With the Tesla Roadster and other plug-in（插入式）electric vehicles hitting the road, demand is growing for accessible refueling points to recharge them. Carbon Day Automotive, a Chicago-based company, has now demonstrated a solar-powered recharging point, known as the Solar plug-In Station, which lest motorists easily charge their cars using electricity that has been produced without any environmental damage.
The Solar Plug-In Station has gone on show in Chicago as part of the city’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. According to Carbon Day Automotive, the Solar Plug-In Station on show in Chicago is part of the vital infrastructure （基础设施）required for electric vehicles in Chicago and was the focus of a recent visit by the International Olympic Committee.
These solar-powered electricity points will be used daily to fuel the city’s electric vehicles with power from the sun. by producing the electricity from pollution-free solar cell, the CO2 emissions are reduced to zero.
“Solar energy and electric vehicles are a partnership that is one more step to reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” says Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. Coulomb Technologies recently developed the components （部件）required for individual recharging stations, marketed as ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations. Carbon Day Automotive is the Midwest distributor for the ChargePoint stations.
The Solar Plug-In Station consists of giant solar panels（电池板）that shade the tiny ChargePoint Networked Charging Station. The solar panel is conneceted to an underground battery pack, ready for everyday refueling.
“Without these stations it would be like driving around in traditional car without the availability of gas stations,” says Scott Emalfarb, CEO at Carbon Day. “The day of true plug-in electric vehicles will be here sooner than most people realize and the world needs to be ready to accommodate them.”
1.The Solar Plug-In Station is used as part of the bid to host the Olympics mainly because____.
A．it’s environmentally friendly
B．it makes up for the lack of electricity
C．it’s a new idea and attracts people’s attention.
D．it brings convenience to electric vehicle users
2.We can learn from the passage that_______.
A．to recharge the electric vehicles takes a long time
B．the Solar Plug-In Station will come into use in 2010
C．the Solar Pug-In Station has gone on show internationally
D．Chicago is promoting the use of electric vehicles
3.According to the passage, how many of the following statements are TRUE?
a．Tesla Roadster is a kind of plug-in electric vehicle.
b．The Solar Plug-In Station uses solar power to charge all of the cars.
c．Chicago is a city which is rich in oil.
d．The Solar Plug-In Station consists of underground battery packs.
e．Scott Emalfarb is optimistic about the future of plug-in electric vehicles.
A．3. B．2. C．4. D．5.
4.The passage implies that when the Solar Plug-In Station becomes popular,_______.
A．more visitors will come to Chicago
B．more space for electric vehicles will be needed
C．the citizens of Chicago will be able to go to work faster
D．the cost of electric vehicles will be lower than that of traditional cars
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Chicago will soon be full of electric vehicles.
B．Chicago calls on people to buy electric vehicles.
C．Chicago fights for its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
D．Chicago shoes its solar-powered recharging stations.
Is It OK to Snap （拍照） Your Food?
Have you ever taken a snap of a luxurious cake or photographed a juicy steak when you eat in restaurants? You may want to share what you eat with your friends or just post part of your daily life onto the Internet. However, such action may be very annoying(讨厌的) to other diners, or even to chefs and restaurant owners. Currently, more and more people begin to consider “ foodstagramming” as very silly and a bad manner.
In many restaurants, diners complain of being blinded by flasher(闪光灯), snapped without their permission and disturbed by people climbing on to chairs for a better angle. Even chefs and restaurant owners are annoyed at food photography. A Michelin-starred(米其林星级) chef said, “It’s hard to build a memorable evening when flashes are flying every six minutes.”
At the start of 2013, the debate on whether it is OK to take photographs of your food in restaurants seemed to swing (摇摆) towards a definite “no.” According to several chefs in New York City, some restaurants there have started banning customers from taking photos of their food. Policies around the ban of food photography vary from restaurant to restaurant, ranging from restrictions on using a flash to outright(完全的) bans. If other restaurants follow such policies, it may signal the death of “ foodstagramming”.
Nevertheless, instead of banning food photography, some restaurants are offering food photography courses. In Spain, the restaurant group Grupo Gourmet has started running a “ Fotografia para foodies” course to instruct its customers to better take food pictures. The course teaches customers to take photos in a proper way without disturbing other dinners, such as never use a flash. Who are annoyed with food photography in restaurants?
| A．Restaurant owners. | B．Other diners. |
| C．Chefs. | D．The above all. |
What did some New York restaurants do about food photography?
| A．They started to ban customers from taking photos of their food. |
| B．They had no idea about taking photos for the profits. |
| C．They wanted to talk with some customers. |
| D．They decided to learn from Spain. |
What did the Spanish restaurant group do about food photography?
| A．It told the customers when to take food pictures. |
| B．It asked the customers to pay for taking food pictures. |
| C．It ran a course to instruct customers to better take food pictures. |
| D．It also prevented the customers from taking food pictures. |
What is foodstagramming?
| A．It’s a popular practice where diners take photos of their meals and share them online. |
| B．It’s a popular practice where dinners take photos of their meals and sells to others. |
| C．It’s a habit that people take photos when they eat. |
| D．It’s an idea how to take photos of their meals. |
Which of the following is True?
| A．Customers in America like others to use flashes when they eat. |
| B．Restaurants in Spain think of a methord to meet people’s need. |
| C．American government is discussing the problem of foodstagramming. |
| D．People in China are trying to think of an idea to deal with the problem. |
Ceaseless technology. A punishing workweek. That to –do list that keeps multiplying. It is no wonder many of us find it difficult to have a sufficient amount of sleep. But will sleeping more on the weekend make up for hours of lost snoozing (小睡)? One sleep expert, W. Christopher Winter raised the question.
Sleeping binge
Getting eight hours of shut-eye each night is generally recommended, but many people don’t. As the week rolls from Monday to Friday, they accumulate a sleep debt. Spending a few extra hours in bed on a Saturday morning, people assume, will help them “ catch up” on lost sleep. They’re likely right, “ Nobody knows how long the horizon is, probably a few nights, but studies show that recovery sleep in the short term does work,” says Dr. Winter, a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Sleep banking
Recent data suggests that banking sleep in advance of a long night can actually offset (补偿) upcoming sleep deprivation(丧失). If you knew you were going to have to stay up all night on a particular day, for example, you could sleep for 10 hours a day for multiple days before the event, and be fine, Dr. Winter says. Just plan ahead.
Routine (惯例的)naps
A scheduled nap is healthier than catching up on or banking sleep. “ Because sleep extension can make you feel groggy (昏昏沉沉), I always recommend a short nap [if a person feels they need it ], at the same time, every day,” says Dr. Winter. He adds that 25 minutes is ideal. “ When you schedule a short nap, your body anticipates it and slows down, without falling into a deep dream sleep,” he says. That refreshing, scheduled break is better than an occasional weekend lie-in. “ The body likes routine,” he says, “ When it’s prepared, it works more efficiently.”From Monday to Friday, many people _________.
| A．accumulate a sleep debt | B．have no time to sleep |
| C．work hard to achieve their goals | D．have to stay up all nights |
Research shows that in the short term________.
| A．a nap have no effect on work |
| B．a nap have effect on work |
| C．recovery sleep does work |
| D．recovery sleep doesn’t work |
If a soccer fan wants to stay up all night to watch two World Cup semi-finals, it may help if ________.
| A．he keeps taking a nap for a week |
| B．he sleeps for 8 hours a day for days |
| C．he keeps sleeping for 2 days |
| D．he banks sleep in advance |
What is better than banking sleep, according to Dr. Winter?
| A．Sleeping binge | B．Recovery sleep |
| C．Scheduled naps | D．Sleep extension |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sleep Matters | B．Disadvantage of Sleeping Binge |
| C．Advantage of Routine Naps | D．How to Sleep Well |
When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.
A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you’ll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don’t want ---an end to the relationship.
The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don’t let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when your’re wrong---even if you’ve been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit that he has been wrong also. Third, see things from your friend’s point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship an honour and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture.What is likely to happen if you have disagreements with your friends?
| A．An end to the friendships. |
| B．Getting experience for the later life. |
| C．Quarrelling with each other. |
| D．Sitting down and have a talk. |
The author wrote the article mainly to tell us ________.
| A．how to make friends |
| B．the benefits of making friends |
| C．what is a true friendship |
| D．how to mend a troubled friendship |
The underlined word “nurture” probably means ________.
| A．mend | B．develop | C．keep | D．accept |
What causes the change of friendships?
| A．Our characters. | B．Our hobbies. |
| C．Our living habits. | D．Our needs and lifestyle. |
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．A true friend can never have a disagreement with each other. |
| B．Most troubled friendships can be mended. |
| C．You don’t need to apologize when you know you are wronged. |
| D．Friends are more important than jobs, homes and cars. |
The British aren’t having as many children as they used to , One reason is that people are having children much older than before, meaning they have fewer year in which they can have them, After years at university ,they need a few years of work experience before they can get the job they want, They might then get married, but it’s incredibly expensive to buy a house in the UK.
The above explains why young British people now don’t move out of their parents’ home until they are around 30 years old on average, It’s only after this age that many young people start thinking about having a child , However , it is quite expensive to bring up a child in the UK, Both parents need to work just to pay for their child during the day, Paying for this childcare is always expensive, What’s more ,financial crisis and unemployment are making things even harder for families, With so much pressure on families, is it any surprise that the divorce rate is so high?
So what is Britain doing to try and save the British family ? The government is trying to make it cheaper to have children , For example ,there are increasing government subsidies for nursery schools, so that parents do not need to bay so much for child care.
The government is also trying to reduce the number of hours British parents have to work to earn enough money to pay their bills, If parents didn’t have to work so many hours, they’d have moue time to spend with their children and wouldn’t need to spend so much on childcare, On average, a Briton works 49 hours a week ,which is the most in Europe, The state is now considering introducing laws to encourage companies to improve their employees’ work –life balance, Let’s hope they’re not too late to save the British family , Otherwise, the British will always be too tired ,and won’t have enough time and money, to have children.Young British people live in their parents’ home until around 30 because
| A．They are allowed to get married at 30 |
| B．they can’t allowed to get married at 30 |
| C．they can’t afford a house of their own until then |
| D．they enjoy family life with their parents |
The British are now having fewer children than before for all the following reasons EXCEPT that
| A．they have fewer years to have children |
| B．they live much shorter lives than before |
| C．it is more expensive to bring up a child |
| D．people are losing their jobs because of the recent financial crisis |
The underlined word “subsidies” in Paragraph 5 means
| A．food paid by the government |
| B．school buildings for poor students |
| C．free transportation |
| D．money from the government to benefit the public |
It can be inferred from the text that
| A．with long work hours, it is hard for British parents to balance life and work |
| B．more and more families in Britain are breaking up because they are having fewer children |
| C．among Europeans, British people work hardest and earn the least |
| D．childcare takes up too much energy and time for the British |
To make it cheaper to have children , the British government is
| A．bringing down prices |
| B．raising the salaries of parents |
| C．reducing family income tax |
| D．increasing subsidies for families and nursery schools |
Many parents have learned the hard way that what sounds like open communication is otfen the very thing that closes a youngster’s ears and mouth, One common mistake is the Lecture, the long monologue that often starts with “When I was your age……”Eighteen –year –old Kelly calls lectures “Long , one-side discussions in which I don’t say much.”
Kids reflexively（条件反射地）shout down in the face of a lecture , Their eyes glaze over（呆滞）,and they don’t register any incoming information , Listen to 13-year –old Sarah describe her least favorite times with her mom and dad, “First, they scream, Then comes the“We’re so disappointed’ speech , Then the ‘I never did that to my parents’ lecture begins , After that, even if they realize how ridiculous they sound, they never take it back’”.
Lines like “When you have children of your own, you’ll understand” have been seriously said by parents since time immemorial, But many of our expert parents, like Bobby , a registered nurse and mother of three, feel that by falling back on cliches（陈词滥调）to justify our actions, we weaken our position.
Since kids are creatures of here and now, the far-off future has no relevance to them, Therefore ,good communicators like Bobby suggest, “Give specific reasons for your actions in present language:‘I’m not letting you go to the party because I don’t think there will be enough adult supervisions（监护）”。
Betty, who lives in Missouri ,uses and indirect approach, “I find that warnings are accepted more readily if I discuss a news article on a subject I am concerned about, My husband and I talk about it while our children absorb the information, Then they never think I’m preaching（布道）”.
This really helped when Betty’s kids began driving , Instead of constantly repeating “Don’t drink; don’t speed”, She would talk about articles in the paper and express sympathy for the victims of a car crash, Betty made no special effort to draw her kids into the conversation, She depended on a teenager’s strong desire to put in his opinions—especially if he thinks he isn’t being asked for them.The purpose of the passage is to
| A．compare two ways of parents’ communicating with their kids |
| B．give parents advice on how to communicate with their kids |
| C．explain why kids won’t listen to their parents |
| D．introduce kids’ reaction to the communication between them and their parents |
Which of the following statements is NOT right?
| A．Kids won’t listen to their parents because they think what their parents say is boring |
| B．Many kids think they have no right to express their own opinions |
| C．Some kids think their parents should apologize when they are wrong |
| D．Kids don’t like any discussion at all. |
What does the underlined word in the first paragraph mean?
| A．独白 | B．对话 | C．插话 | D．讨论 |
Which of the following topic may appeal to kids?
| A．Parents own experience |
| B．Kids possible life in the future |
| C．Something related to kids’ present life |
| D．What parents have done to their own parents |
In order to make kids follow their advice, parents should
| A．tell their kids to listen carefully |
| B．set out their warnings directly |
| C．list out as many examples as possible |
| D．arouse kids’ desire to express themselves |