What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to? The good news is that we can. In fact, we are swimming in it--- literally.

Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe. Our own sun is basically a big, dense cloud of the stuff. And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power, heat and light.

The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It does not exist as a material on its own, but is always part of something else. So it has to be separated before it can be used.

Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas. As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030, it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can. But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after. Another source is needed.

Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen. Companies are working on the problem in their own areas. The first commercial hydrogen “fuel cells” for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market. Auto companies have also invested over US $2 billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars.

The nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over energy recourses. There would be a great reduction in pollution. The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water--- something that is very scarce in many parts of the world. But that is not where the good news ends. Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down, it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth’s population that has no electricity.

And electricity creates wealth. In South Africa over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification. Thanks to the programme, people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat. And with electric light, they can work long into the night.

Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates. Hydrogen creates electricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it. Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web,” which it supplies with electricity. A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car. Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.

Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away. But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to end oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource. So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.

1.What does the underlined word “it” in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A. wealth                            B. hydrogen                         C. electricity                       D. fuel

2.What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A. It has by-products.

B. It has to be separated from other materials.

C. It will make energy too cheap.

D. It is too far away from us.

3.Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph ?

A. To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power.

B. To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution.

C. To show hydrogen power can stop war.

D. To show hydrogen power is cheap.

4.What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A. skeptical                            B. negative              C. indifferent              D. positive

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A. war and energy                                          B. the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C. the disadvantages of oil                        D. How to end war

 

第二节语法填空 (共10小题，每小题1.5分，满分15分)

阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或使用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填写在答题卡标号为31～40的相应位置上。

On April 20, after two classes in the morning, the broadcasting station of our school went on the air. The   31    (announce) told us the sad news that a student named Tong Kai in Junior 2 needed a kidney transplant(肾移植). It would cost one hundred thousand yuan. It was    32    (possibility) for his family to pay so much money.

The news soon spread    33    the campus. From that day on, the teachers and students began to contribute money to help him. The teachers    34    (donate) part of their salaries. Many students helped Tong Kai with their pocket money. A student in Junior 3 contributed eighty yuan and said “The money we     35    (contribute) is not enough for Tong’s operation, but we have done    36    we can.” In only three days ten thousand yuan was collected.

With    37    help of many students and teachers, Tong got enough money and was operated on    38    (success). He said, “I thought I was the    39    unlucky person in the world, but now I think just the opposite.” While    40    (say) these words, he couldn’t keep back his tears.

 

Increasingly ,over the past ten years ,people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits ,because much of the food they eat ,particularly processed foods ,is not good for the health .As a result ,there has been a growing interest in natural foods :foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers ,widely used in farming today .

    Natural foods ,for example ,are vegetables ,fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter . In simple terms ,this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter ,which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers , the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of food grown in commercial farming areas .

    Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle .Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry (家禽):there are battery farms ,for example ,where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish .Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins .

    There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet .Take ,for example ,the question of sugar .This is actually a non-essential food! Although another natural food ,such as honey ,can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary ,we can in fact do without it .It is not that sugar is harmful in itself .But it does seem to be addictive : the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year !Yet all it does is provide us with energy ,in the form of calories .There are no vitamins in it ,no minerals ,and no fibre .

    It’s very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet .In white bread ,for example ,the fibre has been removed .But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables .It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables ,certain diseases are comparatively not often seen .For this reason ,the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”.

People have become more interested in natural foods because            .

    A．they want to keep fit

    B．they want to taste all kinds of foods

    C．natural foods are more delicious than processed foods

    D．they want to return to nature

Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that            .

    A．they are fed on food which is little better than garbage

    B．they live in very crowed condition 

    C．the eggs they produce lack vitamins 

    D．they are allowed to move about and eat freely 

According to the passage,_________.

    A．people need sugar to give them energy

    B．sugar is bad for the health

    C．the use of sugar is habit forming

    D．sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful

Increasingly ,over the past ten years ,people—especially young people—have become aware of the need to change their eating habits ,because much of the food they eat ,particularly processed foods ,is not good for the health .As a result ,there has been a growing interest in natural foods :foods which do not contain chemical fertilizers ,widely used in farming today .

Natural foods ,for example ,are vegetables ,fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic(有机的)matter . In simple terms ,this means that the soil has been nourished by unused vegetable matter ,which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers , the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of food grown in commercial farming areas .

Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy grassland for cattle .Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry (家禽):there are battery farms ,for example ,where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish .Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins .

There are other things of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet .Take ,for example ,the question of sugar .This is actually a non-essential food! Although another natural food ,such as honey ,can be used to sweeten food if this is necessary ,we can in fact do without it .It is not that sugar is harmful in itself .But it does seem to be addictive : the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year !Yet all it does is provide us with energy ,in the form of calories .There are no vitamins in it ,no minerals ,and no fibre .

It’s very important that nowadays fibre is considered to be an important part of a healthy diet .In white bread ,for example ,the fibre has been removed .But it is present in unrefined flour and of course in vegetables .It is interesting to note that in countries where the national diet contains large quantities of unrefined flour and vegetables ,certain diseases are comparatively not often seen .For this reason ,the importance is placed on the eating of wholemeal(没有去麸的面粉)bread and more vegetables by modern experts on “healthy eating”.

1.People have become more interested in natural foods because            .

A．they want to keep fit

B．they want to taste all kinds of foods

C．natural foods are more delicious than processed foods

D．they want to return to nature

2.Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that           .

A．they are fed on food which is little better than garbage

B．they live in very crowed condition

C．the eggs they produce lack vitamins

D．they are allowed to move about and eat freely

3.According to the passage,_________.

A．people need sugar to give them energy

B．sugar is bad for the health

C．the use of sugar is habit forming

D．sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful

 

What if we could replace oil with a fuel which produced no pollution and which everybody had equal access to?The good news is that we can, In fact, we are swimming in it—literally.

Hydrogen is one of the building blocks of the universe ,Our own sun is basically ,a big ,dense cloud of the stuff ,And hydrogen can be used to create electricity for power ,heat and light.

The problem is that hydrogen is everywhere and nowhere at the same time , It does not exist as a material on its own ,but is always part of something else, So it has to be separated before it can be used.

Most commercial hydrogen in use now is created from natural gas , As oil will start to run out in around the year 2030.,it makes sense to produce as much hydrogen as possible as soon as we can ,But natural gas supplies will also begin to run out soon after, Another source is needed.

Researchers are now using electricity to make water into hydrogen ,Companies are working on the problem in their own areas ,The first commercial hydrogen ,”fuel cells”for computers and mobile phones have already come on to the market ,Auto companies have also invested over US ＄2billion in the production of hydrogen fuelled cars

Thd nations of a hydrogen fuelled planet would not fight over evergy recourses, There would be a great reduction in pollution ,The only by-product of creating hydrogen is pure drinking water—something that is very scarce in many parts of the world ,But that is not where the good news ends, Once the costs of producing hydrogen have been brought down ,it will possibly provide power for a third of the Earth ‘s population that has no electricity.

And electricity creates wealth, In South A frica over the last decade there has been a large programme of electrification, Thanks to the programme, people do not have to spend their days looking firewood to burn for heat, And with electric light , they can work long into the night.

Some scientists see radical changes in the way the human race co-operates, Hydrogen creates clectricity, and is also created by it. With dual use fuel cells, everyone who consumes energy could also produce it ,Late at night, a man drives home in London and connects his car into the “world-wide hydrogen web”, which it supplies with electricity ,A few hours later, a man in Beijing uses that electricity to power the hydrogen cell in his car, Hydrogen could be the first democratic energy source.

Like all dreams of the future, it seems very far away, But the threat of war and terrorism in the Middle East has made governments and businesses more aware of the need to edn oil dependency and spend more time and money on hydrogen resource, So maybe the threat of war is not a completely bad thing for the future of the human race.

1.What does the underlined word “it”in the last but one paragraph refer to?

A、wealth                  B、hydrogen             C、electricity             D、fuel

2.What is the problem with using hydrogen as energy?

A、It has by-products

B、It has to be separated from other materials

C、It will make energy too cheap

D、It is too far away from us

3.Why does the author give the example in the last but one paragraph?

A、To tell us that we produce energy while using hydrogen power

B、To tell us that hydrogen power does not produce pollution

C、To show hydrogen power can stop war

D、To show hydrogen power is cheap

4.What is the author’s attitude about the future?

A、skeptical               B、negative               C、indifferent           D、positive

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A、war and energy 

B、the future of hydrogen as an energy resource

C、the disadvantages of oil

D、How to end war