International teams have spent nearly half a year looking for evidence of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, a search that includes the hunt for the aircraft’s so-called black box, which holds flight data that would likely explain what caused MH370 to move away from its course. But many aviation experts wonder why, in our increasingly networked world, divers are searching the Indian Ocean for a metal box when technology already exists that would enable planes to stream black box data to the ground in the event of an emergency.
Black boxes have been on planes since the late 1950s, and now every commercial aircraft has two: a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. (Although they are referred to as black boxes, they are typically orange in color, making them easier to spot in waters.) Black box recorders are mainly used to investigate the cause of in-flight accidents.
While black boxes are built to survive a crash and long-term submersion(浸没）in water, it can be a real challenge to find the device if a plane has gone down in the ocean. While each box contains a beacon(无线电信标台), the unit only has enough battery power to transmit a signal for 30 days. After the crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009, it took divers two years to find the black box.
Pierre Jeanniot, a Canadian engineer who helped perfect black box technology about 40 years ago, feels that the device, in its current form, is “obsolete”. He started to question its effectiveness more than a decade ago, after seeing the broken pieces of the black boxes in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade towers in New York. Jeanniot is now on the advisory board of a Toronto-based firm that has built a live-streamed black box system. When a plane experiences an irregular event, the system can send streaming data off the aircraft to one of the satellites and then down to ground-based servers, where the message is interpreted and sent to the airline. It seems necessary that the loss of MH370 and other similar cases wake more people up to the fact that the tools being used at this stage are inadequate for dealing with emergency situations, Jeanniot says. He also estimates that if this technology had been on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight and live-streaming for the estimated seven hours after the flight first experienced a problem, it would have cost about $3,000.
While there is widespread approval of a live-streamed black box system, most airlines see its cost prohibitive. The airline industry is an industry with small profits, and is reluctant to add costs that will further cut the bottom line.
However, given how much time, money and effort has been spent on the luckless search for MH370, s black box, the cost of operating a live-streaming version seems like a trifle(区区小数)In this passage, the underlined word “obsolete” probably means .
| A．out of date | B．out of use |
| C．on the move | D．on the increase |
Which fact is mentioned to support aviation experts’ doubt about the effectiveness of the black box?
| A．MH370’s black box holds flight data that might explain what happened to the aircraft. |
| B．The recorders are actually orange in color though referred to as black boxes. |
| C．The beacon in the black box has limited battery power to send out a signal for 30 days. |
| D．It’s necessary for people to wake up to the weaknesses of the black box |
What’s airlines’ attitude towards the live-streamed black box system?
| A．They approve of the system since it may save time, money and effort. |
| B．They consider using the system as the bottom line of costs. |
| C．They are reluctant to start the system because it still needs improving. |
| D．They are unwilling to equip planes with the system as it cuts their profits. |
From the passage, we can learn that__________.
| A．it takes divers one or two years to find the black box after a crash |
| B．the new system does not live stream black box data for the whole flight |
| C．Jeanniot changed his view on black box technology when working for a Canadian firm |
| D．operating a live-streamed black box system costs only three thousand dollars |
Are you sometimes a little tired and sleepy in the early afternoon? Many people feel this way after lunch. They may think that eating lunch is the cause of the sleepiness. Or, in summer, they may think it is the heat. However, the real reason lies inside their bodies. At that time – about eight hours after you wake up – your body temperature goes down. This is what makes you slow down and feel sleepy. Scientists have tested sleep habits in experiments where there was no night or day. The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. They slept for one long period and then for one short period about eight hours later.
In many parts of the world, people take naps(小睡) in the middle of the day. This is especially true in warmer climates(气候), where the heat makes work difficult in the early afternoon. Researchers are now saying that naps are good for everyone in any climate. A daily nap gives one a more rested body and mind and therefore is good for health in general. In countries where naps are traditional (传统的), people often suffer less from problem such as heart disease.
Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. Though doctors may advise taking naps, employers do not allow it! If you do have the chance, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. A short sleep too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward. This can slao happen if you sleep for too long. If you do not have enough time, try a short nap – even ten minutes of sleep can be helpful.Why do people feel sleepy in the early afternoon according to the text?
| A．They eat too much for lunch. |
| B．They sleep too little at night. |
| C．Their body temperature becomes lower. |
| D．The weather becomes a lot warmer. |
If you get up at 6:30 am, what is the best time for you to take a nao?
| A．About 12:30 pm. | B．About 1:30 pm. |
| C．About 2:30 pm | D．About 3:30 pm |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Just for a Rest |
| B．All for a Nap |
| C．A Special Sleep Pattern. |
| D．Taking Naps in Warmer Climate. |
As nanny(保姆), cook, cleaner, shopper, driver, and gardener, she has one of the most demanding jobs in Britain today. And paying someone else to do the chores(家务活) which take the average housewife 71 hours a week would cost €349.
At over €18,000 a year that’s more than the earnings of 70 percent of the population, including train drivers, firemen, prison officers, and social worker. Looking after a baby less than a year old takes a housewife into a even higher pay league. According to a stud, she earns €457 a week – at nearly €24,000 a year, the same as teachers, engineers, and chemists.
Researchers put a price on each chore, then tried to find out how long the average person takes doing them. They found housewives spend an average 70.7 hours a week on housework – with looking after the children (17.9hours) and cooking and cleaning (12.9 hours each) the most time-consuming(费时).
A wife with a part-time job still works and average of 59 hours a week at home. Those in full-time employment put in longer hours at home than in the workplace. The good news is that these hours sharply as children get older. While the average mother with child under one puts in 90 hours weekly, the figure drops to 80 hours from one to four and to 66 hours from five to ten.
Mother-of-four Karen Williams from London said, “Paying the housewives may not be practical, but the government should recognize the value of housework, perhaps through the tax. Running a house takes a lot of time and most husbands don’t understand this. For example, my husband only puts a shelf up now and again. He never cleans the kitchen – that’s the real test.”Who earns most according to the text?
| A．A social worker. | B．A fireman. |
| C．A gardener. | D．A teacher. |
We lean from the text that looking after children ______.
| A．takes more time than doing any other housework |
| B．means more duties than being a teacher |
| C．requires the mother to be well-educated |
| D．prevents the mother from working outside |
According to the text, a housewife with a baby less than one year old may work _____.
| A．66 hours a week | B．71 hours a week |
| C．80 hours a week | D．90 hours a week |
By mentioning her husband, Karen Williams wants to show that ______.
| A．housework is no easy job |
| B．her husband has no time to clean the kitchen |
| C．a housewife needs to be paid for cleaning |
| D．the kitchen is hard to clean |
The meaning of the word “volunteer ” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services.” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage(垃圾) from beaches and parks. Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries. They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves. Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay.
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people. Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means. She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta. The following is her story.
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school, we watched a video(录像) about her work in India and all over the world. I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work. So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks.”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people. I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch. I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer the up. I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them. To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much. It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture(文化) that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world.”According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______.
| A．is willing to help those in need without pay | B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful | D．has made a big fortune in life |
Tracy started her work as a volunteer _______.
| A．after she met Mother Teresa |
| B．after she finished high school |
| C．when she was touring Calcutta |
| D．when she was working in a hospital |
Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa. |
| B．She had already had some experience. |
| C．She was asked by Mother Teresa’s example. |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example. |
What is Tracy’s “new idea” (Paragraph 2) of being a volunteer?
| A．Going abroad to help the sick. |
| B．Working in Mother Teresa’s home. |
| C．Doing simple things to help the poor. |
| D．Improving oneself through helping others. |
阅读理解
(A)
Every object tells a story. Even the most ordinary objects can present to us powerful images. Sometimes it is the ordinary nature of these objects that actually makes them so extraordinary. Such is the case with an old leather shoe in a museum in Alaska. At first glance it does not look like much. It is a woman’s shoe of a style popular in the 1890s. But what is unique(独特的) about this shoe is where it was found. It was discovered on the Checkout Pass, the famous trail used by the people seeking gold in Alaska. Who it belonged to or why it was left there is not known. Was it perhaps dropped by accident as the woman climbed up the 1500 stairs carved outface? Or did she throw away goods that she didn’t need in order to travel lighter?
Over 100, 000 people with “gold fever” made this trip hoping to become millionaires. Few of them understood that on their way they would have to cross a harsh wildness. Unprepared for such a dangerous journey, many died of starvation and exposure to the cold weather.
The Canadian government finally started requiring the gold seekers to bring one ton of supplies with them. This was thought to be enough for a person to survive for one year. They would carry their supplies in backpacks(背包) each weighing up to fifty pounds; it usually took at least 40 trips to get everything to the top and over the pass. Whoever dropped the shoe must have been a brave and determined woman. Perhaps she was successful and made it to Alaska. Perhaps she had to turn back in defeat. No one will ever know for sure, but what we do know is that she took part in one of the greatest adventures in the 19th century.
1. The ordinary woman’s leather shoe is considered unusual because _______.
A. it was an important clue to life in the past B. it was found on a famous trail
C. it at one time belonged to a VIP D. it was a fashionable shoe at that time
2. According to this passage, many people who went to Alaska _______.
A. eventually became millionaires B. brought with them many shoes
C. had conflicts with the Eskimos D. were not properly equipped
3. The Canadian government made gold seekers bring one year’s supplies with them so that _______.
A. they would not die of hunger and cold
B. the army would have enough food for fighting a war
C. they would change these goods with the Eskimos
D. the supplies would make Alaska rich
4. No matter what happened to the woman who owned the shoe, _______.
A. she must have lived a happy life
B. she certainly dropped the shoe on purpose
C. her adventurous spirit is definitely admired
D. her other shoes were equally fashionable
(B)
Listen carefully, working people, we would like to tell you something that could save your precious time and money! Best of all, it is free!
It’s “no”.
What do you ask? We’ll say it again: “No”.
Sweet and simple “no”.
Say “no” at your office and see how quickly that pile of work on your desk disappears.
“Saying ‘no’ to others means you are saying ‘yes’ to yourself, ” said Leslie Charles, a professional speaker from East Lansing, Michigan.
“Time is precious. People are spending money buying time. And yet we are willing to give up our time because we can’t say ‘no’.”
Susie Watson, a famous writer, said people who always say “yes” need to say “no” without guilt(内疚)or fear of punishment. “I would rather have someone give me a loving ‘no’ than an obligated(强制的) ‘yes’, ” she said.
Susie Watson says she feels “no” obligation to give an explanation when she says “no” either socially or professionally. Does she feel guilty about it? “Not at all, ” said Watson, who is director of advertising and public relations at Timex Corp in Middlebury, Conneticut. “Most people are afraid of saying ‘no’… My advice is to say ‘yes’ only if you don’t mean ‘no’.”
Watson said “no” is the most effective weapon against wasting time. “Every year there are more demands on your time… Other people are happy to use up your time, ” Watson said. Time saving appears to be “no’s” greatest friend.
“No” can be your new friend, a powerful tool to take back your life. “No” may even take you further in the business world than “yes”.
“No” is power and strength. “No” now seems completely correct. “Saying ‘no’ isn’t easy. But finally it’s greatly liberating,” Charles said. But, he added, a “no” project needs to be worked on every day because it is hard to change long-term habit.
But, he also warns: “Don’t go to extremes. Don’t find yourself saying ‘no’ to everything. In return you should learn to hear ‘no’.”
5. The sentence “Saying ‘yes’ to yourself” means _______.
A. you can have more time to play with others
B. you needn’t care about other’s feeling if you are happy
C. you are selfish and treat others rudely
D. you can deal with your business as you have planned
6. When you say “no” to others you should say it in a _______.
A. secret way B. polite way
C. proud way D. guilty way
7. In Watson’s opinion, people can save much time on condition that _______.
A. they say “no” at a suitable time
B. they say “no” as much as possible
C. they are afraid of saying “no”
D. they make others angry at them
8. If a person says “no” to everything, the result he or she receive may be that he or she _______.
A. enjoys a wonderful life B. makes a lot of money
C. faces difficulty in life D. forgets to say “yes” in the end
(C)
A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.
This attitude toward manual(体力的) labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.
9. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.
A. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man
B. people can always rise to the top through their won efforts
C. college professors win great respect from common workers
D. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.
10. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.
A. servants in American are hard to get
B. she takes pride in what she can do herself
C. she can hardly afford servants
D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food
11. The expression “ wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.
A. work in a furniture shop B. keep accounts for a bar
C. wait to lay the table D. serve customers in a restaurant
12. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?
A. A Respectable Self-made Family B. American Attitude toward Manual Labor
C. Characteristics of American Culture D. The Development of Manual Labor
(D)
TODAY, Friday, November 12
JAZZ with the Mike Thomas Jazz Band at The Derby Arms. Upper Richmond Road West, Sheen.
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco. Free at The Lord Napier, Mort lake High St., from 8a. m. to 8p. m. Tel: 682—1158.
SATURDAY, November 13
JAZZ Lysis at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 60p.
MUSICAL HALL at The Star and Garter, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, provided by the Aba Daba Music Hall company. Good food and entertainment fair price. Tel: 789—6749.
FAMILY night out? Join the sing-along at The Black Horse. Sheen Road, Richmond.
JAZZ The John Bennett Big Band at The Bull’s Head, Barnes. Admission 80p.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion(手风琴). Tel: 789—4536
SUNDAY, November 14
DISCO Satin Sounds Disco, free at The Lord Napier, Mort Lake High Street, from 8 a. m. to 8 p. m.
FOLK MUSIC at The Derby Arms. The Short Stuff and residents the Norman Chop Trio. Non-remembers 70p. Tel: 688—4626.
HEAVY MUSIC with Tony Simon at The Bull, Upper Richmond Road West, East Sheen.
THE DERBY ARMS, Upper Richmond Road West, give you Joe on the electric accordion.
13. Where and when can you hear the Mike Thomas Jazz Band?
A. At the Derby Arms on Friday.
B. At the Black Horse on Friday.
C. At the Star and Garter on Saturday.
D. At the Derby Arms on Sunday.
14. You want to enjoy the electric accordion on Saturday. Which telephone number do you have to ring to find out what time it starts?
A. 789—6749. B. 789—4536. C. 682—1158. D. 688—4626.
15. You want to spend the Saturday by joining the entertainment with your family. Where should you go?
A. Disco at The Lord Napier.
B. The sing-along at The Black Horse.
C. The electric accordion at The Derby Arms.
D. Jazz at The Bull’s Head.
16. You want to spend the same day at two different places and don’t want to cross any street. Which of the following is your best choice?
A. The sing-along at the Black Horse and Jazz at The Bull’s Head.
B. The sing-along at The Black Horse and Folk Music at The Derby Arms.
C. Folk Music at The Derby Arms and Heavy Music with Tony Simon at The Bull.
D. Musical Hal lat The Star ＆Garter and Disco at The Lord Napier.
(E)
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s a move similar to what a Texas A & M University researchers have been undertaking for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen. If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A & M’s College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
This week, Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo by introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy (having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A& M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”
17. The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to _______.
A. make efforts to clone the endangered pandas
B. save endangered animals from dying out
C. collect DNA of endangered animals to study
D. transfer the nuclear of one animal to another
18. According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
A. available panda eggs B. host animals
C. qualified researchers D. enough money
19. The best title for the passage may be _______.
A. China’s Success in Pandas Cloning
B. The First Cloned Panda in the World
C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas
D. China —the Native Place of Pandas Forever
20. From the passage we know that _______.
A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a dog
B. scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a rabbit
C. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches
D. about two thousand of species will probably die out in a century
Nowadays, it is possible to travel to distant parts of the globe in several hours. This can result in the traveler ending up in a part of the world where time is different from his or her own “body clock” ,which control our sleep patterns.
If we travel east or west by more than four time zones (hours) then we will usually be affected.
In the past when people traveled by sea, there was enough time for the body to adjust to the local time, but with the advent of modern high speed aircraft the body does not have time to adjust. Therefore, there is the term “jet lag(时差反应)”. It normally takes one day per time zone (hour) for the body to adjust to its new surroundings.
The effects of jet lag are usually tiredness and insomnia (失眠) but can also include: poor concentration, nausea (恶心) ,vomiting (呕吐), constipation (便秘) and general malaise (不舒服). The effects are made worse by alcohol.
Sleeping while flying may help to reduce the symptoms (症状) of jet lag, but long periods of immobility aboard aircraft can make the traveler feel numb(麻木的) in the legs. The following are some other tips of reducing the symptoms of jet lag:
①Avoid traveling when you are already tired and rest before departure.
②Stopovers on long flights may be helpful.
③A relaxed flight is important.
④Sleeping tablets will help you to sleep and be correspondingly alert (相对警惕的) during the next day, but they do not speed up adjustment to the new time zone.
⑤Remember the actual traveling time will usually be at least twice the actual time spent in the air since it will include traveling to and from and hanging around in airports.
⑥Avoid heavy commitments on the first day after arrival.
72. The following are the effects of jet lag EXCEPT _____.
A. tiredness B. coughing C. insomnia D. vomiting
73. The word “immobility” in the fifth paragraph means “_____”.
A. stillness B. movement C. activity D. happiness
74. We can reduce the symptoms of jet lag by _____.
A. drinking some alcohol B. keeping ourselves awake
C. taking some medicine D. sleeping while flying
75. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To suggest people travel by sea instead of by air.
B. To tell people the effects of jet lag.
C. To give people some advice about reducing the symptoms of jet lag.
D. To tell people about their body clock.