A natural disaster is a major harmful event resulting from natural processes of the Earth. In recent years, owing to either cyclical (循环的) changes or human activities, there has been a rise in natural disasters. Earthquakes, typhoons, floods and hurricanes have caused a lot of deaths around the world. On the one hand, natural disasters always bring great sadness to people, but on the other hand, natural disasters make people fully aware of the mistakes of themselves and begin to rethink what they have done. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leave some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the stricken population’s ability to recover.
Take the typhoon which hit Japan this summer as an example. This September Super Typhoon Chebi (飞燕) visited Japan, causing dozens of deaths, more than 600 injuries and losses worth countless dollars. Bridges and roads were washed away, houses and buildings damaged, leaving many people homeless. Furthermore, tens of thousands of visitors were forced to stay in the airport. Although the government of Japan had taken some precautions, the typhoon did bring much trouble to people there.
（写作内容）
1. 以约30个单词概括上文内容；
2. 以约120个单词就“作为学生应该做些什么来减少自然灾害造成的损失”的话题写篇作文，并包括以下要点：
（1）保护环境从自身做起，并提高公众的环保意识；
（2）掌握有关自然灾害的更多知识；
（3）建议政府提供更多的资金进行相关的研究。
（写作要求）
1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3. 不必写标题。
（评分标准）
内容完整、语言规范、语篇连贯、词数适当。
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
What is clone? The noun “clone” and the verb “to clone” are not used consistently. In biology a clone is a cell or an organism, which is 1. (genetic) the same as another cell or organism. Many simple organisms such as bacteria reproduce themselves by 2. (copy) their DNA and splitting (分裂) in half. The verb “to clone” refers 3. the process of creating cloned cells or organisms. The process differs, 4. (depend) on the kinds of cells used in the cloning procedure and the desired result. Usually, 5. scientists clone an animal, they take the nucleus (核) of a cell and place it into an egg cell from 6. the nucleus has been removed. The egg cell then divides to produce 7. embryo that develops an animal if the procedures work as 8. (plan). Different from other cloning cases, Dolly was created from a specialized adult cell, 9. from a very early embryonic cell in which no specialized 10. (tissue) begin to develop.
There are so many interesting and creative hobbies that can improve your life and make you smarter.
1. As the saying goes, reading gives us somewhere to go when we have to stay where we are. It enriches your knowledge and makes you feel better about yourself.
Learning a new language is a most unique and challenging hobby. It enables your brain to perform better, improves your memory and reduces the risk of brain decline. 2.
Playing chess makes you smarter by exercising both sides of your brain. 3. And it helps improve your memory and builds your self-confidence.
Writing makes your brain work. 4. Writing things down can improve your emotions and your ability to communicate with others and it will make you a more interesting person.
Exercising regularly keeps both your body and your brain functioning. A good blood circulation in your body means a good blood circulation of your brain, which means an increased brain function. 5.
Learning to play the piano or any other musical instrument teaches you patience and perseverance because it takes a lot of effort and a lot of time.
A. It teaches you to think.
B. Smiling will make you healthier and look cooler.
C. Moreover, a new language means new opportunities.
D. Positive thinking can help you to do your best each day.
E. Besides, exercising reduces stress and helps you sleep better.
F. Playing the game raises your IQ and encourages your creativity.
G. Reading teaches you new things about new places and new people.
“Regardless of social class, race and age, men say they hate to shop,” says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. “Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they'll say, ‘Well, that's not shopping. That's research.’”
In other words, what men and women call “buying things” and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000squaremetre stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder. Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
“Men are frequently shopping to win,” says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. “They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best and latest one and if they do that, it makes them happy. When women shop, they're doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy,” says Ann. “They're kind of shopping for love.”
“Teenage girls learn to shop from their mums and elder sisters, and they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen,” Zukin says. “And although men's magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it's TV that has the eye of young male shoppers,” say Ann and Zukin.
“Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen or Lucky is used by girls,” says Zukin, “to help make clothing and toiletry choices.”
“Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it,” Ann says. And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don't want to get cheated. Ann adds, “There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home—they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it.”
1.From the first paragraph we can find that .
A.men are all dishonest B.men like to shop in fact
C.men hate to shop actually D.men are all booklovers
2.Compared to women, men usually treat shopping .
A.honestly B.frequently
C.seriously D.foolishly
3.As is shown in this passage, teenage girls go shopping .
A.only with their sisters B.often following magazines
C.only with their mums D.often following TV shows
4.The underlined word “magnets” in the last paragraph means “ ”.
A.vegetables that make women beautiful
B.magazines that attract young women
C.persons that have a powerful attraction
D.tools that can help housewives much
Two years ago, photographer Gen started his latest project visiting local communities in Latin America. The photo that gave birth to his “You are so beautiful” project was entirely unplanned.
In January 2015, Gen was in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. He had been trying to get his female subject to feel more comfortable before his camera, and when a request for her to smile didn’t quite work, he found himself telling her she was beautiful. The result of his shot was so sincere and heartwarming that he decided he had found the concept of his new project. Gen is still on his journey to capture the power of this compliment (赞美). The photos he’s already published on his website, however, show the unbelievable effect these simple words can have.
When asked to have her photo taken, Mathilda from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, said, “I don’t have any teeth. Please don’t make me laugh.” After being told she was beautiful, she didn’t seem to mind anymore. “She and I laughed a lot. It was a nice moment.” Gen said.
Margarita was selling fruit on a street in Otavalo, Ecuador, when Gen approached her. She agreed to pose for a picture after the photographer bought some of her fruit, but still didn’t smile when he asked her to. Her smile was genuine, though, when she heard the compliment.
Gen met Juliana in a village in northern Colombia where desert meets the Caribbean Sea. The region is extremely dry, with some months seeing almost no rain, and Juliana wore a mask to protect her face from the sun. She was selling handicrafts when Gen approached her, and smiled happily when she received the compliment.
Mimba and baby Maya are from Brazil’s Marubo tribe. Mimba was shy, and it was only on the second visit to her home that the photographer finally got her permission to take her photo. She seemed to relax, though, when he paid her a compliment.
1.Where was the inspiration for Gen’s latest project from?
A.His unplanned travel. B.Praise for his photos.
C.A shooting experience. D.His love for photography.
2.Who did Gen meet twice?
A.Margarita. B.Mimba.
C.Mathilda. D.Juliana.
3.What do the examples convey?
A.Gen thought highly of his subjects.
B.Sincere praise makes successful shots.
C.Complimenting applies to nearly all women.
D.Women are nervous when having photos taken.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To introduce the effect of photography.
B.To provide some advice on complimenting.
C.To share his experiences of complimenting.
D.To show the amazing power of complimenting.
Robots have taken over many of America’s factories. But can they pick a strawberry? “It’s really hard for robots to match what humans can do,” says Bob Pizter, an expert on robots.
Any 4-year-old kid can pick a strawberry, but machines can’t seem to figure it out. Pizter says the hardest thing for them is finding the fruit. Pizter’s strawberry-picking robot is rolling into a strawberry field. This well-designed device drives itself. It’s as big as a bus, long enough to straddle (跨越) a dozen rows of strawberries at once. Powerful computers are sitting on top. Underneath, there are high-definition cameras to find the berries, and robotic claws ready to pick them.
“Nobody’s telling it what to do,” explains Paul Bissett, the chief operating officer of Harvest CROO Robotics. “It’s remembering its path down the row. It’s remembering where all these plants are.” It knows all this, thanks to the super-accurate GPS. Its computer brain contains a map showing the locations of every strawberry plant in the field. The action of machinery is truly impressive, but the baskets are still practically empty. Pitzer says the robots are able to find and pick more than 50 percent of ripe berries. That’s not yet up to human standards. A typical worker, he says, manages to pick anywhere from 60 to 90 percent of the berries. Also, he admits, the machine is slower than human hands. On the other hand, it has some advantages. It can work right through the night. Two years later, he says, this machine will be in the fields working for real. “There are weaknesses to work out, but it’s getting there. We’re close.” he says.
Strawberry companies are putting millions of dollars into this project. The reason, Gary Wishnatzki, the owner of Wish Farms says, is that it’s getting more and more difficult to find enough people to pick his berries. “The fact of the matter is, if we don’t solve the problem of this labor shortage with automation, the industry is facing a big challenge ahead. The price of fruit is going to be much higher,” Jose Santos, the leader of the farm, says.
Jose is pretty convinced, though, that picking strawberries will always require people. The machines will break down, he points out. In fact, he’s looking on the bright side. “You could afford to give people a day off if you have machines behind you,” he says.
1.According to the passage, the strawberry-picking robot __________.
A.can work extra hours B.relies on GPS only to find berries
C.runs on petrol just like a bus D.picks both ripe and unripe berries
2.What do people mentioned in the passage think of the strawberry-picking robot?
A.It will lead to the price of strawberries rising.
B.It keeps human workers working through night.
C.It is not very efficient at the moment but promising.
D.It will completely take the place of human workers.
3.We know from the article that __________.
A.robots have been widely used in farming
B.it seems hard for robots to exactly locate strawberries now
C.robots can surely perform any work better than human workers
D.with the help of robots, strawberry companies have already earned much
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The working principle of strawberry-picking robots.
B.Farmers’ expectations for strawberry-picking robots.
C.The present state of strawberry-picking robots.
D.The differences between humans and strawberry-picking robots.
