英语 热门试卷

B

It isn’t easy being a princess. A princess addresses large crowds and uses perfect manners. A princess must always be polite and sweet and sometimes repair car engines and fix tires. Princess Elizabeth II really does all that．

Before she was Queen of England, Princess Elizabeth wanted to join the A.T.S., a female branch of the British military. It was World War II, and women worked at jobs traditionally held by men, who were then overseas fighting.

Elizabeth was a teenager and first had to convince her parents who thought it was too dangerous, but she would not take no for an answer. “I ought to do as other girls of my age do," she said firmly. After some months, her parents finally agreed. Princess Elizabeth received the same training as others.

When she arrived at the A.T.S. camp for her first day of training, she was greeted by a jacked-up car with its wheels off. In the following weeks, she learned to take apart an engine and then assemble (安装) it. To complete her A.T.S. training, she was required to drive a big truck on her own．

Princess Elizabeth became Queen Being a queen Elizabeth II in 1952. Now in her eighties, she still drives. Being a queen requires a lot of hard work, but it can be fun as well. Queen Elizabeth loves horses and still rides four times each week. She also still likes to get a little dirty. She actively manages her farm at Balmoral and is often seen hiking through the countryside there.

C

Tate Modern is Britain’s national museum of international modern art. It is in London, on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite St Paul’s Cathedral and the City of London. It displays examples of modern art from 1900 to the present day.

Tate Modem opened in 2000. The building was originally the Bankside Power Station, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed Waterloo Bridge and the famous British red telephone box. The power station closed in 1981 and architects Herzog and de Meuron helped convert it into an art gallery. The building is more than 200 metres long and its chimney is 99 metres high. There are 5 levels and the vast Turbine Hall. This is where the Tate displays large installations(现代雕塑装置) by contemporary artists. One famous example of an installation was a series of huge slides that visitors could go down, leading from the different levels of the building to the hall floor. This, and other popular installations, has helped inspire the imagination of the public, and Tate Modem is now one of the biggest tourist attractions in London. There are plans to build a glass pyramid extension, dedicated to photography and video exhibitions.

Many art galleries arrange art chronologically(按时间先后), but Tate Modern organizes its works of art according to the important movements of the twentieth century. These include Abstraction, with paintings by artists like Wassily Kandinsky; Surrealism, with works by artists like Salvador Dali and Max Ernst; Cubism, with works by Picasso; and Pop Art, represented by artists like Andy Warhol.

There are 3 other Tate galleries — Tate Britain (also in London), Tate Liverpool and Tate St lves in Cornwall. Tate Modern is however, the most popular.

D

A new ingredient developed by scientist in Scotland could mean that ice cream lovers can enjoy their treats longer before they melt. The scientists predict that the slow-melting product could become available in three to five years. The development could also allow products to be made with less saturated fat (饱和脂肪)and fewer calories．

Research teams at the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee have discovered that the protein, known as BsIA, works by sticking together the air, fat and water in ice cream. It is also said to prevent ice crystals from forming.

Professor Cait MacPhee, of the University of Edinburgh's school of physics and astronomy, who led the project, said：“It’s not completely non-melting because you do want your ice cream to be cold. It will melt eventually but hopefully by keeping it stable for longer it will stop it from falling in big drops.”

The team developed a method of producing the protein, which occurs naturally in some foods as friendly bacteria. According to Professor MacPhee, it works by keeping oil and water mixed together, stops air from escaping and coats the ice crystals in ice cream which stops them from melting so quickly. She says, “This is a natural protein already in the food chain．It’s already used to ferment(使发酵) some foods so it’s a natural product. By using this protein, we’re replacing some of the fat molecules that are currently used to stabilize these oil and water mixtures，so it can reduce the fat content, but it shouldn’t taste any different. It can also reduce the sugar content and so be used in other foods to help reduce calories."

The researchers believe using the ingredient could benefit manufacturers too, as it can be processed without having an influence on performance and can be produced from sustainable raw materials.