The best swimmers tend to be tall and thin with long arms, long legs, long feet, and long hands. The size of their hands gives them great “water grasp”, and only a very small hand movement keeps them afloat.

They also have great strength, endurance, insulation(隔绝) against heat loss while in water below body temperature, thus better energy conservation, low resistance(阻力) when in the water, and swimming stroke mechanics(动作技巧).

Part of the reason why some people are better swimmers than others has to do with body density. The average person’s body density is slightly less than that of water. Muscle has greater density than fat. Therefore, very muscular people tend to be poor at staying afloat. Bone has greater density than fat. Therefore, very skinny people tend to be poor at staying afloat.

Good buoyancy(浮力) is not necessarily the most important factor in good swimming, but it certainly helps. For example, great competitive swimmers—tall, thin, and usually more muscular than average—tend to have greater body density than average and less buoyancy. Many would not float very well if they remained motionless in the water. Their much greater “water grasp” makes up for it. 

The average woman contains a higher proportion(比例) of fat in her body than the average man, and the average man contains a higher proportion of muscle in his body than the average woman. Therefore, in general, women are better floaters than men. Compared with other competitive sports, the performance of women is closer to that of men in competitive swimming.

66. The underlined word “afloat” in the first paragraph might most probably mean “      ”.

     A. keeping quiet       B. swimming faster         C. floating on water    D. never drowning

67. What can we learn from the passage about body density?

     A. Higher body density reduces swimming ability.

     B. A person’s body density decides one’s swimming ability.

     C. Fat people can always swim faster than thin people.

     D. People with a lower proportion of muscle can hardly swim.

68. “Buoyancy” is important because       .

     A. it helps people to be safer in water                   B. it can help people to swim better

     C. it can never be trained to get better                   D. it increases swimming length

69. How is the whole passage organized?

     A. By reasoning and explaining.                           B. By argument and debate.

     C. By explaining one part after another.                 D. By examples and comments.

70. Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?

     A. How to be a good swimmer                            B. Details about swimming

C. Facts about swimming                              D. Better ways, better swimmers

The iPad, a new e-tablet gadget will take online activities truly mobile. It will allow you to read the news in bed, play multiplayer game on any surface, check a recipe in a busy kitchen or view a large-scale Google map.

It will declare a new age of online media production, taking newspapers and magazines down the new stage. Online versions can now become truly interactive. The editor of Time magazine Richard Stengel said, “The iPad will transform the way journalism works. It will become a new way of storytelling”.

Perhaps most important to the masses, it is a traditional computer but so convenient to use. There are no cords(电线), and it’s totally mobile. You press a button and it comes on in seconds. To add a program, you just download it from the Internet. There is no file directory, so you won’t be confused with file locations.

Since almost everyone uses a computer in the office or at school, the need for the traditional desktop model at home is disappearing. Slate Magazine’s Farhad Manjoo calls the iPad the perfect alternative to the full home computer system.

However, opinions are summarized as a simple statement: If you are a tech-head you will hate it, if you are everyone else you will love it. It’s “laughably absurd” on one blog and a “magical revolution” on another.

This first version of the iPad lacks many basic features. Tech-heads dislike the device not because of what it offers, but because of what it doesn’t offer. It doesn’t have flash or a camera. It can’t access many of the world’s mobile applications, and it has a very restricted APPLE store. Based on purely technological grounds, the iPad is said to lack more than it gives.

But if you are not part of the technologically well-versed, and you love the iPod and iPhone, “this device is for you,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

But no matter how you feel about the iPad, as a tech-head or an everyman, there’s no arguing with its appeal. Love it or hate it, the iPad sold over 600,000 units on its opening weekend, surpassing(超过) the iPhone’s record sales in 2007.

It’s uncertain how long it will take to hit the tech markets here in China, but when it does, expect the iPad fashion to continue. Apple predicts it will sell over 7.1 million units in the first year. Maybe not magical, and definitely not absurd, but if the iPad follows in the footsteps of the iPhone and iPod, you could be reading this newspaper on it in the near future.

1.Which of the following is NOT the reason why people think the iPad a “magical revolution”?

    A. The iPad will make online activities truly mobile.

    B. The iPad will predict a new age of online media production.

    C. The iPad is sure to take the place of the full home computer system.

    D. The iPad can make many world’s mobile applications accessible.

2.Which of the following statements is false according to the passage?

    A. Unlike those traditional computers, the iPad can save you much trouble.

    B. The iPad set up a new record sale when it first came onto the market.

    C. The iPad will probably hold a big share in the tech market in China.

    D. The iPad depends on cords to download a program from the Internet quickly.

3.What technological problem do experts think the iPad has?

    A. The iPad is lacking in what other computers can offer.

    B. People might misunderstand its magical features.

C. Reporters and journalists don’t have to efficiently with the help of the iPad.

    D. Compared with the iPhone and iPod, iPad might confuse the users more easily

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Why do People Love the iPad              B. The Popularity of the iPad

C. Loving and Hating the iPad                   D. A Magical Revolution

Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.

Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.

Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. The wood of the violin is very important. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremona knew something special about wood for violins.

But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully. It has to be the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.

Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish（清漆）, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.

There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious.

1.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Secrets of Cremona Violins

B．The History of Italian Violins

C．Special Musical Instruments

D．How to Make the Best Violins

2.The main purpose of the first paragraph is to_______________

A．list some facts                                  B．raise a question

C．give an opinion                                   D．offer an answer

3.What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?

A．The shape．    B．The size．    C．The wood．  D．The varnish．

4.Which of the following words can best describe Cremona violins?

A．Light．       B．Shining．    C．Valuable．D．Modern

5.What can we learn from this passage?

A．Modem things are always better than ancient ones

B．Ancient things are always better than modem ones

C．Once a cultural relic is lost．it Can never be recovered

D．Varnish for violins will become more and more precious

Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.
Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.
Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. The wood of the violin is very important. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremona knew something special about wood for violins.
But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully. It has to be the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.
Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish（清漆）, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.
There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious

1. 1.

   What would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      The Secrets of Cremona Violins
   2. B.
      The History of Italian Violins
   3. C.
      Special Musical Instruments
   4. D.
      How to Make the Best Violins
2. 2.

   The main purpose of the first paragraph is to_______________

   1. A.
      list some facts
   2. B.
      raise a question
   3. C.
      give an opinion
   4. D.
      offer an answer
3. 3.

   What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?

   1. A.
      The shape．
   2. B.
      The size．
   3. C.
      The wood．
   4. D.
      The varnish．
4. 4.

   Which of the following words can best describe Cremona violins?

   1. A.
      Light．
   2. B.
      Shining．
   3. C.
      Valuable．
   4. D.
      Modern
5. 5.

   What can we learn from this passage?

   1. A.
      Modem things are always better than ancient ones
   2. B.
      Ancient things are always better than modem ones
   3. C.
      Once a cultural relic is lost．it Can never be recovered
   4. D.
      Varnish for violins will become more and more precious

Most musicians agree that the best violins were made in Cremona, Italy, about 200 years ago. They even sound better than violins made today. Violin makers and scientists try to make instruments like the old Italian violins. But they aren’t the same. Why are these old Italian violins so special? Many people think they have an answer.

Some people think it is the age of the violins. But there is a problem here. Not all old violins sound wonderful. Only those from Cremona are special. So age cannot be the answer.

Other people think the secret to those violins is the wood. The wood of the violin is very important. It must be from certain kinds of trees. It must not be too young or too old. Perhaps the violin makers of Cremona knew something special about wood for violins.

But the kind of wood may not be so important. It may be more important to cut the wood in a special way. Wood for a violin must be cut very carefully. It has to be the right size and shape. The smallest difference will change the sound of the violin. Musicians sometimes think that this is the secret of the Italians.

Size and shape may not be the answer either. Scientists make new violins that are exactly the same size and shape. But the new violins still do not sound as good as the old one. Some scientists think the secret may be the varnish（清漆）, which covers the wood of the violin and makes it look shiny. It also helps the sound of the instrument. Since no one knows what the Italian violin makers used in their varnish, no one can make the same varnish today.

There may never be other violins like the violins of Cremona. And there are not many of the old violins left. So these old violins are becoming more and more precious.

71. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Secrets of Cremona Violins          B. The History of Italian Violins

C. Special Musical Instruments           D. How to Make the Best Violins

72. The main purpose of the first paragraph is to_______________．

A. list some facts                             B. raise a question

C. give an opinion                           D. offer an answer

73．What is still unclear about Cremona violins according to the writer?

A. The shape．    B. The size．    C. The wood．       D. The varnish．

74. Which of the following words can best describe Cremona violins?

A. Light．        B. Shining．    C. Valuable．    D. Modern．

75．What can we learn from this passage?

A. Modern things are always better than ancient ones．

B. Ancient things are always better than modern ones．

C. Once a cultural relic is lost, it can never be recovered． 

D. Varnish for violins will become more and more precious．

第二卷（共35分）