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  Do you know something about tree rings?Do you know they can tell us what the weather was like, sometimes even hundreds of years ago?

  A tree will grow well in a climate with lots of sunshine and rainfall.And little sunshine or rainfall will limit(限制)the growth of climate by studying the tree rings.For example, to find out the weather of ten years ago, count the rings of a tree from the outside to the inside.If the tenth ring is far from the eleventh ring, then we’re sure that it was sunny and rainy most of that year.If it is near to the eleventh ring, then the climate that year was bad.

  Tree rings are important not only for studying the history of weather but also for studying the history of man.Many centuries ago there lived a lot of people at a place in New Mexico.But now you can find only sand there-no trees and no people.What happened?

  A scientist studied the rings of dead trees there.He found that the people had to leave because they had cut down all the trees to make fires and buildings.As all the trees had gone, the people there had to move.

(1)

________ in good climate.

[  ]

A.

Tree rings grow far from each other

B.

Tree rings become thinner

C.

Trees don’t need sunshine or rainfall

D.

People can cut down most of the trees

(2)

The scientists are interested in studying tree rings because tree rings can tell ________.

[  ]

A.

whether a tree was strong or not

B.

whether people took good care of the trees or not

C.

whether the climate was good or not

D.

how old the trees were

(3)

If you want to find out the weather of twenty years ago,you should study ________.

[  ]

A.

the twentieth ring

B.

the tenth ring

C.

the nineteenth ring

D.

the twenty first ring

(4)

Why did people usually live in places with lots of trees?

[  ]

A.

Trees could tell the change of the weather.

B.

Trees brought lots of sunshine and rain.

C.

Trees could make weather not too hot or too cold.

D.

Trees could be used for burning and for building house.

(5)

The people had to leave the place in New Mexico because ________.

[  ]

A.

bad weather stopped the growth of trees

B.

they no longer had water and the land became sand

C.

they didn’t have enough trees for burning

D.

there was too much rain there

 

A frightening example of the sea’s power saw 125,000 people die in 12 different countries last week. The terrible disaster was caused when a great earthquake sent tsunamis breaking into Indian Ocean coastlines. Various areas in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia and East Africa have been destroyed by the huge waves. Whole towns were simply swept aside by the power of the water. Cars, trains and buildings could not remain steady, not to say the people who stood in the way.

The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and occurred off the coast of Indonesia. It was recorded as the fifth strongest since 1900. Scientists said the quake was as powerful as a million of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during the World War II. “This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas.” said Jan Ege-land, a UN official.

Because such waves hardly happen in the Indian Ocean, there is no system in place to warn coastal people who are about to be hit. Tsunami is a Japanese word. They are usually caused by a sudden rise or fall of part of the Earth’s crust under the ocean. Tsunamis often happen in oceans and they are most common in the Pacific.

Tsunamis can be very long, as much as 100 kilometers. They are able to cross entire oceans without losing much energy. One of the most striking facts about tsunamis is that an earthquake on one side of the Pacific Ocean can cause huge waves on the other side.

When the ocean is deep, tsunamis can travel unnoticed at speeds of up to 800 kilometers per hour. They can cross the entire ocean in a day or less. The wave may only be a few meters high in the ocean, but when it is near the shore and reaches shallow water, the wave builds up very quickly in height.

61. How many countries were stricken by the terrible disaster?

         A. 6.                                      B. 12.                          C. 18.                          D. Not sure.

62. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT __________.

Tsunami is a word taken in from Japanese

Tsunamis are quite common in the Indian Ocean

The earthquake measured 9.0 on the Richter scale

No warning system has been set up to watch tsunamis there

63. We can know from this passage that __________.

the earthquake has been the strongest in the last century

the wave soon becomes higher when it reaches the shore

the atomic bombs were more powerful than the earthquake

tsunamis can cross entire oceans with almost the same energy

64. You’ll see the passage in __________ section of a newspaper most probably.

A. Sports                              B. Health                    C. News                      D. Culture

 

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