We’ve used the wind as an energy source for a long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term “windmill” comes from.

We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor（螺旋桨） on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a “wind farm” and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It’s only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans（大篷车）increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.

The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains — places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.

The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines (垂直涡轮机), which don’t need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming. 

1.The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.

A. the function of wind power                  B. the source of wind power

C. the nations using wind power                            D. the history of using wind power

2.The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.

A. boats and caravans can often be seen       B. isolated farms don’t have enough electricity

C. there are less human activities                     D. the wind is strong and reliable

3.We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land

B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free

C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from

D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is

4.What can be a suitable title for the passage?

A. Where to build a wind farm.                        B. ABC of the using of wind energy.

C. How to make best use of wind.                    D. Wind energy is the best energy.

5.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means______________________.

A. The blades can increase wind speeds   

B. The blades can decrease the wind speeds

C. The speed of blades can be changed.

D. The blades can be adjusted to face different wind speeds

 

完形填空

　　You have probably heard of homing pigeons, which usually appeared in war. From 3,000 B．C．to the present, homing pigeons have 1 as postmen. They have been especially useful for carrying messages 2 war. The telegraph is not 3 to carry about. Sometimes only the little pigeon can take a message where it ought to go.

　　In 1870, when the Prussians surrounded the city of Paris, the city was cut off from all the 4 means of communication. The people 5 many different ways of sending news. One way was to let go small balloons carrying mail.

　　 6 of course, they only drifted 7 the wind carried them. Often they landed inside the enemy’s lines. Even balloons large enough to carry a pilot could hardly be well controlled.

　　It was pigeons that in the end. solved the 8 . Homing pigeons were brought into 9 . Soon they were carrying letters far and wide. The enemy bought 10 to catch pigeons, but the little postmen could fly faster than their 11 . Strangely enough, pigeons played an important 12 in war.

　　During World War I every army unit had a group of pigeons 13 . Many of them wore honored. Among them 14 an American pigeon with a French name Char Ami, which meant “dear friend”. A group of U.S. soldiers were surrounded by the enemy. They had no food and no bullets. They nearly died of 15 . There was little hope for them. Cher Ami made his way 16 the bullets and succeeded. At once planes 17 to drop food and ammunition (军火) to them. With their strength 18 , the soldiers fought back to their own army and got saved.

　　 19 can pigeons carry the message? There were various methods. Usually the message is put into a little glass tube. The tube is tied to the leg or hidden under 20 or hung around the neck.

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We've used the wind as an energy source for a long time. The Babylonians and Chinese were using wind power to pump water for irrigating crops 4,000 years ago, and sailing boats were around long before that. Wind power was used in the Middle Ages, in Europe, to grind(磨碎) corn, which is where the term "windmill" comes from.

We can use the energy in the wind by building a tall tower, with a large propellor on the top. The wind blows the propellor round, which turns a generator to produce electricity. We tend to build many of these towers together, to make a "wind farm" and produce more electricity. The more towers, the more wind, and the larger the propellors, the more electricity we can make. It's only worth building wind farms in places that have strong, steady winds, although boats and caravans（大篷车）increasingly have small wind generators to help keep their batteries charged.

The best places for wind farms are in coastal areas, at the tops of rounded hills, open plains and gaps in mountains—places where the wind is strong and reliable. Some are offshore. To be worthwhile, you need an average wind speed of around 25 km/h. Most wind farms in the UK are in Cornwall or Wales. Isolated places such as farms may have their own wind generators. In California, several “wind farms” supply electricity to homes around Los Angeles.

The propellors are large, to obtain energy from the largest possible volume of air. The blades can be angled to cope with varying wind speeds. Some designs use vertical turbines(垂直涡轮机), which don't need to be turned to face the wind. The towers are tall, to get the propellors as high as possible, up to where the wind is stronger. This means that the land beneath can still be used for farming. 

The first paragraph aims to introduce to us _______.

A. the function of wind power               B. the source of wind power

C. the nations using wind power             D. the history of using wind power

How does a wind power work?

A. The generator turns the propellor blades and produce electricity.

B. The tall tower helps turn the energy in the air into electricity.

C. Warm air rises and makes the propellor move round.

D. The propellor blown round by wind turns the generator to produce electricity.

The best places for building the wind farm are places where _______.

A. boats and caravans can often be seen         B. isolated farms don’t have enough electricity

C. there are less human activities          D. the wind is strong and reliable

We can infer from the passage that _______.

A. wind farms will not take up too much farming land

B. wind farms need no fuel because wind is free

C. the blades can be angled to turn to face the wind wherever it comes from

D. the higher and larger the towers are, the stronger the wind is

What can be a suitable title for the passage?

  A. Where to build a wind farm.            B. ABC of the using of wind energy.

  C. How to make best use of wind.          D. Wind energy is the best energy.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。

Stephanie McRae was used to driving in bad weather. Although  16  still beat the windshield of her SUV（运动越野车）, the worst of the day's storm seemed to have passed as she  17  her 11-year-old daughter, Maddie, home at 8:30 pm.

Maddie  18   in front, while two young kids sat strapped into their SUV  19  in back. Driving along the mad by a river, McRae, 39,  20  a terrifying sight: The road just ahead had been craved in and  21  . She stepped heavily on the brake. The SUV  22  into a flooded hole some 6 metres below, and was washed into the   23  , which the storm had turned into a   24  river 30 metres wide. Rocks and fallen tree  25  knocked into her SUV, making it upside down. The pressure blew out the window.

No one was hurt,   26  there was no way to escape either, The SUV was being  27  towards the middle of the river, about 400 metres away. McRae  28  helplessly and prayed aloud with Maddie: “Please, God, please, help us!” The SUV, submerged and   29   with water, came to a stop when it parked at an angle in a logjam（浮木阻塞）. 

It was Maddie who took control. Pushing her way out of the   30  back window, the slight but athletic Maddie  31  onto the top of the SUV, which had righted itself, and yelled to her mother to hoist up the younger children. Soon the  32  were crowded on the top of the SUV’s roof.   33  to hold on as the water swept over them. McRae caught hold of the two-year-old kid to her chest while holding the three-year-old on her leg. Both children were so   34  that MeRac wondered if they were all right. With her mother’s permission, the 11-year-old girl-Meddie got over lots of problems to ask for help in a   35  village and fortunately they were saved.

1.A．rain B．snow   C．wind   D．mud

2.A．walked     B．drove C．ran      D．rushed

3.A．stood        B．lay       C．cried   D．sat

4.A．belts         B．backs  C．seats   D．toys

5.A．worried   B．thought       C．saw     D．feard

6.A．washed away   B．taken away        C．gone away  D．moved away

7.A．changed  B．fell      C．jumped        D．knocked

8.A．sea  B．bank   C．take    D．river

9.A．rising        B．leaving         C．singing         D．falling

10.A．leaves    B．branches     C．skins   D．flowers

11.A．and         B．or        C．but      D．so

12.A．carried  B．set       C．turned         D．swept

13.A．begged  B．screamed    C．asked  D．applied

14.A．filling      B．burdening   C．fightening   D．talking

15.A．hidden   B．closed          C．broken        D．covered

16.A．climbed B．slept   C．rolled D．tied

17.A．two         B．three  C．four    D．five

18.A．losing     B．trying  C．finding         D．getting

19.A．noisy      B．happy C．excited        D．quiet

20.A．remote  B．close   C．crowded     D．unknown