When you’re not at home,many worries may start to crowd your mind.Did I turn the coffee maker off?Did I lock the door?Are the kids doing their homework or watching television?With a smart home,you can quiet all of these worries.
A smart home is a home with a communication network.This network connects devices(装置),such as lights and TV sets,and allows them to be controlled from far away through electrical wiring,mobile phone communication or WiFi over the internet.
More and more people may start to consider owning a smart home,because it makes life much more convenient.It can help keep your room at a certain temperature.It can record what happens inside the home and send the video to your phone.When you are on vacation abroad,you can use a smart home controller to switch on or off the electricity when necessary.Some smart homes can receive a visitor,allowing him to come in and offering him a drink.They can even feed the cat and water the plants.
Besides,smart homes are easy to fix.Most smart home technology and devices are wireless and can be set up with a minimum of tools,using only the guiding information.When a problem appears,you can deal with it yourself without paying a professional.
However,for home-users,the smart home technology is far from perfect.It can be rather expensive to own the technology and the devices.Also,because the smart home system(系统)allow its owner to get home information from anywhere,it leaves the home easy to be attacked by hackers(黑客),who may secretly use or change the information in the system.
Now,many scientists are excited at the future of smart home technology.Imagine being able to get fashion advice from your mirror,or receive food shopping suggestions from your refrigerator.While there are others who worry that those smart devices will make people lazier and lonelier.Whatever it is,one thing is for sure---smart home technology will change the way we live and work.According to the passage,nowadays a smart home can lock the door through ______________.
| A．electric lights | B．mirror technologies |
| C．mobile phones | D．shopping programs |
The third paragraph of the passage is mainly about _________.
| A．the steps to use smart systems |
| B．the prices of smart programs |
| C．the advantages of a smart home |
| D．the tools for setting up smart devices |
Which of the following is TRUE about a smart home according to the passage?
| A．Smart homes can’t help feed pets nowadays. |
| B．Smart homes costs a lot of money at present. |
| C．You can’t control your smart home in other countries. |
| D．It’s hard for hackers to get information from smart homes. |
What’s the writer’s opinion according to the passage?
| A．People will become less happy in the future. |
| B．People’s life style will be different in the future. |
| C．Mobile phones are the most important in smart homes. |
| D．Smart homes are much better than other smart systems. |
What’s Cool?
By Maria Lee
This week, I asked students about fashion(时尚).I showed each student six things and asked them about each one. Some of their answers were interesting. Here are their likes and dislikes.
Judy Smith likes the key ring(钥匙环).Her friend Jeff says he can’t stand the scarf(围巾).“It’s for moms!”he said. William Jones loves the wallet, and his classmate Gina Taylor loves the watch.(Her best friend Ann Rice doesn’t mind the watch, but she really likes the sunglasses!) Jerry Green also likes the sunglasses(太阳镜).
And the coolest(最酷的) thing was the belt. Everyone loved it!Judy Smith likes the key ring.
Gina Taylor doesn’t love the watch.
William Jones loves the wallet.
Ann Rice really likes the sunglasses.
The coolest thing was the scarf.
An old man was fishing on the bank of a river. A child came to see him fishing. The old man was really good at fishing and it didn't take long for him to catch a full basket of fish. The old man saw that the child was very cute, and he wanted to give her a whole basket of fish. But the child shook her head. The old man was surprised and asked, "Why don't you want the fish? '
The child replied," I want the fishing rod(竿)in your hands. "
The old man asked," Why do you want the rod?"
"It doesn't take long to eat all the fish in a basket. But if I have the fishing rod, I can go fishing by myself and I won't be afraid of not having any more fish to eat.
I think you will certainly say that the child is very smart. Wrong! If she doesn't know how to fish, she cannot have fish to eat, even though she has the fishing rod. It's useless to only have a fishing rod. Fishing skills are the most important, not the fishing rod.
Too many people think that if they have a "fishing rod" in their life, they will no longer fear the wind and rain. They are just like the child, who thought that if she had a fishing rod, she would have fish to eat.The old man was fishing on the bank of________.
A. a river B. a lake C. a pool Why did the child refuse the fish the old man gave her?
A. Because she didn't like fish.
B. Because she wanted his fishing rod.
C. Because the old man had few fish.The writer thought the child was_____ after she explained why she didn't want the fish.
A. smart B. hardworking C. sillyThe article mainly tells us______.
A. if you have a "fishing rod" in your life, you won't be afraid of anything
B. if you have a fishing rod, you'll have a lot of fish to eat
C. "fishing skills" are more important than "the fishing rod" in life What is the best tide(标题)for the article?
A. The Fishing RodB. The Fishing Man C. The Fishing Girl
Scott was not happy. He had no money left to buy the new toy train he wanted. Suddenly,he had an idea! "I’ll ask my brother Alan if I can borrow some money. He always has money to lend people. "
Scott found Alan in his room. "Alan,may I borrow $20 from you to buy myself a new train?"
Alan replied,"I just spent all of my money on Mom’s birthday present. I have no money left. You are barking up the wrong tree. "
Scott was very disappointed. He decided to get a job. He went to many stores, but no one had a job for him. He walked and walked from store to store.
Finally,he got a job selling ice cream and he was very happy. "My feet are tired for walking all day,but I can get enough money for a toy train. "Why did Scott need to borrow money?
A. Because he needed to get a job.
B. Because he wanted to buy a new toy train.
C. Because he wanted to buy a present for his mother.The underlined( 划线) phrase "barking up the wrong tree" means______.
A. acting like a dog B. asking the wrong person
C. asking the right personAccording to the story, Scott might work in_______.
A. a dessert house B. a book store C. a clothing storeWhat do you think of Alan?
A. He was unfriendly. B. He was clever. C. He was kind.What can we know from the story?
A. Scott could get a new train.
B. Scott didn't like his brother.
C. Scott's family was very poor.
| MENU |
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| Meat dishes mutton ¥60 Beijing duck¥35 beef with potatoes ¥20 rabbit ¥18 fried chicken ¥30 fried fish ¥25 |
Other foods tofu ¥4 cabbage ¥10 eggs and tomatoes ¥ 12 vegetable salad ¥7 egg and tomato soup ¥5 rice ¥ 1/bowl dumplings ¥5/plate noodles ¥5/bowl pie ¥8/plate |
| Drinks cola ¥9/bottle green tea ¥ 10/cup coffee ¥30/cup milk ¥3/bottle yogurt¥3/bag orange juice¥ 12/glass |
What food is the cheapest?
A. Noodles. B. Potatoes. C. Rice.What drink is the most expensive?
A. Milk. B. Coffee. C. Orange juice.How many kinds of drinks are there?
A. Six. B. Seven. C. Eight.How much will you spend if you want a plate of dumplings and Beijing duck?
A. ¥35. B. ¥40. C. ¥57.Which of the following will cost you ¥42?
A. Beef with potatoes,a bowl of rice,eggs and tomatoes.
B. Mutton,milk, cabbage and a bottle of milk.
C. Fried chicken, vegetable salad and a bowl of noodles.
“You know, these cups brings to my mind a story I heard,” Mary said to her students.
She poured some tea. There were four of them and there were four completely different cups on the tables.
“I heard there was a teacher who took all his students for tea. His students were surprised that all the cups on the table were different. They all took a cup and started drinking their tea, each looking at the cups of others. The teacher said, “Did you notice your behavior? You are all looking at each other’s tea cup and some of you even envy(羡慕)the finer cups of others.”
“I put the different cups here on purpose. I want to say life is like this tea. You all have the same thing in your cups——tea. And yet you cannot truly enjoy it in your envy of another’s cup. You forget to enjoy your own life when you envy someone else’s life. We all have the same thing——life. We should care more about the tastes of your own life. So now, taste your own tea. Does it matter from which cup it came from?” Mary finished telling her story and her students all sat in silence for a while, enjoying their tea. And it really did not matter a bit from which teacup they drank. Which of the following statement is TRUE?
| A．All of the students had the same kind of cups. |
| B．One of the cups is different from others. |
| C．All of the cups were filled with the same tea. |
| D．There was different tea in different cups. |
What should we learn from the story?
| A．Envy others and make progress. | B．All the lives are the same. |
| C．Work hard and catch up with others. | D．Try to enjoy your own life. |
Which is the best title for the story?
| A．More than tea in a cup | B．The same cups, the same tea |
| C．The taste of the tea | D．Different cups, different tea |