What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to? The good news is that we can. In fact, we are swimming in it--- literally.

Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe. Our own sun is basically a big, dense cloud of the stuff. And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power, heat and light.

The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It does not exist as a material on its own, but is always part of something else. So it has to be separated before it can be used.

Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas. As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030, it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can. But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after. Another source is needed.

Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen. Companies are working on the problem in their own areas. The first commercial hydrogen “fuel cells” for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market. Auto companies have also invested over US $2 billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars.

The nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over energy recourses. There would be a great reduction in pollution. The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water--- something that is very scarce in many parts of the world. But that is not where the good news ends. Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down, it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth’s population that has no electricity.

And electricity creates wealth. In South Africa over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification. Thanks to the programme, people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat. And with electric light, they can work long into the night.

Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates. Hydrogen creates electricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it. Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web,” which it supplies with electricity. A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car. Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.

Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away. But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to end oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource. So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.

1.What does the underlined word “it” in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A. wealth                            B. hydrogen                         C. electricity                       D. fuel

2.What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A. It has by-products.

B. It has to be separated from other materials.

C. It will make energy too cheap.

D. It is too far away from us.

3.Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph ?

A. To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power.

B. To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution.

C. To show hydrogen power can stop war.

D. To show hydrogen power is cheap.

4.What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A. skeptical                            B. negative              C. indifferent              D. positive

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. war and energy                                          B. the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C. the disadvantages of oil                        D. How to end war

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．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 $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more, prototypes over the next three years．

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 thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion

C．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people．

D．Because he can't design this kind of things himself．

2.Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?

A．They are too complicated to use.                 B．They waste too much water

C．They might cause diseases．                          D．They are not always practical.

3.The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__    " in the text．

A．sanitation          B．loo            C．diarrhea       D．prototype

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 use urine for flushing

D．can produce power with solar energy

5.If someone "flush money down the toilet", they are        .

A．wasting money for nothing

B．being angry with their work conditions

C．showing—off their wealth

D．expressing their great determination

What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to?The good news is that we can, In fact, we are swimming in it—literally.

Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe ,Our own sun is basically ,a big ,dense cloud of the stuff ,And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power ,heat and light.

The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time , It does not exist as a material on its own ,but is always part of something else, So it has to be separated before it can be used.

Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas , As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030.,it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can ,But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after, Another source is needed.

Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen ,Companies are working on the problem in their own areas ,The first commercial hydrogen ,”fuel cells”for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market ,Auto companies have also invested over US ＄2billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars

Thd nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over evergy recourses, There would be a great reduction in pollution ,The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water—something that is very scarce in many parts of the world ,But that is not where the good news ends, Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down ,it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth ‘s population that has no electricity.

And electricity creates wealth, In South A frica over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification, Thanks to the programme, people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat, And with electric light , they can work long into the night.

Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates, Hydrogen creates clectricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it ,Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web”, which it supplies with electricity ,A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car, Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.

Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away, But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to edn oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource, So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.

1.What does the underlined word “it”in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A、wealth                  B、hydrogen             C、electricity             D、fuel

2.What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A、It has by-products

B、It has to be separated from other materials

C、It will make energy too cheap

D、It is too far away from us

3.Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph?

A、To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power

B、To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution

C、To show hydrogen power can stop war

D、To show hydrogen power is cheap

4.What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A、skeptical               B、negative               C、indifferent           D、positive

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A、war and energy 

B、the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C、the disadvantages of oil

D、How to end war

What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to?The good news is that we can, In fact, we are swimming in it—literally.

Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe ,Our own sun is basically ,a big ,dense cloud of the stuff ,And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power ,heat and light.

The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time , It does not exist as a material on its own ,but is always part of something else, So it has to be separated before it can be used.

Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas , As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030.,it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can ,But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after, Another source is needed.

Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen ,Companies are working on the problem in their own areas ,The first commercial hydrogen ,”fuel cells”for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market ,Auto companies have also invested over US ＄2billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars

Thd nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over evergy recourses, There would be a great reduction in pollution ,The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water—something that is very scarce in many parts of the world ,But that is not where the good news ends, Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down ,it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth ‘s population that has no electricity.

And electricity creates wealth, In South A frica over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification, Thanks to the programme , people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat, And with electric light , they can work long into the night.

Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates, Hydrogen creates clectricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it ,Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web”, which it supplies with electricity ,A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car, Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.

Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away, But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to edn oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource, So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.

66、What does the underlined word “it”in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A、wealth             B、hydrogen         C、electricity         D、fuel

67、What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A、It has by-products                               B、It has to be separated from other materials

C、It will make energy too cheap         D、It is too far away from us

68、Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph?

A、To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power

B、To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution

C、To show hydrogen power can stop war        D、To show hydrogen power is cheap

69、What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A、skeptical          B、negative           C、indifferent        D、positive

70、What is the passage mainly about?

A、war and energy               B、the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C、the disadvantages of oil           D、How to end war

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’ 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．It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents．28 designs were displayed at the recent event of 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 promised $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years．

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．

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.

3.The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__   " in the text．

A．loo              B．sanitation          C．diarrhea          D．prototype

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

5.If people "flush money down the toilet", they are       .

A．showing off their wealth                  B．angry with their working conditions

C．wasting money for nothing                D．expressing their great determination