2 . The Gatais used to frown when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the couple moved into a 1,500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 “zero-energy homes” (ZEH) just outside town. Now they’re actually eager to see their electricity bills. The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom house: $75. For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

ZEH communities are the leading edge of technologies that might someday create houses that produce as much energy as they consume. Premier Gardens is one of a half-dozen subdivisions in California where every home cuts power consumption by 50%, mostly by using low-power appliances and solar panels.

Aside from the panels on the roof, Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes. But inside, special windows cut power bills by blocking solar heat in summer and retaining indoor warmth in winter.

The rest of the energy savings comes from the solar units. They don’t just feed the home they serve. If they generate more power than the home is using, the excess flows into the utility’s power grid (电网). The residents are billed by “net metering”: they pay for the amount of power they tap off the grid, less the kilowatts (千瓦) they feed into it. If a home generates more power than it uses, the bill is zero.

That sounds like a bad deal for the power company, but it’s not. Solar homes produce the most power on the hot sunny afternoons when everyone rushes home to turn up the air conditioner. “It helps us lower usage at peak power times,” says solar expert Mike Keesee. “That lets us avoid building costly plants or buying expensive power at peak usage time.”

What’s not to like? Mostly the costs. The special features can add $25000 or more to the purchase price of a house. Tax breaks bring the cost down, especially in California, but in many states ZEHs can be prohibitively expensive. For the consumer, it’s a matter of paying now for the hardware to save later on the utilities.

1. Why are the Gatais eager to see their electricity bills now?

A．They want to see how much they have saved.

B．They want to cut down their utility expenses.

C．They want to know if they are able to pay.

D．They want to avoid being overcharged.

2. What is special about the ZEH communities?

A．They have created cutting-edge technologies.

B．They aim to produce enough power themselves. .

C．They are subdivided into half a dozen sections.

D．They are built in harmony with the environment.

3. How are the residents in the ZEH communities billed for electricity use?

A．They are only charged for the amount of power they consume on rainy days.

B．They needn’t pay a single cent for their power consumption on sunny days.

C．They only pay for the excess power that flows into the utility’s power grid.

D．They pay for the electricity from the grid less their home-generated power.

4. What does the “net metering” practice mean to the power company?

A．More pressure at peak time.

B．Less profits in the short term.

C．Increased electricity output.

D．Reduced operational costs.

5. The author believes that buying a house in a ZEH community ________.

A．is but a dream for average consumers

B．gives the owner substantial tax benefits

C．is a worthy investment in the long run

D．contributes to environmental protection

3 . These beautiful reading spots are best enjoyed with no one for company but the inhabitants of your favorite fictional worlds ...

---By Anna Walker Women's Library, Glasgow

Rows of books on women's issues throughout history line the shelves of the only official museum in the UK dedicated to women's lives, histories and achievements and a number of events across the year transform this library into a living social hub, with creative writing classes, performance groups, craft sessions and more.

The library's key aim is to support women, with services teaching literacy, calculations, and handling a range of issues including poverty, and surviving violence.

Visit womenslibyaryore.uk
Sir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen

The outside of the modern facility is a huge glass structure - made of 760 glass panels and 2,200 tons of steel.

The Sir Duncan Rice is also conscious of its carbon footprint; designed to collect rainwater which is reused to flush its toilets, harvesting power through solar cells on the roof and using timers to control the use of its fluorescent lighting.

Visit abdn.ac.uk/library
John Ryland, Manchester

Created over 100 years ago as a gift to Manchester and its people, the John Ryland welcomes over 250,000 visitors through its doors each year. The project began as a honor by Enriqueta Ryland to her late husband John Ryland, and has grown to become the third largest academic library in the UK, home to over a million manuscripts （手稿）

Modern extensions to the building added since the 2000s create a breath-taking collision （冲突）of historic and modern architecture. Regular events planned with the whole family in mind make this library one to visit time and time again.

Visit library.manchesterac. uk/rylmds
Wellcome Reading Room, Lo

Spend an afternoon studying in the Reading Room of London's Wellcome Museum and you may just find yourself enjoying a side of people-watching with your literature. With drawing classes, pop-up exhibitions and artistic displays accompanying rows of educational books, it's an enjoyable spot to visit, revisit and declare your number one study spot. The impressive stairway and desks are allowing you the perfect spot to pause and reflect, whatever your library mission.

Visit wellcomecollection.org/visit-us
1. What do we know about Women's Library in the passage?

A．It is a good place for women to survive violence.

B．People can learn how to earn a better life in classes.

C．Women can promote their relationship and education in the library.

D．Only books on women's issues in modern times can be found in the library.

2. What is the unique feature of the Sir Duncan Rice Library?

A．It has environmental-friendly design.

B．The library is only made of 760 glass panels.

C．People can take writing courses in the library.

D．The outside of the modern facility is a huge steel structure.

3. What information can we probably find when visiting librarv.manchesterac.uk/rylands?

A．The library has been rebuilt since the 2000s.

B．The library was built in memory of John Ryland.

C．Over a million manuscripts were donated from homes in the UK.

D．It was the third largest academic library in the UK when it was built.

4. Which of the following descriptions of Wellcome Reading Room is correct?

A．It is hardly worth revisiting.

B．People can buy artworks by attending drawing classes.

C．Those coming with different purposes are also admitted to it.

D．Visitors can extend their understanding of the benefit of reading.

5. Which one presents the combination of ancient and modern buildings?

A．John Ryland

B．Women's Library

C．Sir Duncan Rice Library

D．Wellcome Reading Room

4 . Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot(行李箱).

Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”

Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape.

Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came.”

It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled clear as the car filled up.”

His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.

1. What is the best title for this newspaper article?

A．The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman

B．Car Boot Can Serve As The Best Escape Route

C．Driver Escapes Through Car Boot

D．The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident

2. Which of the following objects is the most important to Mr. Johnson?

A．The hammer.

B．The coin.

C．The screw.

D．The horn.

3. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．Mr. Johnson’s car stood on its boot as it fell down.

B．Mr. Johnson could not escape from the door because it was full of sweet jam.

C．Mr. Johnson’s car accident was partly due to the slippery road.

D．Mr. Johnson struggled in the pouring mud as he unscrewed the back seat.

4. “Finally it gave” (Paragraph 5) means that _______.

A．Luckily the door was torn away in the end	B．At last the wrench went broken
C．The lock came open after all his efforts	D．The chance was lost at the last minute

5. It may be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．the ditch was along a quiet country road	B．the accident happened on a clear warm day
C．the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch	D．Mr. Johnson had a tender wife and was well attended

5 . Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education. "Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose.
Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton' s foundation (基金会) that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee.“I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire," Tim recalls.   He placed the brochure on his desk, "as a reminder."
Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts.
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a look-see. “We didn’t want to give the children rubbish,” says Linda. The books-reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series.
Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: “This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of .”
The Richters spend about ＄400 a month sending books to 200 children. “Some people sit there and wait to die,” says Tim. “Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left.”
1. What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life?

A．His health problem.	B．His love for teaching.
C．The influence of his wife.	D．The news from the Web.

2. What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library?

A．Give out brochures.	B．Do something similar.
C．Write books for children	D．Retire from being a teacher.

3. According to the text, Dollly Parton is          .

A．a well-known surgeon	B．a mother of a four-year-old
C．a singer born in Tennessee	D．a computer programmer

4. Why did the Richters go to Dollywood?

A．To avoid signing up online.

B．To meet Dollywood board members.

C．To make sure the books were the newest.

D．To see if the books were of good quality.

5. What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph?

A．He needs more money to help the children.

B．He wonders why some people are so busy.

C．He tries to save those waiting to die.

D．He considers his efforts worthwhile.