【推荐1】When you do your homework, you may often meet some problems. How do you solve them? Linda, a middle school student, would take out her smartphone, open a special app(应用)and search the problem. Answers soon appear on the screen.

Nowadays, many students do homework with the help of the special apps like Linda. “It’s convenient. You don’ t have to go out or wait for a tutor(家庭教师) at home.” Linda said. “You also learn by seeing how others work them out. It’s very helpful and improves students’ abilities” said John, another student. He said it was especially true for new types of homework.

John’s Chinese teacher often asks students to give speeches on great writers. When it comes to John’s turn, he usually searches online, picks out certain stories and makes PPTs. “I’ve become skilled at finding information online and using Microsoft Office,” John said.

However, many people think this trend (趋势)also brings up problems. Some students just copy the answers online without thinking. They become lazy.

Head teacher Mr. Wang in Linda and John’s school thinks that knowing how to use the Internet is important. The key is to have good self-control. “No matter how difficult the problem is, think about it by yourself first. Remember not to depend on the Internet too much.” the teacher said. “Be sure to understand the reasons behind the answers, or you won’t make progress. If you don’t have confidence in your self-control, ask your parents for help.”

1. If the students have problems in their homework, how do they solve them?

A．take out their computer	B．wait for a tutor
C．search a special app	D．ask for their teacher

2. What is not the advantage of the app?

A．convenient

B．helpful

C．quick

D．true

3. What progress does John make?

A．He can search online.	B．He can pick out certain stories
C．He can make PPTs.	D．He can become skilled at finding information online

4. Why is Mr. Wang against using the app?

A．The students have good self-control.	B．The students understand the reasons behind the answers.
C．The students copy the answers online without thinking.	D．The students think about the problem by themselves first.

5. What can we learn from the last sentence?

A．Mr. Wang advised students not to depend on the apps too much when doing homework.

B．Mr. Wang advised students to keep away from the app.

C．Mr. Wang advised parents to help students with their homework.

D．Mr. Wang advised parents to increase students’ confidence in self-control.

【推荐2】Big data (大数据) is a lot of sets of information that are put together so they can be used by a computer program. The computer program looks for different kinds of answers or patterns in the data. Big data can have different kinds of information from many sources, such as information that comes from schools, social media sites, companies and governments. One set of data can have people’s names and addresses. Another set can have what they like, where they go to school, and how much time they spend on the computer.

Big data can be used in many ways. The government uses it to understand how many people travel on buses or trains. This information is then used to make bus or train systems better. Some schools use big data to understand which children may need extra help in class. The teacher can then give certain students more help or support so those students can succeed in school. Companies use big data, too. It helps them understand who buys their products. For example, one company uses weather data to see when people eat the most ice cream.

Big data can be used for good reasons. Some hospitals use big data to predict (预测) if a baby who is born too early will get sick. The hospital can then take extra steps to take care of that baby so he, she does not get sick. Big data can also be used for bad reasons. It can be used to predict which kinds of people are likely to break the law or hurt others, even if they have not done anything wrong.

How can big data be used for good and bad things? It is because the computer programs used to look at big data and understand it are written by people. People think a certain way. Because they think a certain way, they build a model of those ideas. These ideas are then used to look at the data. Sometimes, these ideas are helpful for people or businesses. Other times, bad ideas can cause problems for certain groups of people.

1. What is the first paragraph about?

A．What big data is and how it is used.

B．Why we can use big data in a number of ways.

C．Where important data is collected and stored.

D．What big data is and how it is collected.

2. How does the writer show that big data is useful from the reading?

A．Big data is widely used in every field.

B．Big data seldom brings any harm to people.

C．Everyone can get information from big data easily.

D．People can make certain right decisions according to big data.

3. What can we infer from the reading?

A．If there is plenty of information, it is called big data.

B．Big data provides any information for the government.

C．We should make full use of big data to serve the society.

D．Big data only collects the latest information from the world.

4. The overall tone (总基调) of this reading is ________.

A．sad and personal	B．personal and scientific
C．informative but silly	D．scientific and informative

【推荐3】

Most of us spend all day at school or work. After a long and busy day, all we want to do is return to a comfortable home. Smart technology can turn any home into a nicer place to live in.

Smart homes have been around for some time. Scottish company Pico Electronics invented a type of technology called X10 in 1975. As the earliest smart home technology, it allows household devices (设备), such as lights and alarms, to communicate with each other by using radio waves.

Of course, 5G network connectivity has made smart homes much more sophisticated (复杂的) than X10. Perhaps the most widespread smart home technology is the voice-activated (声控的) assistant. Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa allow users to communicate with almost any device in their homes simply by speaking a few words. This is especially convenient for children and people with physical disabilities, as they can finish tasks that would normally be too difficult, according to How-To Geek.

Common household appliances (电器) can become “smart” as well. For example, smart fridges can create dinner recipes (食谱) based on the vegetables that are being kept inside, according to How Stuff Works.

But it’s not just about convenience. Smart homes are also good for the environment. By regularly checking your energy use and automatically turning off lights and other devices that you\re not using, smart homes can lower much electricity you use overall. Using less energy means that we use fewer natural resources, which is good for the environment.

1. The earliest smart home technology is ________.

A．X10

B．Google Home

C．Alexa

D．5G network

2. Which of the following is NOT true about the voice-activated assistant?

A．It can turn your home into a nicer place to live in.

B．It’s difficult for children and people with physical disabilities to use it.

C．It may be the most widely used smart home technology.

D．It allows users to communicate with almost any device in their homes.

3. What can a smart fridge do?

A．Tell you how to cook.

B．Place an online order.

C．Help you keep things fresh.

D．Create a dinner with the vegetables.

4. The underlined word “automatically” means ________ in Chinese.

A．机械地

B．定时地

C．神奇地

D．自动地

5. The best title for this passage is “________”.

A．5G network changes the world	B．Smart technology makes life convenient
C．Smart homes — a nicer way of living	D．Smart homes make people comfortable

【推荐1】Do you want to be successful (成功) at a young age? The following ideas can be helpful. School is important. Take proper notes and sit straight, so you stay alert (警觉的) in class. Eat a good breakfast in the morning, and have a bottle of cold water with you to drink.

Ask questions. Many people don’t ask questions because they are afraid it will make them seem not clever, but clever people question everything. If you don’t know something, don’t wait until after class to ask your teacher. Just be brave to put up your hand.

Go to the library. Check out books on science, maths, music and art. The library is a good place for you to learn more things. Ask the librarian (图书管理员) what books are good for you. She can answer almost any question you have.

Learn a new language. There are some very good computer programs that can help you learn a new language. You can ask the teachers or the librarian if they know any good computer programs for learning new languages.

Be polite. Teachers will be happy if you say thank you, please, excuse me and sorry. Even if you are clever, but you do impolitely, they will not like you.

1. ______ can make you stay alert in class.

A．Taking proper notes.	B．Sitting straight.
C．Only eating a good breakfast.	D．Both A and B.

2. ______ can make others like you.

A．Being brave.

B．Being polite.

C．Asking the librarian for help.

D．Being smart.

3. What does the passage (文章) want to tell us?

A．Eating a good breakfast is a must.

B．We should ask questions in class.

C．Going to the library is very important.

D．Some helpful ideas from the passage will make you successful.

【推荐2】Jane likes shopping online. She bought an iPhone last week. She would like to find a new way to pay online.     1    

John goes to work by subway every day. His company is about half a kilometer away from the station. So he wants to find a way to solve it.     2    

Linda has just bought a car. She wants to drive to visit her parents in Shenzhen. She is afraid she will get lost in the city. Now she is looking for an app to help her.     3    

Tom is busy preparing for the English exam. He has trouble in learning all the words. He wants to find a way to help him remember the new words.     4    

Kate likes taking photos. She wants to have a trip with her friend next month. She is looking for an app to take beautiful photos during their trip.     5    

A．Baicizhan     This app tells you how many English words you need to learn every day. It can also be fun. The learning is like playing a guessing game. And you can practice remembering the new words in different ways.

B．Douban FM     A radio app like Douban FM might be the right music app for you. You can use the button to mark the songs you like. Those marked with a heart will be kept.

C．Apple Pay     It came to China on Feb 18th, 2016. People who have cards from 19 banks can use it with Apple products, like iPhone or Apple Watch.

D．Moment Camera     Many people like this app because of its continuous shooting and different-sized frames (边框). The photos are clear and the app is easy to use.

E．Flipboard     It’s one of the hottest news apps. Open the app, choose whatever interests you, and click the “+”button. You’ll have your own magazine with news, articles and information.

F．Mobike     It is a bike-sharing app. It’s a good way of solving the “last mile” problem. Download this app and you can find the nearest bike. You don’t need to walk for a long way to the place you would like to go.

G．Baidu Map     It can provide you with an online map searching service. It covers nearly 400 cities in China. With the app, you can search the streets, restaurants and so on. When you want a guide in a new city, it’s the best choice.

【推荐3】The AI（人工智能） has changed our lives. There are four useful AI inventions here.

Jiuge The AI can remember 300, 000 Chinese poems clearly. What’s more, it can write a poem in a very short time. In a CCTV show, Jiuge beat three great poem fans from a famous college.	Forpheus The ping-pong robot can play in an easy way with a beginner and a difficult way with a better player. What’s more, it not only encourages players with words like “Good job!” but also gives some good advice to improve their skills.
Self-driving AI It can drive the car more safely than humans. It doesn’t drink wine and never feels tired. It can do what we humans do. For example, if a car with this AI has passed a bus, it will flash（闪）two white lights side to side to show thanks to the bus.	Facial Recognition（人脸识别） It is used a lot in the world such as ACS. ACS won’t let a stranger in without the house owner’s permission（允许）. Paying by facial recognition is common now. The police in Hangzhou even caught a criminal （罪犯）at a concert with its help.

1. Why is Jiuge special?

A．Because it can play the violin.	B．Because it’s good at poems.
C．Because it can drive cars safely.	D．Because it was on CCTV.

2. What will Forpheus do while playing?

A．It will guess what job the player is.

B．It will be angry if the player is a beginner.

C．It will say “What a shame!” to the player.

D．It will change its way of playing according to different players.

3. When does the Self-driving AI car flash two white lights side to side?

A．When the car has to stop.	B．When the car wants to slow down.
C．When the car is ready to speed up.	D．When it has passed other vehicles.

4. What does the underlined word “ACS” mean in Chinese?

A．电子商务

B．门禁控制

C．社会福利

D．公共卫生

5. Which is TRUE according to the passage?

A．No one can beat Forpheus.

B．Jiuge has written 300, 000 poems.

C．Facial Recognition helped the police catch a criminal.

D．Self-driving AI can make subway trains safer.