Passage 1
Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流)．Most do it using satellites and other hightech equipment. However，ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way—by studying movements of random floating garbage.A scientist with many years' experience，he started this type of research in the early 1990s when he heard about hundreds of athletic shoes washing up on the shores of the northwest coast of the United States.There were so many shoes that people were setting up swap meets to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear.
Ebbesmeyer found out in his researches that the shoes－about 60，000 in total－fell into the ocean in a shipping accident.He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back.As expected，the company told him that they didn't.Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment.If he learned when and where the shoes went into the water and tracked where they landed，he could learn a lot about the patterns of ocean currents.
The Pacific Northwest is one of the world's best areas for beachcombing(海滩搜寻) because winds and currents join here，and as a result，there is a group of serious beachcombers in the area.Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed.In a year he collected reliable information on 1，600 shoes.With this data，he and a colleague were able to test and improve a computer program designed to model ocean currents，and publish the findings of their study.
As the result of his work，Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean.He has even started an association of beachcombers and ocean experts，with 500 subscribers from West Africa to New Zealand.They have recorded all lost objects ranging from potatoes to golf gloves.
1．The underlined phrase“swap meets”in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ________．
A．fitting rooms B．trading fairs
C．business talks D．group meetings
【语篇解读】 本文是说明文，介绍了一种研究洋流的特别方式。
解析：词义猜测题。由前面的“so many shoes”和后面的“to try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear，”特别是sell，可知是建立交易市场，故选B。
答案：B
2．Ebbesmeyer phoned the shoe company to find out ________．
A．what caused the shipping accident
B．when and where the shoes went missing
C．whether it was all right to use their shoes
D．how much they lost in the shipping accident
解析：事实细节题。由第二段二、三、四句“He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back.As expected，the company told him that they didn't.Ebbesmeyer realized this could be a great experiment”可知，选C。
答案：C
3．How did Ebbesmeyer prove his assumption?
A．By collecting information from beachcombers.
B．By studying the shoes found by beachcombers.
C．By searching the web for ocean currents models.
D．By researching ocean currents data in the library.
解析：事实细节题。由第三段第二句“Ebbesmeyer got to know a lot of them (serious beachcombers) and asked for their help in collecting information about where the shoes landed”及其后几句可知，选A，“通过海滩清理者收集信息”。
答案：A
4．Ebbesmeyer is most famous for ________．
A．traveling widely the coastal cities of the world
B．making records for any lost objects on the sea
C．running a global currents research association
D．phoning about any doubtful objects on the sea
解析：事实细节题。由第四段第一句“Ebbesmeyer has become known as the scientist to call with questions about any unusual objects found floating in the ocean”可知，选D。
答案：D
5．What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A．To call people's attention to ocean pollution.
B．To warn people of shipping safety in the ocean.
C．To explain a unique way of studying ocean currents.
D．To give tips on how to search for lost objects on the beach.
解析：主旨大意题。文章主题句在第一段，即“However，ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way—by studying movements of random floating garbage”，由此可知选C。
答案：C
