According to the US government, wind farms off the Pacific coast could produce 9

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According to the US government, wind farms off the Pacific coast could produce 900 gig watts of electricity every year. Unfortunately, the water there is far too deep for even the tallest windmills(see picture)to touch bottom. An experiment under way off the coast of Norway, however, could help put them anywhere.
The project, called Hywind, is the world’s first large-scale deepwater wind turbine(涡轮发电机).Although it uses a fairly standard 152-ton,2.3-megawatt turbine, Hywind represents totally new technology. The turbine will be fixed 213 feet above the water on a floating spar(see picture),a technology Hywind’s creator, the Norwegian company StatoilHydro, has developed recently. The steel spar, which is filled with stones and goes 328 feet below the sea surface, will be tied to the ocean floor by three cable(缆索)；these will keep the spar stable and prevent the turbine from moving up and down in the waves. Hywind’s stability(稳定性)in the cold and rough sea would prove that even the deepest corners of the ocean are suitable for wind power. If all goes according to plan, the turbine will start producing electricity six miles off the coast of southwestern Norway as early as September.
To produce electricity on a large scale, a commercial wind farm will have to use bigger turbines than Hywind does, but it’s difficult enough to balance such a large turbine so high on a floating spar in the middle of the ocean. To make that turbine heavier, the whole spar’s to design a new kind of wind turbine, one whose gearbox(变速箱) sits at sea level rather than behind the blades (see picture )
Hywind is a test run, but the benefits for perfecting floating wind-farm technology could be extremely large. Out at sea, the wind is often stronger and steadier than close to shore, where all existing offshore windmills are planted. Deep-sea farms are invisible from land, which helps overcome the windmill-as-eyesore objection. If the technology catches on, it will open up vast areas of the planet’s surface to one of the best low-carbon power sources available.

小题1:The Hywind project uses totally new technology to ensure the stability of _______.

A．the cables which tie the spar to the ocean floor

B．the spar which is floating in deep-sea water

C．the blades driven by strong and steady sea wind

D．the stones filled in the spar below the sea surface

小题2:To balance a bigger turbine high on a flatting spar, a new type of turbine is to be designed with its gearbox sitting ____________.

A．on the sea floor	B．on the spar top
C．at sea level	D．behind the blades

小题3:Wide applications of deepwater wind power technology can ____________.

A．solve the technical problems of deepwater windmills

B．make financial profits by producing more turbines

C．settle the arguments about environmental problems

D．explore low-carbon power resources available at sea

答案

小题1:B
小题2:C
小题3:D

解析

小题1:细节理解题。根据第二段倒数第三句可知，该工程采用了全新的技术，是为了确保漂浮在深海水域中的圆材的稳定。
小题2:细节理解题。根据第三段最后一句可知，为了使较大的涡轮发电机能在圆材上保持平衡，公司计划设计新的发电机，其变速箱在海平面上。
小题3: 细节理解题。根据最后一段最后一句可知，深海风能技术的广泛应用可能会在海洋上开发出可使用的低碳能源。

举一反三

A recent study of ancient and modern elephants has come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into two distinct (不同的) species
The discovery was made by researchers at York and Harvard universities when they were examining the genetic relationship between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants—the Asian elephant, African forest elephant and African savanna elephant
Once they obtained DNA sequences (序列) from two fossils (化石)，mammoths and mastodons the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from each other as Asian elephants and mammoths.
The scientists used detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephants and the African forest elephants have been distinct species for several million years. The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the scientists.
There has long been debate in the scientific community that the two might be separate species but this is the most convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different species.
Previously, many naturalists believed that African savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same species despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5metres while the forest elephant has an average shoulder height of 2.5metres. The savanna elephant weighs between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant. But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are different species. However, the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the department of Animal Sciences at the University of Minois, said, “We now have to treat the forest and savanna elephants as two different units for conservation purpose. Since 1950 all African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the forest and savanna elephants are two very distinct animals, the forest elephant should become a bigger priority (优先)for conservation purpose .”
小题1:One of the fossils studied by the researchers is that of ________.

A．the Asian elephant	B．the forest elephant
C．the savanna elephant	D．the mastodon elephant

小题2:The underlined word “divergence” in paragraph 4means “________”

A．evolution

B．exhibition

C．separation

D．examination

小题3:The researcher’s conclusion was based on a study of the African elephant’s ____________

A．DNA

B．height

C．weight

D．population

小题4: What were Alfred Roca’s words mainly about?

A．The conversation of African elephants.

B．The purpose of studying African elephants

C．The way to divide African elephants into two units

D．The reason for the distinction of African elephants

小题5: Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．Naturalist’s Belief about Elephants.

B．Amazing Experiment about Elephants

C．An Unexpected Finding about Elephants

D．A Long scientific Debate about Elephants

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Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface(BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic school in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated（展示）a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right band. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“our brain has billions of nerve ceils. These send signals through the spinal cord （脊髓）to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles,” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit frotn. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.
小题1:
BCI is a technology that can

A．help to update computer systems	B．link the human brain with computers
C．help the disabled to recover	D．control a person"s thoughts

小题2:
How" did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

A．By controlling his muscles.	B．By talking to the machine.
C．By moving his hand.	D．By using his mind.

小题3:
Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A．scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair

B．computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C．scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair

D．cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

小题4:
The team will test with real patients to

A．make profits from them	B．prove the technology useful to them
C．make them live longer	D．learn about their physical condition

小题5:
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center

B．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works

C．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

D．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

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Howling is a behavior commonly observed among a wolf nark. An animals, wolves work together to hunt and rely on howling was an important means of communication each other. There are different explants of a wolf’s howl and it appears that there may be more to discover. One theory is that wolves howl to bend better together. It’s almost as if howling together helps the pack stay together. Perhaps something similar to people feeling a sense of involvement with each other when singing a song together . But this theory may be wrong, explains Fred H. Harington, a professor who studies wolf behavior. Indeed, there have been tines when wolves have been seen one moment howling in a exhorts, and the next, quarreling anions each other. It appears that usually the lowest-tanking menthes of the pack may actually be “punished” for
Joining in the churs at times. So is howling a way to strcagthen a social boad or just a way to reconfirm status among its members? ——Why do welves howl for sure?
What is cleat, however, is that howling is often used among packmates to locate each other. Hunting grounds are distant and it happens that woloves may separate from one another at times. When this happens, howling appcars to be an ercellent means of gathering.
Howling, interestingly, is a contagious behaviour. When one wolf starts to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occat in the morning, as if wolves were doing some sotr of “roll rall”where wolves all howl togeter to howl, very likely others will follow. This is often seen to occar in the morning, as if wolves were doing w some sotr of “roll call”where wolves all howl together to repotr their pteence.
小题1:.What the por similarity between wolves’ how humaes ting in chorus?

A．The act of calling each other.

B．the sense of accomplishment.

C．The act of hunting for something.

D．The sense of belonging to a group.

小题2:.Why does Harrington think the“secial boad”theory may be wrong?

A．Wolves separate from each other after howling.

B．Wolves tend to protect their hunting grounds.

C．Wolves sometimes have quarrels after howling together.

D．Wolves of low rank are encouraged to join in the chorus.

小题3:Reseatchers are sure that wolves often howl to______.

A．show their ranks

B．find their companion

C．report the missing ones

D．express their lonelingess

小题4:“Howling… is a contagious behaviour”(in the last paragraph)means_ ______.

A．howling is a signal for hunting

B．howling is a way of communication

C．howling aften occurs in the morning

D．howling spreads from one to another

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Which are you more likely to have wath you at sny given mement—your cell phone or your wallet? Soon you may be able to throw your wallet away and pay for things with a quick wave of your smart phone over an electroue scannet.
In January, Starbucks announced that customers could start using their phones to buy coffee in 6,800 of its states. This is the first pay-by-phone practice in the U.S., but we’re likely to see more witeless payment alternatives as something called ucar field communcation(NFC)GETS IN TO America’s consumet electanies. Last Deccmbet some new smart phanes which cantain an NFC chip were introduced to the public.
Already in use in part of Asia and Europe, NFC allows shoppers to wave theie phones a few inchs above a payment terminal-a contact-free system build for speed and convenience. plan a few incees live a payment tetminal a one a few ptaht need to be worked out, like who will get to collect the profitable trunsacian(交易)fees. Although some credit card providers have been experimenting with wave and pay systems that use NFC enabled credit cards, cellphone service providers truay try to mused their way into the point of sale (POS)market. Three big cell phone service providers have formed a joinf tenture(合资企业)that will go into opention over the next 15 months. Its goal is“to lead the U.S. payments industry from cards to mobile phone.”
The other big NFC sue, apart from how paymeats will be processed, is security, For instance, what’s to stop a thief from digitally pickpocketing you? “We’re still not at the point where an attacker can just brush against yee in a crowd and steal all the money out of your phone,”says Jimmy Shah. A mobile security rescarcher, “Usera may also be able to set transaction timeits,requiring a password to be enteced for larger putchases.
Bussiness? Keep in mund you lost your smart phone, it can be located on a located on a map and remotely disabled. Plus, your phone can be password protected, Your wallet isn’t.
小题1:What is predicted to happen in the U.S.?

A．The expansion of cellphone companices.

B．The boom of pay by phone business.

C．The dissppearanceof credit cards.

D．The increase of Starbucks sales.s

小题2:The NFC technology can be used to________.

A．ensure the safety of shoppers

B．collect transaction fees easily

C．make purchase faster and smpler

D．improve the quality of cellphones

小题3:Three cellphone service providers form a joint venture to__________.

A．strengthen their relationship

B．get a share in the payments industry

C．sell more cellphones

D．test the NFC teehnoingy

小题4:According to the what can users do if they lose their smart phones?

A．Stop the luneting of niet phones.

B．Stop a passwant.

C．Cat all the money out of their phones.

D．Can large purchases.

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Every pet owner loves his pet .There is no argument here.
But when we asked our readers whether they would clone their beloved animals , the responses were split(分裂) almost down the middle . Of the 228 readers who answered it ,108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion .
Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and eventual (最终的)sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure (步骤)
Most of the readers who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope that clone could truly recreate a pet; many simply did not wish to go against the natural law of life and death.
Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More of them owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend” or “a member of the family”. They told moving stories of pets’ heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion.
No wonder the loss is so disturbing---and the cloning so attractive. “People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”
But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seems to be at the heart of this problem.
小题1:
As far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners, .

A．a lot more of them are for it	B．a lot more of them are against it
C．very few of them are willing to tell their opinions ．	D．about half of them are for it and the other half against it

小题2:
The expression “eventual sadness of owning a pet.” (in paragraph 3) refers to .

A．the death of one’s pet

B．the final ownership of a pet

C．the troubles one has to deal with in keeping a pet

D．the dangers involved in the cloning of a pet

小题3:
In spite of their differences on the problem of cloning, it seems that .

A．all pet owners love their pets very much

B．all pet owners try to go against the natural law of life and death

C．people who support cloning love their pets more

D．people who dislike cloning love their pets more

小题4:
From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he .

A．has never thought about the problem of cloning

B．thinks it hard to accept the idea of cloning pets

C．is in favor of the idea of cloning pets

D．is all against the cloning of pets

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