Surviving Hurricane Sandy (飓风桑迪)
Natalie Doan, 14, has always felt lucky to live in Rockaway, New York. Living just a few blocks from the beach, Natalie can see the ocean and hear the wave from her house. “It’s the ocean that makes Rockaway so special,” she says.
On October 29, 2012, that ocean turned fierce. That night, Hurricane Sandy attacked the East Coast, and Rockaway was hit especially hard. Fortunately, Natalie’s family escaped to Brooklyn shortly before the city’s bridge closed.
When they returned to Rockaway the next day, they found their neighborhood in ruins. Many of Natalie’s friends had lost their homes and were living far away. All around her, people were suffering, especially the elderly. Natalie’s school was so damaged that she had to temporarily attend a school in Brooklyn.
In the following few days, the men and women helping Rockaway recover inspired Natalie. Volunteers came with carloads of donated clothing and toys. Neighbors devoted their spare time to helping others rebuild. Teenagers climbed dozens of flights of stairs to deliver water and food to elderly people trapped in powerless high-rise buildings.
“My mom tells me that I can’t control what happens to me,” Natalie says. “but I can always choose how I deal with it.”
Natalie’s choice was to help.
She created a website page matching survivors in need with donors who wanted to help. Natalie posted introduction about a boy named Patrick, who lost his baseball card collecting when his house burned down. Within days, Patrick’s collection was replaced.
In the coming months, her website page helped lots of kids: Christopher, who received a new basketball; Charlie, who got a new keyboard. Natalie also worked with other organizations to bring much-need supplies to Rockaway. Her efforts made her a famous person. Last April, she was invited to the White House and honored as a Hurricane Sandy Champion of Change.
Today, the scars (创痕) of destruction are still seen in Rockaway, but hope is in the air. The streets are clear, and many homes have been rebuilt. “I can’t imagine living anywhere but Rockaway,” Natalie declares. “My neighborhood will be back, even stronger than before.”
1.When Natalie returned to Rockaway after the hurricane, she found ______.
A. some friends had lost their lives.
B. her neighborhood was destroyed.
C. her school had moved to Brooklyn.
D. the elderly were free from suffering.
2.According to paragraph 4, who inspired Natalie most?
A. The people helping Rockaway rebuild.
B. The people trapped in high-rise building.
C. The volunteers donating money to survivors.
D. Local teenagers bringing clothing to elderly people.
3.How did Natalie help the survivors?
A. She gave her toys to the kids.
B. She took care of younger children.
C. She called on the White House to help.
D. She built an information sharing platform.
4.What does the story intend to tell us?
A. Little people can make a big difference.
B. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
C. East or West, home is best.
D. Technology is power.
People born in winter are more likely to suffer mental health disorders, according to a recent study carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Researchers raised baby mice from birth to weaning in either “summer” light cycles of 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark or “winter” cycles of 8 hours of light and 16 hours of dark. A third group experienced 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark a day.
Then half the winter mice stayed in a winter cycle, while half switched to a summer schedule. The summer mice were similarly split. The mice raised in equal periods of light and dark were split into three groups, one of which stayed on the 12hour schedule, one of which joined the winter group, and one of which joined the summer group.
After 28 days, it turns out the summerborn mice behaved the same whether they stayed on the summer cycle or switched to winter. But among the winterborn mice, those that stayed in winter kept their previous schedule, while those that switched to summer stayed active for an extra hour and a half, which indicates that mice born and weaned in a winter light cycle showed dramatic disruptions in their biological clocks.
The finding is the first of its kind in mammals, and it could explain why people born in winter are at higher risk for mental health disorders.
“We know that the biological clock regulates mood in humans,” said study researcher McMahon. “If the mechanism similar to the one that we found in mice operates in humans, then it could not only have an effect on a number of behavioral disorders, but also have a more general effect on personality.”
1.What’s the main idea of the text?
A.The biological clock regulates mood in humans.
B.Being born in winter has a negative effect on people’s mental health.
C.People born in winter are at higher risk for physical health disorders.
D.The length of light will influence the behavior of the mice.
2.The underlined word “split”(Paragraph 3) can be replaced by ________.
A.divided B.torn
C.hit D.ended
3.Who is probably the reader of the passage?
A.A jobhunter. B.A student in the university.
C.A newlymarried couple. D.An experienced dentist.
In Europe many people died during the Second World War. As a result, at the end of the war there were many orphans (孤儿) there. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted orphans to have a home, and he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give him some money. With this money he built the first SOS Children's Village at Imst, in Austria. It opened in1949. This is how the SOS stand for “Save Our Souls.” This means, “Please help us!” An SOS Children’ village gives help to orphans. Hermann Gmeiner’s idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983 there were 170 SOS Children's Villages in the world. People in many countries give money to help the villages.
Today the children from the first village have grown up. Now some of them work in other SOS Children’s Villages. In SOS Villages orphans live in family groups. There are several houses in each village. The biggest village has 40 or 50 houses! Between seven and ten children live in a house. A woman lives with each group of children and looks after them. She gives the children a lot of love and kindness. She cooks meals for them and makes comfortable, happy home for them.
Of course, the children don’t spend all their time in the village. They go to school; they go out with their friends. But the village gives them a home—sometimes for the first time in their lives.
1.The SOS Children’s Villages are built for________ first.
A.the children who are poor B.the orphans in Europe
C.the kind women D.people who died in the war.
2.We can conclude from the article that the money for helping the SOS Villages mainly comes from ________ .
A.governments B.special organization
C.people in different countries D.the orphans themselves
3.Which of the following is NOT the work a woman in an SOS Village does for each group of children?
A.She lives with the children and looks after them.
B.She gives the children a lot of love and kindness.
C.She cooks meals for children.
D.She teaches the children how to use the computer.
假定你是李华，你的英国朋友John想要加入他所在学校的中文俱乐部，但是他的中文不好，所以他不知道自己是否应该提出申请。请你给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1.建议他申请；
2.给出理由；
3.表达期望。
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。
I grew up in a family when no one was willingness to show love. I knew I was loved, but it was hardly expressed, either in words and with a hug. Then, at the age of 40, I was met Judy. I quickly noticed how often she told her kid she loved them and how I hugged them. As with any habit, I picked it, and the more I did so, the easier it became for me. Now I never fail to hugging my friends or family members, and it have entirely changed how I relate to them. It’s a awesome feeling!
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。
We all know that fish live in the water. But there is a kind of fish living in the desert. This kind of fish is called the lungfish. The lungfish is a type of fresh water fish best known for its 1. （able）to live on land, without water, for months on end, and sometimes even for years.
As its name suggests, the lungfish has a highly evolved breathing system 2. can take oxygen straight from the air, just like land animals do. While they still live in the water, the lungfish needs to 3. （regular）come up to the surface for air. And 4. is astonishing is that these fish can even die if they are in the water for a long time. Therefore, they need to avoid 5. （put）underwater.
When in the water, the lungfish behaves like other 6. （type）of fish, swimming and eating small fish at 7. bottom of ponds and lakes. But when the dry season hits, the lungfish will bury itself deep into the mud, where it secrets mucus（分泌粘液）out of its skin that hardens to form a protective cocoon（茧）around it. Only the mouth 8. （leave）for breathing.
Lungfish is one of the most ancient bony fish 9. （discover）on the earth today. They are very much like the fish that 10. （live）two hundred million years ago. And now lungfish is found only in Africa, South America and Australia.
