Bottled water has become the choice for people who are healthy and thirsty. Bottled water is all over the world. But some say the planet’s health, and people’s health may be suffering from it.
The idea that bottled water is safer for humans may not be true. The Natural Resources Defense Council of America said, “There is no promise that because water comes out of a bottle, it is cleaner or safer than water from the tap.” Another New York City-based action group added that some bottled water is “really just tap water in a bottle—sometimes more clean, sometimes not.”

It is not proven that bottled water is better than tap water. Nick Reeves from the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management said, “The high mineral content (含量) of some bottled water makes them not good for feeding babies and young children.” Also, most bottled water doesn’t have fluoride (氟化物), which can make teeth stronger. Kids are drinking more bottled water and less fluoridated tap water, and some say that’s behind the recent rise in bad teeth.
Storing is another problem. Placed near heat, the plastic bottles can produce bad chemicals (化學物質(zhì)) into the water.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used worldwide to bottle water each year. The plastic can take between 400 and 1,000 years to break down.
In terms of energy use, plastic bottles are also not cheap. One report said that if water and soft drink bottlers had used 10 percent recycled materials in their plastic bottles, they would have saved about 72 million gallons of gas.
So, if you are worried about the effect of bottled water on the Earth, you can take the following steps.
● Drink from your tap. Unless your government warns against this, it should be fine.
● Get a container (容器). Carry your tap water in a steel or a lined drinking container, and clean it between uses.
● Keep it cool. Don’t drink from a bottle that has been sitting in the sun, don’t store it near chemicals, and don’t reuse plastic bottles.
● Choose glass containers over plastic if possible. When finished, recycle!
【小題1】What is the main idea of the article?

A．Drinking tap water is the only choice for people.

B．Glass containers are better than plastic bottles.

C．Plastic bottles are harmful to the environment.

D．Bottled water may not be as good as we think.

【小題2】What can we learn about plastic bottles from the article?

A．They break down in less than 300 years.	B．They can be used for many other things.
C．They are a risk to the environment.	D．They are cheap to make.

【小題3】According to the article, we can know that bottled water is __________.

A．no problem for the environment	B．more expensive than tap water
C．a(chǎn)lways safer than tap water	D．better for babies

【小題4】Which of the following about tap water is NOT mentioned in the article?

A．There are a lot of problems storing tap water.

B．Bottled water can be just tap water in a bottle.

C．It may be better for your teeth.

D．It may contain fluoride.

The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蟻堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通風口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings—days as warm as 31℃ commonly drop to 14℃ at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove  Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃ and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned building, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.
【小題1】What’s the meaning of “complex” in the second paragraph? 

A．Something that is difficult to understand.

B．A group of buildings together in one place.

C．A group of things that are connected.

D．A mental state that is not normal.

【小題2】How is fresh air from outside drawn out?

A．By fans.	B．Via ceiling vents.
C．Through chimneys.	D．Via ceiling vents and through chimneys.

【小題3】What is NOT the factor that makes Eastgate Building work well?

A．Skies without clouds.

B．Little dampness.

C．Daily rapid temperature changes

D．Seasonal rapid temperature changes.

【小題4】In general, how is the daily temperature of the building?

A．It changes in a certain range with some exception.

B．It changes from one extreme to another.

C．It remains the same without any exception.

D．It is hard to endure.

【小題5】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners.

B．How air-conditioning works.

C．Fans make Eastgate Building’s temperature comfortable.

D．How Eastgate Building’s temperature control system works.

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and physical, cognitive (認知的), and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts.
Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce (順從) to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity problem.
Children’s development is critically influenced by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play. When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their children’s vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships. Parents who have the opportunity to look at their children’s world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, giving their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.
Play is essential to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to strengthen children’s learning willingness. Social-emotional learning is best integrated (融合) with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children’s ability to learn are improved at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning.
【小題1】Compared with undirected play, play which is controlled by adults ________.

A．doesn’t benefit the children at all

B．doesn’t help develop leadership and group skills

C．makes children become more active

D．helps increase physical activity levels

【小題2】The third paragraph mainly tells us that ________.

A．play offers parents a good chance to establish good relationships with children

B．children’s development is greatly influenced by relationships with parents

C．play helps children better express their views

D．play offers parents a unique opportunity to see the world from a different perspective

【小題3】From the last paragraph, we know that ________.

A．play can’t help children become adapted to the school setting

B．play makes social-emotional learning and academic learning separated

C．play is beneficial to social-emotional learning as well as academic learning

D．it is necessary to strengthen children’s academic development at the expense of others

【小題4】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A．Undirected play can help children develop team spirit.

B．Play can improve children’s willingness to learn.

C．Play helps adults gain a better understanding of the children’s thoughts.

D．Adults shouldn’t be involved in children’s play.

Researches at Johns  Hopkins University's. Applied Physics laboratory  ( APL)  in Laurel , Maryland have designed a new human-like robot, Its name is Robo Sally. The machine can be controlled from a distance and can he used to do work that is dangerous for human beings.
Roho Sally has two long arms with human-like hands. She can use her fingers to pick up  small objects .examine them in detail and do most things that human hands can do Each finger  contains a tiny motor capable of squeezing 20 pounds of pinch foree ,.enough to defuse a bomb  under the direction of an operator. She sits on a metal base with wheels that let her move around. turn in tight spaces and climb over small objects, .
Mike McLoughlin is the main investigator for the Applied Physics Laboratory's Prosthetics  Program. "The purpose of that program is to develop prosthetic arms that have all the capability  of your natural arms .and you do all the complex motions that we can do with the natural arm- with the robot. "
It was a difficult job. Mr. McLoughlin says the device had to have many small motors to。 have the ability to do what a human hand does; It  also needs to have human-like strength. The  thumb was especially difficult because it permits the hand .to hold objects. And everything had.   to fit into a space about the size of a human hand.
The next problem  .he says .was to figure out how to control the artificial hand. " So we had   to figure out how to make the connection between the brain and this arm.
For search-and-rescue duties.Roho Sally will be operated by a human being using a wire- less machine that is far from the robot. The operator will also wear special gloves and glasses.  The glasses permit the operator to see the robot's hands .even though they are far away.
Mr. McLoughlin says this kind of robots could be used in what he calls "dull , dirty or dan- gerous" situations where fine human finger movements are required. He says the technology is  not ready for everyday application .but he predicts that within five years we will see some won-  derful improvements.
【小題1】The underlined word " defuse"  in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to "_________".

A．remove

B．discover

C．equip

D．produce

【小題2】According to Paragraph 2.which picture is Robo Sally?

【小題3】What can we learn ahout the prosthetic arms according to the passage?

A．They are expected to function as well as natural ones.

B．They have many large motors controlled by robots.

C．They have human-like strength to control the robot.

D．They are connected with human brains.

【小題4】Which of the following is true about Robo Sally according to Mr. McLoughlin?
A . Its operator doesn't need  any  equipment.
B. It has been Widely used in everyday life in the USA.
C. It can work in situations which are dangerous for humans.
D. It has made much money for the designer.

A recent experiment held in Japan shows that it is almost impossible for people to walk exactly straight for 60 metres. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology found 20 healthy men and asked them to walk as straight as possible to a target 60 metres away at normal speed. Each man had to walk on white paper fixed flat to the floor wearing wet colored socks. The footprints revealed that all walked in a winding rather than a straight line. Researchers found that people readjust the direction of walking every few seconds. The amount of the winding differed from subject to subject. This suggests that none of us can walk in a strictly straight line. We walk in a winding way mainly because of a slight structural or functional imbalance of our limbs (四肢). Although we may start walking in a straight line, several steps afterwards we have changed direction.
Eyesight helps us to correct the direction of walking and leads us to the target. Your ears also help you walk. After turning around a lot with your eyes closed, you can hardly stand still, let alone walk straight.
It’s all because your ears help you balance. Inside your inner ear there is a structure which contains liquids. On the sides of the organ are many tiny hair-like structures that move around as the liquid flows. When you spin (旋轉(zhuǎn)) the liquid inside also spins. The difference is that when you stop, the liquid continues to spin for a while. Dizziness is the result of these nerves in your ear. When you open your eyes, although your eyesight tells you to walk in a straight line, your brain will trust your ears more, thus you walk in a curved line.
【小題1】The experiment held in Japan proved that _______.

A．the participants kept readjusting their direction of walking

B．a(chǎn)ll the participants had a good sense of direction

C．the experiment was done in different ways

D．none of the participants finished the 60 metres

【小題2】The underlined word “subject” in Para. 1 refers to ________.

A．a(chǎn) person with a functional imbalance

B．a(chǎn) person chosen to be studied in an experiment

C．the subject one studies at school

D．the direction of walking

【小題3】The purpose of writing the article is to ________.

A．prove that ears and eyes help us to walk straight

B．explain why we can hardly walk in a strictly straight line

C．point out the importance of noticing everyday science

D．give background information about a latest study

All across California, honeybees are flying away from their hives(蜂箱) and dying. Empty hives are causing a lot of worry about some important food crops.
Bees give us a lot more than delicious honey. They are pollinators（授粉者）—they enable plants to produce the fruits and nuts we enjoy by carrying pollen from one plant or flower to the next. The wind pollinates oats, corn, and wheat, but many other plants (like apple and cherry trees and melon vines) depend on insects, bats, and birds. In the U.S., millions and millions of bees kept by human beekeepers fly around doing a lot of this important work for food crops. “Bees are worth protecting because their work adds so much to our diet,” says Dr. Jeff Pettis of the Bee Research Laboratory.
California’s almond (杏仁) crop alone depends on about half the bees in the country. But now the almond crop and many others could be in trouble with so many bees dying.
Researchers at government and university labs all over the country are trying to figure out why so many bees are dying. However, bees are hard to study. Most die away from the hive, so researchers don’t have dead bodies to examine. And when researchers return to a hive after two weeks, about half the bees they studied on their first visit will be dead, replaced by new ones in the natural life cycle of bees. “It isn’t like studying a large animal like a cow that doesn’t move around much and is easy to find out in the cow field,” says Pettis.
Researchers have some ideas about what could be affecting bee health. They could be sick from poisons widely used to kill insects, or they might not be getting enough good food to stay strong. Also, tiny insects called mites feed on bees. “A virus or bacteria could also be doing the killing.” explains Pettis.
【小題1】What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The wind helps pollinate.

B．Bees are important in food crops.

C．Bees give us a lot of delicious honey.

D．Cherry trees are pollinated by bees.

【小題2】Bees are hard to study because ____________.

A．they move around too much

B．new bees soon replace all the bees studied by researchers

C．they are too tiny

D．they never return to hives

【小題3】What could cause so many bees to die?

A．Poisons to kill birds.	B．Eating too much.
C．Large insects.	D．Some virus.

【小題4】What can we learn from the article?

A．A large number of bees have died in the hive.

B．Without bees, some foods would disappear from our diet.

C．Only researchers in California want to know what kills bees.

D．Large animals are easier to study than tiny insects.

In most situations, light helps us see. But when it comes to looking at the night sky, light is actually a kind of pollution. It prevents our view of some of life’s most striking sights: stars, planets, and even galaxies(銀河系).
“When I was a little boy, I loved the night sky. I remember looking up and the sky was filled with stars. I became an astronomer because I was amazed by their beauty,” says Robert Gent, “Now in most big cities kids can’t see the stars like I did.”
Normally, about 2,500 individual (單個的) stars are visible to the human eyes without using any special equipment. But because of light pollution, you actually see just 200 to 300 and fewer than a dozen from some cities. Only one in three Americans can see our own galaxy with the naked eyes. Those people live far away from the lights of big cities, office buildings, and shopping malls.
Fortunately, there’s an inexpensive and useful way. If we shine lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky, and use lower brightness levels, we can save big amounts of energy and keep the beauty of the night sky. Many cities and towns have passed laws limiting lights at night, making sure enough shine for safety without creating much light pollution.
Light pollution affects more than our view of the heavens and can harm wildlife. Migrating birds(候鳥) sometimes fly over cities and become confused by the brightness, flying in circles until they drop from exhaustion.  Sea turtles need dark beaches for nesting and won’t approach bright lights. Too much light at night may even affect human health. For all these reasons, researchers are working on ways to use lights only when and where they are truly needed. Everyone deserves to look up at the sky.
【小題1】According to the text, using our naked eyes,  ________.

A．people in remote areas can see more stars than those in big cities

B．over one third Americans can see our own galaxy

C．a(chǎn)bout one in three Americans in big cities can see our own galaxy

D．Americans can only see 200 to 300 stars

【小題2】Many cities and towns have passed laws limiting lights at night mainly to ____________.

A．save the electricity

B．make sure of migrating birds’ safety

C．let you count the number of stars

D．a(chǎn)void much light pollution

【小題3】What does the fourth paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The cause of light pollution.

B．The way to reduce light pollution.

C．The effect of light pollution.

D．People’s attitude towards light pollution.

【小題4】The underlined word “exhaustion” in the last paragraph means _______ .

A．a(chǎn)ir pollution

B．tiredness

C．breath

D．brightness

【小題5】Which would be the best title for the text?

A．Light Pollution

B．Seeking the Sky

C．Stars in the Sky

D．City Pollution

You don't need to get in a time-traveling machine to see how technology will reshape our lives, such as the way we shop．Several new technologies that are to change your buying habits already exist．Let's see what's in store for your future shopping．
Try it on, virtually （虛擬的）．Want to shop online for a new pair of eyeglasses? You don't need to guess which pair looks best on you. Go and see the eBay Fashion iPhone app to try a pair of eyewear you're checking out on a picture of your face．But what if you want to buy something bigger? Thanks to Microsoft Kinect's motion tracking camera, you can cover clothes on your screen body．You can even choose the background of your virtual fitting room to enrich your shopping experience．
Get a perfect, custom fit．Everyone's body is shaped differently．To get a perfect fit, you sometimes have to get your clothes changed．But by using 3D scanning technology, all the clothes you buy will fit your body perfectly．Some companies scan your body using High-tech to get the most accurate measurements, so they can make special clothes just for you．
High-tech shopping carts and checkout counters．High-tech shopping carts could, in time, be a common sight in malls and supermarkets．Microsoft Kinect-enabled carts are currently under test．The cart can follow you along the aisles （通道）, controlled merely by your movement and your voice．In China, a supermarket chain introduced tablet-equipped carts that guide shoppers around the stores' aisles．
In the United States, several supermarkets use a device called Scan It that gives buyers the freedom to scan purchases on their own while they shop．While it's great not having to line up at a checkout counter, we wouldn't mind it if the store used Toshiba's new Object Recognition Scanner．The machine identifies a product as soon as it's placed in front of a camera just by its shape and color, even if it has no bar code．
【小題1】What's the best title for this text?

A．Ways for future shopping

B．Influence of new technology

C．Inventions to change habits

D．A new time-traveling machine

【小題2】According to Paragraph 2, The eBay Fashion iPhone app can _____．

A．make vivid pictures of our face

B．help us sell more clothes online

C．create us a virtual dressing room

D．choose suitable eyeglasses for us

【小題3】Which of the following can get the most accurate shape of our body?

A．Object Recognition Scanner．

B．The eBay Fashion iPhone app．

C．3D scanning technology．

D．Microsoft Kinect-enabled carts．

【小題4】The Object Recognition Scanner can identify a product more quickly by____．

A．the customer's voice

B．its shape and color

C．the customer's movement

D．the bar code on it

【小題5】What can we infer from this text?

A．Checkout counters will disappear from supermarkets in future．

B．Buyers can use Scan It to go around the supermarket by themselves．

C．High-tech shopping carts will be widely used in malls and supermarkets．

D．The new technologies are only dreams that are impossible to come true．

Fahad Azad, an engineer in India, invented a robot named DuctBot．The toy-car sized DuctBot measured 23 centimeters in length, 19 centimeters in width and 9 centimeters in height and weighs just two kilograms．
The robot is designed to snake through dark, narrow air conditioning ducts （管道） and clean them．A pair of LEDs fitted on the robot light up the dirty scenery, so it can be captured （抓拍） by a camera．
In order to control it more easily, Mr. Azad chooses to fix DuctBot on wheels．The robot can clean off lots of dirt, as well as dead pigeons and insects．Keeping indoor air in good quality and monitoring carbon-dioxide levels in buildings with central air conditioning is a challenge．It is important in some places where clean air can mean a difference between life and death, such as hospitals．Dirty air has a bad influence on people's health．
EPSCO, a Dubai-based company which specializes in improving indoor air quality, read about Mr. Azad's invention in a national newspaper after he had won an international robotics competition．EPSCO had cleaning equipment, but it needed someone to get into those ducts to do the dirty, dangerous work．Across India, for example, the task still falls to children．They are small enough to go through those ducts．
In 2005, Mr. Azad who was still at university decided to do something about it．Six years later his own company, Robosoft Systems, has Bluestar, EPSCO and the Indian Navy, some leading air condition makers, as partners．
Mr. Azad and his ten employees are currently exploring robot designs to examine oil tanks or sewage （污水）pipes．Their biggest challenge is to make the robots user-friendly enough．Mr. Azad hopes that the robot could eventually be operated not by engineers but by workers．There will be lots of difficulties they need to overcome in the future．
【小題1】What can we learn about Ductbot?

A．It is a toy car and popular with children．

B．It is designed to move like a snake in the ducts．

C．many LEDs are fitted on it to tell its location．

D．It is actually a camera to capture dirty scenery．

【小題2】The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 2 refers to "____"．

A．the camera	B．the conditioning duct
C．the LED light	D．the dirty scenery

【小題3】What can the Ductbot do for us?

A．Clean off the dirt in the ducts．

B．Control the central conditioning．

C．Reduce carbon-dioxide in buildings．

D．Protect more animals in city．

【小題4】According to the text, EPSCO____．

A．has won an international robotics competition

B．hired children to clean the dirty ducts in the past

C．is the only partner of Robosoft Systems

D．specializes in improving people's health

【小題5】What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．Only engineers can operate the Ductbot now．

B．New ways have been found to examine oil tanks．

C．Azad's difficulties are impossible to overcome．

D．Azad's team are working to improve their robot designs．

China is going green. In order to reduce air pollution and oil shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles (混合燃料汽車) for the Chinese market. Toyota's hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let's have a look at the new car.
Any vehicle is a hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery and gasoline. Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising (勻速行駛). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration is needed.
Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car's gasoline engine is dormant (休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.
The onboard (車載的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal (油門), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.
The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car's batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.
【小題1】The author writes this passage mainly to________.

A．teach people how to drive a hybrid car

B．introduce a new kind of “green” car

C．show how to save their gasoline when driving a car

D．a(chǎn)nnounce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China

【小題2】Which of the followings is NOT true?

A．The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oil shortages.

B．The car's gasoline engine doesn't work until it reaches about 24 km/h.

C．This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer.

D．A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed.

【小題3】What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?

A．They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline.

B．They are much quieter than traditional cars.

C．They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills.

D．They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones.

【小題4】What can we conclude from the story?

A．The batteries can be recharged at any time you want.

B．Using the brake suggests that the gasoline engine should work.

C．The batteries will last for 200, 000 miles without being recharged.

D．The gasoline engine charges the batteries as well as powers the car.