Federal regulators Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergency alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.

Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry’s trade association, CTIA, estimates (估计) more than 48 billions text messages are sent each month.

The plan comes from the Warning Alter and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvement to the nation’s emergency alter system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alter the public about emergencies.

“The ability to deliver accurate and timely warning and alters through cell phone and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.

Participation in the alter system by carriers — telecommunication companies — is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.

The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alters.

There would be three types of messages, according to the rules.

The first would be a national alter from the president, likely involving  a terrorists attack or natural disaster. The second would involve “approaching threats,” which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架)emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.

The service could be in place by 2010.

1.What is the purpose of the approval plan?

A．To warn people of emergencies via message.

B．To popularize the use of cell phone.

C．To estimate the monthly number of messages.

D．To promote the wireless industry.

2. The improvement to the present system is in the charge of ______.

A. CTLA.   B. the Warning Alert and Response Network

C. FCC    D. federal regulators

3.The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by _______.

A．the US federal government	B．mobile phone users
C．the carriers themselves	D．the law of the United States

4.Which of the following is true of cell phone users?

They must accept the alert service. 

B. They may enjoy the alert service for free.

C. They must send the alerts to others.

D. They may choose the types of messages.

5.An alert message will NOT be sent if __________.

A. a child loses his way         B. a university shooting happens

C. a natural disaster happens   D, a terrorist attack occurs

6. Which of the following would be the best title for the test?

A．Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students

B．Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry

C．Cell Phone Alerts Natural Disasters

D．Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon

 

Federal regulators(调整者) Wednesday approved a plan to create a nationwide emergence alert (警报) system using text messages delivered to cell phones.

Text messages have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people. The wireless industry's trade association, CTIA, estimates（估计） more than 48 billion text messages are sent each month.

The plan comes from the Warning Alert and Response Network Act, a 2006 federal law that requires improvements to the nation's emergency alert system. The act tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with coming up with new ways to alert the public about emergencies.

"The ability to deliver accurate and timely warnings and alerts through cell phones and other mobile services is an important next step in our efforts to help ensure that the American public has the information they need to take action to protect themselves and their families before, and during, disasters and other emergencies," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said following approval of the plan.

Participation in the alert system by carriers –telecommunications companies is voluntary, but it has received solid support from the wireless industry.

The program would be optional for cell phone users. They also may not be charged for receiving alerts.

There would be three different types of messages, according to the rules.

The first would be a national alert from the president, likely involving a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The second would involve "approaching threats," which could include natural disasters like hurricanes or storms or even university shootings. The third would be reserved for child abduction (绑架) emergencies, or so-called Amber Alerts.

The service could be in place by 2010.

What is the purpose of the approved plan?  

A. To warn people of emergencies via messages.

B. To popularize the use of cell phones.

C. To estimate the monthly number of messages.

D. To promote the wireless industry.

The improvement to the present system is in the charge of ____. 

A. CTIA     B. the Warning Alert and Response Network

C. FCC      D. federal regulators

The carriers’ participation in the system is determined by _____. 

A. the US federal government      B. mobile phone users

C. the carriers themselves         D. the law of the United States

Which of the following would be the best title for the text?  

A. Cell Phone Alerts Protecting Students   B. Cell Phone Alerts by Wireless Industry

C. Cell Phone Alerts of National Disasters  D. Cell Phone Alerts Coming Soon

The first people who gave names to hurricanes were those who knew them best — the people of Puerto Rico. The small island of Puerto Rico is in the West Indies, off the coast of Florida. This is where all the hurricanes begin that strike the east coast of the United States. Often they pass near Puerto Rico or cross it on their way north. The people of Puerto Rico expect some of these unwelcome visitors every year. Each one is named after the Saint’s Day on which it arrives. Two of the most destructive storms were the Santo Ana in 1840 and the San Ciriaco in 1899.

Giving girls’ names to hurricanes is a fairly new idea. It all began with a story called “Storm”, written by George Stewart in 1941. In it a weatherman amused himself by naming storms after girls he knew. He named one Maria. The story describes how she Maria grew and developed, and how she changed the lives of people when she struck the United States.

Weathermen of the U.S. Army and Navy used the same system during World WarⅡ. They were studying weather conditions over the Pacific Ocean. One of their duties was to warn American ships and planes when a storm was coming. Whenever they spotted one, they gave it a girl’s name. The first one of the year was given a name beginning with [A]. The second one got a name beginning with [B]. They used all the letters from A to W, and still the storms kept coming. They had to use three lists from A to W to have enough names to go around. This was the first list of hurricane names that followed the alphabet. It served as a model for the system the Weather Bureau (局) introduced in 1942.

Before 1950 the Weather Bureau had no special system for naming hurricanes. When a hurricane was born down in the West Indies, the Weather Bureau simply collected information about it. It reported how fast the storm was moving and where it would go next. Weather reports warned people in the path of the hurricane, so that they could do whatever was necessary to protect themselves.

This system worked out fine as long as weather reports talked about only one hurricane at a time. But one week in September 1950 there were three hurricanes at the same time. The things began to get confused. Some people got the hurricanes mixed up and didn’t know which was which. This convinced the Weather Bureau that it needed a code for naming the storms in order to avoid confusion in the future.

1．Hurricanes were first named after the _________.

A. date on which they occurred                         

B. place where they began

C. amount of destruction they did                     

D. particular feature they have

2．The practice of giving girls’ names to hurricanes was started by _________.

A. a radio operator        B. an author                  C. a sailor                     D. local people

3．The purpose for which weathermen of the army and navy began using girls’ names for hurricanes was _________.

A. to keep information from the enemy

B. to follow the standard method of the United States

C. not given in the article

D. to remember a certain girl

4．The Weather Bureau began naming hurricanes because it would help them _________.

A. collect information more rapidly                  

B. warn people more efficiently

C. make use of military (军事的) records          

D. remember them

 

We often hear the phrase:“You’ve a greater chance of being struck by lightning.” It is used to describe something that hasn’t got much chance of happening. However, the common saying undermines(掩盖) the very real dangers of lightning. Last Friday, at least 5 people were killed by lightning in Nepal. Lightning strikes are the second most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the US. The first is floods. Around 400 people nationwide are struck by lightning each year, and of those73 people die. That means more people are killed by lightning than by tornadoes and hurricanes. Because lightning kills only one or two people at a time, its danger does not receive as much attention as other disasters.

So to raise awareness, the US has made June 22 to 28 National Lightning Safety Week. It aims to warn the public of the dangers of lightning and provide safety tips during thunderstorms. “If you hear thunder , you are in danger from lightning,” said Rocky Lopes, a disaster educator at the American Red Cross.“Thunder means that lightning is close enough to hit you at any minute, so you should move indoors immediately and stay there until after the storm has ended. The single most important thing to remember is to seek hiding place,”Lopes said.

Summer is the high time for lightning storms, so when lightning strikes across the sky, remember these safety tips:

Stop working, fishing, swimming or playing in open fields.

If you can count less than ten seconds between a thunder and a lightning flash, take cover inside the nearest building.

Do not stand under a tree.

Get off bicycles or motorcycles.

Crouch down(蹲下)if there is no hiding place.

Avoid open spaces, wire fences, metal objects and electrical objects such as hair driers.

 

1.The popular opinion about being struck by lightening is that 　　　.

A. there is a greater chance for being killed by lightening than any other natural disaster

B. it is the most dangerous among all the natural disasters

C. the chance for a person to be struck by lightening is very small

D. it is impossible for people to be killed by lightening

2. The average death rate of being struck by lightening in US is about 　　.

A.18%　　　　　　　B.50%　　　　　C.30%　　　　D.73%

3. Among all the safety tips, the most important one is that when you hear thunder in the open air， 　　　.

A. just stand by your bicycles and motorcycles

B. quickly find a place to go inside

C. count ten seconds between a thunder and a lightening

D. don’t have a hair drier in your hand

4. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. There are more people killed by tornadoes and hurricanes than by lightening in US each year.

B. There are on average 5 persons killed by lightening in Nepal each day.

C. The death rate of being stuck by lightening is much higher than by other natural disasters.

D. The National Lightening Safety Week is made to warn the public against lightening.

 

 

Natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods can often come at the least expected time．Others, such as hurricanes are increasing in severity and destruction．Typically, those poor countries are the worst hit for they have the least resources to deal with the destruction and rebuild their home．This part of the globalissues．org website looks at some of these issues．
Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis
The earthquake off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 was one of the biggest recorded, measuring 9 on the Richter scale（里氏震级）．
It was the resulting tsunami, however, that caused the most destruction．It devastated the northeast of Japan, leaving many thousands dead or missing, and -hundreds of thousands homeless or leaving the area．In addition, various power generators（发电机组） failed．Some older nuclear power stations risked meltdown and suffered explosions and radioactive leaks．Workers battled for weeks to try and bring the situation under control．Radioactive material was detected in various places．
It is thought that the cost of the earthquake and tsunami could be over $ 300 billion-the world's most expensive natural disaster on record．
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destroyed category 4（四级） hurricane, the highest category, that hit the Gulf of Mexico and various Southern regions of the United States at the end of August, 2005, causing the worst damage in that country's history, estimated at $ 100 billion．The famous New Orleans city and surrounding areas were worst hit as much of it sits some 6 feet below sea level．City defenses, such as banks, only designed for categary 3 type hurricanes, gave way, leading to enormous flooding and associated damage, death and displacement of around 100, 000 people who either chose to say the course, or could not afford to flee．
【小题1】Where would this passage most probably appear?

A．In a textbook．

B．In a magazine．

C．In a paper．

D．In a website．

【小题2】Why are those poor countries the worst hit by natural disasters?

A．Because they are lazy and poor．

B．Because they desire help from rich countries．

C．Because they lack resources to deal with the destruction and rebuild their home．

D．Because they never think of protecting their home．

【小题3】What is the meaning do the underlined word "devastated" in the paragraph 3?

A．Built．

B．Completed．

C．Discovered．

D．Destroyed．

【小题4】In the disaster happening in 2011 in Japan, what caused the most destruction?

A．Radioactive material．	B．Tsunami．
C．Earthquake．	D．Power generators' explosion．

【小题5】What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A．Hurricane Katrina also hit the northern part of the USA．
B．Hurricane Katrina caused the second the worst damage in the history of the USA．
C．All parts of New Orleans city were below sea level．
D．City defenses in New Orleans couldn't deal with Hurricane Katrina．