Sea lions and seals may swim in cold ocean water, but even they get sometimes. Seeing an injured seal wrapped in a blanket at a marine mammal center gave Haley Humes and Hayley Jeffries an idea for a special Girl Scout project. They decided to make blankets to keep injured animals warm. They would give these blankets to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, California. "We knew we wanted to help animals," Haley said. "We went to the center to ask questions about what they needed. They don't have a heated floor, and all the babies crowded together to stay warm." Friends since kindergarten, Haley and Hayley made 12 blankets to keep the Marine Mammal Center's seals and sea lions warm. Using fun images like Winnie-the-Pooh, the girls took two hours to make each blanket. The first sea lion to test out a blanket looked pretty in pink. "It was a sick baby and really liked it," Haley said. "It curled up in it right away." "The blankets are beautiful and the animals love them!" said the Mammal Center's Michele Hunter. "It's nice to see children taking pride in their work and doing something to help animals." During the project, the girls took dozens of pictures for the PowerPoint presentations they gave to Girl Scout leaders. Those presentations helped Haley and Hayley raise $250 to buy additional supplies the center needed. This was the first project the girls ever worked on and took months to plan and carry out. "I learned that in order to make something happen, you have to take it slowly and step by step," Hayley said. Just as important, the girls discovered that two people really can make a difference. "Knowing you're making a difference......with these animals is amazing," Haley said. "It was like the animals became my new friends." The Pacific Marine Mammal Center cares for sea lions and seals, as well as for other marine mammals. Since opening in 1971,the center has saved more than 5,000 injured marine mammals. When Haley and Hayley saw an injured seal wrapped in a blanket, they _ . A) decided to help animals B) asked Girl Scout for help C) went to the animal center to work. D) called on others to protect animals
A
(Question)
Twothirds of the world's major rivers have now been disrupted with more than 50,000 dams in an attempt to store water and provide power.In the US,there are more than 85,000 dams,disrupting large and small rivers,and in most cases transforming natural flow.The most famous of these,the Hoover Dam,constructed in the 1930s,is mainly responsible for the fact that the Colorado River no longer reaches the ocean. Dams,besides all their attractive benefits,also have negative impacts.Creating a reservoir means a large area must be flooded.Communities may lose their land,houses and culturally important sites. Environmentally,the new reservoir can be a paradise for wildlife,especially birds;however,it can cause greenhouse gas emissions and poison the water.Also,the dramatic rise and fall of water levels during dam releases is too extreme for plants and animals to cope with,resulting in dead zones around the shores of reservoirs.Fish that lay their eggs in the shallows,for example,may find a few hours later that those sites are high and dry. Downstream of a dam,the flow may be reduced so that farmers cannot irrigate their fields.Many rivers run through national borders,which may cause conflict over precious water.Disputes have been continuing between India and Pakistan,and Turkey,Syria and Iraq,for example. Dams don't just block the flow of water.They also prevent fish migrations,and dams are a barrier to sediment flows.Instead of rushing downriver,sediments get backed up against the dam wall,which causes the reservoir level to increase over time.However,sediments which are rich in nutrients have become a problem.The fertility of the entire system can be influenced,with soils lost during seasonal rains not being replaced. Perhaps the biggest problem can be seen in deltas,which are sinking into the oceans.Groundwater is being extracted to feed the city,causing the city to sink,and sediments washed away by the ocean are no longer being replaced.The result is that sea level rises in cities from Shanghai to Alexandria. How can dams influence large cities like Shanghai? A) Their entire system will be influenced. B) The rainy season will last longer. C) They will lie below sea level in future. D) Rich soils will be washed away.
(Answer)
C
Ques: On Sept. 11, an unseen enemy launched an attack on economic, military and governmental Landmarks of the United States. Beyond the tremendous loss of innocent lives and physical property, the attack was clearly aimed at the ideals of America--our values and the economic system that has made the U.S. economy the envy of the world. Those responsible for these acts portray the United States as the embodiment of all that is evil With globalization and the worldwide economy it has spawned. They use the failures of globalization as an excuse to exploit their millions of constituents in the underdeveloped world. Sometime soon, the U.S. military will strike back against those who it is determined have committed these acts. A military response is appropriate - some would say overdue . But even if the military objective is achieved, that alone will not get to the heart of the matter. It is crucial that the U.S. economy return to full speed ahead and continue to be the driving force behind expansion of the global economy. Globalization, or at least the present phase of it, generally is viewed as having started with the end of the Cold War in 1989. And for all its shortcomings, the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor across the borders of the world's trading nations -- the process that has come to be called globalization--still offers the best chance to fulfill the dreams of so many of the world's poor. What benefit will the globalization be of? A) It will bring the expansion of the world's economy. B) The poor will become rich overnight if it is realized. C) Nations will be too friendly to start a war against each other. D) The borders between the nations will be abandoned soon.
Ans: A
Ques:It is not always easy to understand inventions and new developments in science. To understand fiber optics , however, you can try an experiment. Put a drop or two of milk into the glass of water. Turn off the lights. Shine the light from your flashlight through the top of the glass at an angle of about 45 degrees. Put a piece of white paper against the glass when the beam of light is shining. Move the paper so you can see where the beam is coming out of the glass. You should see a spot of light. Some of the light has passed through the water and through the glass. You see it on the paper. You also see another beam going down into the glass. It is being reflected down into the glass. Next move the flashlight so that the beam is coming straighter down(30 degrees) into the water. You will see the same phenomenon: some of the light is reflected back into the glass. And some escapes out. Now move the beam of light from the flashlight slowly up until you cannot see any light escaping. This point is called the "point of total internal reflection." The word internal means "inside." All the light is staying inside the glass. There is no beam showing a bright spot on the white paper. All the light energy is inside the glass. The glass of milky water is like a strand of glass. A fiber optic tube is a bundle of long thin strands of glass, really many tubes. However, the principle is the same: at a certain angle, all the light energy that goes into the glass fiber comes out the other end. Light is energy. Sound is energy. Radio waves and electricity are both energy. They can all be changed into light, and as light they can all travel along a glass fiber. Light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles per second. Therefore, a message can travel that fast in a glass fiber. This is the principle, or law of nature, that makes fiber optics work. The last step is to prove_. A) no beam is shown on the white paper B) no light can be noticed inside the glass C) no reflection can be seen D) no energy is wasted

Ans:
D