1 . Throughout July 1945, the Japanese mainland, from Tokyo on Honshu northward to the coast of Hokkaido, were bombed as if an invasion were about to take place. In fact, something far more threatening was at hand, as the Americans were telling Stalin at Potsdam (伯茨坦).

In 1939 physicists in the United States had learned of experiments in Germany showing the possibility of atomic power and understood the coming damage of an atomic bomb. On August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein warned President Roosevelt of the danger of Nazi Germany’s advances in development of the atomic bomb. Eventually, the U.S. Office of Scientific Research Development was created in June 1941 and given combined responsibility with the War Department in the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb. After four years of research and development efforts, an atomic device was set off on July 16, 1945, in a desert area at Alamogordo, New Mexico, producing an explosive power equal to that of more than 15,000 tons of TNT. Thus, the atomic bomb was born. Truman, the new U.S. president, believed that this terrible object might be used to defeat Japan in a way less costly of U.S. lives than an ordinary invasion of the Japanese homeland. Japan’s unsatisfactory reply to the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration decided the matter.

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb, carried from Tinian Island in the Mariana in a specially equipped B-29 was dropped on Hiroshima, at the southern end of Honshu. The combined heat and explosion destroyed everything in the explosion’s immediate neighbourhood , produced fires that burned out almost 4.4 square miles completely, and killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people, in addition to injuring more than 70,000 others. A second bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, killed between 35,000 and 40,000 people, injured a like number and ruined 1.8 square miles.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

B．After research and development efforts, an atomic bomb was born.

C．An invasion was about to take place with the use of the atomic bomb.

D．The birth and use of the atomic bomb ended the Second World War.

2. Albert Einstein warned Roosevelt of _________.

A．Nazi Germany’ success in making an atomic bomb

B．the possibility of atomic power from Nazi Germany

C．Japan’s unsatisfactory reply to the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration

D．destruction of everything from the explosion of the atomic bomb

3. What made the U.S. decide to drop the atomic bombs over Japan?

A．Truman’s becoming the president of the United States.

B．The great destruction power of the atomic bomb.

C．Reducing the cost of its lives.

D．Not being content with Japan’s reply.

4. How many people were killed by the two bombs dropped in Japan?

A．Between 105,000 and 120,000 people.

B．Between 35,000 and 40,000 people.

C．Between 70,000 and 80,000 people.

D．Between 140,000 and 150,000 people.

2 . “We do look very different; we’re older. Leo’s 38, I’m 37. We were 21 and 22 when we made that film. You know, he’s fatter now -- I’m thinner.” So says Kate Winslet, who is thrilled at the 3-D re-release of Titanic to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship’s demise. “It happens every time I get on any boat of any kind." She recalls. There are all the people who want her to walk to the front of the ship and re-create her famous pose, arms flung wide. Most people remember the tragedy: The British passenger ship—said to be unsinkable—hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, during its maiden voyage from England to New York City. More than 1,500 people died. But little known is what the world learned from the sinking to prevent future incidents.
Probably the greatest deficiency (不足) of the Titanic was that she was built 40 years before the widespread use of the wonderful invention radar (雷达). Her only defense against icebergs and hidden obstacles was to rely on manned lookouts. On that fateful night the eyesight of trained lookouts only provided 37 seconds of warning before the collision.
Traveling at nearly 30 miles an hour, the Titanic was moving far too fast to avoid the huge iceberg. The warning did prevent a head-on collision as the officer on the bridge managed to turn the ship slightly.
The last ship to which it could send an SOS message was the California. She was within ten miles of the Titanic during the disaster, but her radio operator went to bed at midnight and never received any of the SOS messages from the Titanic. That was one of the important lessons learned from the catastrophe, the need for 24-hour radio operators on all passenger liners.
Another lesson learned was the need for more lifeboats. The Titanic remained afloat (漂浮) for almost three hours and most of the passengers could have been saved with enough lifeboats.
1,500 passengers and workers died in the 28 degree waters of the Atlantic. Out of the tragedy, the sinking did produce some important maritime reforms. The winter travel routes were changed to the south and the Coast Guard began to keep an eye on the location of all icebergs. The new rules for lifeboats were obvious to all. There must be enough lifeboats for everybody on board.
The most important lesson learned was that no one would ever again consider a ship unsinkable—no matter how large or how well constructed. Never again would sailors place their faith in a ship above the power of the sea.
1. The text mainly tells us ______.

A．the reason why the Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

B．how the unsinkable ship of Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean

C．the lessons that we could learn from the accident of the Titanic

D．the things we should do to protect the lives on the ship

2. According to the passage, which of the following could we infer?

A．If the captain had been more careful, he could have had the chance to save the Titanic.

B．If radar had existed 40 years ago, the Titanic would have never disappeared from the world.

C．If the lookout had had much more experience, he could have had the time to save the Titanic.

D．If there had been enough lifeboats on the Titanic, the Titanic would not have sunk in the Atlantic.

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Lessons from the Titanic	B．Technology is Important
C．Demands of Passengers	D．Power of Sea

4. What’s the sailors’ attitude towards the ships after the tragedy?

A．They think there really exists the unsinkable ship.

B．They think ships could eventually defeat the sea.

C．They think there is no power that could control the sea.

D．They think the bigger the ship is, the safer it is.