B

“Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh. “There is certainly a lot of energy in waves,” he said. Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity. Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. “The wind starts out by making little ripples(涟漪), but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves,” Taylor said. “Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.” When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine(涡轮机). The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity.

“The resource is huge,” said Janet Swain of the World Watch Institute. “We will never run out of wave power.” Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal. Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface—that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome.

Swain said that wave power still costs too much money. She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown. What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic. Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out. “Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world,” Swain said. In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

1.The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to .

A. test the readers’ knowledge about waves

B. draw the readers’ attention to the topic

C. show Jamie Taylor’s importance

D. invite the readers to answer them

2.The underlined phrase “picking up” is closest in meaning to .

A. starting again B. speeding up

C. improving D. gathering

3.We can make better use of wave energy if we .

A. shorten its journey to thousands of homes

B. build more small power stations on the oceans

C. reduce the cost of turning it into electric power

D. quicken the steps of producing electricity

4.It can be inferred that someday we might not worry about .

A. our power supply

B. our boat traffic

C. air pollution

D. our supply of sea fish

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多于选项。

Britain’s high streets are dying slowly

Twenty years ago, the prosperous high street(繁华商业区) was the heart of most cities. It was crowded with customers.1. Nowadays, high streets are declining, with very few shops and shoppers. With about 14 shops down every day, Britain’s high streets are dying little by little.

2. It’s fairly easy to understand. To start with, people are spending less because of the economic recession(衰退). On top of that, more and more people are using the Internet to do their shopping. And it is not easy for shopkeepers in the high streets, either. 3. Finally, there are the out-of-town retail parks with free car parking that sell just about everything at very low prices.

What can be done? Prime Minister David Cameron has hired Mary Portas, a British business woman and star of TV show Mary Queen of Shops, to bring some life back into Britain’s high streets. She’s talked about creating “magnets(磁石)” to attract people back to the centre. 4.In one town, a bicycle rickshaw(人力车) service is delivering people’s shopping to their homes. 5. where children can be cared for while parents are shopping.

Members of the public have also voiced their opinions. “My ideal shopping center is one where there’s a wide selection of attractive looking shops, with cheap parking and good public transport links,” said a 28-year-old man. “I’d like to see Night Shopping evenings where shops are open through to 10 pm or later,” said a 22-year-old girl.

A. They have to pay increasing high rents.

B. But he is not the only one to solve the problem.

C. But that’s all changed.

D. In another town, they set up night shopping centers,

E. In another town, they set up a nursery,

F. They can make a fortune overnight.

G. Why are high streets in such a desperate situation?

D

The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus — until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?

Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise (同样地)when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.

1.Babies are sensitive to the change in______.

A. the size of cards

B. the colour of pictures

C. the shape of patterns

D. the number of objects

2.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?

A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.

B. To see how babies recognize sounds.

C. To carry their experiment further.

D. To keep the babies’ interest.

3.Where does this text probably come from?

A. Science fiction.

B. Children’s literature.

C. An advertisement.

D. A science report.

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