A | B | |||||||||||||||||||
Vauban We know cars are terrible polluters, but would you give yours up? Vauban, a community in southwestern Germany, did just that, and its 5,000 citizens are doing fine. Most streets are free of vehicles, and there are generous green spaces and good public-transport links, including fast buses and bicycle paths. When people must drive, they can turn to car-sharing clubs. "All the citizens had the chance to plan their own city," says Andreas Delleke, an energy expert, "and it"s just how we wanted it to be." | Denmark During the period of gas shortage in the early 70s, Denmark decided to become self-sufficient (自足). So they began a few projects making smart investments along the way. On the island of Samsoe, local families, fishermen and farmers bought wind turbines (涡轮机) to produce their own energy, Within seven years these turbines were completely paid for. And can you believe just one of wind turbines produces enough electricity for 600 households? | |||||||||||||||||||
C | D | |||||||||||||||||||
Trey Parker and Matt Stone Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park, have built a sustainable (可持续的) castle with outer siding and inner flooring of recycled wood, recycled carpeting, high-efficiency boiler systems. "I think more and more today, people are willing to make a statement about the Earth and how they want to protect it," Michael Ruth, home designer and builder says. "For high-end homes in this valley, this is entirely consistent with what they cost." | P-NUT Who doesn"t love the name P-NUT-short for Personal-Neo Urban Transport? It"s Honda"s latest attempt to create a tiny footprint for a new urban vehicle. This little P-NUT is unique. With a central driving position, the car is designed to move in tight settings. The 11-foot micro car will seat three with two rear-seat passengers behind the driver. "The P-NUT concept explores the packaging and design potential for a vehicle designed for the city lifestyle." Said Dave Marek, a Honda design spokesman. | |||||||||||||||||||
E | F | |||||||||||||||||||
Israel Company Is it possible that annoying rush hour traffic could become a source of renewable energy? Israel"s Technion Institute of Technology claims that if we placed special generator (发电 机) under roads, railways, and runways-we could harvest enough energy to mass-produce electricity. A trial process has been used on a smaller scale, in dance clubs for instance, where the pounding feet of dancers light up the floor. "We can produce electricity anywhere there is a busy road using energy that normally goes to waste," said Uri Amit, chairman of Israel"s Technion Institute of Technology. | Coffee Coffee. Some of us can"t start our day without it, and we don"t mind waiting 10 minutes in line for it. Here is the most effective tip to make you a superstar in environment protection. Get a coffee machine for your home or coffee, or persuade your company into buying one. (Tell them it will improve productivity.) Skip the coffee line on the way to work and make something that is better-tasting and much better for your wallet. Plus, you won"t need those plastic cups or carrying cases that just get thrown away. Better yet, use your favorite travel mug. | |||||||||||||||||||
阅读理解。 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power source (来源), as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills (风车) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power. For many centuries, people used windmills to grind (磨碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used. During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher coasts. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind. | ||||||||||||||||||||
1. From the text we know that windmills _____. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. were invented by European armies B. have a history of more than 2800 years C. used to supply power to radio in remote areas D. have rarely been used since electricity was discovered | ||||||||||||||||||||
2. What was a new use for wind power in the late l9th century? | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. Sailing a boat. B. Producing electricity. C. Grinding wheat into flour. D. Pumping water from underground. | ||||||||||||||||||||
3. One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970 is that _____. | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. wind power is cleaner B. it is one of the oldest power sources C. it was cheaper to create energy from wind D. the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs | ||||||||||||||||||||
4. What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows? | ||||||||||||||||||||
A. The advantage of wind power. B. The design of wind power plants. C. The worldwide movement to save energy. D. The global trend towards producing power from wind. | ||||||||||||||||||||
任务型读写。阅读下面短文,根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意:每个空格 只填一个单词。 | ||||||||||||||||||||
If we agree that the function of education is to prepare us for life, then there is very little time to waste. So, while we can, we ought to concentrate on teaching children something really useful. Here is what our school should teach. Politeness is a mark of civilization. The sooner children learn this, the better. In any case, a lot can be accomplished by a smile and good manners. Like it or not, our adult lives will be consumed by the struggle for money, but we don"t make an effort to teach children how to manage it. So our schools have a duty to teach them this ability from the beginning. We"re likely no accepted something we are told, but that"s not what educated people do. Educated people are reasonable and they look at facts. If our schools teach nothing else, they should at least teach critical (批 判性的) thinking. Children should learn to take care of their health. They should know that if they eat junk food (垃圾食品), they will become fat and unhealthy. They should be very clear about what happens to their bodies when they drink or smoke. All of us are part of society. We have rights and responsibilities. We ought to understand what they are. We have to know a little bit of history and geography, because we need to have an environment in which to relate to the people around us. How will we test students on these? We can"t. But that"s not a reason to avoid teaching what is important. Our schools should spend every moment they have telling this to our children:"This is life, this is what you are going to face, and this is how you deal with it." | ||||||||||||||||||||
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