.

 (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 (醫(yī)療護理) 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 (崩潰) 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.

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科目：高中英語 來源：全國大聯(lián)考2010屆高三第五次聯(lián)考·英語試卷（四川卷） 題型：閱讀理解


E
Climate has been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, research shows—and future warming is likely to increase the number of deaths from war. US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they suggest conflict arises when the food supply is not enough in warm conditions. Climatic factors have been mentioned as a reason for several recent conflicts. One is the fighting in Darfur in Sudan that has killed 200,000 people and forced two million more from their homes. Previous research has shown an association between lack of rain and conflict, but this is thought to be the first clear evidence of a temperature link.
The researchers used databases of temperatures across sub-Saharan Africa for the period between 1981 and 2002, and looked for connections between above average warmth and civil conflict in the same country that left at least 1,000 people dead. "Studies show that crop output in the region is really sensitive to small shifts in temperature, even of half a degree or so," research leader Marshall Burke, from the University of California at Berkeley, told BBC News.
"Our findings provide strong motivation to increase investments in African adaptation to climate change by such steps as developing crop varieties less sensitive to extreme heat and promoting insurance plans to help protect farmers from negative effects of the hotter climate," said Dr Burke. "If the argument is that the trend towards rising temperatures will increase conflict, then we need to do something around climate change, but more fundamentally we need to resolve the conflicts in the first place."
If the sub-Saharan climate continues to warm and little is done to help its countries better adapt to high temperatures, the human costs are likely to be unimaginable. If temperatures rise across the continent as computer models project, future conflicts are likely to become more common, researchers suggest. Their study shows an increase of about 50% over the next 20 years.
When projections of social trends such as population increase and economic development were included in their model of a future Africa, temperature rise still emerged as a likely major cause of increasing armed conflict. At next month's UN climate summit (峰會) in Copenhagen, governments are due to debate how much money to put into helping African countries prepare for and adapt to negative effects of climate change.
57．According to the passage, which of the following is one of the reasons for the fighting in Darfur in Sudan?
A．Shortage of drinking water.                         B．Racial discrimination.
C．Rising temperature.                                     D．Demand for planting land.
58．What can we know from the research done by the US researchers?
A．There is no close relation between rainfall and conflict.
B．Temperature greatly affects crop production in sub-Saharan Africa.
C．Temperature will rise by about 50% in Africa over the next two decades.
D．With world cooperation, conflicts in Africa will be reduced by half 20 years later.
59．What can be inferred from the passage?
A．Something must be done to help sub-Saharan countries with better adaptation to climate change to avoid disaster.
B．Conflicts in sub-Saharan countries are sure to be on the rise in future.
C．Temperature in sub-Saharan countries will rise at a faster speed.
D．High temperatures will make sub-Saharan countries unfit to live in.
60．What's the best title for this passage?
A．World cooperation against African conflict
B．Africa's sufferings from climate change
C．Food shortages lead to African conflict
D．Climate drives African conflict

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Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate（模仿） the British accent of a BBC news reader?
Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex! Let’s listen to what they have to say.
Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK
A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(時髦). A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. Her Texan twang（鼻音） had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her.
To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people.
Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US
From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men. Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style.
Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.
The English accent seems almost like art.
【小題1】In Stephen Yang’s opinion, accents just show__________.

A．the beauty of the languageB．how the language is spoken
C．the cultural differences of the speakers D．the fashion of the day
【小題2】The underlined word “cute “probably means__________.
A．strangeB．excitingC．a(chǎn)ttractiveD．fashionable
【小題3】Many American girls watch Harry Porter again and again in order to __________.
A．learn the acting skills of the these stars
B．learn the magic performed by Harry Potter
C．imitate the actors’ accents
D．know more about British English
【小題4】What is probably the best title for this passage?
A．British English and American English
B．British Accent or American Accent
C．American English Accent is Most Accepted
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When TV news programs report wars or disasters, the editors rarely use the most horrifying pictures of dead or wounded victims because they don’t want to upset their viewers. Even so, viewers are usually warned in advance that they may find some of these scenes disturbing, so they can look away if they choose. But the men and women whose job is to record those scenes－the TV cameramen－h(huán)ave no such choice. It is their duty to witness the horrors of the world and record them, no matter how terrible and unpleasant they may be. Consequently, it is one of the most dangerous, exposed and emotionally taxing jobs the world has to offer.

Today, the demand for their work is rising. The explosion of satellite broadcasting and 24-hour news in recent years has created an almost insatiable (貪得無厭的) demand for TV information. But major broadcasters and the TV news agencies—such as Reuters and WTN－h(huán)ave never had enough staff to meet the worldwide demand for up-to-date pictures, so increasingly they turn to “freelance” TV cameramen.

These freelance cameramen are independent operators tied to no particular organization. They will work for any company which hires them, be it for just a few hours or for several weeks in a war zone. But if the freelance cameraman is injured in the course of the job, the TV company is not responsible for him. The freelancer must survive on his own.

TV will always need hard, vivid moving pictures which are fresh, but these companies feel uncomfortable with large numbers of employees on their books, explains Nick Growing, once foreign editor for Britain Channel 4 News and now a BBC news presenter.

By hiring freelancers, they can buy in the skills they need only when they need them. It also enables them to contract out the risk, he says.

1.TV news agencies turn to freelance cameramen in order to           .

A．save expense and avoid risks

B．get free and useful pictures

C．get first-hand information and pictures

D．satisfy the greed of the freelance cameramen

2.We can infer from the passage that the freelance cameramen             .

A．have to take a lot of risks in the course of work

B．a(chǎn)re tied to many TV news agencies

C．have better skills than other cameramen

D．need to contract out risks of work for TV companies

3.According to this passage, some major broadcasters and TV news agencies            .

A. have employed enough cameramen

B. are not willing to employ many cameramen

C. are very mean to freelancers

C. are responsible for the freelancer if he is injured

4.The author of this passage shows his           the freelance cameramen.

A．sympathy to       B．respect for        C．a(chǎn)nger to          D．a(chǎn)dmiration to

 

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“This is the BBC News at Eight O’ Clock.”

…

“Chinese people spent about 120 billion yuan during the first three days of the May Golden Week last year. This year it has increased to 140 billion yuan.”

“The children of Beijing No.2 Middle School sang with students from Toronto in Canada to celebrate the 20thanniversary. They had been sister schools since 1986. They spent about two weeks together in Beijing. They visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. They took a lot of photos in Beihai Park.”

“Have you ever got tired of heavy shopping bags? A new shopping assistant robot which was invented by Japanese company could be the answer. The helpful robot can follow you around and carry several bags. The robot was tested at a shopping center in February 2006. ”

“About 500 people from different countries were in the 2006 “Rock Paper Scissors(剪刀)” World Match in Canada. This event was founded in 1842. It is said playing this game is fun, and also a good way to solve problems among people.”

…

“And now it’s time for Morning Music.”

1.The students from Canada and Beijing No. 2 Middle School didn’t ________.

A．take photos

B．visit the Great Wall

C．visit the Summer Palace

D．have a football match

2.This year during the first three days of the May Golden Week, it cost Chinese people ___________ yuan more than that of last year.

A．260 billion

B．120 billion

C．140 billion

D．20 billion

3.Which of the following is not talked about in the news?

A．The robot can help with shopping bags.

B．A Japanese company invented the robot.

C．The robot was tested at a shopping centre.

D．There are such robots in people’s homes now.

4.The underlined word “anniversary” means           .

A．founding

B．yearly return of the date of an event

C．university

D．the new beginning of something important

5.Which of the following is a game?

A．Rock Paper Scissors

B．May Golden Week

C．Shopping assistant robot

D．A visit to the school

 

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科目：高中英語 來源：20102011浙江溫州八校高一下學期期末聯(lián)考英語試題 題型：閱讀理解

Many people think that the BBC news programs are better than those on other channels because the BBC is not a commercial company. It pays for its programs from the television license money which everyone must pay if they have a television.

The BBC, which is often known as "Auntie", is the biggest news collecting operation in the world. It has the world’s largest network of foreign correspondents (通訊員；記者）. Ten percent of the BBC’s annual budget is spent on news collecting, reporting and presenting. More than 1,700 people work for the BBC news service.

The BBC produces more than 214 hours of news and current affairs programs for radio and television each week. Each television news program costs about £78,000 per hour and each radio news program costs approximately £4,800 per hour. In the UK, about 19 million people ― almost 35% of the total population, watch the BBC television news progams every day.

Developments in technology are improving news collection and presentation every year. The BBC now uses special cameras in the TV news studios to film the news presenters, and captions― the words and sentences at the bottom of the screen, are now produced automatically by computer.

1.

According to the first paragraph, we can learn that __________.

A．many people are more content with the BBC than with other channels

B．the BBC news programs are better thought of than the news programs on other channels

C．the BBC news programs are better than other programs

D．if we have a television, we must pay the television license money.

2.

Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The number of the people working for the BBC news service is the largest in the world

B．The percentage of the BBC’s budget spent on news collecting is the largest in the world

C．The BBC has the largest network of foreign correspondents in the world

D．The BBC now uses special cameras to film the news presenters and captions

3.

We can infer from the passage that the UK has a population of about __________.

A．54 million

B．19 million

C．5.4 million

D．6.6 million

4.

What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The BBC News Service

B．The BBC Is Not Commercial

C．Developments in Technology Are Improving News Collection

D．The Biggest Operation in The World

 

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