Among the dead in South Asia’s tsunami① were many tourists at Sri Lanka’s nation
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Among the dead in South Asia’s tsunami① were many tourists at Sri Lanka’s national wildlife park at Yala. But very few of the park’s animals — elephants, buffaloes, monkeys and wild cats — appear to have died. There are theories that animals can sense natural disasters and flee to safety.
First, it’s possible that the animals may have heard the quake before the tsunami hit. The underwater rupture likely produced sound waves known as infrasound② or infrasonic sound. Humans can’t hear infrasound, but many animals including dogs, elephants, tigers and pigeons can.
A second early warning sign the animals might have sensed is ground vibration③. The massive quake would have produced vibrational waves known as Rayleigh waves. These vibrations move through the ground like waves move on the surface of the ocean but faster. They travel at ten times the speed of sound. The Rayleigh waves would have reached SriLanka hours before the water hit. Mammals, birds, insects and spiders can sense Rayleigh waves. So the animals at Yale might have felt the Rayleigh waves and then run to higher ground.
But what about humans? While we can’t hear infrasound, we can feel it, although we don’t necessarily know we’re feeling it. We also experience Rayleigh waves by special sensors in our joints, which exist just for that purpose. Sadly, it seems we don’t pay attention to the information when we get it. Maybe we screen it out because there’s so much going on before our eyes and in our ears. Humans have a lot of things on our minds and usually that works out OK.
Notes:
① tsunami n. 海啸
② infrasound n. 次声
③ vibration n. 振动，颤动
Choose the best answers according to the above:
小题1: Why did few animals at Yala die when the tsunamis that caused a huge number of human deaths hit?| A．Because the animals were staying at a higher place in the park. | | B．Because the animals were able to run much faster than human beings. | | C．Because human beings cannot hear the infrasonic sound. | | D．Because the animals might have picked up the danger signals and ran away. |
小题2:Which of the statements about “Ravleigh waves” is true?| A．Rayleigh waves are massive vibrational waves that usually cause quakes or tsunamis. | | B．Rayleigh waves move on the ocean surface at a speed ten times that of sound waves. | | C．Rayleigh waves can be felt both by animals and human beings. | | D．Rayleigh waves, just like infrasonic sound, can only be felt by animals. |
小题3:When a tsunami hits, it is possible that＿＿＿＿.| A．we can’t feel the infrasound so we can’t be informed of the danger | | B．we can feel Rayleigh waves as well as infrasound so we are able to escape the danger like animals | | C．we were so busy with things on our minds that we feel neither infrasound nor Rayleigh waves | | D．we think nothing of the information of its coming even though we can also get it |
小题4: What does the underlined word “that” in the last sentence refer to?| A．Screening out the information. | | B．There being so much going on before our eyes and in our ears. | | C．Having a lot of things on our minds. | | D．Paying attention to the information. |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:D
小题4:A |
解析
小题1:细节理解题。从第二、三段可知，动物能提前感知到危险临近，逃到安全地方去。
小题2:细节理解题。从第三、四段可知，人和动物都能感觉到Rayleigh waves。
小题3:细节理解题。从最后一段第四句可知。
小题4:词义猜测题。该词指代的意思从前一句Maybe we screen it out because …可以确定。 |
举一反三
It is sometimes said that strange flying objects have been seen high up in the sky. People call these strange objects Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO). These UFOs caused a lot of interest. Some of the reports about them are difficult to believe. Some have been explained in scientific ways. Others have never been explained. Here is an account of UFOs from a report.
Dennis Burdens, who wrote an article, tells us that he once saw a UFO himself. He was having dinner one night with a friend near Tripoli, Libya, and after dinner the two men walked across a yard to his room to look at some papers. Burdens noticed that the moon looked strange that night.
“It wasn’t the moon ”, was the reply.
They watched the light and saw that it was moving. It seemed to be an object rather like a big plate. In some ways it looked like smoke with a light on it, but it wasn’t smoke because it didn’t change its shape. It was moving in a regular way. That is to say, it didn’t go suddenly faster or more slowly, and it didn’t go higher or lower. So the two men decided that there must be men in it.
After that, Burdens said that he felt eyes looking at him. He was being watched in the darkness.
When it was nearer, they noticed that the bottom parts were brighter than the top. The bottom was yellow and the top red. Then the object suddenly turned away and left Libya, moving very fast.
On a later day Burdens talked to other people about it, and he found some who had seen it. They all described it in the same way. Could they all be mistaken?
小题1: UFOs are _____.| A．flying high up in the sky | B．strange flying objects | | C．difficult to believe | D．very interested |
小题2: A UFO was seen one night _____.| A．when they were walking across a yard to Burdens’ room | | B．while they were looking at the light | | C．when Burdens noticed the moon appearing strange | | D．while they were having dinner |
小题3:The UFO moved _______.| A．regularly | B．in a changeable way | C．slowly | D．fast |
小题4: The UFO looked like _____ .| A．smoke | B．a large plate | C．light | D．a jumping object |
小题5:The UFO was seen ______ .| A．by Burdens and his friend | B．brighter in the darkness | | C．by several people | D．to have a yellow bottom and a red top in the same way |
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With the start of the new semester students around the country exchange their fun and fashionable clothes for boring school uniforms.
"The uniform makes us look like a bunch of clones, especially when we are doing morning exercises in the playground, "said Qing, a Senior 2 from a high school in Shanghai. "But we are not exactly the same from the top to the bottom. The boys wear different sport shoes and girls have different decorations ( 装饰品 )in their hair. These are the areas where you can express yourself" said Qing.
Although it might be strange for boys to talk about fashion, they do care about what they wear in school, especially shoes, according to Qing.
"Nike and Adidas basketball shoes, although they are still the must for many of my friends ,are becoming out-of-date,” added. He explained, "Since Liu Xiang ran so fast in Athens, running shoes are becoming popular in this autumn."
"Still in fashion are the various baseball caps and American-style T-shirts with random English words printed on them, "said Qing. "The accuracy ( 准确性 )of the written message isn"t important. Often, the words are misspelt . Sometimes they do not even make sense “ Qing said with a smile.
Besides sports shoes and T-shirts, styles and colours of school bags are another opportunity for students to express their taste in fashion. Some bags are made more eye-catching by decorating them with small hanging dolls. Other fashionable items are the colourful drink contains which are now popular among girls this semester.
As in China, the new semester in the US also brings new fashion trends: shirts printed with Chinese words, necklaces with Hebrew ( 希伯莱 )or Hindi ( 印度的 )characters, and Brazilian jewelry, are all common in schools in Florida, according to Carmen Domingues, a high school student.
小题1:What does "a bunch of clones”( Paragraph 2)mean?| A．All of the clothes are the same. | B．All of the exercises are the same. | | C．All of the clothes are different. | D．All of the exercises are different. |
小题2:How do the students express themselves in school?| A．The girls wear different sport shoes. | | B．All the students wear school uniforms. | | C．The girls have different decorations in their hair. | | D．The boys drink water from colourful drinks containers. |
小题3:Why are Nike and Adidas basketball shoes becoming out-of-date?| A．Because the shoes are not eye-catching. | | B．Because running shoes become more popular. | | C．Because the shoes have been popular for a long time. | | D．Because they have changed their opinions for Liu Xiang. |
小题4:Which of the following is NOT the new fashion trends in the US?| A．Necklace with Hebrew or Hindi characters. | | B．Baseball caps and American-style T-shirts. | | C．Shirts printed with Chinese words. | | D．Brazilian jewelry. |
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Everywhere man is altering the balance of nature．He is facilitating the spread of plants and animals into new regions, sometimes deliberately, sometimes unconsciously．He is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants, or with houses, factories, slag-heaps and other products of his civilization．He exterminates some species on a large scale, but favours the multiplication of others．In brief, he has done more in five thousand years to alter the biological aspect of the planet than has nature in five million．
Many of these changes which he has brought about have had unforeseen consequences．Who would have thought that the throwing away of a piece of Canadian waterweed would have caused half the waterways of Britain to be blocked for a decade, or that the provision of pot cacti for lonely settlers’ wives would have led to Eastern Australian being overrun with forests of Prickly Pear? Who would have prophesied that the cutting down of forests on the Adriatic coasts, or in parts of Central Africa, could have reduced the land to a semidesert, with the very soil washed away from the bare rock? Who would have thought that improved communications would have changed history by the spreading of disease-sleeping sickness into East Africa, measles into Oceania, very possibly malaria into ancient Greece?
These are spectacular examples; but examples on a smaller scale are everywhere to be found．We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds, prescribing absolute security for all species; and we may find that some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies beyond measure and ousts the rare kinds in which we were particularly interested．We see, owing to some little change brought about by civilization, the starling spread over the English country-side in hordes．We improve the yielding capacities of our cattle; and find that now they exhaust the pastures which sufficed for less exigent stock．
小题1:The following examples except ________ reflect man altering the balance of nature．| A．man is covering huge areas with new kinds of plants | | B．man is facilitating the spread of animals into new regions． | | C．man is killing some species on a large scale | | D．man is getting to know the importance of keeping the balance of nature． |
小题2:What had a piece of Canadian waterweed cause? | A．Eastern Australian was overrun with forests． | | B．Half the waterways of Britain blocked for a decade． | | C．In parts of central Africa, the land reduced to a semidesert． | | D．Disease-sleeping has been caused． |
小题3:What have spread diseases? | A．Disease-sleeping sickness． | B．Measles． | | C．Improved communications． | D．Malaria． |
小题4:We make a nature sanctuary for rare birds but __________| A．some common and hardy kind of bird multiplies | | B．rare kinds multiply | | C．all bird multiply | | D．no bird multiply |
小题5:The main idea of the passage is _________．| A．that man is deliberately destroying the balance of nature | | B．that man has foreseen the consequences of altering the balance old nature | | C．that improved communications have changed history | | D．that man is altering the balance of nature |
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This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers（young people aged from 13 —19）from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. The school was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully① when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize② American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
Notes:
① respectfully adv. 尊敬地，谦恭地
② criticize vt. 批评，责备
Choose the best answers according to the above:
小题1:This year __ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.| A．twenty-three hundred | B．thirteen hundred | | C．over three thousand | D．less than two thousand |
小题2:The whole exchange programme is mainly to __.| A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America | | B．send students in America to travel in Germany | | C．let students learn something about other countries | | D．have teenagers learn new languages |
小题3:What is particular in America schools is that __.| A．there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings. | | B．there are a lot of outside activities | | C．students usually take fourteen subjects in all | | D．students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |
小题4:After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought __.| A．a better education should include something good from both American and Germany | | B．German schools trained students to be better citizens | | C．American schools were not as good as German schools | | D．the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students |
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NASA is moving ahead with plans to put a long-armed lander on Mars’ icy north pole to search for clues①for water and possible signs of life.
The $386 million Phoenix Mars is planned to touch down in the Martian arctic in 2008. The stationary probe will use its robotic arm to dig into the icy land and pick up soil samples②to analyze. In 2002, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spotted evidence of ice-rich soil near the arctic surface.
Scientists hope the Phoenix mission will find clues to the geologic history of water on the Red Planet and determine whether microbes③existed in the ice.
Phoenix will be the first mission of the Mars Scout program, a renewed, low-cost effort to study the Red Planet. “The Phoenix mission explores new territory in the northern plains of Mars analogous to the permafrost regions on Earth,” Peter Smith said.
True to its name, Phoenix rose from the ashes of previous④missions. The lander for Phoenix was built to fly as part of the 2001 Mars Surveyor program. But the program broke down after the well-known disappearance of the Mars Polar Lander in 1999. The Polar Lander lost contact during a landing attempt near the planet’s south pole after its rocket engine shut off prematurely, causing the spacecraft to fall about 130 feet to almost certain destruction.
The Phoenix probe had been in storage at a Lockheed Martin clean room in Denver before it was reused for its present mission. It will carry science instruments that were designed for the Mars Surveyor program including an improved panoramic camera and a trench-digging robotic arm. Phoenix will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2007 and land on the planet nine months later.
Notes:
① clue n. 线索
② sample n. 标本，样品
③ microbe n. 微生物
④ previous adj. 先前的
小题1:The passage mainly tells readers that _________.| A．clues of water will be found in Phoenix | | B．Phoenix will be sent to find clues of water on Mars | | C．August 2007 will see Phoenix lift off | | D．the Mars Scout program will be carried out |
小题2: The underlined word “prematurely” (paragraph 5) means _________.| A．on time | B．behind the time | C．out of work | D．ahead of time |
小题3: According to the passage, we know Phoenix will land on Mars _________.| A．in May 2008 | B．in August 2007 | | C．in August 2008 | D．in September 2008 |
小题4: According to the passage, the name “Phoenix” is after the meaning of _________.| A．rebirth | B．death | C．energy | D．hope |
小题5:After Phoenix lands on Mars, we can infer it will firstly _________.| A．find soil samples and send them to the earth | | B．look for the icy land to dig for the soil samples | | C．take photos and send them to the earth | | D．find the remains of the Mars Polar Lander |
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