Motorists who used to listen to the radio or their favorite tunes on CDs may have a new way to entertain themselves, after engineers in Japan developed a musical road surface.
A team from the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute has built a number of“melody roads,”which use cars as tuning forks to play music as they travel.
The concept works by using grooves(凹槽).They are cut at very specific intervals in the road surface. The melody road uses the spaces between to create different notes.
Depending on how far apart the grooves are, a car moving over them will produce a series of high or low notes, and designers are able to create a distinct tune.
Paten documents for the design describe it as notches “formed in a road surface so as to play a melody without producing simple sound or rhythm and reproduce melody-like tones”.
There are three musical strips in central and northern Japan—one of which plays the tune of a Japanese pop song. Reports say the system was invented by Shizuo Shinoda. He scraped some markings into a road with a bulldozer before driving over them and found that they helped to produce all kinds of tones.
The optimal speed for melody road is 44kph,but people say it is not always easy to get the intended sound.
“You need to keep the car windows closed to hear well,”wrote one Japanese blogger.“Driving too fast will sound like playing fast forward, while driving around 12mph［20km/h］has a slow-motion effect, making you almost car-sick.”According to the passage, melody roads use to create different notes.
| A．cars | B．grooves | C．spaces between intervals | D．bulldozers |
We can learn from the passage that the highness of notes is depended on .
| A．how far the grooves are | B．how big the grooves are |
| C．the number of the grooves | D．the speed of the car |
The underlined word “optimal” in the passage might mean .
| A．fastest | B．possible | C．best | D．suitable |
In order to hear the music well, you have to .
| A．drive very fast | B．drive slowly |
| C．open the windows wide | D．keep the windows closed |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．A New Type of Music | B．Melody Roads in Japan |
| C．A Musical Road Surface | D．A New Invention in J |
Kasey Kaczmarek: When I read “Would my dad love me?” by Martha, I related to how Martha felt about her father. I always wondered if my dad cared about me, or if he even loved me. All the kids would be with their dads and they would ask me where my dad was, and I would tell them that he was out of town. For all you kids who have a dad, tell him how much you love him because there are plenty of kids who would love to have a dad.
Armen Abidian: This article describes everything about me and my life. When I was about 3 years old, my mother and father had a big argument and got divorced. Now I’m 13 years old and I haven’t seen my father for 10 years. Just like Martha, I don’t know what he looks like now, whether or not he’s got married to a different woman, or if he has another child.
Emma Ramirez: When Martha talked about how “most girls have dads who take them to their practices, buy them things and play with them”, I thought I was one of those girls. I never stopped to think about how there are girls who have always dreamed of having those things but don’t have a father. After reading what Martha wrote, I told myself I would always appreciate the days I spend with my dad because I am very lucky to have a dad who does so much for me.
Stephanie Felix: This article reminded me of how much I missed my dad when I was younger. I really relate to this article because I used to always wonder about my dad, but not any more. Life without my father has made me more independent and responsible. By reading this article I remember all of this and I was able to understand what the writer was talking about.The above four passages are most probably_______.
| A．comments on a book about a girl who has no father |
| B．comments on Martha’s opinion about parents’ love |
| C．four people’s thoughts after reading Martha’s article |
| D．letters to Martha to comfort her |
What does the passage suggest?
| A．Martha’s father didn’t love her |
| B．Martha didn’t grow up with her dad |
| C．Martha was brought up by her grandparents |
| D．Martha’s parents got divorced when she was 13 |
What does Kasey Kaczmarek suggest kids do?
| A．Not ask other kids where their dads are |
| B．Be kind to those kids who don’t have a dad |
| C．Tell their fathers how much they love them |
| D．Spend as much time with their fathers as possible |
After reading what Martha wrote, Emma Ramirez_______.
| A．decided to spend more time with her father |
| B．told herself to appreciate all that she had |
| C．realized how badly she behaved in the past |
| D．found how lucky she was to have a dad |
Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV situation comedies and in movies like Revenge(报复)of the Nerds. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull laborers, their noses always stuck in a book. They are not good at social communication and look clumsy(笨拙的) while doing sports.
How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres?
Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont Senior High School. She also sings in the choral group, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has maintained A’s in every subject. Melendres, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque. He played soccer and basketball well, exhibited at the science fair, and meanwhile worked as a reporter on a local television station. Being a speech giver at the graduation ceremony, he achieved straight A’s in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A’s in two college-level courses.
How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren’t the only answer. “Top grades don’t always go to the brightest students,” declares Herbert Walberg, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies on super-achieving students. “Knowing how to make the most of your innate(天生的)abilities counts for more. Much more.”
In fact, Walberg says, students with high IQ sometimes don’t do as well as classmates with lower IQ. For them, learning comes too easily and they never find out how to get down.
Hard work isn’t the whole story, either. “It’s not how long you sit there with the books open,” said one of the many-A students we interviewed. “It’s what you do while you’re sitting.” Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates.
The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn.The underlined word “nerds” can probably be________ .
| A．dull bookworms lacking sports and social skills |
| B．successful top students popular with their peers |
| C．students with certain learning difficulties |
| D．born leaders crazy about social activities |
What can we conclude from the first paragraph?
| A．Most TV programs and films are about straight-A students. |
| B．People have unfavorable impression on straight-A students. |
| C．Everyone knows about straight-A students from TV or films. |
| D．Straight-A students are well admired by people in the society. |
Some students become super-achievers mainly because_________ .
| A．they are born cleverer than others |
| B．they work longer hours at study |
| C．they make full use of their abilities |
| D．they know the shortcut to success |
What will be talked about after the last paragraph?
| A．The interviews with more students. |
| B．The role IQ plays in learning well. |
| C．The techniques to be better learners. |
| D．The achievements top students make. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．IQ is more important than hard work in study. |
| B．The brightest students can never get low grades. |
| C．Top students certainly achieve all-around developments. |
| D．Students with average IQ can become super-achievers. |
The practice of magic includes special words, actions, and objects. Most magic involves a person called a magician, who claims to have supernatural powers. Magic words.
To work most magic, the magician sings or speaks special words in a certain order. These words are called incantations or spells. Some spells form prayers to demons(魔鬼), spirits, or other supernatural forces. Many societies believe the magic will not work unless the magician recites the spells perfectly. Other magic words have no meaning, though they supposedly possess power when spoken by a magician. Magic actions accompany the words spoken in performing much magic. Many of these movements act out the desired effect of the magic. For example, a magician trying to make rain fall may sprinkle(洒) water on the ground. The magician's combined words and actions form a ceremony. Magic objects include certain plants, stones, and other things with supposed supernatural powers. Any such object may be called a fetish(物神). But this term often refers to an object—for example, a carving or a dried snake—honored by a tribe for its magic powers. Many tribes believe fetishes have magic power because spirits live in these objects. Many people carry magic objects called amulets(护身符)to protect themselves from harm. Many amulets are stones or rings engraved(雕刻) with magic symbols.
The magician, in some societies, nearly everyone knows how to work some magic. In other societies, only experts practice magic. Magicians may be called medicine men, medicine women, shamans, sorcerers, or witch doctors. In many societies, magicians must inherit(遗传) their powers. In others, any person may become a magician by studying the magical arts.
Many societies believe magicians must observe certain rules and taboos (forbidden actions) for their spells to work. For example, they may be required not to eat various foods or to avoid sexual activity for a certain period before the ceremony. What do magic words mean to people in some society?
| A．They have the power to kill devils. |
| B．They have power if magician recites the right spells. |
| C．They have no effect at all. |
| D．They can be used whenever they want. |
Why do many people believe in a fetish?
| A．Because it is often a ring which is worth a lot of money. |
| B．Because it is carved with magic symbols. |
| C．Because people think spirits live in it. |
| D．Because it can help them with many things. |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．How Magicians make Magic Work | B．The Power of Magic |
| C．How to Practice Magic | D．The Choice of Magicians |
As I sat beside the window of our classroom that afternoon, my heart sank further with each passing car. This was a day I’d looked forward to for weeks: Miss Pace’s fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party. I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace looked for cookie volunteers. Mom’s chocolate chips were well-known, and I knew they’d be a hit with my classmates. But two o’clock passed, and there was no sign of her. Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their sweet offerings. The three o’clock bell soon took me away from my thoughts and I took my book bag from my desk. I decided I would slam the front door, and refuse to return her hug.
But when I arrived, she wasn’t at home. I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door. “Robbie,” she called out a bit urgently. “Where are you?” I could then hear her rushing anxiously from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent. Coming through the door, she said: “I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “I just forgot. I got busy and forgot.” Then my mother did something completely unexpected. She began to laugh! How could she laugh at a time like this? I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see my rage (愤怒). But my mother wasn’t laughing at all. She was crying. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I let you down. I let my little boy down.”
I was moved by her tears. I tried to remember her kind words from times past when I’d skinned knees or cut myself, times when she knew just the right thing to say. “It’s okay, Mom. We didn’t even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat. Don’t cry. It’s all right. Really.” We didn’t say another word. We just held each other. When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer. The author was pretty down because ________.
| A．he couldn’t go to the party he had been looking forward to |
| B．his mother didn’t turn up at the party as she had promised |
| C．his mother had refused to make chocolate chips for the party |
| D．the cookies his mom made was not popular at the party |
When the author returned home, ________.
| A．he was so angry that he slammed the front door. |
| B．he was silent and refused to return his mother’s hug. |
| C．he rushed from room to room looking for his mother. |
| D．he was so disappointed that he couldn’t express his anger to his mother. |
We can tell from the story that _______.
| A．the mother didn’t get to the party because of the traffic jam |
| B．the mother was sorry for her absence and laughed at herself |
| C．the author was a caring and thoughtful boy |
| D．the author was overcome with anger |
The article conveys the message that _______.
| A．it is silly to be angry with your family |
| B．everybody should keep his or her promises |
| C．true love is based on understanding |
| D．understanding how to comfort people in low spirits is a true skill |
Choose Winners Club, and you choose to be a winner! The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户）where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers: No account keeping fees! You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees! Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow? The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits（储蓄）without taking them out in a month. Convenient Teenagers are busy – we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet. You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
Mega Magazine included along with your regular report, will definitely assure you to receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members. The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key – card) but it is easy. We can’t wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner! Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
| A．Special gifts are ready for parents. |
| B．The bank opens only on work days. |
| C．Services are convenient for its members. |
| D．Fees are necessary for the account keeping. |
The Winners Club provides magazines which ________.
| A．encourage spending |
| B．are free to all teenagers |
| C．are full of adventure stories |
| D．help to make more of your money |
If you want to be a member of the Club, you must ________.
| A．be an Internet user |
| B．be permitted by your parent |
| C．have a big sum of money |
| D．be in your twenties |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To set up a club. |
| B．To provide part-time jobs. |
| C．To organize key-cards. |
| D．To introduce a new banking service. |