Something’s happening at the lowest point on our planet.
The Dead Sea, a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, is shrinking at an alarming rate - about 3. 3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group Eco Peace Middle East. And human actions are largely to blame.
"It's not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea: it's more like the whole area,” said photographer Moritz Kustner, who visited the area in February to work on his series "The Dying Dead Sea”.
The Dead Sea needs water from the other natural sources surrounding it, such as the Jordan River basin. But around the 1960s, some of the water sources it relied upon were diverted. Israel, for instance, built a pipeline during that time so it could supply water throughout the country.
Mineral extraction industries are another main reason the water levels are falling, experts say. The Dead Sea's minerals have been used as medicine and can often be found in cosmetics and other consumer products.
And then, of course, there's the Middle East's hot, dry climate, which makes it difficult for the lake to replenish itself. Last year, Israel and Jordan signed a $900 million deal in an effort to keep the Dead Sea's water levels stable. It includes building a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea which would be able to not only supply water to Israel and Jordan but also to pump water into the Dead Sea.
But for now, Kustner shows us that the Dead Sea remains very much a place of interest, with people from all over the world going there to swim in its salty waters
The Dead Sea, known as the Salt Sea in the language of Hebrew, is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. And because of what has been happening over the years, the salt is only getting saltier.
1.How many reasons for the Dead Seas shrinking does the author mention in the text?
A.One B.Two
C.Three D.Four
2.What can we learn about the Dead Sea 's minerals?
A.They have practical value.
B.They are controlled by Israel.
C.They can be extracted very easily.
D.They are mainly used in heavy industry.
3.What does the underlined word "replenish” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?
A.To clean something. B.To improve something.
C.To fill something again. D.To find something again.
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A.What we should do to save the Dead Sea. B.More people travel to the Dead Sea.
C.Why the Dead Sea is salty. D.The Dead Sea is drying out.
China’s artistic swimming duo (双人表演) Ms Jiang and her twin sister made history on Tuesday by gaining a sixth gold at the Asian Games, the most earned by any athletes in artistic swimming in its history. What makes the twin sisters’ achievement more remarkable is the fact that both of them returned from giving birth to baby daughters to do so.
"I’ve been their coach for over 20 years," said Ms Zheng. Women’s Duet coach, "ever since they were 8 years old. When they came back after having babies, their training plans were completely changed. I think they have already showed that female athletes can return to their best form after having a baby. "
The twin sisters announced their retirement after finishing a third at the 2013 China National Games. They went on to get married on the same day and their baby daughters arrived in 2015 and 2016. And after a three-year absence, the twins decided to come back to the pool.
"I think to reach a mature state in artistic swimming, athletes have to go through years of training. What keeps us going is our love of the sport," said one of them.
The 31-year-old twins won a well-deserved gold at the 2017 China National Games. At the third Asian Games, they claimed their sixth gold at the multi-sports meet to be a record in artistic swimming at the Games, and a result their coach wasn’t sure could happen when they first decided to come back.
"Because of our love of the sport, we overcame many hard times, especially the physical obstacles. After all, we’re no longer young. But now I think we are even better than before," said the other.
To be a mother while training and competing at the highest level means this gold medal seems much more than any of the others from before.
1.Why was the twins' achievement regarded to be extraordinary?
A.They won six gold medals at the Asian Games.
B.They got trained by plans that were totally different.
C.They got the most medals in artistic swimming in history.
D.They returned from giving birth to baby daughters to do so.
2.What was their coach's attitude to their winning when they first decided to come back?
A.Skeptical. B.Determined.
C.Confident. D.Unclear.
3.What does the twins' victory tell us?
A.Practice makes perfect. B.Failure is the mother of success.
C.Knowledge comes from practice. D.Nothing is too hard for a determined mind.
4.Where does the text probably come from?
A.A sports textbook. B.A research paper.
C.A news report. D.A sports brochure.
Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum
Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. Admission is at normal charges and you don’t need to book. They end around 21:00.
November 7th
The Canal Pioneers, by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also a major player in training others in the art of canal planning and building. Chris Lewis will explain how Brindley made such a positive contribution to the education of that group of early “civil engineers”.
December 5th
Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Well before the arrival of freezers, there was a demand for ice for food preservation and catering, Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells, and how London’s ice trade grew.
February 6th
An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Stroudwater Canal is moving towards reopening. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.
March 6th
Eyots and Aits-Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames had many islands. Miranda has undertaken a review of all of them. She will tell us about those of greatest interest.
Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book
More into:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson
London Canal Museum
12-13 New Wharf Road, London NI 9RT
www.canalmuseum.org.uk www.canalmuseum.mobi
Tel:020 77130836
1.When is the talk on James Brindley?
A.February 6th. B.December 5th.
C.November 7th. D.March 6th.
2.What is the topic of the talk in February?
A.The Canal Pioneers. B.An Update on the Cotsword Canals
C.Eyots and Aits-Thames Islands D.Ice for the Metropolis
3.Who will give the talk on the islands in the Thames.
A.Miranda Vickers B.Malcolm Tucker
C.Chris Lewis D.Liz Payne
假定你是李华，原计划今年三月去英国的姐妹学校交换学习一个月，现因为新型冠状病毒疫情的爆发而不得不取消计划。请给姐妹学校的联系老师 Jack写封邮件，内容包括：
1.表示歉意
2.说明原因
3.疫情期间学习和生活的状态
注意： 1.字数100字左右
2.可以适当增加细节，使行文连贯
参考词汇： 1.新型冠状病毒the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
2.流行传染病 epidemic
注意：1.词数100左右:
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jack,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
When it comes to the changes in our life, I always memorize my skating. I______ that no matter how much we enjoy doing something, at some point the one we enjoy comes to a _____ and we move on to our next life phase.
When I was a young boy growing up in New York, I enjoyed____ skating on the local ponds free of charge. Later, I ____ to enter a roller rink(溜冰场). As my years of roller skating began to ____ , I discovered that quite often I would be the oldest skater. That, however, never_____ me because I figured that somebody had to be the youngest and somebody had to be the oldest. I just _____to be the oldest.
About a year ago I was skating with a group of middle school students. But this time it was ____. For the first time I was having trouble keeping my_____ and almost fell several times. My years of skating were_____ over! I felt as if I had just lost my favourite _____. That was when I was aware that there was more to roller skating than just the skating. I ____ to hand out skates to the students. If they were having a(n) _______time trying to skate, I helped them with a smile and words of ________. “The next time we come to skate I ____ that you will do much better because you have already______the poorly part of skating.”
Surprisingly, I don’t miss skating. It’s time to move on to another phase of it— the ________phase. I have_____ those years on skating for joy. I’m smiling and laughing a lot _____ now. On the faces of others, I now get to see the ______ that I once had for roller skating.
1.A.complain B.suspect C.realize D.predict
2.A.failure B.close C.hardship D.barrier
3.A.roller B.figure C.ski D.ice
4.A.paid B.regretted C.begged D.agreed
5.A.reduce B.disappear C.pass D.accumulate
6.A.bothered B.scared C.thrilled D.satisfied
7.A.hated B.claimed C.happened D.appeared
8.A.competitive B.rewarding C.challenging D.different
9.A.distance B.balance C.promise D.figure
10.A.gradually B.eventually C.accidentally D.originally
11.A.audience B.admirer C.companion D.coach
12.A.deserved B.pretended C.afforded D.volunteered
13.A.free B.adequate C.tough D.extra
14.A.encouragement B.expectation C.approval D.attention
15.A.command B.guarantee C.analyze D.instruct
16.A.substituted B.avoided C.simplified D.accomplished
17.A.performing B.watching C.learning D.governing
18.A.traded B.excused C.compensated D.mistook
19.A.longer B.fewer C.more D.less
20.A.joy B.bravery C.ambition D.sympathy
假定你是李华，一名高三学生。你的美国网友Mike来信询问你及家人是如何应对新型冠状病毒以及它带来的改变和你的感受。请给对方写一封回信，内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 措施和改变；
3. 你的感受。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：the novel coronavirus n. 新型冠状病毒; mask n. 口罩
Dear Mike,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours
Li Hua
