Scientists are developing a new kind of machine to take the place of humans. These machines can do jobs in places that are too dangerous for humans. For example, they are being developed to work in nuclear power center, deep under the oceans and in outer space.
John Marrit, a psychologist(心理學(xué)家) in Williamsburg Massachusetts, helped develop the new machine. This is how they work. A machine is placed in an area far away from the person who operates it. The person wears special hard hat with television screens and sound equipment. The screens and sound equipment let the person see and hear exactly what the machine is seeing and hearing. Mr. Marrit says this gives the person the feeling of being in the same place as the machine. The idea, he says, is being there without going there. The person uses an electronic control to make the machine move. The machine copies the person’s movements exactly. If the person raises his right arm, the machine raises the right arm, too. This means an expert can do a dangerous job while staying in the safe place. For example, a person can direct the machine to destroy a bomb without going near the bomb himself.
小題1:The new kind of machine being introduced in the passage is _______.

A．in existence	B．only an idea
C．being tried out	D．being researched and developed

小題2:The machine _______.

A．follows the person’s order

B．is controlled by a computer

C．does exactly what the person does

D．is controlled by a television on the person’s head

小題3:The difference between such a new machine and a robot is that _______.

A．the new machine is more difficult to make than a robot

B．the new machine is more difficult to be controlled

C．a(chǎn) robot is controlled by man indirectly

D．a(chǎn) robot can’t be used in places too dangerous or faraway

Australian scientists are trying to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep in order to cut the greenhouse gases they send out，which is thought to be responsible for global warming．
Thanks to special bacteria in the stomachs，kangaroo flatulence（腸胃氣脹）contains no methane（甲烷）and scientists want to transfer that bacteria to cattle and sheep which produce large quantities of the harmful gas．
While the usual image of greenhouse gas pollution is a huge factory chimney pushing out carbon dioxide，farm animals’ passing wind contributes to a surprisingly high percentage of total emission（排放物）in some countries．
“Fourteen percent of emissions from all sources in Australia is from methane from cattle and sheep，’’said Athol Klieve，a senior research scientist with the Queensland state government．
“And if you look at another country such as New Zealand，which has got a much higher agricultural base，they are actually up around 50 percent，”he said．
Researchers say the bacteria also make the digestive process much more efficient and could potentially save millions of dollars in feed costs for farmers．
But it will take researchers at least three years to isolate the bacteria before they can even start to develop a way of transferring it to cattle and sheep．
Another group of scientists，meanwhile，has suggested Australians should farm fewer cattle and sheep and just eat more kangaroos．And about twenty percent of health-conscious Australians are believed to eat the national symbol already．
“It’s low in fat，it’s got high protein levels and it’s very clean in the sense that basically it’s the free-range（放養(yǎng)的）animal，”said Peter Ampt of the University of New South Wales’s institute of environmental studies．
小題1:The passage mainly talks about ________.

A．a(chǎn) better way to prevent air pollution

B．the danger of methane from farm animals

C．possible solutions to protecting environment

D．a(chǎn) recent research on global warming

小題2: Scientists intend to put the bacteria into cattle and sheep in order to ________.

A．prevent them from sending out harmful gases

B．promote Australian farming

C．protect Australian ecosystem

D．make the most of the special bacteria

小題3:Another possible solution to the problem is ________.

A．to reduce the number of animals raised on farms

B．to eat more kangaroos rather than keep more sheep and cattle

C．to eat more plants rather than beef and mutton

D．to grow more trees to absorb carbon dioxide

小題4:From the passage we learn that ________.

A．it is easy to transfer the bacteria to cattle and sheep

B．farm animals are to blame for global warming in some countries

C．cattle and sheep produce more methane than kangaroos

D．less cattle and sheep are raised in New Zealand

We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans,  killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.
The 16-­year ­old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute,
has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(分解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair, a $10 000 prize, a $20 000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.
Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms (微生物). If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.
With this goal in mind, he ground plastic bags into a powder and concocted(調(diào)制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth. Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months. Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control. Sure enough, the plastic exposed to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.
The inputs are cheap: maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.
“Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me. One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags. The answer: not much. So I decided to do something myself.” said Daniel Burd.
小題1:Daniel Burd won first prize at the Canada－Wide Science Fair because________.

A．he found a new kind of microorganism

B．he contributed much to environmental protection

C．he found a way to degrade plastics in shorter time

D．he could encourage microbes growth in an easier way

小題2:Daniel Burd exposed one plastic sample to dead bacteria to ________.

A．make the live bacteria work better

B．test how effective his method was

C．know which bacteria worked faster

D．control the temperature in the process

小題3:Maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because ________.

A．plastics can get hot easily

B．microbes can produce heat themselves

C．much carbon dioxide is produced

D．the temperature can be controlled

小題4:Daniel Burd got his idea from ________.

A．his school textbook	B．the failure of researchers
C．his everyday work	D．the practice of other people

A victim of climate change
A polar bear's dead body found on the Arctic island of Svalbard, the northernmost part of Norway, has shocked experts who say climate change may be to blame for the death. The starved polar bear in Norway was said to be in good bones by the time a group of explorers came across its body in July．
The bear is thought to have been heading north in a desperate search for sea ice that would allow it to hunt for seals．"From his lying position in death, the bear appears to simply have starved to health in April when the Norwegian Polar Institute examined and labeled it． However, the animal was reduced to skin and bones and died where he dropped," polar bear expert Dr. Ian Stirling, a professor at the University of Alberta said, "He had external suggestion of any remaining fat, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone．"
Stirling believes the bear starved to death as a result of a lack of sea ice which the animals use as a platform for hunting seals． That may also explain why the 16-year-old male bear was found about 155 miles north of where it was seen in April．
Arctic sea ice reached a record low in 2012, according to a report released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pointed to continued signs of climate change．
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently classifies polar bears as vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species．
小題1:How did Stirling know the reason for the death of the polar bear?

A．By the food he ate．	B．By doing further experiments．
C．By observing other polar bears．	D．By his lying position in death．

小題2:The underlined word "vulnerable" probably means _____．

A．easily hurt	B．difficult to hunt
C．dangerous	D．a(chǎn)mazing

小題3:What is the author's attitude to the incident?

A．Favorable．	B．Uncaring．
C．Doubtful．	D．Concerned．

小題4:Where does this text probably come from?

A．A novel．	B．A guidebook．
C．A news report．	D．An advertisement．

Can we give a hand to those endangered animals? Yes, we may only do a little bit, but together our small actions add up to a lot.
1. Protect wildlife habitat.
Perhaps the greatest threat that faces many species is the widespread destruction of habitat. Cutting down forests, farming, and development all result in loss of wildlife habitat. In areas where rare species live, habitat destruction can quickly force a species to extinction. By protecting habitat, entire communities of animals can be protected together naturally. Parks and reserves are now all too often the only habitats that are left untouched by habitat destruction.
2. Reduce the threat of invasive (入侵的) species.
The spread of non-native species has greatly reduced native populations around the world. Invasive species compete with native species for resources (資源) and habitat. They can even prey on native species directly, forcing native species towards extinction.
3. Place decals (貼花紙) on windows.
It is reported that as many as one billion birds in the United States die each year because of collisions (碰撞) with windows. You can help reduce the number of collisions simply by placing decals on the windows in your home and office.
4. Slow down when driving.
Many native animals have to live in developed areas and this means they must move in human-living areas. One of the biggest obstacles (障礙) to them is that created by roads. Roads divide habitat and present a constant risk to any animal attempting to cross from one side to the other. So when you’re out and about, slow down and keep an eye out for wildlife.
小題1: What would be the best title for this passage?

A．How animals go to extinction

B．The importance of protecting wildlife

C．What to do to help save wildlife

D．How to protect wildlife habitat

小題2:By writing the underlined sentence, the writer means that _____.

A．more parks and reserves should be built

B．we should have more habitats free of destruction

C．there is a need for improvement in parks and re-serves

D．parks and reserves are good examples of protecting wildlife

小題3:People are advised to put decals on windows to _____.

A．decorate the houses and beautify the environment

B．protect the windows from birds hitting

C．a(chǎn)ttract more birds to make homes nearby

D．a(chǎn)void birds hitting the windows by mistake

小題4:The underlined phrase “prey on” in the passage means _____.

A．drive away

B．live with

C．kill for food

D．fight with

Summer school is something a kid will never forget. For some, it's a way to advance past their classmates. For most, summer school is a requirement in order to graduate with their classmates. I can remember being forced into taking a summer school course. It was not the school that forced me into this awkward situation, it was my mother.
I was a 16-year-old kid in a new school. My school did not offer summer courses so I had to take my course at an alternative school in the city. It was an experience I will never forget. I was not concerned with making friends. I was there to get credit（學(xué)分）for a course that I should have received for the previous semester. It was my doing that landed me in the situation and it was important that I understood this.
The fees were the lowest but the experience was amazing. I enjoyed I didn’t miss the day. The course was from Monday to Friday for an entire month. I passed the course with an A. I was thrown into an awkward situation but actually enjoyed it. My friends didn't even know I took the course. Most of them were still sleeping by the time my course ended each day.
Awkward situations are so important for personal growth. This situation made me feel more independent. I made friends. I finally understood what sacrifice and hard work were all about. While attending college, I remembered how much I enjoyed summer school and I chose to take summer school in my first three years of college. Some kids get pushed too much but some don't get pushed enough. I was never pushed enough.
Enable your children to struggle for success. If your child needs summer school you explain to them why it's important. Some parents are surprised by the situation and may want to be more involved in their children’s education. Follow through and follow up.
小題1:Most students go to the summer school in order to ____.

A．find good jobs

B．become top students in their class

C．have a chance to make more friends

D．graduate successfully on time

小題2:What made the author go to summer school for the first time?

A．What he had done.	B．His mother's wish.
C．His own requirement.	D．Study competition.

小題3:Which of the following was NOT the benefit got by the author through attending summer school?

A．It helped him get rid of bad habits.

B．It helped him make new friends.

C．It helped him understand what sacrifice and hard work were.

D．It increased his independence.

小題4:From the last paragraph we can learn that the author _______.

A．does not like summer school at all even though it is useful

B．thinks summer school is unnecessary for children

C．encourages parents to make their children attend summer school

D．is against forcing children to attend summer school

Shopping green can make an important contribution to protecting the planet and conserving its resources.
Today’s consumer faces a wider range of choices than ever before, Add to that the steady stream of sales campaigns, and shopping smart only gets harder. To buy economically and reduce waste, safeguard health and protect the environment, you’ll need to follow some basic principles and have a clear idea of what you want.
1. Do Your Homework
Before making any major purchase, take the time to research it. Plentiful resources are usually available online. Avoid buying in a hurry, and don’t be persuaded by overenthusiastic salespeople. Sleep on it if necessary—you won’t regret giving yourself some extra time to think.
2. Take the Long View
Consider the running costs as well as the initial price of any item you buy. Many environmentally friendly products cost more to buy, but save you money in the long run. Choose items that are made to last. For example, pick a sofa that has a hardwood or steel frame rather than one made of softwood, which may break easily.
3. Skip the Disposable Option
Buy reusable products like washable cloth towels, handkerchiefs, serviettes（餐巾）and cleaning cloths rather than paper, single-use varieties. Avoid other disposable supplies like cups, glasses, and chopsticks, too.
4. Take the Local Route
Buy local products that are in season. It’s usually cheaper and fresher and has less harm to the environment. Markets and roadside stands are good sources. Some supermarkets also buy from local producers. Support it if you have one.
5. Avoid Wasteful Packaging
Better not buy products that have too much packaging. It’s estimated that approximately 10 percent of every shopping bill is actually paying for packaging—which you normally just throw away! Moreover, significant amounts of energy are used in the production of packaging. Purchasing refillable and renewable containers can also help cut this kind of waste.
小題1:What could be the best title for this passage?

A．Protection of the Planet

B．Green Shopping Principles

C．Environmentally Friendly Products

D．Resource Conservation

小題2:The underlined phrase “sleep on it” has the similar meaning with      .

A．think it over	B．forget about it
C．set it aside	D．put it into action

小題3:Why does the author advise us to buy lasting products?

A．Because they are less expensive to buy.

B．Because they save money in the long run.

C．Because they will never break.

D．Because they are local products.

小題4:Which of the following can be considered green shopping?

A．Following the stream of sales campaigns.

B．Buying disposable chopsticks.

C．Focusing on packaging.

D．Purchasing from local markets.

Unlike traditional commercials, Public Service Advertisements（PSA）are primarily designed to inform and educate rather than sell a product or service. The goal of a PSA is not to make a big sale, but rather to change public opinion and raise awareness for a problem.
Smokey Bear has been a recognized symbol of the protection of America’s forests from fire. It is created to educate the public about the dangers of wildfires. Smokey Bear was started in 1944 with the slogan, “Smokey Bear Says—Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires”. Smokey Bear’s later slogan,  “Remember! Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires”, was created in 1947 by the Advertising Council in America. In April 2001, the message was changed to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires”.
The wildfire prevention campaign with Smokey Bear is one of the longest and most successful campaigns in advertising history. The Advertising Council often was in partnership with other organizations and groups to create various advertising for Smokey Bear since 1944.
The Advertising Council teamed with Walt Disney Company to create a series of PSAs. The ads feature（以···為形象）characters form the classic film Sleeping Beauty and aim to reach parents and children. The lovely Bambi also appeared in the advertisements. Mickey Mouse is much more popular throughout the country.
Those PSAs, which appear on television, on the radio, in the newspaper and on the website continue to remind Americans about the importance of wildfire prevention have helped to reduce the number of acres burned annually by wildfires. According to recent survey, Smokey Bear and his famous words of wisdom “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” are recalled by 3 out of 4 adults.
In addition to the PSA campaign, Smokey Bear has his own U.S. postage stamp and website for more information about wildfire prevention. From the website, you can also learn all about wildfires and how we can protect our forests.
小題1:PSA are primarily designed to     .

A．educate the public	B．change people’s status
C．discuss a problem	D．sell products or services

小題2:Which of the following is true of the Smoky Bear?

A．It is one recognized symbols of Walt Disney cartoons.

B．It firstly appeared in America in 1944 with no slogan.

C．It is created to warn Americans of the dangers of wildfires.

D．Its slogan changes every three years.

小題3:How does the author support his topic in Paragraph 4?

A．By summing up.	B．By giving examples.
C．By comparison.	D．By asking questions.

小題4:According to this text, Smoky Bear      .

A．helps a lot to reduce wildfires in America

B．isn’t popular among the American pupils

C．has set up its own website to advertise products

D．becomes the symbol of the Advertising Council

In an ideal world, people would not test medicines on animals. Such experiments are stressful and sometimes painful for animals, and expensive and time–consuming for people. Yet animal experimentation is still needed to help bridge vast gaps in medical knowledge. That is why there are some 50 to 100 million animals used in research around the world each year.
Europe, on the whole, has the world’s most restrictive laws on animal experiments. Even so, its scientists use some 12 million animals a year, most of them mice and rats, for medical research. Official statistics show that just 1.1 million animals are used in research in America each year. But that is misleading. The American authorities do not think mice and rats are worth counting and, as these are the most common laboratory animals, the true figure is much higher. Japan and China have even less comprehensive data than America.
Now Europe is reforming the rules governing animal experiments by restricting the number of animals used in labs. Alternatives to animal testing, such as using human tissue or computer models, are now strongly recommended. In addition, sharing all research results freely should help to reduce the number of animals for scientific use. At present, scientists often share only the results of successful experiments. If their findings do not fit the hypothesis being tested, the work never sees the light of day. This practice means wasting time, money, and animals’ lives in endlessly repeating the failed experiments.
Animal experimentation has taught humanity a great deal and saved countless lives. It needs to continue, even if that means animals sometimes suffer. Europe’s new measures should eventually both reduce the number of animals used in experiments and improve the way in which scientific research is conducted.
小題1:What is the main idea of this passage?

A．The success of animal experiments should be ensured.

B．A ban on the use of animals in the lab should be enforced.

C．Greater efforts need to be taken to reduce the number of lab animals.

D．Scientists should be required to share their research results with each other.

小題2:Which of the following statements is true about animals used in the lab?

A．America uses only about 1.1 million lab animals per year.

B．Europe does not use mice and rats as lab animals at all.

C．Britain does not use as many lab animals as China does.

D．Japan has less comprehensive data on the number of lab animals used each year.

小題3:Which of the following is mentioned as an alternative to replace animal experiments?

A．Statistical studies.

B．Computer models.

C．DNA planted in animals.

D．Tissue from dead animals.

小題4:What usually happens to unsuccessful animal experiments?

A．They are not revealed to the public.

B．They are made into teaching materials.

C．They are collected for future publication.

D．They are not removed from the research topic list.

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.
Cutting carbon dioxide emissions could save millions of lives, mostly by reducing preventable deaths from heart and lung diseases, according to studies released Wednesday and published in a special issue of The Lancet British medical journal.
“Relying on fossil fuels leads to unhealthy lifestyles, increasing our chances for getting sick and in some cases takes years from our lives,” US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a telecast (電視廣播) briefing from her home state of Kansas. “As greenhouse gas emissions go down, so do deaths from cardiovascular (心血管的) and respiratory diseases (呼吸疾病). This is not a small effect.”
Instead of looking at the health ills caused by future global warming, as past studies have done, this research looks at the immediate benefits of doing something about the problem, said Linda Birnbaum, director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Some possible benefits seemed highly speculative (投機的，推測的), the researchers conceded (承認，給予), based on people driving less and walking and cycling more. Other proposals studied were more concrete and achievable, such as reducing cook stoves that burn dung (糞便), charcoal and other polluting fuels in the developing world.
And cutting carbon dioxide emissions also makes the air cleaner, reducing lung damage for millions of people, doctors said.
“Here are ways you can attack major health problems at the same time as dealing with climate change," said lead author Dr. Paul Wilkinson, an environmental epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Wilkinson said the individual studies came up with numbers of premature deaths prevented or extra years of life added for certain places.
For example, switching to low-polluting cars in London and Delhi, India, would save 160 lost years of life in London and nearly 1,700 in Delhi for every million residents, one study found. But if people also drove less and walked or biked more, those extra saved years would soar (高聳，高漲) to more than 7,300 years in London and 12,500 years in Delhi because of less heart disease.
小題1:What does the passage mainly about?

A．How can people live longer.

B．Cutting carbon dioxide emissions saves life.

C．Global warming threatens people’s lives

D．People should stop relying on fossil fuels

小題2:The new research differs from past studies in that ________.

A．it focuses on the immediate benefits of cutting carbon dioxide emissions

B．it studies the bad effects arising from future global warming

C．it is believed by most people

D．it mainly targets at developing countries

小題3:According to Kathleen Sebelius ________.

A．sometimes it takes years to see the bad effects caused by consuming fossil fuels

B．without greenhouse gas emissions, people would not die of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases

C．the main reason why people get sick is that they rely on fossil fuels

D．death from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are closely related to greenhouse gas emissions

小題4:It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A．London and Delhi have already benefited from reducing greenhouse gas emissions

B．switching to low-polluting cars would save 160 lives in London every year

C．walking and biking instead of driving will reduce the chance of heart disease

D．a(chǎn)ttacking health problems and dealing with climate change are contradictory