题目内容

It was a hot, humid day, and my brother Walt and I had decided that the only way to survive it would be to go swimming in a deep swimming hole across Mr. Blickez’s pasture(牧场) and through some woods.

The only problem with our plan was that this pasture was guarded by a huge, mean Hereford bull. Mr. Blickez had told us that Elsie was the meanest bull in the township, maybe even the county, and we believed him. But the hotter it got, the more we thought there was something fishy about his claim. For one thing, we remembered Mr. Blickez liked telling tall tales; for another, Elsie seemed like an odd name for a bull.

Finally, I talked Mom into asking permission for us to walk through the pasture, but then another problem surfaced. Mom said she would talk to Mr. Blickez if we would take our cousin Joanie along with us. Joanie was almost two years older than me and a head taller. If her teasing ever got around my grade school, it would be all over for me. In fact, I still had a headache from a quarrel with her that morning. “I’m not going swimming with that dumb girl cousin.” I told my mom.

“Either Joanie goes with, or you stay home alone,” Mom said in her serious tone. I gave in and we set out. On our way across the pasture, Walt yelled suddenly. Elsie had approached him quietly and was licking(舔) his back.Joanie and I dove under the wire fence, but while I was on the ground I looked up and saw that Elsie wasn’t a big mean bull after all. She was going to keep licking my brother’s back as long as he stood still.

We had many good days growing up and visiting our secret swimming hole guarded by the so-called “big mean bull”. And as it turned out, for a girl cousin, Joanie hasn’t been too bad. She’s been one of my best friends over the years.

1.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “fishy” in paragraph 2?

A. Funny B. Interesting

C. Doubtful D. Believable

2.What’s the second problem the author has to face

A. His mother insisted on his cousin going with him.

B. His cousin made jokes on him in his grade school.

C. He quarreled with his cousin and had a headache.

D. His mother failed to ask permission for him.

3.What does the author think of Elsie in the end

A. Aggressive. B. Unkind.

C. Bad-tempered. D. Friendly.

4.What’s the passage mainly about

A. The bull guarding Mr. Blickez’s farm.

B. The story of visiting the swimming hole.

C. How friendly the so-called mean bull was.

D. How the author changed his attitude to Joanie.

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Today, one can trace Venice’s rich past from its buildings. Most cities can claim at least a handful of outstanding churches, palaces or houses of historical interest, but in Venice very nearly everything is remarkable, from the magnificent Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square ) and the palaces that line the Grand Canal to the centuries-old homes of simple fishermen. It would be easy to say that the city itself is an enormous museum if it were not for the fact it is so obviously alive.

At first sight, Venice looks unbelievably permanent, an apparently complete Renaissance (文艺复兴) city so untouched by time that there seems no reason why it should not go on forever. Now the city is slowly sinking, as the clay on which it is built loses its elasticity (弹性) and the massive wooden piles rot (腐烂) away. Flooding, such a rare occurrence a hundred years ago now happens several times each winter.

The damage caused by the flooding is immense, and the fabric of the ancient buildings is now being further damaged by pollution from the mainland town as well as by the wash produced by the constantly increasing number of motor boats that speed up and down the canals.

A further threat to Venice comes from the Venetians themselves, some of whom are not particularly interested in preserving the city as one of the wonders of the world and would prefer to see it modernized.

“What better place is there for the meeting of dear friends? See how it glows with the advancing summer; how the sky and the sea and the rosy air and the marble of the palaces all glimmer and melt together.” Thus wrote the famous author Henry James, of Venice, which provided the setting for his story “The Aspern Papers”, in the nineteenth century. The Splendor of Venice has captured the imagination of artists for centuries --- and not just of the great painters and novelists. How tragic now that she is faced with the double threat of man and nature. Venice indeed will be lucky to survive.

1.Venice proudly boasts .

A. its beautiful churches, palaces and houses

B. its unique St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal

C. its picturesque waterscape

D. its marvelous ancient buildings

2.The writer thinks that .

A. Venice can be regarded as a big museum

B. Venice is no longer a big museum

C. Venice is different from a big museum

D. Venice can never be a big museum because of its modernization

3.From the fourth paragraph, we know that .

A. Venetians are eager to modernize their city

B. Venetians value the Grand Canal

C. Venetians don’t care about any threat to the Grand Canal.

D. the threat of man is greater than the threat of nature

4.In the last paragraph, the writer .

A. is very confident that Venice will survive

B. is doubtful whether Venice will survive

C. thinks that Venice will have luck

D. is afraid that Venice will no longer attract artists and novelists

On a Saturday morning earlier this September, the world got its first look at the Strati. This electric vehicle is unlike any other currently on the road. It rolls on four wheels, but its body and chassis(底盘) weren’t built in a factory. Instead, Strati’s designers used a technology called 3-D printing. It created those parts of the car in one piece, from the ground up.

“Compared to a typical vehicle on the road, the Strati definitely looks different,” says Greg Schroeder, a senior research engineer at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. He did not work on the new car. His organization studies trends and changes in the auto industry.

It took 44 hours to print the new car at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Over the next few days, the car’s designers installed additional parts. These included the car’s engine, brakes and tires. Then, early on September 13, Jay Rogers climbed into the car, started its engine and drove the vehicle onto the street. Rogers helped found Local Motors. It’s the Arizona-based company behind the Strati. Two weeks later, his team printed a second Strati, and just as fast, at a fair in New York City.

Justin Fishkin, a local Motors official, sees the Strati as a window into the future. Today, car buyers are limited in their choice of a vehicle. They can order only what car companies have already designed. But in the future, he says, you may be able to design your own car online and then get it printed to order.

Manufacturing experts say 3-D printing has begun to revolutionize how they make things. The technology has been around for decades. But these machines used to be so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Many of the machines are now inexpensive enough for small companies—or even individuals —to own. Some local libraries make them available to the public. High Schools are beginning to use them in classrooms. Wide access to these printers means people can now design and print a wide variety of new things.

The car’s printer is a one-of-a-kind device.

The technology behind the 3-D printer used in Chicago is an example of additive manufacturing. This process builds solid objects, slice by slice, from the bottom up. (“Strati” means layers, in Italian.) A mechanical arm moves a nozzle from one side to another, back and forth. As it moves, the nozzle deposits a liquid—often melted plastic or metal (but it could be food, concrete or even cells) —that quickly hardens or bonds to become solid or semi-solid. This creates a single, thin layer. Once a layer is complete, the printer starts depositing the next one.

“There’s a lot of interest in 3-D printing in the auto industry,” says Schroeder. Right now, the technology is particularly useful for building models of cars or car parts.

To compete with current auto manufacturers, the 3-D printer would have to increase in a hurry, Schroeder says. By contrast, he notes, a Ford F-150 pickup truck rolls off an assembly line at a rate of roughly one per minute. To print as many Stratis would require many more printers. Schroeder says he doesn’t see 3-D printing soon taking over for such high-volume manufacturing. But, he adds, “Who knows what will happen in the long term?”

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee designed the 3-D printer used in Chicago. Lonnie Love, a research scientist at the lab, led the effort.

Additive manufacturing often is slow and expensive. It also may produce materials that are unreliable, Love says. So for two years, his team searched for ways to make 3-D printing better. They built new machines and tested them over and over.

All of that work paid off: their new machine is fast and uses less expensive material than earlier printers. In addition, it prints a plastic embedded with fibers of carbon to produce a stronger material. This helps ensure the material won’t crack or break under pressure.

1.Which of the following statements about the first Strati is TRUE?

A. It was born in a car factory in Chicago.

B. All parts of it were not made by using a technology called 3-D technology.

C. It is a pity that it has not run on the street so far.

D. Many senior research engineers worked on it, including Greg Schroeder.

2.What can we infer from Paragraph 5?

A. Large companies are always rich enough to buy expensive things.

B. Now High Schools are beginning to use 3-D printers in classrooms.

C. Wide access to 3-D printers has made it possible for people to order novel things online.

D. High prices of new products can stop them from being used widely in the beginning.

3.What does the word “nozzle” in Paragraph 7 possibly refer to?

A. A single, thin layer.

B. A part of the 3-D printer.

C. A solid or semi-solid object.

D. A person who operates the machine.

4.Why did Lonnie Love make efforts to improve 3-D printing with his team?

A. Because additive manufacturing might produce unreliable materials.

B. Because he just was interested in making new things.

C. Because he just wanted to build new machines and test them

D. Because additive manufacturing is always slow but inexpensive.

5.Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?

A. 3-D Printers Are Coming

B. 3-D Printers Are Becoming Well- Known

C. 3-D Printers Are Becoming Cheaper

D. 3-D Printers Are Making Cars

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