75. Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

　 A. Solar Storms: An Invisible Killer

　 B. Solar Storms: Earth Environment in Danger

　 C. Solar Storms: Threatening the Human Race

　 D. Solar Storms: Human Activities to Be Troubled

74. According to the passage, NASA will launch a satellite to _________.

　 A. take images of the solar system　　　　 B. provide early warning of thunderstorms

　 C. keep track of solar activities　　　　　　 D. improve the communications on Earth

73. What can be inferred about the solar activity described in the passage?

　 A. The most fatal matter from the corona falls onto Earth.

　 B. The solar storm peak occurs in the middle of each cycle.

　 C. It takes several seconds for the charged matter to reach Earth.

　 D. The number of sunspots declines after coronal mass ejections.

72. The phrase "communications blackout" in paragraph 1 most probably refers to 　　　during the 2012 Olympics.

　 A. the extinguishing of the Olympic torch

　 B. the collapse of broadcasting systems

　 C. the transportation breakdown in London

　 D. the destruction of weather satellites

75. The text is most probably a ________.

A. science news report　　　　 B. book review　　

C. newspaper ad　　　　　 D. science fiction story

解析：推理判断题。本文讲述了Kwon的原子能电池的有关情况，文章体裁应属于科普文章，所以A项正确。

答案:A

Passage 9

(10·上海C篇)

The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added - a communications blackout caused by solar storms.

　　 After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a flesh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.

　　 Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London.

　　 "The Sun's activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites," said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.　

　　 At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun's atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged matter. " A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million　　 kilometres per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications," Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.

　　 Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.

　　 The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太阳耀斑) and explosions as they occur.

　　 Professor Richard Hold away, the lab's director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth "If we have advance warning, we'll be able to reduce the damage. What you don't want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what's caused the problem," he said.

74. According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery _______.

A. uses a solid semiconductor　　　　

B. will soon replace the present ones.

C. could be extremely thin　　　　　

D. has passed the final test.

解析：细节理解题。根据Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair可知C项正确。

答案:C

73. Liquid semiconductor is used to _________.

A. get rid of the radioactive waste　

B. test the power of nuclear batteries.

C. decrease the size of nuclear batteries

D. reduce the damage to lattice structure.

解析：细节理解题。根据By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem可知D项正确。

答案:D

72. Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4_________.

A. to show chemical batteries are widely applied.

B. to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used.

C. to describe a nuclear-powered system.

D. to introduce various energy sources.

解析：细节理解题。根据文章第四段可知Kwon举例的目的是为了说明原子能电池是安全的，所以B项正确。

答案:B

71. Which of the following is true of Jae Kwon?

A. He teaches chemistry at MU.　

B. He developed a chemical battery.

C. He is working on a nuclear energy source.

D. He made a breakthrough in computer engineering.

解析：细节理解题。根据第三段的叙述可知Kwon在研究一种原子能电池，所以C项正确。

答案:C

67. B。主旨大意题。通读全文可知，文章主要通过两项研究分析了儿童看电视所造成的影响。文章第一段第一句话是主题句，所以B项作为标题是最佳的。

Passage 8

(10·山东D篇)

Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.

“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”

Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro / nanoelectromechanreal systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.

“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”

His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.

“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”

Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.