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1、第三十一篇Hurricane Katrina A hurricane is a fiercely powerful, rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 to 1,240 miles in diameter. The term hurricane is derived from Hurican, the name of a native American storm god1. Hurricanes are typical of2 a calm central region of low pressure between 12 to
2、60 miles in diameter, known as the eye. They occur in tropical regions. Over its lifetime3, one of these storms can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs4. The seed for hurricane formation5 is a cluster of thunderstorms over warm tropical waters. Hurricanes can only form and be fed6 when th
3、e sea-surface temperature exceeds 270C and the surrounding atmosphere is calm. These requirements are met between June and November in the northern hemisphere. Under these conditions, large quantities of water evaporate and condense into clouds and rain - releasing heat in the process. It is this he
4、at energy, combined with the rotation of the Earth, that drives a hurricane. When the warm column of air7 from the sea surface first begins to rise, it causes an area of low pressure. This in turn creates wind as air is drawn into the area. This spinning wind drags up more moisture-laden air from th
5、e sea surface in a process that swells the storm8. Cold air falls back to the ocean surface through the eye9 and on the outside of the storm. Initially, when wind speeds reach 23 miles per hour, these mild, wet and grey weather systems are known as depressions10. Hurricane Katrina formed in this way
6、 over the south-eastern Bahamas on23 August 2005. Katrina has had a devastating impact on the Gulf Coast of the US, leaving a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles in its wake11- almost the size of the UK. Thousands have been killed or injured and more than half a million people have been displaced i
7、n a humanitarian crisis of a scale not seen in the US since the great depression.12 The cost of the damage may top13 $ 100 billion.答题：1. What is the eye of a hurricane?A A native American storm god.B A rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 t01240 miles in diameter.C A calm central region o
8、f low pressure between 12 t060 miles in diameter.D A storm that can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs.2. Which of the following is NOT the requirements mentioned in the second paragraph?A The tropical waters are warm and calm.B The sea-surface temperature exceeds 270C.C There are thunde
9、rstorms over warm tropical waters.D The atmosphere surrounding the sea is calm.3. Which of the following is the best explanation of the word drive in the third paragraph?A To guide, control, or direct.B To force to go through or push in.C To supply the motive force or power and cause to function.D T
10、o force to move in a particular direction.4. What does the warm air mentioned in the fourth paragraph produce when it is rising from the sea surface.?A High pressure.B Low pressure.C Wind.D Cold air.5. What is NOT true of Hurricane Katrina according to the last paragraph?A The area affected is almos
11、t the size of the UK.B It left a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles,C Half a million people are forced to leave the area.D The humanitarian crisis is as serious as that of the great depression.答案与题解：1C文章的第一段第三句描述了飓风的特点，即一个直径为12 - 60英里的、平静的低气压中心地带，这个中心就叫做eye of a hurricane。2A第二段的第一、二句描写飓风的形成原因，最后一句
12、中的These requirements即是第一、二句中所述内容。所以B、C和D都不是正确选项。3C A的意思是“驾驶”；B的意思是“敲”，“打”，“击”，如：Drive in a nail.把钉子敲进去。D的意思是“驱赶”，如：Drive the cattle along the road.沿大路驱赶牛群。C的意思是“发动”，“驱动”，是正确选项。4B第四段第一句提供了答案。it causes an area of low pressure, it代指从海面上升起来的暖流。5D选项A、B、C的内容均在课文最后一段中被提到。文中，in a humanitarian crisis of a sc
13、ale not seen in the US since the great depression.的大致意思是：如此大规模的人道主义危机是美国自大萧条以来还未经历过的。D句不符合这句话的意思，所以是正确选项。第三十一篇卡特里娜飓风飓风是一种猛烈、强大、螺旋形式的热带风暴，直径可达 1241240英哩。飓风 hurricane一词是由 Hurica一词衍生而来， Hurican是美国本地风暴之神的名字。飓风的特征是其中心的无风区域气压低，直径在 12 60英里之间，被称作风眼。它们在热带区域出现。在飓风肆虐整个过程中，有一种飓风可释放相当于 1万颗核弹的能量。飓风形成的原因是由于雷暴聚集在温暖
14、的热带水面上。只有当海平面的温度超过 27摄氏度并且周围的空气稳定时，飓风才能形成，壮大。在 6月到 11月之间的北半球这些条件可达到。在这些条件下，大量的水蒸气凝结成云和雨，并在此过程中释放热量。正是这些热能，加上地球的自转驱动着飓风。当海平面的柱状暖气流首次开始上升时，它会引起一片低气压区，而这一区域紧接着会形成风，因为空气被吸引流动进这一区域。这一旋转运动的风带起了海面上更多的充满水汽的空气。这一过程增大了暴风的威力。冷空气通过暴风中心降回海面，落到暴风外围。开始，当风速达到每小时 23英时，这些温和、潮湿、灰色的气候系统被称作低气压区。 2005年的 8月 23日，卡特里娜飓风以这种方
15、式在巴哈马群岛东南形成。卡特里娜飓风对美国墨西哥湾沿岸造成了毁灭性打击，其后留下了面积为 9万平方英里的受灾区域几乎和英国的面积一样大。数以千计的人因此伤亡。五十多万人被迫离开家园，如此大规模的人道主义危机是美国自大萧条以来还未经历过的。此次飓风造成的破坏可能超过 1千亿美元。第三十二篇Mind-reading1 MachineA team of researchers in California has developed a way to predict what kinds of objects people are looking at by scanning whats happen
16、ing in their brains. When you look at something, your eyes send a signal about that object to your brain. Different regions of the brain process the information your eyes send. Cells in your brain called neurons are responsible for this processing. The fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ) 2 brain scans could generally match electrical activity in the
