Passage Four
Oceanography has been defined as"The application of all sciences to the study of the sea".
Before thenineteenth century scientists with an interest in the sea were few and farbetween.Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in hiswritings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.
For most peoplethe sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelersor others who earned a hying from the sea, there was little reason to ask manyquestions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The firsttime that the question "What is at the bottom of the oceans.´?" hadto be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraphcable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineer had to know the depthprofile( 起伏) of the route to estimate the length ofcable that had to be manufactured.
It was to Mauryof the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned ,in 1853,forinformation on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible forencouraging voyages during which soundings(测水深)weretaken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.Later,some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book ThePhysical Geography of the Sea.
The cable was laid,but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the earlyattempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was foundto be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientificopinion that there was no life in the deeper
parts of the sea. Within a few yearsoceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition (考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samplesfrom the sea.Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for yearsand led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.
第52题单选 The proposal to lay a telegraphcable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on
A.an academic aspect
B.a military aspect
C.a business aspect
D.an international aspect
第53题单选 It was __ that asked Maury for help inoceanographic studies.
A.the American Navy
B.some early intercontinental travelers
C.those who earned a living from the sea
D.the company which proposed to lay anundersea cable
第54题单选 The aim of the voyages Maury wasresponsible for in the 1840s was __
A.to make some sounding experiments inthe oceans
B.to collect samples of sea plants andanimals
C.to estimate the length of cable thatwas needed
D.to measure the depths of the two oceans
第55题单选 This passage is mainly about __
A.the beginnings of oceanography
B.the laying of the first undersea cable
C.the investigation of ocean depths
D.the early intercontinentalcommunications
五、V. Daily Conversation ( 15 points )
HWOCRTEMP_ROC110
Kate : Hello !56
Mrs. Read:I´m sorry. Ann isn´t here rightnow.57
Kate : This is Kate.
Mrs. Read:She isn´t back yet.58
Kate:That´s very kind of you. I´m callingto ask her if she is free tomorrow. It´s March 12th, Tree
Planting Day tomorrow.59
Mrs. Read:I think she´ll be very glad tojoin you.
Kate : We´ll meet at the school gate at 7:00.60
Mrs. Read:OK. I´ll let her know.
Kate : Many thanks. Goodbye.
Mrs. Read : Goodbye.
Kate : Goodbye.
六、VI. Writing ( 25 points)
第61题简答 你(Li Yuan)得到一位外国朋友(Mr.John )的帮助，在英语学习上取得很大进步，并在英语 竞赛中取得第一名的好成绩。写一封信表示感谢(词数l00。120 )。内容包括：
(1)表示感谢;
(2)说明感谢原因;
(3)问候对方。
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