“I stepped out and was flabbergasted,” local journalist Bahram Baloch told the BBC. “I could see this gray, dome-shaped (圓頂形的) body in the distance, like a giant whale swimming near the surface. Hundreds of people had 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 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 a regular 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 — 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”.
【小題1】What is the article mainly about?

A．The disastrous effects of coastal earthquakes.
B．The difference between mud volcanoes and regular volcanoes.
C．How islands are formed by mud volcanoes.
D．The great natural wonders of Pakistan.
【小題2】The underlined word “flabbergasted” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to __________.
A．surprisedB．disappointedC．worriedD．curious
【小題3】We can infer from the article that __________.
A．the new island near the coast of Pakistan actually took a few months to form
B．scientists still know little about different types of volcanoes
C．a(chǎn)nother earthquake is likely to happen in Pakistan within a couple of months
D．not all volcanoes change the geological appearance of the Earth
【小題4】According to the article, islands formed by mud volcanoes __________.
A．a(chǎn)re quite difficult to locate
B．usually disappear after a short period of time
C．a(chǎn)re formed by hot lava from volcanoes
D．used to be part of the Earth’s crust


【小題1】C
【小題2】A
【小題3】D
【小題4】B     

解析試題分析：文章報(bào)道了巴基斯坦發(fā)生7.7級地震，讓人驚訝的是地震導(dǎo)致一個(gè)島嶼的形成，文章介紹關(guān)于這些島是由火山的泥漿形成的，而且不會存在很長時(shí)間。
【小題1】細(xì)節(jié)題：從第三段的句子：This island has become a global curiosity. How was it formed in just a few minutes?可知這篇文章是關(guān)于這些島是怎樣由火山的泥漿形成的。選C
【小題2】猜詞題：從第一段的內(nèi)容和第二段的句子：Hundreds of people had gathered to watch it in disbelief.”可知作者出來看見這個(gè)島很驚訝。選A
【小題3】推理題：從倒數(shù)第三段的句子：But only earthquakes that are extremely powerful can cause mud volcanoes to push up enough mud to produce islands 可知只有足夠大的地震會導(dǎo)致泥漿火山推出足夠的泥漿形成島嶼。所以不是每個(gè)火山都會改變地球的地理面貌的。選D
【小題4】細(xì)節(jié)題：從倒數(shù)第二段的句子：But those islands usually didn’t last long.和最后一段的句子： “It will probably be gone within a couple of months,” 可知這種火山泥漿形成的島不會存在很長時(shí)間。選B。
考點(diǎn)：考查新聞報(bào)道類短文

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

A meteorite (隕石) flew fast across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, raining fireballs over a vast area and causing a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured l,200 people.
People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt the shock wave.
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A．At midnight.
B．In the early morning.
C．In the late morning.
D．In the evening.
【小題2】According to the text, the meteorite explosion caused _________.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Ethiopia has greatly reduced its death rates for children under the age of five years during the last two decades, new UN statistics show. The report says Ethiopia has cut the number of child deaths, by two thirds or so, to 68 per 1,000 births compared to that in 1990.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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A．Because the results are contrary to their expectation．
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Playing basketball isn’t ladylike. That’s what Jewell Chapman’s high school headmaster told her in 1961 when he was against the girls’ basketball program.
“We were very discouraged, ” said Chapman, a forward（前鋒）for her high school team of Des Moines.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s（鱷魚） back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
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【小題1】This passage is most likely to be found in _____.

A．a(chǎn) travel guide B．a(chǎn) newspaper C．a(chǎn) textbook D．a(chǎn) novel
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A．Her eyes were badly poked.
B．She had eight wounds altogether.
C．One of her fingers also got hurt.
D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg.
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A．brave B．diligent
C．quick D．humorous
【小題5】Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A．The husband should save the wife
B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

HK's family affair
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The art festival, considered to be Asia's best, was launched in 1973.
“We hope that people from Beijing and from all over the world will go to Hong Kong to enjoy the multiple performances in our art festival,” Douglas Gautier, the festival's management director, told a press briefing in the capital.
In the 34 days of the festival, which runs from February 8 to March 7, 2004, the audience can choose from 111 performances of 51 programmes staged by 700 foreign performers, 450 local artists and 160 actors from the mainland.
Programmes vary from classical music, jazz, world music, Western and Peking opera, drama and dance to outdoor spectaculars.
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In an effort to increase attention, hotels and airlines are offering discount packages along with art festival ticket sales.
For more information, please check www.hk.artsfestival.org.
【小題1】The press briefing must have been held ______. 

A．in Hong KongB．in EuropeC．in BeijingD．in Zurich
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A．more than the usual cost
B．less than the usual cost
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D．for the ticket but not for hotel rooms
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

MELBOURNE, Australia – A kangaroo frightened by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, throwing the pet underwater and hitting the owner in the stomach with its back legs. The Australian, Chris Rickard, was in stable condition Monday after the attack, which ended when the 49-year-old struck the kangaroo in the throat.
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When Rickard tried to pull his dog free, the kangaroo turned on him, attacking with its back legs and tearing a deep cut into his stomach and across his face.
"I thought I might take action to drag the dog out from under his grasp, but I didn't expect him to actually attack me," Rickard, 49, told The Herald Sun newspaper. "It was a shock at the start because it was a kangaroo, about 5 feet high, they don't go around killing people."
"I was stuck having to hold on to the dog with both hands because it was half drowned and I couldn't really see anything because the kangaroo just attacked me.”
He added, "All I could do was just keep pushing for the bank and he was trying to push me under the water, so at that point I struck him in the throat and that made him back off a little bit.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to watch kangaroo programs quite the same as I used to — it might bring back a couple of bad memories.”
Kangaroos rarely attack people but will fight if they feel threatened.
Dogs often chase kangaroos, which have been known to lead the pets into water and defend themselves there.
Rickard said he ended the attack by hitting the kangaroo in the throat adding Rocky was "half-drowned" when he pulled him from the water.
【小題1】Rickard and his pet dog were attacked when _________.

A．he was teasing a kangaroo B．he was walking his dog
C．swimming in the pond D．dragging his dog out from water
【小題2】In Australia, kangaroos ________.
A．a(chǎn)re only seen in zoos
B．frequently attack people and pets
C．get along rather peacefully with people
D．can be found swimming in ponds
【小題3】The kangaroo attacked the man and his dog probably because ________.
A．the man struck it in the throat B．the dog chased it
C．the man wanted to drown it D．it wanted to drown the dog
【小題4】As a result of the attack, ________.
A．the dog was drowned dead
B．the kangaroo was killed
C．kangaroos should be under stricter protection
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