When Hurricane Phailin hit India in late 2013, it became the largest storm to st
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When Hurricane Phailin hit India in late 2013, it became the largest storm to strike the subcontinent in over a decade. The storm affected more than 12 million people in India and neighboring countries, and damaged or destroyed many houses. However, good news is that cleverly-designed beach house created by architect Ray Huff can survive such strong winds and storm waves.
Located on the shore of an Indian island, Huff’s award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one smashed to pieces by Hurricane Phailin.
Huff pointed out that many houses built along shoreline were poorly constructed, and enforcement(执行) of building codes wasn’t strict. After Phailin’s attack, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house should be able to stand a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometers per hour.
At first sight, Huff"s house looks anything but hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it resemble “a large party lantern” at night, according to one observer. But looks can be misleading. The house’s wooden frame is reinforced(加固) with long steel rods to give it extra strength.
To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on pilings---long columns of wood anchored(固定) deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also balance the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. “These swells of water come ashore at great speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.
Huff designed the wooden pilings to be partially hidden by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up,” said Huff. In case of a storm wave, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.
小题1:After Hurricane Phailin, new houses built along shore line are required_____. | A．to be easily reinforced | | B．to look smarter in design | | C．to meet stricter building standards | | D．to be designed in the shape of cubes |
小题2:The award-winning beach house is quite strong because____. | A．it is made of redwood | | B．it is in the shape of a shell | | C．it is strengthened by steel rods | | D．it is built with wood and stones |
小题3:Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on wooden pilings in order to _____. | A．support the weight of the house | | B．allow the waves to run through the house | | C．anchor stronger pilings deep in the sand | | D．prevent water from rushing into the house |
小题4:The main function of the shell is_____.| A．to give the house a better appearance | | B．to strengthen the pilings of the house | | C．to protect the wooden frame of the house | | D．to slow down the speed of the swelling water |
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答案
小题1:C
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A |
解析
试题分析: 本文讲述在2013年的飓风中建筑师Ray Huff造的房子经受考验，对他所建造的房子进行分析。
小题1:C 细节理解题。根据第三段提到After Phailin’s attack, all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes所有新的海岸线的房屋必须符合严格的，更好的强制执行的代码标准，所以选C项。
小题2:C 细节理解题。根据第四段提到The house’s wooden frame is reinforced(加固) with long steel rods to give it extra strength.房子的木框架钢筋（加固）长钢筋给予额外的力量 所以选C项。
小题3:D 细节理解题。根据第五段提到To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on pilings---long columns of wood anchored(固定) deep in the sand.得出为了抵御飓风，所以选D项。
小题4:A 细节理解题。根据最后一段提到The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its pant legs pulled up这个壳掩盖了桩，使房子看来不象站着，让房子看起来更好看，所以选A项。 |
举一反三
“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful，” says Plato. Selfcontrol is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses (冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral (道德上的) freedom.
A single angry word has lost many a friend. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whom the gods would destroy they firstmake mad” “Keep cool”， says George Herbert, “for fierceness (狂怒) makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger，” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly(愚蠢) and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Selfcontrol is man"s last greatest victory.
If a man lacks selfcontrol he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no selfconfidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks selfcontrol, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.
小题1:What does the reader learn from the first paragraph? | A．The greatest victory for a man is to conquer everything except himself. | | B．One"s moral freedom is based on the control of himself. | | C．To control oneself is the most difficult in one"s life. | | D．If a person is too stubborn, he will feel most shameful. |
小题2:What is the correct interpretation of “Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad”？| A．If the gods want to kill you, they make you crazy first. | | B．If you cannot control yourself, you will become crazy. | | C．If you always lose your temper, you will soon be finished. | | D．If you are mad, you will be punished by the gods. |
小题3:If a man lacks selfcontrol, he lacks all of the following EXCEPT ________. | A．the very backbone and nerve of character | | B．the patience and power to control himself | | C．selfconfidence | | D．strong feelings |
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A smart phone (智能手机) is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing abilities than a common phone. The first smart phones enabled the users to send and receive emails. Later models added the function of portable media players, pocket video cameras, and GPS navigation (导航) units to form one multi-use device. Many modern smart phones also include touchscreens and web browsers (浏览器) that display web pages.
A recent report says we spend an average of two hours and 40 minutes each day looking at a smart phone. That doesn’t mean making calls, but playing phone games and browsing the Web.
Nowadays we always find people checking emails in a restaurant, taking a picture of the food when it arrives, or checking a message during a conversation instead of traditional communication. It’s no secret that our lives are being affected by our smart phones obsession.
However, this phenomenon has never been presented so vividly as in the short YouTube film I Forgot My Phone. Despite only being online for a few days, it"s already been viewed more than 10.5 million times. Whether it will be screened in the cinema remains to be seen.
Ironically, YouTube’s data show that the site gets a billion views per day from mobile devices, so a lot of those people watched it on their phones.
The short film, written by and starring actress Charlene Deguzman, shows groups of people in various social situations, the majority of whom are absorbed in their phones instead of the world around them. To a certain extent, we all do it.
小题1:People prefer a smart phone to a common one, because the latter only can help us ______.| A．check emails | B．send messages | C．find the destination | D．watch a video |
小题2:The underlined word “obsession” in the third paragraph most probably means “______”.| A．devotion | B．contribution | C．addiction | D．emotion |
小题3:Which of the following is right?| A．People spend as average of two hours and 40 minutes each day using smart phones. | | B．The film hasn’t been put on in the cinema. | | C．The film is written by an actor named Charlene Deguzman. | | D．The film has already been viewed more than 105 million times in the first few days. |
小题4:When the writer mentions the number of people watching the film from mobile devices in the fifth paragraph, he mainly feels ______.| A．encouraged | B．depressed | C．proud | D．satisfied |
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If you planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors （因素）. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live in are not always home to the best schools. What’s more, many schools specialize in different areas of study. They Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science. And if you want to study oceanography, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place which is near the ocean.
Now I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in. California is a nice state. Northern California especially has very good weather. As for me, I enjoyed the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Mary land. These states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not so perfect as that in California, but is still quite nice. My favourite of America is the Midwest. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. Besides, there are many good universities, too.
Also you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the different areas. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature, peace and quiet? Then you’d better stay away from America’s larger cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D.C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it.
小题1:From the first paragraph we can infer that in the USA .| A．all colleges and universities lie in big cities | | B．all colleges and universities lie in beautiful places | | C．famous colleges and universities lie in nice places | | D．famous colleges and universities may not lie in nice places |
小题2:____should be considered first if you want to study in the USA.
A. The climate
B. The scenery
C. The study condition
D. The living condition
小题3:The writer likes Middle America best because .| A．he feels the real character of the nation here | | B．the weather is fine here | | C．the life is full of excitement | | D．he likes sunshine and hates snow |
小题4:The passage mainly .| A．tells us something about American universities | | B．gives us some advice on studying in America | | C．lets us know about America | | D．describes the scenery of America |
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The Internet can provide a wealth of educational resources for small children, if you know where to look. This article will offer some educational websites to small children. You may need to assist your children in navigating(导航) the pages until they understand where their favorite activities are.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted learning is a great website for children, and I know several teachers who rely on it for materials for their classrooms. Most of the information is free, but for $20.00 per year, you can purchase a membership that allows you to have access to the site without the advertising. The pages here are great. There are colored pages and worksheets for toddlers(学步儿童) and school-age children. They focus on learning language, science, animals, geography, astronomy, explorers, music, art and nursery rhymes.
Starfall
Starfall is another good educational website for small children. Teachers often use this website in classrooms. It emphasizes reading skills for early learners. The website is aimed at first grade level learners, but it has tools that can help all children from pre-K to second grade. The website has reading activities, worksheets to download, and a store where you can purchase educational materials for your children.
Sesame Street Workshop
Kids love Sesame Street, and it is always educational. This is one of the funniest websites online for children because it is very well animated and has great sound effects. The website has games and stories for small kids, and they can create letters at the post office and mail them to their favorite characters.
Sprout Online
Sprout has features on its television network, which are just for children. There are games, colored pages, recipes, music, videos, sign language activities and exercise videos for children. There are also online activities based on Sprout television shows. These include Roary the Race Car, the Wiggles, the Mighty Jungle and many others.
These are just a few of many educational websites for children. Small children love to use computers, so help them find some websites that contain fun and learning at the same time.
小题1:What’s the purpose of the author in writing this passage?| A．To introduce some educational websites to parents for their kids. | | B．To let parents distinguish between good and bad websites. | | C．To attract the readers to download some useful information. | | D．To enrich young children’s spare time with some Internet games. |
小题2:What’s the difference between people who have memberships and those who don’t?| A．With a membership, you can get the information for free. | | B．You can download materials you want for free with a membership. | | C．With a membership, you can have access to the site without the ads. | | D．You can look through more pages with a membership. |
小题3:If you want to buy educational materials for your children, you should choose _________ .| A．Enchanted Learning. | B．Starfall | | C．Sesame Street Workshop. | D．Sprout Online. |
小题4:Why does the Sesame Street Workshop have more fun than others?| A．Because it has games and stories for young kids． | | B．Because children can mail letters to their favorite characters. | | C．Because it is always educational, and children love it.. | | D．Because it has great sound effects and animation. |
小题5:It can be learnt from the passage that ______ .| A．Enchanted Learning has reading activities and worksheets to download. | | B．Starfall is designed for learners from pre-K to second grade | | C．the Wiggles and the MightyJungle are not based on television shows. | | D．websites that involve joy and learning are beneficial to kids. |
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New crime prediction software should reduce not only the murder rate, but the rate of other crimes. Developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software has already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation(缓刑) or parole(假释) are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
“When a person goes on probation or parole he is supervised(监督) by an officer. The question is ‘what level of supervision is appropriate?’” said Berk. It used to be that parole officers used the person’s criminal record, and their judgment to make decisions.
“This research replaces those seat-of-the –pants calculations,” he said.
Technology helps determine level of supervision. On average there is one murder for every 100,000 people. Even among high-risk groups the murder rate is one in 100. Predicting such a rare event is very difficult, but advances in computer technology works.
Years ago, the researchers made a dataset of more than 60,000 various crimes. Using the software they developed, they found some much more likely to commit murder when paroled or probated. They could identify eight future murderers out of 100.
Berk’s software examines roughly two dozen variables(可变因素), from criminal record to geographic location. The type of crimes, and more importantly, the age at which that crime was committed, were two of the most predictive variables.
“People assume that if someone murdered then they will murder in the future,” said Berk. “ What really matters is what that person did as a young individual. Predicting future crimes sounds well. But we aren’t anywhere near being able to do that.”
“Berk’s scientific answer leaves policymakers with difficult questions. By labeling one group of people as high risk, and supervise them closely, there should be fewer murders, which the potential victims should be happy about. It also means that those high-risk individuals will be supervised more aggressively. For human rights advocates, that means punishing people who, most likely, will not commit a crime in the future,” said Bushway. “It comes down to a question of whether you would rather make these errors or those errors.”
小题1:The underlined words(in Para.3) probably mean___. | A．calculations based on subjective opinions | | B．calculations based on widespread voting | | C．calculations made by advanced technology | | D．calculations based on serious considering |
小题2:For 650 people with crime records, how many potential murderers would the software find?小题3:From Para 7, we can infer that______.| A．the technology developed by Richard Berk will soon be widely used in the US | | B．the technology would not be widely accepted in the short term | | C．whether a person murders or not largely decided by his upbringing while young | | D．if a person murdered when he was fifty, he is sure to murder again while on probation |
小题4:Bushway’s attitude to the technology put forward by Richard Berk is ____.| A．positive | B．negative | C．objective | D．indifferent |
小题5:Which would be the best title for the passage?| A．Closely Supervise Potential Murders | | B．Measures Taken to Prevent Criminal Behavior | | C．Technology Revolutionizes Judges’ Way of Working | | D．Software is Developed to Predict Criminal Behavior |
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