CORVALIJS. Ore.-- Engineers at Oregon Suite University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial (微生物的)fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater，opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell extra electricity.
The new technology ,developed at OSU, can now produce 10 to 50 more times the electricity, per volume, than most oilier approaches using microbial fuel cells,and 100 times more electricity than some.
Researchers say this could eventually change the way that wastewater is treated all over the world, replacing the widely used “activated sludge (泥浆) ” process that has been in use for almost a century. The new approach would produce significant amounts of electricity while effectively cleaning the wastewater,
“If this technology works on a commercial scale the way we believe it will ,the treatment of wastewater could be a huge energy producer, not a huge energy cost.” said Hong Liu ，an associate professor in the OSU Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering. “This could have an impact around the world, save a great deal of money, provide better water treatment and promote energy sustainability.”
The biodegradable (能降解的）characteristics of wastewater, if developed to their full potential, could theoretically provide many times the energy that is now being used to process them, with no additional greenhouse emissions.
OSU researchers reported several years ago on the promise of this technology, but at that time the systems in use produced far less electrical power. With new concepts, the technology can now produce more than two kilowatts per cubic meter of liquid reactor volume.
The new system also works better than an alternative approach to creating electricity from wastewater, based on anacrobic (臭氧的）digestion that produces methane (甲烷）.It treats the wastewater more effectively, and doesn’t have any of the environmental drawbacks of that technology, such as production of possible release of methane, a significant greenhouse gas.Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．The treatment of wastewater is a huge energy cost. |
| B．Wastewater is being treated differently over the world. |
| C．Waste treatment plants have found a new way to power themselves. |
| D．Microbial fuel cells will produce more electricity from wastewater. |
What can we learn about the new technology from the passage?
| A．It can produce 100 times more electricity than any approach used today. |
| B．Through it more electricity can be created and water can be cleaned better. |
| C．It has already changed the way that wastewater is treated all over the world |
| D．It has opened the door to put microbial fuel cells to productive use. |
What attitude does Professor Liu hold towards the new technology?
A. Supportive. B. Critical. C Unconcerned. D. Curious.According to the last paragraph, why does the new system work better than the alternative approach?
| A．Because it is co-friendly and treats wastewater more effectively. |
| B．Because it can make full use of anaerobic digestion producing methane. |
| C．Because it may produce less methane than the alternative approach. |
| D．Because it can produce 10 times the energy than the alternative approach. |
“Long time no see” is a very interesting sentence. When I first read this sentence from an American friend’s email, I laughed. I thought it was a perfect example of Chinglish.
Obviously, it is a word-by-word literal translation of the Chinese greetings with a ruled English grammar and structure! Later on, my friend told me that it is a standard American greeting. I was too thrilled to believe her. Her words could not convince me at all. So I did a research on google.com. To my surprise, there are over 60 thousand web pages containing “Long time no see.” This sentence has been widely used in emails, letters, newspapers, movies, books, or any other possible places. Though it is sort of informal, it is part of the language that Americans use daily. Ironically, if you type this phrase in Microsoft Word, the software will tell you that the grammar needs to be corrected.
Nobody knows the origin of this Chinglish sentence. Some people believe that it came from Charlie Chan’s movies. In the 1930s, Hollywood moviemakers successfully created a world wide famous Chinese detective named “Charlie Chan” on wide screens. Detective Chan likes to teach Americans some Chinese wisdom by quoting Confucius. “Long time no see” was his trademark. Soon after Charlie Chan, “Long time no see” became a popular phrase in the real world with thanks to the popularity of these movies.
Some scholars refer to America as a huge pot of stew. All kinds of culture are mixed in the stew together, and they change the color and taste of each other. American Chinese, though a minority ethnic(少数民族的成员) group in the United States, is also contributing some changes to the stew! Language is usually the first thing to be influenced in the mixed stew.
You can have some other examples than adoptions from Chinese, such as pizza from Italian, susi from Japanese, and déjà vu from French etc. There is a long list! Americans do not just simply borrow something from others. They will modify it and make it their own, so you would not be surprised to find a tofu and peanut butter hamburger in a restaurant, or to buy a bottle of iced Chinese green tea with honey in a grocery store. Since Americans appreciate Chinese culture more and more nowadays, I believe more Chinese words will become American English in the future. In this way the American stew keeps adding richness and flavor.The writer himself felt surprised at ______.
| A．the Chinglish expression “Long time no see” |
| B．“Long time no see” used as standard American English |
| C．so many literal translation of the expressions used in America |
| D．finding out Americans use the expression every day |
The word “stew” in the 4th paragraph probably means ______.
| A．mixture literature | B．Confucius’ words |
| C．a kind of cooked dish | D．American changing cultures |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that ______.
| A．detectives translate the phrase “Long time no see” |
| B．Hollywood made “Long time no see”popular |
| C．the huge pot of stew greatly affects all kinds of languages |
| D．cultures can be changed in the huge pot of stew |
The main idea of the passage is that ______.
| A．some Chinese expressions are introduced into English |
| B．you’ll not be surprised at a tofu in a restaurant in America |
| C．some American expressions can be used in China |
| D．American English keep being enriched from different cultures |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?
| A．Informal language sometimes doesn’t go with grammar and structure. |
| B．Languages are always ruled by grammar and structure. |
| C．Long time no see” has been used in at least four media mentioned in the passage. |
| D．There are four languages mentioned to be adopted in the American stew. |
While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an unbelievable sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of courage.
The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to compete. It would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is important.
I watched the man dive off the block and knew right away that something was wrong. I’m not an expert swimmer, but I can tell a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold – his arms were waving in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to laugh. Clearly this man was not a medal competitor.
I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man who was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was worn out.
But in those few awful strokes, the crowd had changed.
No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and shout “Come on, you can do it!” and he did.
A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.
Just a short year ago, he had never even swum, let alone race. His country had been invited to Sydney.
In a competition where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so proudly in front of their competitors, it is nice to watch an underdog.From the passage we can learn that the young man .
| A．made his turn to start back pitifully | B．was skillful in freestyle in the game |
| C．swam faster than the average swimmer | D．was not capable enough to win the medal |
The crowd changed their attitudes because .
| A．they felt sorry for the young man | B．they were moved by the young man’s courage |
| C．they wanted to show their sympathy | D．they meant to please the young man |
According to the passage, “it is nice to watch an underdog” probably means .
| A．it’s amazing to watch an ordinary man challenging himself |
| B．it’s amusing to watch a man with awful swimming skills |
| C．it’s cheerful for athletes to act proudly before their competitors |
| D．it’s brave enough for some athletes to remove the silver medals |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The event started with three men, two of whom were disqualified later. |
| B．The crowd started to laugh at the athlete’s arms waving in an attempt at freestyle. |
| C．The athlete, as well as the author, is an expert swimmer. |
| D．The swimming event is a show of courage rather than a fierce competition. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Compete for Gold! | B．Try again! |
| C．Break a Record! | D．Go for it! |
A jobless man applied for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.
“You are employed,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start. ”The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an e-mail. ”
“I’m sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don’t have an e-mail, that means you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job. ”
The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only ten dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home happily with 60 dollars.
The man realized that he can survive in this way, and started to go every day earlier, and return late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.
He started to plan his family’s future and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker and chose a protection plan.
When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his e-mail. The man replied, “I don’t have an e-mail. ”
The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an e-mail, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”Why can’t the man have the job at Microsoft?
| A．Because he was lazy. | B．Because he didn’t pass the test. |
| C．Because he didn’t have an e-mail. | D．Because he didn’t have a computer. |
The underlined word “triple” can be replaced by ______.
| A．become large | B．become 3 times |
| C．increase quickly | D．decrease quickly |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The man is one of the biggest food retailers in the world. |
| B．The man didn’t give up though he failed the interview. |
| C．He started his career by selling tomatoes in the supermarket. |
| D．Those who have e-mails can work at Microsoft. |
The man can be described as _______.
| A．helpful and considerate | B．positive and generous |
| C．smart and hardworking | D．stubborn and unselfish |
Which proverb can best describe the story?
| A．Misfortune may be an actual blessing. | B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．Accidents will happen. | D．No pains, no gains. |
All over the world people enjoy sports. Sports help to keep people healthy, happy and help them to live longer．
Sports change with the season． People play different games in winter and summer．
Games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities． The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life; they use them in their sports, too．
Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them． Football, for example, has spread around the world． Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers．
Some sports or games go back to thousands of years, like running or jumping． Chinese boxing, for example, has a very long history． But basketball and volleyball are rather new． Neither one is a hundred years old yet． People are inventing new sports or games all the time．
People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends． Sports help to train a person’s character(性格)． One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace(体面)According to this passage we know that _____．
| A．people began to play about one hundred years ago |
| B．about 100 years ago people ran or jumped when they played |
| C．basketball has a longer history than volleyball |
| D．not all the games have a long history |
The writer didn’t tell us in this passage that _____．
| A．basketball was invented in America |
| B．sports change with the season |
| C．games and sports often grow out of people’s work and everyday activities |
| D．football is played all over the world |
People all over the world enjoy sports because _____．
| A．sports are interesting |
| B．sports help to keep people healthy , happy and to live longer |
| C．sports help to train one’s character |
| D．all of the above |
From this passage we can see that_____．
| A．sports and games are unimportant things that people do |
| B．sports and games should be treated(对待)only as amusement(娱乐活动) |
| C．sports and games are only useful to the old |
| D．sports and games can help people understand each other. |
Dr. Martinez put on a false smile (假笑) as she entered Janet Eslin’s hospital room. She couldn’t let Janet see that she was worried. Yet she had been searching for the cause of Janet’s illness and hadn’t found a clue（线索）.
“How are you feeling today?” Dr. Martinez asked her patient. Janet replied that she felt about the same----terribly uncomfortable.
The doctor tried to get Janet’s mind off her health by talking about Janet’s vacation at Lake Winnow. But Dr. Martinez couldn’t keep her own mind on the conversation. She kept wondering what could be wrong with her patient.
Suddenly Janet’s words interrupted Dr. Martinez’s thoughts: “… the vacation was really perfect, except for the food. The last meal I ate was especially terrible.”
Dr. Martinez quickly snapped back into the conversation, “Janet, when did you eat that meal?” Janet said that it had been the day before yesterday.
“I think we’ve discovered your problem,” Dr. Martinez said as she left. Several hours later, Dr. Martinez was back with the answer. “Janet, the food you ate made you ill. You’re suffering from food poisoning. Now that we know what’s wrong, we can take care of your problem.”What made Janet sick?
| A．an insect bite | B．bad food |
| C．bad water | D．cold weather |
What is the main idea of the story?
A doctor discovers what made Janet sick.
Dr. Martinez becomes ill.
Janet goes on vacation.
A doctor talks to Janet in the hospital.Where did Janet go on her vacation?
A. She took a trip to the city.
B. She went camping in the mountains.
C. She spent a week at the seashore.
She took a trip to a lake.What does the underlined word “interrupted” mean?
| A．talked about |
| B．told over again |
| C．broke in while someone was talking |
| D．never stopped listening to the other person |