任务型阅读
Floods are one of the most common disasters in the US. Some floods develop slowly. But flash floods (暴洪) can develop quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and without any signs of rain.
It carries rocks and can sweep away most things in its path.
1 If a flood is likely in your area, you should: Listen to the radio or watch television for information. If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move at once to higher ground.
2 If you have time to prepare, you should: Make your home safe by bringing in outdoor furniture. Do not touch any electrical equipment if you are wet or standing in water.
3 If you have to leave your home right away, remember these tips:
▪Do not walk through moving water. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving. Use a stick to check the ground in front of you.
▪ If floodwaters rise around your car, give up the car and move to higher ground if you can do so safely. Otherwise you and the car can be quickly swept away.
A. Do not drive into flooded areas.
B. Do not wait for instructions to move.
C. Turn off all pieces of electrical equipment.
D. 20 cm of moving water can make you fall.
E. Floods can cause death and loss of treasures.
F. Flash floods often have a dangerous wall of water.
G. Mud left from floodwaters can contain chemicals.
语法填空
Chinese silk is well known all over the world. It is considered as symbol of the origin of civilization. According to legend, a teenage girl in China, saw metamorphosis (蜕变) of a special kind of caterpillars (毛毛虫), did something even more (amaze) — she invented silk! She is Ancest or Lei.
One day, she noticed quite a few caterpillars taking small (bite) of the leaves. A few of them had formed translucent cocoons (半透明的茧) around (they). One by one the cocoons grew thicker so Lei couldn't see through them. They were like eggshells, but smaller and even (strong). She kept wondering was going on inside. Lei started to open them and they turned into bundles of threads. Lei knew that the threads in spider (蜘蛛) webs were strong, but she wondered if the threads from these cocoons were strong enough (make) into cloth. After testing, her doubt was removed.
Later, Lei concentrated figuring out how to make cloth from the cocoon threads. Eventually, Lei invented silk, and the caterpillars (call) silkworms since then.
翻译
完形填空
The Taj Mahal (泰姬陵) is1to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the 2example of the late style of Indian architecture (建筑). It is at Agra in northern India. It lies beside the River Jumma in the middle of gardens 3quiet pools.
The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jehan, who 4 India in the seventeenth century. It is in 5of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Bagam, known as Mumtaz Mahal, 6died in 1631. The building, which was completed between 1632 and 1638, was 7 by a local Muslim architect (建筑师), Ustad Ahmad Lahori. The whole building, with gardens and gateway structures, was completed in 1643. The Taj Mahal 8 at one end of the garden tomb with marble (大理石) path. The room is9lighted by the light that passes through double screens of carved marble10 high in the walls. The building now is kept in good 11.
It12 22 years to build the Taj Mahal. Shah Jehan planned a similar building, but in black13of white, to lie on the other side of the river. But 14 it could be built, Shah Jehan was imprisoned (监禁) by his son and 15next to his wife in the Taj Mahal.
阅读理解
I work with volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.
I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl (猫头鹰) on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to-3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.
I examined the chick (雏鸟) and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor it in a tree.
The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.
Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.
A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all—LUNCH! The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.
George was a game warden (猎物繁殖和保护区的管理员) in Kenya. One day, he found three tiny lions beside a dead lioness. They were so little that their eyes had not yet opened. Sadly, he took the three little lions and drove back home.
When George got out of the car with the baby lions, his wife Joy Adamson immediately took over. Joy had cared for many young animals over the years, but she had never tried to raise baby lions! However, she was determined to save these babies.
The lions grew rapidly. But as the lion grew bigger and stronger, Joy and George realized they could not keep three large lions. They decided to present two of the lions to a zoo; they would keep the smallest lion, which they named Elsa.
Joy and George taught Elsa to hunt and to protect herself. Elsa liked to play with her human friends, but as Elsa grew to her adult size, this play became dangerous. More than once, Elsa knocked Joy to the ground, scratching (抓伤) her. Joy and George both realized that it was time to find Elsa a new home. They knew she needed a wild home where she could live the life she was born to lead. Finally, Joy and George decided to set Elsa free in Meru Park at the foot of Mt. Kenya.
Elsa never forgot Joy and George. Whenever they camped nearby, Elsa would come to visit, rubbing her head against their legs in greeting.
Joy missed Elsa, but was happy that she had made a successful life as a wild lion. Joy wrote a book about Elsa,Born Free, which became an international bestseller. Joy traveled all over the world, talking about the importance of saving the wild animals of the world.
Joy lived out her life in Africa, working with wild animals. She wrote more books about her experiences. Her heart felt interest in animals and her great love for Elsa helped inspire (激发) a worldwide movement to protect wildlife. For Joy Adamson, there was no greater gift than the beauty and spirit of wild animals, living free.
Stories of Animals Acting Just Like Humans
◆Monkeys do math
If monkeys manage the world, we might have stayed away from the recent banking hardship. In an experiment led by Keith Chen at Yale, monkeys showed an understanding of pricing and planning the money, as well as a wish to stay away from losses when required to buy food with money. Makes sense this one looks like it's checking its stocks (股票) on a smart phone. Think that's impressive?
◆Camel eats breakfast with people
The first time Joe ate with British farmers, he was uninvited. The four-year-old Bactrian camel stuck his head through their open kitchen window, and emptied a fruit bowl. Now the couple, who rent out reindeer, camels, goats, and other creatures for television shows, movies, and photo shoots, set a place at their table for the confident double-humped creature, where Joe eats grain food and his favorite: bananas on toast.
◆Marmots (土拨鼠) befriend a boy
A group of marmots in the Austrian Alps has made friends with eight-year-old Matteo Walch by chance, whose family vacations there in summer. Typically, they beat their tails, chatter, and whistle to warn other marmots of danger, but with Matteo, they behave much differently, allowing the boy to feed, pet, and even touch noses with them. "Watching them makes me feel a connection with nature," says Matteo. How sweet!
More than two thirds of the world's polar bears will be wiped out by 2050, according to a shocking new study. By then, scientists say, global warming will have melted 42 percent of the Arctic sea ice. By 2100, only a very few of these important creatures will be left.
The report has been produced by the US Geological Survey. The scientists have publicized their findings in the hope of influencing US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who has been asked to put polar bears on the US endangered species list.
Polar bears depend on floating sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, which are their main food. Without enough ice, polar bears would be forced to go onto the land, where they are killed by hunters, and would be unlikely to adapt to the life on the land in time. Experts say few little bears would survive and the stress could make many females unable to get pregnant.
The team of American and Canadian scientists spent six months studying bears: on the ground, from spotter planes and in the lab, using computer models. Some team members fear the result is even worse for the bears than what their report says. They say the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere in the world and much faster than their computer had been forecasting, Satellite observations have showed that the ice has decreased to an all-time low.
However, not everyone in the scientific community believes that global warming is happening on such an alarming scale. Another investigation has found that polar bears are still being hunted by wealthy "sportsmen" who want their skins and heads. At least ten international companies offer bear-hunting trips.
Where do the turtles go?
Every summer, thousands of endangered green sea turtles climb onto beaches around the world. Each mother sea turtle produces 100 or more eggs in a hole, and covers the hole with sand before she swims away.
Two months later, the eggs hatch, and the baby turtles climb out of the sand and swim into the ocean. They don't reappear until they have grown as large as dinner plates. Until now, no one knows where the baby turtles go or what they do.
"If we don't know where these little turtles are, we can't protect them," says Kim Reich, who helps solve part of the mystery.
Her teacher, Karen Bjorndal, has studied green sea turtles for more than 30 years. Every year, Bjorndal goes to the Bahamas Islands. Many young sea turtles come here to live and eat at the end of their childhood.
These turtles are the only sea turtles that live as plant eaters. In fact, their name may be a result of what they eat. The turtles don't look green but they do have green fat. Scientists learned that the turtles eat green sea plants, which may turn their fat green.
Between 2002 and 2004, Bjorndal caught 44 green sea turtles in the Bahamas. After testing them, she found something to support the 20-year-old idea: baby green sea turtles eat meat before they turn to a diet of plants. In fact, they eat animals that live in the open ocean.
Scientists still need to find where exactly green sea turtles grow. We now know that baby green sea turtles are out in the open ocean, but the open ocean is a big place.
"Itis really a problem," says Bjorndal. The discovery may help us do a better job of protecting this sea animal.
