Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.
Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（积云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."
The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?
"First of all, the water isn't in elephant sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.
So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.
Now, ratchet up the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive. "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.
The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.
【小题1】The weight of      is NOT mentioned in the passage.

C
We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively（被动地）．We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else．Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive．Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem．It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor（谣言）.
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone．Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person．That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game．The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it．Then the two written statements are compared．Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life．The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story．Then, too, most people listen imperfectly．And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping（打上标记）it with their own personal style．Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.
49．According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _______.
A．doing a medical experiment        B．solving a math problem
C．visiting an exhibition          D．doing scientific reasoning
50．The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to _____.
A．active learning     B．knowledge     C．communication    D．passive learning
51．The author mentions the game Rumor to show that _____.
A．a message may be changed when being passed on
B．a message should be delivered in different ways
C．people may have problems with their sense of hearing
D．people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor
52．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Active learning is less important.
B．Passive learning may not be reliable.
C．Active learning occurs more frequently.
D．Passive learning is not found among scholars.

A．DETECTIVES ABROAD
Read about the lives of real detectives. This monthly magazine brings you up-to-date true stories about real life of detectives as they chase criminals across continents. Find out how some of the most dangerous criminals in the world are caught by some of world’s finest detectives. Follow their routes on the free map which comes with every issue.
B. WORLD TRAVEL
This weekly magazine can bring the world to your home. Have you ever wondered what the Chinese eat for breakfast? Did you know that the Sahara Desert is getting bigger every year? This fascinating magazine, full of color photographs, is your window on the world.
C. ONLY 16
Every week well-known writers bring you the latest teenage love stories. Each magazine carries three full-length stories as well as cartoons and color pictures of your favorite film stars.
D. EUROPE NEWS
The weekly magazine keeps you in touch with what’s happening. Filled with facts and figures about almost everything you can think of, plus articles by our regular writers on the week’s most interesting news stories. Special back page sums up the news for the busy readers.
E. OLD SCHOOLHOUSE
The magazine is approximately 200 pages, full color, and packed with support and fun! Columns: Creation Answers with AiG’s Ken Ham, Resource Room for special needs home schooling with Christine Field, Diana Waring’s History column, our Finishing the Race (High School) department, and Show and Tell – where readers share their own detailed methods and curriculum choices.
F. CRIME AND CRIMINALS
These exciting short stories are written by well-known crime writers. Every magazine brings you the best in criminal thrillers, stories are so good that you won’t be able to put the magazine down. And every month we leave one crime unanswered so that you, that reader, can play detective.
请阅读以下读者的信息，然后匹配读者和适合他/她的杂志：
【小题1】Emi is a university student studying Italian and Politics. She doesn’t have much time to read anything very detailed but she is looking for something with plenty of news and information.
【小题2】Carrie is sixteen years old and loves spending time listening to pop music and lying on her   bed reading. She is always interested in finding out more about some of the stars in the world of pop and fashion.
【小题3】Bill travels a lot when he was younger. Now that he has stopped his work, he enjoys reading about foreign people, places and customs even if he has already visited that part of the world.
【小题4】 Leroy used to be a detective. He still takes an active interest in the work of the police, but these days he enjoys reading fictions after years spent chasing real criminals.
【小题5】Brigitte has a five-year-old daughter and after several talks with her husband, she is considering to educate their daughter at home. She would like a magazine to learn about this new trend.

Ever wonder how much a cloud weighs? What about a hurricane? A meteorologist(气象学者) has done some estimates and the results might surprise you.

Let's start with a very simple white puffy cloud — a cumulus cloud（积云）. How much does the water in a cumulus cloud weigh? Peggy LeMone, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, did the numbers. "The water in the little cloud weighs about 550 tons," she calculates. "Or if you want to convert it to something that might be a little more meaningful … think of elephants."

The thought of a hundred elephants-worth of water suspended(悬浮的) in the sky begs another question — what keeps it up there?

"First of all, the water isn't in elephant-sized particles（微粒）, it's in tiny tiny tiny particles," explains LeMone. And those particles float on the warmer air that's rising below. But still, the concept of so much water floating in the sky was surprising even to a meteorologist like LeMone. "I had no idea how much a cloud would weigh, actually, when I started the calculations," she says.

So how many elephant units of water are inside a big storm cloud—10 times bigger all the way around than the "puffy" cumulus cloud? Again, LeMone did the numbers: About 200,000 elephants.

Now, ratchet up(略微调高) the calculations for a hurricane about the size of Missouri and the figures get really massive(巨大的). "What we're doing is weighing the water in one cubic meter theoretically pulled from a cloud and then multiplying by(乘上) the number of meters in a whole hurricane," she explains.

The result? Forty million elephants. That means the water in one hurricane weighs more than all the elephants on the planet. Perhaps even more than all the elephants that have ever lived on the planet.

1.The weight of      is NOT mentioned in the passage.

A. a cumulus cloud    B. a tornado

C. a hurricane   D. a storm cloud

2.How did Peggy LeMone feel about the result of her calculations?

A. She found it not convincing.

B. She thought it needed further calculations.

C. She was quite surprised at it.

D. She considered the calculations inaccurate.

3.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. A storm cloud weighs about 200,000 elephants.

B. The water in a hurricane weighs more than that in any other kind of cloud.

C. There are less than forty million elephants living on the earth.

D. The water in the cloud is in very tiny partials.

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. How Much a Cloud Weighs   B. How Much a Hurricane Weighs

C. Surprising Results           D. Elephants in the Sky

Ever since I was little, my favorite season was winter. I loved to play in the snow and enjoy the hot chocolate.

____36_____, winter never gave me the special gift of snow on my birthday. I would ask my grandmother ____37____ it didn’t snow on my birthday. She would laugh and tell me I asked too many questions. ___38____one day, she promised that she would make it snow on my next birthday.

That year, ____39____ my birthday, my grandmother died.  I was sad but angry because she had promised to make it snow. The day of my sixth birthday, I woke up and ran to the window, hoping to see just one snowflake. But there was no snow. I felt mad at my grandmother. She had broken a promise.

But my sixteenth birthday, I had lost all hope of getting my snow, even though I still wished for ___40____. During my party, I stayed with my friends and family and was truly happy. I ___41___ the best time ever! Then I saw the white snow ____42___down all around. I was so excited that I ran around screaming and laughing. My friends all laughed ____43___me, but I didn’t care.

When I ___44____home, my grandpa said he had a gift for me. I was ___45___ because he had given me a gift. It was a small white box, which looked old. I opened it. There was a crystal snowflake(水晶雪花) with a card that said, “Happy Birthday.”

How could this be? My grandpa said it was my grandmother’s final ___46____ on my “sweet sixteenth”. I cried.

I was ___47_____ that my smiling grandmother angel was and had been watching over me.

1.                A．Certainly        B．Unfortunately    C．Importantly    D．Luckily

2.                A．when          B．how           C．whether  D．why

3.                A．But            B．Or             C．Then D．So

4.                A．on            B．after           C．before   D．in

5.                A．it             B．her            C．him  D．me

6.                A．had            B．was            C．played   D．feared

7.                A．fell            B．to fall          C．fallen D．falling

8.                A．with           B．at             C．from D．off

9.                A．arrived at       B．remained       C．got  D．entered

10.               A．excited         B．confused       C．pleased   D．frustrated

11.               A．order          B．mistake         C．wish  D．decision

12.               A．certain         B．angry          C．sad   D．anxious