Somali pirates(海盗) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l，200 Miles off the Somali coast，the farthest-off-shore attack to date，an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force，said a spokesman．
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”.
“Once they start attacking that far out，you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer，Roger Middleton. “Once you’re that far out，it's just the Indian Ocean，and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia，from Asia to South Africa.”
"This is the farthest robbing to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer.
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11，12，and l 4—had 77 members on board in total．All of them are Thai, the spokesman said. Before the Sunday robbing，pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors.
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes。f catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships，the success rate(率)has gone down，though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year. The pirate attack reported in the text happened .
| A．far out in the Indian Ocean |
| B．in the normal patrol area |
| C．near the Somali, coast |
| D．in the south of Africa |
According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?
| A．More goods on board are lost. |
| B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now. |
| C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years. |
| D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast. |
Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text?
| A．The patrols are of little effect. |
| B．The patrols are more difficult. |
| C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia. |
| D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas. |
. How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?
| A．228. | B．77. | C．383. | D．305. |
A
A Swiss airplane powered only by energy from the sun left from Abu Dhabi early on March 9. Its creators hope the plane will make the first around-the-world journey without any fuel.
The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. It has one seat and is made from carbon fiber. The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are wider than a Boeing 747. The plane's wings stretch 72 meters across.
Those wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun's energy. The energy allows the plane to fly day and night.
Two Swiss scientists built the plane. Bertrand Piccard is also an explorer who made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Andrew Borschberg is an engineer and trained fighter pilot.
The scientists say they are not trying to change the airplane industry. Instead, they want to show that new energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible.
"We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel,'' Mr. Piccard said.
Some parts of the trip will require the pilots to be in the tiny plane for five to six days and nights in a row. So it is good that the pilot's seat is also a toilet.
The plane's route begins in the United Arab Emirates. The pilots also plan stops in Oman, India, and China. They will cross the Pacific Ocean, stop in the United States, and continue over southern Europe or North Africa. They plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates in late July or early August.
Internet viewers can go to the Solar Impulse website to see the plane's location and listen to broadcasts from the pilots.What does the passage mainly discuss___________?
| A．A new airplane-Solar Impulse 2 |
| B．A Swiss airplane |
| C．The first around-the-world journey |
| D．The airplane industry |
What’s the main idea of Paragraph 2___________?
| A．the weight of Solar Impulse 2 |
| B．the material of Solar Impulse 2 |
| C．an introduction of Solar Impulse 2 |
| D．the wings of Solar Impulse 2 |
Form the passage, what do we know about Bertrand Piccard__________?
| A．He made the first non-stop flight around the world. |
| B．He is a trained fighter pilot. |
| C．He is from the United Arab Emirates. |
| D．He built the plane alone. |
Which one is NOT true_________?
| A．New energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible. |
| B．The scientists are trying to change the airplane industry. |
| C．The plane's route begins in the United Arab Emirates. |
| D．The pilots plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates |
In which part of newspaper can you most probably find this passage____________?
| A．Health | B．Life | C．Travelling | D．Technology |
D
In June, an isolated tribe known to semi-permanently reside in Peru emerged from the forest on the neighboring Envira River in Brazil to make contact with the outside world. Such contact happens surprisingly often, but it is usually brief. “This is unique in that they’ve chosen to stay,” says Chris Fagan, director of the nongovernmental group Upper Amazon Conservancy.
Reportedly under threat from illegal loggers, a few dozen tribespeople remain near the village where they first emerged. They are under the supervision of FUNAI, Brazil’s agency for Indian affairs. During many past contact events, members of the isolated groups died after encountering modern diseases for the first time. But experts hope the group that emerged in June will fare (进展) better because members have stayed long enough to receive medical care. There’s still concern that other members of the group’s tribe may have remained in the forest, vulnerable to disease and unreachable by medical personnel.
“The worst-case scenario (方案) is that some people get sick and go back to the original tribe,” says University of Missouri anthropologist Robert Walker, who studies Amazonian populations. “That’s the huge worry.”
Walker, who studies satellite imagery (卫星图) of the rainforest for evidence of isolated villages, says four or five such nomadic hunter-gatherer groups live in the Envira River watershed, though he estimates between 50 and 100 isolated indigenous (土生土长的) groups live in Greater Amazonia. These groups often make fleeting (短暂的) contact to steal tools from frontier towns, but most, he says, remain isolated out of fear. “Some of these folks’ ancestors have been massacred,” he says. “They were contacted, violently, in the past.”
Now, with illegal loggers and drug smugglers invading land reserves established to protect the tribespeople’s way of life, these isolated groups are feeling pressured out of their homes. And although activist groups and government anthropologists train locals to temporarily leave the area when isolated tribes arrive as a way to prevent the spread of disease, lack of official protocols (协议), consistent enforcement and regular compensation for villagers often make it an ineffective solution.
These tribespeople “have a right to continue their lifestyle as long as they want to,” Fagan says. “There are land reserves set up to allow them to do that, and those reserves are failing.”Where do the tribespeople who make contact with the outside world live?
| A．In the US. | B．In Brazil. |
| C．In Peru. | D．In Cuba. |
Mr Walker is __________.
| A．director of the nongovernmental group Upper Amazon Conservancy |
| B．an official from the Brazilian government |
| C．an official from FUNAI, Brazil’s agency for Indian affairs |
| D．an anthropologist from America |
What does the underlined word “massacred” mean?
| A．killed in a large number. |
| B．given enough medical treatment. |
| C．helped with tender care. |
| D．treated in a friendly way. |
From what Fagan says in the last paragraph, we can know _______.
| A．It is unique that the tribespeople should ask to stay |
| B．The government did a lot to set up land reserves but ended up in vain. |
| C．These tribespeople don’t have a right to continue their lifestyle as long as they want to. |
| D．The worst-case scenario is that some people get sick and go back to the original tribe. |
C
A Swiss airplane powered only by energy from the sun left from Abu Dhabi early on March 9. Its creators hope the plane will make the first around-the-world journey without any fuel.
The plane is called Solar Impulse 2. It has one seat and is made from carbon fiber. The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are wider than a Boeing 747. The plane’s wings stretch 72 meters across.
Those wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun’s energy. The energy allows the plane to fly day and night.
Two Swiss scientists built the plane. Bertrand Piccard is also an explorer who made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon. Borschberg is an engineer and trained fighter pilot.
The scientists say they are not trying to change the airplane industry. Instead, they want to show that new energy sources and technologies can achieve what some say is impossible.
“We want to show we can fly day and night in an aircraft without a drop of fuel,” Mr. Piccard said.
Some parts of the trip will require the pilots to be in the tiny plane for five to six days and nights in a row. So it is good that the pilot’s seat is also a toilet.
The plane’s route begins in the United Arab Emirates. The pilots also plan stops in Oman, India, and China. They will cross the Pacific Ocean, stop in the United States, and continue over southern Europe or North Africa. They plan to arrive back in the United Arab Emirates in late July or early August.Which of the following is the plan stops of the tour made by the solar-powered plane?
| A．Abu Dhabi---Oman---China---the United States--- southern Europe ---the United Arab Emirates |
| B．the United Arab Emirates--Oman--- India---the United States--- North Africa--- Abu Dhabi |
| C．the United Arab Emirates--Oman--- India ---China---southern Europe --- Abu Dhabi |
| D．Abu Dhabi--Oman--- India ---China---the United States--- the United Arab Emirates |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The plane’s wings include 17,000 solar units, or cells, that capture the sun’s energy. |
| B．The plane weighs only as much as a car but its wings are narrower than a Boeing 747. |
| C．Bertrand Piccard is one of the co-builders of the plane. |
| D．The scientists are trying to change the airplane industry. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Solar Powered Plane Starts World Tour |
| B．A Plane Powered By Solar Energy |
| C．A Plane’s Route Begins in the United Arab Emirates |
| D．A Tour Around the World |
B
It’s reported that powerful Cyclone Pam has impacted at least half the population of Vanuatu, which is a South Pacific island nation.
“Vanuatu is used to disasters but the indications are that Cyclone Pam has caused unprecedented damages,” said President Baldwin Lonsdale in a press release.
The leader of the island nation noted that following a direct hit from the Category 5 storm on Friday, at least two deaths have been confirmed and over 30 injured people are being treated in the Central Hospital in the capital, Port Vila where many people are now homeless and torrential rain has led to severe flooding. He also said bridges which link the capital with the rest of the island have been destroyed.
Mr. Lonsdale made his appeal from Sendai, Japan, where he has been attending since Sunday the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. The Conference has drawn thousands of Government and civil society delegations to craft a new framework for managing disaster risk which will reduce mortality and curb economic losses.
The country is already threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels in addition to five active volcanoes and earthquakes. "This is why I am attending this Conference and why Vanuatu wants to see a strong new framework on disaster risk reduction which will support us in tackling the drivers of disaster risk such as climate change."
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that it is estimated that at least half the population of Vanuatu has been affected by cyclone Pam. Of these, at least 54,000 are children.
Many homes in Vanuatu have likely been destroyed as they are built with natural and local materials such as thatched and corrugated roofs that are vulnerable to strong winds and floods.
Other Pacific Island countries have been severely impacted as well, including the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati.
A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team was expected arrive in Port Vila late Saturday. OCHA was also expected to deploy three staff with information management, public information and humanitarian coordination as well.
From what President Baldwin Lonsdale said in the second paragraph, we can know that ______.
| A．Vanuatu is a beautiful South Pacific island nation. |
| B．Vanuatu wants to see a strong new framework on disaster risk reduction. |
| C．Vanuatu suffers from natural disasters a lot. |
| D．Vanuatu will have a bright future on tourism. |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．At least 3 deaths have been confirmed and over twenty people injured. |
| B．Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu. |
| C．The country is not yet threatened by coastal erosion and rising sea levels. |
| D．The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that half the children has been affected by cyclone Pam. |
What can we know from the last three paragraphs?
| A．Some international rescue teams are being under way. |
| B．Four other Pacific Island countries have been severely impacted by Cyclone Pam except Vanuatu. |
| C．Many houses in Vanuatu are still strong enough for people to live in. |
| D．A UN team was expected arrive in Port Vila late Sunday. |
Where was the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction being held?
A. In Vanuatu. B. In the USA.
C. In China. D. In Japan.
A
THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME
In June 1971, Helene Hanff travelled to London and visited the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop that had been dear to her for 20 years. While Hanff was very happy to finally step foot on British soil the visit carried with it a sad irony (讽刺), which she explained in a 1980 television interview with Dick Cavett: “It was very sad,” she said. “It was the bookstore manager Frank Doel’s death that made me want to write the story of our correspondence and when a publisher bought it, I went to London on the proceeds of the sale.”
Hanff spent the early part of her career trying to make a name for herself as a playwright. London-based writer Monica Porter, who met her in the 1980s, says that Hanff considered herself a “failed playwright” and that her 1961 book Underfoot in Show Business was an account of her failure to get her plays produced. A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published, James Roose-Evans adapted the book for the stage and the play was a West End hit.
It had a 16-month run and Hanff finally got to taste stage success, albeit (虽然；即使) in a circuitous (迂回的) way. In a piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage, she says Hanff was led on stage at the end of the opening night performance to thunderous applause. “To get a standing ovation(热烈的鼓掌) like that, taking curtain calls before an enthusiastic audience, was something she must often have dreamt about,” Porter wrote.
The stage adaptation opened in the US a year later, but never lived up to its West End success. This was to Hanff’s great relief. According to Porter, she once recounted: “Being a celebrity for a week in London had been the most fun I’d had in my life, and wonderful for the ego (自我) - but only because I’d known I was coming home at the end of it, home to the quiet, orderly, solitary(独立的), unglamorous life I was made for.”
However, her peace was not to last: Hollywood came calling. The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road, produced by Mel Brooks, won several awards.
Anne Bancroft starred as Hanff. Doel was played by Anthony Hopkins. Hanff died in New York in 1997 from diabetes-related complications. Today, the Marks & Co building is a restaurant with a plaque on its street frontage that commemorates(纪念) the author that made the site so famous. And Hanff’s unlikely bestseller remains in print.What made Helene Hanff want to write the story of their correspondence?
| A．The trip to the bookstore. |
| B．The death of the bookstore manager. |
| C．A decade after 84, Charing Cross Road was published. |
| D．Visiting the site of Marks & Co, the bookshop. |
It took Hanff the early part of her career to _______.
| A．finally step foot on British soil |
| B．commemorate the author that made the site so famous |
| C．try to make a name for herself as a playwright |
| D．get to taste stage success |
What made Hanff feel relieved?
| A．The stage adaptation that never lived up to its West End success. |
| B．The 1987 film of 84 Charing Cross Road winning several awards. |
| C．James Roose-Evans adapting the book for the stage. |
| D．A piece that Porter wrote for the British weekly newspaper, The Stage. |
Nowadays the Marks & Co building is _______.
| A．a famous bookstore |
| B．a restaurant in hour of the author |
| C．a theater where people can enjoy plays |
| D．a stage for West End hit |
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