Sailing Through History
A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.
The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.
Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外壳). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.
Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?
A.More than 1500. | B.About 1309. | C.About 1000. | D.Less than 750. |
How many countries does the Balmoral reach before sailing to New York?
A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.five. |
The Balmoral will stay in Canada just __________.
A.in memory of the dead passengers in the Balmoral |
B.in memory of the survivors in Titanic |
C.in memory of the dead passengers in Titanic |
D.in memory of the survivors in the Balmoral |
What might be the most important contribution of sunken Titanic?
A.Its site attracts more exploring teams. |
B.It makes the later ships more secure. |
C.Some of its items are on public display. |
D.More trips are planned to its wreckage. |
It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night.The morning after the storm,though, was beautiful:blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently. My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him.I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same. I’m so glad I did.
On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast,but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape.After all,it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea.As we got on board,we noticed two big humps (脊背) in the distance.
On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby. We couldn’t believe it ——there aren’t any whales along the coast here.The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badlly polluted that nothing could survive.
The little baby whale——actually as big as our boat——was obviously stuck and could not move.The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves. “She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,”my father said. At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently. With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappared under water.Then it swam up right beside its mum.They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction.We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel. Showly, they let us lead them, some-times rising from the water right beside us to breathe——and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes. Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance.
In the excitement, it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half. That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day. Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea. The author says “I’m so glad I did ” because __________.
A.he witnessed the whole process of fishing |
B.he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea |
C.he experienced the rescue of the whales |
D.he spent the weekend with his family |
The harbour survived the storm because of ____________.
A.the shape of the harbour | B.the arms of the bay |
C.the still water in the channel | D.the long coast line |
The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________.
A.she had stayed in the polluted water for too long |
B.the whirlpools she had made were not big enough |
C.she had no other whales around to turn to for help |
D.the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction |
What is the theme of the story?
A.Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness. |
B.Fishing provides excitement for children. |
C.It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals. |
D.It’s vital to protect the environment. |
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What information CAN'T we get from the advertisement about Ouickeats?
A.Different kinds. | B.High quality. | C.Exact prices. | D.Good taste |
Which of the following can be cooled in a refrigerator before eating according to the ads?
A.Pasta Salad | B.Dried Fruit. | C.Noodles. | D.Nuts. |
The underlined word “hectic” in the passage means ____________.
A.full of freedom | B.comfortable | C.full of activities | D.flexible |
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Smoking not only can wrinkle (起皱纹) the face and tarn it yellow—it can do the same to the whole body, researchers reported on Monday.
The study, published in the Archives of Dermatology, shows that smoking affects the skin all over the body—even skin protected from the sun.
"We examined non - facial skin that was protected from the sun, and found that the total number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day and the total years a person has smoked were linked with the amount of skin damage a person experienced," Dr.Yolanda Helfrich of the University of Michigan, who led the study, said in a statement.
"In participants older than 65 years, smokers had significantly more fine wrinkling than nonsmokers.Similar findings were seen in participants aged 45 to 65 years," Helfrich "s team added in their report.
The researchers tested 82 people, smokers and nonsmokers, taking pictures of the inner right arms. They ranged, in age from 22 to 91 and half were smokers.Independent judges decided how wrinkled each person' s skin was.
When skin is exposed to sunlight, notably the face, it becomes coarse, wrinkled and discolored with a pale yellow tint, Helfrich ' s team wrote.
Several previous studies have found that cigarette smoking contributes to premature(过早的)skin aging as measured by facial wrinkles, the study said, but little has been done to measure the aging of skin not exposed to light.
The report did not discuss die mechanism involved but previous research has found that cigarette smoke, among other things, causes blood vessels (血管) beneath the skin to constrict (紧缩), reducing blood supply to the skin.
Smoking can also damage the connective tissue that supports both die skin and the internal organs,.When your skin is exposed to sunlight long, it-becomes all of the following but _____.
A.flexible | B.coarse | C.rough | D.discolored |
How wrinkled a person's skin is doesn't relate to _____.
A.the number of cigarettes a person smokes. |
B.the kind and characteristics of skin |
C.how long a person smokes |
D.how long skin is under sunlight |
From the passage smoking results in skin aging mainly because _____.
A.it will lower blood supply to skin |
B.it can make you feel tired |
C.it can make skin come off |
D.it can make blood run faster |
The main purpose of the passage is to _____.
A.inform people about the result of the study |
B.advise people how to protect skin |
C.warn people not to smoke again |
D.introduce a new way of avoid skin aging |
I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering(餐饮) service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.
My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state-owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.
In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well-developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.
With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand-talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign-trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It's hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.
At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.Which of the following scenes is NOT considered as lack of creation?
A.Papers were often downloaded from the Internet. |
B.Students often said that copying is a preferable business strategy. |
C.Case study debates were written up as well as recited. |
D.Students combine knowledge and critical thoughts to solve a problem. |
The underlined word “scheme” in the forth paragraph means.
A.timetable | B.theme | C.project | D.policy |
We can infer from the passage that ___________.
A.China can make and sell any product all over the world |
B.high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment |
C.cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand |
D.the new government program are aimed at encouraging imagination |
Which is the best title of the passage?
A.Look for a New Way of Learning | B.Reward Creative Thinking |
C.How to Become a Creator | D.Establish a Technical Environment |
Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food
9:00—9:45 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists (成员):Jami Bernard, David Kamp, Marion Nestle and Peter Singer.
Hosted by Denise Grady, science writer for The New York Times.
How does what we eat not only affect our bodies, but also the world?The food and nutrition experts debate the role that the diet plays in both personal and global health, and present a look at food politics.
Sports Writing:For the Love of the Game
9:50—10:35 a.m. Blue Tent
Panelists:Christine Brennan, Ira Rosen, Joe Wallace and Joe Drape.
Hosted by William C.Rhoden, sports writer for The New York Times.
Whether catching that key moment of victory or defeat, or covering breaking news, sports writers are anything but audience. Listen as some professionals discuss the special experience in reporting of sports news.
The Art of the Review
11:15—12:00 a.m. Green Tent
Panelists: John Freeman, Barry Gewen, David Orr, Celia McGee and Jennifer Schuessler.
Hosted by Sam Tanenhaus, editor for The New York Times Book Review. How much of an effect does the book review have on book sales?Join this group of critics(评论家) as they discuss the reality of book review and bestseller lists, and how they choose books for review.
New York Writers, New York Stories
3:00—3:45 p.m.Green Tent
Panelists: Cindy Adams, Richard Cohen, Ric Klass and Lauren Redniss.
Hosted by Clyde Haberman, columnist (专栏作家) for the City Section of The New York Times.
Join this inspiring group of New York-centric writers as they talk about why New York is a gold mine of ideas for their work.If you are free in the afternoon, you can attend_______.
A.The Art of the Review |
B.New York Writers, New York Stories |
C.Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food |
D.Sports Writing: For the Love of the Game |
Sam Tanenhaus is in charge of ________.
A.The Art of the Review |
B.Health, Wellness and the Politics of Food |
C.New York Writers, New York Stories |
D.Sports Writin![]() |
All the four activities above _______.
A.are about writing | B.will last 45 minutes each |
C.can be attended freely | D.will attract many readers |
We can learn from the text that________.
A.sports writers are a type of audience |
B.the New York Times is popular |
C.Denise Grady will discuss politics |
D.book reviews may affect book sales |