With the tourism
2 . Earthquake forecasting is one of the most ancient skills known to mankind. From ancient Greece to the present day, countless scientists have tried to develop tools to predict earthquakes. Their attempts usually focused on searching for reliable evidences of coming quakes.
However, there are many reasons why predicting quakes is so hard. “We don’t understand some basic physics of earthquakes,” said Egill, a research professor at the California Institute of Technology. Scientists have also attempted to create mathematical models of movement, but precisely predicting would require great mapping and analysis of the Earth’s crust. Other challenges include a lack of data on the early warning signs, given that these warning signs are not yet entirely understood. Actually, real earthquake prediction is very similar to the diagnosis of potential human illnesses based on observing and analyzing each patient’s signs and symptoms. As it turns out, quake prediction is extremely difficult.
Many sources show that earthquake forecasting was a recognized science in ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks lived very close to nature and were able to detect unusual phenomena and forecast earthquakes. The first known forecast was made by Pherecydes of Syros about 2500 years ago: he made it as he scooped water from a well and noticed that usually very clean water had suddenly become muddy. Indeed, an earthquake occurred two days later, making Pherecydes famous. Nowadays, seismic and remote-sensing methods are considered to have the greatest potential in terms of solving the earthquake prediction problem.
Currently, Terra Seismic can identify a forthcoming earthquake with a high level of confidence. Generally, Terra Seismic does not predict a quake if the earthquake’s epicenter is located beyond a depth of 40 km. Fortunately, such quakes are almost always harmless, since quake’s energy reduces before reaching the Earth’s surface. “Scientists have tried every possible method to try to predict earthquakes,” Bruneau said. “Nobody has been able to crack it and make a believable prediction.”
1. What do we know about earthquake forecasting?| A．Scientists have been passionate about accurately predicting earthquakes. |
| B．As long as enough data is collected, earthquakes can be predicted. |
| C．Mathematical models of motion can simulate and predict earthquakes. |
| D．Scientists have not yet fully studied the structure of earthquakes. |
| A．By seismic and remote-sensing methods. |
| B．By observing unusual natural phenomena. |
| C．By living in seismic zones throughout the year. |
| D．By looking into data on the early warning signs. |
| A．He strongly believed the Terra Seismic can solve the difficult problem. |
| B．He was sure that humans could accurately predict earthquakes in the future. |
| C．He considered it harmless to humans for an earthquake deeper than 40km. |
| D．He thought that scientists had no reliable method to predict earthquakes. |
| A．Why do humans predict earthquakes? |
| B．How to protect oneself during an earthquake? |
| C．What methods can be used to forecast earthquakes? |
| D．When to achieve accurate earthquake forecasting? |
3 . Lac Rose in Senegal about 30 kilometers northeast of Dakar, is the highest salinity(盐度) lake in the world. Much higher salinity is what gives the lake its famous pink color that changes from a slightly rose pink in the rainy season into a super bright pink during the dry season when salinity at its highest.
The high salt content draws the salt harvesters(收获者)to its banks . First, to protect their skin from the salt, they put a kind of natural vegetable fat on their bodies before entering the water. Using a wooden tool, they drag the salt into the basket made from reeds(a kind of plant). There are three different kinds of salt. There's a type of very powdery salt that is only gathered during the Harmattan when the western winds blow from the Sahara over West Africa every year. As the finest or highest grade of salt, the powdery salt is used mainly for cooking. The second type of salt is rougher and always present at the bottom of the lake. This type of salt is generally used for general cooking. Sometimes it is even used for building roads. The third type of salt is the roughest kind that people prefer for their beauty treatments. To harvest this type of salt, salt harvesters put some wood to the bottom of the lake and over time, big salt crystals(晶体)begin to form on them.
Lac Rose is considered as a world heritage site and the local people are willing to share their beauty. The healthy, natural regulation(制度)of the use of the natural resources of this lake is one of the most impressive aspects of the community surrounding this lake. There are no laws needed to protect it. Everyone takes a little bit of what they need and nothing more. There is enough for everyone in the local community. It is a good example of the power of respect and trust in local community.
1. What causes the change of the lake’s pink color?| A．The temperature of the water. | B．The salinity of the lake. |
| C．The height above sea level. | D．The height of the sun. |
| A．Powdery salt can be get at any time. |
| B．Rougher salt contributes to making women beautiful. |
| C．Harvesters suffer a skin problem because of their work. |
| D．Harvesters try to do no harm to the lake while working. |
| A．Poor. | B．Brave. | C．Responsible. | D．Humorous. |
| A．Health | B．Technology | C．Nature | D．Business |
4 . China and India are leaders in improving global tree cover, a new study based on NASA research showed.
They took a 31.8 percent part together of the total global new leaf area between 2000 and 2017. China played a major role, adding 25 percent to this increase, and India added 6.8 percent, followed by Canada and Russia.
The study in the Nature Sustainability journal shows that more than 5.5 million square kilometers of green leaf area was added globally. Since 2000, there has been a 5 percent increase in global green cover, it said.
“The greening over the last twenty years shows an increase in leaf area on plants and trees which is as large as the area of the entire Amazon rainforest,” Chi Chen, a Boston University researcher and leader of the study told Nature Sustainability. Large plantation activities to protect forests in China contributed nearly 42 percent to the country’s green cover, and agriculture (农业) added another 32 percent. In India, 82 percent of the increase in leaf area was because of agriculture.
“China and India take up one-third of the greening, but hold only nine percent of the planet’s land area covered in green plants,” Chi Chen told NASA Earth Observatory. “That is a surprising finding, considering the land degradation (退化) in countries with large populations.”
Boston University’s research team first detected an increase in global green cover in the 1990s but were unsure what contributed to the increase. Finally, with the help of NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites research, they managed to find out the increase in leaf cover from different areas and places.
1. Which country contributed to the largest increase in the global new leaf area?| A．India. | B．China. | C．Russia | D．Canada. |
| A．To show the major role of rainforest. |
| B．To explain the reason for developing agriculture. |
| C．To describe the difficulty in protecting forests. |
| D．To stress the great increase in global green cover. |
| A．Worrying. | B．Interesting. | C．Unexpected. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．Imagined. | B．Discovered. | C．Studied. | D．Doubted. |
5 . The tradition of giving gifts didn’t start with the modern holidays we celebrate. Many ancient cultures celebrated holidays with the exchange of gifts. People who love to give gifts often can’t wait until it’s time for the recipients to open their gifts. If you’ve ever been given a gift, you know that part of the fun is the curiosity that builds as you wonder what the gift is.
The wish to hide the identity of a gift until just the right moment led people to wrap gifts long, long ago. Historians believed wrapping gifts in paper probably started not long after paper was invented thousands of years ago.
Wrapping paper like what we use today, though, is a much more recent invention. More than 100 years ago, gifts were usually wrapped in heavy brown paper. Before that, cloth was often used. The technology to mass-produce wrapping paper didn’t come along until the early 1900s. The first American gift wrap company— Hy-Sill Manufacturing Inc. — was founded by Eli Hyman and Morris Silverman in 1903. It wasn’t as easy to wrap presents back then as it is today, though, because adhesive tape (胶带) wasn’t invented until 1930.
Over the years, wrapping paper has developed into what we see in stores each holiday season. But scientists say that the United States alone produces an extra 5 million tons of waste over the holidays, most of which is from wrapping paper and shopping bags. To cut down on this waste, some people carefully unwrap presents, so that the wrapping paper can be reused. Others have started to use reusable gift bags instead of wrapping paper.
1. What is the interesting part of people giving a gift?| A．Hiding their gifts and their feelings. |
| B．Giving the recipients a surprise. |
| C．Letting the recipients open gifts at once. |
| D．Following a century-old tradition. |
| A．People didn’t know wrapping paper until 1903. |
| B．Heavy brown paper has been used to wrap gifts for 100 years. |
| C．Technology made wrapping paper widely available. |
| D．Adhesive tape was first created by gift wrap companies. |
| A．The future of reusable gift bags. |
| B．The waste produced by Americans. |
| C．Wrapping paper’s influence on the environment. |
| D．People’s admiration for wrapping paper. |
| A．The popularity of wrapping gifts. |
| B．The start of wrapping gifts in paper. |
| C．The problems caused by wrapping paper. |
| D．The story behind wrapping paper. |
6 . Each year, about 7 million tons of trash (垃圾) is found in the ocean. This trash consists of cigarette ends, medical waste, plastic, mile-long nets, etc... Those items of trash choke (窒息) many species of ocean life so quickly that they eventually become extinct. Ocean pollution harms the earth and animals, and we should stop the problem.
Some other causes of ocean pollution are waste, poisonous chemicals, and the biggest cause is littering (乱丢垃圾). How do these items end up in the ocean? Waste flows through rivers and drains (下水道) directly to the ocean, so ocean pollution continues to step up. The estimated amount of ocean pollution that floated in the sea in 2012 was 288 million tons. This huge number continues to increase by 4% each year. That means 11, 520, 000 tons of trash increase each year. Imagine the future of our ocean. Will there be any room to swim? Also 80% of the ocean is composed of plastic: plastic bottles, plastic bags, and some plastic toys.
How can ocean pollution be solved? Use fabric bags instead of plastic bags. This would reduce the plastic pollution in the ocean. Also for the waste water problem, we could use waste water treatment system. Lastly using renewable energy sources such as wind power or solar power would limit offshore drilling.
If we don’t stop the causes of ocean pollution, water temperatures will continue to rise and ocean life will become endangered. Please be mindful that what we do affects the people around us, the animals around us, and the habitats around us. So will you pay attention to this problem or wait for the next generation to?
1. What leads to the ocean pollution worst?| A．Cigarette ends. | B．Littering. |
| C．Medical waste. | D．Plastic. |
| A．3 | B．4 |
| C．5 | D．6 |
| A．To introduce what’s ocean pollution. |
| B．To make a survey about ocean pollution. |
| C．To make us know more about ocean pollution. |
| D．To call on everyone to fight against ocean pollution. |
| A．The Seriousness of Ocean Pollution |
| B．The Solutions to Ocean Pollution |
| C．The Causes of Ocean Pollution |
| D．The Sorts of Ocean Pollution |
7 . Life will be peaceful if you always do kind things. I teach my daughters to develop a habit of
We
A helping behavior that I practice regularly with my daughters is
One day I saw a stranger picking up rubbish on the road. I stopped. He
There are many other ways to
| A．watching | B．helping | C．welcoming | D．teaching |
| A．carefulness | B．peace | C．kindness | D．interest |
| A．great | B．unusual | C．easy | D．sad |
| A．work | B．travel | C．live | D．stay |
| A．dream | B．see | C．need | D．develop |
| A．environment | B．weather | C．area | D．beauty |
| A．disadvantages | B．favorites | C．wishes | D．answers |
| A．comfortable | B．necessary | C．modern | D．excellent |
| A．sky | B．village | C．city | D．street |
| A．picking up | B．looking for | C．taking away | D．laughing |
| A．surprised | B．tired | C．excited | D．angry |
| A．speed | B．start | C．move | D．stop |
| A．Although | B．But | C．And | D．Since |
| A．understand. | B．experience | C．forget | D．enjoy |
| A．covered | B．lowered | C．shook | D．raised |
| A．sport | B．idea | C．result | D．question |
| A．describe | B．buy | C．provide | D．make |
| A．puzzled | B．successful | C．healthy | D．lonely |
| A．clean | B．cross | C．repair | D．draw |
| A．suddenly | B．impossibly | C．easily | D．hardly |
