“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the B
题型：不详难度：来源：
“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped (圆顶形的) body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”
This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?
As you might already know, many islands in the sea are formed by volcanoes. There are numerous volcanoes under the sea. As the hot lava erupts and cools down, it piles up and forms the shape of a mountain. When the mountain “grows” to higher than the sea level, the part that’s above the water is what we call an “island”.
This is how the island was formed after the Pakistan earthquake, except that instead of a regular volcano, it was a “mud volcano” that brought about this island. Lava is not the only thing that’s locked under the Earth’s crust — there is also gas. When an earthquake happens and breaks part of the crust, the gas is released at an extremely high speed, pushing mud up to the surface, according to National Geographic.
But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands — and this 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan was strong enough. The island is about 20 meters high, up to about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long, nearly the size of a soccer field.
In fact, mud volcano islands aren’t new. This is the fourth island of this kind in the region since 1945. But those islands usually didn’t last long.
“It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” said Bill Barnhart, a researcher with the US Geological Survey. After all, “it’s just a big pile of mud that was on the seafloor that got pushed up”.
小题1:What is the article mainly about?| A．The disastrous effects of coastal earthquakes. | | B．The difference between mud volcanoes and regular volcanoes. | | C．How islands are formed by mud volcanoes. | | D．The great natural wonders of Pakistan. |
小题2:The underlined word “flabbergasted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to __________.| A．surprised | B．disappointed | C．worried | D．curious |
小题3:We can infer from the article that __________.| A．the new island near the coast of Pakistan actually took a few months to form | | B．scientists still know little about different types of volcanoes | | C．another earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan within a couple of months | | D．not all volcanoes change the geological appearance of the Earth |
小题4:According to the article, islands formed by mud volcanoes __________.| A．are quite difficult to locate | | B．usually disappear after a short period of time | | C．are formed by hot lava from volcanoes | | D．used to be part of the Earth’s crust |
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答案
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:B |
解析
试题分析：文章报道了巴基斯坦发生7.7级地震，让人惊讶的是地震导致一个岛屿的形成，文章介绍关于这些岛是由火山的泥浆形成的，而且不会存在很长时间。
小题1:细节题：从第三段的句子：This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?可知这篇文章是关于这些岛是怎样由火山的泥浆形成的。选C
小题2:猜词题：从第一段的内容和第二段的句子：Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”可知作者出来看见这个岛很惊讶。选A
小题3:推理题：从倒数第三段的句子：But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands 可知只有足够大的地震会导致泥浆火山推出足够的泥浆形成岛屿。所以不是每个火山都会改变地球的地理面貌的。选D
小题4:细节题：从倒数第二段的句子：But those islands usually didn’t last long.和最后一段的句子： “It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” 可知这种火山泥浆形成的岛不会存在很长时间。选B。 |
举一反三
A public high school in the rural town of Boonsboro，Maryland，offers a special program recently. Top students in the ninth and tenth grades can attend single－sex classes for math，science，English and social studies.
The aim is to help teenagers keep their mind on their work by keeping males and females apart. Rebecca Brown chooses the students for what Boonsboro High School calls the Academy. “What we really want to do is take that top group of kids and take them to the very highest level they can achieve here，so that they’re prepared for college，” she said. They need high marks and test scores and strong teacher recommendations. They also need to be involved in activities.
Michael Bair has been at Boonsboro High School for twenty years and directs the Academy. His ninth－grade English class for boys centers on books that he believes boys find interesting. “The novels they’re reading now，are very manly novels. They’re novels that deal with the arrogance(傲慢)of man and the pride of man.” One of those books，for example，is “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London. This classic story tells of a dog stolen from his home and sold to work as a sled dog in Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.
On this day，the students are working in small groups. Vincent and Logan explain why they’re drawing pictures that relate to the story. Vincent said，“The main character，Buck，gets abducted(绑架), and they send him off to the Yukon in a train. So I’m drawing part of the story where he’s in the train. It gets you to visualize the setting of the story and gets you to think more about what’s going on in the story，the important events of the story.”“ Instead of just doing work sheets about it，this is a lot more fun，” Logan added happily.
Morgan Van Fleet likes being in the Academy. She says boys and girls act differently when they are together in a classroom. “To me，it almost seems like it’s hindering(妨碍) your chances at developing yourself because you’re more focused on ‘Oh，I wish they’d shut up. Oh，what do they think of me？’ instead of focusing on what’s the homework or what’s going on in this class，what’s the lesson.”
小题1:What is the purpose of the text?| A．To educate. | B．To persuade. | C．To instruct. | D．To introduce. |
小题2:In Rebecca Brown’s opinion，________.| A．any student in Boonsboro High School can take part in the program | | B．students in the program are expected to get well prepared for college | | C．students can all achieve their highest levels in the program | | D．students don’t have to join in the activities. |
小题3:The underlined word “visualize” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”．| A．form a picture of | B．pay a visit to | | C．take a look at | D．have a gift for |
小题4:What can we conclude from the text?____________.| A．Michael Bair considers it unsuitable for boys to read the book “The Call of the Wild”． | | B．Vincent thinks that his drawings can help understand the novel better. | | C．Jack London is a main character in the book “The Call of the Wild”． | | D．Morgan Van Fleet thinks the program does no good to her. |
小题5:The text is probably taken from________.| A．a school’s introduction | B．a teacher’s diary | | C．a headmaster’s speech | D．a news report |
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JIUQUAN, China—China’s Shenzhou-9 spacecraft blasted off(点火升空)at 6:37 pm Saturday, from a remote desert in western China, sending a crew of three, including the country’s first female astronaut, into space.
The successful launch, powered by a Long March 2F rocket, was shown live on state television Saturday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in western China.
The Chinese astronauts will complete the country’s first manned space docking mission(载入太空对接任务), an important step in Beijing’s ambitious plan to build a permanent space station by 2020. Possible future missions could include sending a man to the moon.
The crew is expected to spend more than 10 days in space and dock with the Tiangong-1 space lab module, which China launched in September 2011. Two of them will live and work inside the module to test its life-support systems, while the third will remain in the capsule to deal with any unexpected emergencies.
China first launched a man into space in 2003, followed by a two-man mission in 2005 and a three-man trip in 2008 that featured the country’s first spacewalk. In November 2011, the unmanned Shenzhou-8 successfully docked twice with Tiangong-1 by remote control. The manned docking would be considered a milestone for China’s space program.
China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit(轨道). It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own.
The program is a source of enormous national pride for China, reflecting its rapid economic and technological progress and ambition to rank among the world’s leading nations.
小题1:From the passage, we know that .| A．China plans to build a permanent space station on the moon in the near future | | B．the Shenzhou-9 will dock with Tiangong-1 for the third time | | C．the success launch of Shenzhou-9 is a milestone for China’s space program | | D．plenty of people had the opportunity to watch the live broadcast o the launch on TV |
小题2:In space, the three astronauts will complete the following tasks EXCEPT______.| A．handling some emergencies | B．testing the life-support system | | C．walking in space | D．docking with a space lab module |
小题3:What can be concluded according to the passage?| A．More and more manned space stations will be sent into space from China. | | B．The docking of Shenzhou-9 will be more successful than that of Shenzhou-8. | | C．There are only three countries which sent space station into space. | | D．The rapid development of China’s economy and technology has contributed a lot to the success of Shenzhou-9 program. |
小题4:What’s the main idea of the passage?| A．China sent its first woman into outer space. | | B．Shenzhou-9 sent three astronauts, including a female, into space. | | C．China’s advanced space technology amazed the world. | | D．Three Chinese astronauts began their space voyage. |
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While many other teen stars built up their celebrity status(名人地位) by working hard on popular TV shows, Justin shot straight to the top by using social media.
A few years ago, Justin uploaded(上传) videos of himself on YouTube, showing covers of his favorite songs at home. He just saw it as a bit of fun for friends and family, but when music manager Scooter Braun saw one of the videos, he flew to Justin’s hometown of Ontario, Canada to sign him up. Justin was just 13.
Shortly after, Justin was flown to the US. He eventually started working with R&B superstar Usher. Justin’s first album My world was released in 2009. But all the time, Justin continued to build his fan base on his YouTube account, where some of his original home videos can still be found, and where he continues to post music. “I wasn’t sending mixtapes or anything like that to record labels,” he told us when we met him on his promotional tour for his latest film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. “I was just doing regular stuff at home and I just posted videos online without purpose. I would never be here if it wasn’t for the Internet and YouTube.”
But it isn’t just YouTube that helps Justin’s popularity. He also updates his Twitter account (@Justin-Bieber) regularly and has about 8.8 million followers. In fact, he’s so popular that Justin was responsible for 3% of the site’s activity at one time and so popular that entire racks of servers on Twitter were devoted to him.
In light of his story, many young, aspiring artists are now taking advantage of Twitter and YouTube. Both these sites can help artists build fan bases in the hope that they’ll become the next big thing. Justin added, “I think my story brings hope to people and I think that’s very important. The only thing holding you back is yourself. Never say never.”
小题1:What is the best title for the passage?| A．A famous young man | B．YouTube---A popular website | | C．Justin’s way to success | D．Social media is the most important |
小题2:The underlined word “covers” in Paragraph 2 means_____.| A．The cover of a book. | | B．The shelter from attack. | | C．The sheet on the bed. | | D．Another version of a pop song by a different artist. |
小题3:Which one is right according to the passage?| A．Justin posted videos online in order to succeed. | | B．Justin becomes a celebrity partly owing to social media. | | C．Justin has the same way to succeed as others. | | D．Justin has built many websites. |
小题4:What can we know from Paragraph 5?| A．Many young, aspiring artists are objection to Justin’s way. | | B．Many celebrities like Justin must appear in the future. | | C．Justin tells others never to depend on social media. | | D．Justin has set an example to many young, aspiring artists. |
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LONDON - A British judge on Thursday sentenced a businessman who sold fake (假冒的) bomb detectors (探测器) to 10 years in prison, saying the man hadn"t cared about potentially (潜在的) deadly consequences.
It is believed that James McCormick got about $77.8 million from the sales of his detectors ---which were based on a kind of golf ball finder---to countries including Iraq, Belgium and Saudi Arabia. McCormick, 57, was convicted (判罪) of cheats last month and sentenced Thursday at the Old Bailey court in London.
"Your cheating conduct in selling a great amount of useless equipment simply for huge profit promoted a false sense of security and in all probability materially contributed to causing death and injury to innocent people," Judge Richard Hone told McCormick. "You have neither regret, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt."
The detectors, sold for up to $42,000 each, were said to be able to find such dangerous objects as bombs under water and from the air. But in fact they "lacked any grounding in science" and were of no use. McCormick had told the court that he sold his detectors to the police in Kenya, the prison service in Hong Kong, the army in Egypt and the border control in Thailand.
"I never had any bad results from customers," he said.
小题1: Why was McCormick sentenced to prison?| A．He sold bombs. | B．He caused death of people. | | C．He made detectors. | D．He cheated in business. |
小题2: According to the judge, what McCormick had done _______.| A．increased the cost of safeguarding | | B．lowered people"s guard against danger | | C．changed people"s idea of social security | | D．caused innocent people to commit crimes |
小题3:Which of the following is true of the detectors?| A．They have not been sold to Africa. | | B．They have caused many serious problems. | | C．They can find dangerous objects in water. | | D．They don"t function on the basis of science. |
小题4:It can be inferred from the passage that McCormick _______.| A．sold the equipment at a low price | | B．was well-known in most countries | | C．did not think he had committed the crime | | D．had not got such huge profit as mentioned in the text |
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Playing basketball isn’t ladylike. That’s what Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he was against the girls’ basketball program.
“We were very discouraged, ” said Chapman, a forward（前锋）for her high school team of Des Moines.
Nearly 50 years later, Chapman is back on the playground. She’s 62 and plays for “Hot Pink Grannies”, joining about 10 other women on a team whose uniforms are black trousers and hot pink socks. They play in the Iowa Granny Basketball League.
It’s one of dozens of basketball leagues for women over 50 that have arisen across the country. For some, it’s a chance to exercise and meet people; for others, it’s a once – refused chance to make up.
“You see more and more elderly women’s teams taking part in state and national competitions,” said Michael Rogers, a professor in sports studies at Wichita State University. “In the future it will be something common to have leagues like this.”
Yearly surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association show the number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 ten years later.
The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good – natured but competitive when game time comes.
“I think I’m tough” says Colleen Pulliam, 69, showing off her strong arms at her challengers in a game against “Strutters”, known for their bright yellow socks.
Granny Basketball Leagues and similar groups spread quickly through much of the country, including California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
小题1:Which is right about Chapman?| A．She thinks playing basketball isn’t ladylike. | | B．She is now 62 years old and feels discouraged. | | C．She plays basketball again about 50 years later. | | D．She is a forward in the Hot Pink Grannies. |
小题2:The underlined sentence “it’s a once – refused chance to make up” in the fourth paragraph means .| A．it is chance to realize their old dream | | B．it is chance to take part in sports | | C．it is chance to earn a reputation | | D．it is chance to compete for medals |
小题3:Who is probably a player of “Hot Oink Grannies”?| A．Des Moines. | B．Colleen Pulliam. | C．Michael Rogers. | D．Strutters. |
小题4:Which of the following statements is true?
A．Some elderly women play basketball with the purpose of getting wealthy.
B．Granny Basketball Leagues have spread all over the USA.
C．The women on the Hot Pink Grannies are good – natured and less competitive.
D．The number of women aged 55 and older who play basketball has greatly increased.
小题5:From the passage we can infer .| A．in the 1960s, playing basketball wasn’t considered as a girls’ sport | | B．the color of the socks is of great importance to granny players | | C．more and more granny players are confident about getting higher scores | | D．Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster has already changed his attitude |
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