《2025年一本英语五合一必刷题高中人教版》

At some point in history, a smarter - than - average human being moved a rock away from the fire for warmth and invented the thermal battery(热电池). Over a million years later, as humans struggle to fight climate change, that simple idea is making a modern comeback—and hot rocks are hotter than ever.
“The rocks in the box right now are about 1,600 ℃,” Andrew Ponec said, standing next to a thermal battery the size of a small building. “That is hotter than the melting point of steel.”　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　
But what makes his box of hot rocks so significant is that they were not heated by burning tons of coal or gas, but by catching sunlight with the thousands of solar panels. If successful, Ponec and his start - up Antora Energy could be part of a new energy storage field that simply uses sun or wind to make boxes of rocks hot enough to run the world’s biggest factories.
Antora is among the start - ups experimenting with different kinds of rocks to find the most efficient combination. Its main competitor is another start - up called Rondo that uses refractory brick(耐火砖) which gets heat directly from invisible light from heating elements. Rondo’s first battery is producing commercial power for a plant in California.
By plugging their factories into as many thermal batteries as they need, manufacturers won’t have to wait in a years - long line for grid(输电网) connections and upgrades. Given this, the old phrase “dumb as a box of rocks” may have to be revised for this new industrial breakthrough.
“If you’d asked me five or ten years ago, I would have said, I’m not sure we have everything we need to decarbonize our energy system,” Ponec said walking through the solar array that powers his battery while a gas - fired power plant sat quiet and idle nearby. “But today, we have the tools we need. The transition is inevitable. It’s going to happen. And if you talk behind closed doors to most of the people in the fossil fuel industry, they’ll say the same thing.”
12. What contributes to the modern comeback of the idea of the thermal battery?
A. The universal existence of thermal energy.
B. A recent industrial invention.
C. A new finding from previous research.
D. The need to deal with climate change.
13. In which aspect does Antora’s thermal battery differ from Rondo’s refractory brick according to the text?
A. The way they are heated.
B. The energy they provide.
C. The cost of making them.
D. The target users they serve.
14. What does the author want to show by mentioning the old phrase “dumb as a box of rocks”?
A. The huge difficulty in developing thermal batteries.
B. The great significance of using thermal batteries.
C. The current application of thermal batteries.
D. The public opinions on thermal batteries.
15. What is Ponec’s attitude to the future of the thermal battery?
A. Positive.
B. Doubtful.
C. Disapproving.
D. Sympathetic.

答案： 12.D 细节理解题。根据第一段第二句可知，如今，当人类努力应对气候变化时，使用热电池的想法正卷土重来。由此可知，应对气候变化的需要使得关于热电池的想法重新出现。
13.A 细节理解题。根据第二段第三句可知，Antora的热电池是通过数千块太阳能电池板来吸收阳光，从而得以加热的。再根据第三段第二句可知，Rondo的耐火砖直接从加热元件发出的不可见光中获得热量。由此可知，它们被加热的方式不一样。
14.B 推理判断题。根据第四段可知，通过给工厂安装足够多的热电池，制造商就不必为电网连接和升级而等待数年之久，考虑到这一点，“笨得像一盒石头”这句老话可能不得不为这种新的工业突破作些修改，这是对“热电池”的肯定。由此可推知，作者提到这句老话是为了说明热电池的重大价值。故B项符合题意。
15.A 推理判断题。根据最后一段可知，Ponec走在为他的电池提供能量的太阳能电池阵列中，附近的燃气发电厂闲置着，他表示，如今，有了为能源系统脱碳所需的工具，转变总会发生的，化石燃料行业的大多数人也这样认为。也就是说，鉴于自己公司的热电池的发展情况，他对未来脱碳充满信心，由此可推知，他对热电池的未来持乐观积极的态度。