The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts, and will increase the coastline of the country by 120 kilometres.

After four years of planning and careful consideration of the environmental issues, construction started in 2001. Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea were employed in the building of the first two islands. The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep. Sand is taken from the seabed and sprayed into the construction site. Although the shallow water facilitates this process, the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea. Rocks are used to hold the sand in place resulting in a large crescent (月状的) structure. This acts as a breakwater and protects the islands from the sea.

The first two islands are in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk and 17 frond, or leaves coming off the trunk. The first island, named Palm Jumeirah, has three five-star hotels in the trunk, and luxury homes in the leaves. It is astonishing that when these homes went on sale in 2004, they were all sold within three days.

The second palm, Jebel Ali, was started in 2002 and is designed to be an entertainment centre. Six marinas (小游艇船坞) are planned, with a water theme park, and homes built on stilts (桩柱) in the water.

The Palm Deira planned to be the largest of the three islands, with a length of 14 km and a width of 8.5 km, an area larger than the city of Paris. It will consist of residential properties, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities, and clubs. These will be open to both residents and tourists.

More artificial islands, the World Islands, are now being constructed near the Palm Jumeirah. They consist of 300 private islands grouped into the shape of the continents of the world and will be used for estates, private homes, community islands, and resorts.

Unquestionably, these artificial islands are one of the wonders of the modern world. They will also maintain Dubai’s status as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region.

1.According to the passage, all the following are right EXCEPT___________.

A.Some Dutch engineers are experienced in reclaiming land from the sea.

B.The islands are being built in the shallow water of the sea.

C.All the luxury homes on Palm Jumeirah were sold.

D.The World Islands are bigger than the Palm Jumeriah.

2.The underlined word “facilitates” in the second paragraph probably means___________.

A.holds back B.makes easier

C.slows down D.leads to

3.What is the passage written for?

A.To introduce the wonderful artificial islands.

B.To show how to build artificial islands.

C.To offer a travel service for tourists.

D.To prove the Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world.

I was 18 when Tim and I began to date. Shy and quiet, I’d met his parents once before but hadn’t ventured to say more than “ Hello”. This particular evening, however, we were taking them out to dinner for their anniversary and I wanted to make a good impression.

Tim and his parents arrived and I was out the door in a flash. My good impression began with “ punctual”. I sat in the backseat beside Tim nervously watching his father’s eyes glance into the rearview mirror to examine me.

Tim and his parents had already decided on their favorite Mexican restaurant and that was fine with me; the dim lighting would hide the rising flush of my cheeks, and if anyone noticed, I could blame it on the peppers. With proper table manners I managed to survive halfway through dinner without making any unforgivable mistakes. However, in the midst of conversation I reached for my iced tea, raised the glass to my lips and very quickly discovered I had picked up the wrong glass.

I quickly lowered the glass and set it back but it was too late; I had burnt my eyebrows, the hair in my nose, and curl over my forehead! I looked up slowly, praying no one had seen me, but all eyes at the table had seen and each face stared at me in shocked silence. Excusing myself, I ran to the restroom.

I would have hidden there forever but I’d barely gotten in the door when Tim’s mother arrived. “ Ah, honey,” she said, holding out her arms to me. “ Everything will be just fine.”

Tim and I eventually married. We had a small ceremony and a family reception afterwards held at the very restaurant where this incident occurred. This time, however, I didn’t drink any candles… only a Margarita(一种鸡尾酒名); they were served in different glasses.

1.It can be inferred from the passage that___________.

A. the author had never met her parents-in-law before dinning together

B. Tim and the author took the bus to get to the restaurant

C. Tim’s father was curious to know about the author

D. Tim’s mother was not satisfied with the author’s behavior

2.According to the passage, the author______________.

A. felt very sorry for being late meeting Tim’s parents

B. mistook wine for drinks and got drunk

C. had her eyebrows burnt because of her nervousness

D. left a bad impression on Tim’s parents

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

A. Please Don’t Drink the Candles

B. Please Don’t Light the Candles

C. Please Behave Yourself

D. You Can Never Make a First Impression for a Second Time

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