__________strong earthquake struck __________ Yaan, Sichuan province on April 20, 2013.

A．A; /              B．The; the           C．The; a            D．A; the

“We do look very different; we’re older. Leo’s 38, I’m 37. We were 21 and 22 when we made that film. You know, he’s fatter now -- I’m thinner.” So says Kate Winslet, who is thrilled at the 3-D re-release of Titanic to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship’s demise. “It happens every time I get on any boat of any kind." She recalls. There are all the people who want her to walk to the front of the ship and re-create her famous pose, arms flung wide. Most people remember the tragedy: The British passenger ship—said to be unsinkable—hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, during its maiden voyage from England to New York City. More than 1,500 people died. But little known is what the world learned from the sinking to prevent future incidents.
Probably the greatest deficiency (不足) of the Titanic was that she was built 40 years before the widespread use of the wonderful invention radar (雷达). Her only defense against icebergs and hidden obstacles was to rely on manned lookouts. On that fateful night the eyesight of trained lookouts only provided 37 seconds of warning before the collision.
Traveling at nearly 30 miles an hour, the Titanic was moving far too fast to avoid the huge iceberg. The warning did prevent a head-on collision as the officer on the bridge managed to turn the ship slightly.
The last ship to which it could send an SOS message was the California. She was within ten miles of the Titanic during the disaster, but her radio operator went to bed at midnight and never received any of the SOS messages from the Titanic. That was one of the important lessons learned from the catastrophe, the need for 24-hour radio operators on all passenger liners.
Another lesson learned was the need for more lifeboats. The Titanic remained afloat (漂浮) for almost three hours and most of the passengers could have been saved with enough lifeboats.
1,500 passengers and workers died in the 28 degree waters of the Atlantic. Out of the tragedy, the sinking did produce some important maritime reforms. The winter travel routes were changed to the south and the Coast Guard began to keep an eye on the location of all icebergs. The new rules for lifeboats were obvious to all. There must be enough lifeboats for everybody on board.
The most important lesson learned was that no one would ever again consider a ship unsinkable—no matter how large or how well constructed. Never again would sailors place their faith in a ship above the power of the sea.
【小题1】The text mainly tells us ______.

On April 10, 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted with great force. Fifty cubic kilometers of magma (岩浆) flew from its peak (山顶) and a blanket of ash as thick as one centimeter fell over more than 500,000 square kilometers of Indonesia and the Java Sea. The eruption destroyed Tambora’s peak and formed a hole six by seven kilometers wide. The eruption and resulting tsunamis killed 10,000 people. The agricultural loss and disease brought about by the thick ash caused the deaths of 82,000 more.

Indonesia was rocked again in 1883. On August 26, a small volcano on an uninhabited island between Sumatra and Java, erupted. The eruption produced an ash cloud 80 kilometers high and was heard in Australia—4,800 kilometers away. The eruption also caused a tsunami, which pounded (击打) the shores of Java and Sumatra—killing 36,000 people.

In 1902, St. Pierre was a thriving (兴盛的) community and the largest town on the French colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea. Mont Pelee cast a shadow over the town from where it stood, eight kilometers to the north. The townspeople were used to the light continuous sounds of the mountain, but in May, 1902 Pelee started to get really unstable. Clouds of steam and ash poured from the volcano and on May 8, Pelee erupted. Superheated gas and steaming volcanic ash flew out, pouring down the mountain at high speed. Within seconds, the deadly gas cloud had destroyed the town of St. Pierre and incinerated everyone in it — except one prisoner in a basement cell. It was the worst volcano disaster of the 20th century.

1.How many people died because of the eruption on April 10, 1815 ?

2.The underlined word “incinerated” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “_____”.

3.Only one prisoner survived the volcano eruption of Mont Pelee on May 8 because _____.

4. We can know from this article that _____.

Battle of the Books

Each year in April, the “Battle of the Books” teams from each school meet for the Semi-Battle competition. The top three teams from each division go on to the Final Battle to compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. The gold medal winners go on to compete in the Regional Championship.

Battle of the Books Rules and Goals

Goals:

Students: Have fun reading good books from a wide variety of authors and genres(体裁).

Educators: Encourage reading, foster friendly competition, and nurture the love of books in young people.

Rules:

One team of six students from grades 7 or 8 will represent each school.

1. Each team will have a spokesperson. While the team is encouraged to discuss possible answers, team answers will only be accepted from the spokesperson.

2. The Semi-Finals will consist of three rounds of play, and the Finals will have one round. Each round features a Regular Battle and a Lightning Battle.

3. Regular Battle questions will be addressed to teams alternately(轮流地), regardless of the last correct answer. There will be 12 Regular Battle questions per round. When asked a question, teams will have 20 seconds to provide the book’s title and author.

4. Five points will be given if the team correctly identifies the exact title, and three points will be awarded for correctly identifying the author’s surname. The author’s first name does not need to be identified.

5. The Lightning Battles will be featured at the end of each round. Lightning Battles consist of a 2 minutes, 30 seconds time period during which each team is asked up to 12 questions. These questions concern details of the books and will not require teams to identify titles or authors. Each correctly answered Lightning Battle question will be worth three points.

PLEASE NOTE:

A warm-up practice question will be given to each team at the beginning of its first Semi-Battle and at the beginning of the Final and Regional Final Battles.

There may be no assistance from the coordinators and audience members.

Teams will not be punished for incorrect answers.

Any team demonstrating poor sportsmanship will not be invited back.

1.According to the text, “Battle of the Books” is an activity ______.

A．where students are inspired to write books

B．where books are used as arms in the battle

C．where friends compete with each other

D．where readers are motivated to love books

2.How many questions will be asked in the Semi-Finals?

A．72               B．24               C．36               D．12

3.What information can we get from the text?

A．Teams are given 20 minutes to answer a question.

B．A competitor gets 18 points for 6 correct titles.

C．Each round ends with the Lightning Battles.

D．A correct first name will be given 5 points.

4.If a team doesn’t compete fairly, it ______.

A．won’t be given a warm-up practice         B．won’t get help from audience members

C．will be reduced in its points                D．won’t be allowed to compete next time

________ the severe damage caused by the earthquake in Sichuan on April 20^th, 2013, people in the earthquake-stricken areas show great courage and determination.