Commuting can sometimes be agonizing, and it’s even more so for commuters in the northeast US. They experienced a longer trip when a train 16
on the tracks between New York City and Washington, DC, back in May. 17
patience and humor, however, they made the most of their situation by ordering pizza to the stranded
train.
Commuters on the train started
to get hungry 18
for the rescue train to arrive. Therefore, they called in 19 was probably the most unusual
order (a pizza
place can expect
to get): delivery to a stranded train. Passengers
took pictures and complimented the delivery man on Twitter as he slid down a small hill next to the tracks, pizza in hand, to hand over the meal. News websites that picked up the story didn’t report how much the man was given as a(n) 20
. However, commenters hoped it was as generous as his behavior.
16. (A) heated up
|
(B) counted down
|
(C) slipped away
|
(D) broke down
|
17. (A) Encountering
|
(B) Demonstrating
|
(C) Supervising
|
(D) Persisting
|
18. (A) and
awaited
|
(B) to wait
|
(C) while waiting
|
(D) as they awaited
|
19. (A) it
|
(B) what
|
(C) which
|
(D) with which
|
20. (A) tip
|
(B) ash
|
(C) bow
|
(D) wit
|
1. commuting (n.) 通勤
commuter (n.) 通勤者
2. agonizing (adj.) 令人痛苦的
3. humor (n.) 幽默
4. stranded (adj.) 受困的；擱淺的
5. rescue (n.) 救援；拯救
6. unusual (adj.) 不尋常的
7. delivery (n.) 遞送；發表
8. compliment (v.) 稱讚；恭維
9. website (n.) 網站
10. commenter (n.) 評論者；（網頁）留言者
11. generous (adj.) 慷慨的；大方的
12. behavior (n.) 行為；舉止
With lots of people and little land, Japan has to use space more efficiently than other countries do. That’s why some things, like apartments and restaurants, are much smaller there than in the West. However, 21 things that are bigger in Japan?
Sometimes, a Western
musician or group will
22 little in their home country, but gain incredible popularity in Japan. Famous
bands like Queen and Bon Jovi, before they were superstars
around the world, were said to be “big in Japan” when they did well in the Japanese market. The band Cheap
Trick wasn’t a big success in the West 23 , but a live album they recorded on a Japanese
tour sold millions
of copies. On the record, listeners could hear thousands of
24 Japanese
fans screaming.
The Japanese music market
is the
second biggest in the world, so any artist would love to
prosper there. The trick, 25
industry experts, is to carefully develop a band’s marketing approach, so it caters to the tastes and trends of the local market. If an artist’s management
can do that,
maybe they can join the ranks
of those who are big in Japan.
21. (A) what
about
|
(B) how many
|
(C) what
if
|
(D) how come
|
22. (A) balance
|
(B) summon
|
(C) achieve
|
(D) repeat
|
23. (A) in turn
|
(B) by far
|
(C) at first
|
(D) on time
|
24. (A) passive
|
(B) terrified
|
(C) tiresome
|
(D) frantic
|
25. (A) speaking of
|
(B) according to
|
(C) judging from
|
(D) apart from
|
The Nobel Prize
is the most famous scientific award in the world.
Each year, the most 26
people in chemistry, economics,
literature, peace, physics, and medicine
are honored with a golden medal. Also, every
year,
a group of scientists get
together to give
out
another set of awards: the Ig Nobel
Prizes.
A 27
on the
word “ignoble,” meaning not honorable in character or purpose, the
Ig Nobel is given out only to scientific projects that are humorously pointless, absurd, or surprising.
28 to make people laugh as well as think, prizes have been given to scientists
who
tested whether people could actually slip on banana peels and to
those who tried to see if deer reacted
differently to people
when they were wearing
bear costumes.
Some research of the Ig Nobel recipients
29
to be significant feats, however. In 2006, the Ig Nobel Prize for Chemistry went to a study proving that some mosquitoes
are attracted to
the smell of human feet just as much as they are to
30 of a particularly bad-smelling kind of cheese. That
discovery is now used to effectively
fight the spread of malaria.
26. (A) philosophical
|
(B) distinguished
|
(C) understandable
|
(D) disappointing
|
27. (A) play
|
(B) tag
|
(C) take
|
(D) catch
|
28. (A) Portrayed
|
(B) Hastened
|
(C) Perceived
|
(D) Intended
|
29. (A) put off
|
(B) went around
|
(C) turned out
|
(D) fitted in
|
30. (A) one
|
(B) that
|
(C) which
|
(D) those
|
No other American stunt performer is more celebrated than Evel Knievel. Born in 1938, Knievel enjoyed a promising, though perilous, career starting in 1965, when he jumped a motorcycle over a 20-foot-long box of snakes and mountain lions. He gained 16 attention for his failures as he did for his successes. For instance, in one of his most famous stunts, he jumped over the fountains in front of the Caesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas. He 17 breaking his wrists and ankles, as well as some of his ribs and his hips. He spent a month 18 in the hospital, just one of many stays over his career. In 19 famous jump attempt, Knievel drove a steam-powered rocket over a canyon. He 20 the jump with only minor injuries. He still holds the world record for the most broken bones, with 433.
16. (A) a lot of (B) much more (C) far less (D)
as much
17. (A) shut down (B) dressed up (C) moved on (D) ended up
18. (A) losing his temper (B) making a recovery (C) doing his part (D) making a difference
19. (A) one another (B) other (C)
another (D) the other
20. (A) survived (B) stranded (C) founded (D) targeted
伊弗尼弗是美國最著名的特技表演家。他生於
1938年，自1965年開始其前途看好（儘管深具危險
性）的表演生涯，當時他騎著摩托車躍過一個20英
尺長、裡面裝滿蛇和美洲獅的箱子。他的失敗經歷和
他的成功表演同樣受人矚目。例如，在其最著名的一
場特技表演中，他飛躍拉斯維加斯凱薩宮飯店前面的
噴泉，最後摔斷手腕和腳踝，以及幾根肋骨和髖關
節，在醫院待了一個月才完全復原，而這只是他表演
生涯中無數次住院的其中一次。在另一個著名的跳躍
嘗試中，尼弗搭乘蒸氣發動的火箭飛越峽谷，他只受
了點輕傷，僥倖存活了下來。他至今仍是斷過最多根
骨頭（433根）的世界紀錄保持人。
Azerbaijan’s
Absheron Peninsula is, in its own way, one of the most geographically active
regions on Earth. More than half of the world’s mud volcanoes can be found
there, 21 on
the coast of the Caspian Sea. These bubbling mounds of hot mud are an
attraction locals and tourists alike marvel at. They’re also a sign of one of
Azerbaijan’s other natural treasures: copious natural gas reserves.
Underground
methane deposits constantly bubble up toward the surface in the Absheron
Peninsula, occasionally 22 flames.
The constant pressure of gas emerging from the ground can feed flames for
years. One patch of ground, called the Yanar Dag Hill, has been burning
continuously for 70 years, as gas continues to 23
to the surface.
The mud
volcanoes are mostly harmless, 24
you keep your distance. In
February 2017, one of them caught fire, sending a 350-meter tower of flame into
the sky. The sight was impressive and fortunately, no one was 25
. These volcanoes helped give Azerbaijan its name, which roughly
translates to “Land of Fire.”
21. (A) laid (B)
lying (C)
laying (D) which lies
22. (A) bursting into (B)
running across (C) passing up (D) stemming from
23. (A) cast (B)
pause (C)
escape (D) toast
24. (A) no matter how (B)
as long as (C) by the time (D) as soon as
25. (A) devised (B) wondered (C) retained (D) wounded
重要字詞
1. peninsula [p4'n6ns4l4] (n.) 半島
2. geographically [+d.i4'gr1f6ky6] (adv.) 在地理上
3. mud volcano [v3l'keno] 泥火山
4. bubbling ['b9by6;] (adj.) 冒泡泡的
5. mound [ma8nd] (n.) 土堆；土丘
6. attraction [4'tr1k]4n] (n.) 吸引人的事物；吸引（力）
7. copious ['kop64s] (adj.) 豐富的；大量的
8. reserve [r6'z-v] (n.) 儲存；保護區
9. methane ['m5qen] (n.) 甲烷；沼氣
10. deposit [d6'p3z6t] (n.) 沉積物；訂金；存款
11. constantly ['k3nst4ntl6] (adv.) 時常；不斷地
12. occasionally [4'ke.4ny6] (adv.) 偶而；有時
Scientists at
York University in Toronto, Canada, have come up with an explanation for a
mysterious phenomenon that goes back thousands of years: bright lights in the
night sky. In some cases, people wrote that they could read in the middle of
the night without any candles. In other cases, they said they could see distant
features of the landscape lit up by the 26 sky. Now, we may know why it happens, but
ironically, we simply might not notice when it does.
The
scientists suggested that a coincidence of two 27
may give rise to these
lights. Energy fluctuations called “zonal waves” travel through the atmosphere.
At times, several waves can overlap. If they come together in the same place 28
oxygen atoms are recombining
into molecules, the concentration of energy can give off light as a result.
The team
estimates that in any given spot, the right combination might only happen once
a year. Even then, people on the ground might not notice. The modern world is
full of bright lights at night. This light pollution 29
other sources of light. This
makes it hard to see stars, 30
detecting this peculiar
phenomenon.
26. (A) disgusting (B) apparent (C) glowing (D) romantic
27. (A) species (B) idioms (C) factors (D) leagues
28. (A) why (B)
where (C) how (D) whose
29. (A) blocks out (B) reflects on (C) catches up (D) tracks down
30. (A) on top of (B) in the meantime (C) for the sake of (D) not to mention
