Children of all ages gathered it New York City recently for the International Toy Fair Hidden among already Popular toys were new, high-tech educational products. Toymakers are working to create products for improving a child's emotional intelligence These toys reportedly not only hep rise intelligence in children, but also their emotional quotient, or EQ.
At the toy fair, companies showed of their products.
PleIQ is a set of plastic toy blocks. It uses augmented (增强的) reality technology to each words, numbers and other things. Edison Duran, the company director, showed people at the toy fair how virtual images appear on the bocks when they are held in front of a tablet camera. Intelligence includes intrapersonal skills (processes information within one's mind) and interpersonal skills (dealing with other people). Duran said PleIQ builds on both by having children act as teacher or guide to a companion character.
Karen Hu demonstrated an educational robot called Woobo. The robot comes programmed with educational games and activities. Children use its touch screen face to get them started. Toys that work as companions also aid in social development. Hu described how the robot can help a child who suffers from autism (自闭症). “The child can communicate with Woobo and follow some of the instructions Woobo is giving because he thinks of this as a companion instead of a parent or someone else telling him to do certain things.”
Jonathan Erickson, the sales director, showed off a board game called "Q"s Race to the Top. "Kevin Chaja said the game got his 4-year-old daughter to open up. "The biggest thing is her talking. And that's the key of all this-getting her feelings expressed out. Like, 'Hey, what does it feel like to be sad?'"
It remains to be seen whether a game or toy can improve emotional intelligence. But toymakers are doing what they can to help parents in their efforts to raise well-rounded children.
1. What does the underlined word “both” in Paragraph 3 refer to?| A．Teachers and guides. | B．Reality technology and virtual image. |
| C．Intelligence quality and emotional quotient. | D．Intrapersonal skills and interpersonal skills. |
| A．It is communicative. | B．It is educational. |
| C．It can follow a parent. | D．It can start of itself. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Favorable. | C．Uncertain. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．International Toy Fair Ended | B．Raising Kids Needs New Ways |
| C．Toys Help Make Children Smart | D．Toymakers Try to Train Parents |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Choosing a nice mountain bike for you is easier than learning how to ride it.
Decide how you are going to use your new mountain bike.
Are you a new rider who simply wants to travel outdoors on the weekend, weather permitting? Do you plan to test yourself on the rough roads, every day, rain or shine? Or are you going to use your new mountain bike to ride to and from school or work?
Visit your local bike shops.
Any good bike shop will stock a wide range of quality mountain bikes in all price points and sizes. Your local bike shops will carry more than one brand of bicycle. Not only will they sell you a mountain bike that suits your needs, but they will service what they sell.
Don’t be bashful (羞怯的).
Tell your salesperson how you intend to use your new mountain bike, and how much you are willing to spend. Your salesperson will show you a selection of models and brands accordingly. He or she will also help you determine the right size for you.
All good bike shops let customers take test rides. There’s a good reason for this beyond “try-before-you-buy’’ salesmanship. Since you already know your price range and find the right size, you now have to find out which brand you ride best. They want you to be happy with your purchase. After only a few lest rides from more than one bike shop, the right mountain bike will choose you.
| A．Here are some advice on the riding skills |
| B．Be honest about your intentions |
| C．Keep these tips in mind |
| D．Stay safe when taking a test ride |
| E．Visit at least a few shops |
| F．You may ask more without any sense of shyness |
| G．Take a test ride |
Cambridge Arts Cinema is one of the art houses in Britain and home of the internationally celebrated Cambridge Film Festival. Since 1947 generations of students have discovered the wealth of world cinema. Now you too can make most of it and save money.
1. Which of the following is the most famous event held at Cambridge Arts Cinema?
| A．The Cambridge Film Festival. |
| B．Meetings with filmmakers. |
| C．The preview screening. |
| D．Monthly premieres. |
| A．Darkroom Gallery shows | B．mailed programmes |
| C．special film events | D．film shows |
| A．Four months. | B．Eight months. |
| C．Nine months. | D．One year. |
| A．Offering students cheaper tickets． |
| B．Announcing the opening of a premiere. |
| C．Telling the public of the cinema's address. |
| D．Increasing the cinema's membership. |
【推荐3】The Mirror Has Two Faces
Mirror,mirror
The question
The heaters consist of two glass
The panels,which come in
【推荐1】A new project aims to create a computer replica of an entire city. It will allow experts to perform real-time resilience testing to see how infrastructure will perform in the face of challenges such as climate change and population growth.
Known as the “digital twin”, the technology has already been adopted by Formula One teams and engine makers like Rolls Royce, but its use to this degree didn’t exist.
A partnership between Newcastle University and Northumbrian Water will recreate Newcastle based on data from across the city and test its resilience in possible emergencies. Professor Chris Kilsby said, “You can try lots of things with the twin in the case of a city. I think of it as a replica that you can play with and do unimaginable things to see what would happen. The changes can be seen immediately — from observing what would happen if the river Tyne rises by a few meters to what the city would look like if the population has aged over a certain period of time. It could also be used to model human behavior, for example, determining the most likely roads people would use in the event of a food.”
Newcastle University is working on a data platform with lots of dynamic parts like traffic, water, population, etc. Much of the data is coming from the university’s Urban Observatory project, which has monitors all over the city checking pollution, water quality and biodiversity.
In 2012 an event known locally as the “Toon monsoon” took place, with a month’s worth of rain falling in two hours during the evening rush hour, causing £8 m worth of damage. The Toon monsoon caused a breakdown to the city because we just didn’t design anything for that sort of event. There was no one to blame. The city just couldn’t resist the heavy rain.
The digital twin will allow the city not only to react in real time to such strange weather events, but also to test its resilience in endless potential future emergencies.
Chris Jones, research and development manager at Northumbrian Water, imagined the project’s “amazing possibilities”, saying that in time it could be applied to any city with accessible data.
1. What do we know about the “digital twin” from the first two paragraphs?| A．It is a computer system. | B．It is not new to us. |
| C．It predicts extreme weather. | D．It has met with many challenges. |
| A．Offering big data about the city |
| B．Advocating the new technology. |
| C．Making up the loss caused by flood. |
| D．Working out plans for future emergencies. |
| A．To draw people’s attention to the terrible loss of the city. |
| B．To warn people of the potential harm of heavy rain. |
| C．To indicate the new project’s significance. |
| D．To show the digital twin’s weakness. |
【推荐2】A young Chinese woman who lost an eye in a serious car accident dedicated her life to creating prosthetic (假体的)eyes that flash different colors.
In 2013, Xintong lost one of her eyes in a car accident. She was only 18at the time, and she had it replaced with a prosthetic eye. Instead of losing confidence in herself and shying away from people because of her appearance, the young woman finally decided to turn her situation to make herself stand out. After studying to become a prosthetic eye technician, Xintong started making all sorts of unique prostheses for herself, which showed off on social media, slowly building up a loyal following.
Xintong is perfectly capable of making classic prosthetic eyes That are almost indistinguishable from real ones, but she is best known for her “bionic (仿生的)eyes” that light up different colors and even flash at the press of a button. Short videos trying out some of these unusual prostheses have been going viral in China and she recent the attention of mainstream media as well. When interviewed, the 28-year-old woman said that she got into making prosthetic eyes as a way of helping people like her deal with confidence issues.
Some people want realistic prostheses, but some, like Xintong herself, use their disability to make themselves really unique by incorporating (植入)small LEDs in their prostheses. This allows them to look like real-life robots, and that’s admittedly pretty coo
Most people praise her for her power to turn a life-changing tragedy in her life into something positive.
1. Which of the following is true about prosthetic eyes made by Xintong?| A．They are identical to real ones. |
| B．They vary in colors. |
| C．They can flash automatically. |
| D．They are equipped with LEDs. |
| A．To sharpen her skills. |
| B．To attract more attention. |
| C．To try out different ideas. |
| D．To encourage people like her. |
| A．Capable and humorous. |
| B．Innovative and modest. |
| C．Confident and inspiring. |
| D．Tolerant and caring. |
| A．One Cool Girl Has One Cool Eye |
| B．Prosthetic Eyes Can Boost Confidence |
| C．An Accident Turns Out a Blessing |
| D．A Girl’s Invention Hits the World |
【推荐3】A device that stops drivers from falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% — 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband (腕带）.The device, worn by drivers or pilots gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound and the driver’s response ‘
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would use about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver's response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
1. Driver Alert is a device that can .| A．keep drivers asleep. |
| B．change drivers’ response accuracy. |
| C．reduce the possibility of accidents. |
| D．protect drivers when accidents happen |
| A．Illness. | B．Tiredness. |
| C．Carelessness, | D．Impoliteness, |
| A．By being used as a nonstop alarm all the time. |
| B．By squeezing the steering wheel on the way. |
| C．By reminding or warning drivers if necessary. |
| D．By being worn on drivers* hands every moment. |
| A．It must be fixed on the driver’s cars. |
| B．It aims to prevent drivers from sleeping. |
| C．It has gone through testing at laboratories. |
| D．It isn't available to drivers at the moment. |
【推荐1】In the United States, researchers are experimenting with sodium to see whether it can power much-improved batteries in the future. Sodium is a soft, silvery metal. It is plentiful and found in seawater. The most common battery used today is made of lithium(锂). These batteries power everything from smartphones to computers to electric vehicles. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego are attempting to build a new generation of batteries powered by sodium instead of lithium.
The California researchers are studying lithium batteries, but in the next few years they plan to begin testing new sodium batteries. Team member Hayley Hirsh says she looks forward to working more with sodium development in the future.
Lithium is costly and not easy to collect because it is widely spread across many parts of the world. Large amounts of water and energy are also required to gather lithium. But sodium is found in the world’s oceans, with a seemingly limitless supply. This would lead to much lower costs to produce sodium for batteries.
Hirsh says she is examining different ways to make batteries that last longer and can store more power.
”Right now it’s just in the lab and we’re working on figuring out how to make it hold more energy and last longer so that it can be used in your phone, in your car or even to store energy for solar, for wind,” she said.
Finding better ways to store more energy at a lower price has been one of the major barriers to developing more powerful batteries. Today it is not really cost-effective for power companies to use batteries. This is because it would cost hundreds of dollars per kilowatt hour to operate.
However, using sodium batteries could bring that cost way down. The researchers say it could then make economic sense for people to have storage containers at home to save energy produced by the sun or wind.
1. What can we know about sodium in paragraph 1?
| A．It is a kind of hard metal. |
| B．Seawater contains plenty of sodium. |
| C．It is able to power much-improved batteries. |
| D．The most common battery today has been made of it. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By giving descriptions. |
| C．By using figures. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．The low cost. |
| B．Energy conservation. |
| C．The geographical distribution. |
| D．Safety and environment protection. |
| A．The differences between sodium and lithium. |
| B．The advantages and disadvantages of sodium. |
| C．Researchers look to sodium to make better batteries. |
| D．Researchers find better ways to make batteries last longer. |
【推荐2】Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation(即兴创作) is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, players play solos which they make up on site, which requires considerable skills. There is great variety in jazz but most jazz is very rhythmic(有节奏的) and uses “blue” notes. You can often hear “call-and-response” patterns in jazz, in which one instrument, voice, or part of the band answers another. Jazz can express many different emotions, from pain to joy. In jazz, you may hear the sounds of freedom, for the music has been a powerful voice for people suffering unfair treatment because of the colour of the skin.
Jazz musicians place a high value on finding their own sound and style and that means for example, that trumpeter(号手) Miles Davis sounds very different from trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Jazz musicians like to play their songs in their own styles, and so you might listen to a dozen of different jazz recordings of the same song, but each will sound different.
Jazz developed in the United States in the very early part of the 20th century. New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, played a key role in this development. The city’s population was more different than anywhere else in the South. People of African French, Caribbean, Italian, German, Mexican, and American Indian as well as English descent(血统) mixed with one another, African-American musical traditions mixed with others and gradually jazz emerged(产生) from a mixture of marches, blues, and other kinds of music.
At first jazz was mostly for dancing. After the first recordings of jazz were made in 1917, the music spread widely and developed rapidly. At the same time jazz spread from the United States to many parts of the world, and today jazz musicians and jazz festivals can be found in dozens of nations. Jazz is one of the United States’ greatest exports to the world.
1. What is a typical part of jazz?| A．Players create music on site. | B．It’s only performed indoors. |
| C．Players sing in different ways. | D．It only expresses painful feelings. |
| A．Their favourite songs. | B．Their different styles. |
| C．Their high expectations. | D．Their warm sounds. |
| A．The cultural mixture. | B．A local language. |
| C．Traditional value. | D．A perfect timing. |
| A．The Development of Modern Music | B．A Report About African American |
| C．A Brief Introduction to Jazz | D．Jazz Festivals in the Us |
【推荐3】The increase in primate (灵长类动物) ecotourism is causing stress-related behaviors in monkeys, according to a new study.
The study, led by the University of Portsmouth, looked at the impact of a single engine motor boat approaching a community of proboscis monkeys (长鼻猴). Those monkeys are unusual with their very long noses, which makes them appealing to tourists. And many of the boats carrying the tourists approach the primates quickly and loudly, often reaching the river banks just a few meters away from the wildlife.
The researchers conducted the experiment by approaching the monkeys in a motor boat with different speeds and travel distances — fast-close(approaching the monkeys for 10 seconds when 40 meters away at a speed of 14.4k m/hr), slow-close(approaching the monkey for 40 seconds when 40 meters away at a speed of 3.6 km/hr), and slow-far conditions(approaching the monkeys for 20 seconds when 100 meters away, at a speed of 3.6 km/hr).
The results showed that the monkeys displayed stress-related behaviors for longer in the fast-close and slow-close conditions and also reduced feeding as a result of the boat approaching in the fast-close condition. Once the boat started to approach, the proboscis monkeys showed repeated scratching (挠) and often moved quickly backwards to hide in the trees. This could potentially cause the monkeys to leave their safe sleeping sites and to go deep into the forest as it gets dark, where they could face a higher risk of predation (捕食行为).
“Collectively, our findings suggest that the approach of a single motor boat led to stress in proboscis monkeys when they were approached as closely as 60 meters from the other side of the river, regardless of the speed of approach,” said Dr Marina Davila-Ross, lead author of the study.
The researchers thus propose that guidelines for primate tourism in the riverside areas should include an approach speed of no more than 4 km/hr within 100 meters of the proboscis monkeys. They suggest it is also important to keep a distance, preferably no closer than 60 meters away, from the monkeys.
“Such information might be helpful for tourists, allowing them to modify (修改) their behaviors when visiting the primates and when encouraging guide s to follow the guidelines,” Dr Davila-Ross added.
1. What did the researchers’ experiment show about proboscis monkeys?| A．They found the slow-close condition most stressful. |
| B．They tended to go hunting when faced with danger. |
| C．They lost their sense of safety at the sound of motorboats. |
| D．They lost their way very easily at the sight of motorboats. |
| A．To approach proboscis monkeys less frequently. |
| B．To avoid getting too close to proboscis monkeys. |
| C．To ask guides for more information about proboscis monkeys. |
| D．To behave themselves while trying to feed proboscis monkeys. |
| A．Concerns. | B．Confidence. | C．Disapproval. | D．Disinterest. |
| A．Primate Ecotourism: a better understanding of primates |
| B．Primate Ecotourism: getting close to the primates |
| C．Primate Ecotourism: the conservation of primates |
| D．Primate Ecotourism: a negative effect on primate behavior |
【推荐1】A study showed that people who develop Parkinson's disease （帕金森病) before age 50 may trace its origin before birth. The research points to a drug that may potentially help correct these disease processes.
The study published in the journal Nature Medicine showed that those patients may have been born with disordered brain cells that went undetected for decades.
The research team from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center used special stem cells which were generated from adult blood cells. They made those stem cells from patients into dopamine neurons (多巴胺能神经元)，and then cultured them in a dish. The researchers identified two abnormalities (异常) in those dopamine neurons in the dish.The first one is the accumulation of a special protein which occurs in most forms of Parkinson's disease. The second is the unusual cell structures that act as“trash cans" for the cell to break down and destroy proteins.
"What we are seeing is the very first sign of young-occurring Parkinson's by using this new model, " said the study's senior author Clive Svendsen with Cedars-Sinai. "It appears that dopamine neurons in these individuals may continue to mishandle this special protein over a period of 20 or 30 years, causing Parkinson's symptoms to appear."
The investigators also used the stem cell model to test a number of drugs that might change the abnormalities they had observed. They found that one drug which was already approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating pre-cancers of the skin could reduce the levels of this special protein in both the dopamine neurons in the dish and in laboratory mice.
The researchers are planning more research to determine whether the abnormalities the study found in neurons of Parkinson's patients also exist in other forms of Parkinson's disease.
1. What's the effect of the study?| A．Helping cure Parkinson's disease. |
| B．Helping get rid of disordered brain cells. |
| C．Helping people younger than age 50 be healthy. |
| D．Helping avoid Parkinson's disease. |
| A．From child blood cells. |
| B．From adult blood cells. |
| C．From dopamine neurons. |
| D．From the dish. |
| A．The model they used is from young. |
| B．The Parkinson's disease is a disease for the young. |
| C．The dopamine neurons develop and grow very quickly. |
| D．The Parkinson's disease may be a long process before symptoms occur. |
| A．Parkinson's Disease May Start Before Birth |
| B．A New Way Can Deal With Parkinson's Disease |
| C．We Should Know The Effect Of Parkinson's Disease |
| D．Babies Can Also Fall Into Parkinson's Disease |
【推荐2】To help you plan your trip, here are my favorite hotels in Chicago.
Freehand Chicago
It’s housed in a historic building from 1927. Its design with tons of character of its own attracts tourists greatly. Freehand is worth the price if you feel like treating yourself. The common areas are laid back. Like other hotels mentioned here, it’s located in the center of the city.
●Female-only dorms for added privacy and security
●Bed for $45 USD a night, room for $173.
Wrigley Hotel
It’s for any traveler looking to enjoy the city’s nightlife. There’s an outdoor place with a BBQ, where you can grill burgers with friends, and the hotel organizes paid walking tours. Here it’s easy to learn about the local culture from friendly locals and it offers many latest books, too. The staff are awesome.
●Free breakfast
●Bed for $36 USD a night, room for $141.
HI Chicago
HI Hotels know exactly what the travelers whose money is tight want: affordable accommodations. HI Chicago is no exception. It organizes a free walking tour, the common areas are spacious, and there’s a fully equipped kitchen. It offers free breakfast.
●Social atmosphere makes it easy to meet local people
●Bed for $32 USD a night, room for $85.
Parthenon Hotel
It has a large common room with a huge TV and lots of books. The staff can help you organize tours, and there’s free breakfast. The dorms aren’t huge, and the beds aren’t anything special, but they’re clean and safe. It has all the makings of your classic backpacker hotel.
●Female-only dorms for added privacy and security
●Bed for $34 USD a night, room for $90.
1. What is special about Freehand Chicago?| A．It has the oldest history of the four. | B．It lies in the center of Chicago. |
| C．It only caters to female travelers. | D．It is uniquely designed. |
| A．A barbecue party. | B．A reading discussion. |
| C．A free walking tour. | D．A fellowship party with locals. |
| A．Parthenon Hotel. | B．Wrigley Hotel. | C．HI Chicago. | D．Freehand Chicago. |
【推荐3】Journalists are the major group of people who make their living from writing. Many young people who see themselves as future novelists choose journalism as a way of earning a living while developing their writing skills. Although writing for newspapers and writing for books require different qualities, the aspiration (志向) to be a great writer is not one to be discouraged in a would-be journalist.
Most people want their work to be recognized by others. This helps to give it value. Some people also want themselves to be recognized, so that they have status (地位) in the eyes of society. It is not a bad motive to wish to be famous, but this must never become your main reason for being a journalist. You will not be a good journalist if you care more for impressing your audience than for serving their needs.
Knowing the power of the printed or spoken word or image, some people enter journalism for the power it will give them to influence people. There is a strong belief that journalists control the mass media but the best journalists recognize their role as servants of the people. There is a difference between the desire to influence events for your own sake, and the desire to do it for other people. You should never use journalism for selfish ends, but you can use it to improve the life of other people.
Curiosity is a natural part of most people’s characters and an important ingredient for any journalist. Lots of young men and women enter the profession with the desire to know more about the world without needing to specialize in limited fields of study. Most journalists tend to know a little bit about a lot of things, rather than a lot about one subject. Knowledge has many uses. It can simply help to make you a fuller and more interesting person. It can also give you power over people, especially people who do not have that particular knowledge. Always bear in mind that power can be used in a positive way to improve people’s lives.
1. What can we know from the first paragraph?| A．Journalists are most likely to become great writers. |
| B．Writing for newspapers is similar to writing for novels. |
| C．Most of the journalists make a living by writing books. |
| D．Journalism can be used as a means to improve writing. |
| A．Being specialized in a certain field. |
| B．Having a wide range of knowledge. |
| C．Being good at making friends with others. |
| D．Being able to speak a foreign language well. |
| A．The development of journalism. |
| B．The challenges journalists face now. |
| C．How to become a qualified journalist. |
| D．Why people choose a career in journalism. |
