Nearly 60 million visitors flooded to the 384 national parks across America every year. And you won’t have to wander far from home to enjoy one of these national treasures, with Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park nearby.
Located 56 miles from Copper Harbor on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the park remains a desolate area that can only be reached by tour boat. With the exception of the Rock Harbor Lodge, which offers both rooms with private baths and accommodations in the form of small cottages, the 572,000 acres that make up the 45-mile-long park are rough, threaded with hiking paths that lead to tents-only campsites. You are likely to see a deer crossing mist-covered ponds in search of breakfast, gaze bald eagles flying overhead, or hear a beaver(河狸) clapping its tail on the water. If you are especially lucky, you might even glimpse a grey wolf, nearly dying out from hunting on the mainland.
Plenty of hiking paths open the area to exploration. The 4-mile Stroll Path winds through various trees and offers a tour of the island’s history, including prehistoric Indian mines. The Jungle Path leads to Scoville Point——a perfect picnic spot surrounded on three sides by the shining waters of Lake Superior.
You can also rent a boat at the park’s service center and row down the shore to the Rock Harbor Lighthouse. Here park’s service employees use nets to show how lake fishes used to be caught by the original local people. Their catch ends up on the dinner menu at the Rock Harbor Lodge.
The park is open from mid-April through October; Rock Harbor Lodge is open from Memorial Day weekend until just after Labor Day.The underlined phrase “a desolate area” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
| A．an undeveloped area |
| B．an inaccessible area |
| C．an area deserted by tourists |
| D．an area protected by government |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Indians used to hunt grey wolves to make a living. |
| B．Tourists can only visit the park by walking or hiking. |
| C．The number of grey wolves is smaller than that of deer. |
| D．Food provided by Rock Harbor Lodge is shipped from outside. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Safety tips of the natural park. |
| B．Attractions of the natural park. |
| C．Tourist service of the natural park. |
| D．Environmental protection of the natural park. |
A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs 30 years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten.In 1983, the young tech innovator was attending a conference in Aspen when he and the group decided to bury as a stunt during a design convention.
The tube that was filled with an eclectic collection of goods- ranging from the then-new apple mouse to a six-pack of beer for the people who discovered the time capsule- was meant to be dug up 20 years later.
There was a problem with that plan, however, as everyone involved forgot where it was buried.
The final discovery happened at the hands of the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers.The discovery was well documented and is surely going to be featured on an upcoming episode, and even the experts had problems finding this particular treasure.
CNET reports that in spite of their preparations and clear idea of where the 13-foot-long tube was, it still took them two hours to dig it up using heavy machinery.
To anyone removed from the tech industry, the accomplishment in finding the tube appears to be the biggest accomplishment. To others, the most interesting object would likely be the `Lisa` mouse placed in the tube by the hands of a then-28-year-old Jobs.The Lisa Mouse, which Jobs named after his daughter, was one of the first commercial computer mice soled publicly, making it a rarity at the time.
The Aspen Historical Society is going to help the show creators catalogue the tube`s contents- but no word yet whether or not the Diggers cracked open one of the six bottles of Boddington`s Ale that was left inside for the people who found the tube.Who found the time capsule buried by Steve Jobs?
| A．Apple founder Steve Jobs himself. |
| B．the crew from the National Geographic Channel`s reality show called Diggers. |
| C．Steve Jobs' friends. |
| D．Steve Jobs’ daughter. |
Which is the best title of the passage ?
| A．A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs. |
| B．Steve Jobs' plan. |
| C．Steve Jobs' time capsule is uncovered. |
| D．The tube by Steve Jobs. |
How old is Steve Jobs now?
| A．58 years old . |
| B．20 years old. |
| C．30 years old. |
| D．48 years old. |
BEIJING - China will build a nation-wide network within three to five years to monitor the impact of air pollution on health, a latest step to deal with a persistent smog crisis in big cities, an official said.
A total of 43 monitoring spots will be set up in 16 provinces and municipalities frequently engulfed by smog so as to facilitate research on air pollutants in different regions, the impact on the health of vulnerable groups and the study of related diseases, said Xu Dongqun, an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
With funds allocated by the central government, the study will provide reference for preventive efforts to reduce the PM 2.5, Xu said.
Thick and dangerous smog have hit 17 provinces and municipalities with a population of 600 million this year. One of the major cities is Beijing, which has been shrouded in smog for several days during the ongoing seven-day national holiday in 2013.
China recently issued a 1.75 trillion-yuan (284.2 billion U.S. dollars) plan to deal with the worsening air, improving air quality within five years in order to decrease the number of heavily polluted days and improve the air in major city clusters. China will build a nation-wide network in order to_________.
| A．monitor the impact of air pollution on health |
| B．improve air quality |
| C．improve air pollution |
| D．increase the PM 2.5 |
The underlined word “persistent” means“________”.
| A．短时的 | B．持久的 | C．短暂的 | D．停留的 |
China will take measures to deal with air pollution except________.
| A．China recently issued a 1.75 trillion-yuan (284.2 billion U.S. dollars) plan |
| B．set up monitoring spots in 16 provinces and municipalities |
| C．improveliving standard |
| D．improve the air in major city clusters |
We can infer from the paragraph________.
| A．Thick and dangerous smog have hit 17 provinces and municipalities |
| B．air pollution impacted a population of 600 million this year |
| C．The people in Beijing probably wore masks when they walked on the street during the national holiday in 2013. |
| D．the study will provide reference for preventive efforts to reduce the PM 2.5 |
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting with Deputy Superintendent Pedro Martinez, Principal Neddy Alvarez and her staff at Western High School, located in the Clark County School District, in Las Vegas. The school undertook a comprehensive effort to completely transform the culture of the school and added a motivated group of talented teachers. Western altered（改变） the school day to add opportunities for students to get additional credits toward graduation and created smaller learning groups. As part of these comprehensive changes, the school’s leadership also focused on four main reforms to transform their school.
First, improvements started with the change in the relationship between the school and students to create a caring atmosphere at the school. Using the “Capturing Kids’ Hearts” strategies, school leadership and teachers began building a trusting environment and students and families described seeing changes aimed at improving student outcomes and ensuring the success of every student. The school day was altered to add more options for students to obtain additional credits toward graduation. Students and teachers were grouped into “houses,” so that smaller groups of teachers and counselors(辅导员)could create one-on-one relationships with students. Teachers and counselors said that the altered school day provides time to address student’s individual concerns and develop individualized learning plans to put every student on a path to graduation.
The school also made changes to encourage parents to support school and encourage real dialogues between parents and the teachers and leaders at Western. Funded in part through the United Way, the school created a family engagement center to get parents more involved in their children’s education, particularly parents of English language learners. Parents like Ally Gaona and Martha Mendez told me that they had a voice and the tools to engage in their children’s learning and that they recognize that the main responsibility for their children’s learning must rest with the parents. Parents were passionate about these positive changes and said that these changes signaled to the entire the community that the school was serious about family engagement.What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract people to the school. |
| B．To talk about the school reforms. |
| C．To introduce the school |
| D．To introduce the relationship between the school and students. |
How many main reforms are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Two | B．Three | C． Four | D．Five |
Students and teachers were grouped into “houses in order to ___.
| A．provide time to address student’s individual concerns. |
| B．add more options for students to obtain additional credits toward graduation.. |
| C．create one-on-one relationships with students. |
| D．develop individualized learning plans to put every student on a path to graduation. |
Which statement is the right according to the passage?
| A．Parents didn’t support the reforms. |
| B．The reforms intended to improve student outcomes and ensure the success of every student. |
| C．The school asked parents to donate their money. |
| D．the school was not serious about family engagement. |
While we are on the subject of crime, our listener question this week comes from Mohamad Firouzi in Iran. He wants to know about the history of Alcatraz Island and the prison that once operated there.
Alcatraz Island is in the harbor of San Francisco, California. It is best known for being a federal prison, which was also called “The Rock.” It was once the most famous prison in America.
Alcatraz was a military prison from the late eighteen fifties until the nineteen thirties. Then it became a federal prison for the country’s worst criminals. These included murderers, bank robbers and kidnappers. One of the main reasons federal officials chose Alcatraz Island to detain these prisoners was because they thought it would be impossible for prisoners to escape.
Cold, deep and dangerous waters surround the island. Also, the distance between the island and San Francisco is too far for most humans to swim. No prisoner was ever officially reported to have successfully escaped.
However, in nineteen sixty-two, three men broke out of the prison. Each man worked very hard at night for many months to cut through the stone wall of his cell. They made false heads out of paper, paint and hair. On the night of June eleventh, the men placed the heads in their beds to make it look as if they were sleeping. Then, the prisoners escaped through the holes in their cells to get to the water. The men were never seen or heard from again. It is believed that they drowned while trying to swim to San Francisco.
The prison closed in nineteen sixty-three because of the high cost of keeping prisoners there and the need for major repairs. The last prisoners were moved to other jails.
In nineteen seventy-two, the United States Congress passed a bill creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alcatraz Island and the old prison are part of this area.
Each year, more than one million people visit Alcatraz to see the prisoners’ cells and listen to stories about the jail’s history. But unlike the prisoners who once lived there, visitors can escape from the prison whenever they want and return back across the harbor to San Francisco.The text mainly tells us________.
| A．about the history of Alcatraz Island and the prison there. |
| B．about the history of Alcatraz Island. |
| C．about a military prison. |
| D．about the subject of crime. |
Why did federal officials make Alcatraz the most famous prison in America?
| A．Because no prisoner successfully escaped from the prison. |
| B．Because Alcatraz was Alcatraz Island. |
| C．Because Alcatraz was a military prison. |
| D．Because cold, deep and dangerous waters surround the island. |
Paragraph 5 is written to ________.
| A．tell us the three prisoners escaped the prison. |
| B．prove prisoners couldn’t successfully escape from the prison . |
| C．tell us how prisoners escaped the prison. |
| D．tell us the three prisoners could make false heads out of paper, paint and hair. |
Now Alcatraz ________.
| A．is a place of interest . |
| B．detains some prisoners. |
| C．is where the United States Congress is. |
| D．is still the most famous prison. |
Human beings have a natural desire to explore the unknown. People with a strong interest in space like to say it is the last place left to explore. But scientists are warning that space exploration for long periods is not going to be easy. They say the human body is not designed to stay in space over an extended period.
The New York Times recently published a report about scientists who are preparing astronauts for a trip to the Moon. The newspaper said the scientists want to make sure that their crews return home in good health. But there are many problems to be solved before people are ready for long trips to the Moon, an asteroid or even the planet Mars.
Humans developed on a planet with a surface that is more than 70 percent water. Our bodies are also about 70 percent water. When there is no gravity that water moves up toward the head, raising pressure in the skull. Arms and legs grow weaker at what is called zero gravity because they no longer need to push against the force of gravity.
Five years ago, astronauts who spent weeks in space reported a change in their eyesight. These astronauts were members of the crew on the International Space Station. Research showed a change in the shape of their eyes. Normally-round eyeballs had become flat during time in space. The research also showed that the right eye was affected more than the left, and that men were more affected than women. Scientists could not find an explanation for the differences.
Bone loss was one of the problems first reported by astronauts returning to Earth after longer stays in space. So scientists designed exercise machines to use on the space station. Tests showed that the exercise equipment helped space travelers keep their bones almost as strong as when they left Earth.
There are other health issues for astronauts who spend a long time in space. They may have problems eating and sleeping. But the biggest health issue is exposure to radiation. On Earth, human beings are protected by the atmosphere and the planet's magnetic field. In outer space, there is no such protection.What is the main idea of the passage？
| A．Long periods in space will affect the health of astronauts. |
| B．Scientists are trying to find out how to protect astronauts. |
| C．Space is dangerous to human beings. |
| D．People shouldn’t explore space. |
What will happen to human bodies in space？
| A．Arms and legs grow stronger at what is called zero gravity |
| B．Blood moves up toward the head. |
| C．Pressure in the skull will be raised. |
| D．All of the above. |
The following are problems mentioned in the passage Except________.
| A．bone loss | B．loss of water | C．eyesight | D．exposure to radiation |
Why did scientists design exercise machines to use on the space station?
| A．To make sure that their crews return home in good health. |
| B．To help astronauts keep their bones almost as strong as when they left Earth. |
| C．To help astronauts get ready for long trips to the Moon, an asteroid or even the planet Mars. |
| D．To let astronauts adapt to the environment of space. |
What is true according to the passage?
| A．The biggest health issue is exposure to Sunshine. |
| B．Research showed a change in the size of their eyes. |
| C．The right eye was affected less than the left. |
| D．Men were more affected than women. |