【正文】 the dark evenings. There are no figures on how many Britons go for a drink afterwards. If there were, they might be up at the top with Spain! The British think black cats are lucky. Every other European country regards them unlucky. The Dutch and Germans are the greatest caravanners（活動(dòng)房居住者） , but the Germans like bigger beds in their caravans. The French are the most athletic Europeans. Next e the Dutch. But the Belgians, just over the border, play fewest sports. The Germans spend twice as much on heating as the Spaniards. Well, of course they do。s way of making us feel more fortable. When our eyes is made unfortable by some small pieces of pollution , or when we are cutting onions, or when we are exhausted and “red eyes” from over work and late hours, tears form in our eyes to clean and refresh them. Tears are also a sign of strong emotion. We cry when we are sad and we cry when we are happy. And tears seem to be uniquely human. We know that animals also experience emotion fear, pleasure, loneliness, but they do not shed (流 ) tears. Biologically speaking, tears are actually drops of saline fluid, which is a little bit salty, produced by a gland (腺 ) in the body. Because salt is an important ponent, tears may actually constitute the most conclusive evidence that the human animal is the end product of a long evolutionary process that began in the sea. And it is clear that, in addition to the emotional benefits, the shedding of tears has a specific biological function as well. Through tears, we can eliminate from our body certain chemicals which build up in response to stress and create a chemical imbalance in the body. Crying actually makes us feel better by correcting that imbalance and making us feel good again. And thus the emotional and the biological functions of tears merge (合并 ) into one and make us even more “ human” than we would otherwise be. 56． According to the passage, human beings may have originated in ____. A． the sea B． the salt C． chemicals D． animals 57． Which of the following is NOT a function of tears? A． Biological. B． Emotional. C． Political. D． Chemical. 58． According to the article, which of the following is unique to humans? A． The feeling of loneliness. B． The state of feeling good. C． The ability to shed tears. D． The feeling of fear. 59． The underlined word “ eliminate” probably means ____. A． add B． produce C． replace D． remove 60． Which of the following is the best title of the passage? A． Tears are a sign of strong emotion. B． Tears are always making us feel more fortable. C． Tears are uniquely human. D． Tears have certain biological function. B The railroad industry could not have grown as large as it did without steel. The first rails were made of iron. But iron rails were not strong enough to support heavy trains running at a high speed. Railroad officials wanted to replace them with steel rails because steel was ten or fifteen times stronger and lasted twenty times longer. Before the 1870s, however, steel was too expensive to be widely used. It was made by a slow and expensive process of heating, stirring, and reheating iron ore (礦石 ). Then the inventor Henry Bessemer discovered that directing a blast of air at melted iron in a furnace (熔爐 ) would burn out the impurities (雜質(zhì) ) that made the iron brittle (易脆 ). As the air shot through the furnace, the bubbling metal would erupt (噴發(fā) ) in showers of sparks. When the fire cooled, the metal had been changed, or converted, to steel. The Bessemer converter made possible the mass production of steel, now three to five tons of iron could be changed into steel in a matter of minutes. Just when the demand for more and more steel developed, prospectors discovered huge new deposits (礦床 ) of iron ore in the Mesabi Range, a 120milelong region in Minnesota near Lake Superior. The Mesabi deposits were so near the surface that they could be mined with steam shovels. Barges and steamers carried the iron ore through Lake Superior to deposits on the southern shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. With dizzying speed Gary, Indiana and Toledo, Youngstown, and Cleveland, Ohio, became major steel manufacturing centers. Pittsburgh was the greatest steel city of all. 61． The best title for the passage is ____. A． The railroad Industry B． Famous Inventors C． Changing Iron into Steel D． Steel Manufacturing Centers 62． According to the passage, how did the Bessemer me