A gadget (器具) which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave.
Using the same technology as a dehumidifier (除湿器), the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water because it can always get it from an unlimited source—the air.
The company behind the machine says not only does it offer an alternative to bottled water in developed countries, but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage.
The machine works by drawing in wet air through a filter (过滤器) and over a cooling instrument which changes it into water drops. It can produce up to 12 liters a day. The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the amount of water which is contained in the air increases. In keeping with its eco-development, the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three lights.
Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said: “The demand for water is off the chart. So people are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable.”
The machine, which is about 3 feet wide, is likely to cost ￡800 when it goes on sale here in the spring. Its maker, Canadian Firm Element Four, roughly (粗略地) calculates that a litre of water cost around 20p to produce.
Environmentalists state that half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080. One in five is said to lack access to safe drinking.
The Water Mill is not effective in areas where the amount of water contained in the air is below about 30 percent, but in Britain that won’t be much of a problem.
49. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?
A. Drinking water. B. Invention. C. Microwave. D. Water Mill.
50. What do we learn about the machine?
A. It works in the same way as microwaves.
B. It is very expensive for families to afford.
C. It absorbs steam and turns it into water.
D. It helps to make the water clean to drink.
51. What does the passage lead us to believe?
A. The cost of water will go up. B. Bottled water will disappear sooner.
C. The machine is energy saving. D. The machine will be popular worldwide.
52. What’s the best title for the passage?
A. A New Way to Solve Water Problem. B. A Machine to Make Water out of Air.
C. A Dehumidifier to Produce Water. D. An Absolutely New Invention
When Emily Beardmore first heard that a trip was being planned by the biology class at Windsor High School, she thought about how much fun it would be.
“I thought it would be a really good experience to go with other friends and teachers to another country in an environment other than a vacation environment,” the 10- year-old girl said.
A few months later, Emily got her chance when she and 14 of her classmates, along with biology teacher Tamara Pennington went to Costa Rica for eight days in late May.
“It was not just a tour,” said Pennington, who organized the trip. “You can go to any place in the world on just a tour. This one was practical, really working with the sea turtles and practicing conservation (保护). It just seemed like the perfect science field trip for kids who think they want to get into science to see what it’s really like to be out in the field and enjoy themselves.”
Emily said her time on the turtle project, which was the focus of the trip, was “crazy”. “We were walking on the beach at night and you can’t see anything — just see a big black dot (点),” she said with a laugh. “I was not expecting the turtles to be that big.” The turtles are leatherback turtles, which are becoming extinct because their eggs are used as food.
“When they would move their legs while laying their eggs they were really hard to control because they were a lot more powerful than you would imagine,” Emily said.
Once the eggs were collected, the students took them back to a hatchery (孵化场) and dug holes to copy the hole the mother turtle had made and then buried the eggs for the 60 days needed to hatch.
“It was an amazing experience,” Emily said. “You go to another country to see what their culture is like and learn what their everyday lives are like. It made me really want to help out my mom a lot more than I do, and value what I have.” What did Pennington consider the trip to be?
| A．It was a common tour to a foreign country. |
| B．It was a journey to practice what students learned. |
| C．It was a trip to do practical science activities. |
| D．It was to attract students’ interest in science. |
From what Emily said on her turtle project, we know that _____.
| A．She was afraid of walking on the beach at night |
| B．She didn’t dare to catch the powerful turtles |
| C．She got crazy at the sight of turtles at night |
| D．She had thought turtles were small animals |
What did Emily learn from her experience?
| A．She understood the importance of what she had. |
| B．She learned to be grateful to her teachers. |
| C．She realized the beauty of foreign culture. |
| D．She knew the importance of everyday life. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Emily thought the trip being planned by the biology class would be fun. |
| B．Totally, 16 people went to Costa Rica for the 8-day trip in May. |
| C．Generally, it takes about 60 days to hatch little turtles. |
| D．The trip mainly aimed to get fun and rest. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Teens take a science field trip in Costa Rica | B．Teens help fight turtle extinction |
| C．Teens have a research on turtles | D．Teens learn to be independent |
Mr. Harris used to work in Dover, but then he changed his work, and he and his wife moved to another town. They did not have many friends there, but they soon met a lot of interesting people, and after a few weeks, they often went to dinner or to parties at other people’s houses.
Then Mrs. Harris said to her husband, “We’ve been to a lot of other people’s houses, and now we must invite them to our house, mustn’t we?”
“Yes, certainly,” answered her husband, “A big party will be the easiest thing, won’t it? Then we can start to invite people to dinner in small numbers next month.”
So Mrs. Harris said, “Yes, I’ll invite all our friends here to a big party on 5th December.”
“How many will that be?” Mr. Harris asked. “Don’t invite too many.”
Mrs. Harris was beginning to write the invitations when her husband saw that she was writing, “Party. 6.30 to 8.30 p.m.”
“That isn’t very nice, is it?” he said. “You’re telling our guests that they must go at 8.30.” So Mrs. Harris just wrote “Party. 6.30 p.m.”
A lot of guests came, and they all had a good time, so they did not go home at 8.30. In fact they were still there at mid-night when the door bell rang and a policeman arrived. He said, “You must stop making a noise, because someone has complained.”
Mr. Harris said he did not want to quarrel with the policeman, so everyone went home. They were sorry to have to go.
When Mr. and Mrs. Harris were alone again, she said to him. “That was a surprise, wasn’t it? Who complained about the noise?”
“I did,” Mr Harris answered in a tired voice.Why did Mr. Harris and his wife move to another town?
| A．They wanted to make some new friends. |
| B．Mr. Harris changed his work. |
| C．They wanted to meet a lot of interesting people. |
| D．They enjoyed going to parties and visiting other people’s houses. |
What made Mr. and Mrs. Harris hold a party at their house?
| A．It was easy to hold a big party at home. |
| B．They could ask people to dinner in small numbers. |
| C．They had gone to other people’s parties many times. |
| D．They liked making friends with others. |
How long would Mrs. Harris like the party to last?
| A．From the morning till night. | B．About fourteen hours. |
| C．About two hours. | D．Till midnight |
When did the party end that evening?
| A．At about 8.30. |
| B．When the policeman talked with Mr. Harris on the phone. |
| C．About twelve o’clock.. |
| D．When someone telephoned the police station. |
Why did Mr. Harris telephone the policeman about the noise?
| A．Because someone rang his door bell many times at mid-night. |
| B．He did not want his friends to stay late that night. |
| C．His friends had a good time that night and also feel tired. |
| D．Because he hated the noise. |
Knott’s Berry Farm is the nation’s oldest, and first, theme park and draws around five million visitors each year. Knott’s Berry Farm hardly had a very good start. Arriving in Southern California in the 1920s, the Knott Family farmed about 20 acres of land and finally started a restaurant called Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. Mrs. Knott’s food became well known and her husband Walter built a Ghost Town as a way of entertaining waiting customers. The family kept expanding and today, Knott’s Berry Farm has 165 rides, shows, attractions and restaurants. For more than 80 years, Knott’s Berry Farm has been entertaining families and visitors from around the world with great rides and fantastic fun.
Knott’s Berry Farm is separated into six different themed areas with rides and attractions. Fiesta Village highlights (突出) California’s Spanish heritage (遗产) with art work, rides and food. Indian Trails is similar to Fiesta Village but with an accent on Native American legends, crafts, music and dancing. The heart and soul of Knott’s, Ghost Town is an 1880s California Boom Town with cowboys, gunfights, stagecoaches, and a real steam train. The Boardwalk makes people think of Southern California beach and surfing heritage plus the Boomerang roller coaster and the Hammer-Head. Wild Water Wilderness is an 1800s-style park with water rapids and a magical journey into Native North America. For Peanuts fans, Camp Snoopy is a six-acre children’s wonderland with 30 rides and attractions. Knott’s Berry Farm also stages yearly special events such as Scary Farm and Halloween Haunt plus Knott’s Merry Farm for the holiday season.
Knott’s Berry Farm is in Buena Vista, Orange County, California. It is about half an hour from downtown Los Angeles and 10 minutes from Disneyland. Knott’s Berry Farm is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week. The park is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. During the summer months, the park is open later. The theme park is closed on Christmas Day. Tickets for 2010 are. adults, $53.99 all day; people older than 62, $23.99; children three to 11 years, $23.99. For more information about Knott’s Berry Farm, call 714-220-5220. The first paragraph is mainly about Knott’s Berry Farm’s _____.
| A．attractions | B．history | C．services | D．prices |
Besides Indian Trails, you can also experience Native American culture in _____.
| A．Fiesta Village | B．the Boardwalk | C．Wild Water Wilderness | D．Camp Snoopy |
How long is Knott’s Berry Farm open on week-days?
| A．For eight hours. | B．For nine hours. | C．For ten hours. | D．For twelve hours. |
What do we know about Knott’s Berry Farm from the passage?
| A．It is in Northern California. | B．It is open all the year round. |
| C．It has eight themed areas. | D．It is not far from Disneyland. |
The type of this passage would be _____.
| A．explanation | B．argumentation | C．narration | D．practical writing |
Mark Twain is a name not usually connected with Broadway(百老汇), but now his play “Is He Dead” will receive its first public performance on November 29.
“Is He Dead” was written by Mark Twain in 1898 but was never performed. It was rediscovered in 2002 by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, an English professor and director of the American Studies Program at Stanford University. It was published the following year by the University of California Press.
The story is about a group of poor artists who fake the death of their friend in order to increase the value of his work.
“Is He Dead” is set in France in the 1840s and centers on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. “Millet was probably the most popular European painter in the United States in Twain’s lifetime,” Fishkin said in a telephone interview. “Americans greatly admired him because he focused on the life of the common man and the common woman.”
According to Fishkin, “Is He Dead” is a satire(讽刺) about how value is created in the art world. Twain wrote the play when he was coming out of the hardest time of his life.What’s “Is He Dead” about?
| A．The death of a poor artist in the 1840s. |
| B．A trick played by a group of poor artists. |
| C．A story about the French painter Jean-Francois Millet. |
| D．An experience Mark Twain had gone through. |
From the second paragraph we learn that ______.
| A．the play was one of Mark Twain’s early works |
| B．no one knew the play until 2002 |
| C．Fishkin is an expert on Mark Twain’s works |
| D．the play was published in 2002 |
According to Fishkin, Jean-Francois Millet was admired by Americans because ____.
| A．he was a famous French painter at that time |
| B．he focused on the life of ordinary Americans |
| C．his works showed respect for ordinary people |
| D．Mark Twain agreed on his thoughts |
We can infer from the passage that Mark Twain ______.
| A．had experienced several difficult times for no money |
| B．was a good novelist but a bad playwright(剧作家) |
| C．was a writer who only cared about ordinary people’s life |
| D．was dissatisfied with some methods of creating the value of art work |
High school students need “cool” jobs in summer holidays. Working at popular retail chains(零售连锁店) and ice-cream shops are good choices. The U.S. Department of Labor(美国劳工部) says that about two-thirds of the teenager workers are in fast food business. 1/5 of cooks and food workers are between 16 and 19 years old and 2/5 of food workers are part-time workers.
If you think taking a part-time job is easier, you are wrong. For young people, whatever you do, do your jobs well. Because a good work record will be useful for higher-paid jobs in the future. Let’s share my story.
Unless with my family members, I would go to eat fast food. That doesn’t mean I don’t like working in a fast food restaurant. My first part-time job, at age 16, was at the McDonald’s in Bloomington, Indiana. It was very hard work. Especially on Indiana University football weekends, we had no time to rest, but we still had a lot of fun. Finally I got a higher-paid job.
A future manager believes that difficult work encourages success. The growing U.S. population will bring more restaurants. While many people can’t deal with the pressure(压力) to fill orders quickly, the people who really do a great job will get plenty of rewards in the workplace. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, ______.
| A．more than half of teenager workers are in fast food business |
| B．teenagers in America like to work in a fast food restaurant |
| C．teenagers like to take a part-time job in summer holidays |
| D．almost all teenagers are interested in fast food |
The author uses his own story mainly to tell us that ______.
| A．he never liked fast food and would never eat it |
| B．he didn’t like working in a fast food restaurant at all |
| C．he did a great job, which enabled him to find a better one |
| D．he never went to the fast food restaurant with his family |
The underlined phrase “A future manager” in Paragraph 4 means the person who ______.
| A．will become a manager in the future | B．wants to be a manager in the future |
| C．doesn’t like his job at present | D．worries about his future |
From the last paragraph, we can learn that ______.
| A．a manager will do less work and get more money |
| B．not all the people are suitable for the job in fast food business |
| C．a hardworking waiter has few chances to be a manager |
| D．the growing U.S. population can bring higher-paid jobs |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号