New York, the city that never sleeps, fell silent last week—schools were closed; bus and subway services were stopped; flights were canceled, and even the stock market closed for the first time since 1985. All the disorder was caused by one thing, the arrival of hurricane Sandy.

This big storm landed on Oct 29 on the US east coast and brought damaging winds, flooding, blackouts (停电) and heavy snow.

Sandy is one of the largest storms that have ever hit the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By the afternoon of Nov1 (Beijing time), about 140 deaths were caused by the storm as it traveled across the Caribbean islands and into the US.

Unlike most hurricanes that happen during summer, Sandy was strengthened not only by warm ocean water, but also by the cold air coming from the northwest. Sandy’s power grew because of the difference in masses between the warm and wet air and cool and dry air. It became a kind of “super-storm”, the Guardian reported.

The flooding was particularly severe. Scientists said it was because Sandy’s arrival happened together with a full moon, which normally means higher-than-usual tides (潮水).

“The most worrying aspect of Sandy is the high tides,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told Reuters before the storm arrived. “With the full moon on Monday, with Sandy coming up the bay, we’re very concerned about flooding in our low-lying coastal areas.”

Apart from the power of Sandy itself, another reason why her arrival has caused so much damage is that its target area is crowded with big cities such as New York and Philadelphia. These urban areas are home to tens of millions of people. The flood, the snow and the blackout have brought the country’s financial and political centers to a stop. 

“The size of this alone, affecting a heavily populated area, is history making.” Said Jeff Masters, a hurricane specialist.

1.The author mentioned the disorder in New York city at the beginning of the article to _______.

A．remind us of the problems people might face when disaster strikes

B．introduce the disastrous influence of hurricane Sandy

C．criticize the poor management of the city by the New York government

D．prove New York suffered most from hurricane Sandy

2.According to the text, hurricane Sandy _______.

A．only got its power from the warm ocean water

B．grew stronger than other hurricanes because of the full moon

C．led to flooding in many cities around the US

D．brought with it strong winds, high tides, blackouts and heavy snowfall

3.From the article, we learn that areas hurricane Sandy targeted _______.

A．were mostly high land

B．were mostly near the sea

C．were far away from important cities

D．were empty as people were evacuated (疏散)

4.What is the main point of the article?

A．To show how a super-storm comes into being.

B．To explain why hurricane Sandy was so destructive.

C．To show that big cities in the US are easily affected by huge hurricanes.

D．To explore the best ways to avoid loss when a hurricane hits.

Beijing has a population of 17 million, ________ it one of the largest cities in China.

People who travel a lot fly with BA because they know they will get what they want and what they need. First of all, they want to go safely, and they also want to go quickly, across the country, across the sea, or right across the world — and they know BA will take them where they want to go, when they want to go. BA flies all the newest and fastest planes, to more towns and cities, in more countries of the world, than any other airline.

Do you want to go to Paris, Washington, or Beijing? BA will take you there, at all time of the day and night, right through the week. BA flies not only to the big cities, we also fly three or four times a week to towns and cities in the very heart of Asia, Africa and South America.

People who travel a lot fly with BA, because they know that they will leave on time, and arrive on time. They know the food they will receive and the films they will watch will be of the very best.

BA should be considered second to none. When you fly, fly with BA.

1.The writer thinks that the most important thing for the passengers is ________.

2.BA flies to many big cities of the world ________.

3.The underlined sentence of the text means ________.

4. If you fly with BA, ________.

Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.

   The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.

   Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quick as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.

   Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.

Australia is __________.

A.the largest country in the world   B. as large as Shanghai

C. not as large as China              D. the largest island in the north of the earth

The government had made _________.

A. not enough laws to fight pollution

B. so many laws that it can fight pollution

C. enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution

D. enough laws because the pollution is very serious

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers

B. Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia

C. Perth lies in the west of Australia

D. No other city is larger than Perth in Australia

People need to relax and enjoy themse1ves．One way they can have a good time is to watch a baseball game or another sports event．Even thousands of years ago，groups of people gathered（聚集） to watch skilled athletes（运动员）．
　　Over 2000 years ago in Greece，certain days in the year were festival days．These were holidays when people stopped work and enjoyed themselves．They liked to watch athletes take part in races and other games of skill．
　　The most important festival was held every four years at the town of Olympia．It was held in honor of the Greek god Zeus（Zus）．For five days，athletes from all parts of the Greek world took part in the Olympic Games．At the Olympic Games，people could watch them box，run，jump and so on．There was a relay race between two teams of men in which a lighted torch（火矩）was passed from runner to runner．The Olympic Games were thought to be so important that cities which were at war with one another had to stop fighting．People were allowed to travel to the games safely．Thousands of people came to Olympia from cities in Greece and from her colonies（殖民地）in Africa，Asia and Italy．They met as friends to cheer their favorite athletes and to enjoy themselves．
【小题1】What happened in Greece over 2000 years ago？