C
Invented in Turkey and patented by Nanopool, a German company, the spray-on liquid glass might become one of the most useful inventions in the field of nanotechnology. The product was tested at the Saarbrücken Institute for New Materials.
It is worth mentioning that the invention is transparent and non-poisonous. The liquid glass can protect any type of surface from damages caused by water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. Besides, it is flexible and breathable, which means that the liquid glass can be applied on plants and seeds as well. Researchers found that the spray greatly increases the resistance of plants to bacteria-caused diseases. The trials also showed that the sprayed seeds grew faster.
Depending on the type of surface that is to be covered, researchers can add water or ethanol to the spray. Scientists say that their latest invention has a long-lasting anti-bacterial effect. The spray produces a coating that is just 100nm thick. Trials by food processing plants in Germany have concluded that foods covered with the glass can store longer than those stored in normal condition.
According to Neil McClelland, UK project manager with Nanopool, due to its capabilities, the spray-on liquid glass can become one of the most useful inventions around the world, ending up being used by a lot of industries that will cover their products. At present, the invention is being used by a train company and a hotel chain in the UK, as well as a hamburger chain in Germany that are carrying out tests of the liquid glass for various uses.
The spray-on liquid glass was also tested in a Lancashire hospital, where it showed “very promising” results, being used to cover medical equipment and bandages. The invention could be also used on clothing, because it cannot be seen by the naked eye, thus clothes could become stain resistant. Due to its unique characteristics, the liquid glass can be used to cover bathrooms, sinks and many other surfaces in the home. According to the researchers, the spay-on glass can last for a year. It is expected to hit the DIY stores across Britain at a price of 5 pounds.
51. Which of the following about the liquid glass is NOT true?
A. We can still see an object clearly covered with the liquid.
B. It will cause plants to have some kind of disease.
C. Plants still have access to oxygen when covered by it.
D. It can speed up the growth of seeds.
52. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 imply?
A. Water or ethanol must be added to the spray to produce the effect.
B. The coating of the spray-on liquid is thick.
C. The liquid glass can protect foods from bacteria.
D. The long-lasting anti-bacterial effect protects the liquid glass.
53. According to Neil McClelland, the spray-on liquid glass_________.
A. are being tested by some industries
B. are being used by various companies
C. can be eaten together with hamburgers
D. are widely used by train companies
54. The writer’s attitude towards the application of the new liquid glass is _________.
A. pessimistic            B. doubtful            C. cautious                   D. optimistic
55. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. We don’t have to wash our clothes with the new invention.
B. The liquid glass can be used to wash yourself in the bathroom..
C. The liquid glass will be widely used in many fields.
D. The DIY stores will not welcome the liquid glass.

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入1个最恰当的单词。
注意：每个空格只填1个单词。
How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends of fashion.
Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be able to meet new people with confidence and deal with every situation confidently and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress. A barber today does not cut a boy’s hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull.
What causes fashions to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats for example. In cold climates, early buildings were cold inside, so people wore hats indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats, and more American men followed his example.
There is also a cyclical(周期性的) pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America, short skirts became fashionable. After World War II, they dropped to ankle length. Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. After a few more years, skirts became longer again.
Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to dress like everyone else. Within reason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity of jeans and the “untidy” look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashion of the top fashion houses.
At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for a job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater, and it would be discourteous(失礼的) to visit some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a night club. However, you need never feel depressed if you don’t look like the latest fashion photo. Look around you and you’ll see that no one else does either!
Fashion Change

C

The day before the deadline for this article,I had no clue what I was going to write about. I took my problem to the editor-in-chief, and.he said to me:“Don’t worry; you’re creative. ”

I’m not sure where the editor-in-chief reached the conclusion that I was “creative”. Maybe it was through the poems I wrote. Personally, I simply enjoy writing because it’s fun. There’s also the fact that I can’t draw or do anything else creatively, I’m equally sure that there are people in the boat on the other side who can make things look excellent, but can’t write a poem.

At this point you probably want to ask me what poetry and art have to do with engineering.  For one, it makes you a more rounded person, making you a better engineer. More importantly, as an engineer, you will be faced with many problems every day. There are some that can be solved by consulting a textbook, but more often than not, you will need that thing in your brain to put together things in a completely original combination to solve the problem at hand.

Think of the wonderful things that creative engineers have done. Civil engineers have made the road more long-lasting so we don’t have to close them for repairs as often. Coming up with a new innovation (创新) is similar to writing a good poem. It’s not some-thing you plan to do. The critical moment comes unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere. You don’t think about what you’re doing, you simply do. After some mad struggling you take a look at the end product and say to yourself, “This is a masterpiece. ” This is perhaps the greatest personal satisfaction one can

experience.

So all you engineers out there get out and do something creative. I don’t care if it’s writing a poem or a computer program, just be natural and do something creative.

66. This passage mainly deals with_______.

A. the creativity of engineers                             B.the power of editor-in-chief

C. engineering in general                                  D. a way of thinking

67. In the author’s opinion, writing poems can_______.

A.show one is creative                                      B. make him happy

C. bring him in lots of money                                   D. have an effect on one’s mental health

68. According to the author, art can help an engineer to_______.

A.find the solutions to problems                        B. learn to write poetry

C. be courageous in face of challenges                D. get along well with others

69. Coming up with a new innovation is similar to writing a good poem in that both are_______.

A. logically developed                                      B. strictly planned

C.experience- based                                          D. naturally creative

70. The greatest personal satisfaction of an engineer comes from_______.

A.planning his work successfully                       B. building things quickly

C. finishing his work innovatively                      D.writing good poems naturally

The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place

   Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet… We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically(心理上) and physically（身体上）.

   Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brain to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high-calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale（秤）instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.

   On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero-calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.

   The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients(营养成分). Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemical that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.

   Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals. Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological harm that comes from using them.

1.One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to _____.

A. try out a variety of diet foods            B. hesitate before they enjoy diet foods

C. pay attention to their own eating habits   D. watch their weight rather than their diet

2.In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ______.

A. losing weight is effortless                 B. it costs a lot to lose weight

C. diet products bring no pain                D. diet products are free from calories

3.Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.

A. are over-consumed                       B. lack basic nutrients

C. are short of chemicals                  D. provide too much energy

阅读下列短文, 掌握其大意, 然后从1—10各题所给的A, B, C和D四个选项中, 选出最佳选项, 并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It’s very easy to see why people have bad attitudes. A quick look at the news revealing _1___ with crime, war and corruption (腐败) can easily bring us down. Is it possible to _2__ a healthy, happy attitude when surrounded by these negative things?

   Sure it is! It is possible to wake up each morning with a good mood and _3__ the day. Having a positive _4__not only allows us to enjoy life more but also _5__ our health and relationships with others.

   To lead a happy life, we need to have a positive attitude. We are responsible for our own _6__; other people can’t make us happy. We need to decide to make ourselves happy. This is wonderful because we don’t have to wait around for someone else to do it for us.

   We should surround ourselves with __7_ people. We are influenced by those people with whom we spend the most time. When we have positive friends, we become positive. Otherwise, we become _8__.

   We should also use positive_9__. A. L. Kitselman once said, “‘I am…’ are powerful words; be careful when you use them.” We need to replace our negative self-talk with positive words. Don’t say “I hate getting up in the morning.” Instead, try to say “I am _10__to see a new day.” Changing our self-talk will lead us to the changes in our behavior.

1. A. affairs          B. questions       C. troubles         D. problems               

2. A. change        B. refuse          C. keep           D. invent

3. A. look forward to        B. look down on    C. look up to       D. look back on

4. A. opinion         B. attitude       C. influence         D. answer

5. A. damages        B. improves        C. affects        D. weakens

6. A. satisfaction      B. decision        C. happiness       D. development

7. A. positive       B. friendly        C. easy-going        D. good-mannered

8. A. anxious         B. nervous        C. satisfied        D. negative

9. A. writings       B. pictures        C. expressions      D. signs

10. A. painful       B. bored         C. thankful              D. surprised