Kelly Reeves was getting ready for a trip when her phone slipped into a sink full of water. Panic moment! She quickly picked up the wet phone and tried to turn it on, but nothing worked. Her first reaction? She got dressed, drove to the nearest store, and bought a new mobile at full price.
A new study finds that fear of losing your phone is a common illness. About 66 percent of those surveyed suffer from nomophobia or “no mobile phone phobia”. Interestingly, more women worry about losing their phone than men.
Fortunately, there’s a solution.
The first step is to figure out if you have nomophobia. Checking your phone too often is one thing, but the true sign of a problem is that you can’t conduct business or go about your routine when the fear becomes so severe.
Do you go to unusual lengths to make sure you have your phone? That’s another sign of a problem. If you find you check your phone plenty of times per hour, or a total of an hour per day, there may be a problem.
Some of the treatments are similar to those for treating anxiety attacks: leaving the phone behind and not checking e-mail or text messages, and then learning to tolerate the after anxiety. Even if this leads to a high level of worry and stress, the solution is to push through the fear and learn to deal with not having your phone.
Of course, there are also technological alternatives. Luis Levy, a co-founder at Novy PR, says he uses an application called Cerberus that can automatically track the location of his phone. To find it, he can just go to a website and see the phone’s location.
He also insures his phone through a service called Asurion. The company’s description of its product reads like a prescription for anxiety：“60 million phones are lost, stolen or damaged each year. You’ll have complete peace of mind knowing that your phone is protected and you can quickly reconnect with family, friends and work, as soon as the very next day!”Why does the author mention Kelly’s experience in the first paragraph?
| A．To introduce the topic for discussion. |
| B．To inform us that mobile phones are useful. |
| C．To warn us that we should be careful. |
| D．To tell us we should get phones ready for a trip. |
The underlined word “nomophobia” in Paragraph 2 means “ ” .
| A．habits of using mobile phones |
| B．fear of losing mobile phones |
| C．eagerness for new mobile phones |
| D．independence of mobile phones |
Which of the following is a way to treat nomophobia?
| A．Avoiding using a phone for some time |
| B．Learning more about modern technology |
| C．Protecting one’s phone against any damage |
| D．Not using a mobile phone in one’s daily work |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Attitude toward mobile phones |
| B．New mobile phone technology |
| C．Disadvantages of mobile phones |
| D．Solutions to nomophobia |
The SAT is one of two major tests for the entrance to American colleges and universities. The other test is called the ACT. More than 2 million students take the SAT yearly, including about 100,000 foreign students. The organization of the SAT will change the entrance test in 2016. The College Board announced that the new SAT will no longer test students on rarely used words. But it will include passages from American historical documents or from writings on freedom and human rights.
The College Board says words on the new test will be related to usage. Students will be asked to tell the meaning of words according to the context of the reading passages. Nigerian student Peace Umoru is in her first year at Howard University. She says the rarely used words are the hardest part for international students. The new test will be easier because of the reform.
Eddie West is with the College Board. He says the new test will better predict a student’s performance in college. The changes are moving the test in a positive direction. The new SAT pays more attention to skills and abilities that students need to succeed. The addition of material about American historical documents could make the test harder for international students. After all, they live in different countries with different cultures. But it’s a good chance for them to understand the Declaration of Independence or Martin Luther King’s work, or anything else that might be tested.
Students from other countries, particularly those who did not grow up learning English, may feel it is more difficult. For them, the test is in a foreign language. But the College Board says it has formed a free, online educational service. Khan Academy will provide preparation material linked to the newly designed SAT.What will be tested in the new SAT?
| A．All the different meanings of a word. |
| B．The rare usage of the common words. |
| C．The difficult words for foreign students. |
| D．The proper meaning of the words in the passages. |
The new SAT could be more difficult for international students because .
| A．they are short of skills and abilities |
| B．they often perform badly in college |
| C．they know nothing about American history |
| D．they have different cultural backgrounds |
What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．How to prepare for the new SAT. |
| B．The SAT will change the entrance test in 2016. |
| C．Advice for foreign students on passing the SAT. |
| D．Tests for entrance to American colleges and universities. |
Everyone, please imagine, a big explosion breaks out as the plane takes us high in the sky. The plane is full of smoke and the engine sounds scary. Two minutes later, the engines are turned off. We are now sitting in a plane with no sound. And we can see: Life is over.
That really happened. In January 2009, I had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York.
Now let me tell you the three things I learned when the silence came.
First, I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to but didn’t. I thought about all the experiences I wanted to have but never did. I no longer wanted to put off anything in life. Second, I really regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter. I decided to remove negative energy from my life. Third, I realized, wow, dying was not scary. But it was very sad just because I only wished I could have seen my kids grow up.
Fortunately, I was given the gift of a miracle of not dying that day. I was given another gift, with which I was to see into the future and come back and live differently.
About a month later, my wife and I were at a performance by my daughter, not much artistic talent. Yet, I’m crying. I realized that above all, the only goal in my life was to be a good father.
Audience, again, imagine the same thing happening on your plane. How would you change? What would you get done? And more than anything, are you being the best parent you can?
Thank you.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．Air crash is always a tragedy. |
| B．What I learned from the air crash. |
| C．Life is a miracle as we imagine. |
| D．How to become a good father. |
When does the idea “Life is over” come into being?
| A．Exactly during the explosion. |
| B．When the plane was full of smoke. |
| C．Before the engines sounded scary. |
| D．When the engines were turned off. |
What is the author’s final goal in life?
| A．Never to put off anything in life. |
| B．To remove negative energy from life. |
| C．To see his daughter grow up. |
| D．To be a good father. |
San Francisco(People's Daily Online)-- Apple Inc. Tuesday introduced its mobile payment service Apple Pay alongside the company's iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California.
What apple does is to replace consumers' wallet with its cell phone. Apple said it hopes to speed up the checkout process, make credit-card payments more secure and ultimately, to replace physical wallets.
With the near-field communication technology, Apple's gadgets like iPhone and Apple watch can transmit a radio signal between the device and a receiver when the two are in an inch apart. "To pay, just hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent," Apple says on its official website.
Apple said that each transaction (交易)would be authorized(授权) with a one-time, unique number, creating a security code that it said is more secure than the one on the back of your credit card because cashiers wont see your name, card number or security code. The service will work with the three major payment networks —American Express, MasterCard and Visa —and Apple said that there are 220,000 merchant locations that accept these contactless payments.
When some applaud this disrupted service that will compete with Paypal and endanger other online payment companies, some others concern about its safety, especially when another retailer Home Depot confirmed a data opening yesterday and iCloud was reported exposing nude (裸体)pictures of celebrities (名人) a week ago.
Leo Zheng, a technology reporter in Silicon Valley said: "When Apple attracts consumers to put all their cards into one iPhone and promised the security, Jennifer Lawrence should say something."Which can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Apple announces mobile payment service to replace consumers' wallet. |
| B．Consumers can pay in cash through mobile phones. |
| C．Apple Inc. will introduce new models to the market. |
| D．Mobile payment will be popular soon. |
After reading the third paragraph, we know.
| A．Apple’s new products are popular |
| B．Apple can be used as an ID |
| C．Apple's gadgets can receive message easily |
| D．how Apple's gadgets work |
The attitude of the writer towards the mobile payment is .
| A．indifferent (冷漠的) | B．objective |
| C．skeptical | D．positive |
What could have happened to Jennifer Lawrence?
| A．She made great contributions to Apple. |
| B．She put all her cards into her iPhone. |
| C．Her nude pictures were spread online. |
| D．Her iPhone often broke down. |
Your House Will Take Care of You In Old Age
Have you ever thought what your life would be like in old age?
Everyone talks about the “aging” society with large numbers of elderly people needing home care. Now German researchers have set up a “smart”house, programmed to help the elderly live at home with dignity. Scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute say the house combines existing technology with future-oriented technology.
For example, the “smart”bathroom has a touch screen mirror that can remind people to take their medicine, wash their hands or brush their teeth. The hardware behind Fraunhofer’s electronic bathroom is not new, and the software runs on a regular personal computer.
When the medicine cabinet is opened, a display in the middle of the mirror tells the person how many pills to take. The mirror is linked to a care provider, who can remotely check whether a patient at home is actually taking medicine and brushing his or her teeth. As many elderly people have arthritic(关节炎的) conditions that make it difficult to operate water taps, the mirror also has displays that turn the water tap on or off or control the water temperature.
The bathroom is only the start. Kitchens, bedrooms and all other parts of the intelligent”home will become “user-friendly”to meet all kinds of individual needs. Sensors in doors, toilets, taps, light switches and carpets detect every activity and record them electronically. Doctors or care staff can see from the computer records what personal hygiene tasks have been completed, how often the elderly person visits the bathroom or uses the toilet. In case of an emergency, the computer automatically alerts the chosen contact person or calls the care center.The smart bathroom has a touch screen mirror ____.
| A．that can remind people to do many things |
| B．which is linked to a nursing house |
| C．behind which is a medicine cabinet |
| D．that can help the elderly brush their teeth |
The underlined word them in the last paragraph refers to ___.
| A．sensors |
| B．doors, toilets, taps, light switches and carpets |
| C．individual needs |
| D．every activity |
How is the passage mainly developed?
| A．By inferring. | B．By comparing. |
| C．By listing examples. | D．By introducing a practical method. |
The author of the text mainly ___.
| A．calls on people to care for the old |
| B．introduces a new house |
| C．promotes a new house |
| D．encourages the old to live with dignity |
Many people in the United States like eggs for breakfast. There are many different ways to cook eggs. One of the most common kinds of eggs for breakfast is scrambled eggs. In addition, this is one of the easiest dishes to cook. Read this recipe(秘法)for scrambled eggs and you will see how easy it is.
| Scrambled Eggs |
|
| Utensils |
Ingredients |
| a frying pan a spatula(刮勺) 1 tea spoon a fork or spoon a small bowl |
eggs 2 tablespoons of milk or butter salt pepper(胡椒) |
Steps:
1) Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium(适中的)heat.
2) In a small bowl, mix the eggs and the milk. Use the fork (or the spoon) to mix these well.
3) Pour this mixture into the pan.
4) Stir the eggs from time to time with the spatula. Continue until the eggs are no longer liquid.
5) Add salt and pepper, Add a little or a lot, as you like.For this recipe, you do not need __________.
| A．a knife | B．a spatula | C．a bowl | D．a fork |
Which of these steps comes first?
| A．Stir the eggs with the spatula. |
| B．Eat the eggs for breakfast. |
| C．Add salt and pepper. |
| D．Mix the eggs and the milk. |
Which of these words means “to change from solid to liquid”?
| A．pour | B．melt | C．stir | D．scramble |
Read the recipe again, in which of the five steps do you scramble the eggs?
| A．Step 2 | B．Step 3 | C．Step 4 | D．Step 5 |