C．The fruitful tomato season.D．The making of tomato sauce.

26．What will the author most probably do next?

A．Open one jar.B．Keep the jars.

C．Collect tomatoes.D．Make tomato sauce

27．Which of the following can describe the author?

A．Practical.B．Faithful.C．Affectionate.D．Sensitive.

C

The burning of coal may be falling out of favor as a means of generating heat and electricity,but that doesn’t mean it no longer has valuable uses.The team of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology(KAUST)is using coal for a new economy.

The project is led by Associate Professor Andrea Fratalocchi.While reading about challenges of ending the use of coal in power generation,Fratalocchi was struck by a novel possible use for coal.“Why don’t we use coal for seawater desalination(脱盐)?”Fratalocchi recalls,still excited.Capable of taking in sunlight,the black mineral adds to the list of substances in dark colors serving the purpose,which the team is on a long-standing hunt for.

Fralalocchi and his team began to explore the use of a material known as carbonized compressed powder(压缩粉末),also CCP,which is created by breaking coal into powder,and then pressing that powder back into a solid that has more tiny holes—it can also be made into a desired shape.The team mixed CCP with natural cotton fibers,producing a block which was then placed within a seawater-containing container,with its bottom touching water surface.While sunlight heated the black surface of the block,the inside fibers helped water flow in and through the block from the bottom.When that liquid water reached the hot surface,it turned into steam which rose and condensed(冷凝)on the inside of a specially shaped cover.That condensation then flew down the cover and was collected as fresh,drinkable water.The seawater’s salt content remained behind within the CCP.A simple wash was enough to remove most of it,so the material could be reused multiple times.

KAUST has partnered with the Dutch start-up PERA Complexity to promote the technology.The material will see its first use in a pilot plant in Brazil.“CCP is abundant in nature and reasonable to use,besides being lightweight and highly changeable,”says team member Marcella Bonifazi.“The device’s desalination rate per unit of raw material is two to three times higher than that of any other solar desalination system,but it produces fresh water at around one-third the expense of current state-of-the-art technologies.”

28．What has Fratalocchi’s team been seeking for?

A．Fibers functioning well with CCP.B．Green ways to desalinate seawater.

C．New industrial applications of coal.D．Dark-colored materials for desalination.

29．How did the seawater get into the CCP block?

A．Through the tiny holes.B．Through CCP.

C．Through cotton fibers.D．Through a special cover.

30．Which feature of CCP does Marcella Bonifazi stress?

A．Being eco-friendly.B．Being low-cost.C．Being efficient.D．Being flexible.

31．What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Drinkable water will be got from the sea.

B．CCP is expected to be in real-life use soon.

C．Coal finds new use in desalination technology.

D．Scientists have made a breakthrough in desalination.

D

One of the most common beliefs among researchers is that humans first arrived in North America 16,000 years ago.According to a recent fossil discovery,that might not be true.The new finding suggests that humans might have arrived in North America far earlier.

In 2013,a damaged mammoth(猛犸象)skull and other bones that looked“deliberately broken”were found.The damage to the bones suggested that humans were the ones who caused it to make tools.Carbon-dating analysis suggested the pieces are roughly 37,000 years old.This discovery could shift our understanding of humans‘earliest existence in North America.These fossils suggest humans killed animals in the area much earlier than 16,000 years ago.

Previous research led scientists to believe the first humans that settled in North America belonged to the Clovis culture.This was a group of people who left behind carefully made tools 16,000 years ago.However,carbon-dating analysis of the mammoth bones indicates that the site is around 36,250 to 38,900 years old.That means it’s the oldest known site left behind by ancient humans in North America.

“That’s not the only interesting thing about the discovery,”said Timothy Rowe,a professor at the University of Texas.“The similar findings supporting an earlier date for human arrival have been mostly ignored.This is because they have contradicted previous research.”

Now,however,he thinks there’s a good chance that researchers will find evidence of humans farther back in time.

The early humans shaped bones into sharp blades,which were used to take apart animals’remains,according to Rowe.There are also signs that they cooked the animal bones over a fire to melt off the fat.“The real evidence that we have has to do with the breakage patterns,and how thorough they are.They must have used rocks or hammer stones to bust the skeleton apart...These people would use whatever they could,”Rowe told USA Today.

32．What can be learnt about the earliest humans in North America?

A．They arrived there 16,000 years ago.B．They caused mammoth to disappear.

C．They belonged to the Clovis culture.D．They could make tools with bones.

33．Why are the findings similar to the new one ignored?

A．They lack a good chance.B．They fail to draw attention.

C．They disagree with earlier research.D．They aren’t studied scientifically.

34．How does Rowe find the new discovery?

A．Inspiring.B．Annoying.C．Puzzling.D．Embarrassing.

35．What can be a suitable title for the text?