1 . A huge fire broke out on 2 September 1666 in London. The fire, known as the Great Fire of London, was the worst fire in the history of London. It burned down more than three quarters of the old city.
The fire started in the very early hours of Sunday morning in the house of the king’s baker. A strong wind blew the fire from the baker’s house into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
At that time, most of the buildings in London were made of wood, so it was easy for the fire to spread quickly. By eight o’clock, three hundred houses were on fire. By Monday, nearly a kilometre of the city was burning along the Thames River. On Tuesday, which was considered the worst day, the fire destroyed many well-known buildings, including the old St Paul’s Cathedral.
The fire burned until finally hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire were destroyed to create a firebreak. The fire then died out eventually with nothing left to burn.
1. Why is the fire of 1666 called the Great Fire of London?| A．The fire broke out in the capital of England. |
| B．The fire was the worst fire in the history of London. |
| C．People in England will never forget the fire. |
| D．The fire spread fast into Thames Street. |
| A．In the house of the king’s baker. |
| B．In Thames Street. |
| C．In the house of the baker’s neighbour. |
| D．In St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| A．It started in a baker’s house. |
| B．It broke out on a Sunday morning. |
| C．A hotel was next to the baker’s house. |
| D．Most of the buildings in London were wooden. |
| A．The old St Paul’s Cathedral. |
| B．Hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. |
| C．Hundreds of wooden houses. |
| D．All of the above. |
New research suggests
The Titanic was the largest and
So why did so many people die in the tragedy? Firstly, the Titanic’s owners fitted the ship
The wreck (残骸) of the Titanic
4 . Each year, 150,000 people hike Scotland’s Ben Nevis — Britain’s highest mountain. Many choose to take the so-called tourist trail, the rocky path which winds its way to the peak. Few realise that this path was initially carved out in 1883 for a very unique scientific expedition.
In the late 19th century, a key question of science was how depressions, storms and other severe climatic events form in the atmosphere. By 1875 mountain observatories were being established across the US, Mexico, India, France, Germany and Russia. Keen to gather similar data for Britain, the Scottish Meteorological Society decided to build a weather station at the top of Ben Nevis.
And so began a remarkable experiment. From 1883 to 1904, a few hardy individuals lived year-round in a small stone hut, surviving on tinned food and making hourly recordings of everything from atmospheric temperature to humidity (湿度), wind speed to rainfall. In total they made almost 1.5 million observations.
“They were living in very severe weather conditions: 100mph winds were not uncommon, and the temperature would drop to -15°C at times. The main danger they faced was that they were very close to the edge of the cliff (悬崖). If you weren’t careful, you would disappear off the cliff completely,” says Ed Hawkins, professor of climate science at the University of Reading.
However, by 1904, the Scottish Meteorological Society could no longer afford the observatory’s running costs. It was closed down and the data largely has remained hidden in the dusty pages of archives (档案馆) ever since.
Today, plans are underfoot to build a new modern observatory on the ruins on the former site — with automatic measuring devices rather than human data collectors. “We haven’t had any long-term observations up there for a long time now, and this would give us information straight away on how the climate at the top of the mountain has changed,” Hawkins says. “We think that the high altitude regions are some of the places where we’ve seen the largest changes in temperature. This could tell us a lot.”
1. Why was the weather station at the top of Ben Nevis built?| A．To attract visitors to Ben Nevis. |
| B．To study the formation of extreme weather events. |
| C．To provide weather forecasts for the whole Britain. |
| D．To compete with weather stations in other countries. |
| A．The geographical features of Ben Nevis. |
| B．The extreme climate on top of Ben Nevis. |
| C．The achievements made by the weather station. |
| D．The bad working conditions of the station workers. |
| A．It will take a long time to build. |
| B．It will need many human data collectors. |
| C．It will have archives for the old weather station. |
| D．It will detect climate change at Ben Nevis’ peak quickly. |
| A．To argue. | B．To inform. |
| C．To advertise. | D．To appeal. |
Exceptional beauty, extraordinary grace and e
The Battle of El Alamein,
6 . I'm Victor Bobra from Belarus. When I was three years old, a nuclear explosion (核爆炸) blew up in Chernobyl, Ukraine. At the time, I was living on the border with Ukraine.When the explosion happened, my dad, was looking after the trucks at the station. When he heard about the disaster, he took us to Brest on the truck. After that, my family moved to Minsk.
Many years have passed since the explosion. Different places were affected differently. If you live in an area like Minsk, it's not as polluted as other areas. Kids there were born normally. Maybe they were underweight or something, but this was because of the problems of the economic situation. If kids were born around the Brest area, they were, born almost perfectly, because it's the cleanest area in Belarus. But if kids were born around the area to the east of Belarus,most of the kids were born deformed (畸形的).
I don't know much about how it has affected my health. But what happened was that everybody had a medical check-up after the disaster. The doctors found that I had got some protein inside me: So they thought there was something wrong with me, and suggested I should be treated.
My mum set up 'a charity, Chernobyl Children Lifeline, which raised some money for me. I've stayed here for treatment since then. The reason I can't go to Belarus is because of the radiation (辐射). If I go back, I might get radiation and get ill. Certainly there isn't any medical care, because the country is very poor. At the moment I can't even see my parents for a holiday. My parents probably miss me. I think the fault (过失) that Chernobyl blew up is the government's.
1. What can we learn from the second paragraph?| A．People in Minsk were rich before the disaster. |
| B．Victor Bobra lived in the cleanest area in Belarus. |
| C．The east of Belarus was seriously affected by the disaster. |
| D．Kids born in Minsk were underweight because of the disaster. |
| A．provide home for the homeless |
| B．collect money for his treatment |
| C．raise money for deformed kids |
| D．help those suffering from radiation |
| A．The author's father didn't survive the disaster. |
| B．The author lived in Minsk when the disaster happened. |
| C．The author was given good treatment with the help of the government. |
| D．The author thought the government should take responsibility for the disaster. |
| A．everybody had a medical examination after the nuclear explosion |
| B．the doctors did not think it necessary to have the author treated |
| C．the author's country can afford to provide medical care |
| D．the author is living with his parents now |
| A．To prove the great force of the nuclear explosion. |
| B．To tell readers the nuclear explosion in Chernobyl. |
| C．To show the bad effects of the nuclear explosion. |
| D．To find out the truth of the nuclear explosion. |
The Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院) Fire
It feels as though the very heart of France and the soul of Europe have been broken. The fire of Notre Dame in Paris
The fire struck
The Notre Dame is the symbol of the French capital and of France itself. It is world famous not simply as a Parisian building but through the
We believe the Dame will rise again in time. This terrible fire is not an event that should
Sugar cane cultivation(甘蔗种植) originated in southwest Asia, where Marco Polo reported in his
In the fourteenth century, the island of Cyprus was the location of major sugar farms,
Brown sugar
9 . “They tell me that you’d like to make a statue of me — is that correct, Miss Vinnie Ream?”
The deep, gentle voice helped calm the nervous girl. Asking a favor of the President of the United States was no casual matter, especially for a seventeen-year-old girl.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, her dark eyes meeting his. “I wouldn’t have dared to ask you, but my teacher, Mr. Mills, says I am ready. I plan to make it in an admirable manner.”
President Lincoln smiled.“Painters, sculptors — they’ve all tried to make the best of this ordinary face, but I’m afraid there’s not much hope. What did you have in mind, Miss Ream? A bust (半身像)?”
Before Vinnie could say yes, the President hurried on, a shade of apology in his voice. “Of course — I shouldn’t have asked. A full-length pose would be much too big a project for a young woman your size.”
Vinnie’s face turned red. She realized she looked like a child, with her tiny figure. “Small does not mean weak, sir,” she defended herself. “I was born in the country of Wisconsin. I’ve driven teams of horses and carried water. Making a full-length clay (黏土) figure would not exhaust my strength — and that is what I intend to do!”
The President’s eyes, brightened at her show of spirit. “Sorry, madam, I have underestimated you as I didn’t know your background.”
But his smile faded as he rubbed his beard with bony fingers, in thought. “Miss Ream,” he sighed, “I’d like to let you do it, but as you know, we are in the middle of a war. How could I possibly take the time to pose for a sculpture now? I hardly have a minute to myself.”
Vinnie glanced around and noted the size of his office. “I work quickly,” she said. Her voice was soft but confident as she pointed to the corner near the windows. “If I were to bring my clay here and work for three hours every afternoon, I could complete most of the project while you are at your desk.”
The President seemed to consider her idea seriously. He got up and shook Vinnie’s hand warmly, “I’ve heard that you are a talented young woman, and I have found you charming and intelligent as well. I cannot make my decision immediately, but you will hear from me soon.”
The very next day, Vinnie received an invitation from the President.
1. How did President Lincoln first respond to Vinnie’s request?| A．Doubtful. | B．Thrilled. |
| C．Regretful. | D．Pleased. |
| A．her experience from other projects |
| B．the heavy labor she had done before |
| C．her innocent childhood in the country |
| D．the skill she picked up in Wisconsin |
| A．avoid disturbing the president’s work |
| B．keep all her tools within easy reach |
| C．observe the President at a right angle |
| D．achieve effects of natural lighting |
| A．Ups and downs make one strong. |
| B．Experience helps to promote excellence. |
| C．A strong-willed soul can reach his goal. |
| D．Devotion requires enthusiasm. |
1. In most ways, the English city of Liverpool is no different from other large cities. It is full of people, restaurants, museums, and shops. However, Liverpool stands out in one interesting way. Under the busy streets, there are miles of old tunnels. For many years, the tunnels were nearly forgotten. There was no evidence that the tunnels were real. In 2001, a small group of curious people were delighted to discover that the old tales were true. A huge network of tunnels snaked under the city.
2. We now know that the tunnels were built sometime in the early 1800s. A man named Joseph Williamson designed them. But there is a lot we still don't know. Why did Williamson want the tunnels? Were they ever used? If so, for what? We can only guess.
3. One idea is that Williamson, who was rich, was trying to help others. Many people were jobless at that time, and Williamson was known to be kind. Perhaps he came up with the tunnel project so that he could offer people jobs. Another guess is that Williamson used the tunnels for secret business. The tunnels would have made it possible for him to go places without being seen.
4. Still others suspect that Williamson built the tunnels for safety reasons. Perhaps he was afraid that some type of dangerous event would happen. The tunnels would have offered protection for himself and his loved ones.
5. Some people who study the tunnels have yet another idea. They believed that long ago, people removed sandstone from the land. The sandstone removal would have left huge holes. Williamson may have wanted to fix the holes. Instead of filling them, perhaps he had his workers build archways (拱道) across them. In time, houses and other constructions were built over the archways.
1. What makes the city of Liverpool stand out?2. List three guesses at why Williamson built the tunnels.
3. According to the opening sentence, complete paragraph 6. (At most 40 words)
(para.6)The ideas are interesting, but no one knows the truth.
