Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea' s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of．When I was twelve, I made my first adventures in the deep．Later I would learn how to dive, expanding my world of exploration many times over．
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, asking how I might learn more about the sea．A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received．During one of their courses that summer, I met Dr．Robert Norris, a marine geologist．He loved the sea almost as much as I did．Soon he suggested I consider his school, the University of California, for my study．One year later I became a member of the freshman class．
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor（艱苦的努力）．If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter．The undersea world is not our natural world．It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes．At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark．It is easy to get lost in such a world．I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, geology, biology, and many other things．
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U．S．Navy．If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn't want that to happen．
In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on adventures so that we could explore the wonders of the deep．
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come．
【小題1】What happened to the author at the age of twelve?

Paul couldn’t sleep last night. He woke up early and sat up, and then he lay down again. He felt terrible. “I must be sick,” he thought. “but I must study for that test.”
He got up and looked for his history notebook. He finally found it under a pile of clothes on a chair. He went over his history notes, but he couldn’t remember any of the facts in the notes. “What shall I do?” he thought. He felt terrible.
Just then Paul’s telephone rang. He put down his notebook and picked up the telephone.
“Good morning,” Jack’s voice said, “You must be wrong about that test.”
“What do you mean?” Paul asked weakly.
“We’re not going to have the test today.” Jack said. “I wrote down the date in my notebook. The test will be next Wednesday; it isn’t today. How do you feel this morning?”
“Fine,” said Paul. “Just fine!” Suddenly he really felt fine

1. 1.

   Paul felt uneasy because he

   1. A.
      was seriously ill
   2. B.
      was too tired
   3. C.
      was worried about the coming test
   4. D.
      couldn’t find his history notebook
2. 2.

   It seemed that Paul __________

   1. A.
      was good at history
   2. B.
      liked to study history
   3. C.
      lost interest in history
   4. D.
      was ready for the history test
3. 3.

   What made Paul feel fine at once?

   1. A.
      The telephone call
   2. B.
      the coming test
   3. C.
      Jack’s notebook
   4. D.
      The fact that the test was not to be given that day
4. 4.

   “How do you feel this morning?” From this question we can see Jack________

   1. A.
      knew Paul
   2. B.
      knew Paul very well
   3. C.
      wanted to help Paul with his history
   4. D.
      would lend Paul his notebook

Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea' s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of．When I was twelve, I made my first adventures in the deep．Later I would learn how to dive, expanding my world of exploration many times over．
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, asking how I might learn more about the sea．A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received．During one of their courses that summer, I met Dr．Robert Norris, a marine geologist．He loved the sea almost as much as I did．Soon he suggested I consider his school, the University of California, for my study．One year later I became a member of the freshman class．
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor（艱苦的努力）．If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter．The undersea world is not our natural world．It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes．At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark．It is easy to get lost in such a world．I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, geology, biology, and many other things．
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U．S．Navy．If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn't want that to happen．
In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on adventures so that we could explore the wonders of the deep．
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come．

1. 1.

   What happened to the author at the age of twelve?

   1. A.
      He dreamed about undersea exploration．
   2. B.
      He began to swim under the deep water．
   3. C.
      He surfed on big waves for the first time．
   4. D.
      He learned to dive off the cliffs．
2. 2.

   In college, the author took many different types of courses because he

   1. A.
      was told it was easy to get lost in exploration
   2. B.
      was advised to take them by Dr．Robert Norris
   3. C.
      thought they were needed to fully understand the ocean
   4. D.
      believed it would help him succeed in the Navy
3. 3.

   The author joined the Navy to ______．

   1. A.
      develop his leadership skills
   2. B.
      get along with people under stress
   3. C.
      learn about the dangers of the ocean
   4. D.
      gather specific information about ocean life
4. 4.

   Which word can best describe the author?

   1. A.
      Imaginative．
   2. B.
      Optimistic．
   3. C.
      Independent．
   4. D.
      Ambitious．