Question

One of the world's richest men has taken a close interest in one of man's most basic functions: visiting the toilet．Bill Gates’ charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future, which, they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world．

So, what's wrong with the traditional flush toilet? Firstly, it wastes a huge amount of potential drinking water．Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution．This is a real problem in many areas of the developing world, where, according to United Nations’ estimates, unsafe sanitation causes half of all hospitalizations．Younger people are particularly at risk．Illnesses which cause diarrhea are responsible for the deaths of about 1．5 million children a year．Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas．

The challenge set by Bill Gates was to come up with a latrine which works without running water, electricity or aseptic tank．It also needed to operate for less than 5 cents．28 designs were displayed at the recent event of the Toilet Fair in Seattle, USA．Among them was one which turned human waste into electricity using microwaves, another which converted human waste into charcoal, and yet another which used urine for flushing．

But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity．The team from the California Institute of Technology（CIT）picked up a prize of $ 100,000.

But clearly Bill Gates doesn't feel he's flushing money down the toilet．After the Seattle event he said, "We couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten," Gates has even promised $370 million more to the future toilet project．They hope to field test more prototypes over the next three years．

1.Why is Bill Gates paying people to invent new toilets?

A．Because he wants to test people's sense of creativity．

B．Because he wants to improve sanitation for many people．

C．Because he thinks the traditional ones are out of fashion．

D．Because he can't design this kind of things himself．

2.Which of the following is NOT a problem with the traditional flush toilet?

A．They waste too much water．              B．They might cause diseases．

C．They are not always practical．             D．They are too complicated to use.

3.The underlined word "latrine" in the third paragraph might have similar meanings to the word "__   " in the text．

A．loo              B．sanitation          C．diarrhea          D．prototype

4.The team from CIT won the prize because their design        .

A．can change human waste into electricity

B．can turn human waste into charcoal

C．can produce power with solar energy

D．can use urine for flushing

5.If people "flush money down the toilet", they are       .

A．showing off their wealth                  B．angry with their working conditions

C．wasting money for nothing                D．expressing their great determination

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.C

5.C

【解析】

試題分析：文章介紹比爾蓋茨找人發明一種新型的廁所，旨在環保和改善人們的衛生狀況。

1.細節題：從第一段的句子：they hope, would improve sanitation for millions of people around the world． 可知比爾蓋茨希望改善人們的衛生狀況。選B。

2.細節題：從第二段的句子：Firstly, it wastes a huge amount of potential drinking water．Secondly, they are more likely to cause pollution．和Finally, standard lavatories simply aren't practical in remote areas．可知ABC都是對的，選D。

3.猜詞題：從第一段的句子：the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is looking for inventors to design the loo of the future,可知latrine 和loo都是“廁所”，選A

4.細節題：從倒數第二段的句子：But the winner was a solar-powered design which generated hydrogen gas and electricity．The team from the California Institute of Technology（CIT）picked up a prize of $ 100,000.可知他們獲勝是因為利用太陽能，選C

5.句意理解題：從后面的句子："We couldn't be happier with the response we've gotten,可知比爾蓋茨認為這些錢并不是浪費。選C

考點：考查新聞報道類短文

點評：文章介紹比爾蓋茨找人發明一種新型的廁所，旨在環保和改善人們的衛生狀況。內容比較適中，對于考生的能力要求不高，只要認真細致閱讀，不難發現答案。可以先看題目再讀文章，這樣可以提高閱讀的速度。還要準確定位考點。特別是推理題，要結合上下文的暗示做題，掌握方法是關鍵。