Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales

　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).

　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.

　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

　A. They are small soft rings.

　B. They are not seen from the outside.

　C. They are openings only on food fish.

　D. They are not used to receive sound.

Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.

　B. Trees also have otoliths.

　C. Their growth rings are very small.

　D. They both have growth rings.

Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

　A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.

　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

　A. They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

　B. They want to know where they can find fish.

　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.

　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.　

Ban the Band（乐队）?

    Every year, our school has a dance for all the students. It’s a little funny seeing friends in clean shoes and trousers or colorful　　36　　, instead of the usual school uniform.

     Most of us think the dance is great　　37　　－even the teachers enjoy being there. 　　38　　, two weeks ago someone said that there would be no　　39　　band this year only CDs.

     “I don’t　　40　　it!” Amy cried out during the lunch break.

     “Someone said the school couldn’t　　41　　a band, and they think it’s too noisy anyway,” added Daniel.

     “Well, I don’t think it’s　　42　　enough without a band!” declared Angela, “and I’m going to see what can be done.”

      Angela was as good as her　　43　　. In the afternoon she went to see the school headmaster who agreed to give the　　44　　some more thought. And he suggested that one　　45　　for having a band was to increase the price of each ticket from $5 to $10. Angela had to　　46　　out whether the students would like to do that.

     “I need all of you to help me,” she　　47　　to our group before school the next day. “Mr. Berry gave me a list of all the names, and suggested we ask each one their 　　48　　about the band and the extra cost.”

      　　49　　the day we asked around as Angela suggested, and wrote down people’s feelings about the band and the cost. We were amazed how much　　50　　there was for the band and everyone agreed to pay the extra $5.

      “I’m surprised,” smiled Mr. Berry, when we gave him the　　51　　. “I really thought that only a few people　　52　　their band and that the cost would be too high. OK, Angela, your next　　53　　is to find a good band and line them up for the dance.”

Angela was all smiles and　　54　　the news to Amy and Daniel. “You’re　　55　　,” smiled Daniel to Angela as he thought how close they came to having a less than perfect dance.

36.A. shapes                B. dresses                    C. flowers                    D. pictures

37.A. fun                    B. work                       C. effort                      D. progress

38.A. Besides              B. Otherwise                C. However                 D. Therefore

39.A. new                    B. live                         C. foreign                    D. marching

40.A. mean                 B. need                        C. accept                     D. believe

41.A. lead                    B. serve                       C. afford                     D. form

42.A. good                  B. clear                       C. useful                      D. easy

43. A.look                   B. behavior                  C. mind                      D. word

44.A. schedule             B. situation                  C. view                       D. action

45.A. possibility           B. concern                   C. decision                  D. chance

46.A. call                    B. find                        C. carry                      D. point

47.A. admitted             B. replied                    C. apologized              D. announced

48.A. knowledge   B. instruction              C. opinion                   D. information

49.A. On                    B. For                         C. By                          D. During

50.A. trust                   B. money                     C. support                    D. care

51.A. results                B. notices              C. questions                 D. examples

52.A. welcomed          B. wanted                    C. defended                 D. invited

53.A. task                    B. business                   C. exercise                  D. duty

54.A. showed               B. wrote                      C. broke                      D. read

55.A. amusing       B. interesting          C. exciting                D. amazing

Fish Ears Tell Fish Tales

　 Fish have ears. Really. They’re quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths (耳石).

　 As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate (碳酸钙). By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish’s age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　 Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They’re examining the chemical elements (元素) of each otolith ring.

　 The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　 Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　 In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　 This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

1.What can we learn about fish ears from the text?

　A. They are small soft rings.

　B. They are not seen from the outside.

　C. They are openings only on food fish.

　D. They are not used to receive sound.

2.Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?

　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.

　B. Trees also have otoliths.

　C. Their growth rings are very small.

　D. They both have growth rings.

3.Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?

　A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.

　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.

　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.

　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

4.How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?

　A. They are very interested in Thorrold’s research findings.

　B. They want to know where they can find fish.

　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.

　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.　

 

When Dunstan Cass left the cottage, Silas Marner was only a hundred meters away. He was walking home from the village, where he had 21 to buy what he needed 22 　his next day's work. His legs were tired, but he felt almost happy. He was looking forward to 23 ,when he would bring out his gold. Tonight he had an extra reason to hurry home. He was going to eat hot meat, which was 24 　for him. And it would 25 　him nothing, because someone had given him a piece of meat as a present. He left it 26 over the fire. The door key was needed to hold it safe in place, but Cass was not at all 27 about leaving his gold in the cottage with the door 28 . He could not imagine that a thief would 29 his way through the mist, rain and darkness to the little cottage by the quarry (釆石场).

When he reached his cottage and opened the door, he did not notice 30 anything was different. He 31 his wet coat, and pushed the meat 32 the fire. 33 he was warm again, he began to think about his gold. It seemed a long time to wait until after super, when he usually brought out coins to look at. 34 he decided to bring out his gold immediately, while the meat was still cooking.

But when he 35 the floorboards near the loom (会只布机)，and saw the 36 　hole ,he did not understand 37 . His heart beat violently as his trembling hands felt all round the hole. There was 38 ！ He put his hands to his head and tried to think. Had he put his gold in a different place, and forgotten about it? He 39 every corner of this small cottage, until he could not pretend to himself any more. He had to accept the truth 一 his gold had been 40 ！

21. A. arrived　　　　　　 B. been　　　　　　　　　　　 C. left　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. gone

22. A. to　　　　　　　　　　 B. in　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. for　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. with

23. A. holiday　　　　　　 .B. home　　　　　　　　 C. supper-time　　　　　　 D. meat

24. A. ordinary　　　　　 B. unusual　　　　　　　　　 C. normal　　　　　　　　　 D. common

25. A. pay　　　　　　　　　 B.spend　　　　　　　　　　　 C take　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. cost

26. A. boiling　　　　　　　 B. cooking　　　　　　　　　 C. smoking　　　　　　　　 D. making

27. A. interesting　　　　 B. worried　　　　　　　　　 C. interested　　　　　　　　 D. worrying

28. A. unlocked　　　　　 B. uncovered　　　　　　　 C. discovered　　　　　　　 D. locked

29. A. go　　　　　　　　　 B. lead　　　　　　　　　　　 C. find　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. lose

30. A. whether　　　　　 B. that　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. because　　　　　　　　　 D. as

31. A. turned off　　　　 B. threw into　　　　　　　 C. threw off　　　　　　　　 D. got off

32. A. away from　　　 B. farther on　　　　　　　 C. on to　　　　　　　　　　　 D. closer to

33. A. As soon as　　　 B. As well as　　　　　　　 C. No sooner　　　　　　　 D. As long as

34. A. But　　　　　　　　　 B. As　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. So　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. For

35. A. took down　　　　 B. took after　　　　　　　　　 C. took over　　　　　　 D. took up

36. A. dark　　　　　　　　 B. empty　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. small　　　　　　　　　 D. deep

37. A. at last　　　　　　　 B. at once　　　　　　　　　　　 C. at most　　　　　　　 D. at least

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

39. A. searched　　　　　 B. searched for　　　　　　　 C. looked into　　　　　 D. found

40. A. gone　　　　　　　　 B. missed　　　　　　　　　　　 C. lost　　　　　　　　　　 D. stolen

When Dunstan Cass left the cottage, Silas Marner was only a hundred meters away. He was walking home from the village, where he had 1 to buy what he needed 2 his next day's work. His legs were tired, but he felt almost happy. He was looking forward to 3 ,when he would bring out his gold. Tonight he had an extra reason to hurry home. He was going to eat hot meat, which was 4 for him. And it would 5 him nothing, because someone had given him a piece of meat as a present. He left it 6 over the fire. The door key was needed to hold it safe in place, but Cass was not at all 7 about leaving his gold in the cottage with the door 8 . He could not imagine that a thief would 9 his way through the mist, rain and darkness to the little cottage by the quarry (釆石场).

When he reached his cottage and opened the door, he did not notice 10 anything was different. He 11 his wet coat, and pushed the meat 12 the fire. 13 he was warm again, he began to think about his gold. It seemed a long time to wait until after super, when he usually brought out coins to look at. 14 he decided to bring out his gold immediately, while the meat was still cooking.

But when he 15 the floorboards near the loom (会只布机)，and saw the 16 hole ,he did not understand 17 . His heart beat violently as his trembling hands felt all round the hole. There was 18 ！He put his hands to his head and tried to think. Had he put his gold in a different place, and forgotten about it? He 19 every corner of this small cottage, until he could not pretend to himself any more. He had to accept the truth ----- his gold had been 20 　！

1. A. arrived　 B. been　 C. left　　 D. gone

2. A. to　 B. in C. for　　 D. with

3. A. holiday　 .B. home C. supper-time　　　 D. meat

4. A. ordinary B. unusual　　 C. normal　　　 D. common

5. A. pay B.spend　 C take　　 D. cost

6. A. boiling　 B. cooking　　 C. smoking　　 D. making

7. A. interesting　　 B. worried　　 C. interested　 D. worrying

8. A. unlocked B. uncovered C. discovered D. locked

9. A. go　 B. lead　　 C. find　 D. lose

10. A. whether　　　 B. that　　 C. because　　 D. as

11. A. turned off　　 B. threw into　 C. threw off　 D. got off

12. A. away from　 B. farther on　 C. on to　 D. closer to

13. A. As soon as　 B. As well as　 C. No sooner D. As long as

14. A. But　　　 B. As　　　 C. So　　 D. For

15. A. took down　 B. took after　 C. took over　 D. took up

16. A. dark　　 B. empty C. small　 D. deep

17. A. at last　 B. at once　　　 C. at most　　 D. at least

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

19. A. searched　　 B. searched for　　 C. looked into D. found

20. A. gone　　 B. missed　　　 C. lost　　 D. stolen