【推荐1】A UK supermarket has become the first in the world to let shoppers pay using just the veins (纹理)in their fingertips. Customers at the Costcutter Store, at Brunel University in London, can now pay using their unique vein pattern to identify themselves.

The firm behind the technology, Sthaler, has said it is in "serious talks" with other major UK supermarkets to adopt hi-tech finger vein scanners at pay points across thousands of stores. It works by using infrared(红外线)to scan people's finger veins and then links this unique biometric map to their bank cards. Customers' bank details are then stored with payment provider Worldpay and in the same way you can store your card details when shopping online. Shoppers can then turn up to the supermarket with nothing on them but their own hands and use them to make payments in just three seconds.

Previous studies have found fingerprint recognition, used widely on mobile phones, is likely to be hacked and can be copied even from fingerprint left on phone screens. But Sthaler claims vein technology is the most secure biometric identification method as it cannot be copied or stolen. The technology uses an infrared light to create a detailed map of the vein pattern in your finger. It requires the person to be alive, meaning in the unlikely event a criminal hacks(非法侵入)off someone's finger, it would not work.

Sthaler said it takes just one minute to sign up to the system firstly and, after that, it takes just seconds to place your finger in a scanner each time you reach the supermarket checkout. Simon Binns, commercial director of Sthaler, told the Daily Telegraph, ''This makes payments so much easier for customers. There are no known occurrences where this security has been broken. ''

1. Which supermarket in the world can now use the vein-recognition technology?

A．Grocery stores in London.

B．Thousands of stores in the UK.

C．University supermarkets in the UK.

D．Costcutter Store at Brunel University in London.

2. What message does Sthaler intend to convey according to Paragraph 3?

A．The system is safe.	B．Hacker attacks are unlikely.
C．Vein patterns can be copied.	D．The technology is convenient.

3. What should customers do before using the system?

A．Copy the fingerprint.	B．Protect against hacking.
C．Contact the supermarket.	D．Register on the system.

4. What do we know about the vein-recognition system?

A．It has been hacked.

B．It will be adopted by more shops.

C．Its company is optimistic about it.

D．Its technology needs further improvement.

【推荐3】Lions are the top tourist attraction to Kenya and also considered critically endangered. One of the main causes of their death is that people kill them in return for lions attacking their cows. “We put our cows in a small cow shelter at night,” locals said, “and that’s when the trouble would start. Lions would jump in the shelter and kill the cows”.

There have been a lot of efforts to try to protect the lions, but it’s a crisis and everyone is looking for a solution. One idea was land leases(租用), another was lion-proof fences. However, no one even knew that Richard Turere, a 13-year-old Maasai from Kenya, had already come up with something that worked.

One night Richard was walking around with a flashlight and discovered the lions were scared of a moving light. An idea was born. Three weeks and much repairing later, Richard invented a system of lights that flash around the cow shelter, mimicking a human walking around with a flashlight. His system is made from broken flashlight parts and an indicator box from a motorcycle. “The only thing I bought was a solar panel（电池板）, which charges a battery that supplies power to the lights at night.” Richard says. He calls the system Lion Lights.

His simple solution was so successful: his neighbors heard about it and wanted Lion Lights, too. He put in the lights for them. From there, the lights spread and are now being used all around Kenya. Someone in India is trying them out for tigers. In Zambia and Tanzania they’re being used as well.

1. Why do local people kill lions?

A．To attract tourists.	B．To protect their cows.
C．To sell them for money.	D．To scare away large animals.

2. What makes Richard’s idea successful?

A．That the lights will cost nothing.

B．That the system can protect lions.

C．That the lions are afraid of light.

D．That the cows are lawfully killed.

3. What may be the best title of the text?

A．Lion Lights	B．Protecting Lions
C．Endangered Cows	D．Lion-proof Fences

【推荐2】Inspiration 4, as the mission is called, is indeed impressive, the first time “normal people” with minimal training will leave the planet, enter orbit, and return to Earth days later — a considerable advancement from the 11-minute joy ride Jeff Bezos took in July. But despite the lofty name, don’t be fooled: Inspiration, is not the victory for everyone that it presents itself to be.

I’ve been hugely critical of the billionaire space race, which incautiously pollutes our atmosphere and has the enormous opportunity cost of time, money, resources, and energy that could go toward more urgent planetary issues, like world hunger and global poverty. Clean energy research, sustainable transportation innovations, and the creation of high-paying jobs in green sectors would do far more for the average non-billionaire than a rocket ship ever will.

Still, we’re being tricked and get convinced that SpaceX’s civilian mission is “inspiring” because its passengers aren’t professionals. The Falcon 9 rocket was chartered by businessman Jared lsaacman, who has successfully shaped the mission as a worthy cause for Wednesday’s voyage is part of a large fundraising effort for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

As for his guests, lsaacman is taking St. Jude physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux; Sian Proctor, a passed-over finalist from NASA’s astronaut program; and Chris Sembooski, who was gifted his spot after his friend won it in a raffle. No doubt, the primary reason for the journey is marketing for private space travel.

It’s hard not to be won over! But that’s also the point. “Civilian” missions like Inspiration make space travel appear to be “accessible to all”, despite the fact that spaceflight will be “a hobby only reserved for billionaires and cent-millionaires for many years to come,” as Business Insider writes. Yet if space tourism companies can get the general public to support them, then they’ve effectively gotten us to buy into something that does not actually do any good to us. Additionally, whenever something earnestly asks you to consider it an “inspiration”, it’s always good to ask yourself why.

1. According to the passage, Inspiration 4 is ________.

A．the first civilian mission to orbit the earth

B．a minute-long joy ride to leave the planet

C．the first space trip for people without training

D．an impressive spaceflight experienced by professionals

2. The underlined word “lofty”" in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

A．interesting

B．noble

C．common

D．original

3. Which of the following statements on Inspiration4 does the author agree with?

A．It slows the creation of high-paying jobs	B．It worsens world hunger and global poverty.
C．It wastes time, money, resources and energy.	D．It accelerates the research process of clean energy.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the article?

A．Space trip: Inspiration for Civilians	B．Inspiration4: Not Really an Inspiration
C．Space tourism: A Privilege for Billionaires	D．Private Spaceflight: A Worthy Cause for All

【推荐1】A baby seal robot from Japan has came to the U.S. It's been sold in Japan for several years, but now the company has created a Florida-based unit, Paro Robots U.S. Inc., to sell the creature to places like nursing homes and hospitals. The robot, named Paro, is marketed as a therapeutic（治疗的）device that can help comfort people who have problems that can lead to social isolation（隔离）.

Takanori Shibata, a Japanese engineer, invented Paro. He says the robot, which weighs about 6 pounds, is able to respond to touch, light, and sound.

Shibata says he tried making robotic cats and dogs, but that people didn't find those convincing. "They expected too much,"' he says, and would compare the robot to real animals they had known. Few people have ever seen a live baby seal, so they aren't likely to draw comparisons between the robot and the real thing. So they accept Paro as a cute little companion.

The Vinson Hall Retirement Community in McLean held a recent event to showcase the robot and Virginia Long slowly came into the activity room. When a nurse put the robot on her lap, it began to shake slightly, and Long talked to it gently. “Why are you shaking? Are you cold?" she asked. The robot made a high sound, and Long laughed. She said she used to have a cat, “but somebody stole him." "Petting a seal is unusual," she said, "but a lot of people have strange animals.

But some experts say a robot is no replacement for a real animal. "One of the things that we've learned is that it is the unexpected and natural behavior of the living creature that adds so much value to people's experience. Any kind of newness can get the attention of people who are lonely and bored, but that doesn't necessarily help them live a meaningful life. It doesn't solve the problem that is really causing their lack of enjoyment of life," says Bill Thomas, a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

1. What is the role of Paro?

A．To look after baby seals.	B．To give relief to Patients.
C．To replace home-raised pets.	D．To Provide medical examinations.

2. How did people feel about robotic cats?

A．Disappointed.	B．Astonished.
C．Concerned.	D．Amused.

3. What was Long's reaction to Paro?

A．She refused to get close to it.	B．She showed it much affection.
C．She regarded it as her new cat.	D．She was frightened to talk to it.

4. What do Bill Thomas's words suggest about Paro?

A．It is of great value to people.

B．It is not of great use in solving real problems.

C．It fails to catch older people's interest.

D．It can take the place of a living creature.

【推荐2】More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics (文物) have been lost overseas, most of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.

Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23,000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.

The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also the government can turn to official channels (渠道) to demand the return of relics.

In 2003 a priceless bronze pigs head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao (企业家) Stanley Ho donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.

Although buying back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.

In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．How to recover cultural relics.

B．The efforts to recover Chinese cultural relics.

C．Stanley Ho donated a bronze pig’s head to Beijing.

D．Chinese cultural relics were stolen by the Anglo French Allied Army.

2. Most of lost Chinese cultural relics     .

A．have been recovered by the Chinese government	B．were bought for little money by foreigners
C．are owned by private collectors	D．are housed in foreign museums

3. The underlined word “feasible” in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by “     “.

A．possible

B．difficult

C．popular

D．careful

【推荐3】Are you frequently overwhelmed by the feeling that life is leaving you behind, particularly when you look through social media sites and see all the exciting things your friends are up to? If so, you are not alone.

FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, refers to the perception that other people’s lives are superior to our own, whether this concerns socializing, accomplishing professional goals or generally having a more deeply fulfilling life. It shows itself as a deep sense of envy, and constant exposure to it can have a weakening effect on our self-respect. The feeling that we are always being left out of fundamentally important events, or that our lives are not living up to the image pictured by others, can have long-term damaging psychological consequences.

While feelings of envy and inadequacy seem to be naturally human, social media seems to have added fuel to the fire in several ways. The reason why social media has such a triggering effect is tied to the appeal of social media in the first place: these are platforms which allow us to share only the most glowing presentations of our accomplishments, while leaving out the boring aspects of life. While this kind of misrepresentation could be characterized as dishonest, it is what the polished atmosphere of social media seems to demand.

So how do we avoid falling into the trap of our own insecurities? Firstly, consider your own social media posts. Have you ever chosen photos or quotes which lead others to the rosiest conclusions about your life? Well, so have others and what they’ve left hidden is the fact that loneliness and boredom are unavoidably a part of everyone’s day-to-day life, and you are not the only one feeling left out. Secondly, learn to appreciate the positives. You may not be a regular at exciting parties or a climber of dizzying peaks, but you have your health, a place to live, and real friends who appreciate your presence in their lives. Last of all, learn to shake things off. We are all bombarded daily with images of other people’s perfection, but really, what does it matter? They are probably no more real than the most ridiculous reality TV shows.

1. What can frequently experiencing FOMO lead to?

A．Harm to one’s feeling of self-value.	B．A more satisfying and fulfilling social life.
C．Damage to one’s work productivity.	D．Less likelihood of professional success.

2. What does the author suggest in the third paragraph?

A．The primary reason for FOMO is deeply rooted in social media.

B．Our own social media posts help us feel much more confident.

C．People who don’t share posts on social media are more bored.

D．Social media’s nature enhances envious feelings and self-doubt.

3. Why does the author mention reality TV shows in the last paragraph?

A．To emphasize how false what we see on social media can be.

B．To indicate how complicated social media has turned to.

C．To figure out how popular and useful social media has been.

D．To point out how educational value reality TV shows reflect.

4. Which is the best title for the text?

A．Myths and misconceptions about FOMO	B．FOMO: what it is and how to overcome it
C．How FOMO is changing human relationships	D．We’re now all in the power of “FOMO addiction”