At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it's sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.

   A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering budding has built-in blinds (百页窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun's path.

   Buildings are getting smarter -- and the next generation of building materials

expected to do even more.

   Windows could catch the sun's energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon

dioxide breathed out by people in a mom could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.

   Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They now being used in a wave of buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like "green roofs," where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.

   As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.

   The elevators (电梯) at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floor into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor; readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heal while letting in light.

   More new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building farm is now working on "smart wrap" that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the

sun's energy and transmitters (传感器) the width of a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.

72. __ will be developed and used in the construction industry.

     A. "Green mops" that cool or heat buildings

     B. "Smart wrap" that catches the sun's energy

     C. Sunlight-measuring sensors that control lights

     D. Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out                          

73. The elevators at Seven World Trade Center are special because they can ___

     A. send people to floors with fewer stops

     B. teach people how to use their ID cards

     C. make people stay very cool in summer

     D. help people go traveling in the building                                                

74. The underlined word "it' in the last paragraph refers to _____.

     A. a human being            B. smart wrap

     C. the sun's energy                 D. a transmitter                   

75. What might be the most suitable title for the text?

     A. Buildings Are Becoming Smarter

     B. Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight

     C. Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy

     D. Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials              

Ⅲ. 阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节　阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从41—55各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Although April did not bring us the rains we all hoped for, and although the Central Valley doesn’t generally experience the sound and lightning that can go with those rains, it’s still important for parents to be able to answer the youthful questions about thunder and lightning.

The reason these two wonders of nature are so difficult for many adults to explain to children is that they are not very well understood by adults themselves. For example, do you know that the lightning we see flashing down to the earth from a cloud is actually flashing up to a cloud from the earth? Our eyes trick us into thinking we see a downward motion when it’s actually the other way round. But then, if we believed only what we think and we see, we’d still insist that the sun rises in the morning and sets at night.

Most lightning flashes take place inside a cloud, and only a relative few can be seen jumping between two clouds or between earth and a cloud. But, with about 2,000 thunderstorms taking place above the earth every minute of the day and night, there’s enough activity to produce about 100 lightning strikes on earth every second.

Parents can use thunder and lightning to help their children learn more about the world around them. When children understand that the light of lightning flashing reaches their eyes almost at the same moment, but the sound of the thunder takes about 5 seconds to travel just one mile, they can begin to time the interval(间隔) between the flash and the crash to learn how close they are to the actual spark(闪光).

1. According to the author, in the area of the Central Valley, ___________.

A. rains usually come without thunder and lightning

B. it is usually dry in April

C. children pay no attention to the two natural wonders

D. parents are not interested in thunder and lightning

2. We believe that lightning is a downward motion because ___________.

A. we were taught so by our parents from our childhood

B. we are taken in by our sense of vision

C. it is a common natural sight

D. it is a truth proved by science

3. What is TRUE about lightning according to the passage?

A. Only a small number of lightning flashes occur on earth.

B. Lightning travels 5 times faster than thunder.

C. Lightning flashes usually jump from one cloud to another.

D. There are far more lightning strikes occurring on earth than we can imagine.

4. The underlined word “activity” is most closely related to the word(s)___________.

A. “cloud”                                       B. “lightning strikes”        

C. “lightning flashes”                              D. “thunderstorms”

5. It can be concluded from the passage that____________.

A. we should not believe what we see or hear

B. things moving downward are more noticeable

C. people often have wrong ideas about ordinary phenomena (现象)

D. adults are not as good as children in observing certain natural phenomena

      

Are you an optimist? Do you look at your glass and see it as half full? Do you believe that every cloud has a silver lining and that things generally turn out for the best? Do you believe that if something is meant to be, it will be? If you reply “yes” to all of these questions, then you are an optimist. You probably are enthusiastic, cheerful and outgoing. You may be successful at work and in love.

But you may be misguided because things don’t turn out for the best. You may believe that when one door closes another one opens (for example, you may fail to obtain a new job; another chance will come around soon). Wrong. When one door closes, another door slams (砰然关上) in your face. That’s bitter reality.

Now a book has been published which confirms what pessimists (悲观者) have suspected all along. It’s called The Positive Power of Defensive Pessimism. Its author argues that defensive pessimism can lead to positive results. Defensive pessimism is a strategy used to manage fear, anxiety and worry. Defensive pessimists prepare for the things by setting low outcomes for themselves. They carefully consider everything that may go wrong and plan for ways to handle these problems. And this gives them a sense of control. Lawrence Sanno, a psychology professor, says, “What’s interesting about defensive pessimists is that they tend to be very successful people, so their low opinion of the situation’s outcomes is not realistic. They use it to motivate themselves to perform better.”

So far, so good. This is not rocket science. Defensive pessimists prepare carefully and consider what might go wrong, whether at work, on date or even in a sports game. It makes sense to have a back-up plan. There are many sayings in English urging caution. For example, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And “Don’t count your chickens until they hatch.” To have a confident and optimistic approach to life’s problems is good. But listen to what Woody Alien, the American comedian says, “Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.”

There are pros and cons to being an optimist and a pessimist. Don’t feel bad if you see the glass half empty. You are a realist. But lighten up and hook up with someone who sees the same glass half full.

1.What’s the passage mainly about?

A. A book that has recently been published.

B. How to become successful in life.

C. The dangers of being too optimistic.

D. The benefits of defensive pessimism.

2.The underlined sentence “This is not rocket science” (Para. 4) means __________.

A. it’s not a dangerous thing to do

B. it is quite simple to understand

C. the cost is not so high   

D. there is no real proof

3.Which of the following English expressions would a defensive pessimist believe?

A. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

B. The glass is half full not half empty.

C. Whatever will be, will be.

D. Every cloud has a silver lining.

4.The writer would probably describe himself as __________.

A. an optimist            B. a   defeatist           C. a realist                  D. a scientist

 

第二节：单句改错(下面每个句子中均有一处错误,请将答案写在答题卡上,每小题1分，满分10分）

1.I think that get laid off will prove to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

2.Once I caught him and a friend saw who could spit the furthest off the school stage!

3.I wish I was so successful with all my students as I was with Graham.

4.Many people were often punished by the church with no one come to their defence. .

5.They didn’t want to challenge that they had always thought was true.

6.It’s the forms of the people which have made the city a monument to human history.

7.He described a cloud coming down the mountain, blocking out the sun and buried everything.

8.Anne was a teacher and a former student at a school for the blind in Boston.

9.With these severe restriction on her communication, her behaviour was often unbearable.

10.For Helen, it was a gradually and sometimes painful process.

 

At Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the lights are controlled by sensors that measure sunlight. They dim immediately when it’s sunny and brighten when a passing cloud blocks the sun.
A wall of windows at a University of Pennsylvania engineering building has built-in blinds (百叶窗) controlled by a computer program that follows the sun’s path. Buildings are getting smarter and the next generation of building materials is expected to do even more.
Windows could catch the sun’s energy to heat water. Sensors that measure the carbon dioxide breathed out by people in a room could determine whether the air conditioning needs to be turned up.
Many new materials and technology have been designed in the last 15 years. They are now being used in a wave of buildings designed to save as much energy as possible. They include old ideas, like “green roofs”, where a belt of plants on a roof helps the building keep heat in winter and stay cool in summer, and new ideas, like special coating for windows that lets light in, but keeps heat out.
As technologies such as sensors become cheaper, their uses spread.
The elevators at Seven World Trade Center, which is under construction in New York, use a system that groups people traveling to nearby floors into the same elevator, thus saving elevator stops. People who work in the building will enter it by swiping (刷) ID cards that will tell the elevators their floor, readouts will then tell them which elevator to use. The building also has windows with a coating that blocks heat while letting in light.
More new building materials and technology are in development. A Philadelphia building firm is now working on “smart wrap” that uses tiny solar collectors to catch the sun’s energy and transmitters (传输器) as wide as a human hair to move it. They are expected to change the face of the construction industry in the next ten years or so.
【小题1】________ will be developed and used in the construction industry.

A．“Green roofs” that cool or heat buildings

B．“Smart wrap” that catches the sun’s energy

C．Sunlight-measuring sensors that control lights

D．Window coating that lets light in, but keeps heat out

【小题2】The elevators at Seven World Trade Center are special because they can ________.

A．send people to floors with fewer stops

B．teach people how to use their ID cards

C．make people stay very cool in summer

D．help people go traveling in the building

【小题3】The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ________.

A．a human hair

B．smart wrap

C．the sun’s energy

D．a transmitter

【小题4】What might be the most suitable title for the text?

A．Buildings Are Becoming Smarter

B．Buildings Are Getting More Sunlight

C．Buildings Are Lacking in Much Energy

D．Buildings Are Using Cheaper Materials