Expensive and new gloves allow chatterboxes (话匣子) to take the term "handsfree" to a new level—by talking into them as they make a call. The gloves are known as "Talk to the Hand" and cost £1,000 a pair. They fixed a speaker unit into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.
Artist Sean Miles designed the new gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget (小玩意) recycling. He uses outdated gloves and combines them with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2, which took up the project. Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets or handbags.
Mr. Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves — one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If demand is high, they will then be produced on a larger scale. O2 Recycle, which backed the project, estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK. The service pays up to £260 to those who recycle gadgets including phones, handheld consoles (操纵台), MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Sean Miles hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling. The 41-year-old said, "I hope that my 'Talk to the Hand' project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets. If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to trash, I think this project will have fulfilled its aim."
Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, urges people to recycle their phone responsibly. He said, "There’s a pressing need for all of us to look at outdated handsets, and all the gadgets that we move on from or upgrade each year. Whether they are consoles or cameras, we should think of them as a resource that we need to recycle responsibly rather than throw them away."
The underlined word "O2" in Paragraph 2 is probably the name of ______.
| A．an artist | B．a mobile |
| C．a company | D．an exhibition |
Consumers can buy the "Talk to the Hand" gloves ______.
| A．in the exhibition |
| B．from Mr. Miles |
| C．after they recycle the gadgets |
| D．when they are mass-produced |
The purpose of the project is to _______.
| A．promote the technology of IT |
| B．enable people to talk to their hands |
| C．raise peoples awareness of recycling |
| D．attract visitors’ attention in the exhibition |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．New mobiles which are fashionable. |
| B．Outdated handsets which are upgraded. |
| C．Outdated gadgets which can be used for recycling. |
| D．New gloves which can be used for making phone calls. |
About twenty of us had been fortunate enough to receive invitations to a film-studio(影棚)to take part in a crowd-scene. Although our "act" would last only for a short time, we could see quite a number of interesting things.
We all stood at the far end of the studio as workmen prepared the scene, setting up trees at the edge of a winding path. Very soon, bright lights were turned on and the big movie-camera was wheeled into position. The director shouted something to the camera operator and then went to speak to the two famous actors nearby. Since it was hot in the studio, it came as a surprise to us to see one of the actors put on a heavy overcoat and start walking along the path. A big fan began blowing tiny white feathers down on him, and soon the trees were covered in "snow". Two more fans were turned on, and a "strong wind" blew through the trees. The picture looked so real that it made us feel cold.
The next scene was a complete contrast (对比). The way it was filmed was quite unusual. Pictures in front taken on an island in the Pacific were shown on a glass screen (幕). An actor and actress stood of the scene so that they looked as if they were at the water’s edge on an island. By a simple trick like this, palm trees, sandy beaches, and blue, clear skies had been brought into the studio!
Since it was our turn next, we were left wondering what scene would be prepared for us. For a full three minutes in our lives we would be experiencing the excitement of being film "stars"!Who is the author?
| A．A cameraman. |
| B．A film director. |
| C．A crowd-scene actor. |
| D．A workman for scene setting. |
What made the author feel cold?
| A．The heavy snowfall. | B．The man-made scene. |
| C．The low temperature. | D．The film being shown. |
What would happen in the "three minutes" mentioned in the last paragraph?
| A．A new scene would be filmed. |
| B．More stars would act in the film. |
| C．The author would leave the studio. |
| D．The next scene would be prepared. |
Coolest Hotels in the World
Artau Aragon Towers
The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel lets you sleep in a tree house. Eight towers make up this
hotel that offers over 300 rooms. If you really want to get into the spirit, book the Tarzan Suite which is large enough for a big family. You'll be thirty feet up in the air and can travel between the towers through their wooden walkways.
Prices: starting at $300 one night for each person for a regular room and going all the way
up to $3000 for the Tarzan Suite.
For more information, visit the website: http://Hwww.ariautowers.com
The Ice Hotel
Every winter in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, a special kind of hotel called the lee Hotel is built. Each year, world-famous artists are invited to design and produce works of art from the ice, many of which can be found in the rooms. You'll have your choice between hot or cold rooms but you will be well advised to stay at least one night in a cold room for a true experience.
Prices: starting at $318 one night for each person for either a cold room or a warm one. For more information, visit the website: http:Hwww.icehotel.com
Propeller Island
Propeller Island City Lodge is a very special hotel that was designed by a German artist Each room provides you with the possibility of living in a work of art. Every single piece of furniture in the thirty rooms of the hotel has been hand-made and each room is completely different. You'll be able to choose a room based on your own personal tastes.
Prices: starting at just $91 a night, and an additional (另外) person for only 20 extra dollars. For more information, visit the website: http://www.propeller-island.com
For information about other cool hotels In the world, visit the website: http://www.bahamabeachclub.comWhat it special about the Ariau Amazon Towers hotel?
| A．You can sleep in the tree house. |
| B．You can choose any of the towers. |
| C．It is designed for big families. |
| D．Every room has a walkway. |
For more persons spending a night in one of these hotels, they have to pay at least
A $111B. $182 C. $600 D. $636Which website should you visit if you want to find out whether there exists a hotel under the sea?
| A．http://www.icehotel.com |
| B．http：//www.ariantowers.com |
| C．http://www.propeller-island.com |
| D．htlp://www.bahamabeachclub.com |
Which hotel would invite artists to come to work every year?
| A．Propeller Bland City Lodge. |
| B．Arian Amazon Towers. |
| C．The Ice Hotel. |
| D．Bahama Beach Club. |
Somali pirates(海盗) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l, 200 Miles off the Somali coast, the farthest-off-shore attack to date, an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patrols(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force, said a spokesman.
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a “marked effect on pirate activity in the area”.
“Once they start attacking that far out, you’re not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia,” said an officer, Roger Middleton. “Once you’re that far out, it's just the Indian Ocean, and it means you’re looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia, from Asia to South Africa. ”
“This is the farthest robbing to date. They are now operating near the Maldives and India,” said another officer.
The three ships--the MV Prantalay 11, 12, and l 4—had 77 members on board in total. All of them are Thai, the spokesman said. Before the Sunday robbing, pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors.
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes. of catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships, the success rate(率)has gone down, though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.The pirate attack reported in the text happened __________.
| A．far out in the Indian Ocean |
| B．in the normal patrol area |
| C．near the Somali, coast |
| D．in the south of Africa |
According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?
| A．More goods on board are lost. |
| B．Pirate attacks happen in a larger area now. |
| C．The number of attacks has stayed the same these years. |
| D．Pirate attacks are as serious as before along the Somali coast. |
Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text?
| A．The patrols are of little effect. |
| B．The patrols are more difficult. |
| C．More patrols are quite necessary even in Asia. |
| D．The patrols only drive the pirates to other areas. |
How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?
| A．228. | B．77. | C．383. | D．305. |
When I first got an email account ten years ago, I received communications only from family, friends, and colleagues. Now it seems that every time I check my e-mail, I have an endless series of advertisement and other correspondence that do not interest the at all. If we want e-mail to continue to be useful, we need special laws that make spamming(发送垃圾邮件) a crime.
If lawmakers do not do something soon to prohibit spam, the problem will certainly get much worse. Computer programs allow spammers to spend hundreds of millions of e-mails almost instantly. As more and more advertisers turn to spam to sell their products, individual e-mail boxes are often flooded with spam e-mails. Would people continue to use e-mail if they had to deal with an annoying amount of spam each time?
This problem is troubling for individuals and companies as well. Many spam emails contain computer viruses that can shut down the entire network of a company. Companies rely on e-mail on for their employees to communicate with each other. Spam frequently causes failures in their local communications networks, and their employees are thus unable to communicate effectively. Such a situation results in a loss of productivity and requires companies to repeatedly repair their networks. These computer problems raise production costs of companies, which are, in the end, passed on to the consumer.
For these reasons, I believe that lawmakers need to legislate (立法) against spam. Spammers should be fined, and perhaps sent to prison if they continue to disturb people. E-mail is a tool which helps people all over the world to communicate conveniently, but spam is destroying this convenience.What does the underlined word “correspondence” in the Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．messages | B．ideas | C．connections | D．programs |
According to the text, what is the major cause of the flooding spam?
| A．Companies rely on e-mail for communications. |
| B．More people in the world communicate by e-mail. |
| C．Many computer viruses contain spam e-mail. |
| D．More advertisers begin to promote sales through spam. |
According to Paragraph 3,who is the final victim of spam?
| A．The business | B．The advertiser |
| C．The employee | D．The consumer |
What is the purpose of the text?
| A．To inform | B．To educate | C．To persuade | D．To instruct |
Facebook means never having to say goodbye． The social media website has earned a reputation for reconnecting old friends． Last week, a guy whom I hadn't seen since my bachelor party five years ago sent me a friend request． I accepted and waited for "Easy E" to send me a greeting of some kind． He had sought me out, after all．
I learned from his profile that he was in a relationship and had a son． However, I'm pretty sure we won't ever write wall-to-wall, let alone e-mail each other． But he'll remain a friend of' online until one of us makes a point of' removing the other from his official list．
My pool of friends consists of family members, college buddies, co-workers from past and present, and friends of' friends． There are 35 in all． If I spent some time uploading old e-mail addresses, I'm confident that I could increase my friend count actually．
A person could make a mission out of' reconnecting with childhood friends, former classmates, distant cousins, and those one would like to get to know better． And some people can even handle hundreds of no-screen relationships, keeping up with the daily happenings of' their small army of' companions． After all, there are worse fates than having too many friends．
Thanks to e-mail, the inability to schedule face-to-face meetings no longer means a friendship must come to a close． But even with e-mail, people will lose touch if' one or both parties stop writing back． That's normal． People move from school to school, job to job, city to city．You never have to feel guilty for breaking away．
Every day,the masterminds of' Web 2．0 find new ways of' making human communication easier． However, convenience can be a crutch （拐杖）． Some things shouldn't be simplified．When it comes to friendship, there can be no shortcuts．According to Paragraph l, the website is famous because．
| A．it has an interesting name of'“ Facebook” |
| B．it helps people get in touch with old friends |
| C．it can send people a greeting of' some kind |
| D．it reminds people of 'events in the past |
From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer．
| A．would write to the friend quite often |
| B．asked the friend to e-mail him |
| C．did get some information about the friend |
| D．would keep in touch with the friend forever |
Which of 'the following statements is NOT true?
| A．There are 35 people in the author's list of' friends right now． |
| B．The author communicates with all the 35 friends by e-mails． |
| C．The list of'35 friends doesn't include the old e-mail addresses． |
| D．It is not difficult for the author to increase his friend count． |
What does the write mean by saying “However, convenience can be a crutch（拐杖）”?
| A．The masterminds of Web 2．0 also sell crutch online． |
| B．Taking a crutch is a new way of' making friends online． |
| C．Convenience is dangerous for human communication． |
| D．Convenience is not really good for human communication． |
What does the author think of' the convenience of' communicating online'?
| A．The technology could not keep true friendship forever． |
| B．The social website of Facebook means nothing at all． |
| C．There will be no ways of making real friends online． |
| D．People will not lose friends with the help of' the Facebook． |