A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities（设施）for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes（样品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation（朝向）,” Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competition has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
45. How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?
A. They lost balance in excitement.                  B. They showed strong disbelief.
C. They expressed little interest.                       D. They burst into cheers.
46. Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?
A. Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.
B. Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.
C. Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.
D. Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.
47. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?
A. The large size.                                           B. Limited facilities.
C. The desert climate.                                      D. Poor natural resources.
48. What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?
A. They are questionable.                                 B. They are out of date.
C. They are advanced.                                      D. They are practical.

Most people hate change, which is sad since we often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard?

Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry.

But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don’t know how those changes will affect our future.

People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible(可弯曲的). When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job.

When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don’t merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it’s up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. You never know – your next change may be your life’s Eiffel Tower!

1.Why did the building of the Eiffel Tower make the Parisians unhappy?

A．Because they didn’t like the design of the Eiffel Tower.

B．Because they couldn’t avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower.

C．Because it was no use building the Eiffel Tower.

D．Because the Eiffel Tower seemed strange.

2.According to the passage, it can be inferred that what won’t disturb us are _____________.

A．the changes that have agreement with one’s will

B．the small changes we meet in our daily life

C．the changes whose effect we can predict and control

D．the changes that we discuss or consider thoroughly

3.How should we overcome negative emotions that the changes bring?

A．We are not supposed to face the changes and let them alone.

B．We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance.

C．We should not take the changes seriously and avoid them as much as possible.

D．We should know that the changes merely bring us bad influence.

4.What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?

A．The change will probably make you fail like the Eiffel Tower.

B．The change is like the Eiffel Tower which is not good for our future life.

C．Your future life is never known just like the Eiffel Tower unknown to the Parisians.

D．Your future life is likely to be a great achievement due to the change.

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Psychology of Change                 B．The ways to Overcome the Fear

C．Changes That Disturb Us                  D．The Bad Effect of Changes

Does being rich make you happy? Many studies on happiness give negative answers. Here are some points in being happy.

Basic Human Needs Must Be Met

People whose basic needs for shelter, clothing and food are not met will find it very difficult to feel happy. Of course，there are exceptions，but for most of us，we can only be happy once our basic needs are met.

The Joneses Cannot Be Escaped

People's happiness is not determined by how much they have, but by how much people around them have. So, we tend to feel happy once our basic needs are met and we have more than the people surrounding us.

This means that while keeping up with the Joneses could be destructive if we let it go too far, it is also part of human nature to want to feel at least on the same level，financially，as those surrounding us.

You Should Escape The Rat Race

We should know the importance of staying out of the rat race. So yes, you need to work hard，get the education you need to land a good job and work long enough and hard enough to get to a place where you can easily meet your basic needs. What are basic needs? For most middle or upper middle class Americans, basic needs are not very basic anymore.

For most of us，once our basic needs have been met, happiness is achieved when we engage in activities we like，spend time with friends and family and stay active. Making money for the sake of making money does not make people happy.

Ideally, these questions should be answered when you're still young and just starting out. Don't wait until your midlife crisis to realize that half your life has passed you by and you're still unhappy.

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The research on what determines happiness

B．Being rich makes people happy

C．What makes people feel unhappy

D．Key points on being rich and being happy

2.What does "the Joneses" in Paragraph 4 probably stand for？

A．Expensive things                        B．Neighbors

C．Money                               D．Richer people

3.From the passage，what people probably do in "the rat race"？

A．To enjoy their life with family.

B．To get high education for better jobs.

C．To work too hard for money only.

D．To work hard for basic needs.

4.What's the attitude of the author towards the passage?

A．Money is happiness.

B．The love of money is the root of all evil.

C．Money doesn't grow on trees.

D．Money is a big problem, but money isn't everything.

A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset as well as others’. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time and seldom complains of want of it. He knows that he can not get through huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.

Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to doing one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men. 

12. What is an unpunctual person like?

A. He always does a thing when it should be done.  B. He is always very busy.

C. He always does a thing at the wrong time.    D. He always keeps the appointments.

13. Why is unpunctuality very harmful?  

A. Because it makes a man lose many chances of doing important affairs.

B. Because it makes a man lose friends.

C. Because it makes a man work quickly.

D. Because it makes a man be more respected by others.

14. According to the passage, which is right?

A. The punctual person has no much work to do.

B. The unpunctual person is very rich

C. The unpunctual person is often respected by his friends.

D. The unpunctual person loses what can’t be regained again.

15. According to the passage, what are good manners when you are invited to a party?

A. Arriving at the appointed time.   B. Arriving before all other guests.

C. Arriving after all other guests.    D. Keeping all other guests waiting.

16. Why is a person always unpunctual?

A. He is too busy.                      B. He has too much work to do.

C. He does care much about time.         D. He doesn’t manage his time properly.

A new research shows that in Britain more and more people are returning to the old tradition that the whole family have a meal at table. Worrying about the obesity and breakdown of a family, people change their eating habits so greatly, according to analysis. They find the number of the family having a meal together increases by 5% from 2002 to 2004, and most people who have meals with their family come from the rich social class.
The new discovery makes doctors and the people struggling against obesity extremely excited. Giving up the tradition that the whole family have a meal together is exactly one of the reasons for a series of problems including children’s overweight. If a child has a meal in front of the television or the computer alone, he will often eat some fast food.
Jason Collins is one of the persons returning to the old tradition. Collins is a manager of a bake(烘面包) house. He finds after he gets used to having a meal at home with his child, the child becomes much more obedient(听话的). Dr. Jin is a child psychologist, and she expresses welcome to this result of the study.  She says it can make parents have a very good chance to chat with the child when the whole family have a meal together.
【小题1】 What makes people change their eating habit back to the old tradition in Britain?