Light and bright, cheap and cheerful: IKEA's 400-plus outlets （专营店）in 49 countries all run on the same central principle. Customers do as much of the work as possible, in the belief they are having fun and saving money. You drive to a distant warehouse built on cheap out-of-town land. Inside, you enter a maze （迷宫）---no shortcuts allowed—where every twist reveals new furniture.
Compared with the prices of other outlets, IKEA's are much lower. You load up your trolley （手 推车）with impulse buys—a clock, storage boxes, tools and more chairs than you will ever use. You drag cardboard boxes, cupboards and tables into your car and reward yourself for your economy and good taste. Then you drive home and put your prizes together. You are satisfied with the bargains. IKEA is satisfied with your money.
The company's name was a do-it-yourself job, too. IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad, from Elmtaryd―his family's farm—in Agunnaryd. That village is in the Smaland region of southern Sweden. Mr Kamprad founded IKEA aged 17. Well before that, he spotted a principle which would make him one of the richest men in the world that customers like buying goods at wholesale prices （批发价）.First he bought matches in large quantities and sold them by the box. Aged ten, he sold pens in the similar way.
Setbacks inspired him. Facing a price war against his low-cost mail-order furniture business, he defeated competitors by opening a showroom. Dealers tried to crush Mr Kamprad and banned him from their trade fairs. He slipped in, hiding in a friend's car. When they tried to threaten his suppliers, he relied on his own workers, and secretly sold his production to communist Poland. Decades later, east Europeans freed from the planned economy drove hundreds of miles to newly opened outlets in Moscow and Warsaw.
His self-discipline was world-famous. As a child, he removed the "off' button from his alarm clock to stop himself oversleeping. He rarely took a first-class seat. The wine didn't get you there any earlier, he sniffed; having lots of money was no reason to waste it. He bought his clothes in second-hand markets, and for years drove an elderly Volvo until he had to sell it on safety grounds. He had his hair cut in poor countries to save money. Visitors admired the views, but were surprised that his house was so shabby. He worked well into his eighties.
His diligence and simple way of life set a good example to his 194,000 "co-workers". But he was not mean. The point of cutting costs was to make goods affordable, not to compromise quality. He urged his staff to reflect constantly on ways of saving money, time and space. An improved design that allows easier piling means shipping less air—and more profit.
Culture was more important than strategy. He disliked ''exaggerated （夸张的）planning", along with financial markets and banks. Better to make mistakes and learn from them. And use time wisely: "You can do so much in ten minutes. But ten minutes once gone are gone for good." This did not apply to customers. The longer they stayed, the better.
Mr Kamprad's impact on modern life can be compared with that of Henry Ford and the mass-produced motor car. Furniture used to be expensive, dark and heavy. For many people, decorating a home could cost many months' salary. IKEA made furniture not just affordable and functional, but fun. The mission was civilizational, he felt, changing how people lived and thought.
His approach drew some fire. The company values struck some as unpleasant. At IKEA's Corporate Culture Centre, lots of pictures of Mr Kamprad with his mottos can be seen everywhere. What's worse, some parts of the supply chain seemed to have serious problems to overcome.
1. What can we learn about IKEA in Paragraph 1?| A．IKEA prefers rural areas for its location. |
| B．IKEA has 400 outlets throughout the world. |
| C．IKEA likes to store new furniture in a maze. |
| D．IKEA provides a lot of work for its customers. |
| A．IKEA tricks you into spending more money |
| B．you may buy bargains with impulse in IKEA |
| C．both you and IKEA are pleased with the deal |
| D．both you and IKEA are happy with the bargain |
| A．He never overslept due to his alarm clock being set. |
| B．He was against drinking but for sniffing at the wine. |
| C．He sold the old Volvo with the purpose of saving money. |
| D．He didn't give up the quality of furniture for more profit. |
| A．The pictures and mottos of Mr. Kamprad. |
| B．The setbacks Mr. Kamprad experienced. |
| C．Mr. Kamprad's principles of management. |
| D．Mr. Kamprad's self-discipline and diligence. |
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【推荐1】My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. America was where all my mother’s hopes lay. She had come here in 1949 after losing everything in China. But she never looked back with regret. There were so many ways for things to get better.
“Of course you can be a prodigy, too,” my mother told me when I was nine. “You can be best at anything.” We didn’t immediately pick the right kind of prodigy. At first my mother thought I could be a Chinese Shirley Temple. We’d watch Shirley’s old movies on TV as though they were training films. My mother would poke my arm and say, “Ni kan” — You watch. And I would see Shirley tapping her feet, or singing a sailor song, or pursing her lips into a very round O while saying, “Oh my goodness.”
Soon after my mother got this idea about Shirley Temple, she took me to a beauty training school and put me in the hands of a student who could barely hold the scissors without shaking. Instead of getting big fat curls, I emerged with an uneven mass of crinkly black fuzz. My mother dragged me off to the bathroom and tried to wet down my hair.
“You look like Negro Chinese,” she complained, as if I had done this on purpose.
In fact, in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, trying each one on for size. I was a dainty ballerina girl standing by the curtains, waiting to hear the right music that would send me floating on my tiptoes. I was Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music filling the air.
In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything.
But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient. “If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here, I’m disappearing for good,” it warned. “And then you’ll always be nothing.”
Every night after dinner, my mother and I would sit at the Formica kitchen table. She would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read and a dozen other magazines she kept in a pile in our bathroom. My mother got these magazines from people whose houses she cleaned. She would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children.
The first night she brought out a story about a three-year-old boy who knew the capitals of all the states and even most of the European countries. A teacher was quoted as saying the little boy could also pronounce the names of the foreign cities correctly.
“What’s the capital of Finland?” my mother asked me, looking at the magazine story.
All I knew was the capital of California, because Sacramento was the name of the street we lived on in Chinatown. “Nairobi!” I guessed, saying the most foreign word I could think of. She checked to see if that was possibly one way to pronounce “Helsinki” before showing me the answer.
The tests got harder—multiplying numbers in my head, finding the queen of hearts in a deck of cards, trying to stand on my head without using my hands, predicting the daily temperatures in Los Angeles, New York, and London.
And after seeing my mother’s disappointed face once again, something inside of me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations. Before going to bed that night, I looked in the mirror and when I saw only my face staring back—and that it would always be this ordinary face—I began to cry. Such a sad, ugly girl! I made high pitched noises like a crazed animal, trying to scratch out the face in the mirror.
And then I saw what seemed to be the prodigy side of me—because I had never seen that face before. I looked at my reflection, blinking so I could see more clearly. The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. This girl and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts, or rather thoughts filled with lots of won’ts. I won’t let her change me, I promised myself. I won’t be what I’m not.
1. The underlined word “prodigy” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ________.| A．talent | B．professor | C．leader | D．superstar |
| A．Because the mother was a fan of Shirley Temple. |
| B．Because Shirley Temple’s hairstyle was popular among children. |
| C．Because the girl resembled Shirley Temple in appearance. |
| D．Because the mother wanted her daughter to be a Chinese Shirley Temple. |
| A．She felt confident and finished it smoothly. |
| B．She got through the tests successfully, but painfully. |
| C．She failed the tests and began to lose confidence. |
| D．She eventually sadly found herself ordinary and ugly. |
| A．The mother was not sure about the answer and wanted to confirm it. |
| B．The mother expected her daughter to know the right answer. |
| C．The answers were more than one and the mother checked them. |
| D．The mother was so disappointed as to give up her daughter. |
| A．The girl might try her best to become famous and successful. |
| B．The girl might follow her heart and do what she really likes. |
| C．The girl might do whatever her mother asks and becomes a different image. |
| D．The mother might change her attitude and listen to her daughter’s words. |
| A．Being Myself or Not | B．Educational Failure |
| C．Difficult American Childhood | D．Mother’s Experience |
【推荐2】“Your mind is a garden; your thoughts are the seeds. The harvest can either be flowers or weeds,” William Wordsworth wrote. In the above quote, William suggests that the process of gardening mirrors human life. Depending on what we “plant” in our lives, we bloom (生长茂盛) or don’t. Before you start to work in your garden, it’s necessary to have a vision for it. Thinking of what you want to grow in your garden and how to lay it out is a good first step in making your vision a fruitful reality. In life, you should consider what you want to create and what you want to achieve, because your mind-garden is like the white paper and the possibilities are endless.
Regardless of what you choose to plant, poor soil isn’t suitable for growth. This is why gardeners take the time and energy to upgrade the soil before planting. So, creating the right soil is important to the realization of your goals and dreams. Fortunately, there are countless ways to make your personal bedrock better. Getting an education is one of the most effective ways, which can help you enrich your life’s soil.
You don’t have to be an enthusiastic gardener to understand the meaning of “You reap(收获) what you sow.” When a gardener wants tomatoes, they just need to plant tomato seeds. It’s a very clear act that produces an expected result. Each of us has the power to decide which “life seeds” to plant. For example, if you plant ill seeds, it's likely that you’ll experience pain in return. Contrarily, if you plant seeds of kindness and understanding, your life will bloom with happiness and love.
A gardener’s truly arduous work begins after the seeds are in the ground because a garden requires a lot of care and attention. Regular watering and weeding are required for a healthy garden. So, to ensure your dreams take root, you should be devoted, aware, and present. After countless hours and energy spent, the crops have grown well and are finally ready to be harvested.
1. What is important before gardeners break ground in their gardens?| A．Receiving some training in planting. |
| B．Drawing up a good plan for their gardens. |
| C．Having the courage to accept the worst outcome. |
| D．Doing research on the common local garden plants. |
| A．Improving the condition of the soil. | B．Growing your most favorable plants. |
| C．Taking care of the plants in your garden. | D．Selecting proper goals in gardening work. |
| A．Your quality of life depends on your positive action. |
| B．Your experience can help you understand plants better. |
| C．Your choice of soil is an important part in your gardening. |
| D．Your knowledge of planting will make you a successful gardener. |
| A．Beneficial | B．Creative | C．Boring. | D．Tough |
【推荐3】Afraid that her son would be too tired, Ms. Wendy would sometimes tell the boy to skip school, but each time, Fabian would insist on going to school.
“I don’t likeitbecause when I return to school, I don’t know what’s going on,” the 12-year-old boy explained. He suffers for SMA－a neuromuscular（神经肌肉的）disease that leads to weakness in muscles－and gets around in a wheelchair.
Fabian’s determination to excel in his studies was evident when he was disappointed that he got a total score of 236 yesterday in his Primary School Leaving Examination. He was hoping for a score of at least 240, but his mother was full of pride. “I am happy with his results. He’s very motivated,” said Ms. Wendy.
When Fabian was two months old, he was diagnosed with SMA. Ms. Wendy, who used to go to other homes to teach piano lessons, started teaching lessons at home so she could take care of her son. Fabian proved to be a fighter. Ms. Wendy said, “ He would study every day on his own even though he was weak and his spine（脊柱）was already starting to curve quite badly.”
Fabian is also active in the Singapore Disability Sports Council, where he plays boccia（滚球）, a ball sport for those who require a wheelchair due to physical disability.
At just 133cm tall and weighing 14kg, he knows that he will have to rely on others all his life. “I’m afraid that when my parents grow older, they will not be able to carry me and that there will be nobody to carry me,” said Fabian. “But for now, I feel lucky that I get to go out and do a lot of things that I thought I couldn’t.”
His dreams aren’t lofty（崇高的）either－all he want to be able to do is work and provide for his parents. “I just want to study hard so that I can be a businessman, like my dad.” He is planning to apply to study at Victoria School.
1. The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.| A．going to school. | B．being absent from school |
| C．studying hard. | D．suffering from SMA. |
| A．got the disease at the age of 12. |
| B．was proud of his exam results. |
| C．has no interest in any sports. |
| D．wants to be a businessman like his father. |
| A．She insists that her son go to school. |
| B．She used to be a piano teacher in a school. |
| C．She is satisfied with her son’s performance at school. |
| D．She fears that her son will be helpless when she is older. |
| A．Sensitive and weak. | B．Active and optimistic. |
| C．Clever and strong. | D．Stressed and concerned. |
| A．He Is Disabled but He Is a Fighter. |
| B．A Great Mother and Her Special Son. |
| C．How to Fight Against SMA. |
| D．A disabled boy’s dream. |
Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts(木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.
Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Johann Gutenberg use an oil-base printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark(标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Johann Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed the any other book.
Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of 40,000 different books.
1. What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?
| A．People could afford to read books. |
| B．People became interested in inventing. |
| C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books. |
| D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing. |
| A．was difficult to run. | B．needed harder paper |
| C．used a new kind of ink | D．was put into use earlier |
| A．fought against | B．accepted | C．laughed at | D．supported |
| A．A famous 1,282 page Bible |
| B．The life of a famous inventor |
| C．An invention that changed history |
| D．The development of printing |
【推荐2】Every kid wishes to be an adult. But now as grown-ups, some adults find they cannot leave childhood behind. They become “kidults” (kid+adult). Being a kidult has become a lifestyle-choice among young people across Asia.
Some kidults collect toys they once played with. Hello Kitty, Garfield, and Snoopy have many adult fans around the world. It is not unusual to see a 20-something woman with a big, Garfield-shaped cushion on her sofa or a Hello Kitty mobile phone accessory (配件).
Other kidults still enjoy children’s stories and fairy tales. For example, Bloomsbury even published the Harry Potter novels with an adult cover. That way, no one else on the subway will know that an adult is actually reading a children’s book!
“Kidults can be like vitamins to society. Adults who value their childhood and hold on to pure, child-like emotion may be needed in such a rough and dry society,” said Lee Sojung, professor of Foreign Studies at Hankuk University (韩国外国语大学). He added that kidult culture may fill the generation gap between adults and kids. It could give children and their parents books, movies, and cartoon shows to enjoy together. He may be right.
Tim Greenhalgh, a professor, explained that some kidults just refuse to grow up. They value childhood because life in a busy and stressful city frightens them. Kidults would like to forget their age and openly show their fear of society and adulthood.
1. We can infer from the article that _________.| A．Kidults miss their childhood so much that they can’t give up their toys |
| B．Bloomsbury knows some kidults don’t want people to know that they are kidults |
| C．Kidults like to have vitamins very much |
| D．Some toys are so interesting that even adults like them very much |
| A．it can improve the relationship between parents and their kids |
| B．it can help kidults feel relaxed |
| C．it is helpful to solve some social problems |
| D．it can make people loyal to one’s parents |
| A．being a kidult is nothing wrong |
| B．kidults have mental problems |
| C．our society is very dull |
| D．some people can never grow up |
【推荐3】When we walk through the city, we all experience a kind of information overload but we pay attention only to those that are important to us. We don’t stop, we keep our faces expressionless and eyes straight ahead, and in doing so, we are not just protecting ourselves but are avoiding overloading other people as well.
We make use of stereotypes (刻板的模式) as convenient ways to make quick judgements about situations and people around us. They may not always be accurate, and they can often be dangerously wrong, but they are used regularly.
The problem with the stereotypes is that they restrict experiences. By using limited clues to provide us with a rapid opinion of other people or places we may choose to limit our communication. We may decide not to go to certain places because we believe they will not offer something we enjoy.
In the city, styles of dress are particularly important with regard to self-presentation. Different groups often use clearly identifiable styles of clothes so that they can be easily recognized. It is becoming increasingly common for brand names to be placed on the outside of clothes, and this labeling makes it easy to send out information about fashion and price instantly, and lets others tell at a distance whether an individual has similar tastes and is a suitable person to associate with.
In England, where social grouping or class continues to make social distinctions（区分）, clothes, hairstyles, people’s pronunciation and the manner of speaking are all clues to our social group. Class distinctions tend to be relatively fixed, although in the city where greater variety is permitted, they are more likely to be secondary determining factors of friendship and association.
1. People walking in cities ignore the surroundings because __________.| A．they do not wish to talk to other people | B．everyone else is expressionless |
| C．the environment is already familiar to them | D．there is too much information to take in |
| A．are likely to lead us into dangerous situations |
| B．may make us miss some pleasant experiences |
| C．can rarely be relied on |
| D．make us mentally lazy |
| A．stereotypes can help to understand people fully |
| B．people are becoming more interested in fashion |
| C．dressing can send messages about individuals |
| D．stereotypes can do more harm than good to people |
| A．might be less important in making friends in a city |
| B．is mainly determined by his pronunciation |
| C．plays less of a role than it did in the past |
| D．is something that can be changed easily |
【推荐1】Dry Ice is a unique substance which has many uses. Essentially, dry ice is frozen CO2. The first report of what we now call dry ice came from the French chemist Charles Thilorier in 1834. In 1924, the Drylee Corporation of America named the solid form of CO2 as "Dry Ice", which is what it is popularly called today.
At normal atmospheric pressure, CO2changes directly from solid to gas. It skips the liquid phase（阶段）which makes regular ice wet. Frozen CO2is also much colder than regular ice. But regular ice freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, CO2 changes from gas to solid at -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit. This extremely cold temperature makes it very dangerous to handle with bare hands. It can cause frostbite in a very short period of time.
Dry ice has been used for a variety of purposes throughout the past century. Its primary use is to refrigerate food when electrical refrigeration isn't available. Through the process of sublimation (when CO2 changes from solid to gas), it can maintain cold food for a long time.
If you've ever been to a play and seen heavy fog on the ground, it is likely that you have seen dry ice in action. This effect can be achieved because CO2 is heavier than air, so evaporated （挥发的）CO2 will sink and accumulate on the ground.
Another interesting use for this substance is to bait（诱杀）insects like mosquitoes. These insects have sensors which guide them to CO2. They find the high concentration of CO2 in dry ice quite attractive.
Mars has long been a mystery for human beings. We have been looking for evidence of life on Mars. In the 1960s scientists guessed that the polar ice cap of Mars was made of frozen CO2. More recent observations have shown that while the topmost layer consists of frozen CO2, the most of it is probably regular frozen water.
1. Frozen CO2 gets its name of "Dry Ice" mainly because______.| A．it is very easy to make it dry |
| B．we can't melt it and it doesn't get wet |
| C．it looks like ice at a low temperature |
| D．it is solid like ice at -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit |
| A．the shakes caused by cold |
| B．damage caused by freezing |
| C．a fever caused by being cold |
| D．a sharp pain caused by bums |
| A．freeze most of food in the next century |
| B．increase the production of farming |
| C．make a vivid fog effect on stages |
| D．help to improve the environment |
| A．Dry ice on Mars is near the polar. |
| B．Not much dry ice has been found on Mars. |
| C．The polar ice cap of Mars is unique. |
| D．No frozen CO, on Mars can be melt. |
【推荐2】Alida Monaco doesn’t spend her summers doing the usual teenage work, like working at the mall. Instead，she ‘ s studying.
It used to be that a summer job was considered a teenage thing. Today, Monaco ,who has never had a summer job, is part of growing trend (趋势)teenagers focusing on their studies, even during the summer. That’s down from 72% of Americans aged 16 to 19 who worked in July of 1978, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fierce (激烈的)competition, older workers returning to the workforce and weak economic growth are all adding to the decrease of teenagers in the workforce. But as schoolwork grows increasingly heavy and homework eats up more time, data suggest the biggest reason why some teens won’t be working this summer is that they simply don’t1 have time.
For college - bound teens, some teachers even advise students not to waste time on a summer job. “ Some of my students only have about six weeks off in the summer,” said Shannon Reed, a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh and a former high school English teacher.” I could never advise that they get jobs during that short break. ”
Young people who don’t work may miss out on valuable skills that they’11 need control and help people learn to deal with adult situations. But Monaco, who plans to attend Harvard, isn’t fazed by her lack(缺乏)of work experience. “Maybe I have missed out on a couple of life skills, “she said. “ But I don’t think it will harm me in way .”
1. What is the trend of American teenagers?| A．They are becoming lazy. |
| B．They are fond of doing holiday jobs. |
| C．They are focusing more on studies than on jobs. |
| D．They are becoming particular about (挑剔)holiday jobs |
| A．The reasons for teenagers giving up work. |
| B．The fierce competition teenagers face. |
| C．The structure (结构)of America’s workforce. |
| D．The effects of America9 s weak economy. |
| A．uncaring. | B．favorable(支持的). | C．worried. | D．doubtful. |
| A．supported. | B．helped. | C．upset. | D．confused. |
【推荐3】In recent years, the leaders and islanders of many small-island nations have warned that climate change is an existential threat to their homelands, fearing they could disappear under rising seas as the planet warms. But according to the latest research, small, low-lying islands dotted around the Pacific and the Caribbean—often seen as the places most vulnerable to global warming—can naturally adapt and raise themselves above disturbing waves.
A three-year study led by Britain’s University of Plymouth, which looked at coral reef islands such as the Maldives, found that tides move sediment (沉积物) to create higher altitude, a process that may keep islands habitable. These islands were formed hundreds of thousands of years ago by waves moving and piling up reef material or sediment to create higher ground—a natural defence mechanism that continues.
Low-lying island states are judged to be at greatest risk from increasingly powerful storms and rising oceans, with some making preparations to resettle their people within decades. Many are already building sea walls, appealing for international aid or setting up projects to repair damage caused by climate change impacts. The world’s tens of thousands of coral reef islands are mostly uninhabited, but are home to about one million people who largely rely on fishing or tourism for a living.
Scientists built a model coral reef and island in a laboratory tank with rising water levels and used computer models to reproduce how such islands respond to higher seas in reality. The results suggest that by choosing climate-adaptable infrastructure (基础设施) that allows for occasional flooding, like building on stilts (桩子) and movable houses, islanders with enough space could adapt to their shifting environment. Sea walls, however, are compromising the natural ability of the islands to adjust to rising sea levels. “If you stop the flooding of the islands, you also stop the movement of the sediment on top of the island,” said lead author Gred Masselink, professor of coastal geography at the University of Plymouth.
1. What does the underlined word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Unnoticeable. | B．Beneficial. |
| C．Significant. | D．Sensitive. |
| A．Piling-up sediment creates a natural defence for small islands. |
| B．Disturbing waves keep the islands unlivable. |
| C．A computer model is used to provide more space for islanders. |
| D．Sea walls prevent the disappearance of small islands. |
| A．Casual. | B．Joyful. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Defensive. |
| A．Small Islands May Not Disappear Under Rising Sea. |
| B．Climate Change Poses Threats to Small Islands. |
| C．The Climate-adaptable Infrastructures of Small Islands. |
| D．The Perfect Solution to Rising Seas for Small Islands. |
【推荐1】David Miles, an Australian inventor has been accused of cheating desperate farmers by charging up to $50,000 Australian dollars for delivering rain on demand without so much as explaining the technology behind his business.
On the official Miles Research website，Miles explains that in the 1990’s he realized that it was possible to influence weather patterns by creating a bridge between ‘the present’ and a ‘near-future event’ in the physical space-time continuum. He found that by applying small amounts of energy intelligently, even a large, messy weather system approaching from the future could be eased.
While somewhat fascinating, Miles’ explanation does little to explain how he is able to bring rainfall to the lands of farmers. He makes references to famous but debatable concepts like “the butterfly effect”. “We were advised against patenting because if basically exposing how it works, there will be a lot of big companies that invest in hunting out patents,” Miles said “I understand the doubts，the only other way is to fully prove up our science and physics. If we did that, we'll lose it, it will be taken up as a national security interest and it’ll then be weaponized.”
Miles' claims raised suspicions for obvious reasons, including a since-deleted section of his company website, which claimed that his technology used “electromagnetic scalar waves”，which scientists say don’t even exist.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned people against doing business with him, but the Australian inventor claims the ACCC is only trying to defame him and his company, as in reality they are success based - if it doesn’t rain, they don’t get paid.
“Consumers signed the agreement that if by the end of June they receive 100mm, they pay $50,000, if they only receive 50mm, they would only pay $25,000. Anything under half，we don’t want to be paid,” Miles said of a handful of Wimmera farmers who agreed to take him up on his offer to deliver rain.
Believe it or not, one of the farmers who paid David Miles for his so-called rain-making capabilities told ABC Radio that he was quite happy with the results.
1. David Miles claims to be capable of ________.| A．influencing the weather system |
| B．predicting the future events |
| C．reducing the atmospheric temperature |
| D．easing the gravitational energy |
| A．he charged too much for the services provided |
| B．there was no solid science to hack up his technology |
| C．his practice was a threat to national security interest |
| D．he didn’t officially patent his technology with ACCC |
| A．$50,000. | B．$25,000. |
| C．$12,500. | D．$0. |
| A．Miles needed safer facilities for his business. |
| B．Miles brought about good crops as expected. |
| C．Miles wasn’t discouraged by the critics. |
| D．Miles was arrested by the local police. |
The site attracts 78 million visitors every month, and it is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive (综合的) resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an Internet connection can look through and edit the contents or add a new page at any time. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. And main targets for horrible comments (such as politicians) are forbidden to public editing. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “vandals”(故意捣乱者).
Some of the damage is easy to notice. Someone drew horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ photo. But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Unbelievably, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, withThe Daily Mail, The GuardianandThe Independentall having fallen victim to the tricks. For example, in an obituary (讣告) for British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom, one newspaper claimed that he co-wrote Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime song “There’ll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover”. In fact, he did no such thing.
So if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.
1. What do we know about Wikipedia?
| A．It makes profits from its users. |
| B．It is run by the Hawaiian government. |
| C．It provides a huge amount of information. |
| D．It is the most popular website worldwide. |
| A．78 million people visit Wiki each day |
| B．To forbid wrong public editings is quite easy |
| C．Formal education is needed to do editing for Wifi |
| D．Some people change the information on Wiki just for fun |
| A．Wikipedia sometimes contains false information |
| B．some newspapers likeThe Guardianare irresponsible |
| C．Norman Wisdom is unpopular with some people |
| D．Wikipedia affects people’s lives greatly |
| A．To look through Wikipedia frequently. |
| B．To update Wikipedia on a daily basis. |
| C．To turn to other websites for valid information. |
| D．To be careful when using the information from Wikipedia. |
【推荐3】“Do not tell anyone”. We often hear these words when someone tells us a secret. But keeping a secret is hard. We’re often tempted（引诱）to “spill the beans”, even if we regret it later.
According to the professor, Asim Shah, keeping a secret may well “become a burden”. This is because people often have an “eager and anxious urge（冲动）to share it with someone”. An earlier study, led by Anita, a scientist at the University of Notre Dame, US, suggested that keeping a secret could cause stress. People entrusted（托付）with secrets can suffer from depression, anxiety, and body aches, reported the Daily Mail.
Secrets are so often getting out. Why do people share them at all? Shah explained that people often feel that it will help them keep a person as a friend. Another reason people share secrets is guilt over keeping it from someone close to them. A sense of distrust can develop when people who are close do not share it with each other. “Keeping or sharing secrets often puts people in a position of either gaining or losing the trust of someone, ”according to Shah.
He added that talkative people could let secrets slip out. But this doesn’t mean that it is a good idea only to share secrets with quiet people. A quiet person may be someone who keeps everything inside. To tell such a person a secret may cause them stress, and make them talk about the secret.
Shah said that to judge whether to tell someone a secret, you’d better put yourself in their position, Think about how you would feel to be told that you mustn’t give the information away. Shah also recommended that if you accidentally give up someone’s secret you should come clean about it. Let the person know that their secret isn’t so secret anymore.
1. Why does the author say keeping a secret may “become a burden”?| A．Because people are born not to be able to keep secrets. |
| B．Because when people have secrets, their bodies ache. |
| C．Because keeping secrets is certain to cause depression. |
| D．Because keeping secrets could probably be harmful to health. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．To fall by accident. | B．To let out secrets on purpose. |
| C．To spread secrets to everyone around. | D．To give away secrets unintentionally. |
| A．Quiet people are more likely to keep the secrets to themselves. |
| B．Sharing secrets helps establish friendship or get over the, sense of guilt. |
| C．Putting yourself in others’ shoes helps realize the importance of keeping secrets. |
| D．A person who is asked to keep a secret will suffer from psychological problems only. |
