Avalanche and Its Safety

An avalanche is a sudden and rapid flow of snow, often mixed with air and water, down a mountainside. Avalanches are   1   the biggest dangers in the mountains for both life and property.

All avalanches are caused by an over-burden of material, typically snowpack, that is too massive and unstable for the slope   2   supports it. Determining the critical load, the amount of over-burden which is    3    an avalanche,    4    a complex task involving the evaluation of a number of factors.      

Terrain slopes flatter than 25 degrees or steeper than 60 degrees typically have a low    5   of avalanche. Snow does not    6   significantly on steep slopes; also, snow does not    7    easily on fiat slopes. Human-triggered avalanches have the greatest incidence when the snow"s angle of rest¹ is    8   35 and 45 degrees; the critical angle, the angle at which the human incidence of avalanches is greatest, is 38 degrees. The rule of thumb² is: A slope that is    9   enough to hold snow but steep enough to ski has the potential to generate an avalanche, regardless of the angle. Additionally³, avalanche risk increases with    10   ; that is, the more a slope is disturbed by skiers, the more likely it is that an avalanche will occur.

Due to the complexity of the subject, winter travelling in the backcountry⁴ is never 100% safe. Good avalanche safety is a continuous    11   , including route selection and examination to the snowpack, weather    12    , and human factors. Several well-known good habits can also

   13   the risk. If local authorities issue avalanche risk reports, they should be considered and all warnings should be paid    14   to. Never follow in the tracks of others without your own evaluations; snow conditions are almost certain to have changed since they were made. Observe the terrain and note obvious avalanche paths where plants are    15   or damaged. Avoid traveling below others who might trigger an avalanche.

词汇：

avalanche / "ævəlæntʃ,- lɑ: ʃ / n．雪崩
snowpack / "snəʊpæk / n．积雪场
terrain / təˈreɪn / n．地形，地势
steep / sti:p / adj．险峻的，陆峭的
trigger / "trɪɡə(r) / v．引起，激发
incidence / ˈɪnsɪdəns / n．发生（率）
ski / ski: / v．滑雪
complexity / kəm"pleksətɪ / n．复杂性

注释:

1．angle of rest：这里指积雪保持静止的角度。

2．rule of．thumb：指“a broadly accurate principle，based on experience or practice rather that theory”，即“通用法则，经验法则 ”。

3．Additionally：是一个副词，用来引人新的事实或论点，意为 “此外”。

4．backcountry：人烟稀少的地区。

空12

A:conditions B:reports C:forecast D:event

One Good Reason to Let Smallpox Live

　　It’s now a fair bet that we will never see the total extinction of the smallpox virus. The idea was to cap the glorious achievement of 1980，when smallpox was eradicated in the wild, by destroying the killer virus in the last two labs that are supposed to have it — one in the US and one in Russia. If smallpox had truly gone from the planet, what point was there in keeping these reserves?

　 1   reality, of course, it was naive to   2   that everyone would let   3   of such a potent potential weapon.¹ Undoubtedly several nations still have   4   vials.   5  the last “official” stocks of live virus bred mistrust of the USandRussia,²     6    no obvious gain.

Now American researchers have    7    an animal model of the human disease,opening the   8   for tests on new treatments and vaccines. So once again there’s a good reason to   9   the virus —just in   10   the disease puts in a reappearance.
　　How do we   11   with the mistrust of theUSandRussia?   12   Keep the virus   13   international auspices in a well-guarded UN laboratory that’s open to all countries. TheUSwill object, of course, just as it rejects a multilateral approach to just about everything. But it doesn’t   14   the idea is wrong. If the virus   15   useful, then let’s make it the servant of all humanity — not just a part of it

词汇：
smallpox /"smɔːlpɒks/ n.天花

cap /kaep/vt.结束;覆盖

killer /"kɪlə/ n.杀死物;杀人者

potent /"pəʊt(ə)nt/ adj.有效力的;强有力的

vial /"vaɪəl/ n.小瓶

mistrust /mɪs"trʌst/ n.不信任，怀疑

auspices /"ɔːspɪsɪz/ n.赞助;支持

注释：

1.In reality, of course, it was naive to imagine that everyone would let go of such a potent potential weapon.当然,想象每个人都会放弃这样一种有效的潜在的武器事实上是幼稚的。
2.And the last “official”stocks of live virus bred mistrust of theUSandRussia...:美俄最后的“官方”活病毒储备引起大家对这两个国家的不信任。 

空12

A:Difficult B:Hard C:Safe D:Simple

Men Too May Suffer from Domestic Violence

　　Nearly three in 10 men have experienced violence at the hands of¹ an intimate partner during their lifetimes, according to one of the few studies to look   1    domestic violence and health among men.
　　“Many men actually do experience domestic violence, although we don’t hear about it   2    ,” Dr. Robert J. Reid of the University of Washington in Seattle , one of  the study"s authors ，told Reuters Health. “ They often don"t tell    3    we don"t ask. We want to get the message out² to men who    4    experience domestic violence that they are not alone and there are resources available to    5    .”
　　The researchers asked study participants about physical abuse and non-physical    6   , such as threats that made them    7    for³ their safety, controlling behavior (for example, being told who they could associate with and where they could go)，and constant name-calling.
　　Among men 18 to 54 years old, 14.2 percent said they had experienced intimate partner    8    in the past five years, while 6.1 percent reported domestic violence in the previous year.
　　Rates were lower for men 55 and    9    ，with 5.3 percent reporting violence in the past five years and 2.4 percent having experienced it in the past 12 months.
　　Overall, 30.5 percent of men younger than 55 and 26.5 percent of older men said they had been victims of    10    violence at some point in their lives. About half of the violence the men    11    was physical.
　　However, the physical violence men reported wasn’t as harsh as    12    suffered by women in a previous study；20 percent to 40 percent of the men rated it as severe, compared to 61 percent of    13   
　　Men who reported experiencing domestic violence had more emotional and mental health problems   14   those who had not, especially older men, the    15    found.

词汇：

intimate /"ɪntɪmət/ adj.亲密的

name-calling  n.辱骂

abuse /ə"bjuːz/ n.伤害

注释：
1. at the hands of：出自某人之手,从某人那里
2. get the message out：传达这样一个信息
3. fear for：为……担忧

空12

A:this B:those C:that D:one

Old And Active

　　It is well-known that life expectancy is longer in Japanthan in most other countries. A   1   report also shows thatJapanhas the longest health expectancy in the world. A healthy long life is the result of¹ the    2    in social environment.
　　Scientists are trying to work    3    exactly what keeps elderly Japanese people so healthy, and whether there is a lesson to be    4    from their lifestyles for the rest of us. Should we    5    any changes to our eating habits, for instance, or go jogging each day before breakfast? Is there some secret    6    in the Japanese diet that is particularly    7    to the human body?
　　Another factor    8    to the rapid population aging inJapanis a decline in birthrate. Although longer life should be celebrated, it is    9    considered a social problem. The number of older people had    10    in the last half century and that has increased pension and medical costs. The country could soon be    11    an economic problem, if there are so many old people to be looked    12    ,and relatively few younger people working and paying taxes to support them.
　　    13    the retirement age from 65 to 70 could be one solution to the problem². Work can give the elderly a    14    of responsibility and mission in life. It’s important that the elderly play active    15    in the society and live in harmony with all generations.

注释:
1. take an interest in ... :　对……产生兴趣
2. become of sb. / sth. ...:　发生……情况;遭遇…
3. to the astonishment of ... 　:令……惊讶的是……

空12

A:for B:by C:with D:drop

The First Bicycle

    The history of the bicycle goes back more than 200 years. In 1791, Count de Sivrac (1) ______ onlookers in a park in Parisas he showed off his two-wheeled invention, a machine called the celerifere. It was basically an (2) ______ version of a children’s toy which had been in (3) ______ for many years. Sivrac’s “celerifere” had a wooden frame, made in the (4) ______ of horse, which was mounted on a wheel at either end¹. To ride it, you sat on a small seat, just like a modern bicycle, and pushed (5) ______ against the (6) ______ with your legs — there were no pedals. It was impossible to steer a celerifere and it had no brakes, but despite these problems the invention very much (7) ______to the fashionable young men ofParis. Soon they were (8) ______ races up and down the streets.

    Minor (9) ______ were common as riders attempted a final burst of² (10) ______. Controlling the machine was difficult, as the only way to change (11) ______ was to pull up the front of the “celerifere” and (12) ______ it round while the front wheel was (13) ______ in the air. “Celeriferes” were not popular for long, however, as the (14) ______ of no springs, no steering and rough roads made riding them very uncomfortable. Even so, the wooden celerifere was the (15) ______ of the modern bicycle.

词汇：

count /kaʊnt / n．伯爵

onlooker /ˈɒnlʊkə / n．观众

pedal /"pedl / n．踏板，脚蹬子

steer /stɪə /v．驾驶，操纵，控制

brake /breɪk/ n．闸，刹车

burst /bɜ:st /v．爆发，突发，爆炸

spring /sprɪŋ / n．弹簧

rough /rʌf / adj．粗糙的，不平整的

注释：

1....which was mounted on a wheel at either end:……两端都装上了轮子

空12

A:roIl B:drive C:turn D:revolve

 A Success Story

1. What makes Ben"s story all the more remarkable ... : 使得 Ben 的故事更引人注意的是…...
2. It was his ability to consistently overcome difficult challenges ... : 正是他持续不断地克服困难 挑战的能力…

空12

A:couple B:few C:little  D:deal

A Life with Birds