65. The passage tells us that____.

A. the shape of furniture may affect people, s feelings

B. lower ceilings may help improve students’ creativity

C. children in a dim classroom may improve their grades

D. Students in rooms with unblocked views may feel relaxed

64. What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research?

A. Light

B. Ceilings

C. Windows

D. Furniture.

75. What might be the best title for the text?

A. How to Save Rainforests

B. How to Protect Nature

C. Rainforests and the Environment

D. Rainforests and Medical Development

答案　 72.D　 73.A　 74.B　 75.C

Passage 4

(09·北京C篇)

How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feelings

Architects have long had the feeling that the places we live in can affect our thoughts, feelings and behaviors, But now scientists are giving this feelings an empirical(经验的, 实证的)basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused, and lead to relaxation.

Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2007, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room’s ceiling affects how people to think. Her research indicates that the higher callings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.

In addition to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant’s ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University found in their study that kids who experienced the greatest increase in greenness as a result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.

Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design ＆Planning Laboratory at 　 University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that students in classrooms with unblocked views of at least 50 feet outside the window had higher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.

Recent study on room lighting design suggests that dim(暗淡的)light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.

So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. “We have a very limited number of studies, so we’re almost looking at the problem through a straw(吸管), ”architect David Allison says. “How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad, generalized use of them? That’s what we're all struggling with. ”

74. It can be inferred from the text that

A. we can get enough resources without rainforests

B. there is great medicine potential in rainforests

C. we will grow fewer kinds of crops in the gained land

D. the level of annual rainfall affects wind patterns

73. What does the word “this” underlined in the third paragraph refer to?

A. We will lose much more than we can gain.

B. Humans have begun destroying rainforests.

C. People have a strong desire for resources.

D. Much carbon dioxide comes from burning rainforests.

72. Rainforests can help to adjust the climate because they　　　　　　　　 .

A. reflect more heat into the atmosphere

B. bring about high rainfall throughout the world

C. rarely cause the temperature to drop lower than l6℃

D. reduce the effect of heat from the sun on the earth

66. From the last paragraph we can learn that __

A. some pipes have to be re-arranged in winter

B. the system can do more than warming up the building

C. the exchangers will pick up heat from the street surface

答案　 64.D　 65.D　 66.B　

Passage 3

(09·安徽E篇)

A rainforest is an area covered by tall trees with the total high rainfall spreading quite equally through the year and the temperature rarely dipping below l6℃. Rainforests have a great effect on the world environment because they can take in heat from the sun and adjust the climate. Without the forest cover，these areas would reflect more heat into the atmosphere，warming the rest of the world. Losing the rainforests may also influence wind and rainfall patterns，potentially causing certain natural disasters all over the world.

In the past hundred years，humans have begun destroying rainforests in search of three major resources(资源)：land for crops，wood for paper and other products，land for raising farm animals. This action affects the environment as a whole. For example，a lot of carbon dioxide(二氧化碳)in the air comes from burning the rainforests. People obviously have a need for the resources we gain from cutting trees but we will suffer much more than we will benefit.

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly，when people cut down trees，generally they can only use the land for a year or two. Secondly，cutting large sections of rainforests may provide a good supply of wood right now，but in the long run it actually reduces the world’s wood supply.

Rainforests are often called the world’s drug store. More than 25% of the medicines we use today come from plants in rainforests. However，fewer than l%of rainforest plants have been examined for their medical value. It is extremely likely that our best chance to cure diseases lies somewhere in the world’s shrinking rainforests.

65. For what purpose are the diving pipes used?

A. To absorb heat from the sun.

B. To store heat for future use.

C. To turn solar energy into heat energy.

D. To carry heat down below the surface.

64. Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?

A. Arian de Bondt got his idea from his boss.

B. Large, flat, black surfaces need to be built in cities.

C. The Dutch engineer's system has been widely used.

D. Heat can also be collected from asphalt roads.

75. Which of the following can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

A. With no Retriever, thousands of laptops are stolen every year.

B. A new soft ware provides a means to reduce laptop theft.

C. Retriever has helped to find thieves and lost computers.

D. A new program offers a communication platform with the thief.

答案　 72.B　 73.D　 74.A　 75.B

Passage 2

(09·安徽C篇)

Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. For example, to absorb heat from the sun to heat water, you need large, flat, black surfaces. One way to do that is to build those surfaces specially, on the roofs of buildings. But why go to all that trouble when cities are rub of black surfaces already, in the form of asphalt (柏油) roads?

Ten years ago, this thought came into the mind of Arian de Bondt, a Dutch engineer. He finally persuaded his boss to follow it up. The result is that their building is now heated in winter and cooled in summer by a system that relies on the surface of the road outside.

The heat-collector is a system of connected water pipes. Most of them ran from one side of the street to the other, just under the asphalt road. Some, however, dive deep into the ground.

When the street surface gets hot in summer, water pumped through the pipes picks up this heat and takes it underground through one of the diving pipes. At a depth of 100 metres lies a natural aquifer (蓄水层) into which several heat exchangers (交换器) have been built. The hot water from the street runs through these exchangers, warning the ground-water, before returning to the surface through another pipe. The aquifer is thus used as a heat store.

In winter, the working system is changed slightly. Water is pumped through the heat exchangers to pick up the heat stored during summer. This water goes into the building and is used to warm the place up. After performing that task, it is pumped under the asphalt and its remaining heat keeps the road free of snow and ice.