Many people rely on a cup of coffee or two to wake them up in the morning or pick them up during the working day, but now a chemist has come up with a speedy alternative to crafting a cup of coffee.
U.S. biochemist Ben Yu has created ‘Sprayable Energy,’ which claims to be the world’s first caffeine - based topical energy spray. He said tired workers can spray a ‘shot’ of caffeine onto their skin without experiencing a strong buzz, loading up on unnecessary calories or being stuck with a nasty aftertaste like they might get from drinking energy drinks or coffee.
The patent-pending caffeine spray is an odourless liquid that is absorbed through the skin and distributed through the body over a number of hours to deliver a caffeine hit that apparently lasts longer than guzzling a cup of coffee.
Each small aluminum bottle of Sprayable Energy contains around 160 sprays - the equivalent amount of caffeine to 40 cups of coffee and the creators say it is a much cheaper way of getting a caffeine fix than popping to a café. The only active ingredient in the spray is caffeine, which can naturally enter the human body through the skin by passing through cell membranes as it is very similar to nicotine in structure. Each spritz of Sprayable Energy contains around a quarter of the amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee, but apparently has the same effect as a full cup.
The website said: ‘The reason for this is our product not being ingested, isn’t almost entirely metabolised（新陈代谢） by the liver before entering your system and becoming available to your body.’‘Thus, a smaller amount of caffeine can have just the same effect as a very large amount of caffeine ingested through an energy drink or cup of coffee. Sprayable Energy`s website recommends that users apply the spray in places where they normally spritz perfume, such as the neck or wrists, but warns users not to exceed 20 sprays a day.
It claims that after spraying the product on the skin, users will feel ‘awake and focused without being over-stimulated’, which is common with coffee and energy drinks.What can we learn about Sprayable Energy from the passage ?_______.
| A．A bottle of Sprayable Energyis cheaper than 40 cups of coffee. . |
| B．Sprayable Energy lets users not worry about taking in unnecessary calories.. |
| C．Sprayable Energy can be used at least 20 sprays a day |
| D．The caffeine spray is a colorless liquid that is absorbed through the skin.. |
What does the fifth paragraph mainly tell us ?____
A, Sprayable Energy is taken by mouth...
B. Before Sprayable Energy is absorbed by body, the liver entirely metabolizes it
C. How Sprayable Energy acts on user’s body and how users use the product.
D. Sprayable Energy is convenient but expensive.We can conclude from the passage that ____
| A．Sprayable Energy can not be permitted to be used by people now. |
| B．Sprayable Energy has not already gone into mass production |
| C．Each spritz of Sprayable Energy has the same effect as a full cup of coffee |
| D．Sprayable Energy is well received by flagging workers. |
The writer’s attitude towards Sprayable Energy ______
| A．negative. | B．positive |
| C．uncertain | D．indifferent |
Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are drawing thousands of visitors’ attention during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society.
Robots，such as the soundsensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the lonely fight loneliness and stay active in old age.
“Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，” said Kazuya Kitamura，a representative of the expo organizer.“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again.”
While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to allure a corporate partner，many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to interest sponsors for more expensive projects.
Matsumoto’s “Personal Mobility Robot”，equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user’s centre of gravity，is designed to help the elderly move around without pressing buttons，using joysticks(操纵杆) or rotating(转动) wheels as in traditional wheelchairs.
The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor.
“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but because of the high cost，we still haven’t found a sponsor，”said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if massproduced，would be comparable to that of a car.
“In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，” he said.
Other robots，such as the awardwinning “DiGRO” can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children.
The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while their parents work.
Japan has one of the world’s fastestageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________.
| A．strike | B．exclude |
| C．connect | D．attract |
Personal Mobility Robot can help people ________.
| A．find misplaced glasses |
| B．move around with pressing buttons |
| C．use joysticks |
| D．rotate wheels |
It is difficult to find sponsors for the robots because ________.
| A．Japan is suffering economy depression |
| B．the robots are of poor design |
| C．the production of robots costs a lot |
| D．the future market is worrying |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．many children lack love from parents |
| B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand |
| C．robots are the most useful to children |
| D．robots do better than people in healthcare |
Almost every machine with moving parts has wheels，yet no one knows exactly when the first wheel was invented or what it was used for.We do know，however，that they existed over 5,500 years ago in ancient Asia.
The oldest known transport wheel was discovered in 2002 in Slovenia.It is over 5,100 years old.Evidence suggests that wheels for transport didn’t become popular for a while，though.This could be because animals did a perfectly good job of carrying farming tools and humans around.
But it could also be because of a difficult situation.While wheels need to roll on smooth surfaces，roads with smooth surfaces weren’t going to be constructed until there was plenty of demand for them.Eventually，road surfaces did become smoother，but this difficult situation appeared again a few centuries later.There had been no important changes in wheel and vehicle design before the arrival of modern road design.
In the mid1700s，a Frenchman came up with a new design of road—a base layer(层) of large stones covered with a thin layer of smaller stones.A Scotsman improved on this design in the 1820s and a strong，lasting road surface became a reality.At around the same time，metal hubs (the central part of a wheel)came into being，followed by the pneumatic tyre(充气轮胎) in 1846.Alloy wheels were invented in 1967，sixty years after the appearance of tarmacked roads(柏油路)．As wheel design took off，vehicles got faster and faster. (2013·重庆，C)What might explain why transport wheels didn’t become popular for some time?
| A．Few knew how to use transport wheels. |
| B．Humans carried farming tools just as well. |
| C．Animals were a good means of transport. |
| D．The existence of transport wheels was not known. |
What do we know about road design from the passage?
| A．It was easier than wheel design. |
| B．It improved after big changes in vehicle design. |
| C．It was promoted by fastmoving vehicles. |
| D．It provided conditions for wheel design to develop. |
How is the last paragraph mainly developed?
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. |
| D．By making classifications. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The beginning of road design. |
| B．The development of transport wheels. |
| C．The history of public transport. |
| D．The invention of fastmoving vehicles. |
The inventor of the world wide web，Tim BernersLee，has won an important award which comes with a prize bag of one million euros (￡671,000)．The “Father of the Web” was named as the first winner of the Millennium Technology Prize by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation.He said he had just been “in the right place at the right time” and did not want his photo taken.
In 1991，he came up with a system to organize，link and browse(浏览) Net pages which revolutionized the Internet.The British scientist was knighted(封爵) for his pioneering work in 2003.
Sir Tim created his program while he was at the particle physics institute，Cern，in Geneva.The computer code he came up with let scientists easily share research findings across a computer network.In the early 1990s，it was called the “world wide web，” and is still the basis of the web as we know it.
The famous man never went on to commercialize his work.Instead he worked on expanding the use of the Net as a channel for free expression and cooperation.
“The web is encouraging new types of social networks and opening up new ways for information management and business development.The web has significantly improved many people’s ability to obtain information central to their lives，”said Pekka Tarjanne，chairman of the Millennium Technology Prize award committee.
Just under 80 people from 22 countries were nominated(提名) for the prize for their work in the areas of health，communication，new materials and the environment.
The Millennium Technology Prize was set up by the Finnish Technology Award Foundation，an independent body backed by the public and private money which aims to recognize outstanding creations.
Sir Tim currently heads up the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston，where he is now based as an academic.It can be learned from the first two paragraphs that ________.
| A．it is Tim BernersLee that invented the Internet |
| B．no one was able to surf the Net before the world wide web was invented |
| C．the Internet can’t be used so widely without Tim BernersLee’s invention |
| D．the Millennium Technology Prize was set up for Tim BernersLee |
After inventing the world wide web，Tim BernersLee ________.
| A．became the first person to receive the Millennium Technology Prize |
| B．became the first person to be knighted by the Queen of England |
| C．began to cooperate with many scientists in other areas |
| D．was given over one million pounds for his great contribution |
Which of the following best describes Tim BernersLee?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Modest. |
| C．Ambitious. | D．Careful. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．The Millennium Technology Prize |
| B．Tim BernersLee |
| C．The World Wide Web |
| D．New Honor for the Web’s Inventor |
Maybe you love them and want to pet every one you see.Or maybe you’re afraid of them and want to move to a dogfree neighborhood.Either way，dogs are a part of life.Millions of people have dogs as pets.You’ll see them all over town，in the city，country，and even when you’re on vacation.
Like many kinds of pets—no matter how small or cute they are—dogs need to be respected as animals that，under certain conditions，could hurt you.Nearly 5 million dog bites happen every year in the United States.No one wants a dog bite，but how do you prevent one?
One dog expert has come up with an easy way for kids to remember some tips to prevent dog bites.It spells “DOG SAFE”．
Don’t tease，please：Teasing a dog can make it angry enough to bite.For instance，if a dog has food or a toy，never try to take it away.You wouldn’t like it if someone took your snack(点心) while you were eating it!
Only pet with permission：Never pet a dog without asking the owner if it’s OK.Some dogs don’t like to be touched by strangers.
Give space：Little kids especially might run right up to a lovely dog and try to pet it or give it a hug.But dogs need space.Crowding a dog can frighten or anger the dog.
Slow down：Some dogs like to chase(追逐) and bite.Of course，you don’t want to be chased or bitten！The way to avoid it is to go slow around dogs.Never run toward them or away from them.If a dog you don’t know runs toward you，freeze.If you need to get away，back up slowly.
Always get help：You may want to bring home a dog that seems lost or injured.But animals who are lost or injured may be very frightened or in pain.Find a grownup instead who can decide how to care for the animal.
Fingers together：When feeding a dog a treat，put the treat in the palm of your hand and keep your fingers and thumb close together.Why？The dog is less likely to get confused about which is the treat—the doggie snack or your finger!
Even good dogs can bite：Some people are very surprised when their dog bites someone，but all dogs can bite.Avoid doing things that make dogs scared or angry，such as backing them into a corner or bothering them when they are sleeping.The purpose of the text is to ________.
| A．help kids avoid being bitten by dogs |
| B．show methods of feeding dogs |
| C．warn dog owners of danger |
| D．warn kids to keep away from dogs |
You won’t make a dog angry if ________.
| A．you let it alone while it is eating |
| B．you pretend to take its food away |
| C．you exchange toys with it |
| D．you play together with it |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．The owner will be angry if you pet his or her dog. |
| B．Dogs don’t like to play with people they are familiar with. |
| C．A dog may rush up to a kid happily when a kid runs straight to it. |
| D．You can’t pet a dog unless its owner allows you to. |
Seeing a dog running after you，you’d better ______.
| A．escape quickly |
| B．hide in a safe place |
| C．slow down or just stop |
| D．turn to the owner |
A professor I have worked pretty closely with has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer.It has been devastating for his family and heartbreaking for his students.
What made him extraordinary was not only that he was a rising star.He had only recently collected the highest honors for young researchers at the White House.We truly admired him—as someone put it, “He always has a smile and a kind word for everyone.” It is very hard to find someone who is extremely intelligent should be so nice a human being.
I decided that we needed him to know our_attitude and also how we are all praying for his recovery.I bought him a simple card which read, “Healing thoughts and wishes coming your way.” I met all the students he worked closely with and got them to sign on it.Each student in his laboratory signed and also added a message.“We love you so much”， “We miss you！We need you back here—get well soon”， “Please come back”， “Thank you for being such an inspiring teacher”， “I hope you recover soon”．..These were some of the messages that were written.Most of the students were really glad we were doing this and said it was a very good idea to give it to him.
He is still undergoing(经历) intense treatment，and along with his family is trying his best to stay optimistic and hopeful.I didn’t see a trace of selfpity or sadness when I met him last week.Instead，he paid attention to every word of my presentation and asked me several questions related to my work.I was amazed at how much he gave his 100% on that day in spite of being in pain because of chemotherapy(化疗)．He did not know if he even had another month to live.“I am trying to focus on staying positive，hoping to be back this summer，”he said.
Needless to say，I saw an expression of joy and hope on his face as he opened the card.He said he was truly touched to see the messages from the students he worked closely with.
There is one thing I learnt from last week：It is so important to tell people how much they mean to us and what an inspiration they are before it becomes too late.My professor，in spite of being too sick to teach classes，has managed to continue being a great teacher，introducing his last valuable message to us.The professor was admired because ________.
| A．he was very intelligent |
| B．he had won many honors |
| C．he had noble personalities |
| D．he was very determined |
What do the underlined words “our attitude” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Our worry about his health. |
| B．Our pray for his health. |
| C．Our admiration for him. |
| D．Our pity for him. |
When the writer visited the professor at hospital，what surprised him was that the professor ________.
| A．was suffering from great pain |
| B．was still very confident |
| C．didn’t know he would die soon |
| D．still cared for others |
Of the following statements，the writer may agree that ________.
| A．the professor loves his job very much |
| B．few students supported the writer’s decision at first |
| C．the professor will go back to teach this summer |
| D．the professor often feels sorry for himself |