Look, this is the first plane in the world to be created using the new technology of “3D printing”. The airplane was built using only a computer—but it can fly at a speed of 100mph and has a two-meter wingspan.
It was produced using a special nylon laser printer that builds up something layer-by-layer. The parts were made separately and attached using a “snap fit” technique so the aircraft could be put together without tools in minutes.
No fasteners at all were used in the manufacture of the plane. Unmanned and electrically powered, the plane can travel in near silence and is also equipped with a small autopilot system. The special production process used is known as “laser sintering(激光烧结)”and allows the designers to create shapes and structures that would normally include costly manufacturing techniques. This technology allows a highly-tailored aircraft to be developed from your own design to first flight in days, while using traditional materials and techniques would take months. And because no tooling is required for manufacture, major changes to the shape and scale of the aircraft can be made with no extra cost.
Professor Jim Scanlon, who led the team, said, “The process allows the design team to revisit historical techniques and ideas that would have been too expensive using traditional manufacturing.” He added, “This form of structure is very firm and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured traditionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be connected or fastened at great expense.”
The new printed plane is known as the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft—or SULSA for short—and is part of a wider project using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. The University of Southampton has been at the leading position of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development since the early 1990s.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Revolutionary Breakthrough of 3D Printer
Scientists Create Aircraft with High Speed
C. New Designed Airplane with New Techniques.
D. The World’s first 3-D printed Airplane, SULSAHow could the plane work while flying?
| A．It should be controlled by an autopilot system. |
| B．It should be controlled by “laser sintering”. |
| C．A pilot controls it using a remote control. |
| D．A pilot with high techniques controlled it. |
This kind of plane has the following advantages EXCEPT ______.
| A．it produces little noise while flying |
| B．it is manufactured in quite a short time |
| C．it only requires simple and cheap tools |
| D．it needn’t extra cost if changes are made |
Professor Jim Scanlon believes they can _____ with their techniques.
| A．produce firmer and lighter real planes easily |
| B．connect and fasten tailor parts for real planes |
| C．copy earlier planes to study their techniques |
| D．find differences by studying the traditional ones |
Electric ears are dirty.In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about "zero-emissions 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 plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those "zero-emissions" cars are likely coal-burning 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 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 bum more fuel than gas-powered 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 "clueless" mean in paragraph 2?
| A．People are seeing the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People there have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning |
coal, oil,etc. What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Electric cars are not clean at all |
| B．Electric cars are better than gasoline-powered ones. |
| C．People cast doubts on electric cars' batteries. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to powera vehicle. |
The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our ear run
| A．not less than 25 miles | B．more than 25 miles |
| C．no more than 25 miles | D．not more than 25 miles |
According to the passage, electric cars.
| A．do not burn fuel and more environmentally-friendly |
| B．are toxic because it is difficult for nature to clean it up when their batteries are buried in one spot. |
| C．are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated |
| D．are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill |
It can be inferred from the passage 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．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered |
cousins
After our early morning wake-up, we are still a couple of
hours away from the overlooks.It is pitch black.I can feel the
heavy humid fog left behind my last night's rain. This is why
the tour memo listed "flashlight". Unfortunately; the majority
of our hiking party of nine must have missed the memo, so we
have only four flashlights between us.
An hoar later,we are on the trail. It is dark, foggy, wet and the rocks are alippery.We alternate places between the flashlights "haves" and "have-nots". As we march, the only voices heard are from the "haves": "Step up, step down, watch out for the rock on your left."
We reach Intipunku with only 15 minutes to spare. The view at sunrise is not what we were told in the travel brochures. Three feet in front of our faces is a white substance called "fog".
As we walk towards the Machu Picchu ruins, my anticipation is mounting. When will the fog lift? Slowly, as if someone is cranking up a curtain, Huayna Picchu begins to appear,overlooking Machu Picchu. First there are fleeting glimpses, and then finally, there is, in its full splendor.
When I envisioned going to Machu Picchu, I always thought of mysterious ruins and the famous postcard picture looking toward Huayna Picchu. But there is more to this man-made / natural wonder of the World. It is the adventure of getting there. I knew I wanted to experience the feel of the Inca culture and the energy of this sacred valley, I also knew I didn't want to take the train, but needed to hike. Depending on your starting point,the Inca Trail is 25 to 33miles of semi-arid desert, breathless mountain passes and stunning tropical cloud forest. Our hike took us four nights and 25 miles to finish.
Our local guide MaurO keeps telling us "no worries, the hike is 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical. "I am not convinced that the physical percentage is correct, but I definitely become more and more excited as we are now getting closer to Machu Picchu.By getting myself into good shape, running 20 miles and hiking a 500-foot-high hill five to seven times per week before I left for Peru, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the hike and not worry much about aching muscles and lungs. About flashlights, which of the following statements is true?
| A．The local guide had asked them to take flashlights for the hike. |
| B．They had taken enough flashlights for the hike. |
| C．Before they got to Intipunku, they depended a lot on their flashlights. |
| D．They used flashlights all the time. |
Put the following events into the right order.
a. They reached Intipunku,
b. They read the travel brochures.
c. They walked on the trail in the dark.
d. They advanced to get closer to Maehu Picchu.
e. They enjoyed the splendor of Huayna Picchu.
| A．ebade | B．bacde | C．abced | D．bcaed |
What does the underlined word "anticipation" in Paragraph Four mean?
| A．expectation | B．excitement | C．disappointment | D．enthusiasm |
What can NOT be inferred from the text?
| A．The writer made good preparation for the tour. |
| B．The Inca Trail took them four nights. |
| C．Machu Picchu is in the country of Peru. |
| D．They reached Intipunku ahead of time. |
According to the writer, what attracted him most in the tour?
| A．Mysterious ruins. | B．The famous post-card picture. |
| C．The hiking. | D．The Inca culture. |
There is a saying in France that states, "The government could fall, the Louvre （卢浮宫）could be broken into or creatures from other planets could land on earth, but if any of these things happened during the Tour de France, no one would notice．" The Tour de France is the most famous cycling race in the world．It begins in July and runs for three weeks．Cyclists who race in the Tour de France ride in six legs or stages of the race, and they have between one to four days of rest between each leg of the race．The rider who completes all six legs of the race in the shortest overall time wins．
The Tour de France began as a publicity stunt（惊人的表演） for the French sports newspaper, L’Auto．Hcnri Desgranges, who worked for L’Auto, came up with the idea for "the greatest bike race in the world, "and on July 1,1903, the first Tour de France began．Sixty cyclists began that first leg of the race which started in front of the Alarm Clock Cafe just outside of Paris．This first leg took them 467 kilometers to Lyon．The first Tour de France received an astonishing 2,000 francs．Maurice Garin, the most popular cyclist in France at that time, won the first Tour de France．It took him 94 hours and 33 minutes to ride all 2,428 kilometers of the race．This time was three hours faster than the second -place rider．Over the weeks during which the race was run, the idea of the Tour de France slowly caught the imagination of the people of France．The race has been run every year since that time, except during the years of World War I and World War Ⅱ．
The Tour de France has developed several special honors for which racers compete．Above all, the highest honor is the " yellow jersey"．Mr．Desgranges introduced the yellow jersey in 1919 to show the leading racer each rider's total time in order to find the racer with the lowest time．That racer wears the yellow jersey during the day's race．Other honors include the "green jersey " which is given to the rider who sprints the best by riding the fastest over short distances, and the "polka dot jersey" for the best rider in the mountains along the route．Who wins the Tour de France?
| A．The first cyclist to finish the race． |
| B．The cyclist with the most points． |
| C．The cyclist with the polka dot jersey． |
| D．The cyclist with the shortest overall time． |
Henri Desgranges was.
| A．a photographer | B．a famous cyclist |
| C．the man who first won the Tour de France | |
| D．the man who first thought of the Tour de France |
How many stages make up the Tour de France?
| A．One． | B．Four． | C．Six． | D．Ten |
The yellow jersey is worn by____.
| A．the fastest daily cyclist | B．the fastest overall cyclist |
| C．the youngest cyclist | D．the champion from the previous year |
A new law has recently been announced which forbids people to disturb, annoy, harm, kill or interfere with any bats which choose to live in their houses. Anyone who disturbs a bat on its nest ,or handles one without a license will be fined ￡1,000.
There are some people who like bats. The late Mrs. Ian Fleming was one. She would crawl for miles to see them in caves or hanging from trees. Similarly, there are many people who do not like bats much but are not particularly troubled by them. The chance of a bat resting in their attics（阁楼） or spare bedroom curtains may seem far away from them. But there are others who do not fall into either of these categories and Mr. Auberon Waugh is one. Underneath his house are eight large cellars(地下室) which for some reason bats have chosen to claim for themselves. He finds it extremely disagreeable to have to fight his way through a colony of them every time he wants a bottle of wine. And as a wine-lover he gets a particular pleasure from the ownership of wine. He has certain bottles in his cellar which he thinks are too good to serve to anyone he knows, but he likes to go down and enjoy looking at them occasionally. The bats entirely destroy this pleasure.
Until the recent law, he could keep the bat problem within manageable proportions by sending his children down on a bat hunt every three months armed with tennis rackets. They usually managed to kill one or two and discouraged the rest from settling. But now, Mr. Waugh fears that the bats will take over the house. To solve the problem he inquired what course of action he could take and was told by Dr Robert Stebbings of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, “I am sure that no one will mind if you pick up a bat and take it outside and hang it on a tree or the outside of the house.” The trouble with this, as Mr. Waugh explains, is that he would be fined a ￡1,000 if he had not already applied to the Nature Conservancy Council for a license to handle bats. And there is no certainty that he would automatically be granted（agreed to give）one. Mr. Waugh thinks that bats .
| A．should all be destroyed | B．interfere with his wine |
| C．should be kept under control | D．prevent him owning wine |
Because he is a wine-lover, M. Waugh .
| A．stores only good wines | B．k eeps certain good wine |
C．refuses t o drink good wines |
D．only wants to own the best wines |
Success in removing bats from your home depends on .
| A．applying for a license from the Nature Conservancy Council |
| B．seeking help from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology |
| C．taking the course of action recommended by Dr Stebbings |
| D．the granting of a Nature Conservancy Council license |
Some people who dislike bats .
| A．think they are unlikely to be bothered by them |
| B．run the risk of finding them in their attics |
| C．think it strange they should roost（栖息） in the curtains |
| D．do not mind them hanging in trees |
As you dash outdoors in the middle of winter, you might make it halfway down the block before realizing that your ears are freezing because you forgot your hat.
Now, scientists have shown that even though you’ve had an apparent memory lapse（丧失）, your brain never forgot what you should have done.
Memory works mainly by association. For example, as you try to remember where you left your keys, you might recall you last had them in the living room, which reminds you that there was an ad for soap on television, which reminds you that you need soap, and so on. And then, as you’re heading out of the door to buy soap, you remember that your keys are on the kitchen counter. Your brain knew where the keys were all along. It just took a round-about way to get there.
Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are studying associative memory in monkeys to figure out just how this complicated process works.
First, the researchers trained a group of monkeys to remember arbitrary（任意的） pairs of symbols. The researchers showed the monkeys one symbol（cold weather） and then gave them the choice of two other symbols, one of which （a hat） would be associated with the first. A correct choice would earn them a sip of their favorite juice.
Most of the monkeys performed the test perfectly, but one kept making mistakes.
“We wondered what happened in the brain when the monkey made the wrong choice, although it apparently learned the right pairing of symbols,” said study leader Thomas Albright.
Albright and his team observed signals from the nerve cells in the monkey’s inferior temporal cortex （ITC）, an area of its brain used 
for visual pattern recognition and for storing this type of memory.
As the monkey was deciding which symbol to choose, about a quarter of the activity in the ITC was due to the choice behavior.
Meanwhile, more than half the activity was in a different group of nerve cells, which scientists believe represent the monkey’s memory of the correct symbol pairing, and surprisingly, these
cells continued to work well even when the monkey chose the wrong symbol.
“In this sense, the cells ‘knew’ more than the monkeys let on in their behavior,” Albright said. “Thus, behavior may vary, but knowledge endures.”What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Your brain remembers what you forget. |
| B．Activity is a round-about way to memory. |
| C．Monkeys have better memory than us. |
| D．Your brain may forget something, but not always. |
The example of the keys and soap is given to explain the relationship between _______.
| A．memory and our daily life | B．memory and television ads |
| C．memory and association | D．memory lapse and human brain |
The researchers believe the monkey that made the wrong choice ________.
| A．had some trouble with its nerve system | B．failed to see the objects well |
| C．had the worst memory | D．also knew the correct answer |
The underlined word “endures” may be best replaced by __________.
| A．increases | B．remains | C．disappears | D．improves |