Sunny countries are often poor. A shame, then, that solar power is still quite expensive. Eight19, a British company by Cambridge University, has, however, invented a novel way to get round this. In return for a deposit of around $10 it is supplying poor Kenyan families with a solar cell able to generate 2.5 watts of electricity, a battery that can deliver a three amp（安培） current to store this electricity, and a lamp whose bulb is a light-emitting diode（二极管）. The firm thinks that this system, once the battery is fully charged, is enough to light two small rooms and to power a mobile-phone charger for seven hours. Then, next day, it can be put outside and charged back up again.
The trick is that, to be able to use the electricity, the system's keeper must buy a scratch card—for as little as a dollar—on which is printed a reference number. The keeper sends this reference, plus the serial number of the household solar unit, by SMS to Eight19. The company's server will respond automatically with an access code to the unit. 
Users may consider that they are paying an hourly rate for their electricity. In fact, they are paying off the cost of the unit. After buying around $80 worth of scratch cards—which Eight19 expects would take the average family around 18 months—the user will own it. He will then have the option of continuing to use it for nothing, or of trading it in for a bigger one, perhaps driven by a 10-watt solar cell. 
In that case, he would go then through the same process again, paying off the additional cost of the upgraded kit at a slightly higher rate. Users would therefore increase their electricity supply steadily and affordably.
According to Eight19's figures, this looks like a good deal for customers. The firm believes the average energy-starved Kenyan spends around $10 a month on oil—enough to fuel a couple of smoky lamps—plus $2 on charging his mobile phone in the market-place. Regular users of one of Eight19's basic solar units will spend around half that, before owning it completely. Meanwhile, as the cost of solar technology falls, it should get even cheaper.
【小题1】The underlined word “get round” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _______ .

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分。）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从所给出的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

After listening to everyone’s concerns and problems, Professor Smith looked over at the hostess (主持人) and asked her if she could get a paper and pen for everyone in the room. She    36    a minute later, and brought some paper and pens.

    “Do me a    37   ,” Professor Smith asked. “We’re going to try something and I    38    your cooperation. On the small piece of paper please    39    the 3 biggest problems you are facing in your personal life right now. Don’t write your name on it. We’ll keep it    40   .”

    The group found the experiment    41   , not knowing what was to follow.

    After everyone wrote down their problems, Professor Smith asked everyone to    42    their paper and put it in a small basket that was in the front of the room. There were    43    expressions throughout the room,    44    again, everyone cooperated, wanting to know what would    45    next.

    Professor Smith shook the basket and then he    46    around the room and asked each person to    47    a paper from the basket. After he had done that, he sat back down and looked around the room.

    “Friends,   48    the paper and read to yourself the problems that you    49   ,” Professor Smith said.

    Then, Professor Smith    50    at the woman sitting on his left and asked, “Lisa, would you like to    51    your problems that you wrote down with those that you chose from the basket?”

 “No,” Lisa said.

    Next, Professor Smith asked the man sitting next to Lisa the    52    question. “Would you like to exchange the problems you wrote down with those that you chose from the basket?”

   53    the reply was “No.”

    Professor Smith went around the whole room. Everyone had a    54    to answer.

Surprisingly, the answers were all the same — no, no, no, no…. Some people said that “I can settle my own problems, but I can’t    55    what I chose out of the basket”. Some people said “Wow — these make my problems look like nothing.”

A. left                B. returned             C. answered             D. finished

A. favor          B. help                 C. prize                    D. reward

A. like           B. wish                 C. ask                  D. need

A. put out         B. wash away                C. write down               D. speak out

A. secret         B. silence                  C. message              D. future

A. encouraging        B. interesting              C. surprising               D. boring

A. tear           B. cut                  C. desert                   D. fold

A. frightened     B. pleasant             C. curious              D. terrible

A. but                B. so                   C. for                  D. and

A. say         B. happen               C. move                 D. adventure

A. jumped         B. ran                  C. walked               D. rushed

A. throw          B. touch                    C. hold                 D. pick

A. unfold         B. see                  C. search                   D. study

A. heard           B. chose                    C. noticed              D. feared

A. shouted            B. wondered             C. looked                   D. knocked

A. give           B. accept                   C. understand               D. exchange

A. same           B. different                C. easy                 D. strange

A. Immediately     B. Again                    C. Surely                   D. Then

A. bravery            B. fault                    C. chance                   D. power

A. struggle with       B. show off             C. throw away               D. deal with

Electric cars are dirty.In fact，not only are they dirty，they might even be more dirty than their gasoline?powered cousins.

People in California love to talk about “zero?emissions vehicles”，but_people_in_California_seem_to_be_clueless_about_where_electricity_comes_from.Power plants mostly use fire to make it.Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells，we get our electricity from generators.Generators are fueled by something—usually coal，oil，but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants.There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热的) plants as well，but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.

In other words，those “zero?emissions” cars are likely coal?burning cars.It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean.It is not.It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can’t see it，it’s not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle；a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it.But when you take that gas(or another fuel) and first use it to make electricity，you waste a nice part of that energy，mostly in the form of wasted heat—at the generator，through the transmission(传送) lines，etc.

A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles.But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far—so electric cars burn more fuel than gas?powered ones.If our electricity came mostly from nukes；or geothermal，or hydro，or solar，or wind，then an electric car truly would be clean.But for political，technical，and economic reasons，we don’t use much of those energy sources.

In addition，electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill.And finally，when cars are the polluters，the pollution is spread across all the roads.When it’s a power plant，though，all the junk is in one place.Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated，but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.

1. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 2?

A．People see the California Greens everywhere.

B．People in California love to talk about zero?emissions vehicles.

C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells.

D．People in California have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal，oil，etc.

2. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Electric cars are not clean at all.

B．Electric cars are better than gasoline?powered ones.

C．People cast doubts on electric cars’ batteries.

D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle.

3. The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run ________.

A．not less than 25 miles

B．as far as 50 miles

C．as far as 25 miles

D．not more than 25 miles

4. It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication

B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something

C．zero?emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment

D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline?powered cousins

Magic is believed to have begun with the Egyptians, in 1700 BC. A magician named Dedi of Dedsnefu was reported to have performed for the pharaoh, or the king. He was also known to have entertained the slaves who built the pyramids. The "Cups and Balls" trick which he was particularly good at is still performed by magicians all over the world today.
The ancient Greeks and Romans were also fascinated by the idea of magic. Actually, one of their main interests was the art of deception（欺骗）. This explains why at that time the priests（神父） even built magic devices into their temples. These devices made it possible for doors to open by themselves and wine to flow magically out of statues' mouths. This was done mainly to convince people that the priests were powerful.
Magic, however, was not well accepted before the 1800s. Magicians were thought of as freaks（怪物） and were only allowed to perform in a circus（马戏团）. It was in the 19th century that the magician Robert Houdin came along and changed people's views and attitudes about magic. It was also because of Robert Houdin that many magicians were able to add Dr. or MD to their names. Today magicians try hard to find new ways to show their practiced skills. Magic is now entertainment for families all over the world.
【小题1】What would be the best title for the passage?

For years, the automobile industry has been testing vehicles that use hydrogen as fuel. Now, people across the United States have had a chance to see and even drive cars that get power from hydrogen fuel cells (燃料电池).

But the hydrogen fuel cell is not a new idea. The fuel cell was first invented by Sir William Grove of Britain in 1839. Since then, many different designs, have been invented. There is one place where fuel cells are a proven technology: in space. The American space agency used fuel cells in its Apollo spaceships in the twentieth century.

The most useful fuel cell for transportation purposes is the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane, or P.E.M. fuel cell. It is simple and can operate at temperatures of sixty to eighty degrees Celsius. That is much lower than other fuel cell designs. A P.E.M. fuel cell has two sides divided by a thin membrane (膜). Hydrogen gas is forced through one side where it comes in contact with a reactive material containing the metal platinum(铂). The membrane separates the electrons(电子) from the protons(质子) in the hydrogen atoms. The protons pass through it to the other side of the fuel cell. But the electrons are captured to do work; like powering a motor. Oxygen from the air is forced into the other side of the fuel cell. There, the gas meets the protons that have passed through the membrane. They combine to form water and heat. A single fuel cell does not produce a lot of electricity. But when many fuel cells are combined, they can produce enough electricity to power a vehicle. The product of the chemical reaction that powers fuel cells is water. This makes fuel cells a very clean technology.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars have been slow to develop because of many technical problems that have to be solved. For example, it is unclear how long the membranes in P.E.M. fuel cells will last. Also, fuel cells need water for their chemical reactions. They must be designed to start easily at low temperatures and in dry climates. And smaller, less costly fuel cells must be designed before they can truly take the place of gasoline engines. Now more models of fuel cell vehicles are being tested than ever before. The threat of climate change and the high cost of oil have increased interest in these vehicles that do not cause pollution.