1 . Bricks are one of the oldest known building materials, dating back thousands of years. But researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a new use for bricks: as energy storage units. A team of engineers and chemists have found a way to transform an ordinary house brick into a pseudo-battery — allowing it to conduct and store electricity. The bricks are powerful enough to illuminate（点亮）an LED light bulb and cost only about $ 3 to make.
“I love the idea of adding value to things that are inexpensive, things that are affordable, things that we kind of take for granted, ”said Julio D’Arcy, an assistant professor of chemistry at Washington University and one of the researchers on this project.
The brick battery relies on the reddish pigment（色素）known as iron oxide, or rust, that gives red bricks their color. The scientists pumped the bricks with several gases that react with iron oxide to produce a network of plastic fibers. These microscopic fibers coat the empty spaces inside the bricks — and conduct electricity.
“What we’re trying to do is: we’re trying to make specialized plastics that are only used on the nano（纳米）scale — where we use very little of the plastic, and we can actually insert that plastic inside construction materials. ” The study is in the journal Nature Communications.
In the future, D’Arcy says, a brick wall could potentially serve a double purpose: providing structural support and storing electricity generated from renewable energy sources, such as solar panels.
The technology is still at least a few years away from being ready for the commercial market. And right now the energy storage capacity of the bricks is still pretty low — about 1 percent of a lithium battery. But the team is now testing ways to improve brick performance — because it looks like you can teach an old brick new tricks.
1. What appeals to Julio D’Arcy listing bricks as their subjects?| A．Their low expense. | B．Their common existence. |
| C．Their additional value. | D．Their internal composition. |
| A．Pump the brick with gases. |
| B．Color the brick red. |
| C．Produce microscopic fibers. |
| D．Cover its inner vacancy with microscopic fibers. |
| A．Construction materials possessing low energy storage capacity. |
| B．Construction materials generating renewable energy resources. |
| C．Construction materials used for electricity storage. |
| D．Construction materials with built-in common plastic. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. |
| C．Conservative. | D．Controversial. |
2 . With the click of a button, Amanda Eshelman, a 13-year- old girl with hearing loss, regained the ability to hear the world around her.
"Hi, baby, " her mom, who seated herself next to her at St.Louis Children’s Hospital, said before they both burst into tears.
Amanda has been deaf in her left ear from a young age and has been progressively losing hearing in her right ear since she started middle school two years ago.A hearing aid helped her for a while, but it slowly became less and less effective.
A specialist in St.Louis Children's Hospital thought a cochlear implant could improve her hearing—but there was no guarantee.Her parents allowed Amanda to decide for herself.She wanted to go for it.
"They said she hadn’t heard on this side for at least 10 years； we didn't know if it would work, and if her brain would be able to recognize these signals," Amanda’s mom, Betsy Eshelman, told Today.“So we tried not to get our hope up as we walked in.”
In mid-November, Amanda had the surgery and two weeks later, the system was turned on.When the sounds returned，Amanda covered her mouth with her hands in astonishment and then shed tears of joy.
“I like it, ” Amanda said in the video.“It’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”
Amanda noted the whirr of the fan system and the buzz of the lights overhead.“I didn’t know the lights make noise.”she said.
Now, Amanda is able to hear all sorts of sounds she has been missing out for years—especially at home.
"It's been great，" Betsy said."She made the comment that she didn’t realize how loud we all were! She didn’t realize how quiet her world had become.”
1. What is the correct order for the events in the story about Amanda?①Amanda received a cochlear implant.
②Amanda lost hearing in her right ear.
③Amanda lost hearing in her left ear.
④Amanda regained her hearing.
⑤Amanda started middle school.
| A．③②⑤①④ | B．③⑤②①④ |
| C．⑤③②①④ | D．⑤①③②④ |
| A．Amanda wouldn't like the cochlear implant |
| B．a cochlear implant wouldn’t help |
| C．a cochlear implant would reduce hearing |
| D．they couldn't afford a cochlear implant |
| A．nervous | B．disappointed |
| C．surprised | D．delighted |
| A．a cochlear implant surgery |
| B．an achievement for deaf people |
| C．a girl who regained her hearing |
| D．how to improve hearing |
3 . Scientists estimate that over 500 million species have died out throughout evolution. Here is a list of 4 incredible extinct animals.
Pinta Island Tortoise
| The giant tortoise of Pinta lived on the island Pinta of the Galapagos Islands,Ecuador. By the end of the nineteenth century,most of the Pinta Island tortoises had been wiped out due to hunting. The last known individual was a male named Lonesome George who died on 24 June 2012. In his later years,he was considered the rarest animal in the world. |
Falkland Islands Wolf
| The Falkland Islands wolf was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. The animal was hunted for his beautiful fur,and the shepherds(牧羊人），considering it a threat to the sheep,poisoned him. On the islands,there were no forests in which the species could take shelter,and its lack of fear towards man made it easy prey to kill. The last known individual died in the late 19th century on the western island. |
Caucasian Wisent
| The Caucasian wisent which went extinct in 1926 inhabited(栖息）the Caucasus mountains. In 1910 their numbers were estimated in the hundreds. When state authority collapsed after the First World War,the remaining population fell victim to hunters. The decline can also be contributed to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that was introduced with cattle. |
Javan Tiger
| The Javan tiger is an extinct subspecies of the tiger that was native to the Indonesian island of Java. Very little data was gathered about their behavior before they were driven to extinction. The reduction of its two main prey species,and the modification of its habitat led to the extinction of the subspecies in the 1980s. |
1. According to the passage,which shows the correct order of the animals' extinction?
① Pinta Island tortoise ② Falkland Islands wolf
③ Caucasian wisent ④Javan tiger
| A．②③①④ | B．②③④① |
| C．③②④① | D．③④②① |
| A．Pollution. | B．Disease. |
| C．Hunting. | D．Habitat loss. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A news report. |
| C．A nature magazine. | D．A biology textbook. |
4 . We're so attached to plastic, but we're careless consumers. Waste plastic is entering our ecosystems and food chains with untold consequences. Cleaning up our polluted world of plastic may seem a noble, but thankless task. However, some people are seeing economic opportunity in the mission.
Plastic Bank, a social enterprise from Canada, is monetizing plastic recycling while empowering those most affected by the waste. It works to prevent waste plastic from entering oceans by encouraging people in developing countries to collect plastic from their communities in exchange for cash, food, clean water or school tuition for their children. After collection, plastic is weighed, sorted, chipped, melted into balls and sold on as“raw material”to be made into everything from bottles for cleaning products to clothing.
“I saw in large quantities; I saw an opportunity,”CEO David Katz told the audience at the Sustainable Brands Oceans conference in Porto, Portugal on November 14.“We reveal the value in this material,”he added.
Plastic Bank was founded in 2013 and launched on the ground operations in 2014 in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western, Hemisphere, where close to 60% of the population live under the poverty line. As result of poor waste disposal and recycling infrastructure (基础设施)，plastic waste enters rivers or is burned and poses the health threats to the local residents.
The company says i has over 2,000 collectors working in the country, with its full- time collectors on average 63% above the poverty line thanks to the income they make from the project. Through its app based payment system, many collectors now have bank accounts for the first time, and are able to ultimately escape ultra poverty.
“Nothing we're doing is against the laws of physics,”said Katz. “All the technology exists for us to solve and save the world. It's only creative thought.”
1. What is Plastic Bank aimed to do?| A．Test out creative ideas. |
| B．Discover new material. |
| C．Promote plastic recycling. |
| D．Stop people using plastic. |
| A．Purchasing- collecting—recycling. |
| B．Exchanging collecting—purchasing. |
| C．Collecting- exchanging—reproducing. |
| D．Persuading consuming—reproducing. |
| A．Haiti attaches great importance to recycling. |
| B．Many locals benefit greatly from the project. |
| C．Collecting is an efficient way to recycle waste. |
| D．The project has solved unemployment in Haiti: |
| A．Companies stand to ban plastic consumption |
| B．Technology finds its way to kick off poverty |
| C．David Katz speaks at the conference in Porto |
| D．Plastic Bank is fighting against plastic waste |
5 . Robert Ballard was born in 1942. From an early age, he loved the sea. Baliard grew up in Southern California. He spent his free time at the beach near his home. He enjoyed fishing and swimming. He even learned to dive.
When Ballard wasn't at the ocean, he loved reading about it. At age 10, he read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a book which describes the undersea adventures of Captain Nemo. Ballard decided he wanted to be like Captain Nemo when he grew up. His parents helped him follow his dream.
Ballard was a hardworking student. He spent many years learning all he could about the ocean. By the age of 28, he was an expert. In 1970, he took a job as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. There he studied underwater mountains of the Atlantic Ocean. He came up with ways to predict volcanoes under the oceans. Working with other scientists, Ballard also found previously unknown sea animals. These animals lived far below the ocean's surface, where scientists had believed no animals could live.
By the 1980s, Ballard's interests changed. He developed unmanned vehicles to explore the ocean bottom. His first find, the wellknown ship Titanic, made Ballard famous. He was not happy with just one big find, however. He looked for—and found—other wellknown ships. One was the German battleship Bismarck. Another was the U. S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that sank during World War Ⅱ.
Today Robert Ballard is still an underwater explorer. He also heads an organization that encourages students to learn about science. Ballard hopes that some of the students will follow in his footsteps. After all, the world's huge oceans are mostly unknown. Who knows what remains to be discovered under the sea?
1. When Ballard worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he ________.| A．explored the undersea world by ship |
| B．thought of ideas to predict underwater volcanoes |
| C．found some unknown sea animals alone |
| D．set up an organization to teach students science |
a. He found the German battleship Bismarck.
b. He read a book about Captain Nemo.
c. He found the famous ship Titanic.
d. He became an expert in science.
| A．b—c—d—a | B．d—b—c—a |
| C．d—c—a—b | D．b—d—c—a |
| A．Ballard was greatly influenced by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. |
| B．Ballard didn't like fishing and swimming in his childhood. |
| C．Ballard's parents felt disappointed at his undersea adventures. |
| D．Human beings have explored more than half of the sea. |
6 . I wandered into the small store where I usually buy milk，when the store owner received a call from a customer. The customer and his wife had shopped there several months earlier. He noticed that his wife really liked one thing in the store，so he wanted to buy it as a surprise.
But the customer was in Tennessee，far away from the store which was in Maine. What was more，he had been to the store several months earlier，and it was difficult to believe that the store owner would remember him，or what he was looking for.
The store owner took a few close-up photos with her camera，and e-mailed them to the customer on the computer. The customer looked at the photos，and decided which one he wanted. They talked and discussed a price over the phone. She took care of the credit card transaction (交易) online，and promised the gift would be shipped out that afternoon.
The store owner was really smart. She was willing to push herself to find new ways to make the transaction actually happen. And it did work. However，it was the first time she had ever done it.
I was amazed that the store owner discovered a creative solution that could lead to a new way of doing business. I was impressed by what she did—so easily，but how difficult it is for many of us to make that leap (飞跃). I'm not just talking about technology，but about learning how to adapt to change. Most people hate or fear change unless they get to know exactly what change needs to be made. However，we should realize that challenge and opportunity go hand in hand.
1. According to the passage，which of the following is TRUE？| A．The customer had ever been to the store before. |
| B．The owner often did business by using her camera. |
| C．The owner and the customer discussed the price on the computer. |
| D．The gift was sent out by train that afternoon. |
| A．she was always ready to help others |
| B．she told the writer how to run a store |
| C．she managed to find a new way when facing change |
| D．she was a successful businesswoman |
a. e-mailing the photos to the customer on the computer
b. taking care of the credit card transaction online
c. taking a few close-up photos with her camera
d. talking about the price of the gift with the customer
| A．bcda |
| B．abcd |
| C．cabd |
| D．cadb |
| A．Tumorous |
| B．Creative |
| C．Confident |
| D．Honest |
7 . O. Henry, born in Greensboro, North Carolina, was the pen name of William Sydney Porter. His father, Algernon Sidney Porter, was a physician. When William was three years old, his mother died, and he was raised by his grandmother and aunt. William was a good reader, but at the age of fifteen he left school, and worked in a drug store and later on a Texas farm. After that, he moved to Houston, where he had a number of jobs, including that of bank clerk. After moving to Austin, Texas, in 1882, he married.
In 1884 he started a humorous weekly The Rolling Stone. When the weekly failed, he joined The Houston Post as a reporter and columnist (专栏作家)．In 1897 he was put into prison over some financial (财务的) dealings. While in prison, William started to write short stories to earn money to support his daughter Margaret. His first work, Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking (1899), appeared in McClure’s Magazine. After serving three years of the five years’ sentence, he changed his name to O. Henry, hoping to forget his bitter past.
O. Henry moved to New York City in 1902 and from December 1903 to January 1906 he wrote a story a week for the New York World, and also published the stories in other magazines. His first collection, Cabbages and Kings, appeared in 1904. Many other works quickly followed, such as The Gift of the Magi and The Furnished Room. O. Henry’s best known work is The Ransom of Red Chief. His stories always have surprising endings. He published 10 collections and over 600 short stories during his lifetime.
O. Henry’s last years were shadowed by drinking, ill health, and financial problems. In 1907, he experienced a failed marriage. In 1910, O. Henry died after an illness.
1. What’s the passage mainly about?| A．A brief introduction to O.Henry. |
| B．O.Henry’s career and marriage. |
| C．How O.Henry became a wellknown writer. |
| D．O.Henry’s best known works. |
| A．didn’t like to study during his childhood |
| B．had little parental love as a child |
| C．was very interested in medicine and farming |
| D．took up only one job after he moved to Houston |
①He moved to New York City.
②He joined The Houston Post.
③Whistling Dick’s Christmas Stocking came out.
④The Furnished Room came out.
⑤Cabbages and Kings appeared.
| A．①②③④⑤ | B．②①③⑤④ | C．③②①④⑤ | D．②③①⑤④ |
| A．Cabbages and Kings. | B．The Gift of the Magi. |
| C．The Furnished Room. | D．The Ransom of Red Chief. |
②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.
④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.
⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.
1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?
a. He began learning music in an institution.
b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.
c. He visited the Soviet Union.
d. He met with Chinese musicians.
e. He performed for American soldiers.
| A．a,e,c,d,b | B．a,e,b,c,d | C．e,a,b,c,d | D．e,a,c,d,b |
| A．how Stern began to learn music | B．how Stern began his musical career |
| C．Stern’s early education | D．Stern’s achievement in music |
| A．He was an activist in opposing war. |
| B．He was active in cultural exchanges between countries. |
| C．He had an interest in both playing music and making films. |
| D．He made a lot of money from music. |
| A．someone who supports young musicians |
| B．someone who wants to be a musician |
| C．someone who has a gift for music |
| D．someone who plays a certain kind of instrument |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
9 . The French submarine is called Le Triomphant, meaning “the winner”. The name of the British submarine is Vanguard, meaning “the leading position in an army”. It’s clear from the submarines’ names that they were made for victory.
However, it was an accident, rather than a victory, that led these two submarines to recently make news headlines across the world.
On February 16, Britain and France admitted that two of their nuclear — armed submarines, HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant, collided while deep in the Atlantic in early February. Both submarines were on secret patrols (巡逻) and carrying nuclear arms when they collided.
Le Triomphant had no idea that it had run into HMS Vanguard until several days later. The French navy at first believed that Le Triomphant had hit an “object, probably a container (集装箱)”.
Investigations have begun to work out how such a collision could have happened. Both submarines are equipped with state-of-the-art (最先进的) technology that is supposed to find other submarines. Yet, neither submarine saw the other until it was too late.
One idea being considered was that their anti-sonar (抗声呐) equipment, which hides submarines, was just too effective in hiding one from the other.
Submarines use sonar to sense what is in the sea near them. Sonar is a submarine’s ear. Many sea animals use sonar as well. Dolphins produce high-pitched (声调高的) clicks. When these clicks hit an object, some of the sound will echo (发出回声) back to the “sender”. By listening to the echo and working out the time it took before the echo came back, the dolphin can work out how far away the object is.
There are two kinds of sonar: active sonar, which sends out signals, and passive sonar, which listens for signals with extremely sensitive microphones.
The two submarines were designed to be very quiet and as hidden as possible because a submarine’s job description (工作职责) is not to be found. Many modern submarines do not use active sonar, only passive sonar. This makes it very difficult for a submarine to “hear” if another submarine is near.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense (国防部) has said the collision did not lead to any radioactive leaks (放射物泄漏). The chance of a full nuclear explosion was almost impossible. However, experts say that if the walls of the submarines had broken, or a fire had been started, there could have been a major disaster.
A senior British Navy source told The Sun newspaper that the possible consequences of such a collision were “unthinkable”.
“It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. That would have been a national disaster.” he said.
1. What has made HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant well known recently?| A．Their names carried very positive meanings. |
| B．They collided in the Atlantic this February. |
| C．They are both equipped with advanced technology. |
| D．They are both nuclear-armed submarines. |
| A．The two submarines were moving at a high speed. |
| B．Their anti-sonar equipment was too effective. |
| C．They were not equipped with active sonar. |
| D．The submarines were designed to be too quiet. |
a. The sound hitting the object.
b. Producing high-pitched sound.
c. The sound echoing back.
d. Working out the time to come back.
e. Receiving the sound.
| A．b—a—c—d—e | B．d—a—e—c—b |
| C．b—c—d—a—e | D．b—a—c—e—d |
| A．Both of the submarines carried nuclear arms when they collided. |
| B．Many modern submarines do not use passive sonar so as to be as hidden as possible. |
| C．The collision may have caused a disaster if a fire had been started. |
| D．There would have been a nuclear explosion if the two submarines had collided harder. |
| CONTEST RULES ·Entries may be submitted(上交) no earlier than January 1, 2008, and will not be accepted until three winners are identified or December 31, 2008 whichever comes first. ·There is no cost to enter. ·Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. ·Any form and style is acceptable for this competition: fiction, observational essay, humor, etc. poetry is not acceptable. ·Total length of writing must be 500-1500 words, including any necessary notes or citations. ·Writing must be original, never before published, and entirely the work and property of the person who submits it. Ghostwritten is not acceptable. PRIZES Winners will receive ·$50 cash ·Professional editing of their winning entries. ·Publication of their entries in Word-wise. ·Recognition via press releases announcing the winning entries and introducing the authors. HOW TO ENTER ·Save your completed writing as a Word, WordPerfect, Open Document, or plain text file. ·Title the file with your first and last name. For example, Elton Smith would title his Word document thus: elton-smith.doc. ·Email the file as an attachment to contest2008@adminmaven.com. Use the subject line “Work-wise Writing Contest” to avoid being removed to the span bin. ·Entries submitted before the opening date of January1, 2008, will be deleted. Once the contest closes, further entries will be deleted. |
1. Ghostwritten work in “CONTEST RULES” might be ________.
| A．written by someone other than the author |
| B．science fiction difficult to understand |
| C．a long essay in a very strange writing style |
| D．full of citations from other writers |
| A．has to pay a fee |
| B．must submit work by January 1, 2008 |
| C．needs an eye-catching title for his word document |
| D．can submit any form or style of writing but a poem |
| A．The final results will come out on December 31, 2008. |
| B．All entries must be emailed to contest2008@adminmaven.com. |
| C．One can not add a note to a 1,500-word essay for the contest. |
| D．the winning entries will be edited and published. |
