A build-it-yourself solar still(蒸馏器) is one of the best ways to obtain drinking water in areas where the liquid is not readily available. Developed by two doctors in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it’s an excellent water collector. Unfortunately, you must carry the necessary equipment with you, since it’s all but impossible to find natural substitutes. The only components required, though, are a 5' 5' sheet of clear or slightly milky plastic, six feet of plastic tube, and a container— perhaps just a drinking cup — to catch the water. These pieces can be folded into a neat little pack and fastened on your belt.

To construct a working still, use a sharp stick or rock to dig a hole four feet across and three feet deep. Try to make the hole in a damp area to increase the water catcher’s productivity. Place your cup in the deepest part of the hole. Then lay the tube in place so that one end rests all the way in the cup and the rest of the line runs up — and out — the side of the hole.

Next, cover the hole with the plastic sheet, securing the edges of the plastic with dirt and weighting the sheet’s center down with a rock. The plastic should now form a cone(圆锥体) with 45-degree-angled sides. The low point of the sheet must be centered directly over, and no more than three inches above, the cup.

The solar still works by creating a greenhouse under the plastic. Ground water evaporates (蒸发) and collects on the sheet until small drops of water form, run down the material and fall off into the cup. When the container is full, you can suck the refreshment manfen5 out through the tube, and won’t have to break down the still every time you need a drink.

1.What do we know about the solar still equipment from the first paragraph?

A. It’s delicate. B. It’s expensive.

C. It’s complex. D. It’s portable.

2.What does the underlined phrase “the water catcher” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. The tube. B. The still.

C. The hole. D. The cup.

3.What’s the last step of constructing a working solar still?

A. Dig a hole of a certain size. B. Put the cup in place.

C. Weight the sheet’s center down. D. Cover the hole with the plastic sheet.

4.When a solar still works, drops of water come into the cup form .

A. the plastic tube B. outside the hole

C. the open air D. beneath the sheet

I Am A Pencil

Children’s book author Sam Swope took a job teaching writing to third-graders in the New York City. His students were immigrants or the children of immigrants from 21 countries, speaking 11 languages and having many different beliefs. But there were a few things they had in common: family troubles, money struggles and poetry.

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Price: $19.95

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What It Takes To Help Me Out

An editor for US News & World Report, David L. Marcus takes us inside a boarding (寄宿) school for troubled teens. He shows the great stresses that are put on these teens and make them lose their confidence. This should cause us to think hard about troubled teens.

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The Most Scenic Drives in America

Published again and again and translated into several languages beginning in 1997, this travel book includes over 200 brand-new photographs of the wonderful places along 120 selected routes.

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Our Brother’s Keeper

Author Jedwin Smith tells what happened when he met several of his brother’s old friends. They make a journey to Vietnam, to visit the place where Jeff, his brother, died. Surprisingly, their Vietnamese guide was the former commander (海军中校) carrying out the attack that killed Jeff. A powerful story of brotherhood, bravery and understanding carried out.

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1.Which of the following books offers the biggest price cut?

A. I Am A Pencil B. What It Takes To Help Me Out

C. The Most Scenic Drives in America D. Our Brother’s Keeper

2.If you are interested in pictures, you would probably choose ________.

A. Our Brother’s Keeper B. What It Takes To Help Me Out

C. The Most Scenic Drives in America D. I Am A Pencil

3.From the book I Am A Pencil, we can learn that Sam Swope’s students _______.

A. are homeless children B. have the same beliefs

C. like writing poetry D. are in different grades

4.What can we learn from the passage?

A. I Am A Pencil is written by Jedwin Smith.

B. What It Takes To Help Me Out is about troubled teens.

C. You have to pay $47.88 for The Most Scenic Drives in America.

D. Jedwin Smith was killed in Vietnam.

5.What type of writing is this passage?

A. An advertisement. B. A news report.

C. An announcement. D. A tour guide.

The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates(=shows) the time of day by the color of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing color follows a regular twenty—four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm (节奏) of the sun.

Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing color according to the amount of light strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin color continued to change exactly on time.

This characteristic (特性) probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely regulated (受控制) inside the living body of the crab.

The biologists noticed that once each day the color of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!

1.The fiddler crab is like a clock because it changes color ______.

A. in a regular 24—hour rhythm B. in answer to the sun’s rays

C. at low tide D. every fifty minutes

2.The crab’s changing color ______.

A. tells the crab what time it is B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies

C. keeps the crab warm D. is of no real use

3.When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark , they ______.

A. did not change color B. changed color more quickly

C. changed color more slowly D. changed color on the same timetable

4.The crab’s color—changing ability was probably developed ______.

A. in the process of evolution (进化) B. over millions of years

C. by the work of biologists D. both A and B

5.The best title for this selection would be ______.

A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology

C. A Living Clock D. A scientific Study

Most funny stories are based on comic situations. In spite of national differences, certain funny situations have a universal attraction. No matter where you live, you would find it difficult not to laugh at, say Charlie Chaplin's early films. However, a new type of humour, which starts largely from the U.S., has recently come into fashion. It is called “sick humour”.

Comedians base their jokes on tragic situations like violent death or serious accidents. The following “sick humour” will enable you to amuse yourself.

A man who had broken his right leg was taken to hospital a few weeks before Christmas. From the moment he arrived there, he kept on bothering his doctor to tell him when he would be able to go home. He was afraid of having to spend Christmas in hospital. Though the doctor did his best, the patient's recovery was slow. On Christmas Day, the man still had his right leg in plaster(石膏).

He spent a miserable day in bed thinking of all the fun he was missing. The following day, however, the doctor consoled him by telling him that his chances of being able to leave hospital in time for New Year celebrations were good. The man took heart and, sure enough, on New Year's Eve he was able to hobble(蹒跚) along to a party. To make up for his unpleasant experiences in hospital, the man drank a little more than it was good for him. In the process, he enjoyed himself thoroughly and kept telling everybody how much he hated hospitals. He was still murmuring something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg.

1.Which is right?

A. All the humour stories are funny in spite of different nationalities.

B. One can realize the humour of the stories in his own country.

C. Charlie Chaplin made it difficult to laugh at his action.

D. Almost all the audience can be made to laugh at some famous comedians' action.

2.What does the underlined word “consoled” mean?

A. Comfort. B. Overcome.

C. Confuse. D. Disturb.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. No pains, no gains. B. Extreme joy begets sorrow.

C. Once a thief, always a thief. D. Good medicine tastes bitter.

4.What's the main idea of the passage?

A. A new kind of humour came into being.

B. How to cure your legs is important.

C. Christmas is more necessary than anything else.

D. Holding a party is interesting for the westerners.

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