2011年山东省济宁市高二下学期期末考试英语题

With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills（泄露） on people, nature, and the environment．

Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil．Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea．

Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious．Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material．In the end, it breaks down naturally．There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term．

Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible．In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Sicily Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean．If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened．

Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage．Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!

We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil．Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power（太阳能）, electricity, hydrogen, and so on．Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal．

If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient（高效的）— and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year．If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too．

1.What is the passage mainly talking about?

2.How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

3.What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

4.Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

难度: 中等查看答案及解析

Before going outside in the morning, many of us check a window thermometer(温度计)for the temperature. This helps us decide what to wear.__1.__. We want our food to be a certain coldness in the refrigerator. We want it a certain hotness in the oven. If we don’t feel well, we use a thermometer to see if we have a fever. We keep our rooms a certain warmth in the winter and a certain coolness in the summer.

Not all the thermometers use the same system to measure temperature. We use a system called the Fahrenheit scale. But most other countries use the Centigrade scale.

Both systems use the freezing and boiling points of water as their guide.__2.__.

The most common kind of thermometer is made with mercury(水银)inside a clear glass tube. As mercury (or any other liquid ) becomes hot, it expands. As it gets colder, it contracts(收缩). That is why on hot days the mercury line is high in the glass tube.__3.__.

First. Take a clear glass juice bottle that has a cap ; fill the bottle with coloured water. Tap a hole in the center of the cap using a hammer and thick nail. Put the cap on the jar. Then stick a plastic straw(吸管) through the nail hole.____4.____.

Finally. Place a white card on the outside of the bottle and behind the straw. Now you can see the water lever easily. ____5.____.

As the temperature goes down, the water will contract, and the lever in the straw will come down. Perhaps you will want to keep a record of the water lever in the straw each morning for a week.

E．The water will rise in the straw. As the temperature of the air goes up, the water will expand and rise even higher.

F．They label these in different ways. On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100degrees.

G．Take wax (you may use an old candle if you have one) and melt some of it right where the straw is struck into the cap to seal(把..粘住) them together.

难度: 中等查看答案及解析