The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru's heartbreaking story could have one good consequence-other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived in the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate(磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which was a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top player of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island or Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately$433, 600, 000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.
1.What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?
A． Rich and powerful]
B． Modern and open
C． Peaceful and attractive
D． Greedy and aggressive
2.The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from .
A． soil pollution
B． phosphate overmining
C． farming activity
D． whale hunting
3.Which of the following was a cause of Nauru's financial problem?
A． Its leaders misused the money
B． It spent too much repairing the island
C． Its phosphate mining cost much money
D． It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.
4.What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?
A． The leaders will take the experts' words seriously
B． The phosphate mines were destroyed
C． The island was abandoned by the Nauruans
D． The ecological damage is difficult to repair.
Why are people interested in eating raw foods or whole foods? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.
Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes (酶) that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow too many nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream. In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body grows fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body changes the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.
Processed foods contain chemical elements, which might confuse the appetite mechanism that tells us when we’ve had enough to eat; as a result, people often overeat. Processed foods also upset the digestive cycle. The body will either identify these foods as allergens and then store them safely away from the organs as fat, or the remains of undigested food will become acidic and enter the bloodstream as acid waste, which will stick to the blood vessel walls and block the passage of vital oxygen and nutrients heading for the body’s cells. The body’s metabolism (新陈代谢) becomes inactive, and the result is weight gain and obesity.
The accumulation of acid in the digestive tract makes digestion increasingly inefficient. When that happens, even healthy foods can become acidic and the food allergies will become more common.
To stop this vicious circle in its tracks, people need to consume food and supplements that will neutralize the acid already accumulated in body. Eating the right types of raw and whole foods can help. It’s also important to restore your enzyme balance. You need to identify and avoid the foods that cause acid accumulation and consume the foods that increase enzyme production. If you truly want to change and help your body heal itself, you need to take an active approach.
1.It can be inferred from Para. 2 that __________.
A． foods with natural enzymes help people keep fit
B． we’d better be cautious about raw and whole foods
C． it is essential for people to protect their vital organs
D． giving up cooked and refined foods is a new lifestyle
2.Processed foods are unhealthy because they __________.
A． destroy body’s cells
B． stop body’s metabolism
C． may lead to obesity
D． are difficult to digest
3.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A． To warn people of the problem of obesity
B． To advocate eating more raw and whole foods.
C． To inform people of the harm of processed foods.
D． To tell the differences between raw and processed foods.
4.The underline word “vicious” in the last paragraph probably means ____________.
A． violent
B． progressive
C． positive
D． harmful
A man once said how useless it was to put advertisements in the newspapers. “last week,” said he, “my umbrella was stolen from a London church. As it was a present, I spent twice its worth in advertising, but didn't get it back. ”
“How did you write your advertisement?” asked one of the listeners, a merchant.
“Here it is, said the man, taking out of his pocket a slip cut from a newspaper.
The other man took it and read, “Lost from the City Church last Sunday evening, a black silk umbrella. The gentleman who finds it will receive ten shillings on leaving it at No. 10 Broad Street. ”
“Now, “Said the merchant, “I often advertise, and find that it pays me well. But the way in which an advertisement is expressed is of extreme importance. Let us try for your umbrella again, and if it fails, I'll buy you a new one. ”
The merchant then took a slip of paper out of his pocket and wrote: “If the man who was seen to take an umbrella from the City Church last Sunday evening doesn't wish to get into trouble, he will return the umbrella to No. 10 Broad Street. He is well known. ”
This appeared in the paper, and on the following morning, the man was astonished when he opened the front door. In the doorway lay at least twelve umbrellas of all sizes and colours that had been thrown, and his own was among them. Many of them had notes fastened to them saying that they had been taken by mistake, and begging the loser not to say anything about the matter.
1.The result of the first advertisement was that ______________.
A． the umbrella was found somewhere near the church
B． the man got his umbrella back
C． nobody found the missing umbrella
D． the man wasted some money advertising
2.The merchant suggested that the man should _______________.
A． buy a new umbrella
B． report the police
C． go on looking for his umbrella
D． write another and better advertisement
3.“If it fails, I’ll buy you a new one,” suggested that the merchant ______________.
A． wanted to buy him a new umbrella
B． didn’t know what to do
C． was rich enough to buy one
D． was quite sure of success
4.The story is mainly about _________________.
A． a useless advertisement
B． how to make an effective advertisement
C． what the merchant did for the umbrella owner
D． how the man lost and found his umbrella
TODAY, Friday, November 12
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tel: 682-1158.
SATURDAY, November 13
JAZZ Lysis at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 60p.
MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789-6749.
FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.
JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 80p.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion(手风琴). Tel: 789-4536
SUNDAY, November 14
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-members 70p. Tel: 688-4626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.
1.Where and when can you hear the Norman Chop Trio?
A． At the Bull’s Head on Sunday.
B． At the Derby Arms on Sunday.
C． At the Bull on Saturday.
D． At the Black Horse on Saturday.
2.You want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday. Which telephone number do you have to ring to find out what time it starts?
A． 789-4536.
B． 682-1158.
C． 688-4626.
D． 789-6749.
3.You want to spend the Saturday by joining the entertainment with your family. Where should you go?
A． Jazz at The Bull’s Head.
B． Disco at The Lord Napier.
C． The sing-along at The Black Horse.
D． The electric accordion at The Derby Arms.
What can you do when you are unhappy？If you want to let out your anger or pressure by breaking things，you just do．Now a school in Nanjing has built a “stress wall” to help students who feel unhappy due to heavy schoolwork or for other reasons.
The leader of the school said the idea of a stress wall started when footprints were found on some newly painted walls and some school windows were broken.
“These things happen because some students feel lots of pressure from their studies or because they don’t get along well with other students．When under stress，the body gets ready to either run or fight and becomes very nervous．Hitting the wall can help relax the body and take away stress，” he said.
“Tests and homework make me sad，” said a junior girl，“I can’t wait to hit the wall．It will help me a lot with my problems.” However，another girl student who wouldn’t give her name said，” The wall won’t help because it can’t talk，” and she added，” I need to talk to someone when I’m sad.”
【写作内容】
1.以约30个词概括这段短文内容；
2.以约120个词就“Should the stress wall be built”主题发表你的看法，包括以下要点：
（1）学生的压力来源；
（2）是否该建此墙并说明理由；
（3）提供一些其他有效的减压方法。
【写作要求】
1.可以参照阅读材料但不得直接引用原文的句子；
2.作文中不得出现真实的姓名和学校名称。
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Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not，some people are worrying about the possibility that phones，powerlines and wi-fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses，from rashes to brain tumors.
For example，Camilla Rees，48，a former investment banker in the US，moved out of her apartment in San Francisco because of the radiation coming from next door．Rees told the Los Angeles Times that when her neighbors moved in and installed a wi-fi router she lost her ability to think clearly．“I would wake up dizzy in the morning．I’d fall to the floor．I had to leave to escape that nightmare，” she saiD． Since then，she’s been on a campaign against low-level electromagnetic fields，or EMFs（低频电磁场）.
And she’s not alone．Millions of people say they suffer from headaches，depression，nausea and rashes when they’re too close to cellphones or other sources of EMFs.
Although the World Health Organization has officially declared that EMFs seem to pose little threat，governments are still concerneD． In fact，last April，the European Parliament called for countries to take steps to reduce exposure to EMFs．The city of San Francisco and the state of Maine are currently considering requiring cancer-warning labels on cellphones.
If these fears are reasonable，then perhaps we should all be worried about the amount of time we spend talking on our phones or plugging into wi-fi hotpots.
Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties．David Carpenter，a professor of environmental health sciences at the University at Albany，in New York，thinks there’s a greater than 95% chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemiA． Also there’s a greater than 90% chance that cellphones can cause brain tumors.
But others believe these concerns are unreasonable paranoia (猜疑)．Dr．Martha Linet，the head of radiation epidemiology at the US National Cancer Institute，has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion．“I don’t support warning labels for cellphones，” said Linet．“We don’t have the evidence that there’s much danger.”
Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs and illness — so weak that it might not exist at all．A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer，in 13 countries outside the US，has been underway for several years．It’s funded in part by the European Union，in part by a cellphone industry group．
According to Robert Park，a professor of physics at the University of Maryland in the US，the magnetic waves aren’t nearly powerful enough to break apart DNA，which is now known threats，such as UV rays and X-rays，cause cancer.
Perhaps it’s just psychological．Some experts find that the electro-sensitivity syndrome seems to be similar to chemical sensitivity syndrome，which is a condition that’s considered to be psychological.
Whether EMFs are harmful or not，a break in the countryside，without the cellphone，would probably be good for all of us.
