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
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
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.
请根据下面所提示信息，请给校报写一篇关于你校开展"环境保护周"活动的报道。
1．参考词汇：学生会和团委the Youth League and Students’ Union 电池 battery 杂草 weeds
2．词数150左右；内容要连贯，不能逐句翻译。
China’s Tianhe-1 has a computing speed of 2,507 trillion（万亿）calculations a second, making it the fastest computer in the world．It is also 40 percent faster than the world’s second fastest supercomputer, Cray XT5 Jaguar, in the US, kept at a national laboratory in Tennessee, according to the New York Times．Jack Dongarra, a University of Tennessee computer scientist, told NYT that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than the existing Number One machine.
Building the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride, as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems in areas like defense, energy and science．These problems are related to national interests．Supercomputing technology is also found in business．Oil and gas companies use supercomputers to find oil and gas．
Obviously, research centers with large supercomputers attract top scientific talents．This adds extra importance to the machines—they’re more than just huge computers．
China’s new supercomputer will be used to speed up greatly scientific calculations, such as hurricane and tsunami modeling, cancer research, car design and even studying stars.
In 2008, two US scientists put together a step-by-step guide on how to build a supercomputer using PlayStation 3 video-game consoles（控制台）．Modern supercomputers are built by combining thousands of small computer servers（服务器）and using software to turn them into one large computer．Really, any organization with enough material and technology can create a fast machine．
The Chinese system follows that model by linking thousands upon thousands of computer servers．But the secret behind the system—and the technological achievement—is China’s own networking technology．“That technology was built by them,” Dongarra said．“They are taking supercomputing very seriously and using a lot of time and money.”
“China is still a developing country,” said Sha Chaoqun, manager at Dawning Company which is the leading supercomputer maker in China．“Maybe one day, China’s total computing power can be greater than that of the US, but there is still a long way to go before we get there.”
Paragraph outline | Supporting details |
China has developed the world’s fastest supercomputer | Tianhe-1 has a high computing speed, which 1.it the fastest computer in the world. Tianhe-1 is 40 percent faster than the 2.fastest supercomputer in the world. 3.Jack Dongarra, we learn that the Chinese supercomputer is faster than existing Number One machine. |
Many countries see the fastest supercomputer as a source of national 4.and are making efforts to develop it. | The high-speed computer is 5.to solve problems relaterd to national interests. Besides 6.of defense, energy and science, supercomputing technology can also be found in business, oil and gas companies. It’s obvious that top scientific talents are 7.to research centers with large supercomputers. |
The secret behind supercomputers is networking technology | By using the technology built by Chinese people, taking it 8.and devoting lots of time and money, China has achieved a lot |
Mr.Sha showed a conservative （保守的）9.toward the development of computing power. | 10.the greater computing power China may have in the future, there is still a long way to go. |
