BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.
Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates（最新报道）on the rescuers’ progress.
The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened. “It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.
The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.
At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4,800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.
He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for 30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.
The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide were detected shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided（减退）, authorities said.
53. According to the passage, we can infer that ______.
A. all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive
B. communication with the trapped miners was cut off
C. the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time
D. the rescue started as soon as the accident happened
54. If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about ______ per hour.
A. 1,000 feet B. 2,400 feet C. 1,200 feet D. 4,800 feet
55. Where can the passage be seen?
A. In a magazine. B. In a newspaper.
C. In a science book.. D. On an advertisement.
56. Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?
（十三）
Typing Success in 20 Minutes a Day
— Teaching Your K-12 Students to Type in 20 Minutes a Day
Typing is fast becoming an important skill in our world. Making this skill available to your students is very important. Just 20 minutes of the following activities per day will give your students the finger strength and keyboard knowledge they need to be ready to include typing in their learning programs.
Step 1 Knitting (编织): You can try various styles until you find the one that best suits your students’ abilities. Finger knitting is a great way to start! It helps students focus on finger strength. Knitting with needles is a little more challenging but will suit some older students. The more practice the fingers get the stronger they will become.
Step 2 Key board games: It helps your students become familiar with the keyboard. Students as young as four years old can practice finger placement, letter sounds and names using the keyboard of computers.
Step 3 Clay modeling: Many children develop the ability to be quick and skilful with their hands through creating clay models. The creative nature of this activity keeps children engaged for long periods of time. It helps keep fingers strong and supple.
Step 4 Lego (拼装玩具) building: Little fingers become strong when children pull apart little Lego time and time again. Because of the fun nature of this activity it helps build and does a lot to reinforce the ability to arrange things into an order — another important aspect in typing.
Choose an age-appropriate, interactive and engaging typing program. All students are different and with firm finger skills typing can be easily learned in 20 minutes a day with the use of a mixture of these different approaches.
5. All the following steps can make one’s fingers stronger EXCEPT ____.
A. Step4
B. Step3
C. Step2
D. Step1
6. The underlined word “it” in Step 4 refers to ____.
A. little Lego
B. the fun nature
C. the strength of fingers
D. Lego building
7. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A. Activities listed in the text suit students of all ages.
B. Different students have different results after following the activities listed.
C. Only one activity can be used in a typing program for specific students.
D. Firm finger skills are important for learning to type.
（十二）
To Chinese immigrants, in the mid-1800s, California was “The Land of the Golden Mountain.” In their homeland they had heard the words, “There’s gold in California.” They sailed 7,000miles to join the gold rush and strike it rich. Between 1849 and 1882, more than 30,000 Chinese came to California. Most were men. They had been farmers in China. They came here to be miners and laborers. They ended up doing many other jobs, too.
Like many other immigrants, they did not plan to stay in America. They came because of their ties to their homeland and their families. They planned to return to China with their fortunes and help their families.
Only a few Chinese gold miners struck it rich. Most picked over the areas that had been mined already. But still, white miners resented the Chinese. Slowly, they drove the “yellow peril” from the mining camps.
By the end of the 1850s, many Chinese returned home. Those who stayed found other jobs.
Few women had come west in the gold rush. The Chinese saw a good business opportunity. They began doing the jobs women would have done. Many became house servants. Many more opened laundries.
The Chinese opened restaurants. Chop suey and show mein are popular Chinese-American dishes. The Chinese probably created these dishes to serve to the white miners.
Other Chinese became fishermen, farmers, and even cigar makers.
1. Why did Chinese go to America in the mid-1800s?
A. Because they could find good jobs there.
B. Because they had found gold there.
C. Because they could open laundries and restaurants there.
D. Because they heard there was gold there.
2. The underlined word “resented” mean “________”.
A. liked
B. helped
C. hated
D. served
3. Which of the following was NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. Some Chinese became drivers.
B. Many Chinese opened shops to help wash clothes.
C. Many Chinese picked gold around the old mines.
D. Many Chinese returned to China by the end of the 1850s.
4. Which should be the title of the passage?
A. Early Chinese immigrants in America
B. Dream to strike it rich
C. The difference between men and women
D. Gold miners in America
（十一）
Word Power
Author(s): Kaplan $13.95
You’ll never be at a loss for words again. Energize your vocabulary with must-know everyday words that are the essentials of a good vocabulary, engaging lessons to help you use words in text, hot words often found on tests, tips to help you figure out new words, roots, and more.
Grades: 8 & up Ages: 13 & up
Word Smart Junior
Author(s): Russell Stauffer $ 17.95
Now this is the way to add new words to your vocabulary! Word Smart Junior will make you laugh so much. You’ll be amazed that you’ve just learned more than 120 fascinating and very useful words! Parents, teachers, and friends will marvel at your eloquence (口才)!
Grades: 3-5 Ages: 8-10
Grammar Smart Junior
Author(s): Marcia Reynolds $ 16.85
Do you quake when your teacher says, “Now it’s time for grammar”? Do your verbs agree with your subjects?
Fear no more! A big Hollywood producer and a famous movie star will help you learn all those nasty (讨厌的) elements of grammar. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you learn, and how much fun it can be. You’ll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards, and you’ll never have to worry about it again.
Grades: 7-9 Ages: 12-14
Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage
Author(s): Julian Fleisher $ 12.68
The words you use say a lot about you … but the way you put them together says even more. Your grammar makes an immediate and lasting impression on your teachers, and even your friends. So don’t make the mistake of thinking that grammar is too complicated. We’ve created Grammar Smart to help you write and speak with clarity and confidence.
Grades: 6-8 Ages: 11-13
5. If a ten-year-old boy wants himself to be admired because of his speech ability, he may buy _______.
A. Word Power
B. Word Smart Junior
C. Grammar Smart Junior
D. Grammar Smart: An Audio Guide to Perfect Usage
6. By saying “You’ll finally know your grammar backwards and forwards”, the writer means “________”.
A. You will be clearly familiar with grammar
B. You will know the history of grammar
C. You will know the make-up of grammar
D. You will learn about the future of grammar
7. The four books are all about _______.
A. fiction and mysteries
B. parenting and teaching
C. literature and arts
D. language study
（九）
Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than £5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.
6. According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.
A. a website
B. a charity-related action
C. a school organization
D. a student movement
7. In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.
A. frees students of the financial worries
B. receives much money from students
C. offers valuable information to students
D. praises students for their money-raising
8. What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?
A. It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK.
B. It becomes easy to do charity because of it.
C. It results in students’ more social awareness.
D. It helps students to save money.
9. From the passage, we can conclude that ______.
A. most full time students do charity on the Internet every day
B. Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education
C. “wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities
D. Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK
10. What would be the best title for this passage?
A. “Wugging”, a new popular term on the Internet.
B. British people show strong interest in charity.
C. More Britain charities benefit from the Internet.
D. Students raise money for charity by “wugging”.
（八）
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease. “The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink.
The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.
1. The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
A. health
B. long life
C. ageing
D. effect
2. The text mainly talks about ________.
A. men’s heart cells
B. women’s ageing process、
C. the gender difference
D. hearts and long life
3. According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
A. women have more cells than men when they are born
B. women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat
C. the female heart loses few of the cells with age
D. women never lose their pumping power with age
4. If you want to live longer, you should ________.
A. enable your heart to beat much faster
B. find out the reason for ageing
C. exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy
D. prevent your cells from being lost
5. We can know from the passage that ________.
A. the reason why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out
B. scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more of the cells
C. the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss
D. women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20