Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England in 1821, and moved to New York City when she was ten years old. One day she decided that she wanted to become a doctor. That was nearly impossible for a woman in the middle of the nineteenth century. After writing many letters asking for admission(录取) to medical schools, she was finally accepted by a doctor in Philadelphia. She was so determined that she taught in school and gave music lessons to get money for the cost of schooling.
In 1849, after graduation from medical school. she decided to further her education in Paris. She wanted to be a surgeon(外科医师) , but a serious eye problem forced her to give up the idea.
Upon returning to the United States, she found it difficult to start her own practice because she was a woman. By 1857 Elizabeth and her sister, also a doctor, along with another woman doctor, managed to open a new hospital, the first for women and children. Besides being the first woman physician and founding her own hospital , she also set up the first medical school for women.Why couldn’t Elizabeth Blackwell realize her dream of becoming a surgeon?
| A．She couldn’t get admitted to medical school |
| B．She decided to further her education in Paris |
| C．A serious eye problem stopped her |
| D．It was difficult for her to start a practice in the United States |
What main obstacle(障碍) almost destroyed Elizabeth’s chances for becoming for a doctor?
| A．She was a woman. |
| B．She wrote too many letters. |
| C．She couldn’t graduate from medical school. |
| D．She couldn’t set up her hospital. |
According to the passage, all of the following are “firsts” in the life of Elizabeth Blacekwell,except that she ______.
| A．became the first woman physician |
| B．was the first woman doctor |
| C．and several other women founded the first hospital for women and children |
| D．set up the first medical school for women |
Eilzabeth Blackwell spent most of her lift in _______.
| A．England | B．Paris | C．the United States | D．New York City |
William Henry Bragg was born at Westward，Cumberland，on July 2,1862.He was educated at Market Harboroagh Grammar School and afterwards at King William’s College，Isle of Man.Elected as a minor scholar of Trinity College，Cambridge，in 1881，he studied mathematics under the wellknown teacher，Dr E．J.Routh.He studied physics in the Cavendish Laboratory during a part of 1885，and at the end of that year he was elected to the Professorship of Mathematics and Physics in the University of Adelaide，South Australia.
His research interests dealt with a great many fields and he was skilled at picking up a subject，almost casually，making an important contribution，and then dropping it again.However，the work of Bragg and his son Lawrence in 1913～1914 founded a new branch of science of the greatest importance and significance，the analysis of the crystal structure by means of Xrays.It is true that the use of Xrays as an instrument for the systematic revelation of the way in which crystals are built was entirely due to the Braggs.This was recognized by the award of the Nobel Prize jointly to father and son in 1915.
He was an honorary Doctor of some sixteen universities，and a member of the leading foreign societies.Many other medals and awards were bestowed upon him among which may be mentioned the Rumford Medal in 1916 and the Copley Medal (its premier award) in 1930.
He was the author of many books，including Studies in Radioactivity，XRays and Crystal Structure，The World of Sound，Concerning the Nature of Things，Old Trades and New Knowledge，An Introduction to Crystal Analysis，and The Universe of Light.His favorite hobby was golf.After a life of astonishing productiveness，Sir William Bragg died on March 10,1942.William Henry Bragg was awarded the Nobel Prize because________.
| A．he succeeded in using Xrays to find out the crystal structure |
| B．he was the first to use Xrays to help to do his experiment |
| C．he determined to learn everything well and then gave them up |
| D．he was successful in his research work with the help of his son |
According to this passage，William Henry Bragg was interested in all the subjects EXCEPT________.
| A．mathematics | B．physics |
| C．medicine | D．sports |
Which one of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．Bragg became a professor in the University of Adelaide in 1885. |
| B．Bragg won the Rumford Medal and the Copley Medal in the same year. |
| C．Bragg gained great achievements in many fields，including society. |
| D．Bragg and Lawrence wrote the book XRays and Crystal Structure. |
Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
| A．William Henry Bragg’s Productive Life |
| B．William Henry Bragg：A Famous Author |
| C．Bragg and His Son—Two Great Scientists |
| D．Xrays and the Crystal Structure |
Electric cars are dirty.In fact，not only are they dirty，they might even be more dirty than their gasolinepowered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “zeroemissions vehicles”，but_people_in_California_seem_to_be_clueless_about_where_electricity_comes_from.Power plants mostly use fire to make it.Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells，we get our electricity from generators.Generators are fueled by something—usually coal，oil，but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants.There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热的) plants as well，but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words，those “zeroemissions” cars are likely coalburning cars.It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean.It is not.It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can’t see it，it’s not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle；a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it.But when you take that gas(or another fuel) and first use it to make electricity，you waste a nice part of that energy，mostly in the form of wasted heat—at the generator，through the transmission(传送) lines，etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles.But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far—so electric cars burn more fuel than gaspowered ones.If our electricity came mostly from nukes；or geothermal，or hydro，or solar，or wind，then an electric car truly would be clean.But for political，technical，and economic reasons，we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition，electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill.And finally，when cars are the polluters，the pollution is spread across all the roads.When it’s a power plant，though，all the junk is in one place.Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated，but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．People see the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zeroemissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People in California have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal，oil，etc. |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Electric cars are not clean at all. |
| B．Electric cars are better than gasolinepowered ones. |
| C．People cast doubts on electric cars’ batteries. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle. |
The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run ________.
| A．not less than 25 miles |
| B．as far as 50 miles |
| C．as far as 25 miles |
| D．not more than 25 miles |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication |
| B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
| C．zeroemissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasolinepowered cousins |
One of the world’s richest men has taken a close interest in one of man’s most basic functions：visiting the toilet.Bill Gates’s charitable organization，the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation，is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future，which，they hope，would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world.
So，what’s wrong with the traditional flush toilet？Firstly，it wastes a huge amount of potential drinking water.Secondly，they are more likely to cause pollution.This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world，where，according to United Nations estimates，unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations.Younger people are particularly at risk.Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1.5 million children a year.Finally，standard lavatories simply aren’t practical in remote areas.
The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water，electricity or aseptic tank.It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents.28 designs were displayed at the recent Reinvent the Toilet Fair，in Seattle，USA.Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves，another which converted human waste into charcoal，and yet another which used urine for flushing.
But the winner was a solarpowered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity. The team from the California Institute of Technology(CIT) picked up a prize of $100,000.
But clearly Bill Gates doesn’t feel he’s flushing money down the toilet.After the Seattle event he said，“We couldn’t be happier with the response we’ve gotten.” Gates has even pledged $370 million more to the future toilet project.They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years.Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?
| A．Because he wants to test people’s sense of creativity. |
| B．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people. |
| C．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion. |
| D．Because he can’t design this kind of things himself. |
Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?
| A．They waste too much water. |
| B．They might cause diseases. |
| C．They are not always practical. |
| D．They are too complicated to use. |
The underlined word “latrine” in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word “________” in the text.
| A．loo | B．sanitation |
| C．diarrhea | D．prototype |
The team from CIT won the prize because their design ________.
| A．can change human waste into electricity |
| B．can turn human waste into charcoal |
| C．can produce power with solar energy |
| D．can use urine for flushing |
Heading overseas on a business trip or just for pleasure any time soon？If so，have you thought about what you are going to do about communication？You may need to arrange cab service or get directions to an attraction，not to mention you want to stay in touch with the folks back home.
Hope you aren’t counting_on your personal cell phone.Industry experts estimate that most American cell phones won’t work overseas due to compatibility (兼容性) issues.And even if yours did work，the roaming (漫游) charges would be too high.
So what are your choices？You could rent a phone with a local number in the country you’re traveling to，but that wouldn’t do you much good if you’re constantly on the go.A more costeffective way would be to rent a satellite phone from a company like Global Cellular Rental.
The process is amazingly fast and simple.All you have to do is to log onto the company’s website，www.globalcellularrental.com，and place an order.The site will show you the countries you will be traveling to and ask you how long you will need the phone.The company then ships a cell phone directly to you anywhere in the world.The phone arrives with complete instructions.
The traveler also learns his overseas phone number well in advance，enabling him to inform all vital contacts of the number before he ever steps on a plane.
Roaming rates are usually 80 percent less than those charged by American service providers.Calls back to the US can be discounted 40 percent or more.The rentals cost is just $5 per day，and discount packages are available for longterm rentals of two months or more.
This cell phone solution is becoming so popular that Global Cellular Rental actually has relationships with hotel chains around the world to keep phones in stock for hotel guests.And for those whose journey really takes them off the beaten track，the company can also rent satellite phones to them.These phones work anywhere in the world as long as you are outside.The underlined words in Paragraph 2 mean “________”．
| A．throwing away | B．depending on |
| C．complaining about | D．figuring out |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．You must place an order on its website. |
| B．Discount packages need to be applied in advance. |
| C．The Global Cellular Rental is an American company. |
| D．The company doesn’t help those travelers to remote areas. |
Which shows the costeffective aspect of the satellite phone when an American user travels in Beijing?
| A．The roaming rates are 20% discount compared to American local service. |
| B．Calls back to the US cost 60% less compared to American local service. |
| C．The rental cost is $150 per month if you rent for three months. |
| D．Forty percent or more discount is available when he calls back to the US. |
How many ways of overseas communications by phone are mentioned in the passage?
| A．2. | B．3. |
| C．4. | D．5. |
Going green seems to be a fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days.Whether that is good or bad，we can’t really say，but for the two of us，going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22,2011，we decided to go green every single day for an entire year.This meant doing 365 different green things，and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond the easy things.Rather than recycle and reduce our energy，we had to think of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year，Our Green Year started.My wife and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment.We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year，we completely changed our lifestyles.We now shop at organic(有机的) stores.We consume less meat，choosing green food.We have greatly reduced our buying we don’t need.We have given away half of what we owned through websites.Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice，with no chemical cleaners.We make our own butter，enjoying the smell of homemade fresh bread.In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year.We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others.We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet. (2013·辽宁，B)What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green |
| B．Protecting the Planet |
| C．Keeping OpenMinded |
| D．Celebrating Our Green Year |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignored others’ ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their homemade food. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green project. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |