It’s not the first movie to show the end of the world. But in the latest box office hit 2012 it is neither aliens nor a killer disease that threaten the human race, but climate change.
Some say the film lacks good dialogue and its science is questionable， others believe German director Roland Emmerich makes up for these flaws in special effects. An earthquake destroys the White House and Yellow stone National Park ends up in flames．
Emmerich borrows from the old Mayan(玛雅人的) story which says, that the world will end in 2012．He is being criticized for fuelling Internet rumors(传闻) about doomsday(世界末日)
“There is no factual basis for these claims,’’ NASA said on its website. “Credible(可信赖的) scientists worldwide know of no threat connected with 2012,’’ it insisted. “After all, our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, ” they added．
According to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, it was first thought that the disaster would happen in May 2003. When the world continued, supporters picked the last day of the Mayan calendar．
“Every culture has a myth(传说) of destruction(毁灭), just as they have a myth of creation. These myths |of destruction tend to surface(重新出现) during times of crisis(危机), ” Michael A. Ryan, an assistant profess of history，speaking to Purdue University News. Ryan studies apocalyptic(像世界末日的) themes from the Middle Ages at the US university. “Today’s current economic climate is a state of crisis for many people who are worried whether they can afford to feed themselves,”he added.
1.What led to the end of the world according to the film 2012?
A. Aliens． B. The human race． C．Climate change． D．A killer disease．
2.What does the underlined word “fuelling’’ in the third paragraph refer to?
A. Making sth. stronger．． B. Putting gas into a car．
C. Producing power or heat． D．Burning
3.Which of the following statements about the film 2012 is TRUE according to the text?
A．A big fire destroys Yellow-stone National Park．
B．All scientists in the world know of no threat connected with 2012．
C. The old Mayan story says that the world will end in
D．Every culture has a myth of destruction rather than creation
4.Why do the rumors about doomsday come about now and then?
A．Because during times of crisis, people tend to worry about their future．
B．Because aliens often threaten the human race．
C．Because killer diseases happen at times．
D. Because the old Mayan story says that the world will
“I Love My Neighborhood” Poster Contest
The “I Love My Neighborhood” Poster Contest was developed in l993．It aims to educate your students and their families about neighborhood pride and duty．Lessons and activities are provided in a teacher’s guide．Students can learn about the sources of litter and pollution prevention．
RULES
All children in primary schools are invited to submit(提交) one piece of work. The Winning posters will be reproduced and handed out throughout the neighborhood．
◆Students are encouraged to bravely use different colors and to be as creative as possible! It is up to the student and you to decide which art tool to use such as crayons. Color pencils are not advised because they do not reproduce well．
◆The topic, “I am part of my neighborhood!” must be included in the design of each poster. The Committee requires that students include their
mascot(吉祥物) in each poster.
◆All work must be on normal-sized paper for winning posters reproduction purposes. Over-sized posters will have no chance of taking part in the final competition．
◆All work submitted must be the child’s own work．Your students can be guided by you or their parents; we simply want to avoid poster not drawn by themselves．
◆Please review each poster before submitting．
Each work to be submitted must include the student’s name, grade level，your name and school name on the BACK of each poster．
For more information or questions about the 2012 “I Love My Neighborhood” Poster Contest, contact(联系) Jaixen Webb at (818) 551-6933 or jwebb@ci.glendale. ca.us． ’
1.We can learn from Paragraph l that the contest ______.
A．has a history of more than 20 years
B．offers kids activities organized by parents
C．aims to protect the environment by the power of art
D．hopes kids can feel proud of their neighborhood
2.To win the contest, students must _____.
A. use different-sized Paper B．design a mascot for the contest
C. avoid using crayons and color pencils D．draw the posters by themselves
3.The text is mainly written for ______.
A．students B. neighborhood committees C．teachers D．parents
Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water —— drink recycled sewage(污水) or die.
With the drought(干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified waste water for drinking, even if there is great opposition to the measure
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier.
“I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water,” said former Premier Peter Beattie. “These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There’s no choice. It's liquid gold; it a matter of life and death.”
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking．
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel．
But Australians have never liked the idea．
To try to change the way Australians think, John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have Supported Queensland’s move.
“I am very strongly for recycling and Mr Beattie is right and I agree with him completely,” Howard said．
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water,” added Turnbull. “All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall.”
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Australians face the choice of life and death．
B. Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage．
C. Mr Beattie is worried about his people’s health．
D. We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy．
2.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A. The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history．
B. Australia’s largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy．
C. No other countries but Australia decides to drink recycled water．
D. Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water．
3.It can be inferred from what Peter Beattie said that_________.
A. he gives orders to drink purified waste water.
B. if the decision is made, people won't survive the drought
C. it is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage
D. it's up to you to make a life or death decision
As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents in Texas. And every few summers, we’d __16__ the caravan (旅游团队), a group of Airstream trailer owners who __17__ together around the U.S. and Canada．
I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked __18__ to these travels. On one particular __ 19__ ，I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the backseat. My grandfather was __20__ . And my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the __21__.
At that age, I’d take any excuse to make estimates(估计) and do minor __22__．At any rate, I decided to do the math for my __23__. I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of __24__ per cigarette and so on. When I was satisfied that I’d come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the __25__ of the car, tapped my grandmother __26__ the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed, “At two minutes per puff, you've taken nine years off your __27__!” Because the ad said, every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes __28__ smoker’s life．
I expected to be applauded for my __29__ and arithmetic skills. That’s not what happened．__30__, my grandmother burst into __31__. I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do. My grandfather was a highly intelligent, __32__ man. He had never said a harsh word to me. He pulled __33__ onto the shoulder of the highway. He stopped and got out of the car, __34__ me, and after a bit of silence，he gently and __35__ said, “Jeff, one day you’ll understand that it’s harder to be kind than clever.”
1.A. take B. join C. attend D. visit
2.A. work B. study C. travel D. explore
3.A. forward B. backward C. toward D. upward
4.A. holiday B. research C. trip D. return
5.A. talking B. reading C. training D. driving
6.A. scene B. smell C. band D. type
7.A. arithmetic(算数) B. question C. game D. problem
8.A. grandfather B. grandmother C. visitor D. car
9.A. cases B. smokes C. kinds D. puffs(烟头)
10.A. window B. seat C. back D. front
11.A. at B. in C. on D. under
12.A. tour B. life C. distance D. date
13.A. away B. from C. with D. off
14.A. cleverness B. coolness C. happiness D. ability
15.A. Eventually B. Instead C. Unfortunately D. Though
16.A. words B. laughters C. tears D. screams
17.A. stubborn B. determined C. lonely D. quiet
18.A. over B. in C. away D. up
19.A. noticed B. looked C. glared D. glanced
20.A. angrily B. excitedly C. calmly D. coldly
On the mountain _______ and in the temple_______.
A. stands a temple; a monk lives B. a temple stands; he lives
C. standing a temple; living a monk. D. stands a temple; he lives.
---Where did you buy the T-shirt?
---It was in the shopping mall _____ my mother works.
A. that B. where C. which D. from which
