C
As every computer owner knows, when their machines run a complex program they get pretty hot. In fact, cooling the processors can be expensive, especially when you're dealing with huge banks of computer servers. But what if that energy could heat private homes? A Dutch energy firm aims to do just that.
Data centers of large Internet firms, such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and others, contain thousands of computer servers. As they process information they generate enormous amounts of heat requiring cooling towers that dissipate it into the atmosphere.
A Dutch firm thinks paying for electricity to run the servers and then paying again to cool them is a waste of energy.
Boaz Leupe, CEO of the start-up Nerdalize, says it’s actually quite simple.
"We don't actually have to build the data center, which saves a lot of costs in infrastructure and we don't have the cooling overhead, plus that you have the environmental benefit, that the kilowatt hour you are using is used twice, once to heat the home and once to compute the clients task without the cooling overhead," says Leupe.
The company developed what it calls an e-Radiator, a computer server that also works as an alternative heating source. Leupe says that five Dutch homeowners are experimentally using them in their homes.
“We reimburse the electricity the server uses, and that we can do because of the computer clients on the other side, and, in that way, home owners actually get heating for free, and computer users don't have to pay for the overhead of the data center,” says Leupe.
One of the participants in the year-long experiment, Jan Visser, says the amount of heat produced by e-Radiator depends on the work being done by the server’s processors so it cannot be used as the primary source. But he is ready to try it.
“If it gives good enough warmth, you can use less of your existing central heating, and there is the chance for a home owner to pay less bills.”
Nerdalize says e-Radiators generate temperature of up to 55 degrees Celsius and could save up to $440 in annual heating costs.
1.Which one is true according to the passage？
A. It is expensive to deal with huge banks of computer servers.
B. A Dutch energy firm attempted to heat private homes.
C. Computer servers generate large quantities of heat.
D. The cooling tower is a waste of energy.
2.The underlined phrase “overhead” in the third paragraph probably means______.
A. daily cost B. fixture
C. forehead D. method
3.What is NOT true about e-Radiator according to the passage?
A. It is a computer server used as an alternative heating source.
B. It has been launched onto the market.
C.It is environmentally friendly.
D. It can save users’ money.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?
A. A New Kind of Data Servers
B. Data Servers Could Heat Private Homes
C. How to Heat the Private Homes with Computers
D. An Alternative Heating Source
B
American researchers found females are the more talkative sex because of a special “language protein(蛋白质)” in the brain.
The study, conducted by neuroscientists (神经学家)and psychologist from the University of Maryland, concluded that women talked more because they had more of the Foxp2 protein. The research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that higher levels were found among humans that were women but in rats that were males. Their findings came after it was previously claimed that ladies speak about 20,000 words a day – over 13,000 more than men. “This study is one of the first to report a sex difference in the expression of a language-associated protein in humans or animals,” said Prof Margaret McCarthy, who led the study. In their study, the researchers attempted to determine what might make male rats more vocal than their female friends.
They separated four-day-old rats from their mothers and then counted the number of times they cried out in the “ultrasonic range”, the frequencies higher than humans can hear, over five minutes. While both sexes called out hundreds of cries, the males called out twice as often, they found. But when the pups were returned to their mother’s cage, she fussed over her sons first. Tests conducted on the parts of the brain known to be associated with vocalcalls showed the male pups have up to twice as much Foxp2 protein as the females. The researchers then increased the production in the brains of female pups and reduced it in males. This led to the fem
ale rats crying out more often and their mothers showing more interest to them. In contrast, males became less “talkative”.
The researchers then tested samples from ten children, aged between three and five, which showed that females had up to 30 per cent more of the Foxp2 protein than males, in a brain area key to language in humans.
“Based on our observations, we assume higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said Prof McCarthy. “Our results imply Foxp2 as a component of the neurobiological basis of sex differences in vocal communication in mammals. “
1.What can be inferred from the second paragraph？
A. women always speak more words than men.
B. men and male rats have low levels of language protein.
C. McCarthy isn’t the first to find females more talkative
D. women and male rats have similar levels of Foxp2.
2.What does the underlined phrase “fussed over” in the third paragraph mean?
A.relyed on B. related to
C. put pressure on D. paid attention to
3. What’s the purpose of the experiments on rats carried out by the researchers?
A.To test which part of the brain is key to language in rats and humans.
B. To discover the association between Foxp2 protein and vocal communication.
C. To determine the reason why female rats are more talkative than male rats.
D. To prove the levels of Foxp2 protein in humans and rats are different.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?
A. Why women are the talkative sex
B. Tests on humans and rats
C. Sex differences in Foxp2 protein
D. Foxp2 protein determines oral ability
A
Although Paris is often considered the city of romance， close to a million adults who call it home are single. Many single people say that France’s capital is one of the most difficult places to meet people. The complaints of this lonely group have inspired a new phenomenon known as “supermarket dating.” At Galerie Lafayette Gourmet，singles can shop for more than just the items on their grocery list. They can look for someone who has blue eyes， brown hair，and is 1.8 meters tall，or whatever may be on their romantic shopping list.
At this Paris location，single people of all ages can schedule their shopping for Thursday nights between 6:30 and 9:00 p.m. When they walk through the door，they pick up a purple basket to advise that they are looking for love. They try to arrive early because the baskets disappear quickly, and then they have to wait in line for their turn to wander the store aisles(过道).
With purple baskets in hand， shoppers can consider their romantic options while they pick out their groceries. When they are ready to pay， they can go to the checkout line for singles who want to chat.
Most of the people who look for love in the supermarket are skeptical of Internet dating. They know that it is easy to embellish（美化）one’s appearance or to lie about one’s age over the Internet. The supermarket， on the other hand，is considered a safe and casual environment in which to meet a potential match. In addition， what one finds in another’s grocery basket can say a thing or two about that person’s character or intentions. Buying pet food can be a man’s way of showing a potential match that he has a sensitive side. Women who fill their baskets with low-fat food show their healthy style of living. These ways it’s possible to find much more than food at a grocery store.
1.Why do many single people in Paris complain?
A. It is the city lacking of romance
B. It’s difficult to meet people there.
C. There are few choices for them.
D.It’s inconvenient to shop.
2.What can be inferred in the second paragraph?
A. The dating supermarket is located in Paris.
B. The dating supermarket is open only on Thursday evenings.
C. The dating supermarket has very good business.
D. People looking for love must get a basket of a particular color.
3.According to the writer，a man who_____can win a woman’s heart.
A. buy pet food
B. buy low-fat food
C. embellish his appearance
D. pick up a purple basket
4.Why don't the people like Internet dating?
A. Internet dating is not convenient.
B. Internet dating is too casual.
C. Internet dating can’t be trusted.
D. Internet dating dating is too expensive.
完形填空（共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分）
I was waiting for a phone call from my ____ . He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be _____ _.I called him several times, ____ _ each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he ______ call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was ____ _ no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more_____ _. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was _____ _ with that _____ . I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?"
At that time I didn't realize my wife was____ _. Without showing her surprise, she____ _ in, seize
d the phone, tore off the ____ _, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone!" And she _____ it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, _____ _. What on earth?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the ______ of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room—______ _ you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!".
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said _____ _, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room.
After watching a _____ __ woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything _____ _, I noticed that something in my ______ had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been____ crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.
1.A. agent B. wife C. secretary D. assistant
2.A. dismissed B. canceled C.failed D.transformed
3.A. for B.so C.and D. but
4.A.should B. would C.might D. shall
5.A.rather B. ever C. still D. even
6.A.skeptical B. impatient C. depressed D. critical
7.A. faced B. covered C. overcome D.overlooked
8.A.idea B. thought C.mind D. mood
9.A. looking down B. looking up C. looking for D. looking on
10.A. jumped B. hurried C. rushed D. stepped
11.A. phone B. wires C. receiver D. call
12.A.snatched B.skipped C.swept D.scratched
13.A. speechless B. silence C. surprising D. scared
14.A.remains B. left C.other D. rest
15.A.unless B.as C. if D.since
16.A. jokingly B. stubbornly C. calmly D. cautiously
17.A. loving B. crazy C. humourous D.bored
18.A. in shape B.in order C. in place D. in sight
19.A. eyes B. heart C. mind D. mood
20.A.pushed B. driven C.forced D. kept
—Can we go camping tomorrow，as planned?
—_____________The dark clouds promise a heavy rain.
A． I'm afraid not. B．Is that so ?
C．Don’t mention it. D. Why not ?
Although they are pretending hard to be young, grey hair and cellulite ____ them ____.
A．give ;up B．give; off
C．give; away D．give; back
