When Helly Scholten makes dinner, if she needs a tomato or an onion, she heads upstairs — the top floor of her house, a 440-square-foot indoor vegetable garden. She starts cooking before the sun goes down, while warmth is still flooding through the glass walls of the kitchen downstairs. The entire home is wrapped in a greenhouse.
In Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands, such house is part of an experiment called Concept House Village, created to push the limits of sustainable (可持续的) design. It is an attempt to take things in different directions, experimenting with more radical features (特征).
Down the street, in the middle of a mostly empty field, another house tests features of an energy-producing toilet that uses waste. Another house, built from renewable materials, is designed to be constructed in a day.
Inside each of the three houses, volunteer families promised to live there for three years while giving feedback on the designs.
“Of course, it’s a test,” says Scholten. “We knew in advance that everything was not going to be perfect right away.” A rainwater-harvesting system on the roof, which was designed to directly water the vegetables growing in the loft, hasn’t been working correctly, so the family spends at least an hour a day watering the plants by hand. The parts of the house directly under the greenhouse walls can overheat, while the rest of the house can be cold in the winter. The current solar hot waters aren’t enough to keep showers comfortable.
When these new challenges arise, a team of students and professors from the University of Rotterdam — who originally designed and built the home — come over, continually tweaking the design to solve the problems.
Sustainable architecture is not unusual in Rotterdam. Next to the Concept House Village test site, another planned development of 170 homes will be completely energy-neutral — meaning, at the end of each year, the homes will have produced as much power as they used. By 2020, all new houses in the Netherlands will have to be carbon-neutral, by law.
Rotterdam is becoming a sustainable design capital, home to dozens of experimental projects. Next year, the world’s first floating dairy farm will open in a local harbor. The city is testing one-of-a-kind recycled bike paths and climate-proof parks; the port will soon start filtering(过滤) plastic waste from the harbor. Local businessmen are experimenting with mushroom farming, bread recycling, and turning food waste into leather.
1.What do we know about Concept House Village?
A. It is built based on sustainable concepts.
B. It fixes an indoor vegetable garden on each house.
C. It uses renewable materials to build toilets for its villagers.
D. Its buildings are completely different from traditional ones.
2.According to Helly Scholten’s words in Paragraph 5, her attitude towards the greenhouse can be described as _____.
A. cautious B. reserved
C. uninterested D. objective
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A. Volunteer families were required to live in the house for at most three years.
B. The home was not so satisfactory because it was designed and built by some college students.
C. Rotterdam has started filtering plastic waste from the harbor.
D. It is easy for people to find sustainable architecture in Rotterdam.
4.What’s the passage mainly about?
A. Ways to build sustainable buildings.
B. New greenhouses in the Netherlands.
C. An experimental city in the Netherlands.
D. The importance of Concept House Village.
Most people do not have the patience to wait a few seconds for the elevator doors to shut, so they push the “close” button to speed up the process. However, some say this feature has been obsolete since the 1990s, suggesting the button is a complete fake; it will not close the doors any faster.
Experts reveal that there're many buttons in the world that do not live up to their name, but are present to make us feel in control.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, saying that elevators must stay open long enough for someone with a physical disability, such as in a wheelchair, to make it inside. Karen W. Penafiel, executive director of National Elevator Industry Inc., told The New York Times in an interview. “Although these buttons are useless to the average person, they do perform their proper function for firefighters and maintenance workers but only with a code or keys.” Penafiel explains that a majority do not have a functioning “close” button but the “open” button works when it is pushed.
As strange as it seems to place fake buttons in an elevator or other devices (设备), they are there for good reasons. “Perceived (自认为的) control is very important,” said Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor at Harvard University. “It reduces stress and promotes well-being.”
And those people who know the little white lie will still continue to push these buttons because the doors finally close and that is the desired reward, he said.
However, elevators aren't the only fake devices — crosswalk signals in New York City are also on the list. The New York Times revealed in 2004 that the Big Apple pulled the plug (插头) on a majority of its crosswalk buttons long ago, as a result of computer-controlled traffic signals. City figures state that out of the 3,250 crosswalk buttons, 2,500 of them didn't function. The reason the buttons are still in place is because it costs about $1 million to remove them.
But New York City isn't alone in this letdown, as a survey in 2010 found only one working crosswalk button in Austin, Texas, Gainesville, Florida and Syracuse, New York.
1.What do we know about the elevator “open” buttons?
A. They are functional.
B. They work with keys.
C. They're intended for the disabled.
D. They're useless to the average person.
2.Crosswalk signals were mentioned to tell us _____.
A. many people don't follow traffic rules
B. the traffic in New York is terrible
C. they're not necessary nowadays
D. there're other fake devices
3.Why do the non-functioning crosswalk buttons still exist in the New York City?
A. It's expensive to take them away.
B. The cost of the plug repairs is huge.
C. They make passers-by feel in control.
D. They give people a feeling of a caring city.
Body Language Game
Three Games in One
Includes an Online Body Language Training
Play 3 different games with the Body Language Cards and improve yourself. This product contains 90 Body Language Interpretation Cards and 18 Task Cards.
Game 1: More Emotional Intelligence:
•Recognize quickly how people feel
•Understand people's true intentions
•Respond more intelligently to non-verbal communication
Game 2: Stronger Negotiation (谈判) Skills:
•Get important information without having to ask questions
•Immediately feel the needs of your customers
•Close more deals by knowing what to say and when to say it
Game 3: Improved Presentation Skills:
•Use the power positions of the best presenters
•Learn how to attract high-level attention
•Connect on a deeper level with your audience
For who?
•Salespersons •Team leaders
•Coaches and Trainers •Business Owners
•Teachers •Speakers
•Politicians
•Persons that want to learn body language in a practical and entertaining way
Company gifts with your company logo (标识):
For orders of 50+ Body Language Games we can print your company logo on the box and on the cards.
Order now:
Delivery takes 7-10 business days.
Payment possible by Credit Card, Paypal or Bank Transfer.
Price per Body Language Game (Including a Body Language Training Course Online):
For USA: $69.80 $49.99 + national shipping $12.50.
For Europe: €57.60 €47.99 + international shipping €15.50.
Discount possible for orders of 100+ Body Language Games.
Contact us:
For any questions or bookings, please contact us directly from this website using the contact form or phone: +1 (310) 402-2536.
1.How should people use the Body Language Game?
A. By playing cards together.
B. By watching the video games.
C. By receiving face-to-face training.
D. By asking live presenters questions.
2.What benefit can a company get from a 50+ order?
A. It will get free shipping.
B. It will receive a discount.
C. Its logo will appear on the product.
D. Its package will be delivered at once.
In China, square dancing is an exercise routine performed to music in squares or parks. Recent years have ____ the growing popularity of square dancing among elderly people in China, ____ it provides them with a good platform to ____ and make new friends in their ordinary lives. Although the ____ has roots in both ancient and modern Chinese history, today the Chinese hold ____ views towards it. Some people, the young in particular, argue that it has disturbed their peaceful lives.
As for ____ citizens, square dancing is relatively easy to learn compared to traditional ____ and thus it wins their ____. Moreover, practicing square dancing doesn’t need ____ equipment. All it needs are open ground and loudspeakers. ____, it can be found across the country.
___, many young people have showed their ____. They think that square dancing ___ too much space in their neighborhood and ____ their life. In fact, it is the noise ___ square dancing that young people ____ most.
Therefore, concessions (让步) should be made by both ____ so that they can live in ____ with each other.
People taking part in square dancing are expected to dance in areas far away from residential communities (居民区), while the young are called on to show more ____ of square dancing. They will also become old and one day may be one of the dancers they dislike now.
In addition, the government should ____ more suitable areas where the elderly can do their favourite activities.
1.A. proved B. witnessed C. developed D. advanced
2.A. since B. once C. until D. though
3.A. relax B. retire C. react D. recover
4.A. process B. performance C. service D. practice
5.A. unique B. general C. complex D. wrong
6.A. local B. honest C. responsible D. senior
7.A. customs B. dances C. approaches D. entertainments
8.A. pleasure B. celebration C. encouragement D. love
9.A. comfortable B. remote C. special D. regular
10.A. As a result B. For example C. In other words D. In particular
11.A. Still B. Therefore C. However D. Otherwise
12.A. cautiousness B. determination C. dissatisfaction D. madness
13.A. removes B. occupies C. controls D. divides
14.A. supports B. ignores C. accepts D. disturbs
15.A. with B. into C. against D. by
16.A. doubt B. search C. regret D. dislike
17.A. positions B. parties C. situations D. hands
18.A. connection B. hope C. harmony D. independence
19.A. tolerance B. expectation C. spirit D. appeal
20.A. save B. separate C. fix D. spare
—Still, Mr. Bradley, there are two more ...
—_____. I’ve had enough of your excuses.
A. I beg to differ B. Cut it out
C. Out of question D. Take it easy
If you are unable to attend the interview, for _____ reason, you should inform us as soon as possible.
A. whatever B. whichever
C. whenever D. wherever
