【推荐1】Cycling has become more popular in the UK recently for a number of reasons. One of those must be the British cycling success at both the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the London Olympic Games in 2012. Sir Chris Hoy won three gold medals in Beijing and another two in London. He and Jason Kenny are the most successful Olympic cyclists of all time. The UK also won the Tour de Frances six times.

Cycling is not just a sport though, and Tony is just one of the many people who like to cycle long distances because they want to enjoy the natural beauty of the UK. He belongs to Sustrans? a volunteer organization created in the 1980s. Sustrans has combined quieter roads and disused railway tracks to create the National Cycle Network of cycle-friendly routes. Cyclists follow these routes to raise money for charity, but also because they enjoy the scenery across England and like to get away from the busy city life.

Connie lives and works in London and, like half a million Londoners every day，she travels to and from work by bike. Since the introduction of the Congestion Charge where drivers pay to bring a car into the center of London during working hours in 2003, the capital city has seen an almost 50 percent increase in the number of people traveling by bike. Cycling to work takes the same amount of time as it would by bus or tube. Connie says that cycling is cheaper and keeps her fit, too.

Nigel is a campaigner. In addition to traveling to and from work by bicycle, doing some charity rides and generally enjoying cycling, Nigel runs a local campaigning group and helps organize the ‘critical commute’ ---where cyclists gather every last Friday of the month and cycle into work together. For Nigel, cycling is about saving the planet, a cost-effective way of reducing our carbon footprint today.

1. All the factors have contributed to the growth in the number of cyclers in the UK except __________.

A．the cycling success in big sports events

B．the desire to join organizations and earn money

C．the introduction of the Congestion Charge

D．the awareness of protecting the environment

2. What’s the main reason why Connie cycles to work?

A．For health concern.

B．For convenience.

C．For financial considerations.

D．For time management.

3. Who are nature lovers according to the text?

A．Jason Kenny & Tony.

B．Chris Hoy & Connie.

C．Connie & Nigel.

D．Tony & Nigel.

【推荐1】The food delivery industry (外卖行业) now is a hotly competitive business, attracting the world’s biggest moneybags such as Alibaba and SoftBank. Balancing the needs of diners, cooks and couriers (专递公司) is complicated. Most new companies lose money. Yet they have received more than $30bn (十亿) from venture capitalists (资本家) in the past five years. And they are likely to get more.

The food-delivery business can be divided into two camps: mostly profitable veterans (老手) and loss-making newcomers. The veterans, founded at the start of the century, are led by Grubhub in America, and Just Eat and Takeaway in Europe. They account for the largest share (份额) of the market, offering customers online access to restaurants. Their relatively simple business model, in which they take a cut of the bill from the restaurants, has enabled Grubhub and Just Eat to turn a profit for years. Takeaway makes money in its home market (本土市场) of the Netherlands.

The newbies, born more recently, have turned a once-tidy business into a food fight (食物大战). They include listed firms such as Meituan of China and Delivery Hero of Germany, Uber Eats (part of Uber), Ele.me (owned by China’s Alibaba), and privately held DoorDash, based in San Francisco, and Deliveroo, from London.For most of them, delivery is their core business, so they share their cut of the bill with riders as well as restaurants. This substantially broadens the market to restaurants. But profit suffers.

The only attractive aspect of the delivery business is its potential size. According to Bernstein, almost a third of the global restaurant industry is made up of home delivery, takeaways and drive-throughs, which could be worth $1trn (万亿) by 2023. In 2018 delivery amounted to $161bn, leaving plenty of room for online firms to expand.

Yet it is by no means clear if anyone can make money by delivering meals. In fact, the economics may be even worse. Delivery businesses have ways to cut their losses. One is to diversify further, by delivering groceries, flowers, booze, and even people, as well as meals. Another is to provide cheaper meals by centrally supplying ingredients to restaurants. In the dog-eat-dog world of food delivery, it will still be hard.

1. How can the veterans make a profit?

A．They get lots of support from capitalists.

B．They offer customers great convenience.

C．They draw a part of profit from restaurants.

D．They balance the complicated needs successfully.

2. What makes the delivery business attractive?

A．Massive profits.	B．Satisfying service.
C．Efficient management.	D．Development prospects (前景).

3. What is the author’s attitude towards making money by delivering meals?

A．Positive.	B．Definite (确定的).
C．Uncertain.	D．Confident.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Delivery businesses balance some complicated needs

B．Meal delivery attracts the world’s biggest moneybags

C．The two camps of delivery businesses compete fiercely

D．The food-delivery business is far from tasty business

【推荐3】Every March, the US celebrates the accomplishments of women in American history. Even though these accomplishments go back a long way, most schools didn’t start focusing on women pioneers and their achievements until recently. Today, most colleges offer classes in women’s history and most schools teach kids about the many contributions women have made to the country. How did this change come about?

International Women’s Day Is Born

On March 19,1911,a German woman named Clara Zetkin organized the very first International Women’s Day. Inspired by American working women, the annual event took on the causes of peace to end World War I as well as gain women’s rights. Over the years, interest in International Women’s Day decreased. It gained development again in the 1960s,when the women’s movement caused women to wonder why they weren’t included in the history books.

National Women’s History Week Is Celebrated

By the 1970s,more female historians began to look back at the contributions of women in history. In 1978,a California school district started Women’s History Week to promote the teaching of women’s history. School officials picked the week of March 8 to include International Women’s Day. It was so popular that, in 1981,Congress passed a resolution making the week a celebration for the entire country. The concept of studying women’s history continued to grow in popularity. In 1987,a group of women, supported by people working in museums, schools and libraries, asked Congress to expand the celebration. That same year, Congress declared the entire month of March National Women’s History Month.

National Women’s History Museum

Today, schools and communities across the country celebrate the month with special lessons and activities designed to teach the ways women have helped shape the US. The women who have worked hard to make Women’s History Month a reality would like to see women’s history studied all year, not just every March. In 1996,the National Women’s History Museum was founded. It is a non-profit organization devoted to preserving and celebrating the various historic contributions of women. The organization is working with Congress to open a permanent museum site in Washington, DC.

1. Long ago in American history, women pioneers      

A．were heroes in schools

B．struggled hard for a peaceful world

C．were greatly respected in schools

D．rarely became the focus in schools

2. Why did Clara Zetkin organize the very first International Women’s Day?

A．To be famous.

B．To develop more interests.

C．To be supported by American working women.

D．To struggle for peace and gain women’s rights.

3. When is National Women’s History Week?

A．The whole March.

B．A week of March.

C．The week of March 8.

D．One month of the year.

4. What’s the purpose of founding the National Women’s History Museum?

A．To become a permanent museum site.

B．To keep and observe the various historic contributions of women.

C．To teach students the ways women have helped shape the USA.

D．To earn lots of money and help women who had made contributions.

【推荐1】Wild animals are known to listen to each other for warnings that predators are near. Some birds, for example, flee when neighbors make a loud noise to announce a snake’s presence.

The fairy wren is a small Australian songbird. It is not born knowing the “languages” of other birds. But recent study says it can learn the meaning of a few important sounds.

Andrew Radford, a biologist at the University of Bristol in England, and other scientists carried out the study in the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. They wanted to see if fairy wrens would react to sounds of other birds even if they could not see them.

The scientists first played two recorded sounds that they likely had never heard before for the birds. One was a warning cry of an allopatric chestnut-rumped thornbill, a bird not native to Australia. The other was a computer-generated bird sound called “buzz”.

When the 16 fairy wrens in the study first heard the sounds, they had no special reaction.

The scientists then tried to train half the birds to recognize the thornbill’s cry as a warning sound. They tried to train the other half of the birds to recognize the computer-generated “buzz” as a warning call.

They did so by playing the sounds in addition to other noises that the birds already knew as warnings. These included the fairy wrens’ own threat call.

After three days, the scientists tested what the birds had learned — and their students passed the test.

The fairy wrens trained with the thornbill’s cry, fled when they heard it. The group trained with the buzz, fled when they heard that sound. Neither group reacted to the sound taught to the other.

“What this new study does is to remove the predator entirely. It shows that these birds can learn to associate new sounds with danger, without having to learn through trial and error, ” Christopher Templeton from Pacific University said.

1. What can be known about fairy wrens from the passage?

A．They are native to Austria.

B．They know the “languages” of other birds naturally.

C．They can imitate the “languages” of other birds.

D．They have a capacity for learning the meaning of a few sounds.

2. What’s the purpose of the study?

A．To see if birds can react to others’ “languages” by listening.

B．To train fairy wrens how to recognize warnings from other birds.

C．To persuade birds not to learn just through trial and error.

D．To prove fairy wrens have a strong ability of learning.

3. When hearing the thornbill’s cry, how did the fairy wrens trained with the buzz react?

A．They pretended not to hear it.

B．They flew away as well as the other fairy wrens.

C．They remained the same as before.

D．They passed on the warning to other fairy wrens.

4. Where can the passage be found?

A．In a biology textbook.

B．In a science newspaper.

C．In a poster.

D．In a fashion website.

【推荐2】Grandma’s Marathon doesn’t have the nationwide recognition. In Minnesota, though, people who’ve never run more than a few steps are familiar with the race.

While Grandma’s Marathon has been on my mind for years, I always found myself committed to a different race. When my sister mentioned she was signing up for the race last fall, I followed suit. It felt so far away at first, especially during those early training runs in the dead of winter. That changed once spring began. Before I knew it, the marathon day had arrived.

I’m no stranger to this, but nothing prepared me for Grandma’s Marathon mentally. Race day would be cold and rainy one day, then hot and sunny the next. Part of this has to do with the fact that Grandma’s Marathon is in June, the middle of Minnesota’s severe weather season, which typically witnesses the most thunderstorms.

Things weren’t looking great the night before the race. There was potential for thunderstorms, meaning race cancellation, and the temperature seemed a little hot. Everything changed when we woke up.

I’m not sure if it was because of the fog present through most of the morning, but the race course was just beautiful. We passed through gently rolling hills in quiet, wooded areas for much of the beginning. And the first time I saw Lake Superior, it nearly took my breath away. Even the finishing area was picturesque. I really had a good race that day.

I come from a family full of runners and many of us compete in the same events. The sad reality is that it’s rare that more than one of us will have a good race during the same competition until Grandma’s Marathon 2018. Finishing in a time of 3:26:18, I ran the second fastest.

1. What does the author intend to tell in the first two paragraphs?

A．The training for Grandma’s Marathon is easy.

B．The author ran Grandma’s Marathon for the first time.

C．The place where Grandma’s Marathon take place is far away.

D．Grandma’s Marathon is popular among the people in America.

2. Which of the following best explains “picturesque” underlined in paragraph 5?

A．Beautiful.	B．Tough.
C．Relaxing.	D．Interesting.

3. What can we know about the Grandma’s Marathon?

A．The weather on the race day was severe.

B．The author made full preparation for the race.

C．Things were not going smoothly along the race course.

D．The author got a good result in the Grandma’s Marathon.

4. How is the author’s attitude to the result of the event?

A．Objective.	B．Puzzled.
C．Proud.	D．Worried.

【推荐3】The term “graffiti” is an Italian word meaning scratching or scribbling(乱涂). It entered the English language in the 1850s, specifically to describe the casual wall writing that experts found in Pompeii and the Roman tombs. Originally a term used only in ancient scribbling, the word has undergone considerable expansion of meaning in the past 75 years so that it now refers to any written message on a wall. Graffiti are characterized by their casualness; if they were more formal, they would be known as inscriptions(铭文).

The first piece of graffiti was found on one of the walls of the city Pompeii, which was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was one of 1,600 pieces of graffiti uncovered in Pompeii during a dig in the 19^th century. Not surprisingly, there is much evidence of graffiti writing on the pyramid and temples of ancient Egypt. It is likely that ever since people have had walls and materials to scratch or paint with, they have been engaged in this simplest form of communication.

The writing of graffiti gives people a unique opportunity to achieve some kind of public audience. Thus short poems, declarations of love, pieces of political and revolutionary polemic(论战), and criticisms of institutions and people form a significant part of graffiti.

Apart from its usefulness in terms of self-expression, graffiti is also a valuable source for historians. There is always the possibility that historical events may be recorded by the presence of graffiti. Perhaps the most interesting example of this is the graffiti relating to the gladiatorial(角斗士) contests held in Pompeii. Graffiti can also give us a unique view into the daily life and customs of a people, for its casual expression encourages the recording of details that more formal writing would tend to ignore.

In the late 1970s, graffiti became popular. A thought written on a toilet wall in Wolverhampton can now be read in Chicago or Adelaide. In its own way, this is probably the most fascinating example of McLuhan’s concept of “the global village”. We now have a worldwide toilet wall.

1. According to the first paragraph, graffiti________.

A．is another name for “inscription”

B．got its name from the English language

C．was born in the 1850s

D．Mainly refers to casual writing or pictures on walls

2. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?

A．Graffiti has a long history.

B．Graffiti is an attractive form of art.

C．Graffiti made the ancient city Pompeii famous.

D．Graffiti was ancient Egyptian’s main way of communication.

3. What does the third and fourth paragraphs mainly tell us?

A．Graffiti’s great value.

B．Graffiti’s features.

C．Graffiti’s way of expression.

D．Graffiti’s connection with people’s daily life.

4. The graffiti relating to the gladiatorial contests is mentioned in the passage to prove that ______.

A．graffiti can show people’s customs

B．graffiti can provide valuable historical evidence

C．graffiti was mainly used to record important events

D．graffiti can provide more detailed information than formal writing

5. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph implies that______.

A．the presence of graffiti makes the world closely connected

B．the concept of “the global village” is famous worldwide

C．graffiti has become very popular all over the world

D．people like using toilet walls to share their graffiti

【推荐1】As we know it, it’s not unusual to find such private message on Facebook: “Hey, girl. Wanted to invite you to join my next challenge group-we’ll be focusing on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition.”

It was all becoming too much. Facebook was running my life, not me.

But what killed Facebook for me was when I posted a photo, and five minutes later my son asked me how much “likes” it had got. His question was a wake-up call.

“Likes” are signs of acceptance and approval. I had forgotten that acceptance and approval need to come from within and had unknowingly set him a bad example.

Before Facebook, surfing the Internet was an occasional distraction and I spent a lot more time reading books and magazines. I checked in with friends through texts, emails and phone calls.

To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a healthier example for my son, I deactivated my Facebook account.

I’d been in the habit of checking Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I carried a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting. I started taking yoga classes.

I started to remember a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have friends who will help me out when I’m in trouble, and I’ll help them out. I do my best to be a good mother, and our son is happy and healthy. We are lucky to be able to afford two vacations a year.

I stopped looking at the world through my cellphone. I felt completely present in the moment.

The break left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life.

After a few weeks, I returned to Facebook. Now I look at the photos of my friends’ kids growing up and treasure how social media allows me to keep in touch with family far and wide. I look in on a daily basis, but no longer with the desire constantly to post updates.

1. The underlined word“deactivate”in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to___________.

A．update	B．quit
C．label	D．close

2. What did the author do to change her life?

A．She went to the gym as often as she could.

B．She got into some healthy habits.

C．She tried to make money for her holidays.

D．She traveled around a lot for a year.

3. What did the author think of the break from Facebook?

A．It gave her time to find beauty in life.

B．It distanced her from her friends.

C．It stopped her using social media.

D．It left her space to educate herself.

4. In the author’s opinion,people should be__________using social media.

A．doubtful about	B．supportive of
C．cautious about	D．indifferent to

【推荐2】People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality-the driverless car. ” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the U. S. government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are' making Hondas safer, said Angie Nucci of Honda America.   “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes. ” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars.   These systems help drivers , but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident, ”Kendall said. He said , “Consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first. ”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.
1. According to the passage, California Governor Jerry Brown ______________.

A．is for the idea of having driverless cars

B．sponsored the DARPA competition to improve the driverless system

C．has already bought a new autonomous car

D．thinks that driving safety is the most important issue in his state

2. What is the role of the systems mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．They can help cars run much faster.

B．They can take the place of drivers now.

C．They can make cars run without fuel.

D．They can help people drive more safely.

3. In Kendall’s opinion, who probably don’t rely on the driverless cars at first?

A．managers in the high-tech company Google

B．officers from the U. S. government agency DARPA

C．car consumers

D．vehicle designers

4. According to Richard Mason, what is the biggest challenge for driverless cars?

A．They need to have more comfortable seats .

B．They are now too expensive for consumers.

C．They are travelling at a low speed.

D．They are not favored by car racers

【推荐3】Beijing will use facial recognition tools to speed up security checks in the city's overcrowded metro， using a "credit system" to sort passengers into different channels．

Long queues and passengers arguing with staff over slow security procedures are common sites during rush hour in the metro system of this big city with 20 million citizens． The city plans to fix cameras that will scan the faces of passengers as they enter a subway station and sort them into different security channels， said Zhan Minghui， director of the Beijing Rail Traffic Control Center．

He said the plan involves creating a "passenger credit system"， and individuals on a "white list" will be offered rapid screening service． Those who receive "abnormal feedback" after their faces are scanned will have to go through extra checks． Zhan did not offer details on the criteria used to sort passengers or what could cause that type of feedback．

The technique aims to improve the efficiency of security checks and includes both body checks and luggage screening when large numbers of passengers enter the station． The city's subway system currently handles over 12 million trips on a work day and the number is expected to increase to 17 million trips by 2022． Zhan did not offer a timetable for rolling out the technology．

Facial recognition is gaining popularity across China， where it is being used for nearly everything anywhere from supermarket checkouts to monitoring． While researchers have warned of the privacy risks associated with gathering facial recognition data， consumers have widely embraced the technology．

The Universal Studios amusement park under construction in Beijing recently said it will admit visitors without a ticket﹣ thanks to cameras that will scan their faces to determine if they paid for entry．

1. Why does Beijing subway plan to use facial recognition system？　 　

A．To make the subway more safe．

B．To accelerate security checks．

C．To reduce the number of employees．

D．To attract more and more passengers．

2. What is the third paragraph intended to tell us about the new technique？　 　

A．Its working process

B．The target group

C．Its advantages

D．Its problems

3. What can we infer from paragraph 4？　 　

A．The system is mainly used for body check．

B．More and more people will take metro trips．

C．17 million people will take metro trips by 2022．

D．The technology will be available in a few years．

4. What is the researchers' attitude towards using facial recognition technology？　 　

A．Negative

B．Fearful

C．Doubtful

D．Cautious