A new factory that turns used wine bottles into green sand could revolutionize the recycling industry and help to filter（过滤）the nation's drinking water.

For the last 100 years special high grade white sand quarried（开采）at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire has been used to filter tap water to remove bacteria and impurities—but this may no longer be necessary.

The green sand has already been successfully tested by water companies and is being used in 50 swimming pools in Scotland to keep the water clean.

Backed by one million pounds from the European Union and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(Defar),a company based in Scotland is building a factory to turn beverage bottles back into the sand from which they were made.

The idea is not only to avoid using up increasingly scarce sand in Scotland and avoid any further quarrying but also to solve a crisis in the recycles only 750 000 tones of it.

Howard Dryden, the scientist and managing director of the company has spent six years working on what he calls Active Filtration Meadia, or AFM, the recycled glass. He says he needs bottles that have already contained drinkable liquids to be sure that drinking water would not be polluted.

"The fact is that tests show that AFM does the job better than glass, it is easier to clean and reuse and has all sorts of properties that make it ideal for other applications, "he claimed. He also thinks the market will be able to take 250 000 tones of green sand a year. The plan is to build five or six factories in cites in UK where the bottles come from to cut down on transport.

The factory will be completed this month and is expected to go into full production on January 14 next year. Once it is providing a "regular" product, the government's drinking water inspectorate will be asked to perform tests and approve it for general use by water companies.

It may no longer be necessary to use high-grade white sand to keep water clean because_____.

there is no need to keep water clean

A new factory has been set up

The green sand has been used to keep the water clean

White sand is being use up

According to the passage ,the new idea can do the following except_____.

A. avoiding using up increasingly scarce sand

B. avoiding further quarrying of white sand

C. solving the crisis in the recycling industry

D. cutting down the cost on transport

Tests show that ______ in keeping the water clean.

A .AFM is more efficient than white sand

B.AFM is more efficient than glass

C. glass is more efficient than AFM

D. white sand is more efficient than green sand

The underlined word "Backed" in the third paragraph can best be replaced by"_____".

A. Allowed             B. Opposed

C. Supported            D. Forbidden

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Revolution in the Recycling for the Industry.

B. Modern Technology an New Markets.

C. Revolution in Environmental Protection.

D. Unlocking the Benefits of Green Sand.

Channel Islands tourist guide


Friendly communities, a rough coastline and gentle, untouched scenery make the islands ideal for anyone who wants to ‘get out there’ and explore on foot or by bike.
England tourist guide
England is the largest country in Britain, and home to the largest city in Europe, 600 miles of beautiful coastline, and a population almost three times that of Australia.
Isle of Man tourist guide
A country rich in natural history, beautiful scenery and first-class historical sites with attractions for all age groups and interests.
London tourist guide
London needs little introduction. This lively, multi-cultural capital is a world leading destination city．London is full of history, heritage and culture, yet one of the most fast-moving, cosmopolitan(世界性的) cities on the planet．
Northern Ireland tourist guide
Exciting cities with shopping, nightlife and festivals, outdoor activities, wonderful food and untouched peaceful and private places where you can relax．
Scotland tourist guide
Scotland is everything you imagine – whisky, golf and wealth of castles and historic sites. The Highlands area is one of the last wildernesses in Europe.
Wales tourist guide
Wales is different from other parts of Britain and just 2 hours from Heathrow Airport. With 400 castles, yet only one official motorway, you have to take things at a gentle pace.
【小题1】What is special about England?

A．It is the largest country in Europe．

B．It enjoys a beautiful coastline of 600 miles．

C．It is one of the last wildernesses in Europe．

D．It has a large population similar to Australia．

【小题2】If you want to visit castles, you are supposed to go to _______．

A．Channel Islands and Isle of Man	B．Isle of Man and London
C．Northern Ireland and Wales	D．Wales and Scotland

【小题3】The passage can be classified as           .

A．an advertisement	B．a geography article
C．a report	D．a diary

Despite the fact that it has never been seen almost everyone is familiar with the legendary unicorn(独角兽). Descriptions of unicorns have been found dating from ancient times. The great philosopher Aristotle theorized that there were two types of unicorn--- the so-called Indian Ass and the Oryx, a kind of antelope. Unicorns are often used in the logo of a noble family, town council or university as their special sign. Even Scotland is represented by a unicorn.
According to the legend, anyone attempting to catch a unicorn had to be extremely careful as it was very fierce and dangerous. A clever trick suggested by unicorn-trappers, in order to catch this amazing animal without being hurt by its horn, was for the hunter to stand in front of a tree and then to move quickly behind it as the unicorn dashed angrily. Hopefully, the creature could then be caught when its horn was stuck in the tree.
When hollowed out and used as a drinking-cup, the unicorn’s horn was said to have the power to offer protection against person. It was believed that nobody could be harmed-by drinking the contents of a unicorn’s horn. Right up until the French Revolution in 1789, the French court was said to have used cups made of “unicorn” horn in order to protect the king. In addition, the horn was said to have medicinal value, so much so that it could be sold for more than ten times the price of the same weight of gold. What, then, was “unicorn” horn? We know at times the rhino(犀牛) was confused with this legendary creature. A drinking-cup supposedly made of “unicorn” horn was discovered to be made of the horn of a rhino.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE of the unicorn?

A．It was not historically recorded

B．Its horn was first used in France

C．It was similar to the Indian Ass and the Oryx

D．It could be the symbol of a university

【小题2】To catch a unicorn, the unicorn-trappers had to try all of the following EXCEPT ____.

A．attracting the unicorn to attack

B．making use of the tree as a defense

C．hiding quickly behind the unicorn

D．having the unicorn horn stuck in the tree

【小题3】 The last paragraph is mainly about ____.

A．the functions of the unicorn horn

B．the users of the unicorn horn

C．the price of the unicorn horn

D．the comparison between the unicorn horn and the rhino horn

Welcome to the future. It’s year 2050 and Scotland is now powered completely by“clean”energy.
Homes have entire roofs made of solar materials, rooms are kept warm by wallpaper, and people go to and from work in electric and hydrogen( 氢) cars.
Oil is still being found in the North Sea, but it’s not now only used to keep aircraft flying. And a new 500---mile underwater link with Iceland has been built to catch heat from the hot springs. There’s still a role for king coal—but the black diamonds are now environment---friendly. 
People will be able to import the electricity they need and export any excess(超过的量) they make through rooftop windmills(风车). New technology will store electricity better and provide it on demand. Heat exchangers will provide heating and hot water.
Harmful carbon dioxide waste is being piped offshore to St Fergus and from there into some of the remaining oil—producing fields to be stored safely without entering the atmosphere. Gas remains the preferred energy source of industry and is now shipped in liquid form. But hydrogen is imported through pipelines from France and from a geothermal (地热的) plant in Iceland.
Hydrogen—fuelled cars have become popular. Electric bikes are common in cities using the new urban two—wheel network. Electric vehicles have become common, and their performances have been improved because of the developments in electrical drive technology like high—temperature super conducting motors. Many people leave their vehicles in a giant park where they can be recharged from the national electrical system . Oilseed rape (油菜) is widely grown to fuel some motors .
【小题1】What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 2 mean ?

A．The hot springs

B．Oil

C．Coal

D．Oil and coal

【小题2】Which sources of energy play a more important role in people’s daily life in the future ?

A．Oil and coal

B．Hydrogen and gas

C．Electricity and gas

D．Solar energy and wind

【小题3】The means of transport people use in 2050 do not include__________.

A．windmills	B．electric bikes
C．hydrogen—fuelled cars	D．aircraft

【小题4】The passage is written to tell us in the future_____________.

A．life will be better and better

B．the energy will become cleaner and cleaner

C．people will use some new sources of energy

D．people will pay more attention to the environment

As you are students of English, it’s very possible that you’ll be interested in England. That’s where the language was first spoken. But England is often called by other names. This often confuses people and I wonder if you know what these names mean. So, now I would like to tell you about this matter of names. I believe that you have heard people use the names—England, Britain or Great Britain. Let’s see what each of these names means.
If you look at a map of Europe, you’ll see a group of islands--one larger island off the northwest coast, one smaller and many tiny ones. These make up what is called the British Isles. The largest island of the British Isles is Britain. It is also called Great Britain. The smaller island is Ireland.
Britain is divided into three parts: Scotland, Wales and England. But sometimes the word “England” is used instead of “Britain”. Why so?
In ancient times, what is Britain now used to be three different countries. People in these different countries spoke different languages. Over many years the three countries became one. England is the largest and richest of the three and it has the most people. So the English people take it for granted that their own name stands for the whole island.
There’s another thing that confuses people: sometimes you may hear people say “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. That is the official name of the country. Northern Ireland is only one sixth of the island of Ireland. The rest of the island is an independent state, called the Republic of Ireland. So we have the names of “England”, “Britain”, “Great Britain”, and “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. Now do you know what each of them means?
【小题1】English was first spoken in ____.

A．Britain

B．England

C．Great Britain

D．Ireland

【小题2】According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A．Wales is the richest of the three.

B．Scotland is the largest of the three.

C．Sometimes England is used instead of Britain.

D．Britain is the only name of the largest island of British Isles.

【小题3】The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is _____.

A．part of Britain

B．part of British Isles

C．the official name of the whole country

D．the largest country of all mentioned in the passage

【小题4】Which of the following is the best title?

A．Students of English

B．Different Names of England

C．Different Languages Spoken in England

D．The Republic of Ireland