Heroes of Our Time
A good heart
Dikembe Mutombo grew up in Africa among great poverty and disease. He came to Georgetown University on a scholarship（奖学金） to study medicine — but Coach (教练) John Thompson got a look at Dikembe and had a different idea. Dikembe became a star in the NBA, and a citizen of the United States. But he never forgot the land of his birth, or the duty to share his fortune with others. He built a new hospital in his old hometown in the Congo. A friend has said of this good-hearted man: “Mutombo believes that God has given him this chance to do great things.”
Success and kindness
After her daughter was born, Julie Aigner-Clark searched for ways to share her love of music and art with her child. So she borrowed some equipment, and began filming children’s videos (录像) in her own house. The Baby Einstein Company was born, and in just five years her business grew to more than $20 million in sales. And she is using her success to help others — producing child safety videos with John Walsh of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Julie says of her new program: “I believe it’s the most important thing that I have ever done. I believe that children have the right to live in a world that is safe.”
Bravery and courage
A few weeks ago, Wesley Autrey was waiting at a Harlem subway station with his two little girls when he saw a man fall into the path of a train. With seconds to act, Wesley jumped onto the tracks, pulled the man into the space between the rails (铁轨), and held him as the train passed right above their heads. He insists he’s not a hero. He says: “We have got to show each other some love.”What was Mutombo praised for?
A. Being a star in the NBA.
B. Being a student of medicine.
C. His work in the church.
D. His willingness to help the needy.What did the Baby Einstein Company do at its beginning?
| A．Produce safety equipment for children. |
| B．Make videos to help protect children. |
| C．Sell children’s music and artwork. |
| D．Look for missing and exploited children. |
Why was Wesley Autrey praised as a hero?
| A．He helped a man get across the rails. |
| B．He stopped a man from destroying the rails. |
| C．He protected two little girls from getting hurt. |
| D．He saved a person without considering his own safety. |
D
A developer edition of Sony’s augmented reality smart glasses will go on sale in ten countries next month, the tech giant has announced.
Pre-orders for the SmartEyeglass, costing $840 (£620), are now being taken in the UK and Germany, with Japan and the US to follow shortly. The black-framed glasses are compatible (兼容的) with recent Android operating systems. Last month Google announced that it was withdrawing its smart glasses for redevelopment. Sony’s initial model will come with a software development kit to encourage people to design apps for it, the company said.
The glasses, which weigh 77g, contain an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, image and brightness sensors, 3-megapixel camera and a microphone. They also come with a controller, designed to be attached to clothing, which contains a speaker, touch sensor and the device’s battery. Text is displayed in front of the wearer in monochrome green.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has been open about his dislike of glasses as a wearable device. “We always thought that glasses were not a smart move, from a point of view that people would not really want to wear them,” he told the New Yorker. “They were intrusive (闯入的), instead of pushing technology to the background, as we’ve always believed.”
Stuart Miles, founder of tech site Pocket-lint, said: “I think [Sony is] wasting their time, energy and effort.”
“Google Glass obviously needed a complete rethink... I can’t see how something thick-rimmed and more invasive-looking than Google Glass is going to catch on.
“People are keen on wearables like fitness bands and watches, but they care about their faces. Wearing something on your head is a lot stronger than wearing something on your arm,” he added. “The industry keeps pushing it but consumers just don’t want it.”In which countries people can get the SmartEyeglass first?
| A．The US and Japan. | B．The US and the UK. |
| C．The UK and Japan. | D．Germany and the UK. |
The purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．introduce an accelerometer developed by the Google company |
| B．tell the people that the SmartEyeglass will go on sale |
| C．people like the glasses very much |
| D．the SmartEyeglass is less than 840 yuan |
What can be inferred from what Stuart Miles said?
| A．He supports Sony’s efforts to develop the SmartEyeglass. |
| B．He cares more about his clothes and face. |
| C．He dislikes the SmartEyeglass. |
| D．He really wants to wear them. |
Choose the true statements according to the passage.
| A．The glasses, which weigh more than 77g. |
| B．Tim Cook has been open about his dislike of glasses as a wearable device. |
| C．Last month Google announced that it was withdrawing its smart glasses for development. |
| D．Sony’s later model will come with a software development kit to encourage people to design apps for it. |
C
Penguins can taste only sour and salty food, scientists have discovered. A genetic study suggests the flightless birds lost three of the five basic tastes long ago in evolution.
Taste is critical for survival in most animals, but may not matter in the penguin, which swallows fish whole, say researchers in China and the US.
Many other birds are unable to taste sweet things, but they do have receptors (感受器) for detecting bitter and umami (or meaty) flavours. The discovery was made when researchers decoding penguin genomes found some of the taste genes were missing. A closer look at the DNA of penguins revealed that all species lack functioning genes for the receptors of sweet, umami, and bitter tastes.
“Based on genetic data, penguins are believed to have sour and salty tastes, but have lost sweet, umami, and bitter tastes,” lead researcher Prof Jianzhi Zhang, of the University of Michigan, US, and Wuhan University, China, told the reporter.
The umami taste gives food the strong, savoury (咸味的) flavour associated with meat. Lacking this sense is surprising for a carnivorous (食肉的) animal, but does not matter that much in the penguin, which swallows fish without chewing. “Their behaviour of swallowing food whole, and their tongue structure and function, suggest that penguins need no taste perception,” said Prof Zhang. “Although it is unclear whether these traits (特点) are a cause or a consequence of their major taste loss.” The findings, published in Current Biology journal, were a puzzle, he added.
One clue comes from the bird’s evolution on the frozen ice sheets of Antarctica. Sending signals from sweet, umami, and bitter (but not sour or salty) taste receptors to the brain does not work at very low temperatures. This may have led to the penguin gradually losing its sense of taste, say the researchers.
Intriguingly(有趣的是), the sweet taste is missing in almost all birds. The hummingbird, which feeds on sweet nectar, is an exception.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Penguins lost ability to taste fish |
| B．The life of penguins |
| C．The findings of researchers in China and USA |
| D．Penguins living on Antarctica |
Which of the following animals can taste sweet flavour according to the passage?
| A．The penguin. | B．The hummingbird. |
| C．The polar bear. | D．The fish. |
What was the discovery made by the researchers when decoding penguin genomes?
| A．Some of the taste genes were missing. |
| B．Penguins are believed to have sweet and salty tastes. |
| C．The bird’s evolution on the frozen ice sheets of Antarctica. |
| D．Taste is critical for survival in most animals. |
Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?
| A．Penguins swallow fish without chewing. |
| B．The findings were published in Current Biology journal. |
| C．Sending signals from sweet, umami, and bitter taste receptors to the brain does not work at very low temperatures. |
| D．Prof Jianzhi Zhang was the lead researcher of a university in UK, and Wuhan University, China. |
B
A new study confirms what most people already know: American women are still far behind American men in taking top leadership jobs in business and politics.
The Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. produced the study. Pew researchers found that most Americans believe women have the right qualities to be leaders. But they say women may still not be hired into leadership positions.
“On the one hand, the public thinks that women are just as qualified as men to be in top leadership positions, in business and in government, on the other hand the public feels it is easier for men to get those jobs, and the public is also skeptical that things are going to change in the future, particularly on the business front.”
Kim Parker directs social trends at the Pew Research Center. She says the new study found that Americans think men and women have the same intelligence and ability to create new things. But Americans think women and men have some different abilities.
For instance, they believe women are especially good at finding compromises. In other words, women can find ways for people to agree, or at least accept solutions. The study also found Americans see women as more compassionate (有同情心的) and organized leaders than men.
Americans also believe women are better leaders for social issues, such as education and health care. But Americans see men as better leaders on national defense and security.From the first paragraph we can know that ______.
| A．American women are much better than men in business and politics. |
| B．American men are still ahead of American women as leaders in business and politics. |
| C．American women are still ahead of American men as top leaders in business and politics. |
| D．American women are equal to American men in taking top leadership jobs in business and politics.. |
According to the new study, Americans think men and women are equal in ______.
| A．some different abilities. |
| B．politics and government. |
| C．intelligence and ability to create new things. |
| D．top leadership positions and education. |
What can we know from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Women are especially good at finding compromises. |
| B．Americans see men as more compassionate and organized leaders than women. |
| C．women are better leaders for social issues, such as national defense and health care. |
| D．Men are expert in dealing with health care and education. |
A
In a new picture book, a 66-year-old Beijinger recaptures the capital’s Lunar New Year traditions for children.
In the Chinese lunar calendar, the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, which falls on Feb 11 this year, is the “Little Chinese New Year”. Traditionally, people will set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the Kitchen God who returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor.
However, such customs have lessened with time in the city and might seem unfamiliar to children nowadays.
In order to preserve traditions for the next generation, Yu Dawu, a 66-year-old painter, recently published a picture book, Spring Festival in Beijing, for children to see how people used to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Based on an essay by Lao She (1899-1966), one of the most significant writers in modern Chinese literature, the picture book starts from the first holiday, La Ba, the eighth day of the 12th lunar month of the past year, when tradition says people should eat congee made of eight ingredients to bring good fortune in the coming year. It concludes with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month of the new year, which marks the end of the Spring Festival.
In the book, Yu creates a local family of four who live in an ordinary quadrangle courtyard, and readers follow the family as it celebrates the festival traditions.
“I am an old Beijinger, so when I was drawing and painting for this book, the memories of childhood rushed into my mind,” recalls Yu at a book-sharing party earlier this week.What’s the name of the new picture book that recaptures the capital’s Lunar New Year traditions for children?
| A．Celebrating the Lantern Festival |
| B．Spring Festival in Beijing |
| C．the Chinese New Year |
| D．Little Chinese New Year |
What made the painter create such a picture book for children?
| A．Reporting the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor. |
| B．Following the family as it celebrates the festival traditions. |
| C．Drawing and painting for the book. |
| D．Preserving traditions for the next generation. |
Which day means the end of the Spring Festival?
| A．La Ba. | B．the Lantern Festival |
| C．Little Chinese New Year | D．The first lunar day. |
What does the underlined word “congee” mean in the fifth paragraph?
| A．a gift presented by the author. |
| B．something given by Kitchen God. |
| C．a kind of porridge. |
| D．a red envelope |
D
May 28 (Reuters Life!) - A Japanese university is giving away Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) trendy iPhone to students for free, but with a catch: the device will be used to check their attendance.
The project, which is being tested ahead of its formal launch in June, involves 550 first and second year students and some staff of a department at Aoyama Gakuin University, which is located just outside Tokyo in Sagamihara city.
The school's iPhones are meant to create a mobile information network between students and professors, but they are also a convenient way for the teachers to take attendance in class. As students enter the room, instead of writing their name on a sheet, they simply type in their ID number and a specific class number into an iPhone application. To prevent students from logging in from home or outside class, the application uses GPS location data and checks which router the students have logged in to.
"We don't want to use this to simply take attendance. Our hope is to use this to develop a classroom where students and teachers can discuss various topics," professor Yasuhiro Iijima told Reuters as he demonstrated the application.
University officials insist the project is not intended to infringe on students' privacy or track them down.
"With Japanese cellphones it's possible that the location data is automatically sent. However, with the iPhone, you must always confirm before the GPS data can be sent," Iijima said.
Many of the students testing the system said they were happy with it.
"Up until now, we've been using little slips of paper to take attendance. But with a cell phone, you don't have to spend time collecting all of those and so I think it's quite nice," 20-year-old student Yuki Maruya.
When the system goes fully online next month, the university also hopes to provide video podcasts of lectures to help students who missed classes, or just can't remember their lessons.The news report mainly tells us that ______
| A．Iphone has got well developed in Japan |
| B．Iphone is to take attendance at Japanese universities |
| C．Iphone has been accepted by many students |
| D．Iphone is free of charge at Japanese universities |
The iphone being tested at Aoyama Gakuin University is mainly to _____
| A．help students to study hard |
| B．check students’ attendance |
| C．help learn the information network |
| D．develop a special classroom |
Teachers at Aoyama Gakuin University can finish taking attendance by asking students to_____
| A．write their names on the paper |
| B．Type in their ID and class numbers into iphone |
| C．log in from home or outside class ahead |
| D．put in right GPS location data and their router |
what about the future of Apple Inc’s iphone
| A．It still has many disadvantages |
| B．It goes against many students’ interest |
| C．It will receive some other uses. |
| D．It will avoid students’ being late for class |