A villa (别墅) designed to resist earthquakes with “self-healing” cracks in its wa
题型：不详难度：来源：
A villa (别墅) designed to resist earthquakes with “self-healing” cracks in its walls, thanks to nanotechnology (纳米技术) applications with self-healing polymers (聚合物), is to be built on a Greek mountainside. The villa’s walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed (压榨) under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material.
The NanoManufacturing Institute (NMI), based in Leeds University, will play a key role in an EU project to construct the home by December 2010. The project, called “Intelligent Safe and Secure Buildings” (ISSB) is funded under the EU’s Sixth Framework program. This potentially life-saving scheme is led by German building manufacturer Knauf. The villa will be built in Amphilochia, in western Greece, where Knauf currently runs a manufacturing plant. If the experiment is successful, more tremor-resistant（防震）homes could be built in earthquake zones across the globe. NMI chief executive Professor Terry Wilkins said, “What we’re trying to achieve here is very exciting. We’re looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale.” Monitors contained in the villa’s walls will be able to collect vast amounts of data about the building over time. Wireless sensors(传感器) will record any stresses and vibrations, as well as temperature, humidity and gas levels.
The walls are to be built from new load-bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum（石膏）board. Prof Wilkins said, “If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape. If whole groups of houses are so constructed, we could use a larger network of sensors to get even more information. If the house falls down, we have got hand-held devices that can be used over the ruins to pick out where the embedded（嵌入的）sensors are hidden to get some information about how the villa collapsed. Also, we can get information about anyone who may be around, so it potentially becomes a tool for rescue.”
小题1:The aim of the passage is to ________.| A．report a piece of interesting news | | B．promote tremor-resistant homes | | C．inform us of the nanotechnology development | | D．tell us something about a tremor-resistant home |
小题2:The villa can resist earthquakes because _______.| A．it will be built on a special place | | B．the cracks in its walls can be healed by the polymers | | C．the special particles can make its walls stronger | | D．the intelligent sensor network can tell people where there is a crack |
小题3:If the tremor-resistant home falls down, _______.| A．rescue work can be done more quickly and accurately | | B．the intelligent sensor network will stop working | | C．no one can be hurt in the earthquake | | D．a warning signal will be given to other residents |
小题4:What Prof Wilkins said suggests that _______.| A．he is doubtful about the project | | B．he thinks the tremor-resistant home is perfectly designed | | C．he is confident in the tremor-resistant home | | D．the tremor-resistant home still needs to be tested in a real situation |
小题5:It can be inferred from the passage that tremor-resistant home _______.| A．is still being tried out | | B．is already under construction | | C．has been in wide use | | D．will be put into wide use soon |
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答案
小题1:D
小题2:B
小题3:A
小题4:C
小题5:A |
解析
文章谈论的是用新型材料进行的防震建筑的建造。
小题1:D 主旨大意题。文章谈论的是用新型材料进行的防震建筑的建造。
小题2:B 细节题。根据第一段最后三行The villa’s walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed (压榨) under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material. 可知B正确。
小题3:A 细节题。根据文章第三段内容2,3行If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape.可知如果有地震，这种墙里面的感应器将警告人们，以至于人们有时间逃脱，A正确。
小题4:C 推理题。根据文章最后一段可知他对于这种新型的防震建筑很有信心，认为它可以成为一种很好的防震工具。
小题5:A 推理题。根据文章最后一段The walls are to be built from new load-bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum（石膏）board.可知这种墙还在试验阶段，还没有真正的投入运行。 |
举一反三
Environmentalists said our planet was doomed to die. Now one man says they are wrong.
"Everyone knows the planet is in bad shape," thundered a magazine article last year. Species are being driven to die out at record rates, and the rivers are so poisonous that fish are floating on the surface, dead.
But there"s a growing belief that what everyone takes for granted is wrong: things are actually getting better. A new book is about to overturn our most basic assumptions about the world"s environment. Rivers, seas, rain and the atmosphere are all getting cleaner. The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. The Skeptical Environmentalist by Bjorn Lomborg, professor of statistics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, is an attack on the misleading claims of environmental groups, and the "bad news" culture that makes people believe everything is getting worse.
Now the attacks are increasingly coming from left-wing environmentalists such as Lomborg, a former member of Greenpeace. The accusation is that, although the environment is improving, green groups — with profits of hundreds of mil-lions of pounds a year — are using scare tactics(谋略)to gain donations. Lomborg"s book doesn"t deny global warming — probably the biggest environmental threat — but destroys almost every other environmental claim with many official statistics.
The Worldwatch Institute claims that "deforestation(沙漠化) has been accelerating over the last 30 years". But Lomborg says that is simply rubbish. Since the dawn of agriculture the world has lost about 20 per cent of its forest cover, but in recent decades the forest area"s depleting has come to a stop. According to UN figures, the area of forests has remained almost steady, at about 30 per cent of total land area, since the 1940s. Forests in countries such as the US, the UK and Canada have actually been expanding over the past 40 years. Despite all the warnings the Amazon rainforest has only shrunk by about 15 per cent.
Nor are all our species dying out. Some campaigners claim that 50 per cent of all species will have died out within 50 years. But other studies show only 0.08 per cent of species are dying out each year. Conservation efforts have been successful. Whales are no longer threatened and the bald eagle is off the endangered list.
Environmental groups claim that many of the improvements are the results of the success of their campaigns. Stephen Tindale, director of Greenpeace UK, said, "There are important examples, such as acid rain and ozone, where things aren"t as bad as predicted, and that"s because behavior has changed."
小题1:In his book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, what is Lomborg"s main argument?| A．Our planet is in bad shape. | | B．The world"s environment is improving. | | C．The total amount of forests in the world is not declining. | | D．Conservation efforts have been successful. |
小题2:What is Lomborg"s main accusation of environmentalists?| A．They scared people into making donations. | | B．They overturned our basic assumptions about the world"s environment. | | C．They changed their behavior toward the environment. | | D．They only told people bad news about the environment. |
小题3:The underlined word "depleting" in Paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to "____".| A．reducing | B．limiting | C．expanding | D．accelerating |
小题4:According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?| A．The total area of forests in the world has increased significantly. | | B．The effects of global warming are not as bad as first expected. | | C．It appears that the bald eagle will now survive. | | D．In the last 50 years the number of whales has increased. |
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Roughly speaking, teachers in traditional education may feel that students are too young to know much about the world, and have to be told what to do most of the time. By contrast, open education offers teachers quite different feelings. Students are expected to be responsible for their own education—to discover subjects by themselves instead of being made to study them. This way of teaching allows the students to grow independently and to develop their own interests in many subjects. Some students who do badly in a traditional classroom will be happier in an open classroom and enjoy learning. They will not have to worry about grades or rules at all.
However, many students won’t do well in an open classroom. For these students, they will do little in school if there are too few rules. They will not make good use of open education, which is so different from traditional class, because they may have a problem getting used to making so many choices on their own. For them it is important to have some rules to direct them. They may worry about the rules even when there are no rules. In addition to that, some traditional teachers do not believe in open education and do not like it either.
Since both of some good points and bad points of the open education have been explained clearly, you may have your own opinion on the issue. Personally, I think that the concept of open education is good only in theory. In actual fact, it may not work very well in a real class or school. I believe, most students, but of course not all students, need some structure in their classes. They may want and need to have rules.
In some cases, they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.
小题1:Open education allows the students to_________________.| A．grow as the educated | | B．be responsible for their life | | C．discover subjects outside class | | D．develop their own interests |
小题2:Open education may be a good idea for the students who __________.| A．worry about grades and rules | | B．aren’t used to making choices | | C．do well in a traditional classroom | | D．enjoy having some rules in class |
小题3:Some students will do little in an open classroom because___________.| A．there are too many rules | | B．they don’t like activities | | C．there are too few rules | | D．they worry about the rules |
小题4:Which of the following best summarizes the passage?| A．Open education is a really complex idea. | | B．Open education is better than traditional education. | | C．Traditional teachers don’t believe in open education. | | D．The writer thinks open education is practical. |
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The effects of air pollution on natural conditions have been a disturbing problem for many years. Some scientists hold the view that the air inside houses may be more dangerous than the air outside. It may even be one hundred times worse.
Most scientists agree that every modern house has some kind of indoor pollution, which can cause a person to feel tired, to suffer eye pain, headache and other problems. Believe it or not, some pollutants can cause breathing diseases of blood and even cancer.
What made us feel relieved is that there’s growing concern about the problem now. It is true that when builders began constructing houses and offices they did not want to waste energy. To do this they built buildings that prevented or limited the flow of air between inside and outside. For the same purpose, man-made building materials were employed to build houses, which are now known to let out some harmful gases.
Facing the serious challenge, scientists have been searching for a way to handle the problem. To everyone’s delight, they discovered a natural pollution control system for building—green plants, though they do not really know how plants control air pollution. Scientists suppose that a plant’s leaves absorb or take in the pollutants and in exchange gives out oxygen through its leaves and tiny organizations on its roots. Therefore they recommend that all buildings should have one large plant or several small plants inside for every nine square meters of space. Because studies indicate that different plants absorb different chemicals, the most effective way to clean the air is to use different kinds of plants. In conclusion, having green plants inside your house can make it a prettier and healthier place. Why not try?
小题1:Which of the following statements is TRUR?| A．Outside air pollution is more harmful than the air inside. | | B．Scientists have discovered how plants control air pollution | | C．Indoor air pollution may cause diseases including cancer. | | D．Only large plants can absorb harmful gases indoors. |
小题2:According to scientists, some kind of indoor pollution can be found in ________.| A．every old building | | B．every modern house | | C．all kinds of houses | | D．all kinds of offices |
小题3:What does the underlined part “To do this” refer to in Para3?| A．To build houses and offices | | B．To limit the air flow inside | | C．To use man-made materials | | D．In order not to waste energy |
小题4:The reason why we should use different kinds of plants to clean the air is that ___.| A．plants can drive out all kinds of pollutants indoors | | B．plants can absorb different harmful indoor chemical | | C．plants can take in all pollutants inside and outside | | D．plants may give out more oxygen than people need |
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Most people regard zoos as safe places for animals, where struggles such as difficulty finding food and avoiding predators（捕食性动物） don"t exist. Without such problems, animals in zoos should live to a ripe old age. But that may not be true for the largest land animals on Earth. Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often develop diseases, joint problems and behavior changes. Sometimes, they even become unable to have babies.
To learn more about how captivity(监禁) affects elephants, a team of international scientists led by Mason, a biologist, compared the life spans of female elephants born in zoos with female elephants living outdoors in the wild. Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals in their care, documenting factors such as birth dates, illnesses, weight and death. These records made it possible for the researchers to analyze 40 years of data on 800 elephants in zoos.
The team found that female elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9 years. Their wild counterparts（同类事物） who died of natural causes lived an average of 56 years——more than three times as long.
Scientists don"t yet know for sure why wild elephants seem to live so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts. Mason thinks stress and obesity(肥胖) may be to blame. Zoo elephants don"t get the same kind of exercise as they do in the wild, and most are very fat. Elephant social lives are also much different in zoos than in the wild, where they live in large groups.
Another finding from the study showed that elephants born in zoos were more likely to die earlier than elephants captured in the wild and brought to zoos. Mason suggests stress in the mothers in zoos might cause them to have babies that are less likely to survive.
The study raises some questions about acquiring more elephants to keep in zoos. While some threatened and endangered species living in zoos reproduce successfully and keep healthy populations, that doesn"t appear to be the case with elephants.
小题1:The text tells us that zoo elephants are different from other zoo animals because they________| A．develop health problems. | | B．1ive to a ripe old age. | | C．are not afraid of predators. | | D．have difficulty eating food. |
小题2:What do the scientists find in their research?| A．Female elephants live longer than male elephants. | | B．Female zoo elephants die earlier than their wild counterparts. | | C．Female zoo elephants live longer than their wild counterparts. | | D．Both elephants in zoos and those in the wild live in large herds. |
小题3:Which of the following does the author suggest in the last paragraph?| A．Zoo-born elephants should be attended more carefully | | B．Elephants are no longer an endangered species. | | C．It may not be a wise policy to keep elephants in the zoo. | | D．Zoos should keep more animals except elephants. |
小题4:Which of the following can be the best title?| A．Comparison between two species of elephants | | B．Longer lives for wild elephants | | C．Female elephants suffer from poor health. | | D．Longer lives for zoo animals. |
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A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you. Eating the right kind of food is very important. It can help your body grow strong to take care of what you eat.
There are four main food groups altogether. The dairy group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk. The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group. Each meal should have at least one food from all four main groups. With all these food together, you will be given enough energy during the day.
It is easy to get into bad eating habits. You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time. Or you may not have time for a good lunch. It may seem easy to finish your supper with fish and chips all the time. But you will find yourself tired in these days and you can not think quickly.
Watching what you eat will help keep your body healthy and strong. It is also good to take some exercise. It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air. Having a good eating habit with some exercise is the key to your health.
小题1:Which of the following diets do you think is the best one?| A．Eggs, tomatoes and chicken. | | B．Milk, bread, cabbages and beef. | | C．Corn, fish, cream and pork. | | D．Rice, bean curd（豆腐）, apples, fish and chicken. |
小题2:Which of the following is a good eating-habit?| A．Going to school without any breakfast | | B．Eating fish and chips for supper all the time. | | C．Eating your lunch in a very short time. | | D．Having at least one food from all four groups in each meal. |
小题3:The underlined word “dairy” in the second passage means _____________.| A．the food made out of cows such as milk and butter | | B．the shop that sells milk and butter | | C．a farm where cows are kept | | D．a place where milk products are made. |
小题4:In this passage the writer mainly tells us that _____________.| A．enough energy helps people think more quickly | | B．taking exercise can keep your body strong | | C．every person needs food to grow well | | D．right kind of food with exercise will keep you healthy |
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