It's natural to think about what goes into producing the food in your daily lunch bag. But have you ever stopped to consider the production techniques behind the bag itself? At the center of it is a woman named Margaret Knight.
From her earliest years, Knight was a restless creator. In the article titled " The Evolution of the Grocery Bag", its writer mentions a few of her childhood projects. She was “famous for her kites", and "her sleds were the envy of the town’s boys.”
To support her mother, she took a job at a cotton factory when she was 12. That same year she invented a shuttle system which helped to prevent injury. At the time, she had no concept of patenting(得到……的专利权) her idea. What strengthened her place in history was her working experience at the Columbia Paper Bag Company. Here, instead of folding every paper bag by hand, Knight wondered if she might be able to make them cleanly and rapidly via an automated machine. The result was a working model of her elegant paper-folding machine. But this time: she wanted to go to the extra step and secure a patent on her creation, a brave move for a woman in the 19th century, when an extremely small percentage of patents were held by women.
Not only did Knight file for a patent, she bravely defended her owner ship of the bag machine idea. A man named Charles Annan said the creation was his own, arguing no woman could be able to design such a machine. Knight fought a legal battle against him and handed Anna a courtroom(法庭)defeat by presenting her detailed hand-drawn blueprints. Finally，Knight received her rightful patent in 1871.
After making the machine, she continued to invent many other things like a paper feeding machine and a skirt protector. Knight, at the age of seventy, worked twenty hours a day on 89th invention.
1. Why does the writer mention Knight's childhood projects?| A．To introduce a book to reader |
| B．To tell us young Knight liked sports. |
| C．To show Knight was envied by other girls |
| D．To show Knight was creative as a child |
| A．Intelligent and generous. |
| B．Courageous and hardworking |
| C．Considerate and optimistic |
| D．Independent and determined. |
| A．It turned to be slower but safer |
| B．It was co invented by Knight and Annan |
| C．It proved Knight's position as an inventor. |
| D．It was the first machine to be patented by a woman |
| A．By following the order of time |
| B．By making some comments. |
| C．By making a comparison |
| D．By listing examples |
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【推荐1】Nowadays some companies are attempting to grow seafood from cells in a laboratory rather than harvesting it from the oceans.
With massive problems with overfishing worldwide and growing demand for shrinking supplies of seafood, the way fish currently makes its way to our plates isn’t a long-term viable option. Between 1961 and 2016, the average annual increase in global food fish consumption outpaced population growth. Those are figures not sustainable for us, the fish or the environment as a whole.
Cellular seafood could be the answer. Just don’t make the mistake of calling it lab-grown fish. ‘‘None of us in the industry would call it lab-grown seafood,” says Mike Selden, CEO of Finless Foods. ‘‘Finless Foods isn’t lab-grown. We experiment and create our science in the lab, but don’t produce there. Our products come from a production base much like a farm as a production base for animals.’’
Finless Foods is a tech company in San Francisco. Beginning in 2017, it’s been working to bring to market a species of cultured bluefin tuna (蓝鳍金枪鱼) created using cellular technology. Shortly after that, the company produced its first pound of bluefin tuna meat for a cost of about $19,000. Since then, however, it’s been the first battle to bring that price down.
Selden terms what Finless Foods is doing as ‘‘cell-based seafood’’. ‘‘We’re growing seafood from real seafood cells,’’ Selden explained. ‘‘We take cells from a fish once, and then grow them endlessly from that. We do the same process that happens inside of a fish and make it happen outside of a fish.”
The goal of cellular seafood isn’t to entirely destroy the current seafood industry. Instead, it’s intended to augment it—and perhaps to help reduce some of the more harmful aspects of current fishing practices like overfishing and illegal fishing. And when it comes to certain sea species, this laboratory-based approach could help create a plentiful supply of certain fish without endangering the survival of certain overfished species as a whole.
1. What is the main function of the second paragraph?| A．Warning us of the shrinking seafood supplies. |
| B．Stressing the significance of cellular seafood. |
| C．Analyzing the reasons for global overfishing. |
| D．Showing the environmental effect of seafood. |
| A．Cutting down the high cost of production. |
| B．Enriching the nutrient content. |
| C．Reducing harmful health effect. |
| D．Simplifying the production process. |
| A．Cellular seafood isn’t lab-grown food because it is processed in a production base wholly. |
| B．Finless Foods does the same process inside a fish as a fish does. |
| C．Finless Foods can create a new range of fish. |
| D．Cellular seafood can strengthen the current seafood industry. |
| A．Seafood in Cells. | B．Cheaper Seafood. |
| C．Insufficient Seafood Supplies. | D．Current Seafood Industry. |
【推荐2】At first look, the playground at the Children’s Guild-Transformation Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, looks like any other. But it is not just a place for fun. Everything is specifically designed for kids aged 5 to 21 with autism (自闭症) spectrum disorder (ASD) and are lower-functioning.
The goal of the school is to make the students as independent as possible in an effort to help them prepare for adult life. The school aims to provide help with developing communication and social skills, as well as practical abilities like cleaning or cooking.
Parts of the playground that seem small are very important for children with autism and other disabilities. The surrounding fence extends into a wooded area to make it seem more open. And the ground under the play areas is made of soft, but solid materials to support students using wheelchairs.
Instead of just one slide, there are two sitting side-by-side. That way, parents or teachers with older, larger students can go down the slide together with the kids.
The playground’s designers say a number of sensory elements are also included to help the students. The benches (长凳) on the outside of the playground look simple from faraway but are “one of our most inclusive sensory” elements. They have many different colours that bring about feelings of calm and curiosity. They are also made with smooth material that can be felt and moved. If a child starts to feel uneasy, they can sit down and feel the bench, which can help them relax.
One of the most important designs is a tower that can spray water on multiple children. This can be an important way for older children with autism to get over their fears of water, which for them can be over stimulating. Like the shower, much of the equipment is designed to persuade students to interact with each other, even though they might usually like playing alone. A swing set is designed to permit two kids to swing at the same time, for example.
The school plans to open up the playground for everyone in the autism community, even if they do not attend Transformation Academy.
1. Which of the following can accurately describe Transformation Academy?| A．An on-profit private organization. |
| B．A special school for children with disabilities. |
| C．A public school that integrates education and fitness. |
| D．An important place for community children’s activities. |
| A．They should be soft and affordable. |
| B．They should be small and comfortable. |
| C．They should be cheap and eco-friendly. |
| D．They should be safe and considered from multiple angles. |
| A．They are simple and uniform in colour. |
| B．They are only for one person to sit alone. |
| C．They are smooth and fixed in one position. |
| D．They are a combination of various physical senses, |
| A．It encourages students to play alone. |
| B．It is not different from any other playground. |
| C．It is only available for students from the school. |
| D．It score is to create opportunities for secure communication. |
【推荐3】Naquela Wright’s life took an unexpected turn when she lost her eyesight as a teenager, but even when her world became dark, the New Jersey resident didn’t want to quit social media.
Using Facebook was a challenge at first. Diagnosed in 2010 with pseudotumor cerebri, a rare health condition in which pressure increases around the brain and can result in the loss of vision, Wright learned how to use a screen reader to read the site through the touch of the keyboard and sound of a robotic voice. Still, when a friend sends her a photo, Wright often has no clue what the image shows.
Now Facebook is trying to solve this problem by exploiting the power of artificial intelligence to create new tools that not only describe items in a photo but allows users to ask what’s in an image.
“I can have a basic picture in my mind of what’s going on in the picture and now I can comment on my own,” said Wright, who got to try out the new tools that are still being tested. “Of course, it’s different, but it’s something more than I had.”
An estimated 285 million people are visually disabled globally, according to the World Health Organization, and research conducted by Facebook showed that blind users have trouble figuring out what’s in a photo because the description isn’t clear or doesn’t exist.
Facebook has made it easier to skim through the content on its website with a screen reader by improving HTML headings, adding alternative text for images, launching keyboard shortcuts, and more. Using artificial intelligence to describe photos is only a part of these ongoing efforts.
With 1.5 billion users, Facebook isn’t the only social media company that wants to improve its website for the visually disabled. Along with Facebook and other major tech firms, Twitter and LinkedIn have their own accessibility teams and belong to an initiative called “Teaching Accessibility”.
Jeff Wieland, Facebook’s head of accessibility engineering, said the group wants to educate more engineers, especially early in college, about designing products that are compatible with the disabled and others. “We really don’t want accessibility to be the luxury of a handful of companies,” Wieland said. “We want everything around the world to be built with accessibility in mind.”
1. What tool helps the visually disabled to read Facebook?| A．A screen reader. | B．A special keyboard. |
| C．A helpful robot. | D．HTML headings. |
| A．It adds a lot of shortcuts on the keyboard. |
| B．It helps users to employ their senses other than sight. |
| C．It meets no competitors with its advanced technology. |
| D．It inspires more engineers to explore artificial intelligence. |
| A．are unaffordable to | B．bring harm to |
| C．keep company of | D．well suit |
| A．Screen reader: tool to access social media |
| B．Ongoing efforts: strength to improve websites |
| C．Artificial intelligence: power to help the blind |
| D．Teaching accessibility: initiative to educate engineers |
【推荐1】It was just three degrees above zero. “That’s cold,” thought Jane as she got ready to deliver her morning papers. Jane had 50 customers, and on cold mornings when she couldn’t ride her bicycle, it took her more than an hour to make her rounds.
As she collected her papers and put them into a big canvas bag, Jane regretted that she hadn’t finished her math homework the night before. There was still time. She’d hurry with the papers and finish the math before breakfast.
Less than an hour later Jane was nearly finished. She had only five customers to go. She could then head for home to complete her math while her mom made breakfast. As she rounded the corner, she saw a car in the middle of the street. It was Mr. Zimmerman, the elderly man who walked with a walking stick. His car was out of gas.
“I’d like to help Mr. Zimmerman,” thought Jane, “but if I do, I won’t have time to do my homework.” She hated to think what Mr. Roberts would say if she hadn’t finished her papers.
“It’s his own fault for running out of gas,” Jane talked to herself. “The station is only a half mile down the street. Surely Mr. Zimmerman can walk that far, even on a cold morning like this… can’t he?” As she walked down the street, Jane wondered what to do.
1. Jane delivers her papers______.| A．before she goes to school | B．on cold mornings |
| C．with the help of Mr. Zimmerman’s car | D．on the way to school |
| A．couldn’t drive well | B．would have nobody to help him |
| C．was not rich enough to buy enough gas | D．was not able to walk a long way |
| A．Fifty Customers | B．There’s No Easy Answer |
| C．No Time to Finish Homework | D．A Cold Morning for Jane |
| A．Jane couldn’t find any time to finish her homework |
| B．it took about an hour for Jane to send the papers |
| C．Jane would have her breakfast in the school |
| D．Jane liked to deliver papers on cold mornings |
| A．Jane bought the gas for Mr. Zimmerman |
| B．usually Jane would deliver papers by bike |
| C．Mr. Robert didn’t like Jane at school |
| D．Mr. Zimmerman had to leave the car for Jane |
【推荐2】Strunino is a small town in Russia,which has about 200 people. People there don’t have to worry about buying bread thanks to a local store owner, bread has been given away (赠送) for free for eight years.
Mamoud has a small store in Strunino. About 8 years ago, Mamoud saw an old lady counting coins to pay for only a piece of bread. He felt sorry for the poor people and gave her the bread for free. That day, he made the decision to print coupons (优惠券). With them, poor people in Strunino could get white or black bread at his store. To make sure that people knew about his offer, he advertised (做广告) it in a local paper.
But that was only the beginning. Soon, Mamoud decided to offer bread to people with disabilities, large families with little money, and homeless people. News spread quickly, and soon poor people from neighboring villages started coming by his shop to receive coupons. Today, the store in Strunino gives away around 2,000 pieces of white bread and 1,000 pieces of black bread, every month.
Some people say that Mamoud’s kindness is a way to honor (表示敬意) his grandfather, but the man says that he just wants to make poor people’s life a little easier.
1. What does Mamoud do?| A．He is a farmer. | B．He is a doctor. | C．He is a writer. | D．He is a store owner. |
| A．in the local newspaper | B．on the TV program |
| C．from the police | D．on the local radio |
| A．Because he was very rich. |
| B．Because he wanted to be famous in his town. |
| C．Because he wanted to make poor people’s life a little easier. |
| D．Because he wanted to honor his grandfather. |
| A．kind | B．humorous | C．confident | D．hard-working |
【推荐3】Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist born in a working class on 22 September 1791. Faraday’s father suffered from long-term health problems that often impeded his work. As a result, Faraday’s family had little money and Faraday got a very little formal schooling. But Faraday had an active curiosity and determination to learn. While working in London as a teenager, he had access to a wide range of books and he read everything he could get his hands on. By doing a lot of reading, Faraday soon educated himself on many scientific subjects, and his life as a scientist began.
In 1812, Faraday attended four lectures at the Royal Institution given by a famous chemist named Humphrey Davy. Afterwards Faraday sent a letter to Davy, expressing a strong interest in the subjects covered in the lectures and offering his services as a lab assistant. A year later, Davy accepted Faraday as his lab assistant. Thanks to his work with Davy, Faraday got a complete scientific education.
He soon began to research and experiments with electricity. Although his time was mostly spent helping Davy, Faraday began to work on his own as a chemist and scientist of great importance. When Davy retired in 1827, Faraday took his place as the head of the chemistry department of the Royal Institute. Upon taking up the position he could focus on his own research, and Faraday’s most influential and celebrated work began in the 1830s. In 1831, he discovered electromagnetic induction(电磁感应), a breakthrough in the field of technology. In 1846 he gave a lecture that presented important ideas about the nature of electricity, and these later inspired the historical work of James Maxwell related to electromagnetic field theory.
1. What does the underlined word “impeded” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Stopped. | B．Saved. | C．Changed. | D．Increased. |
| A．He didn’t go to school. | B．He lived a carefree life. |
| C．He learned science on his own. | D．He got much help from his parents. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To show respect for Davy. |
| C．To learn more about Davy. | D．To learn more about science. |
| A．The help Davy gave to Faraday. | B．The turning point in Faraday’s life. |
| C．Faraday’s academic achievement. | D．Faraday’s influence on James Maxwell. |
