Sixteen miles off the windswept coast of northern Scotland, the future of renewable energy is taking shape. Turning rhythmically in the breeze, the five enormous turbines of the Hywind Scotland wind farm look like any other off-shore wind project, except one major difference — they’re floating.
While conventional offshore turbines sit atop mental and concrete towers fixed into the seabed, Hywind’s turbines rest on floating steel structures that rise and fall with waves. Carefully balanced, they remain upright despite the waving conditions. This simple sounding, yet extremely complex design is changing the way green developers view offshore wind.
It could prove to be an important development as the world attempts to meet the net zero carbon emission targets that countries committed to in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The energy department as a whole currently accounts for around three quarters of all the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.
To cut those emissions, green electricity will need to be at the main source of global energy, according to the International Energy Agency. It says that by 2024, half of the world’s energy needs will have to be met by electricity produced in a net zero way.
With growing numbers of electric vehicles, combined with increased demand for electricity to replace fossil fuels in domestic and industrial uses, electricity networks will also need to become far more flexible with more ways to generate and store energy. It means that by 2045, our energy network could look thoroughly different to the way it does today. Projects like Hywind’s floating wind farm offer a present-day glimpse of what the future could look like.
While floating turbines overcome some of the issues that make offshore wind farms in deep waters impossible, there are still challenges to be overcome. There are some concerns about what impact large wind turbines might have on the marine environment. The price of floating wind projects is also still high — costing almost twice as much per megawatt hour of electricity produced compared to bottom-fixed offshore wind. But those costs are expected to drop as the technology becomes increasingly advanced, as has been seen with other wind energy projects, helping pave the way towards net zero emissions, and a future powered by carbon-free fuel.
1. Which of the following words can replace the underlined word “emitted” in the third paragraph?| A．Released. | B．Replaced. | C．Wasted. | D．Influenced. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．To share his research on energy. | B．To call on people to save energy. |
| C．To replace the traditional fossil fuels. | D．To introduce a clean renewable energy. |
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【推荐1】All networks like 3G and 4G will be things of the past, because people already have access to 5G. So, what’s so special about a 5G future? First of all, its download speed can be as fast as 20GB/s, which is 100 to 200 times faster than that of 4G. But what’s more impressive is 5G’s low delay rate. Now, 4G takes an average of 200 milliseconds to send and receive information. But 5G will get it down to 1 millisecond.
5G is a great breakthrough (突破). It’s going to change the way equipment connects to the Internet, and more importantly, to each other. And self-driving cars may be one of the biggest breakthroughs to come out of 5G. Human reaction (反应) time is 200 milliseconds, yet we still have accidents every day. The self-driving car under the 5G network could react and communicate its reaction to hundreds of cars around it, all within 1 millisecond. It’ll play a great role in preventing car accidents and completely ending traffic jams.
5G can benefit us in many other ways. Operations could be performed by robots controlled by experts from the other side of the world. Therefore, more lives will be saved in time. Factories can be staffed by robots that can communicate their tasks to each other, and they can do more work over the 5G network. As a result, more labour forces will be freed.
However, 5G is not perfect. 5G uses the millimeter waves, while 4G uses the 15- to 40-centimeter-long waves. And shorter waves go fast but not very far. On the 4G network, the signal (信号) can go 10 kilometers. But the 5G signal can go at most 300 meters, and it can’t even go through walls or rain. So, what does that mean? Having such a short signal distance means we need to build a lot of signal towers in the future.
1. How does the author introduce 5G in paragraph 1?| A．By giving examples of the uses of 5G. |
| B．By reviewing 5Gˈs development from 4G. |
| C．By providing some basic information of 5G. |
| D．By making comparisons between 4G and 5G. |
| A．To show the advantage of 5G. | B．To prove the importance of 5G. |
| C．To explain the role of self-driving cars. | D．To tell the progress of self-driving cars. |
| A．Be built by robots. | B．Have robots as workers. |
| C．Offer employees robots. | D．Produce more robots. |
| A．It uses longer waves. | B．It needs fewer signal towers. |
| C．It travels a shorter distance. | D．It wonˈt be affected by weather. |
【推荐2】Postmates, an American delivery company, has built a robot, called Serve, which was designed to make short-distance deliveries in cities.
To know what's going on, Serve has a laser radar （激光雷达）sensor on top, in which spinning lasers let it detect objects around it and know how far away they are. Also, behind each artificial eye is a camera, with six more imaging devices spread around the robot. Inside it is another sensor that allows Postmates to know if there is a package in there.
“One of our key decisions early on was to rely heavily on the robot’s ability to see the environment,” says Ali Kashani, the vice president for robotics at Postmates. Since the sidewalk is “a very chaotic environment”，he points out, the robot needs to be able to take it all in and figure out what to do. This robot, and many like it, also must be able to signal their intentions to the pedestrians. For that，it has a number of approaches. One is using its eyes; another is a colorful light ring that goes around the top. “When it wants to make way for a pedestrian, it will use its eyes and look down，” he explains. It can also use the lights on the top as a turn signal，which is obvious, and also look left and right when it’s turning left and right.
Using eye movements and other silent signals is a good idea，” says Aaron Steinfeld, a professor on human-robot interaction （互动）.Serve is intended for sidewalks * and Steinfeld says that environment is challenging. People usually walk fast while staring at a smartphone. For a robot，that’s a lot. “We have active research on robot moving socially around walking people,” he says. “And it，s really tricky to do this well. ”
Postmates plans to use Serve in Los Angeles at first, and that its intended task is to move small objects over short distances”. The robot can travel 30 miles on one charge and is able to carry 50 pounds.
1. What was Serve designed for?| A．Object detection. |
| B．Package transportation. |
| C．Environment protection. |
| D．Short-distance communication. |
| A．Moving objects. |
| B．Sending silent signals. |
| C．Sidewalk environment. |
| D．Pedestrian recognition. |
| A．Calling other robots. |
| B．Signaling to the people nearby. |
| C．Making way for the pedestrians. |
| D．Turning on the colorful light ring. |
| A．To introduce a new robot. |
| B．To explain human-robot interaction. |
| C．To present different opinions on hi-tech. |
| D．To advertise an American delivery company. |
【推荐3】California is speeding up the launch of its robotaxi. Cars without drivers are already becoming a common sight on San Francisco’s winding and foggy streets with a lot of hills. But they’ve been limited in their areas and time of operation, and in some cases have had human safety monitors on board. Last week, California officials voted to remove most restrictions for the two leading self-driving car companies, Waymo and Cruise, letting them charge for rides anywhere in the city 24/7. It’s a critical moment for the industry, which has grown to more than 40 companies reaching millions of miles on public roads every year.
If this is the future, it’s still a tough nut in progress. One San Francisco driverless vehicle rolled into an active fire scene and prevented firefighters from carrying out their work. Others have stopped dead in the middle of traffic. There were 93 reported traffic incidents involving robotaxis in March alone. California regulators shouldn’t be giving robotaxis a free pass. Driverless cars could make a difference to the city streets the way gas-powered automobiles did a century ago. The objection to driverless cars has been similar, too. In San Francisco, one activist group has begun coning self-driving taxis—placing a simple orange cone (圆锥体) on the metal cover of the engine, which seems to “paralyze” an autonomous vehicle.
“I wanted to love robotaxis,” said Elaine Moore in the Financial Times. “Eliminating human error would undoubtedly make roads safer. But then came the time I hailed a Cruise car. A few minutes into the journey, the car suddenly changed course, extending the estimated time to arrival for no reason. Then the car just stopped. We tried to exit but the doors remained locked. Although it was only for a few seconds, it still made me pause before I hopped in another robotaxi anytime soon.”
“These horror stories remain the exception,” said Benjamin Schneider in the MIT Technology Review. “Over the past few years, Cruise and Waymo have added up to over a million driverless miles without accidents in major American cities.” At certain times in San Francisco, he estimated that 1 in 10 cars on the road has no driver behind the wheel. He was amazed that so few people are aware of how quickly this industry is advancing, or have considered the near-term labor and transportation impacts. Like it or not, robotaxis are here.
1. What does “this” refer to in the second paragraph?| A．Restrictions will be cancelled for the self-driving cars. |
| B．Francisco’ streets will be upgraded by California regulators. |
| C．Robotaxis will be in full wings in California around the clock. |
| D．Millions of miles on public roads will be monitored every year. |
| A．To fight against the San Francisco government. |
| B．To make the robotaxis unable to function properly. |
| C．To push for technological progress in driverless cars. |
| D．To imitate what gas-powered automobiles did a century ago. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Unclear. | C．Skeptical. | D．Opposed. |
| A．Robotaxis: a perfect replacement of gas cars |
| B．Robotaxis: an immediate launch of driverless cars |
| C．Robotaxis: an advanced technology around the world |
| D．Robotaxis: a tough issue of transportation in America |
【推荐1】What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is an annual global campaign that encourages people and businesses around the world to switch off electricity at the same time for one hour. Earth Hour started in Australia in2007 when 2.2 million people in Sydney turned off all non-essential lights for an hour. Since then it has grow in to a massive global event. In 2013, millions of people in 7,000 cities and towns around the world switched off their lights for 60 minutes at the end of March. Every year landmarks and well-known buildings around the world take part and go dark for Earth Hour. The campaign even went into space when astronauts reduced power on the International Space Station in 2011.
Who organizes Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It was started by Andy Ridley who is executive director of Earth Hour Global, WWF. He came up with the idea because he wanted to raise awareness of environmental issues by asking people to do something positive to help the planet. Switching off the lights for an hour can make a small difference to the amount of energy we use but Earth Hour is also a symbolic event to make people think about the problems of climate change.
Why March?
The end of March is around the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes(昼夜平分时) in both hemispheres (半球) respectively, when sunset times are at similar times. This means that a global “lights out” event has most visual effect at this time of year.
UK events
As well as famous London landmarks such as Big Ben, London Eye and Buckingham Palace switching off their lights, there are many other events around Britain. On the WWFs interactive map you can see which people, businesses, schools, organizations and landmarks are taking part each year and what they are doing.
1. When and where did Earth Hour begin?| A．In Britain, in 2007. | B．In Sydney, in 2013. |
| C．In London, in 2011. | D．In Australia, in 2007. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．The lights on London Eye are off for an hour. |
| B．The sun sets at the same time around London. |
| C．Businesses switch off all their lights in the day. |
| D．People are rushing to famous London landmarks. |
【推荐2】You may have visited antique stores and found cutting-edge goods in second-hand furniture stores, but have you ever stooping? On the streets of big cities at night, some young people are “looking for something”. Obsessed with the spiritual core of the old thing recycling, they fell in love with it. But what exactly is stooping?
In fact, this English word originally meant “bending over”, and now refers to a way of life of picking up discarded items and renovating and recycling old things, which originally emerged in New York and other foreign big cities.
Since the beginning of last year, the trend of “stooping” has spread to many big cities in China and many young people look for second-hand items such as discarded furniture on the streets, take home and repurpose them with a new look. In order to make the flow of information better, some “stoopers” have also built communities where group members can share “treasures” on the street with each other.
Mikiko, 27, is reportedly one of the first people in China to get involved in practicing stooping. At first, she posted online things that people no longer use, want to throw away, or exchange at home, and slowly hundreds of messages flooded in and since then, stooping has become more and more popular among young people. Mikiko admitted that she was surprised that the concept has become a hit on social media, as older generations often stigmatize picking up things from the street or using second-hand goods. “People like my mom consider stooping as’rubbish-picking’, and people will be looked down upon by doing this.” She even created an app called “Grecycle” where people can give away or take unwanted items for free, hoping people may realize that stooping can also be about doing good and helping others.
This generation of young people has given “new life” to old things, practiced social responsibility in their own environmentally friendly ways in life, and also contributed to the circular economy and sustainable society.
1. What do we know about “stooping” in this text?| A．It was developed in England. | B．It equals to rubbish-picking. |
| C．It is an expression to show respect. | D．It is a way to turn trash to treasure. |
| A．To show off their good use of items. |
| B．To argue about the misuse of good treasure. |
| C．To share the information of the discarded items. |
| D．To make some comments on the abandoned items. |
| A．Be skilled at. | B．Be ashamed of. |
| C．Be fed up with. | D．Be accustomed to. |
| A．Second-hand stores are worth visiting. |
| B．Big cities offer more job opportunities. |
| C．Young people spend less than older people. |
| D．The young have a stronger eco-awareness. |
【推荐3】Although environmental problems have existed for centuries, some people still care little about our environment. Problems like ice melting, electronic waste are lighting up news programs and becoming part of an ongoing dialogue about the environment.
As a teenager, what do you think all the problems mean for your future and for the future of the planet? For our October 2016 writing contest, we want you to really consider what you think about environmental problems.
Use these questions to help focus your essay
● What environmental problem do you think should cause the greatest alarm and action?
● Do you think that you have a personal responsibility to help solve environmental problems or do you feel helpless against the struggle?
● What do you think could help a specific environmental problem?
Don’t try to answer all these questions. Use one of them to make a personal essay.
The title of the essay
When you hand in your essay, title it as: Environmental Problems: _______.
Include the phrase “Environmental Problems” as the beginning of your essay title, but then make the rest of your story title unique. Examples:
● Environmental Problems: Trashy Behavior and the Plastic Bottle
● Environmental Problems: We Can’t Exist If We Refuse to Change
Rules:
(1) This is a non-fiction essay contest.
(2) Essays are 500 words or less.
(3) Essays must be your original work.
The deadline:
Midnight Oct. 30, 2016
Results:
The winner will be posted on our writing contest website or on Teen Trend Report after Nov. 26, 2016.
1. What is the text mainly about? _____| A．How to write an essay. |
| B．How to protect our planet. |
| C．October 2016 writing contest. |
| D．Some environmental problems. |
| A．A 300-word essay taken from the newspaper. |
| B．A 400-word essay on air pollution. |
| C．A 500-word essay full of imagination. |
| D．A 600-word essay on plastic bottles. |
| A．By sending an email. |
| B．By visiting the website. |
| C．By calling the organizer. |
| D．By reading a scientific report. |
【推荐1】What’s the effect of poetry on our brain? Scientists have been investigating the neuronal (神经元的) connections and brain circuits that can work in the reading of poetry for some time. And, even though the research has only just begun, the results are already fascinating.
Poetry has the oldest recorded texts in literature. Although it’s impossible to say exactly when it began to be used in the oral tradition, we dare to say that it’s accompanied humanity forever. This gives us an idea of the impact that poetic language can have on our emotional and cognitive state. The emotional response to literature in general shares areas of activation with music. However, more areas of the right hemisphere (半球) seem to be related to poetry. The researchers measured the goosebumps resulting from the tingling (强烈感受) sensation in reading poetry. This type of sensation has also been proven to result from music. However, the tingling sensations produced by poetry activate different areas of the brain compared to those activated by music.
Dr. Eugen Wassiliwizky’s team collected data on behavioral responses in people reading or listening to poetry. They proved that poetry is capable of causing emotional responses and rich emotional experiences. In addition, a poem expresses the poet’s ideas. From a psychological view, poetry is a game of language that manages to group words in a surprising way. We could compare this with how a chef combines ingredients that seem impossible to combine, producing extraordinary results. Poetry is based on rules of construction. It sets up a rhythm, which then breaks, before finally returning to it. The play on the meanings of words, sometimes several meanings in just one word, is extremely intellectually inspiring. We can read a poem a thousand times, and still find its new meanings.
Generally, our passage through the wonderful world of poetry is cut short by a rather reduced exposure during childhood and the overly analytical approach of this literary genre (类型), which is given in most schools. Although, the studies that experts have conducted on poetry get a lot of interesting results, poetry still holds a mystery that science hasn’t yet been able to investigate. For example, why a perfect cadence (抑扬顿挫) and rhythm can lift the spirit of people is the new challenge for the research.
1. What is the main difference between poetry and music?| A．Music causes fewer goosebumps. |
| B．Poetry creates more tingling sensations. |
| C．They work on different parts of the brain. |
| D．They are processed in different parts of the brain. |
| A．It expresses something about the poet. |
| B．It is vague in its meaning but rich in emotional experience. |
| C．It combines ingredients and extraordinary results. |
| D．It’s a pure game of language that only surprises readers. |
| A．We make children more exposed to it. | B．We haven’t read a poem a thousand times. |
| C．We rely too much on our teachers. | D．We analyze this literary genre too much. |
| A．In a paper on geography. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a biography. | D．In a magazine on wildlife. |
【推荐2】The United States is on the verge of losing its leading place in the world’s technology. So says more than one study in recent years. One of the reasons for this decline is the parallel decline in the number of U.S. scientists and engineers.
Since 1976, employment of scientists and engineers is up 85 percent. This trend is expected to continue. However, the trend shows that the number of 22-year-old the near term source of future PhDs is declining. Further adding to the problem is the increased competition for these candidates from other fields law,medicine,business,etc. While the number of U.S. PhDs in science and engineering declines,the award of PhDs to foreign nationals is increasing rapidly.
Our inability to motivate students to pursue science and engineering careers at the graduate level is compounded because of the intense demand industry has for bright Bachelor’s and Master’s degree holders. Too often,promising PH.D.candidates, confronting(面临) the cost and financial sacrifice of pursuing their education, find the attraction of industry irresistible.
1. The U.S.will come to lose its leading place in technology probably because ________.| A．the number of PH.D. degree holders is declining |
| B．the number of scientists and engineers is decreasing |
| C．the number of 22-year-ilds is declining |
| D．scientists and engineers are not employed |
| A．technology | B．foreign nationals |
| C．such fields as law,medicine and business | D．postgraduates |
| A．bright graduates and postgraduates | B．new inventions |
| C．advanced technology | D．engineers |
| A．they find industry is attracting more and more college students |
| B．they don’t think they can prevent themselves from working for industry |
| C．they cannot resist any attraction from all sides |
| D．they cannot work for industry any longer |
The views of the Crimean coast from the top of 1,234-metre high Ai-Petri Mount are amazing. The hanging bridges built in recent years can reach the top of the mount. If just walking across the bridges is not dangerous enough, it also happens to be one of the windiest places in the world. It is said that the bridges blow from side to side as wind speeds reach 170 kilometres per hour for 125 days of the year. It’s also very foggy, so you may not be able to see clearly!
U Bein Bridge, Myanmar
This five-metre-high, 1.2-kilometre wooden footbridge does not look as dangerous as the others, but do not be fooled. It was built in the 1850s and it’s certainly feeling its age! Some of the old wood is not as strong as it used to be. It is easy to lose your footing. Although there is no handrail (栏杆), large numbers of tourists cross it every day. When the tourists arrive in the evening to watch the beautiful sunset, this bridge could become the most dangerous of them all!
The Trift Bridge, Switzerland
At 100 metres high and 170 metres long, this is one of the highest bridges in the world. Built in 2004, the bridge is hidden among the high Swiss Alps. You wouldn’t have wanted to walk across the bridge before its repair in 2009. But if you have the courage to cross this bridge, you’d better do it quickly!
The Hussaini Hanging Bridge, Pakistan
In the mountainous area of Northern Pakistan, the Hussaini Hanging Bridge helps travelers cross the Borit Lake. However, you will not feel too confident when you get close to this bridge. It’s one of the oldest bridges in Pakistan and many locals use it every day to travel to work and school — imagine losing your homework over the side of this bridge! It’s made from rope, with a few pieces of wood that have large gaps (空隙) between them. Step carefully!
1. What can we learn about U Bein Bridge?| A．It’s very popular at sunset. |
| B．It’s safest for people to cross. |
| C．It’s the oldest bridge in the world. |
| D．It’s made from rope without handrails. |
| A．U Bein Bridge | B．Ai-Petri Bridges |
| C．The Trift Bridge | D．The Hussaini Hanging Bridge |
| A．All require serious repair. |
| B．All top highest in their country. |
| C．All have a history of one century. |
| D．All require plenty of courage to cross. |
