Greece declared a national state of emergency on Saturday as scores of forest fires that have killed at least 46 people continued to burn out of control, leaving some villages trapped within walls of flames, cut off from firefighters.
Although most of the fires have been on the Peloponnesian Peninsula, some broke out on the outskirts of Athens on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of homes and closing a major road linking the capital to the main airport for several hours. The national fire brigade said that by evening it had brought those blazes under control, including one that came within about six miles of the city.
The country has been helpless to fire this summer because of drought and three consecutive heat waves that sent temperatures high over 100 degrees. More than 3,000 forest fires have destroyed thousands of acres of wooded areas since June; the earlier fires killed nine people.The latest wave of fires on the peninsula started Friday. Strong, hot winds have spread the flames.
Firefighters expect the death toll to rise, because they have not yet been able to search some areas that had been overrun by flames.
Hardest hit by the fires were a dozen small villages around the town of Zaharo in the western peninsula, where at least 12 people, including some who may have been trying to flee by car, were killed. Scores of other residents, including elderly and disabled people, remained trapped in their homes, phoning into local television and radio stations, crying for help.
Late Saturday, Mr. Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece appeared on national television and declared that he was mobilizing all of the country’s resources to control the fire. Mr. Karamanlis also suggested that the recent fires might have been purposely set. “So many fires sparked at the same time in so many regions is no coincidence,” he said, “We will get to the bottom of this and punish those responsible.”
The overstretched national fire services are being helped by an estimated 6,000 soldiers mobilized for the operation. A fleet of water-dumping aircraft was expected from France, Germany and Norway, after Greece appealed to the European Union for “urgent assistance.”The writer mainly wants to tell us that ______ in the passage.
| A．firefighters battles fearlessly in Greece to control the fire |
| B．constant fires in Greece have caused great life and wealth lose |
| C．Greece is facing great danger as forest fires continue to break out |
| D．Greek government is investigating the cause of recent forest fires |
According to the passage, which of the following might not contribute to the recent forest fires in Greek?
| A．Storm thunders in summer | B．Lack of rainfall |
| C．Extremely hot weather this summer | D．Hot and strong wind |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．now the fire crisis in Greece has come to an end |
| B．assistance from EU members is expected to come to help Greece |
| C．firefighters in Greece so far can still manage the situation |
| D．the number of people who die in the fire is expected not to rise any more |
Mr. Karamanlis believes the forest fires in Greece _______.
| A．is a happening by chance | B．is a natural disaster |
| C．might be caused by human on purpose | D．is a punishment of nature |
Cara Lang is 13. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, in me U. S. Last Thursday, she didn't go to school. She went to work with her father instead. Every year, on the fourth Thursday in April, millions of young girls go work. This is Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The girls are between me ages of 9 and 15. They spend the day at work with an adult, usually a mother, father, aunt, or uncle. They go to offices, police stations, laboratories, and other places where their parents or other family members work. Next year, the day will include sons, too.
The Ms. Foundation, an organization for women, started the program about ten years ago. In the U.S., many women work outside the home. The Ms. Foundation wanted girls to find out about many different kinds of jobs. Then, when the girls grow up, they can choose a job they like.
Cara's father is a film director. Cara says, “It was very exciting for me to go to the studio with my dad. I saw a lot of people doing different jobs.” Many businesses have special activities for girls on this day. Last year, Cara went to work with her aunt at the University of Massachusetts. In the engineering department, the girls learned to build a bridge with toothpicks and Candy. In the chemistry department, they learned to use scales. They learned about many other kinds of jobs, too.
Right now, Cara does not know what job she will have when she grows up. But because of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, she knows she h2Ls many choices.What is Cara's father?
| A．An engineer. | B．An official. | C．A moviemaker. | D．A professor. |
According to the passage, Take our Daughters to work Day is ______.
| A．on every Thursday in April |
| B．a holiday for girls of all ages |
| C．a day for girls to know about jobs |
| D．a day for girls to get a job easily |
On this special day, Cara has done all the following EXCEPT that ____.
| A．she learned to use scales |
| B．she worked as an actress |
| C．she went to work with her aunt |
| D．she used toothpicks and Candy to build a bridge |
What is probably the best title for the passage?
| A．Cara Lang, a Fortunate Girl |
| B．Take Our Daughters to Work Day |
| C．Children's Day and Work Day |
| D．Ms. Foundation, an Organization for Women |
Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, love their country. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland. But there were too many of the Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of the Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. “We will rest here tonight, my men,” he said, “Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win, or we will die.”
They were all very tired. So they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they were very tired, too, and one by one, they fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they went up the hill. Closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle (蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a minute they were on their feet and ready for a battle. The fighting was hard, but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved Scotland.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people liked it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.Hundreds of years ago, the Romans ____ .
| A．came from the north through England to make war on Scotland |
| B．came to the north Scotland from England to make war on Scotland |
| C．came from the north of England to fight the Scots |
| D．came to the north from the south of Britain to fight the Scots |
At the shout of a Roman soldier, all the Scots who were asleep at the hill ____ .
| A．began to fight the Romans hard |
| B．stood up without putting on their shoes and began to fight |
| C．woke and rose immediately, ready to fight |
| D．put their feet into their shoes at once and were ready to fight |
The result of the war is that ____ .
| A．the Romans killed all the Scots |
| B．the Scots were defeated |
| C．the Scots were driven out of Scotland |
| D．the Scots defeated the Romans |
The Scots made thistle their national flower because thistle ____ .
| A．is lovely, though not beautiful |
| B．gave them happiness |
| C．is a kind of useful plant |
| D．helped the Scots in wiping out the Romans |
“It was all his own idea, ” says Pat Peters, the 38-year-old wife of Palo Alto, California high school . Bob had just drawn up a “motherhood contract” ----- a document (文件) stating that for 70 days this summer he would take over the care and feeding of the couple’s four children, plus all household chores (杂务). Although he didn’t even know how to make coffee when he signed, he was quite confident.(He thought the experience would make a nice book.) After 40 of the 70 days, he was ready to give up. “I was beaten down, completely humbled, ” admits Peters. Three weeks later he spoke to the local press (also part of the bargain), stating, “Not only is motherhood a difficult task, not only is it never-ending, it is an impossible job for any normal human being.” Bob and Pat were high school sweethearts. After they were married in 1960, she worked as a secretary to help put him through university. Since then Bob has been the football and wrestling coach at Palo Alto’s Cubberley High while Pat raised the kids. Then two years ago Pat went back to work as a secretary at Cubberley. “I had been around children so much,” she sighs (叹气), “I couldn’t talk to a grown-up.” She continued to run the household, however----- until Bob signed the contract, whereupon she decided to relax and enjoy it. Although Peters had consulted (咨询) with his school’s home economics teachers and the head of the cafeteria (食堂), his meals were sometimes a disaster.
“I tried to slip the butter I’d forgotten under the eggs after they were frying, ” he says. For the last three weeks, the family ate out a lot—sometimes having Macdonald’s hamburgers for lunch and dinner. As for housekeeping, a home economics teacher had told Bob that a room always looks clean if the bed is made. “I found an easier way-----I shut the doors, ” he says. Soon the kids were wearing the same clothes for a week. “I made them wear their shirts inside out, and when we went to pick up Pat at work they turned them right side out so they would look clean.”
Now that Bob has publicly admitted he was wrong, he is routinely(日常地) sharing the child-raising and household tasks with Pat. The tentative (暂定的) title of his book about the summer is taken from something he shouted at the kids one day.The couple signed the contract because _______.
| A．Pat complained a lot about her doing the housework all by herself |
| B．Bob loved taking care of children and wanted his wife to have a good rest |
| C．they agreed that husband and wife should share household tasks |
| D．Bob thought it easy to take care of the family and wanted the experience for a book |
It was agreed that if Bob failed to keep to the contract, he would have to _______.
| A．pay a certain amount of money |
| B．do all the housework for years |
| C．say sorry to his wife |
| D．admit publicly he was wrong about motherhood |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Bob managed to keep the kids’ clothes clean. |
| B．Bob tried to cook good meals for his children. |
| C．Bob frequently took the kids out to eat because he was too busy at work. |
| D．Bob taught the kids to make their beds every day. |
Which of the following can best end the news story?
| A．“My experience of being a mother.” |
| B．“I’m proud of you all, my dear!” |
| C．“Wait till your mother gets home!” |
| D．“Motherhood: an impossible job for anyone.” |
Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s (早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy (怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen (雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”
Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them. |
| B．Many women say so. |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats. |
| D．They know it through their own experience. |
What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Baby rats. | B．Animals. | C．Old rats. | D．Grown-up rats. |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen. | B．The hormones of pregnancy. |
| C．More exercise. | D．Taking care of children. |
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?
| A．The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans. |
| B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals. |
| C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans. |
| D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals. |
The rise of multinational corporations （跨国公司）, global marketing, new communications technologies, and shrinking cultural differences have led to an unparalleled increase in global public relations or PR．
Surprisingly, since modern PR was largely an American invention, America’s relations is being threatened by PR efforts in other countries. Ten years ago, for example, the world’s top five public relations agencies were American-owned． In 1991, only one was． The British in particular are becoming more sophisticated and creative． A recent survey found that more than half of all British companies include PR as part of their corporate （公司的） planning activities, compared to about one-third of U.S. companies．It may not be long before London replaces New York as the capital of PR．
Why is America lagging behind in the global PR race? Firstly, Americans as a whole tend to be fairly provincial and take more of an interest in local affairs． Knowledge of world geography, for example, has never been strong in this country． Secondly, Americans lag behind their European and Asian counterparts （相对应的人） in knowing a second language． Less than 5 percent of Burson—Marshall’s U．S．employees know two languages． Ogilvy and Mather have about the same percentage． Conversely, some European firms have half or more of their employees fluent in a second language． Finally, people involved in PR abroad tend to keep a closer eye on international affairs． In the financial PR area, for instance, most Americans read the Wall Street Journal． Overseas, their counterparts read the Journal as well as the Financial Times of London and The Economist, publications not often read in this country．
Perhaps the PR industry might take a lesson from Ted Turner of CNN （Cable News Network）． Turner recently announced that the word “foreign” would no longer be used on CNN news
broadcasts. According to Turner, global communications have made the nations of the world so interdependent that there is no longer any such thing as foreign．Compared with the American PR personnel, what is/are an advantage (s) of the non-Americans involved in PR?
A． They tend to be more internationally minded
B． They speak more and better foreign languages．
C． They usually pay more attention to global financial situation．
D． Both A and B．What is the immediate cause of the downfall of America’s public relations?
| A．The number of US public relations agencies had greatly decreased by 1991． |
| B．Other countries have increased their efforts in public relations． |
| C．On the global scale, cultural differences have significantly shrunk． |
| D．The British companies are becoming especially sophisticated and creative in public relations． |
It could be inferred that the author of the passage is______．
| A．an American | B．a Briton | C．Ted Turner | D．an Asian |
The underlined word “provincial” in paragraph 3 could possibly mean “ ”．
| A．strict in thinking | B．like people from rural areas |
| C．limited in outlook | D．interested in geographical knowledge |
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