When Jeff Sparkman draws his cartoon superheroes with colored pencils, he often has to ask other people to tell him what color his masked men turned out to be because he's color-blind. Now, a new smart phone application (app) can help him figure out what colors he's using and how the picture looks to most everyone else.
The DanKam app, available for iPhone and Android for $2.99, is an application that turns the vague colors that one percent of the population with color-blindness sees into the "true" colors as everyone else sees them. In America, an estimated 32 million color-blind Americans---95% are males---can soon have their life improved.
"DanKam takes the stream of data coming in through the phone's camera and changes the colors slightly so they fall within the range that people who are color-blind see," developer Dan Kaminsky told CNET. He came up with the idea after watching the 2009 film Star Trek with a color-blind friend.
It was then that he got to know more about colorblindness like its varying types and degrees. A vast majority, for instance, have trouble seeing red or green due to a genetic defect(遗传缺陷). Blue-yellow colorblindness, however, is rarer and develops later in life because of aging, illness or head injuries, etc. He started experimenting with one of the most common representations of points in the RGB color model. What the DanKam app attempts to do is to clean up the color space of the image or video signal so that colors can be visible to those suffering from viewing problems. “You can adjust the app to fit your needs. There is a range and not everyone who is color-blind sees things the same.” Says Kaminsky.
Sparkman, a copy editor at CNET, tried out the app and was pleased with the results. "It would be useful for dressing for a job interview," he said. But using it for his art is “the most practical application." It worked well on LED and other lights on electronic gadgets, which means Sparkman can now identify the power light on his computer display as green.According to the first two paragraphs, we can know that DanKam ___________.
| A．appeared in the movie Star Trek |
| B．can turn vague colors into real ones |
| C．is a phone used to help drawing pictures |
| D．is designed to help people with colorblindness |
How does DanKam’s app work?
| A．It puts LED and other lights on electronic gadgets. |
| B．It changes the colors so that color-blind people can see them. |
| C．It checks color-blind people’s types of degrees of colorblindness. |
| D．It shows common representations of points in the RGB color model |
It can be inferred from the passage that colorblindness __________.
| A．cannot be cured by any methods |
| B．is more commonly seen in women |
| C．is not necessarily inborn disease |
| D．makes people unable to tell any colors |
Which of the following is NOT included in the things that DanKam helps Sparkman with?
| A．Choosing clothes. |
| B．Drawing his pictures. |
| C．Playing computer games |
| D．Handling electronic gadgets. |
The managing editor is usually the person in charge of the day-to-day editorial process of a newspaper. He or she makes sure that the newspaper comes out on time each day and that costs are kept within a budget. He or she is usually responsible for hiring and firing newsroom staff, and serves as the spokesperson for the newspaper. The managing editor may also be involved in story, photo and graphics selection, assignments, laying out pages, and editing copy and writing headlines.
The news editor is in charge of the news pages of the newspaper. He or she makes decisions on which stories are used and which are not. The news editor and his or her assistants also lay out pages of the paper.
The copy editor edits wire and local stories and writes headlines. The copy editor is often the last person to see a story before it actually appears in print.
The city editor makes sure that the news in the city is covered and that as many local stories as possible get into each edition. The city editor monitors the local general assignment, beat and specialty reporters.
The state editor supervises reporters who cover communities and areas outside the city but still within the circulation (流通) area of the newspaper.
The national editor supervises reporters in bureaus in cities outside the circulation area of the newspaper. Most newspapers rely on the wire services for national news, but some have correspondents(通信员) who work in other cities and report to the national editor.If you want to apply for a job in a newspaper newsroom, you are likely to be interviewed by _____.
| A．the news editor | B．the national editor |
| C．the state editor | D．the managing editor |
From the passage, we can learn that _________.
| A．the managing editor is mainly responsible for laying out pages of the paper |
| B．the news editor determines which stories are used |
| C．the copy editor is often the first person to see the story |
| D．the state editor supervises the local general assignment, beat and specialty reporters |
The national news is mostly sent to the national editor by all of the following ways EXCEPT _____.
| A．by e-mail | B．by fax |
| C．by letter | D．by telephone |
The underlined word “supervises” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.
| A．is in favor of | B．is in honor of | C． is in charge of | D．is in need of |
What is mainly discussed in this passage?
| A．How newspapers are made. |
| B．People in a newspaper newsroom. |
| C．How news is collected and edited. |
| D．People in charge of the newspaper industry. |
If practicing an attitude of gratitude(感激) during the storms of life is too much for you right now, that’s OK. When things are tough, most people have a hard time being thankful. They’re so caught up in what’s wrong in the present moment that they simply can’t see some things are still right.
If that’s true for you, then accept it. You’re going through a particularly difficult or unhappy period of time, and you don’t like it one bit. Very normal, very human. But remember this: there is always something to be grateful for. It maybe only a small comfort right now, but it is a start. Make a list of some of the terrible things that didn’t happen. For example:
●You’re in debt...but you’re not homeless.
●You lost your job...but you didn’t lose your health.
●You broke your leg...but you didn’t break your neck.
●Your mother has Alzheimer’s disease...but your father doesn’t.
No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse. Start finding gratitude for what might have happened, but didn’t. It does help a lot. Of course, you may not be thankful for everything— but you can always be thankful for something.The passage is intended for those who ________.
| A．have done a lot for others | B．have met with difficulties in life |
| C．have something to do in return | D．don’t know how to be thankful |
The writer thinks it ______ for people to feel unhappy in time of difficulty.
| A．understandable | B．necessary | C．impossible | D．helpful |
How many “terrible things that didn’t happen” are listed in this passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To discuss ways to make a list of terrible things. |
| B．To explain what is gratitude towards the storms of life. |
| C．To persuade people to be thankful for what didn’t happen. |
| D．To show people different ways to consider their tough situations. |
How is the passage organized?
| A．Explanation—Comparison—Topic |
| B．Argument—Opinion—Discussion |
| C．Comparison—Argument—Explanation |
| D．Introduction—Discussion—Conclusion |
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties(特色菜) in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handedly frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television. He says Lieberman’s charisma is key. “Food TV isn’t about food any more,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, and Lieberman got the job.We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family ____.
| A．have relatives in Erope | B．love cooking at home |
| C．often hold parties | D．own a restaurant |
The Food Network got to know Lieberman ____.
| A．at one of his parties | B．from his teachers |
| C．on a television program | D．through his taped show |
What does the word “charisma” underlined in the text refer to?
| A．A way to show one’s achievement. |
| B．Lieberman’s after-class interest. |
| C．Lieberman’s fine cooking skill. |
| D．A natural ability to attract others. |
Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
| A．He could prepare meals in a small kitchen. |
| B．He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals. |
| C．He was famous for his shows on Food TV. |
| D．He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches. |
What can we learn about Lieberman from the text?
| A．He is friendly and active. | B．He is clever but lonely. |
| C．He enjoys traveling around. | D．He often changes his menus. |
Mark Zukerberg is the founder and CEO of Facebook, an extremely popular social working website that started in the United States.
Now, millions of student users visit Facebook daily and the website is one of the top ten most widely visited sites on the internet worldwide. College and high school students use Facebook to communicate with friends and share both information and pictures for free. The company earns money through advertising.
Many other companies have been rumored(谣传) to be interested in buying Facebook. Just a few years after Mark started the company, he was approached by Terry Semel, who was the CEO of Yahoo. Terry offered Mark one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) to sell Facebook to Yahoo. Mark said no, though. He stands behind his dreams at the very beginning. He knows the value of the company could fall down; however, he is in this to build something unbelievable, not be bought out by another company.
Maybe he was smart. Now Facebook is rumored to be worth billions of dollars and bigger companies like Microsoft or Google want a share of the company. Some private firms are also interested. Facebook could sell 15 billion dollars if Mark decides to sell it at all. Perhaps Mark will just keep working from his California office to continue his dream of building something cool.What cannot be done on Facebook according to the passage?
| A．Chatting. | B．Sharing information. |
| C．up- and downloading pictures | D．Shopping online. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Yahoo offered one billion dollars to help Facebook through financial difficulties. |
| B．Facebook is a California-based social working website. |
| C．Mark will be kept from working to continue his dreams of building something cool. |
| D．Facebook has made a profit of 15 billion dollars so far. |
The underlined word “this” (Paragraph 3) most probably refers to ______.
| A．buying companies | B．sharing information |
| C．managing Facebook | D．fighting rumors |
Which of the following words best describes Mark Zukerberg according to the passage?
| A．Determined. | B．Humorous. | C．Gentle. | D．Selfless. |
Terry Semel was the CEO of ______.
| A．Microsoft | B．Facebook | C．Google | D．Yahoo |
Every time you go shopping, the vegetables and fruit look so tempting that you wish you could buy all of them. Some people are lucky and can grow the fruit and vegetables in the gardens that they have. While getting fresh vegetables, they can also achieve great cost cutting.
Mushrooms are expensive and can also go bad very quickly. Mushrooms can also be grown easily in a dark environment. In fact it’s better than growing other vegetables since you really don’t need an outdoor space. A special type of soil that is good for growing mushrooms is easily available.
Actually mushrooms aren’t even vegetables; they are fungi(菌类) and for this reason, you don’t even require sunlight to grow them. Well how does one go about growing mushrooms? You could always Google “growing mushrooms” and you will find a number of mushroom growing kits(工具) available online that area effective and not very expensive either.
Mushrooms can be added to any dish that you cook. Simply use them in pizzas, salads and anything that you pretty much fancy. Grow mushrooms in your own house and use them whenever you want. Fresh mushrooms are tastier than the ones that are stored in your refrigerator.
If you have had a really good crop of mushrooms, then you can even store them. Ideally you should use the white variety of the mushrooms. Simply pick them, slice them and put them on a cookie sheet in a freezer. When they area frozen, just put them in a zip lock and you can use them when you want to. They give a really great taste to the dish that you are making. Thaw them before you use them.
You should try growing mushrooms, since it’s cost-effective. Furthermore, you can eat the fresh mushrooms any time that you want.What is an advantage of growing vegetables according to the passage?
| A．You can eat all kinds of vegetables |
| B．You are lucky to eat what you like |
| C．You can save lots of money |
| D．You can satisfy your desire |
Mushrooms are different from other vegetables in that.
| A．they can be grown where there is no light |
| B．they can grow well in an outdoor space |
| C．it is easy for them to go bad in a few days |
| D．they can grow without soil |
The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that.
| A．mushrooms are not vegetables |
| B．Internet helps us a lot |
| C．mushrooms are available online |
| D．it is easy to grow mushrooms |
Which of the following is the right order of storing mushrooms?
a. put them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator
b. place frozen mushrooms in a zip lock
c. cut them into slices
d. choose the white mushrooms
| A．a-b-c-d | B．d-c-a-b | C．a-d-c-b | D．d-a-c-b |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．It is easy and fun to grow mushrooms |
| B．We should eat more fruit and vegetables |
| C．Mushrooms online are very expensive |
| D．Mushrooms—tasty and healthy vegetables |