【推荐3】Android phones will be used to sense earthquakes around the world and may one day be able to provide global warnings, with the first mass alert system coming into use on August 11 in California, a search engine company announced.

The company, which helped develop Android, worked with California and the United States Geological Survey to build the quake alerts into all phones that run the common mobile operating system. Android users who have enabled location services and are near a quake of magnitude 4.5 or greater will receive a full-screen earthquake warning telling them to seek cover. The screen also will provide estimates of the quake’s magnitude and distance from the user. Depending on their distance from a quake, people could get several seconds or perhaps a minute of warning.

Users won’t need to download California’s MyShake app in order to receive the alerts. That application, developed by the University of California, Berkeley and launched last year, has been downloaded by only about 1 million of California’s 40 million residents. By contrast, many millions of people own Android phones.

“This announcement means that California’s world-class earthquake early warning system will be a standard function on every Android phone — giving millions of people precious seconds to seek cover and hold on when the big one hits,” Gov.Gavin Newsom said in a statement. The iPhone users won’t receive the alerts through Apple’s operating system, but they can download the MyShake app.

Also, the company announced that Android phones would begin detecting earthquakes from around the world through their motion-sensing accelerometers. “Your Android phone can be a mini-seismometer, joining millions of other Android phones out there to form the world’s largest earthquake detection network,” according to a blog post of the company. More than 2 billion devices run the Android operating system. Hundreds of millions of people live in earthquake-prone areas. But many countries lack the resources to build detection and alert systems, the company said. The information will be used at first to provide fast and accurate information on the search engine. But the company said it could begin sending out earthquake alerts next year.

1. If an earthquake hits the US, who won’t receive the earthquake warning?

A．Android users who haven’t downloaded the MyShake app.

B．The iPhone users who have downloaded the MyShake app.

C．The iPhone users who haven’t downloaded the MyShake app.

D．Android users who have downloaded the MyShake app.

2. What can we learn from the text?

A．Millions of people have downloaded the MyShake app.

B．The earthquake early warning system will be of great help.

C．The search engine company has already sent out earthquake alerts since last year.

D．Over 2 billion devices run the Apple operating system.

3. What will globalize the search engine company’s earthquake detection network?

A．New technology developed by the company.

B．The large number of Android phone users.

C．Motion-sensing accelerometers.

D．The newly developed MyShake app.

4. What is the author’s purpose of writing the text?

A．To share a new MyShake app.

B．To promote Android phones.

C．To make a search engine company known to the world.

D．To introduce a new function of Android phones.

【推荐1】Chinese scientists have created the world's first light-based quantum (量子)computer named Jiuzhang. It is a milestone in which a quantum machine can solve a problem no classical supercomputer can tackle within a reasonable amount of time.

Experts recognized the Chinese machine as a “state-of-the-art experiment”. Fabio Sciarrino, a quantum physicist at Sapienza University of Rome, told Science News that his first impression of the Chinese quantum computer was, simply, “wow”. Anton Zeilinger, noted quantum physicist and president of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, said that, following this experiment, he predicts there is a very good chance that quantum computers may be used very broadly someday.

Quantum computers stand out at running simulations that are impossible for conventional computers. Quantum machines can take computational shortcuts when simulating extremely complex situations, while conventional computers have to force their way to a solution, taking significantly more time in the process. Moreover, it can perform an extreme calculation, called Gaussian boson sampling, in 200 seconds. The same task would take the world's fastest classical supercomputer, Fugaku, around 600 million years.

Pan Jianwei, who is recognized as China's top quantum scientist and one of the key researchers behind Jiuzhang, said the calculations they carried out can not only showcase the machine's computing power but also demonstrate potential practical applications in machine learning and quantum chemistry.

“Quantum computing has already become a fierce competition area among the United States, Europe and other developed regions, ” Pan said, adding that China's quantum computational advantage took about 7 to 10 years to achieve, since the team first decided to tackle the problem around 2013.

However, Pan stressed that the quantum computer is a highly specialized machine, and is currently only programmed to do boson sampling. “It is not a general-purpose quantum computer, ” he said. In the near future, scientists may increase Jiuzhang's possible output states—a key indicator of computing power—from 10 to the 30th power to 10 to the 40th power.

1. What is the Anton Zeilingefs attitude towards quantum computer?

A．Negative.

B．Optimistic.

C．Doubtful.

D．Satisfied.

2. How does the author support his opinion in Paragraph 3 ?

A．By making contrasts.	B．By presenting reasons.
C．By analyzing figures.	D．By conducting experiments.

3. What may be the next main focus in developing Jiuzhang?

A．Capacity.

B．Programme.

C．Storage.

D．Application.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．High recognition of Chinese experts in the world.

B．Fierce competition in Boson sampling all over the world.

C．Appearance of the world's first light-based quantum computer.

D．Distinctions between quantum computer and conventional computer.

【推荐3】Nature is like a great magician, performing wonders on Earth. One of them is the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest and home to millions of plants and animals. Nicknamed "the lungs of our planet", it generates about one-fifth of Earth's oxygen. However, this wonderful natural wonder is currently in danger.

Thousands of fires have broken out in Brazil, endangering much of the rainforest. These blazes have lasted several weeks and are believed to be the "most intense" in almost a decade, according to BBC News.

The Amazon has seen a large number of fires in 2019. Between January and August, there were over 74,000 fires the highest number since 2013, the BBC reported.

Forest fires are common during the dry season, which runs from July to October. They are usually caused by natural events, such as lightning strikes. However, most of the fires this year are believed to be caused by farmers, who use fire as a traditional part of tropical agriculture to clean land, reported CNN.

The disaster has raised concern around the world. The Amazon rainforest is important for preventing climate change, said the BBC, absorbing millions of tons of carbon annually. When trees are cut down or burned, the rainforest's capacity （能力）to absorb carbon is reduced.

Brazilian climate expert Carlos Nobre told Reuters he's worried. If more than 20 percent of the ecosystem is destroyed, the Amazon rainforest could reach a "tipping point （临界点）where the thick jungle will turn into a tropical savannah （大草原）.

Nobre warned that it is not far off, with between 15 and 17 percent of the rainforest having already been destroyed.

The Brazilian government has sent soldiers to fight the fires. Many people have offered their support and called for recovery efforts. For example, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, said he wanted to donate money and US Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental charity, Earth Alliance, created a donation fund to help deal with the crisis.

The public are also encouraged to donate to charities concerned with rainforest preservation （保护）."Every little bit helps in a tragic situation like this," commented Gizmodo.

1. The underlined word "intense" in Para.2 probably means _______.

A．natural

B．fierce

C．common

D．unexpected

2. What is the main cause of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest this year?

A．Lightning strikes.	B．Hot weather.
C．Agricultural activities.	D．Garbage left by tourists.

3. What was Nobre worried about in the article?

A．Global temperatures will rise.

B．The Amazon rainforest is close to disappearing.

C．Animals in the Amazon rainforest are under threat.

D．It will take decades for the Amazon rainforest to recover.

4. What are the last two paragraphs mainly about?

A．What the Brazilian government has done to fight fires.

B．Celebrities who care about rainforest preservation.

C．The possible future of the Amazon rainforest.

D．Efforts made to save the Amazon rainforest.

【推荐1】Scientists have discovered an underwater coral tower near the Great Barrier Reef(大堡礁) that’s taller than New York’s Empire State Building. It’s the tallest underwater structure discovered in over 120 years.

The researchers who discovered the reef were on a year-long trip aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research ship Falkor, where they were working to map the sea floor around Australia.

The scientists used a special underwater robot called SuBastian to help them explore and develop 3D maps. In late October, as part of their exploration, the team came across the tower. It’s known as a “detached reef”, since its structure isn’t attached to the Great Barrier Reef, but rises on its own from the sea floor.

At the bottom, the tower is nearly a mile wide. But from there, it becomes much more narrow, rising 1,640 feet and stopping just 130 feet below the surface of the ocean. The lower is one o£ eight similar towers near Northern Australia’s Cape York Peninsula. The other seven towers were discovered in the 1880’s.

“It’s a big reef not to have known about,” said Tom Bridge, “What it highlights is how little we know about the ocean, even the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is bigger than many European countries and that only a small part of it is made of the shallow water reefs it’s famous for.”

Overall, the Great Barrier Reef is struggling. Recent studies have shown that about half of its corals have died in the last 25 years, in part because of rising ocean temperatures due to the climate crisis. Over the last year, the Falkor’s scientific team has discovered 30 new kinds of sea creatures. In March, they discovered what they believe is the longest sea creature ever recorded. The animal is called a “siphonophore” and it’s 150 feet long.

1. What did researchers do by Falkor around Australia?

A．Seek for coral lowers.	B．Make a map of sea floor.
C．Research unknown species.	D．Film the Great Barrier Reef.

2. What do we know about SuBastian?

A．It’s the most advanced underwater robot.

B．It contributes to the discovery of the tower.

C．It is suitable to detect building structures.

D．It reports important discoveries under water.

3. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The shape of the tower.	B．The history of the tower.
C．The position of the tower.	D．The information of the tower.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．Europe used to ignore the Great Barrier Reef.

B．Climate crisis is ruining the Great Barrier Reef.

C．Tom Bridge has been researching the Great Barrier Reef.

D．More research should be done on the Great Barrier Reef.

【推荐2】One of my favorite posters says, “Life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been a real life, you would have been instructed where to go and what to do.” Whenever I think of this humorous bit of wisdom, it reminds me not to take my life so seriously.

When you look at life and its many challenges as a test, or series of tests, you begin to see each issue you face as an opportunity to grow, a chance to discover more about life. Whether you’re being bombarded(轰炸) with problems, responsibilities, even insurmountable(不能超越的) difficulties, when looked at as a test, you always have a chance to succeed, in the sense of rising above that which is challenging you. If, on the other hand, you see each new issue you face as a serious battle that must be won in order to survive, you’re probably in a very rocky journey. The only time you’re likely to be happy is when everything is working out just right. And we all know how often that happens.

As an experiment, see if you can apply this idea to something you are forced to deal with. Perhaps you have much pressure from your parents or you have a demanding boss. See if you can redefine the issue you face from being a “problem” to being a test. Rather than struggling with your issue, see if there is something you can learn from it. Ask yourself, “Why is this an issue in my life? What would it mean and what would be involved to rise above it? Could I possibly look at this issue any differently? Can I see it as a test of some kind?”

If you give this strategy(策略) a try you may be surprised at your changed responses. It has become far more acceptable to me to accept things as they are.

1. When you begin to consider life as a test, you will find ______.

A．you are bombarded with problems and responsibilities

B．the result of the test is so good that you are likely to be happy

C．you have many opportunities to grow

D．you have a very demanding boss

2. When you see each new issue as a serious battle, you ______.

A．will have more chances to succeed

B．are likely to become happy about life

C．will know how often it happens

D．are probably to experience a bitter life

3. According to the passage, you’d better look at life as a test when ______.

A．you try to get the meaning of the poster

B．you are struggling with your issue

C．you are carrying out an experiment

D．you are in a very rocky journey

4. According to the passage, what is the author’s attitude towards life?

A．He considers life as a test.

B．He has difficulty in facing his hard life.

C．He thinks life is full of humorous wisdom.

D．He thinks life is not only a test but also a serious battle.

【推荐3】Over 400 human footprints preserved in volcanic sediment （沉淀物）provide a sign at social life among ancient hunter-gatherers. The impressions, found in northern Tanzania, add up to Africa's largest collection of ancient human footprints, say evolutionary biologist Kevin Hatala of Chatham University in Pittsburgh and colleagues. People walked across a muddy layer of volcanic ashes dating to between 19,100 and 5,760 years ago, the researchers reported on May 14 in Scientific Reports. Dating of a thin rock layer that partly overlaps （重 叠）the sediment narrows the footprints' age to about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Hatala's team analyzed footprint sizes, distances between prints and which way prints pointed. One collection of tracks was made by 17 people walking southwest. Comparisons with modern prints suggest that this group consisted of fourteen women, two men and one young boy. The women may have been searching for foods while a few males visited or accompanied them, the researchers infer. Some present-day hunter-gatherers form lately female food-gathering groups.

The study is "a nice piece of work”, although it's hard to specify what people were doing, says geologist Matthew Bennett of Bournemouth University in Poole, England.

Many more sets of footprint tracks would be needed to argue convincingly that hunter-gatherers at that time had female food-gathering groups, Bennett says. And it would still be unknown if the women were gathering plants or hunting prey. Other footprint sites present especially promising opportunities for studying ancient behavior, he says. He is involved in work in New Mexico that has uncovered tens of thousands of footprints of humans and other creatures from more than 10,000 years ago. Early results suggest that humans there hunted giant sloths （树 獭）.Bennett expects those prints will yield more insights into Stone Age hunting.

1. What does the underlined word "impressions” in the first paragraph mean?

A．Thoughts about people or things.	B．Collections of volcanic ashes.
C．Marks left by creatures or something.	D．Behaviors of imitating someone-

2. What do the newly-discovered footprints suggest?

A．Ancient hunters were socially organized.

B．Ancient male hunters were admired by females.

C．Female food-gathering groups were obviously formed.

D．Males played a more important role in finding food than females.

3. What can we learn according to the last paragraph?

A．The females gathered plants or hunted prey in the Stone Age.

B．The footprint tracks have proved female food-gathering groups existed.

C．The footprint sites provide a good chance to further study ancient behavior

D．The footprints will hardly influence our understanding of Stone Age hunting.

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

A．How Ancient Hunters Gathered Food

B．What Ancient Hunan Footprints Were Like

C．What Ancient Human Footprints Tell Us

D．How Ancient Food-Gathering Groups Cooperated

【推荐1】One has to look a long time for an American politician of any political stripe who has failed to applaud small businesses. Still, many have little clue as to what makes such businesses succeed or fail.

Federal agencies aimed at helping small business, such as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency, have been around for half a century, yet persistent differences remain between the performance of businesses founded by white, male entrepreneurs and the rest. Blacks are less likely to be self-employed, for example, and when they are, their businesses, on average, have lower sales and profits than do their white-or Asian-owned counterparts. If researchers could explain the causes of these differences, policy-makers could (at least in theory) supply small businesses with more useful help.

Two researchers for the Census Bureau’s Centre for Economic Studies, Ron Jarmin and C.J. Krizan, recently published a working paper attempting to understand demographic （人口统计学的）differences behind small businesses’ success and failure. They concentrated on the years 2002 to 2005, with three databases at their disposal, hoping to create a more nuanced picture of business survival.

Some of their findings were not terribly surprising. A firm’s chances of survival, regardless of the race or sex of its owner, decreased in poorer areas; and the better the education of the founder, the more likely it was to succeed. Businesses owned by Asians, Hispanics, or Pacific Islanders were more likely to be exporters. Older entrepreneurs were more likely to use personal savings to start their businesses while younger owners were more likely to have to close up shops during the study period than were their middle-aged rivals.

However, the data also confirmed that black- and female-owned businesses tended to perform worse than the average. They were also less likely to have been funded by bank loans. Still, the businesses that survived, regardless of the owner’s race, tended to add employees at similar rates. Furthermore, after controlling for factors such as the education and race of the owner, there was no statistically significant difference in firms’ abilities to expand into different locations. Finally, black entrepreneurs were more likely to have a history of self-employment than their white counterparts. Messrs Jarmin and Krizan’s paper is not the first to suggest that black entrepreneurs, less likely to have other business owners in their family or personal networks, tend to “start small” when they venture out on their own.

Most researchers get to end their papers by speculating, usually without much fear of consequence, as to the policy implications of their work. The authors of this paper, not wishing to imply that the Census Bureau might have policy opinions, declined to do so. But the reader can make some guesses. One is that mentorship programmes may be particularly useful for promoting entrepreneurship among blacks. Another is that reaching out to businesses based on the owner’s race might be less useful than supporting businesses in poorer areas. And small businesses of all stripes would be helped by improving that other institution applauded by politicians: America’s education system.

1. Most politicians in the U.S. _________________.

A．have had some experience in running a small business

B．have made great efforts to help small businesses

C．have paid little attention to small businesses

D．have spoken highly of small businesses

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Federal agencies have failed in giving small businesses much help.

B．Older entrepreneurs were more keen on saving money.

C．Small businesses run by white males are generally more profitable.

D．More federal agencies aimed at helping small businesses will be established.

3. One of Ron Jarmin and C.J.Krizan’s surprising findings is that _______________.

A．successful businesses showed little difference in the rate of hiring employees

B．locations were essential factors for small businesses’ success or failure

C．most black entrepreneurs tended to set up companies by themselves

D．female-owned businesses were the least likely to survive for lack of funds

4. It can be inferred from the passage that ____________________.

A．the Census Bureau’s Center is sponsored by the government

B．mentorship programs have proved unsuccessful

C．education plays a role in running a small business.

D．researchers don’t have much say in how a company is run

【推荐2】When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to bear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like ? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it.“That’s just for you,” he said.“You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

1. What did the father do after he had heard his daughter’s complaint?

A．He told her not to pay any attention to what her“enemy” had said.

B．He criticized (批评) her and told her to overcome her shortcomings.

C．He told her to write down all that her“enemy” had said about her and pay attention only to the things that were true.

D．He refused to take the list and have a look at it.

2. What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

3. Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

4. Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend

B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C．My Father

D．My Childhood

【推荐3】ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One of the world’s most famous fossils (化石) – the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy skeleton (骨骼) unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 – will go on an exhibition tour abroad for the first time in the United States, officials said Tuesday.
Even the Ethiopian public has only seen Lucy twice. The Lucy on exhibition at the Ethiopian National Museum in the capital, Addis Ababa, is a replica while the real remains are usually locked in a secret storeroom. A team from the Museum of National Science in Houston, Texas, spent four years discussing with the Ethiopians for the U.S. tour, which will start in Houston next September.
“Ethiopia’s rich culture of both the past and today, is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Joel Bartsch, director of the Houston museum.
The six-year tour will also go to Washington, New York, Denver and Chicago. Officials said six other U.S. cities may be on the tour. But they said plans had not been worked out.
Travelling with Lucy will be 190 other fossils.
Lucy, her name taken from a Beatles song that played in a camp the night of her discovery, is part of the skeleton of what was once a 3-foot-tall ape-man (猿人).
1. The author writes this text mainly to ___ .

A．introduce a few U.S. museums

B．describe some research work

C．discuss the value of an ape-man

D．report a coming event

2. What does the words “a replica” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A painting of the skeleton.

B．A photograph of Lucy

C．A copy of the skeleton.

D．A written record of Lucy.

3. How many cities has Lucy’s U.S. tour plan already included?

A．Four.

B．Five.

C．Six.

D．Eleven.

4. What was the skeleton named after?

A．An ape-man.

B．A song.

C．A singer.

D．A camp.