ON a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?
Baymax, the plus-sized white robot, asks the question each time he detects (探测到) his patient’s pain. Considering that he is hardly like a typical Marvel superhero, how could this robotic caregiver from Big Hero 6 have stolen viewers’ hearts and taken home this year’s best animation Oscar?
Set in fictional San Fransokyo, the film follows Hiro, a 14-year-old robotics genius (天才). After his brother dies, he goes on a journey to save his city from an evil masked man with his brother’s invention, Baymax.
Baymax was named “Disney’s most straightforwardly adorable (萌的) character” in years by The Telegraph. He has a pure white pear-shaped body and stumpy elephant legs. And his eyes –just two black dots with a line through them – can blink (眨眼) quickly or slowly. Baymax’s physical appearance “works with his personality because he’s purely good and naive (天真的),” co-director Don Hall told The Hollywood Reporter.
Sometimes Baymax is awkward. Moving in tight spaces gets challenging with his potbelly (大肚子). And when his batteries run low, he behaves like an amusing drunk. “This means that he is not at all intimidating (令人生畏的) and is easy to like,” commented The Straits Times in Singapore.
Baymax is a comforting friend, the kind that perhaps everyone needs.
After he diagnoses (诊断) Hiro with feeling sorrow, he says: “Physical comfort helps too,” and pulls Hiro into a hug. He pats his head, saying: “There, there.”
The team’s car crashes into the water at one point, and they have to walk shivering (颤抖) back home. Baymax notices that everyone’s body temperatures are low, so he turns on his internal heaters. Everyone cuddles (依偎) up with him. “This is like spooning (拥抱) with a warm marshmallow (棉花糖),” says Fred, one of the characters.
One minute, he is used as a bouncy castle (充气城堡), and the next he transforms into a superhero.
To fight against the villain, Hiro upgrades Baymax so that the robot can attack and fly. The robot has a hard time figuring out these new skills, but after he realizes that Hiro is happy with his improvement, he immediately becomes an expert. “The treatment is working,”he says.
Tencent Entertainment calls the amazing Baymax a “perfect companion”.“He is quiet, clumsy, and adorable. But at important times, he steps up and stops at nothing to protect his friends from harm, even if it means that he has to sacrifice his life. This is an idealized (理想化的) relationship in harsh reality,” the site commented.What does Baymax do when he discovers Hiro is sad?
| A．He tries to amuse him by behaving awkwardly. |
| B．He leaves him alone. |
| C．He comforts him with a hug. |
| D．He advises him to go for a walk. |
Which of the following adjectives best describe Baymax?
| A．Considerate and selfless. | B．Adorable and humorous. |
| C．Clumsy and cautious. | D．Brave and proud. |
What is the article mainly about?
| A．The plot and background of the movie Big Hero 6. |
| B．The friendship between Hiro and Baymax in Big Hero 6. |
| C．The reasons for the popularity of Baymax from Big Hero 6. |
| D．What sets Big Hero 6 apart from other animation movies. |
Which of the following is TRUE about Baymax?
| A．Baymaxs awkwardness actually makes him more adorable and popular. |
| B．Baymax was invented by Hiro, a robotics genius. |
| C．Baymaxs physical appearance doesnt quite match his personality. |
| D．Baymax looks like a typical Marvel superhero. |
Parents should stop blaming themselves because there's not a lot they can do about it. I mean the teenager problem. Whatever you do or however you choose to deal with it, at certain times a wonderful, reasonable and helpful child will turn into a terrible animal.
I've seen friends deal with it in all kinds of different ways. One strict mother insisted that her son, right from a child, should stand up whenever anyone entered the room, open doors and shake hands like a gentleman. I saw him last week when I called round. Sprawling himself on the sofa in full length, he made no attempt to turn off the loud TV he was watching as I walked in, and his greeting was no more than a quick glance at me. His mother was ashamed. "I don't know what to do with him these days," she said. "He's forgotten all the manners we taught him."
He hasn't forgotten them. He' s just decided that he' s not going to use them. She confessed that she would like to come up behind him and throw him down from the sofa onto the floor.
Another good friend of mine let her two daughters climb all over the furniture, reach across the table, stare at me and say, "I don't like your dress; it's ugly." One of the daughters has recently been driven out of school. The other has left home.
"Where did we go wrong?" her parents are now very sad. Probably nowhere much. At least, no more than the rest of that unfortunate race, parents.This text is most probably written by _______.
| A．a headmaster of a middle school |
| B．a specialist in teenager studies |
| C．a parent with teenage children |
| D．a doctor for mental health problems |
The boy on the sofa would most probably be described as _______.
| A．lazy | B．quiet | C．unusual | D．rude |
From the second example we can infer that the parents of the two daughters _______.
| A．pay no attention to them |
| B．feel helpless to do much about them |
| C．are too busy to look after them |
| D．have come to hate them |
What is the author's opinion about the sudden change in teenage children?
| A．Parents have no choice but to try to accept it. |
| B．Parents should pay still more attention to the change. |
| C．Parents should work more closely with school teachers. |
| D．Parents are at fault for the change in their children. |
Although Paris is often considered the city of romance, close to a million adults who call it home are single. Many single people say that France’s capital is one of the most difficult places to meet people. The complaints(抱怨) of this lonely group have inspired a new phenomenon known as “supermarket dating.” At Galerie Lafayette Gourmet, singles can shop for more than just the items on their grocery list. They can look for someone who has blue eyes, brown hair, and is 1.8 meters tall, or whatever may be on their romantic shopping list.
At this Paris location, single people of all ages can schedule their shopping for Thursday nights between 6:30 and 9:00 p.m. When they walk through the door, they pick up a purple basket to advise that they are looking for love. They try to arrive early because the baskets disappear quickly, and then they have to wait in line for their turn to wander the store aisles(过道) .
With purple baskets in hand, shoppers can consider their romantic options while they pick out their groceries. When they are ready to pay, they can go to the checkout line for singles who want to chat.
Most of the people who look for love in the supermarket are skeptical of Internet dating. They know that it is easy to embellish(美化) one’s appearance or to lie about one’s age over the Internet. The supermarket, on the other hand, is considered a safe and casual environment in which to meet a potential match. In addition, what one finds in another’s grocery basket can say a thing or two about that person’s character or intentions. Buying pet food can be a man’s way of showing a potential match that he has a sensitive side. Women who fill their baskets with low-fat food show their healthy style of living. These days it’s possible to find much more than food at a grocery store.What do many single people in Pairs complain about?
| A．The difficulty in meeting people. |
| B．The idea of supermarket dating. |
| C．The items on their grocery list. |
| D．The inconvenience in shopping. |
Which of the following can be inferred but is not clearly stated in the second paragraph?
| A．The dating supermarket is located in Paris. |
| B．The dating supermarket is open only on Thursday evenings. |
| C．People looking for love must get a basket of a particular colour |
| D．The dating supermarket has very good business. |
According to the writer, a possible way to win a woman’s heart is to _______.
| A．pick up a purple basket |
| B．Buy low-fat food |
| C．embellish your appearance |
| D．buy pet food |
Why do the people prefer the supermarket dating to Internet dating?
| A．The supermarket dating is more convenient. |
| B．The supermarket dating is more casual. |
| C．The supermarket dating can be trusted more. |
| D．The supermarket dating is less expensive. |
Cafe Hub
Next to the Castle lies The Hub, home of the Edinburgh International Festival and one of the most talked about spots in town. Our cafe is open every day for mouth-watering lunches, snacks and fine dining. Come in and enjoy the atmosphere of The Hub or watch the world go by from our beautiful terrace.
The Hub, Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Open every day from 9:30 a.m. till late.
Tel: 0131 473 2067 www.thehub-edinburgh.com
Farm World
Enjoy being "A Farmer for a Day". Join in delivering and feeding our spring babies — bottle feeding sessions twice daily. Fun for all family. Horse Rides, BMX Bikes Cross Country Course, Tractor Ride through 600 acres, New Adventure Playground, Nature Trails. Full details on website.
Open: May—Oct Wednesdays to Saturdays and daily during school holidays 11 a. m.—5 p. m.
Tel: 01797 260256/260321 www. Farmworld. rye. co. uk
Enter the Europe-wide student competition!
Are you curious, creative and energetic? Are you interested in the new media? Are you between 12 and 19 years of age? Then Join Multimedia 2006 is for you!
Your challenge will be to build a team and develop a multimedia presentation in English — based on one of three different topics. You can register between May 1 and June 15, 2006 and will have to turn in your entry before September 15, 2006.
The rewards are wonderful: £150,000 in prize for schools and teams and the chance to attend a European student camp — plus new experiences, an opportunity to make friends throughout Europe!
For further information and registration forms go to: www. Siemens. com/join. multimedia.You' ll have to register first if you want ________.
| A．to enjoy delicious food |
| B．to try Tractor Ride through 600 acres |
| C．to enter the Europe-wide student competition |
| D．to watch the world go by from the beautiful terrace |
According to the passage, there will be _______ rewards for the Europe-wide student competition.
| A．only one | B．two | C．three | D．four |
You can visit Farm World________.
| A．on Monday in May | B．any day in October |
| C．at 2 p.m. at Christmas | D．at 10:30 a.m. during school holidays |
From the advertisements above, we can learn that ________
| A．families can enjoy Horse Rides on New Adventure Playground |
| B．Farm World provides lunches, snacks and fine dining |
| C．the Europe-wide student competition will be held on June 15, 2006 |
| D．Cafe Hub is a popular place in the local area |
Robert Ballard was born in 1942. From an early age, he loved the sea. Ballard grew up in Southern California. He spent his free time at the beach near his home. He enjoyed fishing and swimming. He even learned to dive.
When Ballard wasn’t at the ocean, he loved reading about it. At age 10, he read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a book which describes the undersea adventures of Captain Nemo. Ballard decided he wanted to be like Captain Nemo when he grew up. His parents helped him follow his dream.
Ballard was a hardworking student. He spent many years learning all he could about the ocean. By the age of 28, he was an expert. In 1970, he took a job as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. There he studied underwater mountains of the Atlantic Ocean. He came up with ways to predict volcanoes under the oceans.
Working with other scientists, Ballard also found previously unknown sea animals. These animals lived far below the ocean’s surface, where scientists had believed no animals could live.
By the 1980s, Ballard’s interests changed. He developed unmanned vehicles to explore the ocean bottom. His first find, the well-known ship Titanic, made Ballard famous. He was not happy with just one big find, however. He looked for — and found — other well-known ships. One was the German battleship Bismarck. Another was the U.S. Yorktown, an aircraft carrier that sank during World War II.
Today Robert Ballard is still an underwater explorer. He also heads an organization that encourages students to learn about science. Ballard hopes that some of the students will follow in his footsteps. After all, the world’s huge oceans are mostly unknown. Who knows what remains to be discovered under the sea?What was Ballard’s dream when he was young?
| A．To be a science teacher. |
| B．To be an animal expert. |
| C．To be a famous writer. |
| D．To be an underwater explorer. |
When Ballard worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he _____.
| A．explored the undersea world by ship |
| B．thought of ideas to predict underwater volcanoes |
| C．found some unknown sea animals alone |
| D．set up an organization to teach students science |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Ballard’s parents felt disappointed at his undersea adventures. |
| B．Ballard didn’t like fishing and swimming in his childhood. |
| C．Ballard was greatly influenced by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. |
| D．Human beings have explored more than half of the sea. |
Taking a picture of your tongue with a mobile phone could soon instantly tell you how healthy you are. Researchers believe the images can reveal important information about a patient’s health and even give them early warning of serious illness.
A team at the University of Missouri is developing a system that can analyze pictures using a 5,000-year-old Chinese principle, which is based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body, and uses the tongue as a key to learning about a person’s physical health, or “zheng” according to Chinese medicine.
“Within a year, our goal is to create an application for smart phones that will allow anyone to take a photo of their tongue and learn the status of their zheng,” said Dong Xu, chair of MU’s Computer Science Department in the College of Engineering and the co-author of the latest study.
The software analyzes images based on the tongue’s color and coating to distinguish between tongues showing signs of “hot” or “cold” zheng. Shades of red and yellow are associated with hot zheng, whereas a white coating on the tongue is a sign of cold zheng.
“Hot and cold zheng doesn’t refer directly to body temperature,” said Xu, “Rather, it refers to a series of symptoms associated with the state of the body as a whole.”
For the study, 263 gastritis(胃炎) patients and 48 healthy volunteers had their tongues analyzed. The gastritis patients were classified by whether they showed infection by a certain bacteria as well as the intensity of their gastritis symptoms. In addition, most of the gastritis patients had been previously classified with either hot or cold zheng. This allowed the researchers to test the accuracy of the software’s analysis.
“Our software is able to classify people based on their zheng status. And as we continue to work on the software we hope to improve its ability,” said another co-author Ye Duan, “Eventually everyone will be able to use this tool at home using webcams or smart phone applications, which will allow them to monitor their zheng and get an early warning about possible ailments.” The software mentioned in the passage is based on ________.
| A．the latest development of smart phones |
| B．a traditional Chinese medical principle |
| C．the changes in one’s flow and energy |
| D．symptoms related with the state of the body |
According to Chinese medicine, zheng refers to ________.
| A．one’s body temperature | B．the physical health of a person |
| C．the possible disease of a person | D．the color and coating of one’s tongue |
The study led by Dong Xu proves _________.
| A．the effect of the software |
| B．the software’s great prospect |
| C．the advancement of smart phones |
| D．the greatness of Chinese medicine |
The underlined word “ailments” can be replaced by _________.
| A．analysis | B．effects | C．illnesses | D．applications |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．the software still needs improvement |
| B．the subjects in the study are all gastritis |
| C．the software has been in market for a year |
| D．the subjects in the study are classified by age |