2019高考英语一轮选练习题Unit4Makingthenews(含解析)新人教版

——————————教育资源共享步入知识海洋————————必修5 Unit 4 Making the news李仕才Ⅰ.阅读理解AGolden Gate BridgeLocated in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge started in the year 1933 to connect the San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County. It was finally thrown open to public in 1937. It cost more than $35 million in the construction. Till the year 1957, the Golden Gate Bridge, at a length of 2,737 meters, was the longest suspension bridge in the world.Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is located in Brooklyn. It is one of the oldest bridges in the United States, opened in the year 1883. The length of the bridge is 1,825 meters. The bridge has been featured in several Hollywood movies.George Washington BridgeAlso known as the Hudson River Bridge, the George Washington Bridge which connects Fort Lee to Manhattan came into use in 1931 after a construction period of almost 4 years. It is a two­level suspension bridge.Mackinac BridgeThis is the third biggest suspension bridge in the world at a length of 8,038 meters. The architect of this bridge was Dr. David B．Steinman who directed the construction of the bridge which started in the year 1954 and opened to the public in 1957. People using this bridge are charged a certain amount of money.Navajo BridgeLocated in Arizona, this bridge crosses the Colorado River and is almost 250 meters long. The construction of this bridge started in the year 1927, ending two years later, costing $390,000. In the 1990s a second bridge was built which was opened to the public in 1995. The first bridge is still used by pedestrians now.【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了美国五座著名的大桥。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

We were ordinary people taking the bus every day that summer.During the early morning rides，we sat sleepily on our seats.One of the passengers was a small grey man to the center for senior citizens.He walked with a stoop(驼背) and a sad look on his face.We paid little attention to him.Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled to us before sitting down.The driver nodded politely，the rest of us being silent.The next day，the old man boarded the bus energetically，smiled and said loud，“Good morning！”Some of us looked up，amazed，and murmured“Good morning”．The following weeks we were more surprised.Our friend was dressed in a nice old suit with the thin hair carefully combed.He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand.The driver smilingly asked，“Have you got yourself a girlfriend？”He nodded shyly，“She lives at the center.”The other passengers whistled and clapped at him.Charlie bowed before sitting down.Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower.Some regular passengers began bringing him flowers for his bunch.Everyone smiled and joked about it.But one morning he didn’t turn up.When he wasn’t t here the following days，we started wondering if he was sick or...We stopped at the center for senior citizens.The staff told us he was fine，but he hadn’t been coming that week.One of his very close friends had died at the weekend.They expected him back on Monday.How silent we were on the rest of the way to work!The next Monday he was waiting at the stop，stooping a bit more and a bit more grey.Inside the bus was a silence，all of us sitting with our eyes filled with tears and wild flowers in our hands.【解题导语】本文是一篇记叙文。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

When people argue about whether coffee is good for health, they’re usually thinking of the health of the coffee drinker. Is it good for your heart? Does it increase blood pressure? Does it help you concentrate? However, coffee affects the health of the human population in other ways, too.Traditionally, coffee bushes are planted under the canopy(树荫) of taller trees. However, more and more farmers in Latin America are deforesting the land to grow full­sun coffee. At first, this increases production because more coffee bushes can be planted if there aren’t any trees. With increased production come increased profits.Unfortunately, deforesting for coffee production immediately decreases the local wildlife habitat, because native birds nest and hide from predators(捕食者) on the tall trees and migrating birds rest there.Furthermore, in the long term, the full­sun method also damages the ecosystem because more chemical fertilizers and pesticides(杀虫剂) are needed to grow the coffee. The fertilizers and pesticides kill insects that eat coffee plants, and then the birds eat the poisoned insects and also die. The chemicals kill or sicken other animals as well, and can even enter the water that people will eventually drink.Fortunately, farmers in Central and South America are beginning to grow more coffee bushes in the shade. We can support these farmers by buying coffee with such labels as “shade­g rown” and “bird­friendly”. Sure, these varieties might cost a little more. But we’re paying for the health of the birds, the land, ourselves, and the planet. I think it’s worth it.【解题导语】本文是一篇科普说明文，通过拉丁美洲的农民种植咖啡作物的事例说明了咖啡作物长在树下对生态系统的重要性。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

（2018·四川成都高中毕业班检测）Fans of the movie Finding Nemo may remember the terrifying fish that scares Dory and Marlin at the bottom of a trench.But in reality this “monster”， a black seadevil， is only about 9 cm long，which would make it about a third of the size of Dory and potentially smaller than Marlin or Nemo.While this inaccuracy may seem harmless， it could cause problems for future conservation efforts， as people are more likely to support conservation of adorable rather than scary­looking animals.The black seadevil is just one of the mysterious “monsters”. From 2000 to 2010，scientists described about 1，200 new species in the Census of Marine Life. While this figure may seem astonishing， a further 5，000 individual dead creatures are in specimen（标本） jars， waiting to be described.Specimens must be methodically collected， identified， and then the identity of new deep­water species must be confirmed.If we call unusual deep­sea animals monsters， then we may harm their conservation as people are unlikely to be connected with them or care about saving them.On the other hand， their rarity clearly makes them popular on social media sites. For other species， this has already resulted in increases in illegal trading for unusual p ets. Deep­sea species may potentially become illegally obtained specimens or food. Humans may end up eating these animals of the deep sea to extinction before their species are even known to science.Every habitat on earth is interconnected， and whatever we as humans do has an influence on marine ecosystems. Inreality， about 80% of our oxygen is produced by microorganisms（微生物） in the oceans. This makes our oceans both the lungs and lifeblood of our planet and we must all try harder to save them.【解题导语】本文主要从电影里对深海物种的不准确认识，谈到了保护深海物种的重要性。

必修5 Unit 4 Making the news李仕才Ⅰ.阅读理解AAt 23, my career got going. I was midway through a master's degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science and had been hired as a part­time reporter for a finance website. I got a great one­month review and my boss asked if I was interested in staying at the company after graduation.However, balancing graduate studies with work was challenging. To deal with it, I checked my real self at my office door. I came in to work, greeted my colleagues and listened more than I contributed in each morning meeting. The small team I worked with often seemed busy, so rather than giving ideas that might get turned down, I stayed back.After four months, my boss called me into his office. The meeting was going well until he told me that despite the great work I had produced, the team had held a meeting and decided, “We don't think it's the right fit.”I must have looked confused.“You're ambitious, intelligent and will be very successful，” my boss said. “But you haven't made enough effort to join the team. You lost the enthusiasm you showed in your interview. That won't work long term, and if I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to get your guard down.”I couldn't believe that performing well at my job wasn't enough to keep it. But I knew my boss was right. They knew that when they hired me, I had no experience in finance reporting, yet they took a chance on me. In meetings I usually contributed last, after I had heard everyone else's suggestions.I did it to show that I was a listener, but also to hide my fears. They liked the person who walked into the interview, and they didn't respect me when I hid that person from them.“Don't leave before you leave.” That advice is essential for women at all stages of our careers. Because we work so hard for success, we don't like to think that we hurt ourselves sometimes. But each of us must change when necessary. In trying to earn a full­time job, I “leaned back” in order not to show too much of myself or my lack of expertise(专门知识). I learned that the hard way wasn't the way to achieve our goals.【文章大意】本文是一篇夹叙夹议文。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

（2019·四川成都高中毕业班检测）Fans of the movie Finding Nemo may remember the terrifying fish that scares Dory and Marlin at the bottom of a trench.But in reality this “monster”， a black seadevil， is only about 9 cm long，which would make it about a third of the size of Dory and potentially smaller than Marlin or Nemo.While this inaccuracy may seem harmless， it could cause problems for future conservation efforts， as people are more likely to support conservation of adorable rather than scary­looking animals.The black seadevil is just one of the mysterious “monsters”. From 2019 to 2019，scientists described about 1，200 new species in the Census of Marine Life. While this figure may seem astonishing， a further 5，000 individual dead creatures are in specimen（标本） jars， waiting to be described.Specimens must be methodically collected， identified， and then the identity of new deep­water species must be confirmed.If we call unusual deep­sea animals monsters， then we may harm their conservation as people are unlikely to be connected with them or care about saving them.On the other hand， their rarity clearly makes them popular on social media sites. For other species， this has already resulted in increases in illegal trading for unusual pets. Deep­sea species may potentially become illegally obtained specimens or food. Humans may end up eating these animals of the deep sea to extinction before their species are even known to science.Every habitat on earth is interconnected， and whatever we as humans do has an influence on marine ecosystems. In reality， about 80% of our oxygen is produced by microorganisms（微生物） in the oceans. This makes our oceans both the lungs and lifeblood of our planet and we must all try harder to save them.【解题导语】本文主要从电影里对深海物种的不准确认识，谈到了保护深海物种的重要性。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

At the end of every year, Time picks the best 25 inventions t hat are “making the world better and smarter”. Here we have picked three of this year’s inventions that could be a part of your life in the near future.The levitating(悬浮的) light bulbThis special light bulb was invented by U．S. artist and scientist Simon Morris. He got the idea of making a light bulb float from hoverboards(悬浮滑板), which he used to dream of having as a kid.But the floating is not the most amazing part. The rejection force between the opposite ends of the magnets(磁铁), which were put in the bottom of the bulb and in the wooden base, does the job. What’s new here is a technology called induction(电磁感应). It allows the light bulb to get power from the base even they are not in contact.Shoes that tie themselvesThey’re not what you think—shoelaces that tie themselves in the way we tie them. Instead, the new shoes have small motors that control their laces. When you step into them, your feet will hit a sensor(传感器) in the shoes and the motor will automatically tighten the laces.But the shoes weren’t just designed for lazy people’s needs. They could actually give athletes an advantage during competition. They are also useful for people who cannot move their arms or fingers easily.The no touch thermometer(体温计)Taking your body temperature usually means putting a thermometer in your armpits(腋窝) and staying still for minutes. It may be easy for you, but it’s an impossible task for little kids.Now, with the new thermometer, users can simply put it 2.5 centimeters from a patient’s forehead and press the button, and it can get reading in two seconds.【解题导语】每到年终岁尾，《时代周刊》都会评选出25项“让世界变得更加美好和智能”的最佳发明。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

Nowadays more and more people are talking about genetically modified foods ( GM foods). GM foods develop from genetically modified organisms (有机体), which have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. These techniques are much more precise where an organism is exposed to chemicals to create a nonspecific but stable change. For many people, the hightech production raises all kinds of environmental, ethical, health and safety problems. Particularly in countries with long farming traditions, the idea seems against nature.In fact, GM foods are already very much a part of our lives. They were first put on the market in 1996. A third of the corn and more than half the cotton grown in the U. S. last year was the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the US this year. The genetic genie is out of the bottle.However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foods must be subjected to careful testing. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is not so fierce by the fact that they have a large number of foods to choose from, and a supply that goes beyond the needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fastgrowing and underfed populations, the matter is simpler and much more urgent: do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks?The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year the world's population reached 6 billion. The UN states that nearly 800 million people around the world are unhealthy. About 400 million women of childbearing age don' t have enough iron, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defeats.As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness.How can biotech help? Genetic engineering is widely used to produce plants and animals with better nutritional values. Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops.Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to drought, poor soil and crop viruses.1.The passage mainly talks about________.A. the world's food problemB. the development in biotechC. the genetically modified foodsD. the way to solve food shortages2.According to the passage, GM foods________.A. will replace naturally grown foodsB. are far better than naturally grown foodsC. may help to solve the problem of poor nutritionD. can cause serious trouble in developing countries3.The underlined sentence “The genetic genie is out of the bottle.” in Paragraph 2 probablymeans that________.A.GM foods are available everywhereB. the technology in producing GM foods is advancedC. genetic technology may have uncontrollable powersD. genetic technology has come out of laboratories into markets4.What's the writer's attitude towards GM foods?A. Enthusiastic.B. Cautious.C. Disapproving.D. Unbelievable.【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了转基因食品及其对人类生活的影响。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才【短文语法填空】Helping a person forget something is rarely easy, especially if the “something”is hurtful or negative. Use some simple techniques to distract from the issue and1. (hope) with time going by, the person won’t be able to remember2. heis supposed to forget.Remove all the items that may bring back the memory. Any small objects can joghis memory, so carefully replace any photos, diaries or any other 3. (person) objects or presents with new items.Change the subject whenever your friend brings it up. Don’t do this in 4. obvious way because this is annoying, but do it without his awareness of your 5. (intend). Tell some 6. (amuse) stories or talk about important and happy eventsin your frien d’s life such as a new nephew or a work promotion.Occupy him with 7. (activity) and appointments. Keeping him too busy 8. (think) about the past helps him see a positive light. Create a full schedule and introduce new things and experiences, such as a cooking class, which require concentration.Be patient and allow time to get over things. It will be often a long time 9. your friend fully removes that memory, so don’t be 10. (disappoint) if it doesn’t happen immediately.【解题导语】本文主要讲述了帮助他人忘掉不快乐的记忆的四条建议。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

Recently I and other Red Cross volunteers met a group of victims from Hurricane Katrina. We were there, as mental health professionals, to offer “psychological first aid” and I was struck by the simple healing power of presence. As we walked in the gate to the shelter, we were greeted with a burst of gratitude (感激)from the first person we met. I felt appreciated, but also guilty, because I hadn’t really done anything yet.I first realized the power of presence many years ago when a friend’s mother passed away unexpectedly. I received a call saying she had just passed away. I wanted to rush down there immediately, but didn’t want to intrude (打扰)on this very personal period of sadness. I was torn about what to do. Another friend with me then said, “Just go. Just be there.” I did, and I will never regret it.Since then, I have not hesitated to be in the presence of others. Once I sat at the bedside of a young man suffering from the pain of his AIDS­related dying. He was not awake, and obviously unaware of others’ presence. However, the atmosphere was by no means solemn. His family, playing guitars and singing, allowed him to be present with them as though he were still fully alive.In my life, I am repeatedly struck by the healing power of presence. In it, none of us are truly alone. It not only is something we give to others but also changes me for the better.【解题导语】本文主要讲述了“我”通过一些活动意识到“到场”的意义的故事。

Unit 4 Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

We were ordinary people taking the bus every day that summer.During the early morning rides，we sat sleepily on our seats.One of the passengers was a small grey man to the center for senior citizens.He walked with a stoop(驼背) and a sad look on his face.We paid little attention to him.Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled to us before sitting down.The driver nodded politely，the rest of us being silent.The next day，the old man boarded the bus energetically，smiled and said loud，“Good morning！”Some of us looked up，amazed，and murmured “Good morning”．The following weeks we were more surprised.Our friend was dressed in a nice old suit with the thin hair carefully combed.He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand.The driver smilingly asked，“Have you got yourself a girlfriend？”He nodded shyly，“She lives at the center.”The other passengers whistled and clapped at him.Charlie bowed before sitting down.Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower.Some regular passengers began bringing him flowers for his bunch.Everyone smiled and joked about it.But one morning he didn’t turn up.When he wasn’t there the following days，we started wondering if he was sick or...We stopped at the center for senior citizens.The staff told us he was fine，but he hadn’t been coming that week.One of his very close friends had died at the weekend.They expected him back on Monday.How silent we were on the rest of the way to work!The next Monday he was waiting at the stop，stooping a bit more and a bit more grey.Inside the bus was a silence，all of us sitting with our eyes filled with tears and wild flowers in our hands.【解题导语】本文是一篇记叙文。

Making the news一、阅读理解。

Nowadays more and more people are talking about genetically modified foods ( GM foods). GM foods develop from genetically modified organisms (有机体), which have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. These techniques are much more precise where an organism is exposed to chemicals to create a nonspecific but stable change. For many people, the hightech production raises all kinds of environmental, ethical, health and safety problems. Particularly in countries with long farming traditions, the idea seems against nature.In fact, GM foods are already very much a part of our lives. They were first put on the market in 1996. A third of the corn and more than half the cotton grown in the U. S. last year was the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the US this year. The genetic genie is out of the bottle.However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foods must be subjected to careful testing. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is not so fierce by the fact that they have a large number of foods to choose from, and a supply that goes beyond the needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fastgrowing and underfed populations, the matter is simpler and much more urgent: do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks?The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year the world's population reached 6 billion. The UN states that nearly800 million people around the world are unhealthy. About 400 million women of childbearing age don' t have enough iron, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defeats.As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness.How can biotech help? Genetic engineering is widely used to produce plants and animals with better nutritional values. Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to drought, poor soil and crop viruses.1.The passage mainly talks about________.A. the world's food problemB. the development in biotechC. the genetically modified foodsD. the way to solve food shortages2.According to the passage, GM foods________.A. will replace naturally grown foodsB. are far better than naturally grown foodsC. may help to solve the problem of poor nutritionD. can cause serious trouble in developing countries3.The underlined sentence “The genetic genie is out of the bottle.”in Paragraph 2 probablymeans that________.A.GM foods are available everywhereB. the technology in producing GM foods is advancedC. genetic technology may have uncontrollable powersD. genetic technology has come out of laboratories into markets4.What's the writer's attitude towards GM foods?A. Enthusiastic.B. Cautious.C. Disapproving.D. Unbelievable.【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了转基因食品及其对人类生活的影响。

Unit 4考点规范练（必修5Unit 4)【短文语法填空】根据短文内容，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

A Roman writer called Pliny wrote about a volcanic eruption 1.happening(happen) on August 24th，79 AD.A volcano named Vesuvius，2.which was near Pompeii，erupted and a cloud came down the mountain，3.burying(bury) everything in its path，including the whole city.Pliny was 4.deeply(deep) impressed by the sad event.What’s worse，the whole city which 5.was__buried(bury)under the ashes had been forgotten entirely by the world.6.However，more than 1，600 years later，some scientists started to dig out the ancient city of Pompeii and 7.found(find) out the whole truth.Before the eruption occurred，it had been a booming city.It is the forms of the people who were caught 8.in the disaster 9.that have made the city a monument to human history.Today many people visit Pompeii every year 10.to__learn(learn) more about the ancient world.Ⅰ.阅读理解ARobert Michael Lipsyte is an American sports journalist and author.He was born on January 16,1938 in New York.Lipsyte’s father was a school head teacher,his mother a teacher.Instead of sharing a game of catch with his father,the two often visited the library and read books.One of Lipsyte’s children,Sam Lipsyte,is also an author and teacher at Columbia University in New York.In the first chapter of his book SportsWorld,Lipsyte points out that he did not even attend his first Major League Baseball game until he was thirteen years old.Lipsyte says he was very disappointed with his experience at the game and went to only one more game“as a paying customer”.His third Major League Baseball game was as a sports reporter for TheNewYorkTimes.As a boy,Lipsyte did play sports,but he felt acute pressure to do better than others at sports which discouraged his interest.This experience later developed intoa major theme in some of Lipsyte’s non-fiction works such as SportsWorld and novels like JockandJill and OneFatSummer.The main character of OneFatSummer,Bobby Marks,is an adolescent in the 1950s.He is overweight and does something about it.In 1952,Lipsyte took a summer job as a lawn(草坪) boy and lost forty pounds,ridding himself of the youthful reputation for being fat.In 1978,Robert Lipsyte was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer.His experience with the illness led to another novel for young adults,TheChemoKid.Fred Bauer,the main character,is an ordinary high school junior and discovers he has cancer.Amazingly,Fred acquires superpowers,apparently due to the treatments,and becomes “The Chemo Kid”,fighting for the environment and against drug dea lers.Lipsyte was given a position in the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame (名人堂) in 1993.The Margaret A.Edwards Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes an author and a specific body of his or her work for “significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature”.Lipsyte won the award in 2001,citing(表彰) four books published from 1967 to 1993.According to the citation,“Lipsyte’s books focus on the search for self-definition by young adults.”1.What can we learn about Lipsyte?A.He devoted his childhood to sports.B.He taught at ColumbiaUniversity.C.He came from an educated family.D.He has only one child in his life.2.What did Lipsyte do the second time he went to a Major League Baseball game?A.He watched the game.B.He reported the game.C.He played the game and lost it.D.He collected material for his book.3.What do Bobby Marks and young Lipsyte have in common?A.They didn’t play sports.B.They didn’t like summer.。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

Mary Krupa became friends with the grey squirrels during her first week at Penn State，after spotting them running around and idly(漫不经心地)wondering what they would look like with tiny hats on their heads.Today，everyone at the university knows her as the “Squirrel Girl”．Mary started bringing them food，and gradually they began to trust her.She managed to put a hat on a squirrel and take a picture.Thinking that her colleagues could do with something to lift their spirits，she started posting similar photos on Facebook.The response was greatly positive，and before long Mary and her squirrels became an Internet sensation.Growing up in a neighborhood outside of State College，Mary was always fond of birds and animals around her home，but she didn't interact(交流)with people very much.She was later diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome，but the squirrels changed that.“The squirrels help me break the ice，because I'll be sitting here patting a squirrel and other people will come over and we'll just start like feeding the squirrels together and chatting about them，”she said.“I am a lot more outgoing.”And in case you're wondering how Mary is able to get the squirrels to do what she wants for her photos，it has a lot to do with food.For example，whenever she wants them to hold or play with something，she puts peanut butter on the prop(道具)，and they'll grab it.But getting to that part took a while.In the beginning，she would throw peanuts up the trees on campus and invite the squirrels to come down and get them，but they hesitated to approach her.She had the patience to earn their trust，though.This year，Mary is graduating with a degree in English and wildlife sciences.She wants to be a science writer and educate people on how to preserve the environment.As for her furry friends，Mary plans to stay in the area and visit them as often as she can.1．What does the underlined word “sensation” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?A．Hit.B．Challenge.C．Attack. D．Link.2．What kind of change do squirrels bring to Mary?A．She is sicker than before.B．She is more interested in animals.C．She is more sociable than before.D．She is less willing to go to college.3．How did Mary manage to take photos of squirrels wearing hats?A．By putting them in cages.B．By playing music to them.C．By attracting them with colorful food.D．By building a close relationship with them.4．Which words can best describe Mary?A．Confident and strong.B．Patient and caring.C．Sociable and healthy.D．Traditional and hard­working.【解题导语】宾夕法尼亚大学的“松鼠女孩”Mary曾经被诊断出患有阿斯伯格综合征，但是松鼠改变了她，使她变得外向起来。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

Got big plans for Friday night? That’s OK, we don’t either.Guess we’ll all have to make do by watching the celestial(天空的) show that will take place that night.First, there will be a full moon. That’s always fun, but this one will be a little more special. It’s known as a “snow moon”. The name comes from the fact that the heaviest snows usually fall during February, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.But if that’s not special enough, there’s also an eclipse(月食) that night. It’ll be a penumbral lunar eclipse, meaning it’s a partial eclipse that leaves sections of the moon darkened by the earth’s shadow. No, it won’t be as spectacular as those “blood moon” eclipses. It’ll be subtler. The level of darkness it reaches during the eclipse may or may not be apparent；it just depends on where you are when you view it.In North America, the eclipse begins at 5：34 p．m. ET and ends at 9：53 p．m. ET, according to the astronomy website EarthSky. The eclipse will be at its height around 7：44 p．m. ET.If that’s still not enough, let’s throw in a comet(彗星) to the night’s festivities.Comet 45P (it has a much longer name, but we won’t burden you with it here) is visible as it flies by the earth. The comet will get within 7.4 million miles of the planet as it makes its closest approach this weekend, according to Universe Today.Comet 45P will be most visible a couple of hours after the eclipse, so look to the skies again around 3 a．m. ET Saturday and find the greenish­blue light with a tail.And don’t forget, a total big­time solar eclipse will streak across the United States on August 21st.【解题导语】本文是说明文，介绍了星期五晚上将会发生的天文现象。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

During the last decade the number of people living past 100 has increased by 71 percent. While one expert believed this figure will continue to rise, he stated that anyone hoping to live for double or triple(三倍) this time will be disappointed. Speaking at a conference, Colin Blakemore, 70, a British scientist, claimed there is a ceiling on how long humans can live, and six score years “might be a real absolute limit to human lifespan. ”A group of scientists discussed the future of medicine, global health concerns and life expectancy. It agreed that medicines will have a limited impact on extending human life, and it was more important to improve the health and quality of life for older people, rather than prolonging it. The group also stated it was important to improve the life expectancy in poorer areas where people typically die much younger than other areas.The 2014 Global Age Watch Index(全球年龄指数), which ranks 96 nations on the quality of life for the elderly, recently stated that by 2050, the number of over 60s will be 21 percent of the global population. This is almost double the current figure of 12 percent. The percentage of over 80s is growing fastest, too—expected to rise from 2 percent now to 4 percent of the global population by 2050.While it could take years of research to extend humans’ lives, the study raises the possibility of anti-ageing treatments in a new way, according to Dr Kapahi.The research, reported in the journal Cell Reports, may explain why it has proved so difficult to identify single genes(基因) responsible for the long lives enjoyed by humans. “It’s quite probable that interactions between genes are critical in those fortunate enough to live very long, healthy lives, ” said Dr Kapahi. Future research is expected to use mice to see if the same effects occur in mammals. 【文章大意】在过去十年里, 寿命达到100岁以上的老人的数量激增了71%。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

It may help you to know that there is no such thing as a perfect speech. At some point in every speech, every speaker says something that is not understood exactly as he has planned. Fortunately, such moments are usually not obvious to the listeners. Why? Because the listeners do not know what the speaker plans to say. They hear only what the speaker does say. If you lose your place for a moment, wrongly change the order of a couple of sentences, or forget to pause at a certain point, no one will be any the wiser. When such moments occur, don’t worry about them. Just continue as if nothing happened.Even if you do make an obvious mistake during a speech, that doesn’t really matter. If you have ever listened to Martin Luther King’s famous speech —＂I Have a Dream＂, you may notice that he stumbles (结巴)over his words twice during the speech. Most likely, however, you don’t remember. Why? Because you were fixing your attention on his message rather than on his way of speech-making.People care a lot about making a mistake in a speech because they regard speech-making as a kind of performance rather than as an act of communication. They feel the listeners are like judges in an ice-skating competition. But, in fact, the listeners are not looking for a perfect performance. They are looking for awell-thought-out speech that expresses the speaker’s ideas clearly and directly. Sometimes a mistake or two can actually increase a speaker’s attractiveness by making him more human.As you work on your speech, don’t worry about being perfect. Once you free your mind of this, you will find it much easier to give your speech freely.1.The underlined part in the first paragraph means that no one will .A.be smarter than youB. know what you are talking aboutC.do better than youD. notice your mistakes2.You don’t remember obvious mistakes in a speech because .A. you find the way of speech-making more importantB. you don’t fully understand the speechC. you don’t know what the speaker plans to sayD. your attention is on the content3.From the last two paragraphs, the author means that .A. giving a speech is like giving a performanceB. the listeners should pay more attention to how a speech is madeC.one or two mistakes in a speech may not be bad。

Making the news李仕才一、阅读理解。

When people argue about whether coffee is good for health, they’re usually thinking of the health of the coffee drinker. Is it good for your heart? Does it increase blood pressure? Does it help you concentrate? However, coffee affects the health of the human population in other ways, too.Traditionally, coffee bushes are planted under the canopy(树荫) of taller trees. However, more and more farmers in Latin America are deforesting the land to grow full­sun coffee. At first, this increases production because more coffee bushes can be planted if there aren’t any trees. With increased production come increased profits.Unfortunately, deforesting for coffee production immediately decreases the local wildlife habitat, because native birds nest and hide from predators(捕食者) on the tall trees and migrating birds rest there.Furthermore, in the long term, the full­sun method also damages the ecosystem because more chemical fertilizers and pesticides(杀虫剂) are needed to grow the coffee. The fertilizers and pesticides kill insects that eat coffee plants, and then the birds eat the poisoned insects and also die. The chemicals kill or sicken other animals as well, and can even enter the water that people will eventually drink.Fortunately, farmers in Central and South America are beginning to grow more coffee bushes in the shade. We can support these farmers by buying coffee with such labels as “shade­g rown” and “bird­friendly”. Sure, these varieties might cost a little more. But we’re paying for the health of the birds, the land, ourselves, and the planet. I think it’s worth it.【解题导语】本文是一篇科普说明文，通过拉丁美洲的农民种植咖啡作物的事例说明了咖啡作物长在树下对生态系统的重要性。