Whatwillpoweryourhouseinthefuture?Nuclearwindorsolarpow...

問題詳情：

What will power your house in the future? Nuclear wind or solar power? According to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in the US, it might be artificial leaves.

Natural leaves are able to change sunlight and water into energy. It is known as photosynthesis (光合作用). Now researchers have found a way to imitate this process.

The artificial leaf developed by Daniel Nocera and his colleagues at MIT can be seen as a special silicon chip with catalysts(催化劑). Similar to natural leaves, it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of water. The hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell (電池), using those two materials to produce electricity, located either on top of a house or beside the house.

Though the leaf is only about the shape of a poker card, scientists claimed that it is promising to be an inexpensive source of electricity in developing countries. “One can imagine villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology” said an American scientist, Nocera.   

An artificial leaf is not a new idea. The first artificial leaf was invented in 1997 but was too expensive and unstable for practical use. The new leaf, however, is made of cheap materials, easy to use and highly stable. In laboratory studies, Nocera showed that an artificial leaf could operate continuously for at least 45 hours.

The wonderful improvements come from Nocera’s recent discovery of several powerful new, inexpensive catalysts. These catalysts make the energy transformation inside the leaf more efficient with water and sunlight. Right now the new leaf is about 10 times more effective at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural one. Besides, the device can run in whatever water is available. This is important for some countries that don’t have access to pure water.

Hopefully, each home could have access to the new application in the future.

purpose of this article is to _____.

oduce a new kind of device                      people to do the research

rtise the new product                              the process of photosynthesis

h of the following is NOT the advantages of the new leaf?

’s low in cost.                                            ’s small in size.

has a wonderful fuel cell.                           ’s convenient for people to use.

conclusion can be drawn from the text?

ra thought the new leaf is expensive for developing countries.

ages in Africa have benefited a lot from the new invention.

con chip can help the new leaf work more effectively.

equipment doesn’t necessarily operate in pure water.

’s the writer’s attitude towards the new device?

tive.                  mistic.                tful.                  rtain.

【回答】

1.A; 2.C; 3.D; 4.B 解析：1.主旨大意題.本文主要介紹了一項仿造葉子光合作用的發明--人工葉子工作原理、工作*能和工作條件,可為發展*家提供便宜的能源;故選A. 2.細節理解題.根據文章第三段"Similar to natural leaves,it can split water into hydrogen and oxygen when put into a bucket of hydrogen and oxygen gases are then stored in a fuel cell"可知新葉可以製造燃料電池而不是擁有;故選C. 3.細節理解題.根據倒數第二段"Besides,the device can run in whatever water is available"可知這些設備不一定在純水中工作;故選D. 4.推理判斷題.根據最後一段"Hopefully,each home could possibly have the access to the new application in the future"可知作者對這種新設備的態度十分積極支持;故選B.

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