Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（积云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive. "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.
1.The weight of is NOT mentioned in the passage.
A．a cumulus cloud B．a tornado C．a hurricane D．a storm cloud
2.How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?
A．She found it not convincing.
B．She thought it needed further calculations.
C．She was quite surprised at it.
D．She considered the calculations inaccurate.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A．A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants.
B．The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud.
C．There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth.
D．The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials.
Competition. It’s a simple word, yet a very complex word that covers many angles when it comes to how gasoline prices are determined. It seems so easy to explain, but don’t let that trick you—it’s incredibly difficult to explain and adequately understand.
Say you’re on a Sunday afternoon drive, and notice a gas station near you charging $3.50. Down the road a few miles, that price could easily be 10 or more cents higher or lower. The question is “how” or “why” is that? Think of it this way. Are you more likely to get a better deal on a car if there are two similar car dealers next to each other? Perhaps, because the dealers are too close. Say there is a third similar car dealer miles away. Is he going to be at the same level of competition and sell his cars for the same price as the two dealers next to each other? Likely not. He may charge more or less. Maybe people don't know there are two other dealers down the road. Maybe the dealer is almost outside of the city and the land value isn't as high, so his taxes aren't as high.
These situations do take place at gas stations. And more factors can impact what a station will charge. Timing can greatly impact what price a station charges as well! Many motorists fail to realize that the price a station pays for gasoline changes daily. If one station gets lucky and buys gas on Monday and the cost goes up Tuesday, the station that bought on Monday doesn’t necessarily have to raise prices like the station that bought on Tuesday. Maybe the station that got caught buying for a higher price on Tuesday will pass that higher cost on by raising its gas price.
Perhaps the difference is what brand the station is---branded stations usually pay a slightly higher cost for their gasoline. In return for paying a higher cost, those stations are guaranteed first supply in case of emergency situations. Independent stations don’t pay as much, but aren’t guaranteed supply.
While competition sounds easy to understand, there are always a large number of factors that could influence what one station charges. Keep in mind how many variables there are next time you fill up.
1.What could be the best title for the passage?
A．How Competition Impacts Gas Prices
B．Gas Prices Go Up or Down
C．Competition---a Very Complex Word
D．We Can’t Stress Enough the Need for Competition
2.The example of car dealers is used to show _________.
A．car prices are determined by car dealers
B．location is an important factor in pricing
C．the quality of service matters most
D．dealing strategy should be flexible
3.The gas prices of a station always change partly because _________.
A．a gas station always wants to charge more
B．the gasoline is in great demand
C．the cost of the gas the station buys varies daily
D．gas is in greater need on Monday
4.According to the passage, branded stations _________.
A．spend less money on their gasoline
B．have more staff than independent stations
C．charge less for high quality oil
D．offer a steady oil supply
Goldie's Secret
She turned up at the doorstep of my house in Cornwall. No way could I have sent her away. No way, not me anyway. Maybe someone had kicked her out of their car the night before. "We're moving house. "No space for her any more with the baby coming. " "We never really wanted her, but what could we have done? She was a present. " People find all sorts of excuses for abandoning an animal. And she was one of the most beautiful dogs I had ever seen.
I called her Goldie. If I had known what was going to happen I would have given her a more creative name. She was so unsettled during those first few days. She hardly ate anything and had such an air of sadness about her. There was nothing I could do to make her happy, it seemed. Heaven knows what had happened to her at her previous owner's. But eventually at the end of the first week she calmed down. Always by my side, whether we were out on one of our long walks or sitting by the fire.
That's why it was such a shock when she pulled away from me one day when we were out for a walk. We were a long way from home, when she started barking and getting very restless. Eventually I couldn't hold her any longer and she raced off down the road towards a farmhouse in the distance as fast as she could.
By the time I reached the farm I was very tired and upset with Goldie. But when I saw her licking (舔) the four puppies (幼犬) I started to feel sympathy towards them. "We didn't know what had happened to her," said the woman at the door. "I took her for a walk one day, soon after the puppies were born, and she just disappeared. " "She must have tried to come back to them and got lost," added a boy from behind her.
I must admit I do miss Goldie, but I've got Nugget now, and she looks just like her mother. And I've learnt a good lesson: not to judge people.
1.How did the author feel about Goldie when Goldie came to the house?
A．Shocked B．Sympathetic C．Annoyed D．Upset.
2.In her first few days at the author's house, Goldie _______.
A．felt worried B．was angry C．ate a little D．sat by the fire
3.Goldie rushed off to a farmhouse one day because she ________.
A．saw her puppies B．heard familiar barkings
C．wanted to leave the author D．found her way to her old home
4.The passage is organized in order of ________ .
A．time B．effectiveness C．importance D．complexity
A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a 36 , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it 37 from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles, 38 everywhere. I tried to use a broom, 39 with each sweep they just rolled across the kitchen．
For the next week, every time I was in the 40 , I found a pea---in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept 41 . Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and 42 12 frozen peas hidden underneath．
At the time I found those few remaining 43 , I was in a new relationship with a wonderful 44 I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded 45 those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my 46 had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had shattered. My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble 47 his new surroundings and the 48 of his mother. I was a bag of spilled frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered．
When life gets you 49 , when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never 50 , remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be 51 , and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas 52 , including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them 53 you’ll start to feel whole again．
The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to 54 , and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom, 55 will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?
1. A．drink B．fruit C．vegetable D．meat
2. A．moved B．walked C．ran D．slipped
3. A．rubbed B．rolled C．grew D．existed
4. A．but B．and C．although D．so
5. A．bedroom B．living room C．kitchen D．storeroom
6. A．getting up B．turning up C．taking up D．using up
7. A．found B．ate C．left D．planted
8. A．presents B．cans C．vegetables D．peas
9. A．man B．child C．woman D．boy
10. A．of B．for C．with D．in
11. A．wife B．life C．son D．friend
12. A．turning to B．leading to C．adjusting to D．adding to
13. A．thank B．love C．help D．loss
14. A．down B．near C．close D．wide
15. A．get it B．make it C．take it D．leave it
16. A．grew B．bought C．collected D．frozen
17. A．eventually B．fortunately C．properly D．specially
18. A．both B．all C．either D．each
19. A．call on B．put on C．bring on D．move on
20. A．while B．because C．since D．or
According to some scientist , every human being, _____, gives off body heat.
A．what he is doing B．however he is doing
C．whatever is he doing D．no matter what he is doing
The companies are working together to create _____ they hope will be the best means of transport in the 21st century.
A．which B．that C．what D．who
