It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said, “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”
The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon (乱放炮的人).”
The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: “This is a distraction we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”
Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding”.
For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems. Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997______.
| A．to voice her support for a total ban of landmines. |
| B．to clarify the British government’s stand on landmines. |
| C．to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims. |
| D．to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims. |
. What did Diana mean when she said“…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to
me” (Para.1)?
| A．She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face. |
| B．The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home. |
| C．Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics. |
| D．Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation. |
Some members of the British government criticized Diana because______.
| A．she was ill-informed of the government’s policy. |
| B．they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola. |
| C．she had not consulted the government before the visit. |
| D．they were actually opposed to banning landmines. |
How did Diana respond to the criticisms?
| A．She made more appearances on TV. |
| B．She paid no attention to them. |
| C．She met the 13-year-old girl as planned. |
| D．She rose to argue with her opponents. |
What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?
| A．It had caused embarrassment to the British government. |
| B．It had brought her closer to the ordinary people. |
| C．It had greatly promoted her popularity. |
| D．It had affected her relations with the British government. |
Tsunami warning system is tested
If he, the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, were alive, Thomas Jaggar would be proud of the U.S. tsunami warning system after Friday’s devastating earthquake in Japan sent a surge (大浪，汹涌) of ocean water dashing toward the West Coast.
● WASHINGTON — So many people surged to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center website that it slowed to a crawl early Friday, unable to provide critical information to the public about the coastal impact in the U.S. of a massive earthquake in Japan.
McClatchy Washington Bureau — Mar 11 06:09 p.m.
● CHICAGO — A tsunami warning has been issued for the central and northern California coast and Oregon, the National Weather Service announced early Friday.
Chicago Tribune— Mar 11 06:07 a.m.
● HONOLULU — A tsunami warning was issued late on Thursday for Hawaii after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, prompting state civil defense officials to order all coastal areas evacuated（把…撤出…）by 2 a.m. local time. Tsunami sirens (警报) began sounding at 9:59 p.m. on Thursday. They have sounded every hour since 11:15 p.m.
Alaska Tsunami Warning Center also issued a warning for much of the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.
Reuters via Yahoo! News — Mar 11 01:22 a.m.
● LOMPOC — Tsunami warning ‘a wake-up call’
A tsunami warning that led to evacuations for coastal 
communities and campgrounds in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties Friday served as a successful trial for a more serious emergency, officials said after the danger passed.
The Lompoc Record — Mar 11 11:29 p.m.
● WELLINGTON — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, and it said the sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated and was in effect for some Pacific islands — Hawaii, China’s Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia etc.
New Straits Times — Mar 11 07:48 a.m.
— Reproduced by Yahoo Greenwich Meantime.
. A tsunami warning was issued for all the following states in the U.S. except for _____.
| A．Ohio | B．California | C．Oregon | D．Alaska |
.
The underlined word “prompting” (in the fourth paragraph) most probably means _____.
| A．promoting | B．advocating | C．urging | D．appealing |
.
According to the passage, the Pacific Tsunami warning was first reported by _____.
| A．New Straits Times | B．Reuters via Yahoo! News |
| C．McClatchy Washington Bureau | D．Chicago Tribune |
.
In which city did the news agency issue a tsunami affecting for some other places apart from Japan and Hawaii?
A. LOMPOC. B. WASHINGTON. C. HONOLULU. D. WELLINGTON.
One of Lewis Gordon Pugh’s first big attempts to put his cold-water skills to the test nearly ended in disaster. On a one-mile swim in Antarctica in December 2005, just yards from the finish, his body began to give in. The temperature inside his thigh muscle dropped to 87.8 degrees, the lowest ever measured in him. He was completely at the limits of his ability.
Despite what he called the “grueling (折磨人的)” Antarctic swim, Pugh scheduled an even more fearsome test for himself at the North Pole. Stepping off the way of the Russian icebreaker that had crunched(咯吱作响的穿过) through floating sea ice for five days to take him to the North Pole, Pugh walked across the ice to a pool of open water over one mile long and two and a half miles deep. The sea temperature was 29 degrees, only a little above the freezing point of salt water.
Pugh quickly took off his padded clothes. In only his bathing suit and cap, his skin already pink, he walked to the water’s edge. “The only place I’m getting out is at the end,” he told himself. Then he removed his earphones and dived in.
The pain was immediate. His entire body felt on fire. The doctor kept pace with him in a boat. Through iced-up goggles(护目镜), Pugh could see the armed guards keeping watch for bears.
His friend Becker had broken down the huge task into manageable parts, each one marked by a flag planted in the ice that represented a friend, family member, or teammate. Fog started to roll in as Pugh headed for the final marker, the flag of Great Britain. He imagined his late father standing beside it--- the man who had done so much to give him an interest in adventure. Then Pugh drove himself to the finish. After 18 minutes 50 seconds in the water, his body was not even hypothermic(体温过低的)..
Why did Lewis Gordon Pugh swim in Antarctica in December 2005?
| A．To train his determination. |
| B．To end a disaster. |
| C．To test his cold-water skills. |
| D．To check the temperature in Antarctica. |
.
. It can be inferred that in the pool at the North Pole Lewis Gordon Pugh __________.
| A．had to suffer from the cold water with his goal to achieve |
| B．dived to the depth of two and a half miles |
| C．broke the records that the Russian kept |
| D．spent nearly 19 minutes walking over one mile |
.
. To make sure of the successful test in the pool at the North Pole, __________.
| A．Lewis Gordon Pugh had to carry flags |
| B．Lewis Gordon Pugh was accompanied by his father |
| C．Pugh took measures to keep his body temperature |
| D．Pugh’s task was separated into several parts |
The crisis(危机) at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear(核) energy center caused by the terrible earthquake has raised questions about the future of the nuclear energy industry. Arjun Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in the United States. He says the disaster(灾难)in Japan is historic.
This week, the chairman of America’s nuclear agency said there is little chance that harmful radiation(辐射) from Japan could reach the United States. Gregory also said America has a strong program in place to deal with earthquake threats. No new nuclear power centers have been built in the United States since nineteen seventy-nine. That was when America’s worst nuclear accident happened at the Three Mile Island center in Pennsylvania. The accident began to turn public opinion against nuclear energy. At present, about twenty percent of electricity in the United States comes from nuclear energy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany would close seven nuclear power centers while energy policy is reconsidered. The European Union is planning to test all centers in its twenty-seven member nations.
Developing nations are less willing to slow nuclear expansion. China said it will continue with plans to build about twenty-five new nuclear reactors（反应堆）. And India, under a cooperation agreement with the United States, plans to spend billions on new centers in the coming years.
Nuclear reactors supply fourteen percent of global electricity. Nuclear energy is a clean resource, producing no carbon gases. But radioactive waste is a serious unresolved issue. So is the presence of nuclear power centers in earthquake areas like the one near Bushehr, Iran.
The best title of the text is .
A. Various Opinions on Japan’s Nuclear Disaster
B. Japan’s Disaster is Likely to Run out of Control
C. America Feels Great Concern for Japan’s Nuclear Crisis
D. Japan’s Disaster Throws Doubt on Nuclear Energy Industry.
We can learn from the text that America .
| A．experienced a terrible nuclear accident 32 years ago |
| B．has a strong program to deal with radiation danger |
| C．depends heavily on nuclear energy to produce electricity |
| D．will check all the reactors before cooperating with India |
.
According to the text, which country will be most likely to have a similar disaster?
| A．German. | B．Iran. | C．India. | D．China. |
.
How does the author seem to feel about the future of nuclear energy?
| A．Satisfied. | B．Pleased. | C．Wordless. | D．Surprised. |
.
The best title of the text is .
| A．Various Opinions on Japan’s Nuclear Disaster |
| B．Japan’s Disaster is Likely to Run out of Control |
| C．America Feels Great Concern for Japan’s Nuclear Crisis |
| D．Japan’s Disaster Throws Doubt on Nuclear Energy Industry |
The wedding between Prince Wiliam and Kate Middleton on April 29 has focused the world’s camera lenses (镜头) on the UK.
In Britain, there is a constant debate about the relevance(相关性) of the royal family to modern British society. However, Windsor (the family name of the British Royal Family) and Middleton have been seen to represent a more modern, forward-looking nation.
Nigel Baker, the British ambassador to Bolivia, believes that the royal wedding is “about modern Britain”. “The estimated 2 billion spectators across the world will see that Britain is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the world, home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 different languages, founded on tolerance and respect for difference,” wrote Baker on his blog.
According to Baker, the wedding could help viewers to see “why Britain is one of the most dynamic and creative countries in the world”: The television on which most people watched the event was invented by John Logie Baird, a Briton, and the World Wide Web that broadcast the event to millions more was invented by another Briton, Tim Berners-Lee.
The guests who attended the wedding ceremony gave more than a few clues as to the nature of modern Britain. David and Victoria Beckham represent Britain’s obsession (着迷)with football and celebrity.
Leaders from different religious backgrounds supported Baker’s comments on the multicultural nature of modern British society.
Before the wedding, David Elliott, arts director of the British Council China, agreed that the wedding would be a showcase for modern Britain: “I think, and hope, that it (modern British influence) would be values like openness, multiculturalism, creativity, sense of humor and the traditional British sense of fair play,” he said.
Furthermore, events such as the Olympics in London in 2012 may also increase people’s sense of Britishness.
According to a poll published in Daily Telegraph, more than a third of people in the UK admitted they felt “very British” when watching the Olympics.. What is the point of the article?
| A．To introduce Prince William’s wedding arrangements in detail. |
| B．To comment on the significance of the royal wedding. |
| C．To question the relevance of the royal family in modern British society. |
| D．To explain why the royal wedding is linked with the 2012 Olympics. |
. What can be concluded from the article?
A. Some say that the royal wedding is a reflection on modern Britain.
B Some think the royal wedding shows Britain’s multiculturalism and sense of fair play.
C.About 2 billion people across the world will see the wedding ceremony online.
D. Britons are obsessed with football due to the influence of David Beckham.. Why is the inventor of the World Wide Web mentioned?
A. To inform readers about some well-known British inventors.
B. To point to the importance of the World Wide Web for the wedding.
C. In support of the idea that Britain is a nation of creative and original people.
D. To encourage people to watch the wedding on the Internet.. According to the article, both the 2012 Olympics and the royal wedding .
| A．have increased the British sense of national identity |
| B．have promoted traditional British values |
| C．represent a more modern Britain |
| D．have encouraged the interest of Britons in Football |
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