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.

答案　 1.C　 2.A　 3.D　 4.A

Passage 40

(山东省滨州市2007届高三第四次模拟考试D篇)

If you have ever been rock climbing, then you will know that it is not a very easy sport. In fact you probably felt quite defeated when you first tried to do any serious climbing. Indoor and outdoor rock climbing are both extremely demanding and, like anything else, require practice, to get good at. What most people don’t know is that the sport of rock climbing is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports there is.

There are three basic types of rock climbing. Top roping is probably one of the most common types and is basically climbing with a partner. The second type, which is very similar to top roping, is called lead climbing. In both of these types of rock climbing the climber can sit off the wall and rest on the rope.

The third type of rock climbing is called bouldering. Bouldering is a type of free climbing without any ropes. This is the most demanding of all climbing types. The climber must be able to complete the climbing without taking a rest on the rope.

Believe it or not, climbing is said to be about 75% legs and only 25% arms. To climb efficiently and successfully, a person needs to have a wonderful technique. One of the major rules of rock climbing is to always have three points touching the wall, whether it is both feet and one hand, or one foot and both hands, as it is much easier to have your weight rest on three points than on two. Another important idea to grasp is that your arms in most cases will do the climbing; they only hold you into the wall so that your legs are actually pushing you upward. Also, the closer you are to the wall, the easier it is to climb.

Rock climbing may sound a bit too extreme for the everyday person but it really is an amazing workout. Once you get into the sport, and learn how to position your body and rest your weight, then you can begin to deal with some difficult problems. The great thing about rock climbing is that it is mentally challenging as well. You are constantly analyzing the way your body moves and how to do certain moves on the wall. For anyone who wants to get into shape, rock climbing is a fun and effective way to exercise muscles.

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

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

　　　　 A. problem　　 B. advantage　　　　 C. invention　 D. technique

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

57．According to the passage, all of the following are true except　 　　　　　.

　　　　 A．moods can have an effect on people’s feelings

　　　　 B．aerobic exercise can help people get rid of the bad moods.

　　　　 C．scientists have provided people with many tranquilizers

　　　　 D．swimming, or running is an effective cure for a bad mood

答案　 53.D　 54.B 　55.B　 56.A　 57.A

Passage 39

(江苏省启东中学2007高考最后冲刺练习A篇)

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 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.

56．Which of the following best describes the organization of the this passage?

　　　　 A．An exercise and its importance are explained.

　　　　 B．A problem is examined and solutions are given.

　　　　 C．Two different views of a problem are presented.

　　　　 D．Recent developments in medicine are described.

55．The phrase “feel out of sorts”, could be best replaced by　　　　　　 .

　　　　 A．put things in order　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．are in a bad mood

　　　　 C．search for tranquilizers　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．want a mood - raiser

54．It can be inferred from the passage that　　　　　　 .

　　　　 A．when one is in a bad mood, he or she may not work very well

　　　　 B．the best way to overcome a bad mood is to talk to oneself

　　　　 C．some drugs are more effective than physical exercises

　　　　 D．taking drugs is at risk of being poisonous

53．What is the main subject of the passage?

　　　　 A．How to beat a bad mood　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．How to talk bad moods out

　　　　 C．How to do physical exercises　　　　　　　　　　　 D．How to do aerobic exercises

44．Interviews discover children like to send messages instead of　　　　　 .

　　　　 A．calling each other　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．writing to each other

　　　　 C．playing games online　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．greeting each other

答案　 41.C　 42.C　 43.D　 44.B

Passage 38

(吉林省实验中学2007届高三第四次模拟考试D篇)

Moods, say the experts, are feelings that tend to become fixed, influencing one’s outlook for hours, days or even weeks. That’s great if your mood is a pleasant one, but a problem if you are sad, anxious, angry or simply lonely.

Perhaps the best way to deal with such moods is to talk them out; sometimes, though, there is no one to listen. Modern pharmacology(药理学)offers a lot of tranquilizers(镇静剂). What many people don’t realize, however, is that scientists have discovered the effectiveness of several non – drug methods to set you loose from an unwanted mood. These can be just as useful as drugs, and have the added benefit of being nonpoisonous So next time you feel out of sorts, don’t head for the drug – store but try the following methods.

Of all the mood – altering self – help techniques, aerobic exercise(有氧运动)seems to be the most efficient cure for a bad mood. “If you could keep up the exercise you’d be in high spirits,” says Kathryn Lance, author of Running for Health and Beauty.

Researchers have explained biochemical an various other changes that make exercise compare favorable to drugs as a mood raiser. Physical work such as housework, however, does little. The key is aerobic exercise -running, cycling, walking, swimming or other repetitive and sustained activities that increase the heart rate, increase blood circulation and improve the body’s use of oxygen. Do some of the activities for at least 20 minutes a session three to five times a week.