【推荐1】A woman brought a very limp-looking duck to see a vet. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope(听诊器) and listened to the bird’s chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, “I’m sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away.”

The woman was so disappointed and asked, “Are you sure?” “Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead,” replied the vet.

“How can you be so sure?” she protested. “I mean you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma(昏迷) or something.”

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black dog. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his back legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed(嗅) the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room.

A few minutes later, he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also carefully sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back down, shook his head meowed softly and went out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”

The vet turned to his computer, pressed a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman.

The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “150 dollars!” she shouted. “150 dollars just to tell me my duck is dead!”

The vet shrugged, “I’m sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been 20 dollars, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it’s now 150 dollars.”

1. Why did the vet take a dog and a cat into the examination room?

A．To confirm (确认) the duck was dead.

B．To give to the woman as pets.

C．To comfort the woman.

D．To ask them to save the duck’s life.

2. How was the woman likely to feel after being told the reason why the bill was 150 dollars?

A．Awkward.	B．Angry
C．Sad.	D．Delighted.

3. The passage is a(n) ________.

A．novel	B．joke.
C．advertisement	D．review

【推荐3】My office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It’s a wet suit.

This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel(内燃机) powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden pipe, which is taped to the air pipe. Now, this all sounds like a good plan, and I’ve used it several times with no complaints. What I do when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the pipe and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It’s fantastic.

Here is my experience. Everything was going well until suddenly, my bottom started to itch (发痒). So, of course, I scratched it. This, of course, only made things worse. Within a few seconds my bottom started to feel a burning feeling. I pulled the pipe out from my back, thinking that maybe the water was too hot, but the damage was done. The hot water machine sucked up a jellyfish(水母) and pumped it directly into my suit. I didn’t have any hair on my back, so the jellyfish couldn’t stick to it. However, my bottom was not as fortunate.

When I had scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually pushing the jellyfish into the crack of my bottom. I immediately informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he and five other divers were all laughing .

Needless to say, when I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my helmet.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Water.	B．Equipment.
C．Diesel.	D．Suit.

2. Why was a jellyfish pumped into the author’s suit?

A．Because the hot water had sucked up a jellyfish.

B．Because he doesn’t have any hair on the back.

C．Because the pipe was pulled out from his back.

D．Because he scratched his itching bottom.

3. How might the author feel on reaching the surface of the sea?

A．Embarrassed.	B．Excited.
C．Encouraged.	D．Relaxed.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．A Wonderful Experience	B．An Adventurous Trip
C．My Office at the Bottom Of the Sea	D．A Bad Day at Work

【推荐2】Nanako Hama was holding a light envelop. When he tore it open with care, locks of hair emerged. Many strangers send Hama locks of their hair, hoping to recycle it.

People generate a huge amount of hair waste. Nearly all of that waste ends up in landfill, where it can release harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. But hair possesses such useful qualities that it’s a shame to simply throw it away. That’s why people all around the world, like Hama, have been collecting hair and finding innovative ways to recycle it, including making mats (垫子) out of it for removing oil leaks.

Hama is part of the nonprofit Matter of Trust (MoT) members working at more than 60 centers dotted across 17 countries, using machines to make hair donated from local salons and individuals into square mats, which are then used to clean up the floating oil. “Hair is particularly well-suited for this,” says MoT co-founder Lisa Gautier. “That’s because its rough (粗糙的) sort of outer layer lets oil stick to it.” MoT’s mats have been used in major oil leaks, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 2007 Cosco Busan incidents.

In a 2018 study, Murray, an environmental scientist at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, found that mats made of recycled human hair could absorb 0.84 grams of oil onto its surface for every gram of hair — significantly more than polypropylene, a type of plastic that’s typically used to clean up floating oil. Besides, hair is also useful as fertilizer (化肥). Hair contains a relatively high nitrogen, a chemical element crucial for plant growth, and each lock of hair is made of roughly 16 percent of this essential nutrient. Last year, more than 560 gallons of liquid fertilizer made from human hair was sold to farmers in northern Tanzania and the feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging.

“It’s just a great way to use hair in a productive way. Hair is an answer literally hanging in front of our eyes — for oil and soil,” Hama says.

1. How does the author introduce the topic in paragraph 1?

A．By detailing the background.	B．By presenting a scene.
C．By describing the usage of hair.	D．By praising an environmentalist.

2. What purpose can the mat serve?

A．Fertilize the soil.

B．Prevent oil leaks.

C．Take in harmful gas.

D．Clear the sea of oil.

3. What makes hair special in its innovative use?

A．Its color and strength.	B．Its length and amount.
C．Its weight and flexibility.	D．Its outside and component.

4. Which best describes the future of hair waste as fertilizer?

A．Uncertain.

B．Promising.

C．Doubtful.

D．Uncontrollable.

【推荐3】Geothermal (地热的) power generation is one of our most stable renewable energy resources. Heat generated below the Earth’s surface can provide an almost unlimited supply to power and heat homes. And while geothermal electricity only accounts for around one percent of global generation, that is set to at least triple by 2050.

The Geysers in California is the world’s largest geothermal electricity complex. It produces enough electricity from its 18 power plants for 725,000 homes, totaling 20 percent of the state’s renewable energy. Superheated“dry steam” is channeled from a large sandstone reservoir heated by a large magma chamber (岩浆房) more than four miles beneath the surface.

Heat is captured from its passage through the rock and the heated water converts into electricity. Cooled water is then recycled and pumped back to gather more heat. EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) technologies will open up many more sites for geothermal energy.“You can effectively put a power plant anywhere,” said Will Pettit, director of the Geothermal Resources Council. “All you have to do is drill deep enough and you will find hot rock.”

Most geothermal plants actually use a flash steam technique, where hot water(at 360F or 180C)is drawn up, passed into lower pressure tanks and flashed into steam to power a turbine (涡轮机).Binary cycle (双元循环) plants are the growth technology because they can operate at lower water temperatures and more diverse geographical locations. They use moderately hot water to heat a secondary fluid with a lower boiling point—as low as 135F—to drive turbines.

Geothermal plants already emit 11 times less carbon dioxide per unit of electricity than the average US coal power plant. They can also operate 24 hours a day to provide a solid base load for homes and businesses.

There are drawbacks too. Seismic activity around drilling wells is a factor. High investment costs are another. But the US government is backing the sector with multi-million do llar funds to push forward advanced EGS research. Geothermal energy is set to play a big part in the low-carbon electricity future.

1. What is the significance of EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) technologies?

A．They have made geothermal energy less sustainable.

B．They allow for more efficient use of geothermal resources.

C．They have greatly reduced the need for drilling in geothermal sites.

D．They have opened up new methods of generating electricity from water.

2. What can be inferred from paragraph 4?

A．Power plants are not affected by water.

B．Hot water is used to power a turbine directly.

C．Binary cycle plants are less restricted to locations.

D．A flash steam technique is a must in geothermal plants.

3. What is the writer's attitude towards geothermal power?

A．Indifferent.

B．Ambiguous.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Optimistic.

4. What is the main idea of the article?

A．Geothermal power is likely to be a great chance to sustainable power.

B．Traditional power has been replaced by geothermal power in America.

C．Businesses have been competing to gain an advantage in geothermal power.

D．EGS technologies have come into widespread application around the world.

【推荐3】Australia, France or…Mars? When considering a place to emigrate to, Mars might not be the best choice in your list, but according to an online survey, more than one in ten of British would accept a one-way ticket there. Yes, you read that correctly — because the Mars One mission is looking to emigrate to Mars, the first voyagers will not be able to return back to Earth. The organizers suggest applicants think over their applications, because the agreement didn’t come with a return ticket. But still thousands of people agreed to it.

The Mars One aims to construct a human settlement on Mars. Thankfully, applications for the program are entirely voluntary and potential astronauts can back out at any time during the strict selection process.

In order to apply, the candidate must be over 18, have A2 English level and be adaptable and curious. The following selection process consists of four rounds.

The first round is an online application including general information and a one-minute video in which the applicant answers some given questions and explains why he or she should be among the first humans to set foot on Mars. At the end of the first round, a team of Mars One experts will decide which applicants will pass to the next round.

The remaining applicants must then provide a medical statement from their doctor stating that they have met all the requirements. Successful candidates will then be briefly interviewed by Mars One’s chief medical officer Norbert Kraft.

One-hundred healthy, smart candidates are then in the third round which will test their team work ability and communication skills through a series of group challenges.

The final part of the testing process is the ability to stay alone. Even the best astronauts in history can hardly enjoy the silent space. Following this challenge, the forty remaining candidates will be reduced to thirty who will then undergo the Mars Settler Suitability Interview. Following on from the first selection series, international crews of up to six groups of four will become full time employees of Mars One.

1. What is the organizers’ attitude towards the online survey result?

A．Understandable.	B．Satisfied.
C．Unexpected.	D．Doubtful.

2. What does the underlined phrase “back out”in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Stop carrying out the agreement.

B．Move out of space backwards.

C．Drive aircrafts backwards and leave.

D．Fail to pay attention to the advertisement.

3. What do the Mars One experts mainly do in the first round?

A．Test the candidates’ English level.

B．Check the basic information of participants.

C．Interview the candidates and collect the forms.

D．Determine whether candidates are eager to learn.

4. What is the most challenging for the participants?

A．Their skills to communicate with others.

B．Their excellent physical health at present.

C．Their abilities to cooperate with the team.

D．Their long-time adaptability to being alone.

5. How many people will finally be full time employees of Mars One?

A．100

B．40

C．30

D．24