There are two methods by which hydrogen (氢) can be used to power cars. The first way is to use hydrogen to drive the engine, in much the same way as many cars use gas. The second method is to use the reaction of hydrogen with oxygen in a battery, making the car a kind of electric one.
The dream of producing hydrogen in the car while driving along by electrolyzing（电解）water is a long way off, so we are still at the period of batteries and filling the tank with hydrogen gas. This is the difficulty for potential car users and producers. There are only sixteen hydrogen filling stations in Los Angeles and none in 99% of other cities worldwide.
Indeed, some of the big name automobile producers have pulled out of the race to put the first practical hydrogen car on the streets. Ford and GM have announced that they are pulling out in America and so has Renault in France.
However, the Japanese companies are pressing on. In fact, Honda introduced its first hydrogen fuel cell car in 1999. They are now producing second generation hydrogen car known as the FCX Clarity. Guess where they are available for sale? In only one city because of its filling stations.
Honda thinks that they could go into full-scale production of the FCX Clarity by 2020 if the world is prepared for them by then.
Then there are hydrogen-powered buses in several European cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg and Madrid. Lotus, the makers of London taxis, have announced that they propose to manufacture hydrogen-powered taxis in time for the London Olympics.
So, the hydrogen vehicle is out there and the numbers will be growing fairly soon. The buses go back to their bus station, where an electrolyzing machine changes water into fuel for them to fill up on and the same will be the case for many of London’s taxis.
Unfortunately, getting fuel is not the only difficulty for the average motorist, a number of these vehicles cost about $300,000 each.
【小题1】According to the text, hydrogen-powered buses ________.

A．can easily be filled up with gas.

B．are likely to sell well in the future.

C．are mainly used in the United States

D．won’t be used in the London Olympics

【小题2】What does the underlined word “them” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Japanese companies	B．Hydrogen buses
C．The FCX Clarity	D．Filling stations

【小题3】Where are hydrogen cars currently available for sale?

A．In Barcelona

B．In Hamburg

C．In London

D．In Los Angeles

【小题4】We can learn from the text that ________.

A．there are sixty hydrogen filling stations all over the world

B．hydrogen vehicles fueled by water will be very expensive

C．Honda will mass-produce the FCX Clarity by 2012

D．Honda produced its first hydrogen car in 1989

Scientist Says ‘No’ to Human Cloning
“I’ve never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. “It’s a stupid endeavor.”
That’s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and a cat.
They just might succeed in cloning Missy soon — or perhaps not for another five years.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate（代孕的）mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted(流产，发育不全) fetuses（胎）may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin's phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. “A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right,” says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype（原型；雏形）is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament（气质、性情）. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy.”
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems~ “Why would you ever want to clone humans,” Westhusin asks, “when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?”
【小题1】By “stupid endeavor”, Westhusin means to say that ________.

A．human cloning is a foolish undertaking

B．animal cloning is absolutely impractical

C．human cloning should be done selectively

D．animal cloning is not worth the effort at all

【小题2】What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?

A．Its success is already in sight.

B．It is progressing smoothly.

C．It is doomed to utter failure.

D．Its outcome remains uncertain.

【小题3】By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.

A．study the possibility of cloning humans

B．search for ways to modify its temperament

C．find out the differences between Missy and its clones

D．examine the reproductive system of the dog species

【小题4】We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.

A．a bad temper

B．defective（有缺陷的、有毛病的）organs

C．immune deficiency

D．an abnormal shape

A new system that scans customers’ fingerprints and subtracts（减去）the grocery bill from their bank accounts has taken supermarkets in Germany to use the new system. “Almost a quarter of our customers pay with their fingers,” said an employee at the headquarters. Edeka has tried the system at 70 of its supermarkets. It says it will introduce it at 200 others because customers like it.
“At first we thought that only the young who really keep up with the latest technology would be interested, but we were wrong,” said Stefan Sewoester from IT Werke. “Almost two-thirds of the people who use the system are 40 and older,” he said.
IT Werke, a computer company, is one of the pioneers of fingerprint payment software in Germany. It has helped about 150 shops, canteens and bars to put in the fingerprint scanning machines. Each costs about 2,000 euros.
To sign up for the service, customers must have their fingerprints taken and leave their addresses and banking details with the shop. The shop then takes the cost of goods directly out of the customer’s bank account.
“It is especially a good thing for elderly people. Now they do not have to remember their pin to pay with their bank cards, or to scratch around for their glasses or cash.” Sewoester said.
The stores benefit from the system too. It saves more than time in the check-out line. It also cuts out the hidden costs of accepting electronic card payments.
【小题1】According to the passage, the fingerprint system______.

A．was invented by the Edeka supermarket chain

B．has caused payment revolution in Germany

C．is more popular with young people

D．is preferred by most American customers

【小题2】To apply to pay with fingers, customers are required to do all of the following EXCEPT______.

A．have their fingerprints taken

B．leave their addresses

C．give the shop information about the bank accounts

D．have their phones connected with computers

【小题3】Why do elderly people benefit much from the fingerprint machine?

A．They will spend less time on shopping..

B．They are not forgetful.

C．They don’t like to pay in cash

D．They always fail to find their bank cards.

NASA’s Mars detector (探测器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet. Opportunity landed on Mars in January. Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.
“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science. “It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.”
“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,” said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission. The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity. It includes marks on rocks like those caused by flowing water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds. Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has existed on Mars. But it is still unknown whether the water on Mars was like an ocean or justice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible. “In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said. “So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission (任务) should bring back physical samples (样品). But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth. “The problem here is how to get the samples back,” Squyres replied. “I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”
【小题1】________ prove that water existed on Mars.

A．The physical samples with salty chemicals

B．The marks on rocks and salty chemicals

C．Scientific achievements of 2004

D．Creatures from Mars

【小题2】Which of the following is TURE according to the text?

A．It is now certain that there was water on Mars.

B．The water on Mars was like an ocean.

C．Evidence of life on Mars has been found.

D．Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.

【小题3】How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?

A．The world’s leading magazine has announced the fact.

B．Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.

C．Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.

D．Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.

【小题4】It can be inferred that, if the creatures from Mars came to Earth, ________.

A．they would be kind to humans

B．they would be cruel to humans

C．they would be a great danger to Earth

D．it would be hard to say whether it would be a good news or bad news

To extinguish (熄灭) different kinds of fires, several types of fire extinguishers have been invented. They must be ready for immediate use when fire breaks out. Most portable (手提式的) kinds operate for less than a minute, so they are useful only on small fires. The law requires（要求） ships, trains, buses and planes to carry extinguishers.
Since fuel, oxygen and heat must be present in order for fire to exist, one or more of these things must be removed or reduced to put out a fire. If the heat is reduced by cooling the material below a certain temperature, the fire goes out. The cooling method is the most common way to put out a fire. Water is the best cooling material because it is low in cost and easy to get.
Another method of extinguishing fire is by cutting off the oxygen. This is usually done by covering the fire with sand, steam or some other things. A blanket may be used to cover a small fire.
A third method is called separation, which includes removing the fuel, or material easy to burn from a fire, so that it can find no fuel.
The method that is used to put out a fire depends on the type of fire. Fires have been grouped in three classes. Fires in wood, paper, cloth and the like are called Class A fires. These materials usually help keep the fire on. Such fires can be stopped most readily by cooling with water.
【小题1】If a fire breaks out on a bus, which of the following should be ready there for you to use?

A．Sand

B．Water

C． A blanket.

D．An extinguisher.

【小题2】To cover a small piece of burning wood with a basin( 盆）in order to stop the fire    is an example of___________.

A．separating the fire	B．reducing the heat
C．removing the fuel	D．cutting off the oxygen

【小题3】In choosing how to put out a fire, we should first be clear about__________.

A．when it breaks out	B．how it comes about
C．what kind it is	D．where it takes place

【小题4】What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．Another class of fires	B．Another type of extinguishers
C．How fires break out.	D．How fires can be prevented.

Mr. Brown first went to look at the underground-fire when he was seven. “Through the hole in the earth you could see the orange fire, but you had to look fast because it was so hot,” said Mr. Brown. In 1898,he saw the fire once more.
Now, we can only see the smoke. The fire Mr. Brown saw is not the underground-fire. In fact ,there are 260 coal fires in the world. They are harmful and dangerous. Then how to put them out?
Scientists have tried to set fire to underground coal to speed up the fires. In this way, the burning of underground coal would be soon finished.
【小题1】Mr Brown said that we had to take a fast look at the fire because_________.

A．it was in the hole	B．it was very hot
C．it was orange	D．it was harmful

【小题2】How many coal fires are there in the world?

A．There’s only one	B．It’s hard to say
C．There are 260	D．The article doesn’t tell us

【小题3】What’s one of the best ways to put out the underground fire?

A．To cover the holes with stones	B．To speed the fire
C．To see the fire burning	D．To do some experiments

【小题4】What is the best title for the article?

A．Watching the Underground-fire

B．A Way to Put out the Underground Coat Fires

C．The Burning Earth

D．Coal and Coal Fires

When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority （优先）.This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well as the social environment it came from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotional meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings "talk" to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, and our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1，students_________.

A．regard music as a way of entertainment

B．disagree with their parents on education

C．view music as an overlooked subject

D．prefer the arts to science

【小题2】In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz as an example to ___________.

A．compare it with rock music

B．show music reflects a society

C．introduce American musical traditions

D．prove music influences people's lifestyles

【小题3】According to the passage, the arts and science________.

A．approach the world from different angles

B．explore different phenomena of the world

C．express people's feelings in different ways

D．explain what it means to be human differently

【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Music education deserves more attention.

B．Music should be of top education priority.

C．Music is an effective communication tool.

D．Music education makes students more imaginative. '

BERLIN — With the crisis in Japan raising fears about nuclear power, Germany and Switzerland said on Monday that they would reassess the safety of their own reactors.
Doris Leuthard, the Swiss energy minister, said Switzerland would put off plans to build nuclear plants. She said no new ones would be permitted until experts had reviewed safety standards.
Germany will put off “the recently decided extension of the running time of German nuclear plants,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. “This moratorium（延缓）will run for three months and it will allow for a thorough examination of the safety standards of the county’s 17 nuclear power plants.
The European Union called for a meeting on Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe’s preparedness.
Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, called for a new risk analysis of the country’s nuclear plants, particularly regarding their cooling systems. He is the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which strongly supports nuclear power.
A previous government, led by the Social Democrats, passed a law in 2001 to close all the country’s nuclear plants by 2021. But Mrs. Merkel’s government changed that decision last year to extend the lives of the plants by an average of 12 years.
In Switzerland, Doris Leuthard said she had already asked to analyze the exact cause of the problems in Japan and draw up new or tougher safety standards “particularly in terms of seismic(地震的) safety and cooling.”
In Russia, the Prime Minister said his government would “draw conclusions from what’s going on in Japan.”
【小题1】Where can you most likely read this passage?

A．In a newspaper.	B．In a magazine.
C．In a science report.	D．In a diary.

【小题2】How will Germany react to Japan’s nuclear crisis?

A．Germany will close all the country’s nuclear plants.

B．Germany will hold a meeting of nuclear safety authorities.

C．Germany will change the decision made last year.

D．Germany will delay the extension of nuclear plants running time.

【小题3】The author mentions all the following EXCEPT ______.

A．The moratorium in Germany will give time to examine the nuclear plants safety standards.

B．Switzerland will not build new nuclear plants unless they meet the experts’ safety standards.

C．The Social Democrats in Germany shares the same view with the Free Democratic Party.

D．Russia will try to learn something from the nuclear power crisis in Japan.

【小题4】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Watch Out for the Danger of Nuclear Power

B．Europe Is against Building Nuclear Plants

C．Nuclear Plants in Europe Are Delayed

D．Opinions on Nuclear Power Are Opposite.

The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.
【小题1】The best title for the article is _______.

A．When the Computer Is Down

B．The Most Frightening Words

C．The Computer of the Airport

D．Asking the Computer

【小题2】What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A．She could sell a ticket.

B．She could write out a ticket.

C．She could answer the passengers’ questions.

D．She could do nothing.

【小题3】Why do you think they had not a backup computer?

A．Because it was easy down

B．Because it was very expensive.

C．Because it was not advanced enough.

D．Because it was not as big as the main computer.

【小题4】The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A．a modern computer won’t be down.

B．computers can take the place of humans

C．sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D．there will be great changes in computers

Computer people talk a lot about the need for other people to become “computer-literate.” But not all experts (专家) agree that this is a good idea.
One pioneer, in particular, who disagrees is David Tebbutt, the founder of Computertown UK. Although many people see this as a successful attempt to bring people closer to the computer. David does not see it that way. He says that Computertown UK was formed for just the opposite reason, to bring computers to people and make them “people-literate.” David Tebbutt thinks Computertowns are most successful when tied to a computer club but he insists there is an important difference between the two. The clubs are for people who have some computer knowledge already. This frightens away non-experts, who are happier going to Computertowns where there are computers for them to experiment on, with experts to encourage them and answer any questions they have. They are not told what to do, they find out.The computer experts have to learn not to tell people about computers, but have to be able to answer all questions people ask. People don’t have to learn computer terms(术语), but the experts have to explain in plain language. The computers are becoming “people-literate.”
【小题1】Which of the following is David Tebbutt’s ides on the relationship between people and computers?

A．Computer learning should be made easier.

B．There should be more computer clubs for experts.

C．People should work harder to master computer use.

D．Computers should be made cheaper so that people can afford them.

【小题2】We can infer from the text that “computer-lilerate” means_______.

A．being able to afford a computer

B．being able to write computer programs

C．working with the computer and finding out its value

D．understanding the computer and knowing how to use it

【小题3】The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to the idea that Computertowns ___.

A．help to set up more computer clubs

B．bring people to learn to use computers

C．bring more experts to work together

D．help to sell computers to the public

【小题4】David Tebbutt started Computertown UK with the purpose of______.

A．making better use of computer expert

B．improving computer programs

C．increasing omputersales

D．popularising computers