25、It’s hard to track the blue whale, which has almost been killed off by commercial whaling. Attaching radio devices to it is difficult and visual sightings are too unreliable to give real insight into its behavior.

So biologists were delighted early this year when, with the help of the US Navy, they are able to track a particular blue whale for 43 days recording its sounds. This was possible because of the Navy’s former top secret system of underwater listening devices across the oceans.

Tracking whales is but one example of an exciting new world just opening to civilian scientists after the cold war as the Navy starts to share and partly uncover its global network of underwater listening system built over the decades to track the ships of potential enemies.

Earth scientists announced at a news conference recently that they had used the system for closely observing a deep-sea volcanic eruption for the first time and that they planned similar studies. Other scientists have proposed to use the network for tracking ocean currents and measuring changes in the ocean and global temperatures. Different layers of ocean water can act as channels for sounds focusing them in the same way a stethoscope(听诊器) does when it carries faint noises from a patient’s chest to a doctor’s ear. This focusing is the main reason that even relatively weak sounds in the ocean, especially low-frequency ones, can often travel thousands of miles.

53. The underwater listening system was originally designed _________________.

  A. to trace and locate enemy ships

  B. to observe deep sea volcanic eruptions

  C. to study the movement of ocean currents

  D. to replace the global radio communications network

54. The deep-sea listening system makes use of __________________.

  A. the ability of sound to travel at high speed

  B. the top-level technology of focusing sounds under water

  C. the unique characteristic of layers of ocean water in carrying sound

  D. low-frequency sounds traveling across different layers of water

55. What can we infer from the passage?

  A. New radio devices are developed for tracking the blue whales.

  B. Blue whales are no longer endangered with the new system.

  C. Opinions differ on the use of military technology.

  D. Military technology has great potential in civilian use.

56. What is the passage chiefly about?

  A. An effort to protect an endangered marine species.

  B. The civilian use of a military detection system.

  C. The exposure of a US Navy top-secret weapon.

  D. A new way to look into the behavior of blue whales.

24、 New York: Staying positive through the cold season could be your best defence against getting ill, new study findings suggest.

In an experiment that exposed healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, researchers found that people with a generally sunny disposition were less likely to fall ill. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, build on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help protect us from the common cold and other illnesses.

Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective----as in happiness improving immune, function----and subjective----as in happy people being less troubled by a sore throat or funny nose. "People with a positive emotional style may have different immune responses to the virus," explained lead study author Dr Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "And when they do get a cold, they may interpret their illness as being less severe."

Cohen and his colleagues had found in a previous study that happier people seemed less likely to catch a cold, but some questions remained as to whether the emotional trait itself had the effect.

For the new study, the researchers had 193 healthy adults complete standard measures of personality traits, self-perceived health and emotional "style." Those who tended to be happy, energetic and easy-going were judged as having a positive emotional style, while those who were often unhappy, tense and hostile had a negative style.

The researchers gave them nasal(鼻的) drops containing either a cold virus or a particular flu virus. Over the next six days, the volunteers reported on any aches, pains, sneezing or congestion they had, while the researchers collected objective data, like daily mucus production. Cohen and his colleagues found that based on objective measures of nasal woes, happy people were less likely to develop a cold.

49. Which is the best title for the passage?

   A. Stay Away From Being Negative

   B. Positive or Negative, It’s Up To You

   C. An Effective Medicine For Being Fit

   D. Warm People Likely To Keep Cold Away

50. According to Dr Cohen’s research, the reason why some people are unlikely to catch a cold is that ___________________.

   A. their cheerful mood benefits the immune system

   B. they have developed a certain gene against flu virus

   C. they are less likely to have s sore throat and funny nose

   D. they have got a stronger self-confidence in their health

51. The underlined word “disposition” (paragraph 2) probably means ________.

   A. character        B. day       C. future       D. occupation

52. The passage is probably written for ___________________.

   A. medical students  B. lead authors   C. the public    D. the volunteers

23、Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald

We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:

James Anthony, Drummoyne

James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.

As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”

Joe Bollen, Turranmurra

Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)

Maria Ieraci, Sydney

Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.

Ron Bennett, Sydney

Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”

45. Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?

  A. Joe’s   B. Maria’s   C. Ron’s   D. Jame’s

46. The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.

  A. the spirit of the nation   B. the position of the country 

 C. the tradition of Britain   D. the expectations of the people

47. What does the Union Jack refer to?

  A.the British flag     B. A former British ruler  

C. group of stars      D. A former symbol of Australia

48. Which of the following shows the correct matches of the designs and their designers?

A. by Maria         by Ron           by Joe            by James

B.  by Joe           by Maria         by James           by Ron

C.  by Ron          by James         by Maria           by Joe

D.  by James         by Joe           by Ron            by Maria

22、The house was quiet at 5 am and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He’d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring（轻微颤动声）of the freezer had been the sea .
      Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.
      He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches—but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she’d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:

Gone to Michael’s. Back tonight. Tim.

      The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.
      The sandhills still breathed heat from yesterday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.
      The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched（延伸）across the sea . The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.
      Over the first rocks, along to the point. Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky. 

     He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now ? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way …

41. “ He settled for some biscuits ”（in Paragraph 3）means that Tim_______.
    A. had to leave the biscuits on the table   

    B. liked biscuits better than sandwiches
    C. had to take biscuits instead of sandwiches 

    D. could only find some biscuits in the kitchen

42. What made it possible for Tim to see the entry to the cave?
    A. The height of the first rocks.     

    B. The ups and downs of the waves.
    C. The change in the position of the sun.   

D. The vast stretch of the sunlit beach.

43. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the story?
    A. The sea looked like a piece of gold.   

    B. Seabirds flew away when Tim arrived.
    C. Tim was the only person on the beach.   

    D. The sky got dark as Tim reached the cave.

44. In the story , Tim’s mood changed from_______..
    A. loneliness to craziness          B. anxiousness to excitement
    C. helplessness to happiness     D. eagerness to nervousness

20、----Were you disappointed when you received the book bought through the Internet?

    ----Well, yes, _____. The back cover was a bit torn, but it didn’t really matter.

   A. sort of         B. very much       C. not at all     D. never mind

二、完型填空

（每空？ 分，共？ 分）

19、----Jack can’t concentrate on his lessons recently.

   ----Yes, that might _____ his low score in the last test.

   A. stand for       B. apply for      C. account for        D. call for

18、Nothing but some ancient Chinese coins _______ in the sunken ship since they began the exploration.

   A. were found     B. was found    C. have been found    D. has been found

17、 ----What’s the common ______ of dealing with youth crime in your area?

   ----Generally, education comes first.

   A. process       B. practice         C. procedure       D. performance

16、----Which of these resorts do you like best?

   ----______. They are both hot and crowded.

   A. Either        B. Nothing       C. Neither       D. None