A regular drop in the sun’s radiation(辐射) can cause unusually cold winters in parts of North America and Europe, scientists say, a finding that could improve long-range forecasts and help countries prepare for snowstorms.

Scientists have known for a long time that the sun has an 11-year cycle during which radiation measured by sunspots on the surface reaches a peak then falls. But explaining a clear connection to weather is harder.

“Our research confirms the observed connection between solar change and regional winter climate,” lead author Sarah Ineson of the UK Met Office told the reporters in an email. The study was published in the magazine Nature Geoscience on Monday.

The researchers found that the reducing of ultraviolet(UV,紫外线) radiation from the sun can affect high-altitude wind patterns in the Northern Hemisphere(半球), causing cold winters.

“While UV levels won’t tell us what the day-to-day weather will do, they show us the bright future of improved forecasts for winter conditions for months and even years ahead. These forecasts play an important role in long-term possibility planning,” Ineson, a climate scientist, said.

Ineson and colleagues from Imperial College London and the University of Oxford used satellite data that more accurately(精确的) measures UV radiation from the sun and found a much greater change than previously thought.

They found that in years of low activity, unusually cold air forms high in the atmosphere over the tropics. This causes a redistribution(重新分配) of heat in the atmosphere, making easterly winds that bring freezing weather and snowstorms to northern Europe and the United States and milder weather to Canada and the Mediterranean.

When solar UV radiation is stronger, the opposite occurs.

More study was needed, though. A key uncertainty in the experiment lay in the satellite data used, because it covers only a few years. “So questions remain concerning both accuracy(精确) and also applicability to other solar cycles,” she said.

1.The new finding claims cold winters in the North Hemisphere can be caused by ______.

A. a sharp rise in the amount of sunspots

B. a drop in the sun’s UV radiation

C. a complex computer model simulation

D. a clear link between the sun and the earth

2. It has long been known by scientists that ______.

A. UV radiation can affect high-altitude wind patterns

B. there’s a clear connection between the sun’s activity and weather

C. the sun’s radiation reaches a peak every eleven years

D. they can predict day-to-day weather conditions from UV levels

3. What will happen if the sun turns into years of high activity according to the finding?

A. Canada and the Mediterranean will have milder weather.

B. The whole Northern Hemisphere will suffer from extreme winter days.

C. Freezing cold weather will appear in northern Europe.

D. Burning hot weather will appear in the United States.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.

A. researchers have analyzed the data collected in eleven years

B. long-term weather conditions can be accurately predicted depending on UV levels

C. the research doesn’t seem correct and true enough due to limited satellite data used

D. climate scientists have just begun their research in severe weather forecast

 

For eighty four days old Santiago had not caught a single fish. At first a young boy, Manolin, had shared his bad fortune, but after the fortieth luckless day the boy’s father told his son to go in another boat. From that time on, Santiago worked alone. The boy loved the old fisherman and always helped him with money and food. Usually, they would talk about the fish they had taken in luckier times or about American baseball after supper, while at night, alone in his cottage, Santiago dreamed of lions on the beaches of Africa, where he had gone years before. He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.

On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago set off to fish before dawn. Two of his baits(饵) were fresh tunas(金枪鱼) the boy had given him, as well as sardines(沙丁鱼) to cover his hooks. Then he set his lines which went straight down into deep dark water.

    As the sun rose he saw other boats in toward shore. A bird showed him where dolphins were chasing some flying fish. This time Santiago saw tuna jumping in the sunlight. A small one took the hook on his line. Pulling the fish aboard, the old man thought it a good fortune.

    Toward noon a marlin, a common fish in the sea, started eating the bait which was one hundred meters down. Gently the old man played the fish, a big one, as he knew from the weight on the line. At last he struck to settle the hook. The fish did not come out of the surface. Instead, it began to pull the boat to the northwest. The old man followed it. Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks. He waited patiently for the fish to be tired.

    It was cold after the sunset. When something took one of his remaining baits, he cut the line with his knife. Once the marlin leaned suddenly, pulling Santiago forward on his face and cutting his cheek. By dawn his left hand was cramped(抽筋的). The fish had headed northward; there was no land in sight. Hungry, he cut pieces from the tuna and chewed them slowly.

That morning the fish jumped. Seeing it, Santiago knew he had hooked the biggest marlin he had ever seen. Then the fish went down and turned toward the east. Santiago drank a little water from the bottle during the hot afternoon.

Close to nightfall a dolphin took the small hook he had rebaited. He lifted it aboard, careful. After he had rested, he cut meat from the dolphin and kept also the two flying fish he found in its stomach. That night he slept. He awoke to feel the line running through his fingers as the fish jumped. Feeding line slowly, he tried to tire the marlin. After the fish slowed its run, he washed his cut hands in sea water and ate one of the flying fish. At sunrise the marlin began to circle. Faint, he worked to bring the big fish nearer with each turn. Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon(鱼叉). The fish was two feet longer than the boat. No fish like it had ever been seen in Havana harbor.

    An hour later, he sighted the first shark, a fierce Mako, and it came in fast to chase after the dead marlin. The old man struck the shark with his harpoon. The Mako rolled and sank, carrying the harpoon with it and leaving the marlin bloody. He knew the smell would spread. Watching, he saw two sharks closing in. He struck at one with his knife and watched it sliding down into deep water. The other he killed while it tore at the flesh of the marlin. When the third appeared, he thrust(刺) it with the knife. The other sharks came at sunset. At first he tried to beat them with the tiller(舵柄) from the boat, but his hands were bleeding and there were too many in the sea. In the darkness, as he steered toward the harbor of Havana, he heard them hitting the boat again and again. But the old man thought only of his steering and his great tiredness. He had gone out too far and the sharks had beaten him. He knew they would leave him nothing but the stripped skeleton of the big marlin.

   All lights were out when he sailed into the little harbor and beached his boat. He could just make out the white backbone and the upstanding tail of the fish. Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on. In his cottage he fell on his bed and went to sleep.

1.The above story is adapted from __________.

A. Treasure Island                  B. The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

C. The Old Man And The Sea          D. The Son Of The Sea

2.Why did the man feel that he could be lucky this time?

A. Because a small tuna took the hook on his line.

B. Because he dreamed about the American lions.

C. Because he saw many flying fish were chased by the dolphins.

D. Because a lot of sharks followed his boat.

3.According to the text, which statement is NOT true about the boy?

A. The boy had mercy on Santiago.

B. The boy often shared his stories with Santiago.

C. The boy showed his great concerns to Santiago.

D. The boy was Santiago’s adopted son.

4.Why does Santiago let the marlin lead his boat instead of pulling the big fish up?

A. He wanted to kill the marlin first before he pulled it up to the boat.

B. He was too tired and hungry to pull the big fish up.

C. His experience told him not to do so before the fish was tired out.

D. He wanted to use the marlin as a bait to catch the sharks.

5.Which sentence below can be used to best describe Santiago’s character?

A. “He no longer dreamed of his dead wife.”(Para 1)

B. “Although he was alone and no longer strong, he had his skill and knew many tricks.”(Para4)

C. “Almost exhausted, he finally drew his big fish alongside and drove in the harpoon.”(Para7)

D. “Once he fell under their weight and lay patiently until he could gather his strength to go on .”(Para 9)

6.According to the text, what will be talked about in the next paragraph?

A. the man’s action to realize his dream about the lions.

B. people’s reflection when they saw the giant marlin outside.

C. people’s discussion about how they ate the giant marlin.

D. a funeral held by the boy and the local people after his death.

 

Many people are aware of the beauty of a solar eclipse (日食), but are surprised to learn that lunar eclipses are often just as impressive. While total solar eclipse lasts only for a few minutes and can be seen only in a small area of a few kilometers, total lunar eclipse can last for several hours and can be seen over much of the planet. In fact, the beauty and stability of lunar eclipses make them a favorite of both amateur and professional photographers.

    Lunar eclipses generally occur two or three times a year, and are possible only when the Moon is full. When we see the Moon, we are actually seeing sunlight reflected off the surface of the Moon When the Earth is positioned in between the Moon and the Sun, however, the Earth's shadow falls on the Moon, and a lunar eclipse occurs.

     The type of lunar eclipse - total, partial, or penumbral (半影) - that occurs depends both on how much of the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow and through which part of the shadow it passes. A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's outer shadow. This type of eclipse is brief and frequently goes unobserved by all but astronomers. By contrast, total and partial eclipses occur when all or part, respectively, of the Moon passes through the umbra(本影) shadow of the Earth. These eclipses are quite easy to see and are widely observed.

     Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to watch. Solar radiation that occurs during an eclipse of the Sun can cause a form of burns of one's eyes known as eclipse blindness. In fact, the only way to safely view a solar eclipse is by using specially designed equipment. However, since the Moon's light is reflected sunlight, it is completely safe to watch a lunar eclipse without any special equipment, although a pair of binoculars can certainly help the viewer appreciate the beauty of this phenomenon

1.The underlined word "stability " most probably means_______.

A. strength      B. position              C. steadiness           D. visibility

2.According to the passage, a partial lunar eclipse occurs________.

A. when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth

B. when all of the Moon passes through the Earth's umbra shadow

C. when only a part of the Moon passes through the Earth's outer shadow

D. when only a part of the Moon passes through the Earth's umbra shadow

3.The passage implies that penumbral eclipses are________.

A. longer-lasting than most solar eclipses

B. more common than partial or full lunar eclipse

C. the result of the shadow cast by the Moon onto the Earth

D. more difficult to observe than other types of lunar eclipse

4.According to the passage, it is safe to watch a lunar eclipse, unlike a solar eclipse, because ________.

A. moonlight is less strong than sunlight

B. a lunar eclipse is briefer than a solar eclipse

C. a lunar eclipse lasts much longer than a solar eclipse

D. special equipment can be employed to view a lunar eclipse

 

BEIJING—Apple Inc is one step closer to beginning sales of iPad3 tablet computers with cellular (手机) network compatibility (兼容) for the first time in the Chinese mainland, where the consumer-electronics giant is in the midst of an aggressive expansion.

According to China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center, a device by Apple with third-generation high-speed wireless data capabilities was issued the network access license needed for the company to begin official sales in China. The device, listed under model number “A1396”, is compatible with the 3G standard WCDMA, and would work with the cellular network operated by Apple’s local iPhone partner, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.

China Unicom declined (谢绝) to comment.

Apple already offers the 3G iPad3 in Hong Kong through its partners, but currently only offers Wi-Fi versions of the device in the Chinese mainland. Still, consumers in China, which according to research firm IDC surpassed (超过) the US as the world’s largest PC market in the second quarter, have been purchasing 3G tablets through unofficial channels.

Separately, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said Sept 6 that the company’s first Hong Kong store, set to open this quarter, will be located in the city’s central shopping and business district in the International Finance Center’s upscale (高档的) IFC mall, a commercial center and sightseeing spot along the city’s waterfront. Wu also said that Apple is planning a new store in Shanghai later this quarter, which will be its biggest store in China. She declined to give more details or to comment on the 3G iPad3.

Apple currently has four full-service Apple stores in the mainland, which receive the most traffic of any Apple stores in the world. The company otherwise relies on resellers to get its products into the market.

The new stores reflect Apple’s confidence in rising demand for its products such as smart phones and tablet computers. Sales in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan helped boost (增长) the company’s third-quarter results, newly appointed Chief Executive Tim Cook said in July. China revenue (收益) surged (激增) six-fold to about $3.8 billion during the three months ended June 25.

“This has been a substantial (重大) opportunity for Apple and I firmly believe that we’re just scratching the surface right now,” Cook said at the time, referring to strong sales in China. “I see an incredible opportunity for Apple there.”

From China Daily 2012

1.According to the news, which of the following statements is true?

A.WCDMA is not the only 3G standard in the world.

B.Apple Inc sells its products in the market of the Chinese mainland all by its own stores.

C.The consumers in China can only get iPad3 of Wi-Fi versions.

D.Chinese mainland is the second largest PC market in this year’s second quarter.

2.Which one of the following phrases can replace the underlined word in paragraph 1?

A.in the interests of                       B.in the front of

C.in the process of                        D.in the case of

3.How many full-service Apple stores in China?

A.4.               B.6.                C.8.               D.Unknown.

4.What’s the probable meaning of “six-fold” in the last but one paragraph?

A.one-sixth          B.six times          C.60 percent        D.2times

5.45. By saying “we’re just scratching the surface right now”, Cook means ________.

A.they don’t know much about China’s market

B.they will sell more products and gain more profit in China

C.they need to obtain more permission from China’s government

D.they ignored the rural market in China

 

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网