It’s not the flashiest car in the world. Not even close. But the 1971 Volkswagen named Helios can do something most cars can't: run on solar energy—energy from the sun's light and heat!

Joshua Bechtold, 14, and the other students at the Riverside School in Lyndonville, Vermont, worked many months to get Helios ready for the 1999 American Tour de Sol ( "Sol" is the Latin word for "sun"). They named their car after Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology (神话).

 The 4-year-old Tour de Sol encourages the use of "green", or environmentally friendly, cars to help reduce pollution and save energy. It's not a race. Cars are judged on fuel efficiency (耗油量) rather than speed. In the week-long event, 44 cars took the 350-mile tour from Waterbury, Connecticut, to Lake George, New York. Of the 23 student cars, Helios was the only one built by middle school students. A teacher drove Helios, but the children talked with people wherever they stopped along the road. "That was my favorite part," says Anna Browne, 15. "We explained how the car runs." Due in part to old, inefficient batteries (电池), Helios finished fourth—out of four—in its kind, the sun-powered class. "We were there for the fun of it," Anna says. "We're proud of Helios," says Ariel Gleicher, 14. "It's a car that's good for the environment."

1. What is special about the car Helios in the text?

A. It was built by middle school students.

B. It has an attractive design.

C. It was made in 1971.

D. It won the fourth prize.

2. How many sun-powered cars took part in the race?

A. 1.

B. 4.

C. 23.

D. 44.

3. What would be the best title for the text?

A. The Making of Helios

B. 1999 American Tour de Sol

C. Sun-powered Cars on the Road

D. Use of Green Cars in Connecticut

4. The students felt proud of Helios because

A. it could run as far as 350 miles

B. it was favored by many children

C. it had high-quality batteries

D. it was driven by clean energy

 

Most people, when they travel to space, would like to stay in orbit for a few days of more. And this stands to reason, if you’re paying $20,000 for your trip to orbit! Strain order for tourism to reach its full potential there’s going to be a need for orbital accommodation---or space hotels. What would a space hotel actually be like to visit? Hotels in orbit will offer the services you expect from a hotel------private rooms, meals, bars. But they’ll also offer two unique experiences: impressive views----of Earth and space---and the endless entertainment of living in zero gravity---including sports and other activities that make use of this.

The hotels themselves will vary greatly----from being quite simple in the early days to huge luxury structure at a later date. It’s actually surprising that as later as 1997, very few designs for space hotels were published. This is mainly because those who might be expected to design them haven’t expected launch costs to come down far enough to make them possible.

    Lots of people who’ve been to space have described vividly what it’s like to live in zero gravity. There are obviously all sort of possibilities for dancing, gymnastics, and zero-G sports. Luckily, you don’t need to sleep much living in zero gravity, so you’ll have plenty of time for relaxing by hanging out in a bar with a window looking down at the turning Earth below.

    Of course all good things have come to an end. Unfortunately, And so after a few days you’ll find yourself heading back enough you’ll be much more expert at exercising in zero gravity than you were when you arrived. You’ll be thinking how soon you can save up enough to get back up again---or maybe you should change jobs to get to work in an orbiting hotel.

When traveling in space, most people would like to stay in orbit for a few days because _______.

A. It is expensive to travel in space 

B. they would find the possible life in other star systems

C. they could enjoy the luxury of space hotels

D. they want to realise the full potential of tourism

Which of the following is a unique experience that space hotels will offer?

A. The gravitational pull                   B. The special views.

C. The relaxation in a bar                  D. The space walk.

Which of the following is not discussed in the passage?

A. When was the space traveling made possible?

B. What are the unique experiences that space hotels will offer?

C. Why were there not many published designs for space hotels?

D. How can the travelers enjoy themselves in space hotels?

This passage is mainly about ________.

A. traveling in space                     B. the ways of living in space hotels

C. zero gravity and space hotels            D. the description of space hotels

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight.It was my mother’s idea.She wanted me to“make something”of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was suppertime,I walked back home.

“How many did you sell,my boy?”my mother asked.

“None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“You just stood there?”

“Didn’t sell a single one.”

“My God,Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in,“Well,I’ve decided to take the Post.”I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币).It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman.I would have to ring doorbells,address adults with self-confidence(自信),and persuade them by saying that no one,no matter how poor,could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day,I told my mother I’d changed my mind.I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,”she replied,“you’ll become a good-for-nothing.”She insisted that,as soon as school was over,I should start ringing doorbells,selling magazines.Whenever I said no,she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother,dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life,determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that,forty years later,such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

Why did the boy start his job young?

A.He wanted to be famous in the future.

B.The job was quite easy for him.

C.His mother had high hopes for him.

D.The competition for the job was fierce.

From the dialogue between the boy and his mother,we learn that the mother was _______.

A.excited                                                         B.interested

C.ashamed                                                       D.disappointed

What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A.She forced him to continue.

B.She punished him.

C.She gave him some money.

D.She changed her plan.

What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

A.The war between the boy’s parents.

B.The arguing between the boy and his mother.

C.The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

D.The fight between the boy and his father.

What is the text mainly about?

A.The early life of a journalist.

B.The early success of a journalist.

C.The happy childhood of the writer.

D.The important role of the writer in his family.

I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“ None.”

“ Where did you go?”

“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“ What did you do?”

“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“ You just stood there?”

“ Didn’t sell a single one.”

“ My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickle(五分镍币). It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

Why did the boy start his job young?

   A. He wanted to be famous in the future.

   B. The job was quite easy for him.

   C. His mother had high hopes for him.

   D. The competiton for the job was fierce.

From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

   A. excited          B. interested          C. ashamed             D. disappointed

What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

   A. She forced him to continue.              B. She punished him.

   C. She gave him some money.              D. She changed her plan.

What does the underlined phrase “this battle”(last paragraph) refer to?

   A. The war between the boy’s parents.

   B. The arguing between the boy and his mother.

   C. The quarrel between the boy and his customers.

   D. The fight between the boy and his father.

What is the text mainly about?

   A. The early life of a journalist.

   B. The early success of a journalist.

   C. The happy childhood of the writer.

   D. The important role of the writer in his family.

On the day Apple debuted the often-delayed white-colored iPhone 4, the company’s marketing department gave a nod to the product’s troubled history.

“Finally.” read the big headline Thursday above a picture of the white phone on the homepage of Apple. com.

The white model was supposed to ship alongside the black one at the iPhone 4’s launch(推出) last June. But design and manufacturing complications delayed the process by 10 months, catching Apple off guard, executives say.

As CNN reported last month, earlier test models of the white iPhone 4 produced unclear photos, especially when the flash(闪光灯) was used. Its whiteness confused the proximity sensor (距离传感器) , which detects when the phone is held next to someone’s head and turns off the touch screen to save battery life.

These problems weren’t present in older iPhones that came in white because they didn’t have flash photography; the proximity sensor was unaffected because the front side of previous models was black.

“We thought we were there a year ago, or less than that, when we launched the iPhone 4, and we weren’t,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s chief marketing executive, said in an interview. “It’s not as simple as making something white. There’s a lot more that goes into both the material science of it —how it holds up over time…but also in how it all works with the sensors. “

Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White predicts that the white model could help drive sales of Apple’s phones. He says Apple could sell 1 million to 1. 5 million every three months until the next iPhone model is unveiled, which is expected to be this fall.

Forty-five people were lined up at Apple’s flagship New York store Thursday morning to buy white iPhones, according to a CNN Money report.

1.

The reason why white-colored iPhone 4 was delayed by 10 months is that _______.

A.it’s always sold out due to its popularity

B.it met some problems concerning design and manufacture

C.it lacked white manufacturing materials

D.its proximity sensor can’t save battery life

2.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A.There are multi-colored models of iPhone 4.

B.The same design problems were also found in older white iPhones.

C.IPhone4 will be launched this fall.

D.Originally designers thought they could solve the problems before iPhone 4 was launched.

3.

What would be the best title for this passage?

A.Why the White iPhone 4 Took So Long

B.The History of iPhone 4

C.The Attraction of White iPhone 4

D.The Design and Manufacture of iPhone 4

4.

What does the underlined word “unveil” in the last paragraph mean?

A.to remove one’s mask from his face

B.to remove a cloth from something, especially as part of a ceremony

C.to show to the public for the first time

D.to disappear from the public for the first time

 

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