El Nino, a Spanish term for＂the Christ child＂, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by $15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests: farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural incomes in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought(干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters.
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is in spite of evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure(基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers(下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A. It is named after a South American fisherman.
B. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
D. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that _________.
A. more investment should go to risk reduction
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smartphone as a room key. The boutique hotel brand from Starwood to
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harlem neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif, before the end of the quarter.
Starwood officials are hoping this will be one of the biggest technological changes in the industry since free Wi-Fi. "We believe this will become the new standard for how people will want to enter a hotel." says Frits van Passchen, Starwood's CEO. "It may be a novelty at first,but we think it will become table stakes for managing a hotel.
Not everyone is so sure. Past attempts to use technology to streamline the check-in process have had mixed results. Robert Habeeb, president of the First Hospitality Group, which is the owner of 55 hotels in the U.S, says he pulled out check-in kiosks at two of his Holiday Inn hotels after finding that most guests ignored them. He found that many travelers will sacrifice speed or ease to talk with a staff member and ensure their room has the right view or location, or to try for an upgrade. Other guests may still want to be greeted when they arrive.
Hotels have never been known for being in the forefront of technology. The industry is often a delay, in part because many hotels are owned and managed by separate companies, making investments in technology more complicated. Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to remove the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel's front desk. The delays are the bane(祸根)of many a road warrior's travel experience. “Everybody has to check in, but we are all doing it pretty much the same way we were 100 years ago, ”says Christopher Nassetta, chief executive officer for Hilton Worldwide holdings Inc.”It' s something we are seriously addressing.
Yet it is still not clear that virtual keys will do better than previous attempts to beat traditional check-ins. An effort several years ago to allow guests to enter rooms with the magnetic strip on their credit cards never became popular . Guests worried about security and were unwilling to give their kids credit cards instead of room keys.
1.According to the first two paragraphs, which of the following is NOT true.
A. Aloft of Hotel in Manhattan will allow guests to use a smartphone as a room key
B. All Starwood Hotels plan to offer the new room key before the end of the quarter.
C. Hotel officials hope the new room key will be a great change in hotel industry.
D. The new room key may become a new standard of choosing a hotel
2.The word streamline(Para. 3) is closest in meaning to _____________.
A. simplify B. strengthen
C. change D. unify
3.Christopher Nassetta would most likely agree that _____________.
A. it's a good idea to cancel check-in
B. the way of check-in needs to be changed
C. the management of hotel needs to be improved
D. it's time to make use of technology in hotel industry
4.From the text we can see that the writer thinks the future of the new room key is __________.
A. optimistic B. negative
C. bright D. uncertain
As her son Cameron sits at his laptop completing a task for his math degree course. Alison Thompson, a full-time mum is busy helping her daughter Emma (two years younger than Cameron) get dressed. While help has always been available for Emma, Alison and her husband also have to fight to get Cameron the support he needs. “People could see that Emma has special needs but because Cameron was doing so well at school, his teachers never thought there was a problem with him,” says Alison.
It took Alison and her husband a while to realize their son was different. Cameron’s ability didn’t become clear until he began primary school. Once he even corrected the teacher when she told the class that zero was the lowest number. Cameron told her she was wrong because there were negative numbers. He was four at the time. Now 14-year-old Cameron is at secondary school, studying for a distance learning math degree with the Open University, having sailed through his GCSE at 11 and his A-level at 12, achieving top grades.
Bethany, another daughter of Alison, is bright too, but not gifted. She is the one who will remind absent-minded Cameron to put on his coat. She also helps him out in social situations.
Emma attends a specialist school and the family is quick to celebrate her success too.
“The other day she did up the buttons on her coat, which was real progress,” Alison says.
Late last year the Thompsons took part in a television documentary to prove that not all gifted children are the result of extremely ambitious parents. Gifted children need support too, but their lives don’t have to be that different. Cameron is an example.
1.Which can be the best title for the passage?
A. Ambitious Parents B. Thompson’s Children
C. Special Gifts D. Different Lives
2.What does paragraph 1 indicate?
A. Both Cameron and Emma need parental support.
B. Teachers at school ignored Emma’s problems.
C. Cameron helps Emma with her math tasks.
D. The couple often have fights because of Cameron.
3.There are at least _______________ people in Mrs. Thompson’s family.
A. three B. four C. five D. six
4.What can be known from the passage?
A. Emma has learned to take good care of herself.
B. Cameron showed his gift before primary school.
C. The children of the family are bright and gifted.
D. Gifted kids are not so different as people expect.
Harlequino: Onto Freedom
Date:Nov.19-20 7:30 p.m.
Venue:Beijing Comedy Theater
Price:80-680 yuan
The drama discusses the true essence(本质) of are with the humor of Italian improvisational(即兴的 ) comedy. The performers discuss the purpose of art, reflect on how history is written and survey what is funny and what needs to be liberated.
Plastic Fantastic--Minirichi in Shanghai
Date:Nov.17 7:30 p.m.
Venue:Shanghai Dancing Theater
Price:100-380 yuan
Four Ukrainian “kidult” comedians decide to throw a wild party using plastic of all shapes and colors. Plastic Fantastic delivers a series of short comic stories that mix improvisation, mime, clown art and sound to draw you into their crazy world.
The Collection of American Modern Dance from Paul Taylor
Date:Nov.19 7:30 p.m.
Venue:National Center for the Performing Arts
Price:100-480 yuan
Paul Taylor, one of the most accomplished artists this nation has ever produced, has continued to shape America’s homegrown art of modern dance since he became a professional dancer and pioneering choreographer in 1954. Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers in Manhattan on May 30,1954. That modest performance marked the beginning of a half-century of unmatched creativity,and in the decades that followed, Mr.Taylor became a cultural symbol and one of the history’s most famous artists .
The little Singers of Paris in Suzhou
Date:Nov.30 7:30 p.m
Venue: Zhangjiagang Poly Theater
Price: 30-480 yuan
The boys’choir Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois was created in 1907 and is now famous worldwide. Each world tour is a huge success. The choristers are between 9 and 15 years old and are proud of their choir’s long history of over 100 years and are still fulfilling childhood dreams. They have to leave their families in order to be part of this extraordinary adventure: traveling, sharing their passion for singing and enabling others to discover the joy of music.
1.Tourists are likely to appreciate American modern dance in ________.
A. Beijing Comedy Theater B. Shanghai Dancing Theater
C. Zhangjiagang Poly Theater D. National Center for the Performing Arts
2.Which of the following may appeal to those who are crazy about short comic stories?
A. Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois B. Italian improvisational comedy
C. Plastic Fantastic D. Harlequino: Onto Freedom
3.With the cheapest admission ticket, tourists can have access to the performance____.
A. on Nov.30 B. on Nov.20
C. on Nov.19 D. on Nov.17
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.When did the speaker and his family come back to the United States?
A. Three years ago. B. Four years ago. C. Twenty years ago.
2.Why don’t the speaker’s family return to Britain now?
A. They don’t like Britain.
B. The daughter has to continue her study.
C. They’re happier living in the United States.
3.What is the purpose of the speaker’s six-week trip in England?
A. To see his friends. B. To go sightseeing. C. To advertise his new book.
4.What does the speaker think of his six-week trip?
A. Expensive. B. Difficult. C. Satisfying.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What is the topic of the picture for this year’s art competition?
A. Family. B. The countryside. C. Friends.
2.Why can’t the girl take part in the art competition?
A. She is not interested in it. B. She isn’t good at drawing. C. She is over the age limit.
3.What may the boy’s sister use to draw in the competition?
A. Colored pencils. B. Oil paints. C. Water colors.
4.What is the prize for the winner this year?
A. A computer. B. A camera. C. A television.
