October 21 was a very dark day in Texas．Not only did Hurricane Hanna destroy homes，it caused the largest business damage in Texas’s history．The worst thing is Hanna’s destructive force nearly wiped out most power poles and power lines．According to Center Point Energy，Hurricane Hanna affected 2．15 million customers．Currently, more than 4，000 of them are still in the dark．Crews have worked 16-hour shifts to restore power to residents．
Most of Houston seems to be returning to normal．Schools，restaurants，retail stores and gas stations are open．Smiles are back．But harder-hit places，including Galveston，will take much longer to recover. Hundreds of people are still missing，and coastal towns are a mess．Some ruins from storm have drifted south to other beaches in Texas．Several public schools in Galveston are closed due to water damage．Parents are registering kids in other area schools which are scheduled to begin class on November 13．Many school supplies were destroyed．
Clara Barton Village is an emergency shelter located at Alamo Elementary School in Galveston，Texas．This is where Paula Reed and her family are staying．Believe it or not，Paula Reed and her family consider this hurricane a blessing．When Paula was a girl，she was an orphan，but was taken in by her stepmom，Antonia Flores．Reed lost contact with Flores and had been trying desperately to locate her for the past few years．Before the hurricane，Reed and her family moved away from Galveston to a San Antonio shelter．There，she reunited with Flores after 30 long years! The moment they saw each other, their lives were changed．What’s the most serious damage caused by Hurricane Hanna?
| A．Hundreds of people are still missing． |
| B．A large number of people are homeless． |
| C．Power facilities are severely destroyed． |
| D．Factories are closed and many people jobless． |
It can be inferred that the residents in Houston________．
| A．have fully recovered from the disaster |
| B．were the most unlucky people in the disaster |
| C．need a long time to bring their life back to normal |
| D．suffered less from Hanna than people in Galveston |
Kids in public schools in other areas of Houston will have to stay at home for_______
| A．at least one month | B．at least three weeks |
| C．two weeks at most | D．nearly half a month |
Paula Reed and her family consider the hurricane a blessing because_______
| A．they had nothing lost after Hurricane Hanna |
| B．they lived a happier life in San Antonio shelter |
| C．Paula was taken good care of in the shelter |
| D．Paula reunited with her stepmother after three decades |
“Josie Metz’s father won’t live long enough to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day．But thanks to photographer Lindsey Villatoro，the 11-year-old girl was able to experience what it might be like anyway．
Her father, Jim，62，had already been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he and his wife．Grace，hired Villatoro—a photographer．Two years ago，Villatoro began offering photography sessions for people with serious illnesses to document their journeys and was hired by the Metz family．”I try to really showcase(充分展示)the person for who they are and not the illness，”she told The Huffington Post during a phone conversation Tuesday afternoon．
Villatoro went to Jim and Grace’s home for a shoot and offered to do one with their young daughter，Josie．After she left，she posted about the family on her website to get gift donations for the girl to help make her last birthday with her father memorable．But she decided to take a step further as a surprise and dreamed up the idea of a wedding for the girl—complete with，flowers，desserts，a promise ring and a dress from L．A．Fashion Week—so that her father could walk her down the aisle．”
For today，appreciate those you love．Give them lots of hugs and be grateful they are in your life．You never know what can happen．Say more“I Love Yous”and show more appreciation for all of your friends and family．Appreciate the blessings you have．I'm going to hug my husband Rich more today，call my Dad，call my friend in NC，and give lots of kitty hugs to my pets．Hugs to all of you—I appreciate you all so much and am grateful to have you in my life every single Day! Villatoro was hired by Josie’s parents to _______________．
| A．take care of them | B．treat Jim’s cancer |
| C．take photographs | D．fix Josie’s wedding |
What do we know about Josie’s father，Jim?
| A．He wants to attend Josie’s wedding． | B．He is fond of photography． |
| C．He had all idea of a wedding． | D．He suffered from cancel |
Villatoro posted about the family on her website to _____________．
| A．show her gratitude to her customers |
| B．collect birthday presents for the girl |
| C．raise money for people with illnesses |
| D．celebrate the poor girl’s last birthday |
What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．We should Treasure loved ones． | B．Blood is thicker than water． |
| C．Without love，nothing can go far． | D．Time and tide wait for no man． |
Which of the following best describes Villatoro?
| A．Talented and popular | B．Humorous and friendly |
| C．Intelligent and proud | D．Creative and helpfull |
In the early hours of March 8, a Boeing 777 took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its destination was Beijing. But for unknown reasons, it never arrived there.
There were 239 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight, including 154 Chinese. As of March 13, 12 different countries, including Malaysia, China, Vietnam and the US, were searching for the plane.
The disappearance is an “aviation (航空) mystery”, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority, said on March 10.There was no clear sign of a crash by March 13.
Between 1-2 hours after takeoff, the plane suddenly lost contact with people on the ground. The weather was clear, and the pilots didn’t make any calls . No evidence was found in the area where the flight last made contact. People are also talking about a possible hijacking (劫机).
International police agency Interpol confirmed on March 9 that at least two passengers on the flight had used stolen passports to get on board. “We are looking at all possibilities,” said Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein. The incident is now being called simply a “plane disappearance”.
So, what are some possible causes of a plane disappearance? An AP story provided a summary.
1. A failure of the plane’s body or its engines. However, even if both engines stopped working, the plane could still glide (滑翔) for up to 20 minutes, giving pilots time to make an emergency call.
2. Bad weather. Planes are designed to fly through most severe storms. However, in June 2009, an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed during a bad storm over the Atlantic Ocean.
3. A bomb. Throughout history, several planes have been brought down by bombs.
4. An accidental shoot-down by some country’s military. In July 1988, the US Navy accidentally shot down an Iran Air flight. In September 1983, a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down by a Russian fighter jet.
No matter how unlikely a situation, it’s too early to determine what really happened to MH370. It could take months, if not years, to rule out any possibilities, say experts.. How many cities are mentioned in this passage?
| A．Four cities. | B．five cities. | C．Six cities. | D．Seven cities. |
What could the underlined phrase “rule out” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．cross out | B．get rid of | C．take out | D．take the place of |
What could be the best title of the passage?
| A．An Air Crash | B．The Causes of the Disappearance |
| C．The Disappearance of MH 370 | D．An Aviation Mystery |
When us teenager Jake Olson isn’t playing football or golf for his high school, he’s often offering inspiration through his new book about his own life.
These activities might be too much for the average 16-year-old to deal with, but Jake is blind. When people ask him how he can possibly play golf without being able to see the ball, he says he is thankful for his father’s guidance.
It seems apparent that his early experience playing sports as a person with sight and muscle memory— repeating behaviors over and over until they become second nature — have also enabled Jake to hit the ball quite well.
Jake was born with a rare kind of eye cancer that took away the vision from his left eye when he was an infant and eventually his right eye, in 2009, when he was 12 years old. Rather than letting the disease hold him back, Jake used his loss of sight and his faith as sources of motivation .
“If I was going to sit on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself, I wasn’t going to do anything. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to let it stop me and that I was going to go out and persevere (坚持不懈),” he said.
It was with that mind-set that the student from Orange Lutheran High School in California was able to write his first book, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life. “It’s about opening the readers’ eyes to their true potential in life and making sure that they use all the abilities that they have,” Jake said.
Jake’s father, Brian Olson, said the family is impressed with what he has done with his life, including showing people that they can get through hardships. “Your darkest hour can soon become your brightest, and with every setback, there’s a setup,” Jake said. “In every one of us, there’s more potential than we can ever imagine, and it really is a choice.” We can learn from the article that Jake Olson ______.
| A．was born a blind child | B．could have been a golf master |
| C．has great muscle memory | D．is trying to find the cure for his disease |
According to the article, Jake’s family members ______.
| A．pity him deeply | B．once gave up hope on him |
| C．encouraged him to write the book | D．admire his efforts and determination |
The purpose of the book Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons to Discover a Happier Life is to ______.
| A．promote good approaches to getting along with disabled people |
| B．inspire people to discover and use their hidden abilities |
| C．help people come up with better life goals |
| D．explain different definitions of “a happier life” |
The underlined word “setback” is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．fight | B．failure | C．opportunity | D．success |
There's something rotten in Rio and the smell is coming from the huge stacks of rubbish pried up on sidewalks all over the city. Rio's street sweepers chose the carnival holiday to demand better salaries. Their wages start at roughly $400 a month.
There could hardly be a better time for them to prove their importance. The streets were left a mess after hundreds of carnival parades and now, rubbish pries up in both poor and uptown neighbourhoods and in tourist areas like Ipanema or Copacabana beach.
The president of Rio's rubbish collecting company has even appealed to the population to store rubbish at home whenever possible. He says 30% of the city's sweepers have gone on strike. Some of those who have been working have been threatened by the strike movement so now the police has been deployed alongside rubbish collectors to keep them sage as they go about their business.
The strike has divided opinions in Rio. On social media, many support the sweepers' demands for better salaries. Others say they are opportunists and the situation is a big embarrassment to the city.
But Brazil's culture of littering the streets doesn't help. A video that went viral online shows that even authorities have a problem with that. Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, is seen throwing what seemed to be the rest of an apple on the sidewalk--and now promised to impose himself a fine for his wrongdoing. His government recently created a programme to keep Rio's residents from littering the streets.Rio's street cleaners go on strike to
| A．prove their importance | B．threaten the government |
| C．ask for higher salaries | D．appeal to the public not to litter |
The reason why the police are involved is that __
| A．the police are called out to put down the riot | B．the police are required to protect some cleaners |
| C．the police are to collect rubbish for the time being | D．the police are sent to arrest people who litter around |
The author's attitude to Brazil's culture of littering is __
| A．hopeless | B．approving | C．critical | D．optimistic |
The purpose of writing the passage is to __
| A．criticize, street sweepers of Rio for misusing their rights |
| B．call attention to the embarrassing situation of Rio |
| C．describe the effect or the strike on people |
| D．inform people of the present situation of Rio |
Do you scream on a roller coaster ride? You slowly climb up a steep slope until an almost vertical(垂直的) drop, and then... Ahhhhhhhh! Thrill-seekers like me are in luck because theme parks are pushing the boundaries of technology to create the fastest, tallest, scariest roller coasters the world has ever known.
Alton Towers in Britain opened the world's first 14-1oop roller coaster a few months ago, called The Smiler. Over in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World claims to have the world's fastest one. Ferrari World's Formula Rossa ride sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4. 9 seconds. During this rapid acceleration they experience G-forces only fighter pilots usually feel: Up to 4. 8G. The designer of several rides at Alton Towers, said: "While we can stand 6-8Gs for very short periods of time, ff we experience 5G for more than five seconds we're likely to "black out."
On modern roller coasters passengers experience about 3G in tight turns and loops. But while we may have reached the limit in terms of G-forces, there is no technological limit to how fast or how high roller coasters can go---it's all down to money. Alton Towers' The Smiler cost ~18m to build.
Some companies are finding other ways to keep us amused. There's a move towards indoor rides where the experience is improved by audio-visual technologies. For example, a company called Dynamic Structures is currently developing a "coal-mine-themed" ride for a client in Dubai that will combine speed and G-forces with 3D projection effects and robotics, which will trick your brain into thinking you're really falling.
I can't wait to enjoy this one. What about you: Do you like being upside down?The underlined phrase "black out" in the second paragraph probably means .... .
| A．stop breathing | B．lose consciousness for a short time |
| C．lose memory forever | D．bleed to death |
We can learn from the passage that __
| A．all the theme parks are creating the fast roller coasters |
| B．the Smiler sends out passengers from 0-240km/h in just 4.9 seconds |
| C．it is unusual for fighter pilots to feel up to 4.8G |
| D．the more the money is spent, the faster the roller coaster can go |
The feature of the "coal-mine-themed" ride is
| A．3Dtechnologies | B．indoor rides | C．G-forces | D．dynamic structures |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Fastest Roller Coaster | B．The Smiler and G-forces |
| C．Screaming for Fun | D．The New Technology |
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