A Battery’s Worst Nightmare(噩梦)
Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries and, let’s face it, batteries aren’t very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery’s energy into an equal space. That’s why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life!When the fuel runs out in your laptop or mobile phone, you just fill up and go.
The engine, about the size of a ten-cent coin, starts with a combustion chamber (燃烧室) that burns hydrogen (氢). Its tiny parts are etched onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are imprinted onto integrated circuits (集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.
But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency(效率). Tiny engine parts don’t always behave like their scaled-up parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the work, according to Columbia University professor Luc Frechette, one of the engine’s designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.
The scientists’ goal is to create an engine that will operate 10 times better than batteries do. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t available until at least the end of the next ten years.
1..
. According to the passage, the title suggests that ________.
A. batteries should be greatly improved B. petrol will be used instead of batteries
C. the time of batteries will be gone forever D. pollution caused by batteries must be prevented
2..
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” (In Paragraph 3)?
A. Problem. B. Advantage. C. Invention. D. Technique.
3..
What can we infer from the passage?
A. The new invention doesn’t need any fuel.
B. The new engine has been produced in quantity.
C. The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.
D. The new engine needs to be improved before it’s on sale.
4..
. What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To introduce a new invention to readers. B. To persuade readers not to use batteries.
C. To show us how the new invention works. D. To declare when the engine will be on sale.
Of all the areas of learning the most important is the development of attitudes. Emotional reactions as well as logical thought processes affect the behavior of most people. “The burnt child fears the fire” is one example. Another is the rise of despots(独裁者) like Hitler. Both these examples also point out the fact that attitudes come from experiences. In the one case the experience was direct and impressive; in the other it was indirect and cumulative(累积的). The Nazis got certain ideas largely by the speeches they heard and the books they read.
The classroom teacher in the elementary school is in a key position to influence(影响) attitudes. This is true partly because children obtain attitudes from those adults who they respect.
Another reason is that pupils are often curious about a subject in school that has only been touched upon at home or has possibly never occurred to them before. To a child who has previously got little knowledge of Mexico, his teacher’s method of dealing with such a unit will greatly affect his attitude toward Mexicans.
However, when children go to school with undesirable attitudes, it is unwise for the teacher to change their feelings by praising or scolding them. She can achieve the proper effect by helping them obtain good experiences.
For example, first-grade pupils afraid of policemen will probably change their attitudes after a classroom chat with the neighborhood officer in which he explains how he protects them. In the same way a class of older children can develop attitudes through discussion, research outside reading and all-day trips.
Finally a teacher must not constantly show her own attitudes because her influence can be no good if she has personal prejudices(偏见). This is especially true in respect to controversial(引起争议的) questions on which children should be encouraged to reach their own decision as a result of objective analysis(分析) of all the facts.
1.. The passage mainly tells us _____.
A. attitudes affect our actions
B. teachers play an important role in developing children’s attitudes
C. attitudes can be changed by some classroom experiences
D. teachers gradually affect pupils’ attitudes by their attitudes
2.. In the first paragraph the writer gives us two examples to _____.
A. show that attitudes come from experiences B. compare with each other
C. show all experiences are direct and impressive D. tell experiences from attitudes
3..When children in school have unpleasant attitudes, teachers should _____.
A. change their feelings by scolding them B. think highly of their good attitudes
C. help them by giving them good experiences D. take no notice of their feelings
4..The passage specially states in the last paragraph that _____.
A. direct experiences are more valuable than indirect ones
B. what a child learns in school has already been introduced at home
C. teachers can sometimes have a bad influence on children
D. teachers should always cover up their own attitudes
Most of us use the telephone several times a day to talk with friends or make social arrangements(安排). These calls are usually quite easy and require little planning.
Using the telephone for business purpose is different. In any organization the person on the telephone represents the company and gives an impression of the firm to the outside world.
If you want to ensure good public relations, you need to master effective telephone techniques.
You should try to give an impression of an efficient, friendly, progressive company eager to give good service.
Before calling
Choose the right time. Consider the cost, urgency and convenience. When calling overseas, you need to consider the time difference.
Check the number. A great deal of money is wasted each year on dialing wrong numbers.
Plan your call. Make a list of points and questions to be raised.
Be prepared. Gather any files, papers or information that may be needed during the call. It is unprofessional to have to say “Hold on while I look for that.”
If you have to ask a caller to hold on, keep going back and assuring him/her that you will be as quick as possible.
Avoid interruptions. Call at a time when you are unlikely to be distracted(分心).
During the call
Be courteous, polite. Make time for suitable greetings like “How are you today, Jim?” and “Did you enjoy your holiday”?
Put a smile in your voice. Remember, your caller can not see you, so use intonation to good effect and try to sound confident, decisive, helpful, and interested.
Check your notes. Look back at your notes to ensure that you have covered everything and quote figures and other data correctly.
Get feedback. Make sure the caller understands the message correctly, especially deadlines and actions that are involved.
Be courteous. Finish by thanking the caller for his or her time and trouble.
After the call
Make notes. Let it become a habit to make notes of the call and place them in an appropriate file.
Take actions. If you need to send a letter of confirmation or inform someone in your organization about any details of the call, do it immediately so that you do not forget important points.
1. Before calling, you have to _____.
A. stay at your company only B. learn important data and figures by heart
C. get things ready for the communication D. choose the right time and place
2. During the call, it is unsuitable to _____.
A. be decisive B. be heard in low spirits C. check your notes D. get feedback
3. What does the underlined word “courteous” in the passage mean?
A. Polite. B. Active. C. Effective. D. Correct.
Many years ago my dad was diagnosed (诊断) with a terminal illness . He was unable to work at 36 job . He would be fine for quite a while , but would then fall suddenly 37 and have to be admitted to the hospital .
He wanted to do something to keep himself 38 , so he decided to volunteer at the local children 39 . My dad loved kids . He would talk to them and play with them .Sometimes , he would 40 one of his kids . In certain instances , he would give 41 to the sad parents of these children .
One of his kids was a girl who had been admitted with a 42 disease that paralyzed (使…瘫痪) her from the neck down . I don’t know the 43 of the disease , but I do know that it was very sad for a little girl . My dad decided to try to help her . He started 44 her in her room , bringing paints , brushes and paper . He stood the paper up 45 a backing , put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint . He didn’t use his hands at all . Only his 46 would move . He would visit her 47 he could and paint for her . All the while he would tell her , “see , you can do 48 you set your mind to .”
49 , she began to paint using her mouth , and she and my dad became friends . Soon after , the little girl was discharged (允许出院). My dad also 50 the children hospital for a little while because he became ill. Sometime later after my dad had recovered and 51 to work , he was at the volunteer counter one day and 52 the front door open . In came the little girl who had been paralyzed , but this time she was 53 . She ran straight to my dad and hugged him really tight . She gave my dad a picture she had done using her 54 . At the bottom it read, “thank you for helping me walk .” Sometimes love is more 55 than doctors , and my dad-who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture-loved every single child in that hospital .
1.. A．an important B．a steady C．an easy D．a good
2..．A．ill B．behind C．asleep D．down
3..．A．well B．wealthy C．busy D．healthy
4.. A．palace B．hospital C．center D．park
5..．A．teach B．miss C．lose D．treat
6..．A．speech B．comfort C．praise D．help
7..．A．special B．curious C．strange D．rare
8.. A．result B．reason C．name D．course
9..．A．observing B．drawing C．painting D．visiting
10..．A．with B．across C．against D．over
11..．A．head B．neck C．fingers D．eyes
12..．A．with whoever B．whenever C．as if D．as soon as
13.. A．everything B．something C．anything D．nothing
14.. A．Basically B．Naturally C．Eventually D．Suddenly
15.. A．left B．entered C．rushed to D．stayed at
16..．A．stopped B．returned C．hesitated D．refused
17..．A．pushed B．noticed C．observed D．kicked
18..．A．shouting B．lying C．walking D．jumping
19..．A．hands B．pens C．paper D．mind
20..．A．thankful B．useful C．thoughtful D．powerful
It shocked me to see ______ my neighbors treated their children.
A. why B. whether C. how D. since
He spent too much time talking on ______ phone while we were all busy at _____ work.
A. the, 不填 B. a, 不填 C. 不填, 不填 D. the, the
