Earthquake -proof (抗震的) buildings

There are a number of ways 【小题1】 buildings can be made strong enough to stand up to earthquakes. The simplest way is to make them much 【小题2】 (strong). A building strong enough not 【小题3】 (destroy) by a large earthquake, however, would probably look more like a bunker (地堡) than a nice place to live 【小题4】

So engineers have looked for other ways. One is to make the building that can swing (摇摆) from side to side. 【小题5】 is to design it so that it doesn't sit directly on the ground but on something that allows it to move a bit with the earthquake. If only a small part of a building 【小题6】 (fall) down in an earthquake, damage can be 【小题7】 (great) reduced, so buildings are often designed to do this as well.

However, 【小题8】 (make) new earthquake -proof buildings is expensive, but with the 【小题9】 (develop) of science and technology more efforts will be made to solve 【小题10】 problem in the future.

After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Plants are very important to human life. Through photosynthesis (光合作用), they transform carbon dioxide into fresh oxygen. They 【小题1】(assume) to remove toxins from the air we breathe — but is this true?

One famous NASA experiment, published in 1989, has found indoor plants can clean the air by removing pollutants 【小题2】(cause) cancer. Later research has found soil microorganisms in the potted plant also 【小题3】(play) a part in cleaning indoor air.

Based on this research, some scientists say house plants are effective natural air purifiers, and the bigger and leafier the plant, the better. The amount of leaf surface area influences the rate of air purification. 【小题4】, however, say the evidence that plants can effectively accomplish this feat (功绩) is far from conclusive.

There are no definitive studies 【小题5】 show having indoor plants can significantly increase the air quality in your home, according to Luz Claudio, a professor of environmental medicine and public health. “There’s no doubt that plants are capable of removing volatile (易挥发的) chemical toxins from the air under laboratory conditions,” says Claudio. “But in your home or office space, the belief that putting a few plants together 【小题6】 purify your air doesn’t have much hard science to back it up.”

Most research efforts to date, including the NASA study, placed indoor plants in small, sealed environments 【小题7】(assess) how much air-purifying power they had. But those studies aren’t really applicable to what happens in a house. In many cases, the air in your home completely turns over — that is, exchanges places with outdoor air — once every hour. In most instances, air exchange with the outside has a 【小题8】(great) effect on indoor air quality than plants, according to Stanley Kays, a professor of horticulture (园艺学).

Disappointed 【小题9】 many people may be by what Kays said, the professor also made it clear that he believes house plants are beneficial. Studies have shown plants can knock out stress and make people feel happier. More research shows spending time around nature has a positive effect on 【小题10】 person’s mood and energy levels.

Can you imagine waking up each day in a house that is 【小题1】 (gentle) rocked by the movement of water? Well, for some people this vision of the future may become a reality.

It is a commonly accepted fact that   【小题2】 the Earth’s temperature rises, the ice caps at the North and South Poles will melt, 【小题3】 (cause) the sea level to rise.

So, where does this leave the many countries in the world   【小题4】have large sections of their populations living in areas which lie at or below sea level? The Netherlands, for example, is one of   【小题5】 most highly populated, low-lying countries and   【小题6】 (battle) with the problem of flooding for years. Further rises in the sea level would result in much of the country disappearing under water.

Inventive architects may have come up with a   【小题7】 (solve) to the problem: a house actually built on the water. The basic idea is that houses will have a base   【小题8】 (fill) with air and a way of anchoring(使固定) them to the ground. This will allow the house   【小题9】 (move) upwards whenever the sea level rises and sink back down when the sea level drops. So, will   【小题10】 (float) houses be the homes of the future? For some people there may be no alternative.