Scientists today are making greater effort to study ocean currents (洋流) . Most do it using satellites and other high-tech 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.
41. 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
42. 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
43. How did Ebbesmeyer prove his assumption?
A. By collecting information from beachcombers.
B. By studying the shoes found by beachcomber.
C. By searching the web for ocean currents models.
D. By researching ocean currents data in the library.
44. 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
45. 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.
【考点】考察科普知识类阅读
【文章大意】本文介绍了.海洋专家Curtis Ebbesmeyer通过研究海上漂流物的方法来研究洋流，接着就对此方法进行了详细说明。
41.【答案】B
【试题解析】猜测词义题。根据横线部分下一句try and match left and right shoes to sell or wear人们尝试着配对左右脚的鞋，然后去卖或者穿。说明人们想搞一个贸易集会来卖这些鞋子。故B正确。
42. 【答案】C
【试题解析】推理题。根据第二段2,3行He phoned the shoe company and asked if they wanted the shoes back. As expected, the company told him that they didn't.他打电话给这件制鞋公司，询问他们是否还想要这些鞋子。也就是说他想知道是否可以使用这些鞋子来进行他的实验。故C正确。
43. 【答案】A
【试题解析】推理题。根据文章第三段第2 句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.可知他通过beachcombing来收集信息，进行自己的研究，以此来研究洋流的问题。故A正确。
44. 【答案】D
【试题解析】推理题。根据文章最后一段第一句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.得知因为专门打电话询问海洋里漂流的物体而出名。故D正确。
45. 【答案】C
【试题解析】推理题。根据文章第一段第3句However, ocean expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer does it in a special way --- by studying movements of random floating garbage.海洋专家Curtis Ebbesmeyer通过研究海上漂流物的方法来研究洋流，接着就对此进行了详细说明。故本文是为了解释这一独特的研究洋流的方法，C项正确。