26.Hawking developed an early interest in science because _____.
A.his brothers and sisters loved it
B.he took related lessons as a kid
C.he excelled in maths and physics
D.his parents influenced him
27.What can be learned about Hawking's wife Jane?
A.She and Hawking came from the same place.
B.She and Hawking went to the same school.
C.She married Hawking on New Year's Day.
D.She didn't know of his disease before their marriage.
28.Hawking's self-trained way of working _____.
A.helped the recovery of his health
B.required a lot of equation writing
C.relied heavily on mental images
D.was copied by his colleagues
29.The following statements about the Big Bang theory are true EXCEPT _____.
A.Hawking was its founder
B.it was connected with black holes
C.Hawking's research supported it
D.not all scientists agreed with it
30.As a leading figure in science, Hawking _____.
A.lived for fifty-five years
B.wrote many best-selling novels
C.led some organizations for the disabled
D.fought against his disease most of his life
Passage Three
Imagine that you're a fly. You're just looking for a place to rest,when you see a nice pink leaf. That looks like a nice place to land. As you rest your feet on the leaf, you notice something strange .This leaf is hairy. You begin to make your move, but you trigger the plant's reaction. Snap! In one-tenth of a second, you are caught in the Venus flytrap. You will be digested in five to twelve days.
Out of about 391,000 plant species in the world, only 600 or so are carnivorous. We call them this because they attract, trap，and eat bugs. Like other plants, they get energy from the sun. But unlike other plants, they get their nutrients from their prey (猎物）.Carnivorous plants live in places where the soil lacks nutrients. Most plants get nutrients from the soil. Carnivorous plants have turned to other sources.
Pitcher plants trick their prey into landing on them. They offer nectar (花蜜）bribes to the foolish insects that would take them. True to their name, pitcher plants have deep chambers. Their landing surface is slippery. They have inward pointing hairs, making it hard to escape. The fly lands on the pitcher plant to eat but slips into a pit filled with digestive fluids.
Corkscrew plants have inviting stems. Curved hairs line the inside of these stems. These hairs allow insects to go up the stems, but not back. Going forward leads to the plant's stomach. Bugs who wander into the corkscrew plant find that they are unable to escape. They must march to their own death.
And then there are the bladderworts. They live in water and float near the surface. Their traps are like small bladders(囊状物)hidden beneath the water. Only their flowers are visible from the surface. When bugs swim into the trigger hairs, the plant reacts. The bladder sucks up the prey and the water surrounding it. The prey will be digested within hours.
31.The word "carnivorous"（Para.2) is closest in meaning to "_____".
A.nutritious B. bug-eating C. plant-eating D. attractive
32.Which statement would the author most likely agree with?
A.There are too many species of carnivorous plants.
B.There are too few plant species in the world.
C.Only a small number of plant species are carnivorous.
D.The majority of plants are carnivorous.
33.Carnivorous plants get their nutrients mainly from _____.
A.Other plants B.the soil C.the sun D.their prey
34.Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the third paragraph ?
A.There are many studies of carnivorous plants.
B.The pitcher plant tricks bugs into its stomach.
C.The pitcher plant kills its prey in various ways.
D.Some plants attract bugs by offering them nectar.
35.As can be inferred，the corkscrew's chamber for digestion is located _____.
A. somewhere towards its root
B. somewhere towards its top
C. inside its flowers D. inside its leaves
Passage Four
Serenity (宁静）is difficult to find in today's fast-paced world. A moment of complete calm seems to be a rare and wonderful find. For me, those precious moments occur on a boat. As legendary sailor Vito Dumas once said: "It's out there at sea that you are really yourself." On deck, enjoying awe-inspiring views, the cares of everyday life blown away on the sea breeze, you can appreciate his point.
Flying is a misery. From airport chaos to the confined space of an aircraft, nothing about commercial aviation appeals to my sense of adventure—or comfort. Favouring boat travel isn't just about managing flight fear, though. Whether I'm on a short ferry crossing or a cruise, the sea provides a true sense of travel, from the impressive physical shift of a ship leaving port to its navigation of the open water. "We are tied to the ocean,"John F. Kennedy said. As my ship steers towards an exciting new destination, I feel that affinity.
And I'm not alone."The journey is part of the holiday,"says travel writer Helen Ochyra. I'll stand out on deck, whatever the weather, and watch the ropes being untied, the boat slipping away from the dock and the landscape drifting farther and farther away."
Tom Bourlet，founder of the Spaghetti Traveller blog, agrees": On a plane，it's difficult to make out much more than grassland; on the ferry, there is something exciting about seeing land slowly getting closer."
For Cathy Winston, travel editor, ifs about the sense of adventure ."Even on a fairly simple journey from A to B, she says, "wide wide, open sea makes it feel like you could be off to discover new lands. There's a certain romance you don't get on a plane or on a motorway." Winston also values the family-friendly aspects of sea travel. "There's something so relaxing about being on the water, especially with kids," she says.
Whether it's for kid-happy convenience or sheer romance, boats will always be the preferred mode of transport for many travellers. A boat gets me where I want to go, avoiding the rush—and terror— of air travel. And out on the waves, as reality melts away, I always rediscover my own passion for the sea.
评论