Almost everyone has heard the expression “the calm before the storm”. It is usually used to describe a peaceful period just before a very stressful situation or a tense argument.
British sailors created the phrase in the late 1600s. They noted that before certain storms the seas would seem to become static and the winds would drop. But why is it often so calm before a storm?
Science has given us the answer. According to US website How Stuff Works, a calm period occurs because many storms, such as hurricanes and tornadoes (龙卷风), draw in all the warm and damp air from the surrounding area. As this air rises into the storm clouds, it cools and acts as “fuel for the storm, like petrol in a car”.
Once the storm has taken all the energy it can from the air, it is pushed out from the top of the storm clouds and falls back down to ground level. As the air goes down, it becomes warm and dry. Warm, dry air is stable, so once it covers an area, it causes a calm period before the storm. This same process also causes “the eye of the storm” in hurricanes and tornadoes. In these conditions, the calm occurs in the center of the storm because of the strong winds moving in a circle.
The Weather Network has a tip for working out how far away a storm is. First, count how many seconds there are between a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. Roughly 3 seconds equal 1 kilometer. So, for example, if you count 9 seconds, the storm is about 3 kilometers away. A good judgement is that if your count is below 30 seconds, you should seek shelter straight away.
However, due to the complexity of storm system, not all storms break after calm. Given the right conditions, some storms announce themselves with heavy rain and cold winds.
So, your best bet is to keep yourself updated with weather reports for any predictions regarding a coming storm in your area. That’s the most reliable and sensible way to predict the next display of nature’s temper.
1.The underlined word “static” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.
A.violent
B.warm
C.still
D.changeable
2.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A.To find out how a storm comes into being.
B.To explain why a peaceful period occurs before a storm.
C.To prove whether the research on storm clouds is correct.
D.To show how dangerous a storm can be in certain situations.
3.If there’re 15 seconds between a flash of lightning and a thunder clap, how far is the storm away?
A.About 3 kilometers.
B.About 5 kilometers.
C.About 9 kilometers.
D.About 15 kilometers.
4.What can be learned from the passage?
A.Storms don’t always blow up after calm.
B.Storms have a bad influence on our life.
C.Weather reports may fail to predict a storm.
D.Heavy storms don’t usually last a long time.
I’m now living in the south of France with my husband Keith and three small children, and I feel like a fish out of water everywhere but one place — the Saturday street market. It’s been operating in our small town of Sommieres since the 13th century, but we’ve only lived here for three months.
From Monday to Friday, life is all about the kids. I’m busy helping my children deal with life in a French school. It’s not easy, and their stress is the whole family’s stress, as Keith and I are occupied with the daily school runs, piles of homework and school notes in French.
But on Saturday, the market is for me. I feel so peaceful as I walk along the quiet street toward the busy town square. The knife-sharpening man is there, operating a machine that looks like it dates from the Industrial Revolution. There’re street musicians with guitars and microphones, and the sound of beautiful songs fills the air. And the food, of course, is delicious. The cheese man doesn’t speak — he just points and cuts, offering a piece from his knife. Lines come out of the door for fresh bread at the bakery. Organic vegetables, herbs and desserts are a feast for the eyes, before being put into the bag to be enjoyed later for lunch. The noises and smells of the market are unfamiliar and thrilling, but their procedures are clear to me. This is part of why I love the place so much: Unlike during the week, when I’m constantly faced with my own difficulties, I know how this place works. My terrible French isn’t the barrier to communication that it is in other circumstances.
At school and in the village, I can’t joke or join a conversation, and although the other parents at the school are kind, I’m an outsider. But at the market, I’m just another customer with a basket. Surrounded by day trippers, I feel like a local — greeting people I know and petting dogs.
My Saturday experiences allow me to hope that in the near future I’ll feel equally confident in my everyday life. Until then, Saturdays prepare me for the coming week of school runs.
1.What does the author mean by saying “I feel like a fish out of water”?
A.She feels lonely without her children.
B.She feels free out of her daily housework.
C.She feels uncomfortable in new surroundings.
D.She feels unable to make a living in another country.
2.What can be learned about the author’s life during weekdays?
A.She learns French together with her children.
B.She tries to balance her job and the housework.
C.She runs to school every day to help her children.
D.She devotes herself to her children in a French school.
3.Why does the author like going to the Saturday market?
A.She feels relaxed and comfortable there.
B.She can talk with other customers freely there.
C.She wants to get away from her family’s stress.
D.She tries to gain confidence in the busy atmosphere.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards her future life?
A.Objective.
B.Satisfied.
C.Optimistic.
D.Worried.
I was 11 years old when I asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010.We were in financial trouble,so she said politely,"Sorry,son,but we can't now.”
I googled the measurements for a keyboard,drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk.I would click notes on an online keyboard and"play"them back on my paper one-keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head.I spent 6 months playing without touching a real piano.Once my mom saw that I was serious,she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.
I still remember the first one.I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was.I sat my Grade 1 after 8 lessons.Once I started secondary school,we couldn't afford lessons again.I passed Grade 3,and then Grade 5,practicing only on my piece of paper.One evening,when I was about 13,my mom said she had a surprise for me-it was an electronic keyboard,bought with more borrowed money.It was the first time that I'd played for her and she was in shock.
My school didn't offer music A-level.I found the Purcell School for young musicians,but the tryouts were difficult.Some of the questions even involved an evaluation of the composer.I was at a loss.But to my amazement,I was offered a place.At Purcell,I spent 2 years working as hard as I could.I performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.When I left Purcell,I was awarded the senior piano prize and academic music prize.I'm now at the Guildhall School in London.I feel proud-it's been 10 years since I drew my paper piano,and I'm at one of the world's leading music schools.
Surprisingly,I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano:what we call mental practice.The paper piano helped motivate my curiosity about how music works.
1.Why did the mother buy the author piano lessons?
A.She believed he had a talent for piano.
B.She found he was eager to learn piano.
C.She was shocked by his first performance.
D.She got out of her family's financial difficulties.
2.Which of the following words best describes the author?
A.Honest.
B.Cautious.
C.Clever.
D.Determined.
3.What might be the best title for the passage?
A.Mental practice makes perfect.
B.Paper piano leads me to success.
C.Mother supports my music career.
D.Hard times make my dream come true.
假定你是李华，你的好友Jeff发邮件询问你在今年漫长的寒假期间帮助父母做家务的情况。请你回复邮件，内容包括：
1. 具体的内容：
2. 个人的感受；
3. 劳动的意义。
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。
The other day we take our school bus to the nearby nursing home. The elderly people greeted us warm and they were really very pleasing to see us. There we did a lot things. We told many interesting stories to them or sang and danced for them and we really had a fun. Around 11 o’clock in the morning they returned to the school. As student, we are very fond of the activity. It’s our duty to helping the elderly people, in my opinion. How a meaningful trip it was! We’ll never forget it.
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。
Thirty years ago, an elderly Canadian couple undertook a unique project with the purpose of 1. (help) Canadians have a better understanding of China based on how the Chinese view themselves and the issues they face.
Their efforts resulted 2. the birth of a 1985 book, Understanding China Through Cartoons. They 3. (official) donated it to China on June 10, 2019. 4. (promote) knowledge about China among Canadians, they 5. (found) the Society for a Better Understanding of China in the early 1970s, 6. is now noted as the Canada-China Friendship Society”
The elderly couple 7. (be) determined to gift China with it as their admiration for Chinese culture-a role dating back thousands of years.
“China is the only nation that has been able to maintain its cultural 8. (grow) for thousands of years,” the husband said.
In fact, communication has been 9. best way to promote each other’s understanding and trust. We need 10. (many) people like the elderly Canadian couple as well as more institutions like the Canada-China Friendship Society.
