Clothes can make phone calls, play music, dial your pal’s number, keep you warm during cold weather and operate your computer?
This is not a fantasy. A British company, called Electrotextiles, has created a wide range of clothes—clothes that have minds of their own! Scientists, working for the company, have invented a kind of fabric that can be blended(混合) with flexible electronic materials to create intelligent clothing. The result are electronic garments.
If you think the wearer has to be wired to different devices, think again. These designer clothes are wire-free, soft to touch and washable! Like any electronic device, these high-tech clothes have to be powered. Currently, a tiny nine-volt battery serves the purpose. But the researchers hope that in the near future the clothes will generate electricity by using body heat. These clothes are 100 percent shock proof, they say.
The Electrotextiles team has also created the world’s first cloth keyboard. This keyboard can be sewn into your trousers or skirt. To use this device, you will have to sit down and tap on your lap! These ‘lap-tap’ gadgets(器具) are all set to take over laptop computers!
Another useful garment is the shirt-cum-mobile phone. This handy invention enables drivers to chat comfortably with others at the wheel! Other popular electronic wear include the denim(牛仔布) jacket with flexible earphones sewn into the hood(风帽) and the electronic ski jacket with a built-in heater. The ski jacket is also programmed to send signals to a satellite. This technology is known as global positioning system and can be used to track lost skiers and wandering kids.
Having completed the cloth keyboard, scientists have already started to work on a new project—a necktie that can be used as a computer mouse. What is the next? Do you have any idea?The electronic garments are similar to other electronic devices in that _________.
| A．they feel smooth and soft | B．they use electricity as power |
| C．they can be washed in water | D．they are made from flexible materials |
How will researchers improve these high-tech clothes?
| A．Body heat will be used as power. | B．The wearer will not get shocked. |
| C．A tiny nine-volt battery will work. | D．They will get charged automatically. |
What does the underlined phrase “This handy invention” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
| A．The laptop computer. | B．The electronic ski jacket. |
| C．The shirt-cure-mobile phone. | D．The world’s first cloth keyboard. |
If you are going on a ski adventure, which device do you need?
| A．The cloth keyboard. | B．The electronic ski jacket. |
| C．The necktie to be used as a mouse. | D．The denim jacket with earphones. |
The main purpose of the text is _________.
| A．to advertise for an English company | B．to predict the future trend of science |
| C．to show how rapidly science develops | D．to introduce some intelligent clothing |
The English are often considered as unfriendly people who don't talk to strangers, but not London taxi drivers. I once asked a cabbie to describe his life to me and he didn't stop talking until I arrived home half an hour later. He told me many interesting stories and this is one of them: “Some very strange things happen late at night. The other day I was taking a woman home from a party. She had a little dog with her. When we got to her house she foun
d that she'd lost her key. So, I waited in the cab with the dog while she climbed up the window.”“ I waited … and waited … After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on. I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb up the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought that I was trying to rob the house! Luckily, the woman came downstairs, she'd gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog. I was in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to ask her for the fare (车费).”In the writer’s opinion, London taxi drivers are _____________.
| A．unfriendly | B．talkative | C．helpful | D．strange enough |
From the passage we guess that the writer ______.
| A．is the driver of the taxi | B．often travels by taxi |
| C．is a foreigner visiting London | D．lives in London |
What does the underlined word “cabbie” mean in this passage?
| A．Conductor | B．Stranger | C．Taxi driver | D．author |
The man was waiting outside the woman's house because ______.
| A．he began to like the woman and her dog at the first sight |
| B．the woman had not paid him |
| C．he wanted to know what would happen when the police came |
| D．he was trying to go on talking with her |
Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources. How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.
Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.We learn form the text that Wilson cares most about ______.
| A．the environment for plants | B．the biodiversity of our earth |
| C．the wastes of natural resources | D．the importance of human values |
How many species are most important to our present food supply?
| A．Twenty. | B．Eighty. | C． One hundred. |
D．Ten thousand. |
Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to _______.
| A．learn how to farm scientifically | B．build homes for some dying species |
| C．make it clear what to eat | D．use more species for food |
We can infer that the text is _______.
| A．a description of natural resources | B．a research report |
| C．a book review | D．an introduction to a scientist |
Holidays
| Holiday News Vacancies (空位) now and in the school holidays at a country hotel in Devon. This comfortable, friendly home-from-home lies near the beautiful quiet countryside, but just a drive away from the sea. The food is simple but good. Children and pets are welcome. Reduced prices for low season. |
The Snowdonia CenterThe Snowdonia Center for young mountain climbers has a mountain 1068.The beginners’ costs are ￡57 for a week, including food and rooms. Equipment is included except walking shoes, which can be hired at a low cost.You must be in good health and prepared to go through a period of body exercises. This could be the beginning of a lifetime of mountain climbing adventure. |
| The World Sea Trip of a Lifetime Our World Sea Trip of 2008 will be unlike any holiday you have ever been on before. Instead of one hotel after another, with all its packing and unpacking waiting and traveling, you just go to bed in one country and wake up in another. On board the ship, you will be well taken care of. Every meal will be first-class and every cabin like your home. During the trip, you can rest on deck(甲板), enjoy yourself in the games rooms and in the evening dance to our musical team and watch our wonderful play. You will visit all the places most people only dream about – from Acapulco and Hawaii to Tokyo and Hong Kong. For a few thousand pounds, all you’ve ever hoped for can be yours. |
What can you do if you like to go on holidays with pets?
| A．Choose the holiday in Devon. |
| B．Go to the Snowdonia Centre |
| C．Join the World Sea Trip of 2008 |
| D．Visit Acapulco and Hawaii |
In what way is the Snowdonia Centre different from the other two holidays?
| A．It provides chances of family gatherings. |
| B．It provides customers with good food. |
| C．It offers a sport lesson. |
| D．It offers comfortable room. |
What is special about the World Sea Trip of 2008?
| A．You can have free meals on deck every day. |
| B．You can sleep on a ship and tour many places. |
| C．You will have chances to watch and act in a play. |
| D．You have to do your own packing and unpacking. |
At the Snowdonia Centre, the beginners’ costs of ￡57 do not cover .
| A．food | B．rooms | C．body exercises | D．walking shoes |
It is often necessary to release a fish, that is , set it free after catching, because it is too small, or you just don’t want 
to take it home to eat. In some cases, releasing fish is a good measure that will help keep fish variety and build their population size. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) encourages fishermen who practice catch-and-release fishing to use a few simple skills when doing so. The advice provided below will help make sure that the fish you release will survive to bite again another day.
—When catching a fish, play it quickly and keep the fish in the water as much as possible.
Don’t’ use a net in landing the fish and release it quickly to prevent it from dying.
—Hold the fish gently. Do not put your fingers in its eyes. Don’t wipe the scales (鱼鳞
) off the fish because it might cause it to develop a disease and reduce its chance of survival.
—Remove your hook quickly. If the hook is too deep or hooked in the stomach, cut the line and leave the hook in. The hook left inside will cause no serious problem to the fish.
—Take good care of the fish by moving it gently in water. Release the fish when it begins to struggle and is able to swim.
—Do not hold fish in a bucket or some other containers and later decide to release it. If you are going to release a fish, do so right away.
With a little care and by following the suggestions given above, you can give the released fish a better chance of survival.People sometimes set a fish free aft
er catching it because they _________
| A．don’t want it to die | B．hope it will grow quickly |
| C．don’t want to have it as food | D．want to practice their fishing skills |
Which of the following will probably make a fish ill?
| A．Taking the hook off it. | B．Removing its scales. |
| C．Touching its eyes. | D．Holding it in your hand. |
A proper way to release a fish is to _________.
| A．move it in water till it can swim | B．take the hook out of its stomach |
C．ke ep it in a bucket for some time |
D．let it struggle a little in your hand |
What is the purpose of the test?
| A．To show how to enjoy fishing. | B．To persuade people to fish less often. |
| C．To encourage people to set fish free. | D．To give advice on how to release fis h. |
More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple. The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1966, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.
The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple.
In nutrition it was all good news too. This nice tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.
Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep market to itself. But other fruit companies developed similar pineapples. Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out of the market.We learn from the text that the new type of pineapple is __________.
| A．green outside and sweet inside | B． good-looking outside and soft inside |
| C．yellowy-gold outside and hard inside | D．a little soft outside and sweet inside |
Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?
| A．It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice. | B．It was less sweet and good for health. |
| C．It was developed by Del Monte. | D．It was used as medicine. |
The underlined word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something _________.
| A．that people enjoy eating | B．that is always present |
| C．that is difficult to get | D．that people use as a gift |
We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte _________.
| A．slowed other companies to develop pineapples |
| B．succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself |
| C．tried hard to control the pineapple market |
| D．planned to help the other companies |
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