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California has been facing droughts for many years, with certain areas even having to pump freshwater hundreds of miles to their distribution system. The problem is growing as the population of the state continues to expand. New research has found deep water reserves under the state which could help solve their drought crisis. Previous drilling of wells could only reach depths of 1,000 feet, but due to new pumping practices, water deeper than this can now be extracted (抽取). The team at Stanford investigated the aquifers (地下蓄水层) below this depth and found that reserves may be three times what was previously thought.
It is profitable to drill to depths more than 1,000 feet for oil and gas, but only recently in California has it become profitable to pump water from this depth. The aquifers range from 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground, which means that pumping will be expensive and there are other concerns. The biggest concern is the gradual setting down of the land surface. As the water is pumped out, the vacant space left is pressed by the weight of the earth above.
Even though pumping from these depths is expensive, it is still cheaper than desalinating (脱盐) the ocean water in the largely coastal state. Some desalination plants exist where possible, but they are costly to run and can need constant repairs. Wells are much more reliable sources of freshwater, and California is hoping that these deep wells may be the answer to their severe water shortage.
One problem with these sources is that the deep water also has a higher level of salt than shallower aquifers. This means that some water may even need to be desalinated after extraction, thus increasing the cost. Research from the study of groundwater has just been published. New estimates of the water reserves now go up to 2,700 billion cubic meters of freshwater.
1.According to the text, what causes the water crisis in California?
A.Previous drilling of wells. B.The messy distribution system.
C.Constant droughts in the area. D.The adoption of new pumping practices.
2.The research teams think it ________ to extract water from deeper aquifers.
A.expensive but practical B.reliable and profitable
C.cost-free but demanding D.cheap and environment-friendly
3.What is mentioned as a consequence of extracting water from deep underground?
A.The damage to aquifers. B.The sinking of land surface.
C.The decrease in operation costs. D.The negative effects on the climate.
4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To encourage people to save water.
B.To promote the seawater desalination.
C.To introduce a new way of extracting freshwater.
D.To draw people’s attention to the droughts in California.
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Brecon Beacons YAC has an amazing opportunity for budding(崭露头角的) archaeologists of all ages, in Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, professional archaeologists from Wardell Armstrong will be investigating an archaeological mystery and they need your help.
Romans?
“The site is a bit of a mystery”, Frank Giecco from Wardell Armstrong said. “There is a very nice cropmark recorded on the site that has got lots of people very excited. Geophysicists failed to find anything relating to the cropmark. There is anecdotal evidence of Roman material being found, but nothing is officially recorded. We hope to finally answer the question of what is in this field, during the two weeks on site. Is there evidence of any Roman occupation on the site? Can you help us find out?”
Get involved
This is an opportunity for both adults and children to take part in field walking and trial trenching (small hand-dug test pits for children). No experience is necessary, training will be provided by the professional archaeologists from Wardell Armstrong, and all equipment will be provided. Volunteers can attend for as few or as many days as they wish, but they do need to book a place.
For more information, and to book your place, please contact Norman Kirtlan at sunderlandforgottenstones@gmail.com.
1.If you intend to take part in the activity, you ________.
A. will be charged for using equipment
B. will be coached by experts in the field
C. should have worked with archaeologists before
D. should spare two weeks to stay at the site
2.What’s the main purpose of the passage?
A. To seek funding for archaeological research.
B. To appeal for help in proving findings based on anecdotal evidence.
C. To find volunteers to help solve an archaeological mystery.
D. To organize volunteers to help sort our data on the Roman occupation.
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Listening to a radio broadcast in a foreign language is difficult for many of us. We may have studied the language for several years, and are able to read it, perhaps even write in it. But listening and understanding the spoken language require special skills. Some people have a natural ability that helps them to learn a language quickly, while others must study for a long time. Everyone, however, can improve his or her listening skills with practice.
We are good listeners in our own language because we have had years of practice. We understand the grammar and the language. We know what to expect a person to say to us in almost any situation. We have been in similar situations many times, and we have heard it all before. We can understand it, even if we do not listen carefully.
But this is not true with a foreign language. We must listen with our full attention. And we must try not to let the cultural style of our language affect our understanding of the foreign language. Listening to a foreign language broadcast is easier if we know something about it. There are clues that can help us. One clue is the time of a day. Morning programs usually contain many short items of news, information or entertainment. The items are short because most of us are getting ready to go to work in the morning. Often we do not have time to listen to long programs. Evening programs are different. There is time for more details about the subjects discussed.
We can get a clue about the program from the music at the beginning, but we must be familiar with the music of the foreign culture. The kind of music-serious and slow, or fast and light-can tell us what kind of program to expect. The name of the program can give us good information about what it will contain.
Another good clue is the broadcaster. The more we listen to the same person, the easier it will be to understand him. His speaking style will become familiar to us. Further, the broadcaster provides clues to the organization of the broadcast at the beginning of the program. The broadcaster usually gives us the highlights of the program to prepare us for the details that will follow.
1.We are good listeners in our own language because ______.
A.we have a natural ability of learning language
B.our own language is much easier
C.we listen to our own language more carefully
D.we have practiced it for years
2.If you don’t have enough time, you can listen to ______.
A.evening programs B.programs with soft music
C.morning programs D.familiar programs
3.You can know the information of the program according to ______.
A.its name B.the broadcaster
C.its music D.the time of the program
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To learn to think is to learn to question. Those who don't question never truly think for themselves. These are simple rules that have governed the advancement of science and human thought since the beginning of time. Advancements are made when thinkers question theories and introduce new ones. Unfortunately, it is often the great and respected thinkers who end up slowing the progress of human thought. Aristotle was a brilliant philosopher whose theories explained much of the natural world, often incorrectly. He was so esteemed by the scientific community that even 1，200 years after his death, scientists were still trying to build upon his mistakes rather than correct them!
Brilliant minds can intimidate upandcoming thinkers who are not confident of their abilities. They often believe they are inferior to the minds of giants such as Aristotle, leading many to accept current paradigms instead of questioning them.
I, like many thinkers of the past, once believed in my mental inferiority. I was certain that my parents, my teachers-adults in general-were always right. They were like a textbook to me; I didn't question what was written on those pages. I respected them, and accepted whatever they told me. But that attitude soon changed. My mind's independence was first stimulated in the classroom.
A stern, 65yearold elementaryschool science teacher once told me that light is a type of wave. I confidently went through years of school believing that light is a wave. One day，however I heard the German exchange student mention that light could be made up of particles. As the others laughed at his statement, I started to question my beliefs.
Maybe the teachers and textbooks hadn't given me the whole story. I went to the library, did some research and learned of the lightasawave versus lightasaparticle debate. I read about Einstein's discovery of the dual nature of light and learned the facts of a paradox(悖论) that puzzles the world's greatest thinkers to this day. Light behaves as both a particle and a wave, it is both at once. I realized I had gone through life accepting only half of the story as the whole truth.
Each new year brought more new facts, and I formulated even more questions. I found myself in the library after school, trying to find my own answers to gain a more complete understanding of what I thought I already knew. I discovered that my parents and teachers are incredible tools in my quest for knowledge, but they are never the final word. Even textbooks can be challenged. I learned to question my sources, I learned to be a thinker. I once believed that everything I learned at home and at school was certain, but I have now discovered to reexamine when necessary.
Questions are said to be the path to knowledge and truth, and I plan to continue questioning. How many things do we know for sure today that we will question in the future? At this moment, I know that our sun will burn for another five billion years, and I know nothing can escape the gravity of a black hole. This knowledge, however, may change in the next 20 years-maybe even in the next two. The one thing we can control now is our openness to discovery. Questions are the tools of open minds, and open minds are the key to intellectual advancement.
1.In the first paragraph, Aristotle is taken as an example to show that ______.
A.he is the greatest and respected philosopher of all time
B.huge influence of great thinkers may block human thought
C.advancements are made when thinkers question theories
D.great thinkers often make mistakes and then correct them
2.What does the underlined word “intimidate” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A.Frighten. B.Encourage. C.Strength. D.Persuade.
3.The author began to question his previous beliefs because ______.
A.what he learned from textbooks before turned out to be wrong
B.he was inspired by the different ideas from an exchange student
C.he was laughed at by other students for his unacceptable statement
D.he was not satisfied with his life and desperate to achieve success
4.According to the passage, the author ______.
A.looks down upon great thinkers all the time
B.never doubts what he has learned in the textbook
C.always throws himself into the laboratory
D.determines to be a thinker and questioner
5.We can conclude from the last paragraph that ______.
A.the author is not quite sure about his future
B.we human beings don't dare to predict future
C.theory of black holes will change in two years
D.questioning is necessary to promote advancement
6.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.Following rules. B.Challenging yourself.
C.Questioning giants. D.Predicting future.
