The United States is the world's largest consumer of energy. We use electricity, gas and oil to light and heat our buildings and run our cars. The demand for power is growing. But we may not need to build new power plants or find more oil. The best way to increase our supply of energy is to be more efficient.
Did you know that when you leave your video-game console (游戏机操纵台) on, it consumes more electricity than two refrigerators? Or that those funny-looking, twisty bulbs (灯泡) use 75％ less power than traditional light bulbs? We have the tools to save money, reduce pollution and even help our planet, simply by wasting less energy.
As President, Barack Obama plans to make energy efficiency in American a major goal. He has promised to cut 15% of all energy used by the Federal Government. In a speech, he called for 75% of government office buildings to be updated for better efficiency. He pointed out that energy-efficient buildings and homes will save consumers billions of dollars on energy bills. An “extra benefit”, he added, will be “a cleaner, safer planet.”
Gas, coal and oil are called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have been the world's main source of energy for hundreds of years. But burning them releases dirty gases, which cause pollution.
There are two main ways to save energy. The first is to use more efficient machines. Hybrid cars use less gas. New appliances are designed to use less electricity. Today's refrigerators are three times more efficient than those before 1973. Laptop computers consume much less energy than desktop computers.
The second is to use machines more productively. According to the US Department of Energy, in the average home, 75％ of the electricity used to power electronic equipment is standby power (备用电源) . That means power flowing to plugged-in appliances whether or not they are being used.
Homeowners can avoid wasting power by pulling the plug on appliances when they are not in use. Efficiency experts argue that today's best techniques could cut US oil and gas use in half, and reduce our electricity use by three-fourths.By referring to Obama's plan, the author mainly intended to say that _______
| A．the US government office buildings have wasted the most energy |
| B．Obama has decided to take the lead to cut down the use of electricity |
| C．it is time for the US to shoulder the responsibility for a cleaner planet |
| D．the US is determined to improve energy efficiency in the whole America |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．to build new power plants or find more oil is no longer useful |
| B．burning fossil fuels can lead to a growing demand for power |
| C．everyone can make a difference by wasting less energy |
| D．most of the electricity is wasted with appliances plugged-in |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The world's largest consumer of energy |
| B．The world's energy efficiency movement |
| C．We need to find new energy |
| D．We have to be more energy efficient |
“My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy,” says a second-grade teacher in Saugus, California. “Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course.” These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP), a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading, writing and math skills, and more.
The children don’t just plan any city. They map and analyze the housing, energy, and transportation requirements of their own district and predict its needs in 100 years. With the aid of an architect who visits the classroom once a week, they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations. “Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom,” says the teacher who developed this program. “They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame, because there are no wrong answers in a future context. In fact, as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program, an elected “official” and “planning group” makes all the design decisions for the model city, and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser.”
CBEP is a set of activities, games and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving: observing, analyzing, working out possible answers, and judging them based on the children's own standards.
1. The Program is designed to .
A. direct kids to build solar collectors
B. train young scientists for city planning
C. develop children’s problem-solving abilities
D. train kids to be future architects
2. An architect pays a weekly visit to the classroom to .
A. find out kids’ creative ideas B. discuss with the teacher
C. give children lectures D. help kids with their program
3. Who is the designer of the program?
A. An official. B. An architect. C. A teacher. D. A scientist.
4. The children feel free in the program because they.
A. can design future buildings themselves
B. have new ideas and rich imagination
C. are given enough time to design models
D. need not worry about making mistakes
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
请阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项的标号涂黑。
Summer Holiday Fun 2010!
The summer holidays are upon us again. Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!
Peterborough Museum
The Age of the Dinosaurs’ is the museum’s main attraction this summer. Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands-on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Saturday, and from 12:00pm to 4:00 pm on Sundays in August.
Call 01733 864663 for details
Saxon Youth Club
School holiday fun: Young people aged 13—19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities, or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club, Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road. Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3:00pm. PLUS an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3:30pm and 6:30pm.
Call 01353 720274 for details
Houghton Mill
Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th August. Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play. Gates open 5:30pm, performance 6:30pm—8:30pm. Tea room will be open until end of the interval. Adult ￡10. Child￡7. Family ￡20.
Booking advisable on 0845 4505157.
Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey
Farmland Gaines: From Wellie Wanging to Pretend Ploughing matches, come and join the Farmland Team. Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner! No need to book, just turn up between 12:00pm and 4:00pm on Thursday 19th August. Suitable for children aged four and above, each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost￡7 per child.
For further information, call 01223 810080.
1. If you are interested in cooking, you can go to .
A. Peterborough Museum B. Houghton Mill
C. Saxon Youth Club D. Farmland Museum
2. You want to watch the new play with your parents, so it will cost you .
A. ￡7 B. ￡17 C. ￡27 D. ￡20
3． Which of the following activities needs parents’ company?
A. Playing farmland games. B. Watching a new play.
C. Competing in spots activities. D. Visiting the dinosaur exhibition.
4. If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19, he will have activities to choose from for himself.
A. one activity B. two activities
C. three activities D. four activities
One year ago, when Fiona turned four, Sam and I decided to home-school her instead of sending her to pre-school．I have always felt that the 0-5 years are an irreplaceable dreamtime．As Fiona is an inventive, observant child, sensitive and funny and great company, it would be a tragedy to find school rubbing away her uniqueness and restricting the building of her personality．
I tried not to reproduce school at home．I never had the urge to get a chalk, or a blackboard．I didn’t go and search out a curriculum(课程表)．I felt that my children would learn best if I stayed accessible (易接近的)and stayed out of their way．
Every day we worked some, relaxed some, read some and played some, but Fiona did not seem particularly happy here．She lost her temper once in a while．
How strange it was that my child who was free from school didn’t want to be free at all．Her friends all went to pre-school．She felt left out of a major part of her friends’ shared lives and experiences．I thought she was not in school for very strong, clear reasons, one of which was that the quality of learning my child did at home would be good, even better than expected．
Well, here was a situation I hadn’t expected．When we first decided to do this, Sam and I agreed that we would reassess(再评价)the situation for each child as she turned seven．Meanwhile we would offer her non-school-based opportunities to give her plenty of time with other kids-ballet lessons and swimming classes．She seemed to be enjoying all．But at times she kept asking when she was going to school．Whenever she asked this question, we told her that there would be a family meeting about it when she turned seven．She nearly always responded, “That’s when I’m going to go, then．” A fair amount of her curiosity was about school and I was afraid she was dreaming of going to school before she turned seven．
Although the advantages of home-schooling, I think, far outweigh its disadvantages, it is important for me to respect my daughter’s feelings and allow her to direct her own education．If her curiosity leads her to school, isn’t that where she should go?
Next week I’ll drive Fiona to her school．I hope that Fiona will learn to read and discover something wonderful to pursue in the world that opens up for her．I hope she will find the school activities provide her with satisfactory kid-time．
1．The writer decided to home-school her daughter, Fiona, because she thought________．
A．children aged 0-5 were too young to go to pre-school
B．Fiona may not be accepted by schools for her bad temper
C．home-schooling was much better than school education
D．children at Fiona’s age were too young to have their characters formed by school
2．In home schooling her daughter the writer tried to_______．
A．make her home just like a school
B．teach with a pointer, a piece of chalk, and a blackboard
C．be there when her child wanted her but tried not to stand in her way
D．teach according to a curriculum, which was suitable for Fiona
3．What was the writer’s biggest problem in home schooling her daughter?
A．She couldn’t decide what to teach and how to teach her daughter
B．She was not sure whether her teaching was suitable for Fiona．
C．She could not make Fiona give up the thought of going to school．
D．She didn’t know how to control Fiona’s temper
4．We can learn from the text that_______．
A．Fiona always acted against her mother’s instructions
B．it was against Fiona’s wish that she was educated at home
C．home-schooling was popular some years ago
D．Fiona’s parents would ask her opinions about school education
Chinese press, thousands of tourists and space experts from Japan, Germany, Italy and other countries have gathered at China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province on Tuesday, October 23 to witness the historic moment-the launch of the nation’s first moon orbiter (人造卫星), which is scheduled to take place at 6:05 p.m.on Wednesday．
Space center experts were worried earlier in the day when Xichang experienced an unexpected rainfall from about 4:05 a.m．till 7:10 a.m．on Wednesday, but they were able to breathe a sigh of relief when the weather cleared．Both national and local meteorological observatories (气象台)forecast cloudy weather for the launch site on Wednesday afternoon．However they said they believed it would not affect the launch mission, an opinion which was shared by technological staff at the site．
Local villagers within a radius of 2.5 km of the launch site and under the trajectory(轨道) of the carrier have been told to move to safe areas two hours prior to the planned launch．Tourists have been charged 800 yuan (105 U.S.dollars) to witness the launch of China’s first lunar satellite．A local travel agency has said that the two observation platforms are capable of holding 2,000, but it is not known how many people paid for the chance．
The moon orbiter, Chang’e-1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A have passed all pre-launch tests．
China hopes to become the 17th nation to join the International Space Station (ISS) project, and carried out its first piloted space flight in October 2003, making it only the third country in the world after the Soviet Union and the United States to have sent men into space．In October 2005, China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board．
1．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A．China counting down to launch of its first lunar satellite
B．Chang’e-1 lunar satellite and its launch
C．Chang’e-1 lunar satellite to conduct 1st orbit transfer
D．China hopes to join the International Space Station
2．Space center experts believed _______．
A．rainfall would come as soon as possible．
B．the cloudy weather wouldn’t affect the mission．
C．All the 2,000 tourists should paid 800 yuan each to witness the launch．
D．The mission was the third time of China’s manned flight．
3．Please arrange the time order of the following events according to the passage．
a．Local villagers have been told to move to safe areas．
b．Unexpected shower fell on the early morning of Wednesday．
c．The moon mission is scheduled to take place．
d．Journalists and tourists gathered at the Satellite Launch Centre．
A．b c d a B．a b c d C．d b a c D．c d a b
4．It can be implied from the passage that _____________．
A．China has become the 17th country to join the International Space Station
B．China will launch its manned spaceship to the moon soon
C．China is the third nation to send men into space
D．China is pioneering in the space exploration now
We can make mistakes at any age．Some mistakes we make are about money．But most mistakes are about people．“Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?” “When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?” “And Paul, why didn’t you pick up that he was friendly just because I had a car?” When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad．But when we look back, it’s too late．
Why do we go wrong about our friends-or our enemies? Sometimes what people say hides their real meaning．And if we don’t really listen we miss the feeling behind the words．Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog, ”and that’s being friendly．But “lucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy in those words．Maybe he doesn’t see it himself．But bringing in the “dog” bit puts you down a little, what he may be saying is that he doesn’t think you deserve your luck．
“Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for” is another noise that says one thing and means another．It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole．But is he? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn’t important．It’s telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven’t got a date for Saturday night．
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking．Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice? His posture? The look in his eyes? Stop and think．The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake．
1．This passage is mainly about ______．
A．how to interpret what people say
B．what to do when you listen to others talking
C．why we go wrong with people and how to avoid these mistakes
D．why we go wrong with people sometimes
2．According to the author, the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that ______．
A．we fail to listen carefully when they talk
B．people tend to be annoyed when we check what they say
C．people usually state one thing but mean another
D．we tend to doubt what our friends say
3．The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to______．
A．being friendly B．a bit of envy
C．lucky dog D．your luck
4．When we listen to a person talking, the most important thing for us to do is ______．
A．notice the way the person is talking
B．take a good look at the person talking
C．mind his tone, his posture and the look in his eyes
D．know what he really means from his tone and posture