题目内容

       For millions of people, the American dream of owning a home seems to be slipping out of reach.

    “Maybe young couples can no longer afford to buy a ready-made house as their parents did,’’ says 40-year-old building instructor Pat Hennin. “But they can still have a home. Like their pioneer ancestors, they can build it themselves, and at less than half the cost of a ready-made house.”

    The owner-builders came from every occupational group, although surprisingly few are professional building workers. Many take the plunge with little or no experience. “I learned how to build my house from reading books,” says John Brown, who built a six-room home for $25, 000 in High Falls, New Jersey. “If you have patience and the carpentry（木匠）skill to make a bookcase, you can build a house.” An astonishing 50 percent of these owner builders hammer every nail, 1ay every pipe, and wire every switch with their own hands. The rest contract（承包）for some parts of the task. But even those who just act as contractors and finish the insides of their homes can save from 30 percent to 45 percent of what a ready-made home would cost.

    One survey revealed that 60 percent of owner-builders also design their homes. Many others buy commercial house plans for less than $100 or use plans available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

 

56．What does the passage mainly tell us?

       A．The cost of having a house built.

       B．The American dream of owning a house.

       C．The life of owner-builders in America.

       D．A comparison between young couples and their parents.

57．It can be inferred from the passage that many Americans find it difficult to         .

    A．build a house                                       B．find a ready-made house

    C．have a good job                                   D．buy a house

58．The underlined phrase “take the plunge” in paragraph 3 most probably means “         .”

    A．decide to build a house                             B．decide to pull down a house

    C．decide to buy a house                              D．decide to rent a house

59．From the passage we learn that           .

    A．Many house plans are offered free of charge.

    B．Most of the house plans are offered by building instructors.

    C．Most of the owner-builders design their homes.

    D．Fifty percent of the American young couples build houses.

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阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Biofuels

　　Biofules have been around as long as cars have．At the start of the 20th century, Henry Ford planned to fuel his Model Ts with ethanol(乙醇)．But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits(储量)kept gasoline and diesel(柴油)cheap for decades, and biofucls were largely forgotten．However, with the recent rise in oil prices, along with growing concern about global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels have been regaining popularity．

　　Gasoline and diesel are actually ancient biofuels．But they are known as fossil fuels because they are made from plants and animals that have been buried in the ground for millions of years．Biofuels are similar, except that they're made form plants grown today．

　　Much of the gasoline in the United States in blended with a biofuel-ethanol．Countries around the world are using various kinds of biofuels．For decades, Brazil has turned sugarcane into ethanol, and some cars there can run on pure ethanol rather than as additive to fossil fuels．

　　On the face of it, biofuels look line a great solution．Since plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grown crops grown for biofuels should suck up about as much carbon dioxide as comes out of the tailpipes of cars that burn these fuels．And unlike underground oil reserves, biofuels are a renewable resource since we can always grow more crops to turn into fuel．

　　Unfortunately, it's not so simple．The process of growing the crops, making fertilizers and pesticides, and processing the plants into me!consumes a lot of energy．Also, because much of the energy used in production comes from coal and natural gas, biofiiels don't replace as much oil as they use．

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．
【小题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．
【小题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.
【小题3】The underlined word “latrine” in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word “__ ”n the text．
A．LooB．sanitationC．diarrheaD．prototype
【小题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
【小题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

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.

Cutting carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases, according to studies released Wednesday and published in a special issue of The Lancet British medical journal.

“Relying on fossil fuels leads to unhealthy lifestyles, increasing our chances for getting sick and in some cases takes years from our lives,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a telecast (电视广播) briefing from her home state of Kansas. “As greenhouse gas emissions go down, so do deaths from cardiovascular (心血管的) and respiratory diseases (呼吸疾病). This is not a small effect.”

Instead of looking at the health ills caused by future global warming, as past studies have done, this research looks at the immediate benefits of doing something about the problem, said Linda Birnbaum, director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Some possible benefits seemed highly speculative (投机的，推测的), the researchers conceded (承认，给予), based on people driving less and walking and cycling more. Other proposals studied were more concrete and achievable, such as reducing cook stoves that burn dung (粪便), charcoal and other polluting fuels in the developing world.

And cutting carbon dioxide emissions also makes the air cleaner, reducing lung damage for millions of people, doctors said.

“Here are ways you can attack major health problems at the same time as dealing with climate change," said lead author Dr. Paul Wilkinson, an environmental epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Wilkinson said the individual studies came up with numbers of premature deaths prevented or extra years of life added for certain places.

For example, switching to low-polluting cars in London and Delhi, India, would save 160 lost years of life in London and nearly 1,700 in Delhi for every million residents, one study found. But if people also drove less and walked or biked more, those extra saved years would soar (高耸，高涨) to more than 7,300 years in London and 12,500 years in Delhi because of less heart disease.

1.What does the passage mainly about?

A. How can people live longer.

B. Cutting carbon dioxide emissions saves life.

C. Global warming threatens people’s lives

D. People should stop relying on fossil fuels

2.The new research differs from past studies in that ________.

A. it focuses on the immediate benefits of cutting carbon dioxide emissions

B. it studies the bad effects arising from future global warming

C. it is believed by most people

D. it mainly targets at developing countries

3.According to Kathleen Sebelius ________.

A. sometimes it takes years to see the bad effects caused by consuming fossil fuels

B. without greenhouse gas emissions, people would not die of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

C. the main reason why people get sick is that they rely on fossil fuels

D. death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are closely related to greenhouse gas emissions

4.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. London and Delhi have already benefited from reducing greenhouse gas emissions

B. switching to low-polluting cars would save 160 lives in London every year

C. walking and biking instead of driving will reduce the chance of heart disease

D. attacking health problems and dealing with climate change are contradictory

 

The oldest and most common source(来源) of renewaBle energy known to man, Biomass is one of the most important forms energy production in the United States and elsewhere. Since such a wide variety of Biomass materials is everywhere ---- from trees and grasses to agricultural and city ---- life wastes ----Biomass promises to play a continuing role in providing power and heat for millions of people around the world.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists(UCS), Biomass is a kind of renewaBle energy source that produces no carBon dioxide(二氧化碳), Because the energy it contains comes from the sun. When plant matter is Burned, it gives off the sun’s energy. In this way, Biomass serves as a sort of natural Battery(电池) for storing the sun’s energy. As long as Biomass is produced continuously ----with only as much grown as is used--- the “Battery” lasts forever.

According to the Energy Information Administration, Biomass has Been one of the leading renewaBle energy sources in the United States for several years running through 2007, making up Between 0.5 and 0.9 percent of the nation’s total electricity supply. In 2008----although the numBers aren’t all in yet----wind power proBaBly took over first place Because of the rapid development of wind farms across the country.

Producing power from Biomass helps reduce some 11 million tons of carBon dioxide each year. Some homeowners also try to make their own heat By using Biomass materials. Such practice may save homeowner’s money, But it also produces a lot of pollution. So, the Best way is to encourage power plants to use it.

1.Why is Biomass considered as “ a sort of natural Battery”?

A．It Burns merely plant matter.               B．It keeps producing electricity.

C．It stores the energy from the sun.           D．It produces zero carBon dioxide.

2.We learn from the text that in 2008 ______.

A．Wind power would Be the leader of renewaBle energy.

B．there was a rapid growth of electricity production

C．Biomass might Become the main energy source

D．0.5~0.9 of power supply came from Biomass

3.Why does the author encourage power plants to use Biomass?

A．To prevent the waste of energy.            B．To increase production safety.

C．To reduce pollution.                     D．To save money.

4.Where does the text proBaBly come from?

A．A research plan.                        B．A science magazine

C．A Book review.                         D．A Business report.

 

The African elephant, the largest land animal remaining on earth, is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统). Unlike other animals, the African elephant is to a great extent the builder of its environment. As a big plant-eater, it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原) surroundings in which it lives, therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat.

It is the elephant’s great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat. In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day, it kills small trees and under-bushes, and pulls branches off big trees. This results in numerous open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover part of the African savannas. In these open spaces are numerous plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.

Take the rain forests for example. In their natural state, the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor. By pulling down trees and eating plants, elephants make open spaces, allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor. In such situations, the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.

What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species. If the elephant disappears, scientists say, many other animals will also disappear from vast areas of forest and savanna, greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem.

1.What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?

A．Improving the quality.

B．Deciding the conditions.

C．Fixing the time.

D．Worsening the state.

2.The passage is developed mainly by_________.

A．giving examples

B．showing the effect and then explaining the causes

C．pointing out similarities and differences

D．describing the changes in space order

3.What is the passage mainly about?

A．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants.

B．The eating habit of African elephants.

C．Disappearance of African elephants

D．The effect of African elephants’ search for food

4.What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?

A．They are home to many endangered animals.

B．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds.

C．They result from the destruction of rain forests.

D．They provide food mainly for African elephants.

 

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