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Although in 1947 we were still very new to the atomic age, we knew about mushroom clouds． A huge crack spread across the library wall upstairs, sending teachers and students screaming down the hall．
Had a new world war started? Pale-faced, our young science teacher quickly organized us for a fire drill． We huddled in little groups on the beach side of the school grounds and watched the spreading cloud darken the bright spring sky．
Rumors flew every which way, although two hours would pass before we got the full story．One rumor we heard was that the Texas City Monsanto Chemical plant had blown up; children whose parents worked there began to weep．
I froze—that was where my father was working that day．
The school bell called us back inside, and we were dismissed to find our way home the best way we could． I-d walked a quarter of the three-mile trip to my home when a car horn startled me to attention． My Uncle Barney pulled up alongside me in his old Ford． The instant I saw him, I knew my father was gone． Otherwise, Papa would have come for me himself．
As if in slow motion from a great distance, Uncle Barney motioned for me to get in． Numb with grief, I crawled into the back seat． I barely took notice of the man sitting there, and didn’t recognize him until he reached for me． When Papa put his strong arms around me, I forgot for a moment that Cherokees（柴罗基人） aren’t supposed to cry．
Many of my fellow students lost their parents in the explosion． Tragedy would one day come to our family, as it inevitably comes to all, but on the day Texas City blew up, it miraculously passed us by． Because he lost his keys on that April morning, as he explained, my father lived for another 32 years-we were to have a second lifetime forever．
1. What happened according to the first three paragraphs?
A． A war broke out． B． An earthquake happened．
C． An atomic bomb exploded． D． A chemical factory blew up．
2. How did the science teacher react to the accident?
A． He was sad． B． He acted quickly．
C． He panicked． D． He felt helpless．
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A． The author-s father didn-t have to work that day．
B． The author-s father had a narrow escape．
C． The school was near where the accident happened．
D． The author-s uncle broke the news of her father-s death．
4.The author cried because ．
A． she was grateful that her father had survived
B． her father was killed in the accident
C． she was sad over the tragedy that day
D． her father didn’t meet her after school
5. What does the author intend to tell us?
A． Be prepared for the worst．
B． Be brave in disasters．
C． Cherish everything that you have．
D． Parents are the most important people．
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From our smartphones to our latest weaponry, the technology that underpins（支撑） modern life would be impossible without rare earth metals． The importance of rare earths has only grown as emerging markets increase their demand for technologies made with it, as does the renewable energy industry．
The 17 metallic elements are common in the earth-s crust, but the technique used to extract and refine them is labor-intensive, environmentally hazardous and increasingly costly． Thomas Gradael, a professor of geology and geophysics at the Yale School of Forestry Environmental Studies, explains that the钰criticality" of rare earths was only recently understood after China, which dominates the world-s supply of the minerals, cut exports by 40% in 2010, citing concerns over how polluting the rare earth industry was．
Along with colleagues at Yale, Gradael decided to investigate the metals used in modern technologies to determine if there were viable（可行的） substitutes．“Twenty or thirty years ago electronics were being made with 11 different elements," explains Gradael． “Today's computers and smartphones use something like 63 different elements．" Their findings showed that there were no "readily apparent" substitutes for a metal that would not compromise on quality or performance．
However increased mining for these scarce resources can have some nasty side effects for the environment． China, which has intensively mined for rare earths with little regulation, allowing it to dominate the global industry since 1990, has acknowledged the incredible environmental harm caused by the process． “Excessive rare earth mining has resulted in landslides, clogged rivers, environmental pollution emergencies and even major accidents and disasters, causing great damage to people's safety and health and the ecological environment," read a white paper issued by the Chinese cabinet in June last year．
Recycling metal has been advocated by some as a possible way of managing these precious resources-the European Parliament adopted a law curbing dumping of electric waste in 2012． But Gradael says that for rare earths, recycling will have little impact．
1.Rare earths are growingly important in that
A． they exist in small numbers
B． they are essential in modern technologies
C． life would be impossible without them
D． new technology markets are emerging
2.Which one of the following can be used in the blank?
A． It is in China that rare earths are fully understood．
B． Despite the name, rare earth metals are not in fact rare．
C． There is a growing concern over the rare earth industry．
D． Rare earth metals are difficult to collect though important．
3.Gradael investigated the use of rare earths in modern technologies to ．
A． prove the important role rare earths play
B． learn the number of different elements used
C． determine whether there are substitutes for rare earths
D． research further the quality or performance of rare earths
4. Why does the author take China as an example in Para．4?
A． To tell the wide use of rare earth in China．
B． To prove the side effects of rare earth mining．
C． To warn people of the possible damage．
D． To teach other countries a lesson to follow．
5.The text may probably be followed by the paragraphs about
A． the reasons why recycling works little
B． the ways to manage rare earths
C． the effects brought about by rare earths
D． the attitudes people hold to the law
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Six seconds after its launch in Virginia, US, an unmanned rocket bound for the International Space Station （ISS） exploded, disappointing people both on Earth and in space．
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cargo was destroyed in the Oct． 28 explosion due to An“equipment failure”, said Orbital Sciences, the company hired by NASA for the resupply mission．
The rocket was carrying a cargo ship loaded with 2,200 kilograms of supplies such as food, tools, parts, and experiments． Roughly a third of the cargo was a series of scientific investigations． Some of them were from high school students in the US． For example, 10 students from the Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston were conducting experiments about microgravity and put their samples on the rocket． “I know that failure is a part of science, but I really feel sorry for my students," science teacher Greg Adragna told the Houston, Chronicle ．
Astronauts at the ISS felt a more urgent disappointment, however． The cargo included 617kg of food． Now they will have to rely on supplies from a Russian launch on Oct． 29．
Launched in 1998 and involving the US, Russia, Canada, Japan, and the member countries of the European Space Agency, the ISS is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in history． Currently, there are six astronauts at the station, five male and one female． Three are from Russia, two are from the US, and one is from Germany． They have lived together for about six months． The station gets regular resupplies from Earth, using unmanned spacecrafts． Food is always a big part of the supplies． Most of the food is frozen and ready to eat, and often tastes bad-somewhat like trying to eat when you have a heavy cold．
To make space life better, however, scientists have made breakthroughs． Earlier this year, Russian astronauts managed to grow a variety of crops aboard the station． Next year they are going to try to grow rice and other plants． And, as transporting water to space is expensive, astronauts are looking for ways to recycle water． "Astronauts on board the ISS already drink water distilled from sweat and urine<尿） ," Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported．
Is that the reason the astronauts were so disappointed not to get the water from the failed resupply mission, by any chance?
1. What is the author-s main purpose in writing the article?
A．To explain what caused the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket．
B．To inform us of the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket and its effects．
C．To tell us about astronauts lives at the International Space Station．
D．To tell us how the world reacted to the explosion of NASA-s unmanned rocket．
2. The underlined word “cargo” in the second paragraph is closet in meaning to
A． goods B． equipment
C． food supply D． investigation
3.How did teacher Greg Adragna feel about the explosion of the rocket?
A． Angry． B． Anxious．
C． Frustrated． D． Unconcerned．
4.We can conclude from the article that the situation seemed for astronauts on board the ISS when the rocket exploded．
A． hopeless B． interesting
C． depressing D． dangerous
5.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the ISS, according to the article?
A． Half of the astronauts at the ISS are from the US．
B． The ISS was set up by four countries．
C． The water that astronauts at the ISS drink is mainly made by recycling．
D． Most of the food astronauts eat at the ISS is frozen and tastes bad．
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What would Barbie look like if she were average?
According to US artist Nickolay Lamm, she would be a brunette with a rounded face and a much thicker waist．
Frustrated with the unrealistic beauty standards of Barbie and her friends, Lamm took data from Disease Control and Prevention about an average 19-year-old American woman, who is about 163 cm tall, with a 84-cm waist． With those measurements, Lamm created a doll．
The doll-s tagline （口号）is “Average is beautiful．”
“I think a realistic-size doll is important because when I look at current dolls on the market, they all look like supermodels," the artist told APF． “I just had the impression that the wall of supermodels suggests that something is wrong with you if you don-t look like one． So I created an alternative to suggest that it’s OK to look like a normal person．"
The Lammily dolls, which are 27 cm tall, have been on sale since last month．
Lammily also has other features． Unlike Barbie and her friends, whose pointed legs would force her to walk on all fours if she were real, Lammily has articulated（枢接的） joints – able to walk, run, and play． The doll can even be put in a yoga position．
What’s more, the Lammily dolls include a sticker package that can help to add real-life marks to the dolls, including freckles, acne, moles, and tattoos．
“You can also add minor cuts and bruises, like ones you'd get from falling down while snowboarding," Lamm told NBC．
“I feel that, right now． dolls are very perfect looking, when, in real life, few of us have perfect skin," Lamm told The Huffington Post． “Things like pimples are a natural part of who we are． So, why not give dolls a real treatment?"
As The Huffington． Post said, "Getting kids used to the idea that these things are completely normal and not 6flaws'（缺陷） to be ashamed of can only be a good thing．"
1.Why did Nickolay Lamm make the Lammily doll? （No more than 14 words） （2 marks）
2.How is the Lammily doll different from Barbie dolls? （No more than 13 words） （3 marks）
3.What does Lamm mean when he says, "why not give dolls a real treatment?" in the second-to-last paragraph? （No more than 1 words） （3 marks）
4.What is the author-s attitude toward Lammily dolls? （No more than 6 words） （2 marks）
