An ATM that spits out cupcakes instead of cash is now filling a popular demand in the American market：late-night desire for freshly baked sweets．
In six cities across the country, sugar addicts can now purchase a cupcake for $4．25 from an automatic machine 24 hours every day．The freshly baked goods are made by the California-based cupcake shop Sprinkles．
The idea came to the company's co-founders Candace and Charles Nelson when Candace was pregnant with their first child. Candace thought it was ridiculous that she owned cupcake bakeries aad couldn’t get a freshly baked treat at an unusual hour．That desire inspired the company’s first cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills,Calif．in 2012。
Charles said each ATM serves about l，000 cupcakes per day．The machine is so popular that when it appeared in Manhattan, customers were lined up around the block to use it.
Yet，inventing the first cupcake ATM was not as easy as convincing customers to use it．When the Nelsons started defigning the machine，they quickly realized nothing existed that could give a fully unbroken cupcake to a customer．The company had to partner with a European firm to develop the technology that could deliver a cupcake without dropping it several feet like a typical machine．After going through a seeond development cycle with the product, the ATMs can now satisfy tlle demand of growing customers and even make as many as four cupcakes at a time．
In terms of the company, the-machine allows Sprinkles to do the impossible：increase hours of operation without raising costs．Now the company can sell cupcakes around the clock through the ATM without paying employees.
Now the company is partnering with a Middle Eastern company to open 34 new locations abroad．What’s the purpose of the text?
| A．To tell us a newtrend of the diet． |
| B．To advertisefor the cupcake ATM． |
| C．To introduce a newly-invented cupcake ATM． |
| D．To advise more customers to buy cupcakes on ATM． |
How did the Nelsons come up with the idea of’a cupulke ATM?
| A．Their first child wagted to eat fresh cupcakes． |
| B．Candace hoped to eat a fleshly baked cupcake at any time． |
| C．The cupcakes they sold couldn’t satisfy the customers’ demands． |
| D．They couldn’t afford to employ enough workers． |
What problem did the Nelsons face when starting to design the machine?
| A．Serving an unbroken cupcake to customers． |
| B．Convincing the customers to use the machine． |
| C．Dealing with so many orders every day． |
| D．Making as many as four cupcakes at a time． |
What does the underlined word‘‘it’’in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．The machine． | B．The block． |
| C．The cupcake． | D．The customer． |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．The ATM will replace the traditional cake shops． |
| B．The ATM will appear in more cities in the world． |
| C．The company will promote different kinds of products． |
| D．People will get cupcakes through the ATM without paying． |
My grandfather worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates（木箱）for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage in Brazil. On his way home, he found his glasses were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the crates. His new glasses were heading for Brazil!
The Great Depression was at its height, and Grandpa had six children. He had spent twenty dollars for those glasses that very morning.
“It’s not fair,” he thought as he walked home angrily. “I’ve been very faithful in giving my time and money to my work, and now this.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage came to the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him, so he came to my grandfather’s small church in Chicago.
He began by thanking the people for their kindness in supporting the orphanage. “But most of all,” he said, “ I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, some people had just come to the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were very worried about this. Then your crates arrived. When I removed the covers, I found a pair of glasses lying on top.”
He paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, he continued: “When I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been made just for me!” The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But they thought it was strange because there were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas.
Sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, my grandfather, an ordinary carpenter realized his glasses had found a good place to go.The underlined word “miraculous”（Paragraph 6）can be replaced by.
| A．practical | B．wonderful | C．necessary | D．important |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Perfect Mistake. | B．An Ordinary Carpenter. |
| C．A Careless Old Man. | D．A Pair of Glasses. |
Since the 1950s, most of the stars of pop music have come from Britain and America. However, in the last ten years, when many different kinds of music have established themselves on the pop scene, more and more stars have come from other countries.
Pop music changes all the time and new stars appear and become famous. For a musician to stay popular and still produced good, original music over a long period of time, is a sign of true star.
Most stars start their careers in a simple way---playing in unknown night clubs or dance-hall where people want to dance to the music, not listen to it. They may have continued doing this for many years until they get a “break”---a chance to perform in a well–known place or get a recording contract. To become a star is the aim of every singer or musician and the dream of many a pop-crazy teenager.
However a group or star makes it to the top, they can be sure that their lives will change once they are successful. Ordinary teenagers living at home with their parents may suddenly find themselves rich enough to buy their own houses. An established superstar may be able to buy several.
Despite the large amount of money that are earned, life at the top is not easy for many stars. The pop scene is hard work and many stars need to spend a lot of time away from home. For a lot of them, this means they have no home life and their personal relationships suffer. Despite great public success, life at the top can be very lonely.Since the 1950s, most of the stars of pop music have come from _________.
| A．America | B．America and Britain | C．America and Europe | D．other countries |
According to the passage, a “break” may mean a chance to ______.
perform in a well-known concert
C. play in dance-halls B. get a recording contract
D. meet a lot of pop-crazy teenagersIf a star becomes successful, he ______ according to the passage.
| A．will have an easy life because of the larger amount of money earned | |
| B．may have a happy home life and good person relationships | |
| C．will live at home with their parents | D．may have a lonely life |
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda eats only one particular type of bamboo. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life. We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
| A．depend on one sense in choosing food |
| B．choose food in similar ways |
| C．are not satisfied with their food |
| D．eat entirely different food |
Which of the following eats only one type of food?
| A．The white butterfly. | B．The bear. | C．The small bird. | D．The fox. |
Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
| A．the season changes |
| B．they move to different places |
| C．the food color changes |
| D．they are attracted by different smells |
We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
| A．food is chosen for a good reason |
| B．some people have few choices of food |
| C．French and British food is good |
| D．some people care little about healthy diet |
Jamaican sprinter (短跑选手) Usain Bolt plans to send a message to rival Tyson Gay by breaking the world 100m record in the London Grand Prix on Friday.
Bolt, who won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4*100m relay in record times at the Beijing Olympics last year, is determined to use the Crystal Palace event to crush the morale (士气) of his main rival for gold at next month’s World Athletics Championships in Berlin.
The 22-year-old is slowly returning to peak form after posting 19.59 sec for the 200m in Lausanne earlier this month and clocking a time of 9.79 sec over 100m in cold, rainy conditions in Paris.
Despite Bolt’s impressive times, Gay still believes he has the beating of the Jamaican. But Bolt insists there is no one in the sport who scares him and he will prove the point in south London this weekend.
Although Bolt believes he is only running at 85 percent at the moment while he recovers from injuries suffered in a recent car crash in Jamaica, he sees no reason why he can’t break his world record 100m time of 9.69 seconds.
However he won’t get the chance to take on Gay in the 100m in London as the American is only running in the 200m, which Bolt is not competing in, so he will have to settle for underlining his own ability.
“You never know what is possible. I will give my best either way. My friends are saying I’m bringing the rain wherever I go but we will see on Friday.”
While Bolt would love to make a big impact in London, he knows the main event is the World Championships.
“The London Grand Prix will show me where I’m at and what I need to do. After, we can analyse what I need to do ahead of the World Championships.” According to the passage, Bolt competed and will compete in the following event. Which of them is arranged in time order?
a. Lausanne athletics gold league matches b. Beijing Olympic Games
c. Paris athletics gold league matches d. World Athletic championships
e. London grand Prix
| A．b-c-a-e-d | ||
| B．b-c-a-d-e | C．b-a-c-e-d | D．b-a-c-d-e |
What does the underlined phrase “take on” mean in paragraph 6?
| A．employ | B．compete against | C．accept | D．develop |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke the world 100m record in the London Grand Prix on Friday. |
| B．Bolt will not compete in the 200m in London because of Gay’s impressive times. |
| C．Bolt won 3 gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games at the age of 22. |
| D．Bolt suffered a car crash in Jamaica recently. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Bolt is expecting the London Grand Prix. |
| B．Bolt thinks the world Championships is more important. |
| C．Bolt made a big difference in the London Grand Prix. |
| D．Bolt is not confident in his success in the London Grand Prix. |
Remembering your dreams will require some efforts on your part. But what your dreams can offer and tell you about yourself will be well worth it . Here are some tips to help recall your dreams:
1. Before going to bed, keep a clear mind. Tell yourself that “I will remember my dreams when I wake up”. This is actually a proven and effective way to recall your dreams.
2. Have a regular bedtime and wake-up time. Make this your routine. Going to bed and waking up at a regular time every day could aid in dream recollection.
3. Avoid alcohol consumption and taking medicine before going to bed. These things may prevent you from remembering your dreams.
4. Keep a pencil and a notebook next to your bed so that they will be within reach as soon as you wake up. Having a small lamp by your bedside is also a good idea, so you wake up in the middle of the night and can record your dreams immediately.
5. Do not get out of bed immediately. Upon waking from a dream, lie still in your bed, keeping your eyes closed and moving as little as possible. Let your mind wander among the images of what you have just dreamed.
6. Write down as many details in your dreams as you can, no matter how seemingly unimportant they may be. Do not judge the content or worry if they make sense.
Sometimes it may help to draw pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes. Even if you are not an artist, a simple drawing can help to recall details of your dreams. This passage tells you ______ .
| A．some useful tips to recall your dreams | B．the way to dream a dream |
| C．the reason to remember dreams | D．many details in your dreams |
Which of the following ways may NOT be useful for recalling dreams?
| A．Avoiding taking alcohol and medicine. | B．Not getting out of bed immediately. |
| C．Drinking a cup of hot milk. | D．Writing down as many details as possible. |
What does the underlined “it” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．Remembering your dreams. | B．Some tips to help recall your dreams. |
| C．Your making efforts to remember your dreams. | |
| D．What your dreams can offer and tell you about yourself. |
The author uses the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” to_______.
| A．show that a picture is better than words | B．say a picture is equal to thousands of words |
| C．prove that it’s more important to draw pictures than to speak | |
| D．indicate drawing pictures really helps to recall dreams |