Windows 8, apart from Windows 95, is the biggest surprise and the only version of Microsoft’ s operating system that has been changed from the core（核心）when compared to its former one. However, a recent study has shown that under 20% of business owners would be willing to upgrade to the new version of Windows. The reason for this remains to be discussed and debated, and we will try to throw light on this research by providing you with some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of Windows 8.
Generally speaking, there are a great number of plus sides related to upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
Speed — This is the biggest advantage to mention. Boot time has been reported to be up to nine times shorter than that with Windows 7.
New passwords — Instead of typing your passwords, Windows 8 will let you use gestures on your favorite photos to enter your password. This is not only practical but also extremely cool!
Windows 8 experience — Apart from computers, Windows 8 will be used on all devices, including smart phones, tablet PC’s and so on. Also, owing to the fact that it has been specifically designed with touch screen users in mind, Windows 8, besides using keyboard and mouse, will offer a whole new user experience.
However, there are still some disadvantages.
The first one that has to be mentioned is that there is no Start Menu from Windows. Yes, there is no Start button in the lower left corner, and this might be a real puzzle of many Windows users. Also, many users have had a problem to get used to the new interface（界面）introduced by Windows 8. The biggest problem that is worth noticing is that Windows 8 was originally designed for touch screen users, and this may have a bad effect on desktop users who have gotten used to doing everything with the help of their keyboard and mouse.
What does “plus sides” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to?
| A．Math symbols. | B．Strengths. |
| C．New rules. | D．Messages. |
The most attractive aspect of Windows 8 is its .
| A．fast rate | B．complex passwords |
| C．unique experience | D．new interface |
From the text we can learn that Windows 8 .
| A．no longer requires a password |
| B．was upgraded from windows 95 |
| C．will be popular with desktop users |
| D．can be used on more than computers |
Many Windows 8 users will face the problem that .
| A．they don’t get accustomed to the new interface |
| B．they have to use fingerprints instead of buttons |
| C．keyboard and mouse can’t be used any longer |
| D．Start Menu is hidden in the lower left corner |
Let's say you want to hit the gym more regularly this year. How do you make that happen? Consider putting the habit loop to use.
Here's how it works:
A habit is a 3-step process. First, there's a cue, something that tells your brain to operate automatically. Then there's a routine. And finally, a reward, which helps your brain learn to desire the behavior. It's what you can use to create-or break-habits of your own.
Here's how to apply it:
Choose a cue, like leaving your running shoes by the door, then pick. a reward-say, a piece of chocolate when you get home from the gym. That way, the cue and the reward become interconnected. Finally, when you see the shoes, your brain will start longing for the reward, which will make it easier to work out day after day. The best part? In a couple of weeks, you won't need the chocolate at all. Your brain will come to see the workout itself as the reward. Which is the whole point, right?
| 1． |
Which of the following best fits in the box with a "?" in THE HABIT LOOP?
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| 2． |
According to THE HABIT LOOP, you can stick to your plan most effectively by.
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| 3． |
What's the purpose of putting the habit loop to use?
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| 4． |
"This year when I see the Harry Potter poster, I will read 30 pages of an English novel or an English newspaper in order to watch TV for half an hour." What is the cue in this resolution?
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Most people agree that honesty is a good thing. But does Mother Nature agree? Animals can't talk, but can they lie in other ways? Can they lie with their bodies and behavior? Animal experts may not call it lying, but they do agree that many animals, from birds to chimpanzees, behave dishonestly to fool other animals. Why? Dishonesty often helps them survive. 
Many kinds of birds are very successful at fooling other animals. For example, a bird called the plover sometimes pretends to be hurt in order to protect its young. When a predator（猎食动物）gets close to its nest, the plover leads the predator away from the nest. How? It pretends to have a broken wing. The predator follows the "hurt" adult, leaving the baby birds safe in the nest.
Another kind of bird, the scrub jay, buries its food so it always has something to eat. Scrub jays are also thieves. They watch where others bury their food and steal it. But clever scrub jays seem to know when a thief is watching them. So they go back later, unbury the food, and bury it again somewhere else.
Birds called cuckoos have found a way to have babies without doing much work. How? They don't make nests. Instead, they get into other birds' nests secretly. Then they lay their eggs and fly away. When the baby birds come out, their adoptive parents feed them.
Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky. After a fight, the losing chimp will give its hand to the other. When the winning chimp puts out its hand, too, the chimps are friendly again. But an animal expert once saw a losing chimp take the winner's hand and start fighting again.
Chimps are sneaky in other ways, too. When chimps find food that they love, such as bananas, it is natural for them to cry out. Then other chimps come running. But some clever chimps learn to cry very softly when they find food. That way, other chimps don't hear them, and they don't need to share their food.
As children, many of us learn the saying "You can't fool Mother Nature." But maybe you can't trust her, either.A plover protects its young from a predator by______.
| A．getting closer to its young |
| B．driving away the adult predator |
| C．leaving its young in another nest |
| D．pretending to be injured |
By "Chimpanzees, or chimps, can also be sneaky" (paragraph 5), the author means______.
| A．chimps are ready to attack others |
| B．chimps are sometimes dishonest |
| C．chimps are jealous of the winners |
| D．chimps can be selfish too |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Some chimps lower their cry to keep food away from others. |
| B．The losing chimp won the fight by taking the winner's hand. |
| C．Cuckoos fool their adoptive parents by making no nests. |
| D．Some clever scrub jays often steal their food back. |
Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
| A．Do animals lie? |
| B．Does Mother Nature fool animals? |
| C．How do animals learn to lie? |
| D．How does honesty help animals survive? |
The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.
The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.
The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. "What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten," said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.
The fastest learner-and the first to turn on one of the tablets-is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.
With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. "Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable," said Keller.
The project aims to get kids to a stage called "deep reading," where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.
| 1． |
How does the Ethiopia program benefit the kids in the village?
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| 2． |
What can we infer from Keller's words in Paragraph 3?
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| 3． |
It amazed Keller that with the tablet Kelbesa could
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| 4． |
What is the aim of the project?
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How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track your performance on your phone.
The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection.
The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’re brushing long enough. “It’s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis,” says Thomas Serval, the French inventor.
The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart but also fun,” Several says.
Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes,” but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed.
The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, for $99 to $199, developing on features. The U.S. is the first target market.
Serval says that one day, it’ll be possible to replace the brush on the handle with a brushing unit that also has a camera. The camera can even examine holes in your teeth while you brush. Which is one of the feature of the Kolibree toothbrush?
| A．It can sense how users brush their teeth. |
| B．It can track users’ school performance. |
| C．It can detect users’ fear of seeing a dentist. |
| D．It can help users find their phones. |
What can we learn from Serval’s words in Paragraph 3?
| A．You will find it enjoyable to see a dentist. |
| B．You should see your dentist on a day-to –day basis. |
| C．You can brush with the Kolibree as if guided by a dentist. |
| D．You’d like a dentist to watch you brush your teeth every day. |
Which of the following might make the Kolibree toothbrush fun?
| A．It can be used to update mobile phones. |
| B．It can be used to play mobile phone games |
| C．It can send messages to other users |
| D．It can talk to its developers. |
What is Paragraph 5 mainly about?
| A．How Serval found out his kids lied to him. |
| B．Why Serval thought brushing teeth was necessary. |
| C．How Serval taught his kids to brush their teeth. |
| D．What inspired Serval to invent the toothbrush |
What can we infer about Serval’s children?
| A．They were unwilling to brush their teeth |
| B．They often failed to clean their toothbrushes. |
| C．They preferred to use a toothbrush with a dry head. |
| D．They liked brushing their teeth after Serval came home. |
What can we learn about the future development of the Kolibree?
| A．The brush handle will be removed. |
| B．A mobile phone will be built into it. |
| C．It will be used to fill holes in teeth |
| D．It will be able to check users’ teeth |
Elizabeth Freeman was born about 1742 to African American parents who were slaves. At the age of six months she was acquired, along with her sister, by John Ashley, a wealthy Massachusetts slaveholders. She became known as “Mumbet” or “Mum Bett.”
For nearly 30 years Mumbet served the Ashley family. One day, Ashley’s wife tried to strike Mumbet’s sister with a spade. Mumbet protected her sister and took the blow instead. Furious, she left the house and refused to come back. When the Ashleys tried to make her return, Mumbet consulted a lawyer, Theodore Sedgewick. With his help, Mumbet sued(起诉) for her freedom.
While serving the Ashleys, Mumbet had listened to many discussions of the new Massachusetts constitution. If the constitution said that all people were free and equal, then she thought it should apply to her. Eventually, Mumbet won her freedom---- the first slave in Massachusetts to do so under the new constitution.
Strangely enough, after the trial, the Ashleys asked Mumbet to come back and work for them as a paid employee. She declined and instead went to work for Segdewick. Mumbet died in 1829, but her legacy lived on in her many descendants(后裔). One of her great-grandchildren was W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founder of the NAACP, and an important writer and spokesperson for African American civil rights.
Mumbet’s tombstone still stands in the Massachusetts cemetery where she was buried. It reads, in part: “She was born a slave and remained a slave and remained a slave for nearly thirty years. She could neither read nor write, yet in her own sphere she had no superior or equal.”What do we know about Mumbet according to Paragraph 1?
| A．She was born a slave |
| B．She was a slaveholder |
| C．She had a famous sister |
| D．She was born into a rich family |
Why did Mumbet run away from the Ashleys?
| A．She found an employer |
| B．She wanted to be a lawyer |
| C．She was hit and got angry |
| D．She had to take care of her sister |
What did Mumbet learn from discussions about the new consititution?
| A．She should always obey her owners’ orders |
| B．She should be as free and equal as whites |
| C．How to be a good servant |
| D．How to apply for a job |
What did Mumbet do after the trial?
| A．She chose to work for a lawyer |
| B．She found the NAACP |
| C．She continued to serve the Ashleys |
| D．She went to live with her grandchildren |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．A story of a famous writer and spokesperson |
| B．The friendship between a lawyer and a slave |
| C．The life of a brave African American woman |
| D．A trial that shocked the whole world |