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 |
A
To American visitors, Iceland is a very interesting country, partly because it is different in so many ways from he or she is used to seeing at home. There are quite a few things that are not done, or that do not exist on the island---quite a few “No’s”.
There is no pollution, for instance, No dogs are permitted in Reykjavik, the capital. There is no television on Thursdays or during the entire month of July, and only three hours of black-and-white TV the rest of the time. There is no hard liquor(烈酒) on Wednesdays and no beer at any time. There is no handguns; only one jail of thirty-five cells（狱室）in the entire land---an admirable figure, even for a small country of 313,376 people.
There is no army, air force or navy. There is no tipping for anything. There are no large stores open on Saturdays or Sundays. Since Iceland is situated just under the Arctic Circle, there is no darkness in summer and no daylight in winter. But thanks to Culf Stream, the climate is rather mild, with temperatures ranging from 34 degrees to 52 degrees in July.
The rules on television liquor and guns are the result of government decisions. But the absence of pollution is due in great part to the fact that Iceland gets its power from the enormous geyser and the thousands of hot springs that come out of the ground. They provide all the energy needed by the country. In fact, Iceland uses only 3 percent of all its available power.
Iceland has been described as a democratic independent country where more fish are caught and more books published per person than anywhere else in the world. The Icelanders have always felt a particular love for literature. They composed their first books in the ninth and tenth centuries AD. These works were poems and tales about the kings, heroes, and heroines of Iceland and Norway. At first, the stories were memorized and passed from generation to generation. They were finally written down between1140 and 1220. The Icelanders have never stopped writing ever since. “Rather shoeless than bookless,” they proudly say.American visitors enjoy visiting Iceland probably because_______.
| A．no dogs are permitted in the capital |
| B．the police do not carry handguns |
| C．the climate is rather mild |
| D．it is very different from America |
The following statements are true EXCEPT________.
| A．there are no soldiers in Iceland |
| B．the Icelanders don’t drink beer |
| C．there is no tip of any kind |
| D．there are no crimes in Iceland |
There is no pollution in Iceland mainly because_______.
| A．Iceland uses only 3 percent of all its available power |
| B．the Icelanders use hot water from the ground below as their energy |
| C．it is located just under the Arctic Circle |
| D．it is a democratic independent country |
“Rather shoeless than bookless” means_______.
| A．they prefer not to have shoe or books |
| B．they would rather have shoes on than write books |
| C．they prefer travelling to reading |
| D．they regard books more important than shoes. |
C
No one knows exactly how many disabled people there are in the world，but estimates suggest the figure is over 450 million．The number of disabled people in India alone is probably more than double the total population of Canada．
In the United Kingdom，about one in ten people have some disability．Disability is not just something that happens to other people：as we get older，many of us will become less mobile，hard of hearing or have failing eyesight．
Disablement can take many forms and occur at any time of life．Some people are born with disabilities．Many others become disabled as they get older．There are many progressive(逐渐的)disabling diseases．The longer time goes on，the worse they become. Some people are disabled in accidents．Many others may have a period of disability in the form of a mental illness．All are affected by people’s attitude towards them．
Disabled people face many physical barriers．Next time you go shopping or to work or visit friends，imagine how you would manage if you could not get up steps，or onto buses and trains．How would you cope if you could not see where you were going or could not hear the traffic?But there are other barriers：prejudice(偏见)can be even harder to break down and ignorance represents the greatest barrier of a11．It is almost impossible for the able-bodied to fully appreciate what the severely disabled go through，so it is important to draw attention to these barriers and show that it is the individual person and their ability，not their disability，that counts．The first paragraph mainly points out that ______________．
| A．there are many disabled people in the world |
| B．the number of disabled people in India is the greatest |
| C．India has much more disabled people than Canada |
| D．it is impossible to get an exact figure of the world’s disabled people |
The key word in paragraph 4 is _______________．
| A．disability | B．ignorance |
| C．prejudice | D．barriers |
The last word of the text“counts”most probably means ____________．
| A．is most important |
| B．is considered |
| C．is included |
| D．is numbered |
Which of the following statements is NOT true? ________________．
| A．even the able-bodied may become disabled in some way |
| B．the disabled prefer to be ignored by the able-bodied |
| C．prejudice against the disabled should be removed |
| D．The disabled make up about 10 percent in the UK’s population |
it can be concluded from the passage that ______________．
| A．we should try our best to prevent disablement |
| B．physical and metal barriers are equally hard to break down |
| C．we should take a proper attitude towards the disabled |
| D．all of us will be disabled at a certain time of our life |
B
Today we’ll talk about reading．When we read a text，our eyes move across a page in short，quick movements．We recognize words usually when our eyes still fixate(停留，凝视)．Each time they fixate，we see a group of words．This is known as the recognition span or the visual span(视幅)．The length of time for which the eyes stop varies from person to person．It also varies within any parson according to his purpose in reading and his familiarity with the text．In addition，it can be affected by such factors as lighting and tiredness.
Unfortunately，in the past，many reading improvement courses have concentrated too much on how our eyes move across the page．As a result of this misleading emphasis(强调)on the purely visual aspects of reading，many exercises have been designed to train the eyes to see more words at one fixation．For example，in some exercises，words are flashed on to a screen for a tenth of a second．One of the exercises has required students to fix their eyes on some central point，taking in the words on either side．Such word patterns are often formed in the shape of pyramids(金字塔)，so the reader takes in more and more words at each successive（连续的）fixation．All these exercises are very clever，but it' s one thing to improve a person’s ability to see words and quite another thing to improve his ability to read a text efficiently.Reading requires the ability to understand the relationship between words．Consequently，for these reasons，many experts have now begun to question the usefulness of eye training，especially since any approach which trains a person to read isolated(孤立的)words and phrases would seem unlikely to help him in reading a continuous text．The time of the recognition span can be affected by the following factors except ______________.
| A．1ighting and tiredness |
| B．the length of a group of words |
| C．one’s purpose in reading |
| D．one’s familiarity with the text |
The author may believe that reading ______________.
| A．requires a reader to take in more words at each fixation |
| B．requires a reader to see words more quickly |
| C．demands a deeply-participating mind |
| D．demands more eyes than mind |
What does the author mean by the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
| A．The ability to see words is not needed for an efficient reading． |
| B．The reading exercises mentioned are useless for reading. |
| C．The reading exercises mentioned can’t help improve reading. |
| D．The reading exercises mentioned have done a great job so far. |
Which of the following is NOT true? _______________．
| A．The visual span is a word or a group of words we see each time |
| B．Many experts began to question the efficiency of eye training |
| C．The emphasis on the purely visual aspects is misleading |
| D．The eye training will help readers in reading a continuous text |
The tune of the author in writing this text is _________________．
| A．critical | B．neutral |
| C．supportive | D．optimistic |
A
Starting in 1972，the National Park Service established a policy for forest fires called Natural Burn．It was acknowledged that some forest fires，such as those which were caused by lighthing were necessary for forests to maintain(保持)balanced ecosystems，so the fire should be allowed to burn．However， a big fire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 caused this policy to be abandbned since the fire was initially（最初）allowed to burn yet soon out of contro1．As a result，the fire of 1988 destroyed much of Yellowstone，which is America’s oldest and most beloved national park．Massive areas of plants were destroyed，and large empty spaces and acres of burned and blackened trees greeted visitors．The rivers and streams were choked with ash，and the ecosystem of the park was changed beyond repair．
In addition，great numbers of animals were killed by the fires that burned out of control. The fires were driven by high winds，moving as many as ten miles a day．Many small animals died in the flames．The fires’rapid advances gave the wildlife little chance to escape．Even today，few of these small forest animals have returned to live in the park. In the years immediately following the fires，the numbers of visitors declined. rapidly．No one was interested in seeing a blackened and treeless park on vacation．Yellowstone had previously been famous for its amazing views and unique geological formations such as the geyser(喷泉) Old Faithful．But now its reputation as America's wonder is damaged permanently．Natural Burn was adopted because some forest fires were ______________
| A．hard to put out |
| B．started by lightning |
| C．good for the balance of nature |
| D．approved by National Park Service |
The big fire in Yellowstone in 1988 _______________．
| A．became out of control at first |
| B．brought the natural burn policy to an end |
| C．was allowed to burn continuously |
| D．destroyed the park completely |
Why were so many animals killed in the big fire?
| A．Because winds were blown from high places． |
| B．Because the animals moved only ten miles a day． |
| C．Because the animals lived in lower places． |
| D． Because strong winds contributed to the fire a lot． |
Yellowstone was famous for its ______________．
| A．rare animals |
| B．unique plants |
| C．beautiful scenery |
| D．1ittle streams |
The text probably comes from _____________．
| A．a geography magazine |
| B．a news report |
| C．a commercial ad |
| D．a science fiction |
E
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older we come to realize that those challenges are the very things that shape us and make us who we are，it is the same with the challenges that come withfriendship．When we are faced with a challenge，we usually have two choices. We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing presenting the challenge isn’t worth the trouble and call it quits．Although there are certainly times when calling it quits is the right thing to do，in most cases all that is needed is commitment(承诺)and communication．
When we are committed to something， it means that no matter how painful or howuncomfortable something is，we will always choose to face it through instead of running away from it．Communication is making a space for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. If you can say to a friend，“I got my feelings hurt．” rather than“You hurt my feelings．”you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster．
In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for what they are：small hurdles you need to jump or get through on your way through life．Nothing is so big that it is impossible to get over, and hurt only serves to make us stronger．It is all part of growing up，it happens to everyone，and some day you will look back on all of this and say,“Hard as it was，it made me who I am today．And that is a good thing．”What is the underlined word“committed”can be replaced by ____________.
| A．devoted | B．satisfied |
| C．smpdsed | D．interested |
It can be inferred from the text that _____________．
| A．friendship needs challenges |
| B．challenges shape our character |
| C．small hurdles aren’t worth the trouble |
| D．commitment promotes friendship |
The writer suggests that _____________ when faced with a challenge．
| A．one should call it quits |
| B．one should temporarily run away from it |
| C．one should be committed and communicable |
| D．one should lay it a side for a while |
According to the passage，if your friend hurts your feelings，you are well advised to _______________．
| A．forget it |
| B．talk to him／her about it directly |
| C．communicate properly with him／her |
| D．run away from it |
The whole passage is centered on the relationship between _____________．
| A．friendship and challenges |
| B．commitment and communication |
| C．communication and friendship |
| D．challenges and the ways to get through |