Sports shoes that find out whether their owner has enough exercise to warrant time in front of the television have been devised in the UK.
The shoes — named Square Eyes — contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.
The design was inspired by a desire to fight against the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, says Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University to London, UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood overweight really stood out,” she says. “And I wanted to tackle that with my design.”
Once a child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.
Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended(推荐) daily amounts of both. Health experts suggest that a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than two hours of television. So, every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals precisely one minute of TV time.
Existing pedometers （计步器） normally clip onto a belt or slip into a pocket and keep count of steps by measuring sudden movement. Swan says these can be easily tricked into recording steps through shaking. But her shoe has been built to be harder for lazy teenagers to cheat. “It is possible, but it would be a lot of effort,” she says. “That was one of my main design considerations.”
51．According to Swan, the purpose of her design project is to ____.
A．keep a record of the steps of the wearer
B．deal with overweight among teenagers
C．prevent children from being attracted by the TV programs.
D．prevent children from being tricked by TV programs
52．Which of the following is true of Square Eyes shoes?
A．They control a child’s evening TV viewing time.
B．They determine a child’s daily pocket money.
C．They have raised the hot issue of overweight.
D．They contain information of the receiver.
53．What is emphasized by health experts in their suggestion?
A．The exact number of steps to be taken.
B．The exact number of hours spent on TV.
C．The proper amount of daily exercise and TV time.
D．The way of changing steps into TV watching time.
54．Compared with other similar products, the new design ____.
A．makes it difficult for lazy teenagers to cheat
B．counts the wearer’s steps through shaking
C．records the sudden movement of the wearer
D．sends teenagers’ health data to the receiver
55．Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A．Smart Shoes Decide on Television Time
B．Smart Shoes Guarantee(保证) More Exercise
C．Smart Shoes Measure Time of Exercise
D．Smart Shoes Stop Childhood Overweight
Bungee jumping is an activity about jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord(有弹性的绳子). The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air balloon or helicopter, that has the ability to stay over one place on the ground; fixed-wing aircraft are unsuitable because they only stay high when moving quickly forward.
When the person jumps, the cord stretches to absorb (吸收)the energy of the fall, then the jumper flies upwards again as the cord jumps back. The jumper oscillates(摆动)up and down until all the energy is used up.
The word bungee first appeared around 1930 and was the name for a rubber eraser. The first modern bungee jumps were made on 1 April 1979 from the 250-foot Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, by David Kirk, Chris Baker and Alan Weston of the Dangerous Sports Club. The jumpers continued with jumps in the US from the Golden Gate and Royal Gorge bridges, spreading the concept worldwide. By 1982 they were jumping from mobile cranes and hot-air balloons. Later they put on commercial(商业的)shows, which began in 1986.
As with any sport, injuries can still happen, and there have been deaths. A relatively common mistake in the cases that may cause death is to use a cord that is too long. The cord should be fully shorter than the height of the jumping place to allow it room to jumper either starts to slow down or keeps speeding up depending upon the speed of falling.Which of the following is NOT suitable for bungee jumping?
| A．The fixed-wing aircraft | B．The helicopter |
| C．The hot-air balloon | D．The mobile crane |
In the second paragraph, the author tells_________________.
| A．who suits bungee jumping |
| B．the principle of bungee jumping |
| C．the material used for bungee jumping |
| D．the danger of bungee jumping |
According to the last paragraph, the safety of the jumpers depends mainly on________.
| A．the weight of the jumper |
| B．the height of the jumping place |
| C．the length of the cord |
| D．the speed of the falling |
The purpose of writing this passage is to__________.
| A．teach people how to carry out a bungee jumping |
| B．remind people of the danger of bungee jumping |
| C．advise people not to take the risk of bungee jumping |
| D．introduce some knowledge about bungee jumping |
Ice Hotel Quebec, located 30 minutes west of Downtown Quebec City, Canada, is only open during the winter season. The hotel is made entirely of ice. The two galleries at the Ice Hotel Quebec feature events such as ice painting and ice sculpture(冰雕) competitions.
Things to Do
Guests have a choice of different winter vacation activities, including cross-country skiing, ice skating, dog sledding (狗拉雪橇)， ice fishing and sliding(滑行). Ice Hotel Quebec has a sauna( 桑拿浴)，so remember to pack your bathing suit.
Rooms & Suites(套房)
The hotel offers 18 rooms and 14 theme suites built from 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. The walls at Ice Hotel Quebec are four feet thick and allow the hotel to keep a temperature of -2℃ to -5℃.
The furniture at the hotel is made of snow and ice, including the beds. The beds are equipped with a thick foam mattress(泡沫床垫)and an extra thick sleeping bag. That is enough to prevent you from catching a cold.
Vacation Tip
Ice Hotel Quebec offers 30-minute guided public tours daily from 10:30am to 4:30pm. It costs $15 CAD for adults, $7.5 for children (under eight), $13for students\seniors (above sixty), and $42 for families.
Plan This Vacation
Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada will be open for its sixth season from January 5th to April 1st. Costs for overnight stays start at $199CAD per person.
If you’re looking for something really different to do on your next trip, think creatively and plan to visit the truly unusual Ice Hotel Quebec! If you visit the Ice Hotel, you can enjoy the following EXCEPT___________.
| A．going fishing |
| B．going skating |
| C．appreciating ice sculptures |
| D．holding an ice party |
Sleeping is not a problem in the Ice Hotel because ____________.
| A．the rooms are made of ice |
| B．the temperature is as high as -2℃ |
| C．the sleeping bags are warm |
| D．the walls are four feet thick |
If Mr. Smith attends a 30-minute public tour with his wife and seven-year-old twin sons, he should pay at least_________.
| A．$37.5 CAD | B．$45 CAD | C．$42CAD | D．$199 CAD |
I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday. The announcement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box office in Richland Hills any day between 10:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Since I work from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45-minute lunch break. Unluckily, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes. Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for a bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office.
The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly 20 minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office. I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and went back across the town. By Friday, I realized that my only hope was to make the trip by taxi. It was expensive, but I felt it would be worth to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold out all the tickets.The writer could go and buy the ticket __________.
| A．any day before work hours |
| B．both before and after work hours |
| C．only during lunch time |
| D．on Saturday and Sunday |
The writer tried to go to the theatre every day, but was only successful______.
| A．twice | B．three times |
| C．four times | D．five times |
He failed to get the ticket on Friday because _________.
| A．it was impossible to make the round trip to the theatre in 45 minutes |
| B．the concert wasn’t on Friday |
| C．it was expensive to take a taxi |
| D．all the tickets had been sold out |
The word "______" can be used instead of the underlined(划线的)word "relieved".
| A．nervous | B．terrified | C．pleased | D．sad |
We couldn’t forget the historic moment on Oct.11, 2012, when the first Chinese Nobel laureate, Mo Yan, won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. Minutes after the award was announced, millions of Chinese expressed pleasure and pride for Mo Yan on the Internet. So a Chinese getting the Nobel Prize for literature did really increase the national pride.
On Dec.11 (Monday) in Sweden Mo was given the Nobel diploma, medal and a document confirming the prize amount. In his speech at the ceremony, Mo said receiving the prize felt like a fairy tale, but of course it was true and that literature was useless compared with science. Mo's award filled the blank left by Chinese literature in the world literary history. Meanwhile, Monday's Nobel awards ceremony set off another buying rush on Mo's works among Chinese readers. Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize for _________.
| A．history | B．Literature | C．peace | D．physics |
Which of the following words can best describe our Chinese feeling when hearing the news?
| A．Calm | B．Relaxed | C．Proud | D．indifferent |
The underlined word “laureate” in Paragraph 1 most probably means _________.
| A．loser | B．winner | C．fan | D．superstar |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．It was hard for Mo Yan to believe he was awarded the prize. |
| B．Mo Yan thinks Literature is useless. |
| C．Mo Yan was given the Nobel Prize, medal and a document. |
| D．Mo Yan’s works were more popular after his receiving the prize. |
| Better Body Gym Welcome all aged 18 or over Join us today and receive special offer! 1 month free membership! 2 free T-shirts! 2 free personal training hours! Start fighting the fat 30 minutes from the downtown area First-class gym with the best sports equipment Membership fees for one year are 2400 Yuan With reduction for shorter periods It’s never too late to sign up for it at www.weightloss club.com or call 5554567 for more information. |
Once you join the club today, you will be offered all except _________.
| A．one month free membership | B．2 free T-shirts |
| C．2 free personal training hours | D．2400 Yuan |
According to this text, the gym _________.
| A．is at the centre of the downtown area |
| B．is far away from the downtown area |
| C．takes in anyone |
| D．provides one month free membership always |
If you apply for half a year’s membership, you should pay_________.
| A．2400 Yuan | B．more than 2400 Yuan |
| C．less than 2400 Yuan | D．nothing |
The writer seems to hope that _________.
| A．More people will be interested in the Better Body Gym |
| B．More people will join the Better Body Gym |
| C．More people will be fond of losing weight |
| D．More people will contact with the Better Body Gym |