A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities (设施)for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes (样品); they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation(朝向),” Mark. McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of re most progressive green-design competitions has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?
| A．They lost balance in excitement. | B．they showed strong disbelief. |
| C．they expressed little interest. | D．they burst into cheers. |
Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?
| A．Assessment－Prototype－Design－Construction. |
| B．Assessment－Design－Prototype－Construction. |
| C．Design－Assessment－Prototype－Construction. |
| D．Design－Prototype－Assessment－Construction. |
What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?
| A．The large size. | B．Limited facilities. |
| C．The desert climate. | D．Poor natural resources. |
What dose Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?
| A．They are questionable. | B．They are out of date. |
| C．They are advanced. | D．They are practical. |
I would never forget the time when we were standing at the top of a church tower．My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome．I wondered why．
“Look down, Elsa，” Father said．I gathered all my courage and looked down．I saw the square in the center of the village．And I saw the crisscross （纵横交错） of streets leading to the square．“See, my dear，” Father said gently．“There is more than one way to the square．Life is like that．If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another．”
Now I understood why I was there．Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school．But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said．
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere （干涉）．Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson．By the time we reached home, I had a plan．
At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home．Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner．The plan worked perfectly．She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, “The cook must have gone bad！” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day!
In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me．I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago．I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal．Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square．The author's father took her to the top of a church tower to ________．
| A．find out how many ways lead to the square |
| B．enjoy the beautiful scenery of the whole town |
| C．help her forget some unpleasant things earlier that day |
| D．inspire her to find out another way to solve her problem |
What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day?
| A．Do something delicious for lunch． |
| B．Speak to the school about lunch． |
| C．Taste her awful lunch． |
| D．Dismiss the cook． |
The underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph means ________．
| A．the cook agreed to serve the soup to Mother |
| B．the matter of lunch was successfully settled |
| C．her father persuaded her mother successfully |
| D．the method the author thought of was effective |
On a freezing cold day, a couple had to move into a small apartment because of their failure in business．The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife．So she thought, “He doesn't love me any more, he just cares about his business ．．．not me”．
One day, she was about to take a shower when he stopped her at the door, “Let me take it first, okay？”“Why not me first？” she asked．“I am tired, honey, you take it later, okay？”She was entirely unhappy．
One day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer．A few words came into her sight．Reading them, she burst into tears．It was his diary：
Today, I was quite sad．She asked me why I was always taking the shower first, and I said to her, I was exhausted．She was unhappy．In her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but what could I do? I was not as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, and there was only one shower in the bathroom．It was so cold to take a shower in such a cold winter．But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warmer．So every day I rushed to the bathroom first．I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, even if it was only 1℃．
Now I cannot give her a comfortable life, take her to good restaurants, or buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her 1℃love．Why did the couple move to the small apartment?
| A．Both of them were out of work． |
| B．They wanted to live a better life． |
| C．The man could take better care of his business． |
| D．They were too poor to live in the former house． |
Which of the following can replace the underlined word “exhausted”？
| A．Devoted． | B．Worried． | C．Tired． | D．Injured． |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．They would live a richer life soon． |
| B．The woman misunderstood her husband． |
| C．The man would care less about his business． |
| D．The woman would get angry after reading the diary． |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．A Love Story | B．1℃Love |
| C．A Suffering Couple | D．Fight for the Bathroom |
In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(钠) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循环的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”
Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血压的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.
“An adequate to somewhat excessive(过度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”
Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(节制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.
“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”
| A．It’s unnecessary. |
| B．It does no good to human health.. |
| C．It is hated by most people. |
| D．It will surely lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders. |
| A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients |
| B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure |
| C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient |
| D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone |
| A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt |
| B．doctors should not always advise people to avoid salt |
| C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people |
| D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population |
| A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills. |
| B．They should avoid salt as often as possible. |
| C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day. |
| D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume. |
Many countries follow special customs when a child’s baby teeth fall out. Many of these customs tell stories about animals taking the teeth.
For example, Koreans have the custom of throwing the fallen tooth onto the roof of a house so that a magpie (喜鹊) can take the tooth away and bring a new tooth for the child. This custom is also followed by some other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam.
Other countries, though, have tooth customs about other animals. In Mexico and Spain, for example, it is thought that a mouse takes a fallen tooth away and leaves some money. But in Mongolia, it is dogs that take children’s teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture. It is believed that the new tooth will grow strong if the baby tooth is fed to a dog, so parents in Mongolia will put their children’s fallen teeth in a piece of meat and feed it to a dog.
In France and the USA, a child will put a fallen tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. It is thought that in the early morning, when the child is still sleeping, the Tooth Fairy will take the tooth away and leave something else under the pillow. What she will leave is hard to know. It is said that in France the Tooth Fairy may leave some candies; however, in the United States, she may leave money.
| A．get money | B．feed magpies |
| C．get candies | D．get a new tooth |
| A．throw it onto the roof of a house |
| B．feed it to a mouse |
| C．put it in a piece of meat and feed the meat to a dog |
| D．leave it to the Tooth Fairy |
| A．a child will put his or her fallen tooth beside the pillow |
| B．the Tooth Fairy takes the fallen teeth away at midnight |
| C．the Tooth Fairy will leave some candies to the children after taking the fallen teeth away |
| D．no one knows for sure what the Tooth Fairy will leave to the children after taking the fallen teeth away |
| A．customs about fallen teeth in western countries |
| B．customs about fallen teeth in different countries |
| C．stories about human teeth |
| D．stories about some animals |
Did you know that the position you choose to sleep in says something about what kind of person you are?
A study of 1,000 British people has been done by Chris, a British professor and director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service in the UK. It looked at the six most common sleeping positions and which personalities tend to match them. Have a look.
1. Fetus (胎儿) position – This is the most common sleeping position. About 41 percent of the participants said they sleep in this position. These sleepers may appear to be strong but they are usually sensitive (敏感的) and shy. The more they curl (蜷缩) up, the more worried they are.
2. Log position (树干睡姿) – This is the second most common position. People who sleep like a log are usually stubborn.
3. Yearner position (向往型睡姿) – This position says that you are open-minded and eager (急切的) to face challenges.
4. Soldier position – These sleepers lie on their backs with their arms down and close to the body. They are usually reserved and quiet.
5. Freefall position – People who sleep in this position are outgoing (外向的) but feel a lack of control in their lives. This is the least comfortable position.
6. Starfish position – People who sleep like this are good listeners, helpful, and uncomfortable being the center of attention.
| A．Sleeping position decides personality. |
| B．Sleeping position reflects personality. |
| C．What the six different sleeping positions are like. |
| D．Different people have different sleeping positions. |
| A．Those sleeping in fetus position are always strong. |
| B．Those sleeping in log position changes their ideas easily. |
| C．Those sleeping in freefall position usually feel uncomfortable in their lives. |
| D．Those sleeping in starfish position may feel uneasy when focused on. |
| A．Fetus | B．British people |
| C．People surveyed | D．Sleepers |
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