IF you lived by the sea, you’d know that typhoons are frequent(频繁的)visitors during summer .They bring Strong winds, heavy rain and flooding(洪水)But most of the time, when people stay indoors, they’re just all right.

This is what the people in the Philippines used to believe – until they met the “super typhoon”, Haiyan. 

The typhoon hit the country on Nov 8, at around 5 am, when most people were still asleep. But being at home didn’t keep them safe, since few buildings remained standing once they were hit by wind as violent as 376 kilometers per hour, according to NBC News.

“This is at the top end of any tropical system that we’ve seen on our planet,” said Bryan Norcross, a weather scientist working for NBC. And so far, Haiyan has caused more than 3,600 deaths and left millions of people homeless.

.But where did Haiyan get its destructive power?

According to Brian McNoldy, a tropical weather expert at the University of Miami, US, Haiyan was so strong because “it had everything working for it”

“All typhoons feed off the warm ocean waters,” Colin Price, a weather researcher at Tel Aviv University in Israel, told National Geographic. Tropical storms are like giant engines(发动机),powered by the heat transferred(传导)from the ocean waters to the air above. However, because of climate change, the oceans have been warming up in recent decades. “Warmer oceans will result in more intense(强烈的)storms,” Price said.

Also, Haiyan started near the equator(赤道),where it was able to pick up more heat before heading to the Philippines. Moreover, the route(路线)it traveled was mostly along open ocean, which means no land prevented it from gathering steam(水蒸气).

In addition, there happened to be very little “wind shear(风切变)in the area this time. Wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction, which can tear apart developing storms. This is like when you stir(搅动) a glass of water with a chopstick: a swirl(漩涡)will form, ‘but if you move the chopstick in the opposite direction, the swirl will quickly disappear.”

“When all those things align in a certain way, you’re going to get something like‘Haiyan’.”Jim Kossin, a scientist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told National Geographic.

1.Which of the following is TRUE about typhoons according to the article?

A. They mostly happen early in the morning.

B. They mostly do damage during winter.

C. During most typhoons people can keep safe just by staying at home.

D. This year, more intense storms have happened in the world,

2.Which of the following made Haiyan so powerful?

a, lts starting point was the equator

b, The frequency of other intense storms

c. More heat was transferred from the ocean waters to the air above,

d. There was a strong wind shear in the area

e. There was no land in its way

A. abc              B.acd               C.ace             D.  ade 

3.The underlined word “alignin” the last paragraph is closest in meaning to_____

A. disappear         B. affect each other

C. Arrive at the top     D. Happen at the same time

4.The article mainly talks about

A. how destructive Haiyan was             

B. Why Haiyan was so destructive

C. how typhoons like Haiyan form(形成)  

D. ways to protect yourself when typhoons hit

 

The International Space Station,one of the most ambitious space projects ever and a key launching board for exploration of the solar system,turns l0 years old Thursday.

    On Nov.20,1998,the first part of the space station was launched by the Russians from Kazakhstan.NASA followed up two weeks later with Piece No 2 carried up by a space shuttle.

    The space station has grown into a giant outpost(前哨)355 km up,home to three people at any given time—soon to be six.

    Thanks to the newly arrived shuttle Endeavour,the space station now has five sleep stations,two baths,two kitchens and two mini—gyms.Ahogether, there are nine rooms,three of which are full scale labs.

    The United States has financed the main part of the project,estimated to cost some 100 billion dollars.Fifteen other countries have also contributed, including Russia,Japan,Canada,Brazil anti eleven nations belonging to the  European Space Agency.

    Fhe space station has traveled 2.1 billion km,orbited Earth more than 57,300 times,hosted 167 people from 15 countries,and served up more than l 9,000 meals

    “The ISS is the largest ever expenment in international technological cooperation,” said John Logsdon。a historian at the National Air and Space Museum in US.

    “1 think it’s a necessary stepping stone to long—term human activities in new Areas of operations,”Logsdon said.The station is“off the planet and it’s the first Step outward—not all end in itself,but a step along the way.”

1.The passage is mainly about             

A the construction of the International Space Station

B.the history of the International Space Station.

C the tenth anniversary of the International Space Station.

D.the eountries that help establish the International Space Station.

2.Piece No 2 of the ISS was put into orbit oil             

A.Nov.6,1998       B.Nov.24,1998

C.Dec.8,1998       D.Dec.9,1998

3.Which of the following is true about Endeav our according to the passage?

A.Endeavour is a newly built shuttle

B.Endeavour is part of the space station

C.Endeavour didn’t get close to the space station

D.Endeavour carried a lot of equipment for the apace station

4.Which of the following country has not made a contribution to the eonstruction of the International space station according to the passage?

A.USA.    B.Japan.    C.Korea.    D.Spain

 

 

Ⅲ  阅读(共两节,满分40分)

第一节  阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Is a mouse that can speak acceptable? How about a dog with human hands or feet? Scientists, the people with the know-how to make such things happen, are now thinking about whether such experiments are morally right or not.

    On Nov. 10, Britain’s Academy of Medical Sciences launched a study on the use of animals with human materials in scientific research. The work is expected to take at least a year, but its leaders hope it will lead to guidelines for scientists in Britain and around the world on how far they can go mixing human genes into animals in search of ways to fight human diseases.

“Do these constructs (构想) challenge our idea of what it is to be human?” asked Martin Bobrow, a professor of medical genetics at Cambridge University and chair of a 14-member group looking into the issue. “It is important that we consider these questions now so that appropriate boundaries are recognized.”     

Using human material in animals is not new. Scientists have already created monkeys that have a human form of the Huntingdon’s gene so they can study how the disease develops; and mice with livers (肝) made from human cells are being used to study the effects of new drugs.

However, scientists say the technology to put ever greater amounts of human genetic material into animals is spreading quickly around the world --- raising the possibility that some scientists in some places may want to go further than is morally acceptable.

     Last year in Britain there was a lively debate over new laws allowing the creation of human-animal embryos (胚胎) for experiments. On one side of the debate were religious groups, who claimed that such science interferes with nature. Opposing them were scientists who pointed out that such experiments were vital to research cures for diseases.

The experts will publish reports after the end of the study, in which they will give definitions (定义) for animal embryos with human genes or cells, look at safety and animal welfare issues, and consider the right legal framework to work within. 

1. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

   A. Scientists in Britain and around the world.              B. Leaders of the research.

   C. Guidelines for scientists.                          D. Scientific experiments.

2. Scientists do research of mixing human genes into animals in order to ____.

   A. test new drugs on animals    B. to find ways to fight human diseases

   C. prove the research is morally acceptable

   D. create monkeys and mice with livers made from human cells

3. We can infer from the passage that ____.

   A. the experts will release reports after the study

   B. scientists have never doubted the use of animals with human materials

   C. the creation of human-animal embryos for experiments is legal in Britain

   D. religious groups hold that cures for diseases have to be done through experiments

4. What would be the best title of the passage?

A. Morally right or not?                   B. A debate about new laws

C. Cures for diseases                      D. Animal embryos with human genes

5. Where is the passage from?

  A. A science textbook                     B. A science booklet  

C. the science column of a newspaper       D. A science magazine for teenagers

 

 

第三部分  阅读理解(共20小题,;每小题2分,满分40分)

     On Nov.18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert in the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City.

     If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him.  He was stricken with polio (小儿麻痹症) as a child, and so he has braces (支架) on both legs and walks with the aid of a pair of crutches (拐杖).

     He walks painfully until he reaches his chair.  Then he sits down  slowly,  puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps (扣压环) on his legs, pushes one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and begins his play.

     But this time,  something went wrong.  Just as he finished the first few notes,  one of the strings on his violin broke — it went off like gunfire across the room.      We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again,  pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage — to either find another violin or else find another string for this one. But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.

     The orchestra began,  and he played from where he had left off. When he finished,  there was an extremely impressive silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered.  He smiled,  wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet us,  and then he said in a quiet tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."

1. What does the author mean when he writes the underlined part in Paragraph 2?

    A. It's very difficult for Perlman to get to the stage. 

    B. It's' hard for Perlman to play a violin with three strings.

    C. It's not easy for Perlman to face such a large audience.

    D. Pefiman plays the violin with three strings successfully.

2. The third paragraph describes             .

    A. how Perlman deals with his disability

    B. Pefiman's attitude towards the concert

    C. the various stages of Perlman' s performance

    D. the difficulties Pefiman had before playing

3. What does the underlined word "one" in Paragraph 5 refer to?

    A. String.              B. Crutch.

    C. Violin.              D. Orchestra.

4. Itzhak Pefiman can be best described as a man who is         .

    A. intelligent            B. strong-willed

    C. humourous           D. highly skilled

 

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