A few years ago, Paul Gerner began to gather a group of architects in Las Vegas to ask them what it would take to design a public school that used 50 percent less energy, cost much less to build and obviously improved student learning. “I think half of them fell off their chairs,” Gerner says.
Gerner manages school facilities（設施）for Clark County, Nevada, a district roughly the size of Massachusetts. By 2018, 143,000 additional students will enter the already crowded public-education system. Gerner needs 73 new schools to house them. Four architecture teams have nearly finished designing primary school prototypes（樣品）; they plan to construct their schools starting in 2009. The district will then assess how well the schools perform, and three winners will copy those designs in 50 to 70 new buildings.
Green schools are appearing all over, but in Clark County, which stands out for its vastness, such aggressive targets are difficult because design requirements like more natural light for students go against the realities of a desert climate. “One of the biggest challenges is getting the right site orientation（朝向）,” Mark McGinty, a director at SH Architecture, says. His firm recently completed a high school in Las Vegas. “You have the same building, same set of windows, but if its orientation is incorrect and it faces the sun, it will be really expensive to cool.”
Surprisingly, the man responsible for one of the most progressive green-design competition has doubts about ideas of eco-friendly buildings. “I don’t believe in the new green religion,” Gerner says. “Some of the building technologies that you get are impractical. I’m interested in those that work.” But he wouldn’t mind if some green features inspire students. He says he hopes to set up green energy systems that allow them to learn about the process of harvesting wind and solar power. “You never know what’s going to start the interest of a child to study math and science,” he says.
45. How did the architects react to Gerner’s design requirements?
A. They lost balance in excitement.                  B. They showed strong disbelief.
C. They expressed little interest.                       D. They burst into cheers.
46. Which order of steps is followed in carrying out the project?
A. Assessment — Prototype — Design — Construction.
B. Assessment — Design — Prototype — Construction.
C. Design — Assessment — Prototype — Construction.
D. Design — Prototype — Assessment — Construction.
47. What makes it difficult to build green schools in Clark County?
A. The large size.                                           B. Limited facilities.
C. The desert climate.                                      D. Poor natural resources.
48. What does Gerner think of the ideas of green schools?
A. They are questionable.                                 B. They are out of date.
C. They are advanced.                                      D. They are practical.

Boys' schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music．

Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity （陽剛）, the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to obey a stereotype （陳規(guī)舊俗）, a US study says.

Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to obey the "boy code" of hiding their emotions to be a "real man"．

The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls．

Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being failed by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls．He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls．

The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills．

But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys' learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study's author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia．

Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with "boy-focused" approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them．Because boys generally have more acute vision learn best through touch, an are physically more active, they need to be given "hands-on" lessons where they are allowed to walk around; "Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine （女性的） and prefer the modem type in which violence and sexism are major themes, "James wrote．

Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to obey a stereotype that men should be "masterful and in charge" in relationships．"In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means," the study reported．

1.The author believes that a single-sex school would ____．

A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men"

B．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely

C．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys

D．naturally reinforce in boys the traditional image of a man

2.It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys ____．

A．perform relatively better

B．grow up more healthily

C．behave more responsibly

D．receive a better education

3.What docs Tony Little say about the British education system?

A．It fails more boys than girls academically．

B．It focuses more on mixed school education．

C．it fails to give boys the attention they need．

D．It places more pressure on boys than on girls．

4.According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ____．

A．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys

B．boys can focus on their lessons without being distracted

C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in

D．teaching can be designed to promote boys' team spirit

5.Which of the following is characteristic of boys according to Abigail James' report?

A．They enjoy being in charge．

B．They obey stereotypes．

C．They are violent and sexist．

D．They have sharper vision．

E

Once upon a time in a land far away, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything：animals, spiders, insects...

One day while walking through the woods the nice old man found a cocoon（繭）of a butterfly. He took it home. A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged（露出）easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract（收縮） in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were Nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

 Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been.

And we could never fly.

1.In the story, what happened to the cocoon of the butterfly after the man’s help?

A. The cocoon was broken and the butterfly died.                   

B. The man helped the butterfly out of the cocoon more easily

    C. The butterfly couldn’t fly for ever normally.                              

    D. The butterfly should spend more time practicing flying.

2.What would have happened to the butterfly without the old man’s help?

    A. It would have died in the cocoon.       

    B. It would have become a true butterfly.

    C. It would have been strong enough to go farther.

    D. It would have stopped struggling through the cocoon.

3.The underlined word “cripple” in Paragraph 7 probably means ______.

    A. disable              B. climb                C. enable               D. beat

4.What can we learn from this story?

    A. Man can never go against nature.

B. It’s necessary to live with some difficulties.

C. One cannot help others without thinking twice.

D. Mankind should take good care of insects.

For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had __1__ in class at times, but no one had __2__ “really gone against him” (you'll see what I mean later). Nobody would go against him __3__ he had a reputation.

Finally the day came. The professor said, “If there is anyone here who still __4__ God, stand up！” The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, __5__， as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor __6__， “You fool��！ If God __7__， he could keep this piece of chalk from __8__ when it hit the ground！”

He proceeded(向前) to __9__ the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff (袖口), onto the pleats(皺折) of his trousers, __10__ his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it __11__ rolled away, unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he __12__  the chalk. He looked up at the young man and __13__ ran out of the lecture hall.

The young man who had stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room and share his __14__ in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students __15__ and listened as he told of God's love for them and of his __16__ through Jesus.

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the __17__ to become children of God—children born not of __18__ descent(后代), nor of human decision or a husband's __19__， but born of God.”

“But he knows the way that I take. __20__ he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

1. A. agreed       B. praised      C. argued     D. talked

2. A. ever         B. even        C. already    D. willingly

3. A. so          B. and          C. but        D. because

4. A. relies on     B. believes in    C. cares for  D. thinks of

5. A. disappointed  B. excited      C. shocked   D. satisfied

6. A. shouted    B. disagreed  C. murmured     D. whispered

7. A. appeared    B. knew    C. existed       D. came

8. A. rolling     B. breaking  C. standing      D. moving

9. A. drop       B. fetch     C. throw       D. cut

10. A. up       B. down     C. on          D. above

11. A. simply   B. quickly     C. luckily      D. quietly

12. A. searched for        B. found out

C. watched over       D. stared at

13. A. therefore  B. yet       C. then        D. so

14. A. thought   B. bravery    C. opinion     D. faith

15. A. left      B. sat        C. stayed     D. smiled

16. A. trust     B. belief     C. mind       D. power

17. A. right    B. family     C. time       D. way

18. A. human  B. natural     C. mother's    D. social

19. A. will    B. promise     C. regret     D. desire

20. A. Where  B. Immediately  C. When     D. Unless

Every pet owner loves his pet .There is no argument here.

   But when we asked our readers whether they would clone their beloved animals , the responses were split(分裂) almost down the middle . Of the 228 readers who answered it ,108 would clone, 111 would not and nine weighed each side without offering an opinion .

   Clearly, from readers’ response, this is an issue that reaches deeply into both the joy and eventual (最終的)sadness of owning a pet. It speaks, as well, to people’s widely differing expectations over the developing scientific procedure (步驟)

    Most of the readers who favored the idea strongly believed it would produce at least a close copy of the original; many felt the process would actually return an exact copy. Those on the other side, however, held little hope that clone could truly recreate a pet; many simply did not wish to go against the natural law of life and death.

    Both sides expressed equal love for their animals. More of them owned “the best dog/cat in the world”. They thought of their pets as their “best friend” or “a member of the family”. They told moving stories of pets’ heroism, intelligence and selfless devotion.

    No wonder the loss is so disturbing---and the cloning so attractive. “People become very close to their animals, and the loss can be just as hard to bear as when a friend or family member dies,” says Gary Kowalski, author of goodbye, Friend: Healing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has Ever Lost a Pet. “For me, cloning feels like an attempt to turn death away…It’s understandable. Death is always painful. It’s difficult to deal with. It’s hard to accept.”

    But would cloning reduce the blow? This question seems to be at the heart of this problem.

1.

As far as the cloning of pets is concerned, a recent survey shows that, of all pet owners,     .

A．a(chǎn) lot more of them are for it      B．a(chǎn) lot more of them are against it

    C．very few of them are willing to tell their opinions

．  D．a(chǎn)bout half of them are for it and the other half against it

2.

The expression “eventual sadness of owning a pet.” (in paragraph 3) refers to       .

    A．the death of one’s pet

    B．the final ownership of a pet

C．the troubles one has to deal with in keeping a pet

D．the dangers involved in the cloning of a pet

3.

In spite of their differences on the problem of cloning, it seems that      .

    A．a(chǎn)ll pet owners love their pets very much

    B．a(chǎn)ll pet owners try to go against the natural law of life and death

    C．people who support cloning love their pets more

    D．people who dislike cloning love their pets more

4.

From what Gary Kowalski says, we can know that he      .

    A．has never thought about the problem of cloning

B．thinks it hard to accept the idea of cloning pets

    C．is in favor of the idea of cloning pets  

 D．is all against the cloning of pets