Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water pollution by “listening” to what the plants growing in water have to say.
By shining a laser beam (激光束) on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water，the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and amount of contamination (致污物) in the water.
“It is a red light，telling us that something is beginning to go wrong with the quality of water，” said Zvy Dubinsky，an aquatic biologist at Israel’s Bar Ilan University.“Algae is the first thing to be affected by a change in water quality.”“The secret，” he said，“is to measure the rate of photosynthesis (光合作用) in the algae，meaning the plant’s ability to transform light into energy.” During photosynthesis，plants also release oxygen into the air.
Dubinsky’s technique is easy to perform because of the overabundance of algae in the planet’s water.Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from algae.A prototype tester that occupies about one square meter of a laboratory desktop，shoots a laser beam at water samples to stimulate photosynthesis in the algae.But not all of the laser’s heat is used.Depending on the condition of the algae and the rate of photosynthesis，some of the heat is shot back into the water，creating sound waves，Dubinsky said.With a special underwater microphone，researchers are able to analyze the strength of the sound waves and determine the health of the algae and the condition of the surrounding water.
“Algae suffering from lead poisoning，like waste discharged from battery and paint manufacturing plants，will produce a different sound than those suffering from lack of iron or exposure to other toxins，” said researcher Yulia Pinchasov.She said that testing algae photosynthesis can determine water quality more accurately and easily than laborintensive methods now used like chemical and radioactive carbon testing.
【小题1】The underlined word “algae” in Paragraph 2 probably refers to a kind of________.
| A．instrument | B．plant |
| C．wood | D．pollutant |
| A．Because it floats on the water. |
| B．Because it can have photosynthesis. |
| C．Because it is the first to be polluted. |
| D．Because it can produce different sounds. |
| A．algae can produce a loud sound when polluted |
| B．algae can die easily from pollution |
| C．photosynthesis of the algae can only be caused by sunlight |
| D．photosynthesis of the algae is related to water quality |
| A．Scientists Listen to Plants to Find Water Pollution |
| B．A Prototype Tester Is Used to Determine Water Pollution |
| C．The Importance of Photosynthesis of the Algae |
| D．The Problem of Chemical and Radioactive Carbon Testing |
【小题1】B
【小题2】C
【小题3】D
【小题4】A
解析【小题1】 B
解析 词义猜测题。由文章第一句中的“what the plants”及第三段倒数第二句中“meaning the plant’s ability to transform light into energy”可推出，algae是一种植物，因为只有植物才能进行光合作用。
【小题2】 C
解析 细节理解题。由文章第三段第二句可知，藻类是水中最先受到污染的植物，因此科学家用它来研究并判断水的污染情况。
【小题3】 D
解析 推理判断题。由文章最后一段可知，通过检测藻类的光合作用可以确定水的质量，因此藻类的光合作用跟水的质量有密切关联。
【小题4】A
解析 主旨大意题。概括全文可知，本文主要讲了科学家通过探听水中植物的状况来发现水污染的程度。文章第一段就点明了主旨。
科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Cold weather can be hard on pets, just like it can be hard on people. Sometimes owners forget that their cats are just as used to the warm shelter as they are. Some owners will leave their animals outside for a long period of time, thinking that all animals are used to living outdoors. This can put their pet in danger of serious illness. There are things you can do to keep your animal warm and safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when the weather is bad. If you have to take them out, stay outside with them. When you’re cold enough to go inside, they probably are too. If you must leave them outside for a long time, make sure they have a warm, solid shelter against the wind, thick bedding, and plenty of non-frozen water.
If left alone outside, dogs and cats can be very smart in their search for warm shelter. They can dig into snow banks or hide somewhere. Watch them closely when they are left outdoors, and provide them with shelter of good quality. Keep an eye on your pet’s water. Sometimes owners don’t realize that a water bowl has frozen and their pet can’t get anything to drink. Animals that don’t have clean and unfrozen water may drink dirty water outside, which may contain something unhealthy for them.
【小题1】The word shelter in paragraph one means:
| A．warm clothes | B．a hiding place | C．proper temperature | D．diet food |
| A．They are often forgotten by their owners. |
| B．They like to stay in warm places. |
| C．They build their own shelters. |
| D．They are used to living outdoors. |
| A．To keep company. |
| B．To keep them from eating bad food |
| C．To help them find shelters. |
| D．To know when to bring them inside |
| A．run short of clean water | B．dig deep holes for fun |
| C．dirty the snow nearby | D．get lost in the wild |
| A．To solve a problem |
| B．To give practical advice |
| C．To tell an interesting story |
| D．To present a research result. |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Coffee is a powerful beverage．On a personal level，it helps keep US awake and active．On a much broader level，it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture．
Coffee didn’t take off until the l400s when people figured out they could roast its seeds．By the l500s，the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world．Within another l50 years，it took Europe by storm．
“It actually had a major impact on the rise of business，” historian Mark Pendergrast says．Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas．The insurer Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses．Literature，newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned(涌现)in coffeehouses．
It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of l773，when American colonists attacked British tea ships and threw boxes of tea into the harbor，Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee．In a letter John Adams wrote to his wife，Abigail，the Founding Father claims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead，because drinking tea had become a symbol of not loving the country．
For all the upsides coffee has brought the modern world，it also led to its fair share of downsides，too．Europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world，and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it．In Brazil — where slavery was legal until l888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture，tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees．Once the soil had been exhausted，growers would move on to another place．
And yet，coffee，as Pendergrast says，”had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization，even though it was，for a long time，grown by slaves．”
【小题1】Why did people enjoy going to coffeehouses?
| A．Because it was a fashion to drink coffee． |
| B．Because coffeehouses provided a better flavor． |
| C．Because they could stay awake and active there． |
| D．Because they could exchange ideas there． |
| A．American colonists made great profits by trading in coffee． |
| B．Tea was regarded as a symbol of loving one’s country． |
| C．Coffee became very popular after the incident in Boston． |
| D．John Adams was the Founding Father of the Tea Party． |
| A．Coffee plantation was closely connected with slavery |
| B．coffee plantation led to outdated agriculture in Brazil |
| C．slavery in Brazil had been against the law until l888 |
| D．slavery was responsible for the damage to rainforests |
| A．Some interesting stories about coffee culture． |
| B．Important Roles that coffee played in history． |
| C．How coffee became the most popular beverage． |
| D．How coffee affected America’s independence． |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Cyberspace,data superhighway,multimedia,for those who have seen the future,and the linking of computers,televisions and telephones will change our lives for ever.Yet for all the talks of a forthcoming technological utopia,little attention has been given to the implications of these developments for the poor.As for all the new high technology,the West concerns itself with the “how”,while the question of “for whom” is put aside once again.
Economists are only now realizing the full extent to which the communication revolution has affected the world economy.Information technology allows the extension of trade across geographical and industrial boundaries,and transnational corporations take full advantage of it. Terms of trade and exchange, interest rates and money movements are more important than the production of goods.The electronic economy made by information technology allows the haves to increase their control on global markets — with a destructive impact on the have-nots.
For them the result is unstable. Developing countries which rely on the production of a small range of goods for export are made to feel like small parts in the international economic machine. As “futures” are traded on computer screens, developing countries simply have less and less control of their destinies.
So what are the options of regaining control？One alternative for developing countries is to buy in the latest computers and telecommunications. Yet this leads to long-term dependency and perhaps permanent constraints on developing countries’ economies.
Communication technology is generally exported from the US, Europe or Japan；the patents, skills and ability remain in the hands of a few industrialized countries. It is also expensive, therefore imported products and services must be bought on credit usually provided by the very countries whose companies stand to gain.
【小题1】 From the passage we know that the development of high technology is in the interests of________.
| A．the rich countries | B．scientific development |
| C．the local elites | D．the world economy |
| A．international trade should be expanded |
| B．the interests of the poor countries have not been given enough consideration |
| C．the exports of the poor countries should be increased |
| D．communication technology in developing countries should be modernized |
| A．Because it enables the developed countries to control the international market. |
| B．Because it destroys the economic balance of the poor countries. |
| C．Because it violates the national boundaries of the poor countries. |
| D．Because it inhibits the industrial growth of developing countries. |
| A．hinder their industrial production |
| B．cause them to lose control of their trade |
| C．force them to reduce their share of exports |
| D．cost them their economic independence |
| A．positive | B．critical |
| C．indifferent | D．tolerant |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Electric cars are dirty.In fact，not only are they dirty，they might even be more dirty than their gasolinepowered cousins.
People in California love to talk about “zeroemissions vehicles”，but_people_in_California_seem_to_be_clueless_about_where_electricity_comes_from.Power plants mostly use fire to make it.Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells，we get our electricity from generators.Generators are fueled by something—usually coal，oil，but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants.There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热的) plants as well，but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.
In other words，those “zeroemissions” cars are likely coalburning cars.It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean.It is not.It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can’t see it，it’s not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle；a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it.But when you take that gas(or another fuel) and first use it to make electricity，you waste a nice part of that energy，mostly in the form of wasted heat—at the generator，through the transmission(传送) lines，etc.
A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles.But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far—so electric cars burn more fuel than gaspowered ones.If our electricity came mostly from nukes；or geothermal，or hydro，or solar，or wind，then an electric car truly would be clean.But for political，technical，and economic reasons，we don’t use much of those energy sources.
In addition，electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill.And finally，when cars are the polluters，the pollution is spread across all the roads.When it’s a power plant，though，all the junk is in one place.Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated，but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.
【小题1】What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．People see the California Greens everywhere. |
| B．People in California love to talk about zeroemissions vehicles. |
| C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells. |
| D．People in California have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal，oil，etc. |
| A．Electric cars are not clean at all. |
| B．Electric cars are better than gasolinepowered ones. |
| C．People cast doubts on electric cars’ batteries. |
| D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle. |
| A．not less than 25 miles |
| B．as far as 50 miles |
| C．as far as 25 miles |
| D．not more than 25 miles |
| A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication |
| B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something |
| C．zeroemissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment |
| D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasolinepowered cousins |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
According to body language expert Robert Phipps，the way people sleep at night actually determines a lot about the type of personality they have.Phipps has identified four sleeping positions that affect personality.
Phipps found that worriers，those who stress the most，tend to sleep in the fetal(胎儿的)position.He found that this is the most common bedtime position，with nearly 58 percent of people sleeping on their side with knees up and head down.The more we curl up(蜷曲)，the more comfort we are seeking，according to Phipps.
The second most common position is the log.Sleeping with a straight body，with arms at each side，as if they are standing guard at Buckingham Palace，indicates stubbornness，and these people(the 28 percent who sleep this way)often wake up stiffer than when they went to sleep.
“The longer you sleep like this，the more rigid your thinking is and you can become inflexible，which means you make things harder for yourself，”according to Phipps.
Yearner(向往型)sleepers are next on the list.About 25 percent of people sleep in this style—on their side with arms stretched out in front，looking as if they are either chasing a dream or perhaps being chased themselves.Yearners are typically their own worst critics，always expecting the best results，explained Phipps.These people often wake up refreshed and eager to face the challenges of the day ahead.
Perhaps the most peculiar(奇怪的)of sleep styles is the freefaller position.This sleep style makes up 17 percent of the population.They sleep face down with arms stretched out.These people，according to Phipps，feel like they have little control over their life.Not only is this the strangest of sleep styles，but also the least comfortable，and people may wake up feeling tired and have no energy.
In conclusion，Phipps has only one more thing to add：“A good night's sleep sets you up for the following day and our sleeping positions can determine how we feel when we wake.”
【小题1】Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．A Good Night's Sleep Sets You Up for the Following Day |
| B．Your Personality Depends a Lot on How You Sleep at Night |
| C．How You Sleep at Night Affects What You Do the Next Day |
| D．Which Sleeping Position Helps You Sleep Comfortably |
| A．stubborn | B．flexible |
| C．comfortable | D．strange |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores in certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or anxious situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
For example, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And, if he can’t make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he fails; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook(人生观) on life, special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it.
If you look at children, you’ll see great difference between what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out more about life --- he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.
【小题1】What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．What’s real meaning of intelligence |
| B．What’s the “bright” children’s behavior |
| C．What’s a special outlook on life |
| D．How to live and behave in a new situation |
| A．the amount of intelligence |
| B．the different situations they face |
| C．the different attitudes to life |
| D．the background of life |
| A．how to determine what intelligence is |
| B．How an unintelligent person should be taught |
| C．how to judge whether a person is intelligent |
| D．how education should be changed |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
The world's largest solar thermal plant(太阳热能发电站)is set to begin producing power in the United States by the end of the year. Wind and energy from the sun are generally considered clean, unlike energy from coal-burning power stations. However, environmentalists now worry that too much solar power development could harm the local environment.
A California company — BrightSource Energy is building a huge solar power plant in the Mojave desert, about 60 kilometers southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. The plant is known as the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Joe Desmond works for the company. "This is actually one of the highest concentrations of sunlight in the world, out here in Ivanpah." explained Desmond. BrightSource Energy will deploy 170,000 specially designed mirrors to direct solar energy towards boilers on top of three power towers. The steam produced in the boilers will drive turbine (涡轮) to make electricity. Joe Desmond says the steam can reach temperatures of more than 260 degrees Celsius. "We can store the sun's thermal energy in the form of molten salt, so we can produce electricity even when the sun goes down. There is a lot of interest in concentrating solar power around the globe in environmnents where you have lots of sun, such as China, South Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, explained Desmond.
Environmentalists generally support the idea of solar power, however, many are concerned about the effect of power plants on sensitive environment. Lisa Belenky is a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity, a private group. She says environmentalists are specifically worried about the effect of the Ivanpah Solar Project on the sensitive plant and animal life in that part of Mojave desert. "Even though the desert seems big, when you start cutting it up, it can really affect how the species and the animals and the plants are able to survive in the long run,"said Lisa Belenky. BrightSource Energy has already spent more than $ 50 million to move endangered desert tortoises away from the power plant. but Lisa Belenky says this is not the answer. "We should be reusing areas that have a1ready been disturbed, like old mining sites, for example...either on homes, on businesses, parking lots." said Belenky.
There have also been reports of birds dying at the Ivanpah Plant and others like it.
Some birds die after colliding with solar equipment which the animals mistake for water. Other birds were killed or suffered burns after flying through the intense heat at the solar thermal plant. As solar projects increase, environmentalists and developers are considering what to do to reduce bird death.
【小题1】Why is the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System being built in the desert?
| A．Because the temperature is extremely high in the desert. |
| B．Because there is no life in the desert. |
| C．Because there is much salt in the desert. |
| D．Because sunlight is highly focused in the desert. |
| A．Because the sun's thermal energy can be stored in the form of steam. |
| B．Because the sun's thermal energy can be stored in the form of molten salt. |
| C．Because the sun'ss thermal energy can be stored through mirrors |
| D．Because the sun's thermal energy can be stored in the boilers. |
| A．supportive | B．critical | C．indifferent | D．cautious |
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科目：高中英语 来源： 题型：阅读理解
Expensive and new gloves allow chatterboxes（话匣子）to take the term “handsfree” to a new level—by talking into them as they make a call. The gloves are known as “Talk to the Hand” and cost £1,000 a pair. They fixed a speaker unit into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.
Artist Sean Miles designed the new gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget(小配件) recycling. He uses outdated gloves and combines them with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2, which commissioned（承担）the project. Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets or handbags.
Mr Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves—one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If demand is high, they will then be produced on a larger scale. O2 Recycle, which backed the project, estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK. The service pays up to £260 to those who recycle gadgets including phones, handheld consoles, MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Sean Miles hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling. The 41-year-old said, “I hope that my ‘Talk to the Hand’ project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets. If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to trash, I think this project will have fulfilled its aim.”
Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, urges people to recycle their phone responsibly. He said, “There’s a pressing need for all of us to look at outdated handsets, and all the gadgets that we move on from or upgrade each year. Whether they are consoles or cameras, we should think of them as a resource that we need to recycle responsibly rather than throw them away.”
【小题1】The underlined word “O2” in Paragraph 2 is probably the name of ______.
| A．an artist | B．a company | C．a mobile | D．an exhibition |
| A．in the exhibition | B．from Mr Miles |
| C．when they are mass produced | D．after they recycle the gadgets |
| A．promote the technology of IT |
| B．enable people to talk to their hands |
| C．raise people’s awareness of recycling |
| D．attract visitors’ attention in the exhibition |
| A．New mobiles that are fashionable. |
| B．Outdated handsets that are upgraded. |
| C．Outdated gadgets that can be used for recycling. |
| D．New gloves that can be used for making phone calls. |
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