An elderly woman died and several other passengers were critically injured when a crowded Virgin express train crashed in Cumbria last night.
A huge rescue operation involving RAF helicopters and dozens of ambulances arrive. After passengers were trapped in the train for more than four hours because fallen power line poles made access for emergency workers difficult.
Authorities reported up to 80 injuries. Thirteen people were taken to hospital in a“critical or serious condition.”
Between 180 and 200 passengers were on the 5:15pm Virgin service from London Euston to Glasgow Central when all nine carriages left the rails between Oxenholme and Tebay. Witnesses said that the train shook violently before toppling(倾斜) over into an embankment(筑堤)with at least four carriages overturning. Early this morning, authorities confirmed an elderly woman had died and some other passengers had suffered injuries including back strains, head wounds and broken bones.
Ruth Colton, a passenger on the train, said she was reading a book when the journey became uncomfortable. It seemed that the train was being beaten by heavy winds,“as if we were on a plane”.
The accident brought concerns that Britain's busiest rail route would be crippled(瘫痪)for some time. The line between Preston and Carlisle was postponed as Virgin Trains promised a rapid investigation into the “serious incident”—the company's first big crash.
It is understood that the investigation will examine whether there was an obstacle on the track and the possibility of speeding or mechanical breakdown. The driver, who was injured, will be interviewed and a black-box recorder installed in the train will be examined.What made the rescue come so late?
| A．It's not accessible to reach the accident spot. |
| B．No enough helicopters and ambulances could be found at that time. |
| C．It was too far from hospital to Cumbria. |
| D．No one called the emergency center. |
According to the passage, the busiest rail route in Britain is
| A．From Preston to Carlisle | B．Between Euston and Glasgow |
| C．From Oxenholme to Tebay | D．Between Virgin and Pendolino |
What does the underlined word “critical”mean?
| A．Important. | B．Careless. | C．Dangerous. | D．Surprising. |
Which of the following is the possible cause of the accident?
| A．Careless driving. | B．Heavy wind. |
| C．Over loading. | D．Obstacle on the track. |
We can learn from the passage that Virgin Trains
| A．made no quick reaction to this accident |
| B．seldom had so serious an accident before |
| C．had made full preparations for the accident |
| D．didn't mind how many passengers the train can hold |
The United States government wants to know what the public thinks about its findings on the safety of cloned animals.
The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats are safe to eat. An F.D.A. official called them "as safe to eat as the food we eat every day." And when those clones reproduce sexually（有性繁殖）, the agency says, their offspring（后代） are safe to eat as well. But research on cloned sheep is limited. So the F.D.A. proposes that sheep clones not be used for human food.
The United States this year could become the first country to approve the sale of foods from cloned animals. First, however, the public will have ninety days to comment on three proposed documents. On December 28th the F.D.A. released a long report, called a draft risk assessment, along with two policy documents.
The agency says it must receive comments by April second. The F.D.A. seemed ready to act several years ago, but an advisory committee called for more research.
For now, the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that they not sell foods from cloned animals.
Clones are still rare. They cost a lot and are difficult to produce.
The F.D.A. says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves, but from their sexually reproduced offspring. It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding animals to spread good qualities.
Public opinion studies show most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals. But this research also shows the public knows little about cloning.
Cloning differs from genetic engineering. A cell taken from a so-called donor animals is grown into an embryo（胚胎）in the laboratory. Next, the embryo is placed into the uterus（子宫）of a female animal. If the process is successful, the pregnancy reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born.From the passage we know that .
| A．foods from cloned animals are popular in America |
| B．cloned adult animals are safe to eat except sheep. |
| C．cloned animals will be easy to produce |
| D．most foods from cloning is expected to take place of other foods |
The main purpose of the text is to .
| A．tell a interesting story | B．give some advice on foods |
| C．give a report | D．compare different opinions |
Who believe that foods from cloning are safe to eat?
A. Most Americans B. An advisory committee
C. Critics D. The F.D.A. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that .
| A．cloning has much in common with genetic |
| B．not every cell taken from a donor animal can grow into a genetic copy |
| C．the donor animal should be a female one |
| D．cloned animals grow faster than normal ones |
Tiny tot’s big adventure: Super Baby, a multimedia children’s play co-produced by Beijing Children’s Art Theater and Yeowoobi Animation Company of South Korea, is running at Beijing’s Cultural Palace of Nationalities.
Adapted from a popular South Korean cartoon book by Korean writer Cho Soo Min , the play tells the story of the boy named Siqing, who sets out in search of adventure with his friend Weiwei, a dinosaur, and a panda to rescue his kidnapped grandfather.
In director Hang Cheng’s eyes, it is a story of hope, dreams and courage.
He says it is a Chinese interpretation of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, and Cheng hopes it could inspire the young audience members to love one another, treasure friendship and pursue their dreams.
Time: 7:30pm, until August 26
Place: 49 fuxingmen Neidajie Street, Xicheng District
Tel: 400 – 810 – 1887, 5905 – 9082
Lords of the rings: The Chinese Acrobatics Group, established in 1950, will put on a performance that includes traditional acrobatics, circus, magic, old Beijing folk plays and more.
The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts with acrobatics.
Time: 7:30pm, daily
Place: Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, 100 meters north of Poly Theater, Chaoyand District
Tel: 6416 – 9893
Fooling around: dashan is taking to the stage with the otherwise all-Chinese cast of Chaoji Bendan, or Super Idiot. The play is an adaptation of the famous French comedy, Le diner de Cons (The dinner Game).
Dashan, or Mark Rowswell, is a Canadian who became a household name and popular TV host who speaks superb Chinese. He plays the role of Pierre Brochant, a successful Parisian publisher, who attends a weekly “idiots’ dinner”. Each guest must bring along an “idiot” for the amusement of the other invitees. At the end of the dinner, the evening’s “champion idiot” is selected.
Time: 7:30pm, September 29~30
Place: Poly Theater, 14 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Dongcheng District
Tel: 6416 – 9990
Classic comeback: Chinese drama classic The Top Restaurant (Tianxia diyilou) will be staged by Beijing People’s Art theater. Written by He Jiping, the drama has been one of the most popular Chinese theatrical works performed by the renowned Beijing People’s Art Theater. It has been staged more than 400 times since the premiere.
Time: 7:30pm, September 5~14
Place: Capital Theater, 22 Wangfujing Dajie
Tel: 6524 – 9847
Order now , you can get a 20% discount. More information, please click hereIf you want to enjoy magic on Sunday, you can go to .
| A．Red Theater | B．Tiandi Theater | C．Poly Theater | D．Capital Theater |
The advertisements are about“ ”.
| A．exhibitions | B．meetings | C．stage performances | D．western cultures |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Super Baby, a children’s play, is performing at Beijing’s Cultural Palace of Nationalities. |
| B．The Chinese Acrobatics Group can perform old Beijing folk plays. |
| C．Dashan is a popular TV host who speaks superb Chinese. |
| D．The Top Restaurant will be performed by He Jinping |
This passage is most probably taken from .
| A．a textbooks | B．a magazine | C．a newspaper | D．a website |
A computer virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. All computer viruses are manmade. Here are some virus prevention tips.
Do not open any files attached to an e-mail from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.
Do not open any files attached to an e-mail unless you know what it is, even if it appears to come from a dear friend or someone you know. Some viruses can replicate（复制） themselves and spread through e-mail. Better be safe that sorry and confirm that they really sent it .
Do not open any files attached to an e-mail if the subject line is questionable or unexpected. If the need to do so is there always save the file to your hard drive before doing so.
Delete chain e-mails and junk e-mail. Do not forward（转寄） or reply to any of them. These types of e-mail are considered spam（垃圾邮件）, which contains lots of annoying advertisements and useless information.
Do not download any files from strangers.
Be careful when downloading files from the Internet. Ensure that the source is a legitimate（合法的）and reputable one. Verify（证实）that an anti-virus program checks the files on the download site. If you are uncertain, don’t download the file at all or download the file to a floppy（软盘）and test it with your own anti-virus software.
Update your anti-virus software regularly. Over 500 viruses are discovered each month, so you’ll want to be protected. These updates should be at least the products virus signature files. You may also need to update the product’s scanning engine as well.
Back up（备份） your files on a regular basis. If a virus destroys your files, at least you can replace them with your backup copy. You should store your backup copy in a separate location from your work files, one that is preferably not on your computer.This passage mainly tells us .
| A．What a computer virus is |
| B．how to use e-mail safely |
| C．how to use computers safely |
| D．how to prevent computer viruses |
Which of the following statements about computer virus is TRUE?
| A．A computer virus is a kind of worm |
| B．Not all computer viruses are manmade |
| C．Computer viruses run according to our wishes |
| D．A computer virus is a program or piece of code. |
When we use e-mail, we should .
| A．open all the files we receive |
| B．open any file even if we don’t know what it is |
| C．not open any files if the subject line is questionable |
| D．forward or reply to junk e-mail. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．We’d better not down load any files from strangers. |
| B．We’d better download files from a legitimate and reputable source. |
| C．We should update our anti-virus software regularly. |
| D．We should store our backup copy in the same location as our work files. |
The world economy has run into a brick wall. Despite countless warnings in recent years about the need to address a looming（逼近） hunger crisis in poor countries and a looming energy crisis worldwide, world leaders failed to think ahead. The result is a global food crisis. Wheat, corn and rice prices increases combined with soaring energy costs will slow if not stop economic growth in many parts of the world and will even undermine（破坏） political stability, as evidenced by the protest riots that have erupted in places like Haiti, Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. Practical solutions to these growing woes do exist, but we'll have to start thinking ahead and acting globally.
So, what should be done？Here are three steps to ease the current crisis and avert（防止, 避免） the potential for a global disaster. The first is to scale-up（按比例增加,扩大） the dramatic success of Malawi, a famine-prone（遭遇饥荒） country in southern Africa, which three years ago established a special fund to help its farmers get fertilizer and high-yield seeds. Malawi's harvest doubled after just one year. An international fund based on the Malawi model would cost a mere $10 per person annually in the rich world, or $10 billion in all.
Second, the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of subsidizing（给补助金） the conversion of food into biofuels（生物燃料）.
Third, we urgently need to weatherproof（使防风雨） the world's crops as soon and as effectively as possible. For a poor farmer, sometimes something as simple as a farm pond--which collects rainwater to be used for emergency irrigation in a dry spell--can make the difference between a bountiful crop and a famine. The world has already committed to establishing a Climate Adaptation Fund to help poor regions climate-proof vital economic activities such as food production and health care but has not yet acted upon the promise.
The food crisis provides not only a warning but also an opportunity. We need to invest vastly more in sustainable development in order to achieve true global security and economic growth.Which of the following is the best title?
| A．How to end the global food shortage |
| B．How to end the global disaster |
| C．How to help the farmers in the poor countries |
| D．How to subsidize the farmers to increase food products |
The word “woes” in paragraph one is most likely to mean .
| A．hunger | B．things | C．matters | D．disasters |
What does the author think of the global food shortage?
| A．people in the world can do nothing. |
| B．The global food crisis will continue. |
| C．The food crisis provides not only a warning but also an opportunity. |
| D．We don’ know. |
What measures should be taken to ease the current crisis and avert the potential for a global disaster?
| A．to scale-up the dramatic success of Malawi |
| B．the U.S. and Europe should abandon their policies of subsidizing the conversion of food into biofuels |
| C．to prevent the world's crops from being destroyed by weather as soon and as effectively as possible. |
| D．All above . |
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated(愤怒的) when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."
The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They're all for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this. The 3-year-old girl was punished by her father for ________.
| A．wasting gold | B．wasting wrapping paper |
| C．putting the box under the Christmas tree | D．bringing the gift to her father |
What’s inside the box according to the little girl?
| A．nothing | B．air |
| C．kisses | D．gold wrapping paper |
The father remembered the love of his daughter by ________.
| A．kissing the gold box. | B．putting gold into the box. |
| C．taking out an imaginary kiss from the box. | D．keeping the little girl’s ash box by his bed. |
Choose the best title for the passage.
| A．The kisses in the box. | B．A girl and his father |
| C． A love story | D．The box under the Christmas tree. |