1 . Lithium(锂) batteries power many of what we use today — from smartphones and laptops to electric toothbrushes and hand-held vacuum cleaners. But as we know from our phones, which hold less and less juice the older they are, lithium batteries have their limitations. In extremely hot or cold weather, their performance also falls. And there are also concerns around the safety and sustainability (可持续性) of lithium batteries. Mining the metals needed for them comes with a high social and environmental cost.
This has urged scientists around the world to try and develop new types of battery that can overcome these problems. One group are not only trying to find new ways to power our devices, but also settle the issue of food waste at the same time. Vincent Gomes, a chemical engineer at the University of Sydney, and his team, including Labna Shabnam, are turning waste from the world’s smelliest fruit, durian(榴莲果) into a super capacitor (电容器) that can charge mobile phones, tablets and laptops within minutes.
They heated, freeze-dried and then baked the inedible spongy core of each fruit in an oven at temperatures of more than 1, 500C (2732F). The black, highly porous, ultralight structures they were left with could then be fashioned into electrodes of a low-cost super capacitor. The super capacitors can be charged in 30 seconds, and could be used to power a range of devices.
The researchers’ dream is to use these sustainable super capacitors to store electricity from renewable energy sources for use in vehicles and houses.
1. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．The phone will spill liquid after used a long time. |
| B．The maturer the fruits are, the less juice they will contain. |
| C．The longer you use your phone, the shorter its battery life will be. |
| D．The battery life of a phone will be longer if you don't use it frequently. |
| A．They may hold juice when they are old. |
| B．They go out of service in extreme weather. |
| C．They are beneficial to environmental protection. |
| D．Their production is costly both socially and environmentally. |
| A．It can charge vehicles. | B．It’s fashionable. |
| C．It’s environmentally-friendly. | D．It can charge a tablet in 30 seconds. |
| A．Lithium batteries have many limitations. |
| B．The issue of the food waste has been solved. |
| C．The world’s smelliest fruit could power your phone. |
| D．Sustainable lithium batteries are a promising super capacitor. |
2 . Caroline Woodward wakes each morning to the sound of waves crashing onto the rocks that surround her home, Lennard Island, British Columbia, Canada.
This rocky island is home to a bright white lighthouse with a fire engine red top. Lennard Island's lighthouse has been a fixture of the Western Canadian coast since 1904, when the first wooden lighthouse was built to guide sailors navigating the surrounding waters.
There's been a lighthouse keeper on Lennard Island ever since, and today, that job falls to Woodward, who also writes poetry and children's stories, and her husband Jeff George.
"I think many people have romantic, 19th century ideas of lighthouses," says Woodward. Not many of them are correct, she says.
No, she doesn't live in the tower itself — and no, she doesn't have much time to kill. What Woodward does have is a busy, fun, and rewarding role, one she wouldn't trade for the world.
Woodward and George take turns to send a 3:15 a.m. weather report to the local Coast Guard radio. It's the first of seven they deliver each day. They survey the sea and sky from the lookout points. Their routine work also involves maintaining the twelve buildings that make up Lennard Island Lightstation.
The couple work seven days a week — vacations come only when the Coast Guard organizes relief keepers. In between, there's time for tending to the garden, hiking, and keeping watch on the wildlife that populates Lennard Island and its spectacular surrounds.
"We have resident bald eagles, lots of gulls, crows, and water and shorebirds all the year round. We also host Pacific tree frogs and wonderful insects."
There are, fortunately, no bears or wolves, says Woodward.
The wildlife and landscapes provide plenty of inspiration for her writing, too. Woodward has recently finished a novel, which she says was inspired by the stunning surrounds of the North Pacific Ocean.
1. Which of the following is a duty of the lighthouse keepers?| A．Living in the tower of the lighthouse. | B．Sending seven weather reports daily. |
| C．Taking care of the garden. | D．Observing the wildlife on the island. |
| A．She values her job greatly. | B．She finds her job boring. |
| C．Reality disappoints her. | D．She wants to change her job. |
| A．She lives a romantic life there. | B．She secures long vacations. |
| C．Her creativity in writing is inspired. | D．Her physical health is improved. |
| A．Why Woodward becomes a lighthouse keeper. |
| B．What it is like to be a lighthouse keeper. |
| C．How the lighthouse keepers kill the time. |
| D．Where Woodward continues writing. |
