The Iceberg Was Only Part of _ What doomed the Titanic is well known, at least in outline. On a moonless night of April 15, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic ,with 1,500 lives lost. A century later many people presented new theories to explain the real reason for the disaster. Now two new studies argue that rare states of nature played major roles in the disaster. The first says Earth's nearness to the Moon and the Sun -- a proximity not matched in more than 1,000 years -- resulted in record tides that help explain why the Titanic met with so much ice, including the fatal iceberg. Recently, a team of researchers found an apparent explanation in the heavens. They discovered that Earth had come unusually close to the Sun and Moon that winter, enhancing their gravitational pulls on the ocean and producing record tides. The rare orbits took place between December 1911 and February 1912 -- about two months before the disaster came about. The researchers suggest that the high tides refloated masses of icebergs traditionally stuck along the coastlines of Labrador and Newfoundland and sent them adrift into the North Atlantic shipping lanes. And a second, put forward by a Titanic historian from Britain, contends that the icy waters created ideal conditions for an unusual type of mirage that hid icebergs from lookouts whose duty was to watch carefully for danger ahead and confused a nearby ship as to the liner's identity, delaying rescue efforts for hours. Most people know mirages as natural phenomena caused when hot air near the Earth's surface bends light rays upward. In a desert, the effect prompts lost travelers to mistake patches of blue sky for pools of water. But another kind of mirage occurs when cold air bends light rays downward. In that case, observers can see objects and settings far over the horizon. The images often undergo quick distortions -- not unlike the wavy reflections in a funhouse mirror. Now, scholars of the Titanic are debating these new theories. Some have different... According to Theory Second, the disaster happened to the Titanic mainly because _ . A) the freezing weather made the watcher not be able to watch clear B) the mirage made the watcher not find icebergs and a nearby ship delay rescuing C) the mirage on the sea attracted the watcher and made him forget his work D) the high tides drove the icebergs float so fast that the watcher didn't respond to them
B
(Question)
In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition of each new skill -- the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself. Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness. As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality . Also, parents should realize that "example is better than _ ". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach , their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled. A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment. In terms of moral matters, parents should _ . A) follow the rules themselves B) be aware of the huge difference between adults and children C) forbid things which have no foundation in morality D) always ensure the security of their children
(Answer)
A
Ques: Has this happened to you? You're about to drift off to sleep when suddenly you feel like you're falling or coming down on a roller coaster. You then wake up to realize that you're safe in your bed. You may have been confused or frightened for a second or two and your heart may be beating faster. You may have also felt the muscles in your body jerk when this all happened. Did you ever wonder why? This falling sensation, together with a body movement known as a "sleep start", is what doctors and scientists call a myoclonic jerk, and it usually happens right before going into deeper stages of sleep. Here's why doctors think the falling feeling and myoclonic jerks happen. When you fall asleep, normally your body temperature goes down and your heart start to beat just a little slower. This is because your brain signals your body to relax to prepare for sleep. When your muscles are relaxed, you go into the very first stages of sleep, but you're not sleeping too deeply yet. This brain activity may cause your larger muscles to contract a little bit. In response, another part of your brain will make up a very quick mini-dream to go along with _ . You might think this would take a while, but your brain works so fast that it makes up the story almost at the same instant that your muscles jerk. During this light sleep, you can be awakened easily. People who wake up during this light sleep believe they haven't fallen asleep yet. That's why you may think that your body jerked right before you were about to fall asleep. Myoclonic jerk are a normal part of sleep. Most people have them at one time or another. But many people don't realize their muscles are jerking during night sleep if it doesn't wake them up. So the next time you dream about falling and wake up in a sweat, don't worry! Your body is just telling your muscles to relax and get some rest! The author thinks myoclonic jerks during sleep are _ . A) worrying B) usual C) abnormal D) useful
Ans: B
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A