Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity.I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day's events, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary.I did not really need to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certain satisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper.After all, isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?
When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on foot in a great valley, well－equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera.During the trip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across.I felt proud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for future generations a detailed description of my travels.On my last night there, I wandered out of my tent, diary in hand.The sky was clear and lit by the glare of the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screen of shadows.I automatically took out my pen...
At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could ever match or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramatic beauty of the valley.All I remembered of the previous few days were the dull characterizations I had set down in my diary.
Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down a special thought or feeling.I still love to record ideas and quotations that strike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful.I take pictures, but not very often—only of objects I find really beautiful.I'm no longer blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old.I realize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busy preserving the present so as to live it in the future.
I don't want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile of pictures and notes.Maybe I won't have as many exact representations of people and places; maybe I'll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences will always remain inside me.I don't live to make memories—I just live, and the memories form themselves.Before the age of thirteen, the author regarded keeping a diary as a way of________.
| A．observing her school routine |
| B．expressing her satisfaction |
| C．impressing her classmates |
| D．preserving her history |
What caused a change in the author's understanding of keeping a diary?
| A．A dull night on the journey. |
| B．The beauty of the great valley. |
| C．A striking quotation from a book. |
| D．Her concerns for future generations. |
What does the author put in her diary now?
| A．Notes and beautiful pictures. |
| B．Special thoughts and feelings. |
| C．Detailed accounts of daily activities. |
| D．Descriptions of unforgettable events. |
The author comes to realize that to live a meaningful life is________.
| A．to experience it |
| B．to live the present in the future |
| C．to make memories |
| D．to give accurate representations of it |
A
It was almost six years ago that my family and I waited for her at the airport. Unsure of what to expect and a little bitter about such an experience that my mother was forcing upon me, I had mixed feeling about the girl from Madrid. Today,after making many memories and discoveries, I couldn't be more thankful for what that experience taught me.
My family had the privilege to host Teresa for several summers. I became fond of her cheerful chatter, constant laughter ,and addiction to online shopping. She seldom took my unkind jokes seriously and always gave it right back to me, making our relationship closer. She could go on talking for hours about the beach outside her house, her family and friends, and her life at her school.
While several aspects were very similar to my life here, I was always left with a certain level of mystery and excitement as I wondered how the picture in my head compared with reality.
Through hard work, she became fluent in English in almost no time. While this was a big success for her, it made me ashamed as I was not forced to develop the little Spanish that I was learning in class. This experience aroused my interest in traveling to Europe - especially Spain. While l know that not everyone has this same interest in other culture, I believe that it is important for us to be willing to learn about what makes certain customs and activities significant to them As Americans, we may be some of the most arrogant(自大的 ) people about other culture, which history has proven can have disastrous consequences. By at least making the effort to appreciate what is important to them, we show respect to the people who have such culture.
Through the unique experience that in a sense I was forced into, I learned far more about the Spanish culture than I could have in any classroom. I discovered new interests that I had never considered before, and I am excited for the opportunity to experience it first-hand this summer.We can judge from the second paragraph that the girl from Madrid____________.
| A．could teach the author Spanish |
| B．always quarreled with the author |
| C．liked to talk with the author |
| D．showed great interest in the author |
The author expected to travel to Europe in order to_____________ .
| A．develop the little Spanish |
| B．inform people there of American culture |
| C．improve the skills to communicate with Teresa |
| D．have a better understanding of European culture |
What is the best title for this passage?
| A．Learning Foreign Languages | B．Getting Better Culture |
| C．Close Tie with Teresa | D．Hosting Teresa |
E
All the wisdom of the ages, all the stories that have delighted mankind for centuries, are easily and cheaply available to all of us within the covers of books but we must know how to avail ourselves of this treasure and how to get the most from it. The most unfortunate people in the world are those who have never discovered how satisfying it is to read good books.
Readingis pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness make you a good reader. Reading is fun, not because the writer is telling you something, but because it makes your mind work. Your own imagination works along with the author's or even goes beyond his. Your experience, compared with his, brings you to the same or different conclusions, and your ideas develop as you understand his.
Every book stands by itself, like a one family house, but books in a library are like houses in a city. Although they are separate, together they all add up to something, they are connected with each other and with other cities. The same ideas, or related ones, turn up in different places; the human problems that repeat themselves in life repeat themselves in literature, but with different solutions according to different writings at different times. Books influence each other; they link the past, the present and the future and have their own generations, like families. Wherever you start reading you connect yourself with one of the families of ideas, and in the long run, you not only find out about the world and the people in it; you find out about yourself, too.
Readingcan only be fun if you expect it to be. If you concentrate on books somebody tells you “ought” to read, you probably won't have fun. But if you put down a book you don't like and try another till you find one that means something to you, and then relax with it, you will almost certainly have a good time — and if you become, as a result of reading, better, wiser, kinder, or more gentle, you won't have suffered during the process.For a reader, the most important is to__________.
| A．buy some cheap books easily. |
| B．get benefits from the books. |
| C．collect and treasure the books |
| D．promote good books. |
Why is reading fun according to paragraph 2?
| A．The write tells a lot to readers. |
| B．Books are easy to understand. |
| C．Readers can be encouraged to think and imagine. |
| D．Readers can choose whatever to read. |
What benefits can we get from reading in the long term?
①finding out about the world;
②finding out about people in the books;
③finding about readers themselves;
④finding out about other books;
⑤finding out about sports
| A．①②③ | B．①②④ | C．②③④ | D．③④⑤ |
What of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．The pleasure of reading |
| B．The ways to make reading fun |
| C．How to improve your reading level |
| D．Reading good books |
D
More than 40 countries, including Russia and Taiwan, have agreed to be founding members of China's proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. However, two of the world's largest economies, the United States and Japan, have held off at this time.
China proposed the bank last October as a way to finance roads, bridges, ports and other needed infrastructureprojects in Asia. The time limit for joining as a founding member was March 31. In only a few months, the number of countries seeking membership nearly doubled. They came from Africa, Europe, South America, Asia and the Pacific. Some European powers added themselves to the list. They include Britain, Germany, France and Italy. Other important economies include South Korea, Australia and Russia.
Taiwan also sought to become a founding member. But it is not clear how China will react. Taiwan and China do not have diplomatic ties. But, relations have improved since the election of President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008. The two sides also are working on details of a trade agreement. However, popular opposition in Taiwan to mainland China's increased influenceon the island remains very strong.
The U.S. and Japan have said they are concerned about the governance of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB. The United States has urged countries to consider details about the bank's governance and standards -- itssocialand environmental policy -- before joining. Critics say the AIIB threatens the work of existing development banks such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
Yet, the Asian Development Bank itself noted in a recent report that the need for infrastructure projects in Asia is great. The institution, led by the U.S. and Japan, estimated last May that the Asia Pacific area needed $800 billion each year in infrastructure development.
Experts are watching to see how China will take its leadership role in the new bank. The AIIB is expected to start with $100 billion in capital, mostly from China. Some experts point to the high interest in membership. Shi Yinhong is a political scientist at Renmin University in Beijing. He says China's leading part in the bank comes withbenefitsand costs.
In other words, while China has gained from the effort to develop the AIIB, it will also have to satisfy other bank members and multi-national institutions. Officials at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank say they are looking for ways to cooperate with the AIIB.What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph mean?
| A．turned down | B．subscribed to |
| C．thought over | D．turned a blind eye |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The bank proposed by China aims to finance needed infrastructureprojects in the world. |
| B．There is no time limit for joining as a founding member. |
| C．Many countries in the world actively applied to seek membership. |
| D．China has given a definite attitude toward Taiwan. |
In what aspects do The United States and Japan show worry for AIIB?
| A．Regulation and running |
| B．Raising money and investment |
| C．The number of joining countries |
| D．China’s influence in it |
What can be inferred according to Shi Yinhong?
A. China won’t consider its benefits in AIIB.
B. China won’t play a leadership role in AIIB.
C. China will bring out its role with benefits and costs.
D. China will drop out of AIIB after its foundation
C
Doctors fighting malaria---one of the deadliest diseases on the planet--- may soon have a new affordable weapon in their smart phones. Researchers have found a way to use the phone's camera to detect the microorganism in the patient's blood that causes the disease.
According to the World Health Organization, almost 600,000 people died of malaria in 2013, making this mosquito-borne disease one of the deadliest in the world.
The saddest aspect of this calamity(灾难) is that it affects mostly young children.
Early detection of the infection is important for successful treatment. But since the first symptoms resemble ordinary flu, a microbiologist must look at a drop of a patient's blood under a microscope for a proper diagnosis.
Scientists in Britain have now developed a smart phone attachment called Xrapid, that turns the phone into a 200-power microscope, while the attached app---based on facial recognition software - quickly detects the parasitic protozoa（寄生原生物）in the blood smear（抹片）.
Jean Viry-Babel is the CEO of IanXen, the company that developed the app. He says it is cheap and works on the spot. "So we take a high-definition picture of a sample of blood. We separate the red blood cells from the rest---the white blood cells, the platelets(血小板)---and we start looking at each of the red blood cells individually," said Viry-Babel.
Viry-Babel says the app is affordable, easy to use and provides reliability of up to 98 percent. The only additional equipment required is an ordinary glass lab slide - called a "slate."
"There's only one button, which is called "Diagnose". So you put it on the slate and you put it on the dried blood, and you press diagnose and it tells you yes or no," he said.
Researchers say the field-testing of the device will begin in January and February in Tanzania, Benin and Indonesia --- while commercial use is scheduled to start by the end of March.
They also plan to expand the versatility（多功能性）of the new device---teaching it to recognize other diseases, such as tuberculosis and Lyme Disease.The text is meant to__________.
| A．find a new way to treat malaria. |
| B．recommend a new smart phone. |
| C．promote a new program. |
| D．introduce a new device to detect disease. |
What makes malaria special in the world according to the passage?
| A．There’s no way to detect it. |
| B．It mainly infects young kids. |
| C．It kills many people every year. |
| D．It is one of the deadliest disease. |
Which of the following is Wrong according to paragraph 4?
| A．The earlier the infection is detected, the more possible the patient is cured. |
| B．The first symptoms of malaria is like common flu. |
| C．A microbiologist can detect the infection without any equipment. |
| D．A patient’s blood should be provided if wanting a proper diagnosis |
What can we learn from Viry-Babel?
| A．The app is cheap but must work in the lab. |
| B．The white cells and the platelets must be studied carefully. |
| C．The accuracy of the app is nearly a hundred percent. |
| D．The “Diagnose” button should function well with others. |
B
Showering typically sends water down the drain, but a new space-age shower could change that. The design, inspired by NASA, saves water and money.
Astronauts have no choice but to recycle the water they use in space. Now theOrbital Systems Shower of the Futurebrings that concept down to Earth. This futuristic shower comes from Orbital Systems, a Swedish advanced technology company. Its CEO, Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, invented the product.
"The shower of the future is a water-recycling shower, thus enabling water savings up to 90 percent, energy savings up to 80 percent, at the same time increasing comfort and hygiene. The water is being collected in the drain, it's being analyzed, purified and then pumped back up to the shower head. So what is so special about the purification technology? Well, it's based on a patented purification capsule system that makes sure that the water is always crystal clear," he explained.
Mahdjoubi was inspired by a project between NASA and Sweden's Lund University to come up with designs for a mission to Mars. He adapted the closed-loop system that allows astronauts to re-use shower water again and again.
The product already has been tested in Sweden, where it saved up to 100,000 liters of water over four months. Based on those results, Mahdjoubi is confident his company can distribute the shower system worldwide.
"Our market is anyone who takes a shower, actually, and the biggest benefit it gives is to the market segment where the water consumption is the highest, such as bathing establishments, gyms, sports centers. Also, private households where the water consumption and the prices are high," said Mahdjoubi.
The "out of this world" design has won several business and innovationWhat does the underlined sentence mean in paragraph 2?
| A．Astronauts bring the space water to the earth. |
| B．There’s need for the astronauts to save water any more. |
| C．People on the earth can do the same like the astronauts. |
| D．People have to recycle water on the earth. |
What’s the order of working procedure of the new shower?
①collect the water; ② purify the water;
③analyze the water; ④pump back the water
| A．①②③④ | B．①③②④ |
| C．①④②③ | D．①②④③ |
What’s Mahdjoubi’s attitude towards the new product?
| A．Optimistic | B．Uncertain |
| C．Negative | D．Indifferent |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To introduce a new technology |
| B．To find a way to save energy |
| C．To promote a new product |
| D．To seek for investment |