【推荐1】There is an ancient Chinese story about a giant man named Kua Fu who chases the sun. He drains the Yellow and Wei rivers during his race and finally dies of delydration（脱水）. His failure has reminded people of the unstoppable power of the sun for centuries. And yet, scientists throughout history have tried to better understand the most important star in our sky. On Aug 12, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe（探测器）, marking the start of its trip to the sun.

The probe itself is almost as big as a car and needed the help of a powerful rocket to escape Earth’s orbit, change direction and reach the sun. In order to reach the sun, the probe must complete seven flybys of Venus, using the power of the planet’s gravity to change its path, sending it toward the sun. But that’s not the only difficult part of the journey. As the probe approaches the sun’s corona（日冕）, it will have to bear temperatures reaching 1,400℃, as well as deal with serious radiation. So how will the probe survive?

According to NASA, a special shield has been used, which is a special 11.5 cm-thick carbon-composite shield that will be positioned between the probe and the sun’s corona. It’s advanced technology like this that will make the probe’s trip to the sun much smoother. If everything goes as planned the probe will reach a speed of 692,018 kilometers per hour as it moves around the sun, setting a new record for the fastest man-made object in history, NBC noted. It will fly close to the sun 24 times between 2018 and 2025. NBC added.

1. What is the aim of mentioning Kua Fu in the first paragraph?

A．To tell the origin of Parker Solar Probe.

B．To lead to the topic of researching the sun.

C．To show the achievement of ancient China.

D．To show the difficulties of studying the sun.

2. How many challenges will the probe meet to reach the sun?

A．One.	B．Two.
C．Three.	D．Four.

3. What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

A．The probe will reach the sun in 2025.

B．The probe has been protected very well.

C．The probe is the fastest man-made object.

D．The probe has been prepared well for its aim.

4. What may be the best title of the passage?

A．Taking a Closer Look at the Sun

B．Discovering the Unknown Puzzles

C．The Story of Kuafu Chasing the Sun

D．The Scientific Value of Searching the Sun

【推荐3】The ruins of a Maya city have been discovered in Guatemala with the help of the remote sensing technique LiDAR. This lost city envelops sites like Tikal, Holmul, and Witzna, but shows that these famous areas are a small part of this lost urban network.

Hidden under the jungles of the Maya Biosphere Reserve site, more than 60,000 human-made features — homes, canals, highways, and more — have been identified in aerial (从飞机上的)images collected by some international researchers headed by the PAGUNAM Foundation, a Maya cultural and natural heritage organization. Those have experts rethinking the outlines and complexity of the Maya Empire.

These ancient peoples obviously created these imaginative cultures based on their known relics (遗迹), but the new research has suggested that the size of this lost society is far beyond what experts imagined. The findings will be explored in a one-hour documentary called “Lost Treasures of the Maya Snake Kings”, to be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel.

This breakthrough was possible thanks to LiDAR sensors, which can survey lands in 3D by bouncing pulses off the ground from unmanned air vehicles and others. LiDAR is exceptionally useful for detecting archeological(考古的)sites, as it gets through jungles and other features that hold up exploration on the ground. The technique has made many discoveries become a reality in recent years. For instance, major finds at Angkor, Cambodia and Caracol, Belize can explain what it did. The final goal is to survey Guatemala’s lowlands with it.

“There are entire cities we didn't know about now showing up in the survey data,” Francisco Estrada-Belli, one of the lead archeologists on the project, said in Nat Geo's coming documentary. “There are 20,000 square kilometres more to be explored and there are going to be hundreds of cities about the mysterious people who built this urban network there that we don’t know about, and we will push back the frontiers with the technology,” he added.

1. What does the underlined word "Those" in paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Jungles.	B．Human-made features.
C．Researchers.	D．Aerial images.

2. What does the author want to convey in paragraph 4?

A．The working principle of LiDAR sensors.

B．The process of researching Maya civilization.

C．Great importance of Guatemalans lowlands.

D．LiDAR’s contribution to discovering the relics.

3. Which words can best describe the lost Maya city?

A．Small and hidden.	B．Famous and high-tech.
C．Vast and complex.	D．Fully-explored and imaginative.

4. What will the archeologists do next?

A．Continue to explore the unknown.	B．Upgrade the LiDAR technology.
C．Study the documentary carefully.	D．Build a massive urban network,

【推荐1】Each of Apple’s products such as the iPhone and the iPad sounds cool and has become a fashion. Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i”, and many other brands are following suit. The BBC iPlayer, which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet, used the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and the UK — that plays music and video is called iTeddy. A simplified version of The Independent was launched in 2010 under the name i.

In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.

Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of The Independent’s sister paper I, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.

But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a” , “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, former Director of the Language Centre at King’s College London, “i” works because its meaning has become unclear. “When Apple uses ‘I’, no one knows whether it means the Internet, information, individual or interactive,” Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPad, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he said.

“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便),” added Thorne.

Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western world is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and they love personalized products for this reason.

Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.

But as history shows, people grow tired of fashion. From the 1900s to the 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern.

However, as we entered the new century, the trend unavoidably disappeared.

1. Why do people use iPlayer?

A．To listen to music.

B．To make a call.

C．To watch TV programs online.

D．To read newspapers.

2. What is The Independent’s sister paper i aimed at?

A．Engineers.

B．Young readers.

C．Fashionable women.

D．Old readers.

3. Nowadays, the term “i” often makes people think of the products which are ________.

A．easy to carry

B．environmentally friendly

C．advanced

D．personalized

4. What is implied in the last paragraph?

A．“i” products are often of high quality.

B．Actually nobody likes products with “2000”.

C．Fashion is closely connected with time.

D．The popularity of “i” products may not last long.

【推荐2】As anyone who freelances (做自由职业) knows, there are lots of advantages of working at home alone. But there are drawbacks too, like the potential loneliness. No wonder co-working spaces are becoming so popular, they permit self-employed individuals to feel like they are part of all office environment, while making them get some work done too. But renting a co-working space does cost money.

Now a Swedish project is aiming to change that by turning people’s under-used homes into temporary co-working spaces, available to freelancers for free. Hoffice was started by freelancers Christofer Gradin Franzen and Johline Zandra about a year ago in Stockholm when they invited a few people into their home office to work together. It was a great success, and the project has since spread to a number of cities in Europe, North and South America, Australia, India and Japan. Anyone can sign up and offer their home space as a free co-working space, or go find a Hoffice near them.

On a Hoffice day, everyone arrives and starts work at a certain hour. After 45 minutes，everyone gets up to take a break, stretch, do qigong or yoga for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterwards，people can gather around again, and re-state their intentions and goals for the rest of the work day, as a way to motivate each other. Meals can be eaten together at a certain hour, potluck-style (家常饭) or by bringing their own lunch.

This process creates an encouraging and supportive work environment. As some freelancers describe, “By working at Hoffice, we give ourselves and each other the gift to spend our days in a social working environment, where we are extremely productive without ignoring our other human needs. We also make sure to give ourselves and each other what we need to feel calm, happy, inspired and creative during the working day.”

So Hoffice is not just about sharing space; it’s also about a free exchange of ideas. And perhaps the best thing is that Hoffices are free to use.

1. Hoffice was started to________.

A．change people’s attitude to work	B．encourage people to be more social
C．provide a co-working space for free	D．improve people’s working conditions

2. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 3？

A．How a Hoffice day works.	B．How people respond to Hoffice.
C．What people share at Hoffice.	D．What Hoffice means to people.

3. Some freelancers’ descriptions of Hoffice suggest that they________.

A．work longer than before	B．benefit a lot from the working style
C．expect more people to join them	D．can’t be separated from each other

4. What do we know about Hoffice according to the text?

A．It is suitable for people from all walks of life.

B．It has created many new job opportunities.

C．It has been around for quite a few years.

D．It is becoming increasingly popular.

【推荐3】No spacecraft will ever land on the sun. the sun is a flaming ball of gas that reaches thousands of degrees Fahrenheit. But next year, a ship from Earth will fly closer to it than any man made craft has flown before. The mission(任务)is a big development for scientists and, maybe, for everyone else.

In September 2018, NASA plans to launch the Parker Solar Probe. After a journey of nearly 90 million miles, it will fly within 3.8 million miles of the sun. within two months of launching, the probe is expected to reach the sun’s corona(日冕). That’s the sun’s outer atmosphere of gases.

Getting there won’t be easy. Designing a spacecraft tough enough to hold up to the sun’s heat has proved difficult. But that hasn’t stopped engineers from trying. Temperatures in the corona can reach millions of degrees. The probe will limit itself to regions where things get no hotter than 2,500oF. That’s still a heavy heat load for a spacecraft. But a 4.5-inch-thick heat shield(罩)will protect the probe’s camera and scientific instruments.

NASA says the data the probe collects could provide knowledge into the physics of stars. Our sun is special to us. But as a star, it’s rather common. So the better we understand how it works, the better we understand all stars of its mass and color.

Perhaps the most important is what the probe may show us about solar storms. During solar storms, charged particles stream through the solar system. They can disable communications satellites and shut down powder systems. One study has found that a very intense solar storm could cause up to $2 trillion in damage in the US alone. It could also black out the East Coast for a year.

Understanding solar storms might allow us to predict them and protect ourselves. That could make even a mission with a billion-plus price tag one of NASA’s great bargains.

1. What can we learn about the probe?

A．It’ll fly closer to the sun that the previous ones

B．It’s the first man made instrument to fly to the sun

C．It’ll get to the core of the sun in nearly two months

D．It’ll fly about 3.8 million miles to reach the corona.

2. What is the challenge for the engineers?

A．Directing the probe to collect data

B．Reducing the temperature of the probe

C．Building a shield against the heat

D．Limiting the probe to proper regions

3. What might be the best title?

A．Exploring the stars	B．Getting close to the sun
C．Designing a spaceship	D．Protecting the earth

4. Where does the value of the mission lie?

A．Monitoring satellites	B．Exploring solar energy
C．Developing scientific instruments	D．Forecasting solar storms

【推荐1】Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self- respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ________.

A．self-respect	B．financial rewards
C．advertising ability	D．friendly relationship

2. The phrase "bringing the error to the clerk's attention" (in Para.5) means ________.

A．telling the truth to the clerk

B．offering advice to the clerk

C．asking the clerk to be more responsible

D．reminding the clerk of the charged item

3. How will we feel if we let the clerk know her mistake?

A．We'll be very excited.

B．We'll feel unfortunate.

C．We'll have a sense of honor.

D．We'll feel sorry for the clerk.

4. Which of the following can be the best title of this passage?

A．How to Live Truthfully

B．Importance of Peacefulness

C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect

D．Happiness through Honorable Actions

【推荐3】Humanity has begun wrestling with the dangers of global threats such as climate change.But few authorities are planning for catastrophic solar storms -huge eruptions of mass and energy from the sun that destroy Earth’s magnetic field. In a recent paper,two Harvard University scientists estimate the potential economic damage from such an event will increase in the future and could equal the current U.S.GDP-about＄20 trillion-150years from now.

This kind of storm has happened before.The so-called Carrington Event in 1859,the most intense magnetic storm ever recorded on Earth,caused auroras(极光）in the atmosphere and even delivered electric shocks to telegraph operators.But a Carrington-scale storm today would cause far more harm because society now depends so heavily on electrical power grids,communications satellites and GPS.

In an effort to quantify that threat,astrophysicists Abraham Loeb and Manasvi Lingam of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics developed a mathematical model that assumes society's vulnerability(脆弱性）to solar storms will grow with technological advances.Under this model,during the next 50 years the potential for economic damage will depend primarily on the rising odds of a strong solar storm over time.Beyond 50 years our vulnerability will increase dramatically with technological progress until the latter levels off.

Some scientists question the model’s predictions. “Estimating the economic impact is challenging now, let alone in over a century,” says Edward Oughton, a research associate at the University of Cambridge's Center for Risk Studies.Yet he warns that uncertainty should not stop us from practical preparations, such as making power grids stronger and improving early-warning systems.

Loeb and Lingam think up a much wider strategy:$100-billion magnetic deflector shield(导流板）, positioned between Earth and the sun. This idea seems “pretty preposterous, ”however, given that solar particles arrive at Earth from all directions,says Daniel Baker,director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.

A better understanding of"space weather"-the changing condition in Earth's outer space environment, including solar radiation and particles-could help find the best strategies for confronting a dangerous solar storm,says Stacey Worman,a senior analyst at consulting firm Abt Associates."This is a challenging but important question,"Worman says,"that we need more eyes on."

1. According to Edward Oughton,which of the following about solar storms is right?

A．They will become much stronger in 150 years.

B．Technology makes their potential damage grow.

C．Space weather forecast can effectively help deal with them.

D．It's difficult to predict their possible economic damage.

2. The underlined word “preposterous” in Paragraph 5 means

A．innovative	B．practical
C．unreasonable	D．inflexible

3. The author writes the passage mainly to_

A．remind people to guard against solar storms

B．report the damage of solar storms

C．introduce the characteristics of solar storms

D．analyze the possible cause of solar storms

【推荐1】In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness, Richard Burton, Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交响乐团). It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge(挑战) to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little -- known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator(行政人员) was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1. What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A．To bring Europe together again.	B．To honor heroes of World War II.
C．To introduce young theatre groups.	D．To attract great artists from Europe.

2. Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A．They owned a public house there.	B．They came to take up a challenge.
C．They thought they were also famous.	D．They wanted to take part in the festival.

3. What does the “Fringe” mean in the third paragraph?

A．unpopular groups	B．non-official groups
C．foreign groups	D．local groups

4. We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival      .

A．has become a non-official event	B．has gone beyond an art festival
C．gives shows all year round	D．keeps growing rapidly

【推荐2】Imagine turning on the GPS and seeing an image of your car from above. As the car drives, the map follows along in real time, informing you of any traffic, pedestrians, animals or other things nearby. Routes and names of road appear over the live stream. It's like the map has come to life.

This type of map isn't available yet. But it could be very soon. In 2014, the WorldView-3 satellite was sent into space. Even though it orbits Earth at more than 370 miles (600km) away, it can take images of objects on Earth that are just 10 inches (25cm) across. Looking all the way from outer space, it can make out a smart phone held in your hand. It can tell what types of cars are travelling down a road. But it can't identify your face or read the cars' license plate numbers.

According to some reports, this satellite and other US satellites have the technology to take even sharper images, with a resolution of up to around 4 inches (10cm). But US law forbids making these super-sharp pictures public. But the idea that anybody might be able to spy on the entire Earth in such detail may seem scary. Live, high-detail satellite mapping could be used to keep tabs on anybody at any time, without the person's knowledge. Ray Purdy of University College London told CNN that he couldn't imagine what this could mean for privacy. "Most satellites are commercially owned, so if you have money, you can have that imagery. It means anyone can spy on anyone." he said.

At the same time, live, detailed maps of the Earth's surface could aid humanity in amazing ways. Satellite images can help experts track storms as they form and chart their paths. At high detail, live maps of a disaster area could quickly reveal people in need of rescue as well as the safest routes in or out. Satellites images are already helping the police catch illegal fishing operations. Higher detail may make it possible to catch other criminals in the act. The images could also make it easier for farmers to watch over their crops or for scientists to find minerals. Also, these images play a very important role in monitoring the health of forests and other landscapes.

What do you think? Would you like to see everyone accessing high-detail live maps of the Earth's surface? Please share your idea with us on the website.

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the passage?

A．By telling a story.

B．By supposing a situation.

C．By making a comparison.

D．By using a research finding.

2. What can the WorldView-3 satellite do?

A．Tell how a person looks.

B．Identify what a pedestrian is holding.

C．Help farmers sow seeds for their crops.

D．Read a running car's license plate number.

3. What kind of feeling was expressed in Ray Purdy's words?

A．Regret.

B．Excitement.

C．Concern.

D．Sympathy.

4. What's the best title of the passage?

A．Anyone can spy on anyone

B．Criminals have nowhere to hide

C．More satellites into space: good or bad?

D．A live map of everywhere on Earth:scary or cool?

【推荐3】At the end of 1978, China put forward a package of new thoughts on national development. The most important of them was to shift the priority of the nation to economic development, which has since become the central task of CPC organizations and governments at all levels. Economic growth was the primary measurement of the development of a region and performance of an official. It became national agreement that economic growth offered the solution to the problems facing China.

Seeing that manufacturing was a strong promoter of economic growth, China's central and local governments put great emphasis on it. But in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s the country was short of money to build up this capital-intensive (资本密集) sector, which requires buying equipment and land, building factories, and hiring workers. It therefore looked to foreign investors who were looking for opportunities in the Chinese market.

Foreseeing the multiple benefits of foreign investment including tax contribution, job creation, raise in local income, local governments raced to look for foreign capital. To compete against their peers, some regions offered extra favorable policies like tax cuts or breaks, discounted land prices or even free land. Some even went to the extent of lowering or abandoning environmental protection requirements.

While going after foreign investors, regional governments also struggled to seek domestic banks for loans to local enterprises. Meanwhile, they set up their own financing platforms to raise funds for local manufacturing and infrastructure (基础设施) to stimulate economic growth.

These efforts paid off. The economy rose rapidly all over the country, with few regions reporting GDP growth rate below 10 percent. A series of new infrastructure was completed, and manufacturing sprang in both rural and urban areas. But the side effects soon came up. The supply of low-priced or even free land to foreign investors led to a sharp rise in land development for industrial projects and a steep fall in farmlands. Realizing these problems, China began to correct its neglect of other aspects during the pursuit of economic growth.

1. What central task did the Chinese government advocate in 1978?

A．Environmental protection.	B．Economic growth.
C．Manufacture promotion.	D．Capital accumulation.

2. How did China solve the capital problem?

A．By loaning money from foreign banks.	B．By selling equipment and land.
C．By seeking foreign investors.	D．By raising funds from the public.

3. Which of the following statements is True?

A．China's economy experienced ups and downs.

B．Foreign investment was a win-win policy.

C．GDP growth in many regions was below 10 %.

D．Policies were adopted for better environment.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．China's Problems in Promoting Economy

B．China's Policy in Foreign Investment

C．China's Success in Fighting Against Poverty

D．China's Efforts in Economic Development