1 . All about Electric Cars
Electric vehicles(电动车辆) have been around for more than a hundred years. But they have really been liked by a large number of people over the last ten years. More than three million all-electric cars trucks and vans are now on the road worldwide.
Helping the Environment
Most cars run on gasoline(汽油). Burning gasoline and other fossil fuels(矿物燃料) produces greenhouse gases. Electric vehicles don’t burn gasoline. Instead, strong batteries run their electric engines. So, electric vehicles don’t directly produce greenhouse gases.
Poop Power!
Electric vehicles are better for the environment. But they are not perfect. Their batteries often use electricity(电) that was made by burning fossil fuels. But an electric vehicle uses less energy than a vehicle that runs on gasoline. Plus, some of the electricity comes from “greener” sources, such as solar and wind power. And some may soon come from a new source — cow poop(牛粪)! An electric car company has worked together with a large dairy farm. They plan to make electricity using a greenhouse gas from cow poop.
Always Improving
One of the problems for electric vehicles is their limited range. This is how far they can travel before their batteries need another charge(充电). But now their range is improving. Some new electric vehicles can travel almost three times as far as older ones did. Another problem is finding a place to recharge the batteries. But the number of charging stations is going up as well. China now has thousands more charging stations than it did ten years ago. In Sweden, engineers have even designed a road that will charge electric vehicles as they drive along.
1. Which of the following truly describes electric vehicles according to Paragraph 1?| A．Useless. | B．Popular. | C．Cheap. | D．Perfect. |
| A．Parts of an electric car. | B．Ways of driving a car. |
| C．Wheels on an electric car. | D．Batteries in an electric car. |
| A．By burning gasoline. | B．By burning fossil fuels. |
| C．By using a gas coming from cow poop. | D．By using solar and wind power. |
| A．Reasons for buying new electric cars. |
| B．Importance of electric cars in our life. |
| C．Ways to produce more electric vehicles. |
| D．Problems and improvements of electric vehicles. |
2 . How do you feel about nature? After spending hours indoors, do you feel better when you visit your local park? Most people think that nature is good for our bodies and brains. However, humans are spending more time inside and less time outside. For example, the number of visitors to Canada’s national parks is getting lower every year. And in countries such as the USA, only 10% of teenagers spend time outside every day. Many doctors feel that this is a problem in the twenty—first century.
As a result, some doctors are studying the connection between nature and health: one example of this is the work of Dr Matilda in Sweden. The doctor gave people a maths test. During the test, their heart rates (心率) were fast. After the test, one group of people sat in a 3D—virtual—reality (虚拟现实) room for fifteen minutes with pictures and sounds of nature. Their heart rates were slower than people's in the other group.
The virtual touch with nature helped them feel more relaxed. Another good example of how nature is good for health comes from Canada. In Toronto, researchers studied 31,000 people living in the city. In general, they found that healthier people lived near parks.
Because of studies like these, some countries and cities want nature to be part of people’s everyday life. In Dubai (迪拜), for example, there are plans for a new shopping mall with a large garden so shoppers can relax outside with trees, plants and water. In Switzerland, “forest schools” are popular. Schoolchildren study their subjects in the forests and do lots of exercise outside. And South Korea (韩国) is another good example: it has new forests near its cities and around 13 million people visit these forests every year. So after building cities for so long, perhaps it’s now time to start rebuilding nature.
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly talk about?| A．Teenagers’ problem in the 21st century. | B．How much time we spend outdoors. |
| C．Visiting your local park. | D．Feeling about nature. |
①the USA a. Children study in the forests and do lots of activities outside.
②Dubai b. About 13 million people visit new forests near its cities every year.
③Switzerland c. A new shopping mall with a large garden will be built.
④South Korea d. 10% of teenagers spend time outside every day.
| A．①—a ②—d ③—b ④—c | B．①—d ②—c ③—a ④—b |
| C．①—a ②—c ③—d ④—b | D．①—d ②—c ③—b ④—a |
| A．More and more Canadians will live near parks. |
| B．The maths test is difficult and makes people nervous. |
| C．Nature can help people feel more relaxed and be healthier. |
| D．People's heart rates get slower in a 3D—virtual—reality room. |
| A．Nature is more important than cities. | B．Country life is healthier than city life. |
| C．People have lived in the cities for so long. | D．Nature should be part of people’s daily life. |
