❋ B ❋

Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland around 1820. Harriet and her family were all slaves (奴隶). They were owned by a man named Brodess. When Harriet was 5 or 6 years old, Brodess began renting (租借) her to other people. For months at a time, she lived far from her parents. As she got older, Harriet worked outdoors. It was hard work, but it gave her a chance to meet free black people who worked with slaves. Harriet listened as the men talked about slaves who had run away to the North. They described secret routes (路线).8

A few years later, Harriet heard that Brodess planned to sell her. She was afraid that she would never see her family again, so she ran away.04

Harriet found the secret routes that she had heard about. It took her a week to travel 90 miles to Pennsylvania. It was one of 15 “free states” in the North. Even though she was free, Harriet wasn’t happy. How could she be when her family members were still slaves?

After a few months, Harriet went back to Maryland. She risked her freedom to save her family. She made several trips, helping her brothers and many other slaves reach freedom. She became part of the Underground Railroad. It was not a real railroad. It was a network (网络) of people, routes, and hiding places that slaves used to run away to the North. Harriet became famous as a leader of the Underground Railroad. Not all of her journeys went smoothly, but she never gave up.

In all, Harriet made 13 trips, freeing about 70 to 80 slaves. In the end, Harriet and her family were together — and they were free.

根据材料内容选择最佳答案。

(  ) 6. Brodess was ______.

A. a slave          B. Harriet’s father  C. a slave owner    D. a free black man

(  ) 7. Harriet decided to run away because ______.

A. she wanted to live in Pennsylvania

B. she couldn’t stand the hard work

C. she didn’t want to be sold

D. her family were all free

(  ) 8. The Underground Railroad ______.

A. was set up by Harriet

B. helped slaves run away

C. was a railroad in Maryland

D. helped slaves find their families

(  ) 9. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Harriet was happy when she was free.

B. Pennsylvania was a free state in the North.

C. Harriet never went back to Maryland after she left. 6

D. Harriet learned about secret routes from her parents.

(  ) 10. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. Harriet and her family.

B. Slaves in the United States.

C. The Underground Railroad.

D. A woman who fought for freedom.

❋ C ❋

For millions of years, coral reefs (珊瑚礁) have provided homes for thousands of different living things. Fish and sea birds share coral reefs with other sea animals. Now these beautiful things are in danger. So are all the sea plants and animals that depend on them. Scientists have found that people and pollution have harmed more than one-fourth of the Earth’s coral reefs. Unless things change, all of the remaining coral reefs may die within your lifetime.

Some people think that the coral is a kind of plant, but it is an animal! Tiny corals form the coral reefs. They have different colors. These colors come from the algae (海藻) living inside the coral. Lots of corals stick together. New ones grow on the body of dead corals. This happens year after year. Over time, corals build up a reef. The reef rises from the ocean floor until it almost reaches the sea’s surface. It takes corals 500,000 years to build a huge reef. It has taken human beings less than 100 years to start harming coral reefs.

Coral reefs have been harmed in different ways. People have broken off pieces of coral reefs to sell or keep them. To catch more fish, people have dropped dynamite (炸药) into the sea. This has blown up parts of some coral reefs. Water pollution has encouraged overgrowth of the sea plants that grow near coral reefs. They stop algae from getting the sunshine. The worst problem is the heating up of the ocean. Warm water kills algae. When algae dies, corals lose both their food and colors. They turn white and die.