1 . The “Challenger Deep”, in the southern part of the Mariana Trench, at a depth of 11,000 meters(about 36,000 feet), is the deepest point of the ocean floor, world over. The Mariana Trench was formed from collision of two tectonic (构造的) plates, which were parts of the oceanic crust. One plate sank while the other climbed over, creating the deepest point of the ocean.
If Mount Everest is placed in the depths of the Mariana Trench, it would be totally submerged in water, with about 2,000 meters of water above it! The “Challenger Deep” gets its name from the British Navy vessel called “HMS Challenger” which made a first measurement of its depth in 1875.
In 1960, man reached the ultimate depth through a special underwater exploring space craft, called “Bathyscaphe”. The submersible (可下沉的) vessel called the “Trieste” reached the “Challenger Deep” on 23nd January, 1960. At that depth, the two men who were operating the submersible had about 7 miles of water over them, which exerted a pressure of 16,000 pounds per square inch! Unfortunately, they could do little except measuring the depth as their descent raised debris which reduced their visibility to zero.
Later in 1996, the Japanese unmanned remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), Kaiko made the deepest unmanned dive ever and brought home samples of bacteria living in these depths. The most productive dive of the “Challenger Deep” was made very recently in May 2009.The US built hybrid ROV “Nereus” reached the “Challenger Deep” and spent 10 hours on the ocean floor, sending live video data and collecting biological samples.
1. What does the “Challenger Deep” get its name from?| A．An explorer. | B．An island. | C．A ship. | D．A voyage. |
| A．To show the depth of the Mariana Trench. |
| B．To compare it to the “Challenger Deep”. |
| C．To show how the Mariana Trench was formed. |
| D．To show the importance of the Mariana Trench. |
| A．They failed to measure the depth of it. |
| B．They only measured the depth of it. |
| C．They gave a more exact measurement of it. |
| D．They measured the depth of it with ease. |
| A．They made the deepest dive. | B．They made the most productive dive. |
| C．They spent most time underwater. | D．They brought up living organisms. |
2 . The Palace Museum, known as the Forbidden City, was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the early 15th century, large－size construction caused 100, 000 common people to lead a hard life. The construction took 14 years and was finished in 1420. In the following year, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Twenty－four emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled from the Forbidden City. The Last dynasty fell in 1911, but Emperor Puyi still lived in the inner court. It was not until 1925 that the complex buildings were changed into a museum. Since then, the Palace has been opened to the public.
The Palace Museum is rectangular in shape, about 960 meters long from north to south and 750 meters wide from west to east. There is a 10－meter－high wall, encircled by a 52－meter－wide moat. In the Ming Dynasty, the wood needed for the building was brought mostly from Sichuan and Hunan Provinces, while in the Qing Dynasty, it was cut from the northeast of China. Most of the stones were mined from the suburban district of Fangshan and other districts. Construction of the Forbidden City brought huge hardship to the laboring people.
The palace is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. Some of the buildings were damaged by lightning and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The palace has been expanded several times, but the original design was preserved. After liberation, some costly renovations were done and the Palace Museum is listed as one of the most important historical sites under special preservation by the Chinese government.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?| A．The origin of the name “the Forbidden City”. |
| B．The Forbidden City and emperors. |
| C．The open to the public of the Forbidden City. |
| D．The period of the construction of the Forbidden City. |
| A．1911 | B．1421 | C．1406 | D．1420 |
| A．The emperors’ cruelty brought the Forbidden City into the world. |
| B．The processing of constructing the Forbidden City needed wood and stones from all over the country. |
| C．The Forbidden City is the largest piece of ancient Chinese architecture still standing. |
| D．The Forbidden City is about 720, 000 square meters. |
| A．customs and habits |
| B．dynasties and emperors |
| C．history and emperors |
| D．architecture and history |
3 . In Europe many people died during the Second World War. As a result, at the end of the war there were many orphans (孤儿) there. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted orphans to have a home, and he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give him some money. With this money he built the first SOS Children's Village at Imst, in Austria. It opened in1949. This is how the SOS stand for “Save Our Souls.” This means, “Please help us!” An SOS Children’ village gives help to orphans. Hermann Gmeiner’s idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983 there were 170 SOS Children's Villages in the world. People in many countries give money to help the villages.
Today the children from the first village have grown up. Now some of them work in other SOS Children’s Villages. In SOS Villages orphans live in family groups. There are several houses in each village. The biggest village has 40 or 50 houses! Between seven and ten children live in a house. A woman lives with each group of children and looks after them. She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. She cooks meals for them and makes comfortable, happy home for them.
Of course, the children don’t spend all their time in the village. They go to school; they go out with their friends. But the village gives them a home—sometimes for the first time in their lives.
1. The SOS Children’s Villages are built for________ first.| A．the children who are poor | B．the orphans in Europe |
| C．the kind women | D．people who died in the war. |
| A．governments | B．special organization |
| C．people in different countries | D．the orphans themselves |
| A．She lives with the children and looks after them. |
| B．She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. |
| C．She cooks meals for children. |
| D．She teaches the children how to use the computer. |
