It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night. The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently.
My father realized it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him. I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’ m so glad I did.
On the way to the harbor we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea. As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it — there weren’t any whales along the coast here. The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale—actually as big as our boat—was obviously stuck and could not move. The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools（漩渦） and waves. "She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side," my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water. Then it swam up right beside its mum. They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction. We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe—and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off. They swam into the distance.
In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea.
【小題1】 In Para2 the author says "I’ m so glad I did." because _________.

A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C．he experienced the rescue of the whales

D．he spent the weekend with his family

【小題2】The mother whale failed to help her baby because __________.

A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

C．she had no other whales around to turn to for help

D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

【小題3】What is the theme of the story?

A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness.

B．Fishing provides excitement for children.

C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals.

D．It’s vital to protect the whale in the ocean.

Not all bodies of water are so evidently alive as the Atlantic Ocean, an S-shaped body of water covering 33 million square miles. The Atlantic has, in a sense, replaced the Mediterranean as the inland sea of Western civilization. Unlike real inland seas, which seem strangely still, the Atlantic is rich in oceanic liveliness. It is perhaps not surprising that its vitality has been much written about by ancient poets.

“Storm at Sea”, a short poem written around 700, is generally regarded as one of mankind’s earliest artistic representations of the Atlantic.

When the wind is from the west

All the waves that cannot rest

To the east must thunder on

Where the bright tree of the sun

Is rooted in the ocean’s breast.

As the poem suggests, the Atlantic is never dead and dull. It is an ocean that moves, impressively and endlessly. It makes all kinds of noise—it is forever thundering, boiling, crashing, and whistling.

It is easy to imagine the Atlantic trying to draw breath—perhaps not so noticeably out in mid-ocean, but where it meets land, its waters bathing up and down a sandy beach. It mimics(模仿) nearly perfectly the steady breathing of a living creature. It is filled with symbiotic (共生的) existences, too: unimaginable quantities of creatures, little and large alike, mix within its depths in a kind of oceanic harmony, giving to the waters a feeling of heartbeat, a kind of sub-ocean vitality. And it has a psychology. It has personalities: sometimes peaceful and pleasant, on rare occasions rough and wild; always it is strong and striking.

1.Unlike real inland seas, the Atlantic Ocean is______.

A. always energetic                                        B. lacking in liveliness

C. shaped like a square                                  D. favored by ancient poets

2. What is the purpose of using the poem “Storm at Sea” in the passage?

A. To describe the movement of the waves.

B. To show the strength of the storm.

C. To represent the vitality of the ocean.

D. To prove the vastness of the sea.

3.In the last paragraph, the Atlantic is compared to______.

A. a beautiful and poetic place               B. a flesh and blood person

C. a wonderful world                      D. a lovely animal

 

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the   41   . I heard him saying to the nurse that he was in a hurry for an appointment at 9:30.

    The nurse had him take a   42   in the waiting area,   43   him it would be at least 40 minutes   44   someone would be able to see him. I saw him   45   his watch and decided, since I was   46   busy — my patient didn’t   47   at the appointed hour, I would examine his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment.

    The gentleman said no and told me that he   48   to go to the nursing home to have breakfast with his   49  . He told me that she had been   50   for a while and that she had a special disease. I asked if she would be   51   if he was a bit late. He replied that she   52   knew who he was, and that she had not been able to   53   him for five years now. I was   54   , and asked him, “And you   55   go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”

He smiled and said, “She doesn’t know me, but I know who she is.” I had to hold back   56    as he left.

    Now I   57   that in marriages(婚姻), true love is acceptance of all that is. The happiest people don’t   58   have the best of everything; they just   59   the best of everything they have.   60    isn’t about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

1.A. school          B. hospital        C. station          D. bank

2.A. breath           B. test       C. seat         D. break

3.A. persuading         B. promising    C. understanding    D. telling

4.A. if                 B. before       C. since        D. after

5.A. taking off     B. giving up    C. looking at       D. getting into

6.A. very               B. also             C. seldom       D. not

7.A. turn up                B. take in          C. come on  D. go away

8.A. needed             B. forgot           C. agreed       D. happened

9.A. daughter       B. wife         C. mother           D. sister

10.A. late          B. well     C. around               D. there

11.A. lonely            B. worried          C. doubtful         D. hungry

12.A. so far                B. neither          C. no longer    D. already

13.A. recognize         B. answer           C. believe      D. expect

14.A. moved     B. disappointed     C. surprised    D. satisfied

15.A. only          B. then         C. thus             D. still

16.A. chat      B. tears            C. words        D. judgement

17.A. realize               B. suggest      C. hope     D. prove

18.A. necessarily   B. completely   C. naturally        D. frequently

19.A. learn         B. make             C. favor            D. try

20.A. Adventure     B. Beauty           C. Trust        D. Life

 

If you __ go, at least wait until the storm is over．

    A．can          B．may          C．must        D．will

 

 

The announcements by the NASA，in the form of several Web site postings and a video posted on YouTube，were in response to worries that the world will end on Dec．21，2012．

The doomsday(末日) rumour reached a high point with the release of the new movie “2012”，directed by Roland Emmerich．In the movie，Yellowstone blows up, showering the continent with black ash．Tidal waves wash over the Himalayas，where the governments of the planet have secretly built a ship which a select 400，000 people can ride out the storm．There are hundreds of hooks devoted to 2012，and millions of Web sites，depending on what combination of“2012”and“doomsday”you type into Google．All of it，astronomers say, is nonsense．“Most of what's claimed for 2012 relies on wishful thinking and ignorance of astronomy．”Ed Krupp， an expert on ancient astronomy，wrote in an article in the November issue of Sky＆Telescope．

“I get angry at the way people are being influenced and frightened to make money,” Morrison said．“There is no right to frighten children to make a buck．”suggested David Morrison，an astronomer at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field，Calif．He said he had been getting about 20 letters and e—mail messages a day from people as far away as India scared out of their wits．Morrison said he did not blame the movie for all this，as much as many other supporters of the Mayan prediction．But then，he said，“my doctorate is in astronomy，not psychology．”

In an e—mail exchange, Krupp said：“We are always uncertain about the future，and we always consume representations of it．We are always attracted by the romance of the ancient past．”A NASA spokesman，Dwayne Brown，said the agency did not comment on movies，leaving that to movie critics．But when it comes to science, Brown said, “we felt it was careful to provide a resource．”

If you want to worry，most scientists say，you should think about global climate change or nuclear war．But if ancient prophecies(預言)get you going，here are some things Morrison and the others think you should know．

64．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Dr．Morrison blamed the Movie“2011”for the panic it aroused in the public around the world．

B．People who watched the movie were seared and firmly believed that the end of the world was coming．

C．In terms of science it was better to provide evidence and theory at the same time．

D．Dr．Morrison thought it was not right to make money by frightening people．

65．It can be inferred from the text that         ．

A．a(chǎn)stronomers think that doomsday is likely to happen in the near future

B．the reason why the NASA posted web site postings was to make people interested in astronomy

C．scientists think we shouldn't worry about doomsday but show concern about environment protection

D．most astronomers agree that the world is not ending—at least anytime soon

66．Which of the following would be the best title?

A．A New Movie“2012”             B．Is Doomsday Coming?

C．End-of-the-World Stories          D．Astronomers Comment on Movies

67．What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Evidence that the Mayans thought something special would happen in 2012．

B．What will really happen in 2012．

C．The reason why there is no need to worry about doomsday．

D．Ancient stories about the end of the world．