Does anyone want to buy a weather forecaster? With Liam Fox overseeing（监管）the Ministry of Defence and promising to make cuts “cruelly and without mercy”, it is becoming ever harder to believe our national forecasting service will survive much beyond this glorious - dare I say it, - summer．

The trouble is, the Met Office（英国气象局） is a soft target．We are more sceptical about scientists’ ability to predict the weather than we are about an octopus’s （章鱼）ability to predict the outcome of a football match．This is largely to do with our own fear of complexity．

Few of us get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．As I write, one forecast says the overview for the day is “a good scattering of showers mixed in with brighter weather for many of us”．Snow or hail would be a shock; beyond that, the words are fairly meaningless．

But, in fact, we don't want our forecasters to be more specific．The most scientifically accurate statements that a forecaster can make involve probabilities, but probabilities leave us in difficulty．A study in the United States, for example, showed that most people thought “a 50 percent chance of rain” meant that the forecasters hadn't a clue whether it would rain or not．

What it really means is that, in a given set of conditions, it rains half of the time．But who has time to think about when Newsnight is about to start? It's far easier just to let something concrete settle in our minds and, when the next day rolls around and it doesn't happen, complain that the forecast was wrong．But the World Meteorological Organisation thinks we have something worth holding on to: it consistently rates the Met Office as one of the world's top two （Japan is also blessed with accurate forecasters）．

Perhaps that praise alone should make us think twice about selling off the Met Office．To me, however, there is an even more convincing reason．

For most of us, the weather doesn't matter much - generally, we do what we do, come rain or shine．Accurately forecasting and monitoring climate change, on the other hand matters to everybody．The idea of making that function a slave to market forces sends a cold front down my back．

1．The underlined words “a soft target” mean that the Met Office is_________________．

      A．deliberately chosen to survive the summer．

      B．easily chosen to be done away with．

      C．difficultly chosen to continue the forecasts．

      D．roughly chosen to be bought．

2．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

      A．It is easy to get enough information to judge the quality of the forecast．

      B．The octopus’s prediction of a football match is more accurate than that of the weather．

      C．50 percent chance of climate change leaves people in trouble in their life．

      D．Japan is only the world’s top country in accurate forecasts．

3．The forecasts have received a number of complaints about _______________．

      A．the accuracy of the weather forecasts

      B．the management of the weather bureau（局）

      C．the organization of the weather agencies．

      D．the timing of the weather forecasts．

4．The author thinks that selling off the Met Office is ____________．

      A．unreasonable                          B．acceptable

      C．unavoidable                           D．legal

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.

Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.

Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.

Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.

This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.

1．Hurricanes were first named after the _________.

A. date on which they occurred                         

B. place where they began

C. amount of destruction they did                     

D. particular feature they have

2．The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.

A. a radio operator        B. an author                  C. a sailor                     D. local people

3．The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was _________.

A. to keep information from the enemy

B. to follow the standard method of the United States

C. not given in the article

D. to remember a certain girl

4．The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.

A. collect information more rapidly                  

B. warn people more efficiently

C. make use of military (军事的) records          

D. remember them

Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need. 

A. concerned            B. estimated               C. purposes                 D. intentional              AB. result

AC. nationally

ABC.Obviously  AD. assumed     BC. private         BD. interest       CD. Completely

      By now you know that getting your money’s worth is not just a matter of luck. It is more often the      of buying skill. Nevertheless, even the smartest consumers are sometimes fooled into thinking they are getting their money’s worth when they are not. At one time or another, almost everyone experiences deception (欺骗）in the market place. The deception may not be    . But, whether or not, any kind of deception hurts consumers’ feelings as well as their pocket books. Some kinds of deception even endanger their health and safety as well.     , consumers need protection against the marketing of unsafe goods and false or misleading advertising. Fortunately, there are both public and      agencies working to meet the need. Government’s job in free enterprise system is to protect the public     _  . The public is composed entirely of consumers. When it comes to protecting consumers, therefore, government has the most influence. Because most consumer products are sold     , the major responsibility for consumer protection is      by federal government. That responsibility, however, is shared by many agencies. For example, the US Postal Service works to uncover and stop dishonest schemes operated by mail. The National Highway Safety Bureau is      with all aspects of automobile safety. Certain federal agencies, however, have consumer protection as one of their chief     . Most federal agencies are known by their initials. FDA stands for the Food and Drug Administration, which probably does more to protect consumers than any other agency. Its major concern is the safety, purity, and labeling of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. These are the products for which consumers spends a(n)    38% of their incomes.

Welcome to Hannibal!

HANNIBAL CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

505 N. Third, Hannibal, MO 63641

(573) 221-2477·Fax: (573) 221 -6999

www. VisitHannibal. com

Hannibal, Missouri, founded in 1819, is known worldwide as the boyhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain), 1835-1910. The Clemens family moved to Hannibal in 1839 from nearby Florida, Missouri when Sam was four years old. He spent his formative years here, leaving such a lasting impression that his childhood memories provided the basis for much of his writing. In later life during an interview in India he said, “All that goes to make the me in me is a small Missouri village on the other side of the globe”.

Besides Mark Twain, famous Hannibal residents(居民) that may interest tourists include:

Margaret Tobin Brown, known as “Unsinkable Molly Brown” after he survived the sinking of

the Titanic in 1912, was born in Hannibal in 1867.

William P. Lear, inventor of the automobile radio, the automatic pilot for airplanes and the Lear

Jet, was born here in 1902.

Cliff Edwards, actor and musician, was born here. He was known in Hollywood as “Ukelele

Ike”, provided the voice for “Jiminy Cricket” in Pinocchio and appeared in many films.

Admiral Robert E. Coontz, a native of Hannibal, became Commander of the United States

Fleet(舰队) in 1923.

Jake Beckley, known as “Old Eagle Eye”, played baseball for three major league teams. He was

inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

Helen Cornelius, country and western singer, is a Hannibal native.

William Henry Hatch, Hannibal lawyer who, while as a congressman (议员), played an

important role in making sure of the passage of agricultural legislation that established the position of Secretary of Agriculture in the Cabinet(内阁) of the President of the United States.

64. Hannibal, Missouri is known worldwide ________.

A. because the Clemens family used to live there

B. as the birthplace of Mark Twain

C. because Mark Twain spent his boyhood years there

D. for a number of notable people who once lived there

65. What Mark Twain said during an interview in India implies that _______.

A. the life he lived in Hannibal had a decisive influence on his whole life

B. he spent all his life in a small Missouri village

C. the years he spent in Hannibal left the deepest impression on his memory

D. if he had not been a native of Hannibal, he couldn’t have become famous

66. Among the famous Hannibal residents, __________.

A. Helen Cornelius was a western singer singing in the country

B. Cliff Edwards acted in the film Pinocchio

C. Jake Beckley made contributions to the American navy

D. William Henry Hatch worked as a politician

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.
Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.
Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.
Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.
This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.
1．Hurricanes were first named after the _________.
A. date on which they occurred                         
B. place where they began
C. amount of destruction they did                     
D. particular feature they have
2．The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.
A. a radio operator        B. an author                  C. a sailor                     D. local people
3．The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was _________.
A. to keep information from the enemy
B. to follow the standard method of the United States
C. not given in the article
D. to remember a certain girl
4．The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.
A. collect information more rapidly                  
B. warn people more efficiently
C. make use of military (军事的) records          
D. remember them