1 . 请你根据以下信息以“The Pyramid Under the Sea”为题，用英语写一篇80词左右的短文，介绍世界未解之谜之一——日本海底金字塔。
1．日本海底金字塔是由日本科学家于2007年发现的，据说这座金字塔距今已有5 000多年的历史。
2．有的科学家认为这座金字塔是自然形成的，有人认为这是古代人类遗址(remains)，因为在这里发现了人类活动的印迹。但是目前仍然没有科学依据证明哪一种说法是正确的。
3．大多数科学家都认为是地震使这座金字塔沉入了海底。

The Pyramid Under the Sea

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2 . In my latest novel, Aphrodite’s Tears, I wanted to draw on this ancient Greek tradition of sponge (海绵) diving; and explore the traditions surrounding the way of life. My fictional island of Helios, therefore, has a long association with sponge diving, and the heroine Oriel, a newcomer to the island and a diver herself, is keen to learn all about it.

Damian, the leader of the island, explains to Oriel that in his father’s generation, sponge diving was one of the main industries on the island. A sizeable group of islanders would leave each May-yet in the autumn, a smaller group would return. “In those days,” Damian explains, “one man in three was either dead or crippled (残疾的) from the caisson disease before they reached marriageable age.” Under Damian’s leadership, other means of earning a living are being developed-such as olive oil production. But some of the men continue to follow in their ancestors’ footsteps and dive for sponges, and each year there are still two or three deaths.

The emotional impact of these losses on the little island community is apparent to Oriel when she comes across a shrine (祠堂) by the port. There she sees tiny paintings that tell the story of the sponge divers, and before the paintings, so many flowers and gifts. They are laid by the women of the sponge-diving families, as offerings for protection for their men and as thanks for the miracle of their safe return.

Why, Oriel wonders, would these men take the risk? After all, with synthetic (合成的) sponges flooding the market, sponge diving is nowhere near as lucrative as it used to be. “It comes down to tradition,” Damian explains: “To the romantic young, it naturally seems a grand thing to sail away every summer to the shores of Africa and to come back, pockets full of money, hailed a hero... I have seen young boys playing at sponge fishing: swimming underwater, wearing the sponge-fisher’s mask and carrying their spear, pretending to detach sponges from the bottom of the sea. An aura (气息) of heroism surrounds the profession.”

1. What’s appealing to Oriel on Helios Island?

A．The main local industries.

B．Her ancestors’ way of life.

C．The scenery of Helios Island.

D．The tradition of sponge diving.

2. How does Oriel’s feel when seeing the scene at the shrine probably?

A．Pride.

B．Sad.

C．Frightened.

D．Grateful.

3. What does the underlined word “lucrative” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Dangerous.

B．Profitable.

C．Traditional.

D．Entertaining.

4. Why do some young people today follow the tradition of sponge diving?

A．It brings them much fun.	B．It remains a major industry.
C．It shows their courageous spirit.	D．It’s turned into a tourist attraction.

3 . Around 6,200 years ago, farmers living on the eastern edges of Europe, in what is now Ukraine, left their villages. They moved into an area between the modern cities of Kiev and Odessa. They built new settlements up to 20 times the size of their old ones. Scientists believe the civilization might be an early attempt at urbanization. But it isn’t clear whether the sites, or perhaps the earliest cities, were fully inhabited (居住) year round and there is heated debate over what they were for.

This puzzling culture, known as the Cucuteni-Trypillia, predates the earliest known cities in Mesopotamia. Researcher Monica Smith, the author of Cities: The First 6.000 Years, thinks the very large sites may have had something in common with Gobekli Tepe in modern Turkey. It is a building complex which is at least 10,000 years old and seems to have been a place where people gathered together periodically for special gatherings.

By contrast, scientist Johannes Muller believes the very large sites were fully occupied all year round. But the inhabitants left the lightest of footprints in the landscape, and no human remains have been found. “Not a finger, not a tooth,” says researcher Alexey Nikitin. The evidence is extremely difficult to collect because Trypillians periodically burned their houses down in a controlled way.

Uruk and Tell Brak, which arose in Mesopotamia early in the 4th millennium BCE, are usually considered the world’s first cities. Their remains point to an increased density (密度) of habitation and a hierarchical (等级制度的) social structure-two features that are considered essential to the definition of a city. But the Trypillian sites don’t meet either of those standards.

Scientists John Chapman and Bisserka Gaydarska agree, saying. “Trypillian sites were a social system based on the belief that everyone was equal.” These were cities, but of a very different kind from the slave-owning (拥有奴隶的) societies of Mesopotamia a few centuries later. And our definition of a city may need expanding, argue Chapman and Gaydarska.

1. What might have been the purpose of the Trypillian sites according to Monica?

A．Protecting cities.	B．Attracting settlers.
C．Holding events.	D．Entertaining villagers.

2. What is the limitation of Muller’s theory?

A．It has little clear evidence.

B．It is mainly based on unusual ideas.

C．The data he collected is not convincing.

D．The research method he used is unscientific.

3. What was a major difference between Trypillia and Uruk?

A．Trypillia had more houses.

B．Trypillia was densely populated.

C．Trypillia was a society full of equality.

D．Trypillia created a greater civilization.

4. What would be the best title for the text?

A．Prehistoric remains in Ukraine

B．A different urban life of Trypillians

C．Mesopotamia’s slave-owning societies

D．The mysterious culture that invented civilization

5 . A huge crowd has gathered to watch China’s new scientific research ship enter the water for the first time. This ship, equipped with on-board labs and the latest scientific kit, will eventually explore the world’s oceans. But it is also going to help China plunge beneath the waves: it will serve as a launch-pad for submarines that can dive to the deepest parts of the ocean. “Humans know much less about the deep oceans than we know about the surface of the Moon and Mars. That’s why I want to develop the facility for ocean scientists to reach the deep seas,” says Prof. Cui Weicheng.

He is the dean of deep sea science at Shanghai Ocean University but he has also set up a private company called Rainbow Fish, which built the new research ship and is busy developing submersibles. One of its unmanned subs reached a depth of 4,000m (13,000ft) in its most recent trial. But Rainbow Fish’s ultimate goal is manned exploration and it plans to take humans to the very bottom of the ocean the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific, at a depth of nearly 11,000m (36,000ft). He shows me around a life-size model of the submarine and explains that there is room inside for a crew of three, who will be protected by a thick metal sphere.”At the moment, we are in the design stage, so we are testing several extremely high-strength materials for it.” It will have to bear immense pressures from the crushing weight of water above. If there are any weaknesses, the submarine will implode. The deepest ocean is a place few people have ever experienced first-hand. The first dive to the Mariana Trench was carried out in 1960 by US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Picard. Their vessel, the Bathyscaphe Trieste, creaked and groaned as it made the descent, taking nearly five hours.

The only other manned expedition was carried out by Hollywood director James Cameron, who took a solo plunge in a bright green submarine in 2012. Rainbow Fish wants its sub to be next. The team insists its venture isn’t about politics and that it is looking to collaborate with American, Russian and European scientists. It is, though, a commercial operation. The company plans to charge people to use its research ship and submarines, and is targeting three groups, says managing director Dr. Wu Xin. “The first is definitely the scientists who are interested in studying deep-sea science and technology. The second group is offshore companies and oil companies. The last one is tourists and adventurers [who] want to go down themselves to have a look at what’s going on there,” he says. This kind of entrepreneurial approach may be a new model for science in China. Deep-sea research is a difficult, high-risk activity — and much of the ocean remains unexplored. But Cui, who hopes to be the first Chinese person to reach the Mariana Trench, believes that China could be the nation to truly open up this final frontier.

1. What function does the new scientific research ship serve?

A．As a deep-sea facility for tourist adventures

B．As a supply ship for scientific explorations.

C．As a station for observing giant squid.

D．As a launch-pad for submarines.

2. What is Prof. Cui Weicheng currently doing?

A．Testing high-strength materials for building submarines.

B．Designing a thick metal sphere for bearing space pressure.

C．Charting the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.

D．Making plans for his dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

3. What does “this kind of entrepreneurial approach” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Prof. Cui doesn’t rely on government funding. Instead he runs a for-profit business.

B．Prof. Cui is bold in his submarine design.

C．Prof. Cui, who started the company, is a professor-turned entrepreneur.

D．Prof. Cui is the first to offer his ship for tourists.

4. Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?

A．Deep-sea science and technology	B．Ocean exploration
C．Race to the deep	D．The rising of Rainbow Fish