1、Four natural disastersA natural disaster is defined as a natural hazard, which has a negative effect on human beings. Given below are some of the very important natural disasters.Blizzard (暴风雪)A severe winter storm is known as a blizzard. Strong winds, heavy snowfall and low temperatures characteriz
2、e a blizzard. A blizzard that occurred in1888 killed over 400 people in the northeastern States. This blizzard is known Great Blizzard of 1888.FloodA flood is a natural disaster as it is the death of human beings and animals. Crops are destroyed in the flood, which results in increased food prices d
3、ue to food shortages. In a flood situation, drinking water becomes scarce because water is polluted. Due to this, many diseases can spread.FireFire is terrible especially forest fire. Forest fire is also known as wildfire. It is a natural disaster caused by a volcanic eruption or by human carelessne
4、ss. Wildfire can threaten wildlife and the human habitation close to the forest.EarthquakeAn earthquake occurs when the tectonic (地壳构造的) plates that form the upper crust of the earth collide or slide against each other. When the tectonic plates collide against each other, the stress is released. It
5、is true that animals can sense earthquakes before they occur.,阅读障碍词define vt.规定；使明确vi.下定义characterize vt.描述(人或物)的特性；具有的特征volcanic eruption火山喷发habitation n居住；住宅，家crust n地壳；外壳collide vi.碰撞；相撞；冲突；抵触.Match the word with its meaning.1cemetery A灾难2strike B墓地3wave C袭击4violent D波浪5occur E发生6bury F埋葬7furnitu
6、re G猛烈的；激烈的8cause H引起；导致9experience I家具10disaster J经历答案：15BCDGE610FIHJA.Write down the meaning of phrases in each sentence.1We fail one student per year on average.平均2If she insists on sleeping on the floor, put down a mattress to make her more comfortable. 放下3The boy was so tired that he fell aslee
7、p before his mother could take off his clothes.脱掉4Dont worry. Ive arranged for a car to pick up the guests at the station at 8 oclock.接(某人)5In English, if new words continue to be used for at least five years they generally end up in the Oxford English Dictionary. 结束1Look at the following pictures a
8、nd match the pictures with their names.Avolcanic eruptionBthunderstormChurricaneDfloodEtornadoFlightningGdrought答案：(1)(5)FEDCB(6)(7)GA2Match the words with their definition.(1)tornadoAa lot of water in an area which is usually dry(2)hurricane Ba very strong wind or storm(3)lightning Ca lot of rain f
9、alling quickly, with loud noises and flashes of light(4)thunderstorm Dthe flash of light which happens during a thunderstorm(5)flood Ea column of air that turns very quickly答案：(1)(5)EBDCA.Fastreading1What is the purpose of the passage?ATo introduce tornadoes and hurricanes and tell an extraordinary
10、story.BTo introduce the worst hurricane of all time.CTo introduce the damage the worst tornado cause to the US.DTo introduce the similarities between the tornado and the hurricane.答案：A2Read the text quickly and decide the following sentences are true (T) or false (F)(1)All tornadoes have winds of mo
11、re than 400 kilometres per hour. F (2)There are more tornadoes occurring in the US than in other parts of the world. T (3)Tornadoes cant destroy furniture because they are not violent enough. F (4)In the US, there are usually about 80 people killed in tornadoes every year. F (5)The worst tornado in
12、history killed at least 700 people. T (6)Every year there are six Atlantic hurricanes. F (7)Both the worst tornado and the worst hurricane occurred in the US. T (8)The worst hurricane of all time killed about onesixth of the population in the US. F (9)Charles Coghlan didnt become famous until he mov
13、ed to New York. T (10)Coghlans coffin was destroyed by the 1900 Galveston hurricane. F .CarefulreadingRead the text carefully and choose the best answer.1Which of the following descriptions about tornado is NOT correct?AIt is a kind of rotating column of air.BIt is usually caused from a thunderstorm
14、.CIt can reach a speed up to more than 400 kilometers per hour.DIt can cause much damage to people, including deaths and injuries.2How much damage did the worst tornado cause to the US?AThe tornado had winds of more than 400 kilometres per hour.BThe fur of the back of many cats and the feathers of m
15、any chickens had been taken off.CIt caused about 80 deaths and 1，500 injuries.DMore than 700 people lost their lives and 2，700 had been injured.3Where was Charles Coghlan born indeed?AIn Ireland.BIn Canada.CIn New York. DIn Galveston.4What are the causes of these natural violence?AThe different atmo
16、spheric pressure between two areas.BThe changeable weather in these areas.CThe destroy of nature by human beings.DNot mentioned in the passage.5Which is the right order about Charles Coghlan?aThe terrible hurricane struck the city Galveston.bHe moved to Galveston and died there.cHe moved to New York
17、.dHe went to live in Canada.eHis coffin was found in the sea near his home on Prince Edward Island.Aabcde BdcbaeCeabdc Ddbcae答案：15BDADB.StudyreadingAnalyze the following difficult sentences in the text.1They can destroy houses, but leave the furniture inside exactly where it was.句式分析本句是由并列连词but连接构成的
18、并列句，在后一分句中含有一个where引导的从句作宾补。尝试翻译它们能毁掉房子，但把里面的家具留在原地。2The worst tornado of all time occurred in 1925, affecting three US states: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.句式分析本句是简单句，主干句是The worst tornado occurred in 1925，现在分词短语affecting three US states: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana在句中作结果状语。尝试翻译历史上最恶劣的一次龙卷风发生在
19、1925年，波及了美国的三个州：密苏里州、伊利诺伊州和印第安纳州。3By the late 1890s, he had moved to Galveston, where he died in 1899, a year before the hurricane struck.句式分析本句中主干句是he had moved to Galveston, by the late 1890s作时间状语，where he died in 1899是非限制性定语从句，a year before the hurricane struck作 1899 的同位语。尝试翻译到19世纪90年代后期时，他已经搬到加尔
20、维斯顿，于1899年在那里去世，第二年，飓风袭击了那里。对应学生课下能力提升(九)阅读理解AThe earthquake affects the students of the destroyed areas in many ways：losing parents, being scared and feeling lonely. How can we help them？Teens reporter talks with Lin Dan, the program director of the Sunshine in Your Heart Project at the Red Cross S
21、ociety of China.Teens reporter：How will the earthquake affect the teenagers mentally?Lin Dan：Theyll have feelings of fear, anger and unsafety. They will find it hard to focus. They will tend to cry, shout and tremble. And they might be afraid to be alone.Teens reporter：What will happen if they are n
22、ot helped?Lin Dan：The teenagers will find it hard to live in a balanced way. If things get worse, they might not be able to focus on their studies. They might give up on life.Teens reporter：How can we help them overcome these problems?Lin Dan：The first thing is to build up trust with them. Show your
23、 sympathy and sadness, and be their friend. Then you have to give them a sense of safety. Tell them that theres a solution to every problem. Thirdly, try to satisfy their psychological needs. Be a good listener if he or she needs to talk.Teens reporter：Some of us are not directly affected by the ear
24、thquake but have seen images on TV and feel scared. What should we do?Lin Dan：Talk with an adult or share your feelings with someone who might feel similar. If this doesnt help, you should see a doctor for professional help.语篇解读：本文主要告诉我们如何消除震后人们的伤痛、恐惧等心理问题。1Whats the best title of the passage?AThe S
25、care Caused by the EarthquakeBDealing with the Pain Left Behind After the EarthquakeCHow to Get a Sense of SafetyDThe Psychological Needs解析：选B标题归纳题。文章主要论述了如何消除震后人们的伤痛、恐惧等心理问题，故选B项。2The earthquake will affect the teenagers mentally. Which of the following statements is NOT included?ATheyll tend to cr
26、y, shout and tremble.BThey may be afraid to be alone.CTheyll feel unsafe.DTheyll feel sympathetic.解析：选D细节理解题。根据文章第三段可知应选D项。3The underlined word “psychological” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to “”AmentalBphysicalCmaterial Dprofessional解析：选A词义猜测题。文章主要讲了地震给人们造成的心理、精神问题以及如何消除这种心理、精神问题，故我们也要尽力满足他们
27、的心理或精神需求。mental“精神的”，与psychological意思相近。4From the passage, we can infer thatAthe scare caused by the earthquake can be relieved quicklyBseeing a doctor is the most important measure to deal with the problemsCthe images on TV can also affect people and even cause problemsDin order to help them overco
28、me these problems, we should always talk with them解析：选C推理判断题。根据文章最后两段可知C项正确。BWe arrived at the hospital to find Dad was very weak, but his smile was the same as ever. It was another attack of pneumonia (肺炎). My husband and I stayed with him for the weekend but had to return to our jobs on Monday. Lo
29、cal relatives would help Dad get home from hospital and look after him. But I wished to be able to let him know that we cared too, even when we werent with him.Then I remembered a family tradition when our children were small. When leaving their grandparents home after a visit, each child would writ
30、e a love note to their grandparents. They hid notes in cereal (麦片) box, under a hairbrush or next to the phone. For days, their grandparents would smile as they discovered these reminders of our love.So as I tidied Dads kitchen and made up a bed for him downstairs in the living room, I wrote some no
31、tes.“Dad, I put the food in the fridge so it wouldnt spoil (变质)” Some expressed my love, “Dad, I hope you will sleep well in your new bed.” Most notes were downstairs where he would stay for several weeks, but one note I hid upstairs under his pillow, “Dad, if you have found this note, you must be f
32、eeling better. We are so glad！”Just like his medicines strengthened him physically, these “emotional vitamins” would improve his health, too. Several weeks later, in one of our regular phone calls, I asked Dad how he was going. He said, “Pretty good. I just found your note under my pillow upstairs！”
33、语篇解读：本文中作者讲述了一个通过留纸条给父亲表达爱意的温情故事，同时建议我们也这样做。5We can infer from the text that the writers father Ahad got the same illness beforeBlived with her familyCasked her to return to workDfelt lonely without her解析：选A细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“It was another attack of pneumonia (肺炎)”这是又一次感染肺炎。句中的another说明父亲曾经不止一次感染肺炎，以前也
34、曾经感染过肺炎。故A正确。6The children hid notes in their grandparents home in order to Afollow a family traditionBplay jokes on their grandparentsCshow their gifts to their grandparentsDmake their grandparents feel pleasantly surprised解析：选D推理判断题。根据第二段最后一句“For days, their grandparents would smile as they discov
35、ered these reminders of our love.”可知当爷爷奶奶看见这些暖心的纸条的时候，会很惊讶，也会很高兴，因为这是家人的爱的表达。故D正确。7After heard what her father said, the writer would feel Asurprised BluckyCpleased Dsad解析：选C推理判断题。根据文章最后一句“Several weeks later, in one of our regular phone calls, I asked Dad how he was going. He said, Pretty good. I j
36、ust found your note under my pillow upstairs！”可知作者的父亲感觉很好，而且对女儿留给他的纸条感到很高兴。对此作者也会很高兴，因为她的做法给父亲带来了快乐。故C正确。8Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?AThe writer believed that a family tradition was not good.BThe writer enjoyed talking with her father.CThe writer tried to comfort her father
37、 with love.DThe writer thanked her children for looking after her father.解析：选C推理判断题。根据文章第三段可知作者给父亲留下了很多字条，都表示对父亲的关心和爱，那么她是希望安慰她的父亲。故C正确。CIn Singapore, most of us love windowshopping while some others enjoy having a picnic at East Coast Park or Changi Beach on sunny days. Singaporeans are never bothe
38、red by the occasional thunderstorm. However, we know that if it rains for long continuous periods, there will be more serious effects. Just recently the main shopping street of Orchard Road was flooded and some part of Bukit Timah was impassable to traffic. People reacted by writing in to the newspa
39、per to complain about this! We forget that other countries suffer much worse effects.Elsewhere, heavy tropical (热带的) storms often result in floods that ruin crops especially in Thailand and Malaysia. This in turn usually means that the price of rice and vegetables here in Singapore will rise because
40、 we import these products from them. If there is a typhoon or tsunami, thousands of lives are lost too. This happened in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand in 2004 and it serves to remind us of how Mother Nature can cause great damage.Weather patterns in general have changed dramatically in recent yea
41、rs. Scientists believe that global warming and the resulting melting of the polar icecap has caused the level of the ocean to rise. This in turn causes flooding of lowlying areas in countries where the land is rather flat and some parts of which is below water level. It is believed that human activi
42、ties have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities, for example, illegal logging (伐木) or irresponsible forestburning to clear land for farming.语篇解读：人类的活动对大自然造成了恶劣影响，全球变暖、洪涝灾害影响到人们的日常生活。9From Paragraph 1, we
43、can see that most Singaporeans love Amaking complaintsBgoing out for picnicsCdoing windowshoppingDtraveling along the coast解析：选C细节理解题。根据第一段第一句可知。10What will happen in Singapore if there are floods in its neighboring countries?AHeavy tropical storms will follow shortly.BThe price of rice and vegetabl
44、es will go up.CMany people will write in to the newspaper.DMore rice and vegetables will be imported.解析：选B细节理解题。根据第二段第一、二句可知，热带风暴导致的洪水会毁掉庄稼，新加坡的蔬菜和大米是从这些国家进口的，所以会导致蔬菜和大米的价格上升。11The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refers to Athe arrival of heavy tropical stormsBthe import of rice and vegetablesCt
45、he rising price of rice and vegetablesDthe loss of lives in natural disasters解析：选D代词指代题。上句提到台风和海啸会导致成千上万的人死亡。这在2004年在印度尼西亚和泰国的普吉岛发生过。自然灾害导致人死亡这件事用来提醒我们大自然可以带来巨大损害。12What should we do in order not to make Mother Nature angry?AClear more land for farming.BReduce harmful human activities.CBring down th
46、e price of food.DImprove the quality of weather.解析：选B细节理解题。根据最后一段“It is believed that human activities have caused Mother Nature to show her extreme anger, so it is now important that we really work together to cut down on harmful activities”人们认为是人类的活动导致了大自然极端愤怒，因此，现在我们真的应该团结合作减少有害活动。课 文 对 译What Is
47、a Tornado?A tornado is a rotating column of air from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent have winds of more than 400 kilometres per hour. Almost all of them occur in the US, in the area from Texas in the southeast to South Dakota in the north.Tornadoes can pick up cars, trains and even ho
48、uses and put them down in the next street or even in the next town. They can take the fur off the back of a cat and the feathers off a chicken. They can destroy houses, but leave the furniture inside exactly where it was.On average, there are 800 tornadoes in the US each year, causing about 80 death
49、s and 1，500 injuries. The worst tornado of all time occurred in 1925, affecting three US states: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. By the time it ended, more than 700 people had been killed and 2，700 had been injured.What Is a Hurricane?Hurricanes are strong tropical storms, and they usually occur in
50、the southern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. There are violent winds of 120 kilometres per hour or more, which cause huge waves, heavy rain and floods. There are on average six Atlantic hurricanes each year and they usually affect the east coast of the US from Texas to Main
51、e.The worst hurricane disaster of all time occurred on the 8th September 1900 in Galveston, Texas. Winds of 200 kilometres per hour and fivemetrehigh waves hit the city. The disaster killed 6，000 people in a population of 37，000 and destroyed 3，600 buildings.An Extraordinary EventThis is a story abo
52、ut the 1900 Galveston hurricane.Charles Coghlan was a nineteenthcentury Irish actor who went to live in Canada. He then moved to New York, where he became famous. By the late 1890s, he had moved to Galveston, where he died in 1899, a year before the hurricane struck. The cemetery where Coghlan was b
53、uried was destroyed by the hurricane and Coghlans coffin ended up in the sea.Eight years later, the coffin was found by fishermen in the sea near his home on Prince Edward Island in the east of Canada. The Gulf Stream had carried it 3，000 kilometres up the eastern US coast to Prince Edward Island. C
54、oghlan travelled back to Canada after he had been buried in Texas！什么是龙卷风？龙卷风是指一个从空中的雷暴延伸到地面而生成的旋转气柱。最厉害的一次龙卷风风速达到了每小时400多公里。几乎所有的龙卷风都发生在美国，从东南部的得克萨斯州到北部的南达科他州。龙卷风能卷起汽车、火车甚至房子，把它们卷到旁边的街道甚至能卷到邻近的城镇。龙卷风可以卷走猫背上的皮毛和鸡身上的羽毛。它们能毁掉房子，却把房内的家具留在原处。平均来说，美国每年发生800次龙卷风，造成大约80人死亡、1 500人受伤。历史上最严重的一次龙卷风发生在1925年，波及了美
55、国的三个州：密苏里州、伊利诺伊州和印第安纳州。等到风停时，已有700多人死亡、2 700人受伤。什么是飓风？飓风是最强劲的热带风暴，通常发生在南大西洋、加勒比海和墨西哥湾。飓风发生时，暴风速度达到每小时120公里或者更快，引发巨浪、暴雨和洪灾。每年平均有六次大西洋飓风，它们通常会影响到从得克萨斯州到缅因州的美国东部海岸。历史上最严重的一次飓风于1900年9月8日发生在得克萨斯州的加尔维斯顿。时速高达200公里的狂风和五米高的巨浪袭击了加尔维斯顿城。37 000人口中有6 000人遇难、3 600幢大楼被摧毁。一件离奇的事件这是一个关于1900年加尔维斯顿飓风的故事。查尔斯科格伦是19世纪一位定居加拿大的爱尔兰演员。后来他移居纽约，在那儿变得有名起来。19世纪90年代后期，他迁居加尔维斯顿，直到1899年也就是飓风袭击的前一年在那里去世。掩埋科格伦的公墓被飓风所摧毁，他的棺材最后被卷入了大海。八年后，渔民们在加拿大东部爱德华王子岛科格伦家附近发现了他的棺材。墨西哥湾流沿着美国东海岸把它(棺材)一直带到爱德华王子岛，行程3 000公里。埋葬于得克萨斯州的科格伦又回到了加拿大！