Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated (人口密集的)cities in the world, but with night skies around 1,000 times brighter than globally accepted levels, it gains a bad reputation for its light pollution.

A study by Hong Kong University found that brightness levels in the southern Chinese city's popular shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui were 1,200 times greater than the international dark sky standard.

The crowded city of 7 million residents(居民), full or residential high-rises, towering office blocks and neon(霓虹灯) advertisements, has no laws to control outdoor lightning.

The result is that light pollution is thought to be much worse than in other large cities, including London, Sydney, Tokyo and Shanghai.

“In Hong Kong , you can’t go anywhere outdoor in the evening without your eyes being blinded by this really disturbing outdoor lightning,” the light pollution survey’s head Jason Pum told AFP.

“The fact that we have all this light in the sky means energy is wasted,” he said, adding that too much artificial lightning also affects nightly wildlife.

Research has suggested that light pollution can cause a number of harmful health effects in humans, including sleeplessness and headaches and can also interrupt body clocks and hormones(荷尔蒙).

The university survey, the result of five million measurements taken from points across the city, was released just days before the start of the annual Earth Hour event, organized by the World Wildlife Fund.

People around the world will be encouraged to turn off the lights for an hour on Saturday night to raise awareness of climate change. Last year, a number of Hong Kong’s major buildings along Victoria Harbour went dark to mark Earth Hour.

“Anyway, we should do our best to reduce the amount of lightning and adjust it for the benefit of the environment.”

1.If you walk out at night in Hong Kong, you can see all those things except ______.

A. neon advertisements              B. residential buildings

C. a dark sky with twinkling stars      D. high office blocks

2..which of the following statements about too much lightning is NOT true?

A. Too much lightning means a waste of energy.

B. It can make the sky and the city more beautiful.

C. It may have a bad effect on nightly wildlife.

D. It can lead to some health problems.

3..We can know from the passage that__________

A. light pollution in Hong Kong is among world’s worst.

B. light pollution is the biggest problem in Hong Kong.

C. Earth Hour is simply organized to reduce pollution.

D. light pollution is the primary causes of sleeplessness.

4..what will the author probably discuss after the last paragraph?

A. Bad effects of light pollution

B. Causes of light pollution

C. Worries about light pollution

D. Ways to reduce light pollution

 

We often hear the phrase: "You've a greater chance of being struck by lightning." It is used to describe something that hasn't got much chance of happening. However, the common saying undermines(掩盖) the very real dangers of lightning.
Last Friday, at least 5 people were killed by lightning in Nepal(尼泊尔).
Lightning strikes are the second most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the US. The first is floods. Around 400 people nationwide are struck by lightning each year, and of those, 73 people die. There are more people killed by lightning than by tornadoes and hurricanes.
Because lightning kills only one or two people at a time, its danger does not receive as much attention as other disasters.
So to raise awareness, the US has made June 22-28 National Lightning Safety Week. It aims to warn the public of the dangers of lightning and provide safety tips during thunderstorms.
"If you hear thunder, you are in danger of lightning," said Rocky Lopes, a disaster educator at the American Red Cross.
"Thunder means that lightning is close enough to hit you at any minute, so you should move indoors immediately and stay there until after the storm has ended. The single most important thing to remember is to seek a hiding place," Lopes said.
Summer is the high time for lightning storms, so when lightning strikes across the sky, remember these safety tips:
Stop working, fishing, swimming or playing in open fields.
If you can count less than ten seconds between a thunder and a lightning flash, take cover inside the nearest building.
Do not stand under a tree.
Get off bicycles or motorcycles.
Crouch down(蹲下)if there is no hiding place.
Avoid open spaces, wire fences, metal objects and electrical objects such as hair driers.
【小题1】   The popular opinion about being struck by lightening is that ______.

A．there’s a greater chance for being killed by lightening than any other natural disaster

B．it is the most dangerous among all the natural disasters

C．the chance for a person to be struck by lightening is very small

D．it is impossible for people to be killed by lightening

【小题2】The average death rate of being struck by lightening in US is about _______.

A．18%

B．50%

C．30%

D．73%

【小题3】thunder in             the open air______.

A．just stand by your bicycles and motorcycles

B．quickly find a place to go inside

C．count ten seconds between a thunder and a lightening

D．don’t have a hair drier in your hand

【小题4】According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A．There are more people killed by tornadoes and hurricanes than by lightening in US each year.

B．There are on average 5 persons killed by lightening in Nepal each day.

C．The death rate of being stuck by lightening is much higher than by other natural disasters.

D．The National Lightening Safety Week is made to warn the public against the lightening.

In earliest times, men considered lightning （闪电）to be one of the great mysteries（神密） of nature． Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons(武器) of the gods．

    In reality lightning is a flow of electricity （电流）formed high above the earth． A single flash（闪烁） of lightning 1.6 kilometers long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs．

    The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752． In the same year he also built the first Lightning Rod (避雷针)． His device（发明物） protects buildings from being damaged by lightning．

     Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning contains more than 15 million volts(伏特)． A spark（火花） between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second．Scientists estimate (估计) that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year． Lightning hits the Empire, State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year． In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day．

    The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car． Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under trees． Also, one should stay out of water and away from metal fences． Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things．

    With lightning, it's better to be safe than sorry.?

Lightning is actually ＿＿＿＿＿．

  A．weapon     B．electricity     C．light     D．mystery

People once thought that lightning came from ＿＿＿＿＿＿．

  A．scientists     B．ground    C．lightning rod     D．gods

Benjamin Franklin ＿＿＿＿＿＿．

  A. made the first lightning rod    B．built the Empire State Building

  C. invented electricity           D．prevented lightning from hitting cars

＿＿＿＿＿＿is the best place to be in during an electricity storm．

  A．Swimming pool   B. A high place   C．Under a tree  D．A car

In earliest times, men considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries of nature. Some ancient people believed that lightning and thunder were the weapons of the gods.

In reality, lightning is a flow of electricity formed high above the earth. A single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometres long has enough electricity to light one million light bulbs .

The American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, was the first to show the connection between electricity and lightning in 1752. In the same year he also built the first lightning rod (避雷针). This device protects buildings from being damaged by lightning.

Modern science has discovered that one stroke of lightning has a voltage (电压) of more than 15 million volts (伏特). A flash of lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers, and travel at a speed of 30 million meters per second.

Scientists judge that there are about 2,000 million flashes of lightning per year. Lightning hits the Empire State Building in New York City 30 to 48 times a year. In the United States alone it kills an average of one person every day.

The safest place to be in case of an electrical storm is in a closed car. Outside, one should go to low ground and not get under tress. Also on,e should stay out of water and away from metal fences. Inside a house, people should avoid open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things.

With lightning, it is better to be safe than sorry.

1.People once thought lightning came from ________.

A．the gods	B．the earth
C．the sky	D．nature

2.According to the passage what do you think all buildings need?

A．Metal fences.	B．Machines.
C．Electricity.	D．Lightning rods

3.Lightning can travel ________.

A．as quickly as water	B．not so quickly as electricity
C．at very high speed	D．at very low speed

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．In the U.S about one person per day dies from lightning.

B．Swimming during a thunder storm is a good idea.

C．The Empire State Building frequently gets hit by lightning.

D．A closed car is the best place to be during an electrical storm.

 

People should be warned against using mobile phones outdoors in stormy weather because they may“be struck by lightning”，according to doctors．

Three experts have described how a teenage girl was struck by lightning while using her phone in a large London park．The girl，aged 15，recovered，but a year later was still wheelchair-bound and found to be suffering complex physical and emotional problems.

The girl also had a perforate eardrum(打孔耳膜)on the side where she had been holding the mobile phone．She was having general recovery in Northwick Park Hospital，Middlesex．

Swinda Esprit，a senior house officer, said that while the brain and muscle damage was similar to that of many lightning victims—who can experience heart attacks on being struck—the ear problems were not．

She said that the damages were particularly relevant for people who might be involved in less serious lightning incidents，who might otherwise recover, but would never get their full hearing back if struck while on the phone．

“We were shocked by the damage，which is why we wanted to draw attention to it，”Dr Esprit said．“A year on and she still was suffering these difficult hearing．”

They added that three other cases had been reported in newspapers in China，South Korea，and Malaysia．In the Malaysian case，a sales executive was killed by lightning while talking on his phone during a thunderstorm near Kuala Lumpur．

“All these events resulted in death，”the doctors wrote．“This rare phenomenon is a public health issue，and education is necessary to stress the risk．”

The Australian Lightning Protection Standard recommends that metallic objects，including cordless or mobile phones，should not be carried outdoors during thunderstorms．However, “the United States National Weather Service says on its website that both are safe to use “because there is no direct path between you and the lightening”．

Paul Taylor, of “the Met Office'’，said the ear injuries were a consequence of mobile phones being metal，and not related to radio waves．

Mr. Taylor said that mobile phones should be treated as another piece of metal，similar to carrying coins or wearing rings，and people need to be warned against the possible danger．

1.What do we know about the teenage girl?

A．She was struck by lightning at schoo1．

B．She completely recovered from being struck．

C．She still suffered from mental problems．

D．She had to press her ear all day．

2.It can be inferred that damage done by lightening while using mobile phones      .

A．is more serious than that when one is not using a mobile phone

B．can be healed quickly except for heart attacks

C．is less serious because the victims can usually recover

D．is mainly in the brain and muscle of the victims

3.Why did doctors stress the risk about using phones outside in lightening?

A．Because more people are faced with it．

B．Because some deaths have been caused．

C．Because lightning is harmful for the brain．

D．Because a teenage girl got killed．

4.We can infer from the last three paragraphs that        .

A．both cordless and mobile phones are safe to use outside in lightning

B．there is no direct connection between lightning and ear injuries at all

C．opinions differ as to whether it is safe to use mobiles phones in lightning

D．ear injuries are the result of carrying coins or wearing rings in lightning

5.The purpose in writing this passage is       .

A．to draw attention to the risk of using mobile phones in lightening

B．to focus on various damages done to lightning victims

C．to tell us the news that a teenage girl was struck by lightning

D．to stress the danger of making phone calls in lightning