听力原文: The Russian navy is carrying out a big rescue operation to save the lives of 7 men trapped in a diving vessel at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. 10 Russian ships and a Japanese ship have been sent to the scene off the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Russian news agency Tass quoted a Russian navy spokesman as saying that the Americans had also been asked to help. From Moscow, Steve Rosenberg has this report.
The incident happened off the Kamchatka Peninsula 9,000 kilometers east of Moscow. The deep-sea submersible which is normally used for underwater rescue operations was taking part in a military training exercise on Thursday morning, when its propeller got twisted in fishing nets, dragging the vessel to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. There are reported to be 7 submariners on board. The Russian navy has launched an urgent rescue mission. The fleet's commander has described the. situation as complex and serious. The trapped sailors, he says, have enough air and electricity to last for another 48 hours.
What is the news mainly about?
A military rehearsal
B. A rescue operation
C. A diving show
D. A sea exploration
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SECTION B PASSAGES
Directions: In this section, you will hear several passages. Listen to the passages carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
听力原文: Are electric cars the way of the future? Automobile manufactures are under pressure to develop ca rs that do not pollute. One powerful motive is a California law requiring that by the year 2000 ten percent of new car sells in the state be so called zero-emission vehicles. These cars must put no pollutants whatsoever into the atmosphere.
California is a huge market for the automobile companies, so they are working hard to meet these standards. So far the electric car seems to be the best alternative. So the big advantage of electric cars is that they don't pollute. However they will be in competition with gas-powered cars and that's where the weaknesses come out.
The big problem is that the batteries that power electric cars weigh a lot relative to the amount of power they deliver. For instance, in one prototype electric car, the batteries weighed 400 kilograms. And they provide enough energy to go 250 kilometers before recharging, which takes eight hours. Compare that to a moderately fuel-efficient conventional car, it can go 600 to 700 kilometers on a tank of gas and refilling takes just minutes. If there are other drains on an electric car's batteries besides the motor, headlights, air conditioning or a heater, its already limited range will be significantly reduced. So automobile engineers are trying to make more powerful batteries that would increase the cars' range and make them more attractive to buyers.
What is the talk' mainly about?
Automobile safety.
B. Increasing fuel efficiency.
California's pollution laws.
D. Electric-powered cars.
Men have traveled ever【C1】______ they first appeared on the earth.【C2】______ primitive times they did not travel for pleasure but to find new places【C3】______ their herds could feed, or to escape【C4】______ hostile neighbours, or to find more favourable【C5】______ . They traveled on foot. Their journeys were long,【C6】______ , and often dangerous. They protected【C7】______ with simple weapons, such as sticks or stone clubs, and by lightning fires at night and, above【C8】______ , by keeping together.
【C9】______ intelligent and creative, they soon discovered easier ways of traveling. They【C10】______ on the backs of their domesticated animals; they hollowed out tree trunks and, by using bits of wood as paddles, were able to travel【C11】______ water.
Later they traveled, not for necessity, 【C12】______ for the joy and excitement of seeing and experiencing new things. This is still the main reason【C13】______ we travel today. Traveling, of course, has now become a 【C14】______ organized business. There are cars and splendid roads,【C15】______ trains, huge ships and jet airliners, all of【C16】______ provide us【C17】______ comforts and security. This sounds wonderful. But there are difficulties. If you want to go【C18】______ , you need a passport and a visa, tickets, luggage, and a hundred and【C19】______ other things. If you lose any of them, your journey may be 【C20】______ .
【C1】
A. when
B. since
C. while
D. then
Why was the man worried at first?
A. He couldn't decide on a topic for his paper.
B. He thought his paper was late.
C. He hadn't heard from his family in a while.
D. He thought the woman had been iii.
SECTION A CONVERSATIONS
Directions: In this section you will hear several conversations. Listen to the conversations carefully and then answer the questions that follow.
听力原文:M: I really appreciate you're feeling me in on yesterday's lecture.
W: No problem. I thought you might want to go over it together. And anyway, it helps me review. Hope you're feeling better now.
M: I am, thanks. So you said she talked about squid? Sounds a little strange.
W: Well, actually, it was about the evolution of sea life, a continuation from last week. The octopus and the squid descended from earlier creatures with shells. They survived by shattering their shells, somewhere between 200 and 500 million years ago.
M: That's a pretty long span of time.
W: I know. That's what she said though. To be precise, exactly when they emerged is uncertain and why is still unexplained.
M: Some squid are really huge. Can you imagine something that big if it still had a shell?
W: Actually, it's because they lost their shells that they could evolve to a bigger size.
M: Make sense. But some are really huge. I've read about fishermen that caught squid that weight over a ton. Did she talk about how that happens?
W: Not really, but she did mention some unusual cases. In 1933 in New Zealand, they caught a squid let's see here it was 22 yards long. Its eyes were 18 inches across. Can you imagine?
M: Reminds me about all those stories of sea monsters.
W: Doctor Simpson thinks there are probably even larger ones that haven't been found, because squid are intelligent and fast—so they can easily get away from humans. Maybe some of those monster stories are true.
What topic are the man and woman discussing?
A. Mating habits of squid and octopus.
B. The evolution of certain forms of sea life.
C. The study of marine shells.
D. Survival skills of sea creatures.