Now cities are full of cars. Some families even have two or more cars. Parking is a great problem, and so is the traffic in and around the cities. Something will have to be done to change it.
What will the cars of tomorrow be like?
Little cars may some day take the place of today’s big cars. If everyone drives little cars in the future, there will be less pollution in the air. There will also be more space for parking cars in cities, and the streets will be less crowded. Three little cars can fit in the space now needed for one car of the usual size.
The little cars will cost much less to own and to drive. Driving will be safer, too. What is more, these little cars can go about 65 kilometers per hour.
Little cars of the future will be fine for getting around a city, but they will not be useful for long trips. If big cars are still used along with the small ones, two sets of roads will be needed in the future. Some roads will be used for the big, fast cars, and other roads will be needed for the slower small ones. Cars in the future mustn’t bring ________ pollution in the air.
A.more | B.fewer | C.less | D.no |
The little car’s size may be ________ today’s car’s size.
A.one third of | B.two thirds of |
C.as big as | D.as small as |
Little cars are very fine for ________.
A.long trips | B.journeys |
C.everyday life | D.sport |
The big cars are ________ the little cars for long trips.
A.as useful as | B.not so useful as |
C.more useful than | D.less useful than |
Long long ago, there lived a man and a woman who had seven sons. The couple wanted a daughter, very much, and finally, they had a girl. She was very pretty and her parents loved her very much. One day the father needed water for the child, so he sent the seven brothers to a well(井) in the forest to get it. Once there, though, the boys began to fight and the water jug (壶) fell into the well. The boys looked into the well and thought of their father. They were afraid to go home.
Hours passed. "Where are those boys?" shouted the angry father."They are probably playing a game and have forgotten about the water. I wish they were all turned into ravens (乌鸦) !" And when he looked up, he saw seven black birds flying away. The father was shocked."What have I done?" he thought. But it was too late. He could not take back his words.
Later, the girl grew up and discovered she had brothers. The story of their bad luck influenced her deeply, and she decided to find them. For years, she searched and did not stop. She made up her mind to find them. Finally, she found their home.To enter,she needed a special key made from a chicken bone,which she did not have.The girl thought for a moment,and then took a knife and cut off one of her fingers. With it, she opened the front door and went inside. On a table, there were seven plates and seven cups. She ate and drank a little from each of them. In the last cup, she accidentally dropped a ring that her parents had given her.
Later that day, the ravens returned for their meal. The girl hid behind the door and watched. When the seventh raven drank from his cup, something hit his mouth. The raven recognized it at once﹣it was his parents' ring."I wish our sister were here," he said, "and then we could be free." At that moment, their sister ran to them, and suddenly the ravens were human again.The brothers kissed their sister,and all eight of them went home together happily.
(1)Why were the seven brothers afraid to go home at first?
A. They lost their father' s ring.
B. They threw away the water jug.
C. They didn't get back any water.
D. Seven black ravens shocked them.
(2)What can we infer (推断) from the underlined sentence in Para. 2?
A. The father regretted what he had said.
B. The father was no pleased with his life.
C. The father was worried about his little girl.
D. The father was angry with what his sons had done.
(3)What was the first thing the girl did after she entered the raven's house?
A. She ate and drank
B. She hid behind a door.
C. She took out a knife.
D. She sat and waited for the ravens.
(4)How did the ravens become human again?
A. They ate a magic ring.
B. One raven made a wish after seeing the ring.
C. Their sister kissed them.
D. They drank with a special cup from their father.
(5)What lesson can we learn from the story?
A. Don't talk to strange people.
B. Work hard and you will be happy.
C. Your parents always know best.
D. Think carefully about what to say.
In the future, people may travel to Mars (火星) by water﹣powered spaceship! Today's spaceships are fine for getting things into space, but they are not so good at travelling long distances. These spaceships burn chemical fuels (燃料), and they are very expensive. Scientists say that a water﹣powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper. The idea is just in the planning stages now, but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon.
The key to the water﹣powered spaceship is the engine (发动机). Regular engines push spaceships by burning fuel. The water engine will use steam, created by solar panels (太阳能板) that heat water to a high temperature. Of course, the spaceship will have to carry a lot of water for the long trip to Mars. Today's spaceships could not carry that much water.But scientists think that a spaceship blown up like a balloon will be able to.
One US company has already developed a spaceship like this. These spaceships are made of a strong material. Two of them have already been sent up into space, using rockets and then later filled with air."Balloon" spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip. With the "Balloon" spaceships, enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip. And the people on the spaceship might even get to take a hot bath!
Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost. The "Balloon" spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship. Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and w after engines. If these scientists are correct, we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water.
(1)Which sentence best describes the main idea of the passage above?
A. The key to the water﹣powered spaceship is the engine.
B. In the future, people may travel to Mars by water powered spaceship.
C. One US company has already developed a spaceship like this.
D. Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost.
(2)What do you think is omitted(省略) at the end of the underlined sentence?
A. use steam
B. push spaceships
C. heat water
D. carry that much water
(3)Besides growing food, what else might astronauts do with the rest of the water?
A. Take a hot bath.
B. Freeze dangerous things.
C. Blow up a balloon.
D. Change the surface of Mars.
(4)On which website can we probably read this passage?
A. www.freedictionary.com/power
B. www.mooc.cn/music
C. www.chinadaily com. cn/culture
D. www.space. com/spaceflight
Robots Are Now Teaching English!
Get ready. Robots are about to invade our classroom. From Korea to Japan to the United States, schools are putting English﹣speaking robots in front of their students. In Korea, robots are the new teaching assistants in a number of preschools and kindergartens. The young students say that the robots are fun, but are these children really learning anything?
I don't think a computer will ever be able to do what a teacher does. A teacher has to be able to respond to students as individuals (个体).__▲__and a teacher has to change his or her teaching style to fit the needs of the student. I seriously doubt that a computer will ever be able to do this even though the big data (数据)is widely used in the world.
4 Comments on "Robots Are Now Teaching English!"
Sara says:
In my opinion, schools should spend money training human teachers rather than buying robots. Research shows that children learn more from real speakers than from recorded conversations.
Keiko says:
I don't think you can learn a language without real human interaction.After all, robots cannot think as humans do.
Hassan says:
Robots might be able to help people lean a language, but I don't think they should replace teachers because robots are just machines without human feelings.
Nancy says:
I think robots might be very helpful in the classroom. A child might be less afraid to make a mistake in front of a robot than in front of a real person.
Add a comment
(1)The underlined word "invade" in Para.1 probably means .
A. enter
B. leave
C. accept
D. fight
(2)Which of the following can be best put in___▲___in Para. 2? .
A. Each teacher is different
B. Each student is different
C. AIl teachers are helpful
D. All students are fun
(3)Of the 4 comments, thinks that robots could give lots of help to learners in class.
A. Sara
B. Keiko
C. Hassan
D. Nancy
(4)What's the writer's attitude (态度)towards robots' teaching English?
A. Uncaring.
B. Supportive.
C. Doubtful.
D. Agreeable.
Monday, January 21st
I'm a virus (病毒) for the common cold. It has been a long time since I infected(感染) humans last time. Today I tried to infect a boy in a primary school all day. His name is Sam. I waited on his desktop, and when he touched the desk I jumped on his finger. Unluckily, Sam didn't touch his eyes, mouth or nose.Then, right after class, he washed his hands.Now I'm full of soap and sitting in a sink!
Tuesday, January 22nd
This morning I jumped into the nose of Sam's best friend, Bill.Unluckily,the mucus (粘液)in his nose caught me. I thought it was over for me,when suddenly Bill sneezed while he was talking to Sam. I knew that would send me right into Sam 's face! However, Sam quickly gave Bill a tissue, and Bill sneered into that instead! Infecting people is harder than I imagined.
Wednesday, January 23rd
I'm feeling very unhappy today.Some scientists caught my friend Harry and put him under a microscope. Harry is a flu virus and he's a dangerous little guy.Besides,Sam ate all his vegetables today.He's exercising, and he's getting eight hours of sleep every night. His body is too strong for me!
Thursday, January 24th
I tried to infect Sam again today, but he washed his hands five times and never touched his face! He also gave tissues to every student in his class who was sneezing. It's impossible to give him a cold! So I have to give up and I'm moving to another school.
(1)According to the passage, life of the virus for the common cold could be .
A. easy
B. lucky
C. dangerous
D. difficult
(2)The underlined word "his" in the passage refers to .
A. Sam's
B. Bill's
C. Harry's
D. Bill's friend's
(3)The writer is trying to tell us that .
A. viruses feel happy, sad and angry just as people do
B. we should be friendly when other people around you are sick
C. it's important to protect your own body against viruses
D. many viruses around us like to infect boys in primary schools
(4)The best title for the passage above might be " ".
A. Danger of a Virus
B. Habit of a Virus
C. Diary of a Virus
D. Letter of a Virus
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Three﹣quarter length jacket (women's) Made of fashionable leather (皮革). Fully lined. Length 34 ins. Do not hand clean. Sizes: 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 Order number: CQ 8200 dark blue CQ 8201 dark brown ﹩100 (buy three get one free) INSURE YOUR LEATHER JACKET against being stolen and accidental damage. For details see Page 1143. |
Swimsuit ( women's) Soft and comfortable. Made of: 80% silk 20% nylon. Sizes: 10, 12, 14, 16 Order number: GQ 9292 dark brown GQ 9963 dark blue ﹩15 |
(1)What you have just read is a/an .
A. ad for clothes
B. movie review
C. news report
D. food order
(2)From the passage above, we can know that .
A. the swimsuit is made of silk and cotton
B. there are five sizes available for the T﹣shirts
C. the order number of the dark blue jacket is CQ 8200
D. both the T﹣shirt and the jacket can be washed by hand
(3)How much do you need to pay if you get four jackets?
A. ﹩200.
B. ﹩300.
C. ﹩400.
D. ﹩500.