Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources, as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills(风车) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.
For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(碾碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radios. However, by the 1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.
During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher cost. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.From the text we know that windmills________.
A.were invented by European armies |
B.have a history of more than 2,800 years |
C.used to supply power to radio in remote areas |
D.have rarely been used since electricity was discovered |
What was a new use for wind power in the late 19th century?
A.Sailing a boat. |
B.Producing electricity. |
C.Grinding wheat into flour. |
D.Pumping water from underground. |
One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that_______.
A.wind power is cleaner |
B.it is one of the oldest power sources. |
C.it was cheaper to create energy from wind |
D.the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs |
What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
A.The advantages of wind power. |
B.The design of wind power plants. |
C.The worldwide movement to save energy. |
D.The global trend towards producing power from wind. |
When a friend is sad about a tragedy(悲剧),it’s hard to know how to comfort(安慰) him/ her. But the worst thing you can do is say nothing. It could mean that you don’t care. You don’t have to say much.. A single supportive phrase doesn’t require absolutely perfect words to break the ice. Here are some conversation starters when life difficult situations have your tongue tied.
1. A friend loses his baby.
Don’t say: “Don’t worry. You’re so young. You’ll have another baby.” Do say: “ I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you are going through, but if you want to talk about it, call me anytime.”
2. A guy deserts(抛弃)your friend.
Don’t say: “I never liked that rat bastard (坏蛋) anyway!” ( If the couple winds up reconciling (和解), you could end up losing your friend.) Do say: “Breaking up is always hard to deal with, but I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
3. A friend has a death in the family.
Don’t say: “It’s God’s will.” or “I know exactly how you feel.” Do say: “I’m sorry about your loss. What can I do to help?”
4. A friend loses a job suddenly.
Don’t say: “Work is always boring. Those bosses didn’t suit you!” Do say: “I’m sorry for that, but I know there’s an even better job waiting for you there. Let’s think about possibilities.”
5. Someone’s pet dies.
Don’t say: “Gee! It was only a cat!” or “My roommate doesn’t like her dog and she is getting rid of her dog. Do you want it?” Do say: “I’m sorry, she was such a great cat. How long did you have it?”Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined part “have your tongue tied”?
A.make your tongue shut | B.tie your tongue in order not to say. |
C.have no suitable words to say. | D.say what you want freely. |
As a whole, what’s the suitable way to comfort your friend troubled with a tragedy?
A.To show your sorrow and offer your help. |
B.To try to make the tragedy less serious. |
C.To tell your friend not to think about it any more. |
D.To do your best to make him/her cheerful again. |
Though your friend is deserted, you’d better not say dirty words about her/ his friend because _______________________ .
A.they might get along well again and you might be deserted |
B.your friend might not like you to say that against her / his friend |
C.it may be a sign that you don’t care for your friend |
D.your friend might hate you in the future |
Which of the following might be suitable words when your friend’s dog dies?
A.Don’t worry too much. I’ll give you a good one. |
B.I’m sorry to hear that. It was such a good dog. |
C.I’ m sorry you lost your dog. But it was at its ripe age. |
D.You must be sad about it. That’s enough. |
When you are learning English, you find it not clever to put an English sentence, word for word, into your own language. Take the sentence “How do you do?” as an example. If you look up each word in the dictionary, one at a time, what is your translation? It must be a wrong sentence in your own language.
Languages do not just have different sounds, they are different in many ways. It’s important to master(掌握) the rules for word order in the study of English, too. If the speaker puts words in a wrong order, the listener can’t understand the speaker’s sentence easily. Sometimes when the order of words in an English sentence is changed, the meaning of the sentence changes, But sometimes the order is changed, the meaning of the sentence doesn’t change. Let’s see the difference between the two pairs of sentences.
“She only likes apples.” “Only she likes apples.”
“I have seen the film already.”“I have already seen the film.”
When you are learning English, you must do your best to get the spirit(精神实质) of the language and use it as the English speaker does. From the passage we know that _______when we are learning English.
A.we shouldn’t put every word into our own language |
B.we should look up every word in the dictionary |
C.we need to put every word into our own language |
D.we must read word by word |
The writer thinks it is _______ in learning English.
A.difficult to understand different sounds |
B.necessary to remember the word order |
C.important to master the rules in different ways |
D.easy to master the rules for word order |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
A.the meaning of an English sentence always changes with the order of the words |
B.The order of words can never change the meaning of an English sentence |
C.sometimes different order of words has a different meaning |
D.if the order of words is different, the meaning of the sentence must be different |
“She only likes apples.” ________.
A.is the same as “Only she likes apples.” |
B.is different from “Only she likes apples.” |
C.means “She likes fruit except apples.” |
D.means “She doesn’t like apples.” |
A friend of mine named Paul received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin (顽童)was walking around the shining car. "Is this your car, Paul?" he asked.
Paul answered, "Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything. Boy, I wish..."He hesitated (犹豫).
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said surprised Paul greatly.
"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in surprise, then he said again; "Would you like to take a ride in my car?" "Oh, yes, I'd love that." After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, "Paul, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the boy wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.
He ran up to the steps. Then in a short while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled ( 残疾 ) brother. He sat him down on the step and pointed to the car.
"There he is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm going to give you one just like it. Then you can see for yourself all the nice things in the Christmas window that I've been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and three of them began an unforgettable holiday ride.The street urchin was very surprised when______________ .
A.Paul received an expensive car | B.Paul told him about the car |
C.he saw the shining car | D.he was walking around the car |
The urchin asked Paul to stop his car in front of his house______________ .
A.to show his neighbours the big car | B.to show he had a rich friend |
C.to let his brother ride in the car | D.to tell his brother about his wish |
We can infer from the story that______________.
A.Paul couldn't understand the urchin |
B.the urchin had a deep love for his brother |
C.the urchin wished to have a rich brother |
D.the urchin's wish came true in the end |
The best title of the story is__________ .
A.A Christmas Present | B.A Street Urchin |
C.A Brother Like That | D.An Unforgettable Holiday Ride |
Welcome to our school. You can do a lot of things here. Come and join us.
Timetable | |
Sunday8:30---11:30 Personal Inventions You can see many inventions by the students; you may also bring your own inventions. |
Monday19:00---21:00 Space and Man Dr. Thomas West If you want to know more about the universe. |
Wednesday 19:30---21:00 Modern Medicine Mrs. Lucy Green Would you like to know medical science? |
Friday18:30---21:00 Computer Science Mr. Harry Morison from Harvard University Learn to use Windows XP. |
You may have a chance to introduce your inventions on ___.
A.Sunday | B.Monday | C.Wednesday | D.Friday |
The person who teaches Computer Science is from______.
A.Canada | B.Australia | C.New Zealand | D.America |
You may learn something about a disease called TB from ___.
A.Dr. West | B.Mr. Morison | C.Mrs. Green | D.Mr. Thomas |
If you want to learn something about space, you can go to the class from______.
A.8:30 to 11:30 on Sunday | B.19:00 to 21:00 on Monday |
C.19:30 to 21:00 on Wednesday | D.18:30 to 21:00 on Friday |
Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study used a computer model to predict how just three grams less a day would affect heart disease in the United States.
The result:10% fewer heart attacks. 8% fewer strokes. 4% fewer deaths. 11% fewer new cases of heart disease. And 240 billion dollars in health care savings.
Researchers found it could prevent 10,000 heart attacks and 9。200 deaths every year.
The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California San Francisco was the lead author. She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams, or one-half teaspoon,less salt per day. The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia Uni versity.
Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligrams of sodium(钠),which is how foods may list their salt content.
The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressures have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative. The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critics call it government interference.
Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute shows that the calorie information on the menu can influence what parents order for their children.We can tell from the passage that now heart attacks occur in the US every year.
A.240,000 | B.900,000 | C.100,000 | D.92,000 |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
A.all the heart diseases result from eating too much salt |
B.the American Heart Association suggests less than 3 grams of salt a day for everyone |
C.Americans ate no more than 5 grams of salt per day in the 1970s |
D.the less salt one eats, the healthier he will be |
The last paragraph mainly tells us .
A.Bloomberg has made some other efforts to improve people’s health |
B.Bloomberg is very successful in his career |
C.parents must pay great attention to calorie information |
D.a new study is being done about calorie information |