Who doesn’t love sitting beside a cosy fire on a cold winter’s night ? Who doesn’t love to watch flames (火苗) curling up a chimney? Fire is one of man’s greatest friends, but also one of his greatest enemies. Many big fires are caused by carelessness. A lighted cigarette thrown out of a car or train window or a broken bottle lying on dry grass can start a fire. Sometimes, though, a fire can start on its own. Wet hay (草) can begin burning by itself. This is how it happens: the hay starts to rot (腐烂) and begins to give off heat which is trapped inside it. Finally, it bursts into flames. That’s why farmers cut and store (贮存) their hay when it’s dry. 

    Fires have destroyed whole cities. In the 17th century, a small fire which began in a baker’s shop burnt down nearly every building in London. Moscow was set on fire during the war against Napoleon. This fire continued burning for seven days. And, of course, in 64 A.D. a fire burnt Rome. Even today, in spite of modern fire-fighting methods, fire causes millions of pounds’ worthy of damage each year both in our cities and in the countryside. It has been wisely said that fire is a good servant but a bad master .

The writer considers it ________ to sit beside a fire on a cold winter night .

       A. nice       B. dangerous       C. unhappy         D. painful

Which of the following describes the way how hay begins burning on its own ?

       A. wet hay ---- becomes dry ---- gives off heat ---- burns

       B. dry hay ---- gets too much heat from the sun ---- gives out heat --- starts to burn

       C. wet hay ---- begins to rot ---- gives out heat ---- starts to burn

       D. dry hay ---- gives off heat ---- starts to rot ---- starts to burn

Many big fires are caused __________ .

       A. by cigarette             B. by their own    

       C. by dry grass              D. by people’s carelessness

How many examples did the writer give to show fires can destroy the whole city ?

       A. One       B. Two       C. Three            D. Four

Which of the following statement is not true ?

       A. Fires still cause much damage now although there are modern fire - fighting

     methods .

       B. Fires cause less damage in the country than in the city .

       C. Fire can be man’s good friend and also great enemy .

       D. One should be careful not to throw a lighted cigarette everywhere .


The wheel was one of man’s first inventions and yet it has also proved one of the most useful. So wide and varied are the uses of the wheels, in machines and vehicles of all kinds, that it is difficult to imagine what the world would be like without them. It is surprising to hear it said, therefore, that the wheel’s importance will perhaps be greatly reduced by the end of the century by an invention so new as to be still unnamed.
The invention is a machine the floats above any surface on a cushion of air. The cushion is formed when air is blown into this saucer, the machine rises to a height that may vary from a few inches to a few feet.
Industry is already using one form of the inversion to deal with heavy loads. It can lift them. with ease and since there are no wheels, and therefore no friction , they can be put into motion with the touch of a finger.
The new invention, however , is having a great effect on transport, Not only does it make expensive road systems unnecessary, but it enables vehicles to travel well over land or water. This unique to reach most destinations has given rise to the prediction that wheeled vehicles may be uncommon at the end the century as aeroplanes were at the beginning.
1. The first paragraph tells us that______.
A. the wheel was man’s earliest invention.
B. the wheel’s usefulness has yet to be proved.
C. wide wheels have a variety of important uses.
D. a new invention may make wheels less important.
2. The phrase “with the touch of a finger” in the third paragraph means______.
A. without difficulty                   B. by electricity .
C. without friction                    D. by hand.
3. The passage tells us that the new invention __________.
A. is more important for industry than for transport.
B. will one day be used instead of aeroplanes.
C. makes it possible to travel without using roads.
D. will replace wheeled vehicles using roads.
4. According to the passage, the new invention _______.
A. will soon get a name                        B. can go almost anywhere
C. is lighter than air                             D. was uncommon a century ago

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.

1.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.

2.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.

3.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

4.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

5.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

 

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(化粪池).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 $370m more to the future toilet project.They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years.

1.Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?

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

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

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

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

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

A.They waste too much water.

B.They might cause diseases.

C.They are not always practical.

D.They are too complicated to use.

3.The underlined word “latrine” in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word “__ ”n the text.

A.Loo              B.sanitation          C.diarrhea          D.prototype

4.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 produce power with solar energy

D.can use urine for flushing

5.If someone “flush money down the toilet”, they are       .

A.showing off their wealth

B.being angry with their work onditions

C.wasting money for nothing

D.expressing their great determination

 

The wheel was one of man’s first inventions and yet it has also proved one of the most useful. So wide and varied are the uses of the wheels, in machines and vehicles of all kinds, that it is difficult to imagine what the world would be like without them. It is surprising to hear it said, therefore, that the wheel’s importance will perhaps be greatly reduced by the end of the century by an invention so new as to be still unnamed.

The invention is a machine the floats above any surface on a cushion of air. The cushion is formed when air is blown into this saucer, the machine rises to a height that may vary from a few inches to a few feet.

Industry is already using one form of the inversion to deal with heavy loads. It can lift them. with ease and since there are no wheels, and therefore no friction , they can be put into motion with the touch of a finger.

The new invention, however , is having a great effect on transport, Not only does it make expensive road systems unnecessary, but it enables vehicles to travel well over land or water. This unique to reach most destinations has given rise to the prediction that wheeled vehicles may be uncommon at the end the century as aeroplanes were at the beginning.

1. The first paragraph tells us that______.

A. the wheel was man’s earliest invention.

B. the wheel’s usefulness has yet to be proved.

C. wide wheels have a variety of important uses.

D. a new invention may make wheels less important.

2. The phrase “with the touch of a finger” in the third paragraph means______.

A. without difficulty                   B. by electricity .

C. without friction                    D. by hand.

3. The passage tells us that the new invention __________.

A. is more important for industry than for transport.

B. will one day be used instead of aeroplanes.

C. makes it possible to travel without using roads.

D. will replace wheeled vehicles using roads.

4. According to the passage, the new invention _______.

A. will soon get a name                        B. can go almost anywhere

C. is lighter than air                             D. was uncommon a century ago

 

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