On Sept 24, an earthquake struck the southwest of Pakistan, taking more than 300 lives and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. But after the horrible disaster, people living by the coast received another shock – they saw a new island, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, in the sea just over a kilometer from the shore, reported BBC News.

“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people gathered to watch it in disbelief.”

This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?

As you might already know, many islands in the sea are formed by volcanoes. There are numerous volcanoes under the sea. As the hot lava (巖漿) erupts and cools down, it piles up and forms the shape of a mountain. When the mountain “grows” to higher than the sea level, the part that’s above the water is what we call an “island”.

This is how the island was formed after the Pakistan earthquake, except that instead of an ordinary volcano, it was a “mud volcano” that brought about this island.

Lava is not the only thing that’s locked under the Earth’s crust(地殼) – there is also gas. When an earthquake happens and breaks part of the crust, the gas is released at an extremely high speed, pushing mud up to the surface, according to National Geographic.

But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands – and this 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Pakistan was strong enough. The island is about 20 meters high, up to about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long, nearly the size of a soccer field.

In fact, mud volcano islands aren’t new. This is the fourth island of this kind in the region since 1945. But those islands usually didn’t last long.

“It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” said Bill Barnhart, a researcher with the US Geological Survey. After all, “it’s just a big pile of mud that was on the seafloor that got pushed up”.

67. What is the article mainly about?

A. the effects of the earthquake on Sept.24

B. the differences between mud volcanoes and ordinary volcanoes

C. the reasons for the formation of the new island

D. the suggestions about preventing an earthquake

68. The underlined word “flabbergasted” (in Para.2) is closest in meaning to “______”.

A. surprised         B. anxious         C. worried         D. delighted

69. We can infer from the article that ______.

A. the new island formed within a few months

B. scientists know little about volcanoes

C. another earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan

D. not all earthquakes produce new islands

70. According to the passage, mud volcano islands         .

A. are quite difficult to locate

B. usually won’t exist a long time

C. are formed only by hot lava from volcanoes

D. used to be part of the Earth’s crust

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科目：高中英語 來源：英語教研室 題型：050

Guilin(Xinhua)—A Boeing 737 jet plane crashed the day before yesterday near Guilin in South China, killing all 133 passengers and eight crew members.

Among the passengers killed in the crash were one Canadian, two Spaniards, nine from Macao. Their names are not yet known.

Officials say that the plane was flying from Guangzhou to Guilin when it crashed. Witnesses said that at 7: 45 a. m. they saw the jet belch smoke before it hit the mountain and exploded into pieces. Searching operations immediately began after the plane crashed.

CHINA DAILY Thursday, Sept. 26, 1996

1. There were______people in the jet plane, including______foreigners.

A. 133; 13　　   　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. 141; 3

C. 141; 4　　   　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. 154; 3

2. Searching operations began______.

A. on Tuesday morning

B. on the morning of Nov. 25

C. on the afternoon of Sept. 24

D. on the evening of that day

3. The word “witness” in the third paragraph probably means a person______.

A. who has been in danger

B. who has done something serious himself

C. who has watched the news on TV

D. who has seen something happening himself

4. The best title of the news is______.

A. Some Foreign Visitors were killed in Boeing 737 jet Crash

B. 141 Died in Boeing 737 jet Crash near Guilin

C. Searching Operations Have Begun

D. Warning No Plane is Safe Enough

5. Which of the following is not true?

A. The Boeing 737 jet plane crashed in Guangdong province.

B. In the jet plane, 138 Chinese were killed.

C. The crash took place in Guangxi province on Sept. 24.

D. After the plane belched smoke, it hit the mountain.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：051

Guilin(Xinhua)—A Boeing 737 jet plane crashed the day before yesterday near Guilin in South China, killing all 133 passengers and eight crew members.

Among the passengers killed in the crash were one Canadian, two Spaniards, nine from Macao. Their names are not yet known.

Officials say that the plane was flying from Guangzhou to Guilin when it crashed. Witnesses said that at 7: 45 a. m. they saw the jet belch smoke before it hit the mountain and exploded into pieces. Searching operations immediately began after the plane crashed.

CHINA DAILY Thursday, Sept. 26, 1996

1. There were______people in the jet plane, including______foreigners.

A. 133; 13　　   　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. 141; 3

C. 141; 4　　   　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. 154; 3

2. Searching operations began______.

A. on Tuesday morning

B. on the morning of Nov. 25

C. on the afternoon of Sept. 24

D. on the evening of that day

3. The word “witness” in the third paragraph probably means a person______.

A. who has been in danger

B. who has done something serious himself

C. who has watched the news on TV

D. who has seen something happening himself

4. The best title of the news is______.

A. Some Foreign Visitors were killed in Boeing 737 jet Crash

B. 141 Died in Boeing 737 jet Crash near Guilin

C. Searching Operations Have Begun

D. Warning No Plane is Safe Enough

5. Which of the following is not true?

A. The Boeing 737 jet plane crashed in Guangdong province.

B. In the jet plane, 138 Chinese were killed.

C. The crash took place in Guangxi province on Sept. 24.

D. After the plane belched smoke, it hit the mountain.

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：2011-2012學年江西省安福中學高二上學期期中考試英語卷 題型：閱讀理解

Looking back on China’s road to outer space, people can easily find it has not been very smooth. In the past years, Chinese people have made hard and determined efforts to realize the dream their ancestors had for thousands of years.
After China’s first satellite into the Earth’s orbit in 1970 came four flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions(飛行) from 1999 to 2002. The country carried out its first one-piloted space flight in October, 2003, making China the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight ability after the Soviet Union and the United States. Then came another breakthrough on October 12, 2005, when Shenzhou 6, China’s second human spaceflight, was launched, with a crew of two astronauts. What’s more, the landmark(里程碑)spacewalk done by Zhai Zhigang, one of the three boarding Shenzhou 7, launched on Sept. 25, 2008, leads the country further in its space exploration.
Meanwhile, China’s moon exploration project, started in 2004, has also been progressing satisfactorily. Fifty years after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first man-made satellite, China’s first circumlunar(繞月的)satellite Chang’e 1 took off on Oct.24, 2007, which became the third landmark in China’s space achievements after the above-mentioned manned flights. Chang’e 1 was expected to fulfill four scientific goals, one of which was to expore mineral elements on the moon, especially those not existent on Earth. It’s said that the lunar regolith(月壤) is abundant in helium-3, a clean fuel that may support the Earth’s energy demands for more than a century. Nearly 3 years later, Oct. 1, 2010 witnessed the launching of Chang’e 2, China’s 2nd unmanned lunar probe(勘探),marking another step forward in moon exploration. This time the aim is to test the key techniques of Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4, as a preparation for a soft lunar landing in the future.
With great expectations, people all over the world are looking forward to China’s greater space achievements.
【小題1】 According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?

A．China sent its first satellite into the Moon’s orbit in 1970.
B．China is the third country in Asia to make human spaceflight.
C．By now, altogether 5 astronauts have made successful spaceflight by Shenzhou spaceship.
D．The launching of Chang’e 1 became the third landmark in China’s space achievements.
【小題2】 Paragraph 2 mainly deals with information about China’s         .
A．landmark spacewalkB．manned Shenzhou missions
C．first circumlunar satelliteD．unmanned Shenzhou missions
【小題3】We can infer from the text that         .
A．China’s road to outer spacehas not been very smooth for a long time
B．the lunar regolith is believed to be rich in a clean fuel called helium-3
C．China’s lunar exploration project was started in 2004 and completed in 2007
D．China’s scientists are researching into techniquesfor soft lunar landing
【小題4】What can be the best title for the text?
A．Ancient Chinese’s DreamB．China’s Major Space Achievements
C．China’s Moon ExplorationD．The World’s Great Expectations
【小題5】The auther’s attitude towards China’s space exploration is _________.
A．negativeB．positiveC．criticalD．indifferent

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科目：高中英語 來源：2010年廣東省中山市實驗高級中學高一上學期期中考試英語卷 題型：填空題

下面是對幾部電視劇的介紹。閱讀下面的簡介和相關(guān)信息，并按要求匹配信息。
首先，請閱讀下面的信息。
A. Bionic Woman
Wed, Sept. 26, 9PM on NBC
Jaime Sommers is an ordinary woman whose world turns upside down when she’s involved in a fatal car accident. Her scientist boyfriend uses his medical skills to save her life by giving her a bionic eye, ear, arm and legs. But in the process he transforms her life into one filled with danger, action and adventure.
B. Journeyman
Mon., Sept. 24, 10PM on NBC
Dan Vasser is a San Francisco newspaper reporter and family man who accidentally begins to travel through time. Along the way, he also must deal with the difficulties at work and home which were brought on by his sudden disappearances. However, his travels reunite him with his long-lost finance (未婚妻), which complicates his present-day life.
C. Life Is Wild
Sun., Oct. 7, 8:00PMon The CW
Teen Katie faces a culture clash when her dad and his new wife decide to move their family from Manhattan to South Africa .While Katie must learn to adapt to (適應)the new surroundings —a ropey lodge (破舊的山林小屋) in the middle of an animal preserve. The family must bond together in order to deal with the change.
D. Samantha Who?
Mon, Oct. 15, 9:30PM on ABC
Samantha wakes from a coma after eight days—with no memory of who she is or her former life. Slowly, she begins to learn she had a terrible relationship with her parents, treated her boyfriend badly and had no close friend; in general, she wasn’t a very nice person. It’s not easy for her to tell the difference between goodness and evil.
E. Big Shots
Thu, Sept. 27, 10PM on ABC
Four high-ranking executives who are at the top of their fields become friends in a club. These competitive but despairing New York CEOs take refuge in their friendship, discussing business, confiding secret, confiding secrets, seeking advice and supporting one another through life’s twists and turns. They desire to find the best ways to mix business with pleasure.
F. Criminal Minds
Thu, Sep.22, 9PM on CBS
A team of FBI experts(專家)analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating (估計)their next move before they strike again. Each member of the “mind hunter” team brings their own area of expertise on the table as they pinpoint (精確地找到, 準確地轟炸) predators’ motivations and identify(識別, 認明, 鑒定) their emotional triggers(起因) in order to stop them.
請閱讀以下電視觀眾的信息，然后匹配相應的電視劇。
Frances, who married a foreign man two years ago, faces culture shock in the new family. She is not familiar with the new culture, which causes a few problems. She wants to see how other people adapt to the new surroundings.
Charles is a 16-year-old boy who is dreaming to become a detective. He once happened to watch a TV program which shows how to analyze criminal minds. Since then, he’s been collecting information about that.
Janet is always curious about how science changes people’s life. Besides, she is very interested in those stories about people who get supernatural power after some accidents.
Mr. Smith is a manager in a company, but still feels depressed. He finds nothing other than unhappiness in his job. It’s necessary for him to find balance between wording and living. He is eager to watch something about this.
Steven is a little boy whose mother always tells him stories about people traveling through time. Fascinated about such stories, he is eager to watch such teleplays.
觀眾                         電視劇
【小題1】Frances                    A. Bionic Woman
【小題2】Charles                    B. Journeyman
【小題3】Janet                      C. Life Is Wild
【小題4】Mr. Smith                  D. Samantha Who?
【小題5】Steven                    E. Big Shots
      F. Criminal Minds

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