B
Sir Richard Branson today offered a $ 25,000,000 prize for scientists who find a way to save the planet from the effects of climate change.
Supported by the former US vice-president A1 Gore and other environmentalists, the boss of Virgin Atlantic airlines called for scientists to come up with a way to take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
“What we are doing is making sure we get the most carbon dioxide-friendly planes. We promise that 100% of profits we make from our transportation business are put into things like the prize we've offered today. We shall convince people that we are facing a threat which is urgent and there’s no superhero. We have no hope of a meaningful solution unless we find a way to work together.” he said.
Mr Gore said global warming was man-made and was like to the planet suffering from a “fever”. He said, "Humans had slipped into a way of thinking that was centered on ‘short term satisfaction’, and now meet the challenge of ‘transforming ourselves and changing the structures of everything we do’," he said.
Reacting to the launch of the prize, Tony Jupiter, the Friends of the Earth's director, warned against wasting time waiting for new inventions. He said, "Sir Richard' s initiative (初衷) may encourage inventors to develop a wonder technology to deal with carbon dioxide of the atmosphere. But many of the ways, such as energy efficiency and renewables, already exist, and it is essential that these be put into practice as soon as possible. Moreover, Sir Richard must also look at his business activities and the contribution they make to climate change. The world will find it very difficult to settle climate change if air travel continues to expand and space tourism is developed."
40. Sir Richard Branson is ________.
A. a scientist concerned for climate change B. a businessman working for A1 Gore
C. the boss of Virgin Atlantic airlines D. the director of the Friends of the Earth
41. The purpose of using A1 Gore' s quotation was to_______。
A. ask people to change the way of thinking
B. compare global warming to an Earth's fever
C. show how serious and urgent the problem is
D. call for more attention to the launch of the prize
42. What is file main idea of the passage?
A. It is important for people to save our planet.
B. Humans are to blame for causing climate change.
C. Scientists are trying to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
D. A prize was offered for solutions to global warming.
43. How was Tony Jupiter’s attitude to space tourism?
A. Negative. B. Positive. C. Optimistic. D. Neutral (中立).
One of the world’s richest men has taken a close interest in one of man’s most basic functions：visiting the toilet.Bill Gates’s charitable organization，the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation，is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future，which，they hope，would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world.
So，what’s wrong with the traditional flush toilet？Firstly，it wastes a huge amount of potential drinking water.Secondly，they are more likely to cause pollution.This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world，where，according to United Nations estimates，unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations.Younger people are particularly at risk.Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1.5 million children a year.Finally，standard lavatories simply aren’t practical in remote areas.
The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water，electricity or aseptic tank.It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents.28 designs were displayed at the recent Reinvent the Toilet Fair，in Seattle，USA.Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves，another which converted human waste into charcoal，and yet another which used urine for flushing.
But the winner was a solarpowered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity. The team from the California Institute of Technology(CIT) picked up a prize of $100,000.
But clearly Bill Gates doesn’t feel he’s flushing money down the toilet.After the Seattle event he said，“We couldn’t be happier with the response we’ve gotten.” Gates has even pledged $370 million more to the future toilet project.They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years.Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?
| A．Because he wants to test people’s sense of creativity. |
| B．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people. |
| C．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion. |
| D．Because he can’t design this kind of things himself. |
Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?
| A．They waste too much water. |
| B．They might cause diseases. |
| C．They are not always practical. |
| D．They are too complicated to use. |
The underlined word “latrine” in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word “________” in the text.
| A．loo | B．sanitation |
| C．diarrhea | D．prototype |
The team from CIT won the prize because their design ________.
| A．can change human waste into electricity |
| B．can turn human waste into charcoal |
| C．can produce power with solar energy |
| D．can use urine for flushing |
Heading overseas on a business trip or just for pleasure any time soon？If so，have you thought about what you are going to do about communication？You may need to arrange cab service or get directions to an attraction，not to mention you want to stay in touch with the folks back home.
Hope you aren’t counting_on your personal cell phone.Industry experts estimate that most American cell phones won’t work overseas due to compatibility (兼容性) issues.And even if yours did work，the roaming (漫游) charges would be too high.
So what are your choices？You could rent a phone with a local number in the country you’re traveling to，but that wouldn’t do you much good if you’re constantly on the go.A more costeffective way would be to rent a satellite phone from a company like Global Cellular Rental.
The process is amazingly fast and simple.All you have to do is to log onto the company’s website，www.globalcellularrental.com，and place an order.The site will show you the countries you will be traveling to and ask you how long you will need the phone.The company then ships a cell phone directly to you anywhere in the world.The phone arrives with complete instructions.
The traveler also learns his overseas phone number well in advance，enabling him to inform all vital contacts of the number before he ever steps on a plane.
Roaming rates are usually 80 percent less than those charged by American service providers.Calls back to the US can be discounted 40 percent or more.The rentals cost is just $5 per day，and discount packages are available for longterm rentals of two months or more.
This cell phone solution is becoming so popular that Global Cellular Rental actually has relationships with hotel chains around the world to keep phones in stock for hotel guests.And for those whose journey really takes them off the beaten track，the company can also rent satellite phones to them.These phones work anywhere in the world as long as you are outside.The underlined words in Paragraph 2 mean “________”．
| A．throwing away | B．depending on |
| C．complaining about | D．figuring out |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．You must place an order on its website. |
| B．Discount packages need to be applied in advance. |
| C．The Global Cellular Rental is an American company. |
| D．The company doesn’t help those travelers to remote areas. |
Which shows the costeffective aspect of the satellite phone when an American user travels in Beijing?
| A．The roaming rates are 20% discount compared to American local service. |
| B．Calls back to the US cost 60% less compared to American local service. |
| C．The rental cost is $150 per month if you rent for three months. |
| D．Forty percent or more discount is available when he calls back to the US. |
How many ways of overseas communications by phone are mentioned in the passage?
| A．2. | B．3. |
| C．4. | D．5. |
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days.Whether that is good or bad，we can’t really say，but for the two of us，going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2011，we decided to go green every single day for an entire year.This meant doing 365 different green things，and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things.Rather than recycle and reduce our energy，we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year，Our Green Year started.My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment.We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year，we completely changed our lifestyles.We now shop at organic(有机的) stores.We consume less meat，choosing green food.We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need.We have given away half of what we owned through websites.Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice，with no chemical cleaners.We make our own butter，enjoying the smell of homemade fresh bread.In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year.We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others.We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet. (2013·辽宁，B)What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green |
| B．Protecting the Planet |
| C．Keeping OpenMinded |
| D．Celebrating Our Green Year |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignored others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their homemade food. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green project. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
How many times have you got upset because someone wasn’t doing his job，because your child isn’t behaving？How many times have you been irritated (恼怒的) when you’ve planned something carefully and things didn’t go as you’d hoped?
This kind of anger and irritation happens to all of us—it’s part of the human experiences.
One thing that irritates me is when people talk during a movie，or cut me off in traffic.Actually，I have a lot of these little annoyances—don’t we all？And it isn’t always easy to find peace when you’ve become upset or irritated.
Let me tell you a little secret to finding peace of mind：see_the_glass_as_already_broken.
See，the cause of our stress，anger and irritation is that things don’t go the way we like，the way we expect them to.Think of how many times this has been true for you.And so the solution is simple：expect things to go wrong，expect things to be different than we hoped or planned，expect the unexpected to happen.And accept it.
One quick example：on our recent trip to Japan，I told my kids to expect things to go wrong—they always do on a trip.I told them，“See it as part of the adventure.”
And this worked like a charm.When we inevitably (不可避免地) took the wrong train on a foreignlanguage subway system，or when it rained on the day we went to Disney Sea，or when we took three trains and walked 10 blocks only to find the National Children’s Castle closed on Mondays...they said，“It’s part of the adventure！” And it was all OK—we didn’t get too bothered.
So when the nice glass you bought inevitably falls and breaks some day，you might get upset.But things will be different，if you see the glass as already broken，from the day you get it.You know it’ll break some day，so from the beginning，see it as already broken.Be a timetraveler，or someone with timetraveling vision，and see the future of this glass，from this moment until it inevitably breaks.And when it breaks，you won’t be upset or sad—because it was already broken，from the day you got it.And you’ll realize that every moment you have with it is precious.The author would probably agree that________.
| A．we should control our anger and irritation |
| B．we must get well prepared for the future |
| C．optimism can help us overcome our anger and irritation |
| D．anger and irritation is a natural part of our life |
The purpose of the author is to________.
| A．tell us his own experience in life |
| B．advise us how to find peace of mind |
| C．tell us a happy trip he took with his children |
| D．ask us to see things from both sides |
By the underlined part (in Para.4)，the author tells us to________.
| A．get ready for the worst result of things |
| B．enjoy the process of things |
| C．expect little from life |
| D．find the relationship between cause and effect |
We can learn from the passage that the author________.
| A．often gets angry in his life |
| B．can adjust his state of mind accordingly |
| C．always expects others to act in his way |
| D．always suffers from his anger and irritation |
French novelist Jules Verne (1828～1905) is often called the father of science fictions.Although he was not a great traveller himself，his characters journeyed to the moon (in From Earth to Moon)，Under the sea (in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)，into a volcano (in A Journey to the Centre of the Earth)，around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.
Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828.When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship.However，his father soon found him and brought him home.After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books.In 1847，his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer.Even though he was busy writing，Verne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.
When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyer，his father was very angry.He stopped sending his son any money，so Jules had to earn a living by his writing.Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays which brought him only a little money.Then，in 1856，he met Honorine de Viane，a rich，young widow with two children.The couple married the next year and their only child Michel was born in 1862.
After his marriage，Verne worked as a businessman in Paris.However，he was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one.In 1863，he published his novel Five Weeks in a Balloon and in the following year he published A Journey to the Centre of the Earth which brought him fame.His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.
In his lifetime，Jules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man.Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.Jules Verne became rich because of his________.
| A．father | B．marriage |
| C．business | D．writing |
When Jules Verne was brought home by his father，he decided that________.
| A．he would go on more travels in the future |
| B．he would do as his father required |
| C．he would be devoted to writing about future travels |
| D．he would stop writing about future travels |
Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?
| A．Five Weeks in a Balloon. |
| B．A Journey to the Centre of the Earth. |
| C．From Earth to Moon. |
| D．Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Jules Verne was appreciated by film makers. |
| B．Jules Verne was not clever enough to learn law. |
| C．Jules Verne’s stories and plays won him big fame in the 1850s. |
| D．Jules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career. |