-
Unit Four our community
Passage1
For
the
past
few
weeks,
we
have
been
discussing
national
energy
conservation
alternatives
for
the
future.
Today
I’
m
going
to
talk
about
what one community is presently doing
to
conserve energy
. The
people of
Davis, California, have
succeeded in cutting their energy consumption by
one
third
since
1973.
The
first
energy-saving
action
that
was
taken
in
early
1970
’
s
was the
legislation of strict building codes. All new
houses
in
Davis
must
have
the
proper
insulation,
so
that
heat
will
not
escape
unnecessarily
during
the
winter.
New
houses
must
also
face
north
or
south so that they will
not
be overheated by the sun in summer.
The
laws
have had a definite effect. Since
1976 there has been a 50% saving in the
amount of natural gas and electricity
used by the city, transport university
students
throughout
the
area.
There
are
24
miles
of
bicycle
paths
,
and
today there are twice as many bicycles
as cars in the city. By reducing the
available
parking
space,
the
city
council
has
succeeded
in
reducing
the
number
of
car
in
the
city
everyday.
Another
benefit
of
the
reduced
parking
is
the
greater
number
of
small
cars.
People
are
saving
gas
because
they
are
choosing
not
to
drive,
or
because
they
are
driving
fuel-economic
cars.
Davis,
California,
has
become
an
energy-saving
model for
other cities. Time is up for today. Next week
I’
ll return to our
regular topic of the national energy
alternatives.
1.
2.
3.
4.
what is the
main topic of this lecture?
C
when did Davis
begin its program?
D
why is
insulation required in new houses?
B
what is the purpose of building new
houses facing north or south?
A
5.
what has the
city of Davis provided for bicycle
riders?
A
Passage
2
Notices
have
been
put
up
here
and
there
in
the
village
for
the
last
fortnight
announcing a
meeting to discuss the Yearly Flower Show, which
has not been held
in
Fairacre for a number of years.
Before
I
became
the
village
schoolmistress
here,
the
Flower
Show
appears to have been an
event of some importance and people came from
miles around to enjoy a day at
Fairacre. It was normally held in a field at
the side of the church.
I
decided to go to the meeting, as the children in
my school, I know, used
to
play
quite
a
large
part
in
his
village
excitement
and
there
were
a
number of special competitions, such as
collecting wild flowers, making
dolls
’
house
decorations
or
little
gardens
and
so
on,
included
in
the
program
.
Also,
with
the
example
of
Mr.
Annett
’
s
gardening
efforts
at
Beech
Green
in
mind,
I
had
been
considering
for
some
time
a
school
garden
of
our
own,
and
this
village
should
give
our
efforts
additional
encouragement.
It was a
frosty, starlit night and the usually muddy
approach to the village
Hall
was
hard
and
rough
underfoot.
By
the
time
I
arrived
there
were
about
ten
people
already
in
the
hall.
The
doctor
was
chairman
of
the
meeting,
Mrs.
Patridge
was
in
the
front
row
and
Mr.
Willet
and
a
few
other
men
were
warming
their
hands
over
the
rather
smoky
oil
stove,
which was trying,
somewhat inefficiently, to warm the room. There
was a
strong
smell
of
oil,
mixed
with
the
smoke
from
coarse
tobacco.
T
he
meeting
was
called
for
seven
thirty---
a
most
inconvenient
time
in
my
private
opinion
as
it
successfully
upsets
the
evening
and
puts
back
the
time of one
’
s
evening meal. By a quarter to eight, only fifteen
people had
arrived.
The
doctor looked at his wife, and having received her
approval
rose to his feet.
6.
7.
8.
why had
notices been put up in the village?
D
why did the writer decide
to go to the meeting? D
what sort of
things would the village children perhaps be
interested
in doing as part of the
Flower Show?C
9.
10.
which
description fits the meeting best?C
what did the writer think about the
time the meeting was held? D
Passage 3
August
and
September
are
state
fair
months
here
in
the
United
States.