【推荐1】As is tradition, technology companies from around the world have flocked to Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. There are thousands of eye-catching items to swoon over, whether you’re a nerd or not. Here are a few of the most interesting, exciting and possibly life-changing products seen at the show, which runs from Tuesday to Friday.

Item 1 You thought your curved TV was cool? The LG Signature OLED TV R is a 65-inch 4K TV that is, unlike your lame and rigid screen, rollable, and can retract(收回) into its base when you’re not enjoying it. While you can control it using either Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, the TV R also supports Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.
Item 2 Gaming laptops aren’t new, but they usually lack power compared to their beefier desktop counterparts. Nvidia’s latest announcement changes that, and brings the desktop-class power found in its RTX line of graphics cards to laptops. More than 40 laptop models will turn up by the end of the month with RTX graphics cards inside, which can produce more realistic graphics and boost performance for the most gamers.
Item 3 If sleeping is harder than it should be, the Dreem band might be able to help you figure out what you’re doing wrong. The Dreem band is a fabric-covered headband that wraps around your head and uses a combination of sensors like the ones in your Apple Watch to detect various biometrics like your heart rate and respiration activity. It also uses bone conduction to communicate audio cues to you privately.
Item 4 Samsung’s shown off its Micro LED technology in the past, using it to build The Wall, a 146-inch TV. The company’s now showing off a smaller Micro LED TV. Using Samsung’s Micro LED panels, you can create a variety of display sizes supporting different aspect ratios, going from an ultra-wide 21:9 screen to a perfectly square 1:1 display without losing image quality.

1. If one likes doing things by himself, which of the items suits him best?

A．Item 1.	B．Item 2.
C．Item 3.	D．Item 4.

2. Which of the following technologies appeared for the first time in the show?

A．The TV R User’s controlling the TV by Google Assistant

B．Nvidia’s laptops’ solving the problem of power

C．The Dreem band’s detect your heart rate

D．Samsung’s Micro LED technology making a 146-inch TV possible

【推荐2】Activities in Cincinnati Museum Center

Movie Magic Camp

Everything is awesome at Museum Camp! Discover what happens behind the scenes of a movie. Learn how to make a storyboard, study movie magic secrets and create an animation movie（动画片）.

Admission: Admission Fee

Age Range: Grades 1-6

Category: Programs, Children, Education

Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Inside a Viking（斯坦的纳维亚人）Home

Take a look at the inside of a Viking home.

Admission: Free to Members or with Museum Admission

Age Range: Early Childhood, Grades 1-6, Preteen, Teen, Adult

Category: Traveling Exhibits

Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm

Parochial（教区的）and Private Schools History Session

Hear about the establishment of private, Catholic, Jewish and other independent schools in Cincinnati including the growth of early Irish and German speaking schools.

Admission: Admission Fee

Age Range: Adult

Category: Programs, History, Education

Time: 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Galaxy（星系）Explorers

Come to a camp that’s sure to be out of this world! Discover secrets of our solar system and learn about galaxies far away!

Admission: Admission Fee

Age Range: Early Childhood, Teen

Category: Programs, Science, Children, Education

Time: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

1. What can we do at Movie Magic Camp?

A．Tell your favorite story.	B．Listen to a wonderful story.
C．Learn how to make movies.	D．Appreciate an animation movie.

2. What is special about Inside a Viking Home?

A．It is free to all people.	B．It suits both kids and adults.
C．It is open in the early morning.	D．It allows visitors to live in a house.

3. When can visitors learn about the history of some schools?

A．9:00 am to 4:00 pm.	B．9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
C．7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.	D．11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

4. Which activity would a science-lover probably be interested in?

A．Galaxy Explorers	B．Movie Magic Camp
C．Inside a Viking Home	D．Parochial and Private Schools History Session

5. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A poster.	B．A report.
C．A novel.	D．A textbook.

【推荐3】Home stay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.

What to Expect

The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.

Accommodation Zones

Home stays are located in London mainly in Zones2,3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial   and not residential(居住的). Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.

Meal Plans Available

♢ Continental Breakfast

♢ Breakfast and Dinner

♢ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner

It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal（谷物类食品），bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed   by desert, fruit and coffee.

Friends

If you wish to invite a friend over to visit. you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.

Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes

Accommodation on a room-only basis includes   shared kitchen and bathroom facilities   and often a main living room.This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student.However,it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much.

1. The passage is probably written for_______.

A．host willing to receive foreign students.

B．foreigners hoping to build British culture.

C．travelers planning to visit families in London.

D．English learners applying to like in English homes.

2. Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?

A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere.

B．To   enrich their knowledge of English.

C．To entertain friends as they like.

D．To enjoy much more freedom.

【推荐1】When it comes to historical Italian coffee, you cannot help but talk of Venice. It is in this city that the tradition of coffee was born, and then spread to the rest of Italy.

Caffè Florian

Caffè Florian was founded in 1720. From then on, this elegant building has been characterized by its exclusive products and guests: here, noblemen, politicians and intellectuals would meet. Today, the café is an important cultural center where exhibitions are organized. But it remains an ideal place for tourists who simply want to enjoy an espresso sitting at a little table in the heart of Venice, a few steps from the Grand Canal.

Gran Caffè Quadri

Also in St. Mark’s Square, there is another historic café that since 1775 has earned an important place among the many.Gran Caffè Quadri represents the memory of centuries in the twilight(晚期) of the Republic of Venice, and the birth of the modern age, and the secrets of the famous people who sat in its halls. Even today, Gran Caffè Quadri is a favorite of actors and directors attending the Venice Film Festival.

Harry’s Bar

More recent, but equally fascinating, is the story of Harry’s Bar, opened in 1931 and declared a national monument in 2001. Built from an old warehouse close to Piazza San Marco, Harry’s Bar owes its name and existence to the American student Harry Pickering. This is not strictly a coffee bar, but inside intellectuals, artists, writers such as Arturo Toscanini, Guglielmo Marconi, Charlie Chaplin, all spent time.

Caffè La Calcina

Moving to the southern limit of the city, in the ancient neighborhood called Le Zattere, we will find Caffè La Calcina, another important spot that was a meeting place for artists and writers in the early 1900s. The place is now a bar and restaurant called La Piscina, in memory of the bathhouse with a pool that used to be there.

1. Where would you go if you are interested in cultural evens?

A．Caffè Florian.	B．Gran Caffè Quadri.
C．Harry’s Bar.	D．Caffè La Calcina.

2. Harry’s Bar was named after_________.

A．Piazza San Marco	B．an old warehouse
C．Arturo Toscanini	D．an American student

3. What do the cafés have in common?

A．They were popular among celebrities.	B．They are on the decline nowadays.
C．They are located in St.Mark’s Square.	D．They were built from old houses.

【推荐2】Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

Zones

The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

Computers

You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

Group-study places

If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.

There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.

Storage of Study Material

The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.

Rules to be Followed

Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

1. Library computers on the ground floor _________.

A．help students with their field experiments

B．contain software necessary for schoolwork

C．are for those who want to access the wi-fi

D．are mostly used for filling out application forms

2. What condition should be met to book a group-study room?

A．A group must consist of 8 people

B．Three-hour use per day is the minimum

C．One should first register at the university

D．Applicants must mark the room on the map

3. A student can rent a locker in the library if he _______.

A．can afford the rental fee	B．attends certain courses
C．has nowhere to put his books	D．has earned the required credits

【推荐3】You haven’t truly visited a city until you’ve experienced its nightlife. Watching a big city like London gradually turn dark and darker into the night is a beautiful journey of time and light. So how about taking a historical evening walk and touching some of the nicest areas in central London? Let’s get started.

6:30 pm

The walk starts on the Millennium Bridge. On the bridge, watch the scenic city across the River Thames with the skyscrapers (摩天大楼) gradually lighting up against the darkening skies. The Millennium Bridge has been featured in many London-based films, including Harry Potter, and the film Guardians of the Galaxy.

7:30 pm

It’s getting dark. A fifteen-minute walk northwest from St Paul’s Cathedral takes you to the historic Borough Market. During the evenings, you find a lot of restaurants around the market. This is an excellent time to get your dinner.

9:00 pm

The next stop is London Bridge. This is about 6 minutes’ walk from the Borough Market. As you join other onlookers and mentally go through the nursery school rhyme of “London Bridge is Falling Down”, you get lost again in history. Why does the song say London Bridge is falling and who is the fair lady?

During the London city fire of 1897, London Bridge served an important role in fire control. It was one of the major structures that prevented the fire from crossing over to the other side of London.

11:30 pm

London never sleeps; it’s a few minutes to midnight and everywhere is still filled with people moving around. About four minutes away from the Golden Jubilee Bridges is Trafalgar Square, our next stop.

12:00 am

It’s been a beautiful evening, hasn’t it?

1. Where can you visit a Guardians of the Galaxy filming location?

A．In the St Paul’s Cathedral.	B．On the Millennium Bridge.
C．In the Borough Market.	D．On the Golden Jubilee Bridges.

2. What can be learned about the Borough Market?

A．It is suitable for Harry Peter lovers.	B．It is related to famous song.
C．It is a nice place for dinner.	D．It is a modern open-air market.

3. What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To show London’s culture.	B．To briefly introduce London Bridge.
C．To ask people to do outdoor activities.	D．To recommend a night tour in London.

【推荐1】Each one of us has a set of goals. We work to reach them every day. But the wise should set goals they feel are achievable, a new study shows, as our belief of the goals has a large impact on our life satisfaction later on- whether we achieve said goals or not.

The team examined how life goals affect people's happiness and well-being throughout adulthood. One of the key findings of the study is that people who perceive(将……视作) )their goals as being attainable(可达到的) were overall reported higher affective well-being in the follow-up surveys. The authors take this as an indication that it's the feeling of control over one's life that contributes to these positive feelings.

Our needs also change over time, so the team also looked into how age impacts the choice of goals. Younger participants, for example, rated personal growth, social status, social relationships, and professional advancement as important. Older participants rated social engagement and health as being more important. However, this change in priorities (优先)wasn't sudden -we don't drop personal growth in favor of health the second we turn 40, for example. It happened gradually.

It's important to find which goals work for you. But always try to keep them attainable, or break down big goals into a series of smaller ones. Even if you don't reach them, you'll probably be happier later on.

1. When it comes to goals, what do the wise tend to do?

A．Try hard to work towards goals.	B．Set themselves attainable goals.
C．Set different goals from the rest.	D．Satisfy themselves with professional goals

2. Which is the finding of the study?

A．Achieving goals leads to positive feelings.

B．Age has little to do with people's choice of life goals.

C．Attainable goals contribute to higher affective well-being.

D．People who can control over their life will achieve most goals.

3. Which goal are older people more likely to value?

A．Health.	B．Social status.
C．Personal growth.	D．Professional advancement

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Setting as many goals as possible.	B．Breaking every goal down.
C．Sparing no effort to reach goals.	D．Setting suitable and achievable goals.

【推荐2】So many girls are raised thinking that the world is perfect and they will grow up to be a princess.

I know that when I have my daughter, I’ll probably tell her stories of Peria, Ancient Egypt and Sparta. I don’t really want my daughter to grow up to be a Princess; I want her to grow up to be a Spartan woman. I don’t want to be the father who tells his daughter all of these tales of happy endings, and she gets older only to find out they were all lies. Most of those stories from our youth were great, I think there was some truth to them, but I don’t think it was explained all that well.

I can remember stories, those things my mother said

She told me fairy tales, before I went to bed

Spoke of happy endings, then tacked me in real tight

She turned my night light on, and kissed my face good night

My mind would fill with visions, of perfect paradise

She told me everything, she said he’d be so nice

He’d ride up on his horse and, take me away on night

I’d be so happy with him, we’d ride clean out of sight

She never said that we would, curse, cry and scream and lie

She never said that maybe, someday he’d say goodbye

——Anita Baker Fairy Tales

I always loved that song as a child. Now, take for example, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, and Nala. I’m going to break this down in a way that will relate this to the real world in the most realiest way ever.

Cinderella—She lived in a city with mad people. She basically got treated like garbage from her family because she was pretty. But Cinderella was one chick in that whole city. That’s the only woman in die city who ended up getting a Prince. Remember the scene at the ball? How many of those women showed up looking for a Prince and the shoe didn’t fit? Think about that in today’s terms: So many women want a Barack, but there’s only one Michelle out of all those women in the world. That was the same for Cinderella story, you can’t possibly think that everyone can find a Prince.

Belle—Many of you know how I feel about “faith-based” relationships. Faith is the belief in things not seen. She had to learn to love a Beast in order to get her Prince. But think about how many women will turn to Gaston because he looks good on paper and miss out on their Prince. Your mother told you not to bring home any ugly babies. The Beast never had a chance.

Ariel—Ariel had to learn to shut the heck up to get a man.

Jasmine—She was looking for love, and her dad was trying get $30,000 by getting her casted on Teen Mom. She ended up dating a homeless guy who was convinced he was a Prince. Turn out he was a nice guy, but she had to learn to trust a man with her heart and that’s hard work.

Mulan—She had to pretend to be a man to get a man.

Pocahontas—She had to fight a war and teach white folks (who would later end up killing off all her peoples) to survive.

Nala—Spartan. That’s all you can say, she had to go get her man who had forgotten who he was and ran away from his home. Then she managed to get pregnant on the first night! That’s Spartan.

But you’ve got to ask yourself, are most of the women we know as strong willed as these fairy tale women were? And while we’re thinking about all of this, let’s think about the men.

Cinderella’s Prince—He had to try and slide a glass slipper on a bunch of rathchets and hoppers just to find his Princess.

Ariel’s Prince—He had to kill a super-saiyan sea monster to get his Princess.

Aladdin—He had to go into the desert, get a genie, a magic carpet, a parrot and kill a wizard to get with Princess Jasmine.

Simba—He had to go back to the place where his pops was murdered and fight his Uncle, which required him to not only beat a bunch of hyenas, but then he got fire thrown in his eyes.

Ask yourself another question, do you really think the men of today are trying to do all that for their Princess?

The reality of life is that while your mother told you that you’d grow up to be a Princess, they never told you that Princes sow their royal oats before settling down. You’ll have to wait for him to finish sowing and decide he wants to be a Prince, ask Kate Middleton. Your mother told you that you could one day be the Princess, but she never told you that the Prince would have options. Your mother told you that a man was going to sweep you off your feet, but she never told you that most men don’t chase women any more. You’re going to have to figure out how to make him sit still. In real life we can count all the happy endings we know on our hands.

Maybe your mother should have told you this when you went to bed at night:

When you get older you’re going to find a man to marry and you’ll get to pick out the best wedding dress in the world. People will come from far to see it. You’ll have to take your dress though. It will be free, you know we love free. It will be beautiful and it will make you look like a Princess. In fact, it will be televised for everyone to see. The whole world will be matching.

But baby? There is only one Vera Wang dress and there’s a nasty b*tch that wants it more than you do. So if you truly want that fairy tale wedding, and you want the best wedding dress in the world, you are going to need to kill that b*tch and take what’s yours. Now get some rest we got work to do in the morning. There’s only room enough for one Princess.

1. How many women characters in the fairy tales are mentioned in the passage?

A．7

B．8

C．10

D．11

2. Who finally found Jasmine after experiencing so many hardships?

A．Gaston

B．Aladdin

C．Simba

D．Spartan

3. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?

A．Never Have All the Eggs in One Basket.

B．Prince and Princess Tie the Knot by Killing the Wizard.

C．There Always Exists a Stepmother in Fairy Tales.

D．The Real Truth Behind Fairy Tale Relationships.

【推荐3】I grew up in California but have spent about four years living in various parts of the UK. The first thing I noticed was that my West-Midlands host family did not sound like the queen. I’ve since learnt that accents change almost every five miles. As far as America goes. I can tell the West Coast from the East or the South, but I can’t tell you a state, much less a county (郡).

The next thing I couldn’t imagine was the quiet, stare-ahead norm of public transportation- if you talk to somebody on the Tube, you’re probably a serial killer or a lost tourist.

I’ve had to deal with the Tube from Heathrow to Victoria with heavy bags more times and Victoria Station is not exactly tourist friendly. Each time I’ve had someone walk up and ask to help with my bags. Not once have they been English. In America, at least from what I’ve experienced, people will start a chat if they see you’re travelling by yourself, and I always immediately have someone taller offer to put my things in an overhead bin (行李箱).

Opening hours-especially Sunday trading laws have also taken so much to get used to. In America, 24/7 fast food, grocery stores. petrol stations, etc. are the norm. In my first year in the UK,I forgot it was Easter Sunday, and went into town at 2：00 pm. Imagine my surprise when 1 found the city center was deserted, and there wasn’t a single car at Tesco. Approaching the building, I saw a large sign announcing opening times. I had to make do with plain bread until 9：00 am Monday, when I’d be able to pay for groceries again.

Speaking of groceries, it took so many people telling me I was crazy to convince me to eat eggs here- they’re not refrigerated, and they’ll often have bits of feather or chicken waste on the outside. 1 am now aware that they ‘re safe, but coming from a childhood of perfectly clean, white, large AAA eggs, I was convinced I’d die a terrible salmonella (沙门氏菌) death.

1. What’s the author’s impression of the transportation of the UK?

A．It’s very dangerous to use public transportations.

B．It’s easy for a tourist 10 get lost on public transportations.

C．British people willingly offer help on public transportations.

D．British people don’t talk to each other on public transportations.

2. What happened on Easter Sunday in the author’s first year in the UK?

A．He left the city center.	B．He failed to buy any food.
C．A supermarket closed down.	D．A restaurant opened in a tall building.

3. What is a good suggestion to a foreigner in the UK?

A．Try to speak like the queen.

B．Avoid eating unhealthy eggs.

C．Store some plain bread in the fridge.

D．Pay attention to the opening hours of the shops.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．How to Get Used to Life in the UK

B．What do I Find Strange about the UK

C．How Difficult It Is to Travel in the UK

D．What Can a Foreigner Expect in the UK

【推荐1】A single ticket bought in Massachusetts won $758.7 million in Wednesday’s Powerball draw.

The lucky ticket holder correctly matched the numbers 6,7,16,23 and 26 with the Powerball 4 to win the second biggest lottery prize in US history, and the largest won by a single ticket. Whoever won must have been having a lucky day as the odds of matching all six numbers are one in 292.2 million.

The winner has to pay around 40% taxes on the nearly jackpot, but will still likely walk away with around $300 million, which they will be more than happy with. That’s if they choose the “annuity option(保障养老金选项)” which sees their wins being split up into 30 payments over 29 years. If they go for one lump sum (one time payment), they’re looking at a win of $480.5 million.

The jackpot came nearly two months after the last Powerball win in June 14, when it stood at $40 million. Powerball officials told ABC an estimated 170 million would be sold between Saturday and Wednesday night’s draw. The biggest ever Powerball jackpot win was in January 2016 when three winning tickets split $1.6 billion.

The Massachusetts State Lottery managed to add even more drama after giving the wrong store and location of where the winning ticket was bought, leading to even more mysteries about who has that golden ticket.

After initially claiming the ticket was sold at a shop in Watertown, just outside Boston, they later correctly confirmed that it had in fact been bought at a Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, North of Springfield. A spokesperson for Pride Station said they had been told at around 8 am, with Michael Sweeney, the lottery’s executive director confirming they will receive around $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.

As for the actual winner, their identity remains a mystery and according to the Star Tribune, by midmorning they still hadn’t come forward to claim the prize.

If you bought a ticket in Massachusetts, it might be time to check your ticket.

1. The underlined word “odds” in Paragraph 2 may be closest to ______ in meaning.

A．chances

B．differences

C．ratios

D．scales

2. If the winner chooses the “annuity option”, how much will he pay for taxes?

A．$300 million.

B．$480.5 million.

C．$458.7 million.

D．$780.5 million.

3. Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．The winner claimed the prize at a Pride Station &Store in Chicopee on Wednesday.

B．The State Lottery declared the wrong spot deliberately where the winning ticket was bought.

C．The winner bought the winning ticket with $50,000 two months ago in Watertown.

D．The lottery prize of the winning ticket is second only to that in 2016 in US history.

【推荐3】Visit Chicago Children’s Museum

In brief:

This museum offers plenty of fun hands-on activities for kids. However, this is one of the few Chicago museums not "fun for the whole family" as adults and older kids will be bored to tears.

Address: 700 East Grand Ave. (Navy Pier), Chicago

Phone: 312- 527-1000

Public transportation:

CTA bus lines # 29 (State Street), #65 (Grand Avenue), and # 66 (Chicago Avenue) all serve Navy Pier.

Parking fees:

Monday through Thursday: $ 20

Friday through Sunday: $ 24

Holidays: $ 24

Opening hours:

Weekdays: 10 am- 5 pm

Weekends: 10 am- 8 pm

Entrance fees:

Adults: $12

Children: $12

Seniors (65+): $11

Children (under 5): free

Activities:

Located at one of Chicago’s top tourist attractions, Navy Pier, the museum offers three floors of activities for kids, including:

Play It Safe — all about home safety

Inventing Lab — provides parts and instructions for creating things

Kids Town — a playroom recreating a Chicago neighborhood where kids can pretend to do things like shopping for groceries and driving a CTA bus

Climbing Schooner — a three-floor climbing building

My Museum — kids get to create various pieces of art that are “all about me”

Skyline — kids learn about skyscrapers and design their own buildings

Tree House Trails — a play area designed like a forest

Waterways — water activities showing how pumps and dams work

1. How much will John (10), his parents (40) and sister (3) pay if they drive to the museum at 2 pm on Saturday?

A．$ 36.

B．$48.

C．$ 60.

D．$ 68.

2. Kids who are fond of creating works of art should choose __________.

A．Play It Safe

B．Inventing Lab

C．Skyline

D．My Museum

3. If you go to Kids Town, you can __________.

A．go on a short trip to a forest	B．buy some gifts for your friends
C．experience Chicago neighborhood life	D．know more about pumps and dams