San Francisco(People's Daily Online)-- Apple Inc. Tuesday introduced its mobile payment service Apple Pay alongside the company's iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California.
What apple does is to replace consumers' wallet with its cell phone. Apple said it hopes to speed up the checkout process, make credit-card payments more secure and ultimately, to replace physical wallets.
With the near-field communication technology, Apple's gadgets like iPhone and Apple watch can transmit a radio signal between the device and a receiver when the two are in an inch apart. "To pay, just hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent," Apple says on its official website.
Apple said that each transaction (交易)would be authorized(授权) with a one-time, unique number, creating a security code that it said is more secure than the one on the back of your credit card because cashiers won’t see your name, card number or security code. The service will work with the three major payment networks — American Express, MasterCard and Visa — and Apple said that there are 220,000 merchant locations that accept these contactless payments.
When some applaud this disrupted service that will compete with Paypal and endanger other online payment companies, some others concern about its safety, especially when another retailer Home Depot confirmed a data opening yesterday and iCloud was reported exposing nude (裸体)pictures of celebrities (名人) a week ago.
Leo Zheng, a technology reporter in Silicon Valley said: "When Apple attracts consumers to put all their cards into one iPhone and promised the security, Jennifer Lawrence should say something."Which can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Apple announces mobile payment service to replace consumers' wallet. |
| B．Consumers can pay in cash through mobile phones. |
| C．Apple Inc. will introduce new models to the market. |
| D．Mobile payment will be popular soon. |
After reading the third paragraph, we know .
| A．Apple’s new products are popular |
| B．Apple can be used as an ID |
| C．Apple's gadgets can receive message easily |
| D．how Apple's gadgets work |
The attitude of the writer towards the mobile payment is .
| A．indifferent (冷漠的) | B．objective |
| C．skeptical | D．positive |
What could have happened to Jennifer Lawrence?
| A．She made great contributions to Apple. |
| B．She put all her cards into her iPhone. |
| C．Her nude pictures were spread online. |
| D．Her iPhone often broke down. |
Moocs (massive open online courses) are free, but without tutoring, and are open to anyone, anywhere inthe world. The courses are flexible – normally three to five hours of study a week – done at any time, short (5 to 10 weeks) and video-rich. They are also heavily dependent on crowd sourcing: you can discuss a course with fellow students through online forums, discussion boards and peer review. Students don't have to finish the courses, pass assessments or do assignments, but, if they do, they get a certification of participation.
The Open University launched FutureLearn, the UK's answer to US platforms such as Coursera, EdX and Udacity, which have been offering Moocs from top US universities for the past two years. The response has been incredible, with more than three million people registering worldwide. Meanwhile, in 2012, Edinburgh University became the first non-US institution to join Coursera's partnership, comprising 13 universities. “We already run 50 online master's degrees, so this was a logical expansion,” says Professor Jeff Haywood, Edinburgh's vice-principal. “It's an investment in teaching methods research. How am I going to teach introductory philosophy to 100,000 people? That's what I call educational R&D.” He adds “If you look ahead 10 years, you'd expect all students graduating to have taken some online courses, so you've got to research that. Our Moocs are no more in competition with our degrees than a lifelong learning course because they don't carry credits.”
Cooperation is key, Haywood stresses. It is far better to offer 20-30 courses in your own areas of expertise(专门技能) and let other institutions do likewise. Professor Mike Sharples, FutureLearn's academic lead, goes further: “We've tied the elements available before into a package of courses offered by leading universities worldwide on a new software platform, with a new way of promoting it and also a new social-learning teaching method. You won't just receive an exam, but be able to discuss and mark each other's assignments.”
Bath University, one of more than 20 universities working with FutureLearn, launches its first course, Inside Cancer, next January, and regards Moocs as a way of breaking down age barriers. "There's no reason why someone doing GCSEs should not look at our Moocs and get quite a way through them, or someone at PhD level and beyond," says Professor Bernie Morley, expert for learning and teaching.
Moocs have these features EXCEPT that_______.
| A．Moocs are free of charge for anyone |
| B．Moocs can be adjusted according to people’s learning pace |
| C．Moocs provide teachers’ instructions if you have some difficulty |
| D．Moocs have a platform for learns to share their learning experience |
What can be inferred from Professor Bernie Morley in the last paragraph?
| A．People with various learning levels will probably show interest in Moocs. |
| B．People at PhD level have already known everything about Moocs. |
| C．Inside Cancer will be the most popular course for someone doing GCSEs. |
| D．Moocs are not so competitive as lifelong learning courses due to the problems of credits. |
The passage mainly deals with _____.
| A．the various opinions on FutureLearn |
| B．the advantages of online teaching methods |
| C．the popularity of no-credit courses |
| D．the emergence of a new learning platform |
The movies just wouldn’t be the same without the warm buttery taste of popcorn. Amazingly, this delicious treat started its life as a corn kernel (玉米粒) , not just from any corn. Popcorn is a type of sweet corn that was originally grown in Mexico and spread to China, India and elsewhere. It is the only kind of corn that will pop. Today, most of the world’s popcorn is grown in the United States.
Every popcorn kernel contains a tiny drop of water，surrounded by soft starch (淀粉). When the popcorn is heated, the water turns into steam. This puts pressure on the surrounding hard kernel, forcing it to explode. The soft starch increases about 40 times in size as the corn kernel turns itself inside out.
In the 1500s popcorn was an important food source for the Aztec Indians of central and southern Mexico. But it wasn’t only food. It was also used in ceremonies or on red dresses and in necklaces. By the time the Europeans arrived in America，popcorn had spread through most of the American Indians.
Some early American settlers ate popcorn with cream and sugar for breakfast. But it wasn’t until the late 1800s that popcorn became popular. The demand for popcorn increased and farmers began farming popcorn. The first mobile popping machine was invented in 1885, and popcorn was sold by street sellers much like hot dogs that are sold today.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the popcorn business still thrived as people could still afford it. Then in the 1950s television arrived and popcorn consumption decreased. People stayed home and stopped going to the theatre. But the link between movies and popcorn had already existed. Soon people began making popcorn at home on the stove and, later，microwave popcorn was introduced. Today the movies have regained popularity and popcorn has once again become the favorite.Popcorn was first planted in________.
| A．China | B．America | C．India | D．Mexico |
Why does the corn kernel pop when heated?
| A．Because it is covered with soft starch. |
| B．Because the pressure inside is too big. |
| C．Because the starch becomes bigger in size. |
| D．Because there is water inside the kernel. |
We can know from the passage that________.
| A．popcorn began to be farmed in the late 1800s |
| B．popcorn was only a kind of food in the 1500s |
| C．hot dogs used to be sold by street sellers |
| D．people stop eating popcorn while watching movies now |
The underlined word “thrived” in the fifth paragraph probably means “________”.
| A．started to disappear | B．was seriously affected |
| C．suffered a lot | D．developed very well |
It's not quite a rat. Nor is it a squirrel, or a mouse. It's definitely a rodent (啮齿目动物), and it's also a brand-new family of mammals.
The locals of the Southeast Asian country of Laos call the creature a kha-nyou (ga-nyou). The kha-nyou have long body hair, short legs, and a hairy tail less thick than a squirrel's. They're vegetarians living in the rocky hills of Laos, and they come out at night, but for more information, you'll have to ask the Lao people.
"It was for sale on a table next to some vegetables. I knew immediately it was something I had never seen before," said Robert Timmins, a researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society. Timmins was working in Laos to stop people from selling endangered animals when he spotted the species. Criminals who trade illegal wildlife can make a lot of money, but they also push the animals closer to disappearing from the planet.
The kha-nyou live in karsts, or rough rock. Mark Robinson, a scientist with the World Wildlife Foundation, set out with Lao villagers to find a few more of the rodents for study. They climbed onto a karst, trapped with rice, and caught several.
“To find something so unusual in this day and age is just extraordinary,” said Timmins. “For all we know, this could be the last remaining animal family left to be discovered.”
It’s a big deal to discover an entirely new family of animals. Humans, for instance, belong to the same family as great apes, chimpanzees, and gorillas. So even though kha-nyous look like rats, they’re really very different. The last time scientists discovered a new family of mammals may have been in the 1970s, when they found new bats in Thailand.
Timmins seems to have the gift for finding new animals in Laos—he discovered a new species of rabbit there in 1999.
Scientists call the kha-nyou Laonastes aenigmamus, which means “mysterious mouse that lives among the stones.”But if that's too hard, Timmins and Robinson suggest you call them “rock rats”.Which of the following is not the name for this new creature?
| A．Karsts. | B．Kha-nyou. |
| C．rock rats. | D．Laonastes aenigmamus. |
Which of the following cannot describe the new species of rodent?
| A．They live among the rocky hills of Laos. |
| B．They live on meat of other animals. |
| C．They look like rats but are of different kind. |
| D．They are of the latest discovery of a new species. |
Which of the following is the last discovery of new species of animal except the rodent?
| A．A new kind of bats. | B．Great apes. |
| C．A new kind of squirrel. | D．A new kind of rabbit. |
It implies in the passage that ______.
| A．finding a new animal family in Southeast Asia is easy |
| B．finding a new animal family in modern time is extremely rare |
| C．in Southeast Asia new species of animals are often discovered |
| D．animals that look like the same are of the same family |
SPORTS EVENTS
BASKETBALL:
Central Sports Centre. City Road.
All Stars vs Rockets, Saturday 8: 30 p.m. $12
Northerners vs Tigers, Sunday noon $14
BUSHWALKING (越野走)：
Meet at Wanda Station, Saturday 9:00 a.m. sharp for 3-hour walk to Canary Mountains. $7, ph 341-5432 Meet at Westley Station, Sunday 9:00 a.m. sharp for a full day walk to Wombak Valley. $5, ph 341-8643. Bring your own lunch.
FOOTBALL:
St Martins Sports Centre
St Martins vs Doonsberg, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $8
Eastside Central vs Light Hill, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $8
Neill Park Recreation Centre
Neill Park vs Robinson, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $11
Essen vs Springwood, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $11
LAWN BOWLS(草坪滚木球）：
Tans Town B.C
Tans Town vs White Vale, Saturday 9:00 p.m. $10
Wake Hill B.C.
Wake Hill vs Colls, Saturday 2: 00 p.m. $9According to the passage, the most popular time for the sporting events may be ____.
| A．Sat 8:30 pm | B．Sun noon |
| C．Sun 2:00 pm | D．Sat 2:00 pm |
The purpose of the passage is to let people ____.
| A．compare the prices of the matches |
| B．find the nearest place to watch a match |
| C．know the sport matches and come to watch them |
| D．spend their money on these matches wisely |
You may find the passage most probably in a ____.
| A．handbook | B．newspaper about match reviews |
| C．magazine about ball matches | D．notice |
If you have $18, you can go to watch both ____.
| A．Walk Hill vs Colls and Essen vs Springwood |
| B．All Stars vs Rockets and the bushwalking at Westley Station |
| C．Neill Park vs Robinson and Eastside Central vs Light Hill |
| D．St Matins vs Doonsberg and Northerners vs Tigers |
I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.
I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.
It takes confidence to make a new start — there’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a navel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.
Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.
The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for. It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.The author decided to write a novel ______.
| A．to finish the writing course | B．to realize her own dream |
| C．to satisfy readers’ wish | D．to earn more money |
How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?
| A．Disturbed. | B．Ashamed. |
| C．Confident | D．Uncertain. |
What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?
| A．It pays to stick to one’s goal. |
| B．Hard work can lead to success. |
| C．She feels like being unexpectedly lucky. |
| D．There is no end in sight when starting to do something. |