Fahad Azad, an engineer in India, invented a robot named DuctBot．The toy-car sized DuctBot measured 23 centimeters in length, 19 centimeters in width and 9 centimeters in height and weighs just two kilograms．
The robot is designed to snake through dark, narrow air conditioning ducts （管道） and clean them．A pair of LEDs fitted on the robot light up the dirty scenery, so it can be captured （抓拍） by a camera．
In order to control it more easily, Mr. Azad chooses to fix DuctBot on wheels．The robot can clean off lots of dirt, as well as dead pigeons and insects．Keeping indoor air in good quality and monitoring carbon-dioxide levels in buildings with central air conditioning is a challenge．It is important in some places where clean air can mean a difference between life and death, such as hospitals．Dirty air has a bad influence on people's health．
EPSCO, a Dubai-based company which specializes in improving indoor air quality, read about Mr. Azad's invention in a national newspaper after he had won an international robotics competition．EPSCO had cleaning equipment, but it needed someone to get into those ducts to do the dirty, dangerous work．Across India, for example, the task still falls to children．They are small enough to go through those ducts．
In 2005, Mr. Azad who was still at university decided to do something about it．Six years later his own company, Robosoft Systems, has Bluestar, EPSCO and the Indian Navy, some leading air condition makers, as partners．
Mr. Azad and his ten employees are currently exploring robot designs to examine oil tanks or sewage （污水）pipes．Their biggest challenge is to make the robots user-friendly enough．Mr. Azad hopes that the robot could eventually be operated not by engineers but by workers．There will be lots of difficulties they need to overcome in the future．What can we learn about Ductbot?
| A．It is a toy car and popular with children． |
| B．It is designed to move like a snake in the ducts． |
| C．many LEDs are fitted on it to tell its location． |
| D．It is actually a camera to capture dirty scenery． |
The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 2 refers to "____"．
| A．the camera | B．the conditioning duct |
| C．the LED light | D．the dirty scenery |
What can the Ductbot do for us?
| A．Clean off the dirt in the ducts． |
| B．Control the central conditioning． |
| C．Reduce carbon-dioxide in buildings． |
| D．Protect more animals in city． |
According to the text, EPSCO____．
| A．has won an international robotics competition |
| B．hired children to clean the dirty ducts in the past |
| C．is the only partner of Robosoft Systems |
| D．specializes in improving people's health |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．Only engineers can operate the Ductbot now． |
| B．New ways have been found to examine oil tanks． |
| C．Azad's difficulties are impossible to overcome． |
| D．Azad's team are working to improve their robot designs． |
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information that governments could not ignore. At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments that protect customers and workers. In the U.S., for example, there is a department that tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars that we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Conditions in the work place. |
| B．The freedom of industries in the past. |
| C．Changes in industrial production. |
| D．The safety and health of workers and customers. |
According to the passage, we can get the conclusion that in the past __________.
| A．workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions |
| B．companies were free to put out any products they wanted to |
| C．many people were killed by dangerous products |
| D．industries were as careful in management as they are today |
It is implied in the passage that ____________.
| A．governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products |
| B．governments paid little attention to the safety of products. |
| C．government officials often did not listen to scientists |
| D．in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments |
The special departments protect customers and workers in many ways EXCEPT by ____.
| A．testing new products |
| B．designing new products |
| C．controlling the sale of products |
| D．inspecting work places |
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential. Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
♢Continental Breakfast
♢Breakfast and Dinner
♢Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal (谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for ______.
| A．hosts willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to know British culture |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to live in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning. | B．Medical care. |
| C．Free transport. | D．Physical training. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．Bread and fruit juice. | D．Cereal and cold meat. |
Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
| A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere. |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English. |
| C．To entertain friends as they like. |
| D．To enjoy much more freedom. |
Surface Exploration. Robots make great explorers on planets，moons，and other landing areas. Aside from earth，just about every surface in the solar system is unsafe for humans to explore. The air on most other planets is insufficient(不足的) for humans to breathe，making it necessary to wear a space suit and oxygen equipment. The temperatures on these surfaces are much too hot or much too cold for any humans to withstand（禁得起）．Plus there would be complications with radiation，weather，and a lack of gravity. Robots have much less limitation in these areas and can survive much longer under these conditions.
Data Collection. Robots are designed for collecting scientific data. Robots are also able to perform many tasks at a time and can process information much quicker and more efficiently. Important scientific projects from detecting minerals，analyzing ground samples，and finding water are all performed much quicker and more accurately (精确地) by robots.
Cost Effective. The use of robots has made the cost of space exploration much less expensive than it would cost for humans to do the work. In order to successfully send humans into space we would need to build a vehicle that can not only carry humans，but also enough food and water to keep them alive for the duration of the trip. Moreover，robots have no problems working for hours on end. Robots never complain，they don't require food or water，and they never need a bathroom break.
Space Travel. Over the past 30 years or so there have been many different types of robots used successfully in the exploration of space. Perhaps the most famous and successful robots are the Spirit and Opportunity who have both been exploring the surface of Mars. They have both been very successful with experiments on soil and rocks and have even found evidence of water in Mars' history.According to the passage，which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The use of robots in space exploration costs more than the use of humans. |
| B．It may be dangerous for humans to explore the solar system except the earth. |
| C．Both the Spirit and Opportunity have found the evidence of water in the Mars. |
| D．Many different types of robots have explored the space successfully. |
Which column could the passage come from?
| A．Education. | B．Finance. |
| C．Travel. | D．Science. |
The underlined word “withstand” most probably means“________”．
| A．arise | B．bear | C．defeat | D．diverse |
What is the writer's attitude in this passage?
| A．Negative. | B．Persuasive. |
| C．Subjective. | D．Objective. |
While sending an astronaut into the space，we should consider the following EXCEPT ________．
| A．the radiation | B．the oxygen | C．the diet | D．the alien |
French surgeons have performed what they said on Wednesday was the world's first partial face transplant--- giving a new nose, chin and lips to a woman attacked by a dog.
Specialists from two French hospitals carried out the operation on a 38-year-old woman on Sunday in the northern city of Amiens by taking the face from a brain-dead woman, who had hanged herself just hours before the operation. Her family agreed on the operation.
“The patient is in an excellent state and the transplant looks normal,” the hospitals said in a brief statement after waiting three days to announce the pioneering surgery.
The woman had been left without a nose and lips after the dog attacked her last May, and was unable to talk or chew properly. Such injuries are “extremely difficult, if not impossible” to repair using normal surgical techniques, the statement said.
The statement did not say what the woman would look like when she had fully recovered, but medical experts said she was unlikely to resemble the woman who had been the source of her new face.
The operation was led by Jean-Michel Dubernard, a specialist from a hospital in Lyon who has also carried out hand transplants,
Skin transplants have long been used to treat burns and other injuries, but operations around the mouth and nose have been considered very difficult because of the area's high sensitivity to foreign tissue.
Teams in France, the United States and Britain had been developing techniques to make face transplants a reality
There was a short-term risk for the patient if blood vessels became blocked, a medium-term danger of her body rejecting the new skin and a long-term possibility that the drugs used could cause cancers.
Experts say that although such medical advances should be celebrated, the transplant had thrown up moral（道德的）and ethical(伦理的)issues. Little is known about the psychological effect of the transplant. The best title for the passage would be ________.
| A．French Woman has First Partial Face Transplant |
| B．First Face Transplant Opens Debate |
| C．Risks and Ethical Problems of a Face Transplant |
| D．A Complete Face Transplant of a French Woman |
Why did the woman need such an operation?
| A．Her face had been bitten by a dog |
| B．Her face had been burnt in a fire. |
| C．She was born especially ugly |
| D．She wanted to test such an operation. |
The underlined word "resemble" means ________.
| A．to remember forever |
| B．to recognize immediately |
| C．to set as an example |
| D．to presents similarity or likeness to |
What can we learn about the operation?
| A．The woman had used the dead woman' s whole face. |
| B．There has arisen a debate about the operation. |
| C．The woman will suffer from psychological damage soon. |
| D．Such transplants have been performed by doctors. |
Which of the following is NOT one of the risks of the operation?
| A．Block of blood vessels. |
| B．Organ rejection |
| C．Heart damage. |
| D．Side effect of the drugs |
The United Nations says forty million people or so around the world went hungry in 2008, mainly because of higher food prices. Early estimates（估计） from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that 963 million people did not get enough to eat.
World food prices have dropped since early 2008. Prices of major crops have decreased by more than half from their height earlier last year. But they remain high compared to earlier years.
But FAO official Hafez Ghanem says lower prices have failed to end the food crisis (危机) in many poor countries. “For millions in developing countries,” he says, “getting enough food every day to live an active and healthy life is a distant dream.”
The FAO says food shortage is a threat to people's health. Today, two-thirds of the world's undernourished people live in just a few countries. These are India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and so on.
A report on food insecurity warns that the current economic crisis could send even more people into hunger and poverty.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of the people who continually go hungry fell from 34% in 1997 to 30% in 2008. But the FAO says Ghana is the only country that has reached two sets of hunger reduction targets. These were set by the 1996 World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals. The main reason is the growth in agricultural production in Ghana.
The FAO says some countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand and Vietnam have made progress in hunger reduction goals. But South Asia and Central Asia haven't, and North Korea is still in hot water.What FAO official Hafez Ghanem says implies（暗示）__________
| A．it's easy but takes long to provide people with enough food |
| B．enough food can make people more active and healthier |
| C．there is difficulty solving the food shortage in a short time |
| D．people in developing countries will never get enough food |
Ghana has reached the targets of hunger reduction mainly because of ________.
| A．the still high food prices |
| B．the donation of developed countries |
| C．the two targets of hunger reduction |
| D．the growth in agricultural production |
The underlined word "undernourished" in Para. 4 probably means ________.
| A．hungry and unhappy |
| B．unhealthy for lack of food |
| C．not fat because of poverty |
| D．undeveloped and poor |
Which country has not made progress in hunger reduction?
| A．North Korea | B．Thailand | C．Vietnam | D．Ghana |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The food production of the world |
| B．The hunger reduction target of the FAO |
| C．The food shortage around the world |
| D．The solution to the global food shortage |