Passage Four

Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea”.

Before the nineteenth century scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work.

For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay beneath the surface. The first time that the question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?” had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineer had to know the depth profile (起伏形状) of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured.

It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings (测水深) were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea.

The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in deeper parts of the sea.

Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition (考察), which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.

76. The proposal to lay a telegraph cable from Europe to America made oceanographic studies take on ________.

A. an academic aspect B. a military aspect

C. a business aspect D. an international aspect

77. It was ________ that asked Maury for help in oceanographic studies.

A. the American Navy B. some early intercontinental travelers

C. those who earned a living from the sea

D. the company which proposed to lay an undersea cable

78. The aim of the voyages Maury was responsible for in the 1840s was _______.

to make some sounding experiments in the oceans

to collect samples of sea plants and animals

to estimate the length of cable that was needed

to measure the depths of the two oceans

79. “Defied” in the 5th paragraph probably means “________”.

A. doubted B. gave proof to C. challenged D. agreed to

80. This passage is mainly about _______.

A. the beginnings of oceanography B. the laying of the first undersea cable

C. the investigation of ocean depths D. the early intercontinental communications

Ⅴ. Writing (20 points)

Directions:

For this part, you are allowed 20 minutes to write a letter of about 80 words according to the following situation.

你是Helen，要写一封信给Julie，对她和她的丈夫昨日请你和你丈夫吃饭表示感谢，表示要回请他们，以答谢他们的盛情款待。