The summer of 2012 was full of reports of extreme weather: one of the warmest years on record in the US, the wettest summer in the UK, and the worst drought (旱灾) in East Africa. In short, extreme weather seems to be becoming the new normal. Weather extremes are not that extreme any more. Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires are the new reality of a warming world.
And this should not come as a surprise. Scientists have been warning for years that as the planet heats up, we will have to deal with more dreadful weather. Although not every extreme weather event is the result of climate change, scientists are now much more confident about connecting weather events with climate change. In 2011, the UK had a warm November. Researchers say that it was at least 60 times more likely to happen because of climate change than because of natural changes in the earth’s weather systems.
All the news shows that climate breakdown is occurring faster than most climate scientists had expected. But isn’t it too expensive to stop the climate from changing? Well, yes it costs. So everything is just as usual. It would be wrong to believe that to let things continue as they always do is the cheap choice. Instead, it is very expensive. Just one example: droughts in the US, Russia and the Ukraine sent food prices to a record high. According to the World Bank, the price for corn increased by 113% in some markets in Mozambique and in Sudan. This is the kind of cost that often gets ignored.
I believe intelligent climate action can help create new opportunities for jobs in Europe, for encouraging creativity and competitiveness, for spending less money on energy.According to the passage, in 2012 _____.
| A．the UK had a warm November | B．the US had many wildfires |
| C．the UK had a dry summer | D．East Africa had little rain |
The author mentions the increase of food prices in Paragraph 3 to _____.
| A．show a lot of people are hungry |
| B．prove food prices are very changeable |
| C．prove we’re paying for extreme weather |
| D．show it’s expensive to stop the climate from changing |
Which of the following statements does the author probably agree with?
| A．Proper climate action will be useful. |
| B．Europe is providing limited job opportunities. |
| C．It’s everyone’s duty to protect the environment. |
| D．Everyone needs time to get used to extreme weather. |
If you are looking for an animal to take the title of “most violent fish in the sea”, then the tiger puffer (河豚) fish would have to be a strong contestant. Not only is it deadly poisonous --- though that doesn’t stop people trying to eat it --- but it is also able to scare off enemies by inflating itself to become much larger than normal, when it is young it even chews on its own brothers and sisters.
Tiger puffer fish attach their eggs to rocks near the bottom of the sea, often at the mouths of bays. Then the larvae (幼鱼) move to the entries of rivers and lakes once they have grown a little. Then, having put on a lot of weight, they head out to sea. There’s no innocent childhood for the puffer fish, as Shin Oikawa of Kyushu University in Japan and his colleagues found out when they put the larvae of tiger puffer fish in the lab and monitored them for two months. They found that the larvae went through three steps in which their metabolic(新陈代谢) rates increased dramatically when they reached body weights of 0.002g, 0.01g, and 0.1g. When a larva went through one of these steps, its behavior also changed. For instance, once a larva had passed the first level it would have grown its first tooth and could start attacking larvae that had not yet reached that stage. Similarly, any larva that had reached the 0.01g or 0.1g levels would start attacking lighter larvae.
The researchers noted that the baby fish had a “relatively small mouth”, so rather than swallowing their brothers and sisters whole, they would bite pieces out of them. Despite this limitation, the fish caused plenty of deaths --- up to 12 per cent of the deaths that happened in the lab each day.
Those fish that grew fast enough to be able to chew on their fellows had an advantage. The extra food accelerated their growth and development. Tiger puffer fish are likely to be faster and swifter, so they can deal better with enemies.
As the name suggests, puffer fish can inflate to make themselves seem much larger than they really are, thus scaring off enemies. They do this by filling their stomachs, which are extremely elastic(弹性的), with water. If that’s not enough of a threat, the tiger puffer fish --- like most of the other puffer fish in the family --- carries a deadly toxin(毒素). Eat one puffer fish and the poison will paralyze (瘫痪) your muscles, including the muscles responsible for breathing, so death is usually caused by a lack of oxygen. Famously, the fish is a delicacy in Japan, where highly qualified chefs produce dishes that contain the safe level of the poison. Interestingly, the puffer fish does not go to the trouble of producing the poison itself. Instead, it hosts bacteria (细菌) that produce the stuff. It obtains these bacteria from its diet, so the youngest adult fish are not poisonous.All of the following statements account for the violence of puffer fish except that_____.
| A．they are very difficult to catch |
| B．they can become larger to threaten enemies away |
| C．they kill their younger companions as they grow up |
| D．they are deadly poisonous |
We can learn from the second paragraph that puffer fish _____.
| A．can only grow to a weight of 0.1g |
| B．do not change their behavior as they grow up |
| C．like to find a safe place to hatch the next generation |
| D．begin to grow teeth when they reach the third level |
Where does the poison in the puffer fish’s body come from?
| A．Its inner organs. | B．The air it breathes in. |
| C．The diet it eats. | D．The bacteria around it. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Puffer fish can only produce poison when they face danger. |
| B．People like eating puffer fish even though they are poisonous. |
| C．The larvae are more aggressive than adult puffer fish. |
| D．Young puffer fish taste better than adult puffer fish. |
There are four types of persons who go to work part-time. These include retirees who want a bit more income or socialization, parents who want to spend more time with their children, college and high school students and temporary agency workers who want more experience. Many people enjoy the advantages of working part-time, but benefits are rarely offered to part-time employees.
Most people are hoping for health insurance and retirement benefits when taking a job. Traditionally, companies only offer benefits to employees who work 30 hours or more a week. This is only a 25% reduction in hours, so it doesn’t free up a lot of time for the employee who needs part-time hours. Even when a part-timer is offered health benefits, he is rarely offered paid time off and retirement benefits. Dental benefits are almost never offered to part-time employees.
Many businesses hire part-time employees for the simple reason of saving money. If they work less than a certain number of hours, the employers don’t need to pay for benefits. There are companies, however, that are beginning to offer benefits to part-time employees. This includes benefits for health, paid time off and retirement plans. Some companies have begun to offer this in order to take in high quality, trained professionals who just want part-time hours. If a company wants a qualified employee, it will have to compete with other companies. People who may only want to work part-time may be forced to take a full-time job to get the benefits. Companies who offer benefits to part-timers have an advantage by offering more choices to their employees in terms of hours.
Conducting an Internet search is probably the quickest way to find companies that provide benefits for part-time employees. Many large corporations like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods offer benefits to part-time employees among other things. Look for companies that offer a team approach to their employees. Employees are given choices and part of decision-making in the business. Businesses that allow employee input are more likely to offer benefits to part-timers.People prefer to work part-time mainly because they __________.
| A．don’t want to spend more time on work |
| B．have so many household and social affairs |
| C．hope to have more money, time and experience |
| D．only expect to make more friends |
From the second paragraph we can learn that part-timers _______.
| A．can enjoy as many benefits as full-timers |
| B．prefer retirement benefits to health insurance |
| C．often retire without enjoying any benefit |
| D．often enjoy fewer benefits than full-timers |
What’s the advantage of hiring part-time employees?
| A．They don’t need the insurance. |
| B．They can save employers some money. |
| C．They have no choice but to work hard. |
| D．They can be also changed into full-timers. |
We can infer from the last paragraph that _________.
| A．it’s easy to find companies providing benefits |
| B．companies not allowing employee input don’t offer any benefit to part-timers |
| C．Starbucks in England doesn’t provide benefits to full-timers |
| D．employees are often forced to choose their jobs |
Children’s Storybooks and Tales: This site is dedicated to Children’s Story Books and how to tell Children’s Stories. If you enjoy a child’s story or have kids of your own then please browse (浏览) this site to find some great stories and how to read them.
The Cat in the Hat---Dr. Seuss
In the first book featuring the character (The Cat in the Hat, 1957), the Cat brings chaos (混乱) to a household of two young children on one rainy day while their mother is out. Bringing with him two creatures appropriately named Thing One and Thing Two, the Cat performs all sorts of tricks to amuse the children, with mixed results. The Cat’s tricks are vainly opposed by the family pet, who is a conscious goldfish. The children (Sally and her older brother) finally prove good ones, capturing the Things and bringing the Cat under control. He cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing seconds before the mother comes back.
The Famous Fire---Enid Blyton
The Famous Fire is Enid Blyton’s most popular and celebrated series of children’s books. The sequence (顺序) began life in 1942, when the first book, Fire on a Treasure Island was published and it has won great praise from both fans and critics. The series has gone on to become amongst the best-loved stories ever to have been written for children.
Tom and Pippo in the Garden---Helen Oxenbury
In 1988 Helen Oxenbury created a series of books featuring Tom, a naughty young boy, and his beloved stuffed monkey, Pippo. Ms. Oxenbury remarked that Tom was very much like her son “when he was a little boy”. Like Tom, her son would often blame his misdeeds on his trusted buddy, the friendly family dog.
The BFG---Roald Dahl
The story is about an orphan girl named Sophie. One night when Sophie cannot sleep during the “witching hour” and sees a giant blowing something into bedroom windows down the street. The giant sees her, and although she tries to hide in the bed, he reaches through the window and carries her away to his home.It can be inferred from the The Cat in the Hat that ________.
| A．the goldfish likes to keep company with the cat |
| B．all tricks performed by the cat are not amusing |
| C．Sally has to clean up the house before her mother comes back |
| D．the cat finally takes control of the Things |
From the book Tom and Pippo in the Garden, we know ________.
| A．Pippo is a naughty dog causing trouble in the family |
| B．Tom likes to keep a pet dog at home |
| C．Ms. Oxenbury complained about her son’s dishonesty |
| D．Pippo always gets the blame for everything that goes wrong |
According to the book The BFG, “the witching hour” may refer to a time ________.
| A．when magic things can happen | B．when a girl can’t fall asleep |
| C．when a person dreams a nightmare | D．when a child can be taken away |
For whom is the passage most likely intended?
| A．Children. | B．Parents. | C．Teachers. | D．Writers. |
As the Internet’s influence grows, the potential for danger also escalates (逐步上升). One of these dangers is from cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying (网络欺凌) is repeatedly hurting someone else through the use of technology. It consists of sending or posting cruel messages, photos, or videos on the Internet or other electronic media with the intent of damaging the reputation of the target. Imagine being a 13-year-old girl discovering a cell phone picture of her changing clothes for gym class has been sent to all her classmates. Or imagine being an 11-year-old boy who is scared to go to school because an unknown bully sent him an instant message saying that he is so fat that he should kill himself. Cases such as these are happening every day, leading kids to be depressed and unable to concentrate.
Worse yet, parents are oblivious (忽视的) to what is happening. Only 15 percent of parents even know what cyber-bullying is. And anyone who thinks that their child is not a victim or a bully is probably wrong. 90 percent of middle school students have had their feelings hurt online and 75 percent have admitted to visiting a website attacking another student.
Unlike traditional schoolyard bullying, where a bully has a name and a face, cyber-bullying gets much of its power from anonymity (匿名). A cyber bully might design a website posting cruel remarks about a classmate and never tell anyone that he or she was the creator. The cyber-bullying also gets its power from the scope (范围) of its audience. Within seconds, a cyber bully can send an e-mail to everyone he or she knows, inviting them to take part in an online poll (民意测验) of who is the ugliest kid in their class. Victims can be picked on day and night from any place.
The good news is that you can help stop cyber-bullying. By making parents and educators aware of what is going on and encouraging them to take quick and strong action when cyber-bullying cases happen, you can help make technology constructive, not destructive, for young people.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
| A．Not many students have known of cyber-bullying. |
| B．Parents may not know their child is a victim of cyber-bullying. |
| C．Parents know a lot of cyber-bullying. |
| D．Most of the students have not been hurt by cyber-bullying. |
What does the author think of the cyber-bullying?
| A．It is not as harmful as people think. |
| B．It is too complex a problem to settle. |
| C．It will not affect the relationship between classmates. |
| D．It can be stopped through our efforts. |
What will probably be discussed in the following passage?
| A．How to prevent cyber-bullying. |
| B．What parents and educators think of cyber-bullying. |
| C．How to make parents aware of cyber-bullying. |
| D．How to make good use of technology. |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中由两项为多余选项。
Are you truly happy? Do you ever know what it means to be happy and what it takes to achieve happiness?The following are a few tips that I follow to create happiness in my life.
lMake a plan for achieving goals that you believe will make you happy. Your moods will very likely increase if you are going after something you value.
lSurround yourself with happy people. It is easy to begin to think negatively(消极地) when you are surrounded by people who think that way.
lWhen something goes wrong, try to figure out a solution instead of being absorbed in self pity. Truly happy people don’t allow setbacks(挫折) to affect their mood because they know that with a little thought they can turn the things back to their favor.
lThese few minutes will give you the opportunity to focus on the positive things in your life and will lead you to continuous happiness.
lWhether you treat yourself to lunch, take a long, relaxing bath or simply spend a few extra minutes on your appearance, you will be subconsciously(下意识地) putting yourself in a better mood.
lFinding the humor in situations can also lead to happiness. Find a way to make light of a situation that would otherwise make you happy.
lKeeping healthy is another way to achieve happiness.
| A．What makes one person happy may be very different from what makes someone else happy. |
| B．On the contrary, if you are around people who are happy， their emotional state will be easily passed to you. |
| C．Being overweight or not eating foods containing nutrition have a negative effect on your mood. |
| D．These are important questions for anyone who is seeking happiness to ask themselves. |
E.Spend a few minutes each day thinking about the things that make you happy.
F.There are some tips in life that lead to happiness.
G.It’s also important to take some time each day to do something nice for yourself.