The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans that separate the Old World from the New. For centuries it kept the Americans from being discovered by the people of Europe.

Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it. One idea was that it reached out to “the edge of the world.” Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth. Another idea was that at the equator the ocean would be boiling hot.

The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific, but it is still very large. It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000km) wide where Columbus crossed it. Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200km) wide.

Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual. For so large an ocean it has very few islands. Also, it is the world’s saltiest ocean.

There is so much water in the Atlantic that it is hard to imagine how much there is. But suppose no more rain fell into it and no more water was brought to it by rivers. It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up. On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2km) deep, but in places it is much deeper. The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico. This “deep” measures 30,246 feet-almost six miles (9.6km).

One of the longest mountain ranges of the world rises from the floor of the Atlantic. This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean. The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.

Several hundred miles eastward from Florida there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea. Here the water is quiet, for there is little wind. In the days of sailing vessels(船) the crew were afraid they would be becalmed(停滞不前) here. Sometimes they were.

Today the Atlantic is a great highway. It is not, however, always a smooth and safe one. Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves. Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.

We now have such fast ways of traveling that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller. Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it. A fast modern steamship can make the trip in less than four days. Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours and from South America to Africa in four!

Which world is the Old World?

A. Africa               B. Europe                     C. Asia                  D. All of above

What caused people to be unwilling to explore the Atlantic?

A. There are no ships big enough to get across the Ocean.

B. Sailors were afraid of being lost in the Ocean.

C. The Atlantic Ocean was very unusual because it has few islands and the saltiest water.

D. Many incorrect ideas such as “the edge of the world”, “the equator with boiling hot water”, made people think the Ocean was full of danger.

What is the topic of the fifth paragraph?

A. How deep the water is

B. How to measure the water in the Atlantic Ocean

C. How much water the Ocean holds.

D. How rain affects the Ocean water.

We can learn from the text that ______.

A. the Atlantic is the largest ocean on earth

B. one of the longest mountain ranges lies in the Atlantic

C. the Atlantic has a lot of islands in it

D. sailing on the Atlantic Ocean is always quiet, smooth and safe

信息匹配：（共5小题，每小题2分，共10分）

请阅读下列应用文及其相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

首先阅读下列博客信息：

A． My name’s Marta and I’ m from Mexico City, but I moved to Los Angeles, California, five years ago, now I am living in an apartment at No．3178 SE Timmer Broadway．I am 28, single．I am a customer service representative for a large financial company．I am an outgoing person．I love to laugh and have fun! I enjoy cooking, dancing and listening to music．I don’t like watching or playing sports．You should be an outgoing, considerate lady with a good sense of humor, to share the apartment．Are you the one? Email and let’s have further talk.

B． My name’s Mark, and I’m from Hollywood, California．I’m a fitness instructor in Los Angeles．I am a friendly and easy-going person; I love playing sports-especially football and working out at the gym．I also play the guitar．My best friend David, who often has sports with me, went to Mexico last month．To avoid loneliness, I’d like very much to own a new friend who would share the fun of sports with me．I am longing.

C． My name’s Park Jun Seo, but you can call me Jun．I moved from Seoul Korea to Los Angeles two years ago．I am a graphic designer and I am looking for my younger brother, Lean Ban Seo, who might be in this city．As the story is too long, I just hope to find him and have my family reunited．He is lame at the right leg, 19 years old, 1.79 meters tall, with very big eyes and fair curly hair．With his picture of two years ago enclosed, I would be very appreciated if you have any information about that．Telephone me at 818-5789.

D． My name is Don and I am a programmer at a computer company．I have designed several pieces of software that can help students learn better, especially suitable for primary students who have some language disability to learn words and help them pronounce more correctly．If you think you need one, please fax to 857-4693．You can purchase by post.

E． My name is Mauricio, and I’m a computer programmer working in the Los Angeles area．I am kind of shy, but maybe you can help me to be more outgoing．I like cooking, playing computer games, and chatting with friends online．If you think you are the proper one to be my E-pal, let’s chat!

F． My name’s Judy and I’m from Quebec, Canada．I am a sales woman in one of the women underwear stores in Montreal．I’d like to have more visitors to my shop．And you can bargain for a reduction of 10% to 30%, if you purchase in package．Let’s be friends.

请阅读以下网站回复的信息，然后匹配回复的信息和网站原登出的博客信息：

I am a professional sportsman and work in the same city．I am so glad that I will have a good friend who can be the opponent to improve my techniques．E-mail me at bitterflower@yahoo.com.

As a shop owner, I might drop in when I go downtown．But may I know your exact address? When is it convenient for a visit? Thank you!

God bless you! I’m a journalist and happened to read your brief story．A neighbor of mine looks exactly the same as the man in the picture you uploaded．This might be a chance in a million．Telephone me at 818-5690.

As a new comer and a freshman, I am looking for a  room as close to my university as possible．I would like to have some friends, too．I think your place might be the right choice for me．But can I know how much the rent is?

I am a salesman from Paris．My first difficulty working in this city is language．I would appreciate it if you could help me learn English through the Keyboard.

                  A NATIONWIDE BESTSELLER

It's likely that everything you learned about America's ancient history is wrong.

   The new book, 1491, completely changes our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

                DID YOU KNOW?

   When Columbus landed there were probably more people in the Americas than there were in Europe.

   The peoples of North America had such healthy life-styles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.

   Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33,000 years ago.

     4,000 years ago Mesoamerican farmers developed corn in a feat (技艺) of genetic engineering that still isn't completely understood.

                        COMMENTS ON 1491

     "In the tradition of Jared Diamond & John McPhee, a totally new view of pie-Columbian America"                                                               

--Richard Rhodes

     "Attractively written and really absorbing ... Charles C. Mann has produced a book that's part detective story, part epic (史诗) and part tragedy (悲剧). He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures."

                                          -- Charles Matthews, San Jose Mercury News

     "Powerful and challenging"

                                                     --Alan Taylor, Washington Post

     "A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education"                     

-- Howard Zinn

56. On the whole, 1491 is a book mainly about America's_______ .

    A. life-styles       B. population       C. history         D. agriculture

57. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the comments on the book 1491 ?

   A. It is interesting and instructive.        B. It is attractive and culturally related

   C. It is challenging and revolutionary.     D. It is humorous and persuasive.

58. From this passage, we can learn______ .

   A. people settled in the Americas a little earlier than 1492

   B. North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the world

   C. Mesoamerican farmers knew genetic engineering 5,000 years ago

   D. the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492

In 1942, Columbus and his crew arrived ________ was so-called the New World by the westerners.

A．what             B．in which           C．where            D．in what

I made a pledge (发誓) to myself on the way down to the vacation beach cottage. For two weeks I would try to be a loving husband and father. Totally loving .  No ifs, ands or buts.
The idea had come to me as I listened to a talk on my car radio. The speaker was quoting (引用) a Biblical (圣经的) passage about husbands being thoughtful（体贴的） of their wives. Then he went on to say," Love is an act of will. A person can choose to love." To myself, I had to admit that I had been a selfish husband. Well , for  two weeks that would change.
And it did. Right from the moment I kissed Evelyn at the door and said," That new yellow sweater looks great on you."
"Oh, Tom, you noticed," she said, surprised and pleased, maybe a little puzzled.
After the long drive, I wanted to sit and read. Evelyn suggested a walk on the beach. I started to refuse, but then I thought, "Evelyn's been alone here with the kids all the week and now she wants to stay with me. " We walked on the beach while the children flew their kites.
So it went. Two weeks of not calling the Wall Street firm where I am a director; a visit to the shell museum though I usually hate museums. Relaxed and happy, that's how the whole vacation passed, I made a new pledge to keep on remembering to choose love. There was one thing that went wrong with my experiment, however. Evelyn and I still laugh about it today. Last night at our cottage, preparing for bed, Evelyn stared at me with the saddest expression.
“What’s the matter?” I asked her.
“ Tom ,” se said in a voice filled with distress, “ do you know something I don’t?”
"What do you mean?"
"Well...that checkup(体检) I had several weeks ago...our doctor...did he tell you something about me? Tom , you've been so good to me... am I dying?"
It took a moment for it all to sink in. Then I burst out laughing.
"No, honey," I said, wrapping her in my arms. "You're not dying; I'm just staring to live."
71.  In the first paragraph, "No ifs, ands or buts" probably means___.
A. unnecessarily     B. unexpectedly    C.   impossibly    D. unconditionally
72. From the story we may infer that Tom went to the beach cottage___.
A. with his family    B. with Evelyn     C. alone           D. with his children
73. During the two weeks on the beach, Tom showed more love to his wife because___.
A. she looked lovely in her new clothes
B. he had made a lot of money in Wall Street
C. he was determined to be a good husband
D. she was seriously ill
74.  The underlined words "one thing" in the passage refer to the fact that___.
A. he praised her sweater, which puzzled her
B. she insisted on visiting a museum, which he hated
C. he knew something about her illness but didn't tell her
D. he was so good to her that she thought she must be dying
75.  By saying "I'm just starting to live", Tom means that___.
A. he is just beginning to understand the real meaning of life
B. he is just beginning to enjoy his life as a loving husband
C. he lived an unhappy life before and is now starting to change
D. he is beginning to feel regretful for what he did to his wife