March 22, 20II---Most restaurants in the United States offer their customers a glass of tap water at no charge with their meal, but this week many restaurants are asking dinners to pay a dollar, or more, for a glass of water. Cards on their tables explain that this small amount helps bring clean water to children around the world. It’s called the UNICEF Tap Project.
“UNICEF’s Tap Project is really all about bringing attention to the fact that over 900 million people around the globe do not have access to good, clean, healthy drinking water,” says Cary Stem, who heads the US Fund for UNICEF. She adds that water-borne illness is the second-highest cause of preventable childhood death in the world.
“Each and every day approximately 4,100 children die just because they don’t have that access - 4,100 every single day.”
The public service campaign encourages people to help change that statistic with a simple, affordable action: paying a dollar to get a glass of tap water at a restaurant.
“One dollar buys enough good, clean water for a child for 40 days,” Stem says.
“The tap project has expanded since it began five years ago with 300 restaurants in New York City. This year, Stem says, about 3,000 restaurants across the country are participating in the campaign. We raised about $2.5 million over the last five years of this campaign,” says Stem. “Last year, we raised over $1 million for the first time. This year we’re hoping to top that.”
Stem credits the continued success of the campaign to an army of volunteers who support the tap project and raise money in their communities.
The UNICEF Tap Project is promoting its efforts with a simple motto: when you take water, give water. Currently, UNICEF works in more than 100 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities.
Stem hopes that, by participating in the project, more Americans will realize that what they often take for granted is a precious and scarce resource in many other parts of the world.Restaurants began to charge for tap water to _______.
| A．increase their profit |
| B．urge customers to save water |
| C．raise people’s awareness of the world water problem |
| D．collect money for those without access to safe water |
We can learn from the text that the Tap Project ________.
| A．began in New York City |
| B．was started by volunteers |
| C．is hoping to collect $2.5 million this year |
| D．provides help for 1,000 countries in the world |
It can be learned that _______.
| A．the Tap Project began in 2006 |
| B．America suffers a serious problem |
| C．4,100 children die of water pollution every year |
| D．water-borne illnesses are the biggest killer of children |
How does Cary Stem feel about the work of the Tap Project?
| A．Concerned | B．Hopeful | C．Disappointed | D．Angry |
A California man who was feeling sick almost died recently from a shocking cause.
26-year-old Luis Ortiz went to a hospital because of a headache and nausea(恶心，作呕). When doctors examined him, they were shocked to find a tapeworm larva(绦虫幼虫) in his brain. The story gets stranger. The larva was still alive.
The creature had caused a cyst(囊肿) to form inside his head. The cyst was restricting the flow of liquids to different areas of his brain. The situation was so serious that doctors said they had to perform an emergency operation to remove the larva.
A doctor who operated on Ortiz told him he had only 30 minutes to live. When the doctor pulled the worm out of his head, it was still moving.
Luis Ortiz was a student at California State University in Sacramento. He began experiencing headaches in late August. But Ortiz said he did not think the headaches were serious.
In September, he visited a friend and his parents in another city. That is when the pain got worse. His mother saw Ortiz throwing up and took him to a hospital emergency room.
The doctors saved Ortiz's life. However, the surgery also affected him. Ortiz had to drop out of school and move back home. For now, he is not permitted to work or drive a vehicle.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has about 1,000 reported cases of tapeworms each year. The CDC adds that tapeworms are more common in developing countries with poor public health systems.
The best way to avoid a tapeworm infection (感染)is to wash fruits and vegetables. Also, make sure meat is cooked thoroughly. The CDC suggests cooking all meats to an internal temperature of at least 63 degrees Celsius. What caused Luis Ortiz to feel sick and headaches?
| A．Dirty food eaten in August. |
| B．Travelling for a long way, |
| C．A living creature in his brain. |
| D．Uncooked meat eaten by him. |
If the doctors didn’t have an emergency operation on him , Luis Ortiz was likely to ________ _ .
| A．die of cancer | B．live for only half an hour |
| C．finish studying in school | D．pass the driving tests |
How should people avoid infecting tapeworms?
| A．By washing fruits and vegetable. |
| B．By boiling plates and bowls before meals. |
| C．By cooking meats to at least 63 °C outside, |
| D．By improving the development of economy. |
What did the writer think of the cause of Luis Ortiz’s disease?
| A．Quite frightening. | B．Very dangerous. |
| C．Rather puzzling. | D．Extremely surprising. |
I have been in Limoges for a month now. since living here, I have tried to integrate(融合) into the local community and one way I have found to do this is by following the local rugby team.
I decided to look for information on the local rugby team after the tourism office could not help me. I searched for the club office online and decided to look into it. The following day I went back to the club after speaking with them and decided to get a season ticket for the rest of my stay here. I will now be going to each home game as well as travelling to the away games with the team and the fans. I am sure that it is going to be a great experience during my time abroad here. I will also be travelling through various regions of France so I will be visiting new places throughout the season. There is another team in a town called Brive not so far away who play in the top league in France, but I decided to stay local. I may go and see them with other assistants if possible during our stay.
I witnessed a friendly match on Saturday when they played Stade Dijon in the division below them. The match finished 70-12. After the match, both teams went to the club house to see the Rugby World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and Australia. Both teams respected each others which is something you don’t always see in other sports. I spoke to the president of the club after the game and he told me, “This is a family club.” Hopefully this year will be a good year for Limoges.How did the writer try to combine into Limoges' community?
| A．By taking part in the local rugby team. |
| B．By watching the rugby matches in Limoges, |
| C．By playing often with the people in Limoges. |
| D．By paying close attention to the local rugby team. |
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to_____________,
| A．the club office | B．the local rugby team |
| C．the tourism office | D．the local community |
Why did the two teams go to the club house aft6r the match?
| A．To show respect to each other. |
| B．To watch the Rugby World Cup semi-final. |
| C．To clean the club together. |
| D．To exchange experience with each other. |
What can we infer from the text?
A. The writer must be a top rugby player.
B. The writer is likely to be a boss of a rugby club.
C The writer is likely to come from Australia.
D. The writer probably works as an assistant in France.
IMAGINE that your parents have bought you the most advanced robot. He looks like a real person. He talks to you and plays with you. He can even think for himself and figure out what you need.
It may feel as if you have a considerate new brother who keeps you company all the time. But come to think of it, can you really trust him?
Ever since the first robot was created decades ago, scientists have kept thinking about the task of making robots more like humans. However, as they have gotten closer to that goal, doubts have grown. According to the BBC, Japanese robot designer Masahiro Mori argues that the more lifelike robots become, the more humans feel a connection to them. But once they become too similar to humans, people begin to feel uncomfortable.
This theory is what led to the creation of a brand new robot in Switzerland earlier this month. Roboy, as the new machine is called, has various human-like abilities such as hand-shaking and bicycle-riding, but instead of a skin-like covering, Roboy is wrapped in shiny white armor (盔甲) that clearly shows its robot status.
“As long as people can clearly see that the robot is a machine, even if they project their feelings into it, then they feel comfortable,” Rolf Pfeifer, the creator of Roboy from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, told the BBC.
But the problem that people have with robots is not just with the way they look. It also has to do with the roles that they play in our lives.
A survey last year of European Union countries showed that 88 percent of those interviewed agreed that robots are “necessary as they can do jobs that are too hard or dangerous for people”, such as space exploration and war fighting. But when it comes to taking care of children, 60 percent said that robots should not be allowed to participate, because as robots become more advanced and complicated, parents may tend to hand over too much responsibility to them.
No matter what, robots will soon enter our homes, Pfeifer said. What is not yet clear is whether they will act more like servants who work for us or companions who live with us.What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To introduce the newly-invented robot, Roboy. |
| B．To discuss problems related to designing robots. |
| C．To explore the roles robots will play in our future lives. |
| D．To argue what kinds of robots appeal to people more. |
Why did Pfeifer make Roboy look like a robot?
| A．To better protect it. |
| B．To make it look cool and modern. |
| C．To make it clearly different from a human. |
| D．To keep its price down. |
Which best describes the author’s tone in the article?
| A．Objective(客观的). | B．Critical(批评的). |
| C．Admiring. | D．Anxious. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．The brand new robot in Switzerland can do everything human beings can. |
| B．Scientists have long been dreaming of creating human-like robots. |
| C．Robots in the future will serve as human beings’ good friends. |
| D．People won’t be comfortable with robots like a machine in the house. |
Eating too much fatty food，exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease. But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately：the air you breathe.
Previous studies have linked high exposure（暴露）to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problems, but two analyses now show that poor air quality can cause heart attack or stroke（中风） within as little as a few hours after exposure. In one report of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants（污染物）were up to 5% more likely to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure. Another study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency（EPA）considers to be of “moderate”(良好) quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34% within 12 to 14 hours of exposure.
The authors of both studies stress that these risks are relatively small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure. However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices. So stricter regulation by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health.The text mainly discusses the relationship between _________ .
| A．heart problems and air quality |
| B．heart problems and exercising |
| C．heart problems and smoking |
| D．heart problems and fatty food |
The underlined word “modest” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _________ .
| A．relatively high | B．extremely low |
| C．relatively low | D．extremely high |
We can learn from the text that __________？
| A．eating fatty food has immediate effects on your heart. |
| B．the EPA conducted many studies on air quality. |
| C．moderate air quality is more harmful than smoking. |
| D．stricter regulations on pollutants should be made. |
The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to _________ .
| A．inform | B．persuade | C．describe | D．entertain |
Guide to Stockholm University Library
Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated(位于) in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have got at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.The library’s upper floor is mainly for students to __________.
| A．read in a quiet place |
| B．have group discussions |
| C．take comfortable seats |
| D．get their computers fixed |
Library computers on the ground floor __________.
| A．help students with their field experiments |
| B．contain software necessary for schoolwork |
| C．are for those who want to access the wi-fi |
| D．are mostly used for filling out application forms |
What condition should be met to book a group-study room?
| A．A group must consist of 8 people |
| B．Three-hour use per day is the minimum |
| C．One should first register (注册) at the university |
| D．Applicants must mark the room on the map |
A student can rent a locker in the library if he __________.
| A．can afford the rental fee |
| B．attends certain courses |
| C．has nowhere to put his books |
| D．has earned the required credits |