【推荐1】How to go for a greener drive

Buying green things can produce great benefits and so can small changes in your driving behavior.     1    

Avoid aggressive driving. A sudden start and aggressive driving can waste your gas.     2     That’s because just one second of high-powered driving can produce the same level of CO as 30 minutes of normal driving.

    3     A lot of us like to push the speedometer up to 75 miles per hour on the highway. However, slowing down to 65 miles per hour can increase your fuel economy by up to 10 percent and reduce the amount of pollution coming from your car.

Pay attention at the gas station. Don’t overfill your gas tank or try to top the oil up because spilled gas changes into the mixture of fog and smoke and can pollute groundwater. When you finish filling the car up, be sure to tighten your gas cap.     4    

Park smartly. Parking your car in the shade not only helps you avoid feeling very hot in your car, but helps minimize evaporation(蒸发) of fuel.

    5     By walking, cycling or public transport, you will make a big difference to our planet. Leave your car at home just two days a week. And you will help cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,500 pounds a year.

A．Slow down.

B．Change the oil.

C．Leave your car at home.

D．And this type of driving behavior adds to pollution.

E．In this way you can save as much as 30 gallons a year.

F．The following advice can help you save gas and contribute to the well-being of our planet.

G．Parking in your garage when possible to cut down on summer heat and keep off frost in the winter.

【推荐2】Thousands of years ago, people started building boats to help them explore the watery parts of the world. Boats let people find new hunting grounds and discover new lands.    1    

The earliest boats were probably logs that people sat on as they floated downstream. Later, people made these logs more useful and comfortable by burning and scraping away the insides to make dugout boats and canoes.

    2     They tied logs together to make rafts. They wove reeds and branches to make tidy little boats that are still used in many parts of the world today. They sewed animal skins together and filled them with air — like a float you might use in a swimming pool. They used paddles, poles, and oars to help steer, or to move upstream.

Boats like the Greek trireme (三列桨船) were big and heavy and hard to steer.    3     Soon people figured out how to use sails to catch the wind. Early sailboats might only have one or two sails. But more sails meant more power, and fast tall ships could have dozens. People still use sailboats today, for cruising and racing.

When steam engines were invented, boating became easier than ever.    4     As engines got bigger and better, so did boats.

Over the years, boats have been used for fishing, for fighting, for carrying goods, for fun — even for living on.    5    

A．The world is a watery place.

B．It took hundreds of rowers to move a boat like that.

C．People experimented with different kinds of floating boats.

D．Boats have turned the world’s waterways into highways.

E．Until people learned to build boats, all this water was a barrier.

F．They carried people and goods farther than they’ve ever gone before.

G．Ships with steam engines could sail long distances, even if there was no wind.

【推荐3】Transportation shapes the world: along with communications, it forms a global net that connects person to person, city to city, and country to country. Transportation routes as well as vehicles are vital to the functioning and spread of every civilization.

A country’s economy depends on reliable transportation. Cities spread out along roads, rivers, and rails, so does information. Until the 20th century, these routes were confined to land or water. With the invention of powered flight, the air became an open road as well. The earliest way of traveling was undoubtedly by foot, and humans’ earliest means of transporting goods was carrying loads on their back or head. By 4000 B.C., people were using domesticated animals for transport, a method greatly improved in some parts of the world by the invention of the wheel, probably first developed around 3500 B.C..

Until the 19th century, animals were the engines of land transportation. But with the invention of the steam engine and the internal combustion engine, railroads and automobiles revolutionized travel and trade. More than 600 million cars and trucks travel the world today.

Water has always been a fast and efficient mode of travel, and even today it remains a primary mover of heavy goods. The importance of waterways to human civilization can be seen on any map: almost all of the world’s major cities are located on coastlines or rivers. As early as 7000 B.C., people were building canoes; long-distance ships were common by 3000 B.C. Until the 1950s, ships were the chief means of overseas passenger travel.

Although the Montgolfier brothers took flight in balloons in the 18th century, air travel was not practical until the invention of powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Within ten years, the commercial air transportation business had begun.

Since the 20th century, high-speed rail has become another convenient way of travel. Today, two-thirds of the world’s high-speed rail track is in China, which measures nearly 30,000 kms, and this is expected to reach 38,000 kms by 2025.

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Technological advancements in transport over time.

B．The influence of economic activities on transportation.

C．The relationship between transportation and information flows.

D．Reasons why land and sea transportation routes were important.

2. Why does the writer mention the location of the world’s major cities?

A．To encourage more people to move to big cities.

B．To explain why boats and ships continue to be irreplaceable.

C．To recommend water as a convenient and cheap form of transportation.

D．To emphasize the contribution of water transport to human development.

3. What can we learn about air travel?

A．Balloons used to be one popular way of air travel.

B．The Montgolfier brothers invented powered flight.

C．The invention of airplanes helped popularize air travel.

D．Air travel became widespread soon after the balloon was invented.

4. What is the total length of high-speed rail track in the world today?

A．About 57,000 kms.	B．About 45,000 kms.
C．About 38,000 kms.	D．About 30,000 kms.

【推荐1】The new Lively Flip from the makers of Jitterbug^®

The new Lively Flip makes it easy to call, text, and helps you stay safe and healthy.

EASY TO USE

A large screen, big buttons and list-based menu make the Lively Flip an easy way to stay connected to friends and family. A long-lasting battery and powerful speaker make conversations loud and clear. Plus, with Amazon Alexa you can use your voice to make calls, write texts, and more.

EASY TO STAY SAFE

Feel prepared and protected anytime, anywhere with our Emergent Response Service. And with Emergent Care, you can speak to a live nurse or doctor right from the comfort of your home. With the Lively Flip, help is available whenever you need it.

EASY TO ALERT LOVED ONES

The Lively Flip keeps all your loved ones informed about your well-being when they download the Jitterbug^® Link app to their smartphones. You can stay active and independent while they feel more connected and reassured (放心的).

Buy now and get a FREE Car Charger, a $25 value! To order or learn more, call 1-866-493-9280.

1. What is the Lively Flip?

A．A computer.

B．A cellphone.

C．A car charger.

D．An e-watch.

2. What can you do with the Lively Flip?

A．Keep informed of your love’s well-being.

B．Download the Jitterbug® Link apps for free.

C．Build a long-term relationship with a doctor.

D．Send messages or make calls by using your voice.

3. Who is the Lively Flip probably intended for?

A．Teenagers who seek online friendships.

B．Nursing workers who look after patients.

C．Sick people who are staying in hospital.

D．Elderly people who live by themselves.

【推荐2】A special device (设备) worn on the head that sends electrical charges into the brain may improve the memory abilities of older people. The device may even give them the ability to remember things as well as a person 20 to 30 years younger than them. These are the findings of a study published in Nature Neuroscience earlier this month.

Researchers working on the study found that the age-related damage to working memory can be repaired. This is possible through stimulating (刺激) two important areas of the brain at a special rhythm. Working memory is the information held temporarily for use in immediate activities such as reasoning and decision-making.

42 younger adults aged 20 to 29 and 42 older adults aged 60 to 76 took part in the study. The researchers tested all subjects for their performance in a working memory activity. The findings are still early and only relate to healthy volunteers. But the findings could point to new ways to increase brain operation in older people suffering from diseases that affect these operations, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.

Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a method of observing brain activity. Transcranial alternating current stimulation, or tACS, is the means of sending electrical charges into the brain. Using both EEG and tACS, the scientists stimulated the brains of the group of young and old people. They were able to make small changes to the brainwave connections linked to their working memory.

Without brain stimulation, the older people were slower and less correct in their memories than the younger ones. This was because the younger people had higher levels of connections of certain brain wave rhythms.

Robert Reinhart, a researcher at Boston University, said that when older adults received active brain stimulation, they improved their working-memory test scores to the levels of the younger people. The effect lasted for at least 50 minutes after the stimulation was given.

1. How can the device help the old people?

A．It can record what has happened for them.

B．It can stimulate the brain and make it active.

C．It can turn an old person into a twenty-something.

D．It can delay the brain for a short while.

2. What did the researchers do using the equipment?

A．They repaired some age-related memory damage.

B．They found the brain made up of two vital parts.

C．They had 200 volunteers join in their research.

D．They kept track of two groups of people.

3. EEG is different from tACS because

A．EEG is a method to give motivation to brain

B．EEG can change the brainwave connections

C．tACS can send electrical charges to the brain

D．tACS is a means to help see how the brain runs

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Electric Shocks May Help Older People’s Memory

B．As People Age, Their Memory Is Decreasing

C．Plenty of Stimulation Can Make a Man Look Young

D．The Young Have a Problem with Memory

【推荐3】Hybrid (混合动力) cars are cars that run on petrol and electricity. They have a small standard petrol engine and a battery electric motor to provide electric power.

There are some differences between different models of hybrid cars, but the general principle is that the car runs on petrol, and the electric motor kicks in when additional power is required, for example, when going uphill or accelerating (加速). In some hybrid cars the petrol engine turns itself off when not needed, for example when the car has stopped at lights, keeping only the electric engine running.

Conventional (传统) cars have large engines to deal with driving uphill and accelerating. Hybrid cars have much smaller petrol engines, improved by electric motors when needed, so they use less petrol. Another way that fuel consumption (消耗) is cut is by a system of “regenerative (再生的) braking”. The electric motor is used to slow down the car, rather than conventional brakes. The energy produced by slowing the car is changed into electrical power, which is automatically stored in the battery. In effect, the battery recharges when you brake. In conventional cars the energy produced when braking is wasted.

In 1928, Ferdinand Porsche built and experimental hybrid car. The first mass-produced hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, came out in Japan at the end of 1997. However, hybrid cars became available in the USA only in 1999. As they use fuel, hybrid cars are cheaper to run. There are also many voices in place to encourage people to buy them. In some countries, hybrid cars owners pay a rate of tax, and don’t need to pay on certain roads. In some cities, hybrid cars allowed to park for free.

1. Hybrid cars consume less energy than conventional cars because hybrid cars______.

A．have large engines to deal with accelerating.

B．have conventional brakes to slow down cars

C．have no energy consumption when stopping

D．have electric power to assist when needed

2. In regenerative braking, ______

A．the conventional brakes are used to slow down the car

B．energy wasted in conventional cars is stored in the battery

C．the battery charges itself when the car is accelerating

D．the petrol engine is usually turned off automatically

3. From the last paragraph we can learn that hybrid cars______.

A．will gain more popularity

B．were first available in the USA

C．free their owners form tax

D．are free to park anywhere in the city

4. The main purpose of this text is to______.

A．show how hybrid cars slow down

B．encourage people to buy hybrid cars

C．inform people of a kind of energy-saving car

D．explain why hybrid cars use less energy

【推荐1】The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest problems is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.

Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in one place, man moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world.

Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad for all living things in the world, but it is not the only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us angry more easily.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from putting dirty smoke into the air.

Pollution by SO₂ is now the most dangerous kind of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. We are sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.

The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must take care of the rise in pollution at the same time.

1. Hundreds of years ago, life was ________ it is today.

A．much easier than

B．as easy as

C．much harder than

D．as hard as

2. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because ________.

A．it makes much noise	B．it makes us angry more easily
C．it makes our rivers and lakes dirty	D．it’s bad for all living things in the world

3. There are rules people make to fight against pollution Except ________.

A．stopping people from burning coal.

B．stopping people from pouring dirty water into the ocean.

C．stopping people from moving to other places.

D．stopping people from putting dirty smoke in the air.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution.

B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world population does.

C．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are not so many people living on the earth.

D．If people could go to work by bus or bike instead of car or motorbike, it would be helpful in fighting against the problem of SO2.

【推荐2】Light and bright, cheap and cheerful: IKEA’s 400-plus outlets (专营店) in 49 countries all run on the same central principle. Customers do as much of the work as possible, in the belief they are having fun and saving money. You drive to a distant warehouse built on cheap out-of-town land. Inside, you enter a maze (迷宫) — no shortcuts allowed — where every twist reveals new furniture.

Compared with the prices of other outlets, IKEA’s are much lower. You load up your trolley (手推车) with impulse buys-a clock, storage boxes, tools and more chairs than you will ever use. You drag cardboard boxes, cupboards and tables into your car and reward yourself for your economy and good taste. Then you drive home and put your prizes together. You are satisfied with the bargains. IKEA is satisfied with your money.

The company’s name was a do-it-yourself job, too. IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad, from Elmtaryd ― his family’s farm — in Agunnaryd. That village is in the Smaland region of southern Sweden. Mr Kamprad founded IKEA aged 17. Well before that, he spotted a principle which would make him one of the richest men in the world that customers like buying goods at wholesale prices (批发价). First he bought matches in large quantities and sold them by the box. Aged ten, he sold pens in the similar way.

Setbacks inspired him. Facing a price war against his low-cost mail-order furniture business, he defeated competitors by opening a showroom. Dealers tried to crush Mr Kamprad and banned him from their trade fairs. He slipped in, hiding in a friend’s car. When they tried to threaten his suppliers, he relied on his own workers, and secretly sold his production to communist Poland. Decades later, east Europeans freed from the planned economy drove hundreds of miles to newly opened outlets in Moscow and Warsaw.

His self-discipline was world-famous. As a child, he removed the “off” button from his alarm clock to stop himself oversleeping. He rarely took a first-class seat. The wine didn’t get you there any earlier, he sniffed; having lots of money was no reason to waste it. He bought his clothes in second-hand markets, and for years drove an elderly Volvo until he had to sell it on safety grounds. He had his hair cut in poor countries to save money. Visitors admired the views, but were surprised that his house was so shabby. He worked well into his eighties.

His diligence and simple way of life set a good example to his 194,000 “co-workers”. But he was not mean. The point of cutting costs was to make goods affordable, not to compromise quality. He urged his staff to reflect constantly on ways of saving money, time and space. An improved design that allows easier piling means shipping less air and more profit.

Culture was more important than strategy. He disliked “exaggerated (夸张的) planning”, along with financial markets and banks. Better to make mistakes and learn from them. And use time wisely: “You can do so much in ten minutes. But ten minutes once gone are gone for good.” This did not apply to customers. The longer they stayed, the better.

Mr Kamprad’s impact on modern life can be compared with that of Henry Ford and the mass-produced motor car. Furniture used to be expensive, dark and heavy. For many people, decorating a home could cost many months’ salary. IKEA made furniture not just affordable and functional, but fun. The mission was civilizational, he felt, changing how people lived and thought.

His approach drew some fire. The company values struck some as unpleasant. At IKEA’s Corporate Culture Centre, lots of pictures of Mr Kamprad with his mottos can be seen everywhere. What’s worse, some parts of the supply chain seemed to have serious problems to overcome.

1. What can we learn about IKEA in Paragraph 1?

A．IKEA prefers rural areas for its location.

B．IKEA has 400 outlets throughout the world.

C．IKEA likes to store new furniture in a maze.

D．IKEA provides a lot of work for its customers.

2. The underlined two sentences in Paragraph 2 imply that ________.

A．IKEA tricks you into spending more money

B．you may buy bargains with impulse in IKEA

C．both you and IKEA are pleased with the deal

D．both you and IKEA are happy with the bargain

3. By mentioning Mr. Kamprad’s experiences before he founded IKEA, the author intends to tell us that Mr Kamprad ________.

A．was likely to become a successful businessman

B．preferred selling matches and pens by low prices

C．had been a well-off merchant due to his principle

D．enjoyed doing something promising with discipline

4. What can be inferred from paragraph 5 and 6 about Mr. Kamprad?

A．He never overslept due to his alarm clock being set.

B．He was against drinking but for sniffing at the wine.

C．He sold the old Volvo with the purpose of saving money. -

D．He didn’t give up the quality of furniture for more profit.

5. Which of the following has nothing to do with Mr. Kamprad’s success in business?

A．The pictures and mottos of Mr. Kamprad.

B．The setbacks Mr. Kamprad experienced.

C．Mr. Kamprad’s principles of management.

D．Mr. Kamprad’s self-discipline and diligence.