Rumor has it that a legendary (傳說的) six-headed monster lurks in the deep waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea between Italy and the island of Sicily. __________ (46) When completed in 2010,the world's longest bridge will weigh nearly 300,000 tons---equivalent to the iceberg that sank the Titanic--and stretch 5 kilometers long. "That's nearly 50 percent longer than any other bridge ever built," says structural engineer Shane Rixon.

　　__________(47) They're suspension bridges, massive structures built to span vast water channels or gorges (峽谷). A suspension bridge needs just two towers to shoulder the structure's mammoth ( 巨大的 ) weight, thanks to hefty ( 高強(qiáng)度的 ) supporting cables slung between the towers and anchored firmly in deep pools of cement at each end of the bridge. The Messina Strait Bridge will have two 54,100-ton towers, which will support most of the bridge's load. The beefy(結(jié)實(shí)的) cables of the bridge, each 1.2 meter in diameter, will hold up the longest and widest bridge deck ever built.

　　When construction begins on the Messina Strait Bridge in 2005, the first job will be to erect two 370 meter-tall steel towers.__________ (48) Getting these cables up will be something. It's not just theft length--totally 5.3 kilometers--but their weight.__________(49)

　　After lowering vertical "suspender" cables from the main cables, builders will erect a 60 meter-wide 54,630-ton steel roadway, or deck--wide enough to accommodate 12 lanes of traffic.

　　The deck's weight will pull down on the cables with a force of 70,500 tons. In return, the cables yank (拽) up against their firmly rooted anchors with a force of 139,000 tons---equivalent to the weight of about 100,000 cars. Those anchors are essential. __________ (50)

　　A. Some environmentalists are against the project on biological grounds.

　　B. What do the world's longest bridges have in common?

　　C. If true, one day you might spy the beast while zipping (呼嘯而過) across the Messina Strait Bridge.

　　D. They're what will keep the bridge from going anywhere.

　　E. The second job will be to pull two sets of steel cables across the strait, each set being a bundle of 44,352 individual steel wires.

　　F. They will tip up the scales at 166,500 tons--more than half the bridge's total mass.

　　46.C。選項(xiàng)C中有一個(gè)關(guān)鍵詞beast，與第一句中的monster相呼應(yīng)。所以C是答案。

　　47.B。第二段第二句的主語(yǔ)是they。由于表語(yǔ)是suspension bridges，所以they替代的一定是前面句子出現(xiàn)過的bridges。六個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，只有B含有bridges。因此填在第二段段首，使意思連貫。

　　48.E。空白處前面的句子中有the first iob這幾個(gè)詞。有first，必有second/then。六個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，只有E含有the second iob，所以E是答案。

　　49.F�？瞻滋幥懊娴木渥诱f的是，把這些吊索吊高定位是有難度的，因?yàn)樗鼈儾粌H很長(zhǎng)，還很重;后面應(yīng)該接著說吊索的情況，故選F。

　　50.D�？瞻滋幥懊娴木渥诱f橋樁很重要，后面接著還應(yīng)該說橋樁的事情。D項(xiàng)解釋了橋樁的作用，故選D。

　　Heat Is Killer

　　Extremely hot weather is common in many parts of the world. Although hot weather just makes most people feel hot, it can cause serious medical problems---even death. Floods, storms,volcano eruptions and other natural disasters kill thousands of people every year.(46)

　　Experts say heat may be nature's deadliest killer. Recently, extreme heat was blamed for killing more than one hundred people in India. It is reported that the total heat of a hot day or several days can affect health.(47) Experts say heat waves often become dangerous when the nighttime temperature does not drop much from the highest daytime temperature. This causes great stress on the human body.

　　__________ (48) out of the sun, if possible. Drink lots of cool water. Wear light colored clothing made of natural materials; avoid wearing synthetic clothing. Make sure the clothing is loose, permitting freedom of movement. And learn the danger signs of the medical problems, such as headache and vomiting that are linked to heat.__________(49) The pain is a warning that the body is becoming too hot. Doctors say those suffering headache or muscle pain should stop all activity and rest in a cool place and drink cool liquids. Do not return to physical activity for a few hours because more serious conditions could develop.

　　Doctors say some people face an increased danger from heat stress. __________ (50) Hot weather also increases dangers for people who must take medicine for high blood pressure, poor blood flow, nervousness or depression.

　　A. Such persons have a weak or damaged heart, high blood pressure, or other problems of the blood system.

　　B. Several of these conditions are present at the same time.

　　C. Most people suffer only muscle pain as a result of heat stress.

　　D. Several hot days are considered a heat wave.

　　E. So does extreme heat.

　　F. Doctors say people can do many things to protect themselves from the dangers of extreme heat.

　　46.E。本文的標(biāo)題是Heat Is Killer，通篇文章說的是heat的危害性及預(yù)防方法�？崭袂懊娴木渥诱f，“Floods，storms，volcano eruptions and other natural events kill thousands of people every year”，空格后面的句子說，“…h(huán)eat may be nature’S deadliest killer”。將兩個(gè)句子所表達(dá)的意思匯總來看，floods，storms，volcano eruptions和高溫都是殺手，而高溫更甚�？崭竦木渥右欢ㄅc“殺手”有關(guān)。五個(gè)選項(xiàng)中只有E符合這個(gè)條件，所以E是答案。

　　47.D�？崭窈竺娴木渥犹岬絟eat waves，而選項(xiàng)D的句子中也出現(xiàn)heat wave，說明這兩個(gè)句子在意義上有聯(lián)系�？崭裰械木渥討�(yīng)該是對(duì)heat wave下的定義，以便為下一句的展開做鋪墊。故D是答案。

　　48.F。第一段末尾說：當(dāng)黑夜與白天溫差不大時(shí)，熱浪對(duì)人體傷害很大。第二段就列舉了許多保護(hù)自己免受高溫傷害的方法�？崭裰械木渥討�(yīng)該是位于段首的概括句。選項(xiàng)F說人們有多種辦法保護(hù)自己，完全符合要求，因此F是答案。

　　49.C。緊跟該空格后面的句子中有特指的the pain，說明前文一定出現(xiàn)過pain這個(gè)詞。選項(xiàng)C的句子中有pain，且C的句子填入后，上下文意思連貫，所以C是答案。

　　50.A。空格前面的句子說：某些人在熱浪期間特別危險(xiǎn)。讀者或許會(huì)問，是哪些人呢?選項(xiàng)A回答了這個(gè)問題，所以A是答案。