【推荐1】How Soccer Can Help Us Understand Physics

Sports provide a great way to understand some concepts(概念) in physics. Physics, after all is the study of matter, motion(运动), force, and energy. And since sports like soccer, swimming and cycling involve bodies moving through space, they   can help us understand how the principles of physics work.

Imagine that you're looking at a soccer hall on a grassy field. If you do nothing to the hall, it will stay motionless on the grass. If you kick the ball, it will roll along the grass before coming to rest again. Pretty simple , right?

For thousands of years, though, people thought that objects like this soccer ball come to rest because they have a natural tendency to stop. It took a famous physicist by the name of Sir Isaac Newton, who lived in the 1600s, to prove that this was not exactly correct.

Newton suggested that objects like the soccer ball have a natural tendency to keep moving. The only reason they stop, he believed is because an unbalanced force acts on them. By an unbalanced force, Newton meant the force applied to the soccer ball by its environment. When kicked the surface of the ball travels over the grass, creating friction(摩擦力).The taller the grass, and the rougher the surface of the ball, the more friction is created.   And the more friction that exists between the ball and the grass, the less it will travel after being kicked.

Now, imagine that there is no grass. Instead. the ball is resting on a frozen lake. When you kick the ball on the ice, the ball will go much farther than it would have on the grass. This is because ice provides a lot less friction than the grass.

Even so, ice does cause some friction. The ball's interaction with the frozen water crystals on the surface of the lake eventually causes it to come to rest again. But now imagine that instead of ice, the ball is in a place where there's no friction at all. The ball is floating in a vacuum.   If you remove friction entirely, kicking the soccer ball would cause it to keep going and going at the same speed, until some force caused it to slow down and stop. To paraphrase Sir Isaac Newton, a soccer ball on the grass will stay where it is unless acted on by a force. Similarly, once you kick the ball, it will remain in motion unless acted on by force. This, in so many words, is known as Newton's First Law of Motion.

1. According to the passage, once an object like a soccer ball is in motion, it has a natural tendency to          .

A．stop

B．slow down

C．keep moving

D．change direction

2. What does the writer explain in the passage?

A．The idea of motion, using sports as examples.

B．The force of friction, using music as examples.

C．The sport of soccer, using examples of teams and players.

D．The importance of understanding the concepts in physics.

3. What does the underlined word" tendency" mean?

A．A very small chance of something happening.

B．A fifty-fifty chance of something happening.

C．The way something normally behaves or acts.

D．The fear of doing something or acting in a certain way.

4. The passage is mainly about             .

A．the motion of objects	B．the life of Sir Isaac Newton
C．why we have to learn physics	D．why we kick the ball on a grassy land

【推荐3】How much sleep do we need? We are all different. Some people need only three hours of sleep a night. Others need ten hours of sleep a night. Most Americans sleep an average(平均) of seven to eight hours a night. After the age of fifty, the average sleeping time goes down to 6.5 hours a night.
Most people have a bad night when they cannot fall asleep(睡着).
The name of this problem is called insomnia.
This isn't a new problem. Many famous people in history Had insomnia. Some of these people had special ideas to make them sleep.
Benjamin Franklin, the famous inventor had four beds. He moved from one to another to fall asleep. King Louis XI V(国王路易十四)of France had four hundred and thirteen beds and hoped to fall asleep in one of them. Mark Twain, the famous American writer, had a different way. He laid on his side across the end of his bed.

1. After the age of sixty, the average sleep hours are_______ a night.

A．3 hours	B．70r 8 hours
C．6.5 hours	D．10 hours

2. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．King Louis XI V was an American

B．Many famous people in history had a bad night when they couldn't fall asleep.

C．Benjamin Franklin was a famous writer

D．Most young Americans sleep for an average of 6.5 hours a night.

3. Why did Benjamin Franklin have four beds?

A．Because he hoped to fall asleep.

B．Because he was a famous inventor

C．Because he had a lot of money

D．Because he liked to lie on his side across the end of his bed.

【推荐1】

With the rapid development of modern technology, more jobs which seemed like science fiction a few years ago are becoming a reality（现实）. However, as a result, a lot of jobs people used to do back in the day are becoming obsolete. Most of them have been replaced by machines. For example, there used to be telegraph operators（电报操作员）, who sent long-distance messages called telegrams. These were like an old kind of text message, but you had to ask a telegraph operator to tell you what the message is about by a special machine. So, no telegraph operators any more! Here are some other jobs that people used to do.

These days we get in a life, push the button and go. A lift（电梯） can be operated by anyone, but until 1950, a lift operator travelled in the lift with passengers all the time. They were trained to operate the lifts. Lifts operators have mostly gone now, though they are still used in some office buildings and tourists attractions, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

In most big cities around the world at the beginning of the 20^th century, street lamps used gas, not electricity（电）. So, there were men who worked as lamplighter: they used to go around and light street lamps every evening with a kind of candle on a long pole（杆子）. They used to light about a hundred lamps an hour. In the photo above, a gas lamp is being lit by a London Lamplighter.

Can you believe, that in the past, to make a telephone call you had to talk to an operator, say the number you wanted and them the operator connected you to that number? Strange but true. This was one of the few jobs at the 20^th century that was almost always done by women-man were not patient enough!

Will more jobs replaced in the next few years? It seems very possible. The world is changing so fast that new jobs are sure to appear and others disappear.

1. The underline word "obsolete" in paragraph 1 probably means "____________".

A．out of date

B．out of trouble

C．out of work

D．out of place

2. What did callers have to say to operators if they wanted to make a call in the past?

A．The addresses.

B．The jobs.

C．The messages.

D．The number.

3. How many kinds of jobs that people used to do are mentioned in the passage?

A．3.

B．4.

C．5.

D．6.

4. Which of the following shows the structure（结构）of the passage? (P=Paragraph 段落)

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐2】

China has built and operated the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (北斗卫星导航系统) independently. On July 31, Beidou started providing global (全球的) service. It provides around the clock, all-weather and highly accurate positioning (精准定位), navigation, timing and messaging services to people around the world.
It is one of the four global navigation systems, along with US’ GPS, Russia’s GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo. Since 2,000, 59 Beidou satellites have been launched. More than 120 countries are using Beidou services.
The Beidou system has been used by:
6.6 million taxis, buses and trucks around China	more than 70,000 Chinese fishing boats	at least 50,000 farm machines
more than 70 percent of Chinese mobile phones	300 general aviation aircraft (航空飞机)	51,000 postal service vehicles (邮政服务车)
Beidou spirit (精神) On July 31, President Xi Jinping called on Chinese people to carry on the spirit of the scientists who developed Beidou. They have been always carrying forward the Beidou spirit of the “independent innovations, unity and collaboration, overcoming difficulties, and the pursuit of excellence.”

1. What service is NOT provided by Beidou according to the passage?

A．Navigation.

B．Positioning.

C．Messaging.

D．Weather report.

2. Who may be the user of Beidou system according to the passage?

A．A taxi driver.	B．A fishing boat maker.
C．An airplane designer.	D．A farm machine seller.

3. Which of the following words can describe the spirit of Beidou scientists?

A．Dependent.

B．Innovative.

C．Brave.

D．Intelligent.

4. What can we know from the passage?

A．Beidou system has been used in different areas.

B．Only Chinese people are using Beidou services now.

C．China built Beidou system with the help of other countries.

D．China is the first country that launched global navigation system.

5. Where can we possibly read this passage?

A．On travel guides.	B．On advertisements.
C．In newspapers.	D．On business magazines.

【推荐2】

In recent years, there has been a general direction for new buildings to be more environmentally friendly. These buildings use energy and water nicely, reducing waste and pollution. However, setting up solar panels and water recycling systems involves higher costs than in a traditional building. The question is whether people are willing to pay these additional costs.

One school in the UK has shown us that environmental principles (原则) are just as important to small projects as to large ones. Howe Dell primary school has its own wind turbine (风力发电机) to produce energy, uses rainwater to wash toilets, and uses desks made from recycled materials. These environmental parts of the building are relatively inexpensive, and over the life of the building, should provide a large return for the early costs. They also perform as valuable teaching materials when educating students about the environment.

Another example in the UK is a private house in Wales, known as the “Hobbit House”. It is made from wood and the walls are made from straw. Solar panels provide electricity for lighting and electrical equipment. Water is supplied directly from a nearby river and is also collected from the rain for use in gardens to avoid wasting clean water. Houses like this one are green because they do not use oil or gas, but instead use renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power.

However, critics of these kinds of environmentally friendly buildings say that while they may be good for the environment, there are practical problems with their affordability, as they are too expensive to become a method of construction (建 筑) that can be widely used. There are further worries about their long-term efficiency. Not much energy can be produced by solar panels in the UK, and not every location has natural water source. In order to pay for environmentally friendly construction and produce an affordable building, compromises have to be made. These may be that the building will have to be smaller or made of less durable materials and with less energy-hungry technology.

The benefits for constructing green buildings are clear. The United Nations Environment Programme believes that the construction accounts for (占据) 30-40% of energy use in the world. We need to reduce this energy use for the good of the Earth. However, it remains to be seen whether we are now able to accept the cost and practical problems of producing and living in environmentally friendly buildings.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A．People are not willing to pay for green buildings.

B．It’s affordable for big buildings to set up solar panels.

C．Wind turbines can produce enough energy for lighting.

D．Environmental principles are meaningful to big and small projects.

2. The word “compromises” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.

A．measurements

B．agreements

C．suggestions

D．inventions

3. The writer probably agrees that green buildings ________.

A．can not be constructed widely

B．may not be as green as they seem

C．are too expensive to be constructed

D．are worthy though there are problems

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Are Green Buildings Too Costly?

B．Do Green Buildings Last for Long?

C．Green Buildings: A New Method of Construction

D．Green Buildings: A Better Way to Produce Energy

【推荐1】All of us may have experienced embarrassing (令人尴尬的) moments. It could have been the time when you pronounced a simple word wrong in class or talked about someone else without realizing that they were right behind you.

Though these embarrassing moments don’t harm us a lot, they come back sometimes and make us always remember the feeling of strong embarrassment. What’s worse, these feelings may last for years. When these kinds of feelings return, they are known as a “cringe attack” (羞愧综合症).

Why do “cringe attacks” still appear in our daily lives though the things happened weeks, months, or even years ago? According to researchers, our brains catch feelings that can be easily noticed. The stronger the feeling is, the longer we will remember it. If you have a highly embarrassing moment, no matter what it is, your brain will try to catch it.

So how can we deal with this? Well, we can start by trying to be cool about our past. Think that you are not alone in your embarrassment — everyone fails or makes embarrassing mistakes. Instead of just trying to forget what we did, we should try to accept who we were and make changes for the better.

1. Why do we have “cringe attacks”?

A．Because we are cool about our past.

B．Because we remember our feelings for a long time.

C．Because we always have highly embarrassing moments.

D．Because our brains catch feelings that can be easily noticed.

2. How can we deal with embarrassing moments?

A．By sharing our embarrassment with others.	B．By looking for others with the same feelings.
C．By realizing the harm of embarrassment.	D．By accepting who we were and making changes.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To help us forget what we did.

B．To help us face “cringe attack” correctly.

C．To help us avoid making embarrassing mistakes.

D．To help us describe some embarrassing moments.

【推荐2】Animals are our friends, but many of them are now in danger.

Tibetan antelopes（藏羚羊）like eating grass. They usually live in groups of about 20. People kill them for their wool. People use it to make very expensive clothes.

Golden monkeys live in groups of 20 to 30 or 50 to 60. The forest is their home. They like eating fruit, leaves and insects（昆虫）. But people cut down trees so they are losing their homes.

Elephants are very big and strong. They like eating grass, fruit and leaves. Usually, they live in groups for many years. Now there are only a few elephants in the world because their living places are used for farming. Also, people kill them for their ivory.

Wolves（狼）are not very big animals. They like eating small animals and insects. They live in groups, too. Wolves are losing their homes because people cut down forests. Soon they may have no home or food. So we should try to save them.

1. What does the underlined word “wool” mean in Chinese?

A．羊毛

B．羊肉

C．羊角

D．羊腿

2. What CANNOT we know from Paragraph 4?

A．The food that elephants eat.

B．The way how elephants live.

C．The place where elephants live.

D．The reason（原因）why people kill elephants.

3. What may the writer talk about next?

A．Some other kinds of animals in danger.

B．What we can do to save animals.

C．Why we should save animals.

D．The differences（差异） between animals.

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Animals in danger.	B．Animals, our friends.
C．Food for animal.	D．Ways to save animals.

【推荐3】Have you ever paid for educational podcasts (播客) or live videos? Ask some people and most of them will say yes. “Pay-for-knowledge” has been more and more fashionable these years. The contents of these “pay-for-knowledge” products are from language learning to gardening or baby-caring. Everything you think of can be found online at this moment. “Pay-for-knowledge” is on the rise (兴起).

Why is “pay-for-knowledge” industry developing so rapidly? First, its development is based on the Internet. With a fast network and a smartphone, anyone who has passed the identity (身份) check can be an online teacher, and anyone with an online account can buy “pay-for-knowledge” products that he or she wants at an affordable price. Second, people are afraid to miss any information. On one hand, people hope for more useful information. On the other hand, such information is usually at the hands of experts (专家) who serve well-known companies and universities. Moreover, the need to learn new skills in today’s job market also pushes people to learn on such educational podcasts.

The industry of “pay-for-knowledge” has proved to be lucrative. It promises possibilities of turning information into money. It is good for the development of our country and it can help sellers make lots of money. Besides, buyers can enjoy self-growth from it. What’s more, this is a reflection (反映) of respect for knowledge and talents.

However, the rapid development of “pay-for-knowledge” has a few problems. For one thing, the market is full of eye-catching words such as “How to be an Industry’s Expert in 5 Hours” and “15 Classes to Be a Master of Appreciating (欣赏) Classical Music”, which sound like if you pay for it, you are sure to succeed. For another, a large number of customers buy them just for showing off. In fact, those who have really had self-growth after buying online courses may be the kind of people who need them least. In other words, with or without these courses, they can make it anyway, because they are those who have the ability to learn by themselves.

In general, the best is the one that suits you most. “Pay-for-knowledge” may be used as a good start for self-growth. Be careful! Otherwise, your dream of success may not come true.

1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．“Pay-for-knowledge” products can help all the people succeed.

B．“Pay-for-knowledge” products can offer people different kinds of courses.

C．People who can teach themselves need “pay-for-knowledge” products most.

D．People must learn from experts who serve famous companies and universities.

2. The underlined phrase “be lucrative” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.

A．produce lots of money	B．get much information
C．win great respect	D．enjoy self-growth

3. The main purpose of this passage is to ________.

A．recommend the “pay-for-knowledge” products to people

B．advise everyone to learn knowledge by themselves online

C．remind people to choose “pay-for-knowledge” products wisely

D．teach parents how to buy some online courses for their children