We’ve been covering standing desks for a long time now because experts agree that sitting all day is killing us.We want to be productive while also keeping our bodies healthy.Over the years,there have been several solutions to this from fixed standing desks to adjustable ones,portable desks to ones that change into shelves.
However, the most high tech and elegant solution has to be this new smart desk called The Stir Kinetic Desk.The desk learns your daily behaviors and moves between a sitting and standing height regularly throughout the day to keep you moving without interrupting your work flow.
You can program specific sitting and standing intervals or let the desk set the schedule.If you tend to sit while returning emails in the morning,but always want to stand during that afternoon conference call,the desk will learn those regular habits and adjust the schedule to fit them. Of course,the desk can always be manually lowered or raised by using the touch screen on the lower left comer of the desk.
When switching positions,the desk gently dips and rises to let you know that a change is coming up.If you’re not ready to switch positions at that time,you can tap the touchscreen to stay sitting or standing for a while longer.
The built.in touchscreen also keeps track of your daily sitting and standing times and tells you how many calories you’ve burned.You can even set goals for how long or often you want to stand.The desk also works with fitness devices like the FitBit to track your movements.
All of that smart tech doesn’t come cheap though.The M1 desk,which is the everyday model,runs a steep $2,990,while the more executive model with added features,the F1,goes for$4,190.
While expensive,it’s worth thinking of how much time we spend at our desks.Much like a good mattress(床垫),a good desk that works with you is worth the investment.Hopefully in a few years these smart,integrated desks will be more common and less expensive.
The Stir Kinetic Desk has been designed to_______.
| A.help users with their work |
| B.keep users moving all the time |
| C.get users to exercise while working |
| D.remind users of their working schedule |
Which is the feature of the touchscreen of the desk?
| A.It can tell users when to change positions. |
| B.It can track users’changes of positions. |
| C.It can keep users in a fixed position. |
| D.It can detect users’health condition. |
Which of the following can best describe the desk?
| A.Productive but challenging. |
| B.Convenient but unaffordable. |
| C.Complex and impractical. |
| D.Multi-functional and intelligent. |
What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?
| A.To spend money on such a desk is rewarding. |
| B.We should get such a desk as soon as possible. |
| C.It won’t be long before the desk is widely used. |
| D.Desks play a very important role in our daily life. |
| McGill Comedy Club Important meeting today. Discussions on putting on Blazing Saddles. Union room 302, 3-4 pm. New members (both actors and non-actors, living and dead) are welcome. |
History Students’ Association Prof. Michael Cross of Dalhousie University will be speaking on “Unskilled Labors on Rivers and Canals in Upper Canada, 1820-1850: The Beginnings of Class Struggle,” at 10 am in Leacock 230. |
Design Mirror Sale All types and sizes of design mirrors priced to please. Sale today in Union room 108. |
| McGill Teaching Assistants’ Association A general meeting, for all the TAs, will be held at 4 p.m. in Leacock 116. |
Women’s Union Important. General Meeting at 6 pm, Union room 423. Speaker on “Importance of deciding basic goals of the Women’s Union.” Everyone, old, new and those interested, please attend. |
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| Film Society Last meeting of the term for all members. All managers are required to be present. 6:00 sharp, Union room 434. |
Canadian University Students Overseas CUSO presents “Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast” at 7 pm, Newman Centre, 3484 Peel. Find out about CUSO here and overseas. Everyone welcome. |
Where can you probably find this text?
| A.In a school magazine | B.In a national paper. |
| C.In a guide book. | D.In a university daily newspaper. |
If you are interested in arts, where would you go for a visit?
| A.Leacock 116. | B.Union room 423. |
| C.Union room 108. | D.Newman Centre, 3484 Peel. |
Which of the following is the name of a play?
A. Blazing Saddles.
B. Guess Who’s Coming to Breakfast.
C. Importance of deciding basic goals of the Women’s Union.
If you ask people to name one person who had the greatest effect on the English language, you will get answers like “Shakespeare,” “Samuel Johnson,” and “Webster,” but none of these men had any effect at all compared to a man who didn’t even speak English—William the Conqueror.
Before 1066, in the land we now call Great Britain lived peoples belonging to two major language groups. In the west-central region lived the Welsh, who spoke a Celtic language, and in the north lived the Scots, whose language, though not the same as Welsh, was also Celtic. In the rest of the country lived the Saxons, actually a mixture of Anglos, Saxons, and other Germanic and Nordic peoples, who spoke what we now call Anglo-Saxon (or Old English), a Germanic language. If this state of affairs had lasted, English today would be close to German.
But this state of affairs did not last. In 1066 the Normans led by William defeated the Saxons and began their rule over England. For about a century, French became the official language of England while Old English became the language of peasants. As a result, English words of politics and the law come from French rather than German. In some cases, modern English even shows a distinction (区别) between upper-class French and lower-class Anglo-Saxon in its words. We even have different words for some foods, meat in particular, depending on whether it is still out in the fields or at home ready to be cooked, which shows the fact that the Saxon peasants were doing the farming, while the upper-class Normans were doing most of the eating.
When Americans visit Europe for the first time, they usually find Germany more “foreign” than France because the German they see on signs and advertisements seems much more different from English than French does. Few realize that the English language is actually Germanic in its beginning and that the French influences are all the result of one man’s ambition. The two major languages spoken in what is now called Great Britain before 1066 were
________.
| A.Welsh and Scottish | B.Nordic and Germanic |
| C.Celtic and Old English | D.Anglo-Saxon and Germanic |
Which of the following groups of words are, by inference, rooted in French?
| A.president, lawyer, beef | B.president, bread, water |
| C.bread, field, sheep | D.folk, field, cow |
Why does France appear less foreign than Germany to Americans on their first visit to
Europe?
| A.Most advertisements in France appear in English. |
| B.They know little of the history of the English language. |
| C.Many French words are similar to English ones. |
| D.They know French better than German. |
What is the subject discussed in the text?
| A.The history of Great Britain. |
| B.The similarity between English and French. |
| C.The rule of England by William the Conqueror. |
| D.The French influences on the English language. |
The easy way out isn’t always easiest. I learned that lesson when I decided to treat Doug, my husband of one month, to a special meal. I glanced through my cookbook and chose a menu which included homemade bread. Knowing the bread would take time, I started on it as soon as Doug left for work. As I was not experienced in cooking, I thought if a dozen was good, two dozen would be better, so I doubled everything. As Doug loved oranges, I also opened a can of orange and poured it all into the bowl. Soon there was a sticky dough (面团) covered with ugly yellowish marks. Realizing I had been defeated, I put the dough in the rubbish bin outside so I wouldn't have to face Doug laughing at my work, I went on preparing the rest of the meal, and, when Doug got home, we sat down to Cornish chicken with rice. He tried to enjoy the meal but seemed disturbed. Twice he got up and went outside, saying he thought he heard a noise. The third time he left, I went to the windows to see what he was doing. Looking out, I saw Doug standing about three feet from the rubbish bin, holding the lid up with a stick and looking into the container. When I came out of the house, he dropped the stick and explained that there was something alive in our rubbish bin. Picking up the stick again, he held the lid up enough for me to see. I felt cold. But I stepped closer and looked harder. Without doubt it was my work. The hot sun had caused the dough to double in size and the fermenting yeast (酵母) made the surface shake and sigh as though it were breathing. I had to admit what the ‘living thing’ was and why it was there. I don’t know who was more embarrassed by the whole thing, Doug or me. The writer’s purpose in writing this story is ________.
| A.to tell an interesting experience |
| B.to show the easiest way out of a difficulty |
| C.to describe the trouble facing a newly married woman |
| D.to explain the difficulty of learning to cook from books |
Why did the woman’s attempt at making the bread turn out to be unsuccessful?
| A.The canned orange had gone bad. |
| B.She didn’t use the right kind of flour. |
| C.The cookbook was hard to understand. |
| D.She did not follow the directions closely. |
Why did the woman put the dough in the rubbish bin?
| A.She didn’t see the use of keeping it |
| B.She meant to joke with her husband. |
| C.She didn’t want her husband to see it. |
| D.She hoped it would soon dry in the sun. |
What made the dough in the rubbish bin look frightening?
| A.The rising and falling movement. |
| B.The strange-looking marks. |
| C.Its shape. |
| D.Its size. |
When Doug went out the third time, the woman looked out of the window because she was ________.
| A.surprised at his being interested in the bin |
| B.afraid that he would discover her secret |
| C.unhappy that he didn't enjoy the meal |
| D.curious to know what disturbed him |
The Channel Islands are a group of British-owned islands lying in the English Channel, 10 to 30 miles off the French coast, and 70 to 90 miles from the English coast. There are ten islands with a total land area of 75 square miles and a total population of 123,000. The three largest islands, Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney, have long been known for the fine breeds (品种) of cattle that are raised on them and named after them.
In earliest known history the islands were considered part of Normandy, which was part of France, but the ruler of Normandy became king of England in 1066, and from then on the islands were looked upon as British land. English control was unbroken until World War II, when the Germans held the islands for five years.
Although people on the islands speak both languages and they are considered English, their customs are more French than English.Which of the following maps gives the right position of the Channel Islands?
Br =" Britain" Fr =" France" Ch =" Channel" Islands

Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney breeds of cattle are __________.
| A.considered best in England |
| B.named after their birthplaces |
| C.brought to the islands by the Germans |
| D.raised on well-known farms by the French |
The Channel Islands have been continuously under British rule since__________.
| A.earliest known history | B.1066 |
| C.1930s | D.the end of World War II |
Why do people on the Channel Islands follow French way of living?
| A.Their islands used to be part of France. |
| B.Their islands are often visited by the French. |
| C.They came from France. |
| D.They speak French. |
Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet, but what is it, do you know? The Internet is a network. It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world.
Maybe that doesn’t sound very interesting. But when you’re joined to the Internet, there are lots and lots of things you can do. You can send E-mails to your friends, and they can get them in a few seconds. You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web (WWW).
There are many different kinds of computers now. They all can be joined to the Internet. Most of them are small machines sitting on people’s desks at home, but there are still many others in schools, offices or large companies. These computers are owned by people and companies, but no one really owns the Internet itself.
There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet. For example, your school may have the Internet. You can use it during lessons or free time. Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet. You are welcome to use it at any time.
Thanks to the Internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front, getting and sending the information you need. You can buy or sell whatever you want by the Internet. But do you know 98% of the information on the Internet is in English? So what will English be like tomorrow? What is the passage mainly about?
| A.Computers. | B.Information. | C.Internet. | D.E-mails. |
Who’s the owner of the Internet?
| A.No one. | B.The officer. | C.The headmaster. | D.The user. |
What does the writer try to tell us with the last two sentences?
| A.Most of the information is in English. |
| B.The Internet is more and more popular. |
| C.English is important in using the Internet. |
| D.Every computer must have the Internet |