On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with great force. Fifty cubic kilometers of magma (岩浆) flew from its peak (山顶) and a blanket of ash as thick as one centimeter fell over more than 500,000 square kilometers of Indonesia and the Java Sea. The eruption destroyed Tambora’s peak and formed a hole six by seven kilometers wide. The eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 10,000 people. The agricultural loss and disease brought about by the thick ash caused the deaths of 82,000 more.
Indonesia was rocked again in 1883. On August 26, a small volcano on an uninhabited island between Sumatra and Java, erupted. The eruption produced an ash cloud 80 kilometers high and was heard in Australia—4,800 kilometers away. The eruption also caused a tsunami, which pounded (击打) the shores of Java and Sumatra—killing 36,000 people.
In 1902, St. Pierre was a thriving (兴盛的) community and the largest town on the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. Mont Pelee cast a shadow over the town from where it stood, eight kilometers to the north. The townspeople were used to the light continuous sounds of the mountain, but in May, 1902 Pelee started to get really unstable. Clouds of steam and ash poured from the volcano and on May 8, Pelee erupted. Superheated gas and steaming volcanic ash flew out, pouring down the mountain at high speed. Within seconds, the deadly gas cloud had destroyed the town of St. Pierre and incinerated everyone in it — except one prisoner in a basement cell. It was the worst volcano disaster of the 20th century.
1.How many people died because of the eruption on April 10, 1815 ?
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A．About 10,000. |
B．More than 82,000. |
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C．About 36,000. |
D．More than 92,000. |
2.The underlined word “incinerated” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.
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A．brought up |
B．burned up |
C．woke up |
D．shut up |
3.Only one prisoner survived the volcano eruption of Mont Pelee on May 8 because _____.
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A．he was on a ship then |
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B．he was kept underground |
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C．he stayed in the water |
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D．he was hidden in a well |
4. We can know from this article that _____.
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A．no measures can be taken to protect people from a volcano eruption |
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B．volcanoes usually caused a series of earthquakes |
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C．sometimes a volcano can completely destroy a city |
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D．volcanoes are much more violent than the earthquakes |
I am sure many people have said about me, “He must be the happiest man in the world!” But they were wrong. 36 I was famous and had 37 money, I was not really happy. I found myself asking, “ 38 does all this not give me real happiness?”
Newspapers said, “Kriss Akabusi is the European champion. He has also 39 an Olympic bronze medal.” Now before all this happened, I had 40 , “If I can become a champion, I will be happy. I will 41 a lot of money and then enjoy 42 . I will have a good time.”
When I went to the Edinburgh Games, in my hotel 43 I found a book by my bedside. It was called What’s Real Happiness in Life? I 44 this book up and read some of the stories in it. The book mainly told about the happiness brought by helping others. But I said to 45 , “All these things are too 46 for me to do.”
But that night I had a 47 . I found myself standing by a river. I 48 a voice calling to me from the other side of the river. The voice said, “You know helping others is as 49 as crossing the river, and it’s not as difficult as you imagine.” Then suddenly I awoke. I realized I was 50 now when compared to before. I found I had real 51 of mind.
So I can now tell my friends what I have 52 . Being famous and having a lot of money 53 gave me happiness. So all I can say to you is this—we are 54 when we think that to be famous and rich will make us happy. Now I have a children’s TV program called Record Breakers. I have no 55 about what tomorrow will bring.
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It’s cloudy outside. Please take an umbrella. _______ it rains.
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A．Take it easy |
B．Just in case |
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C．It just depends |
D．All right |
When and where to go for our holiday _____ yet.
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A．are not decided |
B．have not been decided |
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C．is not being decided |
D．has not been decided |
He will never tell lies, and it’s against his _______ for he’s such an honest man.
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A．rules |
B．regulations |
C．patterns |
D．principles |
Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent(具备智能的). They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices(触摸屏装置) are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week, “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system(系统) that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them.
The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’re finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.
1. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to ______.
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A．supermarkets |
B．shop assistants |
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C．shopping carts |
D．shop managers |
2. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?
a. Start the system. b. Make a shopping list.
c. Find the things you want. d. Go to a self-checkout stand.
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A．abdc |
B．bacd |
C．acbd |
D．bcad |
3.We can learn from the last paragraph that ______.
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A．intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money |
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B．the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices |
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C．shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid |
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D．average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices |
4. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
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A．New age for supermarkets |
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B．Concierge and Shopping Buddy |
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C．New computers make shopping carts smarter |
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D．Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable |
