7 Flying in the Sky
Humans _______ _____ ______ ______ flying freely in the sky like birds.
At first , people tried to make ____ _____ ____ wings. Da Vinci _________ an ornithopter, ______ imitated the ________ of birds’ wings. His assistant tried to fly with the ___________ wings , but failed . A _______ engineer also designed an ornithopter 300 years later. It couldn’t carry people into the sky __________.
The bird can fly because it has _______ muscles, a _______ heart, and a _________ skeleton. However, the human muscles, heart, and skeleton _____ not ______ _______ flight. For example, an eagle’s heart _________ ______ 8% of its weight _______ a human heart, only 0.5%.
Later humans realized they could not imitate the movement of birds’ wings ______ ______. They should try other ways ______ ________ .
In 1783 two French men ________ air fire balloon, which could ______ slowly ______ the sky and then could land _______ . In September 1892, an airship _____ _____ from Paris. Its propeller _____ ________ by a steam engine . Humans ______ _______ ______ aviation.
Finally a great event _______ ______ in the human history of a aviation. ¬¬¬_____ December 17,1903, the Wright Brothers tested humans’ first plane. It took off and flew in the sky , but _____ only 12 seconds. ______ , the flight distance was only 36 meters. Anyway , the Wright brothers ________ . Their achievement marked _____ ______ _____ an era of human aviation.
8 Whale Strandings on Beaches
Whales are the largest animals in the world. They ______ ______ ______ human beings. Sometimes, they follow ships in the ocean_____ quite a long distance just ____ ______. But whales have a very strange ______ : stranding on beaches, which puzzles scientists a lot.
In December2004, twenty adult whales ______ ______ _____ on a remote Australian beach. In fact, this was the third stranding ___ ______ ______. The previous two strandings took place ___ the same _____ . Yes, in the same area. A bit strange, isn’t it ? Those two strandings _____ 115 whales. Were those three strandings ________ ? Or did an unknown force cause the three strandings ? Australian scientists couldn’t give a ________ answer.
One week before the third stranding, scientists _____ _______ a huge earthquake in the ocean . Was this_____ ______ _____ the third stranding? Scientists could not _____ it __ the earthquake ___ _____. In 2004 there were several strandings on Australian beaches. They all happened without an earthquake . But Australian scientists ______ some oil company’ activities in the ocean. It used a “sound bombing” method ____the ocean floor to ____ ____oil and natural gas. Was this the cause of the three whale strandings ? Scientists could not_____ either .
_________ ______ whale strandings, the Australian government has decided to _____ ______ national database ______ whale strandings, _____ may help Australian scientists in their research in this area.
9 Avalanche
_____ spring comes, people’s memory of the winter snow begins to fade. However, ___ ___ ____ a white terror may arrive. The accumulated snow on high mountain slopes ____most _____ ___ cause an avalanche.
There are two kinds of avalanches. The first one ___ ______ _____ powdered fresh snow. The second one is caused by hard snow. Hard snow ____ _____ _______ and _____ over several years . It is likely to occur when the weather begins to warm .
Avalanches are a common natural disaster. They are ___ _____ _____ to mountain climbers. Avalanches kill about 30 snow skiers every year in America.
In March of 2004, American scientists ____ _______ a field experiment about avalanches . They _____ _____ an avalanche-prone snow mountain . They used dynamite to ____ _____ several avalanches. Their purpose was ___ _____ _____ more about avalanches.
______ one of the experimental avalanches, 200 tons of heavy snow ______ _____ ____the mountaintop . They rolled __ __ _____ ____ 160 kilometers per hour. Scientists found that this fast-rolling mass of snow was___ ____ ____ rocks. The scene was spectacular, but ______. This man-made avalanche was already so terrifying and we can imagine natural avalanche ____ ___ ____ terrifying.
When and where will an avalanche occur ? Can Scientists predict ? No, they cannot predict __ ____ ________ .Now scientists can forecast weather conditions ____ _______, but they still can’t forecast avalanches. ______ that time, therefore, all people must be careful _____ they are near a ___________ mountain.