Ideal for anyone who wants a good time, the Gold Coast is packed with enough fun for everyone in Australia．It's impossible to be bored on the Gold Coast．Below are the attractions;

Dream World

    This is a fun place for everyone, whether you are a family with young kids, older kids, or out with your mates．This theme park is actually a series of parks, made up of such places as preschooler heaven Wiggles World and such attractions as Big Brother for inner reality TV fans．Dream World also owns the theme park White Water World．It is possible to buy tickets from Dream World that covers several different parks．

Sea World

    Get up close and personal with dolphins, sharks and polar bears．This theme park also offers the right mixture of shows, exhibits, animal fights and thrill rides such as roller coaster．This is a must-see for your Gold Coast adventure．

Warner Bros Movie World

    This theme park has the best combination of fast-paced entertainment．Visitors can have fun living as though they're in the movies．Kids will see all their cartoon favourites on parade and in shows．Bigger kids and grown-ups can pretend they're on real movie sets with their favourite action heroes, and then put themselves into some serious action．

    How to get there梇ou can easily travel to the Gold Coast by plane．Fly straight into Gold Coast International Airport, or to Brisbane and then catch the '"airtrain" service to the Gold Coast．All of the major airlines have daily flights, some with several per day depending on your departure city．If you want to save money, you can get there by train．

    Accommodation—Want something truly unusual? Consider staying in the world's largest residential tower （塔式住宅） and enjoy beautiful views．The accommodation choices on the Gold Coast are just as varied and interesting as the activities, so whether you are a single, couple, family, friends, a large or small group, you will find options perfect for you at TakeABreak．corn．an．

1.From the passage, we know _____．

    A．visitors can go t．o the Gold Goast only by air

    B．the Gold Coast is famous for its golden beach

    C．it is difficult for a family to find a right place to stay

    D．the theme park "Sea World" will attract animal lovers

2.Which is NOT included in the theme parks?

    A．Children can see their favorite cartoons．

    B．Visitors have opportunities to take roller coasters．

    C．Some famous movie actors often act with visitors．

    D．Visitors can share the joy from animals．

3.This passage is mainly ______．

    A．to describe the theme parks in Australia

    B．to draw more visitors to go to the Gold Goast

    C．to tell some exciting shows, adventures, etc．

    D．to introduce how to get to the Gold Coast

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.

The people below all want to go on a short trip and there are descriptions of six trips which a ferry company is offering.

1. Ray and three of his friends would like to spend a whole weekend driving around in nice scenery and enjoying some local food.           

2. Phil and Adam want to go on a comfortable trip which takes them quickly to an interesting city. Then they want to enjoy at least two days of sightseeing.           

3. Mike, Kathy and their three children don’t have much money, but they want a special day out this Saturday. They must be back home by 9 p.m.       

4. Kirsten is a Dutch student who is studying in Scotland. She doesn’t drive, but wants a day trip to see some beautiful scenery and spend a little time by the sea.            

5. Clare and Robert want to enjoy some good food, but would also like to give their two young children a day to remember. They don’t mind if they spend a lot of money.           

Which is safer --- staying at home, traveling to work on public transport, or working at the office? Surprisingly, each of these carries the same risk, which is very low．However, what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately, the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity, and almost as safe as staying at home．

The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby．It is this that makes chemical accidents so newsworthy．Fortunately, they are extremely rare．The most famous ones happened at Texas City （1947）, Flixborough （1974）, Seveso （1976）, Pemex （1984） and Bhopal （1984）．

Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small．No one died at Seveso, and only 28 workers at Flixborough．The worst accident of all was Bhopal, where up to 3,000 were killed．The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552．The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives, just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal．

Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger．Thus the Texas City was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate, which is safe unless stored in a great quantity．The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management, which took risks to keep production  going during essential repairs．The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep．When the poisonous gas drifted over the town , local leaders were incapable of taking effective action．The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb．The fire set off a chain reaction of exploding storage tanks．Yet, by a miracle, the two largest tanks did not explode．Had these caught fire, then 3,000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died．

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Working at the office is safer than staying at home．

B．Travelling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office．

C．Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry．

D．Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air．

2.Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because       .

A．they are very rare

B．they often cause loss of life

C．they always occur in big cities

D．they arouse the interest of all the readers

3.According to the passage, the chemical accident that caused by the fault of management happened in_________．

A．Texas city   B．Flixborough

C．Seveso        D．Mexico City

4.From the passage we know that “ammonium nitrate” is a kind of _____．

A．natural gas, which can easily catch fire

B．fertilizer, which can't be stored in a great quantity

C．poisonous substance, which can't be used in overcrowded areas

D．fuel, which is stored in large tanks

5.From the discussion among some experts we may conclude that _____．

A．to avoid any accident we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry

B．the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry

C．all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measures had been taken

D．natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe

阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在文后第53至第57小题的空格里填上适当的单词或短语，并将答案转写到答题卡上。

注意：每空不超过3个单词。

Thanksgiving Day

Many people believe Thanksgiving is a Western holiday, but in fact, it is only an American holiday held every fourth Thursday of November although Canada holds their own unique Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. Some of the family will have to travel by air and others will make long motor trips with the children. Sons and daughters away at college use their four-day holiday to go home, and employees take extra days from their work so as to be able to make the trip for the annual reunion. The Thanks-giving dinner menu today is somewhat the same as it was on Thanksgiving Day in 1863. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts and grapes. There will be pudding (布丁), mince（肉末）pie, other varieties of food and squash（鲜果汁）. The rest and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.

In true Thanksgiving spirit the family circle is often enlarged to include friends known to be alone, foreign visitors, or servicemen away from home. Orphans, the aged and the homeless also have the traditional turkey dinner, provided either by some charitable (慈善的) individual or a church group.

Thanksgiving Day