Illegal removal of coral(珊瑚) along Sri Lanka’s coastline increased the amount of destruction on the island by last December’s tsunami, say researchers.
Harindra Fernando, a fluid dynamicist (力学家) at Arizona State University in Tempe, made the connection after a visit to his native Sri Lanka earlier this year．While serving as a scientific expert and translator for a BBC-documentary team, he chatted with locals who said they saw the tsunami turn sideways when it hit coral—which would have made it less powerful than in coral-free areas．Fernando linked this to trucks he had seen last year carrying piles of coral away from the sea.
Using the eyewitness reports, estimates (估算) of wave heights, and a series of divers to check the presence or absence of corals, Fernando and his colleagues produced a map of coral gaps and wave flooding along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast.
The tsunami reached significantly farther inland through the gaps: in one instance, the water traveled 1.5 kilometres long and knocked a passenger train off its tracks, killing 1,700．But only a few kilometers away, where the coral was still undamaged, the wave travelled just 50 metres inland and caused no deaths.
There is a similar phenomenon．In Nicaragua in 1992, a tsunami poured through a break in the coral reef made to let boats through．“Within this passage, water went one kilometre inland,” says Fernando．“But nearby, where the coral was undamaged, there were still beach umbrellas standing.”
In Sri Lanka, coral is illegally mined to provide souvenirs for tourists, or to be used in house paint．Coral harvesters sometimes blow it up with dynamite (炸药) in order to collect fish at the same time．Often, the reefs in the best shape are those in front of hotels, as the hotel owners maintain them for the tourists．Fernando hopes that his findings will encourage the Sri Lankan government to enforce(实施) its laws against coral mining.
57．Harindra Fernando did all the following EXCEPT ________.
A．serving as a translator for a BBC-documentary team
B．helping the Sri Lankan government enforce its laws against coral mining
C．producing a map of coral gaps along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast
D．linking the coral removal with the destruction of Tsunami
58．The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that________.
A．undamaged coral can greatly decrease tsunami damage
B．coral-free area is a danger to passenger trains
C．in general, water travels 30 times farther inland in a coral-free area
D．it is urgent to enforce laws against coral mining
59．Which of the following may NOT be the cause of coral gaps?
A．Boat passages． B．Tourists’ sightseeing．
C．Fish collecting． D．Tourists’ souvenirs.
60．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A．Harindra Fernando, a Great Environment Protector
B．Stop Using Coral as Souvenirs
C．Coral Cried “Help! Help!”
D．Coral Mining Enhanced (加剧) Tsunami Damage
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will
one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span(寿命).
“ I think we are knocking at the door of immortality (永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “ I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate(保守估计).”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “ There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “ Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who expert in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center. “At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”
1. By saying “we are knocking at the door immortality”, Michael Zey means_____.
A. they believe that there is no limit of living
B. they are sure to find the truth about long living
C. they have got some ideas about living forever
D. they are able to make people live past the present life span
2. Donald Louria’s idea toward long living is that_____.
A. people can hardly live from 120 to 180 years.
B. it is still doubtful how long humans can live
C. the human body is designed to last about 120 years
D. it is possible for humans to live beyond 120 years in the future
3. The underlined “ it” (Para. 4) refers to_____.
A. a great push
B. the idea of living beyond 120 years in the future.
C. the idea of living from 200 to 300
D. the conservative estimate
4. What would be the best title for this text?
A. Living longer or not
B. Science, technology and long living
C. No limit for human life
D. Healthy lifestyle and long living
Believe it or not, optical illusion(视觉错觉)can cut highway accidents.
Japan is a case in point. It has reduced traffic accidents on some roads by nearly 75 percent using a simple optical illusion. Bent(弯曲的) stripes, called chevrons(人字形),painted on the roads make drivers think that they are driving faster than they really are, and thus drivers slow down.
Now the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington D.C. is planning to repeat Japan’s success. Starting next year, the Foundation will paint chevrons and other patterns(样式) of stripes on certain roads around the country to test how well the patterns reduce highway accidents.
Overspeeding plays a major role in as much as one fifth of all fatal(致命的) traffic accidents, according to the Foundation. To help reduce those accidents, the Foundation will conduct its tests in areas where speed-related dangers are the greatest-curves, exit slopes, traffic circles, and bridges.
Some studies suggest that straight(直的), horizontal(平行的)bars painted across roads can initially cut the average speed of drivers in half. However, traffic often returns to full speed within months as drivers become used to seeing the painted bars.
Chevrons, scientists say, not only give drivers the impression that they are driving faster than they really are but also make a lane(车道) appear to be narrower(狭窄的). The result is a longer lasting reducing in highway speed and the number of traffic accidents.
1. The passage mainly discusses_____.
A. a new way of highway speed control B. a new method of training drivers
C. a new pattern for painting highwaysD. a new type of optical illusion
2. On roads painted with chevrons, drivers are likely to feel that _________ .
A. they should avoid speed-related dangers
B. they are driving in the wrong lane
C. they should slow down their speed
D. they are reaching the speed limit
3. Compared to horizontal bars, the advantage of chevrons is that _____ .
A. it can keep drivers awake
B. it will have a longer effect on drivers
C. it can cut road accidents in half
D. it will look more attractive
4. The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety plans to .
A. try out the Japanese method in certain areas
B. change the road signs across the country
C. replace straight, horizontal bars with chevrons
D. repeat the Japanese road patterns
5. What does the writer say about straight, horizontal bars painted across roads?
A. The are falling out of use in the United States
B. They are likely to be taken no notice of by drivers in a short time
C. They are suitable only on broad roads.
D. They cannot have a successful effect in traffic circles
Most of the flowers in nature are red, orange and yellow. If we have seen a black flower, it’s a chance in a million.
People have made a census (普查) to colors of mor e than four thousand kinds of flowers and discovered that only eight of them are black.
As we know, sunlight is formed by seven different colored lights.The wave length of each light is different, so the quantity of heat in each light is also different. Flowers, especially their petals, are easy to be harmed by light temperature.
Black flowers can take in all the light waves which cause the flowers to dry up in the high temperature. So black flowers can rarely survive sunlight. But red flowers, yellow flowers and orange flowers can protect themselves from sunlight by reflecting the red light, yellow light and orange light, each of which has a large quantity of heat.
1. It is _____ to see a black flower.
A. impossible B. seldom C. common D. no chance
2. From the passage we know that _______.
A. black flowers are so weak that it is difficult for them to grow up.
B. there are only eight black flowers in nature
C. sunlight is formed by seven different colored lights, so the wave length of each light is different
D. black flowers can take in the light of all the wave length which makes them dry up because of high temperature
3. Which of the following ideas is WRONG?
A. People have found that only a few kinds of flowers are black.
B. Flowers are easy to be harmed by very high temperature.
C. Red, orange and yellow flowers can also take in the light of all wave lengths.
D. The black flowers can’t protect themselves from sunlight.
The two largest islands of the British Isles are Great Britain and Ireland. England, Wales and Scotland together form Great Britain. Scotland, lying in the northern part of Great Britain and bordering(接壤)England on the south, is half the size of England and Wales, having an area of about 76 000 square kilometers. Most of Northern Scotland is mountainous area known as the Scottish Highlands. In the center of Scotland there are the Central Low-lands, and the south is waving, hilly area known as the Southern Uplands which rise to 800m. There are many rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The rivers which run to the east are longer than the ones which run to the west.
In Scotland the main rainy winds come from the Atlantic Ocean. The west part is wet with an average(平均) rainfall of up to 200cm while the east is dry with about 75cm. The winters are cold with an average January temperature of 4℃. The summers are cold and warm but rarely hot.
1. This passage mainly tells us____ .
A. how many parts form Great Britain
B. the positions of England, Wales and Scotland
C. the areas of Great Britain
D. Something about Scotland
2. England lies____ .
A. in the south of Great Britain B. to the south of Scotland
C. to the north of Wales D. in the north of Scotland
3. This passage also tells us____ .
A. the population of Great Britain B. the history of England and Wales
C. the size of Scotland D. the position of Northern Ireland
4. The Central lowlands_____ .
A. lie between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands
B. lie to the north of Scottish Highlands
C. lie to the south of the Southern Uplands
D. border England on the south
5. The writer says that in Scotland there is more rain____ .
A. in the Highlands than in the Southern Uplands B. in the west part than in the east
C. in the Central Lowlands than in the Highland D. in the east than in the west
第三部分：阅读理解：（共20小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
| Cook wanted for Busy London Restaurant Experience (经历) required (需要). Call Tom 020 0451 87. |
| Dance teacher We are looking for a dance and singing teacher to teach 4 to 7-year-old children. You only work three hours on Saturdays. You should have teaching experience. Send a CV (求职信) to Steve Reed, 9 Lenton Close, London or telephone 020 8334 47. |
| Babysitter（保姆）needed Friendly family needs someone to look after 2 small children. Some light housework. Good pay. Live in our house. Tel: Mrs. Smith 020 0562 78 |
| Waiters required Have restaurant knowledge and some bar experience. You will need to love learning new things. Tel: Cathy 020 4563 12 |
1. Which job needs you to be able to sing?
A. Babysitter. B. Dance teacher. C. Cook. D. Waiter.
2. What kind of job can Jack do if he cooked in a restaurant from 1998 to 2004?
A. Babysitter. B. Waiter. C. Cook. D. Dance teacher.
3. John has just come to London from another city. She needs a place to live in.
So she may call________________.
A. 020 0451 87 B. 020 4563 12 C. 020 0562 78 D. 020 8334 47