Unit 3 a taste of English humour课时作业

learning about language

Ⅰ.阅读理解

　　(2018·河北辛集中学期中检测)

　　When scientists accidentally killed what turned out to be the world's oldest living creature,it was bad enough.

　　The ocean quahog(圆蛤)-a type of deep-sea creature-was caught alive from the bottom of the North Atlantic near Iceland in 2006 by researchers.They then put it in a freezer,as is normal practice,unaware of its age.It was only when it was taken to a lab that scientists from Bangor University studied it and concluded it was 400 years old.

　　The discovery made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.However,by this time,it was too late for Ming the Mollusc(软体动物)-named after the Chinese dynasty when its life began.Unfortunately,researchers who calculated Ming's age killed it instantly by opening its shell.The researchers opened the ancient clam(蛤) up to judge its age by counting growth rings inside.But the rings were so close together that scientists ended up having to count the rings on the outside to be accurate,leading the Columbia Broadcasting System to point out that Ming could have lived on,if scientists had just started there.

　　Now,after examining the ocean quahog more closely,using more advanced methods,the researchers have found the animal was actually 100 years older than they first thought.Dr Paul Butler,from the University's School of Ocean Sciences,said,"We got it wrong the first time and maybe we were a bit hasty publishing our findings then.But we are absolutely certain that we've got the right age now."

　　A quahog's shell grows by a layer every year,in the summer when the water is warmer and food is plentiful.It means that when its shell is cut in half,scientists can count the lines in a similar way trees can be dated by rings in their trunks.

　　The clam was born in 1499-just seven years after Columbus discovered America and before Henry Ⅷ had even married his first wife,Catherine of Aragon in 1509.

1.What caused the death of Ming the Mollusc?

A.Extreme cold. B.High temperature.

C.An unknown disease. D.Researchers' mistake.

2.The researchers had great difficulty in 　　　.

A.keeping Ming fresh in the freezer

B.calculating Ming's age from inside

C.opening Ming's shell wide enough

D.counting Ming's rings on the outside

3.The last two paragraphs are developed mainly 　　　.

A.by time B.by example

C.by comparison D.by space

Ⅱ.完形填空

(2018·云南玉溪期中检测)