●Tower Bridge is one of London’s most well known landmarks．Opened in 1894, this hydraulic (液压的) bridge can be raised to permit river traffic to pass underneath.
Visitors to Tower Bridge can enjoy wonderful views of the River Thames from the bridge towers．There is also a museum which explains how the bascule bridge operates and discusses its history．Tower Bridge is often incorrectly referred to as London Bridge．London Bridge, however, is a different bridge that is located directly upstream from Tower Bridge.
●The British Museum is a “must do” for all visitors to London, England．Treasures from around the world can be found in Britain’s largest and most popular museum．To top it off, admission to the British Museum is free of charge.
Due to the enormous size of the museums, visitors should be clear about what they wish to see．One “must see” is the Rosetta Stone–a key puzzle piece in the recorded history of humankind．The British Museum is located in the Bloomsbury district of London in London WC1.
●Greenwich Park is a beautiful large park located a few kilometers away from the centre of London．Attractions in Greenwich include the Cutty Sark, the Gypsy Moth and the Old Royal Observatory．A painted line at the observatory indicates zero degrees of longitude（经度）.
Many visitors to Greenwich enjoy having their photos taken with one leg in the western hemisphere（半球）and the other in the eastern hemisphere．Greenwich is the place where time was officially tracked – “Greenwich Mean Time” or “GMT”.
Greenwich is located in London SE10.
●The Eurostar high–speed train service provides fast connections between London and Paris and London and Brussels．The Eurostar trains pass through the 32–mile Channel Tunnel under the English Channel．The tunnel is also known as the“Euro Tunnel”or“Chunnel”．The Channel Tunnel is considered to be one of the world’s great engineering wonders.
Trains leave form the Waterloo Rail Station which is located in south London.
1．If a tourist doesn’t have any money on him, which of the following can he do?
A．Visit Tow
er Bridge. B．Visit the British Museum.
C．Go around Greenwich Park. D．Take a Eurostar high–speed train.
2．Where can we find the attraction of the Cutty Sark?
A．On London Bridge. B．In the Old Royal Observatory.
C．In the British Museum. D．In Greenwich Park.
2．What can we learn from the passage?
A．Tower Bridge can be raised mainly to let the water flow faster.
B．The British Museum is the largest museum in the world.
C．Greenwich Park is where the western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere meet.
D．The Eurostar train can take people from London to many cities in Europe directly.
3．In what web page do you think the passage is probably found?
A．International news. B．Study abroad.
C．Travel Guide. D．Art of architecture.
For many students in the UK today, deciding whether or not to go to university can be as much about affordability as it is about ambition and aspiration.
In the past, students in the UK could apply to a university or college. They were sure that even if they came from a low income family, their tuition fees and some of their living (or maintenance) costs would be covered by a local authority grant(拨款). A university education was, in a financial sense, open to all and the number of students attending university grew yearly.
Sadly, it seems, those days are long gone. The turning point came in 1998, when the Labour Government introduced tuition fees of ￡1,000 a year and, instead of giving students a maintenance grant, asked them to cover their own living expenses with a repayable student loan. Only students on the lowest incomes were entitled to a grant.
The flood gates had been opened. As time passed, the ceiling on tuition fees rose, and although applicants from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales still qualified for varying levels of subsidy(补贴), by 2009/10 students in England often found themselves facing tuition fees over￡3,000 a year.
In 2011 the Government announced that, from 2012, universities could charge fees of up to ￡9,000 a year. Although the Government sweetened the pill by stating that postgraduates did not have to begin repaying their student loans until they were earning more than ￡21,000 a year, the news created over-dissatisfaction. Many students argued that it was unfair that students should have to begin their work life loaded with huge debt, while others complained that the changes would bring back a class divide to university education. These views were reflected in the number of students applying for a university place, which by January 2012 fell by more than 22,000. The Universities Minister, David Willetts, stood by the decision to increase tuition fees, saying that they would not “put universities’ finance on a bearable footing” and that they would accelerate “a stronger focus on high quality teaching.”From the first paragraph, we can infer that _____ in attending university.
| A．affordability plays more important roles than ambition and aspiration |
| B．ambition and aspiration are more important than affordability |
| C．affordability is as important as ambition and aspiration |
| D．ambition and aspiration make a greater difference |
We can put the sentence “But the biggest change was still to come” at the beginning of Paragraph _____.
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
The underlined part “sweetened the pill” in the last paragraph possibly means_____.
| A．made a sweet pill | B．made the change appear good |
| C．increased the pill | D．reduced the pill |
The writer _____ the change about university education fees.
| A．is in favor of | B．is opposed to |
| C．takes no notice of | D．is neither for nor against |
After record increase in over 40 countries, Universal Robots’ lightweight robotic arms are now making their US debut (首次露面) at this year’s International Manufacturing Trade Show (IMTS) in Chicago.
The UR5 robotic arm made by Universal Robots has been announced officially “The world’s most innovative (创新的) robot” by The International Federation of Robotics and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Robotics and Automation Society. The US audience will now see the award-winning robot — along with its big brother UR10 — for the first time.
The UR5 and UR10 robotic arms are aimed at small-sized companies that thought robots were too expensive and hard to operate in existing production. The robotic arms are easily moved around the production area and present a simple user interface (界面) which lets workers quickly operate them.
Esben Ostergaard, founder and CTO (Chief Technical Officer) at Universal Robots, explains how the robots were designed to be as user⁃friendly as possible:
“We decided to make programming easy by developing a user interface worked together with a “teaching function” allowing the user to simply took hold of the robot arm and show it how a movement should be done. The robot can work in any production process very quickly. Our experience shows this is generally done in a few hours.”
The robots weigh as little as 40 pounds, making it possible for them to be moved around the production area to do different tasks. The UR5 can handle a load of up to 5 kilos (11 pounds), the UR10, 10 kilos (22 pounds). As soon as a worker touches the robot arm and uses a force of at least 150 Newton, the robot arm will automatically stop operating. According to the text, the UR5 robotic arm _____.
| A．was designed by IEEE |
| B．is aimed at small companies |
| C．has won a number of awards |
| D．made its appearance in 40 countries |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 4 refers to _____.
| A．the programme | B．the user interface |
| C．the robot arm | D．the “teaching function” |
What’s the text mainly about?
| A．An introduction to Universal Robots’ new robots. |
| B．The difference between the UR5 and the UR10. |
| C．Why the UR5 and the UR10 were invented. |
| D．How to operate the UR5 and the UR10. |
College is a fresh start, and a chance to make new friends. These friends may become your lifelong friends, or the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Whether you are going to a nearby college or the university far away from home, you are likely to meet new people wherever you are. Here are some advice to help you make friends at college.
Clearly, your classmates are all possible friends! Get to class early on the first day, and if you get there early enough, you will be in the room, or waiting outside it, with one other person, or a small group. A good casual opener would be to ask if you’re in the right classroom, then introduce yourself, and explain that you’re new, and a freshman. Do this at all of your classes, and you will have a group of friends that you can make study groups with, take notes for you when you’re absent or sick.
If you live in a dormitory, your hall will most likely have many fun activities to take part in. Take advantage ofthem, and go to as many as you can. Knowing your friends living in the same hall will also come in convenience because they will be the ones hosting and inviting you to parties that you will be missing out. Joining as many organizations as possible will also help you make new friends quickly. Parties are there to help students form close relationship with each other. Doing a team sport is another great idea. The best part of joining an organization is that you’ll find people who share your interests, and with whom you’ll therefore have a lot to talk about.Getting to class early will ___________.
| A．give you more information about the teacher |
| B．let you concentrate more on your class |
| C．give you a good chance to make friends |
| D．leave a good impression on others |
According to the text, the friends you get to know in class may __________.
| A．share your interests | B．invite you to parties |
| C．help you to become a good player | D．take notes for you |
What is the meaning of freshman in paragraph 2?
| A．A classmate. | B．A student in the first year. | C．A girl student. | D．A new teacher. |
Which piece of advice is NOT given by the author?
| A．Make friends with your classmates. |
| B．Take part in dorm activities. |
| C．Do the same team sports as your classmates. |
| D．Join as many organizations as possible. |
Robert Ballard was born in 1942. From an early age, he loved the sea. Ballard grew up in Southern California. He spent his free time at the beach near his home. He enjoyed fishing and swimming. He even learned to dive. 
When Ballard wasn’t at the ocean, he loved reading about it. At age 10, he read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a book which describes the undersea adventures of Captain Nemo. Ballard decided he wanted to be like Captain Nemo when he grew up. His parents helped him follow his dream.
Ballard was a hardworking student. He spent many years learning all he could about the ocean. By the age of 28, he was an expert. In 1970, he took a job as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. There he studied underwater mountains of the Atlantic Ocean. He came up with ways to predict（预知）volcanoes under the oceans. Working with other scientists, Ballard also found previously（以前）unknown sea animals. These animals lived far below the ocean’s surface, where scientists had believed no animals could live.
By the 1980s, Ballard’s interests changed. He developed unmanned（无人的）vehicles to explore the ocean bottom. His first find, the well-known ship Titanic, made Ballard famous. He was not happy with just one big find, however. He looked for — and found — other well-known ships. One was the German battleship Bismarck. Another was the U.S.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier (航空母舰) that sank during World War II.
Today Robert Ballard is still an underwater explorer. He also heads an organization that encourages students to learn about science. Ballard hopes that some of the students will follow in his footsteps. After all, the world’s huge oceans are mostly unknown. Who knows what remains to be discovered under the sea?What was Ballard’s dream when he was young?
| A．To be a science teacher. | B．To be an underwater explorer. |
| C．To be an animal expert. | D．To be a famous writer. |
When Ballard worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he _____.
| A．explored the undersea world by ship |
| B．thought of ideas to predict underwater volcanoes |
| C．found some unknown sea animals alone |
| D．set up an organization to teach students science |
Which is the correct order of the events mentioned in the text about Ballard?
a. He found the German battleship Bismarck.
b. He read a book about Captain Nemo.
c. He found the famous ship Titanic.
d. He became an expert in science.
| A．b-c-d-a | B．d-b-c-a | C．b-d-c-a | D．d-c-a-b |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Ballard’s parents felt disappointed at his undersea adventures. |
| B．Ballard didn’t like fishing and swimming in his childhood. |
| C．Ballard was greatly influenced by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. |
| D．Human beings have explored more than half of the sea. |
How many family members are there in Mandy’s host family?
| A．4. | B．5. | C．6. | D．7. |
Next month, Mandy is going to visit__________.
| A．Pattaya beach | B．Phuket Island |
| C．Phairat’s hometown | D．Bangkok |
From the letter we know that Mandy is__________ when she stays in Thailand.
| A．bored | B．quiet | C．excited | D．proud |
What is the letter mainly about?
| A．Study trip in Thailand | B．Food culture in Thailand |
| C．Elephant riding in Thailand | D．International schools in Thailand |