A team of engineers at Harvard University has been inspired by Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical fly has become a platform for a series of new high-tech integrated systems. Designed to do what a fly does naturally, the tiny machine is the size of a fat housefly. Its mini wings allow it to stay in the air and perform controlled flight tasks.
“It’s extremely important for us to think about this as a whole system and not just the sum of a bunch of individual components (元件),” said Robert Wood, the Harvard engineering professor who has been working on the robotic fly project for over a decade. A few years ago, his team got the go-ahead to start piecing together the components. “The added difficulty with a project like this is that actually none of those components are off the shelf and so we have to develop them all on our own,” he said.
They engineered a series of systems to start and drive the robotic fly. “The seemingly simple system which just moves the wings has a number of interdependencies on the individual components, each of which individually has to perform well, but then has to be matched well to everything it’s connected to,” said Wood. The flight device was built into a set of power, computation, sensing and control systems. Wood says the success of the project proves that the flying robot with these tiny components can be built and manufactured.
While this first robotic flyer is linked to a small, off-board power source, the goal is eventually to equip it with a built-in power source, so that it might someday perform data-gathering work at rescue sites, in farmers’ fields or on the battlefield. “Basically it should be able to take off, land and fly around,” he said.
Wood says the design offers a new way to study flight mechanics and control at insect-scale. Yet, the power, sensing and computation technologies on board could have much broader applications. “You can start thinking about using them to answer open scientific questions, you know, to study biology in ways that would be difficult with the animals, but using these robots instead,” he said. “So there are a lot of technologies and open interesting scientific questions that are really what drives us on a day to day basis.” The difficulty the team of engineers met with while making the robotic fly was that __________.
| A．they had no model in their mind |
| B．they did not have sufficient time |
| C．they had no ready-made components |
| D．they could not assemble the components |
Which of the following can be learned from the passage?
| A．The robotic flyer is designed to learn about insects. |
| B．Animals are not allowed in biological experiments. |
| C．There used to be few ways to study how insects fly. |
| D．Wood’s design can replace animals in some experiments. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Father of Robotic Fly |
| B．Inspiration from Engineering Science |
| C．Robotic Fly Imitates Real Life Insect |
| D．Harvard Breaks Through in Insect Study |
Are you a problem shopper? The answer is “Yes”, if you or someone else thinks that you sometimes get carried away with shopping. In other words, do you or does someone else think you are occupied in extreme shopping? If people have regrets later about their shopping, or have an “out-of-control” feeling about the quantities of what they buy or the amount of credit they use, they may be considered to be problem shoppers.
Extreme shopping can lead to a more serious problem—addictive shopping. Addictive shoppers feel driven by the desire to shop and spend money. They experience great tension which drives them to shop and spend money and they feel a “rush” during the time they are occupied with the shopping activity.
Extreme or addictive shopping may result from long-time unpleasant feelings, of which anxiety, pain and shame are common ones. When we feel bad inside, we often do something to make ourselves feel better. In this case, we often go shopping.
A few people shop to relieve their boredom or emptiness. For some people, the motivation is a desire for status, power, beauty or success. Some love to shop as it makes them feel valued in the eyes of the shop assistants. Others shop simply because it makes them forget, at least temporarily, tension, fear or unhappiness in their life.
Besides, shopping malls are designed to encourage continual shopping. For instance, there are some malls where you can’t see clocks displaying the time because they don’t want you to become too aware of the time you spend there. What’s more, food courts, coffee shops and restrooms are provided, so you don’t have to leave the mall because of your physical needs.
Therefore, once you become aware of how market forces work, you will certainly come to control your shopping behavior. For example, how much time you will spend and what areas you will visit can be decided before you enter the mall. Keep a written account of what items you will buy and how much money you will spend. Make a plan for what you are going to buy before you feel the urge to shop and then stick to it. That is vital for gaining self-control.Which of the following people may not be problem shoppers?
| A．Those who cannot control the amount of credit they use. |
| B．Those who just walk around the shopping malls. |
| C．Those who are occupied in too much shopping. |
| D．Those who feel sorry for their shopping. |
According to the passage, what may not result in addictive shopping?
| A．The awareness of how market forces work. |
| B．The desire for status, power, beauty or success. |
| C．Boredom, emptiness, tension, fear or unhappiness in people’s life. |
| D．Long-time bad feelings of anxiety, pain and shame. |
What does the author suggest to control our shopping behaviour?
| A．Never go to the shopping malls because there are many tricks. |
| B．Apply for a credit card before we go shopping. |
| C．Make the shopping time as short as possible. |
| D．Make a shopping list before we go shopping. |
The author writes this passage to _____.
| A．inform the shopping malls how to attract more shoppers |
| B．provide solutions to the problem shopping |
| C．scold the problem shoppers |
| D．tell a shopping story |
Have Fun with Funny Faces
Here is a great new toy just for you! It is called FUNNY FACES. It is small enough to fit in your hand, but you can do so many things with Funny Faces! 
With Funny Faces, you can shape a mouth into a happy smile, or you can make a sad face. If you want to show an angry face, you can make it appear to be fierce. The eyebrows (眉毛) move up and down, the eyes turn from side to side, and the ears move slightly.
It is lots of fun to play with Funny Faces, by yourself or with your friends, make up stories about the different faces, put on a Funny Faces show and invite your friends to watch it.
A Funny Faces toy costs only five dollars. It is a super toy that every child should have. Buy Funny Faces today! You will find it in many stores in your city or town.
And if you buy Funny Faces now, we will send you a FREE gift. It is a special case for your toy. You will not find this case in stores. Here is all you have to do:
Cut off the top of the Funny Faces box. It writes “A Great New Toy!”
Write your name and address on a piece of paper.
Mail both pieces to the Funny Faces address on the front of the box.
Act today! This offer is good only until June 30.According to the passage, what is Funny Faces?
| A．A kind of toy. | B．A box. | C．A special show. | D．A picture. |
With Funny Faces, we can _____.
| A．make our friends angry |
| B．write names and address |
| C．shape a mouth into a smile |
| D．turn our eyes from side to side |
Why does the author write this passage?
| A．To tell us how to get a free gift. |
| B．To encourage us to buy Funny Faces. |
| C．To show us how to enjoy Funny Faces. |
| D．To advise us to put on an interesting show. |
We can see the passage is _____.
| A．a story | B．a news report | C．a letter | D．an advertisement |
If you’ve been joining in chat room conversation, or trading e-mail with your e-pals, you have become one of the millions who write in a special short form of English.
And you’ve got a sense of humor about short forms like SOHF(="sense" of humor failure) to describe Internet newcomers who understand you. Across the globe, every night teenagers and their elders are "talking" online — many of them all talking at the same time.
It’s fast: try talking to six people at once. It’s brief: three or four words per exchange. It takes wit（诙谐）, and quick fingers.
Want to enter a conversation? Just type PMFJI(="pardon" me for jumping in).
Interested in whom you’re talking to? A/S/L, the nearly universal request to know your pal’s age, sex and location. You may get 15/M/NY as a response from your pal.
If something makes you laugh, say you’re OTF(="on" the floor), or LOL(="laughing" out loud), or combine the two into ROTFL(="rolling" on the floor laughing).
And when it’s time to get back to work or go to bed, you type GTG(got to go) or TTYL(="talk" to you later).People want to write as fast as possible, and they want to get their ideas across as quickly as they can. Capital letters(大写字母) are left in the dust, except when expressing strong feelings, as it takes more time to hold down the "shift" key and use capitals. Punctuation （标点） is going, too.In order to talk to several people at the same time on the Internet, _______.
| A．you have to speak fast and fluently |
| B．you should speak with wit and humor |
| C．one should pay much attention to the use of exact words |
| D．you have to express your ideas in a brief way |
If you get 17/F/NY as an answer to your A/S/L, it means ______.
| A．you are talking to a girl who is 17 and lives in New York |
| B．the person who is talking to you is a 17-foot-tall New York girl |
| C．you are talking to 17 girls who are from New York |
| D．the person on the other end is 17 from New York and he is fine |
To save time on the Internet, ______.
| A．some people leave their letters in the dustbin |
| B．some people never use "shift" in their writing |
| C．people seldom use capital letters and punctuation |
| D．many people only use the capital or punctuation |
The passage is probably written for ______.
| A．young students | B．parents | C．teachers | D．web chatters |
A guitarist was pleasantly surprised to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found．It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a taxi and forgot to take the guitar with him．Laurence Lennon，44，said he was running late that day．He was talking to his manager on his cellphone when he rushed out of the taxi．He said that he gave the driver ＄60 and told him to keep the change．He walked through the front doors of the concert hall，still talking on the phone to his manager．
Upon discovering his loss，Lennon used his cellphone to call the police．The policewoman asked him for the name of the taxi company，the number of the taxi，and the name of the driver．He said that she must have been joking．
She told Lennon that he could apply for a missing item report online. Lennon asked for address.
It was www.nypd.gov/toprotectandtoserve/haveaniceday．She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years for finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana(大麻)smokers．Then she told him to have a nice day．
“This year has been depressing，”said Lennon．“I had to put off the recording of two new CDs．I’ve been using borrowed guitars．And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar．”
Lennon was reunited with his ＄100,000 guitar yesterday．The guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffeehouse only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it．Lennon had offered a ＄10,000 reward for its return．He said he would give the reward to the coffeehouse owner，who had informed the police．Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Careless guitarist surprised |
| B．Valuable guitar found |
| C．Coffeehouse owner rewarded |
| D．Taxi driver still unknown |
By saying “she must have been joking” in Para 2，the guitarist probably means ．
| A．it was impossible for him to answer her questions |
| B．there must have been something she felt funny |
| C．she didn’t believe at all that he had lost his guitar |
| D．she must have felt that his behavior was funny |
In the policewoman’s opinion，finding the lost guitar．
| A．was not important at all |
| B．wouldn’t be done online |
| C．could be a long time hunting |
| D．only depended on the driver |
Which of the following NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Why the guitarist was in a hurry |
| B．What the police advised the guitarist to do |
| C．How the lost guitar affected its owner |
| D．How the guitar was moved to the coffeehouse |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual(每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King’s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date ·Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2008. ·Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2008. ·Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2008. |
Courses ·English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours ·American History: 16 hours ·American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps ·A letter of self-introduction ·A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost ·Daily lessons: $200 ·Sports and activities: $100 ·Travels: $200 ·Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’ s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
You can most probably read the text in ________.
| A．a newspaper | B．a travel guide | C．a textbook | D．a telephone book |
Which of the following is true about King’ s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King’ s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King’ s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school __
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2008. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone |