【推荐1】In the simplest of terms, white noise is sound that can be used to cover up background sounds.     1    . No wonder it is often recommended as a sleep and study aid.

● White Noise for Studying

Since most people who are distracted find it hard to focus, teachers urge students to study in quiet rooms.     2    . Meanwhile, some people say that sounds like music or television may help them concentrate. However, such easily-distinguished sound can become distracting. Thus, some educators and psychologists suggest white noise as an alternative study aid.

Research conducted in 2014 at the University of Hamburg-Eppendorf Medical Center found a positive link between white noise and people learning mathematics.     3    . For example, a 2010 study done at University College in London found that both white noise-like sounds and music actually impaired the comprehension, memory and learning ability of introverts.

In other words, the effectiveness of white noise or other background sounds as a study aid remains a case of personal experience rather than well-established scientific research.

● White Noise for Sleep

    4    . Devices that produce white noise have been popular sleep aids for years. Beneficial to our own survival, our sense of hearing still works while we are asleep. Science suggests that rather than the background noise itself, it is sudden changes in background noise that wakes us up from sleep.     5    .

In what has become the “sleep industry,” the term “white noise” is used as a generic description for any background noise that is constant and unchanging.

A．It can drown out potentially distracting sounds.

B．However, another research indicates it all depends.

C．But they find studying boring in that atmosphere.

D．Some babies do fall asleep faster with white noise in the background.

E．Years of researches have shown that serious sleeplessness can cause brain damage.

F．Though illogical, the idea that white noise can help people fall asleep is well established.

G．White noise blocks sudden changes, helping people fall asleep and light sleeper remain asleep.

【推荐2】A strong hit to the head will normally give you a concussion(脑震荡). Woodpeckers(啄木鸟), however, strike their beaks(喙) into trees thousands of times a day and are perfectly fine.

We used to think that a woodpecker’s skull(头骨) worked as a kind of safety helmet which absorbed the shocks. A new study by Sam Van Wassenbergh, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, proved that this “common sense” was in fact false.

Van Wassenbergh and his colleagues argued that, if a woodpecker’s head absorbed the force, it would not be able to strike the tree with enough force.

“If the beak absorbed much of its own impact, the unlucky bird would have to pound even harder,” they said in their paper. In other words, if the theory were true, the woodpecker would have to peck even harder to compensate for both the shock-absorbing qualities of the sponge-like bone inside its skull as well as the density(密度) of the wood.

The scientists recorded four different kinds of woodpeckers in zoos as they were pecking. The team used data from their high-speed recordings to build digital models of the woodpeckers. Van Wassenbergh described the woodpeckers motion as “a hammer(锤子) hitting wood” since their movement appeared rigid and focused.

The research suggested that woodpeckers don’t have any shock-absorbing device or the ability to reduce the amount of force. Although they are without “helmets”, the team claimed that the woodpeckers’ tiny size and weight protect them.

A woodpecker’s brain is about 700 times smaller than that of a human. “Smaller animals can withstand higher deceleration(减速). Think about a fly that hits a window and then just flies back again,” Van Wassenbergh said. “So that is why even the hardest hits we observed are not expected to cause any concussion.

1. What did people use to believe about woodpeckers when they peck trees?

A．Their beaks could spread the shocks they produce.

B．They could stand slight concussions.

C．Their bodies were soft enough to absorb the force.

D．Their heads were able to reduce the shocks.

2. What does the underlined word “impact” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Influence.

B．Shock.

C．Limit.

D．Benefit.

3. Which of the following statements about the experiment proves to be true?

A．Woodpeckers do not have special safety devices.

B．How woodpeckers peck depends on their type.

C．Density of the wood affects a woodpeckers pecking force.

D．The shock absorber theory is mostly correct.

4. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．A guidebook.

B．A medical report.

C．A science magazine.

D．An advertisement.

【推荐3】People have been making and flying kites for about 2000 years.     1     Some historians believe that the ancient Chinese may have started flying kites. It is still a popular hobby in Pakistan, China, Japan and Korea and in other countries of the Far East where beautifully decorated kites appear in different colors.

Kites are made in many different sizes, colors and shapes. Simple kites are made by crossing two sticks and covering them with paper or cloth.     2     More expensive kites have frames made of fiberglass, plastic or aluminum. The name comes from a graceful bird called Kite.

Kite flying is great fun and it is easy if you know some secrets.     3     It flies because air flows over and under the kite’s wing. The pressure under the wing helps the kite lift into the air.

    4     Early scientists sent kites up into the air to measure temperature at different heights. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was a form of electricity. He attached a metal key to the string of a kite. When lightning hit the kite, electricity passed down the string and Franklin got an electric shock. It was a very dangerous experiment that you shouldn’t copy.

Kites were used to develop airplanes. The Wright Brothers experimented with kites before they flew the first airplane. In the past, kites were sometimes used to take pictures in wars. In World War I, the Germans developed a large kite that could transport people to a submarine.     5    

Today most people fly kites as a hobby. Kite festivals are organized in many cities in all parts of the world.

A．Then you attach a string at the end.

B．Kites have also been used in experiments.

C．No one knows for sure who invented the kite.

D．A flat kite is the oldest and simplest type of kite.

E．In Japan, families fly fish kites on Children’s Day.

F．Kites were also used to carry radio signals over long distances.

G．Stories of kites were brought to Europe till the end of the 13th century.

【推荐1】A small robot may help children who are recovering (康复) from a long-term illness in the hospital or at home. Anyone who has had a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be lonely, which is especially true of children. These children may feel isolated from their friends and classmates. The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They also can take part in class activities from wherever they are recovering.

Norwegian researchers have developed a clever robot called AV1 to keep children recovering from long-term illness connected to their friends and their education. AV1 is large and looks like a human because it is supposed to be a friend to the children. It was designed to be hard. It is water-resistant (防水) and can take a fall from a desk without break. AVI goes to school for a child who is at home while recovering from a long-term illness. And the child’s school friends must help. They carry the robot to school and between classes place the robot on the child’s desk.

At home, the child uses a tablet (手写板) or phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device (装置) to control the robot’s movements. At school, the robot becomes the eyes, ears and voice of the child. The student can take part in classroom activities from wherever they are recovering — whether at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is equipped (装备，配备) with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communicating easy.

Robots are, quite simply, cool. The robot just became available (可得到的) to the public. Hopefully AVI will help some children feel less lonely while they are absent from class.

1. The robot can help children ________.

A．who study at home on their own

B．who are absent from school for illness

C．who show no interest in school studying

D．who feel alone at home without parents

2. Which of the following words can replace the underlined word “isolated”?

A．separated

B．different

C．connected

D．communicated

3. Why does AV1 look like a human?

A．Because it can help children better.

B．Because children like it very much.

C．Because children can treat it as a friend.

D．Because it can do the homework like a human.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Robots help sick children a lot.

B．Robots aim to help children with study.

C．Robots are to be friends to the children.

D．Robots can take part in classroom activities.