B

“Can I hug you?” community nurse Joyce Jebambula asks with a smile as she welcomes me back to her village. “Of course,” I say as I put my arms around her. It’s an unbelievable moment. Just at the height of the outbreak more than a year ago, there was an “avoid body contact” rule here. It’s now been removed.

One of the most challenging parts of reporting this outbreak over the past 18 months is that I haven't been able to touch anyone in the worst-affected countries. When Ebola(埃博拉病毒) survivors described in tears describing losing their families, I had to almost sit on my hands to avoid reaching out to comfort them.

The outbreak was declared over in Sierra Leone on 7 November. I returned for the celebrations. But despite reaching this long-awaited milestone, all is not well.

Ibrahim Koroma, 21, clings to his survivor's certificate outside the home. All 17 of his family are now dead. The certificate is one of his most prized possessions. "He does not pose any risk to the community" it reads.

Ibrahim tells me how his landlord has allowed him to stay in one of the rooms of his former family home until the end of the year. He says he doesn't know what he'll do after that. He does some part-time work, relying heavily on help from neighbours. His two little sisters and little brother died in the very room where he now sleeps. He says he often lies awake thinking about them, feeling very bad.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the worst on record. In past outbreaks there had only been a few hundred deaths and a few hundred survivors. It was thought Ebola could live for only three months. But research has now shown it can linger for at least nine months. Scientists are still trying to find how long it could be infectious.

1.When interviewing Ebola survivors the author _______.

A. couldn’t touch the with hands.

B. kept comforting them with hands

C. held their hands to show sympathy

D. couldn’t help comforting them with hands

2.Ibrahim Koroma values his certificate because it_________

A. is a sign of his contributions

B. shows he is healthy person

C. has been the only one for patients so far

D. is a great honor to have it in his village

3.We can learn from the passage that___________

A. Ebola an only survive a few days

B. Ibrahim’s neighbours treat him badly

C. Ebola still influences Ibrahim’s life

D. there were once 17 people in Ibrahim’s family

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地).

It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and underbushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Disappearance of African elephants.

B. Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

C. The effect of African elephants' search for food.

D. The eating habit of African elephants.

2.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A. Fixing the time. B. Worsening the state.

C. Improving the quality. D. Deciding the conditions.

3.What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A. They result from the destruction of rain forests.

B. They provide food mainly for African elephants.

C. They are home to many endangered animals.

D. They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

4.The passage is developed mainly by _____.

A. showing the effect and then explaining the causes

B. pointing out similarities and differences

C. describing the changes in space order

D. giving examples

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium (水族馆)

The all-new Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, situated in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, is one of Victoria’s leading visitor attractions and an unforgettable outing for the whole family. Having 12 amazing zones of discovery, Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is the very place that you cannot miss when you visit the city.

* Opening Times

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is open from 9:30 am until 6:00 pm every day of the year, including public holidays. Last admission is at 5:00 pm, one hour before closing.

* Location ( 位置)

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is located on the corner of Flinders Street and King Street, Melbourne. It is situated on the Yarra River, opposite Crown Entertainment Complex.

* Getting to Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium

Train

The Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium train stop is located on the free City Circle Tram route (公交线路) and also routes 70 and 75. City Circle trams run every 10 minutes in both directions.

Shuttle Bus

The Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is a free bus service, stopping at key tourist attractions in and around the City. Running daily, every 15 minutes from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Car Parking

While there is no public car parking at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, there are several public car parking lots available only a short walk away.

* Wheelchair Access

Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium provides people in wheelchairs with full access to all 12 zones. Each floor also has wheelchair accessible toilets.

* Terms

Tickets will be emailed to you immediately after purchase or you can download and print your ticket once payment has been accepted. Please print out all tickets purchased and present at the front entrance of Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium. No ticket, no entry!

1.Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium _________ .

A. is located at the center of the CBD in the city

B. has 12 most attractive places in Melbourne

C. admits visitors from 9:30 am until 6:00 pm

D. is beside Crown Entertainment Complex

2.Getting to Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium, visitors can take ________.

A. trains from Southern Cross train station

B. shuttle buses around the train station

C. boats across the Yarra River

D. either tram route 70 or 75

3.Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium offers visitors ________.

A. free car parking B. wheelchair access

C. Internet connection D. transportation service

Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories,but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space?

On Nov.19,a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite.

The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record-setting.28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia,CNN reported.It took the students seven years to build.

The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat,which is named after their school.It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0.89 kilograms,according to Orbital Sciences,a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project.It can be controlled with a smartphone.

Like most satellites,TJ3Sat can send and receive data.The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器),which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves,said Orbital officials.In this case,anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text.The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite,changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves.

“I can say ‘Go Colonials’on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world,in India,someone can hear‘Go Colonials’over the radio,”the team explains on the website.

The satellite will stay in space for at least three months.

School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time.Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors.

At a time when American students are busy with SATs,the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities,Glazer said.

“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro,program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA,said in a statement.“I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft.The idea here is that they really can do that.”

1.The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

A.influenced

B.amazed

C.delighted

D.inspired

2.Which of the following statements about TJ3Sat is TRUE according to the article?

A.It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite.

B.Besides TJ3Sat,28 other small satellites were built by the students.

C.TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space,which can be changed to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth.

D.TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year,sending out messages together with information about its position in space.

3.According to the article,the launch of the satellite _______.

A.is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology

B.proves that hard-working teenagers can achieve a lot

C.shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school

D.has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel

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