A ferry carrying more than 900 people sank in the southern Philippines on Sunday. Most of the passengers have been rescued, but some people are still missing and at least nine have died.
The Philippine Coast Guard says it received a call for help from Superferry 9 early Sunday morning local time, when the ship started listing(倾斜) to its starboard side. The captain ordered passengers and crew to abandon ship about an hour later. The ship sank around 10 am local time, off Siocon Bay in Zamboanga del Norte province. The ship left General Santos City in the southern island of Mindanao Saturday morning heading for Iloilo City in the central Philippines. It was carrying 847 passengers and 117 crew members.
The Philippine Coast Guard said passing ships and the Philippine Navy rescued more than 800 people. Philippines Navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo said, "Most of them when rescued from the water were having difficulty breathing and most of them were weak. There was an immediate need for doctors and nurses to attend to their needs, as well as for drinking water."
Coast guard officials said it is still not clear what caused the ferry to list and said an investigation will be done as soon as rescue operations are over. The weather in the area was reported as being clear at that time, although a  storm was attacking the northern Philippines.
Many Filipinos rely on ferries to travel between islands in the Philippines, but accidents are common especially during the rainy season. Last year, some 800 people died when a ferry sank
1. What does the underlined word “abandon” in paragraph 2 mean ?
A. Watch       B. Leave       C. Protect     D. Keep
2. Which of the following statements about the accident is TRUE ?
A. It took the ferry an hour to sink.
B. The ship was going to General Santos City when it sank.
C. Most passengers got immediate nursing care after they were rescued
D. So far, only a few passengers have found dead in the accident.
3. We can infer from the passage that_____
A. the reason why the ferry sank will be found out soon.
B. ferries are important in many people’s lives in the Philippines
C. people in the Philippines seldom take a ferry during the rainy season
D. a worse accident has never happened on the seas in the Philippines before

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 it can change 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

 

Imagine someone has crossed the seas joining five continents by swimming. It is a major success for anyone. But it is an even greater success for Philippe Croizon, who has no arms, and no legs! His achievements show that we can all achieve great things—no matter who we are.

Philippe Croizon was 26 years old when he had an accident. The doctors had to remove both of his arms and legs. “When they cut off my last leg I wanted to die. I suffered great depression and my spirit was as low as you can get. But you have to choose—and I chose to live!” said Croizon.

While he was recovering in hospital, Croizon saw a television programme about a woman who had been swimming across the English Channel. After watching the programme Croizon decided to do it. He began to exercise every day to make him strong and it took him two years to prepare.

Finally in 2010, Croizon was ready. He entered the cold, grey sea of the English Channel. He was now 42 years old. It took him from early morning until night to swim the distance. He felt a lot of pain. But he had become the first person without arms and legs to swim between France and England. Croizon had achieved his dream, but he did not stop there. He looked for a new goal.

Early in 2012 he planned to swim across the seas that join five major continents. During the next few months he swam between the four continents of Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe and finally in the cold waters of the Bering Strait between the continents of Asia and the Americas.

“We want to show people something. If disabled people have courage and a lot of training they can do the same things as those who are not disabled,” said Croizon.

1.According to the passage, Philippe Croizon _____.

A. was born with disability                      

B. suffered a lot from the accident

C. chose to live because of a TV programme        

D. was fond of swimming since he was young

2.What do we know about Philippe Croizon’s swimming across the English Channel?

A. It took him two years to finish it.            

B. He was the first person to achieve it.

C. It was easy for him to finish the swim.        

D. He spent a lot of time preparing for it.

3.Philippe Croizon’s crossing the seas joining five continents______.

A. lasted a month                             

B. ended in the Bering Strait

C. happened when he was 42 years old       

D. was inspired by a television programme

4.Which of the following can best describe Philippe Croizon’s story?

A. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.           

B. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

C. Actions speak louder than words.          

D. The finest diamond must be cut.

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Hope in the corner                        

B. A disabled man’s dream

C. Challenges to Philippe Croizon              

D. Philippe Croizon’s amazing swim

 

Some diaries from Jackie Chan’s blog

January 4, 2009

  Lately I’ve been busy in Beijing having meetings to discuss my new movie. I also attended John Wu’s ceremony(典礼)of his new movie, Red Cliff, which took two years to complete. I’m good friends with the director John Wu and the main actor Tony Leung.

January 5, 2009

Today I went to record a television program for Beijing TV called Volunteers Across China. This TV program is a large-scale reality show that is based on the idea that “good people reap good rewards” and it hopes to encourage people to be more aware and help the “good people” who are in difficult situations.

January 6, 2009

     I’m very pleased to announce that my Jackie Chan automobile website is set up and officially operating! I hope that through this automotive website, I can get in touch with more people who want to buy cars.

January 7, 2009

Today, I went to record a song called Zhongguo Nian. This song was written by Chang Shilei. I sing this song together with Tan Jing. Chang Shilei is a naturally talented musician. He also has an interesting habit. His piano is placed next to his bed. When he wakes up, he plays the piano until he’s tired, and then he lies down on his bed to sleep.

January 9, 2009

Today I met with the producer and director of Longwei Xiaozi ,and I also brought along my friend’s daughter for a screen test. Although my friend’s daughter grew up in China, her English is very good and it just happened by chance that this movie needs a young actress for a part, so I took her along to audition(试演).

1.What might be the best title for this passage?

A. My new movie.           B. My busy life.

C. My good friend.           D. My favorite song.

2. The TV program Volunteers Across China tries to

A. find some rich people who are able to help the poor.

B. encourage people to look after the young.

C. ask people to help “good people” who are in trouble.

D. make China more and more famous all over the word.

3.The underlined word “announce” in the third paragraph means

   A. tell sb sth officially

  B. tell sb what you think

C. tell sb to do sth

D. say that sth must happen

4.With whom does the author sing the song Zhongguo Nian ?

   A. John Wu.      B. Tony Leung.       C. Chang Shilei.       D. Tan Jing.

5.What can we infer from the text?

   A. It took the author two years to finish the movie Red Cliff.

B. People who are in trouble can ask Beijing TV for help.

C. Chang Shilei is a famous actor who is good at playing the piano.

D. Longwei Xiaozi needs a young actress for a part who can speak English well.

 

 

A ferry carrying more than 900 people sank in the southern Philippines on Sunday. Most of the passengers have been rescued, but some people are still missing and at least nine have died.

The Philippine Coast Guard says it received a call for help from Superferry 9 early Sunday morning local time, when the ship started listing(倾斜) to its starboard side. The captain ordered passengers and crew to abandon ship about an hour later. The ship sank around 10 am local time, off Siocon Bay in Zamboanga del Norte province. The ship left General Santos City in the southern island of Mindanao Saturday morning heading for Iloilo City in the central Philippines. It was carrying 847 passengers and 117 crew members.

The Philippine Coast Guard said passing ships and the Philippine Navy rescued more than 800 people. Philippines Navy spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo said, "Most of them when rescued from the water were having difficulty breathing and most of them were weak. There was an immediate need for doctors and nurses to attend to their needs, as well as for drinking water."

Coast guard officials said it is still not clear what caused the ferry to list and said an investigation will be done as soon as rescue operations are over. The weather in the area was reported as being clear at that time, although a  storm was attacking the northern Philippines.

Many Filipinos rely on ferries to travel between islands in the Philippines, but accidents are common especially during the rainy season. Last year, some 800 people died when a ferry sank

1. What does the underlined word “abandon” in paragraph 2 mean ?

A. Watch       B. Leave       C. Protect     D. Keep

2. Which of the following statements about the accident is TRUE ?

A. It took the ferry an hour to sink.

B. The ship was going to General Santos City when it sank.

C. Most passengers got immediate nursing care after they were rescued

D. So far, only a few passengers have found dead in the accident.

3. We can infer from the passage that_____

A. the reason why the ferry sank will be found out soon.

B. ferries are important in many people’s lives in the Philippines

C. people in the Philippines seldom take a ferry during the rainy season

D. a worse accident has never happened on the seas in the Philippines before

 

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