The Sultana was a Mississippi River steamboat destroyed in an explosion on April 27, 1865. An 1)____________ 1,800 of the 2,400 passengers were killed, and the Sultana sank not far from Memphis, Tennessee. This disaster received little public attention, as it took place soon after the President Abraham Lincoln was 2) ____________. The wooden steamboat was constructed in 1863 and 3) ____________ be used for the lower Mississippi cotton trade. Registering 1,719 tons, the steamboat was built to carry no more than 376 people. For two years, it ran a regular route between St. Louis and New Orleans. Sometimes it was asked to carry troops. The Sultana left New Orleans on April 21, 1865.Most of the passengers were Union soldiers who had recently been 4) ____________ Confederate prison camps. The US government had 5) ____________ the Sultana to transport these former prisoners of war back to their homes in the north. At 2 a.m. on April 27, about seven miles north of Memphis, at least one boiler 6) ____________, causing a huge explosion that destroyed the center portion of the boat, throwing sleeping men high into the air before landing in the river Confusion and chaos 7) ____________ as men tried to save themselves and others. Many drowned while others burned to death. The direct cause of the explosion was later determined to be the leaky and poorly repaired steam boiler. Passengers who 8) ____________ the initial explosion had to risk their lives in the icy water of the Mississippi or burn with the ship. Many died of drowning or coldness. Bodies of 9) ____________ continued to be found downriver for months. Many were never recovered. Some of the Sultana's crew, including the captain, were among those who 10) ____________.

Rainforests Did you know there are two types of Rainforest―the temperate and the tropical Tropical rainforests are found close to the equator. Temperate rainforests are found along coasts in the temperate zone, such as the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Both are endangered!Rainforests Endangered! Today only about three percent of the original temperate rainforest in the U. S. A. remains, mostly inside Olympic National Park in Washington State. Prior to the arrival of homesteaders just over a century ago, the Olympic Peninsula contained more than a million acres of old-growth spruce and hemlock. Because of habitat destruction, many plants and animals have become "island dwellers" inside the park now. Tropical rainforests comprise only 40% of the world’’s tropical forests and only 20% of the world’’s total forests. They cover 6%―7% of the Earth’’s land surface. Half of the world’’s plant and animal species live in the tropical rainforests of the world. Thirty acres of trees are cut in the tropical rainforests every minute. As you read this, tropical rainforests are shrinking. Each second a portion of rainforest the size of a football field is destroyed or damaged. What Makes the Tropical Rainforest Special -The rainforests are home to half of the Earth’’s plant and animal species.-They are winter homes to many birds that breed in temperate latitudes.-Tropical rainforests are some of the most beautiful wildernesses on our planet.-They are home to tribal cultures that have survived successfully in the forests for many thousands of years.-The forests are a potential source of medicinal plants that may benefit everyone on Earth.-The ecosystem of the rainforest is based on the most complex interdependence of plants and animals. This is both the forest’’s strength and its weakness: highly specialized organisms are particularly vulnerable to disturbance, because they cannot adapt fast enough to survive the change.-Tropical rainforests help maintain global rain and weather patterns. Much of the water that evaporates from the trees returns in the form of rainfall. Removal of the forest can change the natural rainfall patterns.Tropical Rainforest Layers Tropical rainforests have four layers:Emergent Layer These giant trees thrust above the dense canopy layer(树冠层) and have huge mushroom-shaped crowns. These trees enjoy the greatest amount of sunlight but also must endure high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds.Canopy Layer The broad, irregular crowns of these trees form a tight, continuous canopy 60 to 90 feet above the ground. The branches are often densely covered with other plants (epiphytes) and tied together with vines (lianas). The canopy is home to 90% of the organisms found in the rain forest; many seeking the brighter light in the treetops.Understory Receiving only 2%―15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy, the understory is a dark place. It is relatively open and contains young trees and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low light. Many popular house plants come from this layer. Only along rivers and roadways and in treefall and cut areas is sunlight sufficient to allow growth to become thick and impenetrableForest Floor The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light. On the floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds, fruits, and branches that very quickly decomposes. Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is found, unlike in temperate deciduous (落叶性的) forests.Soil and Nutrient Recycling Most tropical rainforest soils are relatively poor in nutrients. Millions of years of weathering and torrential rains have washed most of the nutrients out of the soil. More recent volcanic soils, however, can be very fertile. Tropical rain forest soils contain less organic matter than temperate forests and most of the available nutrients are found in the living plant and animal material. Nutrients in the soil are often in forms that are not accessible by plants. Constant warmth and moisture promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a tree dies in the rainforest, living organisms quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a chance to be washed away. When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy rains can quickly wash the released nutrients away, leaving the soil even more impoverished.Causes of Destruction Tropical rainforests are being cut at an alarming rate. Although estimates vary, some scientists believe that we are losing an area of rainforest the size of Pennsylvania each year. If deforestation continues at this rate we may lose rainforests altogether within the next one hundred years. Tropical deforestation occurs for a number of reasons. As human populations increase in tropical regions, people move away from the overcrowded cities into the forest areas where they practice small-scale farming. Commercial agricultural projects may require conversion of large plots of rainforest land and may cause more permanent damage. Logging of forests for firewood, charcoal, building materials, and other wood products is another cause of deforestation. The conversion of rainforest to pasture land for cattle ranching has led to the destruction of millions of acres of forest. Mining for gold, bauxite from which aluminum is made, and other minerals can lead to the drastic destruction of the land. Once the land is scarred by mining efforts it is left vulnerable to massive erosion. Other events and issues such as natural disasters, war, the construction of dams, and poverty in developing countries also contribute to the destruction of tropical rainforests.What Can You Do to Help Save the Tropical Rainforest Preserving tropical rainforests involves more than just deciding not to cut trees. Social, political and economic factors all need to be taken into consideration. The following are some suggestions about how you can contribute to the solution. -Learn more about tropical rainforests and the plants and animals, including people, which live there. Investigate the complex issues surrounding deforestation and possible solutions through further reading. -Write letters to your congressional representatives or your local paper to express concern about the destruction of the tropical rainforests. The more you know about the topic and issues, the more specific you can be in suggesting actions you would like your elected officials to take. -Visit tropical countries to see the rainforest. Gaining firsthand experience is one of the best ways to develop an understanding of and commitment to an issue. -Work to protect tropical rainforests and their indigenous peoples. -Think globally and act locally. Practices at home, like the ones listed below, can have an impact on the preservation of rainforests. -Recycling aluminum cans reduces the need for bauxite, which must be minedfrom the ground in tropical countries. Bauxite is the source of aluminum. -Buy only pets which were captive bred here in the United States. Those which were not bred here may have been taken from the wild and imported illegally from tropical countries. When purchasing tropical woods for furniture or construction, investigate the source of the wood to determine whether it was grown in a sustainable manner. In all things you do, practice the environmentally sound use and reuse of our resources. This will not only have a positive impact on the tropical rainforest but on all the ecosystems of the world.Tropical rainforests comprise only 40% of the world’’s tropical forests and only 20% of the world’’s total forests. A．YB．NC．NG

Indonesian Tsunami (海啸) Disaster Ing, eleven years old, isn’’t sure how she felt after surviving the tsunami disaster that hit the western coast of Thailand on 26 December 2004. The tidal waves not only swallowed her whole native village of Baan Nam Kem, but also the life of her loving aunt, who had taken care of her after her parents’’ separation. Another aunt is missing and has not yet been found. "What happened really saddens me. I cried until I had no more tears. The only reminders of them that I could find in the debris (残骸，瓦砾) were one of their blouses and a watch...On the day of the disaster, I was staying with my grandmother in a nearby village. I got very scared when I saw the wave. It was as tall as the tops of the pine trees. When it hit, I thought my grandmother and I were going to die. Luckily, a truck stopped and picked us up. We finally made it to the top of the mountain safely," she said, still looking frightened. "My house was completely destroyed, and I do not have the courage to go back and live there again, let alone to swim in the sea. I’’m afraid that such a terrible thing might happen again." Ing is now staying at a temporary shelter, waiting for her mother who lives in another district to come and collect her. At the same time, she looks forward to going back to school. "I want to go back to study, and only hope that my school will reopen soon." What I Witnessed Gordon Weiss, UNICEF’’s (联合国儿童基金会) Media coordinator of Emergency Operations, was in Aceh, the province hardest-hit by the tsunami. He gave us an eyewitness account of the disaster. A young boy clung to a plank (厚木板) . People were watching him from the bridge above, staring for a few moments, and then moving on. The boy’’s dead body lay atop a sea of debris, the gentle ocean swelled, rocking him against the bridge’’s wooden pillar (柱子，支柱). The once emerald-green (翡翠绿) rice paddy-fields (稻田) of Aceh have become graveyards for thousands of people. Bloated (肿胀) , blackened bodies rose above the water and lined the narrow roads. Corpses seemed to be everywhere... On that fateful morning, farmers working on their fields watched in amazement as a wall of water appeared in the distance, then tore across a broad strip of coastal land, smashing everything in its path. The 10-meter-high wall of water ― carrying wood and other debris ― surged across the plain, crossing the two kilometers to Segun Ayon in about 4 minutes. We drove on a little closer to the sea, to the village of Pengungi. Of the 6,000 people in the area, about 1,000 were killed. A third of the victims were children; another third, women. The children, frightened by their experience, clung to their parents as we talked. The adults told us mat 13 of the 15 schools in this small cluster of villages had been destroyed. Many of the teachers were killed. Apart from food and water, the people here pleaded for help to reopen the schools for their children, who desperately needed a safe place that could restore some normalcy (正常状态) to their shattered lives. One old woman said in broken English, "Education is medicine to these children." Every few hours, aftershocks (余震) shook me ground here. The stench (臭气，恶臭) of death lingered in the air. Half of the city of Banda Aceh had been destroyed, with the figures for the dead rising each hour. What We Can Do Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of United Nations, delivered his statement in Jakarta, Indonesia, 6 January 2005. What happened on 26 December 2004 was an unprecedented, global catastrophe (灾难，灾祸). It requires an unprecedented, global response. For the United Nations, it is the largest natural disaster the Organization has had to respond to on behalf of the world community, in the sixty years of our existence... It seems at times like a nightmare from which we are still hoping to awaken. We will never know the exact number of how many men, women and children perished on 26 December, and in the eleven days mat have passed since then. We do know that at least half a million people are injured; mat more man a million people are displaced (被迫离开家园的，失去家 园的); that nearly two million people need food aid; and that many more need water, sanitation (卫生) and health care. So as we grieve for the dead and pray for those still searching for loved ones, we have a duty to the survivors. To Treat the Wounded To prevent further suffering as a result of polluted drinking water, destroyed infrastructure, lack of food, clothing and shelter. To stop the tsunami from being followed by a second wave of death, this time from preventable causes. And in the longer term, to prevent a third wave of despair, where people can’’t recover their livelihoods, homes or communities. The governmental response has been matched by unprecedented generosity from the general public. Consider the six-year-old boy in Shenyang, China, who donated his life savings of 22 dollars. Or the citizens of Sweden, a country of nine million inhabitants, who have raised more than 70 million dollars for the relief effort in Asia, while struggling to cope with the fact that almost 2,000 of their compatriots (同胞) are still missing in the tragedy... So the goodwill and concern around the world are enormous. So are the challenges facing us. Another Disaster to Children The most heartbreaking the tsunami disaster has brought was on children, who account for as many as one-third of the total killed. Now, as refugees register in temporary camps, the world is confronting a different sort of tragedy: tens of thousands of children have been either separated from their parents or orphaned. These kids, whom relief workers are calling "the Tsunami Generation," have become prime objects of the global outpouring of sympathy. But they are also drawing some unwanted attention. Relief workers say many orphans are suffering from both physical and psychological trauma (创伤) . A UNICEF spokesman says many are "in a state of denial." Some who saw their mothers drown, he says, cling to the belief that Mom has just gone to the ocean for a while, and that she will soon return. Protecting children from exploitation is another priority. Previous disasters have demonstrated that kids are targets for gangs involved in human trafficking (人口买卖) , which thrives in parts of the region. How serious is the threat Supervisors in at least one refugee center in Sri Lanka report that people have turned up asking if they can buy children. "Bad people take advantage of difficult situations," Bellamy says. Response to the Threat The Indonesian government responded by restricting travel for kids and banning adoptions out of Aceh. Indeed, none of the affected nations are eager to send tsunami orphans abroad. The U.S. State Department, for its part, has placed a postponement on adoptions of tsunami survivors by U.S. citizens. For one thing, not all the displaced children are necessarily orphans. Some newly single parents may have dropped off their kids at shelters as they surveyed the ruins of their houses and lives. Other parents may still be alive but were separated from their children during the chaos of the flood. "For every story about an orphan," says Paul Deveril, a UNICEF project officer in India, "there’’s also a story about a parent searching for their child." Those who still want to help have options. Both the French and Italian governments have set up programs that will allow people to sponsor tsunami orphans. In the U.S., the Christian mission Gospel for Asia, based in Carrollton, Texas, is raising funds to build 10 "transition homes" in Sri Lanka alone. But there’’s also the risk that with so many displaced children, local governments won’’t be able to find new homes for all of them, which could make thousands of orphans permanent wards (被监护人) of their respective states. Perhaps then their adoption by foreigners will not seem such a bad idea.A third of the victims were women in the village of Pengungi. A．YB．NC．NG

Children can be a fantastic bonding experience, strengthening your relationship between one another. Here are a few reasons on why you should cook with your kids and how to do it safely.As a parent, spending quality time with your children is incredibly important. With many parents leading busy lifestyles and spending long hours at work, slotting in time with the kids can be tricky. However, bringing your children into the kitchen when you're making a meal can be a great family bonding experience. Depending on the age of your children, you could ask for a helping hand so you can all join in the fun and cook up an exciting dish.2/52. According to the passage, cooking with children helps them learn important skills such as____.A. teamwork and following instructionsB. measurement and creativityC. problem-solving and organization

When writing about qualifications, applicants are advised to ______.A. stress their academic potential to impress the decision makerB. give the title of the university degree they have earned at homeC. provide a detailed description of their study and work experiencesD. highlight their keen interest in pursuing a 'cross-border' career

The Internet has enabled the spread of information at lightning speed. This information revolution has created tremendous business opportunities for online publishers, but not all of them maintain proper quality-control mechanisms to ensure that only good information is being shared. Instead, many publishers aim simply to make money by whatever means possible, with no regard for the implications for society at large. When selfish publishers set up shops online, the primary goal is to publish as much as possible, often at the cost of quality. In this respect, many publishers start numerous online journals focused on overlapping (重叠的) disciplines—to increase their total number of published papers—and hire young business managers who do not have any experience in either science or publishing. In some cases, online publishers even give up peer review, while still presenting themselves as scientific journals—deception designed to take advantage of scientists who simply want to share their research. If publishers structure their business to make more revenue, it often does harm to their products. When publishers start journals with overlapping domains, in combination with the pressure to publish more studies, this could promote the publication of marginal or even questionable articles. Moreover, publishers with multiple overlapping journals and journals with very narrow specialties (专业) increase the demands on the time and efforts of willing reviewers. With the fact that reviewers are generally not compensated for their time and effort, journal editors are often unable to find enough reviewers to keep up with the increased publication rate. To improve the situation and increase the trust in scientific community, the pressure to publish must be reduced. Funding and promotion decisions should not be based on the number of publications, but on the quality of those publications and a researcher's long-term productivity and instructions. And that's just the start. We need additional mechanisms, such as Beau's list of predatory (掠夺的) publishers, to alert scientists to fake journals and fake articles. In addition, the price for online publication must be controlled and a mechanism must be put in place to honor and reward hard-working reviewers.1What does the author think of online publishers?A. small proportion of them can guarantee their publishing quality.B.They have lots of opportunities to renovate their business models.C.Many of them tend to try every means to make a buck.D.Social impact is their first priority when publishing books.2It can be inferred from the second paragraph that________.E.peer review generally is a criterion to identify academic journalsF.researchers focus their research on the combination of disciplinesG.scientists care about their publications rather than researchH.young business managers are willing to face new challenges3Why can’t publishers find enough reviewers to review papers?I.Reviewers are pressed for time when reviewing articles.J.Reviewers’ gains can’t make up for what they have done.K.Publishers may compel reviewers to accept marginal articles.L.Publishers urge reviewers to increase publication rate rapidly.4What is the author’s suggestion for online publication?M.More weight should be put on the quantity of publications.N.It is worthwhile to reward diligent reviewers for their efforts.O.Fake journals should be reported to a regulatory organization.P.The price of online publication should be lowered greatly.5What is the main idea of this passage?Q.Online publishers should take measures to fight against fake scientific journals.R.Online publishers are pursuing their work efficiency at the cost of quality.S.Online publishers’ business models are quite likely to harm their publications.T.Online publishers are sacrificing the quality of research articles to make money.

A.Listening for gist.Listen to the recording once and answer the following questions.-|||-1.What is the recording about?-|||-__-|||-2.How many activities are mentioned?-|||-__-|||-B.Listening for details.-|||-1.Listen to the recording again.When is each place open? Write down the days and times on-|||--27.-|||-2.Decide whether each of the statements is true (T) or false (F).-|||-1)The night market only opens at night. square -|||-2)The nightclub closes before midnight. square -|||-3)The park is not very crowded before seven o'clock. square

Listening comprehension.-|||-Exercise 1:Listening for gist.Listen to the recording once and answer the following questions.-|||-1.What are the speakers talking about?-|||-2.What do they think of the topic?-|||-Exercise2:Listening for details.-|||-1.Listen to the recording again and complete the chart.-|||-Race When and where is it? What`s good about it? What`s bad about it?-|||-Rock and Roll in late __-|||-Marathon-|||-__-|||-Patagonian-|||-in __-|||-Expedition-|||-Race __-|||-2.Discuss with a partner.Which race do you like most? Why?

Listening compreheion.-|||-Exercise 1:Listening for gist.Listen to the recording once and answer the following questions.-|||-1.What are the speakers talking about?-|||-2.What do they think of the topic?-|||-Exercise2:Listening for details.-|||-1.Listen to the recording again and complete the chart.-|||-Race When and where is it? What`s good about it? What`s bad about it?-|||-Rock and Roll in late __-|||-Marathon-|||-__-|||-__-|||-Patagonian in __-|||-Expedition-|||-Race __-|||-2.Discuss with a partner.Which race do you like most? Why?

A ) pessimist B ) optimist C ) inspired D ) inspiration E ) positive F ) affirmative G ) attract H ) outcomes I ) overcome J ) accomplishment K ) attitude L ) speed M ) negative N ) outlook O ) defeat An 6 ) _ feels hopeful and 7)_ most of the time and finds the 8 )outlooks_ in things and people . The law of attraction works best when you have an 9 ) _ view about life . You will move people toward you and 10_ better luck and events . Remind yourself that certain things take time to develop and grow . If you keep repeating . successful habits and expect the best , you can' t help but produce victory in the end . With each 11 )_ , you will feel more enthusiastic and hopeful that you will create more promising 12 ) _If you think it' s still difficult for you to develop an optimistic 13 ) _ and need further help , read , especially . autobiographies of successful men and study how they 14 ) _ their challenges and difficulties through elforts and idealistic views . Listen and watch inspirational and motivational video and audio programs . Look out for the teachers who will 15 ) _ up your learning process and help you acquire more ideas and improve your skills . Put the knowledge into action