2010 was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards(暴风雪), landslides(滑坡)and droughts
killed at least a quarter million people in 2010---the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
“It just seemed like it was back-to-back (接二连三) and it came waves,” said C
raig Fugate, who heads the US Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
“The term ' 100-year event ' really lost its meaning this year.”
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many disasters seem accidental, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and strange year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices make earthquake more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable building (危房) in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes the river breaches(攻破), or the tropical cyclone (旋风) hits, more people die.
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220000 people in Haita is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people, many of them living in poverty, and more poorly built shanties (棚户区) than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80 000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing thanks to man-made global warning, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
The excessive (过多的) amount of extreme weather of 2010 is a clear sign of man-made global warning that climate scientists have long warned about. They calculate that the killer Russian heat wave ---setting a national record of 111 degrees --- would happen once every 100000 years without global warning.
Preliminary (之前的) data show that 18 counties broke their records for the hottest day ever.
White House science adviser John Holdren said we should get used to climate disasters or do something about global warning. "The science is clear that we can expect more and more of these kinds of damaging events unless and until society's emissions of heat-trapping (吸热的)gases and particles are sh
arply reduce." What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．How the Earth struck back in 2010. | B．Why the Earth struck back. |
| C．How terrorism attacks struck. | D．What natural disaster mean to us. |
What does the underlined word "it" refer to in the third paragraph?
| A．Earthquake. | B．The Earth. | C．2010 | D．Natural disaster. |
What do the fifth, sixth and seventh paragraphs mainly tell us?
| A．The reason why there were so mainly disasters in 2010. |
| B．The way that natural disasters happened. |
| C．The way that man built buildings. |
| D．The way that people lived. |
What is the way to cut back on the number of natural disasters?
| A．To build stronger houses. |
| B．To develop less. |
| C．To reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles greatly. |
| D．To forecast the happening of natural disasters correctly. |
Why did the writer give the example of th
e earthquake that happened in Haiti?
| A．To show more people's living in vulnerable building can cause more people to die in an earthquake. |
B．To sho w Haiti is a poor country. |
| C．To show Port-au-Prince is too crowded. |
| D．To show man's forecast ability of an earthquake reduced. |
Here is a humorous story. Frank Smithson woke up and leaned over to turn off the alarm clock．“Oh，no!”he thought to himself．“Another day at that office；a boss who shouts at me all the time．”
As Frank went downstairs his eyes fell on a large brown envelope by the door．He was overjoyed when he opened it and read the letter inside. “Bigwoods Football Pools(足球赌博公司)would like to congratulate you．You have won half a million pounds．”
Frank suddenly came to life．The cigarette（香烟） fell from his lips as he let out a shout that could be heard halfway down the street．
At 11：30 Frank arrived at work．“Please explain why you're so late，”his boss said．“Go and jump in the lake,” replied Frank. “I've just come into a little money so this is goodbye．Find yourself someone else to shout at．”
That evening Frank was smoking a very expensive Havana cigar(雪茄)when a knock was heard on the door．He rushed to the door．Outside were two men，neatly dressed in grey suits．“Mr Smithson,” one of them said，“We're from Bigwoods Football Pools．I'm afraid there’s been a terrible mistake……”What do we know about Frank?
| A．He was a lazy man． | B．He was a lucky person． |
| C．He made a lot of money． | D．He didn't get on well with his boss． |
Why did Frank dare to shout to his boss?
| A．Because he found a better job. |
| B．Because his boss did not like him. |
| C．Because he thought he did not need the job. |
| D．Because he was not late in fact. |
When he heard the knock at the door,Frank probably thought __.
| A．someone had come to make an apology. |
| B．someone had come to give him the money. |
| C．his friends had come to ask about the football pools. |
| D．his friends had come to congratulate him on his luck. |
On hearing“…there's been a terrible mistake…”Frank was most likely to be________．
| A．disappointed. | B．worried. | C．nervous. | D．curious. |
Are you worried by the rising crime rate? If you are, you probably know that your house and possessions are increasingly in danger of suffering from great rise in the cases of burglary(夜盗;抢劫) and attack.
Figures show an ever-increasing crime rate,
but it is only too easy to imagine "It will never happen to me"．Unfortunately, statistics show that it really can happen to you and,
if you live in a large city, you run 
twice the risk of being a victim.
Fortunately, there is something definite which you can do．Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easily affordable.
You must remember that owning a burglar alarm is no indication(暗示) that your house is packed with valuable possessions．It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily, so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier.
Send now for our free leaflet telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply．Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us．Postage is free．Also, telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service．It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarm.Anyone who takes an interest in the crime rate will, according to the text, be aware that ___________.
A．more burglars are being caught than  ever before |
| B．people have more possessions to worry about nowadays |
| C．burglars are more at risk than they used to be |
| D．homes are more likely to be broken into nowadays |
It seems that people who live in cities are ____________.
| A．more often victims than those living in other areas |
| B．of the opinion that statistics are wrong |
| C．twice as well as people living in other areas |
| D．of the opinion that burglars only rob unprotected homes |
The article claims that possessing an alarm system will _________.
| A．show burglars that you have something worth stealing |
| B．persuade burglars not to break into your house |
| C．make the burglars' job less complicated |
| D．persuade burglars to try again another time |
In order to find out more information about this alarm system one can _______.
| A．buy a leaflet |
| B．write enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope |
C．si gn a contra ct |
| D．phone at any time of day or night |
The underlined word "Figures" in the second paragraph can be replaced by “ __”．
| A．Pictures | B．Fingers | C．Numbers | D．Mathematics |
Almost all theme park accidents can be prevented．Here, based on coverage of theme park safety, are some tips to help you and your family stay safe on your next visit.
If you are visiting with a child, t
ake a moment to explain the ride to them, and tell them what they should do．They are depending upon you to keep them safe．Set a g
ood example for them by following the rules of the park, and make sure that they know you expect them to follow those rules, too.
Tell them to stay seated, to hold the grab bar or put their hands in the laps, and not to stick their knees and feet outside a ride vehicle．Make them look to you for the okay to get on or off a ride, too．And never put a crying child on a ride．If
your child starts to cry, let others pass you in line until your child is calmed．Or, gently exit the queue and find something more relaxing to do．
Young kids can’t keep an adult’s pace in a theme park．Let them take plenty of breaks.
“Kids get tired,” said TPI reader Matt Johnson, a father of four．“Tired kids make parents even more tired．And tired kids and parents may get hurt — physically and emotionally.” He advises that parents plan a mid-day break, perhaps a swim back at the hotel, to avoid mid-day heat and crowds．“You will see cranky families having a miserable time while you are refreshed and having a great evening.”The second paragraph tells readers that ________.
| A．children should be trained to be more independent |
| B．adults should tell children some safety rules firstly |
| C．adults should set a good example to conduct well in a theme park |
| D．there is a danger to take young children to visit a theme park |
Which of the following is NOT right for children who are taking the rides?
| A．They cannot put their hands away from the grab bar. |
| B．They are forbidden to put their knees or feet out. |
| C．They should ask adults’ permission first to get on a ride. |
| D．Without adults’ okay sign, children shouldn’t get off a ride. |
If your child begins to cry just when he is going to take a ride, you shoul
d ________.
| A．tell him to be relaxed | B．make him share your interest |
| C．give up the present activity | D．encourage him to be brave |
We may infer from Matt Johnson’s words that ________.
| A．he doesn’t like to visit a theme park with his children |
| B．parents with many children may be tired of visiting a theme park |
C．not all the families are relaxed or happy when they visit a theme park |
| D．visitors should arrange everything carefully before starting |
What is the meaning of the underlined word “exit” in the third paragraph?
| A．等待 | B．发现 | C．进入 | D．离开 |
One evening, a young man at a certain college who was known to be something of a poet read one of his poems to a small group of his friends in a room．The poem was greatly admired．But afterwards, one of them, who was called Crick, said, "I was very interested in Hand’s poem, but it was stolen from a book."
His words were reported to Hand, who was very angry and required an apology．"Well," said Crick, "I don’t often take back what I said, but this time I admit (承认) I was mistaken．When I got to my room, I looked in the book which I thought the poem was stolen from, and I saw it was still here!"The poem Hand read one evening was written by .
| A．Hand | B．Crick |
| C．one of his friends | D．another poet |
Hand’s friends admired the poem mainly because .
| A．it was read by Hand | B．Hand was a poet |
C．it was real ly wonderful |
D．it was stolen from a book |
From the story, we know that Crick .
| A．was really mistaken | B．really took back what he said | C．was a poet himself | D．was quite familiar with the poem |
When Hand required an apology, Crick .
| A．didn’t do as Hand asked | B．admitted he was wrong |
| C．was unwilling to do so | D．showed the poem to Hand |
According to the passage, we can infer that Hand .
| A．was a young poet | B．liked poems very much |
| C．would be a poet | D．was regarded as a poet |
The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer’s ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brian scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you’ve ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you dialed when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don’t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.
We often do
n’t remember things as well when we’re trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names---even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them. Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?
| A．To make them more productive. |
| B．To reduce their stress and anxiety. |
| C．To develop their communication skills. |
| D．To help them perform daily tasks more easily. |
According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?
| A．He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged. |
| B．He is probably interrupted by another task. |
| C．He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called. |
| D．He may need a rest between dialing and speaking. |
People tend to make mistakes when ____.
A．they perform several challenging tasks at a time. |
| B．new messages are processed one after another |
| C．their relationships with others are affected |
| D．the tasks require little thought |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Multitasking has become a way of life. |
| B．Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline. |
| C．Multitasking exercises need to be improved. |
| D．Multitasking enables people to remember things better. |
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