2010 was the year the Earth struck back.

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards(暴风雪), landslides(滑坡)and droughts

killed at least a quarter million people in 2010---the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

“It just seemed like it was back-to-back (接二连三) and it came waves,” said Craig Fugate, who heads the US Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.

“The term ' 100-year event ' really lost its meaning this year.”

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.

Even though many disasters seem accidental, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and strange year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.

Poor construction and development practices make earthquake more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable building (危房) in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes the river breaches(攻破), or the tropical cyclone (旋风) hits, more people die.

The January earthquake that killed well more than 220000 people in Haita is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people, many of them living in poverty, and more poorly built shanties (棚户区) than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80 000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.

Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing thanks to man-made global warning, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.

The excessive (过多的) amount of extreme weather of 2010 is a clear sign of man-made global warning that climate scientists have long warned about. They calculate that the killer Russian heat wave ---setting a national record of 111 degrees --- would happen once every 100000 years without global warning.

Preliminary (之前的) data show that 18 counties broke their records for the hottest day ever.

White House science adviser John Holdren said we should get used to climate disasters or do something about global warning. "The science is clear that we can expect more and more of these kinds of damaging events unless and until society's emissions of heat-trapping (吸热的)gases and particles are sharply reduce."

1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A．How the Earth struck back in 2010.           B. Why the Earth struck back.

C．How terrorism attacks struck.                D. What natural disaster mean to us.

2.What does the underlined word "it" refer to in the third paragraph?

A． Earthquake.     B. The Earth.     C. 2010           D. Natural disaster.

3.What do the fifth, sixth and seventh paragraphs mainly tell us?

A. The reason why there were so mainly disasters in 2010.

B. The way that natural disasters happened.

C. The way that man built buildings.

D. The way that people lived.

4.What is the way to cut back on the number of natural disasters?

A. To build stronger houses.                  

B．To develop less.

C. To reduce the emissions of heat-trapping gases and particles greatly.

D. To forecast the happening of natural disasters correctly.

5.Why did the writer give the example of the earthquake that happened in Haiti?

A. To show more people's living in vulnerable building can cause more people to die in an earthquake.

B. To show Haiti is a poor country.            

C．To show Port-au-Prince is too crowded.

D．To show man's forecast ability of an earthquake reduced.

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

1．What kind of boy is Jack?

[　　]

A．A very lazy boy.

B．A very bright boy.

C．A very naughty boy.

2．What are the two speakers talking about?

[　　]

A．Something about “do - it - yourself” in America.

B．The high labour costs in America.

C．The people's living conditions in America.

3．How long is it since the man speaker saw the woman speaker last?

[　　]

A．Two years.　　B．Only one year.　　C．Three years.

4．Why did the student feel sorry?

[　　]

A．Because she lost the map of Africa her teacher gave her.

B．Because she failed to hand in her school work in time.

C．Because she was late far school again.

5．What's the probable relationship between the two speakers?

[　　]

A．They are next - door neighbours.

B．They are school teacher and student.

C．They are family members.

听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。

6．What have we learned from what Mr Clark said?

[　　]

A．It's safe for the aged to plan cycling tour.

B．You are always as young as you feel.

C．A hearty breakfast will do us good.

7．What are the two speakers doing?

[　　]

A．They are having a lecture on daily life.

B．They are getting ready to advertise many bikes for sale.

C．They are having a face - to - face interview.

听第7段对话，回答第8、9题。

8．Where did the man speaker want to go?

[　　]

A．Scotland.　　B．France.　　C．Italy.

9．What is the woman speaker like?

[　　]

A．She is very tall.

B．She is very rich.

C．She is very short.

听第8段对话，回答第10至12题。

10．What did Mr Thorogood say in his Annual Report?

[　　]

A．Chinese is as widely spoken as English sooner or later.

B．English is almost certain to be the language of space.

C．Chinese is learned as a foreign language in many countries now.

11．Why didn't Mr Thorogood mention if English would become the official language of the EEC?

[　　]

A．He dared not say.

B．He was asked not to say.

C．He was not willing to say.

12．Where did this conversation take place?

[　　]

A．In a language school.

B．In a studio.

C．In an office of the EEC.

听第9段对话，回答第13至16题。

13．Why are the majority of foreign girls working in Britain au pairs?

[　　]

A．It is an excellent system.

B．They can be well paid.

C．They can get more chances to learn English.

14．What did the girls sometimes complain?

[　　]

A．It's hard to meet young people of their own ages.

B．Some families didn't give them a chance to learn English.

C．They couldn't become members of English families.

15．What did the man speaker mainly mention in the conversation?

[　　]

A．Several do's and don'ts of an au pair agency.

B．Some of the problems facing au pair girls in London.

C．Something about newspaper reporters in London.

16．What did the man speaker want to know at the end of the conversation?

[　　]

A．Why did the girls feel quite content in spite of everything?

B．Why did the girls continue to come over in their thousands?

C．Why did very few girls keep in touch after they went back home?

听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。

17．Where did the traffic accident happen?

[　　]

A．Near Mercy Hospital of the city.

B．In front of a police station.

C．A crossroads near Polar and Chestnut Streets.

18．What was Bobby Lane doing at that time?

[　　]

A．Running after the speaker's car.

B．Playing with a ball in the street.

C．Lying in the street.

19．How many persons were mentioned in the speech?

[　　]

A．Eight.　　B．Seven.　　C．Six.

20．Why wasn't the speaker charged by the police?

[　　]

A．The boy wasn't seriously injured.

B．It wasn't the speaker's fault.

C．The boy was taken to the hospital immediately.

As we all know, nature has supplied every animal except man with some covering for his body such as fur, feathers, hair, and shells as a thick hide. But man has nothing but a thin skin.

If someone were to ask you, “Why did human beings start to cover their bodies with clothes?” most would answer, “To keep themselves warm, of course.”

It is only when we begin to think about it a little that we realize that clothes are worn for a great many reasons that have nothing to do with our need for warmth at all.

For example, we wear clothes to some degree in order to decorate ourselves ― to make ourselves, if possible, look more dignified (尊严) or nicer.

Clothes of a special kind are often worn to show that the wearer has authority or power. The individual wearing them is treated with respect because he occupies a certain office. The judge on the Bench, for example, might look a very ordinary and unimpres­sive figure without his wig and gown. Clothes are an important part of ceremony, whether it is connected with belief, the law, parliament, and royalty, the fighting forces or the state. How very different the Queen’s Coronation ceremony (加冕仪式) would have looked without the robes, coronets and the cloth of gold.

Sometimes, even in some modern countries people wear some article of clothing, or some jewel, because they believe that it will bring them luck or protect them from evil or illness, or because it is connected with their beliefs.

None of these reasons for wearing clothes ― to decorate ourselves, to show our position in the world, for ceremonial purposes, for “luck”, to give ourselves dignity and au­thority ― have anything to do with our need for warmth.

45. From the passage we know that wearing clothes is man’s basic necessity to _________.

A. protect skin      B. show beauty C. keep warm       D. bring luck

46. According to the passage, the judge wearing special clothes on the Bench _________.

A. looks nicer    B. looks different    C. shows wealth     D. shows power

47. Even in modern countries, sometimes people wear certain clothes because _________.

A. they believe that they will get protected from bad luck and illness

B. it has something to do with their wealth

C. they want to show their power

D. they enjoy wearing such kind of clothes

48. The author’s purpose in writing this article is to tell us that clothes are worn _________.

A. for ceremonial occasions

B. for many other reasons besides warmth

C. to keep people impressive and nicer

D. to show people’s authority or power

C
Two Earthquakes in Two Months:
Comparing the Quakes in Haiti (海地) and Chile (智利)
Overview (概要) How do the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti compare? Here, students perform a gallery walk to learn more about the earthquakes from a specific point, and then do a specific research and presentation project or response activity. Finally, they seek answers to their unanswered questions.
Materials Print copies of photographs, charts, documents and other visuals to display, as described below; computer (s) with Internet access (optional), research materials, handouts.
Warm-up Choose and prepare a “gallery” of photographs, graphics, news reports and other materials to display around the room to enable students to consider the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
Depending on course program, choose materials for the gallery that provide a window on the two quakes, through one of the following specific points, or the focus of your choice:
Earthquakes through History Putting the 2010 Chilean and Haitian quakes into historical view related to other earthquakes, including the 1960 Chilean quake and the 2004 Asian earthquake and tsunami.
Rescue and Aid Considering domestic and international response to the disasters by militaries, governments and aid organizations, including rescue and recovery as well as efforts to provide food, water, health care and shelter to those affected.
Related The article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash compares several earthquakes:
Mr. Lin figured that the quake on Saturday was 250 to 350 times more powerful than the Haitian quake.
But Paul Caruso noted that at least on land, the effects of the Chilean tremor (震动) might not be as bad. For one thing, he said, the quality of building construction is generally better in Chile than in Haiti. And the fact that the quake occurred offshore should also help limit the destruction. In Haiti, the rupture (断裂) occurred only a few miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. The rupture on Saturday was centered about 60 miles from the nearest town, Chillan, and 70 miles from the country’s second-largest city, Concepción.
Read the article using the following questions.
Questions For discussion with others and reading comprehension:
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 1960 Chilean earthquake?
Why do scientists believe that the 2010 Chilean earthquake will not cause the same level of damage as January’s Haitian earthquake did?
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 2004 Indonesian earthquake?
What reasons do scientists give to explain why the Indonesian quake caused so much more damage than the recent Chilean earthquake?
64. Which of the following shows one of the reasons for slighter losses in Chile than in Haiti?
A. Position:
     
B. Power:

65. We can infer that the article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash includes ________.
A. the causes of the 2010 Chilean earthquake and the 1960 Chilean earthquake
B. the comparison between the 2010 Haitian and the 2004 Indonesian earthquakes
C. the reason for the 2010 Chilean quake being more powerful than January’s Haitian earthquake
D. the reason for less damage in the 2010 Chilean quake than in the 2004 Indonesian earthquake
66. What is the passage most likely to be?
A. A program for research.                          B. A guide to earthquake study.
C. An advertisement for students.                       D. An introduction to quakes.

Two Earthquakes in Two Months:
Comparing the Quakes in Haiti (海地) and Chile (智利)
Overview (概要) How do the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti compare? Here, students perform a gallery walk to learn more about the earthquakes from a specific point, and then do a specific research and presentation project or response activity. Finally, they seek answers to their unanswered questions.
Materials Print copies of photographs, charts, documents and other visuals to display, as described below; computer (s) with Internet access (optional), research materials, handouts.
Warm-up Choose and prepare a “gallery” of photographs, graphics, news reports and other materials to display around the room to enable students to consider the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
Depending on course program, choose materials for the gallery that provide a window on the two quakes, through one of the following specific points, or the focus of your choice:
Earthquakes through History Putting the 2010 Chilean and Haitian quakes into historical view related to other earthquakes, including the 1960 Chilean quake and the 2004 Asian earthquake and tsunami.
Rescue and Aid Considering domestic and international response to the disasters by militaries, governments and aid organizations, including rescue and recovery as well as efforts to provide food, water, health care and shelter to those affected.
Related The article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash compares several earthquakes:
Mr. Lin figured that the quake on Saturday was 250 to 350 times more powerful than the Haitian quake.
But Paul Caruso noted that at least on land, the effects of the Chilean tremor (震动) might not be as bad. For one thing, he said, the quality of building construction is generally better in Chile than in Haiti. And the fact that the quake occurred offshore should also help limit the destruction. In Haiti, the rupture (断裂) occurred only a few miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. The rupture on Saturday was centered about 60 miles from the nearest town, Chillan, and 70 miles from the country’s second-largest city, Concepción.
Read the article using the following questions.
Questions For discussion with others and reading comprehension:
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 1960 Chilean earthquake?
Why do scientists believe that the 2010 Chilean earthquake will not cause the same level of damage as January’s Haitian earthquake did?
How does the 2010 Chilean earthquake compare to the 2004 Indonesian earthquake?
What reasons do scientists give to explain why the Indonesian quake caused so much more damage than the recent Chilean earthquake?
64. Which of the following shows one of the reasons for slighter losses in Chile than in Haiti?
A. Position:
     
B. Power:

65. We can infer that the article Underwater Plate Cuts 400 Mile Gash includes ________.
A. the causes of the 2010 Chilean earthquake and the 1960 Chilean earthquake
B. the comparison between the 2010 Haitian and the 2004 Indonesian earthquakes
C. the reason for the 2010 Chilean quake being more powerful than January’s Haitian earthquake
D. the reason for less damage in the 2010 Chilean quake than in the 2004 Indonesian earthquake
66. What is the passage most likely to be?
A. A program for research.                           B. A guide to earthquake study.
C. An advertisement for students.                       D. An introduction to quakes.