Pycnandra acuminate (喜树) is a rare tree native to New Caledonia that has the rare ability to collect heavy metals like nickel (镍) from the ground. The liquid circulated in its body is blue-green and reportedly contains up to 25% nickel.
In general, trees and heavy metals like nickel don’t really go well together. But Pycnandra acuminata make them live together. And that’s what makes Pycnandra acuminata so special. It sucks out normally poisonous levels of heavy metals from the soil and store them in its trunk, leaves and seeds.
The evolution of Pycnandra acuminate is believed to have occurred over millions of years, but scientists have yet to identify a universal principle of nickel intake and storage. The reason why such trees have formed the way of absorbing metals is also up for debate.
The most popular theory states that the concentration of nickel protects such trees from leaf-chewing insects. And studies have shown that nickel accumulated by these trees indeed harms many insects though some have developed a high tolerance to it. Another theory says nickel has effects of resisting bacteria, which protects the trees from various diseases. However, these theories are all just theories.
One thing that has been proven is the ability of Pycnandra acurninata to clean the soil with poisonous materials caused by human activity. There’s also clear potential for collecting heavy materials like nickel in these kinds of soils that will bring a few profits by conventional ways of mining. People can collect minerals contained in such soils from the blue-green trees。
Unfortunately, Pycnandra acuminata is is recently in a bad situation. Human activity in forests of New Caledonia has made Pycnandra acuminata in danger. Consequently, probably fewer than several hundred trees of this kind have remained as a result of the reduction of our forests.
1.What do we know about Pycnandra acuminata?
A.It has a blue-green color due to metals collected.
B.It is able to collect some heavy metals from the ground.
C.It sucks out a great deal of poisonous underground water.
D.It tends to grow in the soil with plenty of poisonous liquid.
2.What do the theories in paragraph 4 say about Pycnandra acuminata?
A.It indeed protects many insects.
B.It stores most nickel in its roots.
C.It protects itself through the concentration of nickel.
D.It makes its surrounding plants suffer from diseases.
3.What does the author mainly want to express in the last paragraph?
A.Pycnandra acuminata is in danger.
B.Forests are to blame for the reduction of trees.
C.Forests are decreasing as a result of human activity.
D.Pycnandra acuminata is under the protection of people.
4.In which section of a magazine is this next most likely to appear?
A.Bacteria and disease. B.Health and life.
C.Fashion and entertainment. D.Man and nature.
Remember Vitainwater’s “free of rolling screen for a year” challenge that dared people to be free from smart phones for a whole year will win $ 100,000? Well, Elana Mugdan, a New York woman, has been into it for eight months, and just four months away from claiming grand prize.
Vitaminwater made news headlines last December when it announced its unique challenge. Thousands of people applied to be chosen as the perfect candidate to spend a year without touching their smart phones, but in the end, the only person who got to try and survive for an entire year without a handheld smart phone was Elana Mugdan, a 29-year-old fiction writer from Queens, New York. Eight months into the challenge, she claims it has been a free and eye-opening experience that shows her just how dependent she becomes on her smart phone. Even though there are times when she misses her handheld smart phone, she plans to go on living without it even after the challenge ends, because she really doesn’t want to go back to days when she abused it, wasted time, stayed up all hours of the night on it, and was obsessed with social media.
But not having access to her smart phone really made certain situations a lot harder than she could have imagined them before. “Many people did me a favor. However, once, I almost got stranded (滞留) in the SeaTac airport because the phone number I’d written down was wrong, and I had no way of referring to the right one, no way of calling a cab, and no one in the state who could help me,” the young writer said.
Another time, her car’s “check engine” light turned on while she was driving in an unfamiliar area at night. She couldn’t use her phone’s GPS location feature, r even check what the light meant on Google or find a nearby car repair shop. Still, she learned to overcome these situations. And now she claims the last eight months of phone-free life have been one of the best adventures of her life and that she’ll keep it for another four months.
1.What’s the challenge “free of rolling screen for a year”?
A.People free from smart phones can live a richer life.
B.People living a telephone-free life can be awarded every year.
C.People living without computers for a year will win grand prize.
D.People spending a year free from smart phones will get a reward.
2.Which phrase can replace the underlined part “obsessed with” in paragraph 2?
A.satisfied with B.accustomed to
C.addicted to D.popular with
3.What does Elana Mugdan mainly want to express in paragraph 3?
A.It’s fantastic to have someone to help her all the way.
B.It’s unimaginable to lose her phone number on the way.
C.It’s unnecessary to refer to information with a smart phone.
D.It’s difficult to get out of the trouble without a smart phone.
4.What can we learn about Elana Mudgan?
A.She couldn’t live without a smart phone.
B.She finds no one can help her in the adventure.
C.She has not won the grand $ 100,000 prize yet.
D.She used to use her smart phone to write fiction.
First Aid Level 1
The course is suitable for anyone who wants to learn CPR, short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (心肺复苏法). It also covers management of bleeding and shock. This course includes assessment and leads to a New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) unit standard. The most attractive point is that a well-known doctor will teach this course.
Price: $ 100
Duration: 1 day
First Aid Level 2
It includes all of the course content from First Aid Level 1, plus an additional half day. Suitable for first aiders, health and safety staff and anyone who needs first-aid knowledge for their professional qualification. A very experienced doctor will teach this course.
Price: $ 150
Duration: 1.5 days
Resuscitation Level 3
This training course is for those who require Level 3 resuscitation skills, especially people who have a duty to respond and are probably concerned with the start of resusciation.
Price: $ 160
Duration: 4 hours
Resuscitation Level 4
This is an important health professional resuscitation training course. It can be used as a Level 4 refresher course. This course is the most suitable for nurses, nurse managers, District Health Board (DHB) resuscitation officers.
Price: $ 200
Duration: 4 hours
Take a look at the series of first aid courses, so that you can choose the medical learning experience that best matches your needs.
1.How is First Aid Level 1 different from the other courses?
A.It’s the most expensive.
B.It’ll last the longest time.
C.It’ll be taught by a famous doctor.
D.It’s meant for health and safety officers.
2.How much should an applicant pay per hour for Resuscitation Level 3?
A.$ 40. B.$ 50.
C.$ 100. D.$ 160.
3.What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To show doctors’ responsibilities.
B.To advertise the first aid courses.
C.To advise medical professionals to assess their living standards.
D.To inform medical staff of the medical levels of the four hospitals.
假定你是李华，你的留学生朋友Jack发邮件向你咨询当地即将举办的民间美食节（the Folk Food Festival）的情况，请给他回一封电子邮件。内容包括：
1. 举办时间和目的；
2. 活动内容（展示传统美食，品尝美食等）；
3. 邀请他参加。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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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仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Every country has its own culture and way of life, and many people wonder that it would be like to living in a country like Australia. It’s the six biggest country in the world. Surrounding by the ocean, Australia has population of about twenty-two million. It’s a country of deserts, beaches, mountains, rivers and lakes, mostly on a hugely scale. It’s a country of blue skies and large farrr1s that measured thousands of square kilometers. It’s a country whose population consists in of natives and people from many other country. It’s also a country of kangaroos but koalas.
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。
Why does autumn have two names? According to Merriam-Webster, “autumn” appeared first in English in the 1300s, coming from the Lation word “autumnus”. “Autumn” caught on quickly, likely because it replaced the 1. (origin) name—”harvest”. As you might imagine, when crops were collected from the fields, calling the season “harvest” might make people 2. (confuse) because “harvest” is also the name for the act 3. (it).
So “autumn” appeared instead of “harvest”. Then the term, “autumn”, 4. was referred to the season between summer and winter, lasted for a couple of 5. (century). “Fall” as a name for the season came about sometime in the 1500s, a shortened version of the very poetic phrase for “the fall of leaves”. The English phrase had true meaning of the season without leading 6. any confusion. Not even a century later, the phrase became a simple word: fall.
Around this same time, the English language was traveling across the globe as Britain expanded, and it was 7. (go) through some changes, as many languages did. This was 8. (particular) true in the American colonies (殖民地). Some English words changed in the US, whether in terms of spelling 9. in terms of general usage. In the mid-1800s, British and American English speakers further developed in different ways and “fall” was the common word for “autumn” in the US, while autumn 10. (regard) as the word for fall in England.
