Water is very important in our daily life. All animals and plants need water. Without water there can be no life on earth. But the fight against drought(干旱) is serious around the world because more than a third of the world’s population lives in dry lands, areas that experience water shortages. Luckily, engineers and scientists at the University of Texas have developed an excellent way to help people in these areas get clean drinking water.
They developed a low-cost gel film(凝胶膜) that can pull water from the air in even the driest climate. Combining(结合) two simple things called cellulose and konjac gum, the gel is not expensive to produce. Just one kilogram of gel can get six liters of water in a dry land. For those living in relative wetlands, one kilogram of gel can collect up to 13 liters of water a day. As the gel is so easy to make, it may offer a way of providing drinking water to countries with water shortages.
Researchers have tried to collect fresh water from fog, but that only serves areas with high humidity(湿度). Other tries to pull water from desert air do not produce much. In fact, this gel is a great improvement from earlier water collecting technologies. The largest water collected has been 5. 87 liters in places with relative wetlands. This new gel doubles this amount, uses no energy and is simple to operate and it can be formed into a shape or size that best suits the user.
“This new work is about practical ways that people can use to get water in the hottest, driest places on Earth,” said Guihua Yu, professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering. “This could allow millions of people without ordered chance to drinking water to have simple, water generating instruments at home that they can easily operate.”
Although six liters does not sound like much, it’s fair enough that anyone can make it at home if they have the materials. The researchers say that scientists are planning on making a thicker gel that will increase the production, making this technology a practicable way to drought. I believe the new technology can help by making more water usable. Anyway, I’m sure we’ll find more ways to help ourselves.
1. According to the passage, the gel can ________.| A．improve the humidity of the air |
| B．help people get clean water from the air |
| C．be only formed into a shape or size |
| D．cost lots of money and energy to produce |
| A．Researchers have tried to collect fresh water from fog. |
| B．One kilogram of gel can get six liters of water in a dry land. |
| C．The new technology can help by making more water usable. |
| D．Other tries to pull water from desert air do not produce much. |
| A．impossible | B．expensive | C．difficult | D．hopeful |
| A．Important water | B．A new way to get water |
| C．A low-cost gel film | D．Drought around the world |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Have you ever noticed the paper you use? Do you really know it? Paper, as one of the four great inventions in ancient China, can be seen everywhere in our life. Although it is very common, it can always play an important role. The invention of paper changed the way people wrote and greatly promoted the spread（传播）and development of culture.
Paper is an important invention in ancient China. At first, humans depended on ropes to remind themselves of some important things. Then written words began to appear. Oracle bones（甲骨文）were used as writing material. Other materials including bamboo, wood and silk were also used during the Spring and Autumn Period. But the silk was too expensive and the bamboo pieces were too heavy, so paper was invented and produced. Thanks to the invention and popularization（普及）of paper, a large amount of information in ancient times was able to spread among people.
________. It is a carrier（载体）of writing and printing. Painters use it to describe the beauty of the world, writers use it to tell the warmth of the world, and educators use it to spread knowledge. It is also used for packing（打包）things. Of course there is also paper for other purpose, such as printing paper and toilet paper.
Paper plays a great role in our life and is used for many kinds of purposes. We can’t imagine the life without paper.
1. What does the underlined word “promoted” mean?| A．pushed | B．stopped | C．found | D．avoided |
| A．The spread of people’s writing tools. | B．The social development of ancient people. |
| C．The change of writing system. | D．The change of writing material. |
| A．Paper is a cheap material in our life | B．Not all people use paper at that time |
| C．Paper is quite useful in our life | D．Paper is a creative method of writing material for people then |
【推荐2】Are you crazy about the World Cup? It’s the most popular sports event in the world. Qatar（卡塔尔）was the host of the 22nd World Cup. Let me tell you something about “Made In China” in the 22nd World Cup.
 Lusail Stadium（卢塞尔体育馆）is Qatar’s biggest stadium to hold the World Cup final. It was designed and built by Chinese group. It cost $770 million. There are 80, 000 seats in the stadium. Football fans enjoyed the games in this fantastic stadium. It was built with energy-saving technologies and environmental-friendly materials. |
 From footballs, national flags and trophy ornaments（奖杯摆件）to whistles（哨 子）, over 60 percent of souvenirs（纪 念 品）were produced in Yiwu for this years’ World Cup. They were very popular with football fans because of their good quality and design. |
 Pure electric buses made by China served as shuttle（穿 梭） buses in the Qatar World Cup. Qatar bought 1, 500 electric buses from China. During the game, people could see Chinese electric buses everywhere. They were busy transporting officials, tourists, and reporters of different countries around the country. |
| A．Qatar. | B．China. | C．Brazil. | D．England. |
| A．$80,000 million. | B．$770 million. | C．$1,500 million. | D．$60 million. |
| A．Because they were expensive. |
| B．Because they were energy-saving. |
| C．Because they were environmental friendly. |
| D．Because they were good in quality and design. |
| A．pure electric cars | B．pure electric buses | C．pure electric trains | D．pure electric ships |
| A．In a novel. | B．In a storybook. | C．In a magazine. | D．In a science report. |
【推荐3】
Recently, scientists have developed a new artificial intelligence（人工智能）technology that can detect（识别）whether someone is lying by analyzing（分析）the muscles（肌肉）in their face.
Patches（贴片）placed on a person’s face detect muscle activity and then machine learning technology is used. The machine can calculate（计算）whether or not the person has been telling lies. Invented by Yael Hanein at Tel Aviv University in Israel, the machine showed a success rate of 73 percent, implying（表明）it can catch liars（说谎者）with ease（轻松地）.
According to researchers from the University of British Columbia, Canada, some of the muscles on our faces change “behavior” when we are lying. Liars usually raise their eyebrows. They also blink（眨眼）a lot and hold their eyes closed for longer. Closing the eyes is a way to buy time for the liar so that they can better perfect their story.
Liars often blush（脸红）. Blood flows into the cheeks as they become nervous about the truth possibly being revealed（揭露）. Liars also have fake smiles. A real smile often causes the eyes to light up or become smaller. This is because more muscles are used when we are happy.
A fake smile is often accompanied（伴随）by “dead” eyes instead.
1. What is the purpose of developing the new artificial intelligence technology?| A．To tell whether someone is lying. | B．To understand facial expressions. |
| C．To control muscle activities. | D．To create facial masks. |
| A．The success rate. | B．The machine. | C．The patch. | D．Muscle activity. |
| A．How researchers did their study. | B．How liars make up a perfect story. |
| C．Reasons for detecting lies. | D．People’s behaviors while they are lying. |
| A．Lying with muscles in the face |
| B．Telling lies makes people nervous |
| C．Finding lies with new artificial intelligence |
| D．Faking smiles with artificial intelligence technology |
【推荐1】On November 6, 2021, thousands of fans were in Reykiavik, Iceland, shouting and cheering. Millions more were watching online. But this wasn’t a football, basketball or tennis match. It was e-sports. A five-person Chinese e-sports team won the championship.
Millions of people in China play games for fun. Some of them have become professional (职业的) gamers. They play games as their full-time job. They go around the world to compete in video game competitions. It’s not easy being a professional gamer, though. They practise for ten or more hours a day, five or six days a week. They do exercises like typing something and trying to type it faster and faster. They also study videos of other players and come up with ways to beat them.
As well as playing games, many people like watching them too. You can watch e-sports games on mobile apps, video websites and some TV channels. They are showing e-sports 24 hours a day. They can be as exciting as other sports.
But are e-sports really sports? Are the players sportsmen? Some say No. They think e-sports players don’t need to run, jump, throw or do big physical actions. But others say Yes. E-sports are also sports. Players need some physical skills, accuracy (准确) and timing. Like darts, snooker and shooting, e-sports should be considered as sports too. In fact, the governments of China and South Korea do take e-sports as sports. And it will be an official medal sport in the Asian Games starting from 2022.
1. What game was held in Reykiavik, Iceland on November 6, 2021?| A．Tennis. | B．E-sports. | C．Football. | D．Basketball. |
| A．50 hours. | B．60 hours. | C．70 hours. | D．120 hours. |
| A．skills | B．websites | C．sports | D．apps |
| A．More people will agree e-sports are sports. |
| B．You will see e-sports in 2022 Asian Games. |
| C．There will be more professional e-sports gamers. |
| D．E-sports will be one of medal games in next Olympics. |
| A．People have different ways to watch e-sports games. |
| B．A professional e-sports gamer lives a busy and hard life. |
| C．E-sports gamers practise to improve their speed (速度). |
| D．Millions of Chinese people play games as their full-time job. |
A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everyone learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the students have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.
But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.
1. Some people can easily remember many things by heart because______.
| A．they always sleep very well. |
| B．they often eat good food. |
| C．they read a lot of books. |
| D．they have very good memories. |
| A．read and write | B．make sentences |
| C．hear and remember the sounds | D．think hard |
| A．they have no good memories. |
| B．they have no teachers |
| C．they have too much time for it |
| D．they are busy with other subjects |
| A．if you have lots of good food. |
| B．if you do more and more exercises |
| C．if you do morning exercises every day. |
| D．if you get up early |
【推荐3】Do you argue (争吵) with your parents about making your bed or cleaning your room? Are your parents angry because you use the Internet or play with your friends outside all the time? Even if your parents love you, you may fight with them at times. If your answers are yes, then our new Family app can help you a lot.
With the Family app, students and parents look at family arguments from both sides and solve their problems together. Usually, kids who fight with their parents learn to get along with them in the end. The app gives you advice and helps you get on well with your parents. It also helps your parents to understand you better.
How does it work? You read different kinds of problems and then choose an answer from different options (选项). The app tells you why the answer is the best and why the other options aren’t so good. For example, you’re preparing to go out with your friends, but your parents want you to visit your grandparents. Do you say “We always go there on the weekend. I’m going to play with my friends outside today.” or “OK! We can go there today, but I’d like to play with my friends outside tomorrow.” The first option doesn’t make you or your parents feel good, but the second option makes everyone happy.
The Family app is very useful. It can help you live an easy life. Do you want to have one?
1. In paragraph 1, the writer starts the passage by ________.| A．showing a picture | B．telling a story | C．asking questions | D．showing numbers |
| A．The parent. | B．The kid. | C．The argument. | D．The Family app. |
①Choose an answer from these options.
②The app shows why the answer from these options.
③Read different kind of problems on the app.
| A．①—②—③ | B．③—①—② | C．③—②—① | D．②—③—① |
| A．It shows why people get angry. |
| B．It gives family ideas for free-time activities. |
| C．It teaches children how to argue with others. |
| D．It helps family members understand each other better. |
| A．a guide book | B．a fashion magazine | C．a science book | D．a storybook |
