Almost everyone has heard the expression, “the calm before the storm”. It is usually used to describe a peaceful period just before a very stressful situation or a tense argument. British sailors coined the phrase in the late 1600s; they noted that before certain storms the seas would seem to become static and the winds would drop.
But why is it often so calm before a storm?
Science has given us the answer. According to US infotainment (资讯娱乐) website HowStuffWorks, a calm period occurs because many storms, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, draw in all the warm and humid air from the surrounding area. As this air rises into the storm clouds, it cools and acts as “fuel for the storm, like petrol in a car”. Once the storm has taken all the energy it can from the air, it is pushed out from the top of the storm clouds and falls back down to ground level. As the air descends, it becomes warm and dry. Warm, dry air is stable, so once it covers an area, it causes a calm period before the storm. This same process also causes the “eye of the storm” in hurricanes and tornadoes. In these conditions, the calm occurs in the center of the storm because of the strong rotating (旋转的) winds.
The Weather Network has a tip for working out how far away a storm is. First, count how many seconds there are between a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. Roughly three seconds equal one kilometer. So, for example, if you count nine seconds, the storm is about 3 kilometers away. A good gauge (评估) is that if your count is below 30 seconds, you should seek shelter straight away.
However, due to the complexity of storm system, not all storms are preceded(先于) by calm. Given the right conditions, some storms announce themselves with heavy rain and chilling winds.
So, your best bet is to keep yourself updated with weather reports for any predictions regarding a coming storm in your area. That’s the most reliable and sensible way to predict the next display of nature’s temper.
1.The underlined word “static” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A.violent B.quiet
C.fast-changing D.warm
2.If there are 15 seconds between a flash of lightning and a thunder clap, how far away is the storm?
A.Three kilometers. B.Four kilometers.
C.Five kilometers. D.Six kilometers.
3.What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
A.It is not always quiet before a storm.
B.Storms have a big influence on life.
C.Heavy storms don’t usually last for a long time.
D.Weather reports may fail to predict a storm.
When someone gives you advice, listen without judgment, try to find value in what you’re hearing, and say: “Thank you.” This wise advice is easy to understand yet hard to practice. I’ll give you an example from my life when I totally blew it in terms of practicing what I teach.
In my work I travel constantly. I always put off going to the airport until the last second. My wife, Lydia, was sitting next to me in the front seat. I was racing along and not paying much attention. Lydia cried out: “Look out! There is a red light up ahead.” Being a trained behavioral science professional—who teaches others the value of encouraging advice—I naturally screamed at her: “I know there is a red light up ahead! Don’t you think I can see?” When we arrived at the airport, Lydia didn’t speak to me. I wondered why she seemed mad at me.
During the flight to New York, I did a cost-benefit analysis. I asked myself: “What was the cost of just listening when Lydia called out the warning? Zero.” I then reasoned: “What was the potential benefit? What could have been saved?” Several potential benefits came to mind, including her life, my life, and the lives of other people. I landed in New York feeling ashamed of myself. I immediately called Lydia and told her my cost-benefit story. I convinced her: “The next time you help me with my driving, I am just going to say, “Thank you.”
A few months passed, and I had long forgotten the incident. Again, I was racing off to the airport, when Lydia cried out: “Look out for the red light!” I was embarrassed, and then shouted: “Thank you!”
I’m a long way from perfect, but I’m getting better. My suggestion is that you get in the habit of asking the important people in your life how you can do things better. And be ready for an answer. Some people may tell you things like “Look out for the red light.” When this happens, remember that there is possibly some potential benefit. Then just say: “Thank you.”
1.What do we know about the author?
A.He is expert at behavioral science.
B.He is gifted in cost-benefit analysis.
C.He seldom takes his wife’s advice.
D.He often runs the red traffic light.
2.It can be inferred from the passage that people _____.
A.tend to be defensive when given advice
B.intend to follow others’ suggestions
C.had better study behavioral science
D.should give their opinions patiently
3.The purpose of the passage is to advise people to _____ .
A.do a cost-benefit analysis in daily life
B.treasure others’ suggestions
C.learn from the author’s experiences
D.discover potential benefits
假定你是李华,校学生会主席,请写封邮件邀请你校英国交换生 Peter 参加学校和市中医院(the Municipal Hospital of Chinese Medicine)联合举办的“中医药健康文化进校园”活动(the Campus Campaign for Chinese Medicine & Health Culture). 要点包括:
1. 活动目的、时间、地点:
2. 活动内容:咨询义诊,知识讲座,活动体验:
3. 简介中医药:发祥于中华,疗效特殊,传播世界.
注意:1. 词数100左右:开头和结尾已给,不计入总词数;
2. 可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯.
Dear Peter,
I'm Li Hua, chairman of the Students' Union. I'm writing to
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分.
You may have heard story about old people blackmailing (敲诈) those who offer help to them when they fell over. Therefore, I don’t think it’s often the case. On my way to home yesterday, I was about to cross a street when an old granny walked beside me suddenly fell onto the ground. I was trying to help him when someone said, “Better take a picture of scene first, just in case…” I knew that he meant. But without hesitation, I still helped and stayed with her until her son showed off. Happily, both of them were so gratefully to me.
阅读下面短文,在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式.
Having trouble recognizing one furry panda from another? A facial recognition app will make it easy1.you. The image analysis research kicked off in 2017. A database now contains about 120,000 images and 10,000 video clips of giant pandas. Close to 10,000 panda pictures have 2.(analyse) and marked.
3.(use) the database, researchers are able to carry out automatic facial recognition on panda faces 4.(tell) one animal from another. The app and database will help us gather more precise and well-rounded data on the population, distribution, ages, birth and deaths of wild pandas, 5.live in deep mountains and are hard to track. It will 6.(absolute) help to improve efficiency and effectiveness in conservation and 7.(manage) of the animals.
The giant panda was discovered 150 years ago and named in the city of Ya'an, Sichuan. It 8.(remain) one of the world's most endangered species. According to the statistics, last year 9.number of captive pandas was 550 globally as of November. Fewer than 2,000 pandas live in the wild, mostly in the10. (province) of Sichuan and Shaanxi.
Food is everything to me. I believe in its ________ that brings people together, I’ve had a great ________ in cooking since I was a young boy. My family would sit around the dinner table, telling stories and ________ dishes with all the flavors (味道) of a ________ Puerto Rican meal. The idea of being together as a ________ around a table of traditional recipes ________ led me to where I am today as the chief chef and vice president of Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
I worked in various cooking positions before ________ my place within the company, though I ________ as a dishwasher, I had a dream to succeed in the exciting food industry. Later, as a(an) ________ hand in the team, I worked hard, and our team was given the name FILO (first in, last out) ________ we came in early and stayed late each day.
I came to ________ the true meaning of harmony when I worked with our founder, Ruth Fertel,who had a magic ________ for everything, not only for her famous ________ but also for relationships, ________ everyone like family. Being at Ruth’s Chris gave me a sense of ________ early on in my career. I wanted to be sure that the feeling ________ through in my role at Ruth’s Chris. And I do ________ no effort to take care of both my teammates and each unique guest who ________ me to continue cooking and bring ________ to their faces. I love serving cuisine that leaves a(an) ________ impression with them, just like my family meals did for me.
1.A.benefit B.power C.style D.challenge
2.A.role B.regret C.interest D.limitation
3.A.enjoying B.washing C.cooking D.collecting
4.A.plain B.fresh C.balanced D.classic
5.A.staff B.family C.team D.group
6.A.certainly B.reasonably C.eventually D.obviously
7.A.finding B.losing C.trying D.leaving
8.A.moved on B.took off C.settled down D.started out
9.A.old B.green C.busy D.clean
10.A.when B.whether C.because D.though
11.A.realize B.doubt C.conclude D.forget
12.A.rule B.drug C.show D.recipe
13.A.cakes B.steaks C.desserts D.cookies
14.A.comforting B.greeting C.treating D.hugging
15.A.belonging B.meaning C.stress D.security
16.A.pulled B.looked C.broke D.carried
17.A.make B.spare C.apply D.contribute
18.A.inspires B.reminds C.invites D.promises
19.A.flash B.shame C.smile D.shadow
20.A.general B.initial C.leading D.lasting
