When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses. However, since electricity became more and more expensive, people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat.
Now, houses of an old yet new type have been widely built. In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock（家畜）.During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses. The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well. The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live. By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat.
People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock. However, home builders use the fact that heat rises. This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas. Instead of keeping livestock on the first floor, builders fill it with large rocks. As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat. They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses. So these houses are energy-saving.
House-building becomes a great challenge to building designers and energy engineers. They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology. And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy-saving houses.What did people begin to consider as electricity was no longer cheap?
| A．The climate of their areas. |
| B．The energy for their houses. |
| C．The fashions for their houses. |
| D．The building materials for their houses. |
People in some areas gain a source of heat by _________.
| A．keeping their livestock downstairs |
| B．protecting their livestock from the cold |
| C．sharing their houses only with their cows |
| D．living on the second floor with their livestock |
The underlined words “natural law” in the third paragraph refer to the fact that ________.
| A．heat raises the temperature in the houses |
| B．heat goes in the upward direction |
| C．heat goes up if temperature is raised |
| D．heat increases the temperature of rocks |
From the passage, we can conclude that __________.
| A．people will no longer consider building materials in the future |
| B．energy-saving buildings will become more popular in the future |
| C．almost all people will move into the houses heated by large rocks |
| D．energy engineers will devote themselves only to modern technology |
Nelson Mandela is respected and admired across the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races(种族), despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa’s white, racist government.
Mandela who won the nation’s first all-race elections in 1994, retired 1999. But he remains as popular as ever.
“He’s loved by all people, whether you’re while or black, whether you’re young or old,” said Ali Bacher, South Africa’s famous cricket (板球) athlete.
His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait(肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin and some business leaders hope to build a statue(雕像) for him --- the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy with US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in this times have achieved his level of admiration, said Tom Lodge, head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Sometimes it isn’t completely appreciated what a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career. He’s a very, very clever man.”
“Through the ages, the human race has had its icons --- men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”Nelson Mandela is loved by all the people of South Africa because ________.
| A．he’s as popular as Kennedy and Churchill |
| B．he has kept in prison for 27 years |
| C．he’s a great fighter against the racialism |
| D．he’s the first all-race elections president |
Which of the following statements about Mandela’s portrait is true?
| A．It helps develop business. |
| B．It appears on the Statue of Freedom. |
| C．It is used to raise money for the Statue of Freedom. |
| D．It is similar to that of John F. Kennedy or Winston Churchill. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means “________.”
| A．Mandela is as great as a god |
| B．We are proud to live in Mandela’s time |
| C．Mandela lives together with us all |
| D．We are proud to know Mandela. |
On a flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged rich white South African lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain(抱怨) about her seat. “What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the attendant.
“Can’t you see?” She said, “You have seated me next to a black person! I can’t possibly sit next to this kind of person. Find me another seat!”
“Please calm down, Madam,” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I will tell you what I will do---- I will go and check to see if we have any seats available(可利用的) in club or first class.”
The woman glanced at the angry black man beside her. A few minutes later, the stewardess returned with the good news, which she delivered to the lady.
“Madam, unfortunately, as I expected, economy is full. I have spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class.”
Before the lady had a chance to answer, the stewardess continued, “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, learning this condition, the captain felt that it was shocking that someone should be forced to sit next to such a tiring person.”
Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get you things, sir, I have your seat ready for you…”
At this point, obviously the surrounding passengers stood and gave an applause while the black man walked up to the front of the plane. Why did the lady complain about her seating?
| A．Because she didn’t want to sit in economy. |
| B．Because she would like a seat in first class. |
| C．Because she didn’t want to sit next to a black man. |
| D．Because she didn’t want to sit in club. |
What was the good news for the lady?
| A．The black man would have to change for another seat. |
| B．The captain understood her situation. |
| C．The cabin director was sparing no effort to help her. |
| D．They have one seat in first class. |
What was the other passengers’ attitude towards the lady?
| A．They liked her very much because she was a rich lady. |
| B．They disliked her because she looked down upon the black man. |
| C．They applauded for her when she moved to another seat. |
| D．They disliked her because she was not polite to the stewardess. |
What was unexpected to the lady?
| A．The plane was so full that day. |
| B．They found a seat for her in club. |
| C．The captain himself was concerned about her problem. |
| D．They found another seat for the black man. |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred if affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman.
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green. Sometimes a person can’t tell the differences between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man sees everything in shades of green--- a strange world in deed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions very small things called “cones”. These help us see in a bright day and tell the differences between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shapes(形状) but not color. Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects but a blue lamp will. In similar way human being also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us. The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．color and its surprising effects on drivers |
| B．women being luckier than man in that fewer of them are color blind |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness and how our eyes tell different colors and shapes |
According to the passage, with the help of “cones” we can _____.
| A．tell different colors | B．see in weak light |
| C．tell different shapes | D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color blind women. |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the following statements about color blind people is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing colors. |
| B．None of them can see deep red but all can tell blue from green. |
| C．None of them can tell blue from green but all can see deep red. |
| D．All of them are lucky enough to see everything in shades of green. |
When Pat Jones finished college, she decided to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could while she was young. Pat wanted to visit Latin America first, so she got a job as an English teacher in a school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish, so she was able to communicate with her students even when they didn’t know much English.
Once, A sentence she had read somewhere struck her mind: if you dream in a foreign language, you have really mastered it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and hoped that some day she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in English.
One day, one of her worst students came up and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He had gone to bed early and had slept badly.
“What does this have to do with your homework?” Pat asked.
“I dreamed all night, Miss Jones. And my dream was in English.”
“In English?” Pat was very surprised, since he was such a bad student. She was even secretly jealous (嫉妒的). Her dream was still not in Spanish. But she encouraged her young student, “Well, tell me about your dream.”
“All the people in my dream spoke English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English.”
“But that’s wonderful,” said Pat. “What did all the people say to you?”
“I am sorry, Miss Jones. That’s why I slept so badly. I didn’t understand a word they said. It was a nightmare (噩梦)”.Pat believed that ______.
| A．people can learn foreign languages in their dreams |
| B．she already dreamed in Spanish so she has mastered Spanish |
| C．one of her worst students had already mastered English |
| D．dreaming in a foreign language means a good command of it |
Pat’s student didn’t finish his home work because______.
| A．the home work was too difficult |
| B．the student dreamed in English |
| C．the student didn’t sleep well |
| D．the student didn’t know much English |
The writer wrote this story ______.
| A．to show us how to learn a foreign language |
| B．to show us how to teach a foreign language |
| C．to amuse us with an interesting story |
| D．to encourage us to travel to foreign countries |
From the passage we can infer that ______.
| A．in Bolivia, people speak Spanish |
| B．Pat’s student who dreamed in English was actually good at English |
| C．Pat has already learned much Spanish |
| D．in Latin America, the newspapers and magazines are in English |
It does not have to be January 1st to give yourself a chance to make the most out of your day. Every day is a new day and a fresh start to learn, grow, develop your strengths, free yourself from past regrets or hurts, and move forward older and wiser. Every day gives you a chance to reinvent (重新审视) yourself. It is never too late to change things that are not working in your life.
Each day is a new beginning and a piece of blank paper. How would you like to create your day? What would you like to paint on it? If you wake up in a negative mind, you are more likely to paint a dark picture throughout the day, and your picture will not show hope, happiness and joy.
If you take each day to think actively, and have a positive intention（意图） for how you would like to create your day, how would your life be different? What can daily positive intentions do for you? Every day you will give yourself the gift of an “attitude of gratitude(感恩)”.
Each day is a chance to look at things in a different way. You can experience each day in the beauty of the world－and the beauty of you who are in it! You find yourself changing from “I can’t” to “I can”. With a focus on positive intentions, you feel you are full of power and more like a “winner” than a “loser”.
You pay more attention to the present, and will be more likely to live fully in the present each moment of each day. After all, the past is a great place to visit, but you don’t want to live there! So how about starting each day taking a moment to think of a positive intention for the day?The first paragraph mainly tells us.
| A．We should make every day a new start. |
| B．January 1st is the most important day. |
| C．Learning is helpful in reinventing ourselves. |
| D．We needn’t change ourselves at all. |
If you have daily positive intentions, you will.
| A．get a positive result | B．have a busy life |
| C．get gifts from others | D．be a complete loser |
From the passage we can learn that.
| A．past regrets or hurts can make you older and wiser. |
| B．think actively and you will be a winner, not a loser. |
| C．the present is not where you should live for ever. |
| D．positive intentions for each day are of great help. |