We've used the wind as an energy source for a
long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for
irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before
that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term
"windmill" comes from.
We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a "wind farm" and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It's only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans（大篷车）increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.
The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains—places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.
The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines(垂直涡轮机), which don't need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming.
1. The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.
A. the function of wind power B. the source of wind power
C. the nations using wind power D. the history of using wind power
2.How does a wind power work?
A. The generator turns the propellor blades and produce electricity.
B. The tall tower helps turn the energy in the air into electricity.
C. Warm air rises and makes the propellor move round.
D. The propellor blown round by wind turns the generator to produce electricity.
3. The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.
A. boats and caravans can often be seen B. isolated farms don’t have enough electricity
C. there are less human activities D. the wind is strong and reliable
4. We can infer from the passage that _______.
A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land
B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free
C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from
D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is
5. What can be a suitable title for the passage?
A. Where to build a wind farm. B. ABC of the using of wind energy.
C. How to make best use of wind. D. Wind energy is the best energy.
Vans, Keds, Dollies—they sound like the names of rock bands, but if you have teenagers, you'll know they're actually the latest in teenage footwear.
But experts are now warning that the current shoe fashions will be causing teenagers discomfort in the short term and storing up years of foot, knee and back pain in the future.
Here, the experts identify the problems caused by teenagers' shoe choice.
KEDS/VANS
Slip-on shoes with elastic (弹性的）sides are particularly popular among teenage boys - with Keds and Vans the most sought-after brands.
The main problem is that they are just too flat—so flat that the heel, which strikes the ground first, also becomes damaged and painful.
BALLET PUMPS
The worst
shoes of all are such light and thin dolly shoes. The problem is partly their
flatness, as with Keds and Vans. However ballet pumps, which have no string or
heel, have other specific problems.
“As the shoe has no fastening device, it relies on the toes to keep the shoe on, causing an awkward gait（步法）, this leads to short- and long-term problems such as calluses（茧子）, heel and knee pain.”
WEDGES AND STILETTOS
These shoes
can also cause problems with gait. They may look good, but the heels on these
are so high they can force the wearer's body weight forward, making them very
unstable.
Teens who wear these shoes regularly are also in danger of joining those millions of women with constant back pain.
SCHOOL SHOES
So what do podiatrists（足科医生）have on their wish list, especially for everyday wear?
Something in a natural, breathable fabric, with a string to hold it on, with a small heel and a deep toe-box that does not press the toes, such as Clark's, Marks & Spencer or Rhino.
If your teen insists on wearing 'bad' shoes, get them some simple foot orthotics(矫形器) in the shoes. These support and correct the movement of the foot and, properly fitted by a podiatrist, can often transform their walk and halt the damage.
1. Of all the shoes mentioned in the passage, which can cause the worst problems?
A. Marks & Spencer. B. Wedges & Stilettos.
C. Keds and Vans. D. Ballet Pumps.
2. Which pair of shoes may not be found on the podiatrists’ wish list?
3. The underlined word “halt” in the last paragraph probably means _______.
A. increase B. worsen C. stop D. cure
4. From this passage we can infer _______.
A. trendy shoes may ruin teenagers’ health
B. fashionable shoes all have orthotics in them
C. experts are strongly against wearing popular shoes
D. podiatrists are expert at producing branded shoes
5. In which column of Mail Online can you find this passage?
A. Sports. B. Science. C. Health. D. Shopping.
Britain’s seed bank, the only one in the world aiming to collect all of the planet’s wild plant species, has reached its goal of banking 10 percent by 2010.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project, run by Kew Gardens—one of the oldest botanical gardens—will officially deposit the 24,200th species on Thursday, a pink, wild banana from China.
More than 50 countries are now on board with Kew's giant task but vast places of the globe, including India and Brazil, still need to join in and donate seeds, director Paul Smith said.
The seed bank is one of the largest and most diverse in the world with more than 1.5 billion seeds. Its goal is to help protect the planet’s bio-diversity during a time of climate change.
The wild banana seed is under threat of extinction(灭绝) in southwest China from agricultural development. It is a vital food source for Asian elephants and important for growing bananas for human consumption.
Stored at minus-20 degrees centigrade, so they can last for thousands of years, the seeds await the day that scientists hope never comes—when the species no longer exist in the wild.
It is a race against time, Smith said, because in the last decade alone, 20 plants held in the bank have already been wiped out in the wild. He estimates that between a third and a quarter will become extinct this century.
"It is urgent and it is happening now. An area, the size of England, is cleared of primary vegetation（植被）every year." Smith said.
Because most of the world's food and medicines come from nature, protecting wild plant species is quite important, scientists say. There are already many other seed banks safeguarding food crops, which only account for 0.6 percent of plant diversity.
For Kew's next goal—to collect a quarter of wild varieties by 2020—the botanists need 10 million pounds a year, or a further 100 million pounds on top of the 40 million they have already been granted.
1.What’s the final purpose of the Britain’s seed bank?
A. To collect enough money for the project. B. To safeguard food crops.
C. To protect wild plants from extinction. D. To help scientists study wild plants.
2.The wild banana seed in China is in danger because of _______.
A. the expanding of farming work B. the climate change in this area
C. the large number of Asian elephants D. human’s large consumption
3. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. the seeds in the bank can be used now and then all over the world
B. India and Brazil haven’t joined in the Seed Bank Project at present
C. there is only one seed bank in the world at present
D. the wild plants in places like India and China will never die out
4. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 7 refer to?
A. The extinction of plant species. B. The Millennium Seed Bank Project.
C. Britain’s seed bank. D. Kew Gardens’ next goal.
5.Which of the following information isn’t mentioned in the passage?
A. The global partnership of collecting wild plant species.
B. The temperature condition of the conservative wild plant species.
C. The government’s financial support for the seed bank project.
D. Scientists’ concern on the extinct wild plant species.
完型填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A recent study shows that gossip（流言蜚语）is more powerful than truth. It suggests people believe what they hear through the grapevine(小道消息) 36 they have evidence to the contrary.
Researchers, 37 students using a computer game, also found gossip played an important role when people 38 decisions. “We show that gossip has a strong 39 , even when people have 40 to the original information as well as gossip about the same information. Thus, it is 41 that gossip has a strong controlling potential,” said Ralf Sommerfeld, who led the study.
In the study, the researchers 42 the students money and allowed them to give it to others in a series of rounds. The students also wrote 43 about how others played the game that everyone could review. Students tended to give 44 money to people described as “scrooges (吝啬鬼)” and more to those described as “ 45 players”. “People only believed the gossip, not the past decisions,” Sommerfeld said in a telephone interview.
The researchers then took the game a step 46 and showed the students the actual decisions people had made. But they also supplied false gossip that contradicted that 47 . In these cases, the students 48 their decisions to award money on the gossip, 49 the hard evidence.
“If you know what the people did, you should care, but they still 50 what others said,” Sommerfeld said. Researchers have 51 used similar games to study how people cooperate and the 52 of gossip in groups. Scientists define gossip 53 social information spread about a person who is not 54 . In evolutionary terms, gossip can be an important tool for people to 55 information about others' reputations or find the way through social networks at work and in their everyday lives.
1.A. in case B. for fear that C. as if D. even if
2. A. testing B. checking C. examining D. experimenting
3. A. drew B. made C. reached D. concluded
4. A. impression B. difference C. influence D. function
5.. A. access B. entrance C. charge D. communication
6. A. curious B. serious C. obvious D. worth
7. A. impressed B. asked C. showed D. gave
8. A. articles B. notes C. dairies D. letters
9. A. less B. more C. fewer D. much
10.A. general B. mean C. generous D. outgoing
11. A. away B. forward C. ahead D. further
12. A. existence B. evidence C. confidence D. dependence
13. A. based B. put C. focused D. passed
14. A. more than B. less than C. rather than D. other than
15. A. referred to B. listened to C. turned to D. stuck to
16. A. soon B. presently C. far D. long
17.A. strength B. energy C. effect D. force
18. A. as B. for C. to D. by
19. A. absent B. present C. gone D. missing
20.A. achieve B. earn C. acquire D. win
_______ well prepared a gymnast is, he still needs a lot of luck in performing.
A. Whatever B. Although C. No matter D. However
_______ Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan led to water and electricity shortage on the island.
A. Which B. That C. What D. As
