【推荐1】The United States is a nation of car owners. Ninety-five percent of households own a car, and 85 percent of people get to work in one. This lifestyle contributes to congestion on our roads and damages the environment. As autonomous vehicles begin to hit the streets over the next decade or so, it's believed that all this will change.   

Autonomous vehicles will most likely decrease the number and severity of crashes, allow cars to travel more closely together and improve cooperation between vehicles, all of which tend to reduce traffic jams and increase capacity.

However, this future is not assured. To realize the full potential benefits of driverless cars, we will have to act soon to encourage a culture in which transportation is shared. Many people in the automobile industry assume that driverless vehicles will automatically be shared, but there is little evidence that this is true. Most estimates suggest that driverless cars will eventually be only slightly more expensive than traditional cars, which means they'll be within reach of many consumers, so users are not willing to share rides.

If most people are going to buy-in to a shared-ride culture, they need to get a significant benefit. Saving a few dollars off the fare isn't likely to promote the movement dramatically. A better benefit would be knowing that you're going to reach your destination more quickly. The way to guarantee quick passage is to redesign our roads to give priority to ride-sharing autonomous vehicles like building priority lanes. The cost of travel will also be varied based on how efficiently a vehicle uses the roads. Autonomous vehicles carrying multiple people should get higher priority than those carrying one or none at all.

Decision-makers must push for incentives that encourage the most efficient use of our limited roadway infrastructure(基础设施). The autonomous future is rapidly approaching; it is critical that we act now, while the impacts of autonomous vehicles on traffic jams and emissions are still largely within our control.

1. What's the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To introduce the topic.

B．To tell the severe traffic problem.

C．To prove the necessity of autonomous vehicles.

D．To show the damage of cars to the environment.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Autonomous vehicles worsen traffic jams on roads.

B．Autonomous vehicles are likely to reduce traffic jams.

C．Saving some fares contributes to shared-ride significantly.

D．Many people have ridden autonomous vehicles to avoid traffic jams.

3. Which will be a benefit of sharing autonomous vehicles?

A．To save a large amount of money.

B．To promote the development of science and technology.

C．To redesign roads to prioritize car-shared modes.

D．To allow you to reach your destination much more quickly.

4. Which is the best title for the passage?

A．Driverless Cars Will Make Our Traffic Problems Worse.

B．Autonomous Vehicles Will Make a Difference to Traffic.

C．Decision-makers Should Take Some Measures Quickly.

D．The Current Situation of Cars in the United States is Serious.

【推荐2】You won't be able to control everything your teens do when they drive, but you can teach them about the importance of vehicle safety.

Locking the door upon entering the vehicle

Did your teens know they should lock the doors immediately upon entering the vehicle? If your teens haven t been taught this, then they probably won’t do so.    1    .This could guarantee their safety when they are pulling out of a dark parking lot or stopping at a red light.

Driving a safe vehicle

    2    .They probably don't care what you consider to be a good color, or model, but you should teach them how to buy a safe car. Top safety features include electronic stability control, a rear view camera, side impact airbags, etc. You want to keep your children safe, but you can t always stop them from doing dangerous things.

Avoiding distractions

Looking at phones or controlling the radio while driving could make your teens seriously injured or worse.     3    .Teenagers tend to think themselves unbeatable(无以伦比的)，but if you gently explain the risks of not focusing on the road, they may decide to quit this dangerous habit.

    4    

You need to show that you’re confident of your teens’ driving skills,even if your teens’ speeding up too fast or hitting the brakes too hard scares you. Instead of yelling and stressing out on such occasions, try your best to speak calmly. They will react much better to quiet comments than cold words.

Respecting speed limits

There’s something about being young and learning to drive that comes with a strong wish for speed.    5    

However, you can help them see the importance of following the rules and keeping themselves safe.

A．Staying calm

B．Presenting the traffic rules

C．So make sure they know that

D．Teach them to lock their doors

E．Your teens will buy their car one day

F．You might not be able to stop the occasional speeding ticket

G．These will help them better control the vehicle and offer protection in the event of an accident

【推荐3】If you live in Shanghai，Beijing or many other cities，you may see many orange bicycles on the streets these days．

These bikes are owned by a company called Mobike．You can order a bike through an app on your phone．When you find a bike，you just scan a QR code （扫描二维码） on the bike so you can use it．You don’t need to return the bike to a station—you can park it anywhere．

China was known as "the kingdom of bicycles" about 30 years ago．But more people choose to drive cars and catch the subway these days．Bike rental(租凭的) services like Mobike are bringing bikes back．

"Back then，I got the feeling that Chinese people were trying to be modern and push away the past．So they did not want to be linked with bicycles，" said Ines Brunn，a German woman who runs a bike store in Beijing．"I do believe changes in people's tastes will shape new thinking about bikes．"

Online rental services are making biking more convenient，but it's still not easy to ride bikes in Chinese cities．Cars often take up bicycle lanes(道路)． Bikers have to ride next to cars in car lanes，which can be very dangerous．

Beijing plans to build over 3,200 km of new bike lanes．Drivers who drive in bike lanes will be punished．Traffic signs will be put up to better protect bikers．

1. If you want to use a Mobike, ________.

A．you have to scan a QR code	B．you don't need to pay for it
C．you don't have to return it	D．you have to pay for an app

2. Which of the following is NOT true，according to Paragraph 3?

A．China had the most bicycles in the world about 30 years ago．

B．There are more bicyclists than motorists these days．

C．More people are driving cars or taking the subway these days．

D．Bike rental services are becoming more popular．

3. What does Ines Brunn mean when she says people’s tastes are changing？

A．Chinese people like modern things．

B．Chinese people like riding bicycles．

C．People in Beijing are changing their tastes．

D．More people will start riding bikes．

4. Which is the best title for the passage？

A．How to use a Mobike

B．Orange bikes will be fashionable

C．Bringing back bikes

D．Why is Beijing building new bike lanes？

【推荐2】Jason Barnes is a young musician who lives in Georgia. Eight years ago, Jason lost his right arm just below his elbow in an accident. Jason got a prosthetic (假体的) arm. But this arm could only do a few things. Jason still wanted to play music. So he went to see Gil Weinberg, who makes musical robots. To play the piano, Jason needed five fingers that could move just the way he wanted. This was a big challenge.

Living arms move when muscles respond to commands from the brain. When you think “open fingers”, your brain sends electrical signals along nerves. Some prosthetic arms use sensors (传感器) to try to read these nerve signals. But they don’t work very well. Nerves are tiny, and their signals are faint. Sensors might be able to tell that you want to move a finger. But they aren’t very good at telling which finger you want to move.

Jason doesn’t have his hand anymore, but he still has the arm muscles that move his fingers. When Jason thinks about moving his fingers, those muscles still move. To read the muscles inside Jason’s arm, the team used ultrasound (超声波). The roboticists taught a computer to read the ultrasound sensor as Jason thought about moving his fingers. The computer learned which muscles moved when Jason wanted his fingers to move in a certain way. Thinking about moving his fingers makes the muscles in his upper arm move. The computer sees the moving muscles and tells the motors in Jason’s robotic fingers to move the right way.

The team hopes the “Skywalker hand”, their prosthesis, will someday work as well as a real hand. The sensors, motors, and computers inside the hand are not complex. But they need to get smaller and cheaper before lots of these hands can be made. Weinberg and his team are working on this right now. Soon, they hope that anyone who loses a hand will be able to get a new robotic one with five fingers that they can move just by thinking.

1. Why did Jason visit Weinberg?

A．To save his own life.

B．To learn to play music.

C．To study musical robots.

D．To replace his prosthetic arm.

2. What does the underlined word “faint” in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Specific.

B．Weak.

C．Stable.

D．Predictable.

3. What makes the invention of the robotic hand possible?

A．Moving muscles are simpler to spot than nerves.	B．Nerve searching techniques have developed fast.
C．Ultrasound sensors vary from finger to finger.	D．Motors are much quicker to operate.

4. What do Weinberg and his team expect of the Skywalker hand?

A．It’ll be easy to make.	B．It’ll be customer-friendly.
C．It’ll be better than real hands.	D．It’ll be controlled by computers.

【推荐1】Dr Wiseman started “the laugh lab” project in September 2001. It is the largest study of humour. Participants（参加者）are invited to log on to the laugh lab website, give a few personal details, tell their favourite jokes and judge the jokes told by other people.

The project will last for a year, and the organizers hope to finally discover the world’s funniest joke. But there is also a serious purpose. The researches want to know what people from different nations and cultures find funny. And they want to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humour. The idea is that if we want to understand each other, we have to find out what makes us laugh.
This is a subject that has long attracted psychologists and philosophers. Most of the time, people are not completely honest. We do things that society expects us to and say things that help us get what we want. But laughing cannot be controlled. When we laugh, we tell the truth about ourselves. By December 2001 over 10, 000 jokes had been submitted. This gave the scientists enough evidence to make early conclusions. It seems that men and women do have different senses of humour, for instance.

“Our findings show the major differences in the ways in which males and females use humour, ” said Dr. Wiseman. “Males use humour to appear superior to others, while women are more skilled in languages and prefer word play. ”Researchers also found that there really is such a thing as a national sense of humour. The British enjoy what is usually called “toilet humour”. But the French like their jokes short and sharp: “You’re a high priced lawyer. Will you answer two questions for $500?” “Yes. What’s the second question?”

The Germans are famous for not having a sense of humour. But the survey found that German participants were more likely to find submitted jokes funny than any other nationality. Perhaps that proves the point. Is this joke funny? I don’t know, but let’s say yes, just to be safe.
Dr Wiseman and his workmates also submitted jokes created by computer. But none of those who took part in the survey found any of them amusing. Perhaps this is relief. Computers already seem like they can do everything. At least they should leave the funny stuff to us.
1. Scientist started “ the laugh lab” project________

A．to find the funniest joke in European countries

B．to get more personal details about participants

C．to know what funny people are like from different nations and cultures

D．to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humour

2. We can infer from the passage that________.

A．most of the people all over the world are completely honest

B．people tell the truth about themselves only when they laugh

C．ordinary people are not interested in “the laugh lab” project at all

D．psychologists and philosophers take interest in the “laugh lab” project

3. According to the passage, we can safely say that ________.

A．Jokes created by computer are less appealing to people.

B．Men and women have similar senses of humour.

C．The project lasted from September, 2001 to December, 2001.

D．Scientists have collected enough evidence to make final conclusions.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Funny or not?

B．Laugh louder!

C．Men laugh better.

D．Watch out for the trap in jokes!

【推荐2】With a focus now on the environmental influence over the fashion industry, some bloggers who cut their teeth sharing details of endless clothes and products are changing their direction-enter the “no-buy” movement. The idea is simple: instead of buying new clothes or beauty products, you make a promise to use the things you already own. Some people sign up to a “no-buy year”. Others decide not to buy for a few weeks or months or choose “low-buy” with a strict spending cap.

This life style has caught the attention of many people who struggle to keep up with the latest fashion. Modern people’s desire for material things is often not caused by poverty (贫穷) , but by anxiety, which is further enlarged by the rise of social media.

“Social media puts pressure on people to spend money,” says Katherine Ormerod, author of Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life. Many online influencers are given the items they use and wear for free, but Ormerod is determined not to wear any new products she is given. “Really I just want to convince people they don’t have to spend a lot of money on fashion to look stylish and there’s no such thing as ‘last season’ anymore,” she says. “True style has never been about that anyway.”

However, self-satisfied expressions of minimalist (极简主义的) living have earned plenty of doubts. “Minimalism is a good quality only when it’s a choice, and it’s telling that its fan base is from the well-off middle class. To people who don’t have enough in the first place, celebrations of ‘less is more’ can sound more like a luxury (奢侈) than a considerable loss.” Stephanie Land wrote in The New York Times.

1. What does the underlined word “cap” mean in paragraph 1?

A．Soft hat.

B．Loose budget.

C．Upper limit.

D．Money box.

2. Which of the following does Katherine Ormerod agree with?

A．Overspending results in anxiety.	B．High price goes with good quality.
C．True style is getting the latest product.	D．Social media affects buying decisions.

3. What does Stephanie Land think of minimalism?

A．It’s suitable for the rich.	B．It's a wise choice.
C．It’s out of date.	D．It's an impractical idea.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Buying habit.	B．Social media.
C．Fashion industry.	D．No-buy movement.

【推荐3】Better known by his stage name KUN, Cai Xukun is a phenomenon, opening up the music industry in China.

Last year, after participating in the reality TV show Idol Producer, receiving the most votes from fans, the singer-songwriter rose to fame overnight. At just 21 years old, Cai has topped Chinese music charts with multiple singles.

On July 26, KUN released his newest single Young. Within just 20 seconds, it reached a million sales.

KUN wrote the song to share his understanding of youth. He mixed R&B and electronic beats (节拍) to make it more cheerful. A reviewer wrote on QQ Music, “When you listen to the song, you just seem to go back to youth again.”

The song was an early birthday present to himself which he celebrated on Aug 2. KUN also hopes that he always has the courage to pursue (追求) his love of music, no matter what people think. “My works are like my children and I have put my best effort into them.” he told the Global Times.

Indeed, KUN has written and produced most of his songs on his own. “I want every piece of my work to have my own spirit in it,” he told music website Soundigest, “I feel more enjoyment when I'm performing my own work.”

Although KUN loves performing onstage, when the lights go down, he prefers to fall back into his own world and darkness at night. “I always get inspired when it's quiet, late at night”, he told I-D magazine, “It’s a great moment for me to create new things. Sometimes, I can write songs with a melody (旋律) I heard in a dream.”

To develop his introspection (反思) and find new inspiration, KUN attends different kinds of musical performances — from festivals to opera houses. “I just like to do everything, all for my music, all for my art,” he told I-D.

With such talent and dedication to music, it seems that KUN will continue to make his mark in the competitive Chinese music industry.

1. What do we know about KUN’s newest single?

A．It earns him a birthday present.

B．It makes people feel happy and energetic.

C．It shows how he pursues his dream.

D．It combines jazz and electronic music.

2. What does KUN usually do to get inspiration for music?

A．He goes to music shows.

B．He talks to famous singers.

C．He attends music classes.

D．He finds melodies in his dreams.

3. Which would best describe KUN?

A．Courageous and patient.

B．Talented and humorous.

C．Hardworking and creative.

D．Optimistic and outgoing.