If I see one more article about how wonderful alternative energy is compared to oil, I will flip . Alternative energy sources can be good---- very good in fact. And it's pretty obvious that we're going to need them, and that our dependence on oil is a Bad Thing. But accepting that does not mean accepting that any kind of alternative energy is a good thing. To be a good thing, it has to have three properties: 1) It has to help reduce our dependence on oil, 2) It has to be no worse for the environment, and 3) It has to be economically practical. Many of the things praised meet one or even two of those properties. Solar panels, for example. They can reduce our need for oil, at least in certain regions, and they're certainly not bad for the environment. But they're expensive. If you spend the money to make your home solar-powered, you probably won't get back your costs for at least 15 years, which approaches the lifespan of the panels. Certainly we need to clean up our act big time and find workable sources of alternative energy. But we also have to keep in mind that every one of these alternative-energy sources comes at a cost, which is something people seem to forget. They hear the phrase "alternative energy" and automatically assume it's got to be good. But green isn't always good, and oil isn't always bad. One seemingly "green" technology that pops up again and again is electric cars. It is praised by well-meaning people as good for the environment and a way to reduce our oil dependence, especially as oil prices continue to rise. Electric cars are dirty. In fact, not only are they dirty, they might even be more dirty than their gasoline-powered cousins. People in California love to talk about " zero-emissions vehicles", but people in California seem to be clueless about where electricity comes from. Power plants mostly use fire to make it. Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells, we get our electricity from generators. Generators are fueled by something---- usually coal, oil,... It can be inferred from the text that   _  . A) being green is good and should be encouraged in communication B) electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something C) zero-emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment D) electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline-powered cousins
B


Are you a team person? Are you at your best as part of a small, tightly united group of dedicated workers? If so, the future may _ for you than you think. High technology, some predicted, would make team work a thing of the past. That's happening in those areas of business and data processing where one person and a computer can replace a team of workers. But, elsewhere, teamwork is very much alive. High technology has led to a new type of teamwork in a number of fields, including advertising, scientific research, engineering design, architecture and ocean exploration. Through computer networking, scientists, engineers and technicians at different locations---often thousands of miles apart---can work on the same project at once. They can exchange ideas, try out different designs and test their results. Examples? An engineering team can now design and try out a robot system, a new manufacturing process, or an entire factory before it is built. An architectural team can do the same with a building or a bridge. A medical team can simulate   a dangerous operation before performing it on a patient. Of course, computer-assisted team effort doesn't end with investigation and simulation. It now usually continues into actual design, manufacturing and testing. "Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM) are breaking down barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions," explains Dr. Prakash Rao, an engineering manager at General Electric. "Interdisciplinary teams and engineers follow a product from concept to production. Everything is interconnected like a network." Sometimes a computer-aided effort can extend beyond production. A team that produces robots may use them to explore space and ocean depth. For high-technology team work, the future seems limitless. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? A) Many fields of science and technology are now using computers effectively. B) No details are given in the passage about barriers between traditional design and manufacturing functions. C) Experts from different fields have to cooperate to develop a product from concept to production. D) High technology is nothing but a new type of teamwork plus CAD and CAM.
D


Q: The fact that blind people can see things using parts of their bodies apart from their eyes may help us to understand our feelings about color.If they can sense color differences, then perhaps we, too, are affected by color without knowing it.Salesmen have discovered by experience over a long period of time that sugar sells badly in green wrappings, that blue foods are considered not agreeable to the taste, and that cosmetics  should never be packed in brown.These discoveries have grown into a whole subject of color psychology. Some of our preferences are clearly psychological.Dark blue is the color of the night sky and therefore connected with calm, while yellow is a day color connected with energy and encouragement.Experiments have shown that colors, partly because they are connected with psychology, also have a direct effect on people's mind.People in bright red surroundings show an increase in breathing speed, heartbeat and blood pressure.Red is exciting.Pure blue has exactly the opposite effect; it is a calming color.Being exciting, red was chosen as the signal for danger, but a closer study shows that a bright yellow can produce a more basic state of alarm, so fire engines in some advanced areas are now rushing around in bright yellow colors that stop buses, trucks and cars. The most effective color in the passage for warning people is  _  . A) red B) dark blue C) green D) bright yellow
A: D


*Question*
"My kids really understand solar and earth-heat energy," says a second-grade teacher in prefix = st1 /Saugus,California, "Some of them are building solar collectors for their energy course." These young scientists are part of City Building Educational Program (CBEP) , a particular program for kindergarten through twelfth grade that uses the stages of city planning to teach basic reading ,writing and math skills , and more . The children don't just plan any city . They map and analyze  the housing , energy , and transportation requirements of their own district and foretell its needs in 100 years . With the aid of an architect  who visits the classroom once a week , they invent new ways to meet these needs and build models of their creations . "Designing buildings of the future gives children a lot of freedom," says the teacher who developed this program. "They are able to use their own rich imagination and inventions without fear of blame , because there are no wrong answers in a future context . In fact , as the class enters the final model-building stage of the program , an elected "official" and "planning group" make all the design decisions for the model city , and the teacher steps back and becomes an adviser ." CBEP is a set of activities , games , and imitations that teach the basic steps necessary for problem-solving ; observing , analyzing, working out possible answers , and judging them based on the children's own standards . The children feel free in the program because_. A) they can design future buildings themselves B) they have new ideas and rich imagination C) they are given enough time to design models D) they need not worry about making mistakes
**Answer**

D