In a natural disaster—a hurricane,flood,tornado,volcanic eruption,or other calamity—minutes and even seconds of warning can be the difference between life and death.Because of this,scientists and government officials are working to use the latest technological advances to predict when and where disasters will happen.They are also studying how best to analyze and communicate this information once it is obtained.The goal is to put technology to effective use in saving lives and property when nature unleashes its power with devastating results.
On September 29,1998,Hurricane Georges made landfall in Biloxi,Mississippi,after devastating Haiti,the Dominican Republic,Puerto Rico,and several islands of the Caribbean with torrential rains and winds up to 160 km/h （100 mph）.Few people lost their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States,although hundreds died in the Caribbean.
This was a very different outcome from 1900,when a powerful Gulf Coast hurricane made an unexpected direct hit on Galveston,Texas,killing at least 6 000 people.Vastly improved hurricane warnings explain the different circumstances at either end of the 20th century—residents of Galveston had no advance warning that a storm was approaching,while residents of Biloxi had been warned days in advance of Georges’s approach,allowing for extensive safety precautions.
At the same time that people in Biloxi were thankful for the advance warning,some residents of New Orleans,Louisiana,120 km to the west,were less satisfied.A day before Georges made landfall,forecasters were predicting that the hurricane had a good chance of striking New Orleans.Because much of New Orleans lies below sea level,the city is at risk for flooding.In addition,because New Orleans has a large population in vulnerable locations,emergency management officials must begin evacuations well before a storm strikes.But evacuation costs money:Businesses close,tourists leave,and citizens take precautionary measures.The mayor of New Orleans estimated that his city’s preparations for Georges cost more than 50 million.After the full fury of Georges missed New Orleans,some residents questioned the value of the hurricane forecasts in the face of such high costs.
The differing views on the early warnings for Hurricane Georges illustrate some of the complexities involved in predicting disasters.Disaster prediction is more than just forecasting the future with advanced technology—it is also a process of providing scientific information to the government officials and other decision makers who must respond to those predictions.
In general,the process has three phases.First,there is the challenge of forecasting the event itself.In the case of Georges,scientists worked to predict the future direction and strength of the hurricane days in advance.
A second important challenge is communicating the forecast to decision－makers.Because forecasts are always uncertain,a central factor in disaster predictions is communicating this uncertainty.Uncertainty is usually described in terms of odds or probabilities,much like daily weather forecasts.The media plays an important role in communicating predictions and their uncertainty to the public.
The third part of the process is the use of predictive information by decision makers.Even the most accurate information is of little value if the decision maker does not use it appropriately,for example in deciding whether to order an evacuation.If there is a breakdown in any of these three phases of prediction,the result is increased danger and a higher risk of loss of life.
小題1:The underlined word“calamity”refers to ______.
A．natureB．thunderstormsC．disasterD．dangers
小題2:According the passage,the purpose of disaster prediction is to______.
A．demonstrate the power of advanced technology
B．bring out the truth between life and death
C．prevent such natural disasters from happening
D．reduce human casualties and loss of property
小題3:Which of the following areas suffered the most severe damage?
A．Biloxi,Mississippi.B．Gulf Coast of U. S.
C．Galveston,Texas.D．New Orleans.

小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:

小題1:根據(jù)該詞所在句子可知calamity 應(yīng)該與前面的disaster同義。
小題2:災(zāi)害預(yù)報的目的可以在第一段中找到：“The goal is to put technology to effective use in saving lives and property when nature unleashes its power with devastating results.”。A、B兩項的內(nèi)容不符合事實，C項說是預(yù)防災(zāi)害的發(fā)生，現(xiàn)在實際上還做不到。D項的內(nèi)容較接近原文的意思。
小題3:試題問哪個地方遭受過最嚴(yán)重的災(zāi)害。A、B兩項所說的地方由于有了預(yù)報，損失不大。D項是新奧爾良，根本沒有遭受災(zāi)害。C項所指的地方，1900年在沒有得到預(yù)報的情況下，突遭颶風(fēng)，造成6000多人死亡，因此損失最大。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.
This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.
Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.
The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.
小題1:The passage mainly deals with________.
A．the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer
B．the relationship between genius and success
C．the decisive factor in making a genius
D．the way of gaining some sense of distinction
小題2:By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could________.
A．come to understand the inner structure of writing
B．join a fascinating circle of writers someday
C．share with a novelist her likes and dislikes
D．learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security
小題3:In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.
A．her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success.
B．her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance
C．she acquires the magic of some great achievement
D．she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write
小題4:What can be concluded from the passage?
A．A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success
B．A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.
C．As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. Doesn’t matter, but just his|her effort.
D．What really matters is what you do rather then who you are.

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A strong wind can be a dangerous thing — sometimes it is powerful enough to knock you off your feet. But to plants, the wind is a source of new life, carrying them or their spores (孢子) thousands of miles.
A NASA satellite called QuikSCAT has discovered highways of wind over the Earth's oceans. Scientists believe these invisible roads may explain why many nonflowering plants, such as mosses (苔) and lichens (地衣), grow where they do.
The satellite is able to send microwaves (微波) from space to the surface of the ocean. The pattern of signals that come back shows which way the winds are blowing.
Using this data, the scientists studied a group of islands in the southern hemisphere (半球), near Antarctica．Winds tend to blow anticlockwise (逆時針) in this region, but there are lots of local differences.
When the researchers compared these local patterns to botanical (植物學(xué)) data, they found that the wind had an important effect on where species of mosses, lichens, and other nonflowering plants grow.
For example, Bouvet Island and Heard Island, share 30 per cent of their moss species, 29 per cent of liverworts (葉苔), and 32 per cent of lichens — even though they are 4,430 kilometers apart. In contrast, Gough Island and Bouvet Island, separated by just 1,860 kilometers of sea, share only 16 per cent of mosses and 17 per cent of liverworts. They have no lichens in common.
Ferns (蕨類植物) and flowering plants don't travel as well in the wind, so they don't show the same kinds of distribution (分布) patterns.
小題1:This story is about _____.
A．the discovery of wind highwaysB．how wind travels
C．how wind affects different plantsD．one function of the wind
小題2:The underlined word "data" in the fourth paragraph means _____.
A．signalB．patternC．informationD．research
小題3: Which of the following is wrong?
A．Bouvet Island, Heard Island and Gough Island are all in the southern hemisphere.
B．Winds in the researched area blow anti-clockwise.
C．The scientists shouldn't base this research on how winds affect where ferns grow.
D．Without the discovery of QuikSCAT, the research wouldn't have made sense.
小題4: Which of the following diagrams shows the correct position of the islands?
         
            

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

For some time past,it has been widely accepted that babies—and other creatures—learn to do things because certain acts lead to “rewards(報酬)”,and there is no reason to doubt that this is true. But it used also to be widely believed that effective rewards, at least in the early time, had to be directly connected to such basic physiological(生理的) “drives” as thirst or hunger. In other words, a baby would learn if he got food or drink or some sort of physical comfort, not otherwise.?
It is now clear that this is not so. Babies will learn to behave in ways that produce results in the world with no reward except success in sight.?
Papousek began his studies by using milk in the normal way to “reward” the babies and to teach them to carry out some simple movements, such as turning the head to one side or the other.Then he noticed that a baby who had  had enough to drink would refuse the milk but would still go on making the learned response(回答) with clear signs of pleasure. So he began to study the children's responses in situations where no milk was provided. He quickly found that children as young as four months would learn to turn their heads to right or left if the movement “turned on” some lights—and indeed that they were able to learn some more turns to bring about(產(chǎn)生) this result,for example,two left or two right,or even to make as many as three turns to one side.?
Papousek's light experiment was placed directly in front of the babies and he made the interesting observation that sometimes they would not turn back to watch the light closely ?although? they would “smile and speak” when the light was on.Papousek concluded that it was not the sight of the lights which pleased them.It was the success they were achieving in solving the problem,in mastering the skill,and then there is a basic human nature to make sense of the world and bring it under control.?
小題1:According to the writer,babies learn to do things which _______.?
A．will satisfy their surpriseB．will meet their physical needs?
C．a(chǎn)re directly connected to pleasureD．will bring them a feeling of success
小題2:Papousek noticed in his studies that a baby _______.
A．would make learned responses when it saw the milk ?
B．would continue the simple movements without being given milk ?
C．would turn its head to right or left when it had enough to drink?
D．would carry out learned movements when it had enough to drink ?
小題3:In Papousek's experiment babies make learned movements of the head in order to _______.
A．be praisedB．please their parents?
C．be rewarded with milkD．have the lights turned on ?
小題4:The babies would “smile and speak” at the lights because _______.?
A．they succeeded in “turning on” the lights?
B．the sight of lights was interesting?
C．they need not turn back to watch the lights?
D．the lights were directly connected to some basic “drives”

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Some kids can't sit still for long. They have a hard time paying attention to just one thing. They're easily distracted(分神).They can get very impatient. They hate standing in line or waiting for their turn in a game or activity. They get bored pretty fast. They may also be impulsive—saying the first thing that comes to mind or interrupting someone else who's talking.?
For certain kids, this problem is so severe(嚴(yán)重) that doctors have a name for it: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Perhaps as many as 1 out of every 20 kids under the age of 18 have characteristics of ADHD. Often, these kids have trouble getting through school and face other difficulties later in life.?
Rizzo started developing the Virtual Classroom in 1999.He wanted to see if he could use it as a tool for testing and treating kids who have attention disorders.?
To diagnose(診斷) ADHD, doctors typically test patients by giving them tasks that require attention. As part of one classic test, you watch letters flashed on a computer screen. Every time you see the letter “A” followed by the letter “X”,you have to press the space bar. If you're paying close attention, you'll register all the times this combination occurs. If not, you'll miss some.?
The Virtual Classroom makes these tests more efficient, Rizzo says. In one experiment, he gave a group of kids the classic “A-X” test. Instead of looking at a computer screen in a doctor's office, though, the kids wore headsets that made it look like they were taking the test in a classroom.?
“Basically what we found,”Rizzo says,“is that, in 20 minutes of testing with virtual reality,?we? replicated(復(fù)制) a finding that usually requires a couple hours of standard testing with computer screens in the psychologist's office.”?
小題1:The first paragraph mainly tells us _______.?
A．how to find a patient with ADHD?
B．the behavior of some kids with ADHD?
C．kids with ADHD cannot sit still for a long time?
D．kids with ADHD are easily distracted
小題2: Perhaps as many as _______ kids have characteristics of ADHD. ?
A. one out of every twenty kids
B. five percent kids less than 18 years old?
C. one out of twenty kids at the age of 18
D. five percent kids more than age of 18
小題3: In the experiment, patients need to press the space bar, when _______.
A．see letters A following XB．first see A then see B?
C．see letter X and AD．see letters A followed by X
小題4:The main idea of the last paragraph is _______.
A．in virtual classroom, we finish the test in 20 minutes?
B．the standard test with computer screen usually costs several hours?
C．the experiment is easy to do?
D．the result of the experiment

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：完形填空

Why don’t birds get lost on their long migratory (遷移的) flights? Scientists tried their best to find the   1  to this question for many years. The reasons have been discovered only lately.
　　  2  ago experiments showed that birds depend on the sun to guide them   3  . But what about birds that fly mainly by night?  4  with man-made stars have   5  that certain night-flying birds are able to follow the   6  in their long distance flights.
　　One such   7  , a warbler (鳴禽), had spent its lifetime in a   8  and had never flown under a natural sky. Yet is showed its   9  by birth to use the stars for guidance. The bird's cage was put under a man-made star-filled sky at migration   10 . The bird tried to fly   11  the same direction as   12  taken by other birds in the building. Any 13 in the position of the make-believe (虛構(gòu)的) stars   14  a change in the direction of its flight.
　　Scientists think that warblers,  15 flying in daylight, use the sun for guidance. But stars are clearly their important   16  of navigation(導(dǎo)航). What do they do when the stars are   17  behind the clouds? Clearly, they find their way by such land   18  as mountains, coastlines and river courses. But when it's too   19  to see these, the warblers circle  201  , unable to find out where they were.
1. A. reply           B. answer      C. discovery      D. replies
2. A. Not long        B. Long       C. Centuries       D. Years
3. A. during the night                B. during daylight hours
C. in winter                     D. in the dark
4. A. Examinations    B. Labs       C. Tests           D. In the dark
5. A. been proved     B. found       C. been found      D. proved
6. A. stars           B. moon        C. route          D. sun
7. A. star            B. scientist      C. bird           D. flight
8. A. forest          B. cage         C. nest           D. cave
9. A. strength        B. ability        C. experience     D. practice
10. A. time          B. place         C. way          D. season
11. A. to            B. towards       C. in            D. under
12. A. that          B. which         C. one           D. it
13. A. one          B. change        C. way           D. bird
14. A. caused        B. gave          C. resulted        D. meant
15. A. for           B. when         C. after           D. they are
16. A. ways         B. means         C. objects        D. homes
17. A. shown        B. covered        C. moved         D. hidden
18. A. areas         B. surface         C. marks         D. signs
19. A. far           B. high           C. dark          D. bright
20. A. helplessly     B. quickly         C. easily         D. freely

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

On the afternoon of September27, 2008, Astronaut Zhai Zhigang became the first Chinese man to walk in space on Saturday, clambering（爬上,攀登） out of China's Shenzhou VII space craft in a technological feat（成就，功績）that made the Chinese people excited.

"I'm feeling quite well. I greet the Chinese people and the people of the world," Zhai said as he climbed out of the craft at around 16:40 Beijing time, a historic achievement telecast live on CCTV. Tens of millions of Chinese viewers gathered before TV screens to watch the moment.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top leaders had appeared at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center to watch the live transmission of Zhai's spacewalk.
Zhai, 42, chosen by an expert team for the first "out-of-capsule activity," showed a red national flag, helped by colleague Liu Boming, who also briefly popped his head out of the capsule.
Zhai slowly made his way towards a test sample of solid lubricant（潤滑劑）outside the capsule, took a sample and handed it to Liu.
Zhai safely returned inside the craft after about 20 minutes. The walk marked the highpoint of China's third manned space journey, which has received widespread media coverage.
Zhai wore a $4.4 million Chinese-made suit weighing 120-kg. Liu wore a Russian-made one and acted as an assistant.
The third crew member, Jing Haipeng, monitored the ship from inside the re-entry module. w.w
The risky maneuver is a step towards China's longer-term goal of building a space lab and then a larger space station, analysts said.
"On this flight, Chinese people's footprints will be left in space for the first time," said a commentary（評論）by the Xinhua news agency.
The astronauts went aboard on their walk after receiving a clean bill of health from doctors on the ground at mission control in Beijing, Xinhua said.
Zhai's suit has 10 layers and takes up to 15 hours to assemble and put on.
China's first manned spaceflight was in 2003. A second, two-manned flight followed in 2005. The only other countries that have sent people into space are Russia and the United States.
Shenzhou VII took off on Thursday and is due to land on the northern steppes(草原) of Inner Mongolia on Sunday.
小題1:The space walk done by the Chinese astronaut was historic because ______.
A．it was telecast liveB．there were more Chinese viewers than ever
C．it was the first space walk carried out by Chinese astronauts
D．top leaders watched the space walk
小題2: The following statements are true except ______.
A．The lubricant put outside the capsule was a test sample
B．It took Zhai Zhigang about 20 minutes to return to the craft safely
C．Many televisions and newspapers around the world reported the event
D．There is an aerospace control center in the capital
小題3:The significance of the space walk is ______.
A．that the astronaut can work outside the spacecraft
B．it marks a successful step towards China’s longer-term goal of building a space lab as well as a space station
C．it has attracted tens of millions of people to watch the walk
D．that the Chinese-made space suit can be used in space
小題4:What does the underlined word “clean” mean in the passage?
A．healthyB．paid-offC．not dirtyD．clear
小題5: The best title of the passage is ______.
A．First Footprints of Chinese People in Space
B．Expensive Space Suit
C．Three Successful Manned Flights by Chinese Astronauts
D．Historic Space Walk by Chinese Astronaut

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers（young people aged from 13 —19）from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. The school was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully① when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize② American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
Notes:
①    respectfully  adv. 尊敬地，謙恭地
②    criticize  vt. 批評，責(zé)備
Choose the best answers according to the above:
小題1:This year       __ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.
A．twenty-three hundredB．thirteen hundred
C．over three thousandD．less than two thousand
小題2:The whole exchange programme is mainly to        __.
A．help teenagers in other countries know the real America
B．send students in America to travel in Germany
C．let students learn something about other countries
D．have teenagers learn new languages
小題3:What is particular in America schools is that        __.
A．there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.
B．there are a lot of outside activities
C．students usually take fourteen subjects in all
D．students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car
小題4:After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought        __.
A．a(chǎn) better education should include something good from both American and Germany
B．German schools trained students to be better citizens
C．American schools were not as good as German schools
D．the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students

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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

A new study shows one of the largest glaciers①in Greenland is becoming smaller and speeding to the sea faster than scientists expected. If it continues, Greenland itself could become much smaller during this century and global seas could rise as much as 3 feet.
The rates②of change that we’re noticing are much higher than expected. If these rates continue, it is not unlikely that Greenland could shrink③by several tens of percent this century. However, it’s not known how quickly this coastal response of the Greenland ice sheet melting will have an effect on the vast inland ice.
Greenland is the world’s largest island, covering an area more than three times the size of Texas. Some 81 percent of it is covered by ice, and there are many glaciers. Glaciers are like slow-moving rivers of ice. Where a glacier meets the sea, its weight keeps it firmly resting on the bottom. A glacier’s front is the point where the water is deep enough that the glacier floats.
Since the 1970s, the front of Helheim stayed in the same place. Then it began melting rapidly, moving back 4.5 miles from 2001 through this past summer. It has also grown thinner, from top to bottom, by more than 130 feet since 2001. And over these past four years, its trip to the sea has sped up from about 70 feet per day to nearly 110.
The melting is driven by a warmer climate. Temperatures in Greenland have risen more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade. Since most of Greenland’s ice is on land, seas will rise as the ice melts. If all Greenland’s ice sheet melted, oceans would be 15-20 feet higher. Nobody expects that to happen anytime soon.
Notes:
① glacier  n. 冰川
② rate  n. 比率
③ shrink  v. 縮小
1. Which of the following about the glaciers is TRUE?
A. Glaciers only lie in Greenland.        B. Water in glaciers is more than sea water.
C. Glaciers sometimes float on the water.  D. Glaciers can increase the water level of lakes.
2. According to the text, we know that Greenland ______.
A. belongs to Canada                  B. is the largest island in North America
C. is all covered with glaciers            D. is sinking under the sea level
3. Which of the following may be the result of the disappearing of Greenland glaciers?
A. the climate of the world will be warmer.
B. the glaciers in other area will be bigger.
C. It will be easy for explorers to visit the island.
D. Some coastal cities may be under the sea.

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