Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources, as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills(风车) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.

    For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(碾碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radios. However, by the 1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.

During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher cost. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.

1.From the text we know that windmills________.

A. were invented by European armies

B. have a history of more than 2,800 years

C. used to supply power to radio in remote areas

D. have rarely been used since electricity was discovered

2.What was a new use for wind power in the late 19^th century?

A. Sailing a boat.

B. Producing electricity.

C. Grinding wheat into flour.

D. Pumping water from underground.

3.One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that_______.

A. wind power is cleaner

B. it is one of the oldest power sources.

C. it was cheaper to create energy from wind  

D. the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs

4.What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. The advantages of wind power.                                   

B. The design of wind power plants.

C. The worldwide movement to save energy.             

D. The global trend towards producing power from wind.

When coal is burned in a boiler, two kinds of ash by-products are produced: a heavy bottom ash and a fine-as-powder fly ash. About 10 to 15 percent of the coal by-product is bottom ash which is used like sand on streets and highways covered with ice, and also on highways as paving material.
It is the fly ash, however, that is receiving much attention. Once considered a waste, fly ash is now regarded as a natural resource in the United States. It can be placed in some lower places, where it is compacted and covered with soil, for the seeds of various grasses and plants to be placed in the soil to make the land productive.
Fly ash may be added to concrete to build roads and other kinds of buildings, taking the place of the cement up to 20 percent. As a by-product of burned coal, fly ash requires no extra energy to be produced, while cement production requires great amounts of energy.
Besides, the technology is able to take out some useful minerals from the fly ash, which is still a very expensive process today. But the time may come when it is cheaper to take out these products from ash than to mine new supplies.
【小题1】 The bottom ash can be put on icy streets________.

With the average temperature for January standing at －50 ℃，it is no wonder the Russian village of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.Known as the“Pole of Cold”，the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon is －71.2 ℃.This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere(北半球)．

Ironically，Oymyakon actually means“non?freezing water”due to a nearby hot spring.Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.

Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer(驯鹿)meat and horsemeat.A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeer?breeders，hunters and ice?fishermen.

There are few modern conveniences in the village—with many buildings still having outdoor toilets—and most people still burn coal and wood for heat.When coal deliveries are irregular，the power station starts burning wood.If the power ceases，the town shuts down in about five hours，and the pipes freeze and crack.

Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing，glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power.Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception，the phones themselves would not work in such conditions.

Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies，which can take anything up to three days.The earth must first have thawed(融解)sufficiently in order to dig it，so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours.Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug.The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.

Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions.

1.From the passage we can infer that people in Oymyakon ________.

A．prefer meat to any other kind of food

B．seldom have fresh vegetables and fruits

C．can buy anything in the shop

D．might row a boat to catch fish

2.Which of the following is the first step when burying a dead body?

A．The coffin must be put in place.

B．A bonfire has to be lit first.

C．Hot coals have to be pushed to the side.

D．A hole couple of inches deep is dug.

3.Mobile phones would not work in Oymyakon because ________.

A．the batteries are of poor quality

B．there was no coverage for phone reception

C．batteries can't be charged in such conditions

D．the extreme coldness makes the batteries lose power

4.Why do the locals have their cars running all day?

A．They are afraid they can't get the car started.

B．They want to keep warm in the car.

C．They have abundant oil resources.

D．They have little awareness of saving.

.

When coal is burned in a boiler, two kinds of ash by-products are produced: a heavy bottom ash and a fine-as-powder fly ash. About 10 to 15 percent of the coal by-product is bottom ash which is used like sand on streets and highways covered with ice, and also on highways as paving material.

It is the fly ash, however, that is receiving much attention. Once considered a waste, fly ash is now regarded as a natural resource in the United States. It can be placed in some lower places, where it is compacted（压实） and covered with soil, for the seeds of various grasses and plants to be placed in the soil to make the land productive.

Fly ash may be added to concrete (混凝土）to build roads and other kinds of buildings, taking the place of the cement(水泥) up to 20 percent. As a by-product of burned coal, fly ash requires no extra energy to be produced, while cement production requires great amounts of energy.

Besides, the technology is able to take out some useful minerals from the fly ash, which is still a very expensive process today. But the time may come when it is cheaper to take out these products from ash than to mine new supplies.

49. The bottom ash can be put on icy streets________.

A. in order to rebuild them          B. in order to make them colorful

C. so that people can walk on them   D. so that cars can run faster

50. The fly ash can be used to________.

A. grow various plants   B. take the place of soil

C. cover productive land       D. make more productive land

51. Which of the following is right?

A. To produce fly ash, some extra coal is to be burned.

B. Fly ash is made while producing cement.

C. It takes less energy to produce fly ash than cement.

D. Fly ash is a costless by-product.

52. The word “mine” in the last sentence of the passage means_______.

A. to buy things from other countries

B. to search for useful materials in the mountains

C. to dig deeply into the ground to get useful materials

D. to take out certain materials from other things

After＿＿＿seemed a hopeless wait, four coal-miners trapped in the mine for 125 hours were finally rescued in Heilongjiang Province．

A. when 　                B. that　               C. it　                               D. what