Every year 2．2 million tons of oil are spilled(散落，溅出)into the ocean．Actually．this only amounts to a small percentage of the total 1．6 billion tons of oil shipped around the world each year．

     However，this spilled oil has terrible effects on ocean life．including the coastlines where the oil washes up onto shore．Some of the largest spills in history were caused by oil tankers running into each other or by an oil tanker sailing into shallow water and hitting tire bottom of the ocean．After these spills，officials try to discover who or what was at fault to help prevent similar accidents in the

future．

     One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989 In this accident，42，000 tons of oil spilled from a tanker which resulted in terrible damage to this sensitive natural area．In this spill，the tanker’s captain，who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol，had gone to take a rest．He gave control of the ship to the third mate．The third mate was unfamiliar with the path the ship took，and he rail the ship onto Blithe Reef．Blithe Reef is a natural underwater rock wall near the Alaskan coast．Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean．More than 1，600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill．Some scientists who studied nature in the area guessed that 580，000 birds and 5，500 otters died when the oil from the spill covered their skin．As well，smaller shellfish and other sea creatures were later eaten by seals，whales，and other animals．

     The most oil ever spilled was actually dumped on purpose as an act of ecological warfare．The term ecological warfare means to fight by doing harm to nature in the area under attack．In 1 990，Iraq sent soldiers into Kuwait and set off the Persian Gulf War．As part of the Iraq war plan，900，000 tons of oil were let out into the Persian Gulf by Iraq．This oil covered 1，500 square kilometers of water in the Persian Gulf．The oil also damaged 650 kilometers of tire coastline of both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia．In some places，oil floating on the water was measured to be 43 centimeters thick．Water birds，water plants，and baby fish were all seriously affected by the oil．The long—term effects of this act on the food chain in the area are bound to cause problems far into the future．

1. Which cause of oil spills is described in the second paragraph?

    A. Accidents         B. War      C. Dumping   D. All of the above

2. The creatures affected by the oil spill near Alaska were

    A. birds and otters                             B. shellfish

    C. seals and whales                             D. all of the above

3. The third mate ran the tanker aground (触礁) in tills accident because

    A. he was tired                               B. he was drunk

    C. he did not know the area                     D. he was talking on the phone

4. The Persian Gulf War began in        .

    A. 1989              B. 1990           C. 1991         D. 1992

5.         was responsible for dumping oil into the Persian Gulf.

    A. The United States   B. Kuwait     C. Saudi Arabia        D. Iraq

Humans have observed and explored the oceans since ancient times.But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the scientific study of oceans began.The first major scientific expedition,and the one that firmly established the field of oceanography,was the around-the-world voyage of H.M.S.  Challenger.Setting out from England in 1872,the Challenger spent almost three and a half years gathering a wealth of information about seawater,sea life,and the ocean floor.Major oceanographic expeditions since then have included the South Atlantic voyage of the German ship Meteor in 1926 and the Deep-Sea Drilling Project from 1968 to 1983.Many individuals also have played important roles in advancing our understanding of oceans,beginning with Matthew Fontaine Maury in the mid-1800s;his work on oceanography and navigation led to a uniform system of weather reporting at sea.Since Maury’s time,oceanography has progressed rapidly.Early oceanographers had to contend themselves with tossing buckets overboard to see what they might haul in.Today’s oceanographers are equipped with space images,supercomputer models,and deep-sea robots that can crawl along the seafloor.As they set goals for the future,some oceanographers even dream of doing research in permanently manned stations on the bottom of the oceans.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is true?

A．Humans didn’t explore the oceans until the 19th century.

B．Maury first established the field of oceanography.

C．Maury spent a lot of time in studying seawater,sea life,and the bottom of the ocean.

D．Many individuals also plays a very important part in advancing our understanding of oceans,such as Maury.

【小题2】How many expeditions are mentioned in this passage?

A．Four.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Two.

【小题3】What can we infer from the passage?

A．The process of the oceanography has stopped at one time.

B．Maury’s work on oceanography contributes a lot to weather reporting at sea.

C．Nowadays the equipment for studying the oceans needs improving,because it is out of date.

D．The expeditions in the past had great difficulty and made a lot of efforts in order to study the oceans.

Humans have observed and explored the oceans since ancient times.But it wasn’t until the 19th century that the scientific study of oceans began.The first major scientific expedition,and the one that firmly established the field of oceanography,was the around-the-world voyage of H.M.S.  Challenger.Setting out from England in 1872,the Challenger spent almost three and a half years gathering a wealth of information about seawater,sea life,and the ocean floor.Major oceanographic expeditions since then have included the South Atlantic voyage of the German ship Meteor in 1926 and the Deep-Sea Drilling Project from 1968 to 1983.Many individuals also have played important roles in advancing our understanding of oceans,beginning with Matthew Fontaine Maury in the mid-1800s;his work on oceanography and navigation led to a uniform system of weather reporting at sea.Since Maury’s time,oceanography has progressed rapidly.Early oceanographers had to contend themselves with tossing buckets overboard to see what they might haul in.Today’s oceanographers are equipped with space images,supercomputer models,and deep-sea robots that can crawl along the seafloor.As they set goals for the future,some oceanographers even dream of doing research in permanently manned stations on the bottom of the oceans.

1.Which of the following statements is true?

A．Humans didn’t explore the oceans until the 19th century.

B．Maury first established the field of oceanography.

C．Maury spent a lot of time in studying seawater,sea life,and the bottom of the ocean.

D．Many individuals also plays a very important part in advancing our understanding of oceans,such as Maury.

2.How many expeditions are mentioned in this passage?

A．Four.

B．Three.

C．Five.

D．Two.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A．The process of the oceanography has stopped at one time.

B．Maury’s work on oceanography contributes a lot to weather reporting at sea.

C．Nowadays the equipment for studying the oceans needs improving,because it is out of date.

D．The expeditions in the past had great difficulty and made a lot of efforts in order to study the oceans.

 

根据句意选择单词，并用适当形式填空。

mortgage	sink	magical	armchair	foreman
conquer	come up	the latter	northwestern	at present

1．The apartment is ________ to the bank for 300000 yuan．

2．He ______ to his classmates and joined them in the heated discussion．

3．We can see a________ view over the calm water of the South Lake from our window．

4．Johnson often sits in a（an） _______ enjoying his students’ works．

5．Mr. Wang, are you free _______? I’ve got some questions for you．

6．The girl finally ________ her shyness and stood up, answering the question．

7．The ship _______ to the bottom of the ocean．

8．Jane and Mary are good friends; the former is a teacher, and _______ is a nurse．

9．The wind is in the _______ direction．

10．A lot of stevedores paid the _______ to get a day’s work．

The first telegraph cable was laid under the sea between England and France in 1850.Cables are much  1 and heavier than telegraph wires.There are a number of reasons for this:one reason is that the salt water of the sea harms  2  telegraph wires,and so they have to be 3  , another is that,because electricity 4 easily through water,wires have to be 5  to prevent electric signals which are passing through them 6 escaping and getting lost in the sea;a third reason is that cables have to be very strong 7 they will break while they are being 8 along the bottom of the sea from a ship sailing on the surface.

  The 9  cables that men tried to lay  10  England and America broke and were 11 during storms.At last,after nine years of hard work,the two English-speaking nations of Britain and America were 12 in 1866 by the electric telegraph under the sea.

    Later,all the different 13 of the world were joind up by a 14 of cables.It is 15 easy to send a message by cables as it is to 16 an ordinary telegram,and it takes no longer for a message to 17 half way round the world than from one town to the 18 .Every hour of the day and night 19 are being flashed under the ocean to and20 every country in the world.

1. A.thicker        B.better      C.longer       D.larger

2. A.ordinary       B.special     C.plain        D.simple

3. A.raised         B.fixed       C.protected    D.repaired

4. A.comes          B.passes      C.escapes      D.sends

5. A.hid            B.circled     C.covered      D.dressed

6. A.from           B.through     C.by           D.into

7. A.so             B.or          C.but          D.and

8. A.lined          B.pulled      C.laid         D.covered

9. A.best           B.most        C.first        D.thickest

10. A.between        B.around      C.beside       D. among

11. A.cast           B.thrown      C.drawn        D.lost

12. A.fixed          B.joined      C.met          D.mixed

13. A.cities         B.countries   C.parts        D.peoples

14. A.set            B.packet      C.sort         D.network

15. A.very          B.so           C.as            D.not

16. A.make          B.send         C.use           D.write

17. A.find          B.travel       C.visit         D.meet

18. A.next          B.second       C.last           D.another

19. A.news          B.pictures     C.messages       D.telegrams

20．A.out           B.in           C.from           D.off