【推荐1】Microsoft has developed a new smartphone app that interprets eye signals and translates them into letters, allowing people with motor neurone disease to communicate with others from a phone.

The GazeSpeak app combines a smartphone’s camera with artificial intelligence to recognize eye movements in real time and convert them into letters, words and sentences.

For people suffering from ALS（渐冻症）, also known as motor neurone disease, eye movement can be the only way they are able to communicate.

“Current eye-tracking input systems for people with ALS or other motor impairments are expensive, not robust under sunlight, and inconvenient to operate and carry,” said Xiaoyi Zhang,a researcher at Microsoft who developed the technology.

“To overcome the drawbacks, we created GazeSpeak, which is designed to be low-cost, robust, portable and easy to learn.”

The app is used by the listener by pointing his smartphone at the speaker. A chart that can be stuck to the back of the smartphone is then used by the speaker to determine which eye movements to make in order to communicate.

The sticker shows four grids of letters, which each corresponds to a different eye movement. By looking up, down, left or right, the speaker selects which grids the letters they want belong to. The artificial intelligence system is then able to predict the word or sentence they are trying to say.

Zhang’s research, Smartphone-Based Gaze Gesture Communication for People with Motor Disabilities, is set to be presented at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in May.

1. What’s the major function of Paragraph 1?

A．To arouse the reader’s concern.

B．To summarize the whole passage.

C．To state how GazeSpeak app works.

D．To introduce the topic of the passage.

2. The GazeSpeak app is designed to          .

A．convert eye movements into letters, words and sentences

B．help ALS sufferers communicate with others

C．use artificial intelligence to control a camera

D．be used by the people who talk with ALS sufferers

3. The GazeSpeak app is an eye-tracking input system which is          .

A．expensive	B．inconvenient
C．not robust	D．Portable

4. The artificial intelligence system is able to predict the words by          .

A．selecting the right letters through eye movements

B．pointing smartphone at the speaker

C．sticking a chart to the smartphone

D．showing four grids of letters to the listeners

【推荐2】Japanese engineer Masaaki Nagumo had always dreamed of operating a robot from “Mobile Suit Gundam”, a popular animation(动画) TV series.It was Nagumo's favourite show when he was a child. The series features huge, human­controlled machines in battle.

Now Nagumo has made the show come to life. Inspired by the machines, he has built a large robot called LW­Mononofu.The farming machinery company Sakakibara Kikai developed it.The robot is 8.5 meters tall, has two legs and weighs more than seven tons.It has a seating area with devices for the pilot to control the robot's arms and legs.

The “Mobile Suit Gundam” series inspired movies, video games and more.And Nagumo thought the robot could be popular as well.“I think this can be turned into a business opportunity.”he said.

Sakakibara Kikai develops robots and entertainment machines in addition to its main agriculture machinery business. At a price of about $930 an hour, people can rent the machines for children's birthday parties and other events. The company has created robots of all sizes. There is the almost 3.5­meter­tall Landwalker, the smaller Kids' Walker Cyclops, and the MechBoxer boxing(拳击) machine.

But the Mononofu stands above them all. It also does more complex movements. It can move its fingers and turn its upper body, and walk forward and backward. However, it moves very slowly—at a speed of less than one kilometer per hour. Although it may be slow, the Mononofu is very powerful.The air gun on its right arm shoots(发射) balls of soft material at 140 kilometers per hour.

“As an animation­inspired robot that one can ride, I think this is the biggest in the world,”Nagumo said. But Mononofu might be a bit too large.It is unable to leave the factory without being taken apart because it was built taller than the entrance.

1. What inspired Nagumo to create LW­Mononofu?

A．A machine.	B．A video game.
C．A movie.	D．An animation series.

2. What's the advantage of LW­Mononofu, compared with other robots made by Sakakibara Kikai?

A．It's safer.	B．It's more powerful.
C．It walks faster.	D．It's more flexible.

3. What makes LW­Mononofu outstanding?

A．Its size.	B．Its popularity.
C．Its function.	D．Its material.

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

A．Movie robots to be remembered

B．New robots popular with farmers

C．A Japanese engineer builds a huge robot

D．Robots step into the daily lives of Japanese

【推荐3】Although we're surrounded by millions of bricks every day, most of us don't think about them too often. For thousands of years, the humble clay-fired bricks haven't changed.

They're made from natural materials, but there are problems with bricks at every step of their production. Bricks are made from clay—a type of soil found all over the world. Clay mining is harmful to plant growth. In conventional brick production, the clay is shaped and baked in kilns(窑) mostly heated by fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change. Once made, bricks must be transported to construction sites, generating more carbon emissions. With so many bricks produced globally, their impact adds up.

Gabriela Medero, a professor at Scotland's Heriot-Watt University, decided to find solutions to that. With her university's support, Medero set up Kenoteq in 2009. The company's signature product is the K-Briq. Made from more than 90% construction waste, Medero says the K-Briq—which does not need to be fired in a kiln—produces less than a tenth of the carbon emissions of conventional bricks. With the company testing new machinery to start scaling up production, Medero hopes her bricks will help to build a more sustainable world.

The K-Briq will be comparably priced to conventional bricks. Additionally, as a new product, the K-Briq has been subjected to strict assessment and authoritative certification. Reusing old bricks is an expensive process and there is no standardized way to check the strength, safety or durability (耐久性) of recycled bricks. Medero says that K-Briq could solve both these problems. She claims that K-Briq is stronger and more durable than fired clay bricks.

Over the next 18 months, Medero plans to get K-Briq machines on-site at recycling plants. "This will reduce transport-related emissions because trucks can collect K-Briq when they drop off construction waste," says Medero.

1. What inspired Medero to invent the K-Briq?

A．The poor quality of the conventional bricks.

B．The outdated style of the conventional bricks.

C．The high cost of manufacturing conventional bricks.

D．The problems with the conventional brick production.

2. Why is the K-Briq production sustainable?

A．It won't produce waste.

B．It brings no pollution to the air.

C．The plants occupy much less land than before.

D．The K-Briq is mainly made from construction waste.

3. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．The popularity of the K-Briq.

B．The advantages of K-Briq over traditional bricks.

C．The special materials used in K-Briq.

D．The advanced technology used for K-Briq.

4. Why does Medero decide to put K-Briq machines at recycling factories?

A．To ensure fewer emissions.

B．To speed up the production.

C．To lower the production cost.

D．To collect more construction waste.

【推荐1】Bioprinting is a branch of regenerative medicine currently under development. It is a biological cousin of 3D printing, a technique that deposits layers of material on top of each other to construct a three - dimensional object. Instead of starting with metal or plastic, a 3D printer for organs and tissues uses bioink. The main part of many bioinks are water-rich molecules(分子) called hydrogels. Mixed into those are millions of living cells as well as various chemicals that encourage cells to communicate and grow.

Let's say you want to print a meniscus(半月板), which is made up of sales called chondrocytes. First, you will need a healthy supply of them for your bioink. Then, bioink gets loaded into a printing chamber and pushed through a round nozzle(喷嘴), it comes out from the nozzle and can produce a continuous filament(细丝) roughly the thickness of a human fingernail. A computerized image or file guides the placement, either onto a flat surface or into a liquid bath that'll help hold the structure in place until it stabilizes. After printing, some bioinks will harden immediately, others need UV light or an additional chemical or physical process to stabilize the structure.

If the printing process is successful, the cells in the tissue will begin to behave the same way cells do in real tissue: Signaling to each other, exchanging nutrients, and multiplying. We can already print relatively simple structure like this mensicus. However, replicating the complex biochemical environment of a major organ is a sleep challenge. One of the biggest challenges is how to supply oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in a full-size organ.

That's why researchers are busy developing ways to incorporate blood vessels into bioprinted tissue. There's huge potential to use bioprinting to save lives. And the technology opens up a lot of possibilities. Could we one day engineer organs that surpass current human capability, or give ourselves features like unburnable skin?

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．A giant leap for medicine.

B．A brief introduction to the bioprinting.

C．Advantages of bioprinting over 3D.

D．The relationship between bioprinting and 3D printing

2. Which procedure is required to print a meniscus?

A．The collection of chondrocytes.	B．The separation of. filament.
C．The use of UV light.	D．the supply of nutrients.

3. What's the author's attitude to the technology of bioprinting?

A．Hopeful.

B．Indifferent.

C．Critical.

D．Ambiguous

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．The magic of 3D printing

B．The challenges for bioprinting

C．3D printing： From Plastic to Bioink

D．Bioprinting： Can We Create Brand New Organs?

【推荐3】A new study suggests the Apple Watch was able to identify abnormal heart rates that could be linked to a serious heart condition.

More than 400,000 Apple Watch users volunteered for the study. It was a project of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Apple, the American technology company, provided money for the study. Results were recently presented at a major conference on heart health in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The researchers looked for signs of atrial fibrillation, also called “a-fib”, the most common form of irregular heartbeat. Some people with a-fib feel changes in their heartbeat, while others do not. Because of this, many people do not know they have the condition. People with untreated a-fib are about five times more likely to suffer a stroke. In the United States, a-fib causes an estimated 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations each year.

People taking part in the study wore the Apple Watch for extended periods. The devices contain an app that continuously gathers information without users having to do anything. It uses the watch’s light sensor technology to measure blood flow. The system is designed to identify changes that might show an irregular heartbeat.

The researchers said that out of those taking part, about 2,000 subjects received a warning from the device that they might have a problem. Those individuals were then asked to contact a doctor, who decided whether they should receive more close watch for a possible irregular heartbeat.

Lloyd Minor, head of Stanford’s School of Medicine, said in a statement that the results show great promise in using technology to create “more predictive and preventive health care”. Doctor Minor added that a-fib is just one example of a condition devices can help identify in the future. “This study opens the door to further research into wearable technologies and how they might be used to prevent disease before it strikes,” he said.

But some health researchers warned against making any general judgements based on the Apple-financed study. They have called for much more research to measure the effectiveness of wearable devices to identify signs of disease. Richard Kovacs, who was with the American College of Cardiology and was not involved with the study, told the Associated Press that despite the results, the Apple Watch system “is not perfect.” He noted that since the study did not have a comparison group getting regular ECG measurements, there is no way of knowing if the device missed heartbeat problems. This could give users a false sense of security, he said.

Other experts agreed that more studies are needed before similar device-based health observation systems are widely recommended.

1. What does the new study mainly find out?

A．Apple Watch can warn of heart problems.	B．Apple Watch can protect people against a-fib.
C．Abnormal heart rates can cause a stroke.	D．Heart problems can be identified and cured.

2. Apple Watch identifies irregular heartbeats by _____.

A．measuring the wearer’s heart rates	B．sending information to the wearer through an app
C．extending the time of wearing it	D．monitoring the wearer’s bloodstream

3. Which of the following might be what Lloyd Minor means in his statement?

A．It’s difficult for doctors to predict and prevent disease now.

B．A-fib is just one example of a condition that causes heart problems.

C．Wearable technologies might identify and treat any disease one day.

D．There are more possibilities of development in wearable technology.

4. It can be concluded from the passage that _____.

A．wearable technologies are developing fast but shouldn’t be applied to medicine

B．the study results are inspiring but more proofs are needed to ensure the accuracy

C．the study is sponsored by a commercial company so the results are a little unfair

D．device-based health observation systems are convenient and should be widely used

【推荐1】Researchers believe they have found an unknown kind of whale in waters off Mexico's western coast. If others verify the finding, the new whale will be an important discovery among giant animals.

The team of researchers came upon three unusual whales while following a rare group of beaked whales. The whales were near Mexico's distant San Benito Islands, about 500 km south of the U. S. border. Beaked whales usually avoid meeting humans.

Jay Barlow studies sea animals. He noted that it was a very unusual meeting. "It's very rare to even see a beaked whale, and to find a group of friendly beaked whales, it's even rarer, " he said.

Barlow said he and other researchers did not realize they were seeing a possible new kind of whale until later. The group saw something different about the whales' teeth when they studied the photos they took of the animals. The underwater recordings of the whales' calls also suggested they were different from all others.

The researchers are now waiting for test results on water they collected near the whales. There could be skin cells in the water from the whales. If so, they will examine the DNA to make sure whether the whales are a new species.

Though up to 5 meters long, the whales can be hard for scientists to see. That is because they usually swim and eat at depths of around 914 meters. They only come up at times for air. In the deep water, the animals can stay away from their main enemy—killer whales.

Barlow said that finding a new species is a rare event. His team has evidence about the whales that looks like a new discovery. He said the DNA testing would help determine it and he hoped the whales could be determined as a new species. That would bring the number of known beaked whale species to 24.

1. What does the underlined word "verify” in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Value.

B．Refuse.

C．Prove.

D．Research.

2. What made the researchers believe that they might find a new whale species?

A．The whales' huge size.	B．The whales' sounds.
C．The shape of the whales' mouth.	D．The whales’ friendly behavior.

3. Why do beaked whales prefer to live in the deep water?

A．To find enough food.	B．To keep themselves safe.
C．To avoid meeting humans.	D．To reduce the need for air.

4. What was Barlow's attitude towards determining the beaked whales as a new species?

A．Uncaring.

B．Doubtful.

C．Worried.

D．Supportive.

【推荐2】One way to divide up the world is between people who like to explore new possibilities and those who stick to the tried and true. In fact, the tension between betting on a sure thing and taking a chance that something unexpected and wonderful might happen troubles human and nonhuman animals alike.

Take songbirds, for example. The half-dozen finches (雀) resting at my desk feeder all summer know exactly what they'll find there: black sunflower seed, and lots of it. Meanwhile, the warblers (莺) exploring the woods nearby don't depend on this predictable food source in fine weather. As food hunters, they enjoy less exposure to predators and, as a bonus, the chance to meet the perfect mate flying from tree to tree.

This "explore-exploit" trade-off (权衡) has prompted scores of lab studies, computer simulations and algorithms (算法) trying to determine which strategy brings in the greatest reward. Now a new study of human behavior in the real world, published last month in the journal Nature Communications, shows that in good times, there isn't much of a difference between pursuing novelty and sticking to the status quo (原状) When the going gets tough, however, explorers are the winners.

The new study, led by Shay O'Farrell and James Sanchirico, both of the University of California, Davis, along with Orr Spiegel of Tel Aviv University, examined the routes and results of nearly 2,500 commercial fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico over a period of 2.5 years. The study focused on "bottom longline" fishing, a system where hundreds of lines are attached to a horizontal bar that is then lowered to reach the sea bed. Dr. O'Farrell explained the procedure this way: Go to a location and put the line down. Stay for a few hours. The lines are a mile long and have a buoy (浮标) at either end. When they pull that up, they assess the catch, and then decide if they will stay or move on to a different spot.

Over two years of collecting data under various climate conditions, the researchers discovered that the fishermen were fairly consistent. "The exploiters would go to a smaller set of locations over and over, and go with what they know," Dr. O'Farrell said. The explorers would constantly try a wider range; they'd sample new places.

In the long run, there wasn't a huge difference in payoffs between the two groups, perhaps due to the sharing information between fishing crews, said Dr. O'Farrell. But in challenging times, the study's message was clear: "You can try new things in the face of uncertainty."

1. The author takes the songbird as an example to indicate that _____.

A．like birds, humans tend to be satisfied with the predictable

B．some birds are used to looking for food instead of being fed

C．there exist the conservative and the adventurous like humans

D．birds choose different ways to look for food in different weather

2. According to the third paragraph, people who mastered "explore-exploit" trade-off _____.

A．will choose either to pursue novelty or keep the status quo

B．are ready to risk in time of difficulty

C．will be tough in good times and bad times

D．will grow to be experts in lab studies

3. Which can be inferred from the new study led by Shay O'Farrell and James Sanchirico?

A．The two groups react to the unexpected differently.

B．The "explore-exploit" trade-off helps scientific research a lot.

C．The exploiters are used to fishing based solely on their experience.

D．The explorers tend to achieve more than the exploiters in the long run.

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

A．How the Exploiter differs from the Explorer

B．How to Become a Productive Fisherman

C．What is "Explore-Exploit" Trade-off

D．When to take risks matters

【推荐3】Your children's education doesn’t have to stop after school. These game apps for your iPhone, iPad and Android will keep your youngsters’ minds active outside the classroom. Of course, let your children play the developmental games in moderation.

Elmo Loves 123s

Help your children identify and count numbers from 1 to 20 and do some simple calculation. Everyone's favorite furry character, Elmo, and Abby Cadabby will guide kids along the way. （under five years,$4.99; iPad）

Habitat the Game

Players adopt a virtual polar bear and must complete real-world actions, such as turning off lights and conserving water, to keep the creature healthy. Kids will take pride in making an actual difference in the world with these exciting games. (4 years+, free; iPhone, iPad, Android)

Disney Story Central

Bedtime just gets a lot less painful thanks to Disney Story Central. The large selection of e-books star Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, the princesses, and Doc MacStuffins. Plus, the bookworms will earn awards as progress is made day by day.(2 years+, free for iPad for the first 4 books, with additional purchase packages starting at$4)

GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine

GoldieBlox, the toy company focusing on inspiring girls to become innovators, has created GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine, its first app for inspiring engineers. Your kids will learn the basics of cartoons and create her own one-second animated GiFs. (6 years+, free; iphone iPad)

1. Which of the apps can teach kids to care about the environment?

A．Elmo Loves 123s.	B．Habitat the Game.
C．Disney Story Central.	D．GoldieBlox and the Movie Machine.

2. What do we know about Disney Story Central?

A．It is designed for girls.	B．It is suitable for all ages.
C．It offers rewards to advancers.	D．It offers free books to iPhone users.

3. Who is the text most probably written for?

A．Young engineers.	B．Parents.
C．Game developers.	D．Teenagers.

【推荐1】Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to take control of Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, most of the Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived(复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

1. What does the underlined phrase “take control of” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．reach.	B．conquer.
C．challenge.	D．support.

2. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?

A．How the Irish fought against the English.

B．How Ireland gained independence.

C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D．How two “Irelands” came into being.

3. We learn from the text that in Ireland ________.

A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population

B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D．different kinds of old Irish songs are ail sung with instruments

【推荐2】Science is finally beginning to embrace animals who were, for a long time, considered second-class citizens.

Annie Potts of Canterbury University has noted that hens trained to pick colored buttons sometimes choose to give up an immediate food reward for a slightly later (and better) one.

Pigs respond meaningful to human symbols. When a research team carried wooden blocks marked with X and O symbols around pigs, only the O carriers offered food to the animals. The pigs soon ignored the X carriers in favor of the O's. Then the team switched from real-life objects to T-shirts printed with X or O symbols. Still, the pigs walked only toward the O-shirted people: they had transferred their knowledge to a two-dimensional format, a not inconsiderable feat of reasoning.

I’ve been guilty of prejudiced expectations, myself. At the start of my career, I was firmly convinced that monkeys and apes who are from our own mammalian(哺乳动物的) class out-think and out-feel other animals. Fairly soon, I came to see that whales too are masters of cultural learning, and elephants express profound joy and mourning with their social companions. Long-term studies helped to fuel a viewpoint shift in our society: the public no longer so easily accepts monkeys made to undergo painful procedure kin laboratories, elephants forced to perform in circuses, and dolphins kept in small tanks at theme parks.

Animal activists are already there, of course, committed to not eating these animals. But what about the rest of us? Can paying attention to the thinking and feeling of these animals lead us to make changes in who we eat?

1. According to Annie Potts, what ability do hens have?

A．interaction

B．analysis

C．creation

D．abstraction

2. What does the research into pigs show?

A．That pigs learn letters quickly.	B．That pigs have a good eyesight.
C．That pigs can build up a good relationship.	D．That pigs can apply knowledge to new situations.

3. What does Paragraph 4 mainly suggest?

A．The similarities between mammals and humans.

B．The necessity of long-term studies on mammals.

C．A change in people's attitudes towards animals.

D．A discovery of how animals express themselves.

4. What might be the best title for the passage?

A．The Inner Lives of Food Animals	B．The Lifestyles of Food Animals
C．Science Reports on Food Animals	D．A Revolution in Food Animals

【推荐3】阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。
Many people in high school cannot wait to go to college and leave their hometown behind.Questions arise, though, when it comes to all of the decisions involved in choosing a college.
One of the first considerations may be finance. State and public colleges are often the least expensive. Often, though, the better colleges are private and more expensive. It is sad when gifted students cannot attend a college of their choice just for financial reasons.
Another major factor is location. Whether the college is in a small town or large city can have a major impact on its activities. A water lover probably will be more comfortable spending four years near an ocean or a lake.Those who cannot tolerate heat will probably be more comfortable at a northern college. Distance from home may also come into consideration.If family is a top priority, that person should stay close to home; on the other hand, if independence is desired, a campus farther from home would be more appropriate.
School size also plays a major role in the decision process. If you want to get to know your teachers, a small college is suitable. For those of you who consider yourself a “people_person” and want a wide range of activities, a large college is more fitting. Your area of interest is another factor to consider in the decision­making process if you want to get the most from your education. The whole point of college is to learn what is of interest to you.
Crucially(至关重要地), one must take into consideration the colleges by which you can realistically be accepted. An Ivy League school for an average student would probably not be a good match. Similarly, an average school for an above­average student would not work well. The college should provide enough of a challenge for the student to work hard.Although there may not be the perfect college out there, there probably will be one that is close.Those who cannot find a suitable college are probably not looking hard enough.
1. When it comes to going to college the author thinks ________.

A．students will become homesick

B．students are unwilling to leave their home

C．financial situation is the first to consider

D．students are eager to attend their ideal university

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

A．The location of the college is a main factor.

B．A long distance will make students upset.

C．Students can be independent at college.

D．The climate must be taken into consideration.

3. What does the underlined part “people person” in the passage mean?

A．A very sociable person.

B．A very particular person.

C．A person of great capacity.

D．A person of great importance.

4. Which is the most important factor when choosing a college?

A．The location of a college.

B．The coming challenges.

C．School size.

D．The examination result.