Illegal removal of coral(珊瑚) along Sri Lanka’s coastline increased the amount of destruction on the island by last December’s tsunami, say researchers.
Harindra Fernando, a fluid dynamicist (力学家) at Arizona State University in Tempe, made the connection after a visit to his native Sri Lanka earlier this year. While serving as a scientific expert and translator for a BBC-documentary team, he chatted with locals who said they saw the tsunami turn sideways when it hit coral—which would have made it less powerful than in coral-free areas. Fernando linked this to trucks he had seen last year carrying piles of coral away from the sea.
Using the eyewitness reports, estimates (估算) of wave heights, and a series of divers to check the presence or absence of corals, Fernando and his colleagues produced a map of coral gaps and wave flooding along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast.
The tsunami reached significantly farther inland through the gaps: in one instance, the water traveled 1.5 kilometres long and knocked a passenger train off its tracks, killing 1,700. But only a few kilometers away, where the coral was still undamaged, the wave travelled just 50 metres inland and caused no deaths.
There is a similar phenomenon. In Nicaragua in 1992, a tsunami poured through a break in the coral reef made to let boats through. “Within this passage, water went one kilometre inland,” says Fernando. “But nearby, where the coral was undamaged, there were still beach umbrellas standing.”
In Sri Lanka, coral is illegally mined to provide souvenirs for tourists, or to be used in house paint. Coral harvesters sometimes blow it up with dynamite (炸药) in order to collect fish at the same time. Often, the reefs in the best shape are those in front of hotels, as the hotel owners maintain them for the tourists. Fernando hopes that his findings will encourage the Sri Lankan government to enforce(实施) its laws against coral mining.
1.Harindra Fernando did all the following EXCEPT ________.
A. serving as a translator for a BBC-documentary team
B. helping the Sri Lankan government enforce its laws against coral mining
C. producing a map of coral gaps along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast
D. linking the coral removal with the destruction of Tsunami
2.The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that________.
A. undamaged coral can greatly decrease tsunami damage
B. coral-free area is a danger to passenger trains
C. in general, water travels 30 times farther inland in a coral-free area
D. it is urgent to enforce laws against coral mining
3.Which of the following may NOT be the cause of coral gaps?
A. Boat passages. B. Tourists’ sightseeing.
C. Fish collecting. D. Tourists’ souvenirs.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Harindra Fernando, a Great Environment Protector
B. Stop Using Coral as Souvenirs
C. Coral Cried “Help! Help!”
D. Coral Mining Enhanced (加剧) Tsunami Damage
Coal mine accidents are frequently headline makers in China, offering a plentiful supply of long lists of the dead. Before this, five major coal mine accidents since January have already claimed lives of 287 coal miners.
Once an accident happens, the safety measures are scrutinized, officials and owners responsible are punished or warned or fined. But the accidents keep happening time and again.
The background of this endless disaster is a country thirsty for energy to satisfy the appetite of its economic engine.
With the rich reserve（储存）of coal and relatively limited petroleum（石油）reserve, the former makes up 67.12 percent of energy consumption. By contrast, petroleum and natural gas take about 60 percent of the energy consumption in other countries.
Such a situation is unlikely to change within a foreseeable future because the country still counts heavily on coal for more and more energy. If no measures with great effects are taken to improve the safety in the mines, the accidents will remain a long-term headache for China.
Digging coal underground is, by its nature, a dangerous job. No equipment can guarantee 100 percent safety for the miners working underground because numerous uncertainties exist.
Most of China’s coal mines are far from being mechanized. The average output of coal for each Chinese coal miner every day is 1 ton, while the number in the US coal mines, where the production is highly mechanized, is 40 tons.
Mechanized production in coal mines can cut down the number of miners who have to work on the dangerous coal face. It can also enhance the capability of the mines to detect potential danger. In this way mine accidents will be decreased.
Admittedly, the mechanized production demands financial support.
But what is the price of a life, or a dozen, a score – a hundred? Compare these awful figures with the misery they bring, heavy investment is worthy.
1.The writer’s attitude towards dealing with coal mine accidents is ________.
A. critical B. positive C. unclear D. doubtful
2.The underlined word “scrutinized” most probably means ________.
A. made B. examined C. criticized D. discussed
3.According to the writer, the best way to stop coal mine accidents is to ________.
A. perfect safety measures B. use more natural gas
C. cut down the number of miners D. improve mechanized production
4.The writer implies in the article that ________.
A. by improving mechanized production, we can stop coal mine accidents
B. it’s improper to depend too much on coal for energy consumption
C. officials and coal mine owners didn’t take safety measures seriously
D. losing lives costs much more than improving mechanized production
LINDA MAYNARD
11 Windrift Circle
Methuen, MA
978 – 555 – 4539
JOB OBJECTIVE
Seek special education, primary school, or middle school math teaching position.
EDUCATION
Rivier College, Nashua, NH
Bachelor of Arts in Education – May, 2006
Major: Elementary Education
Have successfully completed PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II. Meet highly qualified testing requirements for Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
November, 2005 – January, 2006
Wilkins Elementary School, Amherst, NH
Student Teacher
· Developed and completed student – centered lessons in all subject areas for various groups of fifth grade special and regular education students.
·Adapted lessons to meet students’ needs by reviewing their backgrounds and learning needs through IEPs.
·Communicated with parents on a regular basis via newsletters, daily or weekly progress reports, phone calls, and email, resulting in increased parental participation at home.
September, 2005 – November, 2005
Charlotte Avenue Elementary School, Nashua, NH
Student Teacher
·Taught reading and writing through Language Experience Approach methods.
·Introduced a Writer’s Workshop appropriate for first grade students to help them to develop their writing skills.
·Developed learning stations in reading and science, enabling students to be more independent learners.
Spring, 2005
Wilkins Elementary School, Amherst, NH
Designed and taught a unit on Insects and Spiders, based on New Hampshire Standards to 23 self －contained, third and fourth grade students with disabilities.
Fall, 2004
Amherst Street Elementary School, Nashua, NH
Taught a class of 24 third grade students with a wide range of abilities.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
·After-School Aid, Amherst School District, Amherst, NH (2004 – 2005)
·Summer Camp advisor, YMCA, Nashua, NH (Summers, 2002 and 2003)
·Big Brother / Big Sister Volunteer, Nashua, NH (2002 – 2005)
1.What kind of job does Linda want to get?
A. A Big Brother / Big Sister Volunteer. B. A middle school math teacher.
C. A special education advisor. D. A summer camp advisor.
2.Linda has worked for the following schools EXCEPT ________.
A. Rivier College, Nashua, NH
B. Wilkins Elementary School, Amherst, NH
C. Charlotte Avenue Elementary School, Nashua, NH
D. Amherst Street Elementary School, Nashua, NH
3.What can we know about Linda according to the passage?
A. She was merely interested in developing student’s math abilities.
B. She was not active in participating in after – school activities.
C. She is permitted to teach in any high school of New York.
D. She has plenty of experience in teaching.
4.Which of the following is NOT included in the ways Linda used to communicate with the students’ parents?
A. Newsletters. B. Phone calls.
C. Face-to-face talks. D. Daily or weekly progress reports.
The easiest way for the English to deal with their social discomfort is to avoid social interaction altogether, by choosing either leisure (闲暇) activities that can be performed in the privacy of one’s own house, or outdoor activities that follow their interest without direct contact with anyone other than one’s own family members, such as going for a walk, or to the cinema, or shopping.
In recent survey, over half of all the leisure activities were of this private domestic type, and of the top ten pastimes, only two—having friends round for a meal or drink, and going to the pub—could be described as ‘sociable’. The most domestic activities are the most popular: watching TV, listening to the radio, reading, DIY （Do It Yourself） and gardening. Even when the English are being sociable, the survey findings show that most of them would much rather entertain a few close friends or relatives in the safety of their own homes than venture out among strangers.
In the latest national census survey （人口普查）, over half of the entire adult male population had been DIYing in the four weeks before the census date. Nearly a third of the female population had also been busily improving their homes, and their work with their gardens was equally obvious: 52 percent of all English males and 45 percent of females had been out there, cutting branches and weeding grass.
Even among people claiming to belong to a particular religion, only two percent attend services every week. The rest of the population can be found every Sunday at their local garden center or DIY superstore. And when they want a break from caring about their own homes and gardens, they go on trips to visit bigger and better houses and gardens, such as the stately homes and gardens opened to the public by the National Trust and the Royal Horticulture Society. Visiting grand country houses always ranks as one of the most popular national pastimes.
1.The result of the survey shows that ________.
A. about half English people enjoy working in their gardens
B. 8 out of 10 pastimes can be described as social activities
C. 2 percent of the religious people enjoy visits to public houses
D. visiting stately homes is the most popular national pastime
2.According to the passage, the English enjoy all of the following EXCEPT________.
A. the social activities, such as gathering with friends
B. working at home and in their gardens
C. dining out in a public place among strangers
D. visits to stately homes and gardens
3.The underlined word “domestic” probably means________.
A. public B. household C. outdoor D. collective
4.The passage mainly tells us about________.
A. why the English don’t like social activities
B. how the English spend their leisure time
C. what the result of a recent census survey is
D. where the English hold their private activities
There’s a man in the habit of hitting me on the head with an umbrella. At first I couldn’t stand it, now I’m used to it.
I don’t know his name. I know he’s average in appearance, wears a gray suit, and has a common face. I met him five years ago one hot morning when I was sitting on a tree-shaded bench in Palermo Park, reading the paper. Suddenly I felt something touch my head. It was the very same man who now, as I’m writing, keeps hitting me, mechanically (机械地) and impassively, with an umbrella.
On that occasion I turned around filled with anger. He just kept on hitting me. I asked him if he was crazy, he didn’t even seem to hear me. Then I threatened to call a policeman. Calmly, cool as a cucumber, he stuck with his task. After a few moments of hesitation, and seeing that he was not about to change his attitude, I stood up and hit him on the nose. The man fell down, but he immediately got back on his feet, obviously with great effort, and without a word again began hitting me on the head with the umbrella. His nose was bleeding and, at that moment, I felt sorry for him. I felt regret for having hit him so hard. After all, the man wasn’t exactly hitting me; he was merely tapping me lightly with his umbrella, not causing any pain at all. Of course, those taps were extremely bothersome. As we all know, when a fly lands on your forehead, you don’t feel any pain; what you feel is annoyance. Well then, that umbrella was one huge fly that kept landing on my head time after time.
Convinced that I was dealing with a madman, I tried to escape. But the man followed me, wordlessly continuing to hit me. So I began to run (I should point out that not many people run as fast as I do). He took off after me, trying to land a blow. The man was out of breath so that I thought, if I continued to force him to run at that speed, he would drop dead right then and there.
1.When the man began to strike the author with an umbrella, the author ________.
A. became angry
B. called the police
C. turned around and escaped
D. turned around and fought back
2.The author would most probably agree that the man was ________.
A. deaf B. blind C. dead D. mad
3.The author felt sorry for the man because ________.
A. the man formed a bad habit of beating others
B. he hit the man so hard that his nose bled
C. the man couldn’t catch up with him
D. there was a fly on the man’s head
4.It can be learned from the passage that the man ________.
A. shouted loudly while hitting the author
B. wanted to tell the author something
C. ran after the author breathlessly
D. acted as if he were a fly
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It used to be our custom to take handmade baskets to friends on May Day. We would 1baskets on a doorstep, knock on the door, and then run away as fast as our legs could 2us. It was delightful to peer (窥视) around a bush and watch our friends open their 3and pick up the colorful gift, 4who had left it out for them.
I clearly 5the May Day of the year when I turned ten. That year I was faced with a(an) 6involving one of my dearest friends, Pam. We had studied and 7together nearly every day, but things 8after a new family had moved into our small town. Pam was spending more and more time at their house and I felt 9and left out.
When my mother asked me 10I was going to take a May Day basket to Pam’s house, I responded 11, “Absolutely not! I hate Pam.” I began to cry.
Mom wiped away my 12and told me that things and people change. She explained that one of the greatest things friends can do is to give each other a 13to grow, to change and to develop, and that it’s 14for one’s friends to spend time with other people.
I 15decided to give Pam a basket as a sign of forgiveness, and asked my sister to help me do it. As we watched from our 16place, Pam picked up the basket and said loudly enough for us to hear, “Thank you, Susie, I hoped you wouldn’t 17me!”
That day, I made a 18that changed my life: I decided to hold my friends tightly in my heart, but 19in my expectations of them, allowing them 20to grow and to change—with or without me.
1.A. hang B. place C. throw D. give
2.A. send B. transport C. carry D. support
3.A. baskets B. eyes C. arms D. doors
4.A. asking B. wondering C. mentioning D. informing
5.A. remember B. experience C. remind D. grasp
6.A. plan B. task C. opportunity D. challenge
7.A. lived B. played C. traveled D. discussed
8.A. failed B. finished C. changed D. proved
9.A. started B. hurt C. paid D. injured
10.A. why B. what C. whether D. how
11.A. anxiously B. weakly C. angrily D. happily
12.A. tears B. thoughts C. unhappiness D. freedom
13.A. reason B. means C. chance D. direction
14.A. able B. impossible C. acceptable D. doubtful
15.A. nearly B. hardly C. finally D. generally
16.A. covering B. hiding C. cheering D. passing
17.A. miss B. forget C. disturb D. control
18.A. decision B. mistake C. suggestion D. difference
19.A. deeply B. shortly C. highly D. loosely
20.A. time B. space C. sense D. care
