“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped (圆顶形的) body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”
This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?
As you might already know, many islands in the sea are formed by volcanoes. There are numerous volcanoes under the sea. As the hot lava erupts and cools down, it piles up and forms the shape of a mountain. When the mountain “grows” to higher than the sea level, the part that’s above the water is what we call an “island”.
This is how the island was formed after the Pakistan earthquake, except that instead of a regular volcano, it was a “mud volcano” that brought about this island. Lava is not the only thing that’s locked under the Earth’s crust — there is also gas. When an earthquake happens and breaks part of the crust, the gas is released at an extremely high speed, pushing mud up to the surface, according to National Geographic.
But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands — and this 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan was strong enough. The island is about 20 meters high, up to about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long, nearly the size of a soccer field.
In fact, mud volcano islands aren’t new. This is the fourth island of this kind in the region since 1945. But those islands usually didn’t last long.
“It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” said Bill Barnhart, a researcher with the US Geological Survey. After all, “it’s just a big pile of mud that was on the seafloor that got pushed up”.What is the article mainly about?
| A．The disastrous effects of coastal earthquakes. |
| B．The difference between mud volcanoes and regular volcanoes. |
| C．How islands are formed by mud volcanoes. |
| D．The great natural wonders of Pakistan. |
The underlined word “flabbergasted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to __________.
| A．surprised | B．disappointed | C．worried | D．curious |
We can infer from the article that __________.
| A．the new island near the coast of Pakistan actually took a few months to form |
| B．scientists still know little about different types of volcanoes |
| C．another earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan within a couple of months |
| D．not all volcanoes change the geological appearance of the Earth |
According to the article, islands formed by mud volcanoes __________.
| A．are quite difficult to locate |
| B．usually disappear after a short period of time |
| C．are formed by hot lava from volcanoes |
| D．used to be part of the Earth’s crust |
Our body clock, or natural body rhythm, influences our energy and alertness. Paying attention to it can help us choose the suitable time of the day when we best perform specific tasks.
The reality, however, is that most of us organize the time around work demands, school deadlines, commuting or social events. Doing whatever the body feels like doing is a luxury in today’s fast-paced modern society.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. Obeying our body clock has significant health benefits. Disrupting our natural body rhythm, on the other hand, has been linked to problems such as depression, obesity, or headache, says Steve Key, a biology professor.
When the body clock can synchronize (使…同步) the rhythms of its natural processes, it “gives us an advantage in daily life”, says Key.
According to him, when it comes to cognitive (认知的) work, most adults perform best in the late morning. As our body temperature starts to rise just before awakening in the morning and continues to increase until midday, our memory, alertness and concentration gradually improve.
However, he adds, our ability to concentrate typically starts to decrease soon thereafter. Most of us are more easily distracted (分心) between noon and 4 pm.
Alertness also tends to fall after eating a meal and sleepiness tends to peak around 2 pm, making that a good time for a nap.
Surprisingly, tiredness may increase our creative powers. For most adults, problems that require open-ended thinking are often best dealt with in the evening when they are tired, according to a study in the journal Thinking & Reasoning.
When choosing a time of the day to exercise, paying attention to your body clock can improve results. Physical performance is usually best from about 3 to 6 pm, says Michael Smolensky, a professor of biomedical engineering.
Of course, not everyone’s body clock is the same, making it even harder to synchronize natural rhythms with daily plans.If we know our natural body rhythm well, we can ______.
| A．find out the suitable time to do specific tasks |
| B．organize our time around work demands |
| C．do whatever our body feels like doing |
| D．be sure to be healthy |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Our alertness is influenced by our natural body rhythm. |
| B．Doing whatever your body feels like is very difficult in our modern society. |
| C．Obeying our body clock is good for our health. |
| D．Disrupting our natural body rhythm can lead to obesity. |
Inspiration to solve a difficult problem will most probably come to us______.
| A．when we get up in the morning |
| B．when we are tired in the evening |
| C．when we are full of energy in the late morning |
| D．when we are asleep at night |
Which of the following can be the suitable title for the passage?
| A．What is natural body rhythm? |
| B．Natural body rhythm is good for us. |
| C．natural body rhythm and health |
| D．The latest research about natural body rhythm. |
FOREIGN TEACHERS ARE NEEDED ALL OVER CHINA
Ad No．90374
Posted July 12, 2015 by Amanda
Expire Date August 12, 2015
Tag：Beijing Language Teaching Part Time
We are looking for Teachers, whose Native Language is English, willing to teach in China. Mostly schools are in South of China.
The Benefit package for ESL Teachers includes：
One-year Contract：1st September 2015 to 1st August 2016
Salary 4,000 RMB to 5,000 RMB/Month
Teaching load & schedule：20 teaching hours per week
A rent-free, fully furnished apartment with a living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom
Kitchen facilities provided, other electric appliances will be supplied, water, heater, microwave etc.
If you are interested, please read the information above and kindly send your application to attach the following documents (in doc or JPEG format)．The subject to be mentioned, as “teach in China”
1).CV/Resume（简历）
2).A copy of academic degree/diploma/certificate/or college transcript
3).A photocopy of the data page of valid passport
4).A recent color photo
5).A letter of recommendation or release letter from your previous Chinese school （Only if you worked in China previously）
6).Any other relevant information that you think might help your applicationThis advertisement is about_______.
| A．introducing a school |
| B．seeking a teaching position |
| C．taking on English teachers |
| D．attracting foreign students |
If you are employed, you will_______.
| A．work full time |
| B．not have to pay the apartment rent |
| C．prepare furniture yourself |
| D．work four months for two years |
Where can you mostly probably read the advertisement?
| A．In a telephone book． | B．In a paper． |
| C．In a travel guide． | D．In a textbook |
Recently, I learned firsthand why it’s a bad idea to judge people prematurely (过早地).
I’m a nursing supervisor, and my job is to evaluate workers’ performances at the hospital.
Kenny was a new employee. After weeks’ probation (试用), I had to admit that he was clean, punctual and efficient.
But he had this self-assured and energetic presence. He was a large man, both physically and socially — he was independent and strong. I worried that our hospital, which demanded teamwork, was not right for such a personality.
We had a patient named Mary. At 94 years old, Mary was weak. She had outlived her husband and sisters.
Mary had an obsessive (强迫性的) belief that someone had taken her purse. She searched for it all the time. Unless tied to her wheelchair, she would go through the door onto the street mindlessly searching and never giving up. She was often sitting in her wheelchair in the hallway, where she stopped everyone who came near.
“Can you lend me a comb?” she would ask. “I’ve lost mine. It was in my red purse. Where is my purse?”
Every day it was the same. We all knew Mary didn’t have a purse, but we would answer: “Sure, if I see your purse I’ll bring it back.”
One afternoon, I saw Kenny walking down the hall with a grocery bag. He walked toward Mary in her wheelchair. He pulled out a red purse.
Mary’s old hands flew up to her face in a gesture of wonder and joy, and then flew out hungrily like a starved child taking bread. Mary grabbed the red purse. She held it for a moment, and then pressed it to her breast, rocking it like a baby.
Kenny leaned over, unzipped the purse open and showed Mary a comb inside. Tears of joy poured down Mary’s face.
Instead of paying lip service like the rest of us, Kenny had made Mary’s problem his problem. I had been wrong about Kenny.The author was worried that Kenny would not be fit for his job because ________.
| A．he had no working experience in medicine |
| B．he had a strong, confident and independent character |
| C．his performance during the probation didn’t meet their standards |
| D．he was too stubborn and wouldn’t listen to others’ opinions |
We can learn from the article that Mary ________.
| A．didn’t get along well with her husband |
| B．pretended that she had lost her red purse |
| C．was very happy when given the purse |
| D．asked for help in order to be taken home |
At the end of the story, the author felt ________ about her previous evaluation of Kenny.
| A．encouraged | B．puzzled | C．satisfied | D．guilty |
What kind of message does the author intend to convey?
| A．Pay attention to what people do instead of what they say. |
| B．We should treat older people with patience and kindness. |
| C．Don’t come to a conclusion too quickly when you don’t know all the facts. |
| D．We can always find a teacher in another, even when we least expect it. |
Amazon. com has received a patent(专利) right to send its products to customers by drone planes. The company is the largest US-based online seller of products by mail and other services. Now, the company has received a patent for its planned drone delivery system.
In March, federal officials allowed Amazon to test its drone delivery plan. But even with a patent and the ability of drones to make deliveries, it does not appear the company will put its new delivery system in place any time soon.
The US Patent Office published the document, which describes Amazon’s plans to use GPS to deliver products to homes and to wherever people are. The drone will use a customer’s mobile device --- usually a smartphone ---to avoid hitting people or buildings and to find a secure area to land. The company wants to deliver products within 30 minutes after people order them on its website.
However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is worried about the safety. Although it allowed Amazon to test the system, the agency said the operators must be able to see the planes. That greatly limits the delivery area.
Loretta Alkalay is a professor at the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in New York. Although Amazon is not yet offering drone delivery, Professor Alkalay says it will not be long before it does. She says there are worries that the drones will hit buildings or people, or that the products and drones will be stolen or damaged by people on purpose. But she says that is because many people believe the drones would only deliver the products to the front door of a house. “However, it is possible that homes will one day have special area on their roofs designed to receive product deliveries,” she adds.What is special about the new delivery system?
| A．It can deliver heavy products by plane. |
| B．It uses planes without human operators. |
| C．It can delivery many products at a time. |
| D．It is much safer than other delivery ways. |
The underlined word “secure” in Paragraph 3 means “__________”.
| A．safe | B．large | C．special | D．empty |
After reading the passage, we can infer that FAA__________
| A．doesn’t really like Amazon |
| B．totally support the drone delivery system |
| C．doesn’t think Amazon should get the patent |
| D．doubts about the drone delivery system |
With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dumps ( 处于沮丧中), as the saying goes, makes me feel good and warms my heart.
How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friend, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is common courtesy (礼貌) to speak to others that are around you.
I know of a few people that don’t have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?
Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness in this present world. It drives people crazy. We all need to find a way to bypass the sadness and bring a little light into our lives. So, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.According to the author, humor is useful in the aspect that ____________.
| A．it makes people more confident |
| B．it can pick up people' s spirits |
| C．it can help rid the cruelty in the world |
| D．it can help people get on well with others |
The phrase “busting a gut" in the third paragraph can be replaced by __________.
| A．explaining carefully | B．speaking loud |
| C．keeping silent | D．laughing hard |
In writing the passage, the author mainly intends to __________.
| A．talk about his own understanding of humor |
| B．encourage people to be humorous in daily life |
| C．introduce a practical way to get through daily life |
| D．convince people of the power of being optimistic about life |
What is the author' s attitude towards the present world?
| A．Positive. | B．Critical. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Indifferent. |
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