“Federal weather forecasters are predicting a‘near normal’number of storms this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November l. Between nine and 15 named storms are predicted to form in the Atlantic this year, ”said Neil Jacobs, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Of those, between four and eight are predicted to become full-blown hurricanes, with winds capable of removing shingles（木瓦）and taking down power lines, ” Jacobs said Thursday at a news conference to announce the forecast. “And between two and four storms are expected to strengthen into so-called major hurricanes, with winds strong enough to break trees and tear off roofs.”
Gerry Bell, the lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA, said people shouldn't be fooled into satisfactions by the word “normal”.“Nine to fifteen named storms are a lot, ”he said. “Two to four major hurricanes are a lot. So the key message is：We're expecting a near-normal season, but you need to start getting prepared for the hurricane season now.”
This year's outlook is shaped by two competing meteorological （气象学的）phenomena. On one hand, the climate pattern known as El Nino （厄尔尼诺）is happening this year, which generally prevents hurricane activity in the Atlantic. At the same time, the water at the surface of the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean is warmer than usual. That warm water acts like an engine for hurricanes, fueling their creation and making them bigger and wetter.
While ocean temperatures change under normal climate conditions, global warming is also causing ocean waters to get hotter. The overall global surface temperature has already risen more than 1 degree Fahrenheit compared with pre-industrial times. That suggests increasing hurricane risk, as big and wet storms become more likely.
1.How many storms may take place at least this year？
A.4. B.9. C.15. D.24.
2.What can be the effect of the full-blown hurricanes？
A.Blowing off shingles. B.Destroying houses.
C.Causing earthquakes. D.Taking down dams.
3.What can we know from Gerry Bell's words？
A.People were often fooled by the NOAA.
B.There will be less major hurricanes this year.
C.There has been a near-normal hurricane season.
D.People should prepare for the coming hurricanes.
4.What is the direct cause of hurricanes？
A.El Nino phenomenon. B.The increasing population.
C.Environmental pollution. D.Warmer water of the ocean.
It's tough to see or hear of a friend in crisis. One idea to keep in mind is that it is healthy for the distressed person to feel what he or she feels in the moment. When a person in crisis feels understood, he or she feels less alone and connected to the person who understands.
A person who experiences empathy(同理心)from a friend who can “go there”for a few minutes in order to authentically understand while still maintaining a strong and supportive attitude may be relieving and healing. While a friend is telling you about the circumstance, the first and most important step is to listen for feelings, not ways to solve the problem.
For example, a friend is terribly upset because her husband is threatening to leave her. After fully honoring the feelings, it is important to ask the friend what would help. Maybe it is a good cry and some ice cream. Perhaps it's a glass of wine and a walk. Everyone has different ways of dealing. Be respectful and ask the friend what she needs or wants, not what you prescribe.
Take a second example, say a close friend is being misrepresented by other friends. The friends are gossiping about her. During a conversation with her, listen for feelings. Honor her hurt and shock. The same equation is useful with a partner.
Helping a friend or partner in crisis not only helps the person, but creates closeness and trust in the relationship, making opening up in the probable future. In addition, the person who is empathizing feels positive because he or she was able to help. When a person is truly able to comfort and reassure a loved one, he or she feels vital and useful, strengthening the relationship.
1.What should we do first when we know a friend is in crisis？
A.Keep away from him/her.
B.Buy him/her a glass of wine.
C.Understand how he/she feels.
D.Show him/her ways to solve the problem.
2.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to？
A.A way to solve the crisis. B.A way to relieve a bad mood.
C.A way to listen for feelings. D.A way to honor the feelings.
3.How does the author prove his/her idea？
A.By listing data. B.By quoting sayings.
C.By giving examples. D.By conducting surveys.
4.What does the text mainly talk about？
A.How to keep a loved one. B.How to make new friends.
C.How to work with your partner. D.How to help a friend in trouble.
Over the past 20 years, Zhang Bi has donated her blood more than 130 times to help people in need.
Zhang, 44, an employee of a company in Yichang, Hubei province, first donated blood in 1998 while studying at Wuhan University of Technology. “It was in the summer when I was with my classmates, and medical workers were promoting the idea of voluntary blood donations, ” she recalled. To mark her upcoming graduation with a degree in international trade and commerce, she decided to donate 200 milliliters of blood. “In fact, I was jittery at first, ”she said. “But with the nurse explaining things and providing guidance, I gained basic knowledge and finally calmly finished the blood donation.”
After graduation, she began to donate blood once or twice a year. In May 2001, an incident touched Zhang and deepened her understanding of voluntary blood donation. Her brother, a traffic policeman, was attacked and got hurt in a lung after dealing with an illegally operated motorcycle. He suffered blood loss and needed massive blood, but for lack of supplies in the blood bank, all the police officers in the city volunteered to donate blood. “Finally, with the help of the volunteers, my brother was saved, ”she said.
From then on, she began to donate blood every six months, the maximum allowed, according to the Blood Donation Law. In 2006, Zhang's father had a heart surgery and needed blood. Zhang had donated so much blood that she had earned enough “credits” for receiving the blood her father needed from the blood center.
Yi Xiaomei, an official at the Yichang Blood Center, said there are more than 400 regular blood donors in the city. “They have made great contributions to blood donation in the city, ” Yi said. “Zhang Bi, as a typical example, tries her best to guarantee the quality and quantity of blood.” Zhang said donating blood is not only good for the recipient Abut improves her own mental and physical well-being. “I hope I can continue as long as my physical condition can meet the donor requirements, ”she said.
1.What does the underlined word “jittery” mean in paragraph 2？
A.Excited. B.Curious.
C.Nervous. D.Embarrassed.
2.What played an important part in saving Zhang Bi’s brother？
A.The blood in the blood bank.
B.The help of the police officers.
C.Zhang Bi’s donation of blood.
D.The contribution of an official at the Blood Center.
3.What can be inferred from the last paragraph？
A.Blood Center has no limit in donating blood.
B.Yichang has the best and most blood donors in China.
C.Blood donors make a little money from blood donation.
D.Donating blood benefits both the recipient and the donor.
4.What's the best title for the text？
A.A Blood Donor Proves Love not in Vain.
B.Our Society Needs Women's Contribution.
C.An Accident Changed a Traffic Policeman.
D.Blood Donors Promoted Voluntary Blood Donation.
Tromso：the Arctic's most cosmopolitan（国际的）city
Tromso is a cosmopolitan place defined by pubs, a lively music scene and an events calendar that includes everything from traditional native festivals to the Arctic's largest pride celebration.
Mild temperatures and a 2-month-long night
Tromso, about 70, 000 permanent residents, has relatively mild temperatures, which might help explain Tromso’s current popularity as an Arctic destination. Like other places in the Arctic, Tromso experiences polar night, during which the sun never rises above the horizon. Polar night does have several hours of dark during the“daytime”, even on the shortest day of the year.
A gateway to the Arctic
Some people come here to cross"the Arctic"off their life list. For domestic tourists as well as international visitors, the attractions include the chance to go skiing in the mountains right outside the city. If you aren't a ski-jumping fan, the city also has some of the world's northernmost professional sports activities for you to take part in, including a soccer team that plays in Norway's top league. Snowshoeing, dogsledding and winter hiking are also on the agenda.
One of Europe's coolest music destinations
There are regular traditional music concerts in the Tromso Cathedral. The weekend-long Insomnia Festival takes place here each October and the DJ Music Festival each November. Though it began as（and remains） an electronic music festival, other genres （流派）from Norway and Europe are also represented.
Wintertime events and festivals
After the sun returns in January, Tromso hosts Sami Week to celebrate the region's native people. Films, reindeer racing and other cultural events are part of the activities. The Arctic Pride takes place each November in Tromso, calling itself the Northernmost Pride Festival in the world. It features lectures, shows, a parade, parties and concerts.
1.Why is Tromso popular as an Arctic destination according to the text？
A.It can broaden people's horizon.
B.The climate there agrees with tourists.
C.The shortest daytime appears there.
D.It has the same polar night as other polar cities.
2.What can travellers probably do in Tromso？
A.Go skiing right inside the city.
B.Enjoy electronic music just from India.
C.Play soccer with some professional athletes.
D.Go hiking with their friends at home and abroad.
3.In which activity or festival public speakers are needed？
A.The Arctic Pride. B.The Sami Week.
C.The Insomnia Festival. D.The DJ Music Festival.
请阅读下面文字，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
Li Jiang:Have you heard this? Local governments throughout China are encouraging the use of serving chopsticks.
Su Hua:Yes, I have. Chinese eating tradition has once again come under the spotlight when it comes to public health.
Li Jiang:But it seems people have different opinions.
Su Hua:What do you think?
Li Jiang:I think it’s time to change our eating practice.
Su Hua: But I am used to sharing food with my family and friends using my chopsticks.
Li Jiang:You see. People will finally come to realize that the serving chopsticks are much better for health.
Su Hua: I agree, but using individual chopsticks reflects the Chinese food culture.
（写作内容）
1.用约30个词概括上述信息的主要内容；
2.你是否同意使用公筷，用2-3个理由或论据支撑你的看法。
（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。
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请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意:每个空格只填一个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
To keep the creative juices flowing, employees should be receptive to criticism
Researchers have been curious about whether negative feedback really makes people perform better, particularly when it comes to completing creative tasks. The literature has been mixed about this. In a recent investigation, Kim, who in May will join the Cambridge Judge Business School as an assistant professor, observed –– through a field experiment and a lab experiment –– and reported on how receiving negative feedback might impact the creativity of the recipients(接受者).
In both studies, Kim found that negative feedback can inspire or prevent creative thinking. What is most important is where the criticism comes from. When creative professionals or participants received criticism from a boss or a peer, they tended to be less creative in their subsequent work. Interestingly, if an individual received negative feedback from an employee of lower rank, they benefited from it and became more creative.
Some aspects of these findings seem intuitive(凭直觉的). “It makes sense that employees might feel threatened by criticism from their managers,” says Kim. “Supervisors have a lot of influence in deciding promotions or pay raises. So negative feedback from a boss might cause career anxieties.” It also stands to reason that feedback from a co-worker might also be received as threatening because we often compete with our peers for the same promotions and opportunities.
When we feel that pressure from above or from our peers, we tend to fixate on the stressful aspects of it and end up being less creative in our future work, says Kim.
What Kim found most surprising was how negative feedback from their followers (employees that they manage) made supervisors more creative.
“It’s a bit counterintuitive(反直觉的) because we tend to believe we shouldn’t criticize the boss,” says Kim. “In reality, most supervisors are willing to receive negative feedback and learn from it. It’s not that they enjoy criticism –– rather, they are in a natural power position and can cope with the discomfort of negative feedback better.”
The key takeaways: bosses and coworkers need to be more careful when they offer negative feedback to someone they manage or to their peers. And feedback recipients need to worry less when it comes to receiving criticism, says Kim.
“The tough part of being a manager is pointing out a follower’s poor performance or weak points. But it’s a necessary part of the job,” says Kim. “If you’re a supervisor, just be aware that your negative feedback can hurt your followers’ creativity. Followers tend to receive negative feedback personally. Therefore, keep your feedback specific to tasks. Explain how the point you’re discussing relates to only their task behavior, not to aspects of the person.”
In short, anyone who wants to offer negative feedback on the job should do so attentively and sensitively and to promote creativity at work, we should all be receptive to criticism from supervisors, peers and followers.
To keep the creative juices flowing, employees should be receptive to criticism | |
Introduction to the topic | Experiments are conducted to find out whether negative feedback 1. people’s performance or not. |
Negative feedback can inspire or hold back creativity, 2. on where the criticism comes from. | |
3. of the study | Criticism from a boss or a peer 4. creativity, while negative feedback from lower rank employees will be 5.. |
Our work is greatly influenced by our supervisors, so their criticism might bring about anxieties. | |
6. for the phenomena | We compete with our peers for the same opportunities, thus feeling 7. by their negative feedback. |
Supervisors are in a favourable 8. and can learn from their followers’ negative feedback. | |
Enlightenment from the study | When offering criticism to followers or peers, bosses and coworkers need to keep it 9. to their tasks. |
Recipients should adopt a positive 10. towards others’ criticism. |
