Passage Four Three women who secretly buried an 80-year-old woman were put into pris

（Para. 3, Passage Four）

There are three important areas where the control of the laser beam has been put into use by scientists

Passage Three

Many theories about the origin of the ocean have been proposed by scientists. The most widely accepted one is that the earth at some time in its very early history became hot enough to melt the materials from which it was formed. While in this molten state, lighter rock-forming materials (造岩材料) floated on the surface of the heavier ones. Then, between four and a half four billion (十亿) years ago, the molten earth cooled sufficiently to form. a crust of rock that was many miles thick.

Surrounding the earth was an unbroken canopy of clouds miles thick and made up mostly of water vapor. Rain falling toward the still-hot earth was heated to steam and rose to the clouds again. After many millions of years, as the earth continued to cool, its surface temperature fell below the boiling point of water. Rainwater could now remain on the earth, covering its whole surface except for the higher places on earth that had been formed from the lighter rock materials.

In 1970, scientists had pieced together evidence that the lighter rock materials had formed one huge continent by a vast ocean. Then, about 200 million years ago, the great continent began to break up, the pieces moving slowly apart.

The onrushing waters of the single huge ocean now entered and filled the spaces between the separating continents--and became the several oceans and seas we know today.

41. This passage mainly talks about ______.

A. the origin of the earth

B. the origin of the ocean

C. the history of the earth

D. the forming of the earth's crust

an object, but it is not really fixed at all. If you could take a one pound packet of butter 4,000 miles out from the earth, it would weigh only a quarter of a pound.

Why would things weigh only a quarter as much as they do at the surface of the earth if we took them 4,000 miles out into space？ The reason is this: All objects have a natural attraction for all other objects; this is called gravitational attraction, but this power of attraction between two objects gets weaker as they get farther apart. When the butter was at the surface of the earth, it was 4,000 miles from the center (in other words the radius[半径] of the earth is 4,000 miles). When we took the butter 4,000 miles out, it was 8,000 miles from the center, which is twice the distance.

If you double the distance between two objects, their gravitational attraction decreases (减少) two times two. If you treble (成三倍) the distance, it gets nine times weaker (three times three). If you take it four times as far away, it gets sixteen times weaker (four times four ) and so on.

The best title for this passage is______.

A．The Earth Weight

B．Weight in Space

C．Changing Weight on the Earth

D．Weight on and off the Earth

Passage Three

More than 6,000 children were expelled (开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.

The department gave a report to the expulsions (开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58% of the 6,093 expulsions in 1996—1997, against 7% for rifles (步枪) or shotguns and 35% for other types of firearms.

"The report is a clear sign that our nation's public schools are cracking down (严惩) on students who bring guns to school," Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement.

In March 1997, an 11-year old boy and a 13-year old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Kentucky.

Most of the expulsions, 56%, were from high school, 34% were from junior high schools and 9% were from elementary schools, the report said.

41. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools______.

A. students enjoy shooting

B. safety is a problem

C. students are eager to be solider.

D. students can make guns.

Passage Three

An old Indian story says that the game of chess (国际象棋) was invented by Sissa Ben, Prime Minister of King Shirham. As soon as the invention was finished he gave it to the king, who was glad and asked him what he would like to have in return. To the king's surprise, what Sissa wanted seemed very little. "Your Majesty, "said the minister, kneeling before the king. "I want nothing but some wheat. Please put a grain of wheat on the first square of the chessboard (棋盘), two on the second, four on the third, eight on the fourth.., and so on, doubling the number for each following square. Give me enough grains to cover the 64 squares of the chessboard."

"You don't ask for much, my honest servant. You might have asked for gold or money," said the king and then ordered a bag of wheat brought to the palace.

But when the counting began, with one grain for the first square, two for the second, four for the third, and so on, the bag was emptied before the 20th square. More bags were brought, but the number of grain needed for the following squares increased so rapidly that the king was not able to keep his promise even with all the crops in the whole India! In fact, he would have needed 8 466 744 073 709 511 615 grains, which would be as much as that they would produce in about 2000 years!

Now tile king found himself deep in debt to his minister. He had either to face the terrible trouble all his life or to cut off Sissa's head, the litter of which, it is said was what he finally chose.

41. This story tells us ______.

A. how cruel the king was

B. how clever the minister was

C. Sissa was a famous mathematician

D. how the game of chess came into being

Passage Four

More than 6,000 children were expelled (开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.

The department gave a report to the expulsions (开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6,093 expulsions in 1996 and 1997, against 7 percent for rifles (步枪) or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.

"The report is a clear sign that out nation's public schools are cracking down (严惩) on students who bring guns to school," Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement. "We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe."

In March 1997, an 11 years old boy and 13 years old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14 years old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Dasucah, Kentucky.

Most of the expulsions, 56 percent, were from high school, which have students from about age 13.34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools, the report said.

46. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools ______.

A. students enjoy shooting

B. students are eager to be solider

C. safety is a problem

D. students can make guns

Passage Four There was once a man in South America who had a parrot (鹦鹉), a pet bird that could imitate (模拟), human speech. The parrot was unique. There was no other bird like him in the whole world. He could learn to say any word except one. He could not say the name of his native town, Cotano. The man did everything he could to teach the parrot to say “Cotono” but he never succeeded. At first he was very gentle with the bird, but gradually he lost his temper, “You stupid bird! Why can’t you learn to say that One word! Say ‘Cotano’ or I’ll kill you!” But the parrot would not say it. Many times , the man screamed (大声叫), “Say ‘Cotano’ or I’ll kill you!” But the bird would never repeat the name. Finally the man gave up. He picked up the parrot and threw him into the chicken house. “You are even more stupid than the chickens!” In the chicken house, there were four old chickens waiting to be killed for Sunday’s dinner. The next morning, when he went out to the chicken house, the man opened the door. He was shocked by what he saw. He could not believe his eyes and ears. On the floor lay three dead chickens, the parrot was screaming at the fourth, “Say ‘Cotono’ or I’ll kill you!”

(1).Why couldn’t the parrot say the name of his native town？

A.Because it was stupid.

B.Because it didn’t want to live

C.Because the man didn’t teach it how to say.

D.The reason is not mentioned in the story.

(2).Why did the man lose his temper？

A.Because the bird couldn’t repeat his master’s name.

B.Because the bird screamed all day long.

C.Because the bird uttered the wrong word.

D.Because the bird failed to say the name of the town.

(3).Who killed the three chickens？

A.The cruel master

B.The man in the kitchen

C.The pet bird

D.The fourth chicken

(4).Why was the man shocked at the scene the next morning？

A.The bird had finally understood his threat.

B.The bird managed to escape from the chicken house.

C.The bird had learned to scream back to him.

D.The bird was living peacefully with the chicken.

(5).Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage？

A.The man loved his parrot very much and always treated it kindly.

B.The parrot could imitate a lot of human languages.

C.The parrot was thrown into the chicken house by its master.

D.Three of the old chickens were dead the next day.

Passage Four

Have you ever heard of a flower whose seeds are carried and spread by elephants？ The rafflesia, a rare blossom, is very unusual. Found in the rain forests of Sumatra, the rafflesia is the world's largest flower, measuring three feet in diameter!

This giant flower is a parasite--it needs another plant to live on. It lacks the structures needed to survive alone. The rafflesia has no stem or leaves. It is all flower. It attaches itself to the roots of other plants and sucks their juices. The flower's favorite home is the root of the vine, which grows above ground.

The rafflesia seems to burst right out of the forest floor. Its blossom weighs fifteen pounds! It has thick, spotted petals that give off a rotten smell. The center is about the size of a household bucket. After a rain, it may hold up to twelve pints of water!

After the rafflesia dies, it becomes a pool of thick liquid in which its seeds float. Elephants wandering through the forest step into the mushy pool, and the seeds glue themselves to their feet. As the animals stomp through the forest, their sticky feet pick up twigs and leaves. The elephants try to rid themselves of the sticky mess, in the same way people try to get bubble gum off their shoes. The elephants rub their feet against the roots of the vine. In no time, seeds left on the vine grow into more monstrous flowers!

48. Elephants help to ______.

A. provide food for the giant flower

B. water the rafflesia with their trunks

C. carry rafflesia seeds from one place to another

D. stomp out the awful smelling petals

Passage Three

Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

What are the specific traits that will assist executives to climb the ladder of success？ Opinions vary widely. Given approximately equal qualifications and circumstances，some claim the success factor is largely a matter of luck-being in the right place at the right time. Others speak of an almost crazy devotion to work，combined with a degree of ruthlessness. One “expert” maintains that it's undoubtedly a matter of how much education your mother had.

To make it big，executives must possess four basic skills：

First，drive. Business success takes an unusual amount of energy. A successful executive-almost by definition-is a striver. He will get tense when he is not striving.

Second，people sense. Some say being able to judge people is more important than a high IQ. The skill can be instinctual(本能的)，but in most cases it is painstakingly learned.

Third，communications ability. Different executives make themselves understood in different ways. Some transmit ideas best face to face；others are masters of the telephone call；still others are persuasive writers. One way or another，they all communicate clearly.

Fourth，calm under pressure. No businessman will get very far if he chokes up.

Some people claim that besides hard work，the success also requires______.

A. equal qualifications

B. specific traits

C. much education

D. a degree of cruelty