They have been s ______ to deny these rumors.

New York Time—A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said．

“The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,” Sgt． Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news． “We have been able to clear the mall,” she said． “We don’t believe we have any other shooters．” The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings．

She did not give the shooter’s identity． “We are still conducting the investigation,” Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city’s mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha．

    She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background． The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said, but by then the shootings were over．

    It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives． A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity （匿名） said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to “go out in style．”

The shootings broke the usually banal routine of holiday shopping． The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd． Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter．

   Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores． Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised． President Bush was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place．

Where did the shooting first come out?

A． In a newspaper                     B． On the Internet    

C． In TV news                          D． In a police poster

What do the underlined words “go out in style” probably mean?

A． go out of the mall in particular clothes

B． walk in the mall with everybody focused on

C． go to a socially event by fashionable means

D． stop his life in a impressive way

Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A． Nobody knows why the shooter did so and nothing was found at his home．

B． The city’s mayor happened not to be in the city when the shooting took place．

C． Police arrived at the mall before the shootings were over and rescued customers．

D． The official who showed what the note mean have no request of his own identity．

We can infer from the passage that ______．

A． There is only one shooter in this event．

B． The shooting created fears among the customers．

C． An important holiday is coming soon．

D． President Bush came here for the shooting．

Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause the whole world to suffer, they become disasters, and we  should do all we can to prevent them from happening again.

   Bhopal chemical leak, December 1984, Bhopal, India

   An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas called methyl (甲基) isocyanate(异氰盐酸), which is used to make pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2500 people; another 50000- 100000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that was not noticed in time to stop it.

   Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1989, Alaska, U.S.

   On March 24, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The oil, which is not yet cleaned up after billions of dollars have been spent and the millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife have died, was caused by human error and could have been avoided.

   Chernobyl, April 1986, USSR

   At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and 200 people were treated for radiation poisoning. Still at risk are 135000 people from the 179 villages within 20 miles, of the plant who were exposed to the radiation before being evacuated. Glaring violations of safety rules were at the bottom of this tragic event.

   Love Canal, 1953, New York, U.S.

   Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. The area developed a foul smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. A health survey found that the drinking water contained excessive levels of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. Today, the town has been partly cleaned up and some families have moved back to the area.

   Three Mile Island, 1979, Pennsylvania, U.S.

   On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear reactor history occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool) escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. After 10 years and $ 1 billion in cleanup costs, the lower extremes of the reactor are still so radioactive that workers must use remote - control equipment to remove the remaining fragment of fuel core.

This passage mainly discusses_______.

A. accidents that affected many living things    

B. air pollution

C. water pollution                             

D. what people are doing to prevent environmental disasters

You can infer from the passage that the Bhopal Chemical leak_______.

   A. happen at night                                B. was the worst accident in the history of India

   C. caused more deaths than sicknesses    D. could have been avoided

It can be inferred from the passage that the people in Love Canal_______.

   A. didn’t know that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal

   B. didn’t know that their water was becoming dangerous to drink

   C. tried to stop companies from dumping their waste products into the canal

   D. didn’t mind that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal

The best title for the article is ________.                                                                       A. Accidents in Some Countries    B. Disasters in Some Countries

C. Our Earth Is Out of Control          D How to Prevent Accidents from Happening Again

Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm. How surprised he must have been when he heard many fish hitting against his roof!

　　 What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm.

　　When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners, collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people.

　　Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur quite frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down.” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky.

　　56. What is this passage about?

　　A. A sad story. 　　　　　　　　　　　　B. A rain of fish.

　　C. Australia’s northern part.　　　　　D. The damage done by floods.

　　57. Fish-falls occur in Australia_________ .

　　A. quite often 　　　　　　B. on large farms

　　C. only in winter　　　　　D. when the air is calm

　　58. It is a known fact that ________.

　　A. one should watch where one steps

　　B. Bill Tapp is a scientist who studies farming

　　C. the natural world can never create waterfalls that fall upward

　　D. the seasons in the southern part are different from those in the northern part

　　59. The word “infinite” is closest in meaning to _________.

　　A. easy 　　　B. difficult 　　　C. countless 　　　D. dangerous