A Battery’s Worst Nightmare(噩梦)
Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let’s face it, batteries aren’t very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery’s energy into an equal space. That’s why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life!When the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobile phone, you just fill
up and go.
The engine, about the size of a ten-cent coin, starts with a combustion chamber (燃烧室) that burns hydrogen (氢). Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are imprinted onto integrated circuits (集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.
But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency(效率). Tiny engine parts don’t always behave like their scaled-up parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down th
e work, according to Columbia University professor Luc Frechette, one of the engine’s designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.
The scientists’ goal is to create an engine that
will operate 10 times better than batteries do. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t available until at least the end of the next ten years. .
. According to the passage, the title suggests that ________.
| A．batteries should be greatly improved | B．petrol will be used instead of batteries |
| C．the time of batteries will be gone forever | D．pollution caused by batteries must be prevented |
.
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” (In Paragraph 3)?
| A．Problem. | B．Advantage. | C．Invention. | D．Technique. |
.
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．The new invention doesn’t need any fuel. |
| B．The new engine has been produced in quantity. |
| C．The new invention is much cheaper than the battery. |
| D．The new engine needs to be improved before it’s on sale. |
.
. What is the main purpose of this passage?
| A．To introduce a new invention to readers. | B．To persuade readers not to use batteries. |
| C．To show us how the new invention works. | D．To declare when the engine will be on sale. |
We lived in a very quiet neighborhood. One evening I heard a loud crash in the street. Earlier that evening my wife had asked me to go to the store to get some soft drinks. It seemed that this would be a good time to let my teenage daughter Holly practice her driving, so I sent her to the store in my truck. At dinner my son talked about how much he liked my truck. I enjoyed having it, but I said: “Guy, my heart is not set on that truck. I like it but it is just metal and won't last forever. Never set your heart on anything that won't last.” After hearing the loud noise, the whole family ran outside. My son shouted: “Dad! Dad, Holly crashed your truck.”
The accident had occurred in my own driveway. Holly had crashed my truck into our other vehicle, the family van. In her inexperience, she had confused the brakes(刹车) and the gas pedal (油门). Holly was unhurt physically but when we reached her, she was crying and saying: “Oh, Dad, I'm sorry. I know how much you love this truck.” I held her in my arms as she cried.
Later that week a friend stopped by and asked what had happened to my truck. I told her the whole story. Her eyes were wet and she said: “That happened to me when I was a girl. I borrowed my dad’s car and ran into a tree that had fallen across the road. I ruined the car. When I got home, my Dad knocked me to the ground and began to kick me.”
Over 40 years later, she still felt the pain of the night. It was a deep wound on her soul. I remember how sad Holly was on the night she crashed our truck, and how I comforted her. One day, when Holly thinks back on her life, I want her to know that I love her a thousand times more than any piece of property.What caused the crash?
| A．The brakes weren't working. |
| B．The car got a flat tire and Holly lost control. |
| C．Holly was drinking a soft drink while driving. |
| D．Holly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brakes. |
What happened to the author's friend after she ruined her dad's car?
| A．She lost the courage to drive. |
| B．Her father was violent toward her. |
| C．Her father kicked her out of the house. |
| D．She suffered physical pain for a long time |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The author regretted sending his daughter to the store. |
| B．Holly was allowed to drive because she was older than her brother. |
| C．Seeing the crash, the author was sorry for the damage to his beloved truck. |
| D．The author made it clear that he loved his daughter more than his truck. |
What does the underlined sentence imply?
| A．The friend was seriously wounded |
| B．The wound recovered after 40 years. |
| C．The friend was deeply hurt by her father. |
| D．Parents shouldn’t beat their children. |
The purpose of writing the passage is to show us________.
| A．love is more important than possessions |
| B．parents should never let a teenager drive |
| C．it is useless blaming someone after an accident |
| D．we should always forgive others’ mistakes |
Visiting Balboa Island, in sunny southern California, proved an exciting experience that I will never forget. I had never been to Balboa Island, even though it is only about an hour from my home in northern San Diego.
Our first stop was for a specialty called a "Balboa Bar". It is a famous chocolate covered ice cream on a stick, created many years ago. As we drove along the streets toward the boat, I also saw some interesting buildings that stood for many years. Many of the building designs seemed like dollhouses and someone in our group said that the style was called, Victorian.
After we parked our car on one of the streets, we got on the boat sailing to Balboa Peninsula. As I looked around the boat, I saw a bird flying very close to the water and our boat. A little girl near the boat' s edge jumped out to touch it and shockingly fell into the water! Her dad, who stood nearby, jumped in after her at once and everyone on the boat ran to help. The boat's engine stopped and both father and daughter got saved with the help of people on the boat.
On Balboa Peninsula my family and I went to various shops, especially for food! We saw a restaurant at the very end. We enjoyed our lunch there, at the first Ruby's Diner ever opened in southern California. Although I have been to other restaurants of this popular chain (连锁店), being at the very first is a great memory.
On our way back to Balboa island we stopped at the huge Ferris Wheel, bought some sugars and played games. It was an exciting afternoon walking around on Balboa Island. I look forward to returning soon to spend some time on the beach again or maybe even to try fishing!"Balboa Bar" is the name of
| A．a street | B．a restaurant |
| C．a food | D．a building |
What happened on the boat to Balboa Peninsula?
| A．A little girl fell into the river |
| B．The boat broke down halfway. |
| C．People helped a girl catch a bird. |
| D．A father quarreled with his daughter. |
The author' s dining experience at the first Ruby' s Diner was
| A．boring | B．interesting |
| C．unpleasant | D．unforgettable |
What did the author do on Balboa Island?
| A．He went fishing by the river. |
| B．He walked along the beach. |
| C．He rode the Ferris wheel. |
| D．He bought some dolls. |
What' s the best title for the text?
| A．My trip to Balboa | B．The first Ruby' s Diner |
| C．My first boat ride | D．Victorian buildings |
Ask any group of teenagers in the UK what they most like to eat, and foods like pizza, burgers and chips are always mentioned.
But what teenagers like to eat is not necessarily what they should be eating. According to the National Diet and Nutrition (营养) Survey, far too many young people in the UK between the ages of 4 and 18 eat too much fat, sugar and salt in their diet and take in too many calories. And their intake of starchy carbohydrates (含淀粉的碳水化合物), fiber, iron, vitamins and calcium (钙) is too low.
For a growing body, eating foods containing plenty of calcium, such as milk, yoghurt and cheese, is very important as calcium is essential for the development of healthy, strong bones. Similarly, foods that are rich in iron are good for young rapidly developing bodies, so red meat, bread, green vegetables, and dried fruit are also good to eat.
It is during our teenage years that lifestyle habits can become entrenched (根深蒂固的), so it is important that young people are educated about what foods are good for them. In 2005, in order to change eating habits and open teenagers' minds to new tastes, chef Jamie Oliver started a "Feed Me Better" project. As part of a television series, "Jamie' s School Dinners", he worked with teachers and cooks in a number of schools across the UK to provide more nutritious school meals. Although some teenagers and parents refused to have a try at first, the project went very well and helped to influence governmental policy on nutritional standards for school meals.
No one expects to end the teenage love affair with fast and junk food but, hopefully, if projects like "Feed Me Better" continue to give out the right messages, more young people will understand the importance of eating healthily.
What problem do teenagers in the UK have?
| A．Most of them are too fat. |
| B．Most of them eat too little. |
| C．Many of them don' t eat healthily. |
| D．Many of them are short of exercise. |
The underlined word "essential" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to" "
| A．difficult | B．possible |
| C．common | D．necessary |
According to the text, the "Feed Me Better" project _ _
| A．proved to be a success |
| B．taught teachers how to cook |
| C．was started by the government |
| D．was started at Jamie's school first |
Which of the following opinions does the author probably agree to?
| A．Lifestyle habits are difficult to change. |
| B．Too much red meat is also bad for health. |
| C．Teenagers should learn to feed them better. |
| D．Teenagers should stop eating fast and junk food. |
March 21 has been declared World Sleep Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the value of sleep. Many sleep experts hope it will be a wake-up call.
According to a poll (民意调查）by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 4 in 5 Americans don’t get as much sleep as they should during the workweek. On average, adults are thought to need at least eight hours of sleep a night, although some can manage with less and some won’t do well without more. But the survey found that, on workdays, only 21% of Americans actually get a full eight hours of sleep, and another 21% get less than six.
To many of us, the thought of spending more time sleeping is, well, a big yawn. On the other hand, the thought of being smarter, thinner, healthier and more cheerful has a certain appeal. And those are just a few of the advantages that can be ours if we consistently get enough sleep, researchers say. Also on the plus side: We’re likely to have better skin, better memories, better judgment, and, oh, yes, longer lives.
“When you lose even one hour of sleep for any reason, it influences your performance the next day,” says Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center.
A study published last year found the same to be true even of children. When kids aged 8 to 12 slept for just one hour less for four nights, they didn’t function as well during the day.
But sleeping has an image problem. “We see napping or sleeping as lazy,” says Jennifer Vriend, a clinical psychologist in Ottawa, Canada, and the leading author of the study with children. “We put so much emphasis on diet, nutrition and exercise. Sleep is in the back seat.” In fact, she adds, no matter how much we work out, no matter how well we eat, we can’t be in top physical shape unless we also get plenty of sleep.The underlined part in Paragraph 1 means _____.
| A．To wake up the sleepers |
| B．To draw people’s attention |
| C．To serve as a morning call |
| D．To declare the special day |
From Paragraph 3 we can infer that _______
| A．Being healthier is one of the advantages for us |
| B．Sleeping has nothing to do with one’s expectations |
| C．Spending more time on sleeping is a waste of time |
| D．Enough sleep is the guarantee of the appealing things |
What Jennifer Vriend said in the last paragraph implies that _______.
| A．Sleeping is an image problem |
| B．People care little about sleeping |
| C．Lazy people tend to sleep long |
| D．Sleeping is only part of our life |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To talk about people’s sleeping problems. |
| B．To provide an investigation result of sleeping. |
| C．To arouse the awareness of enough sleeping. |
| D．To stress the function of sleeping at night. |
Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice.Gifts are easy—they’re given after all.Choice can be hard.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago.I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2300 percent per year.I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast，and the idea of building all online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old，and I’d been married for a year.I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t and I wasn’t sure what to expect.MacKenzie told me I should go for it.As a young boy，I’d been a garage inventor.I’d always wanted to be all inventor，and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired.I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet.He took me on a long walk in Central Park，listened carefully to me，and finally said，“That sounds like a really good idea，but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.”That 1ogic made some sense to me，and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision.Seen in that light,it really was a difficult choice，but finally，I decided I had to give it a shot.I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing.And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration ，I took the less safe path to follow my passion ，and I’m proud of that choice.For all of us，in the end，we are our choice.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
| A．His dream of being an inventor. |
| B．The support of his wife. |
| C．The greatly increasing usage of the Internet. |
| D．Millions of exciting titles, |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
| A．The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him. |
| B．He would be very excited if he tried it out. |
| C．Be would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try. |
| D．The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Cleverness and Kindness | B．The Starting of Amazon |
| C．Following My Passion | D．We Are What We Choose |
We can know from the passage that_______.
| A．the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author |
| B．the author wanted someone else to try the idea |
| C．the author might not regret if he failed the idea |
| D．the author might go back to his boss if he failed |