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（排放）vehicles”, but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants most all use fire to make it. Apart from the few people who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators（发电机）. 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） 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. Because the coal is burned somewhere else, it looks clean. It is not true. 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 fuel）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 lines, etc.
A gallon of gas may drive 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 gasoline-powered ones. If our electricity came mostly from wind or geothermal, or solar, 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 place. Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are not too concentrated, but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot. What’s the main idea of the passages?
| A．Electric cars aren’t actually clean. |
| B．Electric cars are zero-emissions vehicles. |
| C．Zero-emissions vehicles are popular. |
| D．Gasoline-powered cars are more efficient. |
Which of the following words can replace “be clueless about” in Paragraph 2?
| A．Be familiar with． |
| B．Be curious about． |
| C．Fail to understand． |
| D．Show their interest in． |
The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run _________.
| A．at least 25 miles |
| B．more than 25 miles |
| C．as far as 25 miles |
| D．less than 25 miles |
In the author’s opinion, compared with cars using gas, electric cars are more __________.
| A．environmentally-friendly | B．expensive |
| C．efficient | D．harmful |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
| A．electric cars' batteries are poisonous for a long time |
| B．now electric cars are used more than their gasoline-powered cousins |
| C．zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
四：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，共30分）。
阅读下列短文，从短文后各题的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
A
A beautiful woman took a plane on business. She found her seat and sat down next to a young man. The man was just thinking of making a few dollars on the plane. When he saw the woman, he got an idea.
“Hey! Would you like to play a game?” he asked the woman. “No, thank you. I just want to take a nap (打盹),” the woman answered. “It’s really easy. All you have to do is to answer the questions that I ask you. If you don’t know the answer, you give me five dollars. If I don’t know the answer to your question, then I’ll give you five dollars.” “No,” the woman still refused. “OK. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll give you five hundred dollars. How about that?” the man said. Then the woman became interested and decided to join in the game.
“OK. How many moons does Jupiter (木星) have?” asked the young man. The woman reached into her purse and took out a five-dollar bill. “What goes up the mountain with three legs and comes back with four?” the woman asked. Then the young man took out his computer and searched the Internet for an answer. Minutes later, the young man handed five hundred dollars to the woman.
After a few hours, the young man really wanted to know the answer to the question. So he asked the woman, “What is the answer to your question?” The woman reached into her purse and handed the young man a five-dollar bill.
46. Why did the man ask the woman to play a game?
A. He wanted to show his kindness.
B. He wanted to have a pleasant journey.
C. He wanted to earn some money from it.
D. He wanted to make friends with the woman.
47. How much did the woman get at the end of the story?
A. $ 500. B. $ 5. C. $ 10. D. $ 490.
48. What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A. The woman told the man the answer to her question.
B. The woman gave the man’s money back to him.
C. The woman asked the man another question.
D. The woman didn’t know the answer, either.
49. We can learn from the story that the woman is ______.
A. clever B. friendly C. polite D. Honest
E
Astronauts’ meals have come a long way from the free-dried powders and semi-liquid pastes of decades ago, now US scientists want to grow vegetables in mini-greenhouses on the moon.
Scientists say they are looking forward to a time when residents of future lunar or even Martian outsteps will be able to dine on fresh vegetables. Paragon Space Development Corporation has unveiled what it called the first step toward growing flowers—and eventually food-oh the moon.
This is a sealed greenhouse that looks like a bell jar encased in a 46-cm triangular aluminum frame. It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface, and protect it while it grows.
The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize. This competition offers $20 million to any entrant who can launch, hand and operate a rover on the lunar surface.
Paragon officials say future testing of the “Lunar Oasis” will be driven by Odyssey’s flight schedule, which will not happen until 2012 at the earliest.
When it does lift off the greenhouse will contain the seeds of Brassica, a hardy plant related to Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Because Brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in single lunar night.
“Coloizing the Moon or Mars seems so far away, but it is important that we do this research now, ” Paragon president Jane Poynter said.
“It takes a long time to get a lot of research, and to get integrated, reliable efficient systems before colonists move in,” she said.
57．The article is written mainly to________.
A．predict the astronauts’ meals in the future
B．introduce an experiment “Lunar Oasis”
C．tell us the future development of astronomy
D．focus on the human’s great progress
58．The article implies that_________.
A．astronauts can grow flowers in space at present
B．Paragon and NASA will carry out the test separately
C．Lunar Oasis is a series of experiments carried out in space
D．the earliest testing of the Lunar Oasis may be in 2012
59．The underlined word “colonists” in the last paragraph probably has the meaning of________.
A．plants B．wild beasts C．human beings D．scientists
60．The sees of Brassica will be contained in the greenhouse mainly because__________
A．their life cycle is much shorter
B．they are more nutritious than other food
C．they are related to Brussels sporouts and cabbage
D．they are very delicious
D
The Harvard Student-led Walking Tour
Let a student show you Harvard …on a free walking tour.
We welcome our neighbors to stop by the Harvard University Even & Information Centre, located in the Holyoke Centre Arcade at 1350 Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge.
Let a student take you and your family, school, or organization on an engaging, hour-long free historical tour of the Harvard Campus. The tours leaves form be Events & Information Centre. Not only will you discover the location of fascinating exhibition and programmers on campus, you will also see Harvard’s rich sampling of American history and architecture from the Colonial period to the present. Schedule of Tours.
Schedule of Tours
Tours leave the Events & Information Centre at 10 a. m. and 2 p. m. Monday through Friday, and at 2 p. m. on Saturday through the academic year(February 4 through May 2; September 23 through December 16). Summer tours (June 24 through August 15) are offered at 10 a.m. , 11:15 a.m., 2p.m., and 3:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Reser-vacations for special tours of 20 or more people may be made b calling the Events & Information Centre at (617) 495-1583 or emailing icenter@ camail. harvard, edu. Tours are suspended March 23 trough April 2 for Spring Break, May 3 through June 23 for Spring intercession（祷告）,and August 16 through September 22 for Summer intercession.
NOTE: Prospective（未来的）students may take tours originating at the Harvard Admission Office, located at Byerly Hall on 8 Garden Street in Cambridge. Form April through August, the Admissions staff conducts an information session at 10 a. m. , followed by an 11 a. m. tour. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, there is no information session but the 11 a. m. tour is still scheduled. Another session is held year-round at 2p. m. with a 3 p.m. tour following. For more information on tours for prospective students, please call at (617)495-1551.
Harvard University Events & Information Centre.
Location: Holyoke Centre Arcade. 1350 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138
Phone: (617) 495-1537
53．A person can join in a tour at________on Saturday through the academic year.
A．10 a. m. B．2 p. m. C．11:15 a. m. D．3:15 p. m.
54．If you want to go for an information session, you can go on__________.
A．May 2 B．June 23 C．August 20 D．September1
55．A student who wants an information session may___________for more information.
A．call (617) 495-1573 B．call(617) 495-1551
C．email iceter@ camail. Harvard, edu D．go to the Events & Information Centre
56．The above ad. is mainly intended for________ .
A．foreign visitors B．freshmen
C．high school students D．those living near Harvard University
C
Depression （抑郁症）is a serious problem today. Depression causes workers to be unproductive, causing companies and countries to lose billion of dollars. One expert says that depression is like cancer because it is “widespread, costly and deadly”. Depression hits one person in five around the world.
Although people have believed depression to be a problem among the rich and educated, studies show that depression is a problem among everyone. Over any six-mouth period, between five to seven percent of the world’s population will be suffering from a serious depression.
Suicide （自杀）rates among people suffering from the disease in its extreme, or clinical form were 80 percent higher that in the population at large, and suffers were four times more likely to have heart attacks. People who suffer fr
om depression often have problems sleeping, getting up on time, and doing work productively.
Depression, which researchers agree has its origin in the genes（基因）, brings loss of of confidence and ability to concentrate-making it possible for employees and managers to work efficiently.
Depression is made more serious in China by Chinese’s by Chinese inability to face it. Many people believe that depressed people are either weak or lazy. Besides, there is no good treatment, with few specialists available.
“Most patients in China just don’t get help,” a Chinese doctor says. “In my hospital, I have to see 30 or 40 patients in a morning, and just have time to say ‘Hello, how do you feel?’”
In Western countries, people are not afraid to admit that they have depression, but most do not tell it to their boss, because they fear that their boss would fire them.
“In my experience, aging bosses are the most tilling to admit they have it, because they feel the most secure about themselves,” an American doctor says.
Hopefully, in the near future, people around the world will be able to admit that they have depression so that they can get the right treatment.
49．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A．It is widely believed that everyone may suffer from depression.
B．Depression brings great problems to its suffers in their life and work.
C．Depression is a commonly-existing problem only in rich countries.
D．The poorer and the less educated a person is, the less he will suffer from depression.
50．Compared to normal people, depressed people are likely to be__________.
A．very unconfident and often absent-minded
B．easy to avoid being hit by heart attacks
C．working efficiently and productively
D．either weak or lazy
51．Depression becomes more serious in China because of _________.
A．the understanding of the problem B．the lack for treatment and doctors
C．their unwillingness to tell it to their boss D．the doctors’ careless work
52．What can we infer from the passage?
A．People are suffering from depression because of the shortage of specialists.
B．The aging bosses around the world dare to say they are depressed.
C．More and more patients will turn to specialists for help.
D．Western people are braver than Chinese people.
B
The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose（夸大的）words. “Outstanding” is new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK”, and “huge” is the new “big.”
I was in a restaurant in Washington D.C. last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration.
Me: How is the salmon?
Sever: Fantastic!
Me: Does it come with rice?
Sever: Absolutely!
Would a “good” and a “yes” have been enough? Of course!
My father is an average-sized man. He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same. However, in the same amount of time, his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large.
The reason for the exaggerated word is clear: we are bored with our lives. We want the next –next thing now. Immediately!
And we also want others to think that we still care, that we can still be delighted, that we know that everything is just great. Even when deep inside we know it can’t be. Everything can’t be great.
I’m not a scientist, so many methods of proof leave little to be desired, or a lot to be desired, or an immensity（无限）.
Listen to the voices around you. Listen to your own voices. There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad , weather is either beautiful or horrible.
Listen, the next time when someone asks you something and you agree, because when you could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely ” or “without doubt” or “Oh, yeah, unquestionably—absolutely without doubt.”
Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are? If everything is outstanding, if everything is the most amazing thing ever, is anything ever amazing at all?
45．By telling his experience in the restaurant, the author intends to_______.
A．show his interest in exaggerated words
B．prove that exaggerated words are widely used
C．blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words
D．tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good
46．What do we know about the author’s father?
A．He has gained height and is now a tall man.
B．He likes following the fashin in clothing.
C．His weight is getting greater and greater.
D．The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words.
47．So many people like using exaggerated words because________.
A．they are not satisfied with being normal
B．they don’t want to be looked down upon by others
C．they want to be different from others
D．they are brave in telling their true feelings
48．According to the passage, if you approve of something, you’d better say “ ______ ”.
A．fantastic B．perfect C．OK D．Absolutely
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