How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track your performance on your phone.
The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.
The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’re brushing long enough. “It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart but also fun,” Several says.
Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, for $99 to $199, developing on features. The U.S. is the first target market.
Serval says that one day, it’ll be possible to replace the brush on the handle with a brushing unit that also has a camera. The camera can even examine holes in your teeth while you brush. Which is one of the feature of the Kolibree toothbrush?
| A．It can sense how users brush their teeth. |
| B．It can track users’ school performance. |
| C．It can detect users’ fear of seeing a dentist. |
| D．It can help users find their phones. |
What can we learn from Serval’s words in Paragraph 3?
| A．You will find it enjoyable to see a dentist. |
| B．You should see your dentist on a day-to –day basis. |
| C．You can brush with the Kolibree as if guided by a dentist. |
| D．You’d like a dentist to watch you brush your teeth every day. |
Which of the following might make the Kolibree toothbrush fun?
| A．It can be used to update mobile phones. |
| B．It can be used to play mobile phone games |
| C．It can send messages to other users |
| D．It can talk to its developers. |
What can we infer about Serval’s children?
| A．They were unwilling to brush their teeth |
| B．They often failed to clean their toothbrushes. |
| C．They preferred to use a toothbrush with a dry head. |
| D．They liked brushing their teeth after Serval came home. |
What can we learn about the future development of the Kolibree?
| A．The brush handle will be removed. |
| B．A mobile phone will be built into it. |
| C．It will be used to fill holes in teeth |
| D．It will be able to check users’ teeth |
The rapid growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades will cause significant risks to people and the global environment, according to analysis.
Researches from Yale and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles—nearly the size of Mongolia—to meet the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas.
“It is likely that these cities are going to be developed in places that are the most biologically diverse,” said Karen Seto, a famous scientist at Yale University. “They are going to be growing and expanding into forests, biological hotspots, savannas(热带稀缺大草原), coastlines—sensitive and vulnerable places.”
Urban areas, they found, have been expanding more rapidly along coasts. “Of all the places for cities to grow, coasts are the most sensitive. People and buildings along the coast are at risk of flooding and other environmental disasters,” said Seto.
The study provides the first estimate of how fast urban areas globally are growing and how fast they may grow in the future. “We know a lot about global patterns of urban population growth, but we know significantly less about how urban areas are changing,” she said. “Changes in land cover associated with urbanization lead to many environmental changes, from habitats loss and agricultural land conversion(转化) to changes in local and regional climate.”
The researchers examined studies that used satellite data to map urban growth and found that from 1970 to 2000 the world’s urban footprint had grown by at least 22,400 square miles—half the size of Ohio.
“This number is numerous, but, in actuality, urban land expansion has been far greater than what our analysis shows because we only looked at the published studies that used satellite data,” said Seto. “We found that 48 of the most populated urban areas have been studied using satellite data, with findings in journals. This means that we’re not tracking the physical expansion of more than half of the world’s largest cities.”
Half of urban land expansion in China is driven by a rising middle class, whereas the size of cities in India and Africa is driven primarily by population growth. “Rising incomes translate into rising demand for bigger homes and more land for urban development, which has a great effect on biodiversity conservations, loss of carbon sinks and energy use.”According to the passage, the most dangerous place for city expansion is the _____.
| A．forest | B．desert | C．savannas | D．coastline |
The underlined word “vulnerable” (in Para. 3) probably means “____”.
| A．diverse in plants | B．beautiful in scenery |
| C．easily damaged | D．very productive |
From Para. 5, we can infer that ____.
| A．urbanization is a good way to improve people’s standards of living |
| B．cities develop very fast and more and more people come to live in cities |
| C．more and more agricultural farmlands are used to make room for local animals |
| D．in the past, researchers focused their attention on the expanding urban areas |
Cities in Africa become bigger and bigger mainly because of their ____.
| A．growing population | B．rising middle class |
| C．unique living patterns | D．economic development |
More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor wages(工资), according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so-called boomerang kids, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they’re helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two-thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one-third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to find their financial feet than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices(牺牲) to help their adult children should be careful about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying(推迟) retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger,” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.According to the text, boomerang kids refer to ____.
| A．married adult children |
| B．grown-ups living with parents |
| C．adult children independent and successful in life |
| D．young adults depending on parents for financial support |
According to the survey, we can infer that _____.
| A．about 30% of parents offer their adult children housing |
| B．one-third of adult children earn money more easily than their parents |
| C．two-thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in school |
| D．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily cost |
What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?
| A．Asking their children to help with the housework. |
| B．Being careful when helping their children financially. |
| C．Leaving their children to struggle to live. |
| D．Putting off their time of retirement. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Adult children are less independent | B．Parents help support adult children |
| C．Bad conditions affect children a lot | D．Adult children like living with parents |
During my review for the medical boards, I gained 101 pounds in four months and promised to exercise when all of this was over. I successfully passed the medical boards and now I have to face the music.
One morning, I woke up and decided to go to a park to start working out. I got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and put on my sports shoes. Then I headed for the park. While going there, I decided to set a goal for myself, that, I had to finish 10 rounds before I went home.
Upon reaching the park, I joined the people in walking around the park. I was enjoying every step, breathing in fresh air, appreciating the green grass and looking at the dried leaves falling from the trees while listening to my iPod.
On my 5th round, I felt tired, hungry and thirsty. I thought of giving it up, going home and sleeping again. As the idea battled in my mind, I was reminded about the goal I had set just a while ago. I kept on walking and as I looked around, I saw myself in the midst of men and women much older than me who continued to move on. Some even suffered from a stroke(中风) that had difficulty walking, some took on small steps with a cane on hand and some took on pauses before they continued their walk but still they kept on walking.
Suddenly I realized that each of us has set our own goals in our lives, such as reaching a dream, building up a career, correcting a past mistake or starting a business. The process won’t be easy. We may encounter(遇到) a lot of difficulties and obstacles that may push us to just give up.
Amazed by the men and women whom I walked with that morning, I finished my goal in the end.
Let us be inspired with the people around us who experience the same or even a greater amount of difficulty but still don’t give up and continue until they reach their goals and now are savoring(享受) their success.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Now I don’t feel like listening to my iPod. |
| B．Now I have to care more about my health. |
| C．Now I have to take physical exercise. |
| D．Now it is time for me to listen to music. |
What did the author do on his way to the park?
| A．He worked out a plan for his future. |
| B．He reflected on the causes of his overweight. |
| C．He decided to finish 10 rounds that morning. |
| D．He planned to take exercises every day. |
When the author was walking the 5th round _____.
| A．he didn’t want to continue walking |
| B．he found it easy to keep his promise |
| C．he was enjoying walking in the park |
| D．he was too tired to keep up with others |
What inspired the author to finish 10 rounds that morning?
| A．The goal he kept in mind. | B．His strong will to keep fit. |
| C．The good figure he wanted. | D．The people exercising in the park. |
Flowers only bloom(开花) when they are planted in the right soil. That is also true for me.
I first moved to Foxboro, Massachusetts, as a single mother with my baby daughter, Darcy. I was drawn to its New England beauty, friendly people and rich history. It happened that there were a lot of forsythia(连翘) bushes around the house in which I lived just like my childhood home. I joined St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where I taught the Sunday school. At church, I met my second husband, Dean. For more than 25 years, I bloomed in Foxboro, and I had another two children.
Then, when Darcy was a few years out of college, she moved to Alameda, California, to be near friends. I missed her badly. A year later my beloved husband Dean had deadly cancer. He only made it eight months. My heart was broken. Later I moved to Alameda with my children. It was a beautiful Victorian island, and I was grateful to spend more time with Darcy. I even attended a church and made a few friends there. Still, I couldn’t help but miss Foxboro. It had everything and everyone I loved.
One spring day, when I was walking by a school, something yellow caught my eyes. Forsythia bushes! They made me homesick and I kept back my tears. “I miss you, Foxboro,” I whispered. Then I went into a shop and looked at some ceramic(陶瓷的) pots lined up on a shelf. A large white one seemed to catch my attention. “That’ll be perfect in my living room,” I thought.
I turned it over to look at the price. Instead I found these words: “New England Pottery, Foxboro, Massachusetts.” A piece of artwork, from my second hometown, was right here. It was able to spread across the country and so were forsythia bushes. I took it as a sign that I can bloom, right where I am.From the text we learn that the author ____.
| A．gave birth to three children in Foxboro |
| B．planted forsythia bushes around her house |
| C．got to know her second husband at church |
| D．worked as a middle school teacher in Foxboro |
The author moved to Alameda so that she could ____.
| A．have more time together with Darcy |
| B．forget the sorrow at her husband’s death |
| C．visit her children at Alameda College frequently |
| D．enjoy the beautiful scenery on the Victorian island |
When the author saw forsythia bushes at a school she _____.
| A．wanted to buy a ceramic pot to put them in |
| B．thought of her life in Foxboro |
| C．felt they would look great in her living room |
| D．believed they were real art work |
Why does the author compare herself to flowers?
| A．Because she wanted to show she likes flowers. |
| B．Because she can live in any place that is right like flowers. |
| C．Because she moved across the country just like flowers. |
| D．Because girls are like flowers that are blooming. |
I studied engineering after enjoying top marks, as high school came relatively easy. Then university life came!
I thought that I must have some learning disorder, as it seemed that everyone else was absorbing the material and making progress while to me it was an insurmountable(不能克服的) struggle. There were never enough hours in the day and weekend to attend the lectures, study the lessons and then do the assignment.
During my darkest hour I called home to speak to my father: “Dad, I don’t think I can handle this.” My father then said something, which cut through me like a knife: “There is no returning home. If you quit, then you are on your own.”
I hung up thinking what a terrible heartless thing to say. Then, I determined to somehow gut it out(坚持到底). There seemed to be no other choices available! Soon afterwards, I noticed a sigh posted in a campus common area stating: “Studying Skills” with a place & time to meet. It said that “there is help available”. I attended that meeting! I soon discovered there were several others in a similar situation and that everyone wanted to help each other get through this challenging first term. I soon found a study partner, who helped me a lot, and I was grateful to him for his kind help.
Yes, it was still a very challenging first year, but I found the needed strength and support to get through it. In fact my father has been helping me since then, but he has done it in another way. I know now in my heart that he did the very best help he could to help me fly. Thanks Dad for the push!The story happened when the author _____.
| A．just came to the new high school |
| B．was in his first term in university |
| C．was in the last year of high school |
| D．had been in the university for one year |
What was the author’s problem?
| A．His father refused his request of returning home. |
| B．His father said some terrible words to him. |
| C．He found the course difficult to understand. |
| D．He could not understand his teachers. |
How did the author get through his challenge successfully?
| A．He got help from his father in another way. |
| B．He changed the place and time for study. |
| C．He joined those who helped each other. |
| D．He paid more attention to study. |
Which of the following is the most suitable title for the text?
| A．Differences between high school and university |
| B．My time in university |
| C．The importance of being strict with children |
| D．Push from my father |