In Greek mythology(神话), fire is a gift form God, stolen from Zeus(宙斯) by Prometheus and handed over to humans suffering from cold. What could be more natural than sitting around a beautiful fire on a winter night, at a campsite in the Berkshires?
Hard as it may be to believe, the fireplace—long considered a trophy(奖杯), particularly in a city like New York—is acquiring a social shame. Among those who desire to be environmentally responsible, it is joining the ranks of bottled water and big houses.
Sally Treadwell, a 51-year-old public relations executive in Boone, N.C., said nothing makes her happier than building a fire on a cold winter night. But most of the time she doesn’t, because she feels too guilty about the damage it may do to the environment. Every time she builds a fire, it causes “inner conflict,” she said. “It’s a guilty pleasure”.
“The smoke from a fire smells very nice,” said Diane Bailey, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “But it can cause a lot of harm. The tiny particles(颗粒) can cause illness, and can cross into the bloodstream, causing heart attacks as well as worsening other conditions.”
Growing concerns about the air pollution and health problems caused by smoke from wood fires are urging a number of areas across the country to pass laws regulating them. Idaho offers a tax cut to people who replace uncertified(不合格的)wood stoves with “greener” ones; San Joaquin County in California forbids selling a home unless its wood stove is replaced with an E.P.A. certified one；and Palo Alto and other governments in California forbid wood-burning fireplaces in new construction.
Certainly, many think otherwise. In any case, most fireplaces are used far too infrequently to cause any real damage to the environment, said Stephen Sears, the vice president of the Brick Industry Association, voicing an opinion shared by some.
Perhaps not coincidentally, sales of wood-burning equipment dropped to 235,000 in 2009 from 800,000 in 1999, according to the Brick Industry Association. It also reports that approximately 35,000 fireplaces were installed in the United States in 2009, compared to 80,000 in 2005. Certainly those numbers reflect the economic slowdown, but the may also be affected by growing mixed feelings to wood fries.
【小题1】We can infer from the 2nd paragraph that ________.
| A．big houses are not considered environmentally friendly |
| B．bottle water is a good companion for a fire place |
| C．a fireplace is viewed as a sign of success |
| D．people in New York are laughed at for their tradition |
| A．her love for the fireplace |
| B．the damage to the environment |
| C．the concern about her health |
| D．her mixed emotion fro the fireplace |
| A．uncertified fireplaces are forbidden in Idaho |
| B．some people are against the woodfire controlling regulations |
| C．only energy-efficient wood stoves can be used in the US |
| D．all the people support measures taken to control the use of fireplaces |
| A．To urge people to burn less wood |
| B．To discuss wood-burning’s impact |
| C．To throw light on the causes of the fireplace’s decline |
| D．To indicate the cooling love for the fireplace |
【小题1】A
【小题2】D
【小题3】B
【小题4】D
解析试题分析：在寒冷的冬天，壁炉一直是人们的至爱。可是现在越来越多的人开始意识到燃烧木柴的壁炉对环境的破坏， 很多地方开始出台相关规定， 以降低壁炉对环境和健康的影响。美国人对壁炉的热情开始降温。
【小题1】考查推理判断。第二段说，一直以来，特别是在纽约这样的城市，壁炉被人们看得像奖杯一样珍贵， 如今却被视为社会的羞辱， 它加入到瓶装水和大房子的行列，要承担起对环境的责任。故可推知瓶装水、大房子、壁炉都.是对环境不利的，选A
【小题2】推理题;从第三段的内容可知Sally喜欢壁炉带来的快乐，但是也担心壁炉给环境带来的破坏，选D
【小题3】推理题：文章第五段提到针对燃烧木材的壁炉的有关规定，而第六段提到很多人认为燃烧壁炉不会给环境带来危害，选B
【小题4】考查写作意图题：文章说到壁炉曾经 是美国人的挚爱，但是现在人们怀疑壁炉给环境带来的破坏，有的地方对燃烧壁炉设置了规定，规范壁炉的使用，由此可知美国人对壁炉的钟爱在下降，这也是作者的意图，选D
考点：考查环保类短文
鸿图图书寒假作业假期作业吉林大学出版社系列答案科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The Segway Human Transporter was invented by Dean Kamen．It is a two-wheeled vehicle designed for a single rider standing upright over its single axle（轴） and navigate using a set of handlebars resembling those on a bicycle．Electrically powered, it could travel over 15 miles on a single charge and reach speeds up to twelve miles per hour．Its speed and direction can be controlled by riders' changing their weights．
A college dropout and self-taught engineer, Kamen already held over 100 patents for his inventions when he developed the one he hoped would revolutionize short-distance travel．While still in college, Kamen started developing the medical devices （设备） that made his name．Later, he changed focus to the challenges faced by wheelchair users．His robotic wheelchair known as IBOT could climb stairs．This robot ended up paving the way for the Segway．
Before showing his most recent invention, Kamen had kept it a top secret for months．When it turned out to be little more than a motor scooter, many publicly expressed their disappointment．On closer examination, however, even his critics（批评家） had to admit that the vehicle was an engineering achievement．It answered the prayers of anyone who is worn out when walking downtown．Not everyone welcomed the Segway's arrival, though．Some complained it was too expensive, while others said it would further weaken the average American ' s fitness．A Japanese inventor even accused Kamen of stealing the idea for the Segway from him．
Despite the controversy, the U．S．postal service began using Kamen's invention a month after its appearance, and a factory was built with plans to produce about 40,000 Segways every month．The argument is still on whether the Segway will be remembered as the greatest invention since the light bulb, or just another forgettable electronic device．Anyway, trips to the local supermarket will never be the same again．
【小题1】Which statement best describes the critics' reaction to the Segway?
| A．Nothing but an electrical device． |
| B．A disappointing engineering mistake． |
| C．An expensive and disappointing invention． |
| D．Disappointing, but still a successful device． |
| A．One person at a time can ride on it． |
| B．It has two wheels with a single axle． |
| C．It is powered by electricity and can go up to 12mph． |
| D．Riders increase the speed by moving the handlebars |
| A．high cost | B．danger to traffic |
| C．being difficult to use | D．contribution to laziness |
| A．hopes for a larger model of it |
| B．no plans to do anything more with it |
| C．some discussions on the unforgettable device |
| D．plans to make tens of thousands of them a month |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
One of my China Dialogue colleagues in Beijing recently bought a Philips energy-saving light bulb to replace a standard one．He was happy with his choice．It may have cost 30 yuan （just under US$4．50） - ten times the price of a filament （灯丝） bulb - but he wanted to save energy as part of his low-carbon lifestyle．And according to the shopkeeper, he would save, in the long run, much more than the 30 yuan he was spending．
Yet only one month later, his expensive light bulb blew up, before he had saved even a small part of the purchase price．Will he stick to his high-cost, low-carbon lifestyle?
China's environmental organizations have started to advocate low-carbon lifestyles and the decrease of carbon footprints to help fight against climate change．But they have overlooked one fact: in China, low-carbon living comes at a high cost．It means buying energy-saving bulbs and appliances, and environmentally friendly building materials and daily goods．Cost can no longer be the only standard for purchases．An energy-saving and environmentally friendly product is more expensive than a standard alternative - whether it's a simple light bulb or the house it shines．For average consumers, even buying an ordinary bulb is a huge burden．How can we persuade ordinary people to choose an energy-saving residence? This is not a trend they can afford to follow; perhaps this fashion is only for the rich．
Most consumers today do not cause huge carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions．Their responsibility lies not in choosing a low-carbon lifestyle today, but in avoiding a high-carbon life in the future．The principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" - a basis of sustainable development - can be applied here as well．
In China, low-carbon living still is resisted by a lack of social infrastructure（基础设施）. Even if your salary allows you to make that choice, nobody is there to help you accomplish it．
Consider energy-saving homes. You need to find out whether or not the developer has used natural materials wherever possible; how effective the insulation（绝缘物、隔热物） is; and what the green credentials of installed equipment are．You can read up a little, but you'll still be lucky to avoid being puzzled by the developers' marketing．Many so-called energy-saving buildings are nothing of the sort, and some are even more energy-hungry than the average home - as Li Taige warned in his article "Energy-efficient buildings? Not always", on China Dialogue last August．
【小题1】What may probably be the best title of this passage?
| A．To purchase a cheap bulb - your wise alternative． |
| B．To choose an energy-saving residence - a must of your life |
| C．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - each citizen's responsibility |
| D．To learn a low-carbon lifestyle - a promising but difficult purpose |
| A．Because the cost is a very important standard for purchases. |
| B．Because buying an ordinary bulb is very expensive. |
| C．Because energy-saving products are more expensive than the common alternatives. |
| D．Because rich people like to follow this trend. |
| A．Most of them are environmentally friendly. |
| B．They are musts of low-carbon lifestyle of Chinese. |
| C．They are huge burdens for Chinese people. |
| D．Many of them are more in name than in reality. |
| A．Using energy-saving bulbs and appliances is a fashion． |
| B．It's easy for most Chinese to try to learn a low-carbon lifestyle． |
| C．All citizens in China don’t have the same responsibility in living a low-carbon lifestyle． |
| D．Most Chinese families cannot afford to purchase an energy-saving residence. |
| A．informative and entertaining | B．supportive but cautious |
| C．negative but wise | D．positive and active |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
What will people die of 100 years from now？ If you think that is not a simple question， you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in biotechnology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine， the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents， murder and war. Today's leading killers， such as heart disease， cancer， and aging itself， will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes， the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live？ Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things， and until recently， scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells， such as those of brain cells， would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100， medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so， people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine， made up of the basic building materials of life， will build new brain cells， heart cells，and so on－in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imaging that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence， but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
【小题1】According to the passage， human death is now mainly caused by____
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
| A．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| B．humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Another thing an astronaut has to learn about is eating in space．Food is weightless, just as men are．
Food for space has to be packed in special ways．Some of it goes into tubes that a man can squeeze into his mouth．Bite-sized cookies are packed in plastic．
There is a good reason for covering each bite．The plastic keeps pieces of food from traveling in the spaceship．On the earth very small pieces of food would simply fall to the floor．But gravity doesn’t pull them to the floor when they are out of the plastic in a spaceship．They move here and there and can get into a man’s eyes or into the spaceship’s instruments． If any of the instruments is blocked, the astronauts may have trouble getting safely home．
As astronauts travel on longer space trips, they must take time to sleep． An astronaut can fit himself to his seat with a kind of seat belt. Or, if he wants to, he can sleep in a sleeping bag which is fixed in place under his seat．But be careful he must put his hands under the belt when he goes to sleep．This is because he is really afraid that he might touch one of controls that isn’t supposed to be touched until later．
【小题1】Why would astronauts cover each bite of food in space？____
| A．Because small pieces of food would fall down to the floor． |
| B．Because weightless pieces of food might make trouble when they travel around． |
| C．Because they haven’t enough food for longer trips． |
| D．Because astronauts don’t want to waste food． |
| A．walk just as they do on the earth． |
| B．not eat anything because it’s dangerous． |
| C．control the spaceship when they are sleeping． |
| D．not litter small things or it will make trouble． |
| A．Because he thinks it is comfortable to sleep in that way in space． |
| B．Because he doesn’t want to touch any controls when he sleeps． |
| C．Because the instruments of the spaceship are easily broken． |
| D．Because he is afraid that the seat will move． |
| A．Eating and Sleeping in Space |
| B．How Astronauts Eat in Space |
| C．Food for Space |
| D．How Astronauts Sleep in Space |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Look, this is the first plane in the world to be created using the new technology of “3D printing”. The airplane was built using only a computer—but it can fly at a speed of 100mph and has a two-meter wingspan.
It was produced using a special nylon laser printer that builds up something layer-by-layer. The parts were made separately and attached using a “snap fit” technique so the aircraft could be put together without tools in minutes.
No fasteners at all were used in the manufacture of the plane. Unmanned and electrically powered, the plane can travel in near silence and is also equipped with a small autopilot system. The special production process used is known as “laser sintering(激光烧结)”and allows the designers to create shapes and structures that would normally include costly manufacturing techniques. This technology allows a highly-tailored aircraft to be developed from your own design to first flight in days, while using traditional materials and techniques would take months. And because no tooling is required for manufacture, major changes to the shape and scale of the aircraft can be made with no extra cost.
Professor Jim Scanlon, who led the team, said, “The process allows the design team to revisit historical techniques and ideas that would have been too expensive using traditional manufacturing.” He added, “This form of structure is very firm and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured traditionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be connected or fastened at great expense.”
The new printed plane is known as the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft—or SULSA for short—and is part of a wider project using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. The University of Southampton has been at the leading position of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development since the early 1990s.
【小题1】Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Revolutionary Breakthrough of 3D Printer
Scientists Create Aircraft with High Speed
C. New Designed Airplane with New Techniques.
D. The World’s first 3-D printed Airplane, SULSA
【小题2】How could the plane work while flying?
| A．It should be controlled by an autopilot system. |
| B．It should be controlled by “laser sintering”. |
| C．A pilot controls it using a remote control. |
| D．A pilot with high techniques controlled it. |
| A．it produces little noise while flying |
| B．it is manufactured in quite a short time |
| C．it only requires simple and cheap tools |
| D．it needn’t extra cost if changes are made |
| A．produce firmer and lighter real planes easily |
| B．connect and fasten tailor parts for real planes |
| C．copy earlier planes to study their techniques |
| D．find differences by studying the traditional ones |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Of all the animals in the animal kingdom, which one (aside from man) is the cleverest?
There are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals. In one test a scientist sets three same cans on a table. While the animal watches, he puts food under one of the cans. Then he leads the animal away. Some time later, he brings it back to see if it remembers which can has the food. No smelling is allowed; the animal must go directly to the correct can or it fails.
This is called a delayed-response test. The idea is to find out how long an animal’s memory can keep information. The scientists would try showing the cans to the animal one hour later, or two hours later, or even a full day later. They discovered that chimpanzees and elephants have the best memory, and were able to remember the correct can for at least twenty hours. No other animal is close. Dogs came next, but they only remember for nine hours.
To settle the matter, the scientists designed a huge maze (迷宫) and ran the chimps and elephants through it. The maze was very difficult, with many blind paths and dead ends. It took the chimps ten minutes to find their way out. The elephants needed half an hour. Even allowing for the elephants’ slower rate of speed, the test shows that chimpanzees are the cleverest animals.
From this and other tests, the scientists drew the following conclusion: an animal’s intelligence depends on the size of its brain in proportion (比例) to the size of its body. The elephant’s brain weighs ten pounds. But this is only 1/600th of its 6,000 pounds body. A chimp’s brain weighs about one pound, or 1/120th of its total body weight. So in proportion to its body size, the chimp has four times as much brain as the elephant----more brain for less body. The chimp is the champ!
【小题1】Which is the best title?
| A．The Elephant’s Memory | B．The Cleverest Animal |
| C．Judging Intelligence | D．The Chimp’s Brain |
| A．there are several ways of measuring the intelligence of animals |
| B．chimps and elephants have the best memory |
| C．intelligence tests show that the chimp is the cleverest animal |
| D．the scientists designed a huge maze and ran the chimps and elephants through it |
| A．eyesight | B．intelligence | C．learning ability | D．memory |
| A．never forget things | B．are more clever than chimps |
| C．are slower-moving than chimps | D．have better memories than chimps |
| A．as clever as a chimp | B．more clever than an elephant |
| C．less clever than an elephant | D．as clever as an elephant |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Eating too much fatty food, exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease. But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately: the air you breathe.
Previous studies have linked high exposure (暴露）to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problem, but two analyses now show that poor air quality can lead to heart attack or stroke (中风）within as little as a few hours after exposure. In one review of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants (污染物）were up to 5% more likely to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure. A separate study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be of “moderate” (良好）quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34% within 12 to 14 hours of exposure.
The authors of both studies stress that these risks are relatively small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure. However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices. So stricter regulation by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health.
【小题1】The text mainly discusses the relationship between ______ .
| A．heart problems and air quality | B．heart problems and exercising |
| C．heart problems and smoking | D．heart problems and fatty food |
| A．relatively high | B．extremely low |
| C．relatively low | D．extremely high |
| A．Eating fatty food has immediate effects on your heart. |
| B．The EPA conducted many studies on air quality. |
| C．Moderate air quality is more harmful than smoking. |
| D．Stricter regulations on pollutants should be made. |
| A．inform | B．persuade | C．describe | D．entertain |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting (收缩) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions（反应）to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see - and guide whether we see fear."
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner (扫描仪) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.
"We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear," Dr Garfinkel said.
"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."
【小题1】What is the finding of the study?
| A．One's heart affects how he feels fear. |
| B．Fear is a result of one's relaxed heartbeat. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one's health. |
| D．One’s fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
| A．volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart-brain communication |
| A．Order. | B．System. | C．Machine. | D．Treatment. |
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heart-brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
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