Would you like to live in a city where buildings turn the lights off for you, and self-driving cars find the nearest parking space themselves? Although it might sound a little far from you, living in a “smart” city like this could happen sooner than you think.
Great changes have taken place in towns that we have lived in for centuries, while completely new cities are being built. One such place is the city of Songdo. Every home there will have a “telepresence” system (远程遥控系统) — allowing users to control the heating and locks, take part in video meetings, and receive education, health care and government services. Around the city, escalators (自动扶梯) will only move when someone is on them, and offices and schools will all be connected to the system.
The great mind behind Songdo is from the company Cisco. In fact, technology companies around the world such as IBM, Siemens and Microsoft are already in the business. About 75% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050, so cities will need to be more modern to deal with the coming problems. “Making cities smarter is one way out, and I think this will in turn make cities greener,” said Dan Hill, head of a research company.
1. According to the text, living in a “smart” city ________.| A．will be far from you | B．is completely impossible |
| C．will probably become true soon | D．is coming with many problems |
| A．a city of the future | B．a plan to build a building |
| C．a video meeting in Songdo | D．a report on public health |
| A．set up more schools | B．develop his own company |
| C．control the world’s population | D．solve the cities’ coming problems |
| A．Art | B．Travel | C．Technology | D．History |
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【推荐1】Today, AI robots play an important role in people’s daily lives. These robots work in many areas to help people.
| I’m a teaching robot. My job is to spend time with children and teach them. I look like a human being because I want to get close to children. Turning around and avoiding obstacles (避障) are both easy for me. I can sing and dance. I can also know the needs of children by hearing their words and teach them knowledge on different subjects. |
| I’m a medical robot. People often use me in the operating room (手术室). I can show some angles of view (视角) and can also move to some hard-to-get-to places in the human body. I can help doctors work better during operations. |
| I’m a security (安全) robot. I can recognize (识别) strangers and then call the police when strangers break into a house, I always keep my eyes on smoke in the house and can let people know if there is a fire. If the house catches fire, I can also help people put it out. |
| I’m a delivery (运送) robot. My job is to help stores and restaurants do delivery jobs. I’m very smart, so I can avoid obstacles and people on the road with 12 cameras as my eyes. And I can also protect the goods inside me from getting lost because only when I arrive can people open me up. |
1. Who is the teaching robot for?
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．It can do delivery jobs. | B．It can recognize strangers. |
| C．It can help doctors work better. | D．It can teach children knowledge. |
| A．The teaching robot and the delivery robot. | B．The medical robot and the security robot. |
| C．The security robot and the delivery robot. | D．The teaching robot and the medical robot. |
| A．The teaching robot can only dance and sing. |
| B．The medical robot has 12 cameras as its eyes. |
| C．The security robot has more than one function. |
| D．Everyone can open up the delivery robot at any time. |
【推荐2】Improvements in technology often happen overnight. Some gadgets get smaller and faster. Others are replaced (代替) by newer things like smartphones. Here are some old gadgets that people used to use.
①Do you have a landline at home? These are phones that people plug (插入) into their living room walls. Mobile phones didn’t use to be so popular at that time, so most families had a landline. But landlines only worked at home. What did people do when they were outside and needed to call someone? They looked for a pay phone! Then, most people had their own mobile phones and many homes no longer had landlines.
②
People today store plenty of information online, or on SD cards. But in the 1980s and 1990s, people used to use floppy disks. The first floppy disks were large, expensive, and not very useful—each disk could store just 175 KB of information! Later, floppy disks got smaller and better. But even the best ones could only hold 1.44 MB. You would need three or four disks just for one song, and about 22,000 disks to match the storage (储存空间) available on a 32 GB phone!
③
It’s easy to take photos today. People often have thousands just on their phones! But photos used to cost much, and people took fewer of them. To take a photo, you had to buy a roll of film. This allowed you to take up to 30 photos. After finishing the roll, you left it at a shop. The shop developed the photos to make them be seen, which you could collect after a few days.
Technology changes all the time, and the gadgets we use today will one day be old. What do you think will be next to disappear (消失)?
1. What is the title of each paragraph?a. Goodbye Disks b. Music to my Ears c. Picture This
d. Call Me e. Film Development
| A．①—d; ②—b; ③—e | B．①—d; ②—a; ③—c |
| C．①—c; ②—a; ③—b | D．①—c; ②—b; ③—e |
| A．They could store much. | B．They were very useful. |
| C．They cost a lot of money. | D．They were easy to carry. |
| A．It was convenient to take photos with film. |
| B．People outside used landlines to call someone. |
| C．Improvements in technology change people’s life. |
| D．For a time, many people had pay phones at home. |
| A．The Changing Phones. | B．The Products of Tomorrow. |
| C．Old Things We Use Today. | D．The Things We Used to Use. |
【推荐3】Clothes are traditionally made of natural materials, such as cotton, leather and wool. They are all from plants or animals, but that doesn’t mean they’re friendly to the earth. For example, farmers have to use a lot of chemicals to grow cotton plants.
Scientists are now looking for new ways to make clothing materials. They hope the new materials are both comfortable and good for the earth. Scientists have worked out how to make materials out of corn husks（棉籽）, chicken feathers and rice straws.
“They used to be useless things. We always have a problem of how to deal with them.” Yang, a scientist says, “ Now, we can turn them into beautiful materials. Chicken feathers are better than other things. They have small air pockets like honeycombs. That means it will be very warm if you use them to make a jacket or sweater, and I think more and more people will like to buy these kinds of clothes.”
1. Clothes are traditionally made of __________.| A．natural materials | B．chicken feather |
| C．rice straw | D．corn husks |
| A．Corn husks and rice straws. |
| B．Cotton and wool. |
| C．Leather and wool. |
| D．Bird feather and chicken feather. |
| A．鸟巢 | B．蜂窝 | C．渔网 | D．蜂蜜 |
| A．They are from plants. |
| B．They are traditional clothing materials. |
| C．They have small air pockets like honeycombs. |
| D．They are new clothing materials. |
| A．New clothing materials. |
| B．New clothes. |
| C．Natural materials. |
| D．New ways of making clothing. |
【推荐1】Do you want to know how you can succeed in a new school term? Here are some tips for you from some teachers.
● Use a calendar or chart（图表）. Write down special tasks, activities and important dates on a calendar to help you remember what to do. You can also make a chart. This helps you learn how to plan for your studies.
● Buy folders（文件夹）in different colors. Put your notebooks in different folders according to the subject. This helps you keep papers and notes organized.
● Books are great friends. Visit the bookstore or library every few weeks to find a new book to read. The more you read, the more confident you will become.
● Join all kinds of clubs or sports. It’s important to communicate（交流）with teenagers outside of school. It is also a good way to help you learn how to get on with others.
● Ask for help. You can turn to your teachers when there is a problem about homework, schoolwork, or relationships with your family members. They are always there to help solve problems and listen to you.
1. You can NOT write down ________ on a calendar.| A．homework | B．special tasks | C．activities | D．important dates |
| A．Using a chart | B．Buying folders in different colors |
| C．Reading books | D．Joining different kinds of clubs |
| A．not communicate with teenagers outside of school |
| B．join all kinds of clubs and sports to get good grades in exams |
| C．think it over carefully when they have a question about their homework |
| D．ask their teachers for help if they can’t get on well with their families |
【推荐2】Sea turtles (海龟) live in the sea most of the time. The beaches in Florida are home to sea turtles. Female sea turtles come here from the ocean to lay eggs. Then they return to the ocean. However, the number of some of these turtle species is falling. They are in danger. So people in Florida work together as a community to protect them.
Some volunteers take direct action to help the turtles. They look closely at the sand to find out where the sea turtles lay their eggs. Then they help bury (埋藏) the eggs in order to save them from being destroyed. They also help people who are studying sea turtles.
Florida’s government has passed laws to save the turtles. One of these laws is “Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act”. This law prevents anyone from destroying sea turtles nests or eggs. It helps protect the turtles from dying out.
People also work together to save the turtles through organizations (组织) like the Sea Turtle Conservancy. For example, the bright light from buildings near the beach can influence sea turtles. The baby turtles may get lost. Many of them do not make it to the ocean and die. The Sea Turtle Conservancy works with house owners to make the lighting in their buildings sea turtle-friendly. They also advise people to turn off their lights at night if they live close to a beach.
In a word, everyone can do their part to protect sea turtles and their living places. People in Florida can work as volunteers to clean up the beaches and pick up their own litter. Everyone in the community has the power to make a difference!
1. What does the underlined word “They” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Some volunteers. | B．Sea turtles. | C．Sea turtle eggs. | D．Communities. |
| A．Pass laws. | B．Bury the eggs. | C．Study turtles. | D．Set up organizations. |
| A．The bright light has a bad influence on sea turtles. |
| B．The baby turtles are in danger of getting lost. |
| C．The Sea Turtle Conservancy offers help to save sea turtles. |
| D．People who live near beaches turn off their lights at night. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
Michael Jordan became famous when he joined the university basketball team in North Carolina. Michael used his speed and strength (力量)to reach the basketball again. He played so well that people called him “Air Jordan”
After college, Michael Jordan became a basketball team member in the Chicago Bulls. The NBA was very surprised at this high-flying player. He was named “Rookie”（新秀）of the year in 1985 and “most valuable（有价值的）player” in 1987. He once set a record by getting 63points in one game.
1. Jordan is a basketball superstar in _______.
| A．England | B．America |
| C．Canada | D．Japan |
| A．didn’t play very well | B．played very well |
| C．grew much taller | D．set a record |
| A．the university basketball team |
| B．the NBA |
| C．his high school at first |
| D．the Chicago Bulls |
| A．Rookie | B．the NBA |
| C．Air Jordan | D．Most Valuable Player |
| A．he was young |
| B．he joined the basketball team in his high school |
| C．he joined the university basketball team |
| D．he joined the Chicago Bulls |
