Illegal removal of coral (珊瑚) along Sri Lanka’s coastline increased the amount of destruction on the island by last December’s tsunami, say researchers.
Harindra Fernando, a fluid dynamicist (力学家) at Arizona State University in Tempe, made the connection after a visit to his native Sri Lanka earlier this year. While serving as a scientific expert and translator for a BBC-documentary team, he chatted with locals who said they saw the tsunami turn sideways when it hit coral—which would have made it less powerful than in coral-free areas. Fernando linked this to trucks he had seen last year carrying piles of coral away from the sea.
Using the eyewitness reports, estimates (估算) of wave heights, and a series of divers to check the presence or absence of corals, Fernando and his colleagues produced a map of coral gaps and wave flooding along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast.
The tsunami reached significantly farther inland through the gaps: in one instance, the water traveled 1.5 kilometres long and knocked a passenger train off its tracks, killing 1,700. But only a few kilometers away, where the coral was still undamaged, the wave travelled just 50 metres inland and caused no deaths.
There is a similar phenomenon. In Nicaragua in 1992, a tsunami poured through a break in the coral reef made to let boats through. “Within this passage, water went one kilometre inland,” says Fernando. “But nearby, where the coral was undamaged, there were still beach umbrellas standing.”
In Sri Lanka, coral is illegally mined to provide souvenirs for tourists, or to be used in house paint. Coral harvesters sometimes blow it up with dynamite (炸药) in order to collect fish at the same time. Often, the reefs in the best shape are those in front of hotels, as the hotel owners maintain them for the tourists. Fernando hopes that his findings will encourage the Sri Lankan government to enforce (实施) its laws against coral mining.
57. Harindra Fernando did all the following EXCEPT ________.
A. serving as a translator for a BBC-documentary team
B. helping the Sri Lankan government enforce its laws against coral mining
C. producing a map of coral gaps along Sri Lanka’s southwest coast
D. linking the coral removal with the destruction of Tsunami
58. The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that________.
A. undamaged coral can greatly decrease tsunami damage
B. coral-free area is a danger to passenger trains
C. in general, water travels 30 times farther inland in a coral-free area
D. it is urgent to enforce laws against coral mining
59. Which of the following may NOT be the cause of coral gaps?
A. Boat passages. B. Tourists’ sightseeing.
C. Fish collecting. D. Tourists’ souvenirs.
60. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Harindra Fernando, a Great Environment Protector
B. Stop Using Coral as Souvenirs
C. Coral Cried “Help! Help!”
D. Coral Mining Enhanced (加剧) Tsunami Damage
科目:高中英语 来源: 题型:阅读理解
There is a brown female(母的) Canadian duck that weighs only four hundred fifty grams. The duck had flown to the southern state of Florida for the winter.A hunter shot it on January fifteenth and took it to his home in the city of Tallahassee.He put it in the refrigerator(冰箱).Two days later the man’s wife opened the refrigerator door.The duck lifted its head and looked at her.It was alive!
The family took the duck to a doctor who treats animals.The doctor gave the duck to the Goose Creek Animal Sanctuary(动物保护区).Animal sanctuaries provide homes for animals and teach people about their care.
The doctor said it was easy to understand why people thought the duck was dead. He said ducks generally do not move a 1ot,especially after being shot.And he said its low body temperature helped it survive in the refrigerator.
That was enough to make the duck famous around the world.The Tallahassee newspaper published the story that was re-printed in many different countries.But that was not the end of the story.
Workers at the wildlife sanctuary named the duck Perky.And they got the doctor to give an operation to repair the duck’s damaged wing.During the operation,Perky stopped breathing--not just once but two times.The doctor tried to save Perky by giving her oxygen.But he finally said the duck had died.A few seconds later, however, Perky began to move.Reports say the people in the operating room were so happy that they cried.
Workers at the wildlife sanctuary say Perky will not have any more operations. It seems the drugs that were used had side-effects on her.Perky is expected to live at the sanctuary.And a local company has begun to sell T-shirts showing a picture of the lucky duck. Money from the sale of the shirts will help pay for Perky’s care.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Animal sanctuaries are homes specially for wounded animals.
B.The hunter shot the duck in the wing.
C.Ducks do not move at all for the whole winter.
D.The hunter’s wife intended to free the duck in the refrigerator.
The underlined Word “That” in the fourth paragraph refers to the fact that______.
A.the duck survived the shot and the cold in the refrigerator
B.the hunter had saved the duck by freezing it
C.the hunter shot the duck from Canada
D.the Tallahassee newspaper published the story
The duck in the story______.
A.was big and strong
B.flew to Florida for food
C.stayed in the refrigerator to keep its body temperature low
D.was considered dead before being put in the refrigerator
What is the best title for the passage?
A.Save the Duck B.The Lucky Duck C.Stop Killing Ducks D.The Poor Duck
It can be inferred from the passage that_______.
A.the local company will get large profits by selling the T-shirts
B.it was illegal for me hunter to shoot the duck
C.the duck is likely to be well cared for in the sanctuary
D.Perky likes Florida better than Canada
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科目:高中英语 来源:2013届黑龙江哈尔滨市九中高三第五次月考英语试卷(带解析) 题型:阅读理解
For generations here in the deepest South, there had been a great taboo(禁忌): publicly crossing the color line for love. Less than 45 years ago, marriage between blacks and whites was illegal, and it has been forbidden for much of the time since.
So when a great job about an hour’s drive north of the Gulf Coast attracted him, Jeffrey Norwood, a black college basketball coach, had reservations. He was in a serious relationship with a woman who was white and Asian.
“You’re thinking about a life in South Mississippi?” his father said in a skeptical voice, recalling days when a black man could face mortal(致命的) danger just being seen with a woman of another race, regardless of intentions. "Are you sure?"
But on visits to Hattiesburg, the younger Mr. Norwood said he liked what he saw: growing diversity. So he moved, married, and, with his wife, had a baby girl, who was counted on the last census(人口普查) as black, white and Asian. Taylor Rae Norwood, three, is one of thousands of mixed-race children who have made this state home to one of the nation's most rapidly expanding multiracial populations, up 70 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to new data from the Census Bureau.
In the first comprehensive accounting of multiracial Americans since statistics were first collected about them in 2000, reporting from the 2010 census, made public in recent days, shows that the nation’s mixed-race population is growing far more quickly than many researchers had estimated, particularly in the South and parts of the Midwest. That conclusion is based on the bureau’s analysis of 42 states; the data from the remaining eight states will be released soon.
In North Carolina, the mixed-race population doubled. In Georgia, it grew by more than 80 percent, and by nearly as much in Kentucky and Tennessee. In Indiana, Iowa and South Dakota, the multiracial population increased by about 70percent.
Census officials estimated the national multiracial growth rate was about 35 percent since2000 according to the known result, when seven million people ----- 2.4 percent of the population ------ chose more than one race.
【小题1】If a black man married a white woman 50 years ago, the worst result was that _____.
A.he was sentenced to death | B.he was considered to be immoral |
C.he was criticized by the public | D.he was treated as a lawbreaker |
A.stable | B.bad | C.mixed | D.dangerous |
A.Jeffrey Norwood was born in Hattiesburg and grew up there. |
B.Taylor Rae Norwood’s mother is a white-Asian. |
C.70 percent of the people in Mississippi are multiracial. |
D.Mississippi has the largest multiracial population in the US. |
A.Georgia. | B.Tennessee. | C.North Carolina. | D.South Dakota. |
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科目:高中英语 来源:2013届广东省广宁县广宁中学高三2月月考英语试卷(带解析) 题型:阅读理解
Millions of Americans return from long-distance trips by air, but their luggage doesn’t always come home with them. Airline identification tags(标签) can come loose, and the bags go who-knows-where. And passengers leave all kinds of things on planes.
The airlines collect the items and, for 90 days, attempt to find their owners. They don’t keep them, since they’re not in the warehouse business. And by law, they cannot sell the bags, because the airlines might be tempted to deliberately misplace luggage.
So once insurance companies have paid for lost bags and their contents, and they no longer belong to passengers, a unique store in the little town of Scottsboro, Alabama, buys them. The “Unclaimed Baggage Center,” is so popular that the building, which is set up like a department store, is the number-one tourist attraction in all of Alabama. More than one million visitors stop in each year and take one of the store’s shopping carts on a hunt for treasures.
Each day, clerks bring out 7,000 new items, and veteran(老练的)shoppers rush to paw over them. You can find everything from precious jewels to hockey sticks, best-selling novels, leather jackets, tape recorders, surfboards, even half -used tubes of toothpaste.
The store’s own laundry washes or cleans all the clothes found in luggage, then sells them. The Unclaimed Baggage Center has found guns, illegal drugs and even a live rattlesnake.
The store has a little museum where some of its most unusual acquisitions(获得物) have been preserved. They include highland bagpipes, a burial mask from an Egyptian pharaoh's tomb, and a medieval suit of armor.
Statistics indicate that less than one-half of one percent of luggage checked on U.S. carriers is permanently lost and available to the store.
【小题1】Paragraph1 shows that many passengers lose their luggage because______.
A.they are forgetful |
B.the owners of some luggage can’t be identified |
C.they are in a hurry |
D.there is no lost and found office in many airports |
A.they have to find the owners |
B.they have to keep the bags as long as possible |
C.some bags are expensive |
D.they are likely to make a profit on the bags on purpose |
A.visitors may purchase something undervalued. |
B.all thethings there are very cheap. |
C.there's a large variety of goods. |
D.visitors will enjoy some amusing activities there. |
A.A little museum will keep all the precious unclaimed baggage. |
B.The things in the Unclaimed Baggage Center are articles for daily use. |
C.The percentage of passengers who lose their baggage for ever is small. |
D.People are not allowed to buy the illegal things in the store. |
A.To introduce an attractive place to tourists. |
B.To remind passengers of taking care of their baggage. |
C.To advise the airlines to find the owners of the unclaimed baggage. |
D.To introduce how the unclaimed baggage in the airports is handled in America. |
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科目:高中英语 来源:2015届辽宁朝阳柳城高级中学高一上学期期末考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.
Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can introduce problems, such as bullying or arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet for offensive (冒犯性的) or illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the dangers.
To keep children safe your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV pro-grams are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Re-minding them of the risks will keep them alert (警惕).
Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gad-gets and the interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations (缩写) such as: atb — all the best, bbfn — bye bye for now, cul8er — see you later, gr8 — great, Idk — I don’t know, imbl — it must be love, kit — keep in touch, paw — parents are watching, lol — laugh out loud, xlnt — excellent!
It seems like another language, and it is!
1.The passage is meant for ______.
A.parents B.children.
C.teachers D.net bar owners
2.The purpose of writing this passage is to advise ______.
A.people not to use the net language in real life
B.children not to meet online friends freely
C.teachers to have students study on computers
D.parents to protect their children from online dangers
3.In order to keep children safe online, you’d better ______.
A.forbid them to use the Internet
B.teach them to use correct net words
C.surf the Internet together with them
D.choose suitable websites and chat rooms for them
4.If you stand beside him when your son is chatting about something secret online, he may use ______.
A.bbfn B.paw C.lol D.cul8er
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科目:高中英语 来源:2015届福建省高一下学期期中考试英语试卷(解析版) 题型:阅读理解
Is it wrong to use someone else’s wireless (Wi-Fi) connection? Just recently, a man was arrested for doing just that. At that time, he was sitting in the street with a laptop(便携式电脑) and using an unsecured(无安全保护措施) wireless connection to surf the Net. What do you think about this topic? Listen to the following different views on it.
For a start, if someone is using your Internet service or downloading, this will affect your speed of access or download limit. Also, it’s bad for Internet service providers. They will suffer in the long run because fewer people will pay for an Internet service if they know they can get it for free. And finally, just imagine this: what if the person who is stealing your Internet connection is involved in an illegal activity? I think the police are totally right to arrest these criminals.
— by Sandra Wilkins
Basically, if the person who paid for the service still has everything they paid for, what’s the problem? It’s just like using the light from streetlamps to read your book, or watching someone else’s firework display. It’s not stealing.
Also, if you leave your wireless connection unsecured, then it is your own fault(过错) if someone else uses it. Just as you wouldn’t leave your front door unlocked, or your car door open, neither should you leave your wireless connection open. By leaving your wireless connection open, you are inviting people to use it. Securing your wireless connection is as easy as clicking a few settings on your router(路由器). And finally, haven’t the police got more important crimes to solve? They’re always saying how they haven’t got the manpower to solve real issues. But this is just ridiculous(荒谬的).
— by James Hoarley
1. Why was the man mentioned in the first paragraph arrested?
A.For stealing someone’s laptop.
B.For surfing the Net in the street.
C.For destroying others’ wireless connection.
D.For using an Internet service without permission.
2. What does Sandra Wilkins think of people using others’ Internet service?
A.He thinks it is unacceptable.
B.He thinks it is necessary sometimes.
C.He thinks it requires good computer skills.
D.He thinks it is good for Internet service providers.
3. In James Hoarley’s opinion, ______.
A.Internet service should be improved.
B.it is hard to secure one’s wireless connection.
C.using others’ Internet service is not stealing at all.
D.people should leave their wireless connection open.
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Wireless connection B.Wireless worries
C.Internet service D.Internet users
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