An early invention by Albert Einstein has been rebuilt by scientists at Oxford University. They are trying to develop an environmentally friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity.
We all know that modern fridges cause damage to the environment. They work by using a kind of man-made greenhouse gas called Freon (氟里昂), which is far more damaging than carbon dioxide.
Now Malcolm McCulloch, an electrical engineer at Oxford, is leading a three-year project to develop appliances that can be used in places without electricity.
His team has completed a prototype (样机) of a fridge patented in 1930 by Einstein. It used only pressurized gases to keep things cold. The design was partly used in the first refrigerators, but the technology was dropped when more efficient compressors (压缩机) became popular in the 1950s. That meant a switch to using Freon.
Einstein's idea uses butane (丁烷) and water and takes advantage of the fact that liquids boil at lower temperatures, when the air pressure around them is lower.
"If you go to the top of Mount Qomolangma, water boils at a much lower temperature than it does when you're at sea level and that's because the pressure is much lower up there," said McCulloch.At one side is the evaporator (蒸发器), a bottle that contains liquid butane. "If you introduce a new vapor above the butane, the liquid boiling temperature decreases and, as it boils off, it takes energy from the surroundings to do so," says McCulloch. "That's what makes it cold."
The gas fridges based on Einstein's design were replaced by Freon-compressor fridges partly because Einstein's design was not very efficient. But McCulloch thinks that by changing the design and replacing the types of gases used it will be possible to quadruple (翻两番) the efficiency.
However, McCulloch's fridge is still in its early stages. "It's very much a prototype," he said. "Give us another month and we'll have it working."
【小题1】 According to the passage, an early invention by Albert Einstein _______.

A.has been rediscovered because it costs much less and works more efficiently
B.is being redesigned because it could be used in places without electricity
C.has just been found to be energy-saving and environmentally friendly
D.will be fully made use of and become the fridge of the future
【小题2】Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A.Freon was used in fridges long before the 1950s.
B.Freon is what makes current fridges big polluters.
C.McCulloch thinks he could improve Einstein's design by using other types of vapors.
D.The fridge Malcolm McCulloch and his team designed will be put into production soon.
【小题3】We can learn from the text that the prototype completed _______.
A.changed the air pressure around it
B.was tested on the top of Mount Everest
C.increased the liquid boiling temperature
D.used only pressurized gases to keep things cold
【小题4】McCulloch's words in Paragraph 6 _____.
A.serve as an explanation for the principle behind Einstein's fridge
B.give you the reason why Einstein's fridge was not efficient
C.tell you how to take advantage of low air pressure
D.show you how Einstein's fridge works

All children want to have pocket money. Why do their parents just give them a certain amount?   51 
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family.   52   Some children get weekly pocket money. Others get monthly pocket money. 
First of all, children are expected to make a choice between spending and saving. Then parents should make the children understand what is expected to pay for with the money. At first, some young children may spend all of the money soon after they receive it. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until it is the right time.    53  
In order to encourage their children to do some housework, some parents give pocket money if the children help around the home. Some experts think it not wise to pay the children for doing that.    54    
Pocket money can give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with the money. They can spend it by giving it to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want.    55  Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. Saving can also open the door to future saving and investing for children. 
A One main purpose is to let kids learn how to manage their own money. 
B They can save it for future use. 
C Timing is another consideration. 
D As helping at home is a normal part of family life. 
E Some children are not good at managing their pocket money. 
F Learning how to get money is very important for every child.  
G By doing so, these children will learn that spending must be done with a budget. 

Boiler rooms are often dirty and steamybut this one is clean and cool.Fox Point is a very new 47?unit living building in South Bronxone of the city’s poorest areas.Two?thirds of the people living there are formerly (以前) homeless peoplewhose rent is paid by the government.The rest are low?income families.The boiler room has special equipmentwhich produces energy for electricity and heat.It reuses heat that would otherwise be lost to the airreducing carbon emissions(碳排放)while also cutting costs.

Fox Point is operated by Palladiaa group that specializes in providing housing and services to needy people.Palladia received support from Enterprise Community Partners (ECP)which helps build affordable housing by providing support to housing developers.

ECP has created national standards for healthyenvironmentally (环境方面) clever and affordable homes which are called the Green Communities Standards.These standards include water keepingenergy saving and the use of environmentally friendly building materials.Meeting the standards increases housing construction costs by 2%which is rapidly paid back by lower running costs.Even the positioning of a window to get most daylight can help save energy.

Michael BloombergNew York’s mayorplans to create 165,000 affordable housing units for 500,000 New Yorkers.Almost 80% of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildingsand 40% of those are caused by housing.So he recently announced that the city’s Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (DHPD)whose duty is to develop and keep the city’s supply of affordable housingwill require all its new projects to follow ECP’s green standards.

Similar measures have been taken by other citiessuch as Cleveland and Denverbut New York’s DHPD is the largest city developer of affordable housing in the country.(2010·四川,B)

1.What is the purpose of describing the boiler rooms in the first paragraph?

ATo explain the measures the city takes to care for poor people.

BTo suggest that affordable housing is possible in all areas.

CTo show how the environment?friendly building works.

DTo compare old and new boiler rooms.

2.What is an advantage of the buildings meeting the Green Communities Standards?

ALower running costs.

BCosting less in construction.

CLess air to be lost in hot days.

DBetter prices for homeless people.

3.It can be learned from the text that________.

ANew York City is seriously polluted

Bpeople’s daily life causes many carbon emissions in New York City

Ca great number of people in New York City don’t have houses to live in

Dsome other cities have developed more affordable housing than New York City

4.What is the main purpose of this text?

ATo call on people to pay more attention to housing problems.

BTo prove that some standards are needed for affordable housing.

CTo ask society to help homeless people and low?income families.

DTo introduce healthyenvironmentally clever and affordable housing.

 

Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance. Parents often give their children an amount of money that they may spend as they wish. The purpose is to let the children learn from experience at an early age when financial mistakes are not very costly.

    A child may receive an allowance each week or each month. The amount is not so important.  But parents should make clear what the child is expected to pay for with the money.

At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents should not offer more money until the next allowance is to be given.

    Older children may be responsible enough to budget larger costs like those for clothing. The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving.

    Many people who have written on the subject say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the home, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.

    Allowances give children a chance to experience three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving it to organizations. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.

    Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer free savings accounts for young people with small amounts of money.

1.The functions of allowances given to children are the following EXCEPT ______.

A. they can save more money for their future business

B. they can give them to charities

C. they may spend them on what they like

D. they can learn to deal with money

2.The underlined word "sacrifice" in the last paragraph means "_____".

A. 牺牲                 B. 计划                C. 选择        D. 放弃

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

A. Children should save part of their allowance.

B. Don’t pay your child for work around the home.

C. Allowance helps teach children early about money.

D. Parents should allow children to spend money as they wish.

4.How many advantages of saving has the passage mentioned?

A. 2                     B. 3                        C. 4          D. 5

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Children are advised to buy anything they wish to with the allowance.

B. Parents should offer children more money if they spend all of their allowance soon after they get it.

C. It can be useful to pay children to do extra work around the home.

D. It is unnecessary for the children to save part of the allowance.

 

In a world with limited land, water and other natural resources(资源), the harm from the traditional business model is on the rise. Actually, the past decade has seen more and more forests disappearing and the globe becoming increasingly warm. People now realize that this unhealthy situation must be changed, and that we must be able to develop in sustainable(可持续的)ways. That means growth with low carbon or development of sustainable products. In other words, we should keep the healthy while using its supply of natural resources.

Today, sustainable development is a popular trend in many countries. According to a recent study, the global market for low-carbon energy will become three times bigger over the next decade. China, for example, has set its mind on leading that market, hoping to seize chances in the new round of the global energy resolution. It is now trying hard to made full use of wind and solar energy, and is spending a huge amount of money making electric cars and high-speed trains. In addition, we are also seeing great growth in the global markets for sustainable products such as palm oil(棕榈油), which is produced without cutting down valuable rainforest. In recent years the markets for sustainable products have grown more than 50%.

Governments can fully develop the potential of these new markets. First, they can set high  targets for reducing carbon emissions(排放) and targets for saving and reusing energy. Besides, stronger arrangement of public resources like forests can also help to speed up the development. Finally, governments can avoid the huge public expenses that are taking us in the wrong direction, and redirecting some of those expenses can accelerate the change from the traditional model to a sustainable one.

The major challenge of this century is to find ways to meet the needs of a growing population within the limits of this single planet. That is no small task, but it offers a large of new chances for sustainable product industries.

1.The traditional business model is harmful because of all the following EXCEPT that____.

A.it makes the world warmer

B.it consumes natural resources

C.it brings severe damage to future

D.it makes growth hard to continue

2.What can we infer from Paragraph2?

A.China lacks wind and solar energy

B.China is the leader of the low-carbon market

C.High-speed trains are a low-carbon development

D.Palm oil is made at the cost of valuable forests

3.To fully develop the low-carbon markets, governments can______.

A.cut public expenses

B.forbid carbon emission

C.develop public resources

D.encourage energy conservation

4.We can learn from the last paragraph that business have many chances to _______.

A.develop sustainable products

B.explore new natural resources

C.make full use of natural resources

D.deal with the major challenge

5.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A.To introduce a new business model

B.To compare two business models

C.To predict a change of the global markets

D.To advocate sustainable development

 

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