C
Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed Mount Everest, Mount Qomolangma’s peak is no longer a lonely place and is turning into a trash heap.
So far, more than 350 climbers have successfully reached the peak. And they have complained about waiting for hours in the bottlenecks (狭窄路段) on the way to the peak, a situation that isn’t just uncomfortable — it’s cold and windy up there — but downright dangerous. If bad weather strikes, climbers can and do die.
As a matter of fact, the dangerous crowds aren’t the only problem on Qomolangma. All those climbers need to bring a lot of gear—and much of them ends up being left on the mountain, sometimes even the peak itself. Mount Qomolangma is becoming the world’s largest dump. Here’s mountaineer Mark Jenkins writing in National Geographic about the state of Qomolangma: “The two standard routes, the Northeast Ridge and the Southeast Ridge, are disgustingly polluted with oxygen cans and torn tents everywhere.”
But the good news is that some mountaineers are taking it upon themselves to clean up Qomolangma. Mountianeer Paul Thelen and his friend Eberhard Schaaf are part of the annual Eco Everest Expedition, which has been cleaning up rubbish from base camps to the peak since 2008. So far they’ve collected over 13 tons of garbage.
Some of that rubbish is even being used for a higher purpose. As part of the Mount Everest 8844 Art Project, a group of 15 artists from Nepal collected 1.5 tons of garbage brought down the mountain by climbers. They’ve transformed the cans and oxygen tanks—and in one case, part of the remains of a helicopter—into 74 pieces of art that have already gone on exhibition in Nepal’s capital. Part of the profit from sales will go to the Everest Peakeers Association, which has helped collect tons of rubbish on the slopes of the mountain.
8. What do we learn about the bottlenecks on the way to Mount Qomolangma’s peak?
A. They are relatively safe.
B. They are often crowded.
C. They are very easy to pass.
D. They are sites of base camps.
9. What does the underlined word “gear” mean?
A. Equipment for climbing mountains.
B. The food climbers brought onto the mountain.
C. Some important machines used for the bottlenecks.
D. Some rubbish found on the mountain.
10. The group of 15 Nepali artists_________.
A. cr eated works of art using rubbish from Qomolangma
B. were employed by the Everest Peakeers Association
C. climbed Qomolangma and collected 1.5 tons of trash
D. painted 74 beautiful pictures of Mount Qomolangma’s peak
11. What can be the best title for the text?
A. Eco Everest Expedition Proves Successful
B. Qomolangma Has Become A Huge Mess
C. Test Yourself Against Qomolangma
D. Recycle Rubbish On Qomolangma
D.
Students from Florida International University in Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment. To do it, they wore aquatic (水上的)shoes they designed and crea ted.
Alex Quinones was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time—just over a minute. Quinones, who wore oversized boat-like shoes，also won last year and will receive $ 500. Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an “A” on the assignment for Architecture Professor Jaime Canaves, Materials and Methods Construction Class. “It's traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race. I thought our students were a little bit more special than that,” Canaves said. “We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level.”
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams. Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake. Others who fell got back up and made it to the end. The race is open to all students and anyone in the community. The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother, while the oldest was a 67-year-old female.
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the racers. He shouted encouraging words, but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end.
“A part of this is for them to have more understanding of designing and make it work better,” he said. It is also a lesson in life for the students.
“Anything, including walking on water, is possible, if you do the research，test it and go through the design process seriously.”
12. For what purpose did the students take part in the race?
A. To go across the lake to school.
B. To test their balance on the water.
C. To pass Professor Canaves’ class.
D. To win the prize money of $ 500.
13. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. The students wore shoes distributed by Professor Canaves to walk across the lake.
B. The students who fell into the water were criticized seriously by the Professor.
C. Most students finished the class assignment successfully.
D. The students took part in the race to challenge their physical abilities.
14. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Alex Quinones is a top student in the university.
B. It’s a custom for the people in the community to get involved in student activities.
C. The student who made it to the end in the race would succeed in their professional
career.
D. Professor Canaves attaches importance to hands-on learning experience.
15. The purpose of the passage is to ___________.
A. show his approval of the unique teaching style
B. report an interesting assignment
C. inspire teachers to be more crea tive
D. encourage more people to take part in the race
