Hundreds of villages in rural India are using clean energy powered by the sun.

    This month, 61 households in the village of Baripatha in eastern India were given two solar lamps. Villagers had been using kerosene lamps at night. Kerosene produces pollution and can lead to fires.

    The Indian government wants to increase the use of solar energy by 500 percent in the next seven years. If it is to reach that goal, 100 gigawatts of power must come from solar by 2022.Now,just 4 gigawatts of power created in the country come from the sun.

    Officials say they want to slow the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. India is now the third largest producer of this gas. The gas contributes to climate change.

    Arunabha Ghosh is the head of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a policy research group in New Delhi.

    He says“in terms of the share of electricity capacity that Germany achieved through renewables, that transition took about 22 years for Germany. In India's case, which is a much poorer economy, India is planning to have a similar shift towards renewable energy and non-fossil energy” within 15 years.

    India's goal may be helped by the decreased cost of developing solar energy. The government says it wants investors to spend $ 100 billion over seven years in solar power. It is reducing taxes for some solar-related investments. And it is permitting non-Indians to invest.

    This week, Germany said it would spend more than $ 2 billion on solar projects in India. SunEdison, an American renewable-energy company, says it wants to invest $ 15 billion. SoftBank, a Japanese company, has announced it will partner with companies in India and China to spend up to $20 billion on solar energy projects. Trina Solar, a Chinese company, plans to spend $500 million to make solar panels.

    Some people in India are worried that there is not enough land for some of these projects. Many of the projects need large plots of land.

    Inderpreet Wadhwa created a company called Azure Power. It was one of the earliest investors in solar projects. He said most of them are being built in dry areas of the country, on land that cannot be farmed.

    We may think we're a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices (装置)well after they go out of style. That's bad news for the environment—and our wallets—as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.

    To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life—from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s.Devices were grouped by generation. Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992.Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997.And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.

    As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones.“The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids' room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house,” said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007.We're not just keeping these old devices—we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (排放)more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.

    So what's the solution (解决方案)?The team's data only went up to 2007,but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.

    For many years, machines have been doing work that people once did, including some difficult jobs. Search and rescue operations in dangerous environments are often seen as the first areas that will employ high technology robots. But there is another area where they may soon take jobs traditionally held by human beings: the restaurant industry.

    Teams from around the world competed in early June at the DARPA Robotic Challenge Finals in California. A team from R. O. Korea and its robot, called DRC-Hubo, won first place in the competition. The second and third place finishers were from the United States.

    The robots were required to drive a vehicle, climb up steps and do mechanical work. Such activities are easy for humans to perform, but more difficult for machines.

    Not all of the competitors were successful. The failures showed how difficult it is to design effective walking machines.

    Recently, crowds gathered for the food machinery and technology show in Tokyo, Japan. They witnessed a robotic chef preparing food. Other machines cooked, baked tasty pastries and even made sushi.

    Akihiro Suzuki works at Yaskawa Electric, a company that develops robots. He says robots cannot do everything a human can, but they are able to work without becoming tired.

    He says robots cannot taste food, change heating levels or seasonings to get the best flavor. But he says if a food can be easily prepared, a robot can repeat the same movement to reproduce the same meal.

    One Japanese woman who saw the robots working wanted to bring them home. Masayo Mori says she would like to have a husband who could work like a robot. Suzumo Machinery demonstrated its sushi maker robot. It performs the often difficult work of wrapping the popular Japanese food. Hiroshi Monden is an official with the company. He says people all over the world now eat sushi, but there are not enough skilled workers to prepare for it. He says his machine can help anyone make sushi.

    Whether you've been in college or you're looking forward to going to university in the future, you and your family likely spend some time worrying about the cost of your college education.       However, that will pay off for years to come. Earning scholarships is a great way to help you. The Financial Aid Office at Illinois State helps students identify scholarship opportunities every day. Here is some advice to help you.

    Have you asked your high school or community college financial aid office about scholarships at your school? Many schools have a list of several scholarships right there.       Check with community organizations, banks and credit unions, and large employers who may offer scholarship opportunities in your area.

    Find your “hook”

           Your unique characteristics can help your scholarship applications stand out. Pay special attention to awards that mention your best qualities, whether that's academic achievements, leadership, community service, or something less common. Think about why a donor wants to assist you in paying for your education. Most scholarship providers want to encourage a particular behavior. Companies may want to attract future employees.

    Develop a routine

    Every scholarship is different in terms of when you can apply, what you need to turn in, when the winner is announced, and how the money is given to you.       There isn't a single application or search engine that allows you to find and apply for everything. Visit the website for the Office of Student Financial Aid for lists of scholarship opportunities. Go through the lists to find the ones that match you best and keep track of when you can apply for them.

A. While you're searching, consider what makes you special as a student.

B. Typically, scholarship applications open in the late fall or early spring for the next school year's awards, but that also varies depending on the donors.

C. There is no doubt that college education is a necessary step to get yourselves prepared for the future.

D. Local awards can often be easier to get as the application pools are smaller and less competitive.

E. Begin in your own backyard

F. It's no secret that college is one of the biggest investments.

G. Believe in yourselves

    I was running a few errands in my car the other day. The sun was out, the radio was playing, and I was1along. The song was a joyful one and even my weak voice sounded good singing it. Then it happened,2. The 3 sound of the music ended and was replaced with the dreaded news break.

    I drove on while the announcer droned on. Gas prices were going higher again4 the competitive speculation(投机)on Wall Street. The 5 for the Presidency was getting nastier and nastier, rioting(暴乱)had 6 when fans of a sports team had gone wild, celebrating their team's championship.

    Finally, I could take no7 and turned off the radio. Silence seemed preferable 8 listening to anything else about the crazy, competitive society we live in. I slowed down as I entered a local town and 9 the people as I drove by.

    A tall muscular(壮硕的)man was helping an elderly lady out of a car and helping her position her walker so she 10 go into a local store.

    A smiling woman was tossing birdseed into her backyard while a dozen robins flew down to enjoy the11 being laid out before them.

    A young man was walking along, carrying his two-year-old daughter12 in his arms. He tickled her gently when she pulled the hat off his head and they13 laughed. I laughed too as I looked at all of this 14. It felt like a glimpse of Heaven. The radio may have been 15in my car, but in my heart I was still singing.

    In truth, this world could use a little more kindness and a lot16 competition .Kindness makes us all winners in this life. Kindness 17 us that we are all God's Children. Kindness shows us that we don't have to 18 others in this world.

    We just have to love them. May all of your moments here then19kindness, love, and joy. And may your only competition be with yourself: to be the best 20 you that you can be.

    The Great Wall was grand, a little rainy at first, but grand all the same. The mist covered the far ends of the wall,      (give)it an almost mysterious feeling. The fog rolled in and out of the high mountains, revealing new parts of the wall as       (quick)as it covered them. I kept on walking, seeing watchtower after watchtower       my way. To my       (relieve), many people had decided today was not the best day       (climb)the wall, and I was there with very few people. I walked for       seemed like miles. Then I saw just how long the wall I was standing on stretched for.

    It was       (end)! I walked and walked, but after every hill I climbed, there was another long stretch of wall. I eventually came to        long staircase. Later I found out that it       (call) “Chairman Mao's Challenge”.I accepted, and after climbing the hundred plus stairs to the peak, I had to admit that the Great Wall truly lives up to its reputation. So if I       (have)another chance to travel to China, I would never hesitate to visit the Great Wall again.

1）志愿者要求;

2）报名地点和截止时间。

注意：

1）词数80左右;

2）可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。

    It was an Art lesson. Rachel sat at the desk watching her classmates busy preparing the water jars and paints. She understood why Mrs. Weston asked her to sit down and got Lisa to fetch everything for her. It was always a disaster when Rachel tried to do Art!

    Rachel sighed and reached out to dip her brush in some black paint and—oh, no! She knocked over the jar. The water spread across the desk and drowned the paper. Lisa called Mrs. Weston to see what Rachel had done. Rachel went red in the face. She jumped to her feet to get a cloth. Her chair fell over backwards. She turned round and her paintbrush caught Lisa across the face, giving her a black moustache. Lisa was so surprised that she fell back against a wire bookstand. It came crashing down and the books went all over the floor.

    How clumsy! Rachel thought as she went home on the bus. The bus stopped outside her house. She jumped up and her elbow (肘部)knocked a woman's hat right over her eyes. Oh, no! Rachel said sorry, got off and ran indoors. Mum wasn't in the kitchen but lay in bed as she caught an awful cold. Rachel offered to make a cup of tea but Mum would rather wait for Dad. Rachel sighed. She understood Mum was afraid she would spill (溅出)it.

    “But would you go to Mrs. Willow for some cold cure?” asked Mum. Rachel turned to the door at once.“But Rachel, Mrs. Willow's house is full of beautiful things, so if she asks you to come in, you'd better say no.” Rachel sighed and ran out.

    Mrs. Willow was an old lady with white hair and sharp blue eyes living in an old house. She opened the door and invited her in. Rachel said why she came and that she preferred to wait outside remembering her mother's warning. Mrs. Willow insisted Rachel come inside. Rachel took a deep breath and stepped in. She looked round Mrs. Willow's sitting room and saw at once why Mum had been worried.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后,请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。

Paragraph 1:

    There were beautiful things everywhere -pretty china figures and delicate vases.

Paragraph 2:

    With a smile, Mrs. Willow comforted her saying it had been broken before.