Few people have faced death in a plane crash and lived to tell their stories. On Thursday 15 January 2009, a US Airways plane with 155 people on board landed on the icy waters of the Hudson River after a bird strike upon takeoff.
After a flock of birds struck the plane, both engines were damaged and passengers heard a loud bang and smelled smoke. The pilot then radioed to air traffic controlling tower that he had suffered a bird strike and reported an emergency. He said that he needed to go back, and air traffic controllers gave him permission to do so, but he then said he wanted to head to Teterboro, New Jersey, because it was closer.
With no power, the captain attempted the impossible: to land in the Hudson River. The plane cleared the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before eventually gliding into the water. The way it hit it was very slow, soft and smooth.
The captain came on and said, ‘Look, we’re going down. Get ready for impact(冲击力).’
“Everyone looked at each other and we said our prayers. I said about five Hail Marys.” Sai Kolodjay when he remembered the terrifying moment.
As soon as the plane hit the water, police, fire and Coast Guard boats as well as private yachts and commercial ferries from all directions came to help and were quickly on the scene as passengers lined up on safety chutes(逃生滑道) and were immediately taken away from the sinking plane. The captain was the last person to leave the plane. He walked up and down the plane twice before finally getting on a police boat when the plane began to sink.
“I don't think there’s enough praise to go around for someone who does something like this.”said former Delta pilot Denny Walsh.
President Bush also praised those involved in the rescue. “Laura and I are inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew as well as the dedication( 奉 献 ) and selflessness of the emergency responders and volunteers who rescued passengers from the icy waters of the Hudson,” he said.
1.The U. S. Airways plane landed within a few minutes after takeoff because_____.
A.there was a technical problem with the engine B.there was a bomb (炸弹) on the plane
C.terrorists hijacked the plane D.birds stroke the plane
2.After reporting the emergency, the pilot decided to fly to Teterboro, New Jersey instead of returning to the airport for the reason that__________.
A.there was a bigger airport in Teterboro, New Jersey
B.he was afraid that the plane would crash and explode soon
C.the controlling tower did not allow him to go back
D.he wanted to try water landing and set up a record
3.The underlined “it” in the last sentence of the 3rd paragraph stands for______.
A.the plane B.the bridge C.the water D.the ferry
4.Why did the pilot walk up and down the plane twice before he got on the police boat?
A.He was checking whether all the passengers had all left the plane.
B.He was trying to find out the problem with the engine.
C.He was sending a signal to the controlling tower nearby.
D.He was waiting for the policemen to take him away soon.
5.The name “Laura” in the last paragraph reminds you of the following names expect________.
A.Juliane Kopcke from Peru B.Peng Liyuan from China
C.Princess Kate from Britain D.Michelle Obama from the U.S.
Imagine that the battery on your mobile phone has run out. You can't make any calls for help and no one can contact you. You are all alone--- well, not quite. Just reach into your pocket and take out a piece of sugar. Put it into the battery, wait a minute and you are back on the phone.
Thanks to a couple of American scientists, this situation could become real. Swadesh Chaudhuri and Derek Lovely have invented the “bacteria battery”. This kind of battery gets its power from bacteria that eats sugar and turns it into electricity.
“This is a special organism (有机体),”Lovely said. “You can get enough electricity to power a cell phone battery for about four days from a spoonful of sugar.”
In the past, bacteria batteries have been expensive and not long-lasting. But this battery uses a more efficient bacterium that can turn 80 percent of sugar into electrical energy. This is 30 percent more than similar batteries can manage.
The bacteria battery could become as small as a household battery. It is also cheap and stable, because sugar can be taken from waste and crops.
But the sugar-to-electricity process is slow: it could take weeks for the bacteria to change a cup of sugar into electricity.And it produces “greenhouse” gases which pollute the environment.
The scientists understand there is a lot more work to be done. “It is still young,” said Lovely.
“Where we are now is where solar power was 20 or 30 years ago.”
He also believes the battery will be used in scientific equipment at the bottom of the ocean.
Other ideas include using sugar in the blood to run medical devices in the human body and taking sugar from animal waste to provide energy to power homes in rural areas.
1.What's the passage mainly about?
A.How to change sugar into electricity. B.A scientific invention of a new type of battery.
C.How to use the new bacteria battery. D.A new kind of mobile phone and its future.
2.Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the newly-developed battery?
A.Convenient. B.Stable. C.Inexpensive. D.Quick.
3.Which of the following are the scientists working on to improve the new battery?
A.Increase the bacteria. B.Solve the pollution problem.
C.Bring down the price. D.Change the size of the battery.
4.What does the underlined sentence actually mean?
A.The bacteria battery shares some similarities with solar energy.
B.Scientists will continue their work until they find solar power.
C.There is still much room for the improvement of the bacteria battery.
D.The bacteria battery will be as popular as solar power in twenty or thirty years.
5.According to the last paragraph, who will find the bacteria battery less useful?
A.Divers. B.Farmers. C.Doctors. D.Architects.
There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every trip and took their wages.
On the last day of one trip, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, “If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages.”
The sailors had heard about the captain’s cheating, so they didn’t believe in him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water and stayed in it although it was very cold. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away.
“You are cheating,” the captain said to the sailor, “The fire's warming you.”
“But it's half a mile away,” said the sailor. “A fire is fire,” answered the captain.
“Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken,” said the sailor.
“I can,” answered the captain.
“If you cook this chicken,” said the sailor, “I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can’t, you will give me your ship.”
The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, “Where's the fire?”
“There it is,” answered the sailors, “On the shore."
“‘A fire’s fire’, you said,” answered the sailor. “If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken.”
1.The captain got the sailors' wages_______________.
A.to buy a chicken B.and saved the money for the sailors
C.by cheating them D.and said he would return the money soon
2.What could the sailor get if he stayed in the water during the whole night according to what the captain said?
A.His own wages. B.A chicken. C.The captain's ship. D.A fire.
3.The captain said that the fire was warming the sailor in the water because_____.
A.he didn't want to lose the bet
B.the sailor cheated him
C.the fire was close enough to warm the sailor
D.some fishermen wanted to help the sailor with the fire
4.What do you think of the sailor according to the story?
A.He was polite. B.He was rude. C.He was smart D.He was dishonest.
5.What do you infer (推断) about the end of the story?
A.The sailor worked for the captain for seven years without wages.
B.The captain cooked the chicken with the fire on the shore.
C.The sailor got out of the water before the sun appeared.
D.The sailor won the captain’s ship at last.
Several years ago, a well-known writer and editor Norman Cousins became very ill. His body___ and he felt constantly tired. It was difficult for him to even ________around.
His doctor told him that he would lose the ability to move and eventually die from the disease. He was told he had only a 1 in 500 chance of __________
Despite the diagnosis (诊断)，Cousins was _________to overcome the disease and survive. He had always been interested in medicine and had read a book, which _________the idea of how body chemistry and health can be damaged by emotional stress and negative _________. The book made Cousins think about the possible ________ of positive attitudes and emotions. He thought, “Is it possible that love, hope, faith, _________, confidence, and the will to live have positive treatment value?”
He decided to ________ on positive emotions as a way to treat some of the symptoms of his disease. In addition to his traditional medical treatment, he tried to put himself in situations that would ________ positive emotions. “Laugh therapy”(微笑疗法) became part of his _________. He arranged time each day for watching comedy films, reading __ books, and doing other activities that would draw out_________ emotions. Within eight days of starting his “laugh therapy” program, his pain began to_________ and he was able to sleep more easily. He was able to return to work in a few months’ time and ________ reached complete recovery after a few years.
1.A.cut B.ached C.relaxed D.changed
2.A.run B.pass C.move D.travel
3.A.death B.injuries C.disability D.survival
4.A.determined B.reluctant C.disappointed D.able
5.A.debated B.discussed C.picked D.imitated
6.A.attitudes B.beliefs C.goals D.positions
7.A.shortcoming B.harm C.benefit D.interest
8.A.laugh B.laughing C.laughed D.laughter
9.A.apply B.organize C.focus D.form
10.A.bring about B.set about C.put up D.make up
11.A.activity B.situation C.treatment D.emotion
12.A.scary B.fiction C.humorous D.terrifying
13.A.positive B.approving C.strong D.mixed
14.A.escape B.decrease C.explode D.react
15.A.generally B.especially C.actually D.extremely
As all kinds of technologies develop more and more useful inventions come out, and human beings live a more and more comfortable and convenient life. What is the most useful invention in your mind?
1. Introduce the invention
(What is it? What does it look like (if it’s not familiar to most people and you think necessary to mention)? How does it work? Normally, who use it more often)
2. Give at least 2 reasons with the exploration.
3. Write about 100 words.
The Most Useful Invention in My Mind
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语法填空。
Have you ever1. (meet) any difficult problems in your life? Have you ever wondered how to be happy? If you have these questions, you will find the book “Being a Happy Teenager” 2. (use). While I 3. (read) this book, I kept thinking a question: Why do teenagers always have troubles in their life? How can teenagers live 4. (happy)? In this book, Matthews gives us the answer.
About problems with parents and friends, the book says we should stop5. (be) angry and forgive. The book tells us some skills such as how to put everything that we have learned from life into beautiful pictures.
Many teenagers think that happiness comes from a good exam result or praise from6. people. But you can still be happy even if there are no such “good” things.
Success comes from7. good attitude. If you learn from problems, you 8.(have) success in the future.
Some school students have problems such as being too tall9. too short. But Matthews tells us that we should think about things 10. a positive way. This is Matthews’ most important lesson: you choose to be happy!
