OursitespecializesinEuropeancy-优题课

One of the world's richest men has taken a close interest in one of man's most basic functions: visiting the toilet．Bill Gates's charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future, which, they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world.
So, what's wrong with the traditional flush toilet? Firstly, it wastes a huge amount, of potential drinking water．Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution．This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world, where, according to United Nations estimates, unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations．Younger people are particularly at risk．Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1．5 million children a year．Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas．
The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water, electricity or aseptic tank．It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents．28 designs were displayed at the recent Reinvent the Toilet Fair．in Seattle, USA．Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves, another which converted human waste into charcoal, and yet another which used urine for flushing．
But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity．The team from the California Institute of Technology（CIT）picked up a prize of $ 100,000.
But clearly Bill Gates doesn't feel he's flushing money down the toilet．After the Seattle event he said, "We, couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten," Gates has even pledged $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more, prototypes over the next three years．
Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?

A．Because he wants to test people's sense of creativity．

B．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion

C．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people．

D．Because he can't design this kind of things himself．

Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?

A．They are too complicated to use.	B．They waste too much water
C．They might cause diseases．	D．They are not always practical.

The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__" in the text．

A．sanitation

B．loo

C．diarrhea

D．prototype

The team from CIT won the prize because their design.

A．can change human waste into electricity

B．can turn human waste into charcoal

C．can use urine for flushing

D．can produce power with solar energy

If someone "flush money down the toilet", they are.

A．wasting money for nothing

B．being angry with their work conditions

C．showing—off their wealth

D．expressing their great determination

Our interpersonal skills have a great effect on success in our daily lives. This appears not only in the workplace where we can make more money or enjoy our job more, but also shows itself in marriage, raising a family and the ability to reach goals in almost every area of life. Interpersonal skills come into play when our flight is cancelled and we need to make other arrangements. They come into play when a marriage is threatened by financial challenges or infidelity(不忠).
Our communication skills even matter when we are in traffic and we need to make a decision about how to respond to other drivers. Communicating with others becomes inseparable from having a good day, or a bad day not only in how we begin communication, but in how we react to the communications of others who are having a difficult time.
It can make a difference in saving a marriage or getting a divorce, celebrating a rise or getting fired, and even having your eggs cooked as the way you like at the local restaurant. Many wise men and women have stressed the importance of dealing with others in a skillful manner.
Getting feedback(反馈意见) from others can be of great value in improving our interpersonal communication skills. Often, however, others are not skilled at giving feedback. When we get negative results, they rarely include the details we need in order to improve our interpersonal skills.
Since life improves so much with greater communication skills, getting feedback and an opportunity to improve would be not only life-saving for pilots, but labor-saving for the rest of us. Contact Alice Aspen March for a free consultation today and see how you might improve your communication skills, or learn more about The Attention Factor.
Which of the following can greatly influence our success in our daily life according to the passage?

A．The education we receive.	B．The skills of making a decision.
C．The nationality of our friends.	D．Our interpersonal skills.

What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?

A．Family members

B．Interpersonal skills.

C．Husband and wife

D．Challenges of lack of money.

Why does the author mention “traffic” and “other drivers” in the second paragraph?

A．Just to call our attention

B．To tell us the importance of communication skills.

C．To lead us to think of a sad scene

D．To help us not to forget traffic is very important.

Which of the following is true?

A．Getting feedback from others can be valueless in improving our interpersonal skills.

B．Even if we have good communication skills, we will surely not be able to improve our life.

C．If we pay enough money, we can get some advice from Alice Aspen March.

D．Many wise people think communicating with others needs skills.

What’s the best title of the passage?

A．The Attention Factor

B．The Problems of Marriage

C．Interpersonal Skills

D．The Relationship Between Our Feelings and Traffic

Nowadays, the food we eat seems to have great effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more likely to cause certain different illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures.
That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, government researchers realized that nitrates, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things on the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and living animals, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cow. Sometimes similar drugs are given to animals not for medical purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
What is the best possible title of the passage?

A．Drug and Food	B．Food and Health
C．Cancer and Health	D．Health and Drug

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Some of the additives in our food are added to the food itself and some are given to the living animals

B．Researchers have known about the potential dangers of food additives for about sixty-eight years.

C．Drugs are always given to animals for medical reasons

D．Food may cause forty percent of cancer in world.

How has science done something harmful to mankind?

A．Because of science, diseases caused by polluted food have been virtually eliminated.

B．It has caused a lack of information concerning the value of food.

C．The scientists have preserved the color of meats, but not of vegetables.

D．Because of the application of science, some potentially harmful substances have been added to food.

What are nitrates used for?

A．They preserve the color of meats.

B．They preserve flavor in packaged foods.

C．They are the objects of research

D．They cause the animals to become fatter.

The word “carcinogenic” most nearly means “_____”.

A．trouble-making	B．color-retaining
C．cancer-causing	D．money-making

Mainland couples who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined forbreaking the family planning policy a senior official has warned． As more women flock to Hong Kong to give birth to their second child，Zhang Feng，family planning department director of Guangdong Province，stressed that this violated Chinaspolicies． “And those who are government employees will even be dismissed from their posts．”he said．
''It doesn't matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland or in other countries and regions, they have violated the country's policies and the province's regulations''.
He said that some families had been punished in the past few months after having a second child in Hong Kong, but gave no details.
Zhang made his remarks when a Hong Kong newspaper carried a controversial notice claiming residents' medical services had been affected by the growing number of mainland women who arrive in the city to give birth and gain right of abode (居住) there.
According to statistics revealed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010, but more than 41,000 or 47 percent, were to mainland couples, including a large number from Guangdong.
Hong Kong has limited the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in the city at 34,000 this year.
The issue also has caused calls for an amendment to Hong Kong's Basic Law so that babies born to mainland women are no longer granted permanent right of abode.
''I support Hong Kong government's decision to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong.'' Zhang said.
China introduced its family planning policy in 1979 to limit births in the world's most populous nation, although the rules have been relaxed in recent years.
Which of the following is true?

A．Zhang Feng is family planning department director of Guangdong Province.

B．Many government employees have been dismissed from their posts.

C．Those who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined.

D．It doesn’t matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland.

What does the word ''violated'' mean in the second paragraph?

A．was obeyed

B．went against

C．was for

D．was dismissed

Zhang Feng said that______.

A．few families had been punished after having a second child in China

B．about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010

C．he agreed to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong

D．the residents' medical services in Hong Kong had been affected

From the passage we can infer______.

A．in 2010 most of the babies born in Hong Kong belonged to mainland couples

B．babies born to mainland women in Hong Kong can't get permanent right of abode now

C．the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in Hong Kong has been reduced

D．the family planning policy in China is as strict as before

Which is NOT the reason why some people want to give birth to a second child in Hong Kong?

A．They want to gain right of abode there for their babies.

B．They want to escape being punished for breaking the family planning policy.

C．They want their babies to enjoy the good medical services in Hong Kong.

D．They want to cause calls for an amendment to Hong Kong's Basic Law.

Scientists around the world have been studying the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino （厄尔尼诺）. The appearance of El Nino is known to affect the weather around the world. Scientists still do not completely understand it. Yet they now find they can use it to tell about the future in different areas of the world.
One example is the work of two scientists at Columbia University in New York, Mark Cane and Gordon Eshel. A scientist of Zimbabwe（津巴布韦）, Roger Buckland worked with them. They have found that when El Nino appears, Zimbabwe has little or no rain. This means corn crops in Zimbabwe are poor. The last El Nino was in 1991 to 1993. That was when southeastern Africa suffered a serious lack of rain.
The scientists wrote about their recent work in the publication（出版物）Nature. Their computer program can tell when an El Nino will develop up to a year before it does. They suggest that this could provide an effective early warning system for southern Africa, and could prevent many people from starving.
El Nino is known as ___.

A．the changing of the weather in southern Africa

B．the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean

C．the weather which brings drought（旱灾）to Africa

D．the weather phenomenon（现象）that brings heavy rains to Africa

Scientists study El Nino in order that ___.

A．they can provide a kind of early warning to the place that will suffer from drought

B．they can tell why Zimbabwe has little or no rain

C．they can do some research work in this field.

D．they can put all this information into their computers.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scientists come to understand how El Nino appears.

B．Three scientists from the USA work on this subject.

C．Southern Africa suffered a serious drought and many people died from hunger.

D．El Nino has something to do with Zimbabwe’s poor crops.

Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A．The computer is used in this research work.

B．Scientists know when an El Nino appears by means of the computer program.

C．The scientists published their results of the research work.

D．Nature is the name of the article written recently by the scientists.

What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Appearance of El Nino is Predictable（可预测的）

B．Drought in Zimbabwe

C．Early Warning System

D．Weather in Africa

A．America & New Zealand.	B．New Zealand & China.
C．Vietnam & America.	D．China & Vietnam.

A．newspaper	B．textbook
C．website	D．Magazine