What’s that actor _____that we saw in the film last night?
A. called B. is called C. calling D. being called
Not only _____interested in changing teaching methods but _____beginning to show an interest in it.
A. the teacher himself is; all his students are B. the teacher himself is; are all his students
C. is the teacher himself; are all his students D. is the teacher himself; all his students are
She didn’t come to the party last Sunday. __________, she must have made the party more exciting.
A. If she came B. Would she come C. Had she come D. Did she come
— Are you going there with us?
— If Mary wants to go, __________.
A. I also go B. so do I C. so I will D. so will I
Microwaves may be great at warming up food, but what about warming people?
Using microwaves to directly heat owners of a room would save much of the energy wasted by heating walls and furniture. And despite popular ideas about microwaves, this technique would be safe, according to Charles R. Buffler of the Microwave Research Center in Marlborough, New Hampshire. Low-power microwaves only penetrate (贯穿) the skin (low-power microwave penetration in a ham is about 0.2 inches, for example) and with no negative effects.
To test this idea, Buffler subjected himself to microwaves in a special room using a standard 500-watt, 2459 MHz magnetron (磁控管). He found that a person will start to feel warmth at about 20 milliwatts per square centimeter (mw. /sq.cm.); a satisfactory feeling of warmth occurs between 35 and 50 mw./sq.cm. By comparison, a person standing in noonday summer sun feels the amount of 85 mw./sq.cm. And a frozen meat pie in your microwave oven receives about 1000 mw./sq. cm.
In houses of the future, each room could be provided with its own magnetron, says Buffler. When you stepped into the living room, for example, a motion detector would turn on the magnetron, filling the room with low-power microwaves. In the same way that a microwaves oven heats up a hamburger, but not the plate it’s on, you would feel warmth from the microwaves without changing the temperature of your coffee table. (You could, however, make your favorite easy chair even more comfortable by treating it with a radiation-absorbing chemical.)
While it might be some time before homeowners are comfortable enough with the idea to set up whole body microwave heaters in houses, Buffler says microwaves may attract livestock farmers. Lambs that are born outdoors in winter, for example, are frequently lost to cold. Microwaves could warm the lambs safely and quickly.
1. Which of the following can tell the main idea of the passage?
A. A new heating system. B. A new microwave oven.
C. A popular technique. D. The magnetron.
2. The test conducted by Buffler shows that when a person feels comfortable warmth, he receives about ____.
A. 20 mw. / sq. cm. B. 40 mw. / sq. cm.
C. 60 mw. / sq. cm. D. 85 mw. / sq. cm.
3. According to paragraph 4, which of the following fills the room with low-power microwaves?
A. The magnetron. B. The motion detector.
C. The microwave oven. D. The radiation-absorbing chemical.
4. Which of the following statements about microwave heaters would Buffler most probably agree with?
A. Microwave heaters will soon be widely used by homeowners.
B. Microwave heaters sometimes make people feel uncomfortable.
C. Microwave heaters will be probably first used by livestock farmers to protect their lambs in winter.
D. Microwave heaters cannot be accepted by the public because they are somewhat unsafe.
As you move around your home, take a good look at the things you have. It is likely that your living room will have a television set and a video, and your kitchen a washing machine and a microwave oven. Your bedroom drawers will be filled with almost three times as many clothes as you need. You almost certainly own a car and possibly a home computer, holiday abroad at least once a year and eat out at least once a week.
Now, perhaps, more than ever before, people are wondering what life is all about, and what it is for. Seeking material success is beginning to trouble large numbers of people around the world. They feel that the long hours work culture to make more money to buy more things is eating up their lives, leaving them very little time or energy for family or pastimes. Many are turning to other ways of living and downshifting is one of them.
Six percent of workers in Britain took the decision to downshift last year. One couple who downshifted is Daniel and Liz. They used to work in central London. He was a newspaper reporter and she used to work for an international bank. They would go to work by train every day from their large house in the suburbs (郊区), leaving their two children with a nanny (保姆). Most evenings Daniel wouldn’t get home until eight or nine o’clock, and nearly twice a month he would have to fly to New York for meetings. They both earned a large amount of money but began to feel that life was passing them by.
Nowadays, they run a farm in the mountains of Wales. “I always wanted to have a farm here,” says Daniel, “and we took almost a year to make the decision to downshift. It’s taken some getting used to, but it has been worthy of. We have to think twice now about spending money on car repairs and we no longer have any holidays. However, I think it’s made us stronger as a family, and the children are a lot happier.”
Liz, however, is not quite sure. “I used to enjoy my job, even though it was hard work and long hours. I’m not really a country girl, but I suppose I’m gradually getting used to looking after the animals. One thing I do like, though, is being able to see more of my children. My advice for other people wanting to do the same is not to think about it too much or you might not do it at all.”
1.What do the first two paragraphs tell us?
A. People seldom work long hours to make money.
B. People hardly buy more things than necessary.
C. People are sure everything they own is in the right place.
D. People realize there is more to life than just making money.
2. When Daniel was a reporter he _____.
A. lived in central London B. disliked his job
C. missed his children D. was well paid
3. Daniel and Liz both agree that the move to the farm _____.
A. was easy to organize B. has improved family life
C. was extremely expensive D. has been a total success
4. What does the underlined “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Child-caring. B. Liz’s advice. C. Downshifting. D. Liz’s job.
