Most people make treehouses using a pile of wood, a hammer, and some nails. Mitchell Joachim, an architect from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has a(n) _______ vision. He pictures a day when homes will be created from_______.
Joachim's vision _______ an idea called bleaching (编织), where tree branches are grown so that they _______ weave together. Since the growth patterns of trees are _______ by wind and sunlight, it may be _______ to control the way a tree develops.
These Fabricated Tree House Habitats would use trees grown into shapes as housing. One of the _______ of these designs is that trees would not have to be cut down _______.
"A 100 percent treehouse would take _______ to create," Joachim said. ________ the climate, a house could take anywhere from 5 to 30 years to grow. Fortunately, there's a way to ________ the process. Joachim suggests including ________ materials such as sod (草皮), grasses and living branches in the housing designs. "This material would be able to move ________ the house grows," Joachim said.
A home would become an actual ecosystem, a community of plants, animals, and bacteria working together. The trees would also give off water vapor that would assist in ________ the homes. Solar panels and wind would help provide ________. The tree homes might even have soil pockets, ________ plants could grow from the structure itself.
Work has already ________ on Joachim's first design—a house made from 50 percent recycled and 50 percent living things. Joachim is confident about the ________ of his work, as he uses natural products ________ nature.
"The environment and its study are very important. We need to respect nature, don’t ________,” he said.
1.A.similar B.excellent C.strange D.different
2.A.living trees B.small trees C.living things D.wild plants.
3.A.agrees with B.is considered as C.is based on D.comes up with
4.A.luckily B.naturally C.partly D.separately
5.A.effected B.affected C.attempted D.intended
6.A.possible B.impossible C.important D.necessary
7.A.designers B.purposes C.disadvantages D.advantages
8.A.on purpose B.for wood C.by chance D.at ease
9.A.troubles B.great efforts C.a few months D.years
10.A.Depending on B.Judging by C.Protected from D.Suffering from
11.A.speed up B.carry on C.slow down D.smooth away
12.A.compound B.chemical C.ecological D.industrial
13.A.for B.as C.so D.because
14.A.cleaning B.heating C.cooling D.lighting
15.A.food B.energy C.beauty D.charming
16.A.where B.which C.that D.and
17.A.stopped B.completed C.controlled D.begun
18.A.pleasure B.happiness C.benefit D.importance
19.A.going against B.without destroying C.by destroying D.coming from
20.A.think you are it B.do it ourselves C.take it for granted D.put it like this
It was a little before nine o'clock on Tuesday night. 1. “Do you need a second helping of pudding?"a waitress asked. Antonio, who had already finished a plate of pasta,a Fish Stew and a slice of cake, couldn't answer it right away. The question might be common for most diners, but for him, it was entirely novel because he was homeless and was having the meal for free. 2. .He had no preparation for it.
3.But at night, it transforms itself into a pioneering place where homeless people such as Antonio can dine free of charge, at tables set with flowers, metal cutlery（餐具）and proper glasses.
The restaurant is the latest initiative（初步行动）from the charity Mensajeros de la Paz.It was founded 54 years ago by Father Angel Garcia Rodriguez. Its business model – using breakfast and lunch takings from paying customers to fund free evening meals for the homeless - is simple enough. 4. “The inspiration came from Pope Francis, who's spoken again and again about the importance of giving people dignity, whether it's through bread or through work," said Father Angel. “ 5.People with nothing can come and eat in the restaurant and get the same treatment as everyone else. It's just common sense."
A.By day, the Robin Hood restaurant, which sits on a side street near the center of Madrid,is a typical Spanish bar.
B.So we thought, why not open a restaurant with tablecloths, proper cutlery and waiters?
C.They plan to extend the scheme and hopes it will attract famous chefs to come to cook.
D.It was the first time that he had been asked such a question.
E.The homeless are treated with respect at the restaurant.
F.Antonio found himself facing a welcome dilemma.
G.Its aim, however, is a little ambitious.
According to a team of researchers，an animal's ability to perceive（感知）time is linked to their pace of life.
“Our results lend support to the importance of time perception in animals where the ability to perceive time in a very short time may be the difference between life and death for fast moving creatures." commented lead author Kevin Healy from Trinity College Dublin.
The study was done with a variety of animals using phenomenon based on the maximum speed of flashes of light an individual can see before the light source is seen as constant. Dogs，for example，have eyes with a refresh rate higher than humans.
One example of this phenomenon at work，the authors say，is the housefly and its ability to avoid being hit. The research showed flies “observe motion in a shorter time than our own eyes can achieve，"which allows them to avoid being hit.
Professor Graeme Ruxton of the University of St Andrews in Scotland，who worked jointly on the research project，said in a statement，“Having eyes that send updates to the brain at much higher frequencies than our eyes do is of no value if the brain cannot process that information equally quickly. Thus，this work highlights the impressive abilities of even the smallest animal brains. Flies might not be deep thinkers，but they can make good decisions very quickly. ”
In comparison，the tiger beetle（虎甲虫）runs faster than its eyes can keep up，basically becoming blind，which requires it to stop periodically to re-evaluate its prey's（猎物）position.
Our results suggest that time perception offers an as yet unstudied dimension along which animals can specialize and there is considerable range to study this system in more detail.
1.What is the research mentioned in the passage mainly about？
A.Pace of life of animals. B.Impressive abilities of animals.
C.Lifetime of small animals. D.Time perception of animals.
2.What does Kevin Healy's comment mean in Para.2？
A.The survival of fast moving animals relies on their ability to perceive time.
B.Animals with quicker pace of life have better perception of time.
C.The ability of animals to perceive time depends on their high moving speed.
D.Animals with poor ability of time perception have a shorter life.
3.Why can houseflies avoid being hit？
A.They can think very deeply before they act.
B.They can process the information as quickly as they receive it.
C.They can fly much faster than their eyes can keep up.
D.They can send information to brain more quickly than to their eyes.
4.What will a tiger beetle have to do to catch a moving prey？
A.Slow down to gain its time perception.
B.Prevent itself from becoming blind.
C.Stop occasionally to spot the prey again.
D.Try to run as fast as it can.
“The price of books for our students is just getting higher and higher and，combined with the rising cost of tuition，it’s killing these students，”said Peter Jason，a college professor. “Remember，students are one of the poorest groups of people in America. Almost half of them have at least one part-time job. In fact，one of my students has three jobs. And she still manages to have high scores and go to school full-time. ”
Textbook prices are traditionally high. Adding to that problem, many college teachers change textbooks year after year; they either upgrade to a new edition or switch to an entirely different textbook. This further hurts students because if an instructor no longer uses a particular textbook，that book has no resale value.
Dr. Jason decided to make reading a little easier and a lot cheaper for his students by writing his own book on public speaking. “Many books have an increased price because of CD-ROMs，lots of color photographs and pictures. I talked to my students，and many of them，like me，prefer to keep things simple! So，a few years ago，I wrote my own textbook. Compared to most other public speaking books，mine is half the number of pages，and one-third the price. That is，$30 instead of $90. When I wrote a second edition last year，students only had to buy the 35 new pages, For only $7. 00，they had almost a new book. Now my loose-leaf textbook enjoys great popularity among the students. Maybe in the future more writers and publishers will try it. ”
1.What did Dr. Jason say about students at college?
A.They are short of money.
B.They need better textbooks.
C.They should do part-time jobs.
D.They are trying to get high scores.
2.What did Dr. Jason decide to do to help the students?
A.To choose cheaper textbooks.
B.To write a textbook himself.
C.To speak to his students.
D.To use old textbooks.
3.How much does a public speaking textbook usually cost?
A.About 7 dollars. B.About 30 dollars.
C.About 37 dollars. D.About 90 dollars.
4.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A.Dr. Jason’s textbook has CD-ROMs and nice pictures.
B.More writers and publishers will write simpler textbooks.
C.Dr. Jason teaches public speaking at a college.
D.Dr. Jason’s textbook is not well received.
Who is your role model? Normally the answer to this question would be anyone around you who you find truly inspiring. It could also be someone like J. K. Rowling or Martin Luther King. Jr. , who have proven to be strong and intelligent people.
However, in today’s world, stars are regarded as role models along with the heroes listed above, despite their intentions or actions. Teens attempt to imitate their actions for two major reasons. Firstly, to be fashionable and accepted by popular culture, and secondly because stars’ actions are so well documented by the media that it seems to grab our attention and turns it to following stars’ lives. Much of the reports about stars is shocking and exhibits bad morals or lifestyles that aren’t right for teenagers. In addition, almost everything stars do is described beyond truth to make a shocking story by taking it to the next level.
However, teens must take responsibility for their actions. We can’t always blame stars for influencing us. Only you have control over yourself and only you choose to do something. Our bodies and actions are in the hands of no one else.
Now, whoever said stars are role models? Whether they choose to be or not, stars set examples as soon as they step into the spotlight. With reporters following and recording every move they make, it is impossible not to be watched and then be imitated. These people influence teens whether or not they want to. Why should someone who doesn’t want to be setting an example set one? So，should we look up to them or to people who are true and good role models? It’s our responsibility as teens to know right from wrong, and it’s time for us to take responsibility for our actions. In doing so，we will lean toward those inspiring people that want to be setting an example, and follow in their steps to be like them.
1.According to the first paragraph, _______ can usually be role models.
A. political leaders
B. wealthy writers
C. people inspiring others
D. people with great intelligence
2.What are the major reasons for the teens to imitate stars?
A. Interest in stars’ life and expectation of getting rich.
B. Motivation for being fashionable and inspiration from popular examples.
C. Intentions to gain acceptance and encouragement from stars’ lifestyle.
D. Desires to be stylish and great influence from the mass media.
3.The author writes the passage mainly to advise the teenagers to _______.
A. have a control over their own bodies and actions
B. be responsible for their own choices and behaviors
C. follow fashionable stars’ steps to be more popular
D. choose right role models according to different reports
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. stars have the responsibility for teenagers’ actions
B. not all famous stars choose to influence teenagers
C. teenagers choose those inspiring people as their role models
D. stars set examples immediately they stepped into the spotlight
Decision-making under Stress
A new review based on a research shows that acute stress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages, causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.
The research suggests that stress may change the way people make choices in predictable ways.
“Stress affects how people learn,” says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negative outcomes under stress.”
For example, two recent studies looked at how people learned to connect images(影像) with either rewards or punishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed by having to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience; in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. In both cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material more accurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gone through the stress.
This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who has tried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –at those moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind. But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect. Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequences are also easily recalled.
The research also found that stress appears to affect decision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend to focus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to risk turn out to be different.
Men who had been stressed by the cold-water task tended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in the opposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, men may tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.
This tendency to slow down and become more cautious when decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely to become addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choices that eventually harden into addiction.
1.We can learn from the passage that people under pressure tend to ______.
A.keep rewards better in their memory
B.recall consequences more effortlessly
C.make risky decisions more frequently
D.learn a subject more effectively
2.According to the research, stress affects people most probably in their ______.
A.ways of making choices B.preference for pleasure
C.tolerance of punishments D.responses to suggestions
3.The research has proved that in a stressful situation, ______.
A.women find it easier to fall into certain habits
B.men have a greater tendency to slow down
C.women focus more on outcomes
D.men are more likely to take risks
