The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings—days as warm as 31℃ commonly drop to 14℃ at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃ and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned building, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.What’s the meaning of “complex” in the second paragraph?
| A．Something that is difficult to understand. |
| B．A group of buildings together in one place. |
| C．A group of things that are connected. |
| D．A mental state that is not normal. |
How is fresh air from outside drawn out?
| A．By fans. | B．Via ceiling vents. |
| C．Through chimneys. | D．Via ceiling vents and through chimneys. |
What is NOT the factor that makes Eastgate Building work well?
| A．Skies without clouds. |
| B．Little dampness. |
| C．Daily rapid temperature changes |
| D．Seasonal rapid temperature changes. |
In general, how is the daily temperature of the building?
| A．It changes in a certain range with some exception. |
| B．It changes from one extreme to another. |
| C．It remains the same without any exception. |
| D．It is hard to endure. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners. |
| B．How air-conditioning works. |
| C．Fans make Eastgate Building’s temperature comfortable. |
| D．How Eastgate Building’s temperature control system works. |
I hated dinner parties. But I decided to give them another shot because I'm in London. And my friend Mallery invited me. And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New York. There, '“I’m having a dinner party' means: "I'm booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can't afford and we'll be sharing the checque evenly, no matter what you eat." Worse, in Manhattan there is always someone who leaves before the bill arrives. They'll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up paying even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout: "Where are you going?" And it's not like I can say I have somewhere to go: everyone know I have nowhere to go.
But in London, dinner parties are in people's homes. Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix. The last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India. Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at the United Nations in New York. The mix is less striking. It's like a gathering at Bloomingdale's, a well-known department store.
For New Yorkers, talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York. But at Mallery's, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was. In New York people would think it was a usual new clubWhat does the word "shot" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Choice. |
| B．Try |
| C．Style. |
| D．Goal |
What does the writer dislike most about dinner parties in New York?
A There is a strange mix of people.
B. The restaurants are expensive.
C. The bill is not fairly shared.
D. People have to pay cashWhat does the author think of the parties in London?
A. A bit unusual
B．Full of tricks.
C．Less costly.
D More interesting.What is the author's opinion of some New Yorkers from her experience？
| A．Easy-going. |
| B．Self-centred. |
| C．Generous. |
| D．Conservative. |
It was a village in India. The people were poor. However, they were not unhappy. After all, their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day. Some visitors from the city arrived. The told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs. However, they did not have enough frogs of their own, and so they wanted to buy frogs from other place.
This seemed like money for nothing. There were millions of frogs in the fields around, and they were no use to the villagers. All they had to do was catch them. Agreement was reached, and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs. Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money. For the first time, the people were able to dream of a batter future. But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first, but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well. More worrying was that the children fell ill more often, and, there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak. They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines. Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening. It was the frog. They hadn’t been useless. They had been doing an important job---eating insects. Now with so many frogs killed, the insects were increasing more rapidly. They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now, the people are still poor. But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs. These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.From paragraph I we learn that the villagers __________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．the frogs were easy money |
| B．They needs money to buy medicine |
| C．they wanted to please the visitors |
| D．the frogs made too much noise |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．the crops didn’t do well |
| B．there were too many insects |
| C．the visits brought in diseases |
| D．the pesticides were overused |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country |
| B．Health is more important than money |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important |
| D．good old day will never be forgotten |
Forty years ago Sadie left her drunk and violent husband. Needing shelter (住所）for herself and her young son, she took a job as a doorkeeper in a housing project for people. It meant she could live "on site" in one of the .
Eventually, she got to know the residents (居民）.One resident, Archie, didn't have a family of his own, his nephew's wife and her naughty kids would drop in from time to time. They were there to help the old guy.
Sadie helped care for Archie as he illness and it was she who called the who diagnosed (诊断)his deadly cancer. time passing, Sadie's son up, got married and settled several hundred miles away. Sadie and moved into a nice little house of her own. To the loneliness, she took in a series of over the years.
A heavy fall of snow came a year and a half ago. She was pleased when a neighbor to walk her current dog, Muffin, until the weather improved. Each day he would a while talking to her，making sure she was OK, and if she needed anything.
Although she had known him for a long time, Sadie thought to wonder what his last name was. This morning she asked. His surname was the same old Archie's. It brought back a memory and she talked about the . She told him about working at the old residents' flats and was to discover the man who had been "caring" for her for the past year and a half had been one of the little kids who used to run on his way to visit "Uncle Archie".
She had cared for his family, now he was caring for her. ② of them knew it until that moment but they were living proof of the old saying, "What goes around comes around, "and the of kindness will not be broken.
| A．poor | B．senior | C．disabled | D．unfortunate |
| A．groceries | B．stadiums | C．flats | D．cages |
| A．otherwise | B．but | C．though | D．because |
| A．battled | B．banned | C．cured | D．beat |
| A．servant | B．master | C．neighbor | D．doctor |
| A．As | B．Since | C．With | D．When |
| A．grew | B．got | C．went | D．came |
| A．complained | B．retired | C．fired | D．hesitated |
| A．refuse | B．reduce | C．stop | D．escape |
| A．programs | B．projects | C．birds | D．dogs |
| A．attempted | B．declared | C．offered | D．wished |
| A．spend | B．cost | C．take | D．spare |
| A．observing | B．requiring | C．indicating | D．checking |
| A．often | B．never | C．sometimes | D．once |
| A．to | B．from | C．as | D．of |
| A．coincidence | B．comprehension | C．tradition | D．statement |
| A．puzzled | B．frightened | C．concerned | D．surprised |
| A．calling | B．screaming | C．barking | D．whispering |
| A．All | B．None | C．Neither | D．Both |
| A．custom | B．glory | C．pattern | D．circle |
Muzak
The next time you go into a bank, a store, or a supermarket, stop and listen. What do you hear? ____1__ It’s similar to the music you listen to, but it’s not exactly the same. That’s because this music was especially designed to relax you, or to give you extra energy. Sometimes you don’t even realize the music is playing, but you react to the music anyway.
Quiet background music used to be called “elevator (电梯) music” because we often heard it in elevators. But lately we hear it in more and more places, and it has a new name “Muzak”. About one-third of the people in America listen to “Muzak” every day. The music plays for 15 minutes at a time, with short pauses in between. It is always more lively between ten and eleven in the morning, and between three and four in the afternoon, when people are more tired. ____2____.
If you listen to Muzak carefully, you will probably recognize the names of many of the songs. Some musicians or songwriters don’t want their songs to be used as Muzak, but others are happy when their songs are chosen. Why? ____3__.
Music is often played in public places because it is designed to make people feel less lonely when they are in an airport or a hotel. It has been proven that Muzak does what it is designed to do. Tired office workers suddenly have more energy when they hear the pleasant sound of Muzak in the background. 4 Supermarket shoppers buy 38 percent more groceries.
___5__. They say it’s boring to hear the same songs all the time. But other people enjoy hearing Muzak in public places. They say it helps them relax and feel calm. One way or another, Muzak affects everyone. Some farmers even say their cows give more milk when they hear Muzak!
| A．Some people don’t like Muzak. |
| B．The music gives them extra energy. |
| C．Music is playing in the background. |
| D．Factory workers produce 13 percent more. |
E. Muzak tends to help people understand music better.
F. They get as much as $4 million a year if their songs are used.
G. Muzak is played in most of the big supermarkets in the world.
A new chapter in space exploration has been opened up after NASA confirmed that their mission to bomb the Moon had found “significant quantities” of frozen water.Scientists said the “exciting” findings had gone “beyond expectations” as fully formed ice was found in a crater on the planet.The water was found in one mile high dust that was kicked up by the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite(LCOSS) last month when it crashed into the Cabeus crater near the Moon's south pole.
“Indeed，yes，we found water.And we didn't find just a little bit，we found a significant amount，”said Anthony Colaprete，project scientist and principal investigator for the ￡49 million space mission.
“This is a great day for science and exploration，” said Doug Cooke，associate administrator of NASA.“The remarkable results have gone beyond our expectations.It is incredibly exciting.”
The identification of waterice is important for purely scientific reasons，but also because a supply of water on the Moon would be a vital resource for future human exploration. The findings，which completely contradict previous beliefs that the Moon was a dry place，justify the controversial mission. Over the last decade，scientists have found some hints of underground ice on the Moon's poles，mainly in the form of compounds of hydrogen but this is the best evidence yet.
The discovery is expected to have major implications for the future of lunar exploration，and a ready supply of water could help set up lunar bases or launch missions to Mars. Mr Colaprete said that it should be possible to purify the water for drinking even though it appeared to be mixed with poisonous methanol(甲醇)． Which of the following is TRUE of the “bombing”？
| A．It damaged the Moon surface severely. |
| B．It would do harm to the space environment. |
| C．It confirmed the existence of water on the Moon. |
| D．It would help the research on Mars. |
The underlined word “NASA” in the first paragraph maybe referred to ________.
| A．a base in space |
| B．a new kind of bomb |
| C．a part of the Moon |
| D．a government department |
Which of the following is the best title of the text?
| A．Water Found on the Moon after NASA “Bombing” |
| B．Unbelievable Space Research |
| C．Possible Base on the Moon |
| D．Mysterious Water Found on the Moon |
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