Wind , water, fire and ice-these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today.
The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon(大峡谷).
Long ago, ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes, and glaciers(冰川) are still on the move in Alaska.
Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals. This happened in Yellowstone Park in 1988.
Dead volcanic mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US, especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 that morning, Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off.
Over 60 people –campers, scientists, journalists, forest workers—were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away, day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash.
Scientists knew that Mt St Helens might erupt(爆发) soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman, 84, owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous.
But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now it is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens, the once beautiful lake, and the forests.
But slowly, life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was. Perhaps Mt St Helens will erupt again. But this is all part of nature’s pattern of change, and man has little power to control it.
【小题1】Choose the best title for this passage.

A.Wind, water, fire and ice
B.Volcano’s beauty and danger
C.The power of nature
D.Natural force shape beautiful land of America
【小题2】After the eruption of volcano, what makes the sky turn dark?
A.The smokeB.The clouds.C.The fog.D.The ash.
【小题3】The underlined word “it” means______.
A.The body of old Harry
B.The location of Harry’s home
C.The opening on top of Mt St Helens
D.The place where Harry probably died
【小题4】We can infer from this article that ______.
A.Washington and Oregon are neighboring states
B.Colorado River runs through Yosemite Valley
C.The eruption of Mt St Helens also caused trouble with the Yellowstone Park
D.Scientists never knew Mt St Helens was active

For those who are tired of doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app (application).
Strange though it may seem — "my wife already does that" was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week — Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them "smart".
Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it's Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.
The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owner is at work or on the bus.
Samsung says it's not just something new — the app connection actually has some practical uses.
"If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go." said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.
The company also says that with electricity rate (电价) varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.
Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do — enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.
【小题1】 What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?

A.The machine will be a big success.
B.their wives like doing the laundry.
C.The machine is unrelated to their life.
D.This kind of technology is familiar to them.
【小题2】We can conclude from Samsung's statements that ________.
A.the app connection makes life easier
B.it is better to dry clothes in the morning
C.smartphone can shorten the drying time
D.we should refresh clothes back at home
【小题3】What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.The laundry should be frequently checked
B.Lazy people like using such machines
C.Good technologies also cause problems
D.Television may help do the laundry


The great Alaskan explorer John Muir once wrote that to have dinner with a glacier (冰川) on a sunny day is an excellent thing. It is better to sleep beside one, on an Antarctic island,  with just a sleepifig bag for warmth and the sky as your tent.
Our camp-out was in early January of this year on Danco Island, along the Antarctic Peninsula.  Midway through a 10-day Antarctic journey, conditions were near perfect.  We started our voyage from the Akademik Ioffe in Zodiacs,  landing on the wide beach with its fist-sized rocks.  At the height of the Antarctic summer, the shore was clear of snow, with plenty of room for the 40 adventurers to spend the night.
Danco Island was charted in 1898 by the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache, who was the first to prove that you could overwinter in Antarctica and survive.  De Gerlache paved the way for Lt.  Robert Scott's first expedition in 1901.  De Gerlache mapped the archipelago (群岛).  He later named the island after his team member mile Danco,  a geophysicist who died that winter.  For one year in the mid-1950s, Danco was known as Base O by the British, who kept a scientific research station there, although all that. remains of it is a foundation and a pile of coal.
Our expedition was organized by Australian tour operator Peregrine Adventures. The weather was extraordinary -- sunny with daytime temperatures of about 1't2.  The camping was easy and accessible to all ages.  Sleeping under the stars in Antarctica,  in just a sleeping bag is pretty amazing.
1. Whom did Adrien de Gerlache have a direct effect on?
A. John Muir.           B. Lt. Robert Scott.
C. The tourists.          D. The author. 
2. What was Danco Island named after?
A. A place.             B. A glacier.
C. A person.           D. An ocean.
3. It can be inferred from the passage that        .
A. old people can't go 'camping in Antarctica
B. the author went to the Antarctica in winter
C. John Muir might have visited an Antarctic island
D. Lt. Robert Scott built a station in the Antarctic
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Danco Island
B. An expedition to Antarctica
C. Explorers of Antarctica
D. Sleep under the stars in Antarctica

What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.
Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”
【小题1】The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.

A.bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding
B.pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking
C.great and important; common
D.hopeful and helpful; careless
【小题2】According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.
A.a normal person; a funny person
B.a strong person; a weak person
C.a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person
D.a famous person; an ordinary person
【小题3】 A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.
A.whose parents are clever
B.often thinking about difficult problems
C.often helped by his parents and teachers
D.born with a good brain and putting it into active use
【小题4】 It is better for parents ________.
A.to praise and encourage their children more often
B.to be hard on their children
C.to leave their children alone with nothing to do
D.to give their children as much help as possible
【小题5】Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
A.Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.
B.The less you use your mind the duller you may become.
C.Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.
D.What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.

Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure?Riding the train can be a real adventure. That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak. I often take a four-hour trip to visit my children. Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.
Last week when I was on the train, there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation—in another language. It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train. I think it was annoying.
Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two-day trip by train. She said her two daughters were worried at the thought of driving for three days to reach her home, although she had no trouble driving. The train ride was the only choice for her. She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.
She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents. That is a very good question. Both of us are old and have children. She asked that same question from time to time.
There are always many people on the train from all walks of life, different countries, and many languages. Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and learn all kinds of cultures. If you get hungry, you can buy food in the food car at any time. If you need to use the restroom, there is always one for you.
It surely beats driving the car, which has to stop for food and restrooms. And it is better than taking the bus.
【小题1】According to the passage, the purpose of the author’s train ride was ______.

A.to do businessB.to see her children
C.to visit places of interestD.to see her old friends
【小题2】In the author’s opinion, on the train Amtrak ______.
A.the services are quite goodB.the food is terribly expensive
C.all the passengers are politeD.all the passengers are American
【小题3】What is the best title for this passage?
A.A painful experience on the trainB.A wonderful lady
C.Train ride—a cultural experienceD.The history of Amtrak

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