Wind , water, fire and ice-these powerful natural forces have shaped the land of America in the past. They are still changing it today.
The Colorado River slowly cut down through stone to make the Grand Canyon(大峡谷).
Long ago, ice sheets cut Yosemite Valley and the Great Lakes, and glaciers(冰川) are still on the move in Alaska.
Wind and rain storm hit the land from time to time. Fires sometimes burn down forests and destroy the homes of wild animals. This happened in Yellowstone Park in 1988.
Dead volcanic mountains such as Haleakala on Maui and Carter Lakein Oregon are beautiful to look at. But there are several active volcanoes in the US, especially along the Pacific Coast. There are also many earthquakes in this area. Scientists can do nothing to control earthquakes or volcanoes. This was shown clearly on May 18, 1980. At 8:32 that morning, Mount St Helens in Washington state broke out. The top of the mountain was blown off.
Over 60 people –campers, scientists, journalists, forest workers—were killed. Hundreds of square miles of forests were knocked down. In towns over 100 miles away, day suddenly became night. An ash cloud hid the sun for many hours. Towns and fields in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho were covered with dirty gray ash.
Scientists knew that Mt St Helens might erupt(爆发) soon. But no one could say when. And no one expected the terrible strength of the eruption. Many people were surprised and unready. Harry R. Truman, 84, owned a small hotel in Mt St Helens. Scientists had asked people to move away because the volcano was becoming dangerous.
But Harry Truman would not leave his home. Now it is covered with many feet of dirty ash. A small cross stands above the place where Harry probably died. Perhaps it is better that he did not see the destruction of Mt St Helens, the once beautiful lake, and the forests.
But slowly, life is returning to the dead area around the mountain. Grass and small plants are beginning to grow again. Deer and birds have been seen. The land will never be the same as it once was. Perhaps Mt St Helens will erupt again. But this is all part of nature’s pattern of change, and man has little power to control it.Choose the best title for this passage.
| A．Wind, water, fire and ice |
| B．Volcano’s beauty and danger |
| C．The power of nature |
| D．Natural force shape beautiful land of America |
After the eruption of volcano, what makes the sky turn dark?
| A．The smoke | B．The clouds. | C．The fog. | D．The ash. |
The underlined word “it” means______.
| A．The body of old Harry |
| B．The location of Harry’s home |
| C．The opening on top of Mt St Helens |
| D．The place where Harry probably died |
We can infer from this article that ______.
| A．Washington and Oregon are neighboring states |
| B．Colorado River runs through Yosemite Valley |
| C．The eruption of Mt St Helens also caused trouble with the Yellowstone Park |
| D．Scientists never knew Mt St Helens was active |
My eighth grade consisted of 28 classmates. We knew each other so well that most of us could distinguish each other's handwriting at a glance. Although we grew up together, we still had class outcasts．From second grade on, a small group started harassing （骚扰） two or three of the others．I was one of those two or three, though I didn't know why．In most cases when children get picked on, they aren't good at sports or they read too much or they wear the wrong clothes or they are of a different race．But in my class, we all read too much and didn't know how to play sports．We had also been brought up to carefully respect each other's race．This is what was so strange about my situation．Usually, people are made outcasts because they are in some way different from the larger group．But in my class, large differences did not exist．It was as if the outcasts were invented by the group out of a need for them．
The harassment came in the form of laughter when I talked, and rolled eyes when I turned around．If I was out on the playground and approached a group of people, they often fell silent．Sometimes, someone would not see me coming and I would catch the tail end of a joke at my expense．
There was another girl in our class who was perhaps even more rejected than I．She provided the group with a lot of material for jokes．One day one popular girl came up to me to show me something she said I wouldn't want to miss．We walked to a comer of the playground．Three or four girls there were reading aloud from a small book, which I was told was the girl's diary．
I sat down and, laughing till my sides hurt, heard my voice finally mixed with the others．Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last．Looking back, I wonder how I could have participated in making fun of this girl when I knew perfectly well how it felt．If I were in that situation today I would react differently, but I can't honestly be sure．The author was made an outcast because ____．
| A．she couldn't play sports as well as others |
| B．her classmates needed to find an outcast her |
| C．her classmates found her clothes funny |
| D．family belonged to a minority group |
How was the author treated as an outcast?
| A．She was refused to approach others． |
| B．No one responded to her talking． |
| C．She was often the target of teasing． |
| D．Her diary was often made public． |
What did the author do to the girl mentioned in Paragraph 3?
| A．She showed great sympathy with the girl． |
| B．She found more materials about the girl for jokes． |
| C．She stopped the others from hurting the girl． |
| D．She joined others in making fun of the girl． |
What does the passage intend to tell us?
| A．Everyone is likely to become an outcast． |
| B．We shouldn't hit a person when he is down． |
| C．Everyone has a desire to be accepted by others． |
| D．One should pay somebody back in his own way． |
☆Locks
You have a special card which operates the electronic lock on your room door and a key for the main door of the door of the hotel. These are your responsibility and should never be lent to anyone, including your fellow classmates. If you lose them you will be charged £20 per replacement. Do not leave your room unlocked even for short periods. Unfortunately, theft from student hotels is very common and insurance companies will not pay for stolen goods unless you can prove that your room was broken into by force.
☆Visitors
There are rarely any rooms available for visitors, except at the end of the summer term. Stan Jenkins, the hotel manager, will be able to tell you and can handle the booking. A small charge is made. Stan also keeps a list of local guesthouses, with some information about what they’re like, price, etc. You are also allowed to use empty beds for up to three nights, with the owner’s permission (for example, if the person who shares your room is away for the weekend ), but you must inform Stan before your guest arrives, so that he has an exact record of who’s in the building of a fire breaks out. Students are not allowed to charge each other for this.
☆Kitchens
There is a kitchen on each floor where light meals, drinks, etc. maybe prepared. Each has a large fridge and a food cupboard. All food should be stored, clearly marked with the owner’s name, in one of these two places. Bedrooms are too warm for food to be stored, and the cleaners have instructions to remove any food found in them. After using the kitchen, please be sure you do all your washing up immediately and leave it tidy. If you use it late in the evening， please also take care that you do so quietly in order to avoid disturbing people in nearby bedrooms.If a friend visits you for the weekend, he or she can .
| A．stay at a local guesthouse |
| B．book an empty house for free |
| C．use an empty bed without permission |
| D．share your room by paying your roommate |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Your insurance will cover what you have lost． |
| B．The cleaners will take away food left in the bedrooms． |
| C．Spare rooms are least likely to be available in summer． |
| D．Students will be fined for lending their cards to others． |
The passage is probably taken from ____．
| A．a travel guide book | B．a hotel brochure |
| C．a school poster | D．a club newsletter |
Since we are social beings, the quality of our lives depends in large measure on our interpersonal(人与人之间的) relationships. One strength of the human condition is our possibility to give and receive support from one another under stressful conditions. Social support makes up of the exchange of resources among people based on their interpersonal ties. Those of us with strong support systems appear better able to deal with major life changes and daily problems. People with strong social ties live longer and have better health than those without such ties. Studies over types of illnesses, from depression to heart disease, show that the presence of social support helps people defend themselves against illness, and the absence of such support makes poor health more likely.
Social support cushions(缓和) stress in a number of ways. First, friends, relatives and co-workers may let us know that they value us. Our self-respect is strengthened when we feel accepted by others in spite of our faults and difficulties. Second, other people often provide us with informational support. They help us to define and understand our problems and find solutions to them. Third, we typically find social companionship supportive. Taking part in free-time activities with others helps us to meet our social needs while at the same time distracting (转移注意力) us from our worries and troubles. Finally, other people may give us instrumental support money aid, material resources, and needed services - that reduces stress by helping us resolve and deal with our problems.Interpersonal relationships are important because they can ________
| A．make people live more easily | B．smooth away daily problems |
| C．deal with life changes | D．cure types of illnesses |
The researches show that people's physical and mental health _______
| A．lies in the social medical care systems which support them |
| B．has much to do with the amount of support they get from others |
| C．depends on their ability to deal with daily worries and troubles |
| D．is related to their courage for dealing with major life changes |
Helping a sick neighbor with some repair work in spare time is an example of ________
| A．instrumental support | B．informational support |
| C．social companionship | D．the strengthening of self-respect |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A．Effects of stressful condition. | B．Kinds of social support. |
| C．Ways to deal with stress. | D．Interpersonal relationships. |
As you climb into the hill country, the roads get dustier and rougher, and fewer cars can be seen. Phonxay is one of the poorest districts of Laos, and many of its villages are only accessible by footpath. Our destination this hot morning is a concrete water tank that can be found just off the road. A UK organization helped to build it six years ago, and in the nearby village of Thapho, where clean drinking water is scarce, it has made a big difference. The tank feeds six taps which in turn give water to over 800 people---it has improved things for almost every family, from schoolchildren to grannies.
But lately, we were told, the clean water supply has come under pressure from new arrivals, people who have come down from the hill areas, and there are concerns that there will not be enough clean water to go round.
There are also serious worries about resources in Laos. The Chinese are building a 400km railway link, which could transform the landlocked country. About 150,000 Chinese workers will be involved. What will this do to local clean water supplies? How will the workers be fed?
The vast majority of Laotians live on farms. But with foreign investors wanting to buy up land, local people will have to be moved to make room for them. Heavily dependent on both foreign aid and foreign investment, Laos still falls well behind its neighbours, although its economy has grown at about 6% a year in the last decade. Its biggest economic problem is the lack of locally trained skilled workforce.
But there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. Laos is beautiful, and foreign tourism continues to grow: fortunately so far the fast-food chains and coffee bars common elsewhere are nowhere to be seen. Although all local media are government-run, the Internet is not controlled and the BBC and CNN are available to those with satellite dishes.
The government has also achieved impressive results in rural development, with communities benefiting not just from cleaner water but the construction of new schools and regular visits from medical teams. Poverty will not be history in Laos within the next decade, but with small steps forward and a bit of outside help, the country could find itself out of the UN’s least-developed category by 2020.What is putting pressure on the local supply of clean water?
| A．Dust from the road is making the water dirtier. |
| B．There are too many taps accessing the water. |
| C．The population of the area is growing fast. |
| D．The coming summer will dry up rivers and lakes. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a reason for Laos to be hopeful?
| A．There are no fast-food restaurants in the country. |
| B．Laos has a variety of tourist attractions. |
| C．Information on the Internet is freely accessible. |
| D．The government owns all local media. |
What is the most serious limitation on Laos’ economic growth?
| A．The lack of local skilled workers. |
| B．A poor transportation system. |
| C．Too much foreign aid. |
| D．Too many foreign workers. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Laos: slow-developing nations |
| B．Laos: small steps forward |
| C．Laos: least-developed land |
| D．Laos: landlocked country |
The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play a significant role in the process of recovery from illness.
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the galleries and into public places, some of the country's most talented artists have been called in to transform older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2,500 National Health Service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have significant contemporary art in corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent initiatives(首创) owe a great deal to one artist, Peter Senior who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience.
A typical hospital waiting room might have as many as 5,000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the outpatients waiting area of the Manchester Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is striking. Now in the corridors and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colors, playful images and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto a garden needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at. The underlined part "to soften the hard edges of modern buildings" in Paragraph 2 means"________".
| A．to decorate hospitals with art collections |
| B．to make the corners of hospital buildings round |
| C．to change people's attitude toward hospitals |
| D．to replace the old buildings with modern buildings |
Peter Senior is a(n) ________.
| A．doctor interested in arts |
| B．artist who refuses to hold art exhibitions in hospitals |
| C．pioneer in introducing art into hospitals |
| D．artist who owns a great deal of property |
The improvement of the hospital environment seems to be effective in ______.
| A．making it unnecessary to give drugs to patients |
| B．helping the modern artists regain their status in society |
| C．calling in more talented artists to hospitals |
| D．helping patients recovering from illness |
The writer’s attitude towards the effect of art exhibitions in hospitals is ______.
| A．suspicious | B．positive | C．neutral(中立的) | D．unfavorable |