While astronauts in space get to do many exciting things, they miss out on ordinary things that we all take for granted—being able to walk on firm ground, hanging out with family and digging into a slice of hot steaming pizza. Though not much can be done about the first two things, there may soon be a solution to the third one, thanks to this cool 3-D pizza printer!
About a year ago, NASA offered $125 ,000 to Anjan Contractor, a 3-D technology expert, to build a device (设备) that would allow astronauts to make pizza on demand. The mechanical engineer promised that his invention would produce pies in large quantities that looked, tasted and even smelled like pizza made in common ovens.
Late last year, the engineer presented a video of his first prototype (原型) that begins by creating a single slice of dough (面团) that is cooked and printed at the same time. Then comes the tomato “sauce” — a mix of tomato powder, oil and water and finally, a protein slice that resembles cheese. While the video doesn’t show the baking process, the inventor says that once the pizza is printed, it can be ready to be consumed in 7 seconds.
While the pie in the video looks delicious enough to attract any pizza lover, Anjan Contractor is far from ready for astronauts. That’s because he still has to find a solution to make the food container in the printer last for 30 years. Though that may sound unrealistic, actually it is not.
Anjan Contractor believes that the only way that is possible is that the water is removed from all the ingredients (配料) and then they are reduced to the powder form. This, as you can imagine, will not be so easy. But, while the printer may not be ready for space, it certainly looks ready enough for people on earth. Hopefully, NASA and Contractor will consider selling it to those not fortunate enough to go to Mars!
| A．To ask us not to take common things for granted. |
| B．To show they live a difficult life there. |
| C．To show their life is boring in space. |
| D．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| A．create some new type of 3-D printer |
| B．attract more companies to work for NASA |
| C．help astronauts in space enjoy fresh pizza one day |
| D．produce pizza in large quantities to earn great profits |
| A．he has no money left to go on with his research |
| B．the pizza doesn’t seem appetizing to pizza lovers |
| C．he has no way to make pizza that can last for thirty years |
| D．he cannot make the food container last for decades |
| A．NASA is trying its best to help astronauts eat better |
| B．Astronauts may soon be able to enjoy steaming hot pizza |
| C．NASA is working on making pizza for common people |
| D．A 3-D pizza printer has been used to make pizza |
More than a third of the babies born this year could receive a 100th birthday message from whoever happens to be on the throne in the second decade of the 22nd century, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It forecasts that 35% of the 826,000 people born in 2012 will live to become centenarians.
But a long life is not unalloyed good news. David Sinclair, head of policy and research at the International Longevity Centre UK, warned that for many the future may mean social isolation(隔离）as they live longer than friends and members of their families.
"It is of course good news that so many more people are living longer," he said, "but there is a big 'but1. We will be older, but in worse health, and at high risk of living alone. The other problem is that we are very poor at forward planning. We deal with the problems that are under our noses, but even problems two or three years away seem quite distant enough to put off.When you're talking about forecasts for a time half a century away and more, I see no evidence that we are putting in place the measures to deal with it."
This year there will be 14,500 centenarians in the UK, a number which is expected to increase to 110,000 in 2035.
Women have higher life expectancies than men at every age: the likelihood of a girl born this year reaching her century is estimated to be 39%; for boys the figure is 32%.
The estimated number of female centenarians has risen from 500 in 1961 to more than 10,000 in 2010，a figure which is projected to reach 71,000 by 2035 and 276,000 by 2060.
Men are also living far longer, although their numbers are far fewer. There were an estimated 92 male centenarians in 1961 and just below 2,000 in 2010.The underlined word centenarians probably means people who_____.
| A．are born this year | B．live longer than their friends |
| C．are in poor health | D．are a hundred or more years old |
From what David Sinclair said, we can learn_____.
| A．he doesn't believe so many people are living longer |
| B．the older we are, the more likely we are to live alone and in poor health |
| C．the people who are good at forward planning are likely to live longer |
| D．too distant planning is not always necessary for most of us |
Which of the following statement is true?
| A．About 289，100 people born in 2012 will live to 100. |
| B．More men will reach their century than women in the future. |
| C．The number of the female centenarians was 1,000 in 1970s |
| D．More than 600 people reached their century in 1961. |
What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．A long life is not always good news. |
| B．A long life also means social and physical isolation |
| C．In the future, more people will live to 100 in the UK. |
| D．It is good to live to 100. |
Online educational learning games is an effective way with endless option (选择）for teaching kids of all age groups, and children are also able to operate it without much assistance. Parents find it easier to teach kids through these programs, who become familiar with operating the computer.
Kids have fun learning phonetics, spelling and even a new language. Children are not willing to learn math tables or difficult words at school. They find it fun to sit in front of a computer and learn language and solve mathematical problems. In this age of computers, computers are becoming an important part of the child's daily curriculum with parents opting to teach these children new things each day with the help of online educational games.
Computers are also known to improve the motor skills in children. In addition, the level of these games can be adjusted according to the level and learning ability of the kids. The makers of the games keep the kids' interest in mind while designing them so that their interest is maintained. Another advantage of these games is that you can find free online games and do not have to invest in these expensive products. Other activities that are available on the internet include online coloring games. This is also a constructive way that children can use to pass their leisure time.
Another advantage is that the children can lay in the comfort of their homes. Kids who are fond of playing on the computer can spend their time learning educational material instead on video games that teach violence.
Parents have to keep an eye on their kids and make sure that they do not spend their time on the computer playing games that could be harmful for them. It is essential to direct the kids to educational sites that have beneficial games and are known to help the progress of these children.What is the main idea of this text?
| A．Online games can be harmful to kids. |
| B．Online games can be helpful to kids. |
| C．Kids like to play games online. |
| D．Parents are worried about their kids. |
Kids don't like to learn knowledge probably because_____.
| A．they have trouble operating the computer |
| B．phonetics and spelling are useless |
| C．staying in the classroom is boring |
| D．mathematical problems are difficult |
What should the makers mainly consider while designing the computer games?
| A．The kid's expense. | B．The kid's interest. |
| C．The kid's level. | D．The kid's ability. |
One of the advantages of online games is that they can_____.
| A．help parents keep an eye on their kids |
| B．make it easier to solve mathematical problems |
| C．establish closer relationship between parents and kids |
| D．leave kids comfortable at home |
Educating girls quite possibly gets a higher rate of return than any other deal available in the developing world．Women's education may be unusual field for economists, but increasing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social project．And economics, with its emphasis on incentives （激励）, provides an explanation for why so many girls lose the chance of education．
Parents in low-income countries don't send their daughters to school because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children．Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and are kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school----the prophecy （预言） becomes self-fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle （恶性循环）of abandonment．
An educated mother, on the other hand．has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices．She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance．The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys．will be educated and healthy. The vicious circle is thus transformed into a virtuous circle （良性循环）．
Few will argue that educating women has great social benefits．But it has enormous economic advantages as well．Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers．Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional year of schooling．Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available deal, but they are just the beginning．Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices， including family planning．The author argues that educating girls in developing countries is _______．
| A．expensive | B．troublesome |
| C．rewarding | D．labor-saving |
What does the author say about women's education?
| A．It has developed the interest of a growing number of economists |
| B．It is in the first place in many developing countries |
| C．It deserves greater attention than other social project |
| D．It will get greater returns than other known deal |
The passage mainly discusses ______．
| A．unequal treatment of boys and girls in developing countries |
| B．the economic and social benefits of educating women |
| C．the major contributions of educated women to society |
| D．the potential earning power of well-educated women |
Children's lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years．But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?
It's difficult to look back on one's own childhood without some element of nostalgia（怀旧的）．I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them．Playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborhood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods．My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure．
These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically．Firstly, families are smaller, and there are far more only children．It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn't time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child．As a result, today's boys and girls spend much of their time alone．Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside．More than anything this is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn't dream of letting their children play outside by themselves．
Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different．Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood．The irony（令人啼笑皆非的事情） is that so many ways of playing games are called "interactive”．The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today．
Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same．What is the purpose of the direct question given in the first paragraph?
| A．To show who the passage is written for |
| B．To gather people's opinions on childhood |
| C．To compare the childhood lives of two generations |
| D．To get people's attention and lead in the topic |
Which is NOT a reason for the changes?
| A．Families are smaller today |
| B．Toys can be played by children alone at home |
| C．It's too dangerous to play outside |
| D．Parents worried too much about their children |
What has the writer focused on in the fourth paragraph?
| A．Some games that young people play today aren't really good |
| B．Computer and video games have replaced the board games |
| C．Young people today shouldn't play electronic games |
| D．Board games are much more interesting than computer games |
The writer's attitude towards the childhood changing is _____．
| A．approving | B．objective | C．unconcerned | D．optimistic |
Have you got any wonderful plans for your coming winter vacation? Here are some wonderful films for you to kill time.
| Away We Go With a baby on his way, a young couple, Burt and Verona, look at their lives and are puzzled about what they really want. So they hit the road and seek a place to call home. On their journey, they visit a handful of characters and learned a lot. It’s about taking the scenic route in life, preparing for the hope and excitement and fear of new beginnings, while never forgetting to look out of the window. |
Orphan Either, a bright and well-behaved child, however, is not as innocent as she appears. Soon after being taken home, the peace of her adoptive family is completely changed You want a good horror film about a child from hell? Then you got one! Do not, in any cases, take children to see it. |
| 500 Days of Summer Tom is in love with Summer from the moment he sees her. Can he accept that she simply likes him for now, not for forever? The movie is about Tom wrestling with that reality. Tom remembers his love, Summer, as a series of joys and bafflements. But Summer is just herself and he cannot have her. Here is a rare movie that begins by telling us how it will end and is about how the hero has no idea why. |
2012 The director Roland Emmerich successfully dresses a corny story with an old Mayan prediction, which is believed by many to happen in the coming 2012 and as a result, attracts millions of people into the cinema. It’s just an entertaining Hollywood blockbuster （大片）with plenty of jokes, instead of a description of what the end of the world is really like. Don’t take it too seriously! |
This passage aims to .
| A．make comments on films for a cinema |
| B．introduce films for a film corporation |
| C．recommend several films for fun |
| D．advertise several films for a website |
If you bring your seven-year-old sister to the cinema, which of the following film should you avoid?
| A．Away We Go. | B．Orphan |
| C．500 Days of Summer. | D．2012 |
Among all the characters mentioned in the passage, who directed films in Hollywood?
| A．Roland Emmerich. | B．Tom and Summer. |
| C．Burt and Verona. | D．Esther. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Orphan is a comedy about Esther adopted by a kind family. |
| B．500 Days of Summer is a romance with a happy ending. |
| C．Away We Go shows beautiful scenery on the young couple’s journey. |
| D．The ancient Mayan prediction is going to happen in 2012. |