Choosing a travel companion is at least as uncertain as choosing marriage partner. The chances of success are perhaps even less. The initial stages of both journeys are filled with enthusiasms, indulgences, and a fairly consistent closing of the eyes to that which may later become, if not unacceptable, at the very least unpalatable.
　　No law of casualty exists to insist that in choosing a travel companion you will lose a friend. But it’s not unlikely. The odds depend on the length and the rigorousness of the trip. Some friendships have strength that will withstand even travel; others, based on happenstance, are by nature short-lived and travel merely hastens their dissolution.
　　Perhaps I should make it clear that in discussing this matter of travel companions I am confining myself to Platonio friendships. Intimate friends may well be the best companions of all, but entirely different rules of travel prevail. Compromises and concessions, demands and entreaties to and from such companions clearly stem from a recognized emotional base that colors every issue. I’ll confine myself, then, to companions, male and female, who are sharing a trip solely for company.
　　Why bother at all with a travel companion? Why not travel alone, in single blessedness, unencumbered and swiftly pursuing one’s goal? Some of the answers are obvious: a congenial fellow traveler eases the stress and tensions, adds to the delights and rewards and pays half the bills. If the threat of loneliness is frightening, even a grumpy companion will foretell that, and quite often bring you to the point where you devoutly wish you were alone.
　　Finding that suitable companion is something of an art and something of a gamble. But the choice should be determined by one cardinal rule: both travelers should be going on the trip with the same idea in mind. They should hold in common a theory of travel.
　　1. According to the author, compared with choosing a marriage partner, choosing a travel companion is ______.
　　A. just as difficult as it
　　B. is possibly easier than it
　　C. is perhaps less certain than it
　　D. is perhaps less uncertain than it
　　2. Travel will give us a chance to ______.
　　A. become strong and vigorous
　　B. testify our friendship
　　C. see who is our enemy
　　D. lose a friend
　　3. The travel companion the author refers to is ______.
　　A. anybody you meet
　　B. a spiritual friend
　　C. an intimate friend
　　D. anybody who shares a trip simply for partnership
　　4. The author thinks that ______.
　　A. unlike intimate friends, travel companion needn’t make many compromises and concessions
　　B. travel companions will add to the delights and pays half the bills
　　C. it is possible to foretell whether two people will get along on the trip
　　D. the advantages of choosing a travel companion are at least as great as those of traveling alone
　　5. We can infer from the passage that ______.
　　A. a friend in need is a friend indeed
　　B. opposite types of people attract each other
　　C. like-minded people can make good travel companions
　　D. even intimate friends have argumentsPassage Two
　　 Coincident with concerns about the acceleration loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human well-being. Much has been written about the diversity of terrestrial organisms, particularly the exceptionally rich life associated with tropical rainforest habitats. Relatively little has been said, however, about diversity of life in the sea even though coral reef systems are comparable to rain forests in terms of richness of life.
　　An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the planet’s dominant, most distinctive feature—the ocean. Humans have a bias toward land that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues. Seen from far away, it is easy to realize that landmasses occupy only one-third of the Earth’s surface. Given that two-thirds of the Earth surface is water and that marine life lives at all levels of the ocean, the total three-dimensional living space of the ocean is perhaps 100 times greater than that of land and contains more than 90 percent of all life on Earth even though the ocean has fewer distinct species.
　　The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the world’s rain forest does not seem surprising, considering the huge numbers of insects that comprise the bulk of the species. One scientist found many different species of ants in just one tree from a rain forest. While every species is different from every other species, their genetic makeup constrains them to be insects and to share similar characteristics with 750,000 species of insects. If basic, broad categories such as phyla and classes are given more emphasis than differentiating between species, then the greatest diversity of life is unquestionably the se　　A. Nearly every major type of plant and animal has some representation there.
　　To appreciate fully the diversity and abundance of life in the sea, it helps to think small. Every spoonful of ocean water contains life, on the order of 100 to 100,000 bacterial cells plus assorted microscopic plants and animals, including larvae of organisms ranging from sponges and corals to starfish and clams and much more.
　　6. What is the main point of the passage?
　　A. Humans are destroying thousands of species.
　　B. There are thousands of insect species.
　　C. The sea is even richer in life than the rain forests.
　　D. Coral reefs are similar to rain forests.
　　7. Why does the author compare rain forests and coral reefs in Paragraph 1?
　　A. They are approximately the same size.
　　B. They share many similar species.
　　C. Most of their inhabitants require water.
　　D. Both have many different forms of life.
　　8. The passage suggests that most rain forest species are ______.
　　A. insects
　　B. bacteria
　　C. mammals
　　D. birds
　　9. The word “assorted” at the end of the passage probably means ______.
　　A. mixed
　　B. numerous
　　C. interesting
　　D. accumulated
　　10. Which of the following conclusions is supported by the passage?
　　A. Ocean life is highly adaptive.
　　B. More attention needs to be paid to preserving ocean species and habitats.
　　C. Ocean life is primarily composed of plants.
　　D. The sea is highly resistant to the damage done by pollutants.
　　参考答案：1. C 2. B 3. D 4. D 5. C 6. C 7. D 8. A 9. A 10. B
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