Electric cars will not be really much cleaner than autos powered by mineral fuels until they rely less on electricity produced from usual coal-fired power plants.
“For electric vehicles to become a major green alternative, the power fuel has to move away from
coal, or cleaner coal technologies have to be developed,” said Jared Cohon, the chairman of a National
Research Council report released on Monday. About half of US power is produced by
burning coal, which gives off many times more of traditional pollutants than natural gas, and about
twice as much of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Nuclear and renewable power have to
generate a larger portion of US power for electric cars to become much greener compared to
gasoline-powered cars, Cohan, who is president of Carnegie Mellon University, said in an interview.
Advances in coal burning, like capturing carbon at power plants for permanent burial underground,
could also help electric cars become a cleaner alternative to vehicles powered by fossil fuels, he said.
Pollution from energy sources did $120 billion worth of damage to human health, agriculture and
recreation in 2008, and electricity was responsible for more than half of the damage, said the NRC
report.
Electric cars have their benefits such as reducing imports of foreign oil. But they also have hidden
costs. Materials in electric car batteries are hard to produce, which adds to the energy it takes to make
them. In fact, the health and environmental costs of making electric cars can be 20 percent greater
than usual cars, the report said.
The report estimated that electric cars could still cost more than gas-powered cars to operate and
manufacture in 2030 unless US power production becomes cleaner.
1.Why are electric cars not clean enough?
A. Because they run too slowly B. Because they are too expensive
C. Because they rely on coal-fired power. D. Because they give off more carbon dioxide.
2.We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. electric cars will soon take the place of gas-powered cars
B. no one holds hope for electric cars at present
C. electric cars waste more energy than before
D. some people believe that electric cars are cleaner
3.The underlined word “them” refers to “______”.
A. electric cars B. batteries C. producers D. materials
4.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to make electric cars cleaner?
A. Developing cleaner coal technologies. B. Making electric cars run faster.
C. Generating more unclear power. D. Making advances in coal burning.
Matches made over the Internet often do not last long because people end up choosing unsuitable
partners and forming emotional bonds before meeting face-to-face, an Australian university researcher
has found.
Women may especially find Mr. Wrong, as they tend to be attracted by fine comments or clever
emails, said psychologist Matthew Bambling from the Queensland University of Technology.
“You can never assume things are the way they seem online,” Bambling said. “The fact that they
can write a clever comment or a witty email doesn’t mean they will be Mr. Right, that’s for sure,” he
said, adding some men use the concept of “netting”, sending emails to dozens of women and hoping
one might respond. Bambling said you can find a partner online, but warned those using the Web to
find love to be aware of the traps. “There’s definitely an uncontrolled effect online,” he said, with
people more likely to exaggerate their good points while hiding anything negative. “Few guys for
example would say ‘look, I’m a middle aged alcoholic who’s been married five times, pick me’.
They’re going to present themselves as a good catch.” He said it was easy for people to quickly invest
too much emotionally in an online relationship because they don’t see the full picture of the person
they are emailing.
Bambling said people can avoid many of the problems by meeting early in the actual relationship,
rather than by getting to know each other only by email. He suggests couples arrange to meet over
coffee after a few emails, which will help people from building up a fantasy image of their match.
“The main thing to remember is to make real life contact as soon as possible if you are interested in
someone, because then you will know contact as soon as possible if you are interested in someone,
because then you will know if a relationship is a possibility.” He said.
1.Why were women quite likely to find Mr. Wrong over the Internet?
A. Because they often judge a person by his appearance.
B. Because single women usually felt more lonely.
C. Because the emotional bonds were hard to break.
D. Because they were easily attracted by fine comments.
2.About the online relationship Bambling suggests we should be ______.
A. rejective B. favorable C. cautious D. hopeful
3.The underlined word “exaggerate” in Paragraph 3 probably means “______”.
A. enlarge B. invent C. remove D. cover
4.What is suggested by Bambling for a better online relationship?
A. Writing clever comments or emails to girls frequently.
B. Finding a partner online through one night respond.
C. Making real life contact before further development.
D. Investing much emotion in your partner.
My daddy doesn’t know how to express love. It is my mum that makes everyone happy and calm in
our family; while Daddy only works day and night, never looking us in the face. But Mum makes a
wrongdoing list of us for Daddy scolding us. She was a spy!
Once, I stole a candy. Daddy asked me to put it back and told the shopkeeper I would like to carry
loads for her. Well, Mum told him I was jut a child.
I broke my leg on the playground. It’s still Mum that held me tightly in her warm arms. Daddy
drove us right to emergency room. He was asked to move the car away for that space was for
ambulance. Daddy got angry, “What do you think of it? A touring car?”
On my birthday party, it was, again, my mum that took over the cake for me. And my dad was busy
with blowing balloons and setting the table and doing the housework.
While looking over our album, my friends always ask, “What does your father look like?” God
knows. He photos others all the time. So there are many photos of my mum and me, pretty and lovely
photos.
And I still remembered the day when dad taught me riding. I asked him not to let his hands away,
but he did the opposite. And I certainly fell onto the ground. I got angry and decided to get on the bike
and rode. But he smiled again.
Mum wrote every letter to me while I was in college. He, except checks, did write a letter, but
extremely short, just a few words, saying, “Without your playing on the lawn, my son, my lawn grows
prettier than before.”
Every time I phoned, it seemed that he wanted to talk, but he would say, “I will get your mum.”
On the day of my wedding, Mum cried as if we would never meet again, while dad went out with a
nasal sound.
From very young, I heard him saying, “Where have you been?” “When do you go home?” “Did you
get oil for your car?” “…” Dad really knows nothing about showing love. Unless…
Maybe he showed while I didn’t notice.
1.From the first and second paragraphs, we can infer that ______.
A. it was the daddy that was in charge of his children’s education
B. the writer’s parents loved their children, at the same time, they were strict with them
C. the children were all afraid of their father so they had to be cute
D. the writer’s mom was like a spy who reported what the children did to the father
2.Why did the father get angry when he sent the writer to the hospital?
A. Because he parked his car at a wrong place.
B. Because the parking space of the ambulance was very crowded.
C. Because the writer’s injury made the father quite upset.
D. Because the person paid little attention to his son’s serious injury.
3.According to Paragraph Six, we know the father______.
A. was not patient when he taught the writer riding
B. might want to see his child fall off the bike
C. used a wrong way of teaching his child riding
D. might want his son to learn riding through independent practice
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. The dad posted checks to the writer while he was in college.
B. The dad had no single photo of his own in the album.
C. The dad scolded the writer for having damaged the lawn.
D. The dad got excited when participating in the writer’s wedding.
Earlier this month, the United States Library of Congress named Katherine Paterson the national ambassador for young people’s literature.
She is only the second person to hold the position. She replaces writer Jon Scieszka,who had served since two thousand eight.
The librarian of Congress, James Billington, said Miz Paterson “represents the finest in literature for young people”. He spoke of the importance of reading in the lives of America’s young people.Miz Paterson has written more than thirty books. She is among only five writers to have won two Newbery Medals. These are among the most important children’s book awards in the United States.
“Bridge to Terabithia” won a Newbery Medal in nineteen seventy-seven. Her book “Jacob Have I
Loved” won the award in nineteen eighty-one.
Katherine Paterson’s books for children are often quite complex. “Bridge to Terabithia” includes
adult themes like depression and death. The book has caused debate because of its place on school
library bookshelves. Some parents think it is too adult for young children. Miz Paterson says the idea
for the book came from a real life experience. Her son’s best friend died in nineteen seventy-four
when she was struck by lightening.
Katherine Paterson is seventy-seven. She began writing as a young mother with three children. But
she says her interest in writing came as a surprise. As a child she had thought about becoming a
Christian religious worker in foreign countries like her parents were.
Katherine Paterson spoke to a gathering of children when she was named ambassador on January
fifth in Washington. She said: “Read for your life. Read for your life as a member of a family, as a part
of a community, as a citizen of this country and a citizen of the world.
1.The Newbery medal is designed for ______.
A. writers with best books for grown-ups B. children with best books on adult themes
C. writers with best books for children D. children with best books on nature
2.Which of the following is NOT true about the book Bridge to Terabithia?
A. Its topics include depression and death. B. It won a Newbery Medal in the 1980s.
C. Some people think it’s for adults only. D. The idea for it came directly from real life.
3.As a child, Katherine_______.
A. had bad relations with her parents B. showed great interest in writing books
C. hoped to take part in religious activities D. began writing books with serious themes
4.The national ambassador for young people’s literature as a position started in_____.
A. 1977 B. 1981 C. 2008 D. 2009
A new study in West Africa shows how farm irrigation systems powered by the sun can produce more food and money for villagers. The study in Benin found that solar-powered pumps are effective in supplying water, especially during the long dry season.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the world with the least food security. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than one billion of the world’s people faced hunger last year. Around two hundred sixty-five million of them live south of the Sahara Desert. Lack of rainfall is one of their main causes of food shortages.
Jennifer Burney from Stanford University in California led the study. The research team helped build three solar-powered irrigation systems in northern Benin.
The solar-powered irrigation systems produced an average of nearly two metric tons of vegetables per month.
They sold the surplus(过剩的) produce at local markets. The earnings greatly increased their ability to buy food during the dry season which can last six to nine months.
People in the two villages with the systems were able to eat three to five more serving of vegetables per day. But making the surplus available at markets also had a wider effect.
The study compared the villages with two others where women farmed with traditional methods like carrying water in buckets. The amount of vegetables eaten in those villages also increased, though not as much.
The researchers note that only four percent of the cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. Using solar power to pump water has higher costs at first. But the study says it can be more economical in the long term than using fuels like gasoline, diesel or kerosene. And solar power is environmentally friendly.
1.People living in sub-Saharan Africa are short of food mainly because______.
A. it seldom rains there throughout the year B. there is little farmland in the area
C. people there lack experience in farming D. people know nothing about irrigation techniques
2.Which of the following is an advantage of Jennifer’s irrigation systems?
A. They are not affected by the weather.
B. They cost much less than traditional irrigation systems.
C. They have no bad effects on the environment.
D. They use less fuel than traditional irrigation systems.
3.We can learn from the last paragraph that______.
A. people in South Africa will soon be provided with enough food
B. the demand for fuels like gasoline will greatly decrease in Africa
C. people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t take agriculture seriously
D. it’s worthwhile to use the new irrigation systems on the while
4.People in the two villages owe all the following to Jennifer’s irrigation systems EXCEPT that ______.
A. they could buy more food during the dry season
B. they could eat more vegetables than usual every day
C. they could supply local markets with vegetables
D. they could provide people in other villages with food
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A high school history teacher once told us, “If you make one close friend in school, you will be most fortunate. A 1friend is someone who stays with you for life”. 2teaches that he was right. Good friendship is just not easily 3.
It is possible that we simply do not stay in one place 4enough for true friendship to develop. However, there can be 5disagreement on the need for each of us to think carefully about the kind of friendship we want.
To most of us, friendships are considered very important, 6we need to have it clear in our minds the kinds of friendship we want. Are they to be close or 7at arm’s length? Do we want to 8ourselves or do we want to walk on the surface? For some people, many friendships on the surface are 9enough. And that’s all right. But at some 10we need to make sure that our expectations are the same as our friends’ expectations. The sharing of personal experience including our tears as well as our dark 11is the surest way to deepen friendships. But it must 12slowly and carried on only if there are 13of interest and action in return.
What are some of the 14of our friendship? The greatest is to 15too much too soon. Deep relationships 16time. Another “major difficulty” is the selfishness to think one “possesses” the other, including his time and attention. 17, friendships require actions in return. In other words, you must 18as much as you take. Finally there is a question of taking care of. Unless you spend 19time together, talking on the phone, writing letters, doing things together, friendships will die 20.
1.A. true B. fair-weather C. school D. useful
2.A. Knowledge B. Experience C. Hardship D. Schooling
3.A. understood B. formed C. realized D. produced
4.A. certain B. patiently C. long D. fortunately
5.A. some B. any C. great D. no
6.A. but B. and C. or D. while
7.A. remained B. left C. kept D. stayed
8.A. hide B. deepen C. strengthen D. share
9.A. quite B. not C. less D. very
10.A. degree B. point C. places D. length
11.A. clothes B. clouds C. dreams D. letters
12.A. be undertaking B. have been undertaking
C. have been undertaken D. be undertaken
13.A. marks B. signs C. sciences D. sights
14.A. disadvantages B. differences C. difficulties D. requirements
15.A. expect B. pull out Ｃ.command D. develop
16.A. waste B. spend C. kill D. take
17.A. Similarly B. Differently C. Strangely D. Surprisingly
18.A. give B. possess C. act D. walk
19.A. considerate B. wonderful C. reasonable D. comfortable
20.A. down B. away C. out D. off
