The UK's first fully solar-powered home, which removes the need to ever receive a gas or electricity bill again, has gone on sale, but it will cost you £1.2 million.
The timber-framed home in Great Glen, Leicestershire, contains a number of “zero-carbon feature” including solar electric energy, triple glazing and rainwater storage. It is entirely heated by underground water-filled tubes that are warmed by solar energy from rooftop panels. The house was designed and built by Caplin Homes and covers two acres of land. The design and construction, down to the materials, were used specifically for their low carbon footprint.
The solar panels on the roof of the five-bedroom house are called hybrids because they collect both electrical and thermal energy. Solar walls preheat incoming air, and an Earth Energy Bank (EEB) and heat pump can store heat, and get it back for use when temperatures drop. The south-facing triple-glazed windows are said to also improve the house's energy management during the winter.
All the technologies are controlled by a control system, which monitors the inside and outside temperatures, how much energy is being received by the solar panels, and the heat levels in the EE domestic hot water tank. Due to its low energy design, the Solar House is expected to only require heat from the EEB for about 10 weeks of the year.
For £1.2 million, buyers also get two garages. Estate agent (房地产经纪人) Anthony Fox said the possibility of no utility bills was a big draw for potential owners: the idea is that your bills pretty much disappear and the house is self-sustaining and self-sufficient. That was a big aspect for most of the people who came to have a look around. “We had a lot of interest on the open day. There were some strong considerations to buy there and then. Everyone was very keen to learn how the house worked.” He added.
1.Which is true about the UK’s first fully solar-powered home?
A.It is directly heated by rooftop panels.
B.It has a set of heat-storage device available.
C.All of its materials are not environmentally friendly.
D.Its walls can keep cold air from coming in to store heat.
2.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?
A.The monitor of the temperature.
B.The amount of the received energy.
C.The function of the control system.
D.The significance of the new technologies.
3.What’s a big attraction for potential buyers according to Anthony Fox?
A.No gas or electricity bill. B.Two additional garages.
C.Unique structure of the house. D.Only £1.2 million for the house.
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To advertise a zero-carbon house.
B.To recommend an amazing house.
C.To introduce a solar-powered house.
D.To explain how the low-energy house works.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Have you ever dreamed of meeting top scientists in person? If so, what would you want to ask them?
For Tan Fanglin, a 15-year-old girl from No. 2 High School of East China Normal University in Shanghai, her dream of meeting top scientists has already come true. In October 2019, she attended the World Laureates Forum for a second time, which had attracted 44 Nobel Prize Winners and 21 other world-class award winners. Tan was by far the youngest participant among the scientists invited to be at the meeting of the world’s sharpest minds.
Her discovery about the relationship between the Fibonacci sequence (斐波那契数列) and Bézout numbers (贝祖数) has won her many prizes in youth innovation competitions both in Shanghai and elsewhere in China. Her finding has been praised by the famous Canadian mathematician, Professor Rankin, who has been studying the same theme for five years but with no conclusions.
From a very young age, Tan has always been fascinated by mathematics. This is largely because her father, who teaches mathematics in East China Normal University, has a profound impact on her. According to Xu Jun, the head teacher, Tan doesn’t take after-school classes or too many extra exercises either. Her mastering of Advanced Mathematics and her good grades in school are thanks to the right study method. Her mother told Guangming Daily that Tan always treats studying and life with a positive state of mind so she can feel happy while studying.
Attending this forum enabled Tan to get more inspiration from top scientists. She even got the opportunity to talk with Gero Miesenbock, the 2019 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize winner. She asked Professor Miesenbock what he considered were the best personal qualities for conducting scientific research. Miesenbock encouraged her not to lose her passion and love for what she does. He said that accepting failures is crucial for researchers. He stressed that people all knew that even Thomas Edison went through hundreds of unsuccessful attempts before finally inventing the light bulb. The words made Tan feel inspired and she promised to keep her curiosity and interests in mathematics and overcome any obstacles in her research.
1.What can we learn about Tan Fanglin according to paragraph 2?
A.She is a student from East China Normal University.
B.She frequently participates in the World laureates Forum.
C.She achieved her goal of meeting world-class award winners.
D.She was the youngest and sharpest mind among the invited scientists.
2.What made Tan so interested in the study of mathematics?
A.Her father's influence. B.Her right study method.
C.Her positive attitude. D.Her head teacher’s encouragement.
3.According to Miesenbock, the most important quality for science researchers is .
A.learning from the past failures B.being curious and interested
C.being passionate about science D.getting inspiration from scientists
4.What might be the best title for the passage?
A.The Key to Be a Top Scientist
B.A Student Inspired by Top Minds
C.A Dream to Be a Mathematician
D.An Outstanding Girl Tan Fanglin
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Since you are applying for a visa for a short-term study in the USA, here are a few steps you should take to ensure you can do it smoothly.
You can apply for it if you
●do a short course of study in the USA, such as an English language course or a training course.
●do a short period of research as part of a degree course in the USA.
You must prove that you
●have been offered a place on a course in the USA at an accepted place of study.
●have enough money to support yourself without working or help from public funds.
●can pay for your return or onward journey.
●have permission from your parents or guardian to study in the USA if you are under 18.
You must provide
●proof of the course you're studying, for example, a letter of acceptance from the educational institution — an official headed paper; stating the course's name, duration and cost (including accommodation).
●a current passport or other valid travel identification.
●evidence that you can support yourself during your trip, for example, bank statements or payslips for the last 6 months.
●details of where you intend to stay and your travel plans.
●contact details for at least one parent or guardian in your home country if you’re under 18 years old.
You must
●apply online for a short-term study visa.
●have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre as part of your application.
●pay £97 for a 6-month visa or £186 for an 11-month visa.
You may
●be allowed to stay an extra 30 days if your total stay in the USA is no more than 6 months.
1.Who is the passage intended for?
A.A graduate to pick up a full time job in the USA.
B.A university professor to teach Chinese in the USA.
C.A high school student to have a short-term travel in the USA.
D.A scholar to conduct a short degree-related research in the USA.
2.What is needed to apply for this kind of visa?
A.Your previous passport.
B.Details of your study plans.
C.A proof of your parents’ support.
D.An official document of your target course.
3.Which is true according to the passage?
A.It is free for a one-year study visa.
B.You need to apply through the Internet.
C.You can extend one-month stay as you please.
D.Your photo must be taken and submitted online.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In January 2017, I left a 30-year career in radio to find a new path. Fear, doubt, and anxiety filled my life at that time. I had no idea where life was going to take me.
Anything new in life can be exciting, but it can also come with anxiety. I was beginning a new career with little experience. The language on the ramp(舷梯)was foreign to me. What is involved with a “turn” (a plane being downloaded and loaded) was foreign to me. All of the excitement I had about this job on the first day was slowly changing to fear and doubt by week three.
After two weeks in the classroom, it was time for training on the ramp. On my first day as a trainee, I was partnered with a man named Fernando. My job was zone assist. A zone assist is usually at the back of the plane, bringing the belt loader(带式行李装载机)to the aircraft, unloading the back bins(箱子), servicing the drinking water, and wing walking at a push(紧急时). I was 48 years old at the time and had been without extreme physical activity since high school, so I was about to hit the ramp for the first time in extremely hot conditions.
Another deep fear I had, other than hurting myself, was damaging an airplane. Granted, things happen and we’re human. But making a mistake and damaging a plane that could lead to a delay or taking it out of service would be a disaster for a ramp agent. With that in mind, I was so nervous driving the belt loader up the airplane.
Fernando and I did eight turns that day. I don’t remember how many bags I downloaded. Eventually, I got through the day, tired and sore afterwards. Looking at the schedule for the next day, I believed I would do it better.
1.Why did the author feel anxious at the beginning?
A.Because he was out of work.
B.Because he had no idea how he could make his living.
C.Because the new job was totally unfamiliar to him.
D.Because the new job was very dangerous.
2.Which of the following is NOT the reason why the author nearly hit the ramp?
A.His physical condition. B.His carelessness.
C.The extreme physical work. D.The hot environment.
3.What made the author nervous at work?
A.Having an old partner. B.Being too tired.
C.Hurting himself. D.Damaging the plane.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The author would continue his new job. B.The author would change his job.
C.The author would have a higher salary. D.The author would get a promotion
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
It was Halloween(万圣节), which is a big deal when you’re seven. I was sitting in my Sleeping Beauty costume, eagerly waiting for my dad to come home so he could take me to go trick or treating. My father had been away on a business trip. He was supposed to return earlier that day, but it was midnight…Finally I nodded off.
The next morning I guessed that my mom had already known something I didn’t find out for another couple of days. It was my dad who had a new identity(身份): plane crash survivor. He told us about it later. It had been raining as he got on the plane for home. The plane was cleared for taking off on one runway but turned too far and ended up taking off on another runway, which was closed. Because of the rain, the pilot couldn’t see the heavy construction equipment(施工设施)blocking the runway, and the plane crashed right into it. The left wing was torn off, the fuselage(机身)split in two, and fire shot through the plane. Nearly half of the passengers died, but amazingly, my dad was unhurt. He couldn’t breathe because of the smoke, so he ran toward the exit and walked out.
My father told me when the plane crashed, he first thought of us. As sad as he felt at the thought of never seeing us again, he also felt a sense of relief(解脱)that all his business and financial(财务的)worries would be over. When he survived, he saw it as a second chance. He valued his second life, so he sold his business and started a new one. Now he is a successful businessman. I’m so proud of my dad for this.
1.The author was waiting for her father to return home so she could ________.
A.share his business trip story. B.buy a Sleeping Beauty costume with him.
C.listen to his trick-or-treating stories. D.celebrate Halloween with him.
2.The plane crashed mainly because ________.
A.a fire broke out in it. B.the pilot couldn’t see the runway clearly.
C.it turned onto a wrong runway. D.it hit a building while taking off.
3.Why did the author’s dad feel a sense of relief as the plane crashed?
A.He thought everyone would die.
B.He thought he wouldn’t be troubled by his business problems.
C.He thought he wouldn’t have to be controlled by his boss.
D.He thought he could escape the quarrels with his wife.
4.Which saying does the experience of the author’s father match?
A.You are blessed if surviving a disaster.
B.Life is short and time is flying.
C.Where there is a will, there is a way.
D.Nothing is difficult if you put your heart into it.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
The Notre Dame fire has been put out, but its spire and a large portion of its wooden roof have been damaged. The terrible destruction causes a sudden sharp pain to people around the world. On Chinese social media network Wechat a common comment on the disaster is: “What a pity that we cannot see the damaged parts of the wonder anymore.”
But the good news is that there is at least one way of seeing them, namely via a video game called Assassin’s Creed: Unity. In this game, the player can travel to one city after another and enter the buildings exactly like what they are in reality, and see Notre Dame as it was before the fire. Further, with virtual reality technology, which is already quite mature, one can even look around the undamaged Notre Dame as if it is still there. Maybe digital technology could help to better protect architectural cultural heritage.
The idea of digitizing ancient buildings, making digital models of them so their data can be saved, dates back to the 1990s and the necessary technology has continued to advance since then. By scanning the ancient buildings with lasers, building 3D models with multiple images, as well as measuring everything precisely, engineers can make a copy as accurate as the real one.
As computers and smartphones are hugely popular, the digital replica has great use value. First, it allows tourists to feel the cultural relics without touching them, which helps protect them. The virtual tour of Dunhuang Grottoes in Gansu Province is a good example of this as tourists can view the paintings without standing near them. Furthermore, it can make the digitized cultural relics more famous by spreading awareness about them via the Internet. In 2000, a virtual tour of the Great Wall became very popular at the Hannover World Expo, which increased the number of foreign tourists visiting the site in the following years. Above all, it preserves all the information of the cultural relics. Even if the original ones are damaged one day, people can still know what they were like and can build a replica if desired.
Of course, however precise a model is, it is not the original. Time is the biggest threat to a country’s architectural heritage, which will always become ruins with the passing of time. Maybe we will have better technologies in the future, but the digital technology offers a practical way to preserve architectural cultural heritage at the moment.
1.What will engineers do to create a digital replica of the ancient buildings?
A.Improve the technology needed. B.Scan the photos of the buildings.
C.Build 3D models of full size. D.Measure all the parts exactly.
2.What value does a digital replica have?
A.It keeps the relics safe. B.It helps to guard the relics.
C.It gathers data of the relics. D.It advertises the history of the relics.
3.How does the author prove the digital copy has vital practical importance?
A.By comparison. B.By giving examples.
C.By classification. D.By listing data.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the application of digital technology?
A.Doubtful. B.Ambiguous.
C.Supportive. D.Conservative.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
A Wisconsin mom makes mini-me toys as unique as the children who embrace them.
As a social worker using play therapy in the 1990s to help children through their cancer treatment, Amy Jandrisevits wished she could comfort her patients with dolls that bore their all-too-familiar hair loss and surgery scars. “I would clear up Goodwill for bald Cabbage Patch Kids because that was the closest thing I could find. ”she says. “I thought these kids need something that looks like they do. ”The idea stuck with Jandrisevits after she left social work in 2001 to start a family. Then in 2015, a mom whose daughter lost a leg to amputation(截肢) asked Jandrisevits, handy with a sewing machine, if she could craft a mini-me doll for the girl.
After Jandrisevits posted a photo of the legless doll on Facebook, orders poured in for likeness with everything from albinism(白化病) to birthmarks. “Differences make kids feel isolated and judged, ”she says, “with a doll, a child sees I am not the only one who looks this way. . . and beautiful enough to be a doll.” Jandrisevits, 46, has since crafted nearly 400 custom dolls with her New Berlin, Wis, dining room table, with donors often covering the $ 100 cost through Jandrisevits’s nonprofit A Doll Like Me. The mom of three insisted on making each doll herself with help from her mother and a friend.
For Keagan Cameron, 2, whose rare skin condition has him covered in birthmarks, Jandrisevits matched the doll’s spot exactly. “That was the most amazing thing,” says Keagan’s mom, Joy.
Brian Grassi of Coventry, R. I. , says she wept like a baby when a doll came in the mail for his daughter Emma, born three months later in October without her lower left arm. “Seeing my daughter with her doll, it makes me think about her future, not her limitations.”
1.What inspired Jandrisevits to make Mini-me toys?
A.Her own family condition. B.Her hair loss and surgery scars.
C.Her daughter's losing a leg to amputation. D.Her working experience as a social worker.
2.According to the passage, we can infer that .
A.making Mini-me toys cost a lot.
B.mini-me toys have won great popularity.
C.Jandrisevits made the Mini-me toys all by herself.
D.A Doll Like Me is an organization to raise fund for children in need.
3.What is the passage mainly about?
A.Mini-me toys comfort kids. B.Dolls make kids happy.
C.Children enjoy dolls’ company. D.A mom likes making mini-me toys.
4. How would you describe Jandrisevits?
A.Helpful and cautious. B.Responsible and grateful.
C.Warmhearted and determined. D.Ambitious and tough.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Some best music and opera holidays for 2019.
Tangle wood Festival
The villages of Lenox and Stockbridge in western Massachusetts have been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for more than 80 years, and its annual Tanglewood festival is East Coast America’s most distinguished music event. Andris Nelsons, BSO music director, conducts 14 of the concerts and star performers include Emanuel Ax, Paul Lewis and Anne-Sophie Mutter. Tickets on sale Feb 10.
June 15—Aug 25 (tanglewood.org)
Aspen Festival
This year is the 70th anniversary of the Aspen Music Festival, one of the longest-running and most prestigious festivals in the United States. The 2019 program has yet to be announced, but a typical eight- week summer season includes more than 400 classical music events—including concerts by five orchestras, solo (独奏) and classical music performances, fully staged opera productions, music lessons, lectures, and children’s programming. Tickets and details available in February.
June 27—Aug 18 (aspenmusicfestival. com)
Grand Teton Music Festival
Aspen’s great classical music competitor in the Rocky Mountains is the Grand Teton, which has been held in Jackson Hole since 1962 and at its heart is a timber concert hall, the Walk Festival Hall, famous for its friendly atmosphere and excellent natural sound. Despite its relatively modest size, the hall attracts the greats—current music director is the Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles. The program for 2019 is yet to be announced but subscriptions are on sale from Feb 1, single tickets from March 1.
July 2—Aug 17 ( gtmf. org)
Salzburg Festival
The excitement is building in Salzburg both for this summer and for its 100th anniversary year in 2020. Bar the Proms, it is the world’s oldest music festival and this year it will pack in an unbelievable 199 performances in 43 days at 16 venues. This year’s theme is ‘Myths’ and includes first public performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo and George Enescu’s opera dipe.
July 20—Aug 31 (salzburgfestival. at)
1.Which of the festivals has the shortest history?
A.Tangle wood Festival. B.Aspen Festival.
C.Salzburg Festival. D.Grand Teton Music Festival.
2.What can we learn about Tanglewood Festival?
A.It is held from June 27 to Aug. 18.
B.Its tickets can be available from March 1.
C.It is best known in the east coast of America.
D.Its more information can be got from gtmf. org.
3.What is the similarity of Aspen Festival and Salzburg Festival?
A.Their tickets can be got in February.
B.They will be held in the same months.
C.They both have music and opera performances.
D.Their audience can be both adults and children.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Printed circuit boards are vital components of modern electronics. However, once they have served their purpose, they are often burned or buried in landfills, polluting the air, soil and water. Most concerning are the flame retardants (阻燃剂)added to printed circuit boards to keep them from catching fire. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering have developed a ball-milling method to break down these potentially harmful compounds enabling safer disposal (处理).
Composed of 30% metallic and 70% nonmetallic particles, printed circuit boards support and connect all of the electrical components of a device. Metallic components can be recovered from circuit boards easily using traditional methods leaving behind nonmetallic particles including those flame retardants and other additives. Scientists have found that compounds in those flame retardants can do harm to people's health, especially to those women who are pregnant. Therefore researchers have been wanting to develop a new method to remove the flame retardants from waste printed circuit boards so that they wouldn't do harm to people and the environment.
The researchers broke down printed circuit boards and removed the metallic components. Then,they put the nonmetallic particles into a ball mill — a rotating (旋转的)machine that uses hard stone balls to make materials into very small pieces. They also added iron powder, which prior studies had shown was helpful for removing chemicals from organic compounds. After ball-milling, the harmful chemicals on the surface of the particles had decreased by 50%・ The researchers determined that during the ball-milling process, iron transferred electrons to flame retardant compounds causing the internal structure to stretch and break.
The authors acknowledge funding from the 111 Project, the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China and the Pearl River Star of Science and Technology.
1.People are concerned most about the flame retardants because
A.they are harmful and hard to remove B.they keep circuit boards from catching fire
C.they make up the largest part in electronics D.they are mixed up with other components
2.What is the function of the printed circuit board?
A.Making electronics small and light. B.Preventing electronics catching fire.
C.Connecting all electrical components, D.Allowing easy disposal after being used,
3.What does the author mainly intend to tell us in paragraph 3?
A.How to operate the ball milk B.The ball-milling process and its result.
C.The high efficiency of the new method. D.Why iron powder is added to the process.
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The authors are short of money.
B.Over 100 projects support the authors,
C.The researchers will make much money.
D.The ball-milling method is promising.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Every year, little black-and-white birds called pied flycatchers(斑姬鹟) travel from sub-Saharan Africa to northern Europe to feast on caterpillars (毛毛虫), claim a nest, and have babies. And they fly back a few months later. But recently, some flycatchers have arrived only to find their nesting sites occupied by great tits (大山雀). And those birds don’t just chase flycatchers away—they attack them, kill them, and eat their brains.
Great tits live in European forests all year round. Flycatchers are regular vacationers. Since the 1980s, flycatchers’ reproductive season has been inching up earlier in the month of April. Warm spring temperatures have caused caterpillar populations to boom. To adapt to that, flycatchers arrive a bit earlier, too. That won’t be too big a problem. But now, tits delay their breeding period a bit in April, so they overlap with the flycatchers, and violence begins.
Moreover, there’s limited nesting space in many of these birds’ favorite forests—the trees can be quite young and have very few tree holes where birds can nest. Volunteers and academics have placed nestboxes to help. But with climate change, birds’ breeding schedules getting closer, there aren’t enough nestboxes to go around. Unfriendly hosts—the tits, eat their brains.
“Great tits are superior competitors when it comes down to a fight, ” said Jelmer Samplonius, lead author of a study. “People see it as a cute garden bird, but some of them have a real anger management problem. ” Luckily, the murdered birds were often surplus males that arrive late. The deaths haven’t had a big impact on the population because those late males probably won’t have had babies anyway. But there’s always the chance that it could get worse.
“Whatever the flycatcher population’s future may hold, ” Samplonius said, “this is a good example of why it’s essential to study how climate change can shift animals’ schedules, often with deadly consequences. Understanding different responses to changing environments will be an important part of species assessments in coming years.”
1.What has happened to pied flycatchers recently?
A.They couldn’t get enough food.
B.Their nesting sites were destroyed.
C.Their babies have become less likely to survive.
D.Their lives have been threatened by another kind of birds.
2.Which is one of the causes of the violence between pied flycatchers and great tits?
A.The change in migration of flycatchers. B.The delay of flycatchers’ reproductive season,
C.The reduction of both birds’ favorite forests. D.The two birds’ sharing the same food.
3.Which can best describe great tits?
A.Ugly. B.Smart. C.Aggressive. D.Lazy.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.A terrible bird murder B.Birds’ struggle to hunt
C.Birds’ influence on climate change D.The future of mixed species communities
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析