第一节
A
After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches (划痕) on their cars, Japan’s
Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing － a paint that not only
resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.
The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an
elastic rubbery-like resin (弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor (较小的) marks caused by car wash equipment, parking
lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction.
The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature
and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the
world, and tests prove it works.
Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade
over about a week. And once they’re gone, there is no trace (痕迹) that they were ever there.
The special paint is said to last for at least three years after
it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added
after that period.
Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of
damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents.
But the complete auto-healing won’t come without scratching your
wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $100 US to the
price of a car.
It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X-Trail
SUVs in Japan
for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to
offer the feature overseas haven’t been made yet, if it’s a hit there, you can
be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.
56．From the article, we can find
that _________.
A.
the paint has already been used on cars by now
B.
it beats other products of its kind in its lengthy effect
C.
car damage is mainly caused by scratches and scrapes
D.
marketing this paint in Europe is not under
way
57．The paint used on cars can
_________.
A
.last 3 years before it is re-applied again B
.fade only in a few days
C.
help to heal minor paint damage
D.
reduce car scrape incidents to 20 percent
58．What does the underlined part
refer to?
A.
certain models of Nissan B.
name for one kind of paint
C.
somewhere in Japan D. a word standing for a car-dealer store
59．What can be inferred from the
article?
A.
The paint was developed by Nissan Motor Company.
B.
The paint might work better in summer than in winter.
C.
The mark on the car could disappear as soon as the paint is applied.
D.
The paint is very popular in Japan.
B
As a parent you might never guess all the
ways a good imagination benefits your child. It helps a preschooler:
Develop social skills
As children play pretend, they explore
relationships between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more
about how people interact. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for
their patients. Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about
their children. Imaginative play helps develop empathy for others. If children
can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are
better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to
share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over
their lives. Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a superhero
defending the planet is empowering to a child. It helps them develop confidence
in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of
abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a mound of sand or a
delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically. This skill is
important in school where a child will have to learn that numerals symbolize
groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a
lot of talking. This helps boost their vocabulary, improve sentence structure
and enhance communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work out
their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster
under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite
so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids vent confusing feelings they
might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry(竞争) with a new sibling(兄弟姐妹).
To encourage your youngster’s imagination,
read to him every day. Books offer children the opportunity to visit other
worlds and create new ones of their own.
For generations children have enjoyed reading
the story of Peter Pan because Peter takes them on fascinating adventures.
Reader’s Digest Young Families offers a beautiful vintage Disney edition of
Peter Pan, which is an iParenting Media Award winner. Click here to find out how
you can get this classic story along with 2 free books -- Bambi and Pinocchio.
60. Where can you probably find
the article?
A.
Newspaper B.
Magazine C.
Internet D.
Book
61. What’s not the advantage of
children having a good imagination?
A.
Understanding the other people’s feeling and problems.
B.
Expressing their feelings like anger toward a parent.
C.
Doing good to their speeches.
D.
Learning to think symbolically expands a child's mind.
62. What’s the meaning of the
underlined word?
A.
improve B.
limit C.
push D.
praise
63. What’s the purpose of writing
the article?
A.
Tell the readers 5 benefits of encouraging the child’s imagination.
B.
Advise the parents to encourage the child’s imagination.
C.
Introduce some Disney stories to the readers.
D.
Persuade the parents to buy books for their children.
C
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere are a major cause of climate change, and now a new study has
confirmed that atmospheric CO2 is also affecting the ocean chemistry
and potentially harming sea life.
Montana State
University scientist Robert Dore has
been researching the water in the Pacific Ocean
for almost two decades.
“We’ve been going to the same spot in the Pacific Ocean, and we try to characterize long-term change
in the open ocean environment. And one of the key things that we measure is CO2
levels. And we’ve been able to record this increasing quantity of atmospheric
CO2 into the ocean.”
Scientists expected that as atmospheric CO2
increased, more and more of the carbon dioxide would be absorbed into the
ocean, affecting the chemical balance of the sea water, with a potentially
harmful impact on shellfish and coral in particular.
“As carbon dioxide dissolves in the water or
seawater in this case, it forms a weak acid, carbonic acid,” Dore explains.
“And therefore, as the concentration of CO2
in the atmosphere goes up and that exchanges with the surface
seawater, it drives the pH down, and makes it more acidic.”
The seawater Dore and his colleagues have
analyzed confirms what the theory predicts.
The effect was particularly striking at about
250 meters down, and again at 500 meters. Dore and his colleagues came up with
two possible explanations. It could be that surface water picked up CO2
and then moved to those depths. Or there could be a biological explanation.
“It’s important to realize that the oceans
are really becoming acidic. And it could have negative impacts on a whole
variety of sea life from fish to coral. It’s potentially catastrophic.”
64.
What
can be the best title of the passage?
A. Sea Life Facing
Danger
B. Scientist
Researching Seawater
C. Oceans Becoming
More Acidic
D. Climate Change
Affecting Seawater
65.
With
the increase of atmospheric CO2, __________.
A. more corals will
appear in the sea
B. the surface
water is becoming warmer
C. the chemical
balance of the seawater is affected
D. the pH of the
ocean out here has been increasing
66.
Scientist
Robert Dore came to the conclusion based on__________.
A. his research and
analysis
B. the expectation
of other scientists
C. some former
theory
D. a major cause of
climate change
67.
What
does the passage want to tell us most?
A. It takes time to
make a scientific study.
B. Atmospheric CO2
is doing harm to sea life.
C. Robert Dore is a
committed and serious scientist.
D. Measures should
be taken to prevent the potential catastrophe.
D
Given
Australia’s size and the fact that early settlements were far apart, Australian
society is remarkably homogeneous (同种的). Its
citizens are fundamentally prosperous and the way of life in the major cities
and towns is much the same however many miles divide them. It takes a sharp
ear to identify regional accents.
However,
there is some difference in lifestyle between city dwellers and the country
people. Almost 90 per cent of the population lives in the fast-paced cities
along the coast and has little more than a passing familiarity with the desert.
The major cities preserve pockets of colonial heritage, but the overall
impression is modern, with new buildings reflecting the country’s youth. In
contrast, the rural communities tend to be slow-moving and conservative. For
many years, Australia
was said to have “ridden on the sheep’s back”, a reference to wool being the
country’s main money earner. However, the wool industry is no longer dominant.
Much of Australia’s
relatively sound economy is now achieved from natural coal and wheat, and by
being the largest diamond producer in the world. Newer industries such as
tourism and wine making are also increasingly important. Australians are
generally friendly and relaxed, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. On the
whole, Australia is a society without hierarchies (等级制度),
an attitude generally held to stem from its prisoner beginnings.
Yet,
contrary to widespread belief, very few Australians have true prisoner origins.
Within only one generation of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, Australia
had become a nation of immigrants. Originally coming almost entirely from the British Isles, today one in three Australians comes from
elsewhere. Australia’s
liberal postwar immigration policies led to an influx of survivors from
war-torn Europe, most notably Greeks,
Italians, Poles and Germans.
The emphasis
has shifted in recent years and today the majority of new immigrants are from Southeast Asia. Today Australia is a ‘blend of nations’
and although some racism exists, it has generally been a successful
experiment and the country is justifiably proud to have one of the most
harmonious multicultural communities in the world.
68. What
does the writer mean by saying “It takes a sharp ear to identify regional
accents.” in the first paragraph?
A. Australians speak Standard
English with no local accents.
B. You have to practice a lot to
learn to understand the different accents.
C. The Australian regional accents
are very difficult to understand indeed.
D. There is not much difference
between the accents in different areas of Australia.
69. Which of
the following statements is TRUE
according to the passage?
A. Most Australians have ancestors who were prisoners.
B. The Australian economy is dependent on sheep exports.
C. The majority of people living in Australia
come from Europe.
D. The pace of life is different in the city and in the country.
70.
We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. there are no signs of Australia’s
colonial past in its modern cities
B. Australia’s recent immigration policy encourages immigrants from Southeast Asia
C. immigrants from Southeast Asia have
brought racial problems
D. “riding on sheep’s back” resulted in slow development in rural
communities