Throughout seafaring history, ships and sailors have been lost to storms, accidents and war. Until recently, most of these ships were weak wooden sailing vessel (船只), their skeletons(骨架) quickly eaten away by sea creatures. Now, large vessels made of steel float on the seas. Thousands of these huge ships have been lost in times of war and in times of peace.
The bones of great metal ships, unlike the wooden vessels of old, survive the destruction of the sea long enough to become home and harbor for underwater life of all kinds. Shipwrecks(残骸) often provide the only hard surface and structure at the sandy bottom of the sea, something many sea creatures need.
The ship has been underwater for only five days. Its surface is still clean. Six weeks later, the wreck is covered with a slimy layer of algae(海藻), but it is still recognizable as a ship. Soon, animals that need to attach themselves to a hard surface, like the feather duster worms, make the wreck their home.
In warm waters, coral polyps(珊瑚虫) settle on the wreck and begin the process of building a rock-like crust on the ship. Small fish are attracted on all of these creatures. Larger fish come to feed on these small fish that hide in the wreckage. Eventually, the largest animals are attracted to the rich life on the shipwreck.
Shipwrecks give us valuable information about how sea plants and animals develop. We know exactly how long this wreck has been under water and how long sea life has been growing on it. Yet even the strongest steel shipwreck will finally be destroyed by the flows of water. But long after this wreck has been broken apart, it will still act as a reef (礁石). Layer upon layer of sea life has formed a structure that is now more natural than artificial, and will remain an island of life under the sea.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about shipwrecks?
| A．Most ships in ancient times sank easily and become shipwrecks. |
| B．Shipwrecks, for scientists, are worth researching to get valuable information. |
| C．The skeletons of old wooden shipwrecks will exist for quite a long time. |
| D．Some sea animals tend to seek food on the shipwrecks. |
The writer’s purpose in writing the article is to tell us_____.
| A．the differences between the ancient vessels and the modern ones |
| B．how the ships become shipwrecks at sea |
| C．how coral polyps live on the wreck in warm waters |
| D．the value of studying shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea |
Which of the following is closer to the underlined “crust”?
| A．a hard outer covering | B．the skin of a rock |
| C．a hole in a ship | D．a small house |
What will happen to shipwrecks in the end?
| A．They will be pulled out of the sea for research. |
| B．They are likely to disappear and form reefs. |
| C．They will become an island under the sea. |
| D．They will be like works of art. |
Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets).The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)What is the similarity of the four hotels?
| A．Being expensive. | B．Being beautiful. |
| C．Being natural. | D．Being unique. |
What does the underlined part “Sweet Willy” refer to?
A. The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
B. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.
C. The name of the hotel.
D. The name of the hotel owner.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal |
| B．Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B |
| D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel |
Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to the patients at the clinic.
One evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful-looking man. He’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old son. “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face…I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…” For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed. When I had finished the dishes, I talked with him. He told me he fished for a living to support his five children, and his wife, who was hopelessly crippled (残疾的) from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. Next morning, just before he left, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I come back and stay the next time?” He added, “Your children made me feel at home.”
On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and the largest oysters (牡蛎) I had ever seen. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us and there was never a time that he did not bring us vegetables from his garden. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned how to accept the bad without complaint when facing the misfortune.Why did the author agree to let the man spend the night in his house at last?
| A．Because the man said others refused to accommodate him. |
| B．Because the man said he would not cause much inconvenience. |
| C．Because the man said he had come from the eastern shore. |
| D．Because the man said he had been hunting for a room since noon. |
How long would it take the man to travel from his home to Baltimore by bus?
| A．About 1 hour. | B．About 2 hours. |
| C．About 3 hours. | D．About 4 hours. |
From the text we can know that __________.
| A．the author’s children were kind and friendly to the man |
| B．the man was fed up with his hard-work and his family |
| C．John Hopkins Hospital provided rooms for the patients to live in |
| D．the author and his family were thought highly of by his neighbors |
The author’s family were grateful to know the man because __________.
| A．he often brought them fish and vegetables from his garden |
| B．he paid them money for his staying |
| C．he taught them how to accept the bad without complaint |
| D．he stayed only overnight with the writer’s family |
There is a lot of talk these days about how kids should be interested in science. Here’s an area of science for everyone, and these cool new books might inspire you to discover your inner scientist.
Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled by Catherine Thimmesh, 58 pages, ages 9-12
Seeing a picture or a model of a dinosaur, do you wonder how anybody knows what they look like? After all, nobody has seen a living dinosaur. This book explains how scientists and artists work together to re-create dinosaurs. As scientific discoveries have been made, the models have changed. Scientific tests may one day expose what a dinosaur’s coloring was, but now artists have to use their imagination to determine how these huge creatures looked.
Beyond the Solar System by Mary Kay Carson, 128 pages, ages 10-13
This book takes readers back to the beginnings of space exploration—thousands of years ago, when people began star observation—and forward to today’s search for planets in distant parts of the Milky Way. Along with history lessons, readers get 21 activities, such as making a black hole and creating a model of Albert Einstein’s universe using a T-shirt. The activities are perfect for cold winter days.
Ultimate Bugopedia by Darlyne Murawski and Nancy Honovich, 272 pages, ages 7 and older
If you’re always on the lookout for butterflies, this book is for you. Hundreds of color photos of common and unusual insects fill this hardcover. There are fascinating stories related to the photos. For example, do you know an insect feeds on the tears of Asian cattle? There’s a question-and-answer section with an insect scientist and advice on how to help preserve endangered insects.
Journey Into the Invisible by Christine Schlitt, 80 pages, ages 9-12
If you use a magnifying（放大的）glass, you know a leaf looks quite different. This book explains what microscopes do and then shows what happens to things around the house when watched with this amazing scientific tool. The bacteria in your mouth, when magnified 20,000 times, look a bit like swimming pool noodles. Fascinating photos are paired with suggestions about how to learn about the world around you, just by looking a little closer.Kids interested in pre-historical animals might read ______.
| A．Ultimate Bugopedia |
| B．Scaly Spotted Feathered Frilled |
| C．Journey Into the Invisible |
| D．Beyond the Solar System |
Beyond the Solar System is mainly about ______.
| A．space exploration | B．the Milky Way |
| C．history lessons | D．Albert Einstein’s universe |
The main purpose of the passage is to ______.
| A．compare features of different books |
| B．inspire people to become scientists |
| C．teach children some knowledge of science |
| D．recommend new science books to children |
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs (病菌) , a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.
Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often “a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions.”
Carrico said, “It’s certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate.”
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found “no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.” Even water as cold as 40°F (4.4°C) appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed（冲洗）and dried properly.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico’s team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
“Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear unimportant, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” she said.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones. What’s the meaning of what Carrico told National Geographic in the second paragraph?
| A．People are more concerned about their health and begin to wash their hands. |
| B．It’s important for people to wash their hands to keep healthy. |
| C．Generally, people’s hand washing behaviors and perceptions are not correct. |
| D．People like washing their hands very much. |
The figures in the sixth paragraph are used to show that __________.
| A．using hot water to wash hands has a bad influence on our planet. |
| B．air pollution has become more and more serious. |
| C．using hot water to wash hands is a waste of energy. |
| D．people should pay more attention to the environment around us. |
This passage is organized in the pattern of __________.
| A．fact and opinion |
| B．cause and effect |
| C．definition and classification |
| D．time and events |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．It’s necessary and useful for people to wash their hands frequently every day. |
| B．We can wash our hands with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature. |
| C．Using cold water to wash hands is necessary and much healthier. |
| D．Hot water can’t kill germs. |
Recently, the TV show “Where are we going, Dad?” produced by Hunan Satellite Television is a big hit /across nation. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the “how to be a good father”. As the Daddy and cute kids triggered（触发）a lot of people’s emotional resonance（共鸣）. Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children.
The TV shows like “Children are hard to support!”, “Where are we going, Dad?”, “hot mom” and “cute kids” are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents’ confusion in children’s education and the appeal for the balance between career and family.
In the real life, on the one hand the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV shows that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34.We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility of raising a child. The participation of mother in the children’s education is also very low.
It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that “Where are we going, Dad?” shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go; and society will go where the children go.
To raise a child in modern society, parents should ________.
| A．break down the barrier between children and teachers |
| B．balance well between family and career |
| C．play computer games with their children |
| D．keep their children at home to avoid socializing |
What does the underlined word “participation” probably mean?
| A．taking responsibility | B．understanding |
| C．taking part | D．keeping company |
What attitude towards modern family education does the author express in the second paragraph?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Indifferent. |
| C．Proud. | D．Worried. |
Which one is the best title of the passage?
| A．New problems in Modern Children’s Education |
| B．Modern Education is Important |
| C．Confusion Behind “Where are we going, dad?” |
| D．Nanny Daddy and Cute Kids |
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