It is called solar cooker, a newly designed cooking device and there are many kinds o

A.convenient

B.available

C.useful

rgy on earth than we can ever use. Most of that energy comes to us as heat and light. Energy from the sun is called solar energy. Anything to do with the sun is called "solar". The word began with the Roman word for the sun and their god of the sun, who was called Sol. Solar energy is a safe kind of energy. It doesn't make pollution or have dangerous leftovers. That is why scientists and investors are experimenting with ways of harnessing(治理利用)the sun to do some of the jobs fossil fuels have been doing. But to make the sun do work like that, they have to solve some problems. They have to collect the sun's energy. Collecting sunshine is not easy, unless you are a plant. Sunshine is not easy to store, either. You can't fill a tank with it or put it in the wood box. You can not move it through a pipe or a wire. You can not just turn it on. (4)、What are the problems facing scientists who want to use solar energy？

A、It is not easy to collect.

B、It is not easy to store.

C、It is not easy to find out.

D、both A and B.

ces of the Roman gods are still present in our daily vocabulary. The names of the Roman sun god, Sol, and the moon goddess, Luna, are used frequently in our language The word solar describes anything pertaining to the sun, and lunar anything pertaining to the moon. For example, the sun and the planets circling it are called the solar system. The period of time in which the earth circles the sun once is a solar year. The moon takes one lunar month to circle the earth. A lunar year of twelve lunar months is eleven days shorter than a solar year. In some cases our language shows how these heavenly bodies affect us directly. A room or place for sunbathing is often called a solarium. We get our word parasol from the Italian word meaning " a guard against the sun." For many centuries it was believed that the moon affected people who were mentally ill. For this reason persons who were mentally ill were often referred to as lunatics.

1).The word lunatic originally meant___.

A、twelve lunar months

B、the home of the moon goddess

C、a person on whom the moon had a bad effect

D、a guard against the moon

2).Implied but not stated______.

A、A solar year lasts about 354 days

B、Sol was the Roman sun god

C、Our calendar is based on the movements of the moon

D、Mental illness really has nothing to do with the moon

3).In comparison with the solar year, the lunar year is__.

A、twice as long

B、the same length

C、shorter

D、a few days longer

4).A parasol is used to __.

A、measure solar time

B、protect us from the sun rays

C、protect us from the gods

D、view the sun during the day

5).The best title for this selection is:___.

A、The Gods of Rome

B、The Rhythm of the Universe

C、Ancient Beliefs

D、Gods in Our Words

第一篇 Putting Plants to Work

Using the power of the sun is nothing new. People have had solar-powered calculators and buildings with solar panels(太阳能电池板) for decades. But plants are the real experts. They’ve been using sunlight as an energy source for billions of years.

Cells in the green leaves of plants work like tiny factories to convert sunlight, carbon dioxide(二氧化碳), and water into sugars and starches(淀粉), stored energy that the plants can use. This conversion process is called

photosynthesis(光合作用). Unfortunately, unless you’re a plant, it’s difficult and expensive to convert sunlight into storable energy. That’s why scientists are taking a closer look at exactly how plants do it.

Some scientists are trying to get plants or biological cells that act like plants, to work as very small photosynthesis power stations. For example, Maria Ghirardi of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. Colo., is working with green algae(水藻). She’s trying to trick them into producing hydrogen instead of sugars when they perform. photosynthesis. Once the researchers can get the algae working efficiently the hydrogen that they produce could be used to power fuel cells in cars or to generate electricity.

The algae are grown in narrow-necked glass bottles to produce hydrogen in the lab. During photosynthesis, plants normally make sugars or starches. “But under certain conditions, a lot of algae are able to use the sunlight energy not to store starch, but to make hydrogen.” Ghirardi says. For example, algae will produce hydrogen in an airfree environment. It’s the oxygen in the air that prevents algae from making hydrogen most of the time.

Working in an airfree environment, however, is difficult. It’s not a practical way to produce cheap energy. But Ghirardi and her colleagues have discovered that by removing a chemical called sulfate(硫酸盐) from the environment that the algae grow in, they will make hydrogen instead of sugars, even when air is present.

Unfortunately, removing the sulfate also makes the algae's cells work very slowly, and not much hydrogen is produced. Still, the researchers see this as a first step in their goal to produce hydrogen efficiently from algae. With more work, they may be able to speed the cells’ activity and produce larger quantities of hydrogen.

The researchers hope that algae will one day be an easy-to-use fuel source. The organisms are cheap to get and to feed, Ghirardi says, and they can grow almost anywhere: “You can grow them in a reactor, in a pond. You can grow them in the ocean. There’s a lot of flexibility in how you can use these organisms.”

31 How do plants relate to solar energy？

A They have been using it for billions of years.

B They are the real experts in producing it.

C They have been a source of it.

D They have been used to produce it.

are grown so that they naturally weave together. Since the growth patterns of trees are __1__ by wind and sunlight, it may be possible to control the way a tree develops.

These Fabricated Tree House Habitats would use trees grown into shapes as housing. One of the __2__ of these designs is that trees would not have to be cut down for lumber.

"A 100 percent treehouse would take years to create," Joachim said.__3__ the climate, a house could take anywhere from 5 to 30 years to grow. Fortunately, there's a way to speed up the process. Joachim suggests including ecological materials such as sod (草皮), grasses and living branches in the housing designs. "This material would be able to move as the house grows," Joachim said.

A home would become an actual ecosystem, a community of plants, animals, and bacteria working together. The trees would also give off water vapor that would assist in __4__ the homes. Solar panels and wind would help provide energy. The tree homes might even have soil pockets, where plants could grow from the structure itself.

Work has already begun on Joachim's first design—a house made from 50 percent recycled and 50 percent living things. Joachim is confident about the __5__ of his work, as he uses natural products without destroying nature.

"The environment and its study are very important. We need to respect nature, don't take it for granted," he said.

(1)A.effected

B.affected

C.attempted

(2)A.purposes

B.disadvantages

C.advantages

(3)A.Depending on

B.Judging by

C.Protected from

(4)A.cleaning

B.heating

C.cooling

(5)A.happiness

B.benefit

C.importance

完型填空

操作提示：通过题目中的下拉选项框选择恰当的词语补全填空。

Joachim's vision is based on an idea called pleaching (编织), where tree branches are grown so that they naturally weave together. Since the growth patterns of trees are {effected; affected; attempted} by wind and sunlight, it may be possible to control the way a tree develops.

These Fabricated Tree House Habitats would use trees grown into shapes as housing. One of the {purposes; disadvantages; advantages} of these designs is that trees would not have to be cut down for lumber.

"A 100 percent treehouse would take years to create," Joachim said.{Depending on; Judging by; Protected from} the climate, a house could take anywhere from 5 to 30 years to grow. Fortunately, there's a way to speed up the process. Joachim suggests including ecological materials such as sod (草皮), grasses and living branches in the housing designs. "This material would be able to move as the house grows," Joachim said.

A home would become an actual ecosystem, a community of plants, animals, and bacteria working together. The trees would also give off water vapor that would assist in {cleaning; heating; cooling} the homes. Solar panels and wind would help provide energy. The tree homes might even have soil pockets, where plants could grow from the structure itself.

Work has already begun on Joachim's first design—a house made from 50 percent recycled and 50 percent living things. Joachim is confident about the {happiness; benefit; importance} of his work, as he uses natural products without destroying nature.

"The environment and its study are very important. We need to respect nature, don't take it for granted," he said.

A.is discovered

B.was discovered

C.has been discovered

A.solar和energy必须出现5次。

B.solar和energy两个检索词不但要出现，而且两者之间最多允许插入5个单词，但先后顺序没有要求。

C.solar和energy两个检索词不但要出现，而且两者之间最多允许插入5个单词，且solar在前，energy在后。

D.solar和energy两个检索词不但要出现，而且两者之间最多允许插入5个单词，且energy在前，solar在后。

A.release

B.produce

C.protect

D.store

A.close to

B.in preparation

C.far away

D.in progress

Solar cooking is a _______cooking method.

A、convenient

B、convenience

C、convention