We’ve used the wind as an energy source for a long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term “windmill” comes from.
We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor(螺旋桨) on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a “wind farm” and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It’s only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans(大篷车)increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.
The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains — places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.
The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines (垂直涡轮机), which don’t need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming. The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.
A.the function of wind power | B.the source of wind power |
C.the nations using wind power | D.the history of using wind power |
The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.
A.boats and caravans can often be seen | B.isolated farms don’t have enough electricity |
C.there are less human activities | D.the wind is strong and reliable |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
A.wind farms will not take up too much farming land |
B.wind farms need no fuel because wind is free |
C.the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from |
D.the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is |
What can be a suitable title for the passage?
A.Where to build a wind farm. | B.ABC of the using of wind energy. |
C.How to make best use of wind. | D.Wind energy is the best energy. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means______________________.
A.The blades can increase wind speeds |
B.The blades can decrease the wind speeds |
C.The speed of blades can be changed. |
D.The blades can be adjusted to face different wind speeds |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendship doesn’t last long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be good friend means learning three rules: be honest;be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them, you help your friend know better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three thinks in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because_______.
A.some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
B.there are too many people who want to make friends |
C.those who give others friendship receive friendship from others. |
D.they don’t know friendship is something serious. |
According to the passage honesty is_________.
A.something countable |
B.the base of friendship |
C.as important as money |
D.more important than anything else |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
A.Always tell your friends the truth. |
B.Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
C.Discussing your problems with your friends often helps to solve the problem. |
D.A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
The best title of this passage is_________.
A.Honesty Is the Best Policy |
B.A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
C.How to Be Friends |
D.Three Important Points in Life |
What’s the meaning of “count on” in the second paragraph?
A.期望,依赖 | B.认为 |
C.重视 | D.数,点(数) |
We all know that if we want to keep our body in good shape we have to do physical exercise regularly as well as be careful with what we eat. What we tend to forget is that this goes for our eyes as well. Medical science confirms that a diet rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素) can help maintain good vision(维持好视力) and prevent against a number of eye diseases. Here's some advice about how to choose the right diet to keep your eyes healthy.
— Eat orange food. Fruits and vegetables with orange flesh are rich in carotenoids. In addition to carrots,oranges,pumpkins and sweet potatoes are also available. All of these contain high levels of carotenoids,which help to maintain good vision.
— Include dark green vegetables,such as spinach (菠菜) and broccoli (西兰花) in your diet, to act as natural sunglasses. Recent scientific studies have shown that these vegetables can help block (阻挡) the damaging UV radiation(紫外线辐射)from the sun's rays.
— Prevent some eye diseases with orange juice, yellow corn, whole milk, nuts and leafy vegetables. These foods are good sources of vitamins A, C, D and E. All of these are necessary to good eye health.
— Increase your intake of omega¬3 with some sea fish, and some other seafood. Omega-3 helps build cell walls and is especially beneficial to keeping eyes healthy .It also helps regulate the eye's internal pressure and helps the eye dry up excess fluid.We can learn from the first paragraph that healthy food .
A.keeps eyes healthy |
B.means you don't need exercise |
C.can help cure eye diseases efficiently(有效地) |
D.means people don't have to wear glasses |
Why should people eat orange food according to the text?
A.It is beneficial to building cell walls in eyes. |
B.It is more delicious than other food. |
C.It is good for eyesight. |
D.It is rich in various vitamins. |
Which of the following can help block the damaging UV radiation from the sun's rays?
A.Pumpkins. | B.Juice. |
C.Nuts. | D.Broccoli. |
The purpose of the text is to tell people how to .
A.keep their body in good shape |
B.choose a healthy diet for their eyes |
C.prevent serious eye diseases |
D.get natural sunglasses from food |
A romantic message-in-a-bottle discovered by a mother and daughter at a Scottish beach has sparked(触发) a mystery about whether it could have travelled 5,000 miles across the seas from China.
Nicola MacFarlane, 41, and daughter Lucy, four, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, were looking for driftwood(浮木) on Portobello Beach when they came across an old glass bottle containing a note inside written in Mandarin. Now the family are trying to work out if the letter has managed the extraordinary journey across the Philippine Sea, into the Indian Ocean and through both the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic Ocean’s before washing up on the shores of Great Britain.
It was written on Chinese Valentine’s Day or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known, lunar July 7, 2012, so it sent off as recently as six days ago because it followed the modern calendar, which celebrated the occasion on August 23. Nicola was still excited to read about the Chinese love story after having it translated.
“I really do hope that it is from China but even it is from nearer to home, it’s still a lovely gesture and an inspiring find. It’s a love story regardless of where it came from. Nicola, who runs a beach art business in Portobello, added: “I’m always at the beach looking for bits of driftwood but I’ve never come across anything like this before. We knew it was Chinese, but we had no idea what it said.’
Unable to read the Mandarin text, Nicola turned to the internet and her Australian friend, Julie Gould, whose daughter attended a Chinese school in Sydney.
Several hours later Julie returned with the news that it was in fact a love letter.
The translated letter reads: “Da Hai(Ocean), I hope no-one will get this bottle, as we just wish you can hear our voice, and get your blessing. Today is the Chinese Valentine’s Day, we pray that our relationship will last forever and we will have a long happy life together…”
Nicola said: “It sounds to me like the couple are in love but cannot be together so they have sent the message to tell the world of their love.”When did Nicola and her daughter come across the message-in-bottle?
A.On July 15, 2012. | B.On August 29, 2012. |
C.On August 31, 2012. | D.On September 2, 2012. |
What were Nicola and her daughter probably doing when they found the bottle?
A.They were walking on the beach. |
B.They were washing hands and feet. |
C.They were looking for the driftwoods. |
D.They were lying on the beach resting. |
The underlined word “Mandarin” probably means “” .
A.Scottish | B.British |
C.English | D.Chinese |
We can learn from the passage that Nicola__________.
A.thinks the letter was written to show love |
B.had expected to get something unusual |
C.knows a little Chinese |
D.found the bottle was from a nearby place |
President Abraham Lincoln often visited hospitals to talk with wounded soldiers during the Civil War.Once,Lincoln went over to the bedside of a young dying soldier.
“Is there anything I can do for you?”asked the President. The soldier obviously didn't recognize Lincoln, and with some effort he was able to whisper, “Would you please write a letter to my mother?”
So the President carefully began writing down the soldier's words,“My dearest mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty. I'm afraid I'm not going to recover. Don't grieve too much for me, please. Kiss my sister Mary for me.May God bless you and Father.”
The soldier was too weak to continue, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and added, “Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln.”The young man asked to see the note and was astonished when he discovered who had written it.“Are you really the President?”he asked. “Yes, I am,”replied Lincoln quietly.Then he asked if there was anything else he could do.“Would you please hold my hand?”asked the soldier.“It will help to see me through to the end.”
In the quiet room, the tall gaunt (憔悴的)President took the soldier's hand and spoke warm words of encouragement until death came.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.The dying soldier was filled with love. |
B.Lincoln only signed his name in the letter instead of the soldier's. |
C.The soldier was the only child in his family. |
D.Lincoln often wrote letters for the wounded. |
When the soldier's mother read the letter, she would probably be________.
A.sad but feel greatly relieved |
B.apologetic but grateful |
C.calm and thankful |
D.sorry and feel it unexpected |
The underlined word “grieve” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by“________”.
A.feel worried | B.feel sad | C.cry | D.miss |
In writing the passage,the author intends to________.
A.tell us war is cruel |
B.make us laugh |
C.draw our attention |
D.tell us Lincoln was great |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town. But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking the baskets with him.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked: “Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.” the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地)。”Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” the farmer said in a hurry.” When did you see the dead man?” ”About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, Sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” ”No, Sir.’ The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.
That evening the officer went on trying .Pointing to the knife, he asked again,” Have you seen it yet?” ”Yes, Sir.” The officer was happy and asked,” When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”The farmer decided to sell the vegetables to.
A.buy some food for his family |
B.buy some medicine for his wife |
C.go to see a doctor |
D.go to the cinema |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because.
A.they were too bad |
B.they were very expensive |
C.it rained hard that morning |
D.few people liked to go out on such a bad day |
As, the farmer decided to help the person to stand up.
A.he wanted to get some money from him. |
B.the person was one of his friends |
C.he thought the person would thank him. |
D.he thought the person had drunk too much |
The farmer ran away quickly because.
A.the policemen were coming towards him. |
B.his wife was waiting for him at home |
C.he was afraid to see a dead man. |
D.it was so late that he couldn’t stay there any longer. |