A new power plant in Nakoso, Japan, might someday change everything for coal plants．Since the new power plant fired up in September, the designer, Mistubishi, is expecting to prove it's possible to burn coal without polluting．This technology is known as integrated gasification combined cycle （IGCC）．Proving IGCC works should give Mitsubishi's US partner, NRG Energy, the jump other hurdles to building new clean plants．
The project promised to solve the problem of the ages for power plants: how to produce cheap, clean, reliable electricity．No existing technology can do all three perfectly．
The problem is IGCC isn't there yet．It costs about 20 percent more than traditional plants．And even though it's easier to collect the resulting carbon dioxide from an IGCC plant than a traditional plant, there's no proven way to get rid of the greenhouse gas．One plan is to drill a shaft（通道） to pump the carbon dioxide underground, into saltwater formations．But there's no guarantee it will remain underground forever．
NRG administrators think solving the IGCC riddles is worth the trouble because they expect the U．S．will soon limit the amount of carbon dioxide that power generators may give out ．
"With the additional cost of IGCC, to just voluntarily build something that's 20 percent more expensive, that’s commercial suicide," NRG chief administrator, David Crane said．
NRG administrators expect the cost to decline after six or seven plants are built．But other industry experts think it will take about a dozen plants for the price to be competitive with traditional coal plants．
Takaya Watanabe, a vice general manager of Mitsubishi, admits that the cost challenges are difficult．“It’s good for a company to say we want to be green, but unless someone is willing to pay, it's a dream．It won't keep our family eating rice," he said．
1.What is expected of the new technology?
A．To make electricity without polluting the air．
B．To produce energy without burning coal．
C．To keep the use of electricity cheaper．
D．To pump carbon dioxide more easily ．
2.What's the biggest problem the companies are faced with?
A．How to pump greenhouse gases．
B．How to deal with the high cost．
C．How to get along with other partners．
D．How to improve the new technology．
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A．New technologies are unacceptable to people．
B．It's unlikely to build more new power plants．
C．The companies are run on a tight budget．
D．Going green is easier said than done．
This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbag from the department store I am employed as a shop assistant ．
When you took my bag, I don't know what you thought you were going to get．With my wages, there's not much left on a Tuesday．I hope the ￡5 was useful to you ．I have informed the social security office so you won't be able to cash the child benefit next week ．I hope that won't leave you too short．But if you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book．Of course,I phoned the bank right away and the check-casing card is no longer valid, so it won’t be much use to you ．
Actually I don't mind about the money too much．We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash ．However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you．Sorry about that!
I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book．There were all kinds of papers in it, and notes and things that I really need．I really think that was very inconsiderate of you ．I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?
Well, perhaps the bag will turn up．It wasn't even an expensive one．just a plain, old brown leather shoulder bag．You probably dumped it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We've looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop．
I'm not really angry with you．I know how the pressures of modern living can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things．I feel violated and helpless．The police were very icy, and they just shrugged（耸） their shoulders．"It happens all the time," they told me ．Some small comfort, I suppose．But I've lost just a little more faith in human nature．And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, "Why? Mummy, why us?" I couldn't answer that question．I wonder if you can．
1.In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to ．
A．describe the contents of the bag in detail．
B．give some suggestions to the three thieves
C．tell the thieves hardly any money was available
D．state the fact that she was careless with the money
2.Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?
A．The cash in her bag． B．The papers and notes in the bag．
C．The handbag itself． D．The check books in the bag．
3.What can we conclude about the police?
A．They have doubts about human nature．
B．They show sympathy for the woman．
C．They think the case quite common．
D．They are unable to find the thieves．
4.Why does the author write the letter?
A．To give the thieves a serious warning．
B．To complain about the fall of morality．
C．To call people’s attention to their belongings．
D．To express her affection for her valuable bag．
I had looked forward to this day for a long time．Finally I, Kirsty Sturart, would stand on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe．Although I climbed often in my native Scotland, this was my first trip to the Alps．My companions—Jean Pierre Barton, Maurice Gautier, and Mary Sargent—and I left our camp early and planned to reach the top by late morning．
As we neared the top, large clouds gathered and it began to snow．We found shelter and decided to wait for the snow to stop．After three hours, however, we decided to go back and try again the next day．We started down the mountain in the thick snow．Jean-Pierre forgot his sunglasses and went back to look for them．As he was returning to us, he started to fall．
His fall started an avalanche（雪崩） and it was falling towards us! I was swept away by the heavy snow. Jean-Pierre hurried down to me．“Are you OK?” he asked．
“I think I broke my leg,” I answered．
“I’d better radio for help!” he said．“Where are the others?” We couldn’t see Maurice or Mary anywhere．
Jean-Pierre called the emergency radio number, and the police said they would send help right away．It seemed like hours, but only minutes later we heard the welcome sound of a helicopter． The helicopter couldn’t land on the mountainside, so they lowered two men, two dogs, and a stretcher（担架）．One man ran to me, but I told him to search for the others．The dogs were trained for avalanche rescue and soon began to dig crazily in the snow．
Bernardo, the lead dog, found Mary’s scarf and led the rescuers to her．Maurice was nearby．The men gave us hot drinks and warm blankets and then prepared to lift us into the helicopter．Two men inside the helicopter pulled us up with the ropes．I went first on the stretcher．
Once we were safely inside, the helicopter flew to the hospital in Chamonix．Our poor rescuers and their dogs had to climb all the way back down the mountain．Later we would find these brave men and thank them for saving our lives．
1.What prevented the climbers from reaching the top?
A．The terrible weather．
B．The loss of the sunglasses．
C．The injury of the team members．
D．The unexpected height of the mountain．
2.How did the writer break his leg?
A．The road was covered with snow．
B．His companion knocked into him．
C．The heavy clouds blocked his view．
D．The avalanche caused a fall for him．
3.How did the writer feel while waiting for help?
A．Anxious． B．Crazy． C．Sorry． D．Annoyed．
4.What do we learn from the passage?
A．Mary was the leader of the team．
B．The team was upset about their failure．
C．It was several hours before the rescue team arrived ．
D．The writer was excited thinking of climbing Mount Blanc．
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1．5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
“You will never walk again．You will have to use a wheelchair．” I heard his 36 fall heavily on my ears, numbing my soul．If I had never felt hopeless before, I felt hopeless then．
The car accident has left me unconscious．When 37 , I found both legs in casts（石膏）．While I had other serious injuries, my 38 were my first concern．Working as a special needs teacher and busy and active by nature, I couldn’t imagine being 39 in a wheelchair．
Lying in my bed, I wondered how I 40 give my ten-year-old son hope that mom would 41 ．He’d been cheerful on every visit, but I saw 42 in his eyes． He needed the ray of hope that I would not be in a wheelchair forever．
Just maybe, I thought, I could use this experience to teach him what to do when misfortune 43 ．
It didn’t take me long to become 44 with my limited movements and even with the pace the doctors were willing to go with me．I was determined to learn everything they showed me．
Every night in my private room, as soon as I knew I wouldn’t be 45 or discovered, I would move myself from the bed to the floor, 46 on to the bed rail（床栏杆） for dear life, and slowly putting my weight 47 my feet．After several weeks of such difficult 48 , my strength and confidence continued to 49 ．
It came the time to share my accomplishments with the person most 50 to me．One night, when I heard my son greet the nurses at the station, I 51 myself up．As he opened the door, I took a few small steps． 52 , he could only watch as I turned and started back to bed．All of the pain, the fear, and the struggle 53 as I heard the words I had longed to hear, “Mommy, you can walk!”
I am now able to walk alone, sometimes using a stick．I am able to take public transportation to shop and visit friends．My life has been blessed with many 54 of which I am proud．But none has ever brought me the satisfaction and joy 55 by those four little words of my son．
1.A．words B．report C．explanations D．decision
2.A．hit B．awakened C．asked D．discovered
3.A．legs B．parents C．activities D．surroundings
4.A．placed B．caught C．carried D．stuck
5.A．might B．should C．could D．must
6.A．change B．recover C．adjust D．succeed
7.A．curiosity B．surprise C．fear D．puzzle
8.A．strikes B．passes C．continues D．remains
9.A．familiar B．strict C．discouraged D．impatient
10.A．punished B．interrupted C．accepted D．protected
11.A．falling B．setting C．holding D．ping
12.A．through B．in C．at D．on
13.A．efforts B．lessons C．acts D．curs
14.A．appear B．survive C．build D．add
15.A．useful B．important C．popular D．pleasant
16.A．opened B．dressed C．woke D．dragged
17.A．Disappointed B．Embarrassed C．Frightened D．Shocked
18.A．faded B．spread C．backed D．sank
19.A．expectations B．challenges C．achievements D．supports
20.A．proved B．offered C．taught D．suggested
You can’t complain of being lonely you don’t make any effort to meet people．
A．until B．when C．once D．though
Opening the door, Mrs．Summers found family of cats shut in the bathroom．
A．a; 不填 B．a; the C．the; 不填 D．the; the
