1 . It takes eight hours and $250, 000 to get to what remains of the RMS Titanic. On Sunday, five people got into the underwater craft Titan to make that journey. The craft lost contact only an hour and 45 minutes into the eight-day expedition. Later wreckage (残骸) was found matching that of the craft. Despite the danger of traveling some 12, 500 feet below the surface, this was an irresistible opportunity — very few people get to see the Titanic with their own eyes. Actually, dives to the Titanic have been around for more than 20 years.

It wasn’t until 1985 that an expedition led by Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel discovered the Titanic’s final resting place. In July 1986, Ballard placed a memorial on the ship, asking that the site be left undisturbed in memory of the more than 1, 500 people who died there.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, competition over who would be allowed to salvage (打捞) artifacts (文物) from the ship heated up. In part, it was an effort to document and conserve the artifacts - but it was also a rush for profits from artifact sales and public displays.

In 1992, a federal court ruled that TVLP was the first and exclusive salvor of the Titanic. Now known as RMS Titanic Inc. , the company has conducted eight expeditions to the Titanic, and has sold more than 5, 000 objects taken from the site, including jewelry.

While battles for visitation and salvage rights were fought in court, expeditions to the Titanic continued, giving rise to a small but pricey tourist market. Multiple companies offered public tours to explore the Titanic wreck, with prices ranging from $32, 500 to $105, 129 per person over the years. The Titanic was damaged significantly upon impact with the seabed, and slowly, iron-eating bacteria are consuming what remains. In 2019, a dive confirmed huge portions of the ship were collapsing. Today the surrounding site is littered with trash. Visitors have also littered the area with memorials. Attempts to protect the wreck are ongoing. In 2020, the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to work together to grant or deny licenses to people entering and taking artifacts from the site.

1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．How people explored the Titanic	B．The danger of diving to the Titanic.
C．People’s strong interest in the Titanic	D．The details of Titanic expedition.

2. Why did Ballard put a memorial on the Titanic?

A．To mark the ship for further research.	B．To honor his dead teammates.
C．To celebrate his achievement.	D．To protect the ship’s remains.

3. What motivates the competition over the rights to salvage objects from the Titanic?

A．Scientific exploration	B．Historical research
C．Economic interest	D．Technological development

4. What is the current condition of the Titanic?

A．It is being restored	B．It is being moved to a new place.
C．It is preserved in a museum.	D．It is under united protection.

7 . Last week, I participated in a spelling bee competition along with my friend, Emma. The competition began with a lot of _________ and pressure as we all got ready to try our best. As the rounds progressed, Emma and I were the only ones left _________ for the first prize. I was leading the pack with my _________ spelling skills, but the competition rules were a little tricky, as we could seek assistance twice in case we _________ with a word. When Emma was asked a word she didn’t know, she _________ looked at me hopefully without any hesitation (犹豫), seeking my _________ to spell out the word. Although I was amazed by her trust in me, I was also _________ that she would get ahead of me. I assumed that helping her would _________ my win.

As I stood there, lost in my thoughts, past _________ of sweet moments between us crowded in on me. She had always been there for me. She cheered me on when I was feeling __________. Suddenly, I realized that winning wasn’t everything, and my __________ with her mattered more.

With that in mind, I decided to help her. I reminded her of the correct __________ for the word she was unsure of, and she flashed me a grateful smile as she wrote down the answer. The audience __________ as the host announced the result: Emma finished at the top. After the competition, she hugged me, __________ what I had done for her.

Although I had lost the race, I had __________ something much more valuable — a deeper understanding of the importance of friendship.

1.

A．excitement

B．tension

C．surprise

D．depression

2.

A．competing

B．struggling

C．debating

D．heading

3.

A．significant

B．creative

C．graceful

D．impressive

4.

A．got bored

B．got away

C．got stuck

D．got tired

5.

A．hardly

B．finally

C．immediately

D．extremely

6.

A．encouragement

B．authority

C．inspiration

D．assistance

7.

A．curious

B．confident

C．focused

D．concerned

8.

A．affect

B．promise

C．reject

D．predict

9.

A．spots

B．scenes

C．topics

D．virtues

10.

A．high

B．down

C．up

D．out

11.

A．friendship

B．competition

C．memory

D．effort

12.

A．writing

B．meaning

C．pronunciation

D．spelling

13.

A．chatted

B．paraded

C．clapped

D．greeted

14.

A．appreciating

B．congratulating

C．protesting

D．promoting

15.

A．gained

B．created

C．performed

D．reflected

8 . A swimming pool is a wonderful addition to a home that the whole family is sure to enjoy! The luxury of being able to slip into a nice, cool pool on a hot summer day in the privacy of one’s backyard is well worth the cost! The swimming pool is a lot of fun, but it also presents some hazard! The following is a list of things you can do to make sure your family is protected and your pool is a safe space to enjoy!

Learn To Swim — Being unable to swim makes you an accident waiting to happen, be it at the pool, the beach, or around any body of water! Our advice for guests is to have all visiting children have a basic swimming test at the shallow end to judge their skills — if they don’t pass, then the deep end is strictly off limits to them, even with floatation (漂浮) aids since they can be dangerously unreliable!

Children Supervised — Any children under the age of ten should be actively supervised by a responsible and vigilant adult who knows how to swim! Children should always be kept in sight, and children under the age of five should always be within easy arm’s reach.

Sun Protection — The water is not the only potential hazard in a swimming pool, exposure to harmful UV rays can be compounded as they reflect off the water’s surface, and if no measures are taken can deliver a nasty sunburn that may even require a doctor’s care! Apply waterproof sunscreen to all exposed parts of the body. Don’t use water-resistant products, they don’t resist for very long, and can just make matters worse!

Swimming pools are a lot of fun, but it’s up to you to play it safe!

1. Why are swimming tests recommended for visiting children?

A．To ensure them to swim safe.	B．To help them learn to swim faster.
C．To make sure they enjoy swimming.	D．To keep them away from the deep end.

2. What should you do to protect yourself from UV rays while swimming?

A．To stay indoors during the day.	B．To apply waterproof sunscreen.
C．To use water-resistant gloves.	D．To wear dark-colored swimming suits.

3. Where would you most likely find this article?

A．In a travel brochure.	B．In a school document.
C．In a swimming magazine.	D．In a science research paper.

9 . Bees are known to tell time by light and social clues. Now, researchers have shown that the biological clocks of bees can be changed by another surprising factor: temperature cycles inside the hive (蜂巢).

The researchers tried to better understand how bees lived in areas beyond where light entered the hive.They were surprised to find clear temperature fluctuations across the day throughout the hive, which was caused by daylight.

To understand how important this temperature cycle was to a bee's activity, the researchers put bees in total darkness all the time while exposing them to the temperature cycles they observed within the hive. Six days later, the scientists moved the temperature cycle back by six hours. “We saw that the bees changed their activity with the temperature, meaning their daily routines were reactive to temperature,” a researcher said.

The discovery that bees can tell exact time from temperature cycles inside the hive shows that on a cloudy day or when bees aren't going outdoors, they have other means to tell time exactly. This will affect the way that researchers understand, explain and combine what they know of bee behavior.

More broadly, as more extreme weather events occur around the world, bees will face challenges to continuing the activities that keep them and the agriculture they support healthy and energetic. If part of the southern U.S. is hit with an unexpected snowstorm, bees getting ready to search for food might not realize they need to save energy and heat the hive. In the event of a 100-degree day, bees will have to spend a lot of energy keeping the hive co. It is those considerations that will influence hive health or possible hive breakdown.

"We want to see how important this research is this winter in Tennessee，when bees aren't leaving the hive as much," researchers said. "We will be interested to see how our findings apply to zones where temperature varies more greatly across the year." This research will also reshape how researchers think about bees' biological rhythms.

1. What does the underlined word "fluctuations" in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Measures.

B．Changes.

C．Approaches.

D．Functions.

2. What can we learn about the research?

A．It was carried out at night.	B．It was based on a previous study.
C．It analyzed bees' daily routines.	D．It studied how bees react to challenges.

3. The last paragraph talks about the ______ of the research.

A．Significance

B．result

C．process

D．background

4. Which might be the best title tor the passage?

A．Lights Affect Bees' Biological Clocks	B．Bee Behavior Surprises Researchers
C．Bees React Smartly to Extreme Weather	D．Bees Can Tell Time by Temperature

10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the man’s job?

A．A public speaker.

B．A DJ.

C．A music teacher.

2. What might surprise Sarah’s parents?

A．The man’s education.

B．The man’s hairstyle.

C．The man’s dressing style.

3. What do we know about the man?

A．He is always outgoing.

B．He will continue to study.

C．He is worried about the meeting.