Each year on the first Saturday in March, a group of middle-aged men and a few women gather at sunrise on a beach near prefix = st1 /St. Petersburg,Fla.Above the high-water line are more than 50 small boats. At exactly 7 a.m., Steve Isaac stands at the water's edge with his arm raised and yells: "Go!" Most of the boats are part of the Everglades Challenge. They head for a finish line many days and 300 miles to the south, at Key Largo. But this Saturday, for the first time, 10 of the brave mariners--including a journalist, whose progress will be available online--will compete in the world's toughest small boat race, called the Ultimate Florida Challenge. Instead of finishing at Key Largo, the 10 boaters will continue around the state, heading north past Miami, the Kennedy Space Center, and Jacksonville, then down the Suwannee River, eventually passing most of Florida before arriving back at the beach near St. Petersburg. It will be 1,200 miles of head winds and burning sun. But it will also take the challengers through some of the most impressive scenery in North America. The rules are no-nonsense: First one back to the beach wins. The voyage must be completed within a month. Human power or sails, only. No motors. No rides in cars or tows from power boats. No help from family or friends. And at least once a day, participants are required to acknowledge by cell phone or radio that they are still alive. The race will be a replay of the tale of the tortoise and the rabbit. The trick, if there is one, is to be a tortoise and just keep moving forward. But the one-month deadline means that being too much of a tortoise may result in failure. So challengers have to be a little bit of a rabbit, as well. Which can be the best title for the passage? A) Around the coast in 30 days B) Among the life-and-death tests C) A new world record expected D) Everglades Challenge on line
A
Did you ever look up at the moon and think you saw a man's face there?When the moon is round and full,the shadows of the moon mountains and the lines of the moon valleys sometimes seem to show a giant nose and mouth and eyes. At least,some people think so. If there were a man on the moon -- instead of mountains and valleys that just look like the face of a man -- what would he be like? He would not be like anyone you know. He would not be like anyone anybody knows. If the man on the moon were bothered by too much heat or cold the way Earth people are,he could not stay on the moon. The moon becomes very,very hot. It becomes as hot as boiling water. And the moon becomes very,very cold. It becomes colder than ice. Whatever part of the moon the sun shines on is hot and bright. The rest of the moon is cold and dark. If the man on the moon had to breathe to stay alive,he couldn't live on the moon because there's no air there.(He'd have to carry an oxygen tank,as astronauts do.) There's no food on the moon,either. Nothing grows -- not even weeds. If the man on the moon liked to climb mountains,he would be very happy. There are many high places there,such as the raised land around the holes,or craters,of the moon. Some of these _ are as tall as Earth's highest mountains. But if the man on the moon liked to swim,he would be unhappy. There is no water on the moon -- just dust and rock. When you think of what it's like on the moon,you may wonder why it interests our scientists. One reason is that the moon is Earth's nearest neighbor -- it is the easiest place in space to get to. Going back and forth between the moon and Earth,astronauts will get a lot of practice in space travel. Things learned on moon trips will be of great help to astronauts who later take long,long trips to some of the planets. Scientists are also interested in the moon because it has no air. The air that surrounds Earth cuts down the view of the scientists who look at the stars through telescopes. A telescope on the moon would give them a... Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? A) The climate on the moon is quite different from that on the Earth. B) Traveling between the moon and Earth will do much good to astronauts. C) There is some food and weeds on the moon,even though there's no air. D) If you want to drink hot water on the moon,it's not so hard to boil water.
C
Q: People who daydream are often thought of in negative terms, such as being lazy or not doing what they should be doing. However, scientists who study the brain have learned many interesting things from studying the brains of daydreamers. Far from being a waste of time, recent research has shown that daydreaming is a healthy and useful activity for all of our brains. To study the brain, scientists use special devices that scan the brain and show pictures of which parts of the brain are active at certain times. When a person is daydreaming, the device will show a distinct pattern of activity in the brain called the "default" mode of thinking. In the default mode, the top or outside part of the brain is very active. Actually, several regions of the brain are interacting in this mode. Some scientists describe this mode as a time when the brain focuses on itself rather than focusing on the environment around the person. Typically, this occurs when a person is doing simple, undemanding work or performing routine actions that don't need much attention, like walking to school or cooking simple foods. People tend to daydream during such activities. The importance of daydreaming lies in developing both creative and social skills. When the mind is not engaged in dealing with one's immediate situation or problem, then it is free to wander. A time of wandering allows the mind to create things. New inventions may be imagined, or possible solutions to a problem can be planned. For example, solutions to problems in relationships with other people may spring to mind. In fact, most daydreams involve situations with others. Perhaps these are daydreams based on past memories, or daydreams of what might be in the future. In either case, daydreams help us develop the appropriate skills we can use in real interactions with others. As brain specialist Dr. Marcus Raichle of Washington University explains: "When you don't use a muscle, that muscle really isn't doing much. But when your brain is supposedly doing nothing and daydreaming,... Which question does the passage mainly focus on? A) Can daydreams reduce the hours we sleep? B) How is daydreaming different from sleeping? C) What is the right way to daydream? D) Why is daydreaming good for people?
A: D
Q: Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are which Americans live by. They have never given the matter any thought. Over the years I have introduced thousands of international visitors to life in the United States. This has caused me to try to look at Americans through the eyes of foreign visitors, I am confident that the values listed in this booklet describe most (but not all )Americans, and that understanding these values can help you, the international visitor, understand Americans. It is my belief that if foreign visitors really understand how deeply these 13 values are _ in Americans, they will then be able to understand 95% of American actions --actions which might otherwise appear "strange,"" confusing," or "unbelievable" when evaluated from the perspective (aspect) of the foreigner's own society and its values. The different behaviors of a people or a culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter (meet) an action, or hear a statement in the United States which surprises you, try to see it as an expression of one or more of the values listed in this booklet. An ordinary American can't tell you his / her value system because _ . A) this is something an American lives by B) everyone will have his/her own system C) he/she has never thought about it D) values are something often in their thought
A: C