Free energy is everywhere around us. There are many ways to make and collect energy from various sources like sun, wind and water. People also realize that everyday stuff can be a source of energy too. For example, riding a bike, running or just walking, etc. We simply have to change our way of thinking if we want to change the world.

So comes the idea of solar roadways. Are they the road of future? Why use roads just for driving and collecting tolls (過路費)? Why don’t we use them for collecting energy?

The US Department of Transportation recently awarded $100,000 to Solar Roadways to build the first ever Solar Road Panel. So how do these future roads work?

The Solar Road Panels will contain embedded (嵌入的) LEDs which “paint” the road lines from beneath to provide safer nighttime driving as well as to give drivers instant instructions such as detour (繞行) ahead. The road will be able to sense wildlife on the road and can warn drivers to “slow down”. There will also be embedded heating elements in the surface to prevent snow and ice buildup, providing safer winter driving.

Replacing asphalt (瀝青) roads and parking lots with Solar Roadway Panels will be a major step toward stopping climate change. Fully electric vehicles will be able to recharge along the roadway and in parking lots, finally making electric cars practical for long trips.

We just can’t wait to see more of these roads all over the world in the near future.

1.The first paragraph serves as a(n)______.

A. argument      B. comment       C. explanation      D. background

2.Which of the following is NOT true of LEDs?

A. They color the road lines.   

B. They are embedded in the Solar Road Panels.

C. They are beneficial for nighttime driving.

D. They can provide instant instructions.

3. When some animals are on the solar road, what will the road do?

A. Guide them to a safer place.           B. Remind drivers to drive slowly.

C. Frighten them away from the road.      D. Advise drivers to choose another way.

4. From the text, we can know that the Solar Road Panels can______.

A. provide heat for drivers in winter  

B. guide drivers who get lost on the highway

C. melt snow and ice soon in winter        

D. help drivers see the road clearly in the sun

 

How often do you sit still and do absolutely nothing．The usual answer these days is“never”．or“hardly ever”．As the pace of life continues to increase，we are fast losing the art of relaxation．Once you are in the habit of rushing through life，being on the go from morning till night，it is hard to slow down．But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body．
Stress is fl natural part of everyday life．There is no way to avoid it, since it takes many and varied forms-driving in traffic，problems with personal relationships are all different forms of stress．Stress，in fact，is not the“baddy”it is often reputed to be．A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life．It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health．
The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual．Some people are not afraid of stress，and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities．Others lose heart at the first sight of unusual difficulties．When exposed to stress，in whatever form，we react both chemically and physically．In fact we make a choice between “fight” or “fright” and in more primitive days the choice made the difference between life and death．The crisis we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme，but however little the stress，it involves the same response．All the energy is shifted to cope with the stress．It is when such a reaction lasts long，through continued exposure to stress，that health becomes endangered．Such serious conditions as high blood pressure and heart disease have established links with stress．
Stress in some people produces stomach disorders，while others experience tension headaches．Since we cannot remove stress from our 1ires，We need to find ways to cope with it．
【小題1】People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because      .

A．they are working harder than they used to

B．they are often too busy to find the time

C．they are not clear of how to relax by themselves

D．they are suffering from the effects of stress

【小題2】What is implied but not stated in the passage?

A．The art of relaxation can greatly help people bear stress．

B．People in primitive days know certain ways to deal with stress．

C．If one gets into the habit of relaxing every day he can overcome stress easily．

D．Stress can lead to serious health problem if one is exposed to it for too long．

【小題3】The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 suggests that      ．

A．stress is not always a bad thing for people

B．stress has a bad reputation of causing ill health

C．stress is not so terrible as people often believe it to be

D．stress is always harmful to people all the time

【小題4】According to this passage，which of the following statements is true?

A．Relaxation in life only benefits us mentally．

B．Different people can stand different amounts of stress.

C．All the stress can lead to poor performance．

D．Large amounts of stress is important to people's lire．

【小題5】What is the writer's attitude to stress according to the passage?

A．Stress as well as relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body．

B．Stress should not be rid completely from the life．

C．Stress produces both positive and negative effects on people．

D．People usually work better under stress if they are healthy．

Builders have known for many years that white roofs reflect(反射) sunlight and lower the cost of air conditioning (空調(diào)設(shè)備). But now scientists say they have found a new advantage: slowing global warming.

    Hashem Akbari believes that whitening 100 of the world’s largest cities could make the influence of the expected emissions (排放物) smaller over the next ten years.

White buildings and surfaces reflect far more sunlight than dark ones. Reflected sunlight does not increase the greenhouse effect (溫室效應), unlike the heat energy sent out by dark surfaces heated by the sun.

Dr Akbari, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, also argues that If built-up areas were made white, less heat would stay within them, allowing people to use their air conditioners less, which use a lot of power.

Dr Akbari has found out that making 100 of the largest cities white would increase the sunlight reflected by Earth by 0.03%. He believes it would cancel out (抵消) the warming caused by 44 billion tons of carbon (碳) emissions.

“Roofs are going to have to be changed one by one and to make that effort at a very local level, we need to have an organization to make it happen,”says Dr Akbari.

He argues that while the action would not solve the problem of climate change. it would slow it.

“We can give the environment time to breathe,” he says. “I just don’t see a disadvantage of this idea. It gives everybody advantages and you don’t have to make hard efforts to make it happen. ”

Akbari and his partners say they will try to persuade the United Nations to organize big cities to change the materials of their roofs.

How do white roofs slow down global warming?

A. They reflect sunlight, which makes people use no air conditioner.

B. They reflect sunlight, which doesn’t increase the greenhouse effect.

C. They keep the heat energy within them.

D. They send out no carbon emissions.

We know from Dr Akbari that he        .

A. has changed some roofs into white ones  

B. doesn’t use air conditioners himself

C. has built an organization to make cities white 

D. believes his idea will help slow the climate change

What do Akbari and his partners want to do?

A. They hope the UN will put their idea into action.

B. They want to become members of the UN.

C They want to change the materials of their own roofs.

D. They want to teach people how to change roofs

The passags is written mainly to        .

A. persuade people to paint their roofs white

B. introduce environment friendly paint

C. show white roofs do good to the environment

D. discuss how to slow down global warming

We can stay young forever. That is the message Dr. Shen Ziyin wants to give the world. And the Chinese doctor claims that he has found an answer to the problems of aging.

 His solution is a herbal medicine to slow the process of aging.

 Dr. Shen Ziyin has been trained in Western medicine. At the same time he studied traditional Chinese medicine. And, he has been working for the past forty years to put together the best of both and find a cure for aging. He has

taken a hint from its aging process. It is responsible for the level of activity that the human bodies go through Studies conducted by Dr.Shen show that herbal medicine based on the shen system slow the  the ancient Chinese medicine system called “shen”.

According to Shen, it is the kidney（腎臟）which adjusts the functioning of the body as well as aging process, says a report in The Telegraph newspaper.

We notice that when people grow old, they have reduced strength, loss of hair, backache, weakness in general, and wrinkles, among others. This happens because when people grow old, their bodies produce T-cells. These T-cells contain a particular substance called Fas. Fas makes the cells in the body destruct themselves.

So the only way to slow down aging is to slow the production of T-cells in the body. This can happen if people eat low calorie food. Then the body is not active enough to produce extra T-cells. But, is going hungry all the time a good price to pay for staying young?

This is where Dr. Shen’s herbal medicine comes in. But how effective it will be, only time can tell.

1.How did Dr. Shen find the solution to the problem of aging?

A. By studying Western medicine.    

B. By learning traditional Chinese medicine.

C. By combining both Western and Chinese medicine.

D. By doing research on both Western and Chinese people.

2.What plays the most important role in keeping people young according to Shen?

A. Medical treatment.                 B. People’s good kidney.

C. Level of people’s activity.       D. Positive life attitude.

3.The reason why people become old is that _________.

A. their bodies produce T-cells

B. their bodies are unable to fight diseases

C. they have reduced strength, loss of hair

D. they become weaker and weaker

4.We can probably learn from the passage that _________.

A. producing more low calorie food allows people to keep young

B. the more Chinese herbal medicine people drink, the better for health

C. people should try to quicken the production of T-cells in the body

D. it remains unknown how effective Dr. Shen’s herbal medicine is

 

Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A – F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A．Major findings of the study B．Stress matters． C．Interpersonal relationships and stress． D．The sense of humor and stress． E．Choosing subjects to study． F．Other characteristics typical of super．young people

How They Stay Young

76.________________

When Dr David Weeks，a clinical neuro-psychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland．wanted to look into the secrets of eternal（永久的） youth ，he advertised for subjects who looked younger than their age．An independent panel examined photographs of respondents，and selected 3,500 people who looked on average l2 to 14 years younger than their actual age to take part in the study．

77．________________

These subjects were studied for eight years．The main aim of the study was to discover whether environment or heredity had more effect on the ageing process．The conclusion was that genetic programming is the main factor．But the study also showed that avoiding stress can slow down the ageing process．

78．________________

Stress seems to have an immediate effect on appearance．A separate study of middle-aged women showed that women suffering form serious stress looked older in just a few months．Yet when the problem causing the stress was removed，they very quickly looked younger．

79．________________

Here is a list of the factors that Dr．Weeks found that allowed his subjects to lead less stressful lives than others．First，they tend to have happy relationships with their partners．These relationships are based on trust and empathy，and provide security and comfort when dealing with stressful problems．Secondly，they tended to avoid sources of hostility instead of allowing them to make them angry．

80．________________

Next, they seem to have a good sense of humor．They like to have fun，and are enthusiastically involved in a variety of hobbies．They also seemed less willing to conform to others’ ideas．They prefer to think for themselves．They tend to have a good attitude towards health and exercise as well．They avoid the sun，do not smoke, and eat a healthy diet．

So these are the secrets of the “ super-young”：a loving relationship．Regular exercise．a(chǎn) variety of hobbies，a healthy diet and avoidance of stress．