How do people traditionally manufacture (制造) things? They usually start with a sheet of metal, wood or other material and cut, drill (钻) and shave it to create a desired shape. Sometimes, they use a mold (模具) made of metal or sand, pour liquid plastic or metal into it and let it cool to create a solid part.
Now, a completely different method is gaining popularity.
On Oct. 9, 2013, London Science Museum kicked off its new exhibition, 3-D: Printing the Future, with over 600 3-D printed objects on display, including space probes (探测器), toy dolls and even human organs – basically any product you can think of, reported Live Science.
You might find it hard to believe that an object can actually be “printed out” like a picture. But it is not that hard to understand how it works. Just as a traditional printer sprays (喷洒) ink onto paper line by line, modern 3-D printers spread material onto a surface layer by layer, from the bottom to the top, gradually building up a shape.
Instead of ink, the materials the 3-D printer uses are mainly plastic, resin (树脂) and certain metals. The thinner each layer is – from a millimeter to less than the width of a hair – the smoother and finer the object will be. And objects always come out in one piece, sparing you the trouble of putting different parts together afterward.
For example, 10 years ago a desktop 3-D printer might have cost ￡20,000 (200,000 yuan), while now it costs only about ￡1,000, according to the BBC. In fact, 3-D printers have been around for some time, but until recently they hadn’t been very popular since few people could afford them. Last year, though, saw a big decrease in the price of 3-D printers.
However, as 3-D printing technology becomes more commonplace, it may trigger certain problems. One of them is piracy (盗版). “Once you can download a coffee maker, or print out a new set of kitchen utensils (餐具) on your personal 3-D printer, who will visit a retail (零售的) store again?” an expert on 3-D printing told Forbes News.
Even more frightening, the world’s first 3-D printed gun was successfully fired in the US in May of this year, which means that 3-D printing could potentially give more people access to weapons.
According to the article, in the future, 3-D printing technology will probably ______.
| A．change the way people make products |
| B．be applied as widely in our daily lives as computers |
| C．forbid many countries to make purchases of weapons |
| D．take the place of normal printers and save lots of energy |
What was the big event that happened in the 3-D printing industry last year?
| A．Over 600 3-D printed objects were on display in an exhibition. |
| B．3-D printing technology came to be used in various fields. |
| C．The world’s first 3-D printed gun was successfully made. |
| D．The 3-D printer became more affordable for consumers. |
What is the author’s attitude toward 3-D printing technology?
| A．Amused. | B．Objective. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Negative. |
On Sunday a few of us decided to take advantage of the first sunny day we’d have for ages to take a trip down to the coast to visit the penguins again. Last time I went down there was a couple of months ago and it was a dull cold day. Sunday couldn’t have been more different — clear skies and sunshine made it feel like summer, although it was still -25°C.
Six of us drove to the coast. It was the first time we’d been off the base on our own without our field assistant, so it had a slightly different feeling — more like a few friends going to the seaside than an Antarctic field trip! When we reached Windy Creek, we luckily caught sight of quite a few small flying seabirds, which are seldom seen there.
Once on the sea ice we found that some of the more curious penguins had wandered over from the main group to come and check us out. We’d been told that then they were nursing their chicks (刚孵出的幼雏) and they would be more careful and nervous than last time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. We walked across to the main group which were stretched for a couple of miles along the coast. We sat down for some sandwiches and soon found ourselves surrounded by many curious observers. Without any attackers on land, they were very brave and came within a meter of us to pose (摆姿势) for photos.
Before heading back, we spent a few hours on the sea ice watching the penguins and their chicks, which had grown dramatically (明显地) since our last visit.
It was such a nice day.When did the trip most probably happen?
| A．On a dull Sunday. | B．On a warm Sunday. |
| C．On a summer Sunday. | D．On a winter Sunday. |
It can be inferred from the second paragraph that the six people _____.
| A．felt a little nervous |
| B．felt a little excited |
| C．were left all by themselves on their Antarctic base |
| D．got bored with staying with their field assistant |
What does the writer mean by saying “but that didn’t seem to be the case”?
| A．They were told a lie. |
| B．A wrong decision was made. |
| C．The truth was the opposite. |
| D．They didn’t believe what they were told. |
The six people did the following during the trip EXCEPT _____.
| A．feed the penguins |
| B．take pictures of the penguins |
| C．enjoy watching flying seabirds |
| D．watch the young penguins |
You might be reading this article and saying, "Hey, that sounds just like me!" If so, we're glad you recognize that this happens to you．Now you can start taking steps to lessen your test anxiety．Here are some ways to do that:
Ask for help．Talk to your mom or dad, your teacher, or your school guidance counselor．Just talking to someone about test anxiety can make you feel better．Describe what happens to you when you're taking a test and these people can help you figure out some solutions．For instance, learning study skills can boost your test-day confidence．
Be prepared．Pay attention in class．Do your homework．Study for the test．On test day, you're more likely to feel like you know the material．
Block bad thoughts．Watch out for any negative messages you might be sending yourself about the test．These thoughts can make anxiety worse and make it harder for you to do well in the test.
________．Everyone makes mistakes．Be more forgiving of your own mistakes, especially if you prepared for the test and are set to do your best．
Breathe better．OK, so you already know how to breathe．But did you know that breathing exercises can help calm you down?（Just try not to take in too much air because it might make you feel dizzy．） Here's how to do it; Inhale （breathe in） slowly and deeply through your nose, and then exhale （breathe out） slowly through your mouth．Do this two to four times and you just might breathe more easily the next time you're taking a test!Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
Having too many negative messages in mind leads to worse test anxiety, which may stop you from doing well in the test．
___________________________________________________________________Please fill in the blank in the last but one paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence, （not more than 10 words）
___________________________________________________________________Which of the tips do you think is the most useful? （not more than 30 words）
___________________________________________________________________What's the best title of the passage? （not more than 10 words）
___________________________________________________________________Translate the underlined sentence in the 6th paragraph into Chinese.
___________________________________________________________________
Friendship continues to remain central to our lives. Friends often affect our health and energy. More and more people are increasingly turning towards their friends for support and sharing rather than just communicating with their relatives. We may have a very unclear understanding of what makes a friend but we all want to have a good number of friends around us. There are certain things you do to help you make friends or at least help you get close to people whom you want to make friends with.
The first step to make friends with people is to make them like you. If they don’t like you in the first place, it is unlikely that they’ll be eager to become your friends. To let someone know that you are interested in him, simple gestures like a little smile and calling him by his name can help. To make the other person feel important, you need to be a good listener and to encourage him to talk. Give your honest and sincere opinion, but do not make fun of him.
The second step is to develop trust in each other. You need to share opinions with this person and it is necessary for you to develop a habit of seeing things from his point of view. To become the best of friends, you must show concern and consideration for your friends’ desires and opinions.
The third and final step is to show your support and encouragement towards your friend. Moreover, you also need to be very clear about your expectations from your friend. If what you expect from the person you want to be a friend matches with what that person can and wants to do in friendship, the developing friendship between you and your friend is sure to be easy and successful.What can we learn about friends and friendship?
| A．Friendship is not important in our life. |
| B．Friends have nothing to do with our health and energy. |
| C．Friends can provide us with support. |
| D．Relatives can not become friends. |
Which is the right order of making friends according to the writer?
① When you meet some problems, you ask him for help.
② When he is in trouble, you tell him your ideas.
③ You smile at him to let him know you like him.
| A．②①③ | B．①②③ | C．③①② | D．③②① |
We can infer from the passage that _____.
| A．you can’t call your friend by his name |
| B．friends should understand each other |
| C．there should be no secret between friends |
| D．friends don’t need support and encouragement |
What is the main purpose of the writer?
| A．To tell us about the importance of making friends. |
| B．To tell us about the advantages and disadvantages of friendship. |
| C．To introduce the steps for making friends. |
| D．To tell us that friends are hard to make. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word gestures?
| A．身势语 | B．客人 | C．猜测 | D．表演 |
You speak, write a letter, and make a telephone call. Your words carry a message. People communicate with words. Do you think you can communicate without words?
A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad. When you raise your hand in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you are saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes". Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the wall of your school helps you to find the library. Signs on doors tell you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways. An artist can use his drawings to tell about beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell you about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, magazines, TV and radios and films all help us to communicate with each other. They all help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about. Can we communicate with each other without words?
| A．Yes, some times we can. |
| B．No, we can't. |
| C．No. It's impossible. |
| D．Yes, we always do so. |
When we see somebody smile, then, he must be feeling ____.
| A．angry |
| B．joyful |
| C．surprised |
| D．sad |
We can learn news from ____.
| A．newspapers |
| B．radio |
| C．TV |
| D．ABC |
A sign at the bus stop tells you ____.
| A．how many buses there are |
| B．what kind of bus it is |
| C．where the bus comes and goes |
| D．how much money you'll pay for the ticket |
What do you think is the quickest way to communicate with your friend in another city?
| A．Writing a letter. |
| B．Making a telephone. |
| C．Drawing a picture. |
| D．Asking someone else to take a message. |
A friend of mine was fond of drawing horse. He drew the horses very well, but he always began the tail. Now it is the Western rule to begin at the head of the horse, that is why I was surprised. It struck me that it could not really make any difference whether the artist begins at the head or the tail or the belly(肚子) or the foot of the horse, if he really knows his business. And most great artists who really know their business do not follow other people's rule. They make their own rules. Every one of them does his work in a way peculiar( 奇特的) to himself; and the peculiarity means only that he finds it more easy to work in that way.
Now the very same thing is true to literature. And the question, "How shall I begin?" only means that you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail or somewhere else. That is, you are not yet experienced enough to trust to your own powers. When you become more experienced you will never ask the question, and I think that you will often begin at the tail -- that is to say, you will write the end of the story before you have even thought of the beginning. A friend of the writer's drew the horses ____.
| A．very well |
| B．in the way of western rule |
| C．in the way of his own rule |
| D．all of the above |
The writer was surprised because ____.
| A．the artist began to draw at the head of the horse |
| B．the artist began to draw at the tail of the horse |
| C．the artist made his own rule |
| D．the artist did not follow other people's rule |
You are not yet experienced because ____.
| A．you don't know where to begin |
| B．you want to begin at the head instead of beginning at the tail |
| C．you always asked question |
| D．you do not trust to your own powers |
when you become more experienced you will ____.
| A．never ask question |
| B．often begin at the tail |
| C．should write the end of the story |
| D．should think of the beginning |
The topic of the passage is
| A．How to draw a horse |
| B．How to write a story |
| C．How to make your own rules |
| D．Trust to your own powers |