Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.

The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, did you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way around. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.

Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.

Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of the lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval (间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how lose they were to the actual spark (闪光).

1.According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley____.

A．rains usually come without thunder and lightning.

B．it is usually dry in April

C．children pay no attention to the two natural wonders.

D．parents are not interested in thunder and lightning.

2.We believe that lightning is a downward motion because_______.

A．we were taught so by our parents from our childhood.

B．we are taken in by our sense of vision.

C．it is a common natural sight.

D．it is a truth proved by science.

3.What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?

A．Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.

B．Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.

C．Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.

D．There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.

4.The underlined word “activity”  is most closely related to the word (s) _____.

A．cloud

B．lightning strikes

C．lightning flashes

D．thunderstorms

5.It can be concluded from the passage that _______.

A．we should not believe what we see or hear.

B．things moving downward are more noticeable.

C．people sometimes may have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena.

D．adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena.

 

　　Cats are animals of habit． They like to go to sleep about the same time every day and for a certain length of time． They seem to have a natural clock inside them that tells them when to sleep．

　　Besides their regular (定时的, 正式的) sleep, cats． take naps (打盹)． Some scientists think that people should also take cat naps． The habit would do good to people's health． Cat-naps help build up energy (精力, 能量) in the body． Since cats have moods (情绪) like those of people, scientists believe that people can improve their moods and attitudes by catnapping． People might become happier and more active．

　　A lot of famous people take cat naps during the day． The naps would usually last 15 to 30 minutes． Winston Churchill took cat naps． So did a few presidents of the United States． These people were known for their energy． They were able to work long hours into the night． Napping was their secret．

　　Perhaps more people could learn from cats and take naps to feel better and live longer!

1．Cats ______

A．are asleep all day．

B．are awake all day．

C．have a regular time to sleep．

D．go to sleep when a clock strikes．

2．Some scientists believe that catnapping is _______

A． a bad habit． B． a healthy habit． C． a lazy habit． D． not necessary．

3．According to the text, cat naps could make people ______

A． happy and active　　 B． sleepy．

C． unhappy． D． tired and lazy．

4．Cat naps usually last _____

A． no more than half an hour．B． several hours．

C． just a few minutes．　　 D． quite a long time,

5．Many famous people were able to work long hours because

A．they took cat naps．　　B． they lived longer．

C．they had a secret．　　 D． they had many things to do．

However urban life strikes you, cities worldwide have been growing ever more rapidly. Some of this growth has occurred in the developed world, but the most dramatic increase has been in the Third World. Almost all the world’s population growth over the next 30 years will take place in the cities of developing countries
By the year 2030, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the world’s people will be living in cities.
This is actually good news in some ways. “Cities are the fundamental building blocks of prosperity,” says Marc Weiss, chairman of the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development, “ both for the nation and for families.” Industrial and commercial activities in urban areas account for between 50 and 80 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most countries of the world“ there’s the crazy notion that the way to deal with a city’s problems is to keep people out of them,”Weiss continued. “But the problems of the rural life are even more serious than those of the city.” For better or worse, urban-watchers are clear on one point: The quality of life for most people in the future will be determined by the quality of cities. Those cities will be bigger than ever. And yet, population numbers by themselves don’t determine a city’s prospects; after all, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Hamburg, Germany, have the same population. Nor is explosive growth necessarily the determining factor. “City problems,” one authority points out, “mostly have to do with weak, ineffective, and usually unrepresentative city governments.”
【小题1】The passage mainly discusses ______________.

A．Big cities.

B．City life.

C．Population.

D．Gross Domestic Product.

【小题2】According to the passage, in the year of 2030 _______.

A．there will be 21 cities having a population of more than 10 million.

B．rural area will be extinct.

C．most people will live in cities.

D．the third world will keep abreast with the developed world.

【小题3】In the author’s opinion, _________.

A．better city, better life

B．both urban and rural areas have a larger population

C．the larger population, the faster a city develops

D．both urban and rural areas have larger gross domestic products

【小题4】Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The developing countries develop faster than the developed countries.

B．Cities contribute more to the GDP than the villagers.

C．Some problems are more easily solved in cities than in country.

D．It’s impossible to solve urban problems by getting people out of cities.

【小题5】The last paragraph implies that ____________.

A．Public services are ineffective.

B．Cities are increasing too fast.

C．Population is not linked with development.

D．Government should be responsible for the problems in the cities.

Several factors make a good newspaper story. First，  1   ，it must be new. But since TV can react to events so quickly, this is often a problem for    2  . They usually respond    3   it in one of three ways.

One by providing   4    detail, comment or background information.

One by finding a new     5    on the day’s major stories.

One by printing completely different stories which   6   doesn’t broadcast.

What else? Well—it also has to be   7  . People don’t want to read about    8   , everyday life. Because of this,  many stories   9   some kind of conflict or danger. This is one reason why so much news seems to be   10   news, “ Plane lands safely—no-one hurt ”doesn’t sell newspapers. “Plane   11  —200 feared dead !” does .

Next, there’s human interest. People are interested in other   12   —particularly in the rich, famous and powerful. Stories about the private lives of pop singers, actors, models, politicians,   13  , all appear regularly in certain newspapers .

Finally, for many editors,   14   is an important factor, too. They prefer stories about people, places and events which their readers know. That’s   15   the stories in Tokyo’s newspapers are often very different from the stories printed in Paris, Cairo, New York or Buenos Aires.

1.A .gradually        B. extremely      C. obviously     D. precisely

2.A. newspapers    B. publications      C. reporters        D. broadcasters

3.A. with             B. on             C. of             D. to

4.A. extra         B. available         C. reliable         D. memorable

5.A. direction      B. look            C. angle           D. section

6.A. TV               B. internet       C. newspaper      D. radio

7.A. conventional   B. dramatic        C. professional      D. sensitive

8. A. common          B. usual          C. ordinary        D. special

9.A. urge         B. neglect          C. increase          D. involve

10.A. good        B. bad            C. exciting         D. informative

11.A. crashes      B. bumps          C. strikes          D. drops

12. A. places       B. people          C. things           D. news

13. A. in addition   B. in any case       C. for example      D. after all

14.A. personality   B. similarity        C. tolerance        D. familiarity

15. A. that B. why  C. because         D. what

 

Lady Gaga has put off her concerts because of the difficulties _______by the ongoing strikes.

    A. causing        B. to cause     C. to be caused   D. caused