You could be a heroic hunter by expecting to fight against evil monsters or the fastest F1 driver around .In the world of computer games, nothing is impossible.

   If you’re into computer games, E3 is where you can find the most up-to-date equipment．For both gamers and companies, the Electronic Entertainment Expo （E3）, held in Los Angeles, US, for three days from May 10, was a carnival （狂欢节）.

   The top three computer game manufacturers （生产商） in the world all showed off their new machines. Nintendo’s （任天堂） new game controller looks as easy to use as a TV remote.

   Sony’s PlayStation 3 combines the world’s most powerful game console （游戏机） with a next-generation DVD player.

   Microsoft’s Xbox 360 can connect to personal computers （PC．and cell phones, so users can transfer game content among the three systems.

   PC VS Console

   The E3 also had new games for both PCs and consoles such as the Xbox or PlayStation. Gamers will again be faced with the long—existing problem of which system to use.

   Some analysts have suggested that PC gaming has seen its day, since console players have made great advances. 

   Further, compared with a PC, a console is cheap. The average price of the PlayStation and the Xbox is only one-third of that of a personal computer.

   One of the biggest advantages the PC has over consoles is that there are a lot more games available, plus many are free to download. PCs also give gamers a variety of ways to connect to the Internet, and to one another.

    However, many consoles now support online games as well. It seems that as long as people can be dragon（龙）hunters or crazy drivers, it doesn’t matter whether it is on a PC or a console.

1. The second part of the passage is mainly about ________．

    A．a comparison between different systems

 B．up-to-date computer games

    C．E3

 D．1ong existing problem of gaming

2. The writer compares E3 to a carnival because ________.

    A．the latest game equipment is on show there

 B．this is the world of computer games

    C．new game machines are given away there

 D．it shows the vast possibility of gaming

3. Compared to consoles, the personal computer has the advantages of ________.

    A．1ower prices

 B．having made great advances

    C．supporting online games

D．a lot more games available and free to download

4. As for different game systems，the writer  __________．

   A．points out PC gaming is no longer on the market

   B．prefers consoles

   C．shows a neutral （中立的）viewpoint

   D．suggests using cell phones to connect them

The Iceberg Was Only Part ofIt

What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.

A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.

The first says Earth’s nearness to the Moon and the Sun — a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years — resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg.

Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 — about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.

And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage(海市蜃楼) that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner’s identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours.

Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth’s surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions — not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror.

Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many experts are applauding the fresh perspectives. 

1.The underlined word "It" in the title probably refers to _______.

A．the Titanic	B．the cause of the disaster
C．the record tide	D．an unusual mirage

2.According to Theory First, what was the right chain of causes leading to the Titanic’s disaster?

① record tides’ forming and icebergs’ being refloated

② icebergs’ being drifted into the North Atlantic shipping lanes

③ the Earth’s strange closing to the Sun and the Moon

④ increasing of the gravitational force on the ocean

A．①→②→③→④

B．②→③→④→①

C．④→③→②→①

D．③→④→①→②

3.According to Theory Second, the disaster happened to the Titanic mainly because______.

A．the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear

B．the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing

C．the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget his work

D．the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher didn’t respond to them

4.What is the chief function of the sixth paragraph?

A．to explain to the readers the ways of the mirage forming

B．to infer the possibility of the mirage appearing

C．to summarize the various kinds of the mirage

D．to analyze the conditions of the mirage arising

5.This passage is organized generally in the pattern of________.

A．comparison and contrast	B．conclusion and proof
C．time and events	D．definition and classification（分类)

 

The Iceberg Was Only Part ofIt
What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost.
A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster.
The first says Earth’s nearness to the Moon and the Sun — a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years — resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg.
Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 — about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage(海市蜃楼) that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner’s identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours.
Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth’s surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions — not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror.
Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different opinions on it. Over all, though, many experts are applauding the fresh perspectives. 
【小题1】The underlined word "It" in the title probably refers to _______.

A．the Titanic	B．the cause of the disaster
C．the record tide	D．an unusual mirage

【小题2】According to Theory First, what was the right chain of causes leading to the Titanic’s disaster?
① record tides’ forming and icebergs’ being refloated
② icebergs’ being drifted into the North Atlantic shipping lanes
③ the Earth’s strange closing to the Sun and the Moon
④ increasing of the gravitational force on the ocean

A．①→②→③→④

B．②→③→④→①

C．④→③→②→①

D．③→④→①→②

【小题3】According to Theory Second, the disaster happened to the Titanic mainly because______.

A．the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear

B．the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing

C．the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget his work

D．the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher didn’t respond to them

【小题4】What is the chief function of the sixth paragraph?

A．to explain to the readers the ways of the mirage forming

B．to infer the possibility of the mirage appearing

C．to summarize the various kinds of the mirage

D．to analyze the conditions of the mirage arising

【小题5】This passage is organized generally in the pattern of________.

A．comparison and contrast	B．conclusion and proof
C．time and events	D．definition and classification（分类)