A newly-wedded couple on a four-month honeymoon were hit by six natural disasters, including
the Australian floods, Christchurch earthquake and Japanese tsunami (海啸).
Stefan and Erika Svanstrom left Stockholm, Sweden, on December 6 and were immediately
stranded (搁浅) in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe"s worst snowstorms.
Travelling with their baby daughter, they flew on to Cairns in Australia which was then struck by
one of the most violent cyclones in the nation"s history.
From there, the couple, in their 20s, were forced to shelter for 24 hours on the cement (水泥)
floor of a shopping centre with 2,500 others.
"Trees were being knocked over and big branches were put down across the streets," Mr. Svanstrom
told Sweden"s Expressen newspaper. "We escaped by the skin of our teeth."
Mr. Svanstrom said they then headed south to Brisbane but the city was experiencing massive
flooding, so they crossed the country to Perth where they narrowly escaped burning bush fires.
The couple then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, arriving just after a massive magnitude (震级)
6.3 earthquake attacked the city on February 22.
Mrs. Svanstrom said, "When we got there the whole town was a war zone. We could not visit the
city since it was completely blocked off, so instead we travelled around before going to Japan."
But days after the Svanstroms arrived, Tokyo was rocked by Japan"s largest earthquake since
records began.
"The trembling was horrible and we saw roof tiles fly off the buildings," Mr. Svanstrom said. "It was
like the buildings were swaying back and forth."
The family returned to Stockholm on March 29 after a much calmer visit to their last destination China.
But Mr. Svanstrom -- who also survived the devastating (毁灭性的) Boxing Day tsunami that hit
southeast Asia in 2004 -- said the marriage was still going strong.
He added, "I know marriages have to experience some difficulties, but I think we have been through
most of them. We"ve certainly experienced more than our fair share of disasters, but the most important
thing is that we"re together and happy."
A. Meeting Disasters During Honeymoon
B. Six Natural Disasters
C. Newly-wed Couple Met Australian Floods
D. Japanese Tsunami
2.Why were Stefan and Erika Svanstrom stopped in Munich?
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
4. The Svanstroms thought that Christchurch of New Zealand was _____________.
5. In Svanstrom"s opinion, a marriage ________________.
1685 was a very good year for German composers. Within the space of a month, two of the
greatest were born: Johann Sebastian Bach and Oeorge Frideric Handel.
Handel"s father was a barber and a surgeon, which sounds like a strange combination today, but
back then those occupations went hand in hanD.Even though Handel was very interested in music,
his father didn"t think that was a good way to earn a living, so he wanted his son to be a lawyer. The
story goes that Handel smuggled a quiet piano into the house so that he could practice in secret.
One day, Handel went along when his father went to shave a duke. While his father was working,
Handel sat down and played the duke"s organ. The duke was so impressed that he convinced Handel"s
father to let his son study music, and Handel finally got to learn how to compose.
Handel soon discovered that what he liked most was operA.In fact, he was so passionate about
opera that he even fought a duel (决斗) over it with one of his friends. Since Italy was the place to learn
about opera composing, Handel went off to Italy to study. When he got home, he got a job as court
composer for a German prince.
Having landed such a wonderful job, Handel immediately asked his boss for time off. He wanted to
go to England, where he"d heard that there weren"t nearly enough composers to satisfy the British taste
for Italian operA.
After great success writing opera in London, Handel came back to Germany. Then fate played a
funny trick on Handel and his boss. The Queen of England died, and it just so happened that the prince
Handel worked for was next in line to the British throne. When he arrived in London as King George,
followed Handel, his court composer in Germany.
In addition to serving the King, Handel became one of the most successful opera composers of his
time. And he also produced them and traveled all over Europe to hire the best singers. There are stories
of battles with rival opera producers and of fights between rival singers. Handel apparently had quite a
temper.
If you ever go to London, look for Handel"s grave in Westminster Abbey, where there"s a wonderful
monument to him.
1.How did Handel begin to learn to compose?
A.His father was sure of his future success.
B.His performance impressed a duke.
C.He begged his father to send him to Italy.
D.He practiced hard and taught himself music.
A.bought secretly
B.took secretly
C.carried in advance
D.possessed personally
A.Exact campus crime statistics
B.Crimes on or around campuses
C.Effective solutions to campus crime
D.Concerns about kids" campus safety
I know I should have told the headmaster at the time. That was my real 1 .
He had gone out of the study for some 2 , leaving me alone. In his absence I looked to see
what was on his desk. In the 3 was a small piece of paper on which were written the 4
"English Writing Prize 1949. History Is a Series of Biographies ".
A(n) 5 boy would have avoided looking at the title as soon as he saw the 6 . I did not.
The subject of the English Writing Prize was kept a 7 until the start of the exam, so I could not
8 reading it.
When the headmaster 9 , I was looking out of the window.
I should have told him what had 10 then. It would have been so 11 to say: "I"m sorry,
but I 12 the title for the English Writing Prize on your desk. You"ll have to 13 it."
The chance passed and I did not 14 it. I sat the exam the next day and I won. I didn"t mean to
cheat, but it was still cheating anyhow.
That was thirty-eight years ago when I was fifteen. I have never told anyone about it before, nor
have I tried to explain to myself why not.
The obvious 15 _ is that I could not admit I had seen the title without admitting that I had been
looking at the things on his desk. But there must have been more behind it. Whatever it was, it has
become a good example of how a little mistake can trap you in a more serious moral corner.
A. poorly-informed
B. intelligent
C. strong-minded
D. athletic
A. Help him carry the wire.
B. Lead him to the competition.
C. Refuse to let him in.
D. Give him a close inspection.
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