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
The dodo is among the most famous extinct creatures, and a poster child for human-caused extinction events. Despite its bad name, and the fact that the species was alive during recorded human history, little is actually known about how this animal lived, looked, and behaved. A new study of the only known complete skeleton(骨架) from a single bird takes advantage of modern 3-D laser scanning(扫描) technology to open a new window into the life of this famous extinct bird.
The study was presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Estrel, Berlin. Leon Claessens, Associate Professor at the College of the Holy Cross, and lead researcher on the study said that, "the 3-D laser surface scans we made of the fragile dodo skeletons enable us to reconstruct how the dodo walked, moved and lived to a level of detail that has never been possible before. There are so many outstanding questions about the dodo bird that we can answer with this new knowledge."
A complete dodo skeleton, found by an amateur collector and barber, Etienne Thirioux, on the island of Mauritius between 1899 and 1917, has remained unstudied, even though it is the only complete dodo skeleton from a single individual bird known to exist. All other skeletons are incomplete combinations, meaning that they are gathered from more than one individual. In addition, Thirioux constructed a second, partially combined skeleton, which contains many bones that also belong to a single bird. "Being able to examine the skeleton of a single, individual dodo, which is not made up from as many individual birds as there are bones, as is the case in all those other combined skeletons, truly allows us to appreciate the way the dodo looked and see how tall or fat it really was," said Juilan Hume, of the Natural History Museum UK, a co-author on the study.
The scans were performed on site in Durban, South Africa, and allow examination of the biology of this mysterious extinct bird in detail for the first time. Using the newest digital tools and techniques, the scans provide an insight into how the flightless dodo may have developed its giant size, and how it walked and lived in its forest home. According to Kenneth Rijsdijk, a biologist from University of Amsterdam, “the skull of the dodo is so large and its mouth so strong that it is easy to understand that the earliest naturalists thought it was related to sharks and other birds of prey（猛禽）, rather than the pigeon family.”The underlined phrase “a poster child” in Para. 1 is closest in meaning to “ ”.
| A．a typical example |
| B．an endangered animal |
| C．a child who puts up posters on the board |
| D．a child posted in a newspaper as an advertisement |
The researchers study the dodo skeleton to find out .
| A．ways to save the dodo |
| B．the dodo’s living habits |
| C．the bird’s natural habitat |
| D．the cause of the dodo’s extinction |
What is special about the dodo skeleton found by an amateur collector?
| A．It is gathered from more than one individual. |
| B．It reminded unstudied between 1899 and 1917. |
| C．It is the only complete dodo skeleton from a single individual bird. |
| D．It can be examined with 3-D laser scanning technology. |
What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
| A．To call people’s attention to wildlife protection. |
| B．To criticize humans for the extinction events. |
| C．To introduce a new way of studying the dodo. |
| D．To give tips on how to study extinct creatures. |
If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal(内部的) fat surrounding important organs like the heart or liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat,” said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College. Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes(糖尿病). They want to prove that internal fat damages the body’s communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no shortcut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle.” Bell said.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Thin people may be fat inside. |
| B．Internal fat is of no importance. |
| C．Internal fat leads to many diseases. |
| D．Thin people don’t have diabetes. |
According to the passage, which of the following is WRONG?
| A．Exercise can help to reduce the internal fat. |
| B．People can get rid of internal fat by improving diet. |
| C．Men are more likely to have too much internal fat. |
| D．People with heart disease all have internal fat. |
From the last paragraph, we can find that ______.
| A．internal fat leading to disease has been proved |
| B．exercise plays an important role in people’s life for keeping healthy |
| C．thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim |
| D．it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat |
The underlined part in the last paragraph means ______.
| A．a long road |
| B．a clear difference |
| C．an easy way |
| D．a short distance |
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth.Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than“broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions(认识)of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken” ; and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal (内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure. I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show: her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.The author used to think of her mother’s English as .
| A．impolite | B．amusing |
| C．imperfect | D．practical |
Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
| A．Americans do not understand broken English. |
| B．The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. |
| C．The author’s mother had positive influence on her. |
| D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts. |
The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is .
| A．well structured |
| B．in the old style |
| C．easy to translate |
| D．rich in meaning |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The change of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English. |
| B．The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother. |
| C．The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English. |
| D．The author’s experiences of using broken English. |
Picking a university is a tense period of asking yourself which institution is most relevant. That’s why university rankings play such a vital role in students searching for their next academic direction. Rankings are also an inescapable part of the reputation and brand image of universities. “No university website is complete without the claim to be in the top 100 for something or other,” reported the BBC. The reason is simple: Rankings help them to attract students, staff and research investment.
Currently there are numbers of university rankings, and each has its own list of criteria. But the main categories are the same: academic reputation, graduates' performance and faculty resources.
However, experts point out the ranking process isn't entirely reliable. Mark Kantrowitz, a US financial aid researcher, said university rankings were mostly just for show. He wrote in The New York Times. “It may give your parents better bragging rights, but that's about it.”
Moreover, it’s not difficult to see the limitations of university rankings. Many rankings focus on the number of times research work is cited (引用) by other researchers. It helps British and US universities to dominate global rankings because English is the favored language of academia, John O’Leary, a member of the QS academic advisory board, told The Gunrdian. Also, rankings such as QS mainly focus on the qualities of the university rather than its students. “Any university ranking is likely to help students make better decisions about where to study, but the need to balance them with other more human factors is also important,” said Phil Moss, an education and admissions consultant. “Advice from graduates or current students can be as valuable in providing a genuine insight into the experience or quality of a particular degree program. It can also add an element that rankings can never convey -- the actual emotion of a university experience.”Why do universities consider rankings important?
| A．Rankings make them more appealing. |
| B．Rankings are students’ only reference. |
| C．Rankings can increase their academic level. |
| D．Rankings help them complete their websites. |
What does the underlined “It” in paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Academic research work. |
| B．The number of researches. |
| C．The way of ranking universities. |
| D．The limitation of university ranking. |
According to John O’Leary, what helps British and US universities rank well?
| A．The wide use of English in academia. |
| B．Their outstanding qualities. |
| C．Their graduates’ excellent performance. |
| D．The academia’s favor to them. |
Besides ranking, what does Phil Moss suggest you should refer to if you're picking a university?
| A．Investment in education. |
| B．Guidance from professors. |
| C．Information on websites. |
| D．Suggestions from students. |
Maurice Mountain is a retired lawyer in Washington, D.C. He developed a prototype(原型机) for a device he calls the Presto Emergency Boat Ladder. His invention is a small folding ladder that attaches to the side of a boat to help people who fall into the water. Mr. Mountain plans to mass-produce his boat ladder.
He created his invention at a workshop called TechShop. Mr. Mountain says, “I think it encourages innovation. I think people who probably have had ideas rolling around in the back of their minds for years but have never had the opportunity to actually put them into production or even experiment with them would find this place wonderful. Members of TechShop use high-tech equipment to develop and produce ideas they have for inventions.” Isabella Musachio manages a TechShop in Arlington, Virginia. She says the shop has many different kinds of equipment.
“TechShop is a do-it-yourself maker space. So when you come in we have all these different areas of the shop, and we have a metal shop, wood shop, lasers, 3D printers, electronics. I mean, we have so many different areas and we have all the equipment that is availahle to anybody above the age of 12.”
Membership costs for TechShop start at just over $ 100 per month. Members are able to use costly machines including 3D modeling tools and laser cutters. Isabella Musachio says TechShop helps its members build their dreams.
“Our motto is ‘build your dreams here’ because you can really come in with just an idea, and then with the help of TechShop make that leap from an idea to building your project o, your prototype or even your business.”
Jim Newton is the founder of TechShop. He first introduced the idea for the technology workshops at an arts and sciences event called Maker Faire in San Mateo, California in 2006. His idea attracted hundreds of members during that event, Now, there are eight TechShop locations in the U. S. In all, there are more than 6,000 members. Two more-TechShop locations in the cities of St. Louis and Look Angeles will be set up.The invention Mr. Mountain invented will be used to____ .
A save the drowning people
B. help people climb the ladder
C. make the boat safer
D. let the boat float safelyWhat can be inferred from what Mr. Mountain says in Paragraph 2?.
| A．People with imagination can achieve their dreams. |
| B．TechShop can help turn some people’s ideas into reality. |
| C．TechShop is a place where people can put forward their new ideas. |
| D．It's hard for people to put their ideas into practice. |
From the last paragraph, we can know _____.
| A．Jim Newton is a very great invention |
| B．people didn't like TechShop at first |
| C．TechShop will become more and more popular |
| D．TechShop greeted with bad reviews in 2006 |
What can we know about TechShop from the passage?
| A．TechShop is founded by Maurice Mountain. |
| B．TechShop puts high-tech dreams within reach. |
| C．TechShop is a non-profit organization. |
| D．TechShop offers its members more ideas. |