Governments and health officials around the world continued to take steps Tuesday against the outbreak of swine flu that has killed scores of people in Mexico and spread to the U.S.，Europe and possibly Asia．

By early Tuesday，the swine flu outbreak in Mexico had caused in 152 deaths and more than 1，600 illnesses．So far，at least 113 cases have been proved worldwide，including 64 in the United States；six in Canada；11 in New Zealand and two each in Spain the United Kingdom and Israel．None has yet resulted in death.

    T'he World Health Organization on Monday raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale．The move means the U.N.agency has determined that the virus can transmit from human to human．

“In this age of global travel，where people move around in airplanes so quickly，there is no region to which this virus could not spread，”said Fukuda，assistant director-general of the WHO．

    Governments around the world struggled to prevent further outbreak．Some，like China and Russia，banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico U.S.President Barack Obama said the outbreak was a cause for concern，not for alarm．The gov-ernment urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico．

The latest WHO report listed only seven proved swine flu deaths in Mexico but it was not clear why there was the discrepency．

Mexico City has closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb (contro1) the spread of swine flu and ordered 35,00 public venues to close or serve only take away meals．In addition，bars，clubs，movie theaters，pool halls，gyms，sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5．Armed police officers are also guarding hospitals in Mexico City while roads and schools in the city of 20 million people are deserted．Officials also have talked about shutting down the bus and subway systems．

【小题1】When learning the outbreak of swine flu，the WHO was         .

A．calm                   B．nervous

C．shocked                 D．careful

【小题2】Fukuda’s words suggest that         .

A．he likes travel by air

       B．global travel hasn’t been affected

C．this virus can spread quickly because of global travel

       D．planes must be forbidden to take to prevent swine flu

【小题3】The last paragraph mainly tells us         .

       A．Mexico has taken measures to control swine flu

       B．Mexico City is too dangerous to live in

       C．the normal life in Mexico has been changed

       D．people in Mexico are badly in need of help

Have you ever walked outside thinking it was one temperature but quickly discovered it felt colder? That is because of the “wind chill” effect.
Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel when they are outside, not the actual temperature on the thermometer(温度计). It is based on how quickly your body loses heat when it is exposed to wind and cold. When the wind is strong, your body quickly loses heat, making the temperature of your skin drop.
When scientists first started calculating wind chill, they used research conducted in 1945 by explorers to Antarctica who measured how quickly water froze outside.
But water freezes faster than exposed skin, so the wind chill index based on that data wasn’t accurate.
In 2001, the US government began to measure wind chill more precisely by testing how quickly people’s skin froze.
Twelve volunteers were placed in a chilled wind tunnel. Equipment was stuck to their faces to measure the heat flow from their cheeks, forehead, nose and chin while they walked three miles per hour on a treadmill(跑步机).
The experiment revealed how quickly exposed skin can be damaged, particularly unprotected areas like your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ear lobes. In fact, 40 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head! Signs you might have frostbite(冻疮) are when the skin turns white or pale and you lose feeling in that area.
The information collected from the volunteers helped scientists work out the math to compute wind chill. It involves wind speed and air temperature.
If, for example, the temperature outside is zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 miles per hour, the wind chill is calculated at 19 degrees below zero. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
You can find a calculation table at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.
Experts advise in cold weather that you wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, worn on top of each other. Air caught between the clothes will keep you warm. The best cold-weather coats have head coverings made of woven material that keep out water. So next time the temperature drops and you want to play outside, listen to your parents when they tell you to wrap up warm!
【小题1】 According to the text, wind chill _______.

Have you ever walked outside thinking it was one temperature but quickly discovered it felt colder? That is because of the “wind chill” effect.
Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel when they are outside, not the actual temperature on the thermometer(温度计). It is based on how quickly your body loses heat when it is exposed to wind and cold. When the wind is strong, your body quickly loses heat, making the temperature of your skin drop.
When scientists first started calculating wind chill, they used research conducted in 1945 by explorers to Antarctica who measured how quickly water froze outside.
But water freezes faster than exposed skin, so the wind chill index based on that data wasn’t accurate.
In 2001, the US government began to measure wind chill more precisely by testing how quickly people’s skin froze.
Twelve volunteers were placed in a chilled wind tunnel. Equipment was stuck to their faces to measure the heat flow from their cheeks, forehead, nose and chin while they walked three miles per hour on a treadmill(跑步机).
The experiment revealed how quickly exposed skin can be damaged, particularly unprotected areas like your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ear lobes. In fact, 40 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head! Signs you might have frostbite(冻疮) are when the skin turns white or pale and you lose feeling in that area.
The information collected from the volunteers helped scientists work out the math to compute wind chill. It involves wind speed and air temperature.
If, for example, the temperature outside is zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 miles per hour, the wind chill is calculated at 19 degrees below zero. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
You can find a calculation table at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.
Experts advise in cold weather that you wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, worn on top of each other. Air caught between the clothes will keep you warm. The best cold-weather coats have head coverings made of woven material that keep out water. So next time the temperature drops and you want to play outside, listen to your parents when they tell you to wrap up warm!

1. 1.

   According to the text, wind chill _______.

   1. A.
      means how fast exposed skin freezes
   2. B.
      doesn’t affect your head as much as other body parts
   3. C.
      changes according to the temperature on the thermometer
   4. D.
      changes from person to person depending on their health
2. 2.

   When might a person have frostbite according to the passage?

   1. A.
      When his skin turns red and he loses feeling in that area.
   2. B.
      When he is running faster and he is losing strength quickly.
   3. C.
      When his face is exposed and quickly loses heat even indoors.
   4. D.
      When his skin turns pale and he has no feeling in that area.
3. 3.

   What factors influence wind chill?

   1. A.
      A person’s body temperature and will speed.
   2. B.
      Wind speed and a person’s strength.
   3. C.
      Air temperature and wind speed.
   4. D.
      The location and air temperature.
4. 4.

   What can we conclude from the passage?

   1. A.
      It was in 1945 that scientists first began to calculate wind chill.
   2. B.
      Compared with water, people’s exposed skin freezes more slowly.
   3. C.
      The wind chill index based on Antarctica data is considered a standard.
   4. D.
      With the development of technology, many previous researches have been proven wrong.

Ever wonder how this season’s celebrations affect the environment? Guest blogger Krista Fairles takes an amusing look at this very topic:

The holidays are a wonderful, cheerful time when most people wait for Santa to bring them presents. But I’m not like most people. I spend my time wondering just what the environmental impacts of Santa Claus and his reindeer are, and more importantly, how I can calculate those impacts.

Lately I’ve been particularly curious as to whether Santa’s old sled is a clean green flying machine, or if he should be replacing his 8 reindeer with an environmentally-friendly car.

I should mention that, surprisingly, I was unable to find statistics specific to Santa’s magical flying reindeer, so these calculations use numbers from various sources and may not represent actual pollution caused by Santa and his animals. In other words, don’t complain to the government about the damage Santa is causing the environment based on this article.

Santa’s yearly trip around the globe is 44,000km long, twice the average of a North American driver. If we assume that the magic provides the altitude for this trip, then reindeer power only needs to push Santa’s sled forward. To complete the trip in 12 hours, I estimate they must travel at a speed of about 3100km/h. To travel at this speed, for this length of time, the reindeer need to eat an incredible 980 million calories each!!

So the next question is: how much food is in 980 million calories? Well, if they’re eating corn, they’d need to eat 16,500 lbs each — or 1.6 acres of food. Growing 12.8 acres of corn has its own implications for the environment that we’ll leave for another calculation.

We now need to consider that during the global trip the reindeer are “letting out” some of that corn in the form of methane (甲烷，沼气). A resting cow produces 110 kg of methane per year, so flying reindeer would each let out about 4.8 tons. With methane causing 20 times the global warming damage of CO₂, and the altitude increasing that damage by 1000% that another 20 times, we can put Santa’s round-trip emissions at 15,488 tons. This is much more than the 100 tons an environmentally-friendly car would release on the same trip!

Bad Santa.

1. Which aspect does the writer NOT include in her analyses about reindeer’s influence on environment?

A. Distance covered.                                      B. Calories consumed.

C. Tons of waste let out.                       D. Money spent on food.

2. According to Paragraph 6, how many acres of corn would Santa need to feed 10 reindeer?

A. 1.6.                 B. 16.                           C. 12.8.                        D. 128.

3. Which of the following statements would the writer most probably agree with?

A. Christmas celebrations are really a waste of money.

B. Vegetarians are more likely to survive than meat-eaters.

C. Raising animals has a negative influence on environment.

D. The car industry does less harm to environment than farming.

4. Which of the following words best describes the language style of the passage?

A. Humourous and concerned.                    B. Cheerful and friendly.

C. Academic and formal.                               D. Serious and boring.

5. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A. Is Santa driving clean and green?

B. Santa, watch where you’re going!

C. Santa Claus is coming to town!

D. Let’s reduce waste on Christmas celebrations!