explorers(探险者).doc

一
A
Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?
If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who caught hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.
Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.
To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!
1. What makes people think about simple facts differently?
A. The fact that simple facts differ from one another.
B. The fact that people have different experience in the simple facts
C. The fact that people often disagree with one another.
D. The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts.
2. The writer’s advice is________.
A. We should never think about simple facts
B. We should never judge something with a one-sided view
C. We should not agree about simple facts D. We must learn from the six blind men
3. After reading the last paragraph, we may think of .
A. Newton’s law B. Galileo’s theory of falling objects
C. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity D. Marx’ On Capital
4. The main idea of this passage is________.
A. people often judge something according to his own experience
B. people often agree about simple facts
C. it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact
D. you should not care too much about simple facts
B
In 1901, H.G. Wells, an English writer, wrote a book describing a trip to the moon. When the explorers(探险者) landed on the moon, they discovered that the moon was full of underground cities. They expressed their surprise to the “moon people” they met. In turn, the “moon people” expressed their surprise. “Why,” they asked, “are you traveling to outer space when you don’t even use your inner space?”
H.G. Wells could only imagine travel to the moon. In 1969, human beings really did land on the moon. People today know that there are no underground cities on the moon. However, the question that the “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.
Underground systems are already in place. Many cities have underground car parks. In some cities, such as Tokyo, Seoul and Montreal, there are large underground shopping areas. The “Chunnel”, a tunnel(隧道) connecting England and France, is now complete.
But what about underground cities? Japan’s Taisei Corporation is designing a network of underground systems, called “Alice Cities.” The designers imagine using surface space for public parks and using underground space for flats, offices, shopping, and so on. A solar dome(太阳能圆屋顶)would cover the whole city.
Supporters of underground development say that building down rather than building up is a good way to use the earth’s space. The surface, they say, can be used for farms, parks, gardens, and wilderness. H.G. Wells’ “moon people” would agree. Would you?
1. The explorers in H. G. Well’s story were surprised to find that the “moon people” ______.
A. knew so much about the earth B. understood their language
C. lived in so many underground cities D. were ahead of them in space technology
2. What does the underlined word “it” (paragraph 2) refer to?
A. Discovering the moon’s inner space. B. Using the earth’s inner space.
C. Meeting the “moon people” again. D. Traveling to outer space.
3. What sort of underground systems are already here with us?
A. Offices, shopping areas, power stations. B. Tunnels, car parks, shopping areas.
C. Gardens, car parks, power stations. D. Tunnels, gardens, offices.
4. What would be the best title for the text?
A. Alice Cities—cities of the future B. Space travel with H.G. Wells.
C. Enjoy living underground D. Building down, not up
C
Columbus made four voyages to the west between 1492 and 1504 in his vain(徒劳的)search for a sea route to Asia. The mystery of why he failed to find it haunted( 萦绕心头的,耿耿于怀的) him and filled him with sadness.
Wherever he went to Cuba(古巴), Puerto Rico(波多黎哥), Jamaica (牙买加), South America, Panama(巴拿马), down the coast of Central America—it was always the same story. Instead of golden palaces, there were grass huts and palm-leaf tents. Instead of silk-robed merchant princes, he found “Indians” who did not have so much as a shirt on their backs.
When Columbus explored the West Indies in 1493, he heard tales of a fierce Indian tribe(凶狠的印第安部落) who literally devoured(吞食) its defeated enemies after a battle. This people was called by many names in the area, including Calina, Canima, Carib, and Caniba. Columbus recorded the name of the American natives as Canibales in Spanish, a word which came to refer, within a few years, to any eater of human flesh(食人部落,食人族). In the similar fashion, the word Caribbean, a title for the sea as well as for the region, came into English.
At times Columbus knew that this new land was not China, not Japan, not the Spice Islands. He seemed to accept it as a part of the earth that the geographers of Europe had never heard of before. It was another world—and he called it exactly that—but Columbus also insisted until he died that land he had reached was an unknown part of Asia.
1 . What is the best title for this text?
A. Sailing to Asia B. Columbus’ voyages
C. West Indies D. Spice Islands
2. In the course of his four voyages, Columbus succeeded in ___.
A. finding China and the Spice Islands B. trading with many merchants
C. visiting several parts of Central and South American D. sailing to Asia
3. According to this text, Columbus .
A. sailed to find new lands for the king B. sailed to find a water route round the world
C. sailed to establish trading ports
D. named the Caribbean which literally means any eater of human flesh
4. Columbus thought that .
A. others had sailed to Asia before him B. it was impossible to sail to Asia
C. the land he had found was not China or Japan
D. the geographers knew about the land he had found
5. The text implies that .
A. Columbus never realized the full meaning of his discovery
B. Columbus was disappointed with his voyages
C. there was no way to reach Asia from Europe at that time
D. Columbus found exactly what he had intended to
D
One of the greatest sea tragedy that has ever occurred was that of the steamship Titanic. It was the first trip of the giant ship. There were more than two thousand people aboard on their way to the United States from England. On the night of April 14, 1912, the sea was calm. The weather was beautiful. People were dancing in the spacious salon. Music, laughter and singing could be heard everywhere. The thought of danger was far away. Suddenly, just before midnight, the sailor on guard cried, “An iceberg!” Before the ship could change her course, the iceberg had torn a huge hole in the bottom of the ship. Nothing could be done. The ship began to sink and the passengers tried to escape, but there weren’t enough lifeboats. Another ship was passing nearby. The Titanic fired rockets into the air in order to get the other ships’ help. It could have saved most of the passengers, but it did not even stop. More than two-thirds of the passengers went down with the Titanic. It was one of the greatest sea disasters of all time. The new ship went down the sea. More than fifteen hundred people lost their lives.
1. According to the text, which of the following statements is right?
A. The sea tragedy occured in the nineteenth century.
B. All the passengers were killed in the sea accident except the captain.
C. The sea tragedy happened just because the thought of danger was far away.
D. The tragedy happened in such a hurry that the shipmen could do nothing to stop it.
2. Before the ship sank, ___________.
A. the weather wasn’t fine B. the people were enjoying the beautiful night
C. the sailors were not on duty D. there had been a big hole in the bottom of the ship
3. Which do you believe is the best opinion?
A. If the ship wasn’t new, the tragedy would not have happened.
B. In case the other ship gave a hand in time, more passengers would have been rescued.
C. If there had been more lifeboats on the ship, the ship would not have sunk.
D. On condition that there were no icebergs, then there must have been fewer passengers who lost their lives.
4. The Titanic fired rockets in the air _______.
A. because another ship which was passing did not give any help
B. in order to calm all the frightened passengers on the ship
C. to send signals to ask for help from the land
D. in order to stop another ship for help
5. The best title of the story should be _____.
A. The Most Dangerous Voyage B. A Sea Tragedy
C. The Terrible Iceberg D. A Regretful Ship
E
“Isn’t he like a funny, hairy man!” said Christopher. He was pointing to a large gorilla that was in a specially heated cage at the zoo. This gorilla, one of the ape family, was putting on a show to amuse the onlookers. He was playing with a rubber tyre hanging down from the ceiling. Every now and then he would beat his chest and make grunting noises.
Christopher’s mother began to talk about gorillas. “He may look like a man but really he is quite different. Some women made a close study of gorillas in Africa a few years ago. They found that they were intelligent and caring animals. The gorillas became friendly to humans even in the wild mountain forests where they lived. But they always remained animals that could not talk and think quite like we do. Hundreds and thousands of years ago there were neither humans nor apes on Earth. Charles Darwin thought that other animals changed little by little until apes appeared. He wrote in a book that apes changed into men. He used the word ‘evolved’ and this became his theory of evolution. All this was supposed to have taken place over thousands of years. People who believe in the Bible think Darwin was wrong. It is one of the great mysteries of life.”
“What is the main difference then? ”asked Christopher.
“Not your looks, ”said his sister playfully.
“As I said,” replied her mother, “humans have better brains that can think out problems and learn the meaning of thousands of words. Men and women are all able to do this no matter what colour their skins are, or in what part of the world they live, we may be from different races but we are all one family.”
1. Gorillas may look like men, but they always remain animals because ____.
A. they belong to the ape family B. they are friendly to humans
C. they can’t talk and think quite like humans do D. they can’ t solve any problems
2. Which of the following is taken from Darwin’s theory of evolution?
A. Humans have better brains than apes. B. Apes are unable to learn the meaning of words.
C. Gorillas normally live in Africa. D. Apes changed into men.
3. From the text we learn that .
A. not all people thought Darwin's theory was right
B. Christopher and his mother were watching TV at the zoo
C. Christopher went to the zoo only with his mother
D. Christopher' s mother was a biology teacher
4. Which of the following is Christopher's mother's idea?
A. Hundreds and thousands of years ago there was no life on Earth.
B. People from different races are all one family.
C. Gorillas are intelligent and caring animals.
D. A gorilla is like a funny, hairy man.
5. The best headline for the passage is ____.
A. How Humans Came into Being B. The First Humans
C. Gorillas and Humans D. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

二
A
Once, a wise man was taken to prison for something he had not done. He was kept in a stone tower for many months, and there seemed to be no hope of escape.
Then one night, as he was looking out of the window, he saw his wife standing at the foot of the tower. She was crying sadly.
“Don’t cry!” the man called to his wife in a low voice. “Listen to what I’m going to say. Go and bring back a scarab (金龟子) , a little butter, some silk thread, a strong cord and a rope. If you do that, you can save me.”
The woman left at once and returned quickly with everything her husband had asked for.
Then the man said, “put a little butter on the head of the scarab, tie the silk thread around its body, and place it on the wall with its head pointing to my window.”
The woman did what her husband said. The scarab, thinking the butter was somewhere in front of him, began to climb up the wall.
It was a quiet night. The moon was slowly piercing( 刺透，穿过) through the clouds across the sky. Every now and again the prison tower stood in the shadow of clouds. Somewhere a bird was hooting(讨厌的叫喊) low. The man waited eagerly at his window in silence. When at last the scarab got close, to his window, he picked it up and took off the silk thread from its body. Meanwhile his wife tied the cord to the other end of the silk thread. When the man pulled the cord up, his wife had already tied the thick rope to the other end.
The man now had only to tie one end of the rope securely to something within the tower and slide down the rope to the ground. There his wife was watching and waiting to see him. She was happy and surprised that such a small thing as scarab had made his escape possible.
1. The man was sent to prison because .
A. he killed a man B. he stole something from others
C. he set fire to a house D. there is no reason at all
2. Who saved the man ?
A. A scarab B. A thread C. A night bird D. A cat
3. How did the man leave the prison?
A. The man left the prison because no man s