Plans to expand wind energy into the most scenic parts of Germany are meeting increasing opposition across the country.
Anti-wind campaigners are angry that areas including the forests made famous by the tales of the Brothers Grimm are among the targets for new turbines (涡轮机). For the first time they have formed a national opposition group to thwart the expansion. They say the expansion will damage forests and tourism across the country.
Germany has started a massive expansion of renewable energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan. The government decided to reduce atomic plants and instead increase the opportunities for green power. As a result, solar farms, biogas plants and wind parks are booming. In 2013, 22% of Germany’s electricity was generated by renewable energy. Wind has played a major part in this change, making up half of the renewable energy in 2013, and the public has been generally supportive. To date, a majority of the 23,000 wind turbines in the country have been built in the flat northern and eastern parts of the country. But now the focus of expansion is on the areas of dark forest in the central and southern areas of Germany.
One such region is the Rheinhardswald in the northern part of the state of Hesse. This is the home of the magical tales of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and others, made famous in the books of the Brothers Grimm. This scenic place is a magnet, attracting hundreds and thousands of tourists from all over the world. But now there are also plans to build up to 200 turbines in this scenic place!
Ann-Kathrin Blankenberg is a PhD student and an opponent of the plans. “It is not because this is the area of Sleeping Beauty,” she says, “I want the green movement, I want green technology, I don’t want nuclear power--- but they should be made in the right way and not by destroying the forests.”
The campaigners argue that putting wind turbines in this area makes no sense. The wind speeds are low and the area is home to some extremely rare birds including the endangered black stork. Campaigners say building turbines here would be disastrous for the birds.The underlined word “thwart” can be replaced by_____.
| A．support | B．prevent |
| C．increased | D．promote |
Which of the following does NOT belong to green power? _____.
| A．Solar energy | B．Wind energy |
| C．Bio-energy | D．Atomic energy |
What percentage of Germany’s electricity was generated by wind in 2013? _____.
| A．11% | B．22% | C．50% | D．60% |
What can be inferred from the passage? _____.
| A．The author is against building more wind turbines. |
| B．The public prefers wind energy to nuclear energy. |
| C．Most Germans object to building wind turbines all over Germany. |
| D．The central and southern areas of Germany are rich in wind energy. |
What is the main idea of the passage? _____.
| A．Wind parks are increasing rapidly all over Germany. |
| B．The Rheinhardswald is famous for the tales of Sleeping Beauty. |
| C．Expanding wind energy into the land of Sleeping Beauty causes controversy. |
| D．Building wind turbines in the land of Sleeping Beauty area makes no sense. |
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists(神经学家) and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein．The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males．Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men．“This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study．In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends．
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic（超声波的） range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes．While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found．But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first．Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocal calls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females．The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males．This led to the female rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them．In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy.
“Our results imply Foxp2 as a component (成分)of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals.”From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.
| A．women always speak more words than men |
| B．men and male rats have low levels of language protein |
| C．women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2 |
| D．McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative |
The underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph probably means______.
| A．paid attention to |
| B．related to |
| C．put pressure on |
| D．counted on |
The researchers carried out the experiments on rats in order to _______.
| A．test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans |
| B．prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different |
| C．determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats |
| D．discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Tests on humans and rats |
| B．Why women are the talkative sex |
| C．Sex differences in Foxp2 protein |
| D．Foxp2 protein determines oral ability |
Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too．His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio．She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all．She never saw him again．And it’s all your fault.
I wish you’d walk out of my life forever．I don’t want anything to do with you．Look at all the pain you’ve caused．Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time．But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable．Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love．Stop hurting me, please.
Sincerely,
AnonymousWhat is author’s purpose in writing to alcohol?
| A．To introduce Mr．Alcohol to the readers |
| B．To describe the harm alcohol did to his family. |
| C．To show how much alcohol can hurt people. |
| D．To show the great fun alcohol can bring to people’s life. |
What did alcohol do to the author’s father?
| A．It made him crash into two other cars and took his life. |
| B．It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped. |
| C．It made him kill two other people when driving. |
| D．It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself. |
The underlined phrase “were intrigued by” is closest in meaning to ________．
| A．were familiar with |
| B．were interested in |
| C．were disappointed with |
| D．were satisfied with |
What is the tone of the article?
| A．Critical |
| B．Doubtful |
| C．Unconcerned |
| D．Humorous |
D
Mars（火星）appears to be flowing with small streams of salty water，at least in the summer，scientists reported Monday．“It suggests that．it would be possible for there to be life today on Mars，”NASA's science mission chief，John Grunsfeld，said at a news conference on September 28，2015．
The streams are about 12 to 15 feet wide and 300 feet or more long，scientists said．“What we're dealing with is wet soil．thin layers of wet soil，not standing water，”said Aifred McEwen of the University of Arizona at Tueson！the principal scientist for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's high-resolution imaging experiment．
Because liquid water is essential to life，the findings could have major implications for the possibility of Martian life．The researchers said further exploration is needed to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet．
The presence of liquid water could also make life easier for astronauts visiting or living on Mars．Water could be used for drinking and for creating oxygen and rocket fuel．NASA's goal is to send humans there in the 2030s．
The evidence of flowing water consists largely of dark，narrow streaks(条痕) on the surface that tend to appear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year．
Mars is extremely cold even in summer，and the streaks are in places where the temperature is as low as minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit．But salt can lower the freezing point of water and melt ice．
The source（源头）of the water is a mystery．Scientists noted it could be melting ice．It could be an underground aquifer，which is rock or sand that can hold water．It is possibly water vapor from the thin Martian atmosphere，Or it may be a combination Michael Meyer，lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program，said the only definitive way for now to determine whether there's life on Mars is to collect rocks and soil for analysis on Earth - something a U．S．lander set for lift-off in 2020 will do．What would be the best title for the text？
| A．Streams of Water Spotted on Mars |
| B．Astronauts will Land on Mars |
| C．NASA's Mars Exploration Program |
| D．A Breakthrough in the Exploration of Mars |
According to John Grunsfeld，there seems to be ________on Mars．
| A．salty water |
| B．standing water |
| C．rocket fuel |
| D．human beings |
Scientists are uncertain about the __________of the water on Mars．
| A．state | B．source | C．temperature | D．taste |
What matters to the existence of liquid water on Mars？
| A．The distance from the sun． |
| B．The favorable climate． |
| C．The gravity of the earth |
| D．The salt in it． |
C
We all know what a brain is．A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head．It controls our body's functions，movements，emotions and thoughts．But a brain can mean so much more．
A brain can also simply be a smart person，If a person is called brainy，she is smart and intelligent．If a family has many children but one of them is super smart，you could say，“She's the brains in the family．”And if you are the brains behind something you．are responsible for developing or organizing something．For example，Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft Brain trust is a group of experts who give advice．Word experts say the phrase“brain trust”became popular when Franklin D．Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932，Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the U．S．
These professors were called his“brain trust．”
These ways we use the word“brain”all make sense．But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand．For example，to understand the next brain expression，you first need to know the word“drain”．As a verb to drain means to，remove something by letting it flow away．So a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears．But，brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another．The brains are，sort of，draining out of the country．
However，if people are responsible for a great idea，you could say they brainstormed it．Here，brainstorm is not an act of weather．It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic．For example，business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products，and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems．
If people are brainwashed，it does not mean their brains are nice and clean．To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way．Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way．According to the text，if you're the CEO of Bai Du you can be called
| A．the brains behind Bai Du |
| B．Bai Du's brain trust |
| C．the brain drain of Bai Du |
| D．the organ of Bai Du |
Why did Roosevelt successfully win the election?
| A．Because he was smart at giving advice． |
| B．Because word experts were popular． |
| C．Because he got his brain trust． |
| D．Because he was the brains behind America． |
Which of the following expression is always used in a negative way?
| A．Brain trust |
| B．Brain drain |
| C．Brainstorm |
| D．Brainwash |
B
Giving Back Fair Way
The Westborough High School golf team had taken the official photos with the state prize，The other teams，disappointed，were on the bus heading home．And then Westborough instructor Greg Rota noticed something wrong on one of the score cards．
A 9 had been recorded as a 7．They were not the state prize winner；Wobum High had won．“None one have known，said Wobum's instructor，Bob Doran．For Rota，it wasn’t a difficult decision：”The prize wasn’t ours to take？
Coin Stars
“College students are lazy．but they also wan’t to help，”says University of Pennsyivania graduate．Dan Hork．So she made it easy，placing cups in rooms where students could leave their spare coins，and handing out cups to first-year students to keep in their rooms．Her“Change for Change”effort has collected$40，000 for charities，which were decided upon by students ．
Never Forgotten
A school in Massachusetts received a $ 9.5 million．check from Jacques LeBermuth．But it took officials several days of digging to discover his connection．to the school，Records showed the LeBermuth came from Belgium and studied in the school in the1920s．When his family fell on hard times，he was offered free room and board．LeBermuth became a trader，owned shares of AT&T and lived off the earnings until he died，at age 89What did Greg Rota probably do in the end？
| A．Returned the prize to the organizer． |
| B．Apologized to Wobum High School． |
| C．Took photos of the state prize． |
| D．Had a meeting with Doran |
Greg Rota's decision shows that he was__________．
| A．polite | B．honest | C．careful | D．friendly |
The underlined word“Change”in the second paragraph means__________．
| A．Idea | B．Decision | C．Cups | D．Coins |
Jacques LeBermuth gave the money to the school because__________．
| A．the school asked for it |
| B．he had no need for that much money |
| C．the school had helped him in the past |
| D．he wanted to be remembered by the students |