What will power your house in the future？Nuclear，wind，or solar power？According to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US，it might be leaves — but artificial (人造的) ones.

Natural leaves are able to change sunlight and water into energy. It is known as photosynthesis (光合作用)．Now researchers have found a way to imitate this seemingly simple process.

The artificial leaf developed by Daniel Nocera and his colleagues at MIT can be seen as a special silicon chip with catalysts (催化剂)．Similar to natural leaves，it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of water. The hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell，which uses those two materials to produce electricity，located either on top of a house or beside the house.

Though the leaf is only about the shape of a poker card，scientists claimed that it is promising to be an inexpensive source of electricity in developing countries. “One can imagine villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology,” said Nocera at a conference of the American Chemical Society.

The artificial leaf is not a new idea. The first artificial leaf was invented in 1997 but was too expensive and unstable for practical use. The new leaf，by contrast，is made of cheap materials，easy to use and highly stable. In laboratory studies，Nocera showed that an artificial leaf prototype (原型) could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity.

The wonderful improvements come from Nocera's recent discovery of several powerful，new and inexpensive catalysts. These catalysts make the energy transformation inside the leaf more efficient with water and sunlight. Right now，the new leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural one. Besides，the device can run in whatever water is available；that is，it doesn't need pure water. This is important for some countries that don't have access to pure water.

With the goal to “make each home its own power station” and “give energy to the poor”，scientists believe that the new technology could be widely used in developing countries，especially in India and rural China.

1.Which of the following orders correctly shows how the artificial leaf is used to produce electricity?

a．artificial leaves split water into hydrogen and oxygen

b．the hydrogen and oxygen gases are stored in a fuel cell

c．the artificial leaves are put in water

d．the fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity

A. c，a，b，d                               B．c，b，a，d  

C．b，c，a，d                 D．c，a，d，b

2.The purpose of the scientists at MIT in developing the new artificial leaf is to________.

A．build up more power stations in the world

B．provide cheaper energy for developing countries

C．offer people in developing countries access to pure water

D．gain a deeper understanding of the photosynthesis process

3.The main idea of this passage is ________.

A．an introduction to the history of artificial leaves

B．a mixture of water power and solar energy

C．giving energy to the poor

D．an invention copying photosynthesis

 

 ---Are you going to London for a holiday?

---___________．

A．That all depends                        B．That’s nothing

C．It doesn’t matter                       D．If you like

 

根据短文内容，从题后A—G选项中选出能填入原文相应位置的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
We are all called upon to make a speech at some point in life, but most of us don’t do a very good job.  【小题1】 
So, you have to give a speech and you are terrified. You get nervous, you forget what you want to say, you stumble over words, you talk too long, and you bore your audience. Later you think, “Thank Goodness, it’s over. I’m just not good at public speaking. I hope I never have to do that again.”
Cheer up! 【小题2】  Here are some simple steps to take the pain out of speech making. Ask yourself the purpose of your speech. What is the occasion? Why are you speaking? Then, gather as many facts as you can on your subject. Spend plenty of your time doing your research. Then spend plenty of your time organizing your material so that your speech is clear and easy to follow. Use as many examples as possible, and use pictures, charts, and graphs if they help you make your points more clearly.  【小题3】 Don’t talk over their heads, and don’t talk down to them. Treat your audience with respect. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Just remember: Be prepared. Know your subject, your audience, and the occasion. Be brief.  【小题4】 And be yourself. Let your personality come through so that you make person-to-person contact with your audience.
If you follow these simple steps, you will see that you don’t have to be afraid of public speaking. In fact, you may find the experience so enjoyable that you volunteer to make more speeches! You’re not convinced yet?   【小题5】 

A．It doesn’t to be that bad.

B．Take several deep breaths before your speech.

C．This article gives some advice on how to give good speech.

D．Say what you have to say and then stop.

E. Don’t say what you aren’t familiar with.
F. Never forget your audience.
G. Give it a try and see what happens.

The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it’s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2012, just 15% of the most1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive(草写字母). The rest? Block letters.

And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.

At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Older students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn’t affect their grades.

There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?

It was at University Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity(真实性) can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.

The loss of handwriting also may be  a cognitive(认知的) opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better—a lifelong benefit.

It doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George’s County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.

There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological(神经系统的) writing, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.

1.What is the author concerned about after 2012 Sat exams?

A. Keyboarding.      B. Shorthand.      C. Handwriting.     D. Block letters.

2.A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to ____________.

A. prove how valuable handwriting is          

B. explain what a famous poet he is

C. show how unique his poem is        

D. stress how fascinating the documents are

3.The example of Handwriting Without Tears helps to argue that _____________. 

A. the schools are responsible for the loss of handwriting

B. the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opportunity missed

C. it doesn’t take much to teach better handwriting skills

D. the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one

4.According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?

A. Kindergarten.                 B. Primary school.       

C. High school.                  D. College.

5.What is the author’s attitude towards this debate? 

A. Devotion.       B. Encouragement.        C. Critical.        D. Objective. 

 

Paragraph 1

Scientists have learned a lot about the kinds of food people need. They say that there are several kinds of food that people should eat every day. They are: (1) green and yellow vegetables of all kinds. (2) citrus(柑桔) fruits and tomatoes; (3) potatoes and other fruits and vegetables; (4) meat of all kinds, fish and eggs; (5) milk and foods made from milk; (6) bread or cereal(谷类), rice is also in this kind of food; (7) butter, or something like butter.

Paragraph 2

People in different countries and different places of the world eat different kinds of things. Foods are cooked and eaten in many different kinds of ways. People in different countries eat at different times of the day. In some places people eat once or twice a day; in other countries people eat three or four times a day. Scientists say that none of the differences is really important. It doesn’t matter whether foods are eaten raw(生的) or cooked, canned or frozen. It doesn’t matter if a person eats dinner at 4 o’clock in the afternoon or at eleven o’clock at night. The important thing is what you eat every day.

Paragraph 3

There are two problems, then, in feeding the large number of people on earth. The first is to find some ways to feed the world’s population so that no one is hungry.

The second is to make sure that people everywhere have the right kinds of food to make them grow to be strong and healthy.

1.According to the scientists, which of the following groups of food is the healthiest for your lunch?

A．chicken, apples, cereal, cabbages           B．potatoes, carrots, rice, bread

C．oranges, bananas, fish, tomatoes            D．beef, pork, fish, milk

2.It is important for people to eat _______.

A．three times a day

B．dinner at the right time

C．cooked food all the day

D．something from each of the seven kinds of food every day

3.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．People in some places don’t have enough to eat.

B．There are too many people in the world.

C．One of the problems is that no one is hungry.

D．The scientists are trying to make people grow to be strong and healthy.

4.If there is Paragraph 4, what do you think is going to be talked about?

A．When people should eat.

B．What to do with the two problems.

C．How to cook food in different ways.

D．Why people eat different kinds of food.