The United States Capitol Dome(圆顶) in Washington, DC, is recognized around the world as a symbol of the U.S. Government. Since last November, the dome has been surrounded by metal poles and heavy cloth as part of a repair project.
The last major repair work on the U.S. Capitol took place in 1960. Since then, the dome has become weathered and worn. The Architect of the Capitol group reports that the dome has more than 1,000 narrow breaks on its surface and other damage.
The dome was completed around 1863. U. S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie says the dome’s cast(石膏) iron frame is at special risk of weathering. “The capitol dome, being cast iron, has been hit by lightning countless times. And so the current construction is to repair the leaks, to fill the cracks, to take off extra layers of paint.”
Some recent visitors to the Capitol were unhappy about its current appearance. They had hoped to get a picture of the usually shining dome. Joyce said, “It was impressive, and very fantastic, and all white, but when I come here today, it is under construction so my family cannot see it clearly, it is kind of a disappointment.”
Others were more understanding of the repairs. Rick Jones, another visitor, said, “It’s a little inconvenient for us not to see the dome but you have to think about the future and the people will be coming to this place for centuries...and you know ,there just needs to be preventive maintenance(维护). I am not upset with that at all.”
The project is expected to take more than two years to complete. The dome should be ready for a new president in January 2017.
1.We can learn from the passage that the United States Capitol Dome is _______.
A. widely recognized as a symbol of the U.K. government.
B. surrounded by many repair projects
C. worn by being exposed to the weather
D. well maintained and in excellent condition
2. Which of the following is NOT included in the current construction?
A. To replace the cast iron frame.
B. To stop the leaks(渗漏).
C. To remove the old paint.
D. To fill up the narrow breaks.
3.What do we learn about the recent visitors to the Capitol ?
A. They could get a clear look at the dome.
B. They were all disappointed at the sight of the Capitol’s building.
C. They were impressed by the white dome’s fantastic beauty.
D. They held different views on the Capitol’s current appearance.
4.The text is most probably taken from ___________.
A. a book review B. a news report
C. a guide book D. a science report
How can we reduce the risk?
There are four general approaches to dealing with volcanic(火山似的) dangers. We can try to keep the danger from occurring-often an impossible task. We can try to change its path or reduce its impact on existing development. We can take steps to protect future development. We can also do our best to have disaster response plans in place before they are needed.
Removing the Threat
Clearly, there is no way to stop an eruption. We can, however, attempt to reduce the eruption’s effects by strengthening structures, for example, building protective works such as walls to make lava(熔岩) flow away from developed areas. Such efforts can be and have been successful, but are of limited use in a large-scale(范围)eruption.
Planning for the Future
Protecting future development from volcanic dangers is a simple task. Before building houses, we should judge the risk. If the risk seems too great, a safer location should be found. This type of planning is very effective, but all too often, people are drawn to the lush(葱郁的)，rolling land of a quiet volcano.
Disaster Preparedness(预案)
When a volcano comes to life, a few weeks may not be enough time to avoid a tragedy. Planning is the key to saving lives. Well before the warning signs occur, people must be educated about volcanic dangers. Escape plans must be in place. Communication between scientists, officials, the media, and the general public should be practiced. Emergency measures must be thought out and agreed upon.
If you doubt the importance of these efforts, take another look at past volcanic tragedies, such as the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Communication failures left the town of Armero unprepared for escape. When a deadly mudflow came down the slope(斜坡), 21,000 people--90 percent of the town’s people--died.
1.The passage is intended for ________.
A. the general public B. architects
C. adventurers D. geographers
2. When building houses , people tend to ________.
A. judge volcanic dangers carefully
B. take volcanic dangers seriously
C. like to live near a quiet volcano
D. find a safer place far away from a volcano
3. The writer mentioned Nevado del Ruiz to prove ________.
A. The failure to keep volcanic dangers from happening
B. The importance of preparing for a volcanic eruption
C. The bravery of the people in Armero Town
D. The uncertainty of volcano’s damage
4.The passage is mainly about ________.
A. why volcanoes can erupt suddenly
B. who can predict the eruption of volcanoes
C. where the volcanoes are most active
D. how we can reduce the risk of volcanoes
After spending a year in Brazil on a student exchange program, her mother recalled(回忆), Marie Colvin returned home to find that her classmates had narrowed down their college choices. “Everyone else was already admitted to college,” her mother, Rosemarie Colvin, said from the family home. “So she took our car and drove up to Yale and said , ‘You have to let me in .’ ”
“Impressed--she was a National Merit (全国英才) finalist who had picked up Portuguese in Brazil--Yale did, admitting her to the class of 1978, where she started writing for the Yale Daily News and decided to be a journalist,” her mother said.
On Wednesday, Marie Colvin, 56, an experienced journalist for The Sunday Times of London, was killed as Syrian forces shelled(炮击) the city of Homs. She was working in a temporary media center that was destroyed in the attack.
“She was supposed to leave Syria on Wednesday”, Mrs. Colvin said. “Her editor told me he called her yesterday and said it was getting too dangerous and they wanted to take her out. She said she was doing a story and she wanted to finish it.”
Mrs. Colvin said it was pointless to try to prevent her daughter from going to conflict zones. “If you knew my daughter,” she said, “it would have been such a waste of words. She was determined, she was enthusiastic about what she did, it was her life. There was no saying ‘Don’t do this.’ This is who she was , absolutely who she was and what she believed in :cover the story, not just have pictures of it, but bring it to life in the deepest way you could.” “So it was not a surprise when she took an interest in journalism,” her mother said.
1.From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1, we can infer that ________ .
A. Yale was her last choice
B. Marie Colvin was confident of herself
C. Yale must keep its promise to Marie Colvin
D. Marie Colvin was good at persuading
2.Which of the following is the correct order to describe Marie Colvin’s life ?
a. She was doing a story in Syria and got killed.
b. She was admitted to Yale University.
c. She studied in Brazil as an excellent student.
d. She was hired by The Sunday Times of London.
e. She began to take an interest in journalism.
A. d→e→c→a→b B. b→c→d→e→a
C. e→d→c→b→a D. c→b→e→d→a
3.From the last paragraph, we can know that Mrs. Colvin ________.
A. dislikes the choice of her daughter.
B. cares little about her daughter.
C. knows her daughter very well.
D. doesn’t fully appreciate her daughter.
4.What can be the best title of the text ?
A. Covering Stories in a Dangerous Conflict Area.
B. Applying for Top Universities, a Successful Case
C. Choosing Lifelong Careers Based on Your Own Interest.
D. Recalling Her Daughter, a Journalist Killed in Syria.
书面表达
假定你是李华，你的班级准备举行一场中秋诗会。请代表班级给外教Mr. Hill发一封英文邀请函，主要内容包括：
1． 活动时间：9月15日晚7点至9点。
2．活动地点：南湖公园
3．活动内容：赏月、品尝月饼、朗诵诗歌等
注意：
1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3．开头和结语已为你写好，不计入总词数。
参考词汇：诗歌朗诵会 poetry recital party 南湖公园South Lake Park
Dear Mr. Hill
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处错误。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线( \ )划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I was working as a short-order cook at two restaurants in the same neighborhood. At an Saturday night, I was finishing the dinner shirt at a first restaurant and hurrying to work at the second place, but I was delayed. Because one table kept sent back an order of pancakes, insisting they were too colder. I replaced it several times, and still the customers were dissatisfied.
As soon as I was able to leave, I race out of the restaurant. Hardly I arrived at my second job when a server immediately handed me my first order. “Make sure of that these pancakes are hot,” she said, “because the customers just left a restaurant down the street where kept serving them cold ones.”
英语知识运用
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
People do have different ideas about what __1.__(wear). While young people tend to consider more about fashion, personality and how they look when 2. (choose) clothes, elderly people pay 3. (great) attention to whether they appear right, they feel comfortable as well as whether the material is worth 4. price.
How people get dressed also changes over time. Take China 5. an example. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, there were practically only two or three colors people wore-blue, green and gray. The styles of the clothes 6. (be) also very dell. In the 1980’s young people would only wear 7. was in fashion. 8. (recent), we have come to understand that the way you dress 9. (you) is a reflection of your occupation, your background and your personality. So we see different people wear different clothes according to occasions, their likes and 10. (feel).
