CALCUTTA, India Mar 24, 2006 (AP) — One of the world’s oldest creatures, a giant tortoise believed to have been about 250 years old, has died in the Calcutta zoo where it spent more than half its long life.

Addwaita, which means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was one of four Aldabra tortoises brought to India by British sailors in the 18th century. Zoo officials say he was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company, who was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Long after the other three tortoises died, Addwaita continued to thrive, living in Clive’s garden before being moved to the zoo in 1875.

“According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be about 250 years,” said zoo director Subir Chowdhury. That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.

Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age. Males can weigh up to 550 pounds. Addwaita, the zoo’s biggest attraction, had been unwell for the last few days, said local Forest Minister Jogesh Burman.

“We were keeping a watch on him. When the zoo keepers went to his enclosure on Wednesday they found him dead,” Burman said.

1. According to the passage, Addwaita ________.

  A. was sent to India as a gift by British government

  B. was sent to India by British sailors in 1767

  C. lived together with three other Aldabra tortoises in India

  D. belonged to Lord Robert Clive for some time

2. By now, the oldest animal in the world is about at ________.

   A. 176 years old      B. 100 years old       C. 250 years old      D. 200 years old

3. In the last few days before Addwaita died, he ________.

A. had been sent to hospital for treatment         

B. had been playing with travelers

C. had been found not better than before          

D. had stayed in his enclosure for days

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. An Old Aldabra Tortoise Died in India    

B. A Remarkable Life: Tortoise Dies at 250

C. A Special Kind of Tortoise — Addwaita   

D. The Oldest Animal Aldabra Tortoise Died

CALCUTTA, India Mar 24, 2006 (AP) — One of the world’s oldest creatures, a giant tortoise believed to have been about 250 years old, has died in the Calcutta zoo where it spent more than half its long life.

Addwaita, which means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was one of four Aldabra tortoises brought to India by British sailors in the 18th century. Zoo officials say he was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company, who was instrumental in establishing British colonial^① rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Long after the other three tortoises died, Addwaita continued to thrive^②, living in Clive’s garden before being moved to the zoo in 1875.

“According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be about 250 years,” said zoo director Subir Chowdhury. That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented^③ living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.

Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll^④ in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age. Males can weigh up to 550 pounds. Addwaita, the zoo’s biggest attraction, had been unwell for the last few days, said local Forest Minister Jogesh Burman.

“We were keeping a watch on him. When the zoo keepers went to his enclosure on Wednesday they found him dead,” Burman said.

Notes:

colonial  adj. 殖民的

thrive  v. 茁壮成长

documented  adj. 备有证明文件的

atoll  n. 环礁

Choose the best answers according to the above:

According to the passage, Addwaita ________.

      A. was sent to India as a gift by British government

      B. was sent to India by British sailors in 1767

      C. lived together with three other Aldabra tortoises in India

      D. belonged to Lord Robert Clive for some time

By now, the oldest animal in the world is about at ________.

      A. 176 years old      B. 100 years old       C. 250 years old      D. 200 years old

In the last few days before Addwaita died, he ________.

A. had been sent to hospital for treatment         

B. had been playing with travelers

C. had been found not better than before          

D. had stayed in his enclosure for days

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. An Old Aldabra Tortoise Died in India    

B. A Remarkable Life: Tortoise Dies at 250

C. A Special Kind of Tortoise — Addwaita   

D. The Oldest Animal Aldabra Tortoise Died

The largest earthquake ( magnitude里氏 9.5) of the 20th century happened on May 22, 1960 off the coast of South Central Chile.

    It generated(生成) one of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunamis(海啸). Near the generating area, both the earthquake and the tsunami were very much destructive, particularly in the coastal area from Concepcion to the south end of Isla（岛） Chiloe. The largest tsunami damage occurred at Isla Chiloe---the coastal area closest to the epicenter(震中). Huge tsunami waves measuring as high as 25 meters arrived within 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, killing at least two hundred people, sinking all the boats, and flooding half a kilometer inland.

    There was large damage and loss of life at Concepcion, Chile's top industrial city. Near the city of Valdivia, the earthquake and following aftershocks generated landslides which killed 18 people. At the port city of Valparaiso, a city of 200,000, many buildings collapsed. A total of 130,000 houses were destroyed --- one in every three in the earthquake zone and nearly 2,000,000 people were left homeless.

Total damage losses, including to agriculture and to industry, were estimated(估计) to be over a half billion dollars . The total number of death related with both the tsunami and the earthquake was never found accurately for the region. Estimates of deaths reached between 490 to 5,7002 with no distinction(差别) as to how many deaths were caused by the earthquake and how many were caused by the tsunami. However, it is believed that most of the deaths in Chile were caused by the tsunami.                                                                                       

Where did the largest tsunami damage occurred?

   A. Concepcion      B. Isla Chiloe       C. Valdivia      D. Valparaiso

What can we learn about the tsunami waves generated by the earthquake?

   A. The tsunami waves as high as 25 meters arrived immediately after the earthquake.

   B. The tsunami waves killed 200 people and sank all boats.

   C. The tsunami waves were very destructive.

   D. The tsunami waves flooded half of the inland.

What is generally thought the main cause of deaths in Chile?

   A. landslides      B. the tsunami      C. aftershocks      D. the magnitude 9.5 earthquake

What is the total number of deaths in the earthquake?

   A. 2,000,000      B. between 490 to 57，002     

   C. 200,000        D. it was hard to know.

What does the underlined word “collapsed” probably mean ?

   A. was destroyed     B.. caught fire      C. was flooded       D. sank

When Carla Fisher and her husband announced plans to travel the globe with their young daughters for a year, some friends called them crazy.

    Seven years later, with wonderful memories and a book documenting their world travel, the Fishers now seem like global trailblazers (先驱者).

    “It’s really encouraging to hear that many other people want to educate their kids in that manner,” said Fisher.

Some parents are trying to raise knowledgeable and open-minded “world citizens”. Others want to give their children the skills they’ll need to compete globally.

“There is a huge amount of interest in spending time abroad at all stages of life and increasingly, as a family with children,” said Maya Frost, author of “The New Global Student…”. She knows American families in every corner of the globe who have made that choice.

    “There’s so much more to education than school,” said Tessa Hill, who recently returned to her Houston-area home, after driving her family across North and Central America and Europe in a motor home for 13 months. “World travel is an education in people, cultures, language, travel skills, street smarts and in how lucky we are to live in the United States.”

    When Hill and her husband began considering extended global travel, their middle child, Charles, 13, was surprised. “My first reaction was ‘well, are we really going to do this?’” Charles said. “But it did sound like great fun.”

    Charles said missing his friends was the hardest part. He stayed in touch via e-mail and made some new friends along the way, playing soccer with kids in France and learning about rugby from youths in Ireland.

“I’d definitely recommend this to other kids,” Charles said. “It was such a great opportunity to see different countries and learn geography a different way.”

To make re-entry smoother, most school officials prefer that families work out an educational plan before they leave town.

“It sounds out-of-date, but it really opens up your mind and your eyes to the world,” said Robbin Goodman, 17, a senior student who spent his junior year skateboarding across Beijing, China, when he wasn’t studying Chinese history and other core subjects.

Had he not already taken a school-sponsored spring break trip with his mom to China in 2007, Robbin said he probably would not have been able to convince his parents to let him go alone for a year. “I knew I would learn Chinese and all that, but my goal was to have a great time,” Robbin said. 

“The biggest problem for those seriously considering going abroad is dealing with those who are against the idea,” said Frost.

“They gain the ability to take risks and to have confidence in themselves,” said Liz Pearlstein, founder of a global education consulting firm. “When we came home from London, my daughter, who had been painfully shy before we left, said ‘Mom, now I know there’s nothing I can’t do.’”

No one knows exactly how many American families are choosing the global education path,

but global education consultants say a growing number of parents are traveling for a year or more with their children.