These days a green building means more than just the color of the paint.Green buildings can also refer to environmentally friendly houses，factories，and offices.

Green building means“reducing the effect of the building on the land”，Taryn Holowka of the U.S. Green Building Council (评议会) in Washington，D.C.，said.According to Holowka，building accounts for 65 percent of total U.S. electricity use.

But green buildings can reduce energy and water use.Also，the buildings are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways，so that people can drive their cars less.That could be good for the environment，because cars use lots of gas and give off pollution.Green buildings are often built on developed land，so that the buildings don’t destroy forests.

Marty Dettling is project manager for a building that puts these ideas into action.The Solaire has been called the country’s first green high­rise building.According to Dettling，“We’ve reduced our energy use by one­third and our water by 50 percent.”

The Solaire cuts energy in part by using solar power.“On the face of the building we have solar panels (光板) which change the sun’s energy into electricity，”Dettling explained.

The Solaire also has lights that automatically turn off when people leave the room.In addition，the building has lots of windows，allowing people to use the sun for light during the day.The Solaire cuts water by reusing it.

Not everyone is eager to move into a green building，however.Some people think that things like solar panels cost more money than more traditional energy sources.Anyhow，Holowka said，“It’s going to be big.”

【解题导语】　本文介绍了绿色建筑。在建筑的寿命周期内，最大限度地节约资源(节能、节地、节水、节材)、保护环境和减少污染，为人们提供健康、适用和高效的使用空间，与自然和谐共处。

8.A green building means________.

A.a building that uses no electricity

B.a building that saves energy and water

C.a building occupying less land

D.a green­colored building

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段第一句和第三段第一句，绿色建筑为节约能源和水的环保建筑。

9.A green building is often built on an area of land________.

A.which has already been for buildings

B.which has thick forests around

C.where people of high income live

D.where traveling around by car is most convenient

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第三段的最后一句可知，绿色建筑常建在已经开发过的土地上，以便不再毁坏森林。

10.When Holowka says in the last paragraph，“It’s going to be big”，she means that green buildings________.

A.will be more comfortable

B.will be more environmentally friendly

C.will become popular in future

D.will take the place of traditional buildings

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据语境可推知绿色建筑是今后的发展方向，从长远来看将会普及、流行。

11.Which is the main idea of the passage?

A.Dettling designed the first green building in the U.S.

B.Energy shortage calls for buildings of new design.

C.The Solaire serves as a model of high buildings.

D.Green buildings help save the environment.

解析：选D。文章大意题。从全文来看，本文主要话题是“绿色建筑有助于环保、节能”。

主旨大意题(二)

Building a company website is one of the most important parts of creating a successful business.But designing a website can be time­consuming and expensive.Web designers are difficult to work with, even though you’re paying them.There are cheaper ways to establish your company online, and Wix.com stands out among them.

Wix.com offers free HTML 5 and Flash website design that you can do on your own，without having to pay a pricey web designer.With unlimited space for as many pages as you want, customized looks, photo galleries, blog platform capabilities, and social networking buttons, Wix.com has everything a business of any size needs to make an impact online.You get full control over what information fills in the blanks, and you don’t have to know a thing about HTML to make this work.The way your website looks says a lot about your company.Wix.com does that, and it does it for free.Another thing that makes Wix.com the most affordable option in creating a website is that you don’t have to pay for a separate web host—every page created on Wix.com is hosted on Wix.com, free of charge.

The Internet is the marketplace of ideas: Your company needs to share what you think.If you think just because you don’t sell a product online you don’t need a website, you’re dead wrong.No matter what kind of business you have, if you want to reach an audience, you want to have a website that speaks to people.Wix.com lets you do that as quickly and easily as possible for free.

If you have a bigger budget, Wix.com has more options than just the free website design.You can choose to upgrade(升级)to the ad­less version which won’t fill up your customers’ screens when they visit your site.But if the most important thing to you is getting your company’s name online right now, try Wix.com today.

【解题导语】　本文介绍了一个网络平台Wix.com，通过该平台人们可以免费或低成本设计公司的网站。

1.Wix.com is meant to________.

A.sell products on the Internet

B.attract more customers online

C.build a company’s website cheap

D.collect any possible information

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据第一段的最后一句“There are cheaper ways to establish your company online，and Wix.com stands out among them.”可知，Wix.com用低成本建公司网站。

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A.Ways of finding free service.

B.Advantages of Wix.com.

C.Skills of creating websites.

D.Tricks of running a company.

解析：选B。段落大意题。第二段主要介绍了Wix.com的优点，如：它可以提供给用户免费的HTML 5和Flash网站设计、无限的网页空间等。

3.If you create a company website on Wix.com, you________.

A.have to be a good web designer

B.won’t do it easily and quickly

C.can share ideas with customers

D.must upgrade to the ad­less version

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据倒数第二段的第一句“The Internet is the marketplace of ideas：Your company needs to share what you think.”及最后两句“No matter what kind...you want to have a website that speaks to people.Wix.com lets you do that as quickly and easily as possible for free.”可知，如果你在 Wix.com上建一个公司网站，你就可以与顾客分享想法。

4.What’s the purpose of the text?

A.To teach a budget lesson.

B.To make an advertisement.

C.To present a website design.

D.To introduce a new business.

解析：选B。写作意图题。本文主要是在为Wix.com做广告，介绍它的服务内容及优点，让人们使用该平台。文章的最后一句更明确地表明了作者的写作意图。