The way we get about has a deep influence on the way we live－affecting where we set up home, work and holiday. So what changes might come in the way we get around? What big ideas are out there, and do they have any chance of coming true?
Personal Air Travel
The idea: flying cars
Developments in light small plane technology will make it possible for everyone to own what are, in fact, flying cars. They will have closed cabins, heating, stereos and room for two people.
You will take off from a field near your home and fly to towns and cities. After landing, you will take off the fixed wing and continue your journey by road just as if you were traveling by car.
Fuel efficient engines and the advantage of being able to travel in the sky will keep costs and the environmental influence down.
Flying for Fun
The idea: Jet Packs
The idea was a hit when a stuntman (特技演員) flew around on one during the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which was very successful.
You’ll be able to use the equipment－roughly the size of two scuba tanks fastened to your back－for short journeys.
They will be handy for cleaning hard-to-reach windows, arriving in style at a party and shopping.
Taxis
The idea: driverless taxis
These computer-controlled taxis will take you wherever you want along a fixed route, whenever you want to go.
For the price of one person’s bus fare, several people can ride at speeds of up to 25 mph, and there will be fences to guard against accidents.
There will be little, if any, wait for the use of the taxis, which will leave from stations and will be used by prepaid cards.
The taxis, which will travel on a 1.5 m-wide track, will use 75% less energy per passenger than a car and 50% less than a bus.
小題1:The passage is mainly about ________.
A．future travelB．big ideas and dreams
C．a(chǎn)dvanced technologyD．the influence of travel
小題2:We learn from the passage that flying cars ________.
A．will operate only in the sky
B．will be more expensive than common cars
C．will have few bad effects on the environment
D．won’t be equipped with things similar to what cars have
小題3: With Jet Packs, we can do all the following EXCEPT ________.
A．a(chǎn)ttend a partyB．clean high windows
C．go shoppingD．have a long journey
小題4:As for driverless taxis, we can infer that ________.
A．we can go wherever we want in them
B．they will be both convenient and safe
C．it costs more to take them than to take ordinary cars
D．they will be operated by computers as well as by people

小題1:A
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:B

試題分析：本文敘述了未來(lái)的交通工具，文中敘述了飛行的汽車(chē)可以從地里出發(fā)，然后乘坐飛行的汽車(chē)去各個(gè)城市或城鎮(zhèn)，它們的好處對(duì)環(huán)境的污染��；可以坐Jet Packs這種飛行器去參加聚會(huì)或購(gòu)物等這樣的活動(dòng)；乘坐無(wú)人駕駛的出租車(chē)，自己按照預(yù)定的目的地，電腦操縱可以到達(dá)目的地，它消耗的能量比小汽車(chē)或公交車(chē)的消耗都低。
小題1:主旨大意題。根據(jù)關(guān)于對(duì)于未來(lái)的旅行，故選A。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)Fuel efficient engines and the advantage of being able to travel in the sky will keep costs and the environmental influence down.
對(duì)環(huán)境有很少的影響，故選C。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)They will be handy for cleaning hard-to-reach windows, arriving in style at a party and shopping.對(duì)于Jet Packs，我們可以參加聚會(huì)，清洗窗子和購(gòu)物，只有選項(xiàng)D，沒(méi)有提到，故選D。
小題4:推理判斷題。根據(jù)對(duì)于無(wú)人駕駛的出租車(chē)，它們是既方便又安全的，故選B。
點(diǎn)評(píng)：主旨大意題，就是指那些針對(duì)文章的主要內(nèi)容、主題、標(biāo)題或?qū)懽髂康乃O(shè)置的問(wèn)題。這類(lèi)題主要考查同學(xué)們?cè)诶斫馊牡幕A(chǔ)上運(yùn)用概括、判斷、歸納、推理等邏輯思維方法對(duì)文章進(jìn)行高度概括或總結(jié)的能力。
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall of 2009, they’ll be joined by a new face; Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教務(wù)長(zhǎng)) of Yale, who’ll become Oxford’s vice-chancellor—a position equivalent to university president in America.
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小題1:What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the passage?
A．Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S.
B．A lot of political activists are being recruited as administrators.
C．American universities are enrolling more international students.
D．University presidents are paying more attention to funding-raising.
小題2:What is the chief consideration of American universities when hiring top-level administrators?
A．The political correctness.
B．Their ability to raise funds.
C．Their fame in academic circles.
D．Their administrative experience.
小題3:What do we learn about European universities from the passage?
A．The tuitions they charge have been rising considerably.
B．Their operation is under strict government supervision.
C．They are strengthening their position by globalization.
D．Most of their revenues come from the government.
小題4:Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard as its vice-chancellor chiefly because _____.
A．she was known to be good at raising money
B．she could help strengthen its ties with Yale
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Legends about the development of coffee are varied and interesting, involving chance occurrences, political tricks, and the pursuit of wealth and power.
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Another legend gives us the name for coffee, “mocha”. Omar, an Arabian was thrown to the desert with his followers to die of starvation. In desperation, Omar had his friends boil and eat the fruit from an unknown plant. Not only did the soup save the group, but the residents of the nearest town, Mocha, took their survival as a religious sign. The plant and its beverage (飲料) were named Mocha to honor this event.
Coffee was introduced much later to countries beyond Arabia, whose inhabitants believed it to be a tasty thing and guarded its secret as if they were top secret military plans. The government forbade transportation of the plant out of the Moslem nations. The actual spread of coffee was started illegally. One Arab named Baba Budan smuggled (走私) beans to some mountains near Mysore, India, and started a farm there. Early in this century, some of those original plants were found still growing fruitfully in the region.
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B．Coffee was a special kind of red cherry from a certain plant.
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D．Sheep ate a lot of coffee beans while they changed pastures.
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A．Kaldi’s story.B．The monk’s story.
C．Omar’s story.D．Baba Budan’s story.
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A．a(chǎn) townB．a(chǎn)n ArabianC．a(chǎn) kind of coffee D．a(chǎn) sheepherder
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A．The Secret of CoffeeB．The Tales of Coffee
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Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed.
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to eliminate them.
Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution. The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solid, liquid and gas.
These pollutions have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact, pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
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A．2 B．3 C．4 D．5
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A．2 B．3 C．5 D．6
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Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid (小行星) that crashed on Earth led to the disappearance of the largest animals that have ever walked our planet – the dinosaurs. At least, this is what some scientists believe. But that accident happened so long ago. People have come to believe that we are free of threats from asteroids and everything else from space.
However, what happened on Feb 15 , 2013 was a reminder that we’re just as vulnerable as the dinosaurs once were. Two objects from space – a meteor (隕石) and an asteroid called 2012 DA14 –  visited Earth’s atmosphere on the same day. The former fell in Russia, injuring 1,200 people, while the latter passed by Earth at a record-setting close distance.
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B．a(chǎn)lert people about the possible danger of objects falling from space
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B．It was spotted by NASA’s telescope system a year ago.
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D．It fell to the Earth and caused great damage to the local community.
小題4:What is the main idea of the article?
A．Learning about asteroids and meteors.
B．The threats of objects from space and possible solutions.
C．NASA’s latest technology to discover visitors to the Earth from space.
D．How to measure the damage of collisions from asteroids and meteors.

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There are quite a few advantages of wearing school uniforms. The idea may seem disagreeable at first, but considering all the positive effective coming from wearing uniforms you would be more likely to enjoy them.
Teachers love school uniforms because it helps provide an orderly learning environment. Having students dressed in uniforms may teach them how to present themselves in a neat（整潔的）and professional manner. It gives students the opportunity to learn how to dress like young ladies and gentleman. And they can focus their attention on academics rather than style.
Purchasing school uniforms is easy and needs less hesitation(猶豫) and consideration. No matter what the school’ s policy is, there are only specific essential(基本的) pieces to the wardrobe（服裝） that are necessary, so it won’t break the bank. A few wardrobe items can last a long time. Parents could also enjoy an easy morning, as it will take less time to choose a set of clothes for the school day.
Students wearing uniforms will feel less pressure about what to wear or not to wear when their classmates are dressed similarly. Getting dressed before school becomes less of a chore when students are limited in their choices, so there shouldn’t be any trouble about choosing an outfit for the day and getting ready quickly. Some students may not like the lack of individuality(個(gè)性) with a uniform, but some school dress code policies may offer them the opportunities to show their unique styles.
Uniforms today are also becoming trendier and can be seen in many areas of pop culture. Celebrities and fashion designers are using uniforms as inspiration for new looks which also appeal to students.
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A．How to dress properly.
B．The history of school uniforms.
C．The advantages of school uniforms.
D．How to deal with pressure in school.
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B．makes students feel less pressure in study
C．helps students put more effort into their studies
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A．a(chǎn) school uniform doesn’t cost a lot of money
B．a(chǎn) school uniform should be worn every day
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D．parents who work in a bank can afford the uniform
小題4:We can infer from the text that school uniforms _________.
A．a(chǎn)re not popular with fashion designers
B．were not accepted by parents in the past
C．will be designed by students themselves
D．will be more fashionable in the future
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head, according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting(收縮) and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said: "Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart."
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, "The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed. Thus our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see - and guide whether we see fear."
To further understand this relationship, the scientists also used a brain scanner(掃描儀) to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear. “We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear," Dr Garfinkel said.
"We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders, and also for those for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder."
小題1:What is the finding of the study?
A．One's heart affects how he feels fear.
B．fear is a result of one's relaxed heartbeat.
C．fear has something to do with one's health.
D．Ones fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear.
小題2:The study was carried out by analyzing _______.
A．volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures
B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions
C．volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans
D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart-brain communication
小題3:Which of the following is closest in meaning to "mechanism" in Paragraph 6?
A．Order.B．system.C．machine.D．treatment.
小題4:This study may contribute to _______.
A．treating anxiety and stress better
B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety
C．finding the sky to the heart-brain communication
D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

There is a common belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever considered spelling unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, quite different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority (優(yōu)先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to en­courage a child to express himself freely in writing without holding him back with spelling.
If spelling becomes the only point of his teacher’s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe”. He will write only words within his spelling range (范圍). That’s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience:“This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling mistakes.” It may have been a sharp criticism(批評(píng)) of the pupils technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad thing for the teacher who had omitted (略過(guò)) to read the composition, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child’s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw atten­tion to the mistakes, but if his priority had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more hope to seek improve­ment.
小題1:The expression “play safe” probably means ____.
A．to write carefullyB．to do as teachers say
C．to use dictionaries frequentlyD．to avoid using words one is not sure of
小題2:Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that____.
A．students will be able to express their ideas more freely
B．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes
C．students will have more trust in writing
D．students will learn to spell words correctly
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A．reasonableB．unfairC．foolishD．careless
小題4:The major point discussed in the passage is _______.
A．the importance of developing writing skills
B．the importance of spelling
C．the correct way of marking composition
D．the relationship between spelling and the content of a composition

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

How could we have thought so wrongly of as banana peel that it always hits the garbage? Utility of anything seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. The banana peel hasn't been an exception.
What most of us looked at as waste was converted to a thing of utility by Prithwis Mukhopadlyay, a 14-year-old prodigy. This Bengali boy, nourished in the US, Lake Junior High in Woodbury, Minnesota, has come up with an idea to convert banana peels to biogas.(生物氣).
It's well known that almost any organic waste can be converted to biogas. But why biogas from banana peel has hit the news is because it produced five times as much biogas as manure(糞), a commonly used source for producing biogas, in the experiments Prithwis conducted.  
He filled two airtight containers, one with manure and the other with banana peels. Then he mixed each content with water and connected them to empty jars via pipes to collect the gas produced. He placed a heater next to each jar and measured the gas collected for 60 days. His studies proved that banana peels produced five times more biogas than manure.
This project titled 'Comparison analysis: Eco-friendly source of energy for the future,' earned him a spot in Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. This weekend, the young whiz is to showcase his research work along with 40 other finalists at Washington. "Initially, I thought of doing a project that would reduce global warming. Things changed after I visited a biogas plant in a village in India during my summer vacations. It was an amazing experience," Prithwis says.
小題1:Why could Prithwis's finding receive the attention of the media?
A．Because he is a prodigy.
B．Because he is of Bengali descent.
C．Because he used an extremely rare organic waste to produce biogas.
D．Because his research proved that banana peels can produce more biogas.
小題2:Where did Prithwis derive his inspiration  from?
A.Lake Junior High.   B Discovery Channel.
C.  India.            D.His laboratory at home.
小題3:This article probably appeared in a _________ magazine.
A．gourmet B．science C．computer D．fashion

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