There is a saying that, “Earthquakes don’t kill people, but buildings do.” It seems sadly true. Tens of thousands of people died under bricks（砖）of the damaged（毁坏的）buildings in Turkiye and Syria during the recent earthquakes. Is there a way to build earthquake-proof buildings? Engineers have some life-saving ideas.
To prevent earthquake waves from going through the building, one way is to “lift” the building’s foundation（地基）above the ground. The building can be built on top of pads（热状物）, which are usually made up of steel and rubber （橡胶）. During earthquakes, only the pads move and the building stays steady.
Earthquake proof materials must be easy to ben（弯曲）without breaking. Some of these materials include steel, wood（合金）and bamboo. In Japan, most traditional houses are built with wood instead of concrete（混凝土）, wooden buildings bend to avoid building up stress.
Triangles（三角形）are very strong shapes. When a force comes to one of the corners of a triangle, it will be reduced by going down each side. When the two sides of the triangle are squeezed（挤压）), they lean（倾斜）on each other. During earthquakes, triangles can hold the building together when it shakes. Many earthquake-proof buildings use this shape in the design, both inside and outside the structure.
US company Arx Pax is developing magnetic field（磁场）technology that can raise houses above ground when earthquakes happen. When the sensors in the home feel earthquakes, they will tell “hover engines（悬停引繁）”. These will create an opposing（相反的）magnetic field to lift the house off the ground. Maglev trains use similar technology, so the company believes it can be used in buildings as well.
Japanese company Japan Dome House has made dome shaped（四顶状的）houses with Styrofoam（泡沫塑料）. Styrofoam is a very light material. The whole house weighs only 80 kilograms. So when earthquakes happen, the house will not hurt people.
A． | B． | C． | D． | E． | F． |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】“Green” is not just a color.
We should do good things for the earth.
Many times, even if you don’t need something, someone else might just need it. For example, if your sister doesn’t play with her toys, you can give them to your neighbor.
Enjoy it!
As we know, pollution is a great problem now.
| A．For example, water is very important for us. |
| B．But the earth is still very beautiful. |
| C．And we should protect our environment. |
| D．Being a green kid is so easy. |
| E．It means that we should protect the water, the land, the air... |
| F．It’s so hard to be a green kid. |
| G．Reuse it! |
①Find your passion (激情)and what kind of person you are : Whether it’s dance ,basketball ,or drawing ,the important thing is that you have found something you are interested in .
② Talk to people you wouldn’t usually talk to : Meet new people ,find new friends and even talk to the people you don’t like. It will show what a great person you are . You never know what will happen after high school.
③Take part in at least one contest: This will give you tears of laughter, happiness and memories .
④Get a job : This will help you see what it’s like to have responsibility(责任 ) . It can also help you make a little money to spend on yourself .
⑤Take a trip with your friends :It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do , the memories will happen on the way and go on till the final place .
⑥Do your best at school : Don’t ever get lazy . Working hard now will help you in the future.
1. The writer mainly tells you six things you should do .
| A．in your high school years |
| B．at the beginning of your high school years |
| C．before your high school begins |
| D．after you finish your high school |
| A．find your interest. |
| B．get a job |
| C．take a trip with your friends |
| D．get lazy |
| A．Have a happy school life. |
| B．How to get along with your school mates. |
| C．Ideas of successful high school life . |
| D．Make your school life easy . |
【推荐3】You may have been told before not to be afraid of anything. Fear is often associated with weakness. Fear is something to be avoided.
But that’s not true, according to Time For Kids magazine. Fear can be good for us.
Fear tells us about danger. Without fear, we wouldn’t know to run away from a tiger or step back from a cliff.
In a study published in the Justice Quarterly journal in August, researchers from Michigan State University said that a healthy fear of crime keeps teenagers away from potentially（潜在地） dangerous people, places, and activities.
Fear makes us jump, scream and sweat. But interestingly, sometimes we make ourselves feel fear on purpose. Think about scary books and movies, and also the long lines for a scary roller coaster ride.
Margee Kerr, a US sociologist, explained why to Time For Kids.
Fear fills our brain with healthy chemical substances (化学物质), especially endorphins (内啡肽) and dopamine (多巴胺), and these things create feelings of happiness and excite us, according to Kerr.
In addition, when you’re scared, your body produces a chemical which helps people bond with each other.
“Watch people walking out of a haunted house, and you’ll see lots of smiles and high fives,” Kerr told Time For Kids. That also explains why schools and companies organize challenging trips and physical activities to build up team spirit.
People experience and deal with fear in different ways. If you happen to be a “coward” who gets scared easily, don’t worry. There is some evidence that being scared can help a person manage stressful situations.
Kerr said that things like giving a report in front of your class or performing in a school play help build a sort of endurance (忍耐力) to fear that makes us more confident.
“You become more comfortable with the physical experience of fear, and so you’re better able to work through it during tense situations,” said Kerr.
So learn to love your fear. It only grows when we forget how helpful our fear is trying to be.
1. Why is a scary roller coaster ride helpful to people according to the article?| A．It improves people’s ability to survive in the modern world. |
| B．It makes people less cowardly and more confident in life. |
| C．It causes the brain to produce chemicals that make people happy and excited. |
| D．It teaches people how to keep away from things that could be dangerous. |
| A．get closer to | B．fight against |
| C．pay attention to | D．be more careful with |
| A．Avoid being involved in scary situations. | B．Experience it as often as possible. |
| C．Consider it as a sign of weakness. . | D．Enjoy healthy fear occasionally. |
| A．By organizing school trips |
| B．By organizing indoor activities |
| C．By asking students to go into a haunted house |
| D．By organizing challenging trips and physical activities |
| A．people's misunderstandings about fear |
| B．Different ways to deal with fear. |
| C．The advantages that fear brings us |
| D．A new study about fear |
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome.If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you
might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
1. Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually _______.
| A．an expression of happiness | B．a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D．a way of greeting |
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other. |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears. |
| A．By comparing birds with human beings. | B．By reporting experiment results. |
| C．By describing birds’ daily life. | D．By telling a bird’s story. |
Everyday English
SCIENCE STUDY
Read better with dogs
It’s nice to have a dog around when you’re reading. Dogs are our friends. With them, we won’t be lonely(孤独的). However, dogs can help us more than that. They can help children improve(提高) their reading skills.
Some Canadian scientists do an experiment(实验) with 17 children in grades one through three. They ask the children to read some difficult books.
The scientists find that when a dog is around, the children spend more time reading. Dogs are good listeners, scientists say.
1. The news “Read better with dogs” was first reported(报道)in _________.| A．Everyday English | B．Pets |
| C．TEENS | D．Animal World |
| A．SCIENCE STUDY. | B．CULTURE Q&A. |
| C．SCHOOL LIFE. | D．STAR STORIES. |
| A．dogs are our best friends. |
| B．dogs can help people in many ways. |
| C．dogs can make us feel lonely. |
| D．dogs can look after children. |
| A．There are 17 children. |
| B．Scientists ask them to read easy books. |
| C．They are all from Grade Three. |
| D．All the children spend more time reading. |
| A．Dogs can help children enjoy reading more. |
| B．Dogs can teach children to read books. |
| C．Dogs don’t listen to children. |
| D．Dogs enjoy playing with children. |
【推荐3】Futian District has launched a food bank program. It hopes to reduce（减少）food waste and help people in need by trying to get companies（公司）to provide food left over or food nearly going bad but still eatable.
Using the iShenzhen app, people can choose food to collect for free anytime at the food bank, like meat, vegetables, fruits, bread and drinks. The food banks are self-service machines at some places in the district. Now there are six food banks in six sub-districts. People can see four more at the end of the year.
The banks are now open to people making less money, such as street cleaners and gardening workers, and people with special needs, like old people without children.
“The program has given out 19,500 food items from May 31 on. It has saved about 9.5 tons of food in about half a year and it benefits over 4,200 people,” said a worker. He also said they would work to get more companies and people to join in the program to stop food waste.
Hema Fresh is one of the 11 companies taking part in the program. It provides over 4,000 food items now. Shang Jun from Hema Fresh said his company wanted to help encourage（鼓励） everyone to save food. Meituan Maicai is another example.
With the program, the district wants to save 70 tons of food and bring benefits to more people each year.
1. Why did the food bank program start?| A．To make food waste less and help people in need. |
| B．To collect food nearly going bad for some banks. |
| C．To encourage people to protect the food left over. |
| D．To make companies provide more food for people. |
| A．Students can get food from the food bank. |
| B．People need to work on an app to get the food. |
| C．People need to spend some money buying the food. |
| D．People can get food from the bank everywhere in Futian. |
| A．Provides. | B．Follows. |
| C．Protects. | D．Helps. |
| A．There will be more food banks in other districts. |
| B．The program will help save more food every year. |
| C．Hema Fresh is the first to take part in the program. |
| D．Meituan Maicai will provide more food in the future. |
| A．Companies to make more food |
| B．Hema Fresh to buy food left over |
| C．Food banks to help reduce waste |
| D．A program to sell food to people |
【推荐1】A lot of people have the habit of reading on the toilet. But in some public restrooms in Shanghai, you won’t be able to do that. If you spend more than 15 minutes on the smart toilet（智能马桶）there, a staff member（一名工作人员）will come to check on you.
According to reports, about 150 high-tech restrooms have been built in the city. Each toilet there has a sensor（传感器）that can detect（发现）when a person sits on the toilet and how long he has spent sitting there. Besides, the sensor can also check the air quality inside the toilet and adjust（调整）the water level to save water. Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are also going to use smart toilets .
“I think it’s OK with me, because I don’t think it’s a good idea to read on the toilet,” a 22-year-old young man said. However, some people aren’t very happy with the smart toilet. “This could be embarrassing（尴尬的）for me. Since I was a little kid, I’ve always spent about half an hour on the toilet. It means a restroom worker would check on me twice...This makes me nervous,” another person surnamed（姓）Liu said.
In fact, the smart toilet is part of China’s effort to use artificial intelligence（AI）（人工智能）in different areas of life. Now technology is being used almost everywhere. More than 700 cities in China have planned or are in the process of building smart infrastructure（基础设施）. Our life is becoming much smarter and easier, isn’t it?
1. What can a sensor in smart toilets do ?a. To detect when a person sits on the toilet.
b. To warn the person sitting on the toilet of the time.
c. To check the air quality inside the toilet.
d. To adjust the water level of the toilet.
e. To find how long a person has spent sitting there.
| A．abc | B．bcd | C．cde |
| A．Self-driving car. | B．Digital（数字）money. | C．Paper money |
| A．We’d better not spend over 15 minutes on the smart toilet. |
| B．The person surnamed Liu likes the invention of the smart toilet. |
| C．The future life is becoming much smarter but more embarrassing. |
| A．A kind of smart toilets in Shanghai. |
| B．The process of building smart infrastructure in China. |
| C．A sensor that can detect and how long a person has spent sitting on the toilet. |
【推荐2】Earthquake rescue robots have experienced their final tests in Beijing. Their designers say with these robots, rescuers will be able to buy more time to save lives during an earthquake.
This kind of robot looking like a helicopter is a flying robot. It’s about 3 metres long, and it took about 4 years to develop the model. Its main functions are to collect information from the air, and send goods of up to 30 kilos to people trapped by an earthquake. It has a high-definition 360-degree panoramic (全景的) camera. It can work day and night and is also able to send the latest pictures from the quake area.
Dr. Qi Juntong, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, “The most important feature of this flying robot is that it doesn’t need a distant control. We just set the destination information on it, and then it takes off, and lands by itself. It flies as high as 3,000 metres, and as fast as 100 kilometres per hour.”
This robot has a different function—it can change as the environment changes. Its main job is to search for any signs of life in places where human rescuers are unable to go. As well as a detector (探测器) that finds victims and detects poisonous gases, a camera is placed in the 3-metre-long robot, which can work in the dark. Another use for the rescuers is the supply part, with its 10-metre-long pipe, people who are trapped in the ruins will be able to get supplies including oxygen and liquids.
Experts have said that the robots will enter production and serve as part of the national earthquake rescue team as soon as possible.
1. According to Dr. Qi Juntong, what makes this robot mainly different from the others?| A．It has more functions. | B．It is tall and has a special shape. |
| C．It has more advanced cameras. | D．It can work by itself once given the information. |
| A．A camera. | B．A detector. | C．A rescuer. | D．A supply. |
| A．It is carried by the helicopter. | B．It is a machine with a length of 10 metres. |
| C．It weighs about 30 kilos. | D．It hasn’t been put into production so far. |
| A．What the robot looks like. | B．An introduction to a robot. |
| C．How the robot is made. | D．Information about earthquakes. |
【推荐3】What is 5G? It is the fifth generation of mobile network technology. China’s telecom companies have been able to offer 5G networks for mobile phone users since 2019.
Do you know the development of mobile network technology? Each mobile network generation is faster and more powerful than the one before it. 1G let us talk to each other. 2G let us send messages. 3G gave us data and the Internet. And 4G made all of these things faster. What’s special about 5G?
5G has a very short delay between sending and receiving information. 4G takes about 100 to 200 milliseconds (毫秒) to send and receive data. But 5G will get it down to 1 millisecond or less. This is almost real-time.
This big change will not only make our mobile Internet faster, but also deeply change our lives. Read on to find out how.
5G+entertainment: 5G networks are about 100 times faster than 4G. This means you can download a movie in seconds using 5G. Also. virtual reality (VR) games will become more popular with 5G. The short delay of 5G will make the games feel even more real.
5G+transport: 5G will also bring us safer self-driving cars. These cars can send signals to each other. They also talk to traffic lights and road sensors (传感器). 5G will allow cars to react even faster than human drivers.
5G+smart homes: 5G also makes the Internet of things (IoT) (物联网) possible. IoT is a large network that connects everything to the Internet. Smart homes are part of it. For example, your toaster can automatically start making breakfast after your alarm rings. And if its sensor feels the air becoming dry, a smart sprinkler could water your plants by itself.
1. What’s the writer’s purpose in writing the second paragraph?| A．To explain 5G is the best of all. |
| B．To share his knowledge about 5G. |
| C．To encourage people to use the new network technology. |
| D．To show the development of mobile network technology. |
| A．4G | B．the delay | C．millisecond | D．data |
| A．Health care | B．Entertainment | C．Transport | D．Smart homes |
| A．Download a movie in several minutes. | B．Upload everything onto the Internet. |
| C．Bring us safer self-driving cars. | D．Make food more delicious. |
| A．5G will change our lives in many ways. |
| B．Mobile networks are becoming faster. |
| C．5G will make the Internet of things possible. |
| D．Everyone likes using 5G networks for mobile phone. |
【推荐1】When is the best time for us to enjoy the bright moon? Of course, it is Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important holidays in China. We look at the moon, eat moon cakes, and get together with our families. The tradition is thousands of years old.
The moon, the key part of the festival, is special to most Chinese people. We enjoy and admire it. We use the round moon to describe reunion, that is, get together.
Our respect of the moon dates back to ancient times. There is the legend of Chang’e flying to the moon—the most famous story about the moon. Many Chinese poets connect the moon with homesickness（思乡）. For example, “Beside my bed a pool of light. Is it hoarfrost on the ground?” from Jing Ye Si (Thoughts in the Silent Night) by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai.
Today, the moon is still important to Chinese people. The Miao minority in Guizhou province has a special custom（习俗）. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, young people dance under the moon to find their other half.
However, Western people see the moon differently. In some stories, people are afraid of a full moon. The most well-known story is the werewolf（狼人）. A werewolf usually looks like a human, but changes into a wolf when there is a full moon. Also, if someone is very excited or even crazy about something, others may joke, “It must be a full moon.”
1. What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “reunion”?| A．团结 | B．联合 | C．团聚 |
| A．When the story of Chang’e started. |
| B．Why the moon is special to Chinese people. |
| C．How some poets described the moon. |
| A．likes the moon very much |
| B．misses his or her home |
| C．is very excited about something |
| A．How Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in China. |
| B．Stories about the full moon in China and Western countries. |
| C．How the full moon is understood in China and Western countries. |
【推荐2】China has changed rapidly over the past 74 years. We asked some students to share their feelings about the rapid changes and developments (发展) of China. Here are some of their answers online.
A few months ago, our school visited the China International Import Expo. In the 5G hall, I was impressed by how quickly people could download (下载) videos. It took just seconds. It was amazing! I also saw a robot with sensors (感应器) in all parts of its body. With the help of 5G technology, the robot can do the same things as people do. I hope I can create something like 5G. Yu Mingke, 13, Chenjinglun High School, Beijing |
People love to travel. In the 1970s, anyone who was lucky enough to have a bicycle would be the envy (羡慕的对象) of others. Then, green trains came out. But they ran at a speed (速度) of 30km per hour. In the 2010s, the speed of China’s fastest trains had risen to 350km per hour. For my mom, she had her first train trip when she was 17. But now children at my age can visit many places thanks to the highly developed transportation network. I have visited Beijing, Tibet and Xiamen so far. Zhuang Yizhou, 15, Jinhua Foreign Language School, Zhejiang |
1. According to the passage, students share their feelings through ________.
| A．the newspapers | B．sending letters | C．the Internet |
| A．Surprised. | B．Encouraged. | C．Disliked. |
| A．30km per hour. | B．170km per hour. | C．350km per hour. |
| A．People could download videos quickly with 5G. |
| B．The robot can run at a high speed of 30km per hour. |
| C．Yu visited many places like Beijing, Tibet and Xiamen. |
| A．Some useful technologies in the modern world. |
| B．People’s opinions about China’s developments. |
| C．The rapid development of 5G technology in China. |
【推荐3】Tom has a happy family. There are some rules(规则) in his family.
Keep healthy
Being healthy is important. Tom's family play sports for one hour every day. Tom is in the school Swimming Club(俱乐部). And his parents run every morning.
Evening time is family time
They can't watch TV or play computer games after dinner. The family usually sit on the sofa and talk. Tom always talks about his school and friends. Sometimes they take a walk together.
Always say “love you ”and “thank you”
Tom says “I love you” in the morning before he goes to school and, in the evening, before he goes to bed. His parents say it to him too. When Tom helps his mother, she says “Thank you”. They show their love and thanks all the time.
1. What does Tom usually do after dinner?| A．He plays computer games. | B．He watches TV with his parents. |
| C．He talks with his parents. | D．He does his homework. |
| A．before he gets up | B．before he goes to bed |
| C．before breakfast | D．before lunch |
| A．Tom's family is full of love and happiness. |
| B．Tom's father doesn't do exercise every day. |
| C．Tom can't watch TV at home in the afternoon. |
| D．Tom has no homework to do every day |
| A．being healthy and happy | B．the importance of doing sports |
| C．showing love and thanks | D．rules in Tom's family |
