When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it, storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature. It is the greatest show on Earth.”
1.For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to _______.
A. get quickly into their cars for safety
B. wait patiently for the storm to develop
C. head straight for the center of the storm
D. collect information about a coming storm
2.Beginners of storm chasing are advised _______.
A. to do it in an organized way B. to spend much more time on it
C. not to get too close to a storm D. not to drive in a heavy rain
3.By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that _______.
A. storm chasing costs a lot of money
B. efforts in storm chasing are well paid
C. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting
D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth
4.What is the purpose of the author?
A. To appeal to more people to take the adventures.
B. To give people advice when a storm is coming.
C. To introduce a hobby called storm chasing.
D. To present difficulties of storm chasing.
5.What can we learn from the text?
A. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.
B. Some storm chasers were killed during the storms.
C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.
D. Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment.
你们班计划在下周日下午4：00—5：00在本班教室举行一次题为“How I Understand China Dream”的英语演讲比赛，假定你是班长李华，请给你们外籍教师Ketty写封书面邀请函，请她担任评委，对演讲作出简要点评，并对获奖者颁发证书。
注意：
(1)词数100左右；
(2)可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
(3)开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Ketty,
____________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
The other day, some of my classmates and I took a bicycle trip along the “Ren Min Road”, where was specially built for people to relax ourselves. The scenery along the road was fascinating, with trees, flowers, hills and lakes on both side. We stopped by a lake for a rest, where a good many of people were playing happily. But something unpleasant catch our attention. There was rubbish here or there, and there were many plastic bags and bottles floated on the surface of the lake. Such beautiful place was so serious polluted. What a shame! In the end, we couldn’t help collecting the rubbish after we left.
A 14-year-old Chinese boy overcame two of humankind’s most dreaded fears—getting stuck in an elevator and getting homework 1.(do) in a single night, owing to his calm-witted character.
Sun Yixiao was on his way up on Tuesday evening after school 2.the lift suddenly came to a stop. A moment of panic followed before the 3.(teenage) could find a way out.
Sun said he tried to open the elevator door, 4.(press) all the buttons in the hope to get the elevator to work again, but it didn’t work.
Without a cell phone at hand, Sun tried yelling to get attention of people outside, but no one responded as time passed by. He slipped a note through the door 5.the message “people stuck inside, please ask the property management for help,” and hoped someone 6.(pick) it up and act on it.
After exhausting all his options without knowing how long 7.would take before someone found him, he took out his textbooks and started to do his homework 8.(patient).
Soon after he finished his duties, Sun heard loud 9.(voice) outside. A large crowd including his teachers and other parents had come to the rescue, by which time he 10.(trap) in the elevator for over five hours.
I learned my first lesson at a meeting. As we sat around the table I heard Meg, who was _______a recent operation, talking to Judith, the manager of our project. “Thank you so much for _______my daughters to their dance lessons last week.” Judith said, “It was nothing.”
Knowing how _______Judith’s schedule was, I found her driving Meg’s children to lessons unbelievably _______. I was about to say more about this when Donna, another colleague, entered the room _______. She apologized for being late, saying she just hosted a lunch for her friends who were over seventy. “That is so nice of you,” I said, _______how busy she was, how she didn’t like to cook and clean. “Oh,” she said, waving her hand, “It was nothing.” _______, I could still tell the _______in her voice. She did gain a sense of satisfaction from the entertainment offered to her friends.
Seeing their _______to help others selflessly, I started thinking about the concept of “nothing”, this peaceful and generous way of living—had it really been nothing or were they simply saying that? It ________to me that once I spent a whole afternoon after work helping a friend ________a speech. I ________her to rearrange the sequence of the stories in the lecture to make it sound more ________. After the fifth try, she finally ________it. She hugged me with ________, saying thanks to me. I smiled and said it was nothing.
Suddenly, I realized that helping someone was really something to me. I learned that giving from the heart doesn’t ________mean sacrifice and hard work. The ________is finding something we love to do and finding someone who ________that something. Our generosity can benefit others ________ourselves. Once you have a good ________ of it, it’s nothing. And it’s really something.
1.A. adapting to B. recovering from C. going through D. rejoicing in
2.A. guiding B. fetching C. driving D. dragging
3.A. tight B. common C. strange D. practical
4.A. ridiculous B. energetic C. tiresome D. generous
5.A. disappointedly B. angrily C. hurriedly D. unexpectedly
6.A. ignoring B. forgetting C. knowing D. predicting
7.A. Moreover B. Therefore C. Otherwise D. Somehow
8.A. regret B. sadness C. surprise D. pleasure
9.A. willingness B. ambition C. promise D. progress
10.A. referred B. occurred C. appeared D. seemed
11.A. put up B. prepare for C. give away D. deal with
12.A. begged B. invited C. recommended D. sponsored
13.A. sensible B. confusing C. sensitive D. typical
14.A. got B. meant C. caught D. made
15.A. gratitude B. worry C. concern D. apology
16.A. normally B. accidentally C. possibly D. necessarily
17.A. treat B. trick C. plot D. plan
18.A. needs B. admires C. loves D. defends
19.A. on account of B. as well as C. except for D. regardless of
20.A. order B. glimpse C. command D. impression
Speaking to Develop Self-confidence
Overcoming stage fright
Most people are nervous about public speaking. 1.If you know that your topic is interesting, and that your material is well organized, you have already reduced a major worry.
Facial expressions
2.During your speech, try to change your facial expressions to convey the emotions that you feel. Throughout your speech you need to use expressive facial expressions.
Eye contact
When you speak, you should look your audience straight in the eye. The idea is to give the impression that you are talking to each individual in your audience. If you have a large audience, try to look at people in the middle of the room, then slowly look to the right side of the room, then to the left side, then back to the center of the room. 3.Otherwise, this will give the audience the idea that you are not interested in your topic or in them.
4.
Enthusiasm is being lively and showing your own personal concern for your subject and your audience. If you are truly interested in your topic, your delivery is certain to be enthusiastic and lively.
Varying speaking rate
Your words should not be too fast or too slow. If you speak too slowly you will bore your audience. If you speak too rapidly will be difficult to understand. Adapt your rate to the content of your speech. For example, if you explaining complex information, slow down. 5.
A. Inspiring your audience
B. Speaking with enthusiasm
C. If you are happy or enthusiastic, you should speed up.
D. Don’t look at the floor, the ceiling or out the window.
E. The best way to cope with nervousness is to really well prepared.
F. Smiling before you start your speech shows that you are not nervous.
G. If you are nervous, take a few steps to your right or left while speaking.
