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 discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided（减退）, authorities said．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 |
If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about _______ per hour．
| A．1,000 feet | B．2,400 feet | C．1,200feet | D．4,800feet |
Where can the passage be seen?
| A．In a magazine． | B．In a newspaper． |
| C．In a science book．． | D．On an advertisement． |
Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?
For most kids, height isn’t something they can change, so what do you do if you don’t like how tall or short you are? It might be girls feeling too tall and boys feeling too short but some really tall boys might not like all that height and some shorter girls might get tired of all the jokes or of feeling like they’re staying little while their friends are growing up.
If you are still worried about your height, talk to your parents and your doctor. Most kids don’t have a growth problem that needs help from a doctor, but it’s always OK to ask if you’re concerned.
So for most kids, it seems like there’s not much to do but wait to see how it all turns out. But you can do something right now: eat healthy and take care of yourself. If you get the nutrition(营养), sleep, and exercise you need, you’re likely to reach your maximum height. In other words, you’ll grow as tall as you were meant to grow.
And even though you may hear people say it, taking extra vitamins or supplements(补品) that you can buy in a store won’t help you get taller. Just stick to a healthy diet if you want to be the tallest you can be!
Kids who wish they weren’t so tall should still eat healthy and take care of themselves, of course. Eating less won’t make you end up any shorter unless you really starved yourself and made yourself sick.
As they get older, most kids learn to feel comfortable with their height, whether they turn out tall, short, or somewhere in between. What is this text mainly about?
| A．Some tips on how to grow taller. |
| B．Some advice on height worries. |
| C．Some problems kids are facing. |
| D．Some factors that affect height. |
If you want to grow taller, you are advised to do the following except _____.
| A．get enough sleep | B．take some exercise |
| C．take extra vitamins | D．get enough nutrition |
We’ll feel comfortable with our height _____.
| A．after we tell the parents |
| B．after we see the doctor |
| C．when we grow taller |
| D．when we get older |
Who does this text written for?
| A．Kids. | B．Parents. | C．Doctors. | D．Teachers |
Florida is celebrating a big anniversary this year. Five hundred years ago, on April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce arrived on the east coast of what is now Florida. Native Americans had been living there for centuries, but Ponce was the first European to set foot in what would become the United States.
According to legend, Ponce may have landed in Florida by mistake. He is said to have been looking for an island called Bimini and its Fountain(喷泉) of Youth. The magical fountain could supposedly make old people young again. Instead, Ponce landed on Florida and claimed it for Spain. He named it La Florida, or “flowery place”.
Ponce explored more of Florida’s coasts over the next few months. He later returned to Spain but went back to Florida in 1521 to attempt to set up a colony. However, native Americans attacked him and his friends, and Ponce was killed. It wasn’t until 1565 that Spain set up a successful colony at St. Augustine on Florida’s east coast. It is the oldest European settlement in the U.S.
Florida didn’t belong to the U.S. until Spain lost control. It was admitted to the U.S. as the 27th state in 1845.
Today, Florida has one of the fastest-growing populations of any state. More than 19 million people call it home.
It’s also popular with tourists. Last year, 89 million people visited the Sunshine State. These days, most visitors come in search of fun in the sun on its sandy beaches and its theme parks, such as Disney World and Sea World. Five hundred years ago,_____.
| A．the United States was founded |
| B．the first European came to Florida |
| C．Florida was discovered by human beings |
| D．Spanish explorer Juan Ponce was born |
What can we learn about Ponce from Paragraph 2?
| A．He hated Florida |
| B．He discovered Florida by accident |
| C．He finally found Fountain of Youth |
| D．He could make old people young again. |
Ponce was killed_____.
| A．by his friends |
| B．on his way to Florida |
| C．during his second stay in Florida |
| D．after he set up a colony |
Which of the following is TRUE about Florida?
| A．Tourists are losing interest in it. |
| B．Its beaches are not well protected. |
| C．There are 89 million people in Florida at present. |
| D．Its population has been increasing in recent years. |
Volunteer Day schedule:
7:30 a.m.: Meet at the Community Center for breakfast.
8-8:30 a.m.: Visit with people from the many participating organizations. Choose which activity you’d like to help with for the day.
8:30-9 a.m.: Board the bus for your chosen activity, and ride with other volunteers to your activity site.
9-12:00 a.m.: Work as a volunteer.
12:00 a.m.-1 p.m.: Share lunch with your volunteer group. Don’t forget to bring food for lunch from home!
1-3:30 p.m.: Continue your volunteer work.
3:30 p.m.: Board the bus that will take you back to the Community Center, where you will be able to talk with other volunteers and share your experiences.
See below for a list of volunteer opportunities for Volunteer Day so you can begin thinking about which activity you might want to join.
Happy Homes: it provides home repairs for needy people in the form of painting. It also provides painters to create beautiful paintings inside schools of community centers.
Elder Care: Elder Care sends volunteers into nursing homes to spend time with them, play board games with them, and talk with them.
City Parks Association: you can help plant flowers and bushes in city parks or pick up trash around the river banks. These activities are very active, so remember to be prepared with plenty of drinking water!
Love and Learning: it provides volunteers to help children with learning disabilities. Read books out loud to groups of children aged four to six, or read one-on-one with struggling readers aged seven to eight. According to the schedule, how long will a volunteer work a day?
| A．3 hours | B．5.5 hours |
| C．7.5 hours. | D．8 hours. |
To join Happy Homes, one should _____.
| A．be very good at art. |
| B．enjoying talking with people. |
| C．be able to play board games. |
| D．like working with young children. |
For volunteers who enjoy being outside in nature, they can join _____.
| A．Elder Care | B．Happy Homes |
| C．Love and Learning | D．City parks Association |
You may think that an underground town of 3,500 people is something out of a science-fiction film. You may not believe that such a town has shops car parks, hotels, restaurants, cafes and much more. Well, Coober Pedy in Australia is just such a place.
Miners and their families choose to live like this, hoping to get rich looking for the precious stones that Australia is famous for --- opals(蛋白石). Living underground is the only way to be away from the sandstorms and the high temperatures above ground. Deep down in the town far below the desert surface, the temperature is between 19℃ and 20℃ and life is cool.
Mary Deane and her husband Jim are among the lucky ones. They live in a home, built with money from the opals Jim has found. “Whenever people hear we live underground, they always imagine a dusty cave,” says Mary, “but they are amazed at my clean kitchen, our furniture and electrical appliances in here.”
However, not everything is perfect in Coober Pedy. Mary has a tiny garden that she is very proud of, but the grass is not real. Plant life is rare. Water is five times more expensive underground than it is overground. Recycling is a way of life, so Jim usually washes his car with bath water and they have a special system to reuse the water from the dishwasher and washing machine.
Even so, most families enjoy life in Coober Pedy. The children can make as much noise as they want and there are no complaints from the neighbors because the thick walls stop sounds from traveling. Adults enjoy the peace and quiet away from the world above.People in Coober Pedy live underground______.
| A．because of their secret identities |
| B．because it is warmer underground |
| C．so that they can save some money |
| D．due to the terrible natural environment. |
Which word can best describe Mary’s life underground according to Paragraph 3?
| A．Comfortable. | B．Exciting. | C．Healthy. | D．Lonely. |
Which is the biggest problem people in Coober Pedy have to face?
| A．High living expenses. |
| B．The awfully dusty environment. |
| C．Shortage of water and greenery. |
| D．The extremely high temperatures |
Children enjoy the life in Coober Pedy mainly because they _____.
| A．enjoy traveling around with their parents |
| B．can get many expensive toys from their parents |
| C．enjoy the peace and quiet while doing their homework |
| D．can enjoy themselves without disturbing their neighbors[ |
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is: Great talent is not enough.
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100, 000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors and dentists struggle financially. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”
There is an old saying that goes, “Job means just over broke (破产)' ”. And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “live within their means”. They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on bui1ding a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.The author mentions the mechanic in the first paragraph to show that __________.
| A．he has a sharp sense of hearing |
| B．he is ready to help others |
| C．he is just one of the talented people |
| D．he knows little about car repairing |
The underlined part in the third paragraph can be best replaced by__________.
| A．spend more than they can afford |
| B．live within what they earn |
| C．live in their own circle |
| D．do in their own way |
Why do talented people earn so little according to the author?
| A．They don't work hard enough. |
| B．They have no specialized skills. |
| C．They don't make full use of their talents. |
| D．They lack financial intelligence. |
The main purpose of the author is to tell us___________.
| A．why so many talented people are poor |
| B．what schools should teach students |
| C．how young people can find a satisfactory job |
| D．how McDonald's makes much money |