What do you know about the sea? We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it? The first thing—to remember is that the sea is very big. When you look at the map of the world you will find there is more water than land. The sea covers three quarters of the world. The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere. Some parts of the sea are very shallow. But in some places the depth of the sea is very great. There is one spot, near Japan, where the sea is nearly 11 kilometres deep! The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometres high. If that mountain were put into the sea at that place, there would be 2 kilometres of water above it! What a deep place! If you have swum in the sea, you know that it is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, which flow into the sea, carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are more salty than other parts. There is one sea, called the Dead Sea, which is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea! In most parts of the sea, there are plenty of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also millions of tiny living things that float in the sea. These floating things are so small that it is hard to see them. Many fish live by eating these. The sea can be very cold. Divers, who go deep down in the sea, know this. On the top the water may be warm. When the diver goes downwards, the sea becomes colder and colder. Another thing happens. When the diver goes deeper, the water above presses down on him. It squeezes him. Then the diver has to wear clothes made of metal. But he cannot go very deep. Some people who wanted to go very deep used a very strong diving ship! They went down to the deepest part of the sea in it. They went down to a depth of eleven kilometres!
单选题
When does the sea look beautiful?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】文章第一段第二句说："We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it."(当太阳照在海面时，海看上去是很漂亮的。)beautiful跟pretty意思相近。所以，选项B是正确答案。
单选题
How much of the earth's surface does land cover?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】文章第二段最后一句说：“The sea covers three quarters of the world.”(地球四分之三是海。)也就是说，地球上还有1/4是陆地。所以，选项B是正确答案。
单选题
Why does the author cite the sea somewhere near Japan?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】题干问的是作者为什么要以“日本附近某个地方的海”为例(见第三段)。第三段的第一句是主题句：The sea is very deep in some places. (在一些地方，海是很深的。)主题句是一般的陈述，接着往下写应当是具体的。因此，作者用“日本附近某个地方的海”作为例子是要具体说明主题句。所以，A是正确答案。
单选题
Which of the following statements about the Dead Sea is NOT true?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】文章第四段最后一句话说：Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea. (在死海里，鱼是不能生存的。)选项A的说法不符合实际情况，所以是正确答案。
单选题
Why can't people go very deep in the sea?
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】文章的最后一段讲到："when the diver goes deeper，the water above presses down on him．It squeezes him．Then the diver has to wear clothes made of metal．But he cannot go very deep."(当潜水员往深处潜时，上面的水压着他，挤压他。于是，他得穿金属的衣服。不过，他还是不可能潜得很深。)所以，选项C是正确答案。