题目内容
The Green Microgym in Portland,Oregon has all the usual
stuff you'd expect-sweaty people,loud music,smooth exercise
equipment-but it has some extras as well. Everywhere you
look,there are power wires. And these aren't the typical kind
that let you surf the Web while you ride a spin cycle-although
you can do that too.The gym uses special exercise equipment
that captures(捕获)the energy you create while riding,
converts(转换)it into electricity and channels it into the power
outlets(插座).
The idea of using exercise equipment to produce electricity is
not new. A gym in Hong Kong has been doing this since 2007. But clean (and healthy)energy is
just now starting to catch on in U. S. gyms·"We have seen a significant increase in interest in the
past six months,which is a good sign that fitness centers are ready to spend money on green
technologies,” says Mike Curnyn,co-founder of the Green Revolution,a Connecticut-based firm
that wires bikes into a central battery that can store energy.
The Green Microgym,first opened in 2008,has more than 200 members and is doing so well
that owner Adam Boesel opened another one five miles from the original.Although membership
costs about the same as ordinary gyms,customers can earn gift certificates from local businesses
for watts produced while exercising.An average workout creates 37. 5 watt hours,which is
enough to power a phone for a week.
Boesel uses spin bikes made by Resource Fitness,a Seattle company he co-owns,that
captures energy produced from the flywheel. Wires send the converted AC current(交流电流)
into any standard wall outlet-for this reason,the product line's name is Plug Out-and the
energy created is used before the building draws power from the grid(电网).Unlike the Green
Revolution equipment,Plug Out machines cannot store extra energy. A third company,the
Florida-based ReRev,is adding converters to a specific brand of spin bikes. But since the
converters add$1,000 to the price of the equipment,the ReRev and Green Revolution machines
are at a disadvantage.
Resource Fitness,by contrast,sells its equipment for the same$1,200 price as non-
electricity-producing machines,removing the question of how long it will be until the energy
savings pay for the cost of the unit.The company can afford to do this because its designs don’t
call for the extra wiring needed for battery packs and large converters.It is also trying to price
competitively with standard equipment so more gyms-and gym Boers-will make the switch.
63.Members of the Green Microgym earn gift certificates for_.
A .using the man-powered exercise equipment
B. saving electricity for local businesses
C. producing green electricity to power their phones
D. paying higher membership fees
64.The spin bikes made by Resource Fitness are different from those by Green Revolution in that
A. they are easier to ride B. they are more expensive
C. they don't have wires connected D. they can not store extra electricity
65.What might prevent the green exercise equipment from getting more popular?
A .People's unwillingness to go green.
B. The high cost of making it.
C. Safety problems concerning electricity.
D. Lack of certificates.
66. The underlined words“make the switch”in the last paragraph most probably mean
A. change to a different gym B. use green exercise equipment
C. switch on the spin bikes D. add a battery to the machine
ADBB
Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is the color of most growing plants, too.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.
For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争). By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today--a person who is new in a job.
About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the east. The greenhorn didn’t have the skills that he would need to live in the hard, rough country.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.
A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution (革命) is the name which was given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural (农业的) scientists who had green thumbs.
【小题1】According to the passage, a greenhorn means________ now.
A.a young cow or ox whose horns have not yet developed |
B.a soldier who has not had any experience in war |
C.a person who is new in a job |
D.a man who doesn’t have the skills to live in the country |
A.未完成的 | B.成熟的 | C.青涩的 | D.老练的 |
A.If there weren’t the Green Revolution, we would have no rice to eat. |
B.The expression “the Green Revolution” appeared several years ago. |
C.Because of the Green Revolution, we have more kinds of rice and other grains. |
D.Agricultural scientists with green thumbs started the Green Revolution. |
A.all growing plants is green |
B.green is the most important color in nature |
C.a person with a green thumb can make plants grow well |
D.the expression “a green thumb” has a history of two hundred years |
A.a greenhorn | B.a green thumb |
C.the Green Revolution | D.the word “green” and its story |