B
(BBC News April 18) All flights in and out of the UK and several other European countries have been cancelled as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moves south.
Up to 4,000 flights are being cancelled with airspace closed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark among others.
The UK’s air traffic control service (Nats) said no flights would be allowed in UK airspace until at least 07:00 BST on Friday for fear of engine damage.
Safety group Eurocontrol said the problem could last for 48 hours.
The volcano is still erupting and the wind direction is expected to continue bringing clouds into UK and European airspace for some time to come.
The UK’s airspace restriction was the worst in living memory, a Nats spokesman said. Some 600,000 people are thought to have been affected.
Nats suggested that the restrictions were unlikely to be lifted (解除) after 07:00, saying it was “very unlikely that the situation over England will improve in the foreseeable future”.
Passengers were advised to contact their carriers before travelling.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said he was “closely monitoring the situation” and would be meeting with key transport officials on Friday morning.
Experts have warned that the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud from the still-erupting volcano could be sufficient to jam aircraft engines.
The Health Protection Agency said the ash from the eruption did not bring a significant risk to public health because of its high altitude.
However, the British Lung Foundation has warned people with lung conditions to keep their medication (医疗护理) with them as a precautionary measure.
These are some of the knock-on effects:
● Eurocontrol says Germany is monitoring the situation and considering partial airspace closures.
● The two main airports in Paris and many others in the north of France are closing. 
● There is severe disruption (崩溃) in France and Spain, where all northbound flights are cancelled. 
● Nats is due to make an announcement shortly as to the arrangements that will be in place
through to 13:00 BST on Friday.
● British Airways offers refunds or an option to rebook after all its domestic flights are suspended.
Flybe announces it has cancelled all flights up until 13:00 BST on Friday and more than 25 services due to run after that.
British sports teams have been hit by travel problems after flights were grounded.
60. What may passengers do on hearing the news according to the passage?
A. They may cancel their international flights.
B. They may contact the airlines before traveling.
C. They may take measures to protect their lungs from the ash.
D. They may stay indoors till the volcanic eruption dies down.
61. Why have some European countries cancelled flights after the volcanic eruption?
A. Because the volcanic ash may make passengers ill.
B. Because people refuse to take the international flights.
C. Because the volcanic ash may jam or damage the engine.
D. Because the flights may be hit by the rocks from the eruption.
62. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. All the flights are likely to return to normal in 48 hours.
B. British people had experienced a worse airspace restriction before that.
C. Germany is monitoring the situation and considering closing all airspace. 
D. The UK airspace restrictions are unlikely to be lifted in the foreseeable future.

   It is midnight on September 22, 2012. The sky above Manhattan，New York is filled with a curtain of colorful light. New Yorkers are fascinated by the beautiful aurora (极光). However, their fascination is short-lived.
Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker (闪烁), then become unusually bright for a few seconds. Then all the lights go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.
Besides the US, Europe, Japan and China are also hit by the same terrible event. It is a violent solar flare (太阳耀斑) ,150 million kilometers away on the surface of the sun.
Science fiction? No. A report funded by NASA and issued by the US National Academy of Sciences in January this year says it could happen.
A massive solar flare is most likely on a spring or autumn night in 2012, according to the report.
Solar flares are huge explosions on the surface of the sun. In a matter of just a few minutes they heat material to many millions of degrees and release as much energy as a billion megatons (百万吨) of TNT explosives. Solar flares release a stream of charged high-energy particles (粒子). They are called “solar winds”.
If one solar “wind” should hit the Earth’s magnetic shield (磁场), the result could be terrible for humans.
But there’s no need to run for cover from solar winds. They do not harm life on Earth, they only affect the way we live, especially since we depend so much on modern technology. They can pump extra electricity into power lines and pipelines, causing blackouts and fuel leaks. Solar winds are also known to affect mobile phone operations and may disrupt wireless Internet services.
Moreover, solar winds can prevent normal satellite operations, and disrupt radio communications and navigation systems such as the Global Positioning System.
Auroras are powered by solar wind. This wind blows past the Earth at about 400-700 km per second and creates storms in the Earth’s magnetic environment. In the polar regions these explode into southern or northern polar lights.
The most serious solar storm that hit Earth in history happened in 1859. It caused the failure of telegraph systems in Europe and North America.
So, for humans, the sun is a double-edged sword. Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth. Without the sun, Earth would be a frozen dark ball floating in space. However, on the other hand, the sun can disorder our lives from time to time.
56. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. It introduces to readers the advantages and disadvantages of the sun.
B. It describes a science fiction set in Manhattan on 22 September 2012.
C. It shows readers the way in which solar winds form inside the sun.
D. It explains what solar flares are and their effects on human life.
57. The first two paragraphs are written ____.
A. to show a beautiful scene in a true story
B. to describe the beautiful scenery of Manhattan
C. to describe the power problem around the world
D. to introduce the topic of this passage
58. What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Solar flares will do great harm to those who are using the Internet.
B. Solar flares cannot reach as far as the polar regions.
C. Solar flares are huge explosions that happen inside the sun.
D. But for our reliance on technology, solar flares wouldn’t
affect us so much.
59. Solar winds will likely affect us in the following ways EXCEPT that ____.
A. normal satellite operations will be stopped
B. the lights in the areas affected will go out at the same time
C. people on the streets will be struck to death
D. some navigation systems will be out of order

New York: when the first jet struck, World Trade Center at 8:48 am on Tuesday, the People in 2 World Trade Center with a view of the instant damage across the divide had the clearest sense of what they, too, must do: get out fast.

Katherine Hachinski, who had been knocked off her chair by the blast of heat exploding from the neighboring tower, was one of those. Despite her 70 years of age, Ms Hachinski, an architect working on the 91st floor of 2 World Trade Centre, the south tower, went for the stairs. Twelve floors above her, Judy Wein, an executive (经理), screamed and set off too.

But others up and down the 110 floors, many without clear views of the damage across the way and thus unclear about what was happening, were not so sure. And the 18 minutes before the next plane would hit were ticking off.

Amid the uncertainty about what was the best thing to do, formal announcements inside the sound tower instructed people to stay put, assuring them that the building was sound and the threat was limited to the other tower.

Some left, others stayed. Some began to climb down and, when met with more announcements and other cautions(警告) to stop or return, went hack up. The decisions made in those instants proved to be of great importance, because many who chose to stay were doomed(注定死亡) when the second jet crashed into the south tower, killing many and stranding(使某物留在) many more in the floors above where the jet hit.

One of those caught in indecision was the executive at Fuji Bank UAS.

Richard Jacobs of Fuji Bank left the 79th floor with the other office workers, but on the 48th floor they heard the announcement that the situation was under control. Several got in the lifts and went back up, two minutes or so before the plane crashed-into their floor.

“I just don’t know what happened to them,” Mr. Jacobs said.

1. From the passage, we know that the south tower was hit by the plane_______.

A. at 8: 30                   

B. 18 minutes earlier than the north tower

C. at around 9:06

D. at 8:48

2. The underlined words “stay put” means_______.

A. stay in the building                        B. leave at once

C. put everything back and then leave   D. keep silent

3. Which floor was hit by the second jet?

A. the 91st floor                                 B. the 103rd floor

C. the 60th floor                                D. the 79th floor

4. Fewer people would have died if_______.

A. more announcement had been made

B. people hadn’t used the lifts

C. the incident had happened on a weekend

D. the people had obeyed the office rules

“It’s our tradition to help each other”, added Tenpa, a medical official in neighbouring Madoi County, who said Yushu has always been quick to help other areas in times of trouble. “We have suffered many dangers and each time people in Yushu have sent food and clothes. We are always thankful to them and hopefully we proved it by being the first rescue team to arrive in Yushu after the earthquake.”
The Madoi medical team arrived just hours after the violent 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Yushu. In two weeks, they have treated at least 1,800 people, while the county has donated 400,000 yuan.
The biggest fear in the earthquake area is the outbreak of diseases. Tenpa said, “Keeping things clean in the shelter is very hard. Even hand washing is almost impossible because of lack of water. Our team is spraying disinfectant (喷洒消毒剂) and we hope that will work.”
After driving for 13 hours with his medical team, Tian Jiancan said he immediately found a 40-year-old who was seriously injured after being trapped in a toppled house. Tian had to operate on the man in his emergency medical van. “If we had been one hour later, he would probably be dead. It’s good to see him out of danger now.” Tian’s medical team has treated over 3,200 people, including a 15-day-old baby and a 105-year-old man. They also helped to put up tents against winds, where patients are protected well.
One local man said although most doctors cannot speak Tibetan, they have shown their care and love through their actions.
60. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. This is the first time that Tibetans have faced great dangers.
B. People in Yushu have always been ready to help each other.
C. Madoi was also hit by the 7.1-magnitude earthquake.
D. Tian’s team is the second rescue team to arrive Yushu.
61. What is the closest meaning to the underlined words in paragraph 7?
A. a house on the top floor                     B. a house which had no roofs
C. a house which fell down                         D. a house which was poorly built
62. How many people have been rescued by the medical teams according to the passage?
A. About 1,800.               B. 3,200.               C. At least 5,000.         D. 4000,000.
63. What is the passage mainly about?
A. People in Yushu are encouraged by the medical team workers.
B. The doctors went along quite well in spite of the language trouble.
C. The Madoi medical team was the first to arrive at the earthquake-hit area.
D. The medical workers made great efforts to help the people suffering from the earthquake.

假设英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文, 请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文
中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处错误。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）, 并在其下面写出该加的词。
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修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2、只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Yesterday morning, I was surprising to hear that my best friend Allee has been
hit by a car and was in hospital. The other day when he was going to cross a street,
he was such careful that he didn’t go until he saw the traffic light to turn green. But
hardly had he got to the middle of the street while he saw a car suddenly appear on
his right-hand side and come directly towards them. It was too late for Allee to
escape. He was hit by the car or was thrown a few meters away. He was sent to the
nearest hospital immediately and had operation. When I went to see him, he was
out of dangers but still looked pale. I sincere hope he will recover and return to
normal as soon as possible.