YourHouseWillTakeCareofYouInOl-优题课

Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.
Kids and Ponds

Years ago there was a group of kids who would hang around at some local ponds in the woods near their houses in Warwick, Rhode Island. In summer they caught frogs and fish. When winter arrived they couldn't wait to go skating. Time passed, and the ponds became the only open space for the kids to enjoy themselves in that neighborhood.
One day. a thirteen-year-old boy from this group of kids read in the local newspaper that a developer wanted to fill in the ponds and build over a hundred small houses called condominiums. So the boy went door to door and gathered more than two hundred signatures (签名）to stop the development A group of citizens met and decided to support him.
At the meeting of the town planning board (委员会)，the boy was quite nervous at first and spoke very softly. But when he saw the faces of his friends and neighbors in the crowd and thought about what was happening to their favorite ponds，his voice grew louder. He told the town officials that they should speak for the citizens. He also insisted that they should leave enough space for children. A few days later，the developer stopped his plan.
Nine years later, when that teen was a senior in college, he was informed that the developer was back with his proposal to build condominiums. Now twenty-two years old, he was studying wetlands ecology. He again appeared before the town planning board. This time as an expert witness, he used environmental protection laws to explain restrictions on development in and around wetlands and the knowledge of wetlands ecology to help improve the development. Finally some condominiums were built, but less than half the number the developer wanted. The ponds where those kids used to hang around were protected by a strip of natural land，and are still there today.

1．	What did the kids like to do at the local ponds in winter? (No more than 6 words)

2．	How did the boy win the citizens' support? (No more than 10 words)

3．	What did the boy tell the town officials? (No more than 16 words)

4．	What helped the boy to protect the ponds successfully nine years later? (No more than 12 words)

The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important- is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.
The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency (效率)，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.
‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher，‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design. ’In other words，old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.
Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information，it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.
Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted 一 whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.
Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.
As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.

A． zero-carbon homes	B．the behaviour of building users
C． sustainable building design	D．the reduction of carbon emissions

The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to”________.”

A．the ways	B．their homes
C． developments	D．existing efforts

What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?

A． The importance of changing building users, habits.

B． The necessity of making a careful building design.

C． The variety of consumption patterns of building users.

D． The role of technology in improving energy efficiency.

The information gap in energy use _______.

A． can be bridged by feedback facilities

B． affects the study on energy monitors

C． brings about problems for smart meters

D． will be caused by building users’ old habits

What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?

A． The social science research is to be furthered.

B． The education programme is under discussion.

C． The behaviour of building users is unpredictable.

D． The behaviour preference of building users is similar.

In the mid-1950s, I was a somewhat bored early-adolescent male student who believed that doing any more than necessary was wasted effort. One day, this approach threw me into embarrassment
In Mrs. Totten’s eighth-grade math class at Central Avenue School in Anderson, Indiana, we were learning to add and subtract decimals (小数).
Our teacher typically assigned daily homework, which would be recited in class the following day. On most days, our grades were based on our oral answer to homework questions.
Mrs. Totten usually walked up and down the rows of desks requesting answers from student after student in the order the questions had appeared on our homework sheets. She would start either at the front or the back of the classroom and work toward the other end.
Since I was seated near the middle of about 35 students, it was easy to figure out which questions I might have to answer. This particular time, I had completed my usual two or three problems according to my calculations.
What I failed to expect was that several students were absent, which threw off my estimate. As Mrs. Totten made her way from the beginning of the class，I desperately tried to determine which math problem I would get. I tried to work it out before she got to me, but I had brain freeze and couldn’t function.
When Mrs. Totten reached my desk，she asked what answer I’d got for problem No. 14. “I…I didn’t get anything,” I answered，and my face felt warm.
“Correct,” she said.
It turned out that the correct answer was zero.
What did I learn that day? First, always do all your homework. Second, in real life it isn’t always what you say but how you say it that matters. Third，I would never make it as a mathematician.
If I could choose one school day that taught me the most, it would be that one.
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 1 indicate?

A． It is wise to value one’s time.

B． It is important to make an effort

C． It is right to stick to one’s belief.

D． It is enough to do the necessary.

Usually, Mrs. Totten asked her students to _______.

A． recite their homework together

B． grade their homework themselves

C． answer their homework questions orally

D． check the answers to their homework questions

The author could work out which questions to answer since the teacher always _______.

A． asked questions in a regular way

B． walked up and down when asking questions

C． chose two or three questions for the students

D． requested her students to finish their usual questions

The author failed to get the questions he had expected because _______.

A． the class didn’t begin as usual

B． several students didn’t come to school

C． he didn’t try hard to make his estimate

D． Mrs. Totten didn’t start from the back of the class

Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A． An Unforgettable Teacher

B． A Future Mathematician

C． An Effective Approach

D． A Valuable Lesson

Want to improve your writing skills? New Writing South is directing the way!
·Towner Writer Squad (班组）for kids aged 13-17
Led by comedy and TV writer, Marian Kilpatrick, Towner Writer Squad will meet once a month at the contemporary art museum for 11 months, starting 12 October, 2014.
The FREE squad sessions will include introductions to a wide range of writing styles, from poetry to play writing and lyrics (抒情诗）to flash fiction, to support the development of young writers.
Application & Selection
If you would like to apply to be part of the Towner Writer Squad, please send a sample piece of your writing (about 500 words), responding to the title‘LUNCH,’with your name, age, address and e-mail address to: debo@newwritingsouth.com.
Once all applications are in, you will be invited to an open selection event on 17 September，4-5pm, at the gallery of Towner. This will be an informal opportunity to meet the Squad Leader, Squad Associate and other young people.
You will also have a chance to get to know the fantastic gallery space and get a taste of what’s to come.
Deadline for applications: 8 September, 2014
For further information go to: facebook.com/towner or towner.org.uk or newwritingsouth.com
Any questions 一 feel free to send your e-mail to Towner Writer Squad Associate: whame@towner.gov.uk
﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡﹡
·Beginner Writing Project for kids aged 10-13
Due to popular demand, a writing project will be started for eager beginners.
Start time: 6 September, 2014
Meet every other Saturday，2-4pm, at the Towner Study Centre.
Study and write at your own pace 一 you do not have to rush 一 as you have a year to go through the project. Practise under the guidance of some experienced writers and teachers who can help you with basic writing skills. Most importantly, build confidence and have fun while writing!
No previous experience or special background is required. Many others have been successful this way. If they can do it, why can’t you?
Fee: £179
For more information go to: newtowner.org.uk or generate.org.uk
Towner Writer Squad will be started _______.

A． to train comedy and TV writers

B． to explore the fantastic gallery space

C． to introduce a contemporary art museum

D． to promote the development of young writers

To join the Writer Squad，each applicant should first _______.

A． provide a piece of their writing

B． meet the Writer Squad Leader

C． offer their family information

D． complete an application form

Applications for the Writer Squad should be e-mailed no later than _______.

A． 6 September, 2014

B． 8 September, 2014

C． 17 September, 2014

D． 12 October, 2014

What is most important for the beginners?

A． Practising as much as possible.

B． Gaining confidence and having fun.

C． Studying and writing at their own pace.

D． Learning skills from writers and teachers.

More information about Beginner Writing Project can be found at _______.

A． facebook.com/towner

B． newwritingsouth.com

C． newtowner.org.uk

D． towner.org.uk

For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets，and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue，the elevator’s role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk_? the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally (水平地)，and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的)columns.
If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience^one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we’re hanging from a cable in a long passage.
In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it”， Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.
Today，as the world’s urban population explodes，and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America’s total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine’s “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”一are a force that’s becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.
What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．The general view of elevators.

B．The particular interests of experts.

C．The desire for a remarkable machine.

D．The enthusiasm for transport vehicles.

The author’s purpose in mentioning cars is.

A．to contrast their functions with elevators,

B．to emphasize the importance of elevators

C．to reveal their secret war against elevators

D．to explain people’s preference for elevators

According to Prof. Bernard, what has made the elevator ride different from other life experiences?

A．Vertical direction.

B．Lack of excitement.

C．Little physical space.

D．Uncomfortable conditions.

The author urges readers to consider.

A．the exact number of elevator lovers

B．the serious future situation of elevators

C．the role of elevators in city development

D．the relationship between cars and elevators

A．that can help the elderly brush their teeth	B．which is linked to a nursing house
C．behind which is a medicine cabinet	D．that can remind people to do many things

A．smart but expensive	B．intelligent and convenient
C．smart and environmentally-friendly	D．fashionable and energy-saving

A．calls on people to care for the old	B．encourages the old to live with dignity
C．introduces a new house	D．promotes a new house