Before the end of the year, employees at Ubiquitous Energy, a company in Redwood City, Calif, will gather in a window-lined conference room to stare toward the future. That’s because their new glass windows will offer more than an amazing view of the North California landscape. They will also be able to power the company’s lights, computers and air conditioners.
Several years in the making, Ubiquitous’ energy-producing glass is a remarkable technological achievement. Its power lies in the layers of organic polymers (聚合物) between sheets of glass. As light enters the window,the flow of electrons between the polymer layers creates an electric current, which is then collected by tiny wires in the glass.
“It’s sort of like a transparent computer display run in reverse (反过来),” says Veeral Hardev, director of business development at Ubiquitous Energy. “Instead of electricity being shuttled to different points in a display to light them up, light is producing electricity to be shuttled out of different points in the window.”
Right now the windows produce about a third as much electricity from a given amount of sunlight as the typical solar cells used in roof panels (板).These windows, about half as transparent as ordinary glass, don’t work as well as transparent ones. Hardev says the company is likely to improve the transparency significantly. As for the lower output of electricity, he notes that windows can cover a much greater surface area than a roof, so numerous windows will produce a surprisingly larger amount of electricity than the production from a rooftop full of higher-efficiency solar panels. “You could do both.” says Hardev. “But you’ll get more from the windows. The biggest challenge, he adds, is increasing the windows from less than two square feet currently to about 50 square feet.”
1.What makes the new glass windows special?
A.They can offer an amazing view.
B.They are controlled by computers.
C.They can power the conference room.
D.They can help stare toward the future.
2.What is Hardev trying to explain in Paragraph 3?
A.The source of light.
B.The significance of different points.
C.The similarity of computer and glass.
D.The working principle of energy-producing glass.
3.What can affect power production according to the passage?
A.The transparency of the glass.
B.The quality of the rooftop.
C.The height of the solar panels.
D.The thickness of the glass.
4.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A.Windows: A New Challenge of Technology
B.Windows: No Longer Just for Letting in the Light
C.Power: A Pressing Problem in the Near Future
D.Power: Not Enough from Rooftop Solar Panels
Connie Monroe clicks a button, flicks her wrist and watches as her neighborhood floods. The shorelines are first to go. Then, the baseball fields at Fleming Park. By the time seawater reaches the senior center, it has flooded streets and over a dozen brick homes. Monroe moves her head up and down, side to side, taking in the simulated (仿真的) view. This is what could happen to Turner Station, a historic African American community southeast of Baltimore, as sea levels rise.
Climate change presents many challenges to coastal communities and to those trying to prepare for its impacts, but one of the most basic is also one of the most vexing: How do you show people and convince them of a possible future?
Communicating the realness and immediacy of the climate threat is hugely important to climate researchers and those aiming to lessen its causes. But it's also the most important to communities faced with coming changes that are already unavoidable. These projects need public support and input. That's why Monroe and other residents (居民) are being directed to sit in metal chairs, put on virtual reality headsets and watch their homes flood.
Turner Station, a community which gets flooded easily, is trying to prepare. It has partnered with the Port of Baltimore, a few nonprofits and a local landscape architecture firm to adopt a range of tools and ways to communicate climate change to the public, because every person is different and every place is different.
The virtual reality program is only the most recent, and perhaps the most effective step. Virtual reality is an immersive experience that can trick the human brain into thinking it's real. But tricking people is not the goal of the sea level rise simulation being used at Turner Station, says Juiano Calil, one of the program's developers. ''The goal, '' he says, ''is to start a conversation and help folks visualize the impacts of climate change and the solutions, and also discuss the trade-offs between them. ''
1.Who is Monroe?
A.A coastal community citizen. B.A climate researcher.
C.An architect. D.AVR program developer.
2.What does the underlined word ''vexing'' mean in paragraph 2?
A.Bothersome. B.Dramatic.
C.Original. D.Convincing.
3.Why is VR technology employed here?
A.It can cut down the risks of climate change.
B.It can show severe results of climate change.
C.It can introduce technology to the residents.
D.It can predict the climate change accurately.
4.What is the purpose of the program?
A.To trick more people to believe.
B.To win the residents’cooperation.
C.To advocate the application of VR.
D.To inform the residents of the solutions.
Many college students want to look for seasonal, short-term or part-time jobs to get extra cash, to stay busy or to get working experience.
Lifeguard
The job is a great opportunity to build your fitness, keep people safe and be outdoors to enjoy some fun on the beach in the sun. The average hourly wage for lifeguards is $ 9.31, but those with certifications or previous experience may be able to earn a bit more.
Nanny (保姆)
Students can find plenty of positions as parents scramble (争抢) to arrange activities and find care for their children. Students who enjoy spending time with kids, staying active and being outdoors can spend their leisure time making money without even feeling like they’re working. Nannies make $ 14.56 per hour.
Camp Consultant
Students who enjoy spending their time with children, being a leader and monitoring fun outdoor activities are perfect for camp consultant positions. The average hourly wage for camp consultants is $9.28, but those with many years’ experience or specific academic backgrounds may be able to earn more.
Food Server
Although it may not seem like the most attractive way to spend a weekend, working as wait staff allows students to build up their social skills, stay active, enjoy free meals at work and posily educate themselves about different cuisines. However, food servers need to be on their feet for hours at a time and must be able to multi-task like professionals, so take this into account before submitting an application. The average salary is $ 9.00 hourly, but trips can raise that number.
1.Who are the two jobs nanny and camp consultant most fit for?
A.Students who want to develop their social skills.
B.Students who love staying with children.
C.Students who love traveling.
D.Students who love camping.
2.What should you take into consideration before applying to be a food server?
A.The way of cooking.
B.The food you can enjoy.
C.Long standing time at work.
D.Skill in getting tips from customers.
3.What job can you do if you’re good at swimming?
A.A lifeguard. B.A nanny.
C.A camp consultant. D.A food server.
假定你是李华，你校组建了游泳俱乐部。请给你的留学生朋友peter写信，邀请他加入。内容包括：
1.组建俱乐部的目的；
2.俱乐部的主要活动；
3.报名的时间和地点；
注意：1.词数100 左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
开头语和结束语己为你写好，不计入总词数。
Dear Peter,
How is everything going?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有5处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（八），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改5处，多者（从第6处起）不计分。
The custom of clapping have early beginnings. In classical Athens, applause meant judgement and taking part in. Plays were often in competition with each other, and prolonging clapping helped play to win. The theatre was large—it could hold 14,000 people, half the adult male population of the city, that meant that the audience could make a lot of noise.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容或括号内单词的正确形式。
In Europe, most capital cities 1.（plan)and built before cars,and city centre traffic jams 2.（be)part of daily life for a long time.The situation in central London, 3.drivers spent fifty percent of their time in queues,became so bad 4. the local government decided to do something about it.In February 2003 the mayor of London introduced a"congestion charge"-a tax for cars 5.（enter)the centre of the city.
