Scientists are uncovering the secrets of two port cities lost under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a researcher said yesterday.

Herakleion and Menouthis were rich and proud cities until something reduced them to rubble (碎石) and buried them in the mud beneath 30 feet of sea water, French underwater explorer Franck Goddio said at the American Geophysical Union conference.

“This is a mystery that is ongoing,” said Goddio, a founder of the European Institute of Marine Archeology, a Paris-based underwater research organization backed by the wealthy Hilti Foundation of Liechtenstein(列支敦士登基金会).

The destruction of the twin port cities has haunted Goddio ever since he happened upon the site about 15 miles from Alexandria while exploring sunken ships from Napoleon’s fleet.

Goddio and his group of expert divers, marine archeologists(海洋考古学家) and others, are using high powered vacuums, satellite navigation systems and sophisticated sonar(声纳) to excavate(挖掘) the sunken cities from underneath a carpet of silt about one meter (three feet) high.

Walls of shops, remains of streets and gold artifacts have been found and recovered.

Some experts believe that the port cities were destroyed by a series of massive earthquakes, much like the quakes scientists believe felled Troy(特洛伊城), Jericho and other ancient cities. The uniform direction of the collapsed columns and walls suggest an earthquake, Goddio said, but no fault lines have been found nearby.

Other researchers believe a massive wave, caused by either an offshore earthquake or a distant underwater landslide, could explain the catastrophe. Still others think rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities.

“The argument, as you can see, continues,” Goddio said.

The reason why the two port cities disappeared under the waters of Mediterranean Sea is that ______.

A. the two port cities were destroyed by huge earthquakes

B. the disappearance of the two port cities was caused by underwater landslide

C. rising seas and a shift in the Nile River outlet doomed the cities

D. the story didn’t tell us at all

From the story we can draw a conclusion that _______.

A. the two port cities were famous for their wealth and the mystery

B. the two cities belonged to France

C. some mysterious creatures from other planets destroyed the two cities

D. the American Geophysical Union conference was once held in one of the two cities

This article is probably from _______.

A. a scientific magazine       B. a report to the government

C. a school text book         D. a scientific report in a newspaper

We arrived in Spain for the first time a few weeks ago. I decided to   21   a car because we had sold the one we had in England before   22   home. Yesterday the sales office rang us to say the car was   23   . I had tried out a model like it before, but as I was not yet   24   driving in this city, my wife did not want me to collect it   25   so we went together to   26   it. We paid for the car and   27   the papers. They told us that there was   28   petrol(汽油)to take us to a garage, where we could fill up. The   29   garage to the office was about 100 yards away and we got there   30   . But when I turned into main road I suddenly saw a lot of cars racing   31   me. I got out of   32   as fast as I could by backing into the garage   33  and the man behind   34   me.

    “It’s such a problem to   35   to drive on the right side, isn’t it?” my wife said. “Yes, if only I had had a few lessons for   36   .” I replied. “You had better go   37   on the way home,” my wife said. “You’d be sorry if you had   38   on the first day, wouldn’t you?” While we were talking, the man behind got out of his car and said in good English,“ Would you mind telling me   39   you are thinking of leaving?   40   are you going to sit in your car all day？”

21. A. borrow              B. drive                C. buy                  D. choose

22. A. leaving              B. making             C. returning                 D. getting

23. A. right                         B. ready               C. fixed                D. sold

24. A. sure of               B. satisfied with       C. interested in          D. used to

25. A. on my own         B. right away               C. in a hurry                D. on the way

26. A. receive               B. bring                C. order                D. fetch

27. A. accepted             B. wrote               C. signed              D. copied

28. A. little                         B. enough            C. much               D. no

29. A. best                          B. nearest             C. quickest            D. cleanest

30. A. lately                        B. directly            C. safely               D. slowly

31. A. after                         B. with                 C. around             D. towards

32. A. their way           B. the garage                C. their sight                D. the car

33. A. at last                B. once more               C. as usual            D. as well

34. A. caught               B. cheered           C. shouted at                D. chatted with

35. A. prepare              B. continue          C. choose              D. remember

36. A. discussion          B. adventure                C. experiment              D. practice

37. A. carefully            B. smoothly                 C. quickly             D. differently

38. A. an error             B. a problem                C. as accident        D. a headache

39. A. when                 B. why                 C. how                        D. what

40. A. For                           B. Or                          C. But                         D. So

根据短文内容，从短文后的A-G选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余项。

Without plants, people could not live. We eat plants.______ 1_____ And we need plants for another reason---we need them beacause they are beautiful.

____2      Imagine no flowers with their sweet smells, their beautiful colours and their lovely shapes. Imagine, when the wind blows, we are not able to hear the leaves of the trees or watch the branches swing from side to side.

____3____ That is why we have parks full of trees and flowers. That is why

people always like houses with room for some grass and a garden.

    Do you talk to your plants? _____4____  Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird,

writers of a book called The Street of Plants, tell of an experiment in which two

seeds were planted in different places. While the plants were growing, one plant

was given love and hopeful ideas. ___5____ Under the earth it had more and longer roots; above the earth, it had a thicker stem and more leaves.

Plants get energy from the sun.

Do you give them love and take care of them? 

After six months, The deserted plant faded(凋谢) away.

After six months, the beloved plant was bigger.

We take in oxygen that plants make.

Everywhere people need beautiful plants.

Imagine a world without plants.

One day Daddy and I was going for a walk around the      1.     

lake while a girl rode past us quickly. Suddenly we heard    2.     

a cry for a help. The girl had fallen into the lake with her    3.      

bike. Daddy and I ran quickly towards her. We manage     4.       

to pull her out the water. Then the girl asked us if we could  5.       

help getting the bike out of the water. Then the girl asked    6.      

us if we could help get the bike out of the lake. Daddy was   7.      

only too ready to help him. When we pulled her bike out，   8.      

she rode away even with saying “ Thanks ” to us.       9.     

I felt quite disappointing at her deed.                    10.     

The thought of going back home was     kept him happy while he was working abroad．

A．that           B．all that           C．all what           D．Which