He’s out there somewhere, an instant icon in the records of American conflict, the final big-game hunter. But a puzzle, too, his identity would be kept a secret for now, and maybe forever.
He is the unknown shooter. The nameless, faceless triggerman who put a bullet in the head of the world’s most notorious(臭名昭著的)terrorist, Bin Laden.
He’s likely between the ages of 26 and 33, says Marcinko, founder of the “SEALs Team 6” that many believe led the attack on Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. He’ll be old enough to have had time to hurdle the extra training tests required to join the counter-terrorism unit, yet young enough to stand the body-punishing harshness of the job. The shooter’s a man, it’s safe to say, because there are no women in the SEALs. And there’s a good chance he’s white, though the SEALs have stepped up efforts to increase the number of minorities in their ranks, Marcinko and Smith say.
He was probably a high school or college athlete, Smith says, a physical specimen who combines strength, speed and wisdom. “They call themselves ‘tactical athletes,’” says Smith, who works with many future SEALs in his Heroes of Tomorrow training program in Severna Park. “It’s getting very scientific.”
Marcinko puts it in more conventional terms: “He’ll be ripped,” says the author of the best-selling autobiography “Rogue Warrior.”“He’s got a lot of upper-body strength. Long arms. Thin waist. Flat stomach.”
On this point, Greitens departs a bit. “You can’t make a lot of physical assumptions,” says the author of “The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL.” There are SEALs who are 5 feet 4 and SEALs who are 6 feet 5, Greitens says. In his training group, he adds, there were college football boys who couldn’t hack it; those who survived were most often men in good shape, but they also had a willingness to show their concerns in favor of the mission.
The shooter’s probably not the crew-cut(平头), neatly shaven ideal we’ve come to expect from American fighting forces. “He’s bearded, rough-looking, like a street naughty boy,” Marcinko supposes. “You don’t want to stick out.” Marcinko calls it “modified grooming standards.”
His hands will be calloused(长老茧), Smith says, or just rough enough,” as Marcinko puts it. And “he’s got frag in him somewhere,” Marcinko says, using the battlefield shorthand for “fragments” of bullets or explosive devices. This will not have been the shooter’s first adventure. Marcinko estimates that he might have made a dozen or more deployments(部署), tours when he was likely to have dealt with quite a number of dangerous situations, getting ready any time for explosive devices or bullets.Which of the following is most likely to be the title of the passage?
A.Who shot Bin Laden? | B.What do the SEALS do? |
C.How can boys be SEALS? | D.What SEALS are like? |
From the passage we can know that the writer ___________.
A.knows clearly what the shooter is like | B.doubts whether Bin Laden is dead |
C.is certain that the shooter is a man | D.is not sure of the shooter’s gender |
We can say for sure according to the passage that___________.
A.the shooter will eventually be revealed in the Press |
B.the writer is a person who is curious about the shooter |
C.the writer is a detective who tries to arrest the shooter |
D.the shooter is a strong man with a pair of rough hands |
Which of the following are the names of writers mentioned in the passage?
①. Marcinko ②. Greitens ③. Smith ④. Abbottabad
A.①④ | B.③④ | C.②③ | D.①② |
A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species.
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard Universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant,African forest elephant,and African savanna elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石),mammoths and mastodons,the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants.They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephant and the African forest elephant have been distinct species for several million years.The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths.This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species,but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously,many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species,despite the elephants’ significant size differences.The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5 metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5 metres.The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons,roughly double the weight of the forest elephant.But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species.However the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca,assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois,said,“We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purposes.Since 1950,all African elephants have been conserved as one species.Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinctive animals,the forest elephant should become a bigger priority(优先) for conservation purposes.”One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of .
A.the Asian elephant |
B.the forest elephant |
C.the savanna elephant |
D.the mastodon elephant |
The underlined word “divergence” in Paragraph 4 means “ ”.
A.evolution |
B.exhibition |
C.separation |
D.examination |
The researchers’ conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s .
A.DNA |
B.height |
C.weight |
D.population |
What are Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?
A.The conservation of African elephants. |
B.The purpose of studying African elephants. |
C.The way to divide African elephants into two units. |
D.The reason for the distinction of African elephants. |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A.Naturalists’ Beliefs about Elephants |
B.Amazing Experiments about Elephants |
C.An Unexpected Finding about Elephants |
D.A Long Scientific Debate about Elephants |
Vincent Van Gogh,for whom color was the main symbol of expression,was born in Groot-Zundert,Holland in 1853.He was brought up in a cultured family. Vincent was highly emotional and wasn’t self-confident. Between 1860 and 1880,when he finally decided to become an artist,Van Gogh had two unhappy love stories and worked unsuccessfully in Belgium. He remained there to study art,and decided to give happiness by creating beauty. Of the works of his early Dutch period,the most famous is “The Potato Eaters”.
In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo ,the manager of Goupil’s gallery. In Paris,Van Gogh studied with Cormon ,later met Pissarro,Monet,and Gauguin,and began to lighten his very dark palette(调色板).His nervousness made him a difficult person to get along with and night-long discussions and painting all day undermined his health. He decided to go south to Arles where he hoped his friends would join him and help set up a school of art. Gauguin did join him but with bad results. Near the end of 1888,Van Gogh ran after Gauguin with an open razor(剃须刀),was stopped by him,but ended up cutting a part of his own ear off. It led Gauguin to finally leave Arles.
In the May of 1890,Van Gogh seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the eye Dr Gachet. Two months later he was dead,having shot himself “for the good of all”. During his life he had sold one painting. Van Gogh’s finest works were produced in less than three years. Vincent Van Gogh expressed himself in his works mainly _______.
A.by shape |
B.by color |
C.with brush lines |
D.with words |
Before Vincent Van Gogh started to learn art_______.
A.he did a good job |
B.he was popular with the other artists |
C.he lived a frustrating life |
D.he had no interest in art |
The underlined word “undermined” in the second paragraph could be replaced by “_______”.
A.affected |
B.protected |
C.tested |
D.changed |
Why didn’t Gauguin want to work with Van Gogh any longer?
A.Gauguin hated to be a teacher. |
B.Van Gogh didn’t like him at all. |
C.Gauguin cut off a part of Van Gogh’s ear. |
D.Something was wrong with Van Gogh’s mind. |
Which of the following about Van Gogh is TRUE?
A.He was a confident boy when he was young. |
B.He was born in Belgium and once worked in Holland. |
C.He lost a part of his ear at the age of 35. |
D.He had never sold any paintings during his life. |
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A.A piece of exercise equipment |
B.A club membership card |
C.A commercial health club |
D.An electric wheelchair |
How many people bought ROM after trying it out?
A.92% |
B.88% |
C.97% |
D.90% |
One setting point of ROM is that ____
A.it makes full body exercise possible in 4 minutes |
B.it can kill back and shoulder pains in 10 minutes |
C.it needs no repair in the first 20years |
D.it is sold on a 3-month trial basis |
The advertisement is made believable by ___
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B.using figures |
C.making comparisons |
D.asking questions |
The Book Of Life
So far, scientists have named about 1. 8 million living species(物种), and that’s just a small number of what probably exists on Earth. With so many plants, animal, and other living things covering the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of grass is growing by the roadside or what kind of bird just flew by.
A soon-to-be-started Web site might help. An international term of researchers has announced the creation of Web-based Encyclopedia(百科全书) of Life (EoL). The project aims to list every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases(数据库)that already exist. And eventually, in special sections of the site, non-scientists with specialized knowledge will come to help. Bird-watchers, for example, will be able to input what birds they’ve seen and where. To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it.
As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school. Projects, The site will feature(以……为特色) special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods. Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you’ll be able to pick the level of detail you want to see to match your interests, age, and knowledge.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describes and analyze species. The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new fool will speed up that process.The Web based EoL aims to ___
A.fine out what covers the earth |
B.list all living things on Earth |
C.work out the number of birds |
D.save the existing plants |
One characteristic of the EoL is that ____
A.it is run by school students |
B.it focuses on different types of grass |
C.it provides different levels of information |
D.it allows non-scientists to review its data |
In the last paragraph,” that process”means ___
A.analyzing species |
B.creating a new tool |
C.collecting data |
D.describing species |
When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
A.To introduce Stephanie to her. |
B.To prevent her from seeing his painting. |
C.To put the materials back in the yard. |
D.To show his artwork to her. |
In his mother’s eyes, the writer_______.
A.was a born artist |
B.always caused trouble |
C.was a problem solver |
D.worked very hard |
The underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A.the rainbow in the sky |
B.the stripes on the pavement |
C.something imaginative and fun |
D.important lessons learned in childhood |
It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.
A.encourage children to paint |
B.value friendship among children |
C.discover the hidden talent in children |
D.protect rather than destroy children’s dreams |