A villa designed to resist earthquakes with “self-healing” cracks in its walls, thanks to nanotechnology applications with self healing polymers(聚合物), is to be built on a Greek mountainside. The villa’s walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material.
The Nano Manufacturing Institute (NMI), based in Leeds University, will play a key role in an EU project to construct the home by December 2010. The project, called “Intelligent Safe and Secure Building”(ISSB) is funded under the EU’s Sixth Framework program. This potentially life saving scheme is led by German building manufacturer Knauf. The villa will be built in Amphilochia, in western Greece, where Knauf currently runs a manufacturing plant. If the experiment is successful, more tremor-resistant(防震)homes could be built in earthquake zones across the globe. NMI chief executive Professor Terry Wilkins said, “What we’re trying to achieve here is very exciting. We’re looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale.” Monitors contained in the villa’s walls will be able to collect vast amounts of data about the building over time.
Wireless sensors and Leeds designed radio frequency identity tags will record any stresses and vibrations, as well as temperature, humidity and gas level. The walls are to be built from novel load-bearing steel frames and high strength gypsum board. Professor Wilkins said, “If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape.” If whole groups of houses are so constructed, we could use a larger network of sensors to get even more information. “If the house falls down, we have got hand-held devices that can be used over the rubble to pick out where the embedded(嵌入的)sensors are hidden to get some information about how the villa collapsed.” Also, we can get information about anyone who may be around, so it potentially becomes a tool for rescue.The aim of the passage is to .
| A．report a piece of interesting news |
| B．promote tremor-resistant homes |
| C．inform us of the nanotechnology development |
| D．tell us about a tremor resistant home |
The villa can resist earthquakes because .
| A．it will be built on a special place |
| B．the cracks in its walls can be healed by the polymers |
| C．the special particles can make its walls stronger |
| D．the intelligent sensor network can tell people where there is a crack |
If the tremor resistant home falls down, .
| A．no one can be hurt in the earthquake |
| B．the intelligent sensor network will stop working |
| C．rescue work can be done more quickly and accurately |
| D．a warning signal will be given to other residents |
Many people go to school for an education. They learn languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can make a living. School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, cannot teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So, much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to memorize (记住) some facts or a formula (公式). It is usually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientists, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo didn’t get everything from school. But they were all so successful. They invented so many things for mankind. Above all, they knew how to use their brains.Whether a teacher is more _______or less, he can’t teach his students everything they want to know.
| A．knowledgeable | B．useful | C．difficulty | D．important |
A teacher’s job is mainly to train his students to master the ability of ________.
| A．learning by themselves | B．making a living |
| C．reading and thinking | D．studying all the subjects |
The reason for scientists’ success is that _______.
| A．they read books that were not taught at school |
| B．they knew how to use their brains |
| C．they wasted not a single moment |
| D．they worked all their lives |
When something goes wrong, it can be very satisfying to say, "Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault. "or "I know I’m late, but it’s not my fault; the car broke down. " It is probably not your fault, but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation, you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about — creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situation to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on "whose fault it is. " Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stones for success.According to the passage, winners.
| A．deal with problems rather than blame others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．blame others rather than themselves |
The underlined word remedy in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to .
| A．avoid | B．accept | C．improve | D．consider |
When your colleague brings about a problem, you should.
| A．find a better way to handle the problem |
| B．blame him for his lack of responsibility |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．ask another person for help |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Winner’s Secret. | B．A Winner’s Problem. |
| C．A Winner’s Opportunity. | D．A Winner’s Achievement. |
Matt and his wife lived in the country. Matt was very mean and hated spending money. One day a fair（交易会）came to the nearby town.
They went to the fair and looked at all the things to buy. Matt’s wife wanted to buy a hat only costing $28, but was refused. Later on, a comb of $5 attracted her attention, but he would not let her spend any money.
Then, in a nearby field, they saw a small airplane. “Fun flight!” the notice said, “$10 for 10 minutes.”
Matt had never been in an airplane and he wanted to go on a fun flight. However, he didn’t want to pay for his wife either. “I’ve only got $10,” he told the pilot. “Can my wife come with me for free?” The pilot wasn’t selling many tickets, so he said, “I’ll make a bargain with you. If your wife doesn’t scream, she can have a free flight.”
Matt agreed, and got into the small airplane with his wife. The pilot took off and made his airplane do all kinds of things. At one moment it was flying upside down.
When the plane landed, the pilot said, “OK, your wife didn’t make a sound. She can have her ride free.”
“Thank you,” Matt said, “it wasn’t easy for her, you know, especially when she fell out.”How much did the couple spend at the fair?
| A．$28. | B．$5. | C．$43. | D．$10. |
The pilot flew the airplane upside down in order to _______.
| A．throw the wife out of the plane |
| B．get another $10 by making the wife shout |
| C．show off his perfect flying skills |
| D．provide the couple with pleasure of excitement |
The passage is intended to _______.
| A．teach readers a lesson | B．attract tourists | C．make readers laugh | D．praise the couple |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Matt loved money more than his wife. |
| B．Matt would like to buy everything for his wife. |
| C．The pilot didn’t mind whether Matt’s wife would pay. |
| D．Matt’s wife enjoyed her riding in the plane. |
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise.
Nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.The story tell us that people began to enjoy roller-skating ______.
| A．before the year 1750 |
| B．before the invitation |
| C．because of Joseph Merlin |
| D．because it was dangerous |
People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.
| A．he slept and dreamed a lot |
| B．he was full of different ideas |
| C．he invented the first roller skates |
| D．he always made people’s dreams come true |
___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.
| A．Merlin’s work | B．Merlin’s violin |
| C．A huge mirror | D．An important party |
What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?
| A．He couldn’t stop his roller-skating. |
| B．He couldn’t attract a lot of attention. |
| C．Everyone was surprised at him. |
| D．He couldn’t play the violin while rolling. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Joseph Merlin’s Story |
| B．How Roller Skating Was Invented |
| C．A Surprising Entrance to the Party |
| D．Roller Skating |
To master a language one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Lenin and his wife translated a long English book into Russian but when they went to England in 1902, English people couldn't understand a word Lenin and his wife said, and Lenin and his wife couldn't understand what was said to them．This shows the importance of spoken language．
Speaking, of course can't go without listening．If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly．The sounds of Chinese and English languages are not exactly the same．If you don't listen carefully, you'll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．
Well, what about writing﹖ Like speaking, it's to exchange ideas．People usually use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing．
The important thing is to make your idea clear in your mind and then to write it in a clear lively language．
Chinese students read too slowly．If you read fast, you understand better．If you read too slowly by the time you have reached to the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about．When you meet with new words don't look them up in the dictionary．Guess the meaning to form the context. You may not guess quite correctly the first time but as new words appear again and again in different context their meaning will become clearer and clearer. If you look up every word you'll never finish a book．
Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they're studying. They should study those subjects in the foreign language not only in translation．In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time．In England Lenin ．
| A．could be understood by Englishmen |
| B．could understand Englishmen |
| C．and Englishmen couldn't understand each other |
| D．and Englishmen could understand each other |
In the first paragraph the writer told us ．
| A．how to speak English |
| B．how to read and write |
| C．why English people couldn't understand the Lenins |
| D．spoken English is important |
In the fifth paragraph the writer advised us on ．
| A．how to guess the meaning of the words |
| B．how to read fast |
| C．how to look up new words in the dictionary |
| D．how to read carefully |
“Kill two birds with one stone” means ．
| A．to get some particular knowledge |
| B．to get more than what one pays |
| C．the stone is very useful |
| D．the birds are blind enough |
In the last paragraph the writer advised us ．
| A．to kill two birds with one stone |
| B．to learn two languages at the same time |
| C．to study all the subjects in a foreign language |
| D．to get some knowledge of the foreign country whose language we are studying |