英语阅读理解

Passage1Oceanographyhasbeendefinedas'Theapplicationofallsciencestothestudyofthesea'.Beforethenineteenthcentury,scientistswithaninterestintheseawerefewandfarbetween.CertainlyNewtonconsideredsometheoreticalaspectsofitin-hiswritings,buthewasreluctant(²»Ô¸Òâ)togotoseatofurtherhiswork.Formostpeopletheseawasremote,andwiththeexceptionofearlyintercontinentaltravellersorotherswhoearnedalivingfromthesea,therewaslittlereasontoaskmanyquestionsaboutit,1etalonetoaskwhatlaybeneaththesurface.Thefirsttimethatthequestion¡®Whatisatthebottomoftheoceans?'hadtobeansweredwithanycommercialconsequencewaswhenthelayingofatelegraphcablefromEuropetoAmericawasproposed.Theengineershadtoknowthedepthprofile(Æð·üÐÎ×´)ofthemutetoestimatethelengthofcablethathadtobemanufactured.ItwastoMauryoftheUSNavythattheAtlanticTelegraphCompanyturned,in1853,forinformationonthismatter.Inthe1840s,Mauryhadbeenresponsibleforencouragingvoyagesduringwhichsoundings(²âÉî)weretakentoinvestigatethedepthsoftheNorthAtlanticandPacificOceans.Later,someofhisfindingsarousedmuchpopularinterestinhisbookThePhysicalGeographyoftheSea.Thecablewaslaid,butnotuntil1866wastheconnectionmadepermanentandreliable.Attheearlyattempts,thecablefailedandwhenitwastakenoutforrepairsitwasfoundtobecoveredinlivinggrowths,afactwhichdefiedcontemporaryscientificopinionthattherewasnolifeinthedeeperpartsofthesea.Withinafewyearsoceanographywasunderway.In1872Thomsonledascientificexpedition(¿¼²ì),whichlastedforfouryearsandbroughthomethousandsofsamplesfromthesea.Theirclassificationandanalysisoccupiedscientistsforyearsandledtoafive-volumereport,thelastvolumebeingpublishedin1895.1.Thepassageimpliesthatthetelegraphcablewasbuiltmainly_____A)foroceanographicstudiesC)forbusinessconsiderationsB)formilitarypurposesD)forinvestigatingthedepthsoftheoceans2.Itwas_____thataskedMauryforhelpinoceanographicstudies.A)theAmericanNavyB)someearlyintercontinentaltravellersC)thosewhoearnedalivingfromtheseaD)thecompanywhichproposedtolayanunderseacable3.TheaimofvoyagesMauryencouragedinthe1840swas____A)tomakesomesoundexperimentsintheoceansB)tocollectsamplesofseaplantsandanimalsC)toestimatethelengthofcablethatwastobemadeD)tomeasurethedepthsoftwooceans4.¡®Defied'inthe5thparagraphprobablymeans_____A)¡®doubted'C)¡®challenged'B)¡®gaveproofto'D)¡®agreedto'5.Thispassageismainlyabout________A)thebeginningsofoceanographyB)thelayingofthefirstunderseacableC)theinvestigationofoceandepthsD)theearlyintercontinentalcommunications6.Theauthor'sattitudeinthispassageis_____A)criticalB)objectiveC)warmheartedD)sadPassage2Thespeaker,ateacherfromacommunitycollege,addressedasympatheticaudience.Headsnoddedinagreementwhenhesaid,HighschoolEnglishteachersarenotdoingtheirjobs.Hedescribedtheinadequaciesofhisstudents,allhighschoolgraduateswhocanuselanguageonlyatagrade9level.Iwasunabletodeterminefromhisanswerstomyquestionshowthisgrade9levelhadbeenestablished.Mytopicisnotstandardsnoritsdecline(½µµÍ).Whatthespeakerwasreallysayingisthatheisnolongeryoung;hehasbeenteachingforsixteenyears,andisabletothinkandspeaklikeamatureadult.Mypointisthatthefrequentcomplaintofonegenerationabouttheoneimmediatelyfollowingitisinevitable.Itisalsohumannaturetol¡Þkforthereasonsforourdissatisfaction.BeforeEnglishbecameaschoolsubjectinthelatenineteenthcentury,itwasdifficulttofindthetargetoftheblameforlanguagedeficiencies(ȱÏÝ).Butsincethen,Englishteachershavebeenunderconstantattack.Thecomplainersthinktheyhavehituponanoriginalidea.Astheirowncommandofthelanguageimproves,theynoticethatyoungpeopledonothavethissameability.Unawarethattheirownabilityhasdevelopedthroughtheyears,theyassumethenewgenerationofyoungpeoplemustbehopelessinthisrespect.Totheeyesandearsofsensitiveadults.Thelanguageoftheyoungalwaysseemsinadequate.SincethisconcernaboutthedeclineandfalloftheEnglishlanguageisnotperceivedasagenerationalphenomenonbutratherassomethingnewandpeculiartotoday'syoungpeople,itnaturallyfollowsthattoday'sEnglishteacherscannotbedoingtheirjobs.Otherwise,youngpeoplewouldnotcommitoffensesagainstthelanguage.1.ThespeakertheauthormentionedinthepassagebelievedthatA)thelanguageoftheyoungergenerationisusuallyinferiortothatoftheoldergenerationB)thestudentshadapoorcommandofEnglishbecausetheydidn'tworkhardenoughC)hewasanexcellentlanguageteacherbecausehehadbeenteachingEnglishforsixteenyearsD)Englishteachersshouldbeheldresponsibleforthestudents,poorcommandofEnglish2.Intheauthor'sopinion,thespeakerA)gaveacorrectjudgementoftheEnglishlevelofthestudentsB)hadexaggeratedthelanguageproblemsofthestudentsC)wasrightinsayingthatEnglishteacherswerenotdoingtheirjobsD)couldthinkandspeakintelligently3.Theauthor'sattitudetowardsthespeaker'sremarksis________.A)neutralC)criticalB)positiveD)compromising4.ItcanbeconcludedfromthepassagethatA)itbjustifiabletoincludeEnglishasaschoolsubjectB)theauthordisagreeswiththespeakeroverthestandardofEnglishatGrade9levelC)EnglishlanguageteachingisbynomeansaneasyjobD)Languageimprovementneedstimeandeffort5.InthepassagetheauthorarguesthatA)itisunfairtoblametheEnglishteachersforthelanguagedeficienciesofth