Today making a phone call is as common as having a glass of water, but when telephones were invented over 140 years ago, people believed that they were dangerous.
In 1876, electricity was still little understood and many people died when working with electricity, so most people didn’t accept that it was safe to hear a human voice through the phone. In fact, they thought that it might kill them.
Alexander Bell and his assistant Thomas Watson has no such fears. On the morning of March 10, 1876, Bell sent Thomas to the next room. Then, Bell spoke into his invention. “Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you.” These simple words changed the world forever. Mr. Watson did hear these words on his receiving machine in the next room and he quickly ran to tell the good news to Bell. Can you imagine the excitement in the lab that day?
However, it took a few more years for the talking machine to win people’s hearts. At first Bell had to help people overcome the fears about electricity. He also had to convince people that there was a need for such a machine. We can laugh at this now, but in 1876, people seriously asked, “But what use could it possibly have?”
Today, as we walk along a busy street talking with friends on the phone, it’s hard to believe that not long ago telephones were thought to be dangerous and useless. Our world has surely changed, hasn’t it?
1. How did Mr. Watson probably feel when he heard Bell’s words?| A．Worried. | B．Excited. | C．Upset. | D．Angry. |
| A．The experiment (实验) took place on a spring day. |
| B．Bell and Thomas were always in the same room. |
| C．Mr. Watson was one of Bell’s closest friends. |
| D．The laboratory was filled with people every day. |
| A．make...talk about | B．make...think why | C．make...believe | D．make...know when |
| A．people think it was too heavy | B．people didn’t have enough money to buy it |
| C．people preferred to talk face to face | D．people thought it was dangerous and useless |
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Have you ever imagined going inside a video game? That dream may soon become real. It’s called the “metaverse”.
The word is a combination of “meta”, which means beyond, and “verse”, which refers to “universe”. Metaverse is a shared virtual 3D world, or worlds. The word first appeared in a 1992 science fiction book called Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. In this story, people wear virtual reality (VR) headsets to see and join the metaverse.
Now, what happens in the book is becoming a reality. When you are wearing a VR headset, the meteaverse will feel real because the technology can simulate our senses: vision, hearing, touch, and even smell. “We’re talking about creating another reality, another world, which is as rich as the real world,” said Rev Lebaredian, vice president of simulation technology at NVIDIA, a US tech company.
So, what can you do inside the metaverse? “Your location will no longer matter,” says VOA News. In the metaverse, “people would be connected at all times.” You can meet friends from other countries and go on a virtual beach vacation together. But forget Thailand—you can go to the beach on the moon, or anywhere else you can imagine. Can’t find a friend to play basketball? Jump into the metaverse and find some friends to play with or go to a concert!
A true metaverse will not just be a separate world, but a complementary world closely interconnected with the real world. It will allow people from one side of the planet to meet in a virtual environment with people on the other side, carrying out normal conversations as if they were both in the same room.
The key to realizing a metaverse will be more advanced input and display technologies. Perhaps haptic gloves, which will allow hand gestures as input, and retinal displays, which will project images of virtual worlds directly onto our retinas, would be enough to attract millions to take part in a new and intimate virtual reality.
1. The underlined “simulate our senses” in Paragraph Three probably mean ________.| A．create similar senses | B．take senses away | C．change senses greatly | D．make senses better |
| A．can create a real 3D world | B．can go wherever you want |
| C．can be anyone you want to be | D．can design your own video games |
| A．how to improve the design of the headset |
| B．how to separate the real world from the virtual world |
| C．how to put as much information as possible into human brain |
| D．how to present pictures of virtual worlds directly on human eyes |
| A．What Direction Will the Metaverse Take? | B．It’s Time to Think About the Metaverse. |
| C．Why Does Human Need the Metaverse? | D．There Is No Future Without the Metaverse. |
【推荐2】Have you ever thought that air pollution is so bad that you want it to just go away? Anirudh Sharma from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US has ever thought this. He invented a device called Air-Ink to catch black particles (微粒) from waste gases before they get into the air. It can turn them into paint or ink (墨水). He hopes the device could live in every home around the world.
The idea came to him after his visit to his home country, India. “The air is so awful. If you take out a cloth and rub (擦) it on your skin, the cloth turns very dirty,” says Sharma. “So I thought, ‘How can we change things we hate into anything useful?’” Actually he made it by hard work.
When it came time to share the product with the rest of the world. Sharma started with artists. Now, Air-Ink is on show at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. Artist Ellen Lupton used Air-Ink to paint something on the wall. She said. “I was surprised at how useful the product was. It’s great that Sharma can turn pollution into ink. The ink is nice. It is super black. It holds up on all kinds of surfaces. I didn’t think it would be so fun to use.”
1. What can Air-Ink do?| A．It can change black particles in waste gases into ink. |
| B．It can collect black particles from waste water. |
| C．It can find ink in waste gases. |
| D．It can produce fresh air. |
| A．Because he found air pollution in India was serious. |
| B．Because his home country asked him to do so. |
| C．Because he thought artists needed his help. |
| D．Because he wanted to protect his skin. |
| A．Air-Ink is in a museum in India. |
| B．Anirudh Sharma is from the US. |
| C．Air-Ink has been widely used in the world. |
| D．Anirudh Sharma worked hard to invent Air-Ink. |
| A．It’s very black. | B．It can be used on all sorts of surfaces. |
| C．It’s easy to get dry. | D．It’s good for the environment. |
| A．To increase Air-Ink’s market value. |
| B．To introduce the product Air-Ink to us. |
| C．To tell us about some serious environmental problems. |
| D．To advise us to do something to reduce air pollution. |
【推荐3】ROBOTS have been used to train (训练) driving practices at Shenzhen Pengcheng Driving School, marking an upgrading of the intelligence level of the city’s driver training industry. Shenzhen Economic Daily reported Sunday.
With an LED screen in the front, trainees (练习者) follow voice messages to practice driving skills. The only difference between the car with a real trainer and an artificial intelligence (AI) trainer is that the AI trainer car has an extra machine on the top of the car. It is used to send signals and for intelligent positioning.
The reporter with the Daily experienced a driving training session trained by an AI trainer.
When the reporter was practicing reverse parking, the AI trainer asked the reporter to turn the steering wheel (方向盘) to the right when the car was only 10 centimeters away from the line allowed for parking.
The AI trainer also divides students into different levels and gives them different training guidance. Cars with AI trainers have 20 radars (雷达) to monitor the local environment. AI trainers can stop cars when the trainees have trouble practicing driving alone.
The staff at the school said that they also set up electronic fences to make sure that cars with AI trainers operate only in certain areas.
At the same time, the AI trainer can use intelligent methods to get trainees to develop good driving habits such as not taking their hands off the steering wheel and looking backward before getting off the car.
1. The car with AI trainer has a (n) ________ on the top and the trainers in an AI trainer car take the ________ message to practice driving.| A．LED screen, voice |
| B．extra machine, voice |
| C．radar, written |
| D．extra wheel, written |
| A．The machine on the top is used for intelligent positioning but it can’t send signals. |
| B．The AI trainer reminded the reporter to turn the steering wheel when there was more than 10 cm away from the line allowed for parking. |
| C．All the trainees receive the same driving training by AI trainer. |
| D．The AI trainer can not only make sure the safety of trainees but also help them keep good driving habits. |
| A．newspaper | B．magazine | C．advertisement | D．storybook |
| A．AI trainer |
| B．Robots help improve the driving skills |
| C．Driving school uses robots to train driving practice |
| D．Cars with AI trainers |
Today, most people in Western cultures expect to eat meals with their own set of tableware. People use plates to hold their food and drink only from their own glasses. But Europeans didn’t always eat this way.
In the 1500s, members of the royalty and nobility（皇室与贵族）used knives to cut meat. Since they hardly had their own plates and bowls, they would eat the slice of meat off the tip of the knife. They would use shared spoons to eat soup and would dip bread or their fingers into gravy（调味汁）. There were a few eating rules. For example, if you had a bone left in your hand after eating a chicken leg, you were expected to throw it politely under the table.
When some of the Europeans settled（定居）in the North America, they brought this eating style with them.
While the new settlers were sharing cups and dipping their fingers into bowls of food, royalty and nobility in Europe were starting to increase their tableware. They were also starting using a set of manners to go with their new knives, forks, spoons, plates, etc. They started to think that sharing cups or plates were unclean and even impolite. Their new manners made them feel higher than the lower classes.
By the 1700s, these new customs had spread to rich American settlers. As new landowners, they wanted to have a higher class than they would have had in Great Britain. They bought their own tableware and brought them to America.
By the late 1800s, mealtime manners had changed for everyone. As the American middle class grew, they needed more tableware to show that they were rich. There was also a new system of manners by this time. Though it was difficult to understand, it had a great effect on people’s everyday life.
1. Which of the following was considered impolite in the 1500s?| A．Getting gravy with one’s fingers. | B．Having soup with shared spoons. |
| C．Eating meat off a knife tip. | D．Keeping the bones in one’s hand. |
| A．wanted to feel higher than the royalty |
| B．hated to share cups and plates again |
| C．wanted to feel higher than the lower class |
| D．made more money in America than in Britain |
| A．The tableware. | B．The mealtime. |
| C．The American middle class. | D．The new manner system. |
①The European royalty shared their spoons, plates and bowls at first.
②The American middle class grew and needed more tableware.
③Some Europeans moved to North America with their eating style.
④New American landowners bought more tableware.
⑤The European royalty started to increase tableware.
| A．③①⑤②④ | B．①⑤③④② | C．①③⑤④② | D．③⑤①②④ |
“I must do something about the noise,” he thought. At last he had an idea. “Ah, I’ll put some cotton in my ears. Then I won’t be able to hear the noise.” The next day he went to the door of his neighbor’s and held the bell again. This time he pulled even harder. The bell rang loudly, but the thief did not hear anything. With another hard pull he got the bell out. Just then the neighbor ran out. “Steal my bell? I’ll teach you a lesson(教训),” the angry man shouted. And he hit the thief on the nose.
The foolish thief did not know how the neighbor found out he was stealing the bell.“Why did he come out just then?”he wondered.
1. The thief was trying to get ___________.
| A．his neighbor | B．his neighbor’s doorbell | C．some cotton |
| A．safe | B．difficult | C．dangerous |
| A．亡羊补牢 | B．智子疑邻 | C．掩耳盗铃 |
It is said that as the population of a city grows, so do its problems. Pollution, too many cars, and crowded streets are just a few of the problems. One way to deal with these problems is city trains. Traveling to different parts of a city by train means fewer cars and buses on our roads, cleaner air and more open streets. In recent years, cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai have all built city train lines.
The first city train line in China was built in Beijing. The oldest part of the train line, from Beijing Zhan to Ping Guo Yuan was opened in 1969. Its length was 23.6 kilometers. With the development of the city after 1980, more trains are needed. A new train line was built to help move people around the city center. The 16-kilometer-long “circle line” was finished in 1987. Since that time even more train stations have been built and today the train lines in the city are over 50 kilometers long.
For the 2008 Olympic Games, the trains of Beijing was very important. Most of the people who went to watch the different sports games during the Olympic Games traveled by train.
1. This passage tells us about _____.| A．the problems in big cities | B．city trains |
| C．the history of Beijing | D．2008 Olympic Games |
| A．About 16 kms. | B．About 23 kms. |
| C．About 33 kms. | D．About 50 kms. |
| A．Chao Yang Men. | B．An Ding Men. |
| C．Che Gong Zhuang. | D．He Ping Men. |
| A．In 1969. | B．In 1980. | C．In 1987. | D．In 2008. |
| A．In 2008, the Beijing train line was nearly 40 years old. |
| B．The larger population a city has, the fewer problems it faces. |
| C．More and more cities are building underground train lines for the 2008 Olympic Games. |
| D．There are 30 stations on the “circle line” in Beijing. |
【推荐1】When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was wonderful!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. ________. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
1. Which of the following can be put in ________.| A．I couldn’t wait to show her my artwork |
| B．I couldn’t wait to introduce Stephanie to her |
| C．I couldn’t wait to put the materials back in the yard |
| D．I couldn’t wait to stop her from seeing my painting |
| A．was a born artist | B．worked very hard |
| C．was a problem solver | D．always caused trouble |
| A．A naughty boy | B．Stripes of colors |
| C．Rainbow on the pavement | D．A beautiful artwork |
| A．encourage children to paint | B．value friendship among children |
| C．discover the hidden talent in children | D．protect rather than destroy children’s dreams. |
Li Qingzhao (1084-1155) is one of the best-known female writers in Chinese history. She showed great love for writing and was known as a talented special woman then. But her life was a bittersweet story.
Born into a famous literary (文学) family, Li was someone who always wanted to destroy old customs and traditions from the start. Women in the Song Dynasty stayed indoors. They didn’t discuss politics, and only spoke when spoken to. But just at the age of 17, Li Qingzhao made a name for herself.
She was lucky in her marriage. In 1101, she married Zhao Mingcheng, with whom she shared the interest in the art collection. They lived in present-day Shandong. They were not wealthy, but they lived happily together. Li and her husband collected many books. They shared a love of poetry and often wrote poems for each other. They sold clothes and went hungry to slowly build up a big library, and they always spent their nights on literary drinking games like this one: An event would be chosen from a pile of books, and the person would win if he/she first named the book, chapter, page, and line where it was found.
This happy life was ruined by the wars of 1127. The Northern Song capital fell this year during the Jin-Song wars. Fighting took place in Shandong and their house was burned. The couple took many of their possessions and ran away to Nanjing, where they lived for a year. Zhao Mingcheng died in 1129, leaving her childless and alone. Li Qingzhao’s life was full of twists and turns (波折), but she left many valuable poems to us.
1. What can we know about Li Qingzhao from the first two paragraphs?| A．She was different from other women of her age. |
| B．She often guided other women to write poems. |
| C．She liked staying indoors when she was young. |
| D．She always followed old customs and traditions. |
a. The Northern Song capital fell during the Jin-Song wars.
b. Li and her husband tried their best to set up a big library.
c. Li left her hometown with her husband because of the war.
d. Li made a name for herself.
e. Li lived alone after Zhao Mingcheng’s death.
| A．b-a-c-d-e | B．b-a-d-c-e | C．d-b-c-e-a | D．d-b-a-c-e |
| A．Collecting books. | B．Planting flowers. |
| C．Collecting artworks. | D．Playing literary drinking games. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
Teaching is difficult. Students can be difficult. Parents can be difficult. If you do not have a passion for the young people that you teach, you will burn out quickly. Passion is what keeps an excellent teacher going. When students have trouble understanding what is taught, it is what drives him to spend long hours trying to think out how to help them. If you do not have enough passion for your students, you might last a year or two, but not long. Passion is a must-have quality（品质） for every good teacher.
Teaching can be rewarding, but you shouldn’t expect that reward to come easily. Teachers who search out better and new methods are the ones who will make it. A good teacher needs to be able to work with everyone. All teachers face stress. It is important to be able to deal with everything that is thrown at you when you walk through your classroom doors. There are so many chances for stress within a classroom that an excellent teacher has to be able to bring it in control. If you cannot manage stress quite well, then teaching may not be the right job for you.
1. According to the passage, if you want to be a teacher, ____________.
| A．you’d better ask the writer for advice |
| B．passion is the most important |
| C．you will be best rewarded |
| D．you have to be young enough |
| A．burns out quickly and easily |
| B．faces the most stress and difficult parents |
| C．searches out better and new methods |
| D．has the right reason for his job |
| A．passion and stress | B．difficult and rewarding |
| C．deal with and be able to | D．teachers and students |
| A．in the classroom | B．from the parents |
| C．in a year or two | D．after class |
| A．how the reward as a teacher will come |
| B．how to manage everything that happens in his work |
| C．how long his passion for young people will last |
| D．how many new methods he will have to use |
【推荐1】Jin Yong is the pen name of Zha Liangyong. He was born on March 10, 1924 in Zhejiang and he started to write his first Kungfu novel when he was 31 years old. He wrote 15 novels in his life. Many novels are very popular, such as Demi－Gods and Semi－Devils(《天龙八部》) and The Smiling Proud Wanderer(《笑傲江湖》).
Because of the Chinese culture and his literary(文学) talent, his novels won big success. They were sold all over the world and translated into over 50 languages. Many novels were made into movies, TV plays and games. It is said that wherever Chinese may be, Jin Yong's novels may be.
Jin Yong died on October 30, 2018. It is a great lose to Chinese. All Chinese people will miss him forever.
1. When was Jin Yong born?| A．On March 1, 1924. | B．On October 30, 2018. | C．On March 10, 1924. |
| A．Journey to the West. | B．Demi－Gods and Semi－Devils. | C．The Smiling Proud Wanderer. |
| A．84. | B．90. | C．94. |
| A．Jin Yong began to write his first Kungfu novel when he was 21 years old. |
| B．Jin Yong's novels were translated into less than 15 languages. |
| C．Jin Yong's death is a great lose to Chinese people. |
The school is over. And Erica puts her books in the bag and goes out of the classroom. She is running home and thinking about her uncle. She wants to know the surprise.
"Is it a surfboard? That is fun! I can learn how to surf!"
"Are they Australian nuts(坚果)? Oh, I can eat nuts all day!"
"Or maybe he brings a kangaroo（ 袋鼠）? That is not good. I don't have a place in my room for a kangaroo... "
Erica gets home at four o'clock. Her parents are there, and her uncle is there! She is very happy to see him. "Uncle, uncle," she calls, "What surprise do you have for me from Australia?"
"Well," her uncle smiles and answers, "I have for you an Australian uncle. "
1. How old will Erica be next year?
| A．Three years old. | B．Nine years old. |
| C．Ten years old. | D．Four years old |
| A．on foot | B．by car | C．by bike | D．on a bus |
| A．Erica lives in Australia for three years. |
| B．Erica is a student. |
| C．Erica's uncle comes home after four. |
| D．Erica gets a beautiful gift from her uncle. |
【推荐3】Many years ago, there was a young girl named Pepsy. She thought she was bad-looking and didn’t feel like going out. But there were times when she had to go out shopping. She was unhappy and sometimes even angry when people looked at her face.
One night, a strange old woman came to Pepsy’s house. She said to Pepsy, “My child, let me help you. Put this magic (有魔力的) flower in your hair, and you’ll become beautiful.”
Pepsy did what the woman said. Something strange happened. Pepsy was surprised to see herself so beautiful in the mirror. She ran happily out of her house. She walked on the street and smiled at everyone. She became very friendly and nice, very different from what she was before. Almost all the people said, “Pepsy is so beautiful today!”
Finally, Pepsy returned to her house. But when she entered the house, she saw the magic flower on the floor. She left the flower there before she went out. She didn’t wear it when walking on the street!
根据短文内容判断正 (T)、误 (F)。1. Pepsy didn’t like going out because she thought she was bad-looking.
2. At first when people looked at her face, Pepsy was angry.
3. The strange old man gave Pepsy a flower.
4. Nothing happened after Pepsy put the flower in her hair.
5. The passage tells us being confident (自信的) is more important for us.
