题目内容
B. as if
C. even though
D. so that
In today's world of cell phones, mini laptops and MP3 players, most people have at least one time-telling tool with them. Since these devices are so common, is time running out for the 500-year-old watch? According to some consumers, yes. New Jersey teenager Charlie Wollman says a watch is "an extra piece of equipment with no necessary function." Many young adults agree ─ and use their cell phones to tell time. Louis Galie, a senior vice president at Timex, said that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago. As a result, some people claim that the watch industry is at a crossroads.
However, watchmakers optimistically say that watches regain popularity when consumers reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they are willing to spend money on a quality timepiece that doesn't just keep good time. Fifty years ago, watchmakers boasted(自夸) about their products' accuracy. But in recent years, the watch industry has transformed itself into an accessory(附件,配件) business. And for many today, the image(外形) a watch communicates has become more important than the time it tells.
"Complications" ─ features that go beyond simple timekeeping ─ are an important part of a watch's image. Today's watches offer a host of features that suit almost any personality. These features include altitude trackers(追踪器), compasses(指南针), lunar calendars, USB drives, and even devices that measure the effectiveness of golf swings!
Creativity is also a key element in today's watches. For example, Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don't even look like watches. The company's popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell the time. It looks more like a futuristic bracelet(手镯) than a watch. Another Japanese watchmaker, EleeNo, makes a "handless" watch. Using a ring of circles to keep time, this watch makes an excellent conversation piece.
Whether a watch communicates fashion sense, creative flair or a love of sports, consumers want their timepieces to stand out. Nowadays, everyone has the same kind of gadget in their bags, so people want to make a statement with what's on their wrists(手腕). Will this interest in wrist fashion last? Only time will tell!
【小题1】Why aren’t watches popular with young people as before?
A.Because watches cannot keep good time as cell phones, mini laptops and MP3 players. |
B.Because watches are featured by the disadvantages of simple function |
C.Because watches are too expensive to afford. |
D.Because watches don’t have beautiful appearance as other modern time telling tools. |
A.Watching-making is facing a survival crisis challenge. |
B.Watching-making is faced with the developing opportunity. |
C.Watching-making becomes the sun rising industry. |
D.Watching-making has a specific development target. |
A.people will gradually lose interest in watches as they grow older |
B.watchmakers hardly change the development strategy for watches |
C.today’s watches are better than those in the past in quality |
D.customers used to be more concerned with the quality of a watch than with its image. |
A.multifunction | B.accuracy | C.nice design | D.low price |
A.Watches and Teenagers | B.The History of Watches |
C.The Accuracy of Watches | D.Watches Tell More Than Time |
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “zero-emissions(排放)vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants most all use fire to make it. Apart from the few people who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators(发电机). Generators are fueled by something--usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热) plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those "zero-emissions" cars are likely coal-burning cars. Because the coal is burned somewhere else, it looks clean. It is not true. It's as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can't see it, it's not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas(or another fuel)and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat--at the generator, through the transmission lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may drive your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won't get you nearly as far -- so electric cars burn more fuel than gasoline-powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from wind or geothermal, or solar, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don't use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars' batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it's a power plant, though,all the junk is in one place. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.
1.What’s the main idea of the passages?
A.Electric cars aren’t actually clean. |
B.Electric cars are zero-emissions vehicles. |
C.Zero-emissions vehicles are popular. |
D.Gasoline-powered cars are more efficient. |
2.Which of the following words can replace “be clueless about” in Paragraph 2?
A.Be familiar with. |
B.Be curious about. |
C.Fail to understand. |
D.Show their interest in. |
3.The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run _________.
A.at least 25 miles |
B.more than 25 miles |
C.as far as 25 miles |
D.less than 25 miles |
4.In the author’s opinion, compared with cars using gas, electric cars are more __________.
A.environmentally-friendly |
B.expensive |
C.efficient |
D.harmful |
5.It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
A.electric cars' batteries are poisonous for a long time |
B.now electric cars are used more than their gasoline-powered cousins |
C.zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
D.electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |