68. As to the influence of noises on whales, which of the following statements is true?

A. They are deaf to noises.

B. Noises at a certain level may hurt them.

C. They are easily confused by noises.

D. Noises will limit their ability to reproduce.

67. Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A. Different places with different types of noises.

B. The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises.

C. The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean.

D. The ocean animals' reaction to noises.

66. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A. The man-made noises. 　　　　　　　　 B. The noises made by themselves.

C. The sound of earthquakes. 　　　　　 D. The sound of the ice-breaking.

65.“But we stuck with it”(in Paragraph 3)means ______.

　 A. they felt discouraged

　 B. they carried on with it

　 C. they failed in their attempt

D. they made some progress

　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　C

Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels (分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds are against a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

64. Dr. Marcy thinks that life may exist in the 55 Cancri system because ______.

　 A. he has found the system similar to the solar system

　 B. he has discovered an Earth-like planet there

　 C. he has discovered a rocky planet there

　 D. he has found signs of life in the system

63. How many planets orbiting other stars have the two scientists discovered so far?

　 A. 100　　　　　　 　　 B. 69　　　　　　　　　　 C. 66　　　　　　　　　 　　 D. 65

62. Which of the following is true of the recent discovery?

　 A. The planet is not as protective as Jupiter.

　 B. The planet is close to star 55 Cancri.

　 C. The planet proves to be a gas planet.

　 D. The planet is as large as Jupiter.

61. What can we learn about Dr. Marcy from the passage?

　 A. He is fond of watching Jupiter.

　 B. He is from a scientist family.

　 C. He dislikes working with Paul Butler.

　 D. He is interested in finding life in outer space.

60.　 The best title for this passage is “________”.

A. How Unhealthy Characteristics Influence Relationships　

B. What Healthy Relationships and Unhealthy Relationships Are

C. How People Benefit from Healthy Relationships

D. What Makes a Relationship Healthy

B

Planet Hunter

　　 When Geoff Marcy was 14, his parents bought him a telescope. Every night, he would go onto the roof outside his window to see the wonders of the sky.

　　 “What excited me most was whether there were planets(行星)in other solar(太陽的)systems where life might exist, ”he says. “I decided to try to find planets orbiting(沿…軌道運行)other stars like our Sun.”

　　 And he did. “My fellow researcher, Paul Butler, and I found our first planet in 1995, ”Dr. Marcy says. “We worked for ten years without finding anything! But we stuck with it, and our patience paid off. ”

　　 Since then, the two scientists have discovered 65 of the more than 100 planets found orbiting other stars. Dr. Marcy and Dr. Butler also spotted the first “family”of three planets. In June 2002 they announced another discovery: a Jupiter-like(像木星一樣的)planet orbiting star 55 Cancri.

　　 At first, the two researchers found only planets that orbit close to stars. Recently, the scientists found planets farther out. The planet orbiting 55 Cancri is a major breakthrough: it is the first sighting of a large gas planet about the same distance from the star as Jupiter is from the Sun.

　　 Why is this important? Scientists think that life on Earth may exist because of two special features(特徵)in our solar system. The first is Jupiter.

　　 “Because it’s so big, Jupiter pulls comets and asteroids(小行星), or they all come and hit the Earth. ”Dr. Marcy explains. “Without Jupiter, life on Earth would likely have been destroyed. ”

　　 A second feature is that Earth is a rocky planet where liquid water, which is necessary for life, can exist. Unlike gas planets, rocky planets like Earth have surfaces where water can gather in pools and seas, which may support life. A huge space exists between the Jupiter-like planet and two other planets that lie close to 55 Cancri. Is there an Earth-like planet in the space, too small for us to notice? If so, says Dr. Marcy, “We would have two striking similarities to our solar system: a Jupiter-like planet and an Earth-like planet. And there may be life! ”

59.　 From the passage, which of the followings is most likely to make the relationships end?

A　 Being jealous and selfish　

B　 Demanding complete devotion

C　 The existence of the unhealthy and unbalanced relationships

D　 Unwilling to make efforts to overcome the unhealthy relationships