El Nino, a Spanish term for “the Christ child”, was named by South American fisherman who noticed that the global weather pattern, which happens every two to seven years, reduced the amount of fishes caught around Christmas. El Nino sees warm water, collected over several years in the western Pacific, flow back eastwards when winds that normally blow westwards weaken, or sometimes the other way round.
The weather effects both good and bad, are felt in many places. Rich countries gain more from powerful Nino, on balance, than they lose. A study found that a strong Nino in 1997-98 helped American’s economy grow by 15 billion, partly because of better agricultural harvests: farmers in the Midwest gained from extra rain. The total rise in agricultural incomes in rich countries is greater than the fall in poor ones.
But in Indonesia extremely dry forests are in flames. A multi-year drought (干旱) in south-east Brazil is becoming worse. Though heavy rains brought about by El Nino may relieve the drought in California, they are likely to cause surface flooding and other disasters
The most recent powerful Nino, in 1997-98, killed around 21,000 people and caused damage worth $36 billion around the globe. But such Ninos come with months of warning, and so much is known about how they happen that governments can prepare. According to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), however, just 12% of disaster-relief funding in the past two decades has gone on reducing risks in advance, rather than recovery and rebuilding afterwards. This is despite evidence that a dollar spent on risk-reduction saves at least two on reconstruction.
Simple improvements to infrastructure (基础设施) can reduce the spread of disease. Better sewers (下水道) make it less likely that heavy rain is followed by an outbreak of the disease of bad stomach. Stronger bridges mean villages are less likely to be left without food and medicine after floods. According to a paper in 2011 by Mr Hsiang and co-authors, civil conflict is related to El Nino’s harmful effects—and the poorer the country, the stronger the link. Though the relationship may not be causal, helping divided communities to prepare for disasters would at least reduce the risk that those disasters are followed by killing and wounding people. Since the poorest are least likely to make up for their losses from disasters linked to El Nino, reducing their losses needs to be the priority.
1.What can we learn about El Nino in Paragraph 1?
A. It sees the changes of water flow direction in the ocean.
B. It takes place almost every year all over the world.
C. It forces fishermen to stop catching fish around Christmas.
D. It is named after a South American fisherman.
2.What may El Ninos bring about to the countries affected?
A. Agricultural harvests in rich countries fall.
B. Droughts become more harmful than floods.
C. Poor countries suffer less from droughts economically.
D. Rich countries’ gains are greater than their losses.
3.The data provided by ODI in Paragraph 4 suggest that ________.
A. victims of El Nino deserve more compensation
B. governments of poor countries need more aid
C. more investment should go to risk reduction
D. recovery and reconstruction should come first
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce El Nino and its origin.
B. To explain the consequences of El Nino.
C. To show ways of fighting against El Nino.
D. To urge people to prepare for El Nino.
London’s newest skyscraper (摩天大楼）is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better.
The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶). He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren’t regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin, sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆) of the ships that were once on the river Thames.
The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.
Before building work began, a lot of people didn’t want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.
Other critics don’t like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.
The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.
1.London’s newest skyscraper is called the Shard because of________.
A. its cost B. its size
C. its height D. its shape
2.When he designed the Shard, Piano wanted it to________.
A. change London’s skyline B. inherit London’s tradition
C. imitate the Egyptian style D. attract potential visitors
3.The critics who refer to social division think the Shard________.
A. is only preferred by the rich B. is intended for wealthy people
C. is far away from the poor area D. is popular only with Londoners
4.Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. The Shard: Cheers and Claps B. The Shard: Work of a Great Architect
C. The Shard: A Change for the Better? D. The Shard: New Symbol of London?
Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger
We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers.
■Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders.
People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision.
The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others.
——Michael Horan
■I love the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads.
I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me.
The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used.
The police do nothing. What a laugh they are!
The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jackets and lights at night and in the morning they should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them.
——Carol Harvey
■Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red.
I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him.
Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists?
It’s about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be traced and there might be an opportunity to claim.
—JML
Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper.
1.Michael Horan wrote the letter mainly to show that ________.
A. drivers should be polite to cyclists
B. road accidents can actually be avoided
C. some pedestrians are a threat to road safety
D. walking while using phones hurts one’s eyes
2.Carol Harvey suggests that cyclists should ________.
A. be provided with enough roads
B. be made to pay less tax for cycling
C. be asked to ride on their own lanes
D. be fined for laughing at policemen
3.What is a complaint of JML?
A. Very few drivers are insured.
B. Cyclists ride fast on pavements.
C. Pedestrians go through red traffic lights.
D. Horse riders disrespect other road users.
4.The underlined word “they” in the third letter refers to ________.
A. accidents B. vehicles
C. pedestrians D. cyclists
Travis is the manager of G&G where he is responsible for forty employees and profits of over $2 million per year. He’s never late to work. He does not get upset on the job. When one of his employees started crying after a customer screamed at her, Travis took her away. “Your working uniform is your shelter,” he told her. “Nothing anyone says will ever hurt you. You will always be as strong as you want to be.”
Travis picked up that lecture in one of his G&G training courses, an education program that began on his first day and continues throughout an employee’s occupation. The training has, Travis says, changed his life. G&G has taught him how to live, how to focus, how to get to work on time, and how to master his emotions. Most importantly, it taught him willpower.
At the center of that education is an extreme focus on an all-important habit: willpower. Dozens of cases show that willpower is the single most important habit for a person’s success.
And the best way to strengthen willpower is to make it into a habit. “Sometimes it looks like people with great self-control aren’t working hard—but that’s because they’ve made it automatic,” Angela Duckworth, one of the University of Pennsylvania researchers said. “Their willpower occurs without them having to think about it.”
The company spent millions of dollars developing programs of study to train employees on self-control. Managers wrote workbooks that serve as guides to how to make willpower a habit in workers’ lives. Those courses are, in part, why G&G has grown from a sleepy company into a large one with more than seventeen thousand stores and profits of more than $10 billion a year.
1.We learn from Paragraph 2 that employees in G&G must ________.
A. attend education programs
B. learn to give lectures
C. design a working uniform
D. develop a common hobby
2.Willpower will become a habit when employees can ________.
A. focus on the profits
B. control their feeling well
C. protect themselves well
D. benefit from the job
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A. G&G has grown into a large company.
B. G&G will spend half its profits training employees.
C. G&G may become more successful in the future.
D. G&G has to produce more workbooks for managers.
假如你是李华，新学期开始两个月了，你的英语老师要求你在英语课堂上用英语和同学们交流一下你到学校后的感受。交流内容包括一下要点：
1. 校园环境和教学设施；
2. 师生给你的印象；
3. 对自己的期望。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.开头和结尾已写好，不计入总次数；
3.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：设备equipment
Hello, everyone,
I’m honored to stand here to tell you something about my school life in the past two months.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you!
下列题中共有10处语言错误，每句中只有一处。每处错误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：每处错误及其修改均仅限一词。
1.The manager didn’t ask him to come. In other word, he was fired.
2.You have made a rapid progress in your composition.
3.Always read the instruction before you start.
4.Our bodies are strengthened by taking exercise. Similar, our minds are developed by learning.
5.I would appreciate very much if you could help me with it.
6.The fastest train in the world travels in 400 kilometers per hour.
7.He gave the speech without refer to his notes.
8.Whenever I heard the sound of the thunder at the distance, I felt scared.
9.Prices of daily goods been bought through a computer can be lower than store prices.
10.After his journey form abroad, Richard returned home, exhausting.
11.All approaches for the town were blocked.
12.Tom is allergic with animal fur, so he won’t visit anyone who has cats or dogs in the house.
13.Lucy has a great sense of humor and always keeps her colleagues amusing with her stories.
14.If you ask teachers for help, they will give you a lot of advices on how to improve your English.
15.As the time going by, we gradually adapted to our school life.
16.Students were accustomed to have a nap in the afternoon.
17.He made his reasons for resigning absolute clear.
18.He’ll bear the beautiful girl on mind forever.
19.In English classes, teachers encourage students to take active part in discussions.
20.It is a pity that the industrial cities building in the nineteenth century do not attract visitors.
