D
Skyscrapers and domed stadiums can amaze us. These modern “wonders of the world” are great achievements in building. Some skyscrapers stretch more than 100 stories toward the sky. The Sears Tower, the tallest building in Chicago, soars 110 stories above the city. Domed stadiums like the Astrodome in Huston, Texas, have seats for thousands of people. Inside these stadiums, people can watch their favorite sports without the bother of heat, cold, rain, or snow. Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures!
On the other hand, our modern buildings may seem small when compared to some structures of the ancient world. Our buildings may be large, hold many people, and protect us from the weather. However, many ancient structures stand as some of the greatest achievements in building. Ancient builders used great creativity and physical strength to plan and complete these buildings. Today, we could make most of these ancient structures easily, but it is hard to understand how people built them hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
Stonehenge is a huge stone circle in Europe. It was built more than 4,000 years ago. The circle has stone slabs that stand up to 30 feet tall. The heaviest stones in the circle weigh about 50 tons. How did people build Stonehenge without cranes or other modern equipment? Scientists have studied Stonehenge for years and think it probably took more than 30 million hours to complete the project.
Tourists in Africa like to see the Great Pyramids of Egypt. These tombs for Egyptian kings were built over 4,000 years ago. Each tomb has walls shaped like triangles and a square base. The largest pyramid is more than 450 feet tall and contains more than two million stones. Each stone weighs more than two tons. Some of the stones weigh as much as 200 tons. More than 900 workers worked to move the largest stones into place.
The stone faces are unusual structures on Easter Island. The faces are 12 to 20 feet high. Islanders made the stone faces more than 1,000 years ago. We do not know why they built them. There are more than 600 stone faces on the island. The great number of stone faces is surprising, since Easter Island is only 11 miles long and 15 miles wide.
Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids, and the stone faces on Easter Island give only a glimpse of the ancient achievements in building. If we look back through history, we can find many more examples of marvelous structures built without the aid of modern tools and equipment.
68.What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Modern builders have learned a great deal by studying ancient structures.
B.Modern builders have shown great creativity in the structures they have made.
C.Ancient builders could not create structures as great as modern ones.
D.Ancient builders created some of the world’s finest structures without the use of the modern methods or materials.
69.According to the passage, ancient structures are amazing because they were built ______ .
A.in places like Egypt and Europe            B.without the use of modern equipment
C.from stone slabs                     D.over long periods of time
70.The author of this passage would probably describe the achievements of ancient builders as _____.
A.ordinary      B.amazing       C.strange        D.impossible
71.Which of the following is an OPINION expressed in this passage?
A.The stone slabs at Stonehenge stand up to 30 feet tall.
B.Modern skyscrapers and domed stadiums are certainly marvelous structures.
C.Some ancient structures required 900 workers to complete them.
D.The Sears Tower is 110 stories high.

“It was cool,because I got a chance to be in a studio and see how a record is made,”says 14-year-old Javon Martin,who joined the music clubhouse 3 years ago.“It has impacted my life in a big way. People are actually starting to see me as an artist.”Ten-year-old Akheylah Hunter didn’t play an instrument when she became a club member last year. Now,she plays piano and sings with the band. What she likes best,she says,is performing.“We performed in different places,”she says.“We go on trips and it is fun.”
Since the Music Clubhouse opened three years ago,it’s served almost 500 kids.Aggeler says performing in front of different audiences helps the young musicians build self-esteem.Coming to the club to prepare for those performances helps them learn how to deal with their personal problems and concerns.
“I can see what it does for them and it just develops confidence,”he explains.“It’s also an escape from the big problems we have in the neighborhood. So whether they feel embarrassed about a zit on their face,or they feel embarrassed because they’re not as tall as somebody,they can rap about it and let it out a little bit.”
To expand the club and help more kids learn music,Aggeler sought the support of the community. The Berklee College of Music and local music stores have provided free equipment. The club has also gotten support from the Music and Youth Initiative,a nonprofit that develops after school music education programs in underserved communities in Massachusetts. All these have made it possible to provide kids who may not have the means to get private music lessons the opportunity to still learn music and get all the benefits that music education brings.”
【小题1】Why does the writer mention the two children in the first paragraph?

A.To tell readers that all children like music.
B.To provide examples of how children like the club.
C.To convince readers that music can solve many problems.
D.To show readers how to discover children’s potentials.
【小题2】Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a benefit of joining the club?
A.Helping the youngsters to build self-confidence.
B.Helping its members escape from problems.
C.Learning to deal with personal problems.
D.Learning to get help from nonprofit groups.
【小题3】What is Mr.Aggeler’s possible post?
A.An organizer of the club.B.A conductor of the band.
C.An expert in child problems.D.A parent of one of the children.
【小题4】What does the writer intend the passage to be?
A.An advertisement for a club.
B.A promotion of some non-profit groups.
C.An introduction of a music club for children.
D.A try to call for attention on children’s needs.
【小题5】Which of the following might NOT be included in activities of the club?
A.Putting on performances.B.Making records.
C.Traveling to different places.D.Giving private music lessons.

Dickson Despommier, a public health professor at Columbia University in New York City developed an idea with his students nine years ago. They imagined people in cities growing crops inside a tall building. Tomatoes could grow on one floor of the skyscraper(摩天大楼), potatoes on the next, small animals and fish on the floor above.
This vertical(垂直的) farm, or "farmscraper", could have space for restaurants and other places that serve food, like schools or hospitals. They could serve foods that are truly locally grown.
But why would anyone want to build a farm indoors in a city? Dickson Despommier believes it will become necessary. The world needs to find places to produce enough food to feed the growing population. Space, he says, is an all-important issue.
The professor also points to the problems of traditional farms. They use a lot of freshwater. Their fertilizer and animal waste can pollute water resources. And their growing seasons can be limited.
But inside the vertical farm, crops could grow all year. And there would be no wind to blow away soil. Farmers would not have to worry about too much or too little rain, or about hot summers, freezing winters or insects. And without insects there would be no need for chemicals to kill them.
Farm machines that .use fossil fuels, like tractors, would not be needed either. And water could be recycled for drinking. "The vertical farm reuses everything, so there is no waste," says Professor Despommier.
Even buildings could be saved. Old buildings could become new farms and provide jobs.
The professor has been actively proposing the idea to cities as far away as Dubai and Canada. But so far it exists only in plans and drawings, and a model at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Critics say building a farmscraper would cost too much, especially considering the price of land in many cities. Dickson Despommier estimates the cost at about twenty to thirty million dollars.
But he says the building would not have to be very tall. And his graduate students have found many empty lots and unused buildings in New York City that could provide space.
【小题1】According to the passage the purpose of proposing the idea of a farm scraper is to      .

A.find places to produce enough food
B.serve food that are truly locally grown
C.prevent polluting the limited land
D.save fresh water
【小题2】Which is one of the advantages of a farm scraper?
A.It costs less
B.It saves labor power.
C.It consumes too much energy
D.It is more environmentally friendly.
【小题3】Those against the idea of farm scrapers argue that
A.it uses too much land in cities
B.it costs too much to build one
C.it causes people to lose their jobs
D.it exists only in unrealistic plans
【小题4】Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A.A vertical farm has been built in Chicago.
B.Old buildings could be changed into new farms.
C.Traditional farms use less water but pollute more water
D.There are some vertical farms being put into use in Canada.

We’ve used the wind as an energy source for a long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term “windmill” comes from.

We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor(螺旋桨) on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a “wind farm” and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It’s only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans(大篷车)increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.

The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains — places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.

The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines (垂直涡轮机), which don’t need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming. 

1.The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.

A. the function of wind power                  B. the source of wind power

C. the nations using wind power                            D. the history of using wind power

2.The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.

A. boats and caravans can often be seen       B. isolated farms don’t have enough electricity

C. there are less human activities                     D. the wind is strong and reliable

3.We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land

B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free

C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from

D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is

4.What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A. Where to build a wind farm.                        B. ABC of the using of wind energy.

C. How to make best use of wind.                    D. Wind energy is the best energy.

5.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means______________________.

A. The blades can increase wind speeds   

B. The blades can decrease the wind speeds

C. The speed of blades can be changed.

D. The blades can be adjusted to face different wind speeds

 

Musuems

Skyscraper Museum

Wednesday - Sunday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Adults: $5

305-756-2385

Interested in tall buildings? Design? Then this museum is for you!!! Check the historical buildings and their special design right in lower Manhattan.

 

Madame Tussaud’s Wax(蜡像) Museum

Sunday - Thursday: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Friday - Saturday: 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Adults: $29   Students: $13

305-532-9623

The students in Manhattan had an exciting experience at Madame Tussaud’s! They met hundreds of famous people at a discounted price! This museum is your chance to meet your idols and have a picture taken with them.

 

 

Bass Musuem of Art

Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Adults: $8     The old / Students: $6

305-673-7530  http://www. bassmuseum.org

Enjoy European paintings, and sculptures. It also includes exhibitions of modern artists from different parts of the world. You will also enjoy visiting its beautiful museum shop and media center.

 

World Art Museum

Daily: 11:00 AM – Midnight (including holidays)

Cost: $15

305-532-9336  http://www. weam.com

Located in the heart of the South Beach Art Deco district, this museum shouldn’t be missed! It is currently one of South Florida’s hottest new attractions.

1.

 If you are into how to build a house, you may go to_______.

  A. Skyscraper Museum             B. Bass Museum of Art

C. World Art Museum              D. Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum

2.

If you want to go to a museum, but you are only free after 10 pm, you can phone_______.

  A. 305-673-7530                  B. 305-532-9336

C. 305-532-9623                  D. 305-756-2385

3.

 If you go to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, you ______.

  A. are free to go at any time           B. will have a talk with famous people

C. can shake hands with your idols    D. will have the chance to enjoy the art of wax

4.

If your classmate is going to Bass Museum of Art with his grandparents, how much will they pay?

  A. $22            B. $24         C. $18             D. $20

 

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