First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil (邪恶的) is happening underfoot. It’s not.
While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t. The problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say. More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t withstand (经受) earthquakes, scientists believe. And around-the-clock news coverage (报道) and better earthquake monitoring(监测) make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.
“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,” said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics (筑造学) at Durharn University in the UK.
A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900—killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far—more than in most years for that time period.
But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes early this year skews (扭曲) the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist (地震学家).
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their devastating impacts(破坏性的影响) that gain attention, with the death tolls (死亡人数) largely due to construction standards (building standard) and crowding, Earle added. “The standard mantra (咒语) is earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do, ” he said.
There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world’s big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone (倾向于) to earthquakes, Bilham said.
Developing nations, where populations are growing, don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said.” If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes.”
Another reason quakes seem worse is that we’re paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.
But it won’t last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’ve always lived on,” Mileti said.” Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. ”
1. What is the main idea of the article?
A. The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.
B. The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.
C. The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck large cities.
D. Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year.
2. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the seeming increase in earthquakes this year，
according to the article?
A. Greater underground activity.
B. A larger number of buildings prone to damage during earthquakes.
C. Around-the-clock news coverage.
D. Better earthquake monitoring.
3. According to the article, it is safe to say that ______.
A. there is an evil force beneath the world’s surface
B. large cities are always built in quake zones
C. enough attention has been paid to reducing the impact of earthquakes
D. the earthquake in Chili caused many aftershocks.
4.According to the article, the greater damage of earthquakes this year can be mainly caused by ______.
A. the occurrence of larger earthquakes
B. not enough warnings about earthquakes
C. poor construction standards and overcrowding
D. an increase in large cities
To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence？The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet.
If you ran into Smarter Child online, you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory. It can recite many facts. For example, Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season.
He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US. However, if you ask Smarter Child other questions, you get strange answers. A question about Smarter Child’s age returns. “One year, 11 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives gets, “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California.”
Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank. To answer questions about spelling, for instance, Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online. For the weather, he visits www.intellicast.com.
Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet, an artificial being with the combined knowledge of, say, Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born. However, if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A. I. Artificial Intelligence, he must overcome two problems.
The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways. That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather. It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself.
Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process information more exactly and faster than any human, he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child.
1.From the text we can infer that www.intellicast.com is a website .
A．where we people can find Smarter Child
B．which is specially designed to help Smarter Child
C．where weather forecasts are made
D．which is about artificial intelligence
2.It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to .
A．learn the ability to tell right behaviors from wrong ones.
B．tell us how to spell a difficult word
C．provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare
D．tell us how the American government is run
3.The underlined “it ” in Paragraph 6 refers to ________.
A．where to look for the weather B．Smarter Child.
C．a much more difficult task D．to read web pages
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A．A New Web Child B．Intelligence Development
C．Smarter Child D．The Future of Internet
When you are curious about something, and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The steps below can guide you during the research.
Discover more about dinosaurs.
1. Dinosaurs lived long before human beings appeared.
2. Dinosaurs lived on the earth for more than 150 million years.
3. Some dinosaurs fed on plants, some on meat.
1. What’s the best weather for dinosaurs to live in?
2. How many kinds of dinosaurs are there?
3. Have dinosaurs really disappeared?
For example, you might discover that dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago. Why? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.
The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember—learning more always bring more questions.
1. When you do some research, you should take the following steps: .
①list what you want to know ②choose a research subject
③list what you already know ④discover new problems
A．①④③② B．②③①④ C．③②④① D．④③①②
2. What does the underlined sentence “Armed with your list of questions” mean?
A．Putting your list of questions under your arm.
B．Discussing your questions with your classmates.
C．Writing down your list of questions.
D．Taking your list of questions with you.
3. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A．You can find all the answers online.
B．Learn more, and you’ll have no questions.
C．During the research, you may keep finding new questions.
D．Asking questions is the only way for research.
4.. The best title for this passage is .
A．Discovering Dinosaurs B．Asking Good Questions
C．Finding Subjects D．Having Interesting Answers
Buster Brown was a thief-and a good one，too，he thought . He’d never been caught by the police because he never took chances． He was always prepared for any unforeseen event or emergency.
Confidently，he stood outside the house of his intended victim(受害者)and read the sign on the front gate of the house．“Don't worry about the dog—be aware of the owner!”it said．Buster smiled and found his way in．
The house looked quite normal outside，but inside it was very exotic with fascinating objects on display．As he began putting them into his bag，a dog came into the room．It stopped when it saw Buster，then wagged its tail madly and went over to him，licking his outstretched hand．
"Good boy，”Buster whispered． “What a great guard dog you are—trying to lick me to death.”
Satisfied he'd made friends with the dog，Bluster began to wander round the house，choosing items to put in his bag．His skilled eye picked out only the best antiques(古董)：a pair of silver candleholders，a silver tea-and-coffee service，etc．．His new friend，the dog，sat and watched，as if wondering what was happening．
“Well，boy，”Buster whispered，finally．“That might do．Any more and I won't be able to carry it!”He swung the heavy bag onto his shoulders, just as the lights came on, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"You're a very silly person," the figure(身影) in the doorway said. As the man came closer, Buster could see he was well dressed. His face seemed familiar, but Buster couldn't quite be sure of the place where he had seen him before.
"You should have taken more notice of the sign outside," the man rasped. "I knew about this attempted robbery last week and I also know you will end up behind bars for 20 years. Fancy trying to rob the house of the world's greatest fortune-teller(算命先生)!"
1. Why was Buster so confident?
A. He was not afraid of dogs. B. He knew the owner of the house lived alone
C. He had never been caught by the police. D. The house had no security alarm.
2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "exotic" in the third paragraph?
A. Messy and untidy. B. Rich and expensive.
C. Comfortable and calming. D. Foreign and unusual.
3. How did Buster decide which objects to take?
A. He took those that were easy to carry in his bag.
B. He took only the best antiques.
C. He took those that he knew he could sell easily.
D. He looked for silver objects.
4.What punishment waits for Buster Brown?
A. A prison sentence with hard labour. B. A long prison sentence.
C. A heavy fine. D. Community service for 20 years.
完形填空（共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分）
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从34-- 53各题所给的四个选项中,选出最佳选项
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _34_ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 35 ?” Just when I started to 36 that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 37 at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 38 that I would no longer have to be embarrassed(尴尬) when I returned to school. I wasn’t 39 . Somebody had thought 40 of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 41 Christmas there special and memorable, I 42 remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 43 for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 44 a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 45 with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were 46 . Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 47 them that they couldn’t open their presents 48 every child had come forward. Finally the 49 they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 50 up the room. The 51 in the room was obvious, and 52 wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew 53 that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1. A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2. A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
3. A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
4. A. broke in B. settled down C. turned up D. turned in
5. A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. sadness
6. A. remembered B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
7. A. highly B. little C. poorly D. enough
8. A. present B. first C. recent D. former
9. A. hardly B. immediately C. regularly D. sometimes
10. A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
11. A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
12. A. none B. few C. some D. each
13. A. fine B. special C. helpful D. useful
14. A. reminded B. insisted C. proved D. promised
15. A. after B. until C. when D. since
16. A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
17. A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
18. A. atmosphere B. pity C. calmness D. joy
19. A. it B. such C. something D. everybody
20. A. by B. till C. for D. from
Don’t you think that______________ is no use promising without doing?
A. this B. that C. it D. what
