Drinking Water: Bottled or From the Tap（水龙头）?
In America, people will include a case or two of bottled water when buying the week's groceries（日用杂货）．When they are going to a soccer game or activity, it's common for them to grab a cold bottle of water out of the fridge with them．In fact, Americans buy more bottled water than any other nation in the world, about 29 billion bottles a year．
But all these plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment．In order to make all the 29 billion bottles, producers use 17 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough to keep a million cars going for 12 months．
So why don't people drink water straight from the tap? Some people have a strong belief that bottled water is better than water out of the tap, but that's not necessarily true．In the US, the local governments make sure water from the tap is safe．There is also growing concern that chemicals in the bottles themselves may go into the water．
People love the convenience of bottled water．But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a reusable steel container instead of plastic．
Some argue that plastic bottle recycling can help．Recycled bottles can be turned into items like carpeting or clothing．Unfortunately, only one in six bottles is recycled．The rest make it to landfills（垃圾填坦场） or end as trash in other places．Plastic bottles take hundreds of years for them to disintegrate．
Water is important for you, so keep drinking it．But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you can make a change．
And yes, you can make a difference．Remember this: Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours．How many cars can be kept going for a year by the crude oil used to make 29 billion bottles?
| A．100． | B．I,000． | C．100,000． | D．I,000,000． |
Why do Americans prefer bottled water?
| A．Bottled water is better than water from the tap． |
| B．Bottled water is cheaper than water from the tap． |
| C．Bottled water contains beneficial chemicals in it． |
| D．Bottled water is more convenient than water from the tap． |
What does the underlined word "disintegrate" in the fifth paragraph probably mean^
| A．Be well recycled． | B．Become less poisonous． |
| C．Break into small pieces． | D．Go down below a surface． |
The author's intention of writing this passage is to recommend Americans
| A．drink more water from the tap |
| B．send plastic bottles to landfills. |
| C．use water bottles to power light bulbs |
| D．buy bottles filled with water from the tap |
Kiss crisis, hug horrors and the UK's handshake headaches
Greeting someone, saying goodbye – these situations fill me with unease. You have a second to make a dangerous decision. One peck (轻吻)? Two pecks? Three? No kisses at all? Why, I think, as I crash into the other person’s face, why can’t it be as simple as a handshake?
A survey by the soap company Radox in May showed one in five Brits now feels a handshake is “too formal”, according to the Daily Mail. Some 42 percent said they never shook hands when greeting friends. For one third of people the alternative was a hug, for 16 percent a kiss on the cheek.
British people are known to be reserved (保守的) – unfriendly, some would say. Handshakes used to work for us because we didn’t have to get too close. But the super-British handshake is no longer fashionable. We want to be more like our easygoing Mediterranean neighbors who greet each other with kisses and hugs.
The trouble is, we still find it a bit awkward. What does a married man do when greeting a married female friend, for example? How should someone younger greet someone older?
Guys don’t tend to kiss one another; my male friends in Britain go for the “manly hug”, taking each other stiffly (不自然地) in one arm and giving a few thumps on the back with words like “Take it easy, yeah?”.
The biggest questions, if you do decide to kiss, are how many times and which cheek first. Unlike the French, who comfortably deliver three, our cheek-pecks usually end in embarrassed giggling (咯咯笑): “Oh, gosh, sorry, I didn’t mean to kiss you on the lips, I never know where to aim for first!”
But then it’s never been easy for us poor, uncomfortable Brits. Even the handshake had its problems: don’t shake too hard, but don’t hold the other person’s hand too limply (无力地) either, and definitely don’t go in with sweaty hands.
Maybe it’s better to leave it at a smile and a nod. What is the article mainly about?
| A．Origin of the traditional British way of greeting someone. |
| B．New trends and problems that Brits have with the way they greet people. |
| C．Why the author feels uneasy when greeting someone or saying goodbye. |
| D．Differences in greetings between Britain and other Western countries. |
What did the survey by the soap company Radox show?
| A．It is now considered unfriendly to greet friends with a handshake in Britain. |
| B．A kiss on the cheek is becoming the most popular form of greeting in Britain. |
| C．Most Brits no longer offer to shake hands with those they meet. |
| D．More and more Brits prefer to be greeted with a hug or kiss. |
The underlined word “awkward” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．not helpful | B．too informal | C．quite embarrassed | D．very interesting |
Which does the author think might be the safest form of greeting for a British person?
| A．A hug. | B．A smile and a nod. | C．A handshake. | D．A kiss on the cheek. |
Who wrote the article?
| A．A British writer. | B．An American writer. | C．A French writer. | D．A Chinese writer. |
When two Bangs meet
SHELDON Cooper is a scientific genius on the popular American TV show, The Big Bang Theory (《生活大爆炸》). He finally met his match last year: Stephen Hawking.
This is not the first time that the scientist has appeared on TV. He has also been on Star Trek (in 1987) and The Simpsons (in 1989). Each time, he played himself.
Hawking, 71, is perhaps the world’s most famous scientist after Albert Einstein. He has spent his whole life studying the beginning and the end of the universe, including the Big Bang (宇宙大爆炸) theory.
The Big Bang theory explains the early development of the universe. According to the theory, about 13.7 billion years ago everything was all squeezed together in a tiny, tight little ball, and then the ball exploded. The results of that explosion are what we call the universe.
Hawking has always tried to make science more popular with people. His book: A Brief History of Time was published in 1988. In the book he shares his understanding of the universe in simple language. The book tries to explain many subjects about the universe to common readers, including the Big Bang, black holes and light cones (光锥).
Hawking’s achievements are even greater if you think about his disability. When he was 21, Hawking caught a bad illness that slowly stopped him from moving or talking. Now he sits on a wheelchair with a computer by his side. To communicate, he moves two fingers to control the computer’s mouse. He chooses his words from the screen, which are then spoken by a voice synthesizer (合成器).
Hawking also believes that there might be aliens in space. However, he believes they are probably very dangerous, so we should not look for them. “I imagine they might exist in very big ships ... having used up all the resources from their home planet,” Hawking said in a British documentary named Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking. What does the “two Bangs” in the title refer to?
| A．The director of “The Big Bang Theory” and the founder of it. |
| B．The director and the actor of “The Big Bang Theory”. |
| C．The founder of the “Big Bang” theory and its spreader. |
| D．The scientific genius on TV show and the one alive in real life. |
Acting in The Big Bang Theory is Hawking’s _____ time on TV.
| A．first | B．second | C．third | D．fourth |
According to Paragraph 5, Hawking wrote the book A Brief History of Time especially for _____.
| A．scientists who study the universe |
| B．people who know a lot about the universe |
| C．people who know little about the universe |
| D．people who only know simple language |
The Big Bang theory mainly explains _____.
| A．how the universe started | B．what the universe is like |
| C．how old the universe is | D．how the universe exploded |
According to the passage, which of the following about Hawking is TRUE?
| A．He was born with a disability. |
| B．He uses a computer to communicate. |
| C．He believes aliens are our friends. |
| D．He encourages people to look for aliens. |
WHEN there are some strangers in front of us, which of them will we trust?
According to a new study in the online PloS One (《公共科学图书馆·综合》), people make their decisions to trust others largely based on their faces. Your appearance can do a lot for you, especially if you are in the financial industry. The more trustworthy you look, the more likely people will buy what you’re selling.
Researchers from Britain’s University of Warwick Business School, University College London, and Dartmouth College, US, did a number of experiments.
The research team used computer software to make 40 faces, from the least to the most trustworthy-looking.
The study said that the difference between a trustworthy face and one that isn’t as trustworthy comes from features that look slightly angry or slightly happy, even when the face is at rest. However, a slightly happy face is more likely to be trusted.
Researchers gave participants some money and asked them which face they trusted to invest the money for them. Then researchers gave some good and bad information about the people with these faces, and asked the participants again whom they trusted.
The results showed that even if they got different information, the participants didn’t change their choices. They were still more likely to invest their money with the more trustworthy-looking faces.
Chris Olivola, one of the study’s authors, said in the University of Warwick’s press release: “It seems we are still willing to go with our own instincts (本能) about whether we think someone looks like we can trust them. The temptation (诱惑) to judge strangers by their faces is hard to resist.”
Which of the following can be a proper title for this passage?
| A．What kind of face do you trust? |
| B．Who did the experiments? |
| C．Why do you trust him or her? |
| D．Why did they do the experiments? |
According to the study, which of the following faces is most likely to be trusted?
| A．A sad face. | B．A smiling face. | C．A crying face. | D．An angry face. |
Which of the following about the experiment is TRUE?
| A．The trustworthy faces were given good information. |
| B．Researchers took photos of the 40 people’s faces in college. |
| C．Most participants gave their money to the trustworthy-looking faces. |
| D．Participants liked to choose the faces with good information. |
What did the researchers learn from their experiment?
| A．People can’t refuse temptations. |
| B．People always do things with their instincts. |
| C．People often judge strangers by their faces. |
| D．People don’t trust strangers with sad faces. |
[1]Although known as an extraordinarily successful businessman, Warren Buffet comes off as a pretty ordinary person.
[2]Looking back on his childhood, one can see how serious he was about making money. Buffet used to go door-to-door and sell soda pop. Later, he also worked at his grandfather’s grocery store. At the ripe age of 11, Buffet bought his first stock(股票). When his family moved to Washington D.C., Buffet became a paperboy for The Washington Post. While still in school, he was making $175 a month, a full-time wage for many young men.
[3]From the beginning, Buffet made his fortune from investing. He started with all the money that he had made from selling pop, delivering papers and so on. Between 1950 and l956, he grew his $9, 800 to $14, 000．From there, he organized investment partnerships with his family and friends, and then gradually drew in more people through very attractive terms.
[4]Buffet applied to Harvard Business School but , making it to be one of the worst admission decisions in Harvard history. The outcome ended up affecting Buffet’s life deeply, for he ended up attending Columbia Business School, where he studied under Benjamin Graham, the father of securities analysis who provided the foundation for Buffet’s grand success.
[5]Buffet is a person of habit—same house, same office, same city. He doesn’t collect houses or cars or works of art, and he hates companies that waste money on such goods. Instead, he has established the Buffet Foundation, with a detailed plan on how to invest his money more wisely to society. What kind of person is Buffet according to Paragraph 1? (no more than 10 words)
_____________________________________________________________________What does the writer intend to tell us in Paragraph 2? (no more than 10 words)
_____________________________________________________________________According to Paragraph 3, how did Buffet start his investment? (no more than 10 words)
_____________________________________________________________________Fill in the blank in Paragraph 4 with proper words. (no more than 3 words)
_____________________________________________________________________Explain the underlined sentence in Paragraph 5.(no more than 10 words)
_____________________________________________________________________
Electrical devices（仪器）could soon use power make by human energy. Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking . British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.
The device connects to a person’s knee. As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down. To do this , the device helps with the slowing sown movement of the leg. The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity. Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute. Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.
There are several possible uses for the device . Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers. The device could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers（起博器）. It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.
The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy. But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version. An improved version should be ready in one year.
The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries. Nearly twenty five percent of people around the world live without electric power.
A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania. He created a bag carried on a person’s back that also produces power from walking. The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag . But the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.The second paragraph mainly talks about .
| A．who developed the device |
| B．how the device works |
| C．several possible uses for the devices |
| D．how much electricity the device can produce |
What is the disadvantage of the experimental version of the device?
| A．It is too heavy for the walker to bear |
| B．It is too complex for people to use |
| C．It is too expensive for most people to afford |
| D．It will slow down one’s walking speed. |
Compared with the device designed by Larry Rome ,this new device .
| A．produces power without adding more loads to the walker |
| B．can produce more power in a much shorter time |
| C．needs to be equipped with a battery |
| D．can help the walker walk faster |
From the passage, we can learn that the electrical device can .
| A．help housewives operate the washing machine |
| B．make it much easier for us to go online |
| C．produce more electricity than that invented by Larry Rome |
| D．be applied to operate heart pacemakers |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．First device powered by walking will soon be on the market |
| B．Advanced technology brings in a new way to operate heart pacemakers |
| C．Device gives new meaning to the idea of power walking |
| D．Human energy will become a main source of electricity |
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