Microwaves may be great at warming up food, but what about warming people?
Using microwaves to directly heat owners of a room would save much of the energy wasted by heating walls and furn
iture. And despite popular ideas about microwaves, this technique would be safe, according to Charles R. Buffler of the Microwave Research Center in Marlborough, New Hampshire. Low-power microwaves only penetrate (贯穿) the skin (low-power microwave penetration in a ham is about 0.2 inches, for example) and with no negative effects.
To test this idea, Buffler subjected himself to microwaves in a special room using a standard 500-watt, 2459 MHz magnetron (磁控管). He found that a person will start to feel warmth at about 20 milliwatts per square centimeter (mw. /sq.cm.); a satisfactory feeling of warmth occurs between 35 and 50 mw./sq.cm. By comparison, a person standing in noonday summer sun feels the amount of 85 mw./sq.cm. And a frozen meat pie in your microwave oven receives about 1000 mw./sq. cm.
In houses of the future, each room could be provided with its own magnetron, says Buffler. When you stepped into the living room, for example, a motion detector would turn on the magnetron, filling the room with low-power microwaves. In the same way that a microwaves oven heats up a hamburger, but not the plate it’s on, you would feel warmth from the microwaves without changing the temperature of your coffee table. (You could, however, make your favorite easy chair even more comfortable by treating it with a radiation-absorbing chemical.)
While it might be some time before homeowners are comfortable enough with the idea to set up whole body microwave heaters in houses, Buffler says microwaves may attract livestock farmers. Lambs that are born outdoors in winter, for example, are frequently lost to cold. Microwaves could warm the lambs safely and quickly. Which of the following can tell the main idea of the passage?
| A．A new heating system. | B．A new microwave oven. |
| C．A popular technique. | D．The magnetron. |
The test conducted by Buffler shows that when a person feels comfortable warmth, he receives about ____.
| A．20 mw. / sq. cm. | B．40 mw. / sq. cm. |
| C．60 mw. / sq. cm. | D．85 mw. / sq. cm. |
According to paragraph 4, which of the following fills the room with low-power microwaves?
| A．The magnetron. | B．The motion detector. |
| C．The microwave oven. | D．The radiation-absorbing chemical. |
Which of the following statements about microwave heaters would Buffler most probably agree with?
| A．Microwave heaters will soon be widely used by homeowners. |
| B．Microwave heaters sometimes make people feel uncomfortable. |
C．Microwave heaters will be probably first used by livestock farmers to prot ect their lambs in winter. |
| D．Microwave heaters cannot be accepted by the public because they are somewhat unsafe. |
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, in memory of the 100th birthday of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 suggestions that were handed in, Gustave Eiffel’s was chosen.
However, at first, it was not well accepted by all and a group of people — including many well-known writers and painters at that time — were fiercely against its design.
Being about 300 meters in height, and 7,000 tons in weight, it was the world’s tallest building until 1930. It was a great project for France. 300 workers took two years to build it. It isn’t an ordinary building, since it is almost made of steel. For example, its body moves around at most 12 cm in heavy wind. Moreover, its height changes up to 15 cm according to the temperature.
It was almost destroyed in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna(天线), which is used for communication at that time. Beginning in 1910 it became part of the International Time Service. French radio and French television have also made good use of its height.
The Eiffel Tower has also seen a few strange things. In 1923, a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level of it. And in 1954, a mountain climber climbed on top of it and tried to measure its exact height.
Anyway, although its birth was difficult, it is now well accepted all over the world. It has been considered as one of the symbols of Paris. The passage mainly tells us ________.
| A．the history of the Eiffel Tower |
| B．some information about its design |
| C．what the Eiffel Tower was used for |
| D．how it became one of the symbols of Paris |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．Many people couldn’t accept the Eiffel Tower at the beginning. |
| B．It was the world’s tallest building for hundreds of years. |
| C．A journalist rode down from the Eiffel Tower in 1954. |
| D．The Eiffel Tower was saved because of its height. |
The French Revolution took place in _______.
| A．1889 | B．1923 | C．1789 | D．1930 |
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority(优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values as well as the social environment it comes from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception (感知) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive (情感的) meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other .They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebrations, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.According to paragraph 1, students.
| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz an example to.
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music identifies a society |
| C．introduce American musical traditions |
| D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles |
According to the passage, the arts and science.
| A．approach the world from different angles |
| B．explore different phenomena of the world |
| C．express people’s feeling in different ways |
| D．explain what it means to be human differently |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Music education deserves more attention. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |
RichardSolo 1800 Rechargeable Battery
In just minutes a day, plug in and charge your iPhone quickly!
Just plug RichardSolo 1800 into your iPhone once or twice a day, for fifteen minutes, and keep your iPhone charged up. At your desk, or at dinner, plug RichardSolo into iPhone to instantly transfer charge. No more battery worries. RichardSolo will charge iPhone to full 1.5 times, and it is good for 3-5 years of recharges.
Use the iPhone while charging it. Even charge the RichardSolo 1800 and iPhone together at the same time. Take only one charger when traveling and wake up in the morning with the RichardSolo and the iPhone charged.
RichardSolo 1800 is largest in its class and holds its charge for months. Works with almost all iPhone cases.
Your satisfaction is guaranteed, with our 30-day return privilege. If you’re not satisfied for any reason, we’ll email you a pre-paid return label.
Actual customer comments:
To have your company exhibit such good service is unbelievably refreshing. — P.S.
This is what I call great customer support. I wish more companies would figure this out these days. Thank you so much. — D.C.
You have provided me one of the best services I have ever seen on any online/ telephone shopping. — T.K.
You must have the fastest processing and shipping in the industry!! — M.C.
This is the best customer service experience I have had in a long time. — L.L.
I’ve read online about your amazing customer service, and I must say I’m now a true believer. — B.L.How long does it take the battery to charge up an iPhone?
| A．15 minutes. | B．30 minutes. | C．1.5 hours. | D．3 hours. |
What is special about the battery?
| A．It is built in an iPhone. | B．It is the smallest of its kind. |
| C．It can also be used as a charger. | D．It keeps power for about 30 days. |
Who mentions the transporting of the battery?
A. P.S.B. B.L. C. M.C.D. T.K.The customer comments on the battery are mainly about its _______.
| A．quality | B．service | C．function | D．shopping |
I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all — all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But I feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions (认识) of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的) language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that.
| A．she uses English in foreign trade |
| B．she is fascinated by languages |
| C．she works as a translator |
| D．she is a writer by profession |
The author used to think of her mother’s English as.
| A．impolite | B．amusing | C．imperfect | D．practical |
Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
| A．Americans do not understand broken English. |
| B．The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. |
| C．The author’s mother had positive influence on her. |
| D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English. |
| B．The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother. |
| C．The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English. |
| D．The author’s experiences of using broken English. |
Do’s and Don’ts in Whale(鲸)Watching
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has developed guidelines for whale watching in Johnstone Strait,where killer whales are found on a daily basis each summer. It is strongly recommended that vessel(船只)operators follow these guidelines for all kinds of whales.
●Approach whales from the side, not from the front or the back.
●Approach no closer than 100 metres, then stop the boat but keep the engine on.
●Keep noise levels down-no horns, whistles or racing of engines.
●Start your boat only after the whales are more than 100 metres from your vessel.
●Leave the area slowly, gradually moving faster when you are more than 300 metres from the whales.
●Approach and leave slowly, avoiding sudden changes in speed or direction.
●Avoid disturbing groups of resting whales.
●Keep at low speeds and remain in the same direction if travelling side by side with whales.
●When whales are travelling close to shore, avoid crowding them near the shore or coming between the whales and the shore.
●Limit the time spent with any group of whales to less than 30 minutes at a time when within 100 to 200 metres of whales.
●If there is more than one vessel at the same observation spot, be sure to avoid any boat position that would result in surrounding the whales.
●Work together by communicating with other vessels, and make sure that all operators are aware of the whale watching guidelines.For whom is this text written?
| A．Tour guides. |
| B．Whale watchers. |
| C．Vessel operators. |
| D．Government officials. |
When leaving the observation areas, the vessel should ________________.
| A．move close to the beach |
| B．increase speed gradually |
| C．keep its engine running slowly |
| D．remain at the back of the whales |
What is the shortest safe distance from the whales?
| A．400 metres. | B．300 metres. | C．200 metres. | D．100 metres. |