Sacagawea Golden Dollar is bigger

Why will Grover Cleveland have two coins?

    A. He served longer than any other President.

    B. He is the most famous President in the U.S.

    C. He is the only one who has served two terms.

    D. He served two terms but not continuously.

Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

    A. Presidential苊 1 coin issued.

    B. Different ways to honor Presidents.

    C. The differences between Presidential苊 1 coin and other coins.

D. Collections of old dollar bills.

It is already home to whales, seals and polar bears, but soon the Arctic (北极) must find __1__ for some Chinese visitors.

A team of nine scientists will __2__ to the Arctic this month to mark the opening of China's __3__ Arctic scientific research station, SOA (the State Oceanic Administration (国家海洋局) has __4__.

Construction of the station finished a while __5__, but operations were held __6__ during the polar night, __7__ normally runs from late October to the end of February. __8__this period, the sun never __9__ over the Arctic. And from mid-July to the end of August, the sun never sets, a time__10__ as polar day (极昼).

With territories (版图) __11__ far up into the northern half of the globe, China __12__Arctic studies to learn __13__ about its climatic and environmental changes. Many of these, __14__ sand storms and heavy droughts, are believed to have __15__ to do with the Arctic.

Research teams __16__ the area in 1999 and 2003, but the new station will allow scientists to study the Arctic in __17__ depth.

The station is a two-storey building and __18__ a laboratory, office, reading room, bedroom and storeroom. It can hold 20 to 25 researchers.

"It will be __19__ great support to the scientists' research there," said Xia Limin, an officer in SOA.

This year the SOA also plans to upgrade (提升) two existing scientific bases in the Antarctic (南极洲). They are "Great Wall", which was set up in 1985, and "Zhongshan", __20__ five years later.

1. A. house                  B. hotel                      C. palace                     D. room

2. A. journey               B. travel                             C. trip                         D. tour

3. A. first                     B. second                     C. third                      D. fourth

4. A. told                     B. spoke                          C. announced                      D. published

5. A. before                 B. later                        C. after                        D. ago

6. A. forward                      B. toward                    C. back                        D. ahead

7. A. which                  B. through which          C. that                         D. where

8. A. During               B. While                      C. When                          D. As

9. A. raises                   B. rises                        C. lifts                         D. carries

10. A. knows               B. to know                   C. known                     D. knowing

11. A. spreading           B. spreads                    C. to spread                 D. spread

12. A. works out           B. picks out                 C. keeps out                 D. carries out

13. A. less                    B. more                      C. few                         D. much

14. A. for example      B. such as                    C. for instance              D. such that

15. A. something          B. anything                  C. everything                      D. nothing

16. A. showed              B. went                      C. visited                     D. got

17. A. great                  B. greeting                   C. greater                    D. greatest

18. A. includes             B. contains                   C. including                 D. containing

19. A. to                          B. for                          C. at                            D. of

20. A. establishing               B. to establish              C. established               D. establish

Once in a television interview, I was chatting with the host about stay – at – home athers. I made the point that one reason why we’re seeing more stay – at – homw dads may be hat it’s no longer definite that a man makes more money than his wife. Many families now ake earning power into account when deciding which parent will stay home.

At that point, one of the male crew members pointed out, almost to himself but loud nough for my benefit, “It should be the better parent who stays home.” A lot of guys say hings like that. Usually it’s a code for “My wife, or any woman is the better parent.”

I was a stay – at – home father for 8 years, so his words made me excited. It implied that our family’s choice could only have been correct if I was a “better” parent than my wife.

I suppose an argument could have been made that when I began staying home my wife was the “better” parent if she spent more time with Jack. She would be able to read him wetter and calm him more quickly. But as the more employable one, my wife went out to work and I looked after our son.

because of the increased time I spent with Jack. I soon knew him well, understood that he needed and could look after him more or less as well as my wife could. Actually, he experience helped me unlock one of the world’s great secrets; Women are good at booking after children because they do it. It is not because of any innate (先天的) female talent. It is because they put in the time and attention required to become good at the job.

Woman obviously get a biological head starting from giving birth and nursing, but ever the long term experience is more important. When I got the experience myself. I was people are able to look after them as well besides their moms.

The first paragraph implies          .

       A．more and more men like staying at home

       B．the author works at a TV station as a host

       C．more women are earning money than before

       D．dad is the better parent in a family 

The author stayed at home to look after their son for 8 years because         .

       A．he thought he was the better parent

       B．he was afraid of working outside now

       C．their son liked him better than his Mom

       D．he was less likely to find a job than his wife

Women are good at taking care of children because         .

       A．they devote their time and attention to children

       B．they would rather stay at home than work outside

       C．they are born with the ability to look after children

       D．they’ve learn to take care of children from their parents

What does the author concluded?

       A．A man can take better care of children than his wife.  

       B．A man with experience can take good care of children.

       C．A child prefers to stay with his or her mother.

       D．A child prefers to stay with his or her father.

完形填空(共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从21—30各题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

When I was a kid, I got interested in astronomy（天文学）. I used to __21__  how big the universe might be and what are “ __22__ ” the stars. But as I grew up, I hardly had any time to __23 __ my hobby because of too much work. In 2007 I found an astronomy magazine and got attracted to astronomy again. However, I didn’t have much time for my __24__ . Many times I would like to observe an object in the night sky, but I was either too __25__  or busy working, or I had to look after my kids. So I __26 _ them to observe the stars together with me and I even read kids’ astronomy books to them. By having a common hobby we spent time together and we all found it __27__ .

While reading astronomy books, I figure out how many interesting things there are outside of this planet. I __28__ that the information opens a door to a huge world of interesting things.

I enjoy astronomy as a hobby and I recommend it to everyone. Just __29  _you and your family sitting together watching the stars and talking in the __30__ on a summer night! How cool it will be!

21. A. teach             B. wonder               C. discuss                      D. find

22. A. near             B. over                  C. below                          D. behind

23. A. develop           B. meet                  C. tell                              D. stop  

24. A. exams            B. magazines             C. hobby                      D. music

25. A. tired             B. excited                C. curious                      D. puzzled

26. A. ordered           B. advised               C. begged                          D. encouraged

27. A. necessary         B. interesting                   C. boring                      D. useful 

28. A. realize            B. remember            C. admit                              D. expect 

29. A. consider          B. remind                      C. imagine                            D. support

30. A. library           B. cafe                 C. playground                    D. yard