One of the world's richest men has taken a close interest in one of man's most basic functions: visiting the toilet．Bill Gates's charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future, which, they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world.
So, what's wrong with the traditional flush toilet? Firstly, it wastes a huge amount, of potential drinking water．Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution．This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world, where, according to United Nations estimates, unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations．Younger people are particularly at risk．Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1．5 million children a year．Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas．
The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water, electricity or aseptic tank．It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents．28 designs were displayed at the recent Reinvent the Toilet Fair．in Seattle, USA．Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves, another which converted human waste into charcoal, and yet another which used urine for flushing．
But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity．The team from the California Institute of Technology（CIT）picked up a prize of $ 100,000.
But clearly Bill Gates doesn't feel he's flushing money down the toilet．After the Seattle event he said, "We, couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten," Gates has even pledged $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more, prototypes over the next three years．Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?
| A．Because he wants to test people's sense of creativity． |
| B．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion |
| C．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people． |
| D．Because he can't design this kind of things himself． |
Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?
| A．They are too complicated to use. | B．They waste too much water |
| C．They might cause diseases． | D．They are not always practical. |
The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__ " in the text．
| A．sanitation | B．loo | C．diarrhea | D．prototype |
The team from CIT won the prize because their design .
| A．can change human waste into electricity |
| B．can turn human waste into charcoal |
| C．can use urine for flushing |
| D．can produce power with solar energy |
If someone "flush money down the toilet", they are .
| A．wasting money for nothing |
| B．being angry with their work conditions |
| C．showing—off their wealth |
| D．expressing their great determination |
A branch of psychology called neurolinguistic programming has made an interesting and useful discovery :You can change the way you imagine or remember things without changing what you imagine, and it will change your feelings．For example, if a visual memory makes you sad whenever you think about it, you can make that mental picture smaller and dimmer, and when you do, the memory won’t make you as sad．Since you haven’t changed the content of the memory, you haven’t lost any information．You have simply made it less painful．
When you visually remember a pleasant memory, you can made the picture more colorful and the money will give you even more intense good feelings．You can make your pictures of the future brighter, wider , deeper, or you can bring the images closer．Changes like these will make you feel different--- even when you leave the content of the picture the same．
These are general guidelies （指导方针）．You’ll need to experiment for yourself to find out what will work for a particular image．For a few people, making an exciting picture brighter makes the feelings less intense．And for some kinds of pictures, increasing the brightness would cause the feelings to become less intense --- for example, a romantic memory．
What is true for visual images also applies to the way you talk to yourself．
For example, if you have trouble motivating yourself , try changing the tone of voice you use when you spread to yourself．Some people order themselves about ．The voice they use to talk to themselves is harsh and commanding．Listening to yourself being bossy can have the same effect as listening to someone else being bossy: It can make you want to rebel．Change your tone to friendly or seductive, and you might feel more motivated ．When you tell yourself, “I can do it,” fill your internal voice with enthusiasm and back it up with inspiring music．The possibilities are in fact endless．
The important thing to understand is that they way you code your inner world has an impact , and you have quite a bit of control over that coding．You can change it deliberately．When you do , it will change your feelings, which change your actions, which will change the world around you．．
1．Which is the best title of the passage?
A．You Can Change the World Around You
B．Be Merry
C．You Can Change People’s Attitude towards You
D．Talk to Yourself in a Friendly Way
2．The underlined word “deliberately “ can be replaced by ___
A．by change B．on purpose C．difficultly D．wiser
3．We can infer that if we make a sad mental picture bigger and brighter, we can become _____
A．happier B．sadder C．calmer D．wiser．
4．What does the underlined sentence “Some people order themselves around” suggest?
A．Some people order a lot of food．
B．Some people order others to follow their instructions
C．Some people are very hard on themselves
D．Some people are very strict with themselves．
The human body is a living machine, and, like all machines, it needs "fuel" （燃料） to supply it with energy．This is provided by the food we eat．But how much do we need to stay healthy?
The energy value of food is usually measured in calories．A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1℃．The number of calories people need per day is different．Also, the number of calories you use at any one moment normally depends on the activity you are in．For example, you need more calories for standing than for sitting, more for running than for walking, and so on．
The energy in food is in the form of three kinds of chemical materials-carbohydrate（碳水化合物）, protein（蛋白质）and fat．Carbohydrate provides 3．8 Cal/gm, protein 4．0 Cal/gm, and fat 8．8 Cal/gm．Each food contains different amount of these materials, as the round pictures show．
1．The amount of calories supplied by equal amounts of milk, rice, and peanuts is the largest in the case of ________．
A．milk B．rice C．peanuts D．rice or peanuts
2．Choose one statement from among A-D that agrees with the passage and the pictures above．
A．You need more calories for swimming than for mountain climbing．
B．Food contains energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and fuel．
C．Different people need different amounts of energy depending on their age, sex and the activities they are in．
D．3 grams of milk provides 16．6 calories because carbohydrate provides 3．8 Cal/gm, protein 4．0 Cal/gm and fat 8．8 Cal/gm．
3．This article mainly tells us ________．
A．all the energy is in food B．the human body needs energy
C．the number of calories depends on your activity
D．we must only eat peanuts to get calories
Safe burn
Planning a home demands great care ．The fireplace should be distinctive and elegant, with a fire that looks like a fire, giving your family the warmth and protection they need．
Every year 7,000 people die in fires in Britian , and hundreds of them are little children．Thousands more are disfigured for life．
When you choose a fire, choose Safeburn ．It gives you the atmosphere of home comfort you are looking for, and sets your mind at rest．
Caithness Pride
Caithness Pride．The ninth Duke of Caithness would only drink the best whisky, So he built his own private still, in the heart of the Highlands, with the fresh water running in the stream nearby．When we came into possession of the still, we paid the Duke’s heirs a lot of money for it．But it was worth it．After all what was good for the Duke is too good to be kept a secret．
1．The above two passages are _____ ．
A．the covers for two books．
B．The descriptions about two pictures
C．The advertisements for two products
D．The advice on home planning and whisky drinking
2．Fire can provide people with all the following except ____
A．heat B．home comfort C．great care D．peace．
3．From the second passage we’ve learnt that to make food whisky people need ___
A．a famous person’s name B．a private still
C．good water D．good land
4．In the second passage, they are trying to make it clear that ____．
A．their whisky was once drunk by a vey famous person
B．their whisky still was built by the ninth Duke of Caithness
C．their whisky is not expensive
D．their whisky is second to none
III．阅读理解：（共20 小题，每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节：（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出最佳选项。
For her first twenty-four year, she’d been known as Debbie---a name that didn’t suit her good looks and elegant manner．” My name has always made me think I should be a cheerleader, ”She complained．”I just don’t feel like a Debbie!”
One day ,while filling out an application form for publishing job, the young woman suddenly changed middle name, Lynne, for her first name Debbie．“That was the smartest thing I ever did,” She says now．“ As soon as I stopped calling myself Debbie．I felt more comfortable with myself… and other people started to take me more seriously”．Two years after her successful magazine editor--- friends and associates call her Lynne．
Naturally, the name change didn’t cause Debbie/Lynne’s professional achievement--- but it surely helped if only by adding a bit of self-confidence to her talents．Social scientists say that what you are called can affect your life．Through history, names have not only identified people but also described them．”… As his name is, so is he …? says the Bible．For better or worse, qualities such as friendliness or reserves, simpleness or charm may be suggested by your name and encourage other people before they even meet you．
Of course , names with a good sense can work for you ---even encouraging new acquaintances．A recent survey showed that American men thought Susan to be the attractive female name, while women believed Richard and David were the most attractive to men．One woman I know turned down a blind date with a man named Harry because “he sounded dull．” Several evenings later she came up to me at a party, pressing for an introduction to a very nice man with whom they looked at each other all evening．“Oh, “ I said．” You mean Harry?” She was ill at ease．
1．Debbie’s changing her name ____．
A．had actually little to do with her career．
B．was what she happened to do when filling out the form
C．did have an effect on her success
D．entirely contributed to her luck
2．The author introduced Harry to the woman___
A．at the request of the woman herself
B．to tell her that names didn’t matter really
C．to make her feel uneasy in mind
D．the person is more important than his /her name
3．The name Debbie may be connected with something ____
A．huge B．quiet C．dull D．attractive
4．The best possible title for the passage may be ____
A．Names are the most important B．Your name is your fortune
C．Don’t care much for names D．Names and making friends
Forty years ago, Rachel Carson died and the Pittsburgh area lost perhaps its most influential citizen．A native of a Pennsylvania College for Women graduate, Carson published “Silent Spring” in 1962, a work that launched the modern environmental movement and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency （EPA） as well as the passage of our major environmental laws．
However, there has been a puzzling and troubling trend in recent years: an attack on her theory by conservatives and the agrochemical （农用化学品） industry．For example, Rush Limbaugh gave the following quiz: “Who caused more deaths: Adolf Hitler or RachelCarson?” Limbaugh's answer was Carson, due to the approximately 100 million deaths from malaria （疟疾） since 1972, the year in which the pesticide （杀虫剂）DDT was banned for use in the United States in part as a result of “Silent Spring．”
Therefore, on this 40th anniversary of Carson's death, we need to take a scientific look at the myths that remain about pesticides．
Myth 1: Pesticide usage has declined since 1962．In fact, pesticide usage has more than doubled since 1962, and the global pesticide industry currently uses over 2．5 million tons of pesticides each year．Even DDT is still used abroad．
Myth 2: Pesticides are safe．In fact, as Carson warned us, these poisonous chemicals are unsafe since they are designed to kill biological organisms, but are often not specific in their targets．Pesticide exposure can cause skin irritation, headache, cancer and even death．According to the WHO, over 25 million people a year in developing countries suffer severe acute pesticide poisonings with over 20,000 deaths．
Of the 80,000 pesticides and other chemicals in use today, 10 percent are recognized as carcinogens （致癌物质）．According to recent studies, brain cancer rates are five times higher in homes with “no-pest” strips and six times higher in homes where pets wear flea collars （杀蚤颈圈）．Our homes have pesticide concentrations 10 to 100 times higher than outdoors．
So, if Carson were with us today, still battling the agrochemical industry that spent millions of dollars, what would she be advocating? I feel confident that she would be a strong supporter of a new principle of chemical assessment．
Simply put, this principle requires producers of pesticides to prove that they are safe and necessary before they are put on the market．Our current system puts the burden of proof on government and scientists to prove that a pesticide is dangerous and poses an “unacceptable risk” before it can be pulled from the market．
1．Limbaugh attacked Carson because he thought that _____．
A．“Silent Spring” had caused in part the 100 million deaths from malaria
B．she was supporting the production of poisonous pesticides
C．“Silent Spring” was originated from Hitler’s writings
D．she had not cared for the 100 million deaths from malaria
2．Which of the following is the content of Myth 1?
A．The production of pesticides has doubled during the past 40 years．
B．2．5 million tons of pesticides have been produced since 1962．
C．The usage of pesticides has been dropping since 1962．
D．Pesticides have become less poisonous since 1962．
3．The author mentions “flea collars” in the sixth paragraph to indicate _____．
A．pesticides contribute to the development of cancer
B．the close connection between them and dog cancer rates
C．the medical effect of flea collars on dogs
D．flea collars contribute to high pesticide concentrations indoors
4．What is the suggested new practice of chemical assessment?
A．Government should prove a pesticide is unsafe．
B．Scientists should be responsible for writing assessment reports．
C．Producers of pesticides should provide proof of their safety．
D．A special committee should be set up for chemical assessment．
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