If I see one more article about how wonderful alternative energy is compared to oil, I will flip(翻页). Alternative energy sources can be good---- very good in fact. And it’s pretty obvious that we’re going to need them, and that our dependence on oil is a Bad Thing. But accepting that does not mean accepting that any kind of alternative energy is a good thing.
To be a good thing, it has to have three properties: 1) It has to help reduce our dependence on oil, 2) It has to be no worse for the environment, and 3) It has to be economically practical.
Many of the things praised meet one or even two of those properties. Solar panels, for example. They can reduce our need for oil, at least in certain regions, and they’re certainly not bad for the environment. But they’re expensive. If you spend the money to make your home solar-powered, you probably won’t get back your costs for at least 15 years, which approaches the lifespan of the panels.
Certainly we need to clean up our act big time and find workable sources of alternative energy. But we also have to keep in mind that every one of these alternative-energy sources comes at a cost, which is something people seem to forget. They hear the phrase “alternative energy” and automatically assume it’s got to be good. But green isn’t always good, and oil isn’t always bad.
One seemingly “green” technology that pops up again and again is electric cars. It is praised by well-meaning people as good for the environment and a way to reduce our oil dependence, especially as oil prices continue to rise.
Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “ zero-emissions vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators. Generators are fueled by something---- usually coal, oil, but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants. There are a few wind farms and geothermal（地热的） plants as well, but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words, those “zero-emissions” cars are likely coal-burning cars. It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean. It is not. It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes ---- “ If I can’t see it, it’s not happening. “ Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle; a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it. But when you take that gas ( or another fue) and first use it to make electricity, you waste a nice part of that energy, mostly in the form of wasted heat ---- at the generator, through the transmission（传送） lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles. But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far ---- so electric cars burn more fuel than gas- powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from nukes; or geothermal, or hydro, or solar, or wind, then an electric car truly would be clean. But for political, technical, and economic reasons, we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition, electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill. And finally, when cars are the polluters, the pollution is spread across all the roads. When it’s a power plant, though, all the junk is in one lace. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.Which of the following statements will the writer support?
| A．Any kind of alternative energy is a good thing. |
| B．Alternative energy is bound to take the place of oil. |
| C．People should have an objective view towards alternative energy. |
| D．Solar panel is a good example of alternative energy that meets three properties. |
What does “ clueless” mean in Paragraph 7?
| A．People see the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zero-emissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People there have no idea that so far electrically mainly comes from burning coal, oil, etc. |
What is the main idea for the text?
| A．Green technology is not always green. |
| B．Alternative energy is economically practical. |
| C．Electric cars are not clean at all. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle. |
According to the text, electric cars ___________.
| A．are more environmentally friendly |
| B．burn more fuel than gas-powered ones |
| C．are very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated |
| D．are poisonous for a long time and will eventually end up in a landfill |
It can be inferred from the text that _________.
| A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication |
| B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
| C．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins |
One day a student went to see his teacher. He had been given an important position and now was coming to say goodbye to his teacher. The old man asked him how he would live among high officials. The student answered, " I will be all right. I have prepared a hundred high hats, one for each official I will meet. I am sure I will succeed.” The teacher got angry on hearing this. “What?” he cried. “Is this what ten years of my teaching has made of you? Nothing but flatterer(拍马屁的人)?” “Excuse me, honored master,” the student rose to his feet and apologized hurriedly. “But you have always been buried in your studies and don’t know how vulgar(庸俗的) the world has come to be. There are few men in the world who are above flatterers like you.” "There is something true in what you said,” the teacher nodded, smiling with one of the student’s "high hats” on.The student came to say goodbye to his teacher because_____________.
| A．he had got hundred hats to sell |
| B．he moved away to another city |
| C．he had got a fairly high position in society |
| D．he wanted to see his parents in his home town |
The student would live among high officials by___________.
| A．selling hats to them |
| B．flattering them |
| C．making a hundred hats for them |
| D．serving them |
The teacher was angry with__________.
| A．himself | B．the society |
| C．his student | D．high officials |
The underlined phrase “rose to his feet” means________.
| A．stood up | B．kicked with his feet |
| C．became quite excited | D．raised his feet |
Verbier language school
Beginner? Fluent? Young? Young at heart? VLS can help you learn or improve your language skills in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere with fun, professional teachers.
What we offer:
Individual (个人) and group French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Swedish lessons for children and adults.
Exam preparation for TEFL, TOEFL, IELTS, Common Entrance, GCSE.
Summer course.
Translation services.
Summer immersion (浸泡式) camps—language and activities including cooking, performances, art and crafts, walking, biking, various sports etc. 9am—4pm (lunch included)
Winter immersion camps—language and skiing. 9am—4pm (lunch included)
Course + prices (Prices shown are for 1 hour lessons, per student):
| Private lessons . |
90 dollars |
| Semi-private (2 people) |
50 dollars |
| Group lessons (3-6 people) |
30 dollars |
Private—one-to-one tuition focusing on the individual needs of the student.
Group—learn in a relaxed and fun environment.
Maximum of 6 students per group so there are still plenty of chances to ask questions.
Children—learning with fun and games in private or group lessons.
Corporate—arrange private or group classes for your company aimed at your specific needs.
Conditions
If registering by phone and email, classes are not confirmed(确认) until a deposit(定金) has been received via the bank or Paypal. Please contact us for bank details.
Payment for the classes must be paid in full in advance or at each lessons.
Students must complete a test at their first lesson to make sure of their level.
Contact us
By post: Verbier Language School, Centre de l’Etoile, Case Postal 475, Rue de M dran 6, 1936 Verbier, Switzerland
By phone: + 41 (0) 796532227
By email:info@verbierlanguageschool.comIn the first paragraph, “Young at heart” refers to ___________.
| A．optimistic people |
| B．the elderly people |
| C．old professional teachers |
| D．people with a strong heart |
It can be inferred that IELTS is _________.
| A．a language course | B．a summer camp |
| C．a sports competition | D．a language test |
John and his father both attend the Group lessons to learn German. They learn two hours each day. How much do they need to pay per day?
| A．200 dollars | B．180 dollars |
| C．120 dollars | D．60 dollars |
In their first lesson, students are required to _______.
| A．report their interest | B．take an exam |
| C．complete a form | D．pay by credit card |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flow more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time.
Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| B．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| C．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
| D．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．offered a ride to his home |
| B．treated hospitably at his home |
| C．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
| D．warmly welcomed at the airport |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships. |
| B．Friendships between Americans. |
| C．Friendships between Chinese. |
| D．Americans’ hospitality . |
Food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria(细菌) than if it is left for longer periods of time, according to the findings of research carried out at Aston University’s School of Life and Health Sciences. The findings suggest there may be some scientific basis to the “5 second rule” --- the belief about it being fine to eat food that has only had contact with the floor for five seconds or less. Although people have long followed the 5 second rule, until now it was unclear whether it actually helped.
The study, undertaken by final year Biology students and led by Anthony Hilton, Professor of Microbiology at Aston University, monitored the transfer of the common bacteria from a variety of indoor flooring types (carpet, cement floor etc.) to toast, pasta, a biscuit and a sticky sweet when contact was made from 3 to 30 seconds. The results showed that: Time is a significant factor in the transfer of bacteria from a floor surface to a piece of food; and the type of flooring the food has been dropped on has an effect, with bacteria least likely to transfer from carpeted surfaces and most likely to transfer from cement flooring surfaces to moist(湿的) foods making contact for more than 5 seconds. Professor Hilton said: “Consuming food dropped on the floor still carries an infection risk as it very much depends on which bacteria are present on the floor at the time.”
The Aston team also carried out a survey of the number of people who employ the 5 second rule. The survey showed that: 87% of people surveyed said they would eat food dropped on the floor, or already have done so. 55% of those who would eat or have eaten food dropped on the floor are women. 81% of the women who would eat food from the floor would follow the 5 second rule. Professor Hilton added, “Our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so. But they are also more likely to follow the 5 second rule.”According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．A toast dropped on the carpet is easier to be polluted than that dropped on the cement floor. |
| B．A sticky chocolate dropped on the carpet is easier to be polluted than that dropped on the cement floor within 5 seconds. |
| C．The food dropped on the carpet shares the same potential of being polluted with the food dropped on the cement floor. |
| D．The food dropped on the cement floor is not as safe as food dropped on the carpet within 30 seconds. |
Eating food dropped on the floor still carries an infection risk because it relies on _________ at that time.
| A．the type of bacteria |
| B．the carpet |
| C．the cement floor |
| D．the surface of table |
The passage is developed probably by __________.
| A．time | B．space |
| C．contrast | D．example |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The food which is dropped on the floor can be eaten safely. |
| B．The bacteria have no negative effect on the safety of food. |
| C．A research on the safety of food dropped on the floor is undertaken. |
| D．People surveyed in the research are willing to accept the idea. |
Air travel makes some people very nervous. The crowds, the noise and flying itself can cause unease. But there are classes that people can take to help them defeat the fear of flying. And now we are going to talk about similar training for service dogs that suffer from the same problem.
Service dogs almost never leave the side of the people they care for. You will see them working on buses, trains and other public transport systems. But the busy environment in an airport can trouble even the best trained working dog.
People with disabilities depend on their dogs. They also need the dogs to remain calmly on duty on the airplane, even when the flight is not smooth. This takes special training. The Air Hollywood K9 Flight School is one place where such help can be found.
The school has a piece of equipment that provides the sights, sounds and even the feel of an airplane in flight. It is called a flight simulator(模拟器). The simulator was built for filming airplane scenes in movies.
Sandy Alexander lives in Newport Beach, California. He has a disability that requires his two-year-old dog, Doc, to be always at his side. Mr. Alexander took the dog to the flight school to get him ready for plane trips. He says Doc did not like the bumpy(颠簸的) part of the flight simulation. “When that started he was pretty agitated and looked up at me and wasn’t sure what was gong on.”
“Dogs need to be exposed gradually and repetitively to stimulation, to the environment, to loud noises, to sounds and other dogs so that when this experience happens to them on a daily basis, they are able to act in a way that they are used to acting and don’t get excitable,” days dog trainer, Mary Segall.
Dog owners who have attended the training say they now feel much more at ease about future flights. Their dogs also seem ready for take-off.The flight simulator________.
| A．can help people to learn how to fly an airplane |
| B．was built for filming airplane scenes in movies |
| C．can’t provide the feel of an airplane in flight |
| D．let service dog owners experience the thrill of flying |
What does the underlined word, “agitated” in the fifth paragraph, probably mean?
| A．Excited | B．Anxious |
| C．Calm | D．Depressed |
Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the text?
| A．There are no school for people to overcome the fear of flying. |
| B．Well-trained working dogs don’t need to attend the training. |
| C．Dogs are exposed to stimulation repetitively in the flight school. |
| D．The training has little effect on service dogs. |
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