A major development to self-driving cars may change the way we will drive in the future. Google, the leading company in self-driving technology, has changed its develop plan. It had driverless cars built by car factories, but now it will start building its own cars.
Google has started to build some kinds of experimental electric self- driving cars that look like a Smart car or Fiat 500. There is no steering wheel(方向盘)，gas pedal or brake. The only things a human passenger controls are a red “e-stop” button(按钮) for fear stops and a start button. The car’s only “friendly” face is designed to make it help people accept self-driving technology.
Google workers took part in a long experiment, in which they used self-driving cars for their usual travel to work. No accident happened, but Google’s heads realized that depending on a human passenger to drive in an emergency(紧急情况) wouldn’t work because they may be reading, working , or sleeping. Now the self-driving car drives by itself if the driver takes his hands off the wheel for over ten seconds.
Google’s self-driving cars are now limited(限定) to a speed of 25 miles per hour for safety reasons. The cars aren’t allowed to drive on highways. However, a Google engineer said that once the cars are solved to run safely, we can drive at the speed of 50, even 80 miles an hour.
Google recently announced that its cars had covered 700,000 miles of public roads, and they were now running in busy city streets. People who love self-driving cars say this will improve transport by making roads safer, cutting down accident, and making less pollution.
Of course, there’s no need to look for parking at a crowded shopping mall. Instead, users could let their self-driving cars drop them off to park itself. A mother who took a test ride said that having the car would allow her more time to catch up with her son. The cars could also allow people who might not be able to drive to enjoy the hand-free driving. And drunk driving? Not a problem. It is very likely that by 2020, driverless cars will be common. Do you believe so?
What equipment do the self-driving cars have?
| A．A gas pedal. | B．A brake. |
| C．A steering wheel. | D．An “e-stop” button and a start button |
How fast can people drive a self-driving car now?
| A．25 miles an hour. | B．50 miles an hour. |
| C．80 miles an hour. | D．100 miles an hour. |
What has Google company already done?
| A．Google has changed its development plan and helped other factories make cars. |
| B．Google has already had car-testing experiments in all the states in the US. |
| C．Google has realized some problems and tried to solve them. |
| D．Google has asked its own workers to buy the cars and travel to work. |
Which advantage of self-driving cars is not mentioned ?
| A．They can start the engine by itself and make people’s hands completely free. |
| B．They can help to solve air pollution and reduce car accident. |
| C．They can park by themselves and make mothers look after young kids easily. |
| D．They can help those disabled people to enjoy the driving. |
What will happen if emergency happens when someone is driving a driverless car?
| A．If the driver presses the “e-stop” button, the car will drive by itself at once to keep safe. |
| B．If the driver is reading, working or sleeping, he can’t handle the situation in time. |
| C．The car’s friendly face will work and help the driver accept the situation and stay calm. |
| D．The self-driving car will break the speed limit and run at a speed that the driver tells it. |
把正确的选项填入空白处，使短文意思完整。
In many countries, people produce power from coal, but it is very dirty and causes acid rain. Some countries use nuclear energy to produce power.1 . To solve the energy problem, people all over the world are looking for new ways to produce power.
China is one of the first countries in the world to use biogas technology. 2 . This renewable energy is used in people’s everyday life.
3 . Now there are electric vehicles in many countries. They are very efficient and cost very little to run. 4 , there will be an increase in electricity needs if they are widely used.
In China, the best—known maglev train is the German—built one in Shanghai. The train can reach a top speed of 431 km per hour.5 . There is no wheel noise, because there are no wheels. However, maglev guide paths are much more expensive than traditional steel railways.
| A．Farmers recycle straw, grass and animal waste to make biogas. B．Although electric vehicles produce no pollution. C．However, nuclear power can be very dangerous. D．It is quiet and quick. E．Electric vehicles were developed in the 1990s. |
（Four students are talking about the future after class.）
Deng Yu：In 2050, China will be richer than it is now, Beijing will be getting ready for the 40th Olympic Games in 2052. We will see the blue and clear sky and smell the fresh air. There will be more pandas living happily China. I believe that 2050 will be the year of China.
Liu Yuan ：A holiday to the moon will no longer be a dream. We can also travel far to other planets and talk with the spacemen. We might also eat something like pills（药丸）instead of today’s meals. Everyone will enjoy a longer life.
Sun Wei：Robots will be very popular. They will do what people don’t want to do. We’ll build new homes on other planets. By then, I’ll be sixty years old. Maybe we will have an exciting talk in my new home on another planet!
Zhang Lan：By the year of 2050, cloning（克隆）will be used in many ways. It will bring back animals which disappeared many years ago. There will be no pollution, the whole world will be one big family. There will be no wars. As time passes, we’ll live a much easier and better life.thinks that people can spend their holidays on the moon in the future.
A．Deng Yu B．Zhang Lan C．Liu Yuan．What does Zhang Lan think will happen in the future.
A．There’ll be more animals which disappeared many years ago.
B．Robots will do the things that people don’t want to do.
C．People can talk with the spacemen.The 40th Olympic Games will be hosted in .
A．Paris B．Beijing C．LondonHow old will Sun Wei be by 2050?
A．50 B．60 C．70．From the talk, we can know that .
A．the 40th Olympic Games will take place in 2052.
B．we will have the same food in 2050 as we do now.
C．all the people will move to another planet in the future.
I can’t remember when I started collecting litter（垃圾）. But it was when I got tired of seeing litter near my home and realized that no one else was going to pick it up.
I live close to a forest in Ohio, America. I can walk there in three minutes! I used to love going there to play with my dog. But one day there was so much litter there that I became very unhappy. I decided to clean up the forest. I wanted to feel happy going there again.
I made my first trip to clean the forest that afternoon. I took a big black rubbish bag with me. Ten minutes after starting to pick up litter, my bag was full! It had cans, bottles, broken glass and newspapers in it.
Since that first trip three years ago, I’ve gone to the forest four times a year to pick up litter. I’m often there for three hours. It makes me feel great to do something for the environment.
After each trip, I look at all the litter I’ve found. If any of it is recyclable（可回收的）, I keep it. I can’t understand why people drop litter. But I will keep picking it up until they stop dropping it.
I know I can only do a small bit to help the earth, but I still think it is important.．When did the writer begin to collect litter?
A．When he was very young.
B．After his home moved to a new place.
C．When he realized no one else was going to pick it up.．Where does the writer live?
A．He lives in a forest.
B．He lives near a forest.
C．He lives in a place with much litter.．The writer collects litter .
A．in order to make money
B．in order to get a prize
C．in order to make the place cleanWhere does the writer collect litter?
A．In the forest. B．In the street. C．In the park.From the passage we infer（推断）.
A．the writer will go on with collecting litter
B．the writer always collects a lot of litter
C．the writer thinks he does a great thing
My grandfather is eighty years old. He sometimes complains（抱怨）about how fast things have changed.
He often says that families aren’t the families they used to be. A lot of families have broken up（破裂）. If husband and wife have problems with their marriage, they will no longer stay together. And mothers used to stay at home to take care of their children, but now they’re busy working. They have no time to look after children at home. What’s more, more and more people drive. We used to walk five miles to school every day, even in winter. But now children don’t. And in school, children don’t have to think more as we used to. In math class, for example, we used to add, subtract, multiply and divide（加、减、乘、除）using our heads. But now most students use calculators. Most families have computers now. In the past, we didn’t have computers. We even had no lights. My mother to spend all day cooking in the kitchen. But now few people eat home-cooked food. And people seldom talk to each other. They are too busy to talk, too busy to eat, too busy to think… Life used to be simple, but it isn’t any more.
根据短文内容，判断句子是否正确，正写（A），错写（B）。The writer’s grandfather thinks people now are much busier than they used to be.
Students have to think more at school now than past.
．People like to eat home—cooked food now.
．Lots of couples（夫妇）don’t live together because of unhappy problems.
5．People have too much time to talk with each other now.
Here are some tips on listening. We hope it can help you in one way or another.
●Relax yourself.
Before you start to listen to something, You need to relax.
1This will help you with your listening.
●Listen carefully to the first sentence.
2For example, if eyou hear“Many shops in many parts of China have decided to take away all kinds of Japanese goods off their shelves, but some people say it’s not a good idea. Our reporter says…”,you know you will hear a piece of news, not a children’s story or a science report.
●Think when you’re listening.
3For example, you can think of the following questions: What happened? When , where and how? What was the result and what does the speaker want to tell us? In this way, you may undersrand the passage better.
●Listen for important facts.
4For example, if the passage is a science report, you should try to remember its findings , and how the scientists got their results.
●Don’t think about one or two words for too long.
You may hear some words that you don’t know. But don’t spend too much time on them.
5But you can remember some words or sentences that you think are important, and you can use them when you’re answering the questions.