阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项。
If cars had wings,they could fly and that just might happen,beginning in 2011.The company Terrafugia,based in Woburn,Massachusetts,says it plans to deliver its carplane,the Transition,to customers by the end of 2011.
“It's the next ‘wow’ vehicle,” said Terrafugia vice president Richard Gersh.“Anybody can buy a Ferrari,but as we say,Ferraris don't fly.”
The carplane has wings that unfold for flying-a process the company says takes one minute-and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land.
The Transition is being marketed more as a plane that drives than a car that flies,although it is both. The company has been working with FAA to meet aircraft regulations,and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to meet vehicle safety regulations.
The company is aiming to sell the Transition to private pilots as a more convenient and cheaper way to fly. They say it saves you the trouble from trying to find another mode of transportation to get to and from airports:You drive the car to the airport and then you're good to go. When you land,you fold up the wings and hit the road. There are no expensive parking fees because you don't have to store it at an airport-you park it in the garage at home.
The carplane is designed to fly primarily under 10,000 feet. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1,430 pounds,including fuel and passengers. Terrafugia says the Transition reduces the potential for an accident by allowing pilots to drive under the bad weather instead of flying into marginal(临界的) conditions.
The Transition's price tag:$194,000.But there may be additional charges for options like a radio,a transponder or a GPS. Another option is a fullplane parachute.
“If you get into a very awful situation,it is the necessary safety option,” Gersh said.
So far,the company has more than 70 orders with deposits. “We're working very closely with them,but there are still some remaining steps,” Brown said.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ________.
A.carplanes will be popular in 2011 |
B.people might drive a carplane in 2011 |
C.both the Transition and Ferrari can take off and land |
D.Richard Gersh is the vice president of Massachusetts |
It takes the carplane one minute to ________.
A.fold and unfold its wings |
B.unfold wings for flying |
C.land in the airport |
D.meet flying safety regulations |
According to the passage,which of the following is NOT true?
A.The carplane needs a runway to take off and land.
B.To meet aircraft regulations,the company has been working with FAA.
C.The carplane may fly as high as normal planes.
D.People can park the carplane in the garage at their home.The underlined word “it” in the last but one paragraph refers to ________.
A.the radio |
B.the transponder |
C.the GPS |
D.the fullplane parachute |
What's the best title for the passage?
A.Cars with wings may be just around the corner |
B.Which to choose:a Ferrari or a carplane? |
C.A more convenient and cheaper way to fly |
D.Cars with wings can fly as fast as planes |
When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things, If this is even possible. it is short-term , and tends to backfire. If you order someone to do something against their will. they may do it because they feel they must , but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term , They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best . If they associate you with this emotion of fear. They will become less functional around you , and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot . but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively . Fear has no place in leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something , which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level , so they became fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation(积极性)。Today’s work place is all about relationships as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most motivating factor (因素) in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence---knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others . Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills .
52. An employee may have a feeling of fear in the work place when___.
A. he is forced to do things B. be cannot work at his best
C. . he feels his brain shut down D. he thinks of his work as too heavy
53. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. People tend to associate leadership with fear
B. Working conditions affect people’s physical health
C. Good relationship is the key to business success
D. Smart people are more functional in the work place.
54. To positively influence employees a leader should first of all __
A. provide better suggestions B. develop his own personality
C. five his employees a pay raise D. hide his own emotion of fear
55.Good leadership is mainly seen in a leader’s ability to___
A . provide a variety of project for employees B. help raise employee’s living standards
C. give employees specific instructions D. deal wisely with employees’ emotions
In meditation(冥想),people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath . As they breathe in and out , they attend to their feelings . As thoughts go through their minds. they let them go. Breathe . Let go . Breathe . Let go
According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a market change in how the brain allocates(分配) attention. It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world. Expert mediators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli( 刺激), like facial expressions.
The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training. People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice. everything from driving to playing the piano. The study has shown that meditation is good for the brain, It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being.
In an experiment , 17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day . A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period . Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters. As both group looked for the numbers , their brain activity was recorded.
Everyone could catch the first number. But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced mediators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it, so they missed the second number . Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number . as if letting it go , which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number , This shows that attention can change with practice.
Just ask Daniel Levision , who meditated for three months as part of the study . ”I am a much better listener, ” he said. “ I do not get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying. ”
48. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to
A. feelingsB. minds C. peopleD. thoughts
49. Meditations manage their daily tasks better because they
A. are given less pressure B. allocate their attention better
C. have more stimuli for life D. practice them more frequently
50. In the experiment, volunteers doing meditation for longer hours
A. were more likely to catch both of the members
B. were used to memorizing numbers in groups
C. usually ignored the first number observed
D. paid more attention to numbers than to letters
51. The study proves that
A. meditation improves one’s health B. brain activity can be recorded
C. human attention can be trained D. mediators have a good sense of hearing
The Book of Life
So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species(物种), and that’s just a small number of what probably exists on Earth. With so many plants, animals, and other living things coveting the planet, it can be tough to figure out what type of grass is growing by the roadside or what kind of bird just flew by.
A soon-to-be-started Web site might help. An international team of researchers has announced the creation of Web-based Encyclopedia (百科全书)of Life(EoL). The project aims to list every species on Earth in a single, easy-to-use reference guide.
To get the encyclopedia started, the creators will use information from scientific databases (数据库) that already exist. And eventually, in special sections of the site, non-scientists with specialized knowledge will come to help. Bird-watchers, for example, will be able to input what birds they’ve seen and where. To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate, scientists will review much of the information added to it.
As the EoL develops, you might find it useful for school projects. The site will feature (以……为特色)special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods. Another convenient feature of the EoL is that you’ll be able to pick the level of detail you want to see to match your interests, age, and knowledge.
It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species. The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed up that Process.
60. The Web-based EoL aims to__________ .
A. find out what covers the earth B. list all living things on Earth
C. work out the number of birds D. save the existing plants
61. One characteristic of the EoL is that__________ .
A. it is run by school students B. it focuses on different types of grass
C. it provides different levels of information D. it allows non-scientists to review its data
62. In the last paragraph, "that process" means__________ .
A. analyzing species B. creating a new tool C. collecting data D. describing species
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda(大熊猫)eats only one particular type of bamboo(竹子). Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly(蝴蝶)will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet(多样化饮食). The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life. 60. We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
A. depend on one sense in choosing food B. are not satisfied with their food
C. choose food in similar ways D. eat entirely different food
61. Which of the following eats only one type of food?
A. The white butterfly. B. The small bird. C. The bear. D. The fox.
62. Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
A. the season changes B. the food color changes
C. they move to different places D. they are attracted by different smells
63. We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
A. food is chosen for a good reason B. French and British food is good
C. some people have few choices of food D. some people care little about healthy diet
There are warm tropical regions all over the globe, but only the Indians of the South American rain forests have formed the habit of sleeping in the open air. Long before they made painful acquaintance (相识) with Europeans, they had invented something that was unique on earth: the hammock.
Nobody really knows who first had the bright idea of making sleeping in the air the symbol of untroubled rest. The Indians see the hammock as a “gift of heaven (上天)”, something given to them a very long time ago.
In it the Indians pass away hot noon hours, napping or chatting. Swinging it to and fro (来回摆动) creates a cooling breath of air and keeps away insects. They work and play in hammocks, are born and die there.
Hung like a suspension bridge between heaven and earth, a hammock is dry while the soil is damp and is safe from most wild animals.
Hammocks have the advantage over beds in that they are easy to transport and take up very little space when they have been rolled up(卷起) . Indians never go on a journey without their hammocks, not even to their plantations.
76.The word hammock in this passage means _______.
A. a suspension cage which can be swung to and fro in the air
B. a seat hanging by two ropes from the branch of a tree
C. a suspension bridge in the South American rain forests.
D. a net hung between two supports and used as a bed.
77. When was the hammock invented and by whom?
A. The Indians had invented the hammock long before they came to South America.
B. The Indians had invented the hammock long before the Europeans came to South America.
C. The Europeans invented the hammock after they made acquaintance with the Indians.
D. The Europeans had invented the hammock before they went to South America.
78. Indians swing the hammock to_______.
A. pray to heaven for a gift B. keep away flies, mosquitoes and other insects
C. keep away wild animals D. all asleep quickly
79. According to the passage, hammocks _______.
A. cannot be rolled up B. are difficult to transport
C. are never brought to the plantations D. can be kept dry while the ground is wet
80. The passage is about _______.
A. the Indian way of living B. tropical regions
C. Indians' gift for the Europeans D. a portable bed