An Earthship is a home that is built of materials such as old tires and aluminum cans. It is the idea of a man named Michael Reynolds. Many Earthships are more or less self-sufficient because they provide their own heat, air and water. They often have gardens watered and fed by waste water. They are comfortable and ecologically friendly.
The main material used in building Earthships is tires. Tires are plentiful and can't be recycled like paper, plastic, and metal. While building supplies for most houses can be very expensive, old used tires are free.
First, the tires are packed tightly with dirt. Each full tire weighs as much as 400 pounds. The tires are then stacked like bricks. The walls are extremely strong. They also help keep an even temperature in the house (between 60 and 70 degrees) without heating and cooling systems.
The walls inside the Earthship are made of aluminum cans that are held together by cement. Then they are coated with adobe or stucco.
The roofs of Earthships are sloped so that rain and snow run into large tanks. These tanks hold all the water for the house, and pumps push the water through the pipes. Sometimes, water flows in certain areas of the house as waterfalls! Water that has been used is pumped out into the gardens where owners grow much of their own food.
In most of these houses, the southern side has huge windows that take in winter sunlight as a source of heat. Summer sun does not come in through the south windows, so it doesn't get too hot in the summer. The house also has solar panels that gather energy for lights and hot water and cooking. The Earthships have all the comforts of a regular house without the high cost of electric bills!
In a time when we are running out of energy resources, pollution is bad, and waste is piling up, Earthships are the best places to live in. For people who truly care about the environment, Earthships provide a great alternative to traditional houses. You won't be giving up any comforts, and the styles are attractive. We all hope that more and more people will build Earthships and take a huge step toward helping the environment and saving our planet. What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Earthships are a good way to live and protect the environment. |
| B．Tanks hold water collected from rain and snow. |
| C．It's important to grow your own food in a vegetable garden. |
| D．People who live in Earthships usually live in the desert. |
Which of the following is NOT explained in the passage?
| A．How an Earthship is built. |
| B．What an Earthship is mainly made of. |
| C．Why the Earthship is so called. |
| D．How an Earthship is heated in winter. |
Which evidence best supports the idea that Earthships are environmentally friendly?
| A．They were invented by Michael Reynolds. |
| B．Water that has been used is pumped out into the garden. |
| C．They are comfortable and ecologically friendly. |
| D．The tires are packed tightly with dirt. |
People are being tricked into Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up loads of personal information.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal data is worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules . That was the great thing about Facebook. You could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things: your city, your photo, your friends’ names ,were set by default (默认)to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a “less satisfying experience”.
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. In original business model, which involved selling ads and putting them. At the side of the pages totally, who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social networking sites. “I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them,” Schrage admits.
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy, it’s only the beginning, which is why I’m considering canceling my account. Facebook is a handy site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay. What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
| A．It provides loads of information to its users. |
| B．It earns money by putting on advertisements. |
| C．It is a website that sends messages to users who want to get married. |
| D．It makes money by selling its users’ personal data. |
What does the author say about most Facebook users?
| A．They don’t know their personal data enriches Facebook. |
| B．They are unwilling to give up their personal information. |
| C．They don’t identify themselves when using the website. |
| D．They care very little about their personal information. |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To obey the Federal guidelines. |
| B．To expand its business. |
| C．To improve its users’ connection |
| D．To provide better service to its users |
Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its present service. |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy. |
| C．He doesn’t want his personal data badly used. |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes. |
For history fans, Margaret Thatcher is one of the most interesting of the British Prime Ministers. She is praised by both British and American conservatives for her firm principles and accomplishments of her term.
Being so popular, it is only appropriate that a solid movie be made to detail the life of the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The film Iron Lady focuses on Thatcher (Meryl Streep) and her dementia（痴呆症）, with certain items in her house reminding her of periods of her life, which then start series of flashbacks. Thatcher also fantasies of her husband, Denis (Jim Broadbent), and holds conversations with him throughout the film.
In a world controlled by men and where women are thought to belong to the kitchen, Thatcher struggles to break through the barriers of sex to win a seat in Parliament（国会）. Not only does she struggle with her sex, but being the daughter of a simple shopkeeper, she struggles with class barriers.
After winning a seat in Parliament in 1959, Thatcher was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science(SES). The film details how the leadership of her party didn’t take her or her opinions seriously. Thatcher became tired of being unheard and decided to challenge the leadership of the party and run for Leader of the Opposition. Not expecting to win the position, she took off in popularity, continuing a strong campaign even after her manager was killed by the Irish Republican Army.
Thatcher, after the conservative party won a majority in Parliament, became the first woman Prime Minister of the UK. She took off in popularity until an economic decline hit the country. She regained popularity after the Falklands War.
The film, in many cases, shows archive footage（资料片）to convey the historic timeline of the movie. The film does an excellent job in recording the complex life of one of Britain’s most complex women. It examines the price that Lady Thatcher paid for power, the class and sex struggles she overcame, and the burden of dementia. The film strikes an astonishingly dear portrait of the “Iron Lady” and will be sure to stand the test of time.According to the passage, the film Iron Lady is mainly about__________.
| A．Margaret Thatcher and her dementia |
| B．Thatcher’s principles and achievements |
| C．the British Prime Ministers’ interests |
| D．Margaret Thatcher and her husband |
When Thatcher worked as Secretary of SES, _________.
| A．her party took her and her opinions seriously |
| B．she tried hard to break through the barriers of sex |
| C．she struggled to break through the class barriers |
| D．she wasn’t respected by the leaders of her party |
This passage is possibly a(n) ___________.
| A．autobiography | B．political report |
| C．film review | D．life story |
What is the author’s attitude towards the film Iron Lady?
| A．Negative | B．Positive | C． Disapproving | D．Casual |
More than 2 million US teenagers have suffered a serious bout（发作) of depression in the past year, according to a federal government survey released on Tuesday.
On average, 8.5 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 described having had a major depressive episode in the previous year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported.
But there were "striking differences" by sex, with 12.7 percent of girls and 4.6 percent of boys affected.
Depression is the leading cause of suicide, which in turn is the third-leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds in the United States.
"The data Combined 2004 to 2006 data showed that rates of past year major depressive experience among youths aged 12 to 17 generally increased with increasing age," the researchers wrote.
Researchers at SAMHSA and RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, prepared the report using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
More than 67,700 youths aged 12 to 17 answered questions about mood and depression. They were also asked to rate how depression affected them using the Sheehan Disability Scale(残疾量表), which measures impact on family, friends, chores at home, work and school.
Researchers defined a major depressive episode as two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration or self-image.
Nearly half of the teenagers who had major depression said it severely damaged their ability to function in at least one of the areas on the disability scale.
"Fortunately, depression responds very well to early intervention and treatment," SAMHSA Administrator Terry Cline said in a statement. The underlined word “ episode ” in paragraph 2 probably means _________.
| A．experiment | B．experience |
| C．expression | D．feeling |
What can be implied, but is not stated directly?
| A．depression is the third-leading cause of suicide. |
| B．There were over 2 million American teens suffering depression in the past two years. |
| C．The students surveyed were aged between 12 and 17. |
| D．There were more girl students suffering depression than boys. |
The main symptoms of a serious depressive episode include ________ .
| A．no family or friends or jobs or interests at all. |
| B．low spirits, lack of sleep, energy and self-image, and poor concentration. |
| C．poor health, sex discrimination, less energy and loss of interests |
| D．suicide, sadness, lack of confidence and depression. |
What will the following paragraph probably talk about according to the passage ?b
| A．How to recover from stress |
| B．How to have a happy feeling |
| C．How to prevent and treat depression |
| D．How to live a comfortable life |
One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him.
To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a youngster, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers (鹿角) was clear in sight.
I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me.
What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and scratched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head.
I scratched and touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn’t, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head.
I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around. You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on.How the deer behaved toward the writer shows that______.
| A．it pretended to be friendly to the writer |
| B．it was quite friendly to the writer |
| C．it was too scared to run away |
| D．it wanted to attack the writer |
You can infer from the passage that ______.
| A．the writer had waited for more than an hour before the deer appeared |
| B．the writer was a little nervous at first as he had been attacked by a big deer before |
| C．the writer felt afraid to kill the deer the moment the deer walked up to him |
| D．a grown-up deer usually will not get close to men with guns |
After reading the whole passage, we can know that the passage is written in a(n)_____ tone.
| A．sad | B．excited | C．worried | D．happy |
A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr. Gallagher noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap. He was texting while being scolded for texting. “It was a subconscious act,” says Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away. “Young people today are connected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It's compulsive.”
A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., found that the more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits. Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more sociable, but they are also more likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed. (Doctors, meanwhile, are now blaming addictions to 'night texting' for disturbing the sleep patterns of teens.)
Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media's impact on families. Will these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers come to see texting and 'social-network checking' as accepted parts of the workday?
Think back. When today's older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to call friends and make after-work plans. In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related calls, and someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired. It was impossible to imagine the constant back-and-forth texting that defines interactions among young people today.
Educators are also being asked by parents, students and educational strategists to reconsider their rules. “In past generations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class. Now students are skilled at texting with their phones still in their pockets,” says 40-year-old Mr. Gallagher, the vice principal, “and they're able to communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over. Students are just fundamentally different today. They will take suspensions rather than give up their phones.”The underlined word “a subconscious act” refers to an act __________.
| A．on purpose | B．without realization |
| C．in secret | D．with care |
Mr. Gallagher reminds us that the students in the past and those today _________.
| A．like to break rules and have the same means of sending messages |
| B．are always the big problem for the educators and their parents |
| C．like sending text messages but those today do it in a more secret and skillful way |
| D．cannot live without a cellphone |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Teenagers and Cellphones |
| B．Teenagers’ Texting Addiction |
| C．Employers and Teenagers |
| D．Teenagers’ Education |