C
A gadget which makes water out of air could become the greatest househo1d invention since the microwave.
Using the same technology as a dehumidifier(除湿器),the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water because it can always get it from an unlimited source—the air.
The company behind the machine says not only does it offer an alternative to bottled water in
developed countries, but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage.
The machine works by drawing in wet air through a filter(过滤器)and over a cooling instrument which changes it into water droplets.It can produce up to 1 2 liters a day.The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the amount of water which is contained in the air increases. In keeping with its eco-development, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three lights.
Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said: “The demand for water is off the chart. So people are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable.”
The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost £800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly calculates that a litre of water cost around 20p to produce.
Environmentalists state that half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080. One in five is said to lack access to safe drinking.
The Water Mill is not effective in areas where the amount of water contained in the air is below about 30 percent, but in Britain that won’t be much of a problem.
63.What does the underlined word “it” refer do?
A.Drinking water. B.Invention. C.Microwave. D.Water Mill.
64.What do we learn about the machine?
A.It works in the same way as microwaves.
B.It is very expensive for families to afford.
C.It absorbs steam and turns it into water.
D.It helps to make the water clean to drink.
65.What does the passage lead us to believe?
A.The cost of water will go up. B.Bottled water will disappear sooner.
C.The machine is energy saving. D.The machine will be popular worldwide.
66.What’s the best title for the passage?
A.A New Way to Solve Water Problem. B.A Machine to Make Water out of Air.
C.A Dehumidifier to Produce Water. D.An Absolutely New Invention
Over the last 70 years, researchers have been studying happy and unhappy people and finally found out ten factors that make a difference. Our feelings of well-being at any moment are determined to a certain degree by genes. However, of all the factors, wealth and age are the top two.
Money can buy a degree of happiness. But once you can afford to feed, clothe and house yourself, each extra dollar makes less and less difference.
Researchers find that, on average, wealthier people are happier. But the link between money and happiness is complex. In the past half-century, average income has sharply increased in developed countries, yet happiness levels have remained almost the same. Once your basic needs are met, money only seems to increase happiness if you have more than your friends, neighbors and colleagues.
“Dollars buy status, and status makes people feel better,” conclude some experts, which helps explain why people who can seek status in other ways-scientists or actors, for example-may happily accept relatively poorly-paid jobs.
In a research, Professor Alex Michalos found that the people whose desires-not just for money, but for friends, family, job, health-rose furthest beyond what they already had, tended to be less happy than those who felt a smaller gap (差距). Indeed, the size of the gap predicted happiness about five times better than income alone. “The gap measures just blow away the only measures of income,” says Michalos.
Another factor that has to do with happiness is age. Old age may not be so bad. “Given all the problems of aging, how could the elderly be more satisfied?” asks Professor Laura Carstensen.
In one survey, Carstensen interviewed 184 people between the ages of 18 and 94, and asked them to fill out an emotions questionnaire. She found that old people reported positive emotions just as often as young people, but negative emotions much less often. Why are old people happier? Some scientists suggest older people may expect life to be harder and learn to live with it, or they’re more realistic about their goals, only setting ones that they know they can achieve. But Carstensen thinks that with time running out, older people have learned to focus on things that make hem happy and let go of those that don’t.
“People realize not only what they have, but also that what they have cannot last forever,” she says. “A goodbye kiss to a husband or wife at the age of85, for example, may bring far more complex emotional responses than a similar kiss to a boy or girl friend at the age of 20.”According to the passage, the feeling of happiness
A.is determined partly by genes | B.increases gradually with age |
C.has little to do with wealth | D.is measured by desires |
Some actors would like to accept poorly-paid jobs because the jobs ______.
A.make them feel much better | B.provide chances to make friends |
C.improve their social position | D.satisfy their professional interests |
Aged people are more likely to feel happy because they are more__________.
A.optimistic | B.successful | C.practical | D.emotional |
Professor Alex Michalos found that people feel less happy if__________.
A.the gap between reality and desire is bigger |
B.they have a stronger desire for friendship |
C.their income is below their expectation |
D.the hope for good health is greater |
It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible for housework, but with one of the following suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.
If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent.
My daughter Carla’s fifth - grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a prefect test score, she would point out what they had mastered and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed.
You can use the same technique when you evaluate (评价)your child’s work at home. Don’t always scold and give lots of praise instead. Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn’t done. If your child completes a difficult task(任务), promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad.
Learning is a process(过程)of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last.The whole passage deals with ________.
A.social education | B.school education |
C.family education | D.pre - school education |
The article gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate(评价)your child’s work at home. That is to _____.
A.praise his success | B.promise him a trip |
C.give him a punishment | D.promise him a ball game |
The author advises readers to________.
A.learn from himself, for he has a good way of teaching |
B.take pride in Carla’s fifth - grade teacher |
C.do as what Carla’s teacher did in educating children |
D.follow Carla’s example because she never fails in the test |
Having read the last paragraph, we can conclude that ________.
A.pride goes before a fall | B.practice makes perfect |
C.no pains, no gains | D.failure is the mother of success |
Good afternoon, and welcome to England. We hope that your visit here will be a pleasant one. Today, I would like to draw your attention to a few of our laws.
The first one is about drinking. Now, you may not buy alcohol in this country if you are under 18 years of age, nor may your friends buy it for you.
Secondly, noise. Enjoy yourselves by all means, but please don’t make unnecessary noise, particularly at night . We ask you to respect other people who may wish to be quiet.
Thirdly,crossing the road. Be careful. The traffic moves on the left side of the road in this country. Use pedestrian crossings and do not take any chances when crossing the road.
My point is about litter. It is an offence to drop litter in the street. When you have something to throw away, please put it in your pocket and take it home, or put it in a litter bin.
Finally, as regards smoking , it is against the law to buy cigarettes or tobacco if you are under 16 years of age.
I’d like to finish by saying that if you require any sort of help or assistance, you should contact your police station, who will be pleased to help you.
Now, are there any questions?The underlined word “contact ” in the seventh paragraph means _______.
A.get along with | B.get in touch with | C.join | D.report |
How many laws are there discussed in the speech ?
A.Three. | B.Four. | C.Five | D.Six. |
The main purpose of this speech would be to __________.
A.prepare people for internation travel |
B.declare (宣布) the laws of different kinds |
C.give advice to travelers to the country |
D.inform (告知) people of the punishment for breakig laws. |
You are not allowed to ______ when you have something to throw away.
A.drop it in the street | B.put it in your pocket |
C.take it home | D.put it in dustbin |
Although English is not as old as Chinese , it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating new words and we are often able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They didn’t speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating round piece of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans didn’t understand the question and answered, “We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round piece of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today, “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. This reason, for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.Hamburg is ____________
A.a kind of food | B.a round piece of beef |
C.the name of a village | D.a city in Germany |
According to the passage, ___________.
A.few Americans like hamburgers |
B.hamburgers are made with beef |
C.hamburgers are made with ham |
D.hamburgers were first sold about a century ago |
According to the writer, which of the following can often be found in any large English dictionary?
A.Where all the new words come from. |
B.Where those Germans came from. |
C.The reason why a word has a certain meaning. |
D.The reason why English is spoken around the world. |
From the story, we can know that the word “hamburger” comes from ___________.
A.China because it has a long history |
B.English because Germans don’t speak good English |
C.The round piece of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating |
D.English speakers because they always create new words |
When George was thirty-five, he bought a small plane and learned to fly it. He soon became very good and made his plane do all kinds of tricks (特技).
George had a friend, whose name was Mark. One day George offered to take Mark up in his plane.
Mark thought, “ I’ve traveled in a big plane several times, but I’ve never been in a small one, so I’ll go. ”
They went up, and George flew around for half an hour and did all kinds of tricks in the air.
When they came down again, Mark was glad to be back safely, and he said to his friend in a
shaking voice, “Well , George, thank you very much for those two trips in your plane.”
George was very surprised and said, “ Two trips? ”
“ Yes, my first and my last. ” answered Mark. Which of the following statements is false?
A.George learned to fly a plane very quickly . |
B.It took George a short time to learn to fly a plane. |
C.George had some difficulty learning to fly a plane. |
D.Mark decided to fly in George’s small plane. |
When George did some tricks with his small plane, Mark was _____.
A.unhappy | B.excited | C.frightened | D.surprised |
Mark went up in George’s plane _____.
A.twice | B.only once |
C.several times | D.once or twice |