As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate(碳酸钙).By looking through a microscope(显微镜)and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish's age, just like the growth rings of a tree.

　　　Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They're examining the chemical elements(元素)of each otolith ring.

　　　The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring.

　　　Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history.

　　　In tne case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles.

　　　This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the whereabouts of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears.

　　63. What can we learn about fish ears from the text?
　　　A. They are small soft rings.
　　　B. They are not seen from the outside.
　　　C. They are openings only on food fish.
　　　D. They are not used to receive sound.

　　64. Why does the writer compare the fish to trees?
　　　A. Trees gain a growth ring each day.
　　　B. Trees also have otoliths.
　　　C. Their growth rings are very small.
　　　D. They both have growth rings.

　　65. Why is it important to study the chemistry of otolith rings?
　　  A. The elements of the otoliths can tell the history of the sea.
　　　B. Chemical contents of otoliths can tell how fast fish can swim.
　　　C. We can know more about fish and their living environment.
　　　D. Scientists can know exactly how old a fish is.

　　66. How would you understand “fish scientists are now lending their ears”?
　　　A. They are very interested in Thorrold's research findings.
　　　B. They want to know where they can find fish.
　　　C. They lend their fish for chemical studies.
　　　D. They wonder if Thorrold can find growth rings from their ears.　

　　　The United States: 　Fliers may want to have their tickets in hand before catching their planes, but the airline companies are doing everything they can to bring forward cost-saving ticketless flight- no paper needed, just a ticket number and a photo ID(带照片的身份证). Anyone who buys a Northwest E-ticket through the airline's computer service by June 16 will get an award(奖励). Next time you fly, you can buy another ticket for a friend for $99, good anywhere in the US or Canada through Feb. 12, 2000, along with the lowest ticket prices. Some airlines offer extra frequent-flier miles for the ticketless crowd. And there are rising punishments for paper lovers. American, Northwest, United, and last week， US Airways have raised the cost for lost-ticket replacement(替换)to $70 from either $60 or $50 . The airlines insist that the increase in price is not meant to push travelers toward E-tickets but only covers the increasing cost of replacing and tracking a missing ticket.