You can’t make a call or send a text on your mobile phone in the US town of Green Bank, West Virginia. Wireless Internet is outlawed, as is Bluetooth. As you approach the tiny town on a two-lane road that snakes through the mountains, your mobile phone signal drops out, and your radio stops working. The rusted pay phone on the north side of town is the only way for a visitor to reach the rest of the world. It’s a pre-modern place by design, lacking of the latest technologies that define life today.

The reason for the town’s empty airwaves is apparent the moment you arrive. It’s the Robert C. Byrd telescope, also known as the GBT, a shiny white, 147-metre-tall satellite dish. It’s the largest of its kind in the world and one of nine in Green Bank, all of them government owned and operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

You don’t look through these kinds of telescopes. They’re radio telescopes, so instead of looking for distant stars, they listen for them. There’s a long line of astronomers all over the world who want to use the telescope which is so sensitive that it could hear a single snowflake hitting the ground 1,000 miles away.

Such a sensitive listening tool needs total technological silence to operate, so in 1958 the US government created a National Radio Quiet Zone, a 33,000 km2 area covering Green Bank where, to this day, electronic and radio signals are forbidden every hour of every day.

People who live within a 15km of the Green Bank telescope are allowed to use landline telephones, wired Internet and cable televisions, but microwave ovens, wireless Internet and radios are forbidden. You can have a mobile phone, but you won’t get a signal.

Because of how much its way of life varies from the rest of America, Green Bank seems to be a somewhat isolated (隔绝), even alien place. For locals, the technology ban is annoying. For others who come to Green Bank for a little rest and relaxation, the town has become a refuge.

1.What do we know about the town of Green Bank from Paragraph 1?

A. It’s located at the base of a large mountain.

B. It is geographically and technologically isolated.

C. Its telecommunications are affected by its geography.

D. Many people live in the town and its surrounding areas.

2.How does the GBT work?

A. It traps light waves in its huge dish.

B. It stops all electronic and radio signals.

C. It receives pictures from space satellites.

D. It listens for and receives noises from space.

3.What equipment are locals of the Green Bank allowed to use?

A. Cable TV, wired Internet and radio.

B. Landline phones, wired Internet and cable TV.

C. Public phones, wireless Internet and mobile phones.

D. Landline phones, microwave ovens and cable internet.

4.What does the underlined word “refuge” in the last paragraph most probably mean?

A. A place of escape. B. A source of confusion.

C. An area of interest. D. A sign of danger.

My husband and I are saving thousands of dollars every year by growing our own vegetables in our backyard. We learn something new every year and this website has been made to share tips with other people that would like to grow some of their own food.

It’s true that if you are starting from fresh, it will cost a little bit of money to get started. However, once everything is set up, the cost is very small and the rewards are huge. The size of your family and how many vegetables you eat determine exactly how much money you can save every year. We do a lot of juicing, so we are saving thousands of dollars by growing some carefully selected greens.

There is an amazing sense of accomplishment when you grow your own vegetables. Vegetables out of your vegetable garden don’t get any fresher, tastier or more satisfying. The whole family can get involved in this hobby and kids will learn where food comes from and appreciate nature even more.

Our approach to vegetable gardening is completely different from the normal one. We are doing it in the lazy way with zero digging and fertilizing(施肥). The way we grow our vegetables is to emulate natural ecosystems. No rows of carrots can be found in our garden beds. Rain forests seem to do just fine without human interference(干预) or having plants sown in rows, so we have applied the same principle to our vegetable garden and we care producing more vegetables than ever.

By copying nature we spend little time working in the vegetable garden but get a much better crop than previous years when we followed the rules. What can I say? We’re such rebels.(叛逆者)

1.What does the author think about people growing their own vegetables?

A. It is a rewarding activity. B. It is costly in the beginning.

C. People should devote many efforts. D. People should share their tips.

2.What does the underlined word “emulate” in paragraph 4 mean?

A. Create. B. Imitate(模仿).

C. Protect D. Improve.

3.Why does the author call her and her husband “rebels”?

A. They use unconventional ways to grow vegetables.

B. They don’t buy vegetables from the market.

C. They even try to grow vegetables in the rain forests.

D. They don’t grow ordinary vegetables.

4.Which of the following shows the structure of the text? (P: Paragraph)

A. B.

C. D.

Have you felt annoyed when a cell phone rings during the class? Something must be done to stop this. Now in New York City, USA, a rule is carried out in schools. Students can't even bring cell phones to school. Is it a good thing or not?

Anxious parents say that cell phones are an important tool in holding New York City's families together.

"I worry about it." said Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, a mother of a middle school kid. "It's necessary in our everyday life. We have a washing machine. We have running water, and we have cell phones."

Many American parents think cell phones connect them to their children on buses, getting out from subways, walking through unknown places.

"I have her call me when she gets out of school," said Lindsay Walt, a schoolgirl's mother. "No one in New York is going to let their child go to school without a cell phone."

What about the cell phone owners, the students? Most of the students said cell phones were essential and the cell phone was like an extra hand or foot for them.

"I feel so empty," said May Chom, 14. There is also no way to listen to music on the way to school without my phone. It will be a really, really boring trip."

1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Many American parents don't think cell phones are necessary for the students.

B. Cell phones only bring troubles to the school life.

C. Cell phones connect children with their families when they are outside.

D. People cannot live without cell phones.

2.What does the underlined word "essential" mean in Chinese?

A. 时髦的 B. 必要的

C. 昂贵的 D. 受欢迎的

3.This article is about the ______ in carrying out the rule not to use a cell phone in school.

A. happiness B. interest

C. problem D. advantage

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网