阅读理解

阅读下面短文，从每题所给四个选项中选出最佳答案。

　　Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let's face it, batteries aren't very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery's energy into an equal space. That's why a large group of mechanical engineers(centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery－free life! W hen the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobilephone, you just fill up and go.

　　The engine, about the size of a ten－cent coin, starts with a combustion chamber(燃烧室)that burns hydrogen(氢). Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers(硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are imprinted onto integrated circuits(集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.

　　But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency(效率). Tiny engine parts don't always behave like their scaled－up parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the works, according to Columbia University professor Luc Frechette, one of the engine's designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.

　　The scientists' goal is to create an engine that will operate at 10 percent efficiency－that is, 10 times better than batteries operate. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts of place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren't like until at least the end of the next ten years.

1．According to the passage, the title suggests that ________.

[　　]

A．batteries should be greatly improved

B．petrol will be used instead of batteries

C．the time of batteries will be gone forever

D．pollution caused by batteries must be solved

2．What's the meaning of the underlined word “devil” in paragraph 3?

[　　]

3．What can we infer from the passage?

[　　]

A．The new invention doesn't need any fuel.

B．The new engine has been produced in quantity.

C．The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.

D．The new engine needs to be improved before it's on sale.

4．What is the main purpose of this passage?

[　　]

A．To introduce a new invention to readers.

B．To persuade readers not to use batteries.

C．To show us how the new invention works.

When a friend is sad about a tragedy(悲剧)，it’s hard to know how to comfort(安慰) him/ her. But the worst thing you can do is say nothing. It could mean that you don’t care. You don’t have to say much.. A single supportive phrase doesn’t require absolutely perfect words to break the ice. Here are some conversation starters when life difficult situations have your tongue tied.
1. A friend loses his baby.
Don’t say: “Don’t worry. You’re so young. You’ll have another baby.” Do say: “ I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to imagine what you are going through, but if you want to talk about it, call me anytime.”
2. A guy deserts（抛弃）your friend.
Don’t say: “I never liked that rat bastard (坏蛋) anyway!” ( If the couple winds up reconciling (和解)， you could end up losing your friend.) Do say: “Breaking up is always hard to deal with, but I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
3. A friend has a death in the family.
Don’t say: “It’s God’s will.” or “I know exactly how you feel.” Do say: “I’m sorry about your loss. What can I do to help?”
4. A friend loses a job suddenly.
Don’t say: “Work is always boring. Those bosses didn’t suit you!” Do say: “I’m sorry for that, but I know there’s an even better job waiting for you there. Let’s think about possibilities.”
5. Someone’s pet dies.
Don’t say: “Gee! It was only a cat!” or “My roommate doesn’t like her dog and she is getting rid of her dog. Do you want it?” Do say: “I’m sorry, she was such a great cat. How long did you have it?”
【小题1】Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined part “have your tongue tied”?

Mom was right! If you say thank you, for even the smallest gift or slightest show of kindness, you’ll feel happy.
Gratitude, says Robert A. Emmons, a professor or psychology at the University of California, is an important element of happiness. In his recent took, Thanks!, Emmons uses the first major study on gratitude to prove mom’s point. In acknowledging and developing this much-ignored expression of thankfulness, he explains how people have benefited---- even improved their health.
As one of the leading scholars of the positive psychology movement, he admits gratitude may be difficult to express. He advises you to begin by admitting that life is good and full of events and elements that make daily existence a wonder. Second, recognize that the source of life’s goodness is more than just you. That source may be your mom, a friend, partner, child, colleague at work or play, or any combination of these.
Gratitude is always other-directed, notes Emmons. You can be pleased or angry with yourself and feel guilty about doing something wrong, but you can never be grateful to or for yourself.
Expressing gratitude shouldn’t be a reaction; it should be a state of mind. To feel grateful when life is a breeze and you have more than you need is easy. To feel grateful in time of crisis---- anger, hatred and bitterness----is easier. Also, too many people are aware of life’s blessings only after these are lost.
It’s crisis and chaos ---- danger, disease, disability and death ---- that bring many individuals to realize just how dependent they are on others. Yet it’s the way each of us begins life and ends it. It’s too bad that so many people waste those decades in between labouring under the illusion they are self-sufficient, says Emmons.
The abundance of voices expressing gratitude from his studies of individuals with chronic health problems is many. But Emmons goes beyond his “groundbreaking” science to make his case for gratitude by including the inspirational writings of philosophers, novelists and saints, as well as the beliefs of various religions and their respective scriptures. Taken together, these observations are summed up quite nicely by famous humanist Albert Schweitzer, who said the secret of life is “giving thanks for everything.”
To enable and embrace gratitude, Emmons encourages the readers of Thanks! To keep a gratitude diary. He even provides easy-to-follow directions on how to practice and develop gratitude.
I’m not a reader or advocate of self-help books, but I am thankful for the reference I found in a newspaper article to the research Emmons was conducting on gratitude involving organ donors and recipients. The chance discovery led me to this book.
Mom implied that kindness seems to find its way back to the giver because life really is all about giving, receiving and repaying. So I’ll pay attention to her professional advice and say: Thank you, professor Emmons.
【小题1】What is the text mainly discussed?

A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a  36 , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it 37  from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles,   38 everywhere. I tried to use a broom(扫帚),   39 with each sweep they just rolled across the kitchen.

For the next week, every time I was in the  40 , I found a pea—in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept  41  . Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and  42 12 frozen peas hidden underneath.

At the time I found those few remaining 43 , I was in a new relationship with a wonderful 44 I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded 45 those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my  46 had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had shattered(破碎). My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble  47  his new surroundings and the  48 of his mother. I was a bag of spilled(洒落) frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered(撒开).

When life gets you  49 , when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never 50 , remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be 51 , and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas  52 , including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them  53 you’ll start to feel whole again.

The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to  54 , and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom,   55 will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?

1.                A．drink          B．fruit           C．meat D．vegetable

2.                A．slipped         B．walked         C．ran  D．moved

3.                A．rubbed         B．rolled          C．grew D．existed

4.                A．so             B．and            C．although  D．but

5.                A．bedroom       B．living room      C．kitchen   D．storeroom

6.                A．getting up       B．taking up        C．turning up D．using up

7.                A．found          B．ate            C．left  D．planted

8.                A．peas           B．cans           C．vegetables D．presents

9.                A．man           B．child           C．woman   D．boy

10.               A．for            B．with           C．in    D．of

11.               A．wife           B．life            C．son   D．friend

12.               A．adapting to      B．leading to       C．turning to  D．adding to

13.               A．thank          B．love           C．help  D．loss

14.               A．wide           B．near           C．down D．close

15.               A．get it          B．make it         C．take it D．leave it

16.               A．grew          B．collected       C．bought    D．frozen

17.               A．eventually      B．fortunately      C．properly   D．specially

18.               A．both           B．either          C．all    D．each

19.               A．call on         B．put on         C．bring on   D．move on

20.               A．while          B．or             C．since D．because

Taylor sings with heart

The music industry is never short of teen pop stars with wonderful looks, but it doesn’t often find one like US singer Taylor Swift. “Beneath Taylor Swift’s not-a-girl, not-yet-a-woman sweetness hides a very skillful songwriting technique (技巧),” writes Leah Greenblatt with Entertainment Weekly.

Songwriting, the country singer explains, is “how I deal with problems. I am used to writing about things that really influences me most.” So in her songs, there is always something true and honest. They seem like stories from a diary. And that certainly helps Swift attract her audience.

She’s sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first two albums, 2006’s self-titled debut (首张专辑) and 2008’s Fearless. She’s the youngest artist ever to be named Artist of the Year at the American Music Awards. Not surprisingly, there were great expectations for her third album, Speak Now, which came out late last month, where she again returned to her own life for material. The 14 songs “are all about the last two years... when life was a little bit bigger and crazier,” says Swift. “So I’ve written about the lessons and confusion and heartbreak and all the different things that go along with being 18, 19 and 20.”

What led to Taylor’s fame?

A. Her wonderful looks.                     B. Her songwriting skills together with her looks.

C. Her beautiful voice.                 D. Her special life experience in her teenage years.

Which of the following is true?

A. Taylor is now in her twenties.

B. Taylor’s the youngest Artist of the Year at the Academy Awards

C. Taylor has produced three albums up till now.

D. Taylor has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide.

What may be written in the album, Speak Now?

A. Her unhappy experience with her boyfriend.

B. Her concern for her popularity.

C. Her happy childhood.

D. Her worries for environmental pollution.