(Reuters) - The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is likely to drag on for years, a senior U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday, as an underwater search for any trace of the plane off west Australia appeared to have failed.
The official, speaking under condition of anonymity（匿名）because he was not authorized to comment on the search effort, said two weeks of searching the Indian Ocean floor with a U.S. Navy had turned up no wreckage（残骸）．
He said the search for the plane, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, would now enter a much harder phase of searching broader areas of the ocean near where the plane is believed to have crashed.
”We went all-in on this small area and didn't find anything. Now you’re got to go back to the big area," the official said. "And now you're talking years.”
On Friday, the undersea drone. Bluefin-21 is expected to finish what may be the last of its 16-hour trips to depths of more than 4.5 km (2. 8 miles) searching a 10 square km (6.2 square mile) area of the seabed about 2,000 miles northwest of Perth.
Authorities had identified the area as their strongest lead in determining the plane's final resting place after detecting what they suspected was a signal from the plane's black box recorder on April 4.
But the U. S. official said Malaysia would have to decide how to continue the search, including whether to bring in more underwater drones, even with the understanding that the search could continue for years without a refined (精确的) search area.
1.What does the passage mainly talk about? ( no more than, 12 words)
2.Where did the recent search for the plane take place? ( no more than, 3 words)
3.Why didn't the official want others to know his name? ( no more than 11 words)
4.What led people to determine the plane's final resting place? ( no more than 9 words)
5.According to the passage, which country is in charge of the arrangement of the search? (1 word)
M: Overseas Travel Agency. May I help you?
W: Yes, my husband and I are planning a vacation to an island. 1.
M: Certainly. Off the top of my head, I would suggest the island of Bali.
W: 2.
M: At this time of year it rains a lot in most regions, but it is the dry season in Bali. 3. And I must say that the shopping is absolutely great !
W: 4. Jason loves to dive and I love to shop and eat. Can you tell me how much it will cost for the two of us?
M: It will take me a day or two to get accurate prices, but I will call you as soon as I do.
W: Thank you. 5.
M: I'll need your credit card number to make a reservation, but you won't actually have to pay for it until you get there.
W: That sounds great.
A. Why Bali?
B. That sounds amazing!
C. You can fly to the island.
D. Do you have any recommendations?
E. Will we have to pay for it right away?
F. There are many scenic spots on the island.
G. Also, Bali is known for its surfing and diving.
Planet Earth would be a scary place for humans if dinosaurs still ruled the world.
Though there are still some traces of life from the Jurassic Period, the Age of Dinosaurs more than 65 million years ago.
This mass extinction is believed to be the result of an asteriod（小行星）hitting Earth. A new report by the journal Biological Reviews called " The Extinction of Dinosaurs” concludes that this impact was, indeed, the cause of the dinosaurs’ demise. But the space blast(爆炸) wasn't the only reason these creatures aren't still around today.
Dinosaurs need food to survive. Meat-eating monsters like the Tyrannosaurus Rex(霸王龙) were at the top of the food chain, and fed off plant eaters like the horned Triceratops (三角恐龙). These herbivores (食草动物) were decreasing in population after the asteroid hit Earth, which left the meat-eating species less food to survive on. “In any ecosystem where you remove links to key species, that community has problems," Richard Butler, one of the review's authors, told National Ceographic.
While the herbivore population was going down, Earth's temperatures were rising when volcanoes erupted. Hot vapors and gases began wiping out some of the dinosaur population and weakening the survivors.
These changes made the asteroid's impact especially powerful. It caused more volcanoes to erupt, heated up Earth's atmosphere, and led to a sharp drop in the level of oxygen in the oceans.
With the dinosaurs gone, mammals(哺乳动物) began to evolve into bigger and more diverse species. Many animals we see today, like birds, sharks, and even some cats and dogs, appeared after the asteroid hit Earth. But none rule Earth quite like the dinosaurs did..
1. Which of the following words can replace the underlined word’’ demise" in Paragraph 2?
A. Death. B. Evolvement.
C. Presence. D. Decrease.
2. According to what Richard Butler said, what caused dinosaurs to die out?
A. A shortage of clean water.
B.A break in the food chain.
C. A small variety of animals.
D. The constant warming climate.
3. What was the negative effect of the asteroid hitting Earth?
A. Oceans became too hot for animals.
B. There was less oxygen in the oceans.
C. Earth's climate became violent.
D. The majority of the plants gradually died out.
4. The text is mainly about .
A.the evolvement of mammals on Earth
B.the gradual process of climate change
C.the importance of the balance of ecosystem
D.the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs
A group of Russian criminals have stolen l.2 billion username and password combinations for more than 500 millione-mail addresses. It's the largest known theft on the Internet, according to a report of The New York Times.
Cyber security firm Hold Security discovered the security breach(漏洞 ). The firm found that the group of criminals collected personal information from 420,000 websites, including household names and small Internet sites. The criminals were based in a small city in south central Russia. They hacked websites inside Russia as well as big companies in the U.S. and other countries ,The New Times reports.
The criminals found hundreds of thousands of weak websites and attacked their coding，Hold Security said. Alex Holden is chief information security officer of Hold Security. “The hackers did not just target U.S. companies；they targeted any website they could get，” Holden said. “And most of these sites are still easy to attack”.
According to Hold Security, the criminals have been using the stolen information to send junk mail through e-mail and on social networks like Twitter. They can also use the 500 million stolen e-mail -addresses to plan other crimes. They could use information from bank e-mails to steal your identity or sell the e-mail address to other criminals to make quick cash.
The reported break-ins are the latest events to raise doubts about security at big and small companies. Last winter, hackers stole 40 million credit card numbers and 70 million addresses, phone numbers and other personal information from the retailer Target Corp. The brand is still working to regain its shoppers' trust.
John Prisco is a CEO of a security firm. He says security hacks are more common than many people and companies realize. "This issue reminds me of an iceberg, where 90% of it is actually under water," Prisco said in an e-mailed statement. So many cyber breaches today are not actually reported, because companies are losing information and they are not even aware of it. "
Security experts believe hackers will continue breaking into computer networks unless companies become more protective of personal information.
1. What did a group of Russian criminals do according to the report?
A. They stole e-mail addresses of the Internet users.
B. They destroyed the websites of some big companies.
C. They attacked American companies in southern Russia.
D. They downloaded the secret information of some banks.
2. According to Alex Holden, the criminals entered some websites easily because .
A. some websites don't have their own coding
B. most of the websites lack protective measures
C. Russia is more developed in computer science
D. the hackers are equipped with high technology
3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A. The criminals are fond of using social networks.
B. The criminals sell the stolen information for money.
C. The stolen information causes great economic losses.
D. The stolen information could bring harmful effects.
4. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 imply?
A. We cannot tell how large an iceberg is just from the part on the water.
B. Many companies are unwilling to report their information stolen.
C. Many companies are not aware their information has been stolen.
D. People usually can see just a small part of an iceberg.
STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember with People In America in VOA Special English. Today we remember the singer and actress Lena Horne. During her sixty-year career performing, Lena Horne entertained people with her beauty and rich, emotional voice. She used her fame to fight social injustices toward African-Americans.
Lena Horne was born in New York. At sixteen, Lena became a dancer at the famous club in New York City in 1933. After taking voice lessons, she soon became a singer. In 1940, Lena Horne became the first African-American to perform with an all-white jazz hand. After performing at a club in Hollywood, California, she caught the attention of filmmakers. She soon began making movies. Her films became very popular. In the 1940s, Lena Horne was the first African-American in Hollywood to sing a long -term contract with a major movie studio. Her deal with MGM stated that she would never play the role of a servant. She refused to play roles that represented African-Americans disrespectfully.
Lena Horne once said that World War II helped make her a star. She was popular with both black and white soldiers. She sang on army radio programs and traveled to perform for the troops. These experiences led to Lena Horne's work in the civil rights movement.
Lena Horne sang at rights gatherings. She took part in the march on Washington protest in 1963. It was during this event that Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech. She protested racial separation at the hotels where she performed. She took action so that she and her musicians would be allowed to stay in those hotels. B1ack musicians at the time generally stayed in black neighborhoods.
At the age of eighty, she said she did not have to act like a white woman that Hollywood hoped she would become. She said: "I'm me, and I'm like nobody else."
Lena Horne died in New York in 2010.
1. How old was Lena Horne when she died?
A. 93 years old. B. 98 years old.
C. 86 years old. D. 88 years old.
2. We can infer from the passage that_____
A. black women were forbidden to perform in the film in the 1940s
B. Lena Horne didn't make any films in the 1960s
C. Lena Horne liked staying at hotel very much
D. black actresses often played roles of servants in the film in the 1940s
3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Lena Home became the first African-American in Hollywood in her forties.
B. Dena Horne was a friend of Martin Luther King.
C. Lena Horne was involved in civil rights activities in the 1960s.
D. Lena Horne took an active part in sports activities.
4. This text is developed
A. by space B. by time
C. by process D. by comparison
A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love(早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression(忧郁症). The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self". According to the study, even though boys would say "lose themselves in a romantic relationship", this "loss of self" is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marianm Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression--eating or mood changes--and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity(成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects.
1.What's the main idea of the passage?
A. Puppy love may bring young people depression.
B. Parents should forbid their children's love.
C. Romance is a two-edged sword for adults.
D. Romance is good for young people.
2.Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
A. Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness.
B. Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior.
C. Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions.
D. Careless parents whose children are deep in love.
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly.
B. Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents.
C. Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression.
D. The older a woman is, the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance.
4.What's the author's attitude towards puppy love?
A. Confused. B. Disapproving.
C. Disinterested. D. Scared.
