CAs every computer owner knows, when their ma...

C

As every computer owner knows, when their machines run a complex program they get pretty hot. In fact, cooling the processors can be expensive, especially when you're dealing with huge banks of computer servers. But what if that energy could heat private homes? A Dutch energy firm aims to do just that.

Data centers of large Internet firms, such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and others, contain thousands of computer servers. As they process information they generate enormous amounts of heat requiring cooling towers that dissipate it into the atmosphere.

A Dutch firm thinks paying for electricity to run the servers and then paying again to cool them is a waste of energy.

Boaz Leupe, CEO of the start-up Nerdalize, says it’s actually quite simple.

"We don't actually have to build the data center, which saves a lot of costs in infrastructure and we don't have the cooling overhead, plus that you have the environmental benefit, that the kilowatt hour you are using is used twice, once to heat the home and once to compute the clients task without the cooling overhead," says Leupe.

The company developed what it calls an e-Radiator, a computer server that also works as an alternative heating source. Leupe says that five Dutch homeowners are experimentally using them in their homes.

“We reimburse the electricity the server uses, and that we can do because of the computer clients on the other side, and, in that way, home owners actually get heating for free, and computer users don't have to pay for the overhead of the data center,” says Leupe.

One of the participants in the year-long experiment, Jan Visser, says the amount of heat produced by e-Radiator depends on the work being done by the server’s processors so it cannot be used as the primary source. But he is ready to try it.

“If it gives good enough warmth, you can use less of your existing central heating, and there is the chance for a home owner to pay less bills.”

Nerdalize says e-Radiators generate temperature of up to 55 degrees Celsius and could save up to $440 in annual heating costs.

1.Which one is true according to the passage？

A. It is expensive to deal with huge banks of computer servers.

B. A Dutch energy firm attempted to heat private homes.

C. Computer servers generate large quantities of heat.

D. The cooling tower is a waste of energy.

2.The underlined phrase “overhead” in the third paragraph probably means______.

A. daily cost B. fixture

C. forehead　 D. method

3.What is NOT true about e-Radiator according to the passage?

A. It is a computer server used as an alternative heating source.

B. It has been launched onto the market.

C.It is environmentally friendly.

D. It can save users’ money.

4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage ?

A. A New Kind of Data Servers

B. Data Servers Could Heat Private Homes

C. How to Heat the Private Homes with Computers

D. An Alternative Heating Source

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

While every dog owner knows their dogs can read their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a little doubtful. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some convincing evidence.

For this study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half were given their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves. That’s because the scientists believe humans show their eruptions on their entire face.

After some training on how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face, the researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.

They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn. They guess　 it may be　 because dogs　 find angry　 faces disgusting, causing　 them to　 back　 away　 quickly. However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded, the trepidation seemed to disappear. In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer “game” that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.

The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly. Since the touched screen models were all females, this confirmed what had been observed in previous studies—dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.

1.How did the scientists conduct the experiment?

A.By mixing the selected dogs together.

B.By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen.

C.By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry.

D.By showing digital pictures of women’s happy or angry faces.

2.What is the meaning of the underlined word “trepidation” in Paragraph 5?

A.fear and hesitation B.doubt and uncertainty

C.curiosity and eagerness D.excitement and happiness

3.According to the last paragraph, dogs with female owners ________.

A.are scared away at the male faces

B.can only read the expressions on partial faces

C.are uninterested in telling facial expressions

D.have difficulty telling the moods on the faces of males

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A.Dogs and Their Owners B.Dogs’ Mood Research

C.Dogs Identify the Moods D.Mood Changes Influence Dogs

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

While every dog owner knows their dogs can read their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a little doubtful. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some convincing evidence.

For this study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposed eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half given their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves. That's because the scientists believe humans show their eruptions on their entire face.

After some training on how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face, the researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.

They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn. They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting, causing them to back away quickly. However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded, the trepidation seemed to disappear. In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game"that scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.

The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly. Since the touched screen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies-dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.

1.How did the scientists conduct the experiment?

A. By mixing the selected dogs together.

B. By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen.

C. By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry.

D. By showing digital pictures of women's happy or angry faces.

2.The underlined word "trepidation" in Paragraph 5 probably means　　　　　　　　 .

A. fear and hesitation B. curiosity and eagerness

C. excitement and happiness D. doubt and uncertainty

3.According to the last paragraph, dogs with female owners 　　　　　　 .

A. are scared away at the male faces

B. are uninterested in telling the emotions on the entire faces

C. have difficulty telling the moods on the faces of males

D. can only recognize emotions on partial faces

4.What is the best title for this passage?

A. Mood Changes Influence Dogs B. Dogs Identify the Moods

C. Dogs and Their Owners D. Dogs' Mood Research

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

While every dog owner knows their dogs can read their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a piffle doubtful．Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria; we finally have some convincing evidence．

For their study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposés eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy．Half the dogs were rewired for touching the screen when shove a happy face, while the other half gilt their treat for selecting those that appeared angry．

Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face．Some dogs were show Ti only upper halves while the others observed lower halves．That's because the scientists believe humans show their eruptions on their equities face．

After some training ill．e how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face, the researchers concluded the dogs were smart-enough to read human emotions．

They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn．They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting, causing them to withdraw quickly．However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewired, the trepidation seem end to disappear．In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game" That scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed．

The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly．Since the touches careen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies-dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the serene gender as their owner．

1.How did the scientists conduct the experiment?

A．By leaving dogs to women who are either happy or angry．

B．By mixing the selected dogs together．

C．By rewarding only half of the dogs touching the screen．

D．By showing digital pictures of women's happy or angry faces．

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．The dogs were not all provided with the entire face,

B．According to their size, the dogs were given either upper or lower halves．

C．The dogs could read even small changes that accountancy facial expressions after some training．

D．The dogs couldn't read strangers facial emotions．

3.The underlined word "trepidation" in Paragraph 5 probably means 　　　　　 .

A．horror　　 B．curiosity

C．excitement　 D．doubt

4.How might the results change if the dogs with female owners are shown pictures of male faces?

A．They could only tell commotions on partial faces rather than on entire face's．

B．They found it hard to tell the moods on the faces of a different gender．

C．They found it easy to tell the emotions on the entire -face．

D．They would be scared away at the sight of the pictures．

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Most dog owners are convinced that their four-legged friends know exactly what they mean when they use certain words like sit，stay or treat.However，researchers have always wondered whether dogs really understand human speech or if they rely on other information to get the meaning.For example，does the word“fetch”form a picture of a stick or ball in the dog’s mind，or does the dog bring back the object based on the owner’s voice or gesture? A new study by scientists at Atlanta’s Emory University seems to indicate that“man’s best friend”does indeed know what the owner is saying.

The researchers began by asking the owners of twelve dogs of various kinds to train their pets to identify two toys of different materials，such as a toy animal and a ball.Once the dogs had mastered the task，they took turns inside a special scanner.The owners then tested their dog’s language skill by first calling out the names of the toys they had been trained to recognize and then saying meaningless words such as“bobbu”and“bodmick”while holding up random objects the dogs hadn’t seen before.

The scans suggested that the parts of the dogs’ brains responsible for processing of sounds showed different brain patterns when they heard words they were familiar with，compared with the ones they had never heard before.While that was not enough to prove that the dogs were picturing their toys when they heard the word，it did indicate some sort of recognition.The researchers believe this is an important step forward in understanding how dogs process language.

Even more interesting was that the dog’s brains showed a higher level of neural(神经)activity at the sound of unknown words.This is the exact opposite of what happens in human brains，which get more active at the sound of familiar words.The researchers say the dogs may become cheerful at the sound of new words to try to understand them in the hope of delighting their masters.“Dogs want to please their owners，and perhaps also receive praise or food，”says Empty neuroscientist Gregory Burns，senior author of the study.

However，though your pet may understand human speech，the scientists recommend using visual signals and smell for training.“When people want to teach their dog a trick，they often use spoken command because that’s what humans prefer，”Prichard says.“From the dog’s view，however，a visual command might be more effective，helping the dog learn the trick faster.”

1.What’s the purpose of the new study?

A.To convince dog owners to understand their dogs.

B.To advise dog owners to treat their dogs kindly.

C.To prove dogs follow owners’order by listening.

D.To test out how dogs get information from owners.

2.What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?

A.Inform the result of the research. B.State the process of the research.

C.Stress the importance of the research. D.Introduce the subjects of the research.

3.How do human brains and dog brains react to words ?

A.Human brains become active at unfamiliar words.

B.Dog brains become delighted at unfamiliar words.

C.Human brains are not sensitive to familiar words.

D.Dog brains show no response to familiar words.

4.What do scientists advise the owners to do in dog training?

A.Give dogs oral command. B.Teach dog new tricks.

C.Involve sight and smell. D.Encourage faster learning.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know, however, that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.

The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while, though. This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around. But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.

In the mid-1700s, a Frenchman came up with a new design of road — a base layer (层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs (the central part of a wheel) came into being, followed by the pneumatic type (充气轮胎） in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads (柏油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.

1.What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?

A. Few knew how to use transport wheels.

B. Humans carried farming tools just as well.

C. Animals were a good means of transport.

D. The existence of transport wheels was not known.

2.What do we know about road design from the passage?

A. It was easier than wheel design.

B. It improved after big changes in vehicle design.

C. It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.

D. It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.

3.How is the last paragraph mainly developed?

A. By giving examples.                                                               B. By making comparisons.

C. By following time order.                                                        D. By making classifications.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. The beginning of road design.

B. The development of transport wheels.

C. The history of public transport

D. The invention of fast-moving vehicles.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know, however, that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.

The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5,100 years old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while, though. This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.

But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modem road design.

In the mid-1700s, a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer (层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same lime, metal hubs (the central part of a wheel) came into being, followed by the pneumatic tyre(充气轮胎) in 1846. Alloy wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads (柏油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.

1.What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?

A．Few knew how to use transport wheels.

B．Humans carried farming tools just as well.

C．Animals were a good means of transport.

D．The existence of transport wheels was not known.

2.What do we know about road design from the passage?

A．It was easier than wheel design.

B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design.

C．It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.

D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.

3.How is the last paragraph mainly developed?

A．By giving examples.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By following time order.

D．By making classifications.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The beginning of road design.

B．The development of transport wheels.

C．The history of public transport.

D．The invention of fast-moving vehicles.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels，yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for.We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.

The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia.It is over 5,100 years old.Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while，though.This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.

But it could also be because of a difficult situation.While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces，roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them.Eventually，road surfaces did become smoother，but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later.There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.

In the mid­1700s，a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer(层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones.A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong，lasting road surface became a reality.At around the same time，metal hubs (the central part of a wheel)came into being，followed by the pneumatic tyre(充气轮胎) in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967，sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(柏油路)．As wheel design took off，vehicles got faster and faster.　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　 (2013·重庆，C)

1.What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?

A．Few knew how to use transport wheels.

B．Humans carried farming tools just as well.

C．Animals were a good means of transport.

D．The existence of transport wheels was not known.

2. What do we know about road design from the passage?

A．It was easier than wheel design.

B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design.

C．It was promoted by fast­moving vehicles.

D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.

3. How is the last paragraph mainly developed?

A．By giving examples.

B．By making comparisons.

C．By following time order.

D．By making classifications.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The beginning of road design.

B．The development of transport wheels.

C．The history of public transport.

D．The invention of fast­moving vehicles.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels, yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for. We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500years ago in ancient Asia.

The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia. It is over 5，100 years

old. Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn't become popular for .while, though . This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.

But it could also be because of a difficult situation. While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces, roads with smooth surfaces weren't going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them. Eventually, road surfaces did become smoother, but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later. There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.

In the mid-1700s,a Frenchman came up with a new design of road--a base layer (层)of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller atones. A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong, lasting road surface became a reality. At around the same time, metal hubs(the central part of a wheel came into being, followed by the Wheels were invented in 1967, sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(泊油路). As wheel design took off, vehicles got faster and faster.

1.What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?

A.Few knew how to use transport wheels.

B.Humans carried farming tools just as well.

C.Animals were a good means of transport.

D.The existence of transport wheels was not known.

2.What do we know about road design from the passage?

A.It was easier than wheel design.

B.It improved after big changes in vehicle design.

C.It was promoted by fast-moving vehicles.

D.It provided conditions for wheel design to develop.

3.How is the last paragraph mainly developed?

A.By giving examples.

B.By making comparisons.

C.By following time order.

D.By making classifications.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A.The beginning of road deaign.

B.The development of transport wheels.

C.The history of public transport.

D.The invention of fast-moving vehicles.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

阅读理解。

Pilates, yoga and the running machine get all the attention when it comes to popular ways to stay healthy.

There is, however, a more humble exercise that might not be so attractive, but has all the benefits — walking.

Certified fitness professional Jolynn Jaekel explains, “What I love about walking is that anyone can do it at any age and any fitness level. Plus, it is good for your heart, your head and your wallet.”

A recent report details the health benefits of walking. The report found that walking regularly to fulfill the 150 minutes of moderate physical exercise every week, recommended by the UK's chief medical officer, could save 37,000 lives each year. Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found that quick walking reduces the risk of heart disease more effectively than running. They observed participants aged between 18 and 80 over a six­year period and found that walking reduced the risk of heart disease by 9.3%, while running reduced it by 4.5%. And there is even more good news: 30 minutes of quick walking over five days could help you sleep easily, according to research by Oregon State University. The study by the university showed that walking helped participants sleep better and feel more alert during the day.

The sooner you get started, the sooner you'll notice the differences in your mind and body. So, go out for your 30­minute walk in a nearby park or green space.

1.The underlined word “humble” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．

A．plain　　　　　 　　 B．relaxing

C．popular　 　　 　　 D．active

2.What does Jolynn Jaekel think of walking?

A．It's loved by people of all ages.

B．It's much healthier than running.

C．It's a money­saving physical exercise.

D．It's becoming more and more popular.

3.What did scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory find?

A．Walking helps people with sleep problems.

B．Walking contributes to curing heart disease.

C．Walking 150 minutes per week can save lives.

D．Walking is better than running in some cases.

4.In which section of a newspaper can we read this text?

A．Comment. 　　　　　　　 B．Lifestyle.

C．Education. 　　　　　　 D．Science.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析