Hurricane Sandy was a hurricane that destroyed parts of the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States during late October 2012, with minor impacts in the Southeastern and Midwestern states and Eastern Canada. Sandy, classified as the eighteenth named storm and tenth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, was a Category 2 storm at its peak intensity. While it was a Category 1 storm off the coast of the Northeastern United States, the storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Previous estimates of losses due to damage and business interruption are estimated at $65.6 billion, which would make it the second-costliest Atlantic hurricane, behind only Hurricane Katrina. At least 253 people were killed along the path of the storm in eight countries.
Sandy developed from a tropical wave in the western Caribbean Sea on October 22, quickly strengthened, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm six hours later. Sandy moved slowly northward toward the Greater Antilles and gradually becoming stronger. On October 24, Sandy became a hurricane, made landfall near Kingston, Jamaica, a few hours later, entered into the Caribbean Sea again and strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. On October 25, Sandy hit Cuba, and then weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 26, Sandy moved through the Bahamas. On October 27, Sandy briefly weakened to a tropical storm and then restrengthened to a Category 1 hurricane. Early on October 29, Sandy turned from north to northwest and then moved ashore near Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds.
In the United States, Hurricane Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine and west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin, with particularly severe damage in New Jersey and New York. Its storm hit New York City on October 29, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines and cutting power in and around the city. Damage in the US is estimated at over $63 billion.According to the passage, which of the following wind forms is the strongest?
| A．Tropical wave. | B．Tropical storm. |
| C．Category 1 hurricane. | D．Category 2 hurricane. |
We can learn from the passage that_______.
A. Sandy caused 253 deaths totally in the USA.
B. Sandy reached its strongest in the Caribbean Sea.
C. Sandy resulted in great loss in most states in the USA.
D. Sandy is the second largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.Which of the following graph shows the development of Sandy?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |
What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To tell us how terrible Sandy is. |
| B．To teach us what to do in face of hurricanes. |
| C．To inform readers of Sandy and its damage. |
| D．To warn readers of the dangers caused by hurricanes. |
The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.What is the text mainly about?
| A．The relationship between accents and social classes. |
| B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
| C．The changes in a person’s accent. |
| D．The recent development of the English language. |
The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.
| A．she has been Queen for many years |
| B．she has a less upper-class accent now |
| C．her speeches are familiar to many people |
| D．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
| A．“dutay” | B．“citee” | C．“hame” | D．“lorst” |
We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.
| A．speech sounds | B．Christmas customs |
| C．TV broadcasting | D．personal messages |
Prepare: Plan ahead and think about what you are going to say. In the words of Mark Twain, it usually takes you more than three weeks to prepare for it.
Know your subject: Always make sure that you know the subject and have background information at hand for question time.
Know you audience: Find out who you will be addressing so that you can tailor(适合) your comments accordingly.
Make a point: Keep your speech short and brief and have a few clear points that you need to convey(传达).
Practice: Never learn your speech by heart as your speech will become stilted, but do practice it a few times in front of the mirror, your parents or your dog.
Eye contact: If the thought of looking into a sea of faces scares you, adjust your gaze（注视）regularly at different points in the room to create the same effect.
First impressions: Your first impression is important when making a public presentation. Find out about dress codes(准则) at the place so that you look your best and, if possible, check the microphone beforehand to ensure you know how to use it.
Get help: If public presentations are a major part of your life, read up on the art of speech---writing and delivery to improve your skills.The advice benefits (有益于)____________________.
| A．teachers | B．actors | C．speechmakers | D．spokesmen |
Knowing your subject helps you __________.
| A．make a perfect speech |
| B．make better answers when asked questions about the subject. |
| C．keep a clear head |
| D．attract people’s attention |
The underlined word “stilted” probable means ________ here.
| A．unnatural | B．unnecessary | C．unpleasant | D．undeveloped |
If asked for more advice besides what has been mentioned in the text, you may suggest ______.
| A．eye contact with the audience | B．proper clothes |
| C．proper tones and body languages | D．more practice |
79 Mayfair Road
Plumton, Kent
October 10th
Dear Rosemary,
I was very glad to get your letter this morning. I really ought to have written to you---it was my turn, I know----but I have been terribly busy. The children seem to take up all my time. I am thinking of sending Ann to a nursery school. She’ll be four next month. Baby has just started to walk and doesn’t give me a moment’s peace. But you know what it is like! How are all your children? I’m sure they love living in the country.
I’m afraid we can’t come over to see you next Sunday, as you suggest. Tom’s mother is coming to spend the day with us. What about the Sunday after that----- the twenty-second? We are free that day and should love to come. We’re longing to see your house.
Let me know, then, if the Sunday after next suits you. May we come for lunch? We’d like to leave fairly early in the evening to avoid the heavy traffic on the roads.
Love from us all,
Edna Edna can not see Rosemary the following Sunday because_____.
| A．she is afraid of the traffic | B．Tom’s mother is coming to see them that day |
| C．she prefers to come on 22nd | D．she is terribly busy with the children |
What doesn’t give Edna a moment’s peace?
| A．That she has been thinking of sending Ann to a nursery school |
| B．That Tom’s mother will come soon |
| C．That she has been thinking of going to see Rosemary’s new house |
| D．That her baby has just started to walk |
We can infer from the letter that Tom is_________.
| A．Edna’s husband | B．Edna’s son | C．Edna’s neighbor | D．Edna’s father |
A father sat at his desk poring over his monthly bills when his young son rushed in and announced, "Dad, because this is your birthday and you’re 40 years old, I’m going to give you 40 kisses, one for each year!" When the boy started making good on his word, the father cried out suddenly, "Oh, Andrew, don’t do it now; I’m too busy!"
The youngster immediately fell silent as tears welled up in his big blue eyes．Apologicaliy the father said, "You can finish later．"
The boy said nothing but quietly walked away, disappointment written over his face．That evening the father said, "Come and finish the kisses now, Andrew!" But the boy didn’t respond．
Unfortunately, a few days later after this incident, the boy had an accident and was drowned．His heartbroken father wrote．．．
"If only I could tell him how much I regret my thoughtless words, and could be sure that he knows how much my heart is aching．"
Love is not only giving．Any loving act must be warmly accepted or it will be taken as rejection and can leave a scar．If we are too busy to give and receive love, we are too busy! Nothing is more important than responding with love to the cry for love from those who are near and precious to us, because there may be no chance at all as in the case of the little boy．What does the underlined phrase "poring over" mean?
| A．looking in on | B．looking out for |
| C．looking through | D．looking around |
The boy is going to give his father 40 kisses because ______．
| A．his father is very busy |
| B．this is the boy’ birthday |
| C．the boy wants to play with his father |
| D．this is his father’ birthday and he’s 40 years old |
What happened to the youngster later?
| A．His heart was broken． | B．He died unexpectedly． |
| C．He ran away from home． | D．He fell silent all the time． |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Love Story | B．Love Your Son |
| C．A Father and a Son | D．Love is a Two-way Street |
US bees operation keeping groups have been attacked seriously by so called Colony （群体）Collapse Disorder．Almost 1/2 of their worker bees have vanished during the past season．This disorder has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America．Bees fly away from the hive and never return．Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found．Many crops and trees depend on pollination^^}） by bees to help them grow．
A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States．This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus．It was first found in Israel in 2004．lan Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science Magazine．Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause．He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder．
The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year．They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder．They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony．The next step is further testing of healthy hives．
The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia．They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected．
The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite．This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive．Australian bee producers object to these suspicions．
And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather．Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees．The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey．But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers．Many bees may have starved．Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing apart．
Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time．He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.What is the author’s attitude toward the cause of this disorder?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Neutral. | C．Supportive. | D．Negative. |
The researchers found the virus sharply by .
| A．studying the published Science Magazine |
| B．researching the causes of bee death |
| C．examining some affected colony |
| D．exploring a connected chart |
The passage is mainly developed by .
| A．presenting the effect and analyzing its causes |
| B．making comparisons between two countries |
| C．providing data and examples |
| D．following the time order |
How many possibilities may be involved in the bee disorder according to the passage?
| A．Three | B．Four | C．Five | D．Six |
From the passage we can infer that .
| A．American bees are more likely to defend themselves against hurt from other insects than Australian ones |
| B．A collection of plants production in U.S ay be influenced by the bee disorder |
| C．Israeli acute paralysis virus should be responsible for the disorder |
| D．The solution to the disorder will be found eventually |
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