11月的机经请跟此贴!!!!

semifeng

关于old crocodile的背景2（马达加斯加）
NSF-Funded Scientists Discover Bizarre, 70-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Fossil
A unique fossil discovered in Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, calls into question the commonly held belief most people have about crocodiles -- that they are ferocious kings of the swamps. The fossil reveals that seventy million years ago a species of crocodile existed that lived primarily on land, survived mainly on plants and dug holes for burrowing.

"This creature is not something that, if it were alive today, people would be running from," said crocodile expert Gregory Buckley of Roosevelt University, Illinois. "It's something very different from the crocodiles we see now."

Simosuchus clarki had a short, blunt snout and clove-shaped teeth with multiple points that are usually associated with plant eating animals like iguanas and herbivorous dinosaurs. Such teeth have never before been seen in a fossil crocodile or living crocodile, which have teeth with a single point used to impale animal prey.

"The discovery of this amazing fossil points out the incredible ability of life to fill available environmental niches," said Rich Lane, director of NSF's geology and paleontology program, which funded the research. "Humans have only begun to document and understand the biological complexity that existed in ancient geological times."

Buckley's team included David Krause of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Christopher Brochu of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and Diego Pol of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

kele

非常感谢各位！

semifeng

背景知识：sea erosion
People living on part of the south coast of England face a serious problem.In 1993,the owners of a large hotel and of several houses discovered,to their horror, that their gardens had disappeared overnight.The sea had eaten into the soft limestone cliffs on which they had been built.While experts were studying the problem, the hotel and several houses disappeared altogether, sliding down the cliff and into the sea. Erosion of the white cliffs along the south coast of England has always been a problem but it has become more serious in recent years. Dozens of homes have had to be abandoned as the sea has crept farther and farther inland. Experts have studied the areas most affected and have drawn up a map for local people, forecasting the year in which their homes will be swallowed up by the hungry sea. Angry owners have called on the Government to erect sea defenses to protect their homes. Government surveyors have pointed out that in most cases ,this is impossible. New sea walls would cost hundreds of millions of pounds and would merely make the waves and currents go further along the coast ,shifting the problem from one area to another.The danger is likely to continue ,they say ,until the waves reach an inland area of hard rock which will not be eaten as limestone is .Meanwhile,if you want to buy a cheap house with an uncertain future,apply to a house agent in one of the threatened areas on the south coast of England. You can get a house for a knockdown price but it may turn out to be a knockdown home.

semifeng

背景：关于月亮形成，过去三种理论
fission, co-creation, capture, 前两种都不对，
Capture：
1. can explain why moon oribit is close to ecliptic plane(黄道平面)
2. can explain why moon differs in density and chemestry from earth
但是，他的形成条件很苛刻，看上去不可能。
现在又有一种理论：Mega-Impact
一开始有很多像moon大小的小卫星，后来相互collide,变得越来越大，形成太阳系。这种理论除了解释了1，2以外，也看上去更加合理

semifeng

背景：非洲岩画！
On 27th February, Dr Ben Ngubane, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology of South Africa unveiled at the Pretoria Art Museum a spectacular reproduction of a rock art mural from the richest San rock art site found since the early twentieth century. Researchers from the Rock Art Research Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand have now announced its existence for the first time, together with the first details of the paintings.

The site, called Storm Shelter, is in the foothills of the southern
Drakensberg in the Eastern Cape Province. The 6-metre-long panel of
paintings contains a comprehensive range of 231 images, some of them
previously unknown variations on central themes in San rock art. They offer
possibilities for more detailed understanding of San religious experience
and the history of the area.

The images include human-like and animal-like figures, fantasy animals with scythe-like claws, ferocious teeth and emaciated bodies, and many
magnificent eland. Throughout the panel, human and animal combine to portray the interconnectedness of the material and the spiritual worlds.

The panel was found by Geoff Blundell in the company of fellow-student Sven Ouzman on an expedition led by Professor David Lewis-Williams in 1992. Before the scientific announcement, in the latest issue of the South African Journal of Science, the site was fully photographed, and the paintings were traced, digitised in electronic format, and faithfully reproduced by hand on simulated rock panels. (The remarkable replica will be displayed in the foyer of the Pretoria Art Museum on Wednesday 28 February and Thursday 1 March, and at the William Cullen Library, University of the Witwatersrand, from Monday 5 March.)

Says Lewis-Williams, Senior Mentor of the Institute, "The panel opens new
windows on the spiritual world of the San. This find abundantly confirms the
place of southern African rock art alongside the great art traditions of the
world."

Dr Ben Smith, Director of the Rock Art Research Institute, adds: "The fact
that the Rock Art Research Institute makes finds of this magnitude
guarantees that South Africa will maintain its status as a world leader in
rock art research and training. The unparalleled beauty and sophistication
of our rock art will soon see South Africa become the world's leading rock
art tourism destination."

The National Research Foundation (NRF) funds activities of the Rock Art
Research Institute as one of its units in the social sciences and
humanities.

jjyyww11

呵呵, 谢谢liangxt妹妹的机经.....
谢谢semifeng兄提供这么多背景知识......

感谢不尽......

dongdong2000

GALLOPING CROCODILE FOSSIL. About 212 million years ago a small galloping crocodile roamed the flood plain that is now the Connecticut River Valley in Northeastern USA. The 3 inch skull of this creature was exposed in a road cut in March 1995 and after a year the the small bone has been dislodged and identified. The find was announced by paleontologist Paul Olsen of Colombia University, Hans-Dieter Sues of the Royal Ontario Museum and Mark Norrell of the American Museum of Natural History. Part of the interest of the skull stems from the rarity of vertebrate fossils from the Mesosoic era in NE USA. The little crocodile seems to be closely related to a similar Mesosoic crocodile from Scotland called Erpetosuchus which is known only from a single body cast. The new find is from an animal about two feet long with long graceful legs with four toes on the hind limbs and five on the front. The very similar Erpetosuchus had armoured skin plates originally thought to be for defense, but now it looks as if they helped support the vertebrae assisting its upright stance. The little reptile walked upright on all four legs and was probably largely terrestrial. Present day crocodiles are thought to reach speeds of 15 miles and hour on land so this Triassic crocodile could probably reach higher speeds. In the Triassic, Connecticut and Scotland were adjacent parts of the same land mass.—from a NEW YORK TIMES REPORT, December 1996.

monicar

版主是不是应该及时按类别总结呢，这样当月考试的兄弟姐妹才能享福啊。谢谢了！

jjyyww11

monicar妹妹建议很好,谢谢了.
不过我马上就要考试了,最近几天没时间.考完后,马上整理.呵呵.

wantsfan

Nov 2003, JJ
Nov, 2003 CBT toefl

TWE: which one would u prefer--to spend time with friends or spend time alone?

listening: a conversion: 1 girl and 1 boy are eating in a restaurant. The girl is upset by the food.(quesiton: why is she upset by the food?  (i have not heard clearly, sorry))
The boy suggest the girl to buy some other food, but she said the queue is twice as long as befoe. (seems there is a question here).Then the boy offer to exchange  his food, pizza with  the girl's food.(question: how do they do then?) The girl is very happy then.

listening2 : a course about US supreme court. The procedure that the general will judge the cases: firstly, two sides present their position; secondly, the general listened their arguments,(then prof will ask why do they need the step of argument, then students will answer,...). [then the conversion is related to other things involving the US government and some social groups like civil rights group, etc, I cannot remember well]


Attention: work carefully on reading, so that your score will be increased greetly if u get full marks on reading as I do. hehe