Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods can often come at the least expected time．Others, such as hurricanes are increasing in severity and destruction．Typically, those poor countries are the worst hit for they have the least resources to deal with the destruction and rebuild their home．This part of the globalissues．org website looks at some of these issues．
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis
The earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 was one of the biggest recorded, measuring 9 on the Richter scale（里氏震级）．
It was the resulting tsunami, however, that caused the most destruction．It devastated the northeast of Japan, leaving many thousands dead or missing, and -hundreds of thousands homeless or leaving the area．In addition, various power generators（发电机组） failed．Some older nuclear power stations risked meltdown and suffered explosions and radioactive leaks．Workers battled for weeks to try and bring the situation under control．Radioactive material was detected in various places．
It is thought that the cost of the earthquake and tsunami could be over $ 300 billion-the world's most expensive natural disaster on record．
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destroyed category 4（四级） hurricane, the highest category, that hit the Gulf of Mexico and various Southern regions of the United States at the end of August, 2005, causing the worst damage in that country's history, estimated at $ 100 billion．The famous New Orleans city and surrounding areas were worst hit as much of it sits some 6 feet below sea level．City defenses, such as banks, only designed for categary 3 type hurricanes, gave way, leading to enormous flooding and associated damage, death and displacement of around 100, 000 people who either chose to say the course, or could not afford to flee．
【小题1】Where would this passage most probably appear?

D

Three Central Texas men were honored with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Director’s Award in a Tuesday morning ceremony for their heroism in saving the victims of a fiery two-car accident.

The accident occurred on March 25 when a vehicle lost control while traveling on a rain-soaked State Highway 6 near Baylor Camp Road. It ran into an oncoming vehicle, leaving the passengers trapped inside as both vehicles burst into flames.

Bonge was the first on the scene and heard children screaming. He broke through a back window and pulled Mallory Smith, 10, and her sister, Megan Smith, 9, from the wreckage.

The girls’ mother, Beckie Smith, was not with them at the time of the wreck, as they were traveling with their baby sitter, Lisa Bowbin.

Beckie Smith still remembers the sickening feeling she had upon receiving the call informing her of the wreck and the despair as she drove to the scene.

Bozeman and Clemmons arrived shortly after Bonge and helped rescue the other victims and attempted to put out the fires.

“I was nervous,” Bozeman said. “I don’t feel like I’m a hero. I was just doing what anyone should do in that situation. I hope someone would do the same for me.”

Everyone at the accident made it out alive, with the victims suffering from nonlife-threatening injuries. Mallory Smith broke both femurs(股骨), and Megan had neck and back injuries. Bowbin is still recovering from a broken pelvis(骨盆), ankle and foot.

The rescuers also were taken to the hospital and treated for cuts and smoke breathing, Bonge said.

In addition, Bozeman got to meet accident victim Anthony Russo in the hospital after the accident, where Russo presented him with a glass frame inscribed(刻;雕 )with “Thank you,” Bozeman said. Those involved in that fateful encounter on Highway 6 credited God blessing for bringing them together.

“Whatever the circumstances, Tuesday’s ceremony provided a time to be grateful for those who put their lives on the line for the lives of complete strangers,” Beckie Smith said, “We’re calling it The Miracle on Highway 6.”

53. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. Three persons were awarded for rescuing victims in a car accident.

B. Three ordinary people were regarded as great heroes.

C. Several victims were carried to safety from the burning cars.

D. A car accident occurred on a rain-soaked State Highway 6.

54. Who saved Megan Smith from the damaged car?

A. Clemmons.           B. Anthony Russo.          C. Bozeman.      D. Bonge.

55. Which of the following can be used to describe Bozeman?

A. Kind.                  B. Modest.                           C. Excited.       D. Smart.

56. It can be inferred from what Beckie Smith said that _______.

A. she regarded the accident as a wonder

B. she was frightened by the serious accident

C. she thought highly of the rescuers

D. she called on others to learn from the rescuers

Walter offered us a lift when he was leaving the office, but our work _______, we refused the offer.

A. not finishing         B. had not been finished? C. not having finished D. not finished

CLASSIC TOURS—COACH BREAK INFORMATION

Luggage

We ask you to keep a medium-sized suitcase per person, but a small holdall can also be taken onto the coach.

Seats

Requests for particular seats can be made on most coach breaks (巴士旅游) when booking, but since seats are booked on a first come, first serve basic, early booking is advisable. When bookings are made with us, you will be offered the best seats that are available on the coach at that time.

Travel Documents

When you have paid your deposit（订金）, we will send you all the necessary documents, so that you can receive them in good time before the coach break leaving date. Certain documents, for example, air or boat tickets, may have to be reserved and your guide will then give them to you during the break.

Special Diets

If you require a special diet, you must inform us at the time of booking with a copy of the diet. This will be told to the hotels on your coach break. The hotels for certain coach breaks are tourist class and they may not have the equipment to deal with special diets. Any extra costs must be paid to the hotel by yourself before leaving the hotel.

Accommodation

On any coach break there are only a limited number of single rooms. When a single room is available, it may be subject to an extra charge and this will be shown on the brochure page.

Entertainment

Some of our hotels arrange extra entertainment which could include music, dancing, films, etc. The nature and frequency of the entertainment presented is decided by the hotel and therefore not guaranteed and could be withdrawn if there is a lack of demand or insufficient numbers in the hotel.

1.If you want to choose certain seats of the coach, you should _________.

A. take little luggage                      B. avoid traveling in holidays

C. book your seat well in advance           D. arrive early on the leaving date

2. It may be necessary to pay extra for_________.

A. single rooms             B. particular seats

C. entertainment            D. hand luggage

3.Where is the passage mostly taken from?

A. A fashion magazine.              B. A business report.

C. A legal document.                D. A travel brochure.

Some years ago, a Miami woman walking through an office building noticed two men standing together．Several minutes after her leaving, the men murdered a person working in the building．The police determined that the woman was the only witness and could possibly describe them．However, her memory of the men proved disappointingly unclear．Several days later, psychologist Ronald Fisher was brought in to obtain a more complete account from the woman．His interview produced a breakthrough—the woman reported a clear picture of one of the suspects．The important information enabled the police to arrest the suspect and close the case．
The police asked Fisher for help because of his rich knowledge in cognitive(认知) interview, a kind of memory - rebuilding process．Memory researchers have found that people trying to remember a past event often only recall part of the relevant information．Human memory is selective and it is often distorted by stress．But a person's accurate recall of an event or understanding of a question can be improved using specific interviewing techniques．The "cognitive interview" was developed in the late 1990s．It encourages the witness to take an active role in recalling information rather than giving answers only to someone else's questions．The witness first describes what happened in his or her own words, with no interviewer interruptions．The interviewer then goes further with specific techniques, such as having the witness tell the details of what happened from different perspectives （角度） ．
The cognitive interview focuses on guiding witnesses through four general recalling techniques: thinking about physical surroundings and personal feelings that existed at the time of past events; reporting everything that connects to mind about those events, no matter how broken it is retelling events in a variety of time orders, such as from beginning to end, end to beginning, forward or backward; and adopting different perspectives while recalling events．
Experiments with police detectives trained in this demanding interview method find that they obtain nearly 50% more information from witnesses than before training, while error rates remain about the same．It is proved that cognitive interviews are quite important tools in improving the accuracy and completeness of witness testimony （证词）．
【小题1】The purpose of the passage is to _____．