A New Zealand fishermen caught what may prove to be a world-record-breaking colossal squid(鱿鱼).
In the cold, dark waters of the Antarctic hides a creature with eight arms, two super long tentacles(触须) and eyes as big as dinner plates. Sound like something out of a science fiction movie? Think again.
On February 21, New Zealand fishermen landed a colossal squid the length of a school bus. They had been fishing with long lines for Chilean sea bass in the waters off the coast of New Zealand when they caught the rare squid. With two hours of hard work, the crew skillfully pulled the creature into a net and dragged in aboard their ship.
Scientists evaluate that the animal weighs about a half ton and is about 40 feet long. That would make this colossal squid the biggest on record.
First identified in 1925 after two tentacles were found in a whale’s stomach, the colossal squid has long been a mystery. The animals are not easy to observe because they can go down to ocean depths of 6,500 feet. What scientists do know from studying the bodies of a half dozen colossal squids is that they are fierce hunters.
The recently captured colossal squid has been frozen to keep it for scientific study. It will be transported to New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa, in the capital city of Wellington. Experts believe it to be the first adult male ever caught undamaged. Scientists hope to learn more about the colossal squid’s diet, behavior and reproductive(繁殖)patterns.
“Scientists will be very interested in this amazing creature, ”said New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderson. “It adds immeasurably to our understanding of the marine environment. ”
1.Why is it usually difficult for experts to observe the squid?
A. Because it moves too fast B. Because it is too large.
C. Because it is dangerous. D. Because it can go down to deep ocean.
2.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The squid is from a science fiction story
B. The fishermen often meet colossal squids
C. Scientists know much about the colossal squid.
D. The fishermen had some difficulty catching the large squid.
3.What’s the purpose of catching such a huge squid?
A. To make it into food B. To set a world record
C. To do research on it D. To display it for visitors
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The biggest squid ever found B. Scientific research on squid
C. The lifestyle of the colossal squid D. How the fishermen caught the squid
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项
Years ago, when Barbara started looking for her first job, wise advisers urged, "Be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience." How right they were. Enthusiastic people can 1a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.
"Nothing great was ever 2without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. 3is the paste that helps you hang on there when the going gets tough. It is the 4voice that whispers, "I can do it!" when others shout, "No, you can't!"
It 5years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn't 6on her experiments. Work was 7a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.
As author and poet Samuel Ullman once wrote, "Years wrinkle(使起皱纹) the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." How do you rediscover the enthusiasm of your childhood? The answer, I believe, 8the word itself. “Enthusiasm” comes from the Greek and means "God within." And what is God within is but a long-lasting sense of 9-- proper love of self and, from that, love of others.
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, 10money or title or power. Patricia McIlrath, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm. She replied, "My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, `I never made a dime until I stopped working for money.'" If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can as a part-time hobby 11the head of state who paints, the nun(修女) who runs marathons, and the executive who handcrafts furniture.
Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville was 68 12she began to draw. This activity ended periods of depression that had 13her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, " I have to say, Layton is 14a genius." Elizabeth has 15her enthusiasm. ￥
We can't 16to waste tears on "might-have-beens." We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after "what-can-be". We need to live each moment 17with all our senses -- finding pleasure in the fragrance of a back-yard garden, the 18picture of a six-year-old, and the enchanting beauty of a rainbow. It is such enthusiastic love of 19that puts a sparkle(火花) in our eyes, a lift in our steps and 20the wrinkles from our souls.
1.A. put B. make C. turn D. get
2.A. expected B. adopted C. predicted D. achieved
3.A. It B. That C. This D. As
4.A. slight B. outside C. inner D. low
5.A. spent B. took C. cost D. paid
6.A. give off B. give in C. give out D. give up
7.A. such B. so C. too D. rather
8.A. links with B. refers to C. lies in D. leads in
9.A. responsibility B. humor C. trust D. love
10.A. in case B. regardless of C. for fear of D. in terms of
11.A. like B. namely C. as D. likewise
12.A. after B. since C. before D. until
13.A. pleased B. shocked C. worried D. annoyed
14.A. nothing but B. anything but C. everything but D. something but
15.A. recalled B. reflected C. rediscovered D. remembered
16.A. pay B. afford C. affect D. provide
17.A. thoroughly B. absolutely C. wholeheartedly D. warm-heartedly
18.A. colored B. white C. green D. red
19.A. money B. title C. power D. life
20.A. pushes B. softens C. smoothes D. folds
----Promise you’ll never wear this kind of dress!
----________. What if I will give a performance?
A. It’s up to you B. That reminds me C. That depends D. I forget that
I think you should complain----______, of course, you are happy with the way things are.
A. if B. unless C. as D. because
Only when Tom fully recovered ______ back to work.
A. did he go B. he went C. had he gone D. he had gone
----Has Tom already finished his new story?
----I have no idea. He ______ it last month.
A. had written B. was writing C. would write D. wrote
