The 16-year-old girl Jessica Watson is said to be the youngest person to sail non-stop alone around the world. But her record has been questioned because someone thought that she has not sailed far enough. She will also not be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, as it was too dangerous for someone under 18 years old.
Ms Watson sailed into Sydney port on Saturday, seven months after leaving on a hard voyage. Family, friends and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have gathered to greet her. Thousands of well-wishers waited at the port and watched from boats as Ms Watson sailed her pink, 10m boat over the finishing line. Many more Australians watched the event broadcast live on television. Watson said she was just an “ordinary girl who believed in her dream”.
Ms Watson left Sydney on 18 October, despite that some people disagreed to her plan. Watson traveled northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator (赤道), south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia. The route took her through some of the world’s most changeful waters, and she battled through huge storms and suffered seven accidents of her boat.
People around the world have followed Ms Watson’s adventures on her blog, which she has daily updated (更新). On her blog, she wrote down beautiful sunrise over seas, the excitement of meeting a blue whale and the bright, terrible sight of a shooting star flying across the night sky above her boat. Ms Watson has reportedly sold her story to a news company for $700,000. She is planning to write a book on her experience. Which of the following oceans didn’t Ms Watson cross through in her voyage?
A.The Pacific Ocean. | B.The Arctic Ocean. |
C.The Indian Ocean. | D.The Atlantic Ocean. |
Ms Watson’s voyage will NOT be considered an official world record mainly because __________.
A.no one can prove that her route was dangerous enough |
B.she hasn’t applied for the record |
C.teenagers are not encouraged to take such a dangerous adventure |
D.girls are not allowed to take part in the dangerous sports |
We can make a conclusion from this passage that Watson __________.
A.would make another voyage for money |
B.made the world round voyage for money |
C.had no way to communicate with others during the voyage. |
D.is so confident and brave that she could overcome troubles on her own |
All the following can be inferred from this passage EXCEPT that __________.
A.her book about her voyage is a best seller |
B.people in Australia had much interest in her voyage |
C.she spent more than 200 days alone at sea |
D.people have different attitudes towards her voyage |
You can be proud of yourselves, even if you can only make one or two of these green changes. The goal here is to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are closely associated to the big problem of global-warming.
Strategy 1: Bring your own cup to Starbucks
You’ll get a 10 cent discount, and it’s one less paper cup to end up in a landfill. While you’re there, pick up some free bags of spent coffee grounds to use as ‘‘green’’ fertilizer in your garden.
The payoff: The store won’t create more waste when they throw away a cup.
Strategy2: Turn off your computer
When in standby mode, your PC is still using energy. In fact, 75percent of electricity used in your home comes from electronics that are turned off.
The payoff: Turning off a monitor for 40 hours a week may only save $5 a month, but it reduces CO2 by 750 pounds
Strategy 3: Reuse plastic bags
Instead of throwing away 100 billion plastic bags a year, try and get a second, third, or tenth use out of them. Better yet, next time you shop, try a reusable bag.
The payoff: You’re reducing pollution. The amount of oil it would take to make just 14 plastic bags would run your car for one mile.
Strategy4: Use recycled paper in the bathroom
Most of the toilet paper we use is made from trees found in forests previously untouched by humans.
The payoff: If every household replaced one roll of toilet paper with a recycled one, 424000 trees would still be standing. Look for eco-paper towels too.
Strategy5: Buy energy-efficient appliances(电器)
Replace the old fridge with an Energy Star appliance and you’ll use 15 percent less energy. It might be a little expensive to buy, but you’ll save money on your electricity bills and help the environment.
The payoff: If we all used one Energy Star appliance at home, it would be like planting 1. 7 million acres of new trees.
Strategy 6: Plant a tree
Adding green to your garden is beautiful and earth-pleasing.
The payoff: Just one tree will help make cleaner air and save the environment from 5000 pounds of hot carbon dioxide each year.
54. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Ways to save money at home
B. Ways to be earth-friendly
C. Ways to end global-warming
D. Ways to limit carbon dioxide
55. What benefits do these strategies have in common?
A. They all help reduce the use of energy like electricity.
B. They all cut down the amount of the paper.
C. They all result in producing less greenhouse gases.
D. They all help to preserve our trees and forest.
56.Which strategies suggest recycling or reuse of things?
A.Strategies 1&3 B.Strategies 2&5
C.Strategies 3&6 D.Strategies 4&5.
There are several reasons for hair loss in women. However, in most cases, treatment is quite effective. Female hair loss patterns in women are not as easily recognizable as they are in men. A woman may experience it temporarily due to pregnancy or illness, although they may experience it for other reasons.
Hair loss can be due to a variety of factors, including a genetic tendency (which is not genetically linked to just one parent—both parents contribute to the tendency to lose hair).
Women who are experiencing hair problems seem to have more limited choices than men. There are some female hair loss treatments that are available such as the Tricomin System which is a topical treatment that is nutrition based. Shen Min for Women is another natural treatment that contains herbs (药草) that are said to stimulate(刺激) hair growth and even restore hair that is graying to its natural color.
The majority of the popular, proven hair loss treatments are only intended for men and are not suitable for women. True, a woman’s hair issue is different from a man’s. The biological makeup is different and the needs are different. Women have different needs and their bodies react in different ways to environmental changes, physical illness and even the treatments that are available. There are many natural treatments such as vitamin and mineral supplements that are said to stimulate hair growth, but, for the most part, these claims are currently unproven.
One of the first and most important factors to effectively treating is to get a diagnosis from a doctor. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms that you may be experiencing in addition to the thinning hair. Stress, weight loss or gain, illness and depression, all of these can be contributing factors.
50. It can be learned from the 1st paragraph that ___________.
usually hair loss is hard to heal
B . female hair loss is more common than the men’s
women tend to suffer from hair loss during the pregnant period
only illness contributes to hair loss
51.Which of the following statements matches the text about the two treatments?
A. Both are to solve the problem of male hair loss.
Tricomin System is effective in speeding the growth of the new hair
Shen Min is an updated way of treating hair loss
D. The former is nutrition-based, while the latter is medicine-based.
52. The reasons for the differences between the female and male hair loss problems do not include _______.
A. The biological structure and composition of the hair
The wants and needs
The reactions and responses to the outside changes
The approach to taking exercise
53. The natural treatments __________.
include vitamin and mineral supplements
B. are applied to keep the hair healthy
C. have been proved useful
D. are the most commonly-used ways
“A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right,” says Mollie Hunter. Born and brought up near Edinburgh, Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people. She firmly believes that there is always and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is. In Mollie's opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story, which is what every writer should be doing. “If you aren't telling a story, you're a very dead writer indeed,” she says. With the chief function of a writer being to entertain, Mollie is indeed an entertainer. “I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language,” she says. “This love goes back to early childhood. I've told stories all my life. I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and, because my family always had dogs, and I was very good at handling them, I said I wanted to work with dogs, and the teacher always said ‘Nonsense, Mollie, dear, you’ll be a writer.’ So finally I thought that this woman must have something, since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer.”
This childhood intention is described in her novel, A Sound of Chariots, which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical and gives a picture both of Mollie's ambition and her struggle towards its achievement. Thoughts of her childhood inevitably(不可避免地)brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields—sadly now covered with modern houses. “I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood. I'll never go back,” she said. “Never.” “When I set one of my books in Scotland,” she said, “I can recall my romantic(浪漫的)feelings as a child playing in those fields, or watching the village blacksmith at work. And that's important, because children now know so much so early that romance can't exist for them, as it did for us.”
46. What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?
A. It should not aim at a narrow audience.
B. It should not be attractive to young readers.
C. It should be based on original ideas.
D. It should not include too much conversation.
47. In Mollie Hunter's opinion, which of the following is one sign of a poor writer?
A. Being poor in life experience. B. Being short of writing skills.
C. The weakness of description. D. The absence of a story.
48. What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a young child?
A. She didn't expect to become a writer.
B. She didn't enjoy writing stories.
C. She didn't have any particular ambitions.
D. She didn't respect her teacher's views.
49. What's the writer's purpose in this text?
A. To describe Mollie Hunter's most successful books.
B. To share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter's books.
C. To introduce Mollie Hunter's work to a wider audience.
D. To provide information for Mollie Hunter's existing readers.
Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous.How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer.Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano.After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven.Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight.He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears.He seems to be specially designed for music.In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh.His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain.After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures.So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art.Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine.Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease.Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence.Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately.As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards.Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one.Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky.Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.
57.My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.
A.a website B.the radio C.a magazine D.a newspaper
58.The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is.
A.a person who learns something easily B.a child who is eager to learn new things
C.a student who practices an instrument a lot D.a kid who works hard to do well in school
59.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A.New things about the brain are still being discovered.
B.People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.
C.Some people naturally have more active brains.
D.People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.
60.The author develops the passage mainly by .
A.providing typical examples B.following the natural time order
C.presenting a cause and analyzing its effects D.comparing opinions from different scientists
When you are little, it’s not hard to believe you can changed the world. I remember my enthusiasm when, at the age of 12, I addressed the people at the Rio Earth Summit. “I am only a child,” I told them. "Yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful place this would be. In school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not be greedy. Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? You grownups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to make your actions reflect your words."
I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the delegates even cried. I thought that maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur(刺激) action. Now, a decade from Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been accomplished. My confidence in the people in power and in the power of an individual's voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices--education, career, lifestyle--life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce and be successful. We are learning a shortsighted way of looking at the future, focusing on four-year government terms and quarterly business reports. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to pursue a happy, healthy or sustainable way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for our future when we were 12 was idealistic and naïve(天真).
Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in. I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make choices, we will rise to the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of the change. I hope this goal will be met through our common efforts. Thank you all.
53.The purpose of what the speaker said at the age of 12 was to .
A.end poverty and make school beautiful
B.find environmental answers and show off
C.focus people’s attention on some social problems
D.find a wonderful place and clean it up
54.What does the underlined word “ovation” in the second paragraph refer to?
A.A long period of laughing. B.A cold and unfriendly welcome.
C.An expression used for greeting. D.Great applause or cheering.
55.The information in the text is presented mainly through .
A.question and answer B.a personal lecture
C.cause and effect D.listing steps in a process
56.Which of the following best describes the speaker?
A.He is an experienced educator. B.He is an impolite man.
C.He is a man of great worries. D.He is a man of social responsibility.