The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru5 s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence—other countries might learn from its mistakes.

    For thousands of years,Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru,far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Feam in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter,a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.

   However,because it was very remote,Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. Then whaling ships and other traders began to visit,bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started,which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.

   Naum's real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (憐酸盐) on the island. In fact,it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate,which is a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.

    A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground;it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines,it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip-mining totally destroys the land. Gradually,the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.

In 1968,Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.

   Unfortunately,the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition,they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Some people realised that they had a terrible problem—their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000,Nauru was almost financially mined. Experts say that it would take approximately $ 433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen.

36. What might be the author's purpose in writing the text?

   A. To seek help for Naum's problems.

   B. To give a warning to other countries.

   C. To show the importance of money.

   D. To tell a heartbreaking story of a war.

37. What was Nauru like before the Europeans came?

   A. Rich and powerful.

   B. Modem and open.

   C. Peaceful and attractive.

   D. Greedy and aggressive.

38. The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from

   A. soil pollution   B. phosphate overmining

   C. farming activity   D. whale hunting

39. Which of the following was a cause of Nauru^ financial problem?

   A. Its leaders misused the money.

   B. It spent too much repairing the island.

   C. Its phosphate mining cost much money.

   D. It lost millions of dollars in the civil war.

40. What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?

   A. The ecological damage is difficult to repair.

   B. The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously.

   C. The island was abandoned by the Nauruans.

   D. The phosphate mines were destroyed.


    A special lecture began Thursday morning,given by a teacher aboard a space module about 340 km above her students on Earth,the first such attempt by Chinese.

   Female astronaut Wang Yaping,one of the three crew members of Shenzhou X spacecraft,greeted about 330 primary and middle school students at a Beijing high school,through a live video feed system. uHello,everyone. I am Wang Yaping. I will host the lecture today”> she said,smiling towards the camera,on board of the space module Tiangong I.

   The students on her class included children from migrant workers’ families,of ethnic minorities (少数 民族) and from Hong Kong,Macao and Taiwan. They were gathering at the High School Affiliated to Renmin University in Beijing. More than 60 million students and teachers at about 80 ,000 middle schools across the country were also watching the live broadcast on TV.

   The first section of the class was all about weight. Nie Haisheng,commander of the crew,made a bit show of crossing his legs into a meditation (沉思、) sitting posture in the air,which only a martial art (武术) master could do in the movies but was impossible for real people on Earth. Thanks to the weightless condition,we are all masters,M Wang joked.

   Then,Wang Yaping introduced the special scale on board of the orbiter,which was designed on basis of the Newton's second law of motion,or measuring the mass of an object through the net force and the acceleration.

    The lesson was aimed at making space more popular,as well as inspiring enthusiasm for the universe and science,according to Zhou Jianping,designer-in-chief of China manned space program,who added that the lesson would also accumulate experience for similar larger activities.

41. What's the best title for the passage?

   A. Chinese Astronaut Gives the First Space Lecture

   B. Students Watch Shenzhou X Spacecraft

   C. What the Conditions Are like in Space

   D. Ordinary People Act like Martial Art Masters

42. The lecture given in space is intended for

   A. students from Beijing

   B. students from special areas

   C. students all over the country

   D. students interested in space module

43. From the passage we can know that .

   A. special training makes the astronauts stay in the air like martial art masters

   B. astronauts are experiencing weightless conditions when in space

   C. astronauts are showing to the students how they study and live in space

   D. the Newton's second law of motion proves to be wrong in space 

44. Why does astronaut Wang Yaping give the lecture in space?

   A. To show us what weightless conditions are like.

   B. To give a further explanation of weightlessness.

   C. To show it is not easy to stay in space at present.

   D. To make more of us interested in space science.

  In 1989 an 8. 2 earthquake almost flattened America,killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder,a father rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be,only to 16 that the building was 17 .

    After the unforgettable shock,he 18 the promise he had made to his son,u No matter 19 happens,I'll always be there for you!” And tears began to 20 his eyes. As he looked at the pile of ruins,it looked hopeless,but he kept remembering his 21 to his son. He rushed there and started digging 22 the ruins.

   As he was digging,other helpless parents arrived,saying, “It's too 23 ! They’re all dead!24 , face reality,there's nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with one 25 Are you going to help me now?” No one helped. And then he continued to dig for his son,stone by stone.

   Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know 26 himself, “Is my boy T!or is he dead?” He dug for 8 hours. .. 12 hours. .. 24 hours. .. 36 hours. . , then,in the 38th hour,he 28 back a large stone and heard his son's 29 He screamed his son name, “ ARM AND!” He heard back, “Dad,it's me,Dad!I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive,you would 30 me and 31 you saved me,they’d be saved. You promised, ‘No matter what happens,I'll always be there for you! ’ You did it,Dad!” “What's going on in there?” the father asked.

“There are 14 of us left 32 33, Dad. We’re scared, 33 , thirsty and thankful you’re here. When the building collapsed,it made a 34 , and it saved us. ”

“ Come out,boy! ”

“No,Dad!Let the other kids out first,35 I know you’ll get me!No matter what happens,I know you’ll always be there for me!”

16. A. know   B. discover

   C. think   D. realise

17. A. as flat as a pancake   B. as high as a mountain

   C. as strong as an ox   D. as weak as a kitten

18. A. memorised   B. forgot

   C. kept   D. remembered

19. A. what   B. how   C. which   D. who

20. A. fill   B. flow   C. come   D. follow

21. A. picture   B. promise

   C. present   D. encourage

22. A. for   B. through

   C. out   D. into

23. A. dark   B. early   C. thick   D. late

24. A. Come out   B. Come again

   C. Come on   D. Come off

25. A. word   B. sound

   C. row   D. line

26. A. for   B. of   C. by   D. to

27. A. lovely   B. living

   C. alive   D. lively

28. A. got   B. paid   C. sent   D. pulled

29. A. breath   B. voice

   C. noise   D. tone

30. A. see   B. save

   C. visit   D. miss

31. A. when   B. because

   C. even if   D. though

32. A. for   B. behind

   C. out of   D. over

33. A. excited   B. happy

   C. hungry   D. sad

34. A. promise   B. space

   C. room   D. triangle

35. A. because   B. though

   C. when   D. even though

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