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I live in north Celebes which is near Philippines. Since early December 2010 most tropical regions have been frequently hit by rain. Just like my hometown, tropical regions only have two seasons, including the dry season that usually starts from April to September and the wet or rainy season which usually happens from October to March. But, it could be indeterminate. Sometimes the rainy season can come a month earlier or later. It can be prolonged(延长) even more than 4 months and so can the dry season. Even during the dry season, rain can occur several times in certain areas.
The prolonged dry season in tropical areas usually causes a lot of losses. It will be very harmful to local farmers, because most of the tropical areas are regions of the developing countries. Sometimes agricultural and plantation crops will be damaged because of so much dry land and the fact that the river used to flow the water for rice fields are also dry. Rain is very important for plants because rain contains many nutrients that plants are in great need of.
What’s more, if the prolonged rainy season arrives and then floods usually occur in certain areas of low lands. Even for the capital city of Jakarta floods have struck several times during the prolonged rainy season. In addition to floods, the rainy season can cause many diseases. During the dry season, diseases are usually caused by mosquitoes such as dengue fever. While in the rainy season, people who have the weak immune will be more easily attacked by some diseases such as flu, fever, diarrhea, and much more.
If you live in the other places and want to travel to the tropical regions, make sure that you have known much about the season and the effect for these months in which you want to travel as tourists. Only in that way, can you at least prepare to deal with tropical weather.
1. How long does the dry season usually last in the author’s hometown?
A. Four months. B. Five months.
C. Six months. D. Seven months.
2.The underlined word “indeterminate” in paragraph 1 can be replaced by “ _____”
A．uncertain B．unknown
C．untrue D．unbelievable
3.The second paragraph mainly tells us something about _____.
A．the effects of the dry season.
B．the benefits of the rainy season.
C．the growth of dry land
D．the diseases in the dry season
4.We can learn from the passage that in the wet season, _____
A．the capital of Jakarta is flooded every year
B．more crops will die after being flooded for so long.
C．mosquitoes will spread more diseases among the crowd.
D．people with weak immune might be attacked by some diseases
5.The main purpose of this passage is to introduce _____.
A．some interesting facts of tropical regions
B．some knowledge about tropical regions to travelers
C．some knowledge about how to live well in different regions.
D．some differences between dry and wet seasons in tropical regions.
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Doha, the capital of Qatar，is a city of contrasts(对照). In a few decades it has been transformed from a small port to an international city. Today, its skyline is shaped by rising skyscrapers, but Old Doha---though fast disappearing---can still be found.
Time seems to stand still in the old quarter of the city. On the dusty streets, Indian and Pakistani men sit cross-legged outside tea shops and restaurants. At one end of the road, men queue by the doorways of crowded supermarkets to buy necessities: boxes of teabags, milk, sugar, bread and soap. The shops are dark and poorly stocked. However, only five miles away, on the other side of the city, Doha shows a completely different image. It shines brilliantly with skyscrapers, five-star hotels and noble apartment buildings. The area looks like any other modem district in the world.
Qatar, a tiny gulf(海湾)nation, is a country of vast local and international ambitions. At home, it has owned several international universities. Abroad, it tries to speak louder on gulf affairs. These ambitions are urged by the country’s unbelievably rich reserves of fossil fuels．In December 2012, Daba was the site of Copl8 UN Climate Change Conference and in 2022，Qatar will host the World Cup.
Mohammed Salim, 55, runs a hair salon in the old part of the city where he works as a hair
dresser．When he came to Doha 22 years ago from Pakistan，he recalls，Doha was a quiet town with few modern buildings．“At that time，Doha seemed rather small．There were no big roads or malls at all.” He has noticed a drop in customers to his salon in recent years．“People now tend to go to more fashionable hair salons in shopping malls．Some day this old area will be gone, and my business will probably be gone, too．I'll be sad. I love here, but things are changing．We can’t ignore it.”
1.What makes Doha become a city of contrasts according to the passage?
A．The city’s old and modern districts．
B．The modern city and the tiny country．
C．The city’s past and present conditions．
D．The fashionable city and its poor citizens．
2.What do we know about the shops in the old quarter of Doha?
A．They don't have many goods or customers．
B．They provide a great variety of luxury goods．
C．They are bright big shops crowded with people．
D．They look poor and offer fewer choices of goods．
3.Qatar tries to speak louder on gulf affairs because______________.
A it has international cities such as Doha
B．it is going to host the World Cup in 2022
C．it has made progress in building universities
D．it is known for its large reserves of natural gas
4.The author takes the hair salon as an example to show that___________.
A．people in Doha are fashionable
B．the economy in Doha becomes bad
C．changes are happening to Old Doha
D．Doha used to be an undeveloped town
5.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Old Doha is characterized by rising skyscrapers．
B．Doha seemed small in the past as is recalled by Salim．
C．Doha will host Copl8 UN Climate Change Conference in 2022．
D. The western side of Doha looks more modern than the eastern side.
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When Jeff Sparkman draws his cartoon superheroes with colored pencils, he often has to ask other people to tell him what color his masked men turned out to be because he's color-blind. Now, a new smart phone application (app) can help him figure out what colors he's using and how the picture looks to most everyone else.
The DanKam app, available for iPhone and Android for $2.99, is an application that turns the vague colors that one percent of the population with color-blindness sees into the "true" colors as everyone else sees them. In America, an estimated 32 million color-blind Americans---95% are males---can soon have their life improved.
"DanKam takes the stream of data coming in through the phone's camera and changes the colors slightly so they fall within the range that people who are color-blind see," developer Dan Kaminsky told CNET. He came up with the idea after watching the 2009 film Star Trek with a color-blind friend.
It was then that he got to know more about colorblindness like its varying types and degrees. A vast majority, for instance, have trouble seeing red or green due to a genetic defect(遗传缺陷). Blue-yellow colorblindness, however, is rarer and develops later in life because of aging, illness or head injuries, etc. He started experimenting with one of the most common representations of points in the RGB color model. What the DanKam app attempts to do is to clean up the color space of the image or video signal so that colors can be visible to those suffering from viewing problems. “You can adjust the app to fit your needs. There is a range and not everyone who is color-blind sees things the same.” Says Kaminsky.
Sparkman, a copy editor at CNET, tried out the app and was pleased with the results. "It would be useful for dressing for a job interview," he said. But using it for his art is “the most practical application." It worked well on LED and other lights on electronic gadgets, which means Sparkman can now identify the power light on his computer display as green.
1.According to the first two paragraphs, we can know that DanKam ___________.
A. appeared in the movie Star Trek
B. can turn vague colors into real ones
C. is a phone used to help drawing pictures
D. is designed to help people with colorblindness
2.How does DanKam’s app work?
A. It puts LED and other lights on electronic gadgets.
B. It changes the colors so that color-blind people can see them.
C. It checks color-blind people’s types of degrees of colorblindness.
D. It shows common representations of points in the RGB color model
3. It can be inferred from the passage that colorblindness __________.
A. cannot be cured by any methods
B. is more commonly seen in women
C. is not necessarily inborn disease
D. makes people unable to tell any colors
4. The underlined word visible in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. portable B. enjoyable
C. adjustable D. recognizable
5.Which of the following is NOT included in the things that DanKam helps Sparkman with?
A. Choosing clothes.
B. Drawing his pictures.
C. Playing computer games
D. Handling electronic gadgets.
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In one of the old buildings near our school，one could see an old man sitting by a large window on the first floor．His name was James．During the three years at schoo1, I had hardly ever found him missing from his usual position．
He was a high-ranking government official and lived happily with his wife．Once there was a bus accident，in which a number of passengers were seriously injured and were taken to the hospital for treatment．James was responsible for the rescue operation．It was a big hospital，but James was shocked to notice how ill-equipped it was．There were no enough life-saving drugs and life—supporting equipment． The injured and their companions had to struggle there．James attempted to help．However，though he emptied his pockets，many of them died that day．
That was a turning point in his life．He made a decision to devote his life to helping others， particularly the poor and needy patients and their companions．He began spending much of his income on these people．Since this required a lot of time and energy，he found it difficult to fulfill his official duties and therefore chose to retire，which，in turn，reduced his income considerably．
His wife was deeply worried. Most of the time，James was out and paid least attention to home affairs．Meanwhile，as he was spending a lot helping others，she had to struggle even to meet the household expenses．Though she was not opposed to his helping the poor，she urged him not to overlook his own life and home，but it had no effect on him．One day they had a heated argument and in the end she left him，never to return．Though he continued with his work，this was a great blow and did serious harm to his health and enthusiasm and was soon forced to stay indoors．That was when he took his position by the window，spending his time looking outside．
A few weeks after my graduation，I returned to school，only to find the buildings gone．I heard that they were torn down．All the people left except James．He refused to go and the next morning，he was found at his usual place by the window，dead．
1.What changed James’ view towards life?
A．The difficulties in his career．
B．The deaths in the bus accident．
C．The bad conditions in the hospital．
D．The responsibilities in the operation．
2.James chose to retire in order to____________________.
A．take care of the injured passengers
B．find a better job to increase his income
C．spare more time and energy to help others
D．stay away from the difficult official duties
3.James’ wife left because_________________________．
A．she was strongly against his deeds
B．James paid too little attention to his work
C．her work to support their daily life was too tiring
D．James failed to keep a balance between charity and home
4.The underlined word this in Paragraph 4 refers to ____________.
A. His decision to retire
B. The departure of his wife
C. The argument with his wife
D. His devotion to helping others
5.What is possibly the reason why James sat by the window every day?
A. He expected his wife to return.
B. He looked forward to going out.
C. He desired to watch the students.
D. He attempted to know the outside life.
