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Train-spotting
Many people around the world have seen Danny Boyle’s movie Train spotting starring Ewan McGregor, but how many of us really know what train-spotting is all about? Now this is not considered cool in town and the word “train-spotter” in Britain is related to “geek” or “nerd” (someone who seems very ridiculous). But is this reputation really deserved?
First of all, let’s see what train-spotting is. It is said that there are some 100,000 train spotters in the UK. Exactly as the title suggests, they spot trains, that is, they stand in train stations, look at the number of each train that leaves and arrives and write it down. The eventual aim is to have seen every train in the country.
Being crazy about railways and trains is not modern and it dates back to 1804. As the number of trains grew and they got faster and faster, so did the interest in them grow? Is this any stranger than people who love cars?
So, what do you need to be a train-spotter? Well, all you really need is a pen or pencil and a notebook to write down the train numbers. Other equipment(装备) includes hot tea in a thermos, a camera and some sandwiches for those long afternoons spent on train platforms when you don’t want to risk the delights of railway station food.
It’s interesting to note that despite the “bad name” of train-spotting, there have been famous railway lovers in history, such as Alfred Hitchcock, who filmed them regularly, especially The 39 Steps. There is evidence, too, that being a train-spotter is not necessarily a strange phenomenon(现象)in Britain.
One glance at the US train stations should be enough to convince you that train-spotters there are alive and well. In America, they try to call rail lovers “train-fans” and talk of “train-fanning”. Don’t let this fool you—these people are train spotters and there are a lot of them. Each month, two million pages are visited on the website TrainWeb.org.                     
340words
What is train-spotting according to the passage?

A.A kind of hobby. B.A type of sport.
C.A strange phenomenon. D.A special job.

Which of the following about train-spotters is true according to the passage?

A.They number each train they see.
B.They keep a careful path of every train.
C.They count the trains passing in front of them.
D.They produce films about trains with video cameras.

The writer writes the passage to        .

A.introduce some famous train-spotters
B.encourage readers to do more train-spotting
C.try to present a true picture of train-spotting
D.describe the necessary equipment in train-spotting

What do we learn from the passage?

A.Train-spotters in the UK want to fool people.
B.Train-spotting is more acceptable in America.
C.Train-spotters are much stranger than car lovers.
D.Train-spotting relates to(与…有关)a dangerous lifestyle.
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Have you ever looked at a cat’s face and wondered what it is thinking? Well, according to a new study, cats have many different facial expressions, which show how they are feeling.

The research was carried out by the scientists at the University of California, in the US. They visited a local cat café over several months to record videos of 53 cats, collecting 194 minutes of videos. They found that the cats have 276 different expressions. “Each expression was a mixture of lip different facial movements, which included licking(舔)their nose, opening their mouth, or widening the pupils of their eyes,” said the scientists. They also found cats use 26 of these facial movements in total, which can be mixed to express how they are feeling. Dogs use 27 facial movements and humans use a total of 44.

Out of the expressions they recorded, 45% were friendly and 37% were angry. “A friendly cat moves its ears and whiskers forward and closes its eyes. However, an angry cat often flattens its ears to its head, makes its pupils smaller and licks its lips,” said the team.

Although the researchers aren’t sure what the cats were trying to communicate with each other using their faces, they plan to study cats in other places to improve their understanding. They also hope that the research could help animal shelters(收容所)improve the way they look after the cats. Some pet owners even suggest the researchers develop an app for them to find out what their cats’ facial expressions really mean.

1Which of the following uses the most facial movements?

A

A.

. Humans.

B.

Dogs.

C.

Cats.

2Which picture shows a cat’s angry expression?

A.

B.

C.

3What might the scientists do next?

A.

Use an app to study cats’ expressions.

B.

Build an animal shelter to look after cats.

C.

Keep on studying to know more about cats.

4How does the writer develop the text?

A.

By giving numbers and choices.

B.

By showing examples and results.

C.

By presenting opinions and facts.

5What’s the writing purpose of the text?

A.

To call on people to love cats more.

B.

To introduce a new study about cats.

C.

To tell readers why the team did the research.

阅读下面短文,根据短文内容选择最佳选项。

a

Rather than using cash or a bank card, customers simply look at a screen which recognizes their face using the latest facial recognition software(软件). This is connected to their bank account and payments are completed within seconds.

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If you use flight alert, you’ll never miss out on the best flight deals ever again. Simply enter your email address and preferred holiday places and we will find out the best and cheapest flight deals online and email a list to you. You’ll be amazed at the prices on offer.

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Are you a crazy shopper who wants to know if the shirt on sale looks good? Take a photo and send it to the app and receive reviews at once from thousands of other shoppers who are on hand to tell you whether or not it is right for you. The app also stores your photos and recommends more that you might also be interested in.

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You may have already moved into the world of online shopping. You place an order online, and then the products are sent right to your door. But what about our beloved pets? This is a website that sells pet clothes. The clothes can be sent to your home. If you are not completely satisfied with the products, then simply post them back to us for free.

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Safe.

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Cheap.

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Fast.

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Save money for a trip.

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Arrive on time for a flight.

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Decide the best travelling place.

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The shirt.

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The photo.

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The app.

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It offers offline orders for customers.

B.

It’s for pet owners to sell their pets’ clothes.

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It allows customers to return unwanted products.

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配对阅读。左栏是五则新闻,右栏是七位学生的读后感。请为每则新闻匹配对应的读后感。选项中有两项为多余项。

1 A British scientist has discovered that, 200 to 300 million years ago, it rained non-stop for two million years on Earth.

2 A fashion designer from Europe collects hair cuttings and changes them into material for clothes. The designer thinks this material helps reduce waste.

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4 Mexico City is facing serious drinking water problems. Many people are forced to buy expensive bottled water for drinking.

5 The athletes’ village of Paris Olympics will have a special cooling system(系统). It will save 40% of the electricity and natural gas.

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B. Unbelievable! In that period, there must have been water everywhere on Earth.

C. I am planning to fly to the city to have a taste of the famous street food.

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G. I hope I can do something for the people there so that they will have enough drinking water.

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People know animals do have feelings, but they are not sure if these feelings are correctly understood. In recent years, scientists have done research about the feelings of cows, frogs and pandas. It says that humans can tell whether a chicken is happy or sad by listening to its calls.

The researchers put a bowl behind a door. Inside the bowl, sometimes, there was something chickens love to eat, such as rice or insects. Sometimes, there was nothing. When the chickens saw food behind the door, they seemed happy and produced fast and loud sounds, known as food calls. When there wasn’t food, the chickens made low and long noises to express disappointment. The researchers recorded all these sounds and studied their waves.

Then the researchers chose 16 recordings of such chicken noises. Half were from the chickens seeing the food and half were from the chickens finding no food. The recordings were played to 194 volunteers. Sixty-nine percent of the volunteers correctly understood whether the chickens were feeling happy or not, and some of them even had no experience of taking care of chickens.

The result shows that humans have the natural ability to understand the feelings of chickens. Hopefully, this finding can bring about new technology to help with chicken-raising, a big industry in many countries. Some scientists are already working on a smart computer program that can identify chickens’ feelings. This is good news for farmers who want to make the birds happier and healthier.

1Which of the following can be put in “________” in Paragraph 1?

A.

Humans may not like animals.

B.

Scientists know nothing about it.

C.

Nobody knows why this happens.

D.

A new study adds chickens to the list.

2Which is most probably the sound wave of a happy call by a chicken?

A.

B.

C.

D.

3How did the volunteers help with the research?

A.

By listening to the chicken calls.

B.

By taking care of the chickens.

C.

By finding food for the chickens.

D.

By making the chickens happy.

4What does the underlined word “identify” mean in Paragraph 4?

A.

Control.

B.

Hide.

C.

Recognize.

D.

Hurt.

5What is the best title for the passage?

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Chickens’ Food Calls

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Happy Chickens, Sad Chickens

C.

Farmers’ Best Choice

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Smart Farmers, Healthy Farmers

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