For many years, a small percentage of homeowners have fixed solar panels (太阳能板) on their rooftops. Those panels collect some of the sun’s energy and either change it into electricity or use it to heat water. Until recently, the panels were too expensive for average homeowners, and their designs were not attractive. Thanks to new advances, however, solar panels for homes are becoming cheaper and less large and heavy. Now more homeowners are considering using them.
Stores begin to sell Solar panels
Last fall furniture retailer(零售商) IKEA began selling solar panels in its U.K. stores. IKEA has brought the DIY solar choice to the public. While shopping for furniture, shoppers could not add a box or two of solar panels to their shopping cart (购物车). IKEA is partnering with a company. The company deals with fixing and servcing of the solar panels on the roofs. So it is easy for customers to change from old energy system to solar system. If all goes well, IKEA plans to begin selling the panels in other countries soon.
Stylish solar panels
SolTech, a Swedish company, offers a really great solar-power solution. Instead of flat panels, SolTech covers the panels with a special glass tile. And the shape of the glass tile fits traditional tiled roof designs. SolTech recently offers solar systems that heat the home’s air or water. And it also offers one solar system that produces electricity.
______________
New technology has turned windows into solar panels. SolarWindow technology enables see-through windows to produce electricity after the glass surface is added with a special coating. Amazingly, SolarWindow can produce electricity in low-light conditons and can even turn indoor, man-made light into electricity! Since buildings are getting taller and about 60 percent of an office building’s surface is covered with windows, solar window could become a very popular way for people to produce energy and save money.
Turning your home –business-into a solar-powered one is a choice that’s becoming a lot more attractive these days!This passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．fashion shows | B．life in the UK |
| C．a technology | D．different opinions |
The reason why only a few homeowners used solar panels is that they are __________.
| A．cheap but heavy | B．attractive but expensive |
| C．light and small | D．dear and not attractive |
.The DIY solar choice has been brought to the public so that _______.
the IKEA stores can sell more furniture in the U.K.
it is possible to make more panels in other countries.
more people will choose to use a new energy system.
people can get solar panels for free after buying furniture..The best title for the fourth paragraph is __________.
| A．Making new kinds of windowns | B．Turning windows into solar panels |
| C．Changing our homes into panels | D．Adding electricity to the windows |
.The author’s attitude towards solar panels is _________.
A.positive B.negative
D.uncertain D.questioning
Shawneen Mountain is a perfect place for skiing． Lifts（电梯）can help tourists get to the top of the mountain in 3 minutes． The following is the price table of the lift tickets．
LIFT TICKETS |
|||
Tourists |
Weekday （open to close） |
Weekend （open to close） |
Night （3 p．m． to 10 p．m． |
Adult*（Ages 19 to 60） |
﹩48 |
﹩55 |
﹩34 |
Young Man *（Ages 18&． under） |
﹩37 |
﹩41 |
﹩34 |
Child （46cm tall &． under） |
FREE |
FREE |
FREE |
College Student [College ID （证件 ） needed] |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
Soldier （Active Duty ID needed） |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
Elders*（ Ages 60 to 69） |
﹩38 |
﹩49 |
﹩34 |
Super Elders*（Ages 70+） |
FREE |
FREE |
FREE |
*proof （证明） of age needed |
|||
Lift Hours Monday ﹣﹣﹣ Friday： 9 a．m． ﹣ 10 p．m． Weekend： 8 a．m． ﹣ 10 p．m． Christmas Day： Noon ﹣ 5 p．m． |
|||
（1）Shawneen Mountain is a perfect place for ．
A． skiing
B． walking
C． climbing
D． riding
（2）If a child of 42cm tall takes the lift with his 18﹣year﹣old brother on Thursday morning， they will pay ．
A． ﹩41
B． ﹩48
C． ﹩37
D． ﹩74
（3）As a college student， you can buy a lift ticket at a lower price if you show your ．
A． college name
B． college ID
C． phone number
D． Active Duty ID
（4）Tourists take the lift at to the top of the mountain on Christmas Day．
A． 8 a．m．
B． 4 p．m．
C． 9 a．m．
D． 10 p．m．
（5）Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
A． It takes 3 hours to get to the top of Shawneen Mountain by lift．
B． Tourists can't take the lift at 9： 30 a． m． on Sunday morning．
C． A soldier shouldn't pay ＄55 for the ticket at weekends with his Active Duty ID．
D． People aged over 70 are also welcome to Shawneen Mountain．
There were many plants in a forest． When spring came， a pine tree saw a red rose nearby and said， "What a beautiful flower! I wish I were that lovely． "
The rose proudly said， "It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest． "Then the rose looked at a cactus （仙人掌） and said， "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns（刺）! "
"What a proud flower! " thought the trees．
As the days passed． the red rose often looked at the cactus and said bad words about it， like "This plant is useless． How sorry I am to be his neighbor ! "
The cactus never got angry and even tried to advise the rose， saying， "God did not create any form of life without a purpose． "
Spring passed， and the weather became very hot． As there was no rain， the red rose began to wilt（枯萎）．
One day the rose saw birds put their beaks （喙） into the cactus and then fly away． The red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing． The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus．
"The cactus has water？" asked the rose．
Yes， you can also drink some from it． The birds can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help． "
The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus． But finally it did ask for help． The cactus kindly agreed．
The rose learned a lesson and never judged （评价） anyone by their appearance again．
（1）At first， thought the cactus was ugly．
A． the rose
B． the pine tree
C． the birds
D． the thorns
（2）The red rose began to wilt because ．
A． the birds could fly
B． spring came
C． there was no rain
D． the cactus got angry
（3）The birds put their beaks into the cactus to ．
A． get water
B． eat food
C． offer help
D． tell secrets
（4）From the passage， we know the cactus was ．
A． rude
B． kind
C． selfish
D． careless
（5）From the story， we know ．
A． the pine tree didn't think the red rose was beautiful
B． the red rose never said bad words about others
C． the cactus refused to help the birds
D． the red rose realized she was wrong at last
When Major， the most respected pig， saw all the animals were present， he cleared his throat and began：
"Now， comrades （同志们） ， I don't think I shall be with you for many months． Before I die， let me ask you a question． What is the nature of this life of ours？ Let us face it： our lives are miserable and short． We are born， we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies， and those of us who are able to do it are forced to work to the last
"Why then do we continue in this miserable？ Because nearly the whole of the produce of our hard work is stolen from beings． There， comrades， is the answer to all our problems． It is summed up in a single word﹣ Man． Man is the only real enemy we have． Remove （消灭） Man from the scene， and the basic cause of hunger and overwork is ended for ever． "
"And now， comrades， I will sing an old song that came into my dream last night to you． I am sure， it was a song sung by the animals of long ago and have been lost to memory for marry years． It is called Animals of England．"
His voice was hoarse （沙哑的）， but he sang well enough to throw the animals into the wildest excitement． Almost before Major had reached the end， they had begun singing it for themselves．
Unluckily， the singing woke Mr． Jones， the farm owner， who jumped out of bed， thinking that there was a fox in the yard． He took the gun which always stood in a comer of his bedroom， and let fly 6 shots （射击） into the darkness． The pellets （子弹） flew into the wall of the yard and the meeting broke up hurriedly． Everyone ran to his own sleeping place． The birds jumped onto their trees， the animals settled down in the straw， and the whole farm was asleep in a moment．
（1）Why did Major make the speech？
A． To encourage the animals to fight against Man．
B． To teach the animals to sing an old song．
C． To say goodbye to the animals before death．
D． To complain about his personal miserable life．
（2）What does the underlined word " miserable" in the second paragraph most probably mean？
A． common
B． boring
C． lonely
D． painful
（3）Which of the following is true according to the passage？
A． The animals on the farm were brave．
B． Major's speech was nearly successful．
C． Major and Mr． Jones were friendly to each other．
D． Mr． Jones forced his animals to work from birth to death．
（4）Why did Mr． Jones fire his gun？
A． To break up the animals' meeting． ′
B． To kill the fox he saw in the yard．
C． To make sure his gun was in good condition．
D． To protect the animals he raised on his farm．
Nowadays， it never seems we have enough time to realize all of the reading goals （目标） that we set for ourselves． Luckily， we have mobile apps such as Latte Read and Get Abstract to provide abstracts （梗概） of a text． Abstracts are useful tools， especially for students， but like having a friend describe the main content of a story to you， you cannot experience the joy and excitement of reading the original （原来的） text of yourself．
I recently finished reading a thick book of W． Somerset Maugham's collected short stories． It took me around ten years to get through． Thomas Mann's difficult The Magic Mountain took me about six months to read； Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged made me very bored most of the time． Reading a book， whether it is good or bad， is a formative （建设性的） experience． There are plenty of books which I probably shouldn't have taken the time to read． But the challenge of living for a time in the thoughts and experiences of a different history or character makes even the worst book a valuable effort．
Whenever I finish the last line of a book and slowly close it， I like to sit there and think over its lines with a mix of nostalgia （怀旧之情） and pride． I then take the book in hand and find a place for it on my bookshelf． When I step back and look at the books on my shelf， it is as if I am looking at the history of the different lives that I have lived．
Abstracts are useful as a tool to an end， but reading the actual （真正的） book is something much richer． Reading， like anything else in life， is much more about the journey than it ever was the destination （目的地）．
（1）What does the writer mainly want to say？
A． Reading abstracts is a best short way to enjoy literature．
B． Reading abstracts cannot bring you the true feeling of actual reading．
C． Reading different kinds of books brings you many advantages．
D． The journey and the destination are equally important in our reading．
（2）What can we know about the writer from the second paragraph？
A． He prefers thick and difficult books to short stories．
B． A good book is better worth reading than a bad one to him．
C． He achieves a lot from reading some challenging books．
D． He is lucky enough never to have read a regrettable book．
（3）In the third paragraph the writer his main point of view （主要观点）．
A． explains the meaning of
B． provides further support for
C． makes a conclusion of
D． offers an opposite example for
There is good news for students of vocational （职业的） colleges in China： the government has announced plans to develop modern vocational education． Premier Li Keqiang said the government should speed up the development of modern vocational education to meet the need for skilled workers and technicians （技术人员） in the job market． High school graduates and workers with no special training are encouraged to study in higher vocational colleges． Li said that the number of the new students in higher vocational colleges in China should go up by 1 million this year． This is the first time the central government has a clear plan．
This comes after the news of the large shortfall （不足） in highly skilled technicians， although China has millions of technical workers． China is expected to face a shortfall of 3 million skilled workers who can operate the newest machines by 2020． The shortfall will grow to 4.5 million by 2025． Also， vocational education is unsatisfactory （不令人满意的）， although there are many vocational colleges in China． In some vocational colleges， the education methods and courses cannot meet the need of upgrading （升级）， manufacturing （制造业）． As can be seen from the job market， some companies still can't find highly skilled technicians even with high pay．
To deal with the problem． some vocational colleges have worked with companies to teach students． They have hired skilled technicians from companies as teachers． With the rising of the skilled workers' social position and pay， it is believed the vocational education system in China will start to play a bigger role in the development of China．
（1）What's the main purpose of the development of modern vocational education in China？ _
A． To train more highly skilled technicians for the job markets
B． To help vocational college graduates get higher pay from their work．
C． To ask more people to live on themselves with technical skills．
D． To encourage more companies to upgrade manufacturing．
（2）What is one of the problems of Chinese vocational education according to the passage？ _
A． Higher vocational college teachers are not well paid and valued．．
B． There are only a small number of higher vocational colleges in China．
C． The education methods and courses in vocational colleges are unsatisfactory．
D． Some of the vocational college teachers are skilled technicians from companies．
（3）The writer believes China's future vocational education is ．
A． hopeful
B． doubtful
C． unsatisfactory
D． worrying
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