Over millions of years, penguins（企鹅）have developed a keen sense of where to find food. Once they’re old enough, they set off from the shores on which they were hatched for the first time and swim long distances in search of tasty fish like anchovies and sardines. But they don’t search directly for the fish themselves.
For example, when young African penguins head out to sea, they look for areas with low surface temperatures and high chlorophyll(叶绿素) because those conditions signal the presence of phytoplankton（浮游植物）. And lots of phytoplankton means lots of plankton（浮游动物）, which in turn means lots of their favorite fish. Well, that’s what it used to mean.
Climate change plus overfishing have made the penguin feeding grounds a mirage(海市蜃楼). The habitat is indeed plankton-rich—but now it’s fish-poor. Researchers call this an “ecological trap.”
“It’s a situation where you have a signal that previously pointed an animal towards good quality habitat. That habitat’s been changed, usually by human pressures. The signal stays, but the quality in the environment deteriorates.”
Richard Sherley, a zoologist at the University of Exeter and his team used satellite imaging to track the African penguins from eight sites along southern Africa. Historically, the birds benefited from tons of fish off the coasts of Angola, Namibia and western South Africa, but now they’re going hungry.
“I was really hoping we’d see them going east, and finding areas where the fish had moved to but it ends up being quite a sad story for the penguins.” said Richard.
The researchers calculate that by falling into this ecological trap, African penguin populations on South Africa's Western Cape have declined by around 80 percent.
Some research groups are exploring the idea of moving chicks to a place where they can’t get trapped, like the Eastern Cape. But Sherley thinks that a longer-term solution means making and carrying out rules to create more sustainable(可持续的) fishing industry, something that he says needs public support.
1.How do penguins find their food?
A. They discover fish with their keen sense.
B. They swim long distances directly for fish.
C. They make signals to each other when finding fish.
D. They look for warmer and greener areas.
2.What is an ecological trap for the African penguins?
A. A trap set to catch penguins.
B. A good fish habitat with few fish.
C. A habitat unsuitable for fish.
D. A mirage on the sea.
3.What does the underlined word “deteriorates” in the fourth paragraph mean?
A. Get worse. B. Get better.
C. Stay the same. D. Become suitable.
4.What can be done to help the penguins in the long run?
A. Move the penguins to other places.
B. Create nature reserves for penguins.
C. Keep a balanced fishing industry.
D. Increase the population of penguins.
The town of Green Bank, West Virginia, is the site of the largest radio telescope in the world, so Internet connections and anything else that can create electromagnetic(电磁的) waves, such as smart phones and microwave ovens, are banned.
Green Bank is frozen in time, somewhere in the 1950s, because there’s a 33,000-square-kilometer zone of silence due to the telescope. Cell phone towers are forbidden.
The closer you get to the telescope, the greater the restrictions. There’s a 16-kilometer radius(半径) around the observatory where radio-controlled items, even toys, cannot be used.
Telescope employees even work in a special room that blocks electromagnetic waves from leaving it. “Here imagine a submarine(潜艇), water cannot get inside, and so this room is an electric submarine. No electromagnetic waves can get into this room, just as you can’t go beyond it,” Michael Holstein, an observatory officer, said.
The size of a football field, the telescope is so sensitive that it could pick up signals sent from an alien world. And scientists can’t wait for that to happen.
“All the signals that we now receive with the help of telescopes are signals that come from cosmic objects — stars, galaxies. We have not yet received anything from intelligent civilizations,” scientist Richard Lynch said.
Local people respect the work of the scientists. “Yes, we are different. Many would say that we live the old-fashioned way, in the past. But for us, it’s just the way of life that we have always lived,” Sherry said.
“When we want to meet friends, we just call each other on a wire phone. And instead of sitting in front of your screen, we talk, we go fishing, to the mountains,” resident Sherry said.
For the latest news, residents read the weekly local newspaper. When she’s looking for a phone number, Sherry reaches for the phone book.
And instead of Facebook, Sherry enjoys daily conversations with her customers. In this town, everyone knows each other and communication is face to face.
1.Why do people in Green Bank live an old-fashioned life?
A. The town is economically less developed.
B. Electronic products will affect the radio telescope.
C. They have got used to it and don’t want to change.
D. The radio telescope stops electronic products working properly.
2.What can we learn about the radio telescope?
A. It was set up about in the 1950s.
B. It is in a room without electromagnet.
C. It is 16-kilometer in radius.
D. It has picked up signals from aliens.
3.How do the local people feel about their life?
A. Inspired. B. Unhappy.
C. Content. D. Worried.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A. High tech with traditional life at Green Bank
B. Radio telescope to receive alien signals
C. The largest radio telescope in the world
D. Old-fashioned life at Green Bank
For many reasons, I didn’t choose to go to university like most of my family members, schoolmates and even best friends. I can’t say that I didn’t have moments of doubt about my decision. As the last term of school was coming to a close, I began to feel very anxious about the choice I made to be different and start an apprenticeship(学徒).
Although my A-level results day was the one that I felt extremely proud of, I knew that the general feeling from most of my teachers was disappointment. I completed my application, did a series of ability tests and interviews, and at last nine months later—I began an apprenticeship with Sellafield Ltd.
As soon as I started, I knew straight away that I made the right decision. From the people I met, to the on-the-job training that I was experiencing, I began to feel a real sense of purpose and could see a successful career in an industry that I found so interesting and challenging, paving the way in front of me. I never thought when I was in sixth grade that I would be working in the nuclear industry, but now I can’t imagine working anywhere else.
Since finishing my apprenticeship over two years ago, I’ve had countless opportunities to develop myself both academically and personally. I’ve bought my first home; I was chosen to be a part of the Government’s Get In Go Far apprenticeship campaign, and offered an amazing and unique secondment(人员借调) with the Environment, Health, Safety and Quality department at Sellafield.
I have no doubt that without my apprenticeship I wouldn’t be in the position I am today, but equally I know that it was only the beginning for me.
My apprenticeship inspired me to explore different career paths in the nuclear industry, and it gave me the confidence to know that I can succeed in shifting from one position to another.
1.How did the writer feel at the crossroad of making a choice?
A. Determined. B. Worried.
C. Proud. D. Regretted.
2.What can we learn from Paragraph Two?
A. The writer did badly at school.
B. His teachers supported his apprenticeship.
C. His apprenticeship didn’t come easily.
D. His apprenticeship lasted for nine months.
3.What can we infer about his apprenticeship?
A. It is fruitful and rewarding.
B. It is easy and interesting.
C. It caused him frequent job changes.
D. It limited him to the unclear industry.
Internet Security Awareness
MS-ISAC
“Kids Safe Online”
2017 Virginia Poster Contest(比赛)
Official Rules
Contestants
The contest is open to all Virginia public, private Kindergarteners -12 in the United States, District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories (领土).
Judging Criteria
Posters will be judged on the following criteria:
• Clear message conveyed by the text and artwork
• Creativity, originality and artistic quality
• Visual clarity - easily read
• Bright and colorful
• Must not use published materials.
Winners
Virginia will select the top 5 winning posters from each grade group (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) and send them to the National Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Internet Security Awareness Poster Contest. The Virginia winners will receive a certificate of appreciation. MS- ISAC will select four winners in each grade and award a prize. These winners will have the honor of having their artwork made into a poster calendar which will be handed out throughout the country and may also be used in campaigns to raise awareness among children of all ages about the Internet.
Posters will not be returned!!!!!!
Deadline
All posters must be received by midnight, Jan. 6, 2017.
Poster should be mailed to:
Kids Safe Online Poster Contest Virginia Information Technology Agency Commonwealth Security & Risk Management
11751 Meadowville Lane Chester, VA 23836
Electronic posters can be sent to: CommonwealthSecurity@virginia.gov
Contest Timeline
Now through Jan. 6, 2017
Students create their posters and the school can choose up to 15 posters to send to VITA by midnight January 6, 2017.
No Later than Jan. 27, 2017
Virginia posters will be judged and the top 15 posters will be sent to MS-ISAC for national judging.
Jan. 30 to March 3, 2017,
MS-ISAC will perform national judging. Winners will be declared no later than March 24, 2017
1.Why is the contest held?
A. To develop children’s creativity.
B. To discover poster talents.
C. To raise kids’ Internet security awareness.
D. To make the Internet convenient for kids.
2.Which of the following posters is likely to win the contest?
A. A poster presented by a British child.
B. A poster copied from a published magazine.
C. A poster made with a black pencil.
D. A poster originally created by an American kid.
3.How will the national winners be honored?
A. They will receive a certificate of appreciation.
B. Their posters can be made known to the public.
C. Their posters will be returned if they want them back.
D. They are to attend a campaign about the Internet security.
4.What can a Virginia child do in the contest?
A. Create an either paper or electronic poster.
B. Complete a poster from Jan. 6 to 27, 2017.
C. Send a poster to VITA directly.
D. Call MS-ISAC to see if the poster wins.
假定你是李华，你的美国笔友Johnson来信说他因对父母说谎而受到严厉批评，因此他情绪低落。请你用英语给他写一封回信，主要内容包括：
1.进行安慰；
2.指正错误；
3.给出建议。
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 Johnson,
I’m sorry to hear that you feel depressed now. _________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课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仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
After spending many time at the hospital with my 70-year-old mother-in-law, we went out to have something eat at 9:30 pm. The server was very busy prepare to close the restaurant. However, he was kind and served us good without asking our reasons for so a late dinner. Before we left, I went up and gave him an generous tip even though this restaurant didn’t require any tip. At first she refused but I insisted on and he accepted it finally. It make us both very happily.
