【推荐2】What types of books do you enjoy reading? What are some of your favourite books? What’s your favourite type of books? Here are some books you might like to try.

The Venice Experiment : A Year of Trial and Error Living Abroad (2011) by Barry Frangipane

Type: travel

A few years ago, a real-life American couple decided to escape the competitive life and live in Venice for a year. This is the story of their experiences there, and it’s full of funny events about their struggle to adapt to the Venetian lifestyle. An author said, “For anyone thinking of an overseas adventure, The Venice Experiment is a laugh-out-loud read...”

The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins

Type: science-fiction/adventure

The story is set in the future. A governor rules the country and most people are very poor. Every year, there’s a game show called “The Hunger AOLLNS Games” in which 18 teenagers are sent into the wild to battle it out until only one survives. The book has just been made into a highly successful Hollywood movie.

There but for the (2011) by Ali Smith

Type: general fiction

The book is the sparkling satirical novel by Ali Smith. There once was a man, Miles Garth, who one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, left the table, locked himself in a spare bedroom, and refused to come out. As the days passed, Miles became a famous man, and people gathered outside his house. People even started selling Miles-themed goods.

An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington

Type: travel/humour

Karl is a British TV personality and comedian (喜剧演员) who stars in the popular TV show An Idiot Abroad. In the show (and in this book), Karl Pilkington visits the Seven Wonders of the World and makes funny observations about his experiences. The Spectator magazine called Karl “the funniest man on the planet”.

1. Who is the author of The Venice Experiment?

A．Suzanne Collins.	B．Karl Pilkington
C．Barry Frangipane.	D．Ali Smith.

2. In which book are the hero-themed goods sold?

A．There but for the.	B．The Hunger Games.
C．The Venice Experiment.	D．An Idiot Abroad.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．People in The Venice Experiment are imagined.

B．The Hunger Games has been made into a movie.

C．There is one book above talking about travel.

D．Karl is a serious person in An Idiot Abroad.

4. What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To invite you to a library.	B．To recommend books.
C．To teach reading.	D．To write books.

【推荐1】When you hear “I have a dream…”, one of the most famous speeches in human history you’ll never have the idea how the audience on the scene were fueled by emotional intelligence. When Martin Luther King. Jr. presented his dream, he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience. Delivering this electrifying (震撼性的) message required emotional intelligence — the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions.

Emotional intelligence has been highly recommended by leaders, policymakers, and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems. Emotional intelligence is important, but the uncontrolled enthusiasm has obscured (掩盖) a dark side. New evidence shows that when people sharpen their emotional skills, they become better at controlling others. When you’re good at controlling your own emotions, you can hide your true feelings. When you know what others are feeling, you can motivate them to act against their own best interests.

Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. In a research led by University of Toronto professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize (细察) the message and remembered the content. Ironically (讽刺的是), audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it.

The authors call this the awestruck effect,but it might just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect. One observer reflected that Hitler’s persuasive impact came from his ability to strategically express emotions — he would “tear open his heart” — and these emotions affected his followers to the point that they would “stop thinking critically and just emote.”

Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our abilities to reason. If their values are out of step with our own, the results can be destructive. New evidence suggests that when people have self-serving motives, emotional intelligence becomes a weapon for controlling others.

Throwing light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff. According to these experts, emotional intelligence helps people disguise (伪装) one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Professor Kilduff’s team writes, “The strategic disguise of one’s own emotions and the controlling of others’ emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare’s stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded.”

Of course, people aren’t always using emotional intelligence for nefarious ends. More often than not high EQ is helpful in most aspects of our life. Emotional intelligence — like any skill — can be used for good or evil. So whether it is a gift or a curse lies in your hand.

1. Why does the author mention Martin Luther King, Jr?

A．To honor the great leader for his courage.

B．To recommend his speech to other leaders.

C．To introduce the major topic to readers.

D．To advocate a society with fewer problems.

2. What is the dumbstruck effect of Hitler’s emotional intelligence?

A．His followers would tear open their hearts to him.

B．His followers would express emotions strategically.

C．His followers would lose the ability to reason properly.

D．His followers would develop the self-serving motives.

3. How do people use their emotional intelligence for personal gain?

A．They disguise their true emotions and show another one.

B．They help their colleagues to buildup confidence.

C．They present their strategic behaviors on the stage.

D．They lower their own dignity to gain popularity.

4. Which may mean the same as the underlined word in the last paragraph?

A．Immoral.

B．Unimportant.

C．Illegal.

D．Uncontrollable.

【推荐3】Scientists say baby sharks are at risk of being born smaller and without the energy they need to survive because of warming oceans from climate change.

Scientists studied epaulette sharks, which live off Australia and New Guinea. They found that warmer conditions expedite the sharks’ growing process. That meant the sharks were born earlier and very tired. The findings could be used in the study of other sharks, including those that give birth to live young.

The scientists studied 27 sharks. Some were raised in average summer water temperatures, about27 degrees Celsius. Others were raised in higher temperatures around 29 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius. They found that the sharks raised in the warmest temperatures weighed much less than those raised in average temperatures. They also showed reduced energy levels.

Epaulette sharks can grow to a length of about one meter. Their name comes from large spots on their bodies that look like decorations on some military clothing.

One study this year found that worldwide numbers of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than70 percent between 1970 and 2018. Overfishing is a main concern, while climate change and pollution also threaten sharks.

Carolyn Wheeler is a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts Boston and with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia. She is the lead author of the epaulette shark study. She said that while all the sharks survived, those raised in warmer temperatures were not strong enough to survive for long in the wild.

She added that if the sharks are born smaller than usual, they are probably going to have to start looking for food sooner, and they’re going to have less time to adjust to their surroundings.

The study should serve as a warning to ocean governing agencies that careful management is needed to prevent the loss of more sharks.

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

A．Accelerate.

B．Slow.

C．Cause.

D．Influence.

2. How did the scientists carry out their study?

A．By studying former data.

B．By tracking sharks in the wild.

C．By collecting information about climate change.

D．By comparing sharks in waters of different temperatures.

3. Which of the following is TRUE about epaulette sharks?

A．They are named after a military officer.

B．They can’t adapt to new surroundings quickly.

C．They are dying mainly because of climate change.

D．They would die soon after birth in warmer temperatures.

4. What might the next paragraph be about?

A．The reasons for sharks’ loss.	B．The measures to preserve sharks.
C．The function of the government.	D．The warnings about the endangered sharks.

【推荐1】The Best Time to Visit Sydney

If you prefer the cold to heat，especially if seeking to escape the northern summer，the best time to visit Sydney could be in the Australian winter from June 1 to August 31.

The Sydney winter isn’t really harsh and the weather’s generally pleasant.It’s great for touring the city on foot and for bushwalking.And the ski slopes are not too far away.

Holiday time

You get the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend in June and the school holidays in July.Aside from within those periods，accommodation costs in the city will generally be lower.

Winter weather

Expect generally cool conditions.The average temperature should range from around 8℃(46) at night to 16℃(61) in the daytime in mid­winter.Expect from 80mm to 131mm of rain in a month，with the most rain in June tapering into August.

Winter accommodation

Outside of the holiday periods，Sydney accommodation will usually be available and should be relatively cheaper.

Winter activities

·The weather’s fine for a walking tour of Sydney.Visit the Rocks，the Sydney Opera House，the Royal Botanic Gardens，Art Gallery of New South Wales，Australian Museum，Hyde Park，Chinatown，Darling Harbour.

·Go on a harbor cruise.At the very least，take a Sydney ferry and cross the harbor to Manly.

·Take a day trip north，south and west of Sydney.

·Spot the whales as they travel north in the whale migration season.

·Go bushwalking at the Royal National Park.

1. Considering weather and accommodation，the best time to visit Sydney is in         .

A．June	B．July
C．August	D．December

2. Which of the following activities is NOT recommended in the passage?

A．Going skiing near Sydney.

B．Hunting whales in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

C．Touring Sydney on foot.

D．Bushwalking at the Royal National Park.

【推荐2】Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed an affordable, easy to use system to track the location of flexible surgical robots inside the human body. The system performs as well as current state of the art methods, but the whole system, including the robot, magnets and magnet localization setup, costs around $100. Many current methods also require exposure to radiation, while this system does not.

The system was developed by Tania Morimoto, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, and mechanical engineering Ph. D. student Connor Watson.

“Continuum medical robots work really well in highly constrained (受限的) environments inside the body,” Morimoto said. “But it becomes a lot harder to track their location and their shape inside the body.” The researchers used existing magnet localization methods, which work very much like GPS, to develop a computer model that predicts the robot’s location.

GPS satellites ping (发送) smartphones and based on how long it takes for the signal to arrive, the GPS receiver in the smartphone can determine where the cell phone is. Similarly, researchers know how strong the magnetic field should be around the magnet placed in the robot. They rely on four sensors that are carefully spaced around the area where the robot operates to measure the magnetic field strength. Based on how strong the field is, they are able to determine where the tip of the robot is.

Morimoto and Watson went a step further. They then trained a neural network to learn the difference between what the sensors were reading and what the model said the sensors should be reading. As a result, they improved localization accuracy to track the tip of the robot. “Ideally we are hoping that our localization tools can help improve these kinds of growing robot technologies. We do want to push this research forward so that we can test our system in a clinical setting and eventually translate it into clinical use,” Morimoto said.

1. What be learnt about the system according to the text?

A．It’s complex.	B．It’s low-cost.
C．It’s delicate.	D．It’s radioactive.

2. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The system’s working principle.

B．The function of GPS satellites.

C．The reason for inventing the system,

D．The necessity of inventing the system.

3. What do Morimoto and Watson expect of the system?

A．It’ll be environmentally-friendly.	B．It’ll be sold on the Internet soon,
C．I’ll be easy for us to operate.	D．It’ll be tested with real patients.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A diary.	B．A guidebook.
C．A magazine.	D．A novel.

【推荐3】What do literary greats Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Burns have in common? They both lived and wrote in Edinburgh, along with many other big names in the field of literature. This fact helped UNESCO (联合国教科文组织)award the city the title of World’s First City of Literature on October 14.

Edinburgh left a lasting impression on Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). Although he was born there he went to school in England but returned home for medical school. After graduating he moved to London and began writing his Sherlock Holmes stories. His inspiration for the character came from one of his professors at university. Holmes’ methods were so clever that they actually furthered the advance of the study of criminology (犯罪学).

Robert Burns (1759-1796)is still regarded as Scotland’s national poet, more than 200 years after his death. He is celebrated all over the world through translations of his work and the annual Burns Night supper on his birthday. One of his songs, My Love is Like a Red Red Rose ranks among the finest love songs ever written and Auld Lang Syne (《友谊地久天长》)is sung all around the world.

As one of the first literate societies in Europe, the Scottish Parliament passed the world’s first compulsory (义务)education law in 1496. By the 1790s, almost all Scots could read. Visitors to Scotland often observed that even the lowest members of society had copies of Burns’ poems and other books.

1. Edinburgh was awarded the title of World’s First City of Literature because ______.

A．the first award ceremony of literature was held there.

B．many literary greats like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Burns were born there.

C．it left a deep impression on many literary greats like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

D．many literary greats like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Burns often wrote about it.

2. Arthur Conan Doyle was remembered mainly for his ______.

A．detective stories.

B．love poems and songs.

C．contribution to the study of criminology.

D．clever writing skills.

3. In the last paragraph, the writer mainly discussed ______.

A．the impression of visitors to Scotland.

B．how Burns’ poems are popular in Scotland.

C．the possible history reasons for many literary greats in Scotland.

D．how the world’s first compulsory education law was made.