Officials in the Midwestern U. S. town of Joplin, Missouri, say the death from Sundays’ big tornado reaches 116 and that search efforts continue for possible survivors trapped in rubble (碎石). Search and rescue teams are conducting their third sweep through the nearly 10 kilometer – long and one – kilometer wide area of destruction left by the tornado. They are working as quickly as possible while weather conditions remain relatively stable. More storms are forecast for the erea.

Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said there are areas with large piles of rubble that might hold survivors. “We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath rubble yesterday and , of course, we are also finding dead folks as well.” Said mre folks and that is why we are doing these searches. We want to make every opportunity that we can to find everybody that is in the rubble and that has survived to this point.”

Randles said the current sweep involves a slower pace that previous searches and that he plans a fourth search, possibly on Wednesday, using specially trained dogs. “We are searching every structure that has been damaged or destroyed in a more in-depth manner, “he said.” I have dogs and dog handlers coming from all over the country do help us in that effort.”

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr said the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations are helping people who were left homeless by the tornado and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is on hand to help. “Joplin is a great city. We have suffered a great loss, “said Rohr.” We will recover and we will recover strongly and we have a lot of help and a lot of volunteers to make that easier.”

The tornado that struck Joplin was classified by the Natioonal Weather Service as an F – 4, with winds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. It lasted only  20 minutes, but it killed more that 100 people, injured more than 400 others, and destroyed or heavily damaged some 2,000 homes, businesses, churches and a hospital. Authorities have registered more than 1,700 calls about missing people and they hope to resolve most of those cases soon, as victims are identified and survivors come forth and reunite with loved ones.

This was the worst tornado to strike the United States in 60 years. It was the latest in a wave of violent storms that have swept Midwestern and southern states in recent weeks, leaving more than 300 people dead an causing more than $2 billion dollars in damage.

1.The best headline for this newspaper article would be           .

    A．Difficulties in the Rescue

    B．The Great Loss Brought by the Tornado

    C．Search for Survivors After the Disaster

    D．Worst Tornado in the USA

2.The word “resolve” in Para 5 probably means          .

    A．cover            B．settle           C．overcome         D．challenge

3.The number of death caused by the tornado that struck Joplin reached more than        .

    A．100              B．300              C．400              D．1,700

4.From the text, it can be inferred that            .

    A．many victims might be under the ruins

    B．it was impossible to find out surviors

    C．the tornado lasted several weeks

    D．the bad weather influenced the rescue greatly

 

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (Health Day News) -- Middle school students who are physically fit are likely to score higher on standardized tests measuring reading and math abilities, a new study has found. And, the average scores went up in connection with levels of fitness, the findings showed.

“The more physically fit kids were, the higher their scores,” said the study’s lead author, Trent Petrie, director of the Center for Sport Psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton. “Parents should encourage their kids to be physically active. There are some real cognitive (认知的) and academic benefits that come from physical fitness”, Petrie said.

Results of the study are scheduled to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Orlando, Fla. The study included more than 1,200 middle school students from five schools in a suburban area of Texas, with 561 boys and 650 girls. About 57 percent of the children were white, and nearly one-quarter were Mexican American. Nine percent were black and about 2 percent were of Asian descent.

The school district provided the researchers with information on the children’s race, age, grade level and whether they qualified for the free school lunch program, which was an indicator of the family’s socioeconomic status. The schools also provided scores to the tests, which were given between one and four months after the researchers had assessed the children’s levels of fitness. Fitness tests were administered during physical education classes to determine the youngsters’ heart and lung health (cardiorespiratory fitness), as well as their body mass index (BMI), an indicator of how much body fat a person has. The children also filled out questionnaires that helped the researchers determine factors such as self-esteem and social support.

After accounting for factors such as age, sex, family income and self-esteem, the researchers found that for both boys and girls, higher levels of heart and lung health predicted better scores on both the math and reading tests.

For boys, perceived (感观的) social support also seemed to increase their reading scores, the investigators found. In girls, while being physically fit predicted higher reading scores, so too did a higher BMI-- which indicates more body fat. “We were a little surprised by this finding,” Petrie said.

“It was not as strong an association as the one with physical fitness,” he added. The authors suspect it may have something to do with girls this age entering adolescence, which may be related to a higher BMI and slightly higher brain development. He said he plans to make great effort to look for this relationship again in larger studies to see if it was a chance finding, or if the association holds up.

“While we can’t say 100 percent that physical fitness causes better academic performance, we can say that there is a strong and predictive relationship between physical fitness and academic performance,” Petrie said.

“It’s hard to tease apart (梳理) the exact reason for this association,” said Becky Hashim, an attending clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore, in New York City.

“It may be that the children are getting more oxygen. When the heart and lungs are working at a higher capacity, it may allow the brain to work at peak performance. Children who are less fit may be sleepier during school,” she noted. “I personally feel that there’s probably a strong relationship between the confidence you get from being able to do something physical well and academic performance.”

Whatever the reason behind this association may be, “there’s certainly no harm in pushing physical fitness,” Hashim added. “Physical fitness may make you feel better, give you more confidence and improve your performance across the board,” she said.

Petrie agreed. “Physically fit kids are happier, have higher self-esteem and, tend to have better relationships, and now we’re beginning to see that there also seem to be benefits cognitively and academically. Our study sends a strong warning to policymakers to reconsider the service program of physical education classes for kids,” he said.

1.How did the school district help the researchers carry out the study?

A．By analyzing the data of fitness tests.

B．By giving some basic information.

C．By completing some questionnaires.

D．By offering a certain amount of Money.

2.According to the passage, the result of the study will be published ______.

A．in a book          B．in a journal        C．at a conference     D．on the Internet

3.What’s the suitable title of the passage?

A．Parents should be aware of the benefit of fitness.

B．Fitter kids are likely to make better grades.

C．Fitness affects kids’ social behavior greatly.

D．Teachers should value physical education classes.

4.What’s Becky Hashim’s attitude towards the relationship between physical fitness and academic performance?

A．Supportive        B．Indifferent         C．Critical            D．Doubtful

5.What does the underlined word “one” in Paragraph refer to?

A．The BMI.          B．The body fat.       C．The brain development.   D．The test score.

6.From the last paragraph we can infer that physically fit kids ______.

A．deserve to be treated well                B．live much longer than others

C．get along well with others                 D．enjoy a peaceful life

 

In Washington D.C., 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a very special address. It is the address of the White House, the home of the president of the United States.

Originally the White House was gray and was called the presidential Palace. It was built from 1792 to 1800. At this time, the city of Washington itself was being built. It was to be the nation’s new capital city. George Washington, the first president, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, chose the place for the new city. L'Enfant then planned the city. The president's home was an important part of the plan.

A contest was held to pick a design for the president's home. An architect named James Hoban won. He designed a large three-story house of gray stone.

President Washington never lived in the Presidential Palace. The first president to live there was John Adams, the second president of the United States, and his wife Mrs.Adams did not really like her new house. In her letters, she often complained about the cold. Fifty fireplaces were not enough to keep the house warm.

In 1812 the United States and Britain went to war. In 1814 the British invaded Washington. They burned many buildings, including the Presidential Palace.

After the war James Hoban, the original architect, partially rebuilt the president’s home. To cover the marks of the fire, the building was painted white. Before long it became known as the White House.

The White House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States. Every year more than 1.5 million visitors go through the five rooms that are open to the public.

1.The White House was built in Washington_____.

A. because a French engineer was invited to design it

B. because President George Washington liked to live in it

C. because the British invaders lived in it in1812-1814

D. because it was to be the nation’s capital city

2.The president’s home and the city of Washington were______.

A. built by the American army              B. built by the British troops

C. planed by George Washington           D. planned by the French

3.The original home of the president needed to be rebuilt______.

A. because John Adams’ wife did not like it

B. because it was cold in winter even with 50 fireplace

C. because it had been burned down during the war

D. because George Washington was not willing to live in it

4.The new presidential home was painted white to ______.

A. cover the marks of fire                  B. attract tourist from France

D. to please Mrs. John Adams             D. keep it warm in winter

 

Since my son is getting ready for first grade, I asked a friend where she shops for school supplies．For price and convenience, she had a quick answer: schoolpak．com．Parents can buy items or packaged equipment for all grades．The Generic Elementary School-pak for first through fifth graders, for example, is $23．28．（Teachers can also e-mail their grade’s or school’s whole list for a price on customized kits（销售包）．Shipping（运送）is free for 75 or more kits）

         Teachers thinks highly of educational warehouse．com for its learning tools and games—everything from puzzles and puppets to software and chalks．Classroomdirect．com has great prices on over 10．000 products and a special corner offering even deeper discounts．

    Pick your lunch box

     The second-most-difficult back-to-school decision, right after what to wear on the first day, is what kind of lunch box to buy．Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana? Ariel or Elmo? Your kids can examine their （and your） lunch boxes at platesplus4kids．com and lunchboxes．com．

    Trade in sports tools

    My garage is a tangle（混乱） of bikes and balls, sticks and clubs, so I was excited to find play it again sports．com --- a company that helps you sell quality, name-brand sporting equipment．You’ll have to visit one of its 320 stores, located in 46 states and the District of Columbia．

3 sites for saving

    Feed the pig．org

    Think about the savings if your kids （and you） stopped buying lunch out every day and brown-bagged（自带午餐）it．

    Good shop．com

    Support your favorite school by shopping at more than 1,000 participating shops．Up to 30 percent of every purchase is donated．And you’ll find hundreds of deals and coupons（优惠券）．

    Tax admin．org

    Click on 2009 State Sales Tax Holidays to see if your state has a tax-free shopping day．Check what’s included before going to the store．

1.The passage is mainly aimed at__________．

   A．parents                 B．teachers               C．students            D．businessmen

2.If you want to sell the bikes your children don’t use, you can go to ____________．

   A．educationalwarehouse．com                     B．playitagainsports．com 

   C．Feedthepig．org                                     D．Taxadmin．org

3.What does the writer think of picking a lunch box?

   A．It is very easy                                     B．It is rather hard 

   C．It proves interesting                             D．It seems special

4.What can be filled in the blank in the first item?

    A．Teachers are much wiser                        B．Puzzles and puppets

    C．Shops where teachers shop                     D．Develop your brains

 

Britain’s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet’s wild plant species, has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.

The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens—one of the oldest botanical gardens—will officially deposit the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.

More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew's giant task but vast places of the globe, including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.                                                                                                                                                             

The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds. Its goal is to help protect the planet’s bio-diversity during a time of climate change.

The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction(灭绝) in southwest China from agricultural development. It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human consumption.

Stored at minus-20 degrees centigrade, so they can last for thousands of years, the seeds await the day that scientists hope never comes—when the species no longer exist in the wild.

It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last decade alone, 20 plants held in the bank have already been wiped out in the wild. He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become extinct this century.

"It is urgent and it is happening now. An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation（植被）every year." Smith said.

Because most of the world's food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species is quite important, scientists say. There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops, which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.

For Kew's next goal—to collect a quarter of wild varieties by 2020—the botanists need 10 million pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.

1.What’s the final purpose of the Britain’s seed bank?

  A. To collect enough money for the project.  B. To safeguard food crops.

  C. To protect wild plants from extinction.        D. To help scientists study wild plants.

2.The wild banana seed in China is in danger because of _______.

  A. the expanding of farming work           B. the climate change in this area

  C. the large number of Asian elephants       D. human’s large consumption

3. We can learn from the passage that _______.

  A. the seeds in the bank can be used now and then all over the world

  B. India and Brazil haven’t joined in the Seed Bank Project at present

  C. there is only one seed bank in the world at present

  D. the wild plants in places like India and China will never die out

4. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 7 refer to?

  A. The extinction of plant species.           B. The Millennium Seed Bank Project. 

C. Britain’s seed bank.                      D. Kew Gardens’ next goal.

5.Which of the following information isn’t mentioned in the passage?

  A. The global partnership of collecting wild plant species.

  B. The temperature condition of the conservative wild plant species.

  C. The government’s financial support for the seed bank project.

D. Scientists’ concern on the extinct wild plant species.