C

Wind is the movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. In fact, wind exists because the sun unequally heats the surface of the Earth. As hot air rises, cooler air moves in to fill the gap. As long as the sun shines, the wind will blow. And as long as the wind blows, people will manage it to power their lives.

Ancient sailors used sails to capture the wind and explore the world. Farmers once used windmills to grind their grains and pump water. Today, more and more people are using wind turbines to make electricity from the breeze. Over the past decade, wind turbine use has increased at more than 25 percent a year. Still, it only provides a small part of the world's energy.

Most wind energy comes from turbines that can be as tall as a 20-story building and have three 200-foot-long (60-meter-long) blades. These devices look like giant airplane propellers(螺槳)on a stick. The wind spins the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator.

The biggest wind turbines generate enough electricity to supply about 600 U.S. homes. Wind farms have tens and sometimes hundreds of these turbines lined up together in particularly windy spots, like along a ridge. Smaller turbines set up in a backyard can produce enough electricity for a single home or small business.

Wind is a clean source of renewable energy that produces no air or water pollution. And since the wind is free, operational costs are nearly zero once a turbine is erected. Mass production and technology advances are making turbines cheaper, and many governments decrease tax to encourage wind-energy development.

Some people think wind turbines are ugly and complain about the noise the machines make. The slowly rotating blades(螺旋風(fēng)片) can also kill birds and bats, but not nearly as many as cars, power lines, and high-rise buildings do. The wind is also changeable: If it's not blowing, there's no electricity generated.

Nevertheless, the wind energy industry is increasing sharply. Globally, generation more than quadrupled(四倍) between 2000 and 2006. At the end of last year, global capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts. In the energy-hungry United States, a single megawatt is enough electricity to power about 250 homes. Germany has the most installed wind energy capacity, followed by Spain, the United States, India, and Denmark. Development is also fast growing in France and China.

Industry experts predict that if this pace of growth continues, by 2050 the answer to one third of the world's electricity needs will be found blowing in the wind

63. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. The rotating blades can kill as many birds as high-rise buildings do

B. Single families are not encouraged to build turbines.

C. The USA produces more wind power than any other country in the world.

D. The noise the turbines make may discourage people from building them.

64. The underlined word “generator” in the third paragraph probably means_______.

A. 電動機                  B. 發(fā)電機                    C. 機翼                       D. 飛機引擎

65. If the USA wants to build wind turbines in an area with 30,000 homes, how many

should they build at least?

A. 50.                          B. 150.                         C. 250.                         D. 200.

66. All the following are the advantages of wind energy EXCEPT that_________.

       A. it is environmentally friendly                        B. it is free to build and operate

       C. the government supports it                                   D. the energy is clean and renewable

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科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解

What do you know about the sea? We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be very rough when there is a strong wind. What other things do we know about it?

     The first thing to remember is that the sea is very big. When you look at the map of the world you will find there is more water than land. The sea covers three quarters of the world.

     The sea is also very deep in some places. It is not deep everywhere. Some parts of the sea are very shallow. But in some places the depth of the sea is very great. There is one spot, near Japan, where the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! The highest mountain in the world is about 9 kilometers high. If that mountain were put into the sea at that place, there would he 2 kilometers of water above it ! What a deep place !

     If you have swum in the sea, you know that it is salty. You can taste the salt. Rivers, which flow into the sea, carry salt from the land into the sea. Some parts of the sea are saltier than other parts. There is one sea, called the Dead Sea, which is very salty. It is so salty that swimmers cannot sink! Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea!

     In most parts of the sea, there are plenty of fishes and plants. Some live near the top of the sea. Others live deep down. There are also millions of tiny living things that float in the sea. These floating things are so small that it is hard to see them. Many fish live by eating these.

     The sea can be very cold. Divers who go deep down in the sea know this. On the top the water may be warm. When the diver goes downwards, the sea becomes colder and colder. Another thing happens. When the diver goes deeper, the water above presses down on him. It squeezes him. Then the diver has to wear clothes made of metal. But he cannot go very deep. Some people who wanted to go very deep used a very strong diving ship! They went down to the deepest part of the sea in it. They went down to a depth of eleven kilometers !

When does the sea look beautiful?  

A. When it is calm.               B. When the weather is fine.

       C. When there is a strong  wind.     D. When there is a storm.

How much of the earth’s  surface does land cover?  

A. 15%.       B. 25%.        C. 30%.         D. 45%.

Why does the writer cite(引用) the sea somewhere near Japan? 

       A. To show that the sea in some places is very deep.

       B. To show that the sea in some places is very shallow.

       C. To show that its depth is 9 kilometers greater than the height of the highest mountain.

       D. To show that its depth is 11 kilometers greater than the height

          of the highest mountain.

Which of the following statements about the Dead Sea is NOT true?

       A. Swimmers cannot sink.         B. It is a safe place for swimmers. 

       C. It is extremely salty.           D. Fish can be found in it.

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科目:高中英語 來源:2012屆黑龍江省哈六中學(xué)高三第三次模擬考試英語試卷(帶解析) 題型:閱讀理解


Have you ever walked outside thinking it was one temperature but quickly discovered it felt colder? That is because of the “wind chill” effect.
Wind chill is how cold people and animals feel when they are outside, not the actual temperature on the thermometer(溫度計). It is based on how quickly your body loses heat when it is exposed to wind and cold. When the wind is strong, your body quickly loses heat, making the temperature of your skin drop.
When scientists first started calculating wind chill, they used research conducted in 1945 by explorers to Antarctica who measured how quickly water froze outside.
But water freezes faster than exposed skin, so the wind chill index based on that data wasn’t accurate.
In 2001, the US government began to measure wind chill more precisely by testing how quickly people’s skin froze.
Twelve volunteers were placed in a chilled wind tunnel. Equipment was stuck to their faces to measure the heat flow from their cheeks, forehead, nose and chin while they walked three miles per hour on a treadmill(跑步機).
The experiment revealed how quickly exposed skin can be damaged, particularly unprotected areas like your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ear lobes. In fact, 40 percent of your body heat can be lost through your head! Signs you might have frostbite(凍瘡) are when the skin turns white or pale and you lose feeling in that area.
The information collected from the volunteers helped scientists work out the math to compute wind chill. It involves wind speed and air temperature.
If, for example, the temperature outside is zero degrees Fahrenheit and the wind is blowing at 15 miles per hour, the wind chill is calculated at 19 degrees below zero. At that wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.
You can find a calculation table at www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml.
Experts advise in cold weather that you wear loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, worn on top of each other. Air caught between the clothes will keep you warm. The best cold-weather coats have head coverings made of woven material that keep out water. So next time the temperature drops and you want to play outside, listen to your parents when they tell you to wrap up warm!
【小題1】 According to the text, wind chill _______.

A.means how fast exposed skin freezes
B.doesn’t affect your head as much as other body parts
C.changes according to the temperature on the thermometer
D.changes from person to person depending on their health
【小題2】 When might a person have frostbite according to the passage?
A.When his skin turns red and he loses feeling in that area.
B.When he is running faster and he is losing strength quickly.
C.When his face is exposed and quickly loses heat even indoors.
D.When his skin turns pale and he has no feeling in that area.
【小題3】 What factors influence wind chill?
A.A person’s body temperature and will speed.
B.Wind speed and a person’s strength.
C.Air temperature and wind speed.
D.The location and air temperature.
【小題4】 What can we conclude from the passage?
A.It was in 1945 that scientists first began to calculate wind chill.
B.Compared with water, people’s exposed skin freezes more slowly.
C.The wind chill index based on Antarctica data is considered a standard.
D.With the development of technology, many previous researches have been proven wrong.

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科目:高中英語 來源:2012-2013學(xué)年遼寧省沈陽市高三高考領(lǐng)航考試(五)英語試卷(解析版) 題型:單項填空

—The wind is always blowing here.

—How I wish it ______ today.

A.won't blow        B.didn't blow        C.doesn't blow       D.isn't blowing

 

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科目:高中英語 來源:2010-2011學(xué)年江西省南昌市高三10月月考英語卷 題型:閱讀理解

What would you do if you were lost in the dark forest at night? The first sensible lesson is that you shouldn’t bother trying to find your way in the dark at all, but just stay where you are until dawn. Because then you won’t trip over things? No, mainly because you’ll have an idea of direction. The sun rises in the east. But you will be amazed at how many people forget they know that. Apparently, the area underneath a holly bush provides a good makeshift shelter — they are thick, and evergreen. The next thing to do — or rather not to do — is panic, for the obvious reason that unless there is someone there to hear you scream, it will get you nowhere. Just try to think of nice, happy things.

There is always a point in films when a person who is lost in the desert or the snow, dehydrated (脫水的) and exhausted, comes across a set of their own footprints and realizes they have just walked in a huge, round circle. It is wrong to owe it to the unequal strengths or different lengths of your legs. Experiments prove that, without the sun or the moon (or landmarks) as a fixed guide, lots of small errors add up over time so the brain can’t correctly identify the “straight ahead” direction. To just get out of somewhere, pick a spot on the horizon and just head for it.

There are several ways to find directions in the dark, and by far the best is to establish north using the stars. Most people can identify the Plough, which is part of Ursa Major. It looks a lot like a saucepan. The Plough rotates(旋轉(zhuǎn))through the sky, but let’s imagine the saucepan lying horizontally (水平地), with its handle on the left. You need to trace a line from the star at the right-hand base of the pan, through the star at the right-hand rim (邊沿), and follow it upwards; the north star is roughly five times the distance between those two “pointer” stars. Then drop a vertical line from the North Star to the horizon and that’s north.

“Tonight is very cloudy and I can’t see the Plough.” Maybe luckily, it is quite windy. Keep in mind that almost all of our weather comes from a south-westerly direction. (This only works if you are in the British Isles). To find the direction, you can throw light bits of dried-out grass in the air and see which way they blow; or, if there are clouds and patches of clear sky, see which way they blow across the stars. You can also get an idea of direction from leggy plants. If they look as if they have been blown over, they will probably be pointing north-east. If they are simply leaning in one direction as they grow, there’s a good chance that is south (they will be reaching towards the sun). The last thing to do is to judge your direction and off you go.

 What might be the best title of the passage?

A. How to survive in the forest

B. How to protect yourself in the forest

C. How to direct your way out of the wild

D. What to do if you are lost

【小題2】Which of the following pictures matches the description of the position of the north star?

【小題3】Why will people often walk in a circle if they are lost in the desert or the snow?

A. Because without anything to refer to for directions, the brain will be confused by errors.

B. Because one of the legs is longer and stronger than the other.

C. Because the desert or the snow usually covers a large area for people to get across.

D. Because people usually feel dehydrated and exhausted in the desert or the snow.

【小題4】If you were lost in Taklimakan Desert in China, _________ would NOT be dependable for you to identify the directions.

A. the sun           B. the North Star        C. wind         D. the moon

 

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