Could cities that float (漂浮) on the sea solve the problems caused by floods and provide food for the world?
Some scientists think so. The idea is already being tested and they believe that floating citied will provide more homes for a growing population, without having to use land needed to grow food. And they believe floating areas will allow more food to be grown, so that no one in the world is hungry.
In some places, cities that float on the sea are already being planned, A company in the Netherlands called DeltaSync thinks that sea cities will save the world, with more than one in ten people living in them.
They say sea cities solve many of the problems the world faces in the 21st century, like not having enough land , more and more people needing homes, fossil fuels (矿物燃料) running low and the increasingly serious problems caused by floods.
DeltaSync says building in the desert (沙漠) is not possible because there is no enough water and that developing ways for people to live in space is still too expensive. So they believe the answer is our oceans, which cover over two thirds of the Earth’s surface. Their plans for floating areas include using algae (海藻) to produce fuel and food.
More than a quarter of the land in the Netherlands already lies underwater and scientists there have spent years trying to find ways to deal with it. In the city of Rotterdam they already have floating homes.
Bart Roeffen from DeltaSync says: “We have plans for neighbourhoods including roads and, in the end, I believe we can build floating cities on the sea.”DeltaSync is a company that wants to build cities _______．
| A．on land | B．in space |
| C．on the sea | D．in the desert |
Which of the following is the advantage of the cities that DeltaSync wants to build?
| A．Providing more jobs for people. |
| B．Making travel in space possible. |
| C．Supplying enough water to people. |
| D．Satisfying more people’s housing needs. |
What does Bart Roeffen think of his company’s future plans?
| A．He doubts them. |
| B．He is hopeful of them. |
| C．He is uncertain about them. |
| D．He has no idea about them. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Will there be enough water? |
| B．Will sea cities save the world? |
| C．Is it possible to live in the desert? |
| D．Is it expensive to build floating cities? |
I learned about life from an ant farm．When I was seven years old, my family created one．First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box, and then we waited for the live ants to arrive．Shortly after the chilly ants were dropped into the glass structure, they got to work making tunnels．I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do．After hours of staring, I realized that the ants had assigned jobs．With my mom ' s help, I kept a diary of what happened each day and named the ants．
One day a tragedy struck the ant farm．The pages of the diary, still wrinkled where tear drops fell, indicate the depth of the tragedy．'I had put my face so close to the structure that I accidentally tipped it over, caving in all the tunnels．Although the ants survived their earthquake, one by one they began to die．I was terrified as I watched them give up their tunnel-building to carry the bodies to a comer of the farm．My mother reported that the ants were dying of "frustration．" They simply could not stand the reality that their tunnels had been destroyed．
Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm．Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more．Over the years, I came to realize the ants were a study in the benefits of teamwork．Working together, they were able to create an amazing world for themselves．I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work．Day in and day out, each labored at their task．The ant farm showed that teamwork and perseverance are indeed two key ingredients to success．But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity （不幸、灾祸） is a natural part of life,and must be accepted．Unlike the ants, humans cannot give up when they face disappointment．Unlike the ants, we have to realize that if a tunnel caves in, we just have to build another．Giving up, I say, is not a choice．The family created an ant farm in a glass box because it was easy _____.
| A．for the ants to live in | B．to get sun light in |
| C．to keep the sand clean | D．for the boy to observe |
What made the pages of the diary wrinkled?
| A．The tears． | B．The earthquake | C．The ants． | D．The tragedy． |
What did the writer finally realize?
| A．Perseverance is the only way to success． |
| B．Humans cannot give up when facing adversity． |
| C．People should admire anyone for their hard work． |
| D．His mother taught him much more． |
When did the writer draw a more important lesson from his experience?
| A．Before he was seven years old． |
| B．When he was seven years old． |
| C．Immediately after the tragedy． |
| D．Many years after the tragedy |
All the Lortons’ farm animals – the cows and the goats, the ducks and the chickens, got along well with Roger—a llama(美洲驼). But since llamas are used to thinking of animals like coyotes(土狼) and dogs as threats, it took Roger a few weeks to accept the family dog.
Roger protects the sheep and lambs in two ways. First, he keeps the sheep together. A hungry coyote will try to scatter(分散) the flock and then pick off a weak or small animal that has become separated from the rest. But when a coyote threatens the Lorton’s sheep, they all run to Roger, depending on him to defend them.
And he does, with his second defense: confronting(对抗) the coyote. Llamas are very curious and will run at top speed to investigate anything that looks interesting. When a coyote sees a three-hundred-pound llama rushing toward it, the coyote will not usually wait around to see what the llama wants.
And once a llama realizes that a coyote is threatening the flock, the llama will stand between the coyote and the sheep to defend them. Often, the llama will charge toward the coyote with its head down. As it runs, it will sometimes call out an alarm to the flock in a high-pitched voice. Since Roger’s arrival, coyotes haven’t gotten any sheep from the Lortons.The purpose of the passage is to tell us that ________________.
| A．protective | B．curious | C．brave | D．patient |
It can be inferred that the Lortons are __________________.
In seventh grade, Brittany Blythe dreamed of being a cheerleader. Her school’s coaches were less than enthusiastic. “They said, ‘I don’t know how you’ll be able to do it,’ she recalls. “‘You won’t be able to do it. ’”
But Brittany, now a junior at Strath Haven High School near Philadelphia, persisted(坚持). And when the junior team cheerleaders won a tournament last year, she was right there, dancing and cheering with the rest of the team.
Not bad for someone whose legs were cut off below the knee when she was two years old.
Brittany, 18, was born without shinbones(胫骨)--“just blood and muscle tissue”, as she puts it. When she tried to walk, her legs twisted.
After the operation, she adapted quickly. “From day one, I basically jumped up and wanted to do everything,” she says. Prosthetic legs(假腿) allowed her to move around upright, but too slowly to keep up with her friends. Brittany’s solution: take the legs off and walk on her knees---sometimes she still does when safety and comfort permit.
She’s rarely daunted. Other children laughed at her through the years, especially in junior high school, but she says the challenge only made her stronger. Now she’s trying to convince her coaches to let her remove the prostheses and be a flyer, the cheerleader who’s thrown in the air and caught by her teammates.
Brittany doesn’t think her problems are more difficult than the next person’s. “My disability was the first thing I had to get through, and that’s going to prepare me for the future,” she says. “It’s all just a test: If someone throws you a curve ball(给你出难题), what are you going to do?”What was the school’s coaches’ attitude towards Brittany’s idea of being a cheerleader?
| A．Supportive | B．Doubtful | C．Opposed | D．Curious |
What did Brittany do to keep up with her friends?
| A．She used a pair of walking sticks. |
| B．She practiced hard every day. |
| C．She walked on her knees. |
| D．She asked her friends for help |
The underlined word “daunted” in Paragraph 6 probably means _____________.
| A．discouraged | B．angry | C．confident | D．fortunate |
We can learn from the last paragraph that Brittany __________.
| A．is not well prepared for the future |
| B．takes a positive attitude towards life |
| C．likes the challenge of learning new things |
| D．thinks that her problems are more difficult than other’s. |
The island Fiji has always been around me in my life. My parents met in Fiji when my father was a teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer and my mother a student. They taught me about its people, culture, foods and religious beliefs.
At the age of two, I made my first trip across the Pacific Ocean to Fiji. My mother and I made that trip unexpectedly because my grandma was ill and longed to see her American granddaughter. Although I have few memories of that first trip, I do remember grandma braiding(编辫子) my hair every day. The brush gliding through my hair is a feeling I will treasure forever because she passed away soon. I returned to America when I was five years old. This time I had a brother, Martin, who was two.
I resisted my third trip to Fiji when I was 15, being a teenager who did not want to spend the summer away from friends. It was this trip, however, that made me realize that Fiji is not just a place to visit but a part of who I am. The smells and sounds and sights came back to me, but the best part was getting to know my relatives.
Vishal was one cousin I quickly bonded with(与…合拍). Born two days before me, I had only known him through pictures before. Though raised oceans apart in different cultures, we talked and laughed about everything from American sports to Fijian dancing. I was able to form close ties with all my cousins, and when I talk about them now, it’s as if I have known them my whole life. Spending time with them helped me understand the traditions and values my mother grew up with. Hospitality (热情) and care and respect for family members are central values in Fijian culture.
I truly enjoyed learning about my roots during this trip. Fuji is just like a second home, and I will never forget the time I have spent there.From the passage, we can learn that ______________________.
| A． My Trips to Fiji |
| B．Discovering My Fijian Origins |
| C．My Understanding of Fijian Culture |
| D．My Memories of Fiji |
After their 15-year-old dog Bailey died in 2007, Ron and his wife, Ann, looked for months to find the right new pet. “I love dogs,” says Ron, a worker at a health club in Waukesha, Wisconsin. “I can’t imagine not having one.”
Finally, the couple spotted a young dog at the Humane Society in Milwaukee. His name was Oscar. “He was very attractive,” says Ron, 65. Oscar quickly made himself at home, sleeping on his new owners’ bed at night.
A diabetic(糖尿病人) for 25 years, Ron faithfully took his medicine four times a day and generally had no problems. But on March 17, at about 3 a.m., he got out of bed to use the bathroom. Suddenly, he fell down to the floor. “I must have taken the wrong amount of medicine before I went to sleep, because my blood sugar was dangerously low,” he says.
“Normally, Oscar is very quiet and well-behaved,” says Ron. “But when I hit the floor, he let out sounds like a wild animal.”
“Honestly, it sounded like the dog from hell,” says Ann, who was awakened by the sound.” I didn’t know what the sound was. Then I saw my husband lying on the bathroom floor. He was cold.” She ran for the phone and called an ambulance.
Ron spent several hours in the hospital. By 6:30a.m., he was well enough to go home. “You would never suspect Oscar of any heroism.” says his grateful owner. “He’s a wonderful little guy. We are lucky enough to own him.”
Even before Oscar’s heroic action, the couple had given their pet a new nickname(昵称). “We felt the name Oscar wasn’t good enough,” says Ron, “so sometimes we call him Eduardo”—more suitable, they think, for their dog.What was Ann doing when Ron went to the bathroom?
| A．She was sleeping. |
| B．She was watching TV. |
| C．She was taking care of Oscar. |
| D．She was talking with someone on the phone. |
Why did Ron fell onto the floor in the bathroom?