TOKYO(AP)-An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed(出轨)in northern Japan, killing four people and injuring more than 30, officials said Monday．
Five cars of the six-car express train derailed Sunday evening, three of them toppling(倾倒)onto their sides in Yamagata prefecture(辖区), about 180 miles north of Tokyo, officials said．The train was going from northern Akita to Niigata prefecture．
The injuries of the survivors did not appear to be life-threatening, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said．It was unclear how many passengers were on the train, but Oe said most of the injured were in the first two cars．
The dead included two men and two women, and rescuers planned to lift the wreckage(残骸)later in the day to see if any other passengers remained beneath, officials said．
Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said it was not known what caused the derailment and officials were assessing the extent(程度)of the damage．Railway operator JR East Co．President Mutsutake Otsuka apologized for the accident at a news conference Monday morning and promised a thorough investigation(调查)．
Yamagata police official Yasuhiro Sugiu said there had been high speed wind warnings for the area．According to a train conductor, a strong gust(阵风)hit the train just before the accident．Winds in the area were about 48 mph, Kyodo News agency reported．
Authorities said they did not know how fast the train was going．Speed was believed to be a factor in an April 25 train wreck that killed 107 people and injured more than 500 others in Amagasaki, western Japan．That accident was Japan’s worst train wreck since 1963．
(1)
This report is about a train accident that happened _________．
[ ]
A．
in Yamagata on Sunday evening
B．
in Tokyo on Monday
C．
in Niigata on Sunday evening
D．
in Amagasaki on April 25
(2)
Which of the following has not yet been made clear about the derailed train?
[ ]
A．
The number of its cars．
B．
Its running direction．
C．
The number of the survivors in its derailment．
D．
The time of the train accident．
(3)
We can infer from the passage that _________．
[ ]
A．
speed was certainly a factor leading to the train derailment
B．
the train operator was a careless man．
C．
the gust was strong enough to derail the train
D．
authorities would try to find out the speed at which the train was running
(4)
The underlined word “wreck” in the last paragraph most probably means “_________”．
Tokyo：the world’s oldest man, retired Japanese silkworm breeder Yukichi Chuganji, died in his home at the age of 114, on Monday．Family members found him dead on his mattress．Born on March 23, 1989, Chuganji worked as a silkworm breeder and bank employee after leaving school．He also served as a community welfare officer．He had been in good health, talking daily with his family members．
Washington：every American dislikes people who talk on cellphones while driving, even those are guilty of the practice．In the State of New Jersey, 84 percent of 968 cellphone owners said in a recent telephone survey that they would support a state ban on the use of cellphones while driving．However, 42 percent of cellphone owners also said they used the devices“very often”or“sometimes”while driving．Although most agree that the banning is good, only 38 percent believed such a ban would be easy to enforce．
New York：a woman in the US who was being attacked by a vicious dog said she was saved from further harm when her 13-year-old daughter distracted the canine by screaming“ You want a piece of me?”and kicked it repeatedly in the head．Jane Howell said she and her daughter, Elizabeth, were taking a walk around the neighbourhood on Saturday, evening when they came across the big dog, unchained．
(1)
The main idea of the second paragraph is ________．
[ ]
A．
most Americans don’t like cellphones
B．
a ban on the use of cellphones has been made
C．
few people use cellphones while driving
D．
using cellphones while driving will be banned because most Americans don’t like it
(2)
The three pieces of news are all about ________．
[ ]
A．
science
B．
daily life
C．
sports
D．
law
(3)
The woman in the US ________．
[ ]
A．
was not harmed by the dog
B．
was raising the dog when it attacked her
C．
was protected from being seriously hurt by her daughter
D．
had escaped when her daughter was kicking the dog
(4)
From the news we can infer ________．
[ ]
A．
Chuganji was living alone when he died
B．
the woman’s 13-year-old daughter was brave enough
C．
cellphones are not good devices
D．
it’s easy to enforce the ban on the use of cellphones while driving
(5)
“Vicious”in the third paragraph means ________．
[ ]
A．
bad
B．
kind
C．
unchained
D．
ugly
阅读理解：
By 2050…
Futurologists predict that life will probably be very different in 2050．
TV channels will have disappeared．Instead, people will choose a program from a“menu”and a computer will send the program directly to the television．Today, we can use the World Wide Web to read newspaper stories and see pictures on a computer thousands of kilometers away．By 2050, music, films, programs, newspapers, and books will come to us by computer．
Cars will run on new, clean fuels and they will go very fast．Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won't be any accidents．Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are．By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination．Space planes will take people halfway around the world in two hours．Today, the United Sates Space Shuttle can go into space and land on Earth again．By 2050, space planes will fly all over the world and people will fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours．
Robots will have replaced people in factories．Many factories already use robots．Big companies prefer robots－they don't ask for pay rises or go on strike, and they work 24 hours a day．By 2050, we will see robots everywhere－in factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes．
Medical technology will have conquered many diseases．Today, there are electronic devices that connect directly to the brain to help people hear．By 2050, we will be able to help blind and deaf people to see and hear again．
Scientists will have discovered how to control genes．Scientists have already produced clones of animals．By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people, and decide how they look, how they behave and how much intelligence they have．Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?
(1)
Which of the following can NOT be realized today?
[ ]
A．
Reading newspapers on a computer．
B．
Making a space shuttle go into space and land on Earth again．
C．
Creating cloned animals．
D．
Choosing TV programs freely from a“menu”．
(2)
According to the text, some big companies prefer robots to human workers because human workers ________．
[ ]
A．
can work 24 hours a day
B．
often ask for more pay
C．
are not clever enough
D．
are often late for work
(3)
From the 6th paragraph we can infer that ________．
[ ]
A．
there will be no blind and deaf people by 2050
B．
few diseases will attack people
C．
electronic devices will be connected directly to the brain to help each other
D．
medical technology will be more effective by 2050
(4)
What's the author's attitude towards the cloning technology?
[ ]
A．
The author does not agree on the use of cloning technology．
B．
The author thinks human cloning is impossible．
C．
The author does not really support the idea of human cloning．
Cities of the Future