Rivers are the veins of the Earth, transporting the water and nutrients (营养物) needed to support the planet’s ecosystems, including human life. While many nutrients are essential to the survival of life, there is one element transported by water in rivers that holds the key to life and to the future of our planet — carbon.
Carbon is everywhere and understanding the way it moves and is either released or stored by the Earth system is a complex science in itself. Carbon starts its journey downstream when natural acid rain, which contains carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, melts minerals in rocks. This helps transform carbon dioxide to bicarbonate (碳酸氢盐) in the water that then flows in our rivers. This is a very long process, which is one of the main ways carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. Carbon is transported by rivers to oceans and once that carbon reaches the ocean, it is stored naturally in deep sea sediments (沉淀物) for millions of years.
As carbon travels down a river, different processes may impact whether it continues to flow downstream or whether it is released into the atmosphere. For example, human engineering, like extensive dam construction, will result in dramatic changes to how water and sediments travel down the river. Some carbon that fails to reach the sea may return to the atmosphere in some way, which causes more warming.
Earth’s climate is closely related to the carbon cycle. We all know about the essential role of plants in consuming carbon dioxide, but do we know enough about rivers? Changing the chemistry and the course of rivers may have significant impacts on how they transport carbon. Remember: wherever we live, we all live downstream.
1.Where is the carbon in rivers originally from?
A.The atmosphere. B.The rocks.
C.The acid rain. D.The upstream areas.
2.Why is human engineering mentioned in Paragraph 3?
A.To show how important to life carbon is.
B.To explain how necessary it is to build dams.
C.To show how a natural process is interrupted.
D.To explain how humans fight global warming.
3.What does the author want to convey in the last paragraph?
A.We’d better move upstream to live.
B.We should protect plants along rivers.
C.We’d better seek more help from plants.
D.We should be cautious about river management.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.What Humans Do with Rivers
B.How Rivers’ Transporting Carbon Counts
C.What the Carbon Cycle Means to Us
D.How Living Downstream Affects the Earth
Panic Buying
Shoppers around the world are crazy buying because of fears over the coronavirus(新型冠状病毒), which caused a critical plague in China and even other countries at the beginning of 2020. People in countries such as England, Japan, Singapore and Australia have been emptying supermarket shelves of toilet paper, face masks, hand wash products and dried and canned food. Photos and videos of shoppers in Australia quarreling over the last pack of toilet roll in a supermarket have spread across social media swiftly.
However, governments have advised their citizens that there is no need to “panic buy”. They added that panic buying would only reduce the supply of products needed by patients and medical staff, which could exacerbate the problems the COVID-19 virus is causing. Singapore's prime minister comforted Singaporeans that: “We have enough supplies. There's no need to stock up.” A week after the panic buying fever, things have calmed down and shoppers have gone back to purchasing items in normal quantities.
Psychologists say panic buying is an “unwise” behaviour that is part of a condition called FOMO - the fear of missing out. Dr. Katharina Wittgens said a herd mentality(从众心理) sets in during disasters that causes people to copy the actions of others. People watch the news of items being bought in quantity and immediately rush out to the stores to do the same. She said people were taking on too much the risks of dying from the coronavirus. She said: “Far more people die in car accidents or household accidents per year but we don't panic about these things in the morning before we go to work.”
1.What made shoppers in different countries crazy buying?
A.The approach of 2020 New Year’s Day.
B.The shortage of resources and supplies in their nations.
C.Their concern about the virus.
D.The discount from supermarkets.
2.What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.solve B.release C.worsen D.quicken
3.What is the reason for this behavior according to expert?
A.People tend to follow others’ actions in the period of disaster.
B.People are wiser in making decisions.
C.People think no one needs the supplies.
D.People do not believe what others said.
4.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A.People should not panic over the virus.
B.More people die from car accidents.
C.People buy little when they go to the stores.
D.We should panic about the situation.
It was about five in the morning in Ontario, Canada, when Donna Strickland's phone rang. The Nobel Prize committee was on the line in Stockholm, calling to tell her she had won the prize in physics.
"I wondered if it was a joke," Strickland said in an interview with a Nobel official after the call. She had been asleep when the call arrived. "Something was wrong because it came so early in the morning. But then I knew it was the right day, and it would have been a cruel joke."
Strickland, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo, shares the honor with two other scientists for their work in the 1980s in transforming lasers(激光)into tiny tools that today have countless application. The prize money $1.4 million will he shared among the three. Half the prize went to Strickland and her cooperator Gerard Mourou, a professor at the Ecole Poly technique in France. The other half was awarded to Arthur Ashkin, a retired physicist who worked at the famous Bell Labs in the United States.
Strickland's win is historic in more than one way. It's been over 55 years since a woman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1903, Marie Curie became the first-ever woman to win a Nobel Prize in Physics. For the next 60 years, no women physicists were awarded. Maria Goeppert Mayer became the second woman physicist to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963.
Strickland herself was surprised to learn she was the third woman to receive the honor in physics. "Is that all, really? I thought there might have been more." she said at a press conference Tuesday. "We need to celebrate women physicists, because we're out there. Hopefully, in time, it will start to move forward at a faster rate."
1.What was Donna's first reaction after she received the call?
A.She felt all efforts paid off. B.She was too excited to say a word
C.She was doubtful about it. D.She was annoyed at being waken up.
2.How much was Donna rewarded for winning the Nobel Prize?
A.About $350,000. B.About $2.8million.
C.About $700,000. D.About $1.4 million.
3.What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.Strickland's achievements in physics.
B.The history of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
C.Strickland's struggle to win the Nobel Prize.
D.Three women winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in history.
4.What does the underlined "it" in the last paragraph refer to?
A.The Nobel Prize in Physics.
B.The achievement of men physicists.
C.The celebration of the Nobel Prize winners.
D.Awarding women physicists the Nobel Prize in Physics.
An increasing number of students worldwide are considering studying abroad. The application process varies from country to country. If you’re looking for a university with a strong international outlook but feel swept over by all the application options, here is some guidance to get you started.
UK
International students must apply to universities in the UK through a system known as Ucas. This system allows students to apply to up to five universities with just one application. It costs £20 for a single choice or £25 for more than one choice.
The application consists of a series of questions to determine the student’s schooling and predicted grades. The biggest part of the application form is the personal statement, in which applicants should describe their personal interests and related experiences.
Switzerland
Switzerland has four official languages and is bordered by five countries so it is no surprise that its universities are among the most international in the world. International applicants may need to take an entrance exam if they have a foreign school certificate, and must also prove that they have a good grasp of the French language, usually through taking a language exam. The full application costs 50 Swiss Francs for a holder of a Swiss diploma and 150 Swiss Francs for holders of foreign diplomas.
Canada
International applicants have to write up a personal profile as part of their application, which is very similar to the personal statement required for a UK university application. Students will also have to prove their English-language competency—there are nine ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard, which are listed on many university websites.
Singapore
The process of applying to a Singaporean university is very much alike, but overseas students may be delighted to find that the domestic applicants have to cover the same procedures: filling out an online application form and submit identification documents, supporting documents and an application fee of S$20.
1.Which country requires international applicants know French well?
A.UK. B.Switzerland.
C.Canada. D.Singapore.
2.What part of the application is similar between the UK and Canada?
A.The application system. B.The number of universities.
C.The application cost. D.The personal statement.
3.What’s special about the application process in Singapore?
A.Applicants need to pay a lot. B.It is much simpler than elsewhere.
C.It’s no different for native students. D.The competition is even more fierce.
假设你是李华，你的美国朋友Lucy写信来询问你校在4月23日世界读书日这天所举行的相关活动。 请你给她回一封信，主要内容包括以下几个方面：
1. 活动举办的时间，地点及参与人员。
2. 介绍主要活动（不少于两项）。
3. 你的感受。
Dear Lucy,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
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。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在该词下面写出该加的词。
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. 只允许修改5处，多者（从第6处起）不计分。
2. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词：
From February to March in 2020, all of us had to stay at home. Only at that time we realize normal life was so valuable. We need to learn something important from all that we experienced it. For example, when faced with challenges, choosing to believe that everything will be better. When something unexpected happens, the biggest problem is if we can keep calm. Positive attitudes have an excellent effect for our lives.
