Inventors are always looking for ways to make our lives easier, greener and a whole lot more fun. Take a look at the following breakthroughs in science and technology. What in the world will inventors dream up next?
Superhero Suit
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a superhero? Dream no more. There’s a real Iron Man suit, XOS 2, which instantly transforms the person wearing it. The suit provides the power to lift 200 pounds with ease and break slabs（厚片）of wood with a single karate chop. It was designed to help the military with heavy lifting. One person in the suit could do the work of three soldiers.
Up, Up and Away!
It took him 30 years to develop it, and now Glen Martin’s invention is ready to take off. The Martin Jetpack allows its operator to fly 8,000 feet into the air. Unfortunately, you can’t soar through the skies too long. The jetpack holds only 30 minutes’ worth of fuel. The aircraft will sell for $100,000.
Hardworking Robot
The EMIEW2 robot is the perfect office helper. Need a document delivered? No problem! It can also guide visitors to their destinations. The three-foot-tall robot can identify different human voices and respond to commands. One day, it may serve as a receptionist or a security guard.
Green Machine
Say goodbye to gasoline! The AirPod car runs on air power. That means this car won’t pollute the environment. A high-pressure air tank can fill the car in minutes. The three-wheeler can travel about 130 miles between fill-ups.
Beef Power
All aboard the beef train! Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer runs partly on fuel that is made from cow fat. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. The train travels between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas.
Robo-Guard
EMILY is a robotic, four-foot-long buoy (救生圈). She can swim through riptides (激流) at up to 24 miles per hour. Her inventor, Tony Mulligan, says that’s 15 times as fast as human lifeguards! EMILY is powered by a tiny electric pump and operated by remote control.
【小题1】What is the disadvantage of Glen Martin’s invention?

Inventors are always looking for ways to make our lives easier, greener and a whole lot more fun. Take a look at the following breakthroughs in science and technology. What in the world will inventors dream up next?

Superhero Suit

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a superhero? Dream no more. There’s a real Iron Man suit, XOS 2, which instantly transforms the person wearing it. The suit provides the power to lift 200 pounds with ease and break slabs（厚片）of wood with a single karate chop. It was designed to help the military with heavy lifting. One person in the suit could do the work of three soldiers.

Up, Up and Away!

It took him 30 years to develop it, and now Glen Martin’s invention is ready to take off. The Martin Jetpack allows its operator to fly 8,000 feet into the air. Unfortunately, you can’t soar through the skies too long. The jetpack holds only 30 minutes’ worth of fuel. The aircraft will sell for $100,000.

Hardworking Robot

The EMIEW2 robot is the perfect office helper. Need a document delivered? No problem! It can also guide visitors to their destinations. The three-foot-tall robot can identify different human voices and respond to commands. One day, it may serve as a receptionist or a security guard.

Green Machine

Say goodbye to gasoline! The AirPod car runs on air power. That means this car won’t pollute the environment. A high-pressure air tank can fill the car in minutes. The three-wheeler can travel about 130 miles between fill-ups.

Beef Power

All aboard the beef train! Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer runs partly on fuel that is made from cow fat. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. The train travels between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas.

Robo-Guard

EMILY is a robotic, four-foot-long buoy (救生圈). She can swim through riptides (激流) at up to 24 miles per hour. Her inventor, Tony Mulligan, says that’s 15 times as fast as human lifeguards! EMILY is powered by a tiny electric pump and operated by remote control.

1.What is the disadvantage of Glen Martin’s invention?

A．It uses large amounts of fuel.               B．It only flies at low altitudes.

C．It needs a big landing field.                D．It has a small gas tank.

2.Which of the following inventions may be popular with modern companies?

A．The EMIEW2 robot.                      B．EMILY.

C．XOS 2.                                D．The Martin Jetpack.

3.How many environment-friendly inventions are mentioned in the passage?

A．One.             B．Two.              C．Three.            D．Four.

4.From the passage we learn that __________.

A．the Superhero Suit is designed for fun

B．the EMIEW2 robot can tell different human voices

C．Robo-Guard may serve as a security guard

D．the AirPod car travels far with a little gas

Inventors are always looking for ways to make our lives easier, greener and a whole lot more fun. Take a look at the following breakthroughs in science and technology. What in the world will inventors dream up next?
Superhero Suit
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a superhero? Dream no more. There’s a real Iron Man suit, XOS 2, which instantly transforms the person wearing it. The suit provides the power to lift 200 pounds with ease and break slabs（厚片）of wood with a single karate chop. It was designed to help the military with heavy lifting. One person in the suit could do the work of three soldiers.
Up, Up and Away!
It took him 30 years to develop it, and now Glen Martin’s invention is ready to take off. The Martin Jetpack allows its operator to fly 8,000 feet into the air. Unfortunately, you can’t soar through the skies too long. The jetpack holds only 30 minutes’ worth of fuel. The aircraft will sell for $100,000.
Hardworking Robot
The EMIEW2 robot is the perfect office helper. Need a document delivered? No problem! It can also guide visitors to their destinations. The three-foot-tall robot can identify different human voices and respond to commands. One day, it may serve as a receptionist or a security guard.
Green Machine
Say goodbye to gasoline! The AirPod car runs on air power. That means this car won’t pollute the environment. A high-pressure air tank can fill the car in minutes. The three-wheeler can travel about 130 miles between fill-ups.
Beef Power
All aboard the beef train! Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer runs partly on fuel that is made from cow fat. The goal is to reduce carbon emissions by 10%. The train travels between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas.
Robo-Guard
EMILY is a robotic, four-foot-long buoy (救生圈). She can swim through riptides (激流) at up to 24 miles per hour. Her inventor, Tony Mulligan, says that’s 15 times as fast as human lifeguards! EMILY is powered by a tiny electric pump and operated by remote control

1. 1.

   What is the disadvantage of Glen Martin’s invention?

   1. A.
      It uses large amounts of fuel
   2. B.
      It only flies at low altitudes
   3. C.
      It needs a big landing field
   4. D.
      It has a small gas tank
2. 2.

   Which of the following inventions may be popular with modern companies?

   1. A.
      The EMIEW2 robot
   2. B.
      EMILY
   3. C.
      XOS 2
   4. D.
      The Martin Jetpack
3. 3.

   How many environment-friendly inventions are mentioned in the passage?

   1. A.
      One
   2. B.
      Two
   3. C.
      Three
   4. D.
      Four
4. 4.

   From the passage we learn that __________

   1. A.
      the Superhero Suit is designed for fun
   2. B.
      the EMIEW2 robot can tell different human voices
   3. C.
      Robo-Guard may serve as a security guard
   4. D.
      the AirPod car travels far with a little gas

This year Canada’s navy is one hundred years old. To mark the occasion, military ships from six different countries around the Pacific Ocean came to Canada for a four-day celebration. There were parades, parties and demonstrations of navy search and rescue aircraft and a show put on by the Snowbirds.
The Snowbirds, Canada’s aerobatic team, fly Tudor jet aircraft that are not particularly fast or particularly new but with amazing and sometimes hair-raising precision. They put a formation of nine aircraft into a space that would normally hold only one and they change the information in flight, roll it, loop it, break it and reform it in a dizzying ballet in the sky. The Snowbirds are one of the best aerobatic flying teams in the world and they are a readily recognized symbol of Canada just as the Great Wall is a recognized symbol of China. For a Canadian, watching the Snowbirds fly can bring tears. They make us very proud.
The Snowbirds have been flying since 1971. All of the pilots are serving members of the Canadian Air Force. They are all very young, all are highly-skilled and each is attached to the Snowbirds for two or three years. Each winter they practice in the cold, clear skies and each summer they put on more than fifty air-shows across the country and sometimes abroad. What they do is highly specialized. They often fly less than two meters from each other at speeds of about seven hundred and fifty kilometers an hour.
Flying is, by its nature, inherently risky and what the Snowbirds do increases that risk. While the pilots are all highly trained professionals, eight Snowbird pilots have been killed over the years. I have been fortunate enough to watch the Snowbirds fly probably fifteen or twenty times and if I know they are going to be flying I will go to see them again and again. This is not because I want to see someone do something dangerous, it is because I want to see something done so well—it is almost unbelievably precise and beautiful. I want to watch nine aircraft in an incredibly tight formation, each one painted in the red and white of my country’s flag, soaring through the cloudless blue sky. I want to feel that pride and that tear just behind my eyelids that comes from watching something uniquely and wonderfully Canadian.
【小题1】.
Which of the following is TRUE about the Snowbirds?

A．Because he wants to see someone do something dangerous.

B．Because the flying is unbelievably precise and beautiful.

C．Because his country’s flag is painted on each one.

D．Because watching them fly can make people cry.

The word’s largest aircraft made its public debut last week at Europe’s biggest factory, a purpose built assembly line in Toulouse, souther, n France．The Airbus A380 will have 50 per cent more floor space than American rival Boeing’s 747 Jumbo, with room for duty-free shops, restaurants and even a sauna．This new arrival is expected to change the face of air travel．

The A380 will enter service in early 2006 with Singapore Airlines．

Airbus claims the A380 will burn less fuel, make less noise, create less pollution and cost 17 per cent less per seat than the 747．It will also reduce traffic problems in the skies．

The aircraft, which cost between ￡140 million(US$250m) and ￡157 million (US$280m) each compared with ￡84 million (US$150m) for Boeing’s new Dreamliner jet, is being built at 16 factories in Germany, France, Spain and the UK．

But activists have warned of more noise and pollution from the Superjumbo, while Boeing believes huge aircraft will not be in great demand over the next decade．

As a result, it is putting faith in the much smaller 7E7 Dreamliner．But Airbus is pinning its hopes on the “big is beautiful” theory, gambling on size being the key factor in the US-European battle for the skies．

Airbus said it was in talks with half a dozen global airlines about buying the A380. China Eastern Airlines, already an Airbus customer, is said to be targeted, while executives made it plain that they wanted to fight for the Japanese market, which had traditionally been controlled by Boeing．

Over the next 20 years, Airbus hopes to sell 750 of the new planes into a market worth ￡185billion (US$330bn)．The company already has129 firm orders for the A380, with 52 options．

According to Airbus, which of the following is not the advantage of A380 compared to Boeing 747?

       A．Making less noise, causing less traffic problems

       B．Using less fuel, costing less money

       C．Creating less pollution, having less weight

       D．Having more floor space, creating less pollution

From the passage, we can infer that _________

       A．Airbus is not aiming at the Japanese market．

       B．Boeing is not a rival of Airbus．

       C．A380 hasn’t been used yet．

       D．Boeing is better than Airbus．

In the Airbus A380, passengers cannot find ___________．

       A．duty-free shops       B．restaurants      C．banks     D．a sauna

According to the news, the prospect of A380 may be ___________．

       A．not so good          B．cheerful         C．undesirable          D．gloomy