B
A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in a garden or a plant pot and wait for it to flower.
A biodegradable (生物所能分解的) mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage consumers to recycle.
Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and is able to change shape. Over time it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed. When this new type of cover turns into wastes, it forms fertilizers. These feed the seed and help the flower grow.
Engineers have designed a small transparent (透明的) window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grown when the phone is thrown away. “We’ve only put sunflower seeds into the covers so far. But we are working with plant experts to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time.” said one scientist.
As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means manufacturers are under pressure to fine ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, according to the scientists.
“The seed comes out and the flower grows in the pot so you don’t have to concern yourself with the phone when you have finished using it,” said Kerry Kirwan. She leads the research team, which is based at the University of Warwick in Britain.
61. What is the purpose of this passage?
A. Tell the popularity of biodegradable cell phone.
B. To persuade the reader to buy the biodegradable cell phone.
C. To discuss the development of phone technology.
D. To introduce an environmental-friendly cell phone to readers.
62. People throw away their cell phones most probably because _________.
A. there is something wrong with them B. no sunflowers can grow out of them
C. they are out of fashion D. they are becoming cheaper and cheaper
63. It could be learned from the passage that __________.
A. developing the new type of phone is mainly to protect the environment
B. phone-makers will benefit much more from the new type of phone
C. the new type of phone will certainly be popular with users all over the world
D. the phones that can be recycled are available only in Britain now
64. According to the passage, which of the following statements is right?
A. The new material for the biodegradable phone was found by British scientists.
B. The cover of the new type of mobile can bread down and become fertilizers after it becomes waste.
C. The sunflower seed in the best to be put into the phone cover.
D. The biodegradable cover must be very expensive.
65. What might be the most suitable title for this passage?
A. Sunflower and Phone. B. Plant Your Phone.
C. Protect Our Environment. D. No Worry about Phone.
Food labels are such a mess that the government is redesigning them, as the ingredient(营养成分) lists are usually too confusing. As a result, a shopper could spend hours in a grocery store watching, calculating, and comparing, and still could not get it right. ShopWell is trying to help by allowing consumers to scan food labels and receive understandable and personalized information.
Here’s how it works. Register for ShopWell, and enter your age and gender. Add your goals (General health? Or are you trying to lose weight?). Then, note what you want in your diet, such as protein or iron, and what you want to avoid(added sugar, say). Add your allergies(过敏的物质) and things you cannot accept, and start scanning.
Then ShopWell will come up with a clearly personal result: green for a food that is good for you; yellow for foods you can enjoy a little; and red for foods you should avoid.
The results are easily understandable and is clean because it’s not mixed with ads. Instead, ShopWell makes money by selling data to supermarkets. Its database contains 350,000 products, the app has been downloaded 1.3 million times, and the company claims a scan every two seconds “in stores such as Walmart, Whole Foods and 7-Eleven,” in the words of marketing manager James Allgood.
One of the first items I scanned was So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, which I buy because I’m lactose(乳糖) intolerant. It turns out it’s only a little suitable for me — because of its 1 gram per serving of added sugar. I’m not sure I’ll give it up. But I did ask the app to watch for added sugar, and it’s doing its job.
One drawback to ShopWell is that the scanner often doesn’t work for items from Costco or Trader Joe’s. Meanwhile, Some user reviews say that it doesn’t cover enough allergies. Why do consumers hesitate long when deciding which food to purchase in a shop?
A.Because there are usually an extremely wide variety of food in the shop. |
B.Because food labels in the shop are in such a mess that they need redesigning. |
C.Because consumers desire to scan food labels for understandable information. |
D.Because consumers can hardly make sense of the information on the food labels. |
What does the author intend to tell the readers in Paragraph 2?
A.The proper use of ShopWell. | B.The function of ShopWell. |
C.The development of ShopWell. | D.The advantage of ShopWell. |
How can ShopWell make some profits?
A.By providing its collected data to supermarkets. |
B.By selling 350,000 products of its own. |
C.By downloading the app 1.3 million times. |
D.By following the words of marketing manager James Allgood. |
What does the underlined “drawback” in the last paragraph probably mean?
A.Scanner | B.Disadvantage |
C.Benefit | D.Item |
Headington Oxford Summer School welcomes all students throughout the world and provides a fantastic summer school experience. It is close enough to visit London, which is a beautiful city in its own right and also has a number of attractions nearby.
London:
A trip to the UK would not be complete without a visit to the capital city of London. During the ‘London Day’ all students will have a chance to see famous tourist attractions such as Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square. The students will also enjoy a boat trip on River Thames and a ride to the top of the Shard, an 87-storey building in London for a breathtaking view of the city. There will also be dinner in a London restaurant before heading back to the school.
Thorpe Park:
With over thirty extreme rides and attractions, and one of the world’s most terrifying roller coasters, enjoy an exciting day out at one of the nation’s most popular theme park
Bath:
Spend the day exploring this beautiful historic city with impressive architecture, including a visit to the famous Roman baths. Students also have the opportunity of a fantastic shopping experience in this famous market towns!
Thinktank Science Museum & Birmingham:
Spend the morning in the interactive state of the art science centre followed by an afternoon exploring Birmingham with time for shopping in the Bullring Shopping Centre.
Warwick & Stratford:
Visit one of medieval England’s most beautiful castles full of history, tales and adventure. Afterwards, enjoy exploring the picturesque streets of Stratford Upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
Brighton:
This beautiful seaside town provides a fun-filled day out for all students. The day includes a visit to the Royal Pavilion and its museum as well as Brighton Pier and beach. There is also time for shopping in the famous Brighton Lanes before heading back to school.Where can you overlook the whole city when touring London?
A.On top of the Shard | B.On River Thames |
C.In a London restaurant | D.At the Houses of Parliament |
What can you do in both Bath and Thinktank Science Museum & Birmingham?
A.Visiting art science centre |
B.Doing some shopping |
C.Experiencing roller coasters |
D.Exploring historic architectures |
Where can you enjoy a lovely beach?
A.London | B.Bath |
C.Thorpe Park | D.Brighton |
A recent study on parents who beat their children indicated that physical punishment still occurs far more frequently than previously thought but that physical punishment was ineffective. Given that 73 percent of the children who were hit waited less than 10 minutes before acting out again.
So, what is?
Many parents deal with their children’s mistakes by taking away toys and separating them from their playmates. But for strong-willed kids like I was, none of these methods were effective.
Like many kids, I wasn’t bad; I was bored. Fortunately, my father realized this fairly early on and developed a new form of “discipline” that produced immediate results and long-term positive effects.
Looking back as an adult, my father’s method of making me read the encyclopedia (百科全书)whenever I did something wrong was the best thing he could have done.
He would tell me a topic and say, “Learn about the aardvark and I’m going to quiz you shortly after.” It was punishment in the sense that I was forced to stop whatever I was doing, but it also had a purpose in that it kept my mind occupied and presented the type of mental challenge I clearly lacked.
Although unwillingly, I went to learn absolutely everything there was to know about aardvarks because I was going to figure out every question he could throw at me. If it weren’t for my driving need to prove him wrong, it may not have worked as well as it did.
So that’s just it: It was effective. It helped me change my behavior in that moment and it conditioned me to seek out books when I was bored. Obviously, that happened frequently and apparently and it worked. I grew up to become a successful lawyer and a famous writer as well.
To this day, Dad’s the only one who can beat me.What is the probable main idea of Paragraph 1?
A.It reports the result of a recent study about the encyclopedia. |
B.Physical punishment is useless to deal with children. |
C.Physical punishment only occurred previously. |
D.73 percent of the children love physical punishment. |
Why do many kids frequently do what they’re not allowed to do according to
the author?
A.Because they produce immediate results and long-term positive effects. |
B.Because they prefer to break the “discipline” set by their parents. |
C.Because they are always regarded as bad kids both at home. |
D.Because they often find it’s dull in their everyday life. |
What was the author’s father method of punishing him for his mistakes?
A.His father angrily took away his favourite toys. |
B.His father separated him from his playmates. |
C.His father forced him to do some reading and tested him later. |
D.His father ordered him to learn about the aardvark and quizzed him shortly after. |
What can be inferred from this passage?
A.Children who are mentally challenged are more likely to be successful. |
B.Parents ought to develop a new form of discipline to educate their kids. |
C.It’s absolutely necessary to punish strong-willed kids physically. |
D.The stricter parents are, the few mistakes children will make. |
I went to a nearby car factory today with my uncle, who works there. One thing I noticed was that most of the work was done by robots. Welding (焊接), painting, testing and many other jobs are performed by robots. The whole dashboard (仪表板) is put into a car by a robot. It would have taken two men to do so in the past, and it would have hurt their backs quite a bit.
It got me thinking: Is it a good thing that robots are replacing factory workers? On the one hand, robots generally do a more accurate job than people. They are not likely to make many mistakes. If something goes wrong with one car, an alarm goes off. They do exactly the same thing every time, but a human worker is unable to do so. On the other hand, robots reduce costs for companies. Companies don’t have to pay robots wages or injury compensation (补偿) if they’re broken. If something in a robot does go wrong, it won’t have to take time off work for a year, or even forever, as could happen to a real person if he breaks his back or burns himself while welding.
The obvious downside is that robots increase unemployment rate, which in turn increases taxes. We don’t want to pay for those who are out of work just because a company has replaced them with robots.We can learn from the first paragraph that _______.
A.all the workers have been replaced by robots |
B.robots do most of the work in the car factory |
C.there are no workers with back strain now |
D.the author’s uncle designs robots in the factory |
The second paragraph is mainly about ________.
A.the author’s experience in a car factory |
B.the advantages of robots over human workers |
C.the advantages of human workers over robots |
D.the management of factory workers |
The underlined word “downside” in the last paragraph means _______.
A.weakness | B.favor |
C.assistance | D.Advantage |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
A.companies refuse to pay for workers. |
B.robots have completely replaced workers. |
C.robots can help solve the problem of unemployment. |
D.people have to pay more taxes for unemployment. |
One day, when I was working as a psychologist in England,an adolescent boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me. “This boy has lost his family,” he wrote. “He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm very worried about him. Can you help?”
I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn't have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically.
The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon—in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.
Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?
“Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with,” I thought. “Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.” Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.
“It's your turn,” he said.
After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times, about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.
Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one—without any words—can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.When he first met the author, David ________.
A.felt a little excited | B.walked energetically |
C.looked a little nervous | D.showed up with his teacher |
As a psychologist, the author ________.
A.was ready to listen to David |
B.was skeptical about psychology |
C.was able to describe David's problem |
D.was sure of handling David's problem |
David enjoyed being with the author because he________.
A.wanted to ask the author for advice |
B.needed to share sorrow with the author |
C.liked the children's drawings in the office |
D.beat the author many times in the chess game |
What can be inferred about David?
A.He recovered after months of treatment. |
B.He liked biking before he lost his family. |
C.He went into university soon after starting to talk. |
D.He got friends in school before he met the author. |