1.But still there is a danger that grows every year．Airliners get larger．Some airplanes can hold over 300 passengers．And the air itself becomes more and more crowded．If one giant airliner crashed into another in mid-air, 600 lives could be lost．

2.．Air traffic controllers tell the pilot exactly when to turn, when to climb, and when to come down．The air traffic controllers around a busy airport like London-Heathrow may handle 2500 planes a day．Not all of them actually land at the airport．Any plane that flies near the airport comes under the orders of the controllers there．3.

Recently such a disaster almost happened．4.One, with 69 passengers, had come from Toronto, and the other, with 176 passengers, from Chicago, An air traffic controller noticed on his radar screen that the two planes were too close to each other．He ordered one to turn to the right and to climb．But he made a mistake．He ordered the wrong plane to do this．Fifteen seconds later it flew directly in front of the second plane．They avoided each other by the smallest part of a second．The distance between them was less than that of a large swimming pool. 5..

         A． Even a small mistake on their part could cause a disaster．

         B． Two large jets were flying towards the airport．

         C． Nowadays people like traveling more by air than by car．

         D． Today, air travel is far safer than driving a car on a bus motor-way．

         E． This is an example of the danger that grows every year．

         F．  In a word, air travel is more dangerous, we should choose others．

         G． From the moment an airliner takes off to the moment it lands, every movement is watched on radar screen．

 

The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.
Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.
Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.
【小题1】Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?

A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships.

B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned.

C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died.

D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death.

【小题2】The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.

A．burning

B．comfortable

C．warm

D．extinct

【小题3】What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?

A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept.

B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future.

C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees.

D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside.

【小题4】We can infer from the news that ___________.

A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland.

B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland.

C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland.

D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland.

◆200 dead as Brazilian plane crashes in Sao Paulo

Up to 200 people were dead after a passenger plane with 176 people aboard slid off the runway on landing and hit a fuel storage tank at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport on Tuesday.

Brazilian airline TAM said that 170 passengers and 6 crew were aboard the Airbus A320 flying from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil to Sao Paulo when it lost control on landing and slid off the wet runway.

Brazilian news agency Folha reported up to 200 people were dead, including some victims on the ground.

◆_______________________________________

Two people were killed Saturday in two separate plane crashes in the United States, media reports said.

In Dayton, Ohio, a plane crashed on a runway of the Dayton International Airport while performing during the Vectren Dayton Air Show. The pilot, Jim LeRoy, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital and was announced dead. The air show was canceled .

Also on the same day, two single-engine war planes at an experimental air show collided(相撞) in Wisconsin while landing, killing one of the pilots and injuring the other.

◆All 114 aboard Kenya plane killed  

A Kenya Airways plane that crashed after takeoff in Cameroon with 114 people on board is largely submerged (淹没) in a swamp(沼泽地) and there is no chance of survivors, Cameroon 's civil protection service said on Monday  

The Boeing 737-800 had taken off from Douala and its wreckag (残骸)was found just 12 miles from the town. The plane fell head first. But the cause of the crash remained unclear.

Among the passengers were Associated Press reporter Anthony Mitchella and an executive from the South African cell phone giant MTN. Five Chinese passengers were also killed in the crash .

The Brazilian plane crash caused extra deaths mainly because______

A .it skidded off the wet runway.   B. the runway. was very short

C. it hit a fuel storage tank        D. its pilot was inexperienced

The proper title for News 2 would be _________.

A. Two pilots killed in plane crashes in US    B. The tragedies of the air show

C. Who is to blame for the plane crashes?     D. Big losses can result from small things

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE as for the Kenya plane crash?

A. The plane crashed after the plane took off.

B. The cause of the crash was under examination

C. 114 passengers on board were killed including an African

D. The place where the plane crashed led to many more deaths

The Brazilian plane crash killed about _____people in all on the ground.

A. 170    B. 30    C. 24      D. 6

It can be inferred from the three news that_________

A. when the Airbus A320 landed, it was likely to be raining heavily

B. during the Vectren Dayton Air Show , the pilot, Jim LeRoy died on the scene

C. The place where the Boeing 737-800 crashed was just 12 miles from the town

D. Five Chinese passengers were victims of the Kenya plane crash

It’s no surprise why Kung Fu Hustle is the top-grossing^① homegrown movie in Hong Kong. Hustle’s approach to a simple good-against-evil plot is extremely cheerful.

Humor bordering on slapstick combined with exciting choreography^② by Yuen Wo Ping, who masterminded^③ the fight scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix, make Kung Fu Hustle a lively, visual treat.

There is plenty of violence, but it’s largely cartoonish. Stephen Chow wrote, directed, produced and stars in this non-stop action movie, which is in Cantonese with English subtitles^④.

Chow plays Sing, an eager young man who longs to be a member of the powerful and cruel Axe Gang. When gang members appear on the scene, sometimes dancing with their frightening axes in hand, the sky breaks out with fireworks. The sets are shocking, with classic cars lining the neon-lighted streets and gambling casinos^⑤ serving as the backdrop to the underworld activities. All these give off the sensation of Old West shootouts.

One neighborhood is blessedly away from the disorder. Pig Sty Alley is so poverty-stricken it holds no interest for the Axe Gang. Then in wanders the unlucky Sing, who attempts to get money there. But folks are not what they seem: The town is full of kung fu masters.

Sing tries to single out someone he can fight, but it seems as if everyone, elderly and very young alike, has a body like Charles Atlas. During the time, Sing calls upon the Axe Gang, which faces off against the people of Pig Sty Alley, led by the town’ s landlords, the powerful lady in curlers and her husband. Fans of kung fu movies will have a rip-roaring time, but even moviegoers are sure to enjoy spirited action of Kung Fu Hustle.

Notes:

top-grossing  adj. 票房收入最高的

choreography  n. 舞蹈术

mastermind  vt. 策划

subtitle  n. 说明对白的字幕

gambling casino  赌博场

Which of the following characters does the passage mainly describe?

      A. Stephen Chow     B. Yuen Wo Ping      C. Sing      D. Charles Atlas

Kung Fu Hustle becomes the top-grossing homegrown movie in Hong Kong because _______.

      A. it is full of humor and exciting action      B. it is full of cartoonish characters

      B. it is mainly made up of dance            D. it is a non-stop action movie

Which of the following about the Axe Gang is TRUE?

      A. The Axe Gang is popular with fans of kung fu movies.

      B. The Axe Gang is always easy do good things.

      C. The Axe Gang doesn’t know how to use guns.

      D. The Axe Gang often fights against its enemy using the axes.

In which part are you likely to find it if the passage appears in the web site?

      A. Entertainment.       B. Travel.        C. News.        D. Books.

There are many international organizations which work to save and protect endangered species(物种) and natural environment. If you would like more information about any of the organizations listed below, you can write to the addresses given.

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth (FOE) campaigns on a range of problems including rainforests, the countryside, water and air pollution and energy.

Friends of the Earth International Secretariat P.O. Box 19199

1000 G. D.

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Greenpeace

Greenpeace uses peaceful but direct action to defend the environment. It campaigns to protect rainforests and sea animals, stop global warming and end pollution of air, land and seas. It also opposes nuclear(核) power.

Greenpeace International

Keizergracht 176

1016 DW Amsterdam

The Netherlands

BirdLife

INTERNATIONAL

BirdLife International is an organization which works to save endangered birds all over the world.

BirdLife International

Wellbrook Court

Girton Road

Cambridge CB3 ONA

England

WWF

WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature is the world’s largest private international organization for the protection of nature and endangered species.

Information Officer

WWF International

Avenue du Mont-Blanc

1196 Gland

Switzerland

1.If you want to learn more about the organizations, you can           .

A．call them

B．write them a letter

C．visit them

D．send them an e-mail

2.Which problem will be paid close attention to by FOE?

A．Overhunting ocean animals	B．Killing endangered birds
C．Heavy air pollution	D．Global warming

3.If you are against nuclear power, you can join         .

A．Friends of the Earth	B．World Wide Fund For Nature
C．Greenpeace	D．BirdLife International

4.What can we learn about WWF?

A．It helps to protect nature and save endangered animals

B．It is the world’s largest international organization

C．It works for private companies and rich people

D．It is a private organization in the United States

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Environmental protection organizations	B．Global traffic problems
C．Endangered animals	D．Natural beauty