Missing friends who live far away? Or just need a little family comfort after a long day? Sometimes you just need a hug(拥抱). And sometimes there’s just no one around to give you one. So what do you do? How about a virtual (虚拟的) hug?Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have invented a social media vest (社交背心) that allows people to give hugs to their friends, family and loved ones on Facebook.
The vest is called Like-A-Hug, which is connected(连接) with your Facebook page. Whenever Facebook friends “Like” a photo, video or anything you post on the network, a fan will blow air into the vest to give you a hug. Hugs can also be sent back to the sender by pressing the vest to lose air, according to the website of designer Melissa Chow.
She worked with Andy Payne and Phil Seaton at the MIT Media Lab to build the black vest, making the wearer “feel the warmth, encouragement, support, or love that we feel when we receive hugs.” Melissa Chow said, “We came up with the idea over a free talk about long-distance relationships and the disadvantages of video chat interfaces (视频聊天界面) like Skype.”
Chow and her workmates actually finished work on the vest last year, but it’s only just recently drawn the attention of the public.
Chow provided no pricing or ordering information for the Like-A-Hug vest, so don’t expect to see people blowing up all over town just yet.
Although researchers believe that Like-A-Hug will cause a worldwide storm, a lot of people think it can’t take the place of the feeling of a real hug. Body temperature or the taste of hair and so on is far from what a social vest can match.
| A．To show how to design a magic vest. |
| B．To suggest a newly-built website. |
| C．To introduce a virtual social media vest. |
| D．To explain the weak points of Skype. |
| A．those who play computer games |
| B．those who need comfort or support |
| C．those who design chat interfaces |
| D．those who like to give others hugs |
| A．She built the vest all by herself. |
| B．She expects to sell the vest at a high price. |
| C．She made the vest public last year. |
| D．She got the idea for a vest while chatting. |
| A．can be ordered on Facebook |
| B．can take the place of a real hug |
| C．can not only be used by Facebook users |
| D．produces a hug when you get a Facebook “Like” |
Imagine a world where air pollution is no longer a problem. Clean air is all around us. People don’t have to worry about polluting the air every time they drive their cars. They no longer need to face the problem of not having enough fuel（燃料）either.
Although scientists have been trying for many years to develop a new kind of car that does not need gasoline (汽油), they have been unsuccessful. Recently, however, car engineers have succeeded in creating a new kind of car that runs on gasoline and electricity（电）. This is the famous “hybrid car”. This car gets its name from the fact that it has a gasoline engine (引擎) and an electric motor inside. Hybrid cars do not pollute the environment as much as the cars that are commonly used today. They also cost drivers less money because they need less fuel than ordinary cars.
Hybrid cars are becoming widely popular in the United States. They are soon expected to become widely used around the world. If scientists and engineers continue to work on car development, perhaps the world with clean air that we imagined earlier just might become real in the future.
| A．cars | B．drivers |
| C．engines | D．scientists |
| A．increase air pollution | B．run only on electricity |
| C．have no engines inside | D．need less fuel than ordinary cars |
| A．like electric cars | B．drive cars easily |
| C．live in the world with clean air | D．understand how hybrid cars work |
| A．The Car of the Future | B．The Meaning of Hybrid |
| C．The Use of Hybrid Cars | D．The Invention of the Car |
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly（顺利地，流利地）, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.
| A．listening | B．writing |
| C．pronunciation | D．communication |
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
| A．Story Time | B．Study Garden |
| C．Latest News | D．Lost and Found |
Lily is from New York , the U.S.A. She is twelve. She is in Shanghai NO.3 Junior High School. She is in Class Eight, Grade One. Her phone number is 66786019. Dongdong is from Kunming. His English name is Tom. He is eleven .He is in Class Seven,Grade One. His telephone number is 24524233. They are not in the same class. They are good friends
阅读短文,选择正确的答案.Lily is from_____.
A． English B. China C. the U.S.ADongdong is in Class______.
A． Six B. Seven C. EightLily and Dongdong are good___________ .
A． students B.friends C. teachersWhere is Tom from ? He is from______________
A． The U.S.A B. Japan C. ChinaHow old is Lily ? She is ________________
A． ten B. eleven C. twelve
Hello, I’m Lucy. I am from the USA. But now I’m in China. My teacher is Miss Chen. She is from Tianjin. She is Chinese. I have a sister. Her name is Lily. She is in China , too.We are in the same school.
阅读短文,判断句子正(用 “T” )误(用 “F” )Lily and Lucy are from Canada.
They are in China now.
Miss Liu is their teacher.
Miss Chen is from Dalian.
Lily and I are students.
My name is Maria. I want to have a pen pal.
I’m a middle school student. Every evening, I’m very busy with my study. I do my homework for about two hours every day. Sometimes I listen to music. I hardly ever watch TV. English is my favorite subject and I read English for about an hour every day. I have a lot of good habits. I exercise every day. I eat a lot of vegetables. I eat fruit and drink milk every day. I never drink coffee or eat junk food. I always sleep eight hours every night. I’m very healthy. My healthy lifestyle helps me to study well and get good grades. Do you want to be my pen pal? Please tell me something about you.
Information Card
| 1. |
What Maria wants to have |
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| 2. |
The thing Maria is busy with very evening |
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| 3. |
How often Maria listens to music |
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| 4. |
Maria’s favorite subject |
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| 5. |
How many hours Maria sleeps every night |