School had just started in August when Conner began throwing up for no reason. It wasn’t long before the boy also began suffering terrible headaches. In February a 1.7-inch tumor (肿瘤) was found in his brain and Conner was set to begin to receive radiation (放射疗法) treatments. Before treatments start, technicians make a white plastic mask to keep patients immovable and protect unaffected parts of the brain while radiation is directed at the tumor.
It’s an unpleasant experience and a frightening time. The doctor Cook decided that the masks could at least be made to look like something fun — maybe Batman or Mickey Mouse. “I started thinking these masks are white and not fun at all for kids,” she told The Greenville News. “I felt like if we could make it a little more fun for them, they might be a little more excited about coming in for the treatment. Because the kids are afraid. While the treatment itself isn’t physically painful, it can cause a lot of anxiety. And the treatment is required daily for up to six weeks.” And the masks really make a difference. “The kids really like them because they get to choose something themselves.” Cook said.
When new children come in for the treatment, Cook finds out what their favorite movies or cartoon characters are. Then she sets about creating the mask by drawing the image she wants onto paper, sticking it with glue, and once it’s dry, she applies the colors using paints. Each child can take the mask home once the treatment ends.
“Coming to the doctor always means fear and pain. I wanted to make it fun,” she said. “The kids really love it. It’s something they enjoy and can relate to. And it fills an interest I have. I get great pleasure from it.”
1. Why was the plastic mask used according to Paragraph 1?| A．To check the patient’s brain. |
| B．To reduce the patient’s headache. |
| C．To protect the patient’s brain during the treatment. |
| D．To prevent the patient from throwing up. |
| A．It can be received at home. |
| B．It may make the patients feel anxious. |
| C．It has to be finished in a month. |
| D．It will cause huge physical pain for patients. |
| A．Make the masks more interesting to kids. |
| B．Show them their favorite movies or TV shows. |
| C．Dress them up as cartoon characters. |
| D．Offer them some free masks as gifts. |
| A．Health matters to everyone. |
| B．Creativity leads to success. |
| C．Love can treat the terrible sickness. |
| D．Kindness can bring warmth and joy. |
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【推荐1】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 when the big one hits,” Gov Gavin Newsom said. 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(微型地震仪), joining millions of other Android phones there to form the world’s largest earthquake detection network,” according to 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．Android users who have downloaded the MyShake app. |
| D．The iPhone users who haven`t downloaded the MyShake app. |
| A．The earthquake early warning system will be of great help. |
| B．The company has sent out earthquake alerts since last year. |
| C．Millions of people have downloaded the MyShake app. |
| D．Over 2 billion devices run the Apple operating system. |
| A．New technology developed by the company. | B．The large number of Android phone users. |
| C．The newly developed MyShake app. | D．Motion-sensing accelerometers. |
| A．To promote Android phones. |
| B．To share a new MyShake app. |
| C．To introduce a new function of Android phones. |
| D．To make a search engine company known to the world. |
【推荐2】Chinese physicists say they have built a quantum computer one trillion times faster than the most powerful computer, with potential for some real-life applications. The researchers said their Jiuzhang prototype quantum computer took a little over three minutes to complete a task that the world's fastest conventional machine would not be able to complete in 600 million years.
The Jiuzhang used light particles called photons to perform calculations. The photons must be generated in their purest possible form, because even a small physical discrepancy could lead to errors. And they must be produced one after another, a technical challenge that pushes optical precision to the limit.
“It is easy for us to have one sip of water each time, but it is difficult to drink just a water molecule each time,” said Pan, a lead scientist in China's national quantum research programme with the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province.
Quantum computers rely on some counter-intuitive physics of the subatomic world, and are extremely fragile and difficult to maintain. However, conventional computers struggle to cope with problems that involve uncertainty, such as predicting the rise and fall of the stock market, tracing the origin of a new-found virus, or guessing a bank account password. The Jiuzhang was built to find clues in this kind of chaos. For instance, a database may contain many smaller data sets, some of which could have an unknown relation to the other. The Jiuzhang could quickly find out which data sets were related, a daunting task to traditional computers if the database contained a large amount of random information.
This unique calculation capability has a wide range of potential applications such as data mining, bioinformatics and finance, according to the researchers. However, it cannot be used immediately in real-life applications at present. It will need to work with a programmable chip to perform various calculations, so your bank accounts are still safe.
1. What can we know about Jiuzhang?| A．It is faster than any conventional computer. | B．It has found various applications in real life. |
| C．It needs to use water molecules for calculation. | D．It has little requirement for the purity of photons. |
| A．It can keep working in a stable manner. |
| B．It is good at dealing with problems about prediction. |
| C．It depends on physic rules that are easy to understand. |
| D．It can find relevance in chaotic and random information quickly. |
| A．Collecting traffic data. | B．Forecasting weather. |
| C．Writing poems for loved ones. | D．Calculating the distance between two cities. |
| A．China claims the lead in quantum computing in the world with Jiuzhang. |
| B．Quantum computing is becoming an area of study with great potentials. |
| C．Chinese scientists built Jiuzhang, a super powerful calculating machine. |
| D．China’s new quantum computer has outperformed all traditional computers. |
【推荐3】Engineers have launched a huge garbage collection device to gather plastic material floating in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii.
The plastic makes up what is called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is the world’s largest spread of garbage, at twice the size of the state of Texas.
The organization Ocean Cleanup created the collection device, whose founder is Boyan Slat, a 24-year-old inventor from the Netherlands.
Slat was just 16 years old when he was moved to clean up the oceans. Last Saturday, a ship pulling the pipe-shaped floating barrier left San Francisco for the Garbage Patch. The barrier, called the floater, is 600 meters across. Attached to it is a screening skirt that hangs three meters down in the water.
The screen is designed to collect the plastic as it moves through the water. Sea animals can safely swim under the barrier.
The cleanup system also comes with lights powered by the sun, cameras, and other special devices. So the system can communicate its position at all times. That way a support ship can find it every few months to remove the plastic it has collected.
“The free-floating barriers are made to survive extreme weather conditions and damage from continue use. They will stay in the water for twenty years and in that time collect 90 percent of the garbage in the patch,” Slat added.
George Leonard is the chief scientist. He expressed concern about the cleaning project. He said even if plastic garbage can be taken out of the oceans, more continues to enter the water each year. He also raised concern that animals might be captured by the net hung below the surface.
But, Boyan Slat said he did not think that would happen. The system will act as a “big boat that stands still in the water”, with nothing for sea creatures to get caught in.
1. Why was a screen attached to the ship?| A．To gather plastic. | B．To catch see animals. |
| C．To protect the floater. | D．To give the floater power. |
| A．The support ship. | B．The floating barrier. |
| C．The plastic to be recycled. | D．The position of special devices. |
| A．It’s easy to locate. | B．It is not affected by bad weather. |
| C．It can last and work for a long time. | D．It’s popular with people. |
| A．A young inventor from Netherlands. | B．The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. |
| C．Approaches to removing garbage in oceans. | D．A huge garbage collection device. |
Yet some of my best times were driving home, leaving the city behind and slipping back into the valley. As city life disappeared and traffic thinned, I could see the faces of the other drivers relax. Then, around a bend in the highway, the grassland of the valley would come into being, offering a view of gentle rolling hills. The land seemed permanent. I felt as if I had stepped back in time.
I took comfort in the stability of the valley. Driving through small farm communities, I imagined the founding families still rooted in their grand homes, generations working the same lands, neighbors remaining neighbors for generations. I allowed familiar farmhouse landmarks to guide me.
Close to home, I often turned off the main highway and took a different, getting familiar farms again and testing my memory. Friends lived in those houses. I had eaten meals and spent time there; I had worked on some of these farms, lending a hand during a peak harvest, helping a family friend for a day or two. The houses and lands looked the same, and I could picture the gentle faces and hear familiar voices as if little had been changed. As I eased into our driveway I’d returned to old ways, becoming a son once again, a child on the family farm. My feelings were honest and real. How I longed for a land where life stood still and my memories could be relived. When I left the farm for college, I could only return as visitor to the valley, a traveler looking for home.
Now the farm is once again my true home. I live in that farmhouse and work the permanent lands. My world may seem unchanged to casual observers, but they are wrong. I know this: if there’s a constant on these farms, it’s the constant of change.
The good observer will recognize the differences. A farmer replants an orchard (果园) with a new variety of peaches. Irrigation is added to block of old grapes, so I imagine the vineyard has a new owner. Occasionally the changes are clearly evident, like a FOR SALE sign. But I need to read the small print in order to make sure that a bank has taken possession of the farm. Most of the changes contain two stories. One is the physical change of the farm, the other involves the people on that land, the human story behind the change.
I’ve been back on the farm for a decade and still haven’t heard all the stories behind the changes around me. But once I add my stories to the landscape, I can call this place my home, a home that continues to evolve and changes as I add more and more of my stories.
A poet returns to the valley and says, “Little has changed in the valley, and how closed–minded you all are!” He comments about the lack of interest in sports, social and environmental issues in the poverty and inequality of our life. He was born and raised here, so he might have the right to criticize and lecture us. Yet he speaks for many who think they know the valley. How differently would others think of us if they knew the stories of a grape harvest in a wet year or a peach without a home?
1. The most important reason why the writer wanted to move to the city is that_________.
| A．he did not want to work on the farm |
| B．he wanted to make new friends |
| C．he was eager for a different life there |
| D．there were more things to do there |
| A．He could see for miles and miles. |
| B．The traffic moved more slowly. |
| C．The people he passed seemed to be calmer. |
| D．The land seemed familiar to him. |
| A．familiar farmhouses which left him a good memory |
| B．houses that had sheltered generations of the same family |
| C．land that had been worked by a family for generations |
| D．large farms which stretched out right before him. |
| A．He remembered how hard he used to work. |
| B．He realized that he was only a visitor. |
| C．He recognized the old housed and land. |
| D．He remembered his next door neighbors. |
| A．A new variety of peach is being planted. |
| B．Irrigation is being added to a grape operation. |
| C．A piece of land is being sold by a bank. |
| D．A farm is being sold to a large corporation. |
| A．the poet prefers to live in the urban area |
| B．the poet thinks that the folk people are backward |
| C．the poet says that little has changed in the valley |
| D．the poet’s criticism and comments are not objective |
【推荐2】Alice Moore is a teenager entrepreneur(创业者), who in May 2015 set up her business AilieCandy. By the time she was 13, her company was worth millions of dollars with the invention of a super-sweet treat that could save kids’ teeth, instead of destroying them.
It all began when Moore visited a bank with her dad. On the outing, she was offered a candy bar. However, her dad reminded her that sugary treats were bad for her teeth. But Moore was sick of missing out on candies. So she desired to get round the warning, “Why can’t I make a healthy candy that’s good for my teeth so that my parents can’t say no to it?” With that in mind, Moore asked her dad if she could start her own candy company. He recommended that she do some research and talk to dentists about what a healthier candy would contain.
With her dad’s permission, she spent the next two years researching online and conducting trials to get a recipe that was both tasty and tooth-friendly. She also approached dentists to learn more about teeth cleaning. Consequently, she succeeded in making a kind of candy only using natural sweeteners, which can reduce oral bacteria.
Moore then used her savings to get her business off the ground. Afterwards, she and her father secured their first business meeting with a supermarket owner, who finally agreed to sell Moore’s product—CanCandy.
As CanCandy’s success grows, so does Moore’s credibility as a young entrepreneur. Moore is enthusiastic about the candy she created, and she’s also positive about what the future might bring. She hopes that every kid can have a clean mouth and a broad smile.
Meanwhile, with her parents’ help, Moore is generally able to live a normal teenage life. Although she founded her company early on in life, she wasn’t driven primarily by profit. Moore wants to use her unique talent to help others find their smiles. She donates 10% of AilicCandy’s profits to Big Smiles. With her talent and determination, it appears that the sky could be the limit for Alice Moore.
1. How did Moore react to her dad’s warning?| A．She argued with him. | B．She tried to find a way out. |
| C．She paid no attention. | D．She chose to consult dentists. |
| A．It is beneficial to dental health. | B．It is free of sweeteners. |
| C．It is sweeter than other candies. | D．It is produced to a dentists’ recipe. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To help others find smiles. |
| C．To make herself stand out. | D．To beat other candy companies. |
| A．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| B．A youth is to be regarded with respect. |
| C．Positive thinking and action result in success. |
| D．Success means getting personal desires satisfied |
【推荐3】A year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me. I never heard any noise from the children, but the parents were always yelling at them.
We often met and I always spoke, but the only answer I ever got was a hello from a four-year old girl. One day when I returned, they were just coming back to their apartment and the little girl was holding the door in the hall open for the others I remained in the car doing unnecessary things. The parents were telling her to hurry. I looked up and saw the little girl was still holding the door open, waiting for me.
So I hurried as much as I could and thanked her. She was smiling from ear to ear.
That afternoon I was at the K-Mart and I saw a white teddy bear. I thought of the little girl and said to myself, “I bet she would like it.” So I bought it for her.
The next day there was a knock on the door and it was the little girl and her father. She was so proud of her bear and thanked me. Then I noticed her mother and the other children were there in the hall, too.
Now when we meet in the hall we all speak in a friendly manner. Last night we had about 4 inches of snow. The temperature was below zero. When I opened the outside door, there was my car with all the snow removed. The man next door was the only person I knew in the whole building, so when I saw him the next day, I asked him if he was the nice person that removed the snow. He said NO. He wanted to, but his wife said she would do it.
Isn’t it amazing that the small kind act of a 4-year-old girl can change so many things for the better?
1. Who removed the snow on the author’s car?| A．The girl. | B．The girl’s father. |
| C．The girl’s mother. | D．Both the girl’s father and mother. |
| A．sympathetic | B．humorous |
| C．warm | D．frightening |
| A．Little children should be polite to their neighbors. |
| B．More good things come from small acts. |
| C．Your neighbors are not as bad as you think. |
| D．Things can be changed as a consequence of removing snow. |
【推荐1】Last night, on my way home I stopped because of being attracted by some hamburgers at a fast food restaurant. On my way in, a homeless man approached me and asked, “Do you have any bottles lying around?” I knew he would recycle them for a few cents, but I didn’t have any, so I said no. And again he asked, “Can you spare some change (零钱)?” I smiled, and said no again. He was very respectful; he smiled back and said, “OK, thank you.” Even though he didn’t have anything, he was still in good spirits. From the way he spoke I could tell he was smart.
Then I bought one hamburger and enjoyed my meal, but in the back of my mind I wondered whether the homeless man was hungry. After I finished my meal I decided to order another one for him. At this point I didn’t know if he was still around, but I tried anyway.
At the counter I ordered a hamburger and also a hot chocolate, because it was cold outside, and I thought it would help warm him up. They delivered me the hot chocolate first and as I waited for my hamburger, I noticed the homeless man was standing right beside me. I looked at him and smiled, “This hot chocolate is for you.”He replied like a gentleman,“Thank you so much. That’s very kind of you.”
I always believe no matter how hard up (缺钱) I am, there are always those who are worse off than I. When you help someone, it’s not always about money, it’s about love. The love you give today, someone might forget tomorrow. It doesn’t matter. Love anyway, because the greatest thing you can give is love.
1. Why did the author stop at a fast food restaurant?| A．Because he was hungry and thirsty. |
| B．Because he wanted to help the homeless man there. |
| C．Because he hoped he could collect some bottles there. |
| D．Because the hamburgers there interested him. |
| A．was angry with the homeless man |
| B．decided to help the homeless man after his meal |
| C．was an old friend of the homeless man |
| D．finished his meal quickly to help the homeless man |
| A．old and sick | B．sad and nervous |
| C．polite and friendly | D．calm and confident |
| A．there is always someone that we can help |
| B．money cannot buy everything |
| C．we shouldn’t forget those who once helped us |
| D．love cannot be forced |
【推荐2】Every superhero, no matter how small, needs a cape (披风). That was Robyn Rosenberger’s motivation when she started sewing superhero capes for kids with cancer, heart defects, and other serious diseases.
It all began when she was making a cape as a birthday present for her nephew. Rosenberger heard of a girl named Brenna who was battling a potentially deadly skin condition called harlequin ichthyosis (丑角样鱼鳞病). Anyone going through what she was going through had to be tough. “I had an aha moment,” Rosenberger says. “Brenna was a superhero! She needed a cape.”
So Rosenberger sent her one, and Brenna’s mother was delighted. Rosenberger found ten more kids online and sent out ten more capes. Before long, she quit her job at a software company to dedicate herself full-time to tinysuperheroes.com, a website where people can buy handmade capes for brave kids facing illness and disability.
Since 2013, Rosenberger and her small paid staff have sent more than 12, 000 handmade capes to kids in all 50 states and 15 other countries. The capes come in pink, blue, purple, or red and can be decorated with the child’s initials or specialized patches, including a heart, a rocket, or a lightning bolt. One recipient was eight-month-old Gabe, who was born with imperfection, which causes distinct facial features. Rosenberger sent him a red cape with a bright yellow G in the center. It was a hit. Gabe is now a fixture on the company’s social media posts. “The Tiny Superhero community has been a wonderful connection to have,” says Gabe’s mom, Kate Glocke. In fact, two years later, “we still bring Gabe’s cape with us to every hospital appointment.”
1. Why did Rosenberger start sewing superhero capes for kids?| A．Because she was good at sewing superhero capes. |
| B．Because she wanted to show bravery of the kids. |
| C．Because she planned to give kids superhero capes as gifts. |
| D．Because she thought their parents couldn’t afford capes. |
| A．They created more than 12, 000 handmade capes. |
| B．They met kids from 50 states and 15 other countries. |
| C．They provided capes in different colors and styles. |
| D．They had made a lot of money by selling capes. |
| A．Hardworking and wealthy. | B．Warm-hearted and loving. |
| C．Strong-willed and ambitious. | D．Talkative and athletic. |
| A．To advertise a website selling handmade capes |
| B．To call on more people to help the sick kids. |
| C．To describe different superhero capes. |
| D．To introduce a kind woman helping sick kids. |
【推荐3】The wind roils the Midwest plains as if it is searching for someone or something to carry away. Dust and chaff funnel into blinding clouds. The clatter of storms overhead makes it impossible to hear, and herds of bison(野牛) grow restless. The Omaha tribe has wandered these plains for generations, and now, it seems that the winds have brought back one of their own. Susan La Flesche has returned to the village where she was born. Not as a visitor, but as the region’s only doctor.
When Susan was 8 years old, she waited at the bedside of an elderly woman writhing in pain. A doctor was called for. They waited. A messenger was sent. The doctor still didn’t come. Susan provided what comfort she could through the night, but by sunrise, the elderly woman had died. The episode both haunted and motivated Susan. She threw herself into her studies and earned her way to what is now Hampton University in Virginia-a historically Black college with a program for native American students. And she finished second in her class.
Susan would never forget the childhood she enjoyed, full-of powwows, buffalo hunts and the people she loved. But there was further to go. She enrolled in the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, a tedious train ride away from the world she knew. It was 1886, and the Victorian age held stiff against the progress of women. In her graduation speech from Hampton, she told the East Coast audience, “Give us a chance.” Three years later, she became a doctor.
Returning to the plains to serve her people was a difficult task. She opened an office in the government boarding school and began seeing patients. The lines were long, old and young seeking reprieve (缓解) from cholera and tuberculosis (肺结核) as well as a slew of other diseases. Susan worked long hours at her office but also braved the wind and snow, walking miles to make house calls. Her work was more than as a physician. She often acted as lawyer, accountant, priest, political liaison and counselor as she helped the Omahas navigate the new world. And Dr. Susan La Flesche was determined to spend her entire life helping her people navigate the storms.
1. Why was the environment of the plain described in the first Paragraph?| A．To arose readers’ interest. | B．To lead to the topic of the passage. |
| C．To show the main idea of the passage. | D．To introduce terrible conditions there. |
| A．Local bad weather. | B．Her passion for Medical Science. |
| C．The opposition to women’s progress. | D．The lack of medical resources in her hometown. |
| A．It was interesting. | B．It went as expected. |
| C．It was full of hardships. | D．It was the same as her life in hometown. |
| A．Intelligent and brave. | B．Hard-working and helpful. |
| C．Learned and modest. | D．Optimistic and ambitious. |
