Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamy, but this one is clean and cool. Fox Point is a very new 47-unit living building in South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas. Two-thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless people, whose rent is paid by the government. The rest are low-income families. The boiler room has special equipment, which produces energy for electricity and heat. It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the air, reducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.
Fox Point is operated by Palladia, a group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people. Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.
ECP has created national standards for healthy, environmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called, the Green Communities Standards. These standards include water keeping, energy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials. Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%, which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs. Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.
Michael. Bloomberg, New York’s mayor plans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers. Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from buildings, and 40% of those are caused by housing. So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD) , whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housing, will require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.
Similar measures have been taken by other cities such as Cleveland and Denver, but New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.What is the purpose of describing the boiler room in the first paragraph?
| A． To explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people. |
| B． To suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas. |
| C． To show how the environment-friendly building works. |
| D． To compare old and new boiler rooms. |
What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?
| A． Lower running costs. |
| B． Costing less in construction. |
| C． Less air to be lost in hot days. |
| D． Better prices for homeless people. |
It can be learned from the text that, ____________________.
| A． New York City is seriously polluted |
| B． people’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City |
| C． a great number of people in New York City don’t have houses to live in |
| D． some other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City |
What is the main purpose of this text?
| A． To call on people to pay more attention to housing problems. |
| B． To prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing. |
| C． To ask society to help homeless people and low-income families. |
| D． To introduce healthy, environmentally clever-and affordable housing. |
New Zealand
【What can you see? Mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, forests, beaches. Both islands are mountainous. In fact, only 30% of New Zealand is flat.】
The Maoris
When the Maoris first arrived in New Zealand, they lived in villages and were excellent fishermen, hunters and farmers. About 50 years ago many Maoris started to live and work in the large cities and took jobs in government, industries, medicine and education. They are proud of their culture and are determined to keep many of the customs which are part of their way of life.
Who can you meet? Most people live on North Island. Eighty-five percent of New Zealanders are “pakeha” (“white men”), which means their “great grandfathers” came from Europe. Ten percent are Maoris. The Maoris came to New Zealand from the Polynesian islands probably around the tenth century. The “pakeha” started to arrive in New Zealand from Europe about 200 years ago as farmers and traders.
Fact box: New Zealand
Position: South of the Equator ;
Nearest neighbor: Australia, 1600 km away.
Size: Two main islands — North Island and South Island: together they are 268.680 sq. km.
Population: 4 million
Capital: Wellington
Languages: English and Maori
| A．20% of the population being Maoris. |
| B．Four million white people. |
| C．About 1600 km south of the Equator. |
| D．Nearly 1/3 of the country being plains. |
| A．1000 years ago. | B．200 years ago. |
| C．85 years ago. | D．50 years ago. |
| A．Living in small villages. | B．Developing farming skills. |
| C．Keeping their own culture. | D．Taking up government jobs. |
When Frida Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London, a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon (丝带)around a bomb”. Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time. Sadly, she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City, Kahlo suffered from polio (小儿麻痹症)at the age of seven. Her spine (脊柱)became bent as she grew older. Then, in 1925, her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident. Throughout the rest of her life, the artist had many operations, but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back. However, the accident had an unexpected side effect. While lying in her bed recovering, Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929, she got married to Diego Rivera, another famous Mexican artist. Rivera’s strong influence on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works, but her later works from the 1940s, known today as her best works, show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately, her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s, even in her home country. Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954, Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world, but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last.
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a far more gifted artist |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a much more famous person |
| A．polio | B．her bent spine |
| C．back injuries | D．the operations she had |
| A．1930s | B．1940s |
| C．1950s | D．1970s |
| A．Devotion | B．Sympathy |
| C．Worry | D．Encouragement |
Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity. I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day’s events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all, isn’t accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well-equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows. I automatically took out my pen...
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful. I’m no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don’t want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes. Maybe I won’t have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I’ll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me. I don’t live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.
| A．observing her school routine |
| B．expressing her satisfaction |
| C．impressing her classmates |
| D．preserving her history |
| A．A dull night on the journey. |
| B．The beauty of the great valley. |
| C．A striking quotation from a book. |
| D．Her concerns for future generations. |
| A．Notes and beautiful pictures. |
| B．Special thoughts and feelings. |
| C．Detailed accounts of daily activities. |
| D．Descriptions of unforgettable events. |
| A．to experience it |
| B．to live the present in the future |
| C．to make memories |
| D．to give accurate representations of it |
Every year Chris Brogan posts his three words for a new year. Many others and I have followed his lead for the past three or four years. They helped me a lot. My words for last year were “passion”, “focus” and “delegate” and I stayed true to them. This year, 2013, my goals are more personal and less professional.
FOCUS
Focus is making a repeat appearance on my list this year because I’m too much of a multitasker. The problem is that I have trouble finishing one thing with so many things calling me. When I was working as a writer, all my projects were handled via a schedule, I’m putting a fitness and housekeeping routine into my schedule.
HEALTH
I get so busy taking care of everyone else, and I forget to take care of myself and this has to change. My health suffers and my weight suffers. I have to get my health in check, not only for me but because I promised my 9-year-old son. I’ll make good food and lifestyle choices. I miss being thin, and it’s time to get it back.
CELEBRATE
What good is having it if I’m not taking time to enjoy it? I have a wonderful job, a happy family, and so much to be thankful for. So how come I spend all my time working? Last summer my family took our first vacation in four years, the best thing I’ve done for myself and my family in a long time. This year, I’m making sure to take time to enjoy life and celebrate its many blessings.
Do you have any words for 2014?
| A．makes a living by writing |
| B．always fails to finish a task on time |
| C．has several things to do at the same time |
| D．pays more attention to fitness and housekeeping |
| A．He wants to take better care of others. |
| B．He’s gaining weight and feeling bad. |
| C．He did not take any exercise in the past. |
| D．He got the idea from his son. |
| A．The word “CELEBRATE” can remind the writer to enjoy life. |
| B．The writer has a vacation with his family every four years. |
| C．The word “FOCUS” can help the writer focus on his family. |
| D．The writer used to be overweight for lack of exercise. |
While students in Yinchuan are quite used to clear skies, Beijing teenagers are not so lucky. As another warm winter approaches, the city can expect the normal clouds of smoke caused by air pollution.
But things may start to improve soon. The government is co-operating with a US-based environmental protection agency to update existing buses and trucks with clean fuel technology. The new technology could reduce air pollutants in existing diesel engines(柴油机)by 40 percent. The programme will begin by testing buses in Beijing to see if the technology can be applied to them.
“We encourage the development of public transports. But at the same time we need to reduce pollution from them, ”said an official.
Efforts are being made to improve the capital’s environment with tighter controls on emissions(排放). Some heavily polluting factories and construction sites, such as those owned by the steel giant Shougang Group, have been asked to cut production in November and December or be closed.
Beijing was the third polluted city in the world at the end of last century, according to the UN. But thanks to recent measures, the capital has made some progress. Last year 224 clear days were rated as having good air quality. In 1998 the air quality index(指数)gave just 100 days as good.
“I am glad to see an improvement, ”said a senior 1 boy living in the northwest of Beijing. “Compared to other places, the air quality of Beijing is still worrying though. I hate pollution. Once I was riding my bike in the morning when I almost had a traffic accident because I couldn’t see a car only metres away from me in fog. ”
In early October, the skies were covered by such a thick fog that a display show by the visiting French Air Force was called off.
Rapid development, industry, traffic fumes and sandstorms from the desert all contribute to the city’s bad air.
| A．a programme aiming at improving Beijing’s air quality |
| B．progress made in Beijing’s air quality |
| C．Beijing’s air pollution |
| D．the differences between Yinchuan and Beijing |
| A．Clean fuel technology will be used in public transports. |
| B．Some factories have been asked to cut production. |
| C．Some construction sites have been told to be closed. |
| D．A display show of airplanes has been called off. |
| A．far more still needs to be done |
| B．nothing else needs to be done |
| C．all traffic has to be closed |
| D．the development of the city has to be slowed down |
| A．Beijing’s air quality is getting worse and worse. |
| B．Rapid development, industry, traffic fumes and sandstorms are all the causes of bad air quality. |
| C．People see clouds of smoke in the sky in the winter of Beijing. |
| D．The government is making efforts to stop air pollution. |