People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality—the driverless car.” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the US government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
“Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are making Hondas safer,” said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes.” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers, but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident,” Kendall said. He said consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. “It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first.”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.
Which is the best title for the passage?
A. The Benefits of the Self-driving Cars
B. The Biggest Challenge of the Self-driving Cars
C. Safer or More Dangerous Self-driving Cars
D. Self-driving Cars—Science Fiction Future Is Near
Tigers are among the most admired and most feared animals in the world . When we think of a tiger, we think of danger. We think of the big teeth and large feet of it. We also think of beauty.
The tiger is a hunter that hunts alone. In fact , tigers are probably better than any other land mammal(哺乳动物) at catching large animals without help. Even so, the life of this big-game hunter isn’t easy. Finding food can be difficult, especially for a tiger that is old or weak. Most of the animals it tries to attack get away. A tiger sometimes goes weeks without eating. When that happens, it may hunt animals that can be dangerous even for a tiger.
When they are in a bad situation, some tigers may even attack humans. But in fact, tigers kill very few people each year. Most tigers run away when they see people.
What tigers have done to people can’t compare to what people have done to tigers. Over the last 200 years, we have almost killed tigers in the wild(野外). Today, the tiger is one of the most endangered animals on Earth.
A tiger may live 20 years or more, if it is not disturbed by humans. Female(雌性的) tigers usually live longer than male(雄性的)tigers, because the males live more dangerously.
It isn’t easy for people to tell a male from a female unless the female happens to be with her babies.Only females take care of the young. The big difference between males and females is size. Male tigers are much bigger.
Tigers are big eaters. In a single year, one tiger must eat about 70 deer or other large animals. That is one reason why tigers hunt alone. If they lived in big groups, they could never find enough animals to feed them all.What’s the topic sentence of Paragraph 2?
| A．The tiger is a hunter that hunts alone. |
| B．A tiger sometimes goes weeks without eating. |
| C．The life of this big-game hunter isn’t easy. |
| D．Most of the animals it tries to attack get away. |
The easiest way to tell a male tiger from a female one is by looking at their______
| A．size | B．running speed |
| C．way of hunting | D．claws |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．A tiger can only live about 20 years. |
| B．It is people who make tigers endangered |
| C．Many people are killed by tigers every year. |
| D．Male and female tigers take care of their babies together. |
According to the passage, why do tigers hunt alone?
| A．They can run faster hunting alone. |
| B．They can’t get along well with other tigers. |
| C．They can hide themselves easily in this way. |
| D．They can’t find enough animals to share with other tigers. |
.The passage is most probably taken from __________________
| A．A library guide | B．a news story |
| C．a wildlife book | D．a pet magazine |
Who doesn’t have a clingy friend? You know, that person who often calls,texts, and e-mails. He often needs your attention, your feedback,or your help.Worse yet, he often gets antsy when you don’t reply immediately.
Is there ever a moment when you just want to turn off your phone and be alone? But you won’t do that to a friend. Actually there are better ways to deal with a clingy friend.
Give Yourself Some Time
If you really need some time for yourself, or you’re just tired of being the listener, just explain to your friend honestly that you want or need some time of your own.Even the most determined friends will understand and give you some space. Of course, those extremely clingy friends will still call, text, and e-mail. If that happens, just reply gently that you need some time for yourself.
Suggest an Activity for Your Friend
If you ‘re tired of different get-togethers and outings, then you should advise your friend to do something alone. If you both like sports, you could tell your friend to have a try at the new gym. If your friend likes your suggestion, but insists that you go along, just explain that you’ve already visited the gym. Mention that you enjoy the gym. If you’re lucky , he’ll try it, and like it.
Introduce Your Clingy Friend to Others.
Your clingy friend may just be lonely or have trouble meeting new people. If that’s the case , introduce him to others with similar interests. He may just make some new friends.
_________________________________________
There’s no reason for you to rudely tell your clingy friend that he’s a pain in the neck. Just follow the above advice to take your time back. After a while, your clingy friend should learn to value your time and your friendship.What does the underlined word “antsy” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Busy | B．Silent |
| C．Nervous | D．Bored |
What does the author suggest you do in the first advice?
| A．Understand your friends. |
| B．Be honest with your friends. |
| C．Spend more time with your friends. |
| D．Keep your distance from your friends. |
Which of the following can best fill in the blank of the last paragraph?
| A．Give Your Friend Some Time |
| B．Take Your Time Back |
| C．Don’t Be Rude |
| D．Value Your Friendship |
If a clingy friend calls you to play badminton with him but you want to be alone, you should NOT_________
| A．reply gently that you want to be alone |
| B．introduce a new friend to him to play with |
| C．advise him to try another new game |
| D．tell him that you will meet an old friend soon |
We can learn from the passage that clingy people______________
| A．are very confident | B．have little free time |
| C．don’t respect others | D．don’t want to be alone |
Do you think Great Britain and the United States are alike? Winston Churchill once joked that the people of Britain and the people of America are separated (分离) only by their language. Do you think that is true? The British and the Americans both speak English as the official language. However, each uses some different words.We Americans are similar to the British. After all , our country was once owned by Great Britain , so we have a lot in common. But there are many differences between us.
Great Britain has a king or queen, and the leader of the government is the Prime Minister. The United States has no kings or queens. Our leader is the President.
Both the British and Americans use pounds and ounces, oints, quarts, and gallons. Both use miles, yards,and feet. Our money is different,though. The British use pounds and pence. Americans use dollars and cents.
Driving in a car is very different in England. They drive on the left side of the road. We drive on the right. What we call the hood of the car, the British call the “bonnet”. British cars run on “petrol”,which we call gasoline.
In our everyday lives, we do many of the same things as the British. But we describe them differently. A young mother here might push a baby in a baby carriage. A British mom pushes a “pram”. The British watch the “telly”, while we watch TV. We like to eat French fries, but the British call them “chips”. Millions of Americans drink coffee, but most British prefer tea.
So we are different in many ways. But we stay friendly anyway.We can learn from the passage that _______
| A．both British and Americans drive cars on the left side of the road |
| B．English is an official language in Britain but not in the US |
| C．the writer comes from the US and is friendly to British |
| D．the US also has queens and kings like Great Britain |
Winston Churchill’s words mean that ______
| A．Britain and the US are very similar |
| B．The people of Britain and the US are the same |
| C．the languages of Britain and the US are the same |
| D．there are many differences between Britain and the US |
The British and Americans both use ______
| A．miles and dollars | B．pints and pence |
| C．gallons and feet | D．yards and cents |
Which of the following is used by the British?
| A．TV | B．Pram |
| C．Hood | D．French fries |
What is the best tittle for the passage?
| A．We stay friendly |
| B．Different languages? |
| C．English as the official language |
| D．Differences between Britain and Austrilia |
I’m Grace, 13 years old and in seventh grade in Florida. This school year has been normal. However, my family and I spent my sixth-grade year driving all over Europe, seeing amazing places, meeting all kinds of people, and getting closer as a family in the process.
When my family decided to move to Europe, we were excited . But we had a problem. We couldn’t find a vehicle that had enough space to work for our five-member family, so my dad decided he’d just made one. No matter where we were , our new home took some getting used to (花时间适应). I had to leave a lot of my stuff behind because so little of it would fit into my tiny new room. We had to be careful to save our water. And we were doing home school, which worked out great.
No matter what, I made sure to look out my window every morning , because the view was different every day — England, then France, Italy,Greece... each special in its own way. In country after country, we touched around and tried to pick up little bits of the local language, but that didn’t help us much. Luckily we kept finding people who knew some English. Everywhere we went , we saw the most amazing things. I love reading about places in my textbooks and then getting out of our vehicle to look right at them . I can’t pick a favourite spot, because whichever one we were at seemed to be the best at the time.
After our trip ended , we moved to Florida. But it makes me happy that my family had this great year-long experience together. I’m thankful for that. Compared with the seventh-grade school year, Grace’s sixth-grade year was ____
| A．normal | B．painful |
| C．unusual | D．successful |
How did Grace and her family travel in Europe?
| A．By car | B．By taxi |
| C．By bike | D．By plane |
Grace had to throw away many of her things because________
| A．her parents didn’t allow her to keep them |
| B．there was not enough room to keep them |
| C．she had other similar things |
| D．they were out of style |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Grace likes Italy very much |
| B．Grace prefers travelling to reading |
| C．Grace can speak different language s well |
| D．Grace enjoyed the experience with her family |
Which one of the following phrases can best describe the whole passage?
| A．Getting along with my family |
| B．Looking out of my window |
| C．My new moving home |
| D．My life on the road |
Imagine you’re at a party full of strangers. You’re nervous. Who are these people? How do you start a conversation? Fortunately, you’ve got a thing that sends out energy at tiny chips in everyone’s name tag (标签). The chips send back name, job, hobbies, and the time available for meeting-whatever. Making new friends becomes simple.
This hasn’t quite happened in real life. But the world is already experiencing a revolution using RFID technology.
An RFID tag with a tiny chip can be fixed in a product, under your pet’s skin, even under your own skin. Passive RFID tags have no energy source-batteries because they do not need it. The energy comes from the reader, a scanning device(装置),that sends out energy (for example, radio waves)that starts up the tag immediately.
Such a tag carries information specific to that object, and the data can be updated. Already, RFID technology is used for recognizing each car or truck on the road and it might appear in your passport. Doctors can put a tiny chip under the skin that will help locate and obtain a patient’s medical records. At a nightclub in Paris or in New York the same chip gets you into the VIP (very important person) section and pays for the bill with the wave of an arm.
Take a step back: 10 or 12 years ago, you would have heard about the coming age of computing. One example always seemed to surface: Your refrigerator would know when you needed to buy more milk. The concept was that computer chips could be put everywhere and send information in a smart network that would make ordinary life simpler.
RFID tags are a small part of this phenomenon. “The world is going to be a loosely coupled set of individual small devices, connected wirelessly,” predicts Dr.J.Reich. Human right supporters are nervous about the possibilities of such technology. It goes too far tracking school kids through RFID tags, they say. We imagine a world in which a beer company could find out not only when you bought a beer but also when you drank it. And how many beers accompanied by how many biscuits.
When Marconi invented radio, he thought it would be used for ship-to-shore communication. Not for pop music. Who knows how RFID and related technologies will be used in the future. Here’s a wild guess: Not for buying milk.The article is intended to .
| A．warn people of the possible risks in adopting RFID technology |
| B．explain the benefits brought about by RFID technology |
| C．convince people of the uses of RFID technology |
| D．predict the applications of RFID technology |
We know from the passage that with the help of RFID tags, people .
| A．will have no trouble getting data about others |
| B．will have more energy for conversation |
| C．will have more time to make friends |
| D．won’t feel shy at parties any longer |
Passive RFID tags chiefly consist of .
| A．scanning devices | B．radio waves |
| C．batteries | D．chips |
Why are some people worried about RFID technology?
| A．Because children will be tracked by strangers. |
| B．Because market competition will become fiercer. |
| C．Because their private lives will be greatly affected. |
| D．Because customers will be forced to buy more products. |