Electric cars will not be really much cleaner than autos powered by mineral fuels until they rely less on electricity produced from usual coal-fired power plants.
“For electric vehicles to become a major green alternative, the power fuel has to move away from
coal, or cleaner coal technologies have to be developed,” said Jared Cohon, the chairman of a National
Research Council report released on Monday. About half of US power is produced by
burning coal, which gives off many times more of traditional pollutants than natural gas, and about
twice as much of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Nuclear and renewable power have to
generate a larger portion of US power for electric cars to become much greener compared to
gasoline-powered cars, Cohan, who is president of Carnegie Mellon University, said in an interview.
Advances in coal burning, like capturing carbon at power plants for permanent burial underground,
could also help electric cars become a cleaner alternative to vehicles powered by fossil fuels, he said.
Pollution from energy sources did $120 billion worth of damage to human health, agriculture and
recreation in 2008, and electricity was responsible for more than half of the damage, said the NRC
report.
Electric cars have their benefits such as reducing imports of foreign oil. But they also have hidden
costs. Materials in electric car batteries are hard to produce, which adds to the energy it takes to make
them. In fact, the health and environmental costs of making electric cars can be 20 percent greater
than usual cars, the report said.
The report estimated that electric cars could still co
st more than gas-powered cars to operate and
manufacture in 2030 unless US power production becomes cleaner.
1. Why are electric cars not clean enough?
A. Because they run too slowly B. Because they are too expensive
C. Because they rely on coal-fired power. D. Because they give off more carbon dioxide.
2. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. electric cars will soon take the place of gas-powered cars
B. no one holds hope for electric cars at present
C. electric cars waste more energy than before
D. some people believe that electric cars are cleaner
3. The underlined word “them” refers to “______”.
A. electric cars B. batteries C. producers D. materials
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to make electric cars cleaner?
A. Developing cleaner coal technologies. B. Making electric cars run faster.
C. Generating more unclear power. D. Making advances in coal burning.
The Japanese have a genius for dreaming up small, useful and fun machines. You must have used or at least heard of Sony’s walkman, Nintendo or Sega’s video games, and Bandai’s Tamagotchi. And how about karaoke, invented by Daisuke Inoue?
Daisuke, who? Not many people have heard of him, and he never made much money from his invention. But anyone who has
ever experienced the thrill of singing karaoke in front of a crowd has Mr.Inoue to thank…
Daisuke Inoue is an easygoing man with a quick smile. He was born in the suburbs of Osaka in 1940. At Osaka Technical High School he took up the drums, because he says, “All you have to do is hit them.” Before long he was making money as a drummer in a Hawaiian band that played in the old dance-halls left behind by American soldiers.
By 1970, he and six partners were playing in the clubs of nearby Kobe, accompanying middle-aged businessmen who wanted to sing traditional Japanese country and even army songs
. His friends, Inous says, could all read music and so they could pick up the latest tunes (曲调). He, on the other hand, had to rely on memory and play by following the lips of the singer as they moved. “Out of 108 club musicians in Kobe,” he says. “I was the worst! And the clients (顾客) in my club were the worst singers!”
One client, president of a small steel company, was especially fond of Inoue’s slow, follow-along style. It made the president’s bad, out-of–time singing sound much better. One evening he wanted Inoue to play for him on a trip to a hot spring resort (胜地). The boss wanted to sing Frank Nagai’s Leaving Haneda Airport on a 7:50 Flight for his friends. But Inoue was unable to leave his job.
To help out his most loyal client, he decided to provide him with a tape. Inoue wouldn’t be there, but the singer would still have his accompaniment. Karaoke was born.
1. Daisuke Inoue took up the drums at high school because _______.
A. they were his favorite musical instruments
B. he knew they would help him make money
C. he thought they were easy to learn
D. it was easy for a drummer to find a job
2. What does the underlined word “they” stand for?
A. His partner B. His friends C. The latest tunes D. The singer’s lips
3. From this passage we know Daisuke Inoue was ______.
A. an outstanding musician B. not quite good at music
C. a good singer and dancer D. good at inventing things
4. Why did the president like Inoue’s playing so much?
A. Because Inoue followed his singing.
B. Because Inoue played very well.
C. Because he had got used to Inoue’s fast, exciting style.
D. Because Inoue was an easy-going man with a quick smile.
When we donate blood, a small amount is usually taken in advance for at least ABO and Ph systems typing. If you are O+, the O is your ABO type and the + is your Rh type. It is possible to be A, B, AB, or O as well as Rh + or Rh-.
The ABO system was discovered by Karl Landsteiner in the early 1900s. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his achievements. There are four basic types of blood in the ABO system: A, B, AB and O. Everybody is born with one of these four types of blood. We get blood type, just like hair color and height from parents. Because of the substances(物质) contained in each type, the four groups must be transfused carefully, If two different blood types are mixed together, it may put a person into an extremely dangerous situation. Basically, A and B cannot be mixed. A and B cannot receive AB, but AB may receive A or B. In an emergency, type O blood can be given because it is most likely to be accepted by all blood types, so it is often called the universal donor. However, there is still a risk. For the opposite reason, AB is sometimes called the universal receiver. However, because there can be so many reactions in the blood bank of the hospital.
There is a relationship between your blood type and your nationality. Among the Europeans, about 45 percent have type O while 42 percent have type A. The rarest is type AB. Other races have different percentage. For example, some American Indian groups have nearly 100 percent type O out of 100 
donors in the world…
| 84 donors are Rh+ |
16 donors are Rh- |
| 38 are O+ |
7 are O- |
| 34 are A+ |
6 are A- |
| 9 are B+ |
2 are B- |
| 3 are AB+ |
1 is AB- |
1. Which of the following shown the correct relationships in blood transfusions?
A B A B A B A B
AB O AB O AB O AB O
A B C D
2. The underlined word “transfuse” most probably means ________.
A. to put the blood into a container
B. to move the blood from one place to another
C. to put
the blood of one person into the body of another
D. to give power to another person
3. The writer suggests that the third most common blood type among the Europeans is ______.
A. B B. A C. AB D. O
4 The text mainly tells us ______.
A. about the basic types of human blood
B. what kind of blood is the most common
C. about Karl Landsteiner who won the Nobel Prize
D. the relationship between blood type and nationality
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。三百六十
An allowance(零用钱) is an important tool for teaching kids how to budget, save and make their own decisions. Children remember and learn from mistakes when their own dollars are lost or spent foolishly.
How large is an allowance appropriate? Experts say there is not right amount. Actual amounts differ from area to area, and from family to family.
To set an appropriate allowance for your child, work out a weekly budget. Allow for entertainment expenditures (花费) such as movie and snack. Next include everyday expenses such as lunch money, bus fare and school supplies. “If you make the child responsible for these bills, ”says Josephine Swanson, a consumer specialist, “he
or she will learn to budget for necessary expenditures.”
Finally add some extra money to make saving possible. If you can, keep your child’s allowance in line with that of his friends, a child whose purchasing power falls away below his peers can feel left out.
It can be tough but avoid excusing your 
children when they make a mistake with their allowance. When Brooke Stephens was ten and growing up in Jacksonville, her mother gave her $5 a week. $1.75 of which was for bus fare and lunch. “ If you lose money” Brooke’s mother told her, “you walk home.”
One week the girl spent all her allowance in a candy store, and then she called home for a rid
e, “Mom made me walk
home,” recalls Stephens, now a financial planner in Brooklyn. “At first I was angry. But I finally realized that she was trying to teach me an important lesson.”
Experts advise an allowance should not be tied directly to a child’s daily chore (琐事). Kids should help around the house not because they get paid for it but because they share responsibilities as members of family. You might, however, pay a child for doing extra jobs at home. That 
can develop his or her initiative (主动性).
1. What does the text mainly discuss?
A. How to develop a child’s initiative.
B. How to work up a budget.
C. How to teach a child to save money.
D. How to teach a child to manage money matters.
2. It can be inferred from the text that if a child is given an allowance, he or she may_____.
A. spend all the money very soon
B. be spoiled and finally ruined
C. lose the money and can not return home
D. feel responsible and be careful about money
3. The underlined part “his peers”(in Para.4)probably refers to ______.
A. his friends B. his brothers C. his parents D. his teachers
4 Why does the author mention Brooke Stephens?
A. To question the opinion about pocket money.
B. To compare Stephens with other experts.
C. To explain the parents should be strict when children are developing habits about money.
D. To suggest that pocket money is useless in developing a child’s sense of responsibility.
The food we eat seems to have a great effect on our health. Although science has made big steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of human illness is related to food and forty percent of cancer is related to food as well. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, some researchers realized that things commonly used to keep colour in meats and other food additives（添加剂）caused cancer.
Yet, these additives remain in our food, and it is difficult to know which things on the wrappings（包装）of foods are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to their animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of cows. Sometimes similar tings are supplied to animals not for their health, but just to make a profit.
The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to get a higher price on the market. Although some countries have tried to control such things, the practice continues.
1. According to this passage, we can know___________. .
A. perhaps most of human illness is caused by what we eat
B. perhaps most kinds of cancer are related to what people eat
C. cancer was discovered in 1945
D. science has made food unfit to eat
2.Things that are used to keep colours in meats are________. .
A. harmful B. useless C. helpless D. dangerous
3. All the additives________. .
A. are bright and colourless
B. are not bright and colourful
C. have indirect effects on our health
D. have direct effects on our health
4. People use additives_________ .
A. to make food more unfit to eat
B. to improve the colour and taste of the food
C. to change colour of the food
D. to take off the diseases of the food
5. Which of the following is not true?
A. Some wrappings of food are harmful.
B. Farmers try to make more money on the market by fattening their animals.
C. “The practice continues” means “things are still going on like that”.
D. We needn’t take care of what we eat..
We already know the fastest, least expensive way to slow climate change: Use less energy. With a little effort, and not much money, most of us could reduce our energy diets by 25 percent or more—doing the Earth a favor while also helping our wallets.
Not long ago, My wife, PJ, and I tried a new diet—not to lose a little weight but to answer an annoying question about climate change. Scientists have reported recently that the world is bending up even faster than predicted only a few years ago, and that the consequences could be severe if we don’t keep reducing emissions（排放）of carbon dioxide（CO2）and other greenhouse gases that are trapping heat in our atmosphere.
We decided to try an experiment. For one month we recorded our personal emissions of CO2. . We wanted to see how much we could cut back, so we went on a strict diet. The average US household（家庭）produces about 150 pounds of CO2 a day by doing common-place things like turning on air-conditioning or driving cars. That’s more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average, mostly because Americans drive more and have bigger houses. But how much should we try to reduce?
For an answer, I checked with Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth. In his book, he had challenged readers to make deep cuts in personal emissions to keep the world from reaching extremely important tipping points, such as the melting（融化）of the ice sheets in Greenland or West Antarctica. “To stay below that point, we need to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent,” he said.
Good advice, I thought. I’d opened our bedroom windows to let in the wind. We’d gotten so used to keeping our air-conditioning going around the clock. I’d almost forgotten the windows even opened. We should not let this happen again. It’s time for us to change our habits if necessary.
1. Why did the author and his wife try a new diet?
A. To take special kinds of food B. To respond to climate change.
C. To lose weight D. To improve their health
2 The underlined words “tipping points” most probably refer to________.
A. freezing points B. burning points C. melting points D. boiling points
3. It can be inferred from the passage that_________
A. it is necessary to keep the air-conditioning on all the time
B. it seems possible for every household to cut emissions of CO2
C. the average US household produces about 3,000 pounds of CO2 a month
D. the average European household produces about 1,000 pounds of CO2 a month
4. Which of the following would be the title for this passage?
A. Saving Energy Starts at Home
B. Changing Our Habits Begins at Work
C. Changing Climate Sounds Reasonable
D. Reducing Emission of CO2 proves Difficult