A Battery’s Worst Nightmare(噩梦)

     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!When the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobile phone, 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 work, 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 10 times better than batteries do. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t available 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 prevented

2..

 What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” (In Paragraph 3)?

     A. Problem.　           B. Advantage.　        C. Invention.　                 D. Technique.

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. 　　D. To declare when the engine will be on sale.

　　What comes into your mind when you think about robots? Do you imagine armies of evil metal monsters planning to take over the world? Or, perhaps of mechanical men who have been created as guards or soldiers by a mad genius? Or maybe you think of man- like robots who act, think, and look like human beings. In fact robots like these have more to do with science fiction films than with real life. In the real world robots are machines that do jobs which otherwise have to be done by people. Robots either operate by themselves or under the control of a person.

　　In a car factory, for example, robot machinery can put together and paint car bodies. On the sea bed remotecontrolled（遥控）underwater machines with mechanical arms can perform tasks too difficult for divers. Robot spacecraft can explore the solar system and send back information about planets and stars.

　　Many robots have computer brains. Some robots are fitted with cameras , sensors, and microphones which enable them to see, to feel, and to hear. And some robots can even produce electronic speech.

　　All this does not mean that a robot can think and behave like a human being. Present day robots have to be programmed with a good deal of information before they can carry out even simple tasks.

　44．Robots in real life________.

　　A. can behave like human beings   B. have the ability to control the world

　　C. can think by themselves        D. can help us with a lot of work

　45．According to this article, which of the following is not true about robots in the real world?

　　A. Some robots are as creative as artists.     B. Some robots can help manufacture cars.

　　C. Some robots can see and hear.       D. Some robots can explore outer space.

　46．Robots can perform many tasks for man because________.

　　A. they have intelligence    B. they are supplied with computer programs

　　C. they can imitate human beings    D. they have the ability to learn new things

　47．The robots in science fiction films and those in real life differ mainly in________.

　　A. mentality　　 B. appearance　　 C. material　　　 D. size

　　What comes into your mind when you think about robots? Do you imagine armies of evil metal monsters planning to take over the world? Or, perhaps of mechanical men who have been created as guards or soldiers by a mad genius? Or maybe you think of man- like robots who act, think, and look like human beings. In fact robots like these have more to do with science fiction films than with real life. In the real world robots are machines that do jobs which otherwise have to be done by people. Robots either operate by themselves or under the control of a person.
　　In a car factory, for example, robot machinery can put together and paint car bodies. On the sea bed remotecontrolled（遥控）underwater machines with mechanical arms can perform tasks too difficult for divers. Robot spacecraft can explore the solar system and send back information about planets and stars.
　　Many robots have computer brains. Some robots are fitted with cameras , sensors, and microphones which enable them to see, to feel, and to hear. And some robots can even produce electronic speech.
　　All this does not mean that a robot can think and behave like a human being. Present day robots have to be programmed with a good deal of information before they can carry out even simple tasks.
　44．Robots in real life________.
　　A. can behave like human beings   B. have the ability to control the world
　　C. can think by themselves        D. can help us with a lot of work
　45．According to this article, which of the following is not true about robots in the real world?
　　A. Some robots are as creative as artists.     B. Some robots can help manufacture cars.
　　C. Some robots can see and hear.       D. Some robots can explore outer space.
　46．Robots can perform many tasks for man because________.
　　A. they have intelligence    B. they are supplied with computer programs
　　C. they can imitate human beings    D. they have the ability to learn new things
　47．The robots in science fiction films and those in real life differ mainly in________.
　　A. mentality　　 B. appearance　　 C. material　　　 D. size

Look at the naughty boy! You ______ have taught him how to behave himself.

A. must　 B. may　　　 C. can D. should

—Mummy, would you buy me an MP3 if I behave well in the following week?

—I ______, I promise.

A. could　　　　 B. should　　　　 C. will　　　　 D. do