Most people are hoping the recent stranding (搁浅) of the 1,300-foot, 220,000-ton Ever Given container ship (集装箱货运船) in the Suez Canal was a one-off---just a case of a very big ship getting stuck in a narrow waterway. However, more than 100 ships of similar size are passing through the world’s waterways, and even bigger ones are being built.
Capt.Andrew Kinsey, a senior marine-risk consultant (海洋风险顾问) for a global financial services firm, says with heavy weather in the North Pacific Ocean over the past year, a lot of containers are going overboard (落水). Part of the problem is the way the ultra-large ships handle at sea with towering stacks (堆叠) of containers, especially in strong winds.
Alan Murphy, chief executive of a container-shipping research and advisory firm in Copenhagen, Denmark, says it’s difficult to know whether there has been an increase in the number of containers going overboard or if trans-Pacific container losses over the past year have just received more attention.In a November report, the World Shipping Council found the number of such incidents to be falling in recent years, although the report does not cover 2020. There is no central database for reporting container losses, so it’s not known exactly how many containers fall overboard, Murphy says.
Murphy says container ships are often fully loaded nowadays, as demand for consumer products has jumped during the corona virus pandemic. “In the past, these huge ships have never really sailed as fully loaded as they are now,” he says.“Obviously, the more the ship carries, the greater the risk of an incident happening.”
“The stranding of Ever Given in the Suez Canal is a warning,” Kinsey says.“We’ve been bring up the issue of size in our yearly safety and shipping review and in papers for over five years.”
Carrying more containers needs bigger and wider ships, which means it is harder for them to sail through narrow waterways like the Suez Canal and move when they get stuck.
1. What can we imply from paragraph 1?| A．It might be a tough task to build bigger ships. |
| B．Costs of overseas shipments might rise sharply. |
| C．There might be changes in the world’s waterways. |
| D．More accidents like the recent stranding might happen. |
| A．No database for reporting container losses had been created. |
| B．Trans-Pacific container losses had received more attention. |
| C．The number of container losses had dropped in recent years before 2020. |
| D．More container losses happened in 2020 than in the past few years. |
| A．The extreme weather. | B．The increasing size of ships |
| C．The slow transportation. | D．The growing demand for consumer goods. |
| A．Warnings about the risks of stranding are given yearly. |
| B．Concern about larger ships has been voiced for some time. |
| C．Some container ships can carry as many goods as Ever Given. |
| D．Ships bigger than Ever Given won’t be allowed through the Suez Canal. |
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【推荐1】Time flies, but the tracks of time remain in books and museums. This is what made a recent tragedy in Brazil even more terrible.
On Sept 2, a big fire broke out in the National Museum of Brazil, the oldest scientific institution in the country, in Rio de Janeiro. Two hundred years of work, research and knowledge were lost,‖ Brazilian President Michel Temer wrote on Twitter after the fire. It’s a sad day for all Brazilians.‖
Most of the 20 million pieces of history are believed to have been destroyed. Only as little as 10 percent of the collection may have survived, Time reported. Among all the items, there were Egyptian mummies, the bones of uniquely Brazilian creatures such as the long-necked dinosaur Maxakalisaurus, and an 11,500-year-old skull called Luzia, which was considered one of South America’s oldest human fossils.
Besides these, Brazil’s local knowledge also suffered. The museum housed world famous collections of local objects, as well as many audio recordings of local languages from all over Brazil. Some of these recordings, now lost, were of languages that are no longer spoken.
The tragedy this Sunday is a sort of national suicide(自杀). A crime against our past and future generations.‖ Bernard Mello Franco, one of Brazil’s best-known reporters wrote on the newspaper site.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, as BBC News reported on Sept 3. After the fire burned out, crowds protested(抗议) outside the museum to show their anger at the loss of the irreplaceable items of historical value.
According to Emilio Bruna, an ecologist at the University of Florida, museums are living, breathing places of who we are and where we’ve come from, and the world around us. Those insects pinned in a drawer, or those fish in a jar, or a feathered cape(斗篷) you might see in a display case – that represents a little piece of who we are as a people, as humans, as part of a greater world,‖ he told National Geographic.
Just as underwater grass floats on the surface if it loses its roots, a nation is lost without its memories.
1. What do we know from Brazilian President’s words on Twitter ?| A．He felt responsible for the fire of National Museum. |
| B．The museum is the oldest national scientific institution. |
| C．All Brazilians felt sorry for the fire that day. |
| D．The fire caused serious historical loss to Brazil. |
| A．Egyptian mummies. |
| B．The long-necked dinosaur Maxakalisaurus. |
| C．Some audio recordings of local languages. |
| D．An 11,500-year-old skull called Luzia. |
| A．all the records of local knowledge were destroyed |
| B．the rate of suicide and crime was rising sharply |
| C．people protested against the abuse of power of the government |
| D．people of different walks of life showed their pity for the fire |
| A．Advertisement | B．News report | C．Campus life | D．Geography |
【推荐2】Two deer jumped out in front of 16-year-old Amanda Floyd's car. She stepped on the brake, stopping the car just in time. But later, she started texting. Distracted (分心的)，Amanda turned left and right, then crashed into another car. Luckily, she wasn't in a real car--she was in a driving simulator (模拟器) at Roosevelt High School, Ohio, US. “I never really realized that cars make a turn that much," Amanda, a Junior, said. She added that she wouldn't text while driving anymore.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and State Highway Patrol brought the simulator to the school. They said they wanted to help students learn about the danger of driving while drunk, while texting, or while talking on the phone.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving claimed 3,4501ives in2016 alone. Experts believe the actual figure is probably higher.
The simulator is basically a computer program. Like many computer games, it was a hit with the students. They lined up and crowded around to watch each other take turns. The simulator has a steering wheel! (方向盘) ,brake and gas pedal (油门踏板) . It is made up of three large computer screens on a table.
Students choose a distraction, such as driving while drunk or texting. They always crash, of course. Then, they are pulled over by the police to be taught the bad results of their driving: how much damage they've caused, what their fine is, if anyone died in the accident, and if they're going to go to prison.
"It teaches how to drive without being on the road," said Shante Thompson, 16. She had just crashed into a deer.
ODOT spokesman Justin Chesnic said hundreds of kids have gone behind the wheel so far. He said even more have benefited from watching their classmates. "Driving is such a major responsibility, so take it seriously" he said.“Put away your cellphone. A lot of the accidents out there are because of distracted driving. It can not only change your life, but it can change someone else's life forever. The results are serious."
1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph One?| A．Introduce the topic of the text. |
| B．Illustrate the author's point of view. |
| C．Provide some advice for the readers. |
| D．Offer some background information. |
| A．It tests the students' ability to stay focused. |
| B．It gets students to have fun between classes. |
| C．It teaches students how to deal with traffic accidents. |
| D．It makes students aware of the dangers of distracted driving. |
| A．It is connected to the local police station. |
| B．It is a real car but has large computer screens. |
| C．It attracts the students' interest as a computer program. |
| D．It benefits the students who use it more than those who only watch. |
| A．Traffic rules in Ohio, US. |
| B．Danger of distracted driving. |
| C．Simulated driving for students. |
| D．Advantages of computer games. |
【推荐3】On Sunday, undersea explorer Tim Taylor and his team at the Lost 52 Project announced that they had located the long-lost submarine on June 5 about 1,427 feet underwater off Okinawa, Japan. Last year, researcher Yutaka Iwasaki found that the Navy had originally made an error in translating the Japanese war records that detailed where the Grayback had likely sunk. All this time, the Navy's historical records had listed an incorrect site for the submarine's location.
With the help of autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles and advanced imaging technology, the team discovered the Grayback about 100 miles from the area where it was originally thought to have gone down. The discovery was officially confirmed by the Navy, Robert S. Neyland, the head of the Naval History and Heritage.
On January 28, 1944, the Grayback set sail from Pearl Harbor for the East China Sea. About a month later, the submarine reported sinking two Japanese ships on February 19. Though the Grayback was scheduled to arrive in Midway on March 7, more than three weeks passed without sight of the submarine. And on March 30, 1944, the Grayback, one of the most successful submarines of World War II, was reported lost.
Gloria Hurney, whose uncle Raymond Parks died on the Grayback, said that she wasn't sure that the Grayback would ever be recovered. So when she first learned of the discovery, she felt a mixture of shock, disbelief, sadness. Eventually, though, those feelings turned into relief, comfort and peace. Hurney said in a statement to CNN. ''I believe it will allow recovery as relatives of crew members come together to share their stories. '' Neyland said in a statement, ''Each discovery of a sunken craft is an opportunity to remember and honor the service of our Sailors. ''
1. Why was the submarine NOT found before?| A．The Navy was wrong in changing records into Japanese . |
| B．The technology was not so advanced. |
| C．No information about the submarine was obtained. |
| D．There was no need to find it. |
| A．By accident. | B．By the Navy's hard-working. |
| C．By the families' determination. | D．By modern technology. |
| A．People's feeling about the discovery was complicated. |
| B．The Grayback would be recovered soon. |
| C．The Grayback was the most successful submarine of the World WarⅡ. |
| D．The Grayback was supposed to reach the destination on April 7. |
| A．Tim Taylor and his team announced a new discovery. |
| B．A World War Ⅱ submarine was discovered. |
| C．An opportunity to remember and honor the service of Sailors. |
| D．A mistake the Navy made in translating the Japanese war records. |
【推荐1】For years and years people have been saying that the railways are dead.“We can do without railways.” people say, as if motorcars and planes have made the railways unnecessary. We all keep hearing that trains are slow ,that they lose money and that they’re dying. But this is far from the truth. In these days of expensive oil, the railways have become highly competitive(变得很有竞争力)with motorcars and planes. If you want to carry people or goods from place to place, they’re cheaper than planes. And they have much in common with planes. A plane goes in a straight line and so does a railway. What is more, it takes you from the heart of a city into the heart of another. It doesn’t leave you as plane does, miles and miles from the city center. It doesn’t hold you up as a car does in endless traffic jams. And a single train can carry goods which a plane or motorcar could never do.
Far from being dead, the railways are much alive, Modern railway lines give you a smooth, untroubled journey, where else can you eat well, sleep in comfort, feel safe and enjoy the scene while you are traveling at high speed at the same time ? And we are only at the beginning, for we have just entered the age of super fast trains, trains traveling at 150 miles an hour and more .Soon we will be wondering why we have spent so much on motorcars or planes.
1. Some people think the railways are unnecessary for many reasons except that_____| A．planes and motorcars have taken the place of trains |
| B．oil is expensive today |
| C．trains are slow |
| D．railways lose money |
| A．we can do without railways |
| B．trains have much in common with motorcars and planes |
| C．motorcars and planes are not as good as trains |
| D．trains are as good as motorcars and planes |
| A．It is cheaper to travel by train than by plane. |
| B．The railway station is usually at the center of a city . |
| C．When you get off the plane, you’ll find yourself right in the city center. |
| D．No motorcar or plane can carry as many goods as trains does. |
| A．we can have a smooth and untroubled journey | B．we’ll travel cheaply |
| C．we start to travel in super fast trains | D．all of the above |
| A．Not the End but the Beginning |
| B．Which is the Best: Train, Motorcar or Plane |
| C．Trains are More Competitive than Motorcars or Planes |
| D．Oh, Super-fast Train |
【推荐2】In the animal kingdom, mimics (模仿) are not rare. Stick insects pretend to be twigs. Hawk moth caterpillars resemble poisonous snakes. The examples, though, are visual. Auditory mimicry is rarer. Danilo Russo of the University of Naples Federico II thinks he has found a novel case of it, as he describes in Current Biology. Some bats, he believes, mimic angry bees in order to scare away owls that might otherwise eat them.
Dr. Russo first noticed bat buzzing a few years ago. The noise struck him is similar to the sound of some bees. He wondered whether bat buzzing was a form of mimicry which helped to scare off would-be predators.
To test this idea, he and his colleagues first recorded the buzzing that captured bats made. Then, with protective clothing, they began the more dangerous task of recording the buzzing made by different bees. Computer analysis revealed that bees’ and bats’ buzzing were, indeed, similar.
Then the researchers recruited several owls. They put the owls, one at a time, in an enclosure with branches for them to stay on, and two boxes with holes in them. They placed a loudspeaker alongside one of the boxes and, after the birds had settled in, broadcast through it five seconds of uninterrupted bat buzzing and a similar amount of insect buzzing three times in a row for each noise. As a control, they broadcast in like manner several non-buzzing sounds made by bats.
During the broadcasts and for five minutes thereafter, they videoed the owls. After analysis, the results were unequivocal. When they heard both the bat buzzing and the bee buzzing, the owls moved as far from the speakers as they could. In contrast, when the non-buzzing bat sounds were played, they crept closer.
Dr. Russo believes this is the first reported case of a mammal using auditory mimicry to scare away a predator. They strongly suspect, however, that it is not unique. Anecdotes suggest several birds also make buzzing noises when their nests are disturbed. And with the result of the experiment, he therefore predicts that auditory mimicry is far more widespread than currently realized.
1. What was Dr. Russo’s assumption of the study?| A．Only some bats have the capacity of auditory mimicry. |
| B．The buzzing of bats is similar to the sound of some bees. |
| C．Auditory mimicry is rather common in the animal kingdom. |
| D．Bats imitate the voice of angry bees to frighten away enemies. |
| A．By collecting computer data. |
| B．By consulting experts in this field. |
| C．By referring to other scholars’ analysis. |
| D．By conducting series of scientific experiments. |
| A．Disappointing. | B．Controversial. | C．Definite. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Animal Mimicry: Buzz off |
| B．Bats: No More Victim to Owls |
| C．A Self-protection Behavior among Animals |
| D．A New Trick to Scare Away Owls |
【推荐3】Spaghetti bolognese (意大利肉酱面) appeared to me during a Year 8 home science lesson. Our home teacher told the class to tie back our hair and start cutting the vegetables into pieces. Spaghetti bolognese made a world of difference to mealtimes.
This meal became a weekly food at our house - especially since the job of making spaghetti Bolognese fell to me or one of my three sisters, giving my mother a break from cooking. But finding that this “Italian” food was mouth-wateringly delicious and could be made in our own kitchen, wasn’t just happening at our house. In many places around the world, people were discovering just how delicious Italian food could be.
So by 2014, a survey done by the Germany-based company Apetito found that spaghetti bolognese was the third most popular dish eaten in their workplace cafeterias (自助餐厅). And in 2018, research in Britain to find out how new diets were changing what families ate at mealtimes, commissioned(委托) by British cooking appliance-maker Belling, discovered that spaghetti bolognese had won the competition and was the all-time favourite meal of Brits. “It has been interesting to see dishes, which we now consider very closely connected with family mealtimes, rising from relative unknown dishes, like everyone’s favourite spag bol, to take the top place,” said a Belling spokesperson at the time. This Italian favourite isn’t just popular in the West. In the 1980s, spaghetti bolognese was getting a workout in Malaysian home kitchens, according to chopinandmysaucepan. com, and is still often found on the menu of many local restaurants there.
However, not all Italians love what we’ve done to their cultural cuisine. Many pasta lovers rail at the idea that spaghetti bolognese is the same dish as ragù alla Bolognese, as it is known in Italy, or that it in fact comes from Bologna. In 2019, the then Bolognese mayor, Virginio Merola, started a debate on Twitter saying that it was not true that spaghetti bolognese originated from his great city. They believe the sauce should not be served with spaghetti.
1. What purpose does the first paragraph serve?| A．To give suggestions on meals. |
| B．To remember a teacher. |
| C．To make a comparison. |
| D．To bring up the topic. |
| A．It was hated by his mother. |
| B．It became a common dish. |
| C．It was an unaffordable dish. |
| D．It made him interested in cooking. |
| A．Spaghetti bolognese was as acceptable in the West as it was in Malaysia. |
| B．Spaghetti bolognese totally changed people’s eating habits. |
| C．Spaghetti bolognese was unknown to most families. |
| D．Spaghetti bolognese had become popular. |
| A．Speak out against. | B．Come up with. |
| C．Believe in. | D．Toy with. |
