1 . Nicolas Come is a nine-year-old boy. He was a picky(挑剔的) eater. He e    1     disliked healthy foods and wouldn't go near most fruits and vegetables.

Nicolas' dad, Stephane, tried to think of ways to get Nicolas and his younger brother to eat more healthily. "I thought they would give more foods a chance if they grew the foods t    2    ," says Stephane. So the family started a garden in their yard. They p    3     strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables. It worked. Nicolas learned to care for these foods and started t    4     them. "I discovered that I like them a lot!" says Nicolas.

At the same time, Nicolas found that many kids were eating unhealthy foods. One day in his family's garden, Nicolas came up with an idea of w    5     a book that would help other kids. His dad suggested a smartphone app (应用程序). Nicolas liked the idea and decided to start his own business.

Nicolas' parents helped him d    6     a business plan. A group of app makers joined Nicolas' team. The app which was free was ready in May 2013. It helps children and f    7     create meal plans with easy recipes (食谱). Nicolas shows kids how to prepare healthy food through his app, his website, and You Tube videos. Thousands of kids and parents are now his fans, and newspapers and TV shows have shared Nicolas' story.

Nicolas has plans to i    8     his app and wants to add games that let kids get "healthy" or "unhealthy" points for food choices. He has a    9     started putting "Nicolas' Seal of Approval (正式认可)" on restaurant menu items (项目). He explains, "It will help me and other kids find healthy, tasty foods in restaurants."

Nicolas likes hearing that other kids think his app is very cool. But what he likes best is, "I'm helping other kids g    10     healthier. That's what I wanted to do."

2 . When Emma Yang was 7 or 8 years old, her grandmother got Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病) . It made her grandmother lose her memory. She couldn’t even know her own family members. Yang, now 14, decided to create an app to help people with this disease.

Her app is called Timeless. It uses facial recognition technology. Alzheimer's patients can use the app to look at photos of their friends and family. The app will tell them who the person is and how they're related to the patient. If a patient doesn't recognize someone in the same room, they can take a picture and the app will try to identify them.

Yang got the idea after seeing how facial recognition is used in different areas, especially health care. She worked with a tech company to create the facial recognition software that her app uses. She learned to code (编码) for the iPhone for the first time in the process.

The app is still in development. Yang is trying to raise money through crowdfunding (众筹) so she can take the next step-letting patients try a pilot version (实验版本) of the app. Though some may think that the app is too hard for older people to use, Yang is hopeful. "If you introduce it to them the right way, it's actually possible for them to use it and it can really help them live better." she said.

Memory expert Katherine Possin agrees. Possin said looking at photos on the app can help patients feel more social. It can also improve their memory, she added.

1. Emma Yang's app was created to help people ________.

A．who like taking photos	B．who have Alzheimer's disease
C．who have lost their family members	D．who are too old to take care of themselves

2. What can the app Timeless do?

A．It can cure diseases.	B．It can tell good strangers from bad ones.
C．It can recognize faces.	D．It can talk to patient.

3. What’s Yan’s attitude(态度) towards Timeless?

A．Confident

B．Hopeless

C．Disappointed

D．Doubtful

4. The last paragraph is mainly written to ________.

A．introduce a famous memory expert

B．show how popular the app is

C．explain the app's usefulness from an expert's point of view.

D．show that the app also works for the healthy people.

5. Which of the following might be the best title for the text?

A．Facial Recognition Technology	B．Alzheimer’s Disease
C．Yang’s Grandmother	D．“Timeless” Memories

3 . Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device (装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user's position (位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.

GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.

There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates (计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.

Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate (精确的). There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.

1. According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people ________.

A．can't be lost in a new city

B．can't find their way in different countries

C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place

D．can spend the least time getting to another place

2. We can learn from the passage that ________.

A．there are three parts to the GPS	B．a GPS can't be put into a watch
C．a GPS can help you start your car	D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive

3. The underlined word "They" in paragraph 3 means "________".

A．Receivers

B．GPS devices

C．Satellites

D．Ground stations

4. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the history of the GPS	B．the introduction of the GPS
C．the shape of the GPS	D．the three parts of the GPS

5. What can we infer (推断) from the passage?

A．All GPS devices have electronic maps.

B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free.

C．The receiver of the GPS contacts at least five of the satellites.

D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life.

4 . AI(人工智能)makes our lives easier and better. Let's see the amazing AI.

Cool driverless bus

A bus door opens and you get on. Wait! Where is the driver? Here is a new kind of driverless bus called Apolong. It has 14 seats and doesn't need a driver. The bus follows traffic rules. It stops as soon as it sees a stop light.

Your close friend

Hi, everyone. I'm Xiaobing, a chatbot (聊天机器人). I speak like a 17—year—old girl. If you feel lonely, you can talk with me. I'm talented at singing, writing poems and telling stories. I want to be your friend!

World's first AI anchor (主播)

Hey, look! The famous Chinese anchor Qiu Hao is reporting the news for us. But, is "he" really Qiu Hao? The answer is "no". This is the world's first Al anchor. It looks and speaks just like a real person. It can work 24 hours and doesn't make any mistakes. You might see it on TV soon.

Popular AI artist

This beautiful painting was at an auction(拍卖)in 2020. The painting is worth about 3, 000000 yuan! But it is not a work by a famous painter, such as Vincent van Gogh. It was painted by an AI arts. Three Frenchmen created the Al artist It studied over 15, 000 paintings. In this way, it learned to paint.

1. The fact about Apolong is that   ________.

A．the bus door can't open itself	B．it stops as soon as it sees a stop light
C．there are 24 seats in it	D．it doesn't follow the traffic rules

2. Xiaobing can NOT   ________.

A．go out to play with you	B．talk with you if you feel lonely
C．sing	D．be your friend

3. The painting   ________.

A．was at an auction in 2019

B．is worth about 3, 000, 000 yuan at an auction

C．is a work painted by Vincent van Gogh

D．was studied by three French artists over 15, 000 times

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

A．AI makes our lives harder and worse.

B．This new kind of driverless bus also needs a driver to control it.

C．Xiaobing is a 17—year—old girl.

D．The AI anchor can work 24 hours and doesn't make any mistakes.

5. We can probably read the passage in   ________.

A．a storybook

B．a notice

C．a newspaper

D．a novel

5 . Have you ever tried 3-D printing? A team of seven students from No. 34 Middle School in Zhengzhou, Henan, have won awards for their creative 3-D printing works.

Two of the team's works took home the top prize at the International Youth Innovation Design Competition. It was held in France this summer. One of their works had the theme "China's New Era   (时代) ". The other work was an ancient Chinese palace. They sent the work as a gift to local officials in Lille, France.

The team members learned how to print in their school's 3-D printing club. They took classes twice a week to learn 3-D printing. To make 3-D printed items, they first draw a blueprint   (蓝图) . Then, they use a computer to design models of the pieces they need. After that, they use a 3-D printer to print the pieces and assemble (组装) them, as Liu Songyuan, 14, said.

But knowing how to use the tools is just one part of mastering 3-D printing. One also has to have imagination. To show the theme "China's New Era", they printed out items standing for high-speed trains, bike sharing, cashless payment and online shopping. They placed these items around a dragon, which represented China. They made this work within just three hours, winning a national 3-D printing competition in China and later the international competition.

When they got to the international competition, they wanted to present something that stood for traditional Chinese culture. They were inspired (启迪) by a trip to the palace Museum. "When we saw the buildings there, we thought 'That's it!" said Zhang Jiuxing, 14. They took photos of the buildings and did a lot of research to make their 3-D-printed works more realistic   (逼真的) . "We will continue to learn about this technology and make more creative things, "Zhang added.

1. How many students are there in the team?

A．8.

B．2.

C．6.

D．7.

2. Which country held the International Youth Innovation Design Competition?

A．Russia.

B．The UK.

C．China.

D．France

3. How often did the team members take classes to learn 3-D printing?

A．Twice a week

B．Once a week.

C．Once a month.

D．Three times a week.

4. According to Liu Songyuan, what's the right order to make 3-D-printed items?
① They use a computer to design models of the pieces they need.
② They use a 3-D printer to print the pieces and assemble them.
③ They draw a blueprint.

A．①②③

B．②③①

C．③①②

D．③②①

5. From the passage we can learn that____________________.

A．if you know how to use the tools, you can master 3-D printing

B．it's still a long way for the students to make creative and realistic 3-D works

C．it's easy for the students to make a 3-D-printed work

D．both of the works stood for China's traditional culture

6 . Drones （无人机） can do a lot of things for us, taking photos, delivering things from packages to pizzas to beer and following wild animals. But they have other uses now.

Can you believe it? Drones can serve people coffee. US company IBM has made this kind of drone. It can deliver coffee to sleepy people. The drone can know when to bring a cup of coffee by studying a person's data. Then, the drone will fly to the person. There is a special device （设备） under the drone. It helps the drone to give people coffee. The drone can also learn about someone's coffee—drinking habits and predict when someone needs their next cup of coffee.

Drones can also save lives. One company in Africa use drones to deliver medicine and blood fast and save many people's lives. The drones are able to fly at speeds of up to 60 mph and when they are within a minute of the destination（目的地）,the doctors receive a text and wait nearby. The drones drops off the package and then returns to its home.

A 92—year—old hunter in Virginia was lost and had to spend a night in the woods .The police searched for him all night but failed to find him. Luckily, the drone tracked him down in 20 minutes .Also,drones helped the firefighters know about the fire in the wildfire fight.

1. The underlined word "predict" in the passage may mean_______.

A．计算

B．预测

C．感应

D．测量

2. The writer talked about_______uses of drones in the passage

A．4

B．5

C．6

D．7

3. From the passage we know that_______ .

A．doctors use drones to save animals' lives in Africa	B．drones can only deliver packages in the wild
C．the drone helped to find the lost 92—year—old man	D．the drones can help make coffee at home

4. We can probably read this passage in a_______.

A．travel guide

B．story book

C．science book

D．cooking book

5. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．drones have many uses	B．drones can save lives
C．drones can find the lost	D．drones can give people coffee

7 . We are now living in the 21st century. Is your classroom living in the 21st century, too? Tony is a student in Grade 8 at an American middle school. He was surprised when he saw his m    1     classroom on his first day of school.

In Tony’s classroom, there are many new electronics like iPads. This term, they will use the electronics to take notes, watch videos and do p    2     and homework. "It’s amazing!"said Tony. "I p    3     using an iPad to work on math or other projects with my team members."

The school uses new technology in classrooms to help students see, hear, t    4     and sometimes experience their tasks. “Technology is pretty c    5     in most of our classrooms now," the head teacher said. "We are trying to use technology to open up the world to kids. It can b    6     the outside world in."

Science teacher Mr Miller agrees. "It is a quick w    7     for students to know the outside world," he said. Mr Miller now c    8     himself as a guide of learning not as a teacher. "If they have a question for me, I will try to teach them how to find the answers rather than tell them what the answers are," he said.

Dale, another student, loves technology. He was not really interested in class before, b    9     now he likes the classes very much. "It helps me use w    10     I know about technology at school," Dale said. "Most importantly, I enjoy the classroom. This, of course, will help my studies."

8 . Artificial intelligence（人工智能）, or AI in short, is the science of giving computers and machines ability to think and work like humans. AI scientists and engineers have made a lot of cool technologies.

AI is rapidly catching up with the human ability to read faces. As a result, facial recognition（面部识别）is used a lot in the world. Chinese police use this technology to identify criminals（罪犯）.Once they caught a criminal when he attended a concert. It also checks the ID of ride-hailing（网约车）drivers and lets people pay for things with a smile.

AI is also used in self-driving cars, which are believed to be the future of driving. Most drivers may wave or nod at passers-by to let them cross the street, but self-driving cars don't have this ability. Carmakers are testing a light signal system to help them "speak" to humans. The system can show what self-driving cars will do. For example, if a driverless car is yielding（让路）, it will flash two white lights side to side. A rapidly flashing light tells passers-by that the car is about to speed up.

Service Robots also show you how powerful AI is. Imagine this—you come back home from school and your robot housekeeper is waiting for you at the door. After dinner, he teaches you to play the piano, just like a real music teacher. Such thoughts will soon happen in the real world. In the future, more and more service robots will become good home helpers. AI is so powerful that it can help human beings and even replace us in many jobs.

1. What does the underlined word "identify" mean in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．To let somebody know his mistakes.

B．To come to realize and tell who is who.

C．To take somebody to the police station.

D．To tell somebody something important.

2. According to the passage, what is facial recognition used for?

A．Driving cars.	B．Making people smile.
C．Calling the police.	D．Checking people's information.

3. Which technology has been used in real life according to the passage?

A．Service Robots at school.	B．Robots as ride-hailing drivers.
C．Facial recognition for payment.	D．Light signals for self-driving cars.

4. According to the passage, how many ways can AI be used in the future?

A．One.

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four.

5. What can we learn from the passage?

A．People use AI in many different ways.

B．AI will take the pace of human beings in all jobs.

C．Self-driving cars will be able to talk like humans.

D．A criminal was caught for inventing facial recognition.

9 . It almost seems too hard to believe, but there is now a banana that has an eatable peel(皮). Most people would never______eating the peel of a banana. However , banana fammers in Japan have created a special technique for growing bananas with peels we can eat. The______ banana-growing method is called the“freeze-thaw awakening”technique(“冻融唤醒”技术). Farmers in Okayama, in the west of Japan, ______ their banana trees at a freezing cold temperature of - 60°C. The farmers then replant the trees in 27^oC. The huge change in temperature makes the tree grow______ for the peel to fully mature(成熟). This makes the skin thin, soft and sweet enough to eat.

The new kind of banana is called the“Mongee”. ______ are now selling it in small bunches(一捆) of 10 bananas. They are not cheap. One Mongee banana ______ six dollars . The farmers have not grown a lot of Mongee bananas, so the price is ______.They want to grow more so they can ______ them all over the world. This means the price will come down. Bananas are the most popular fruit in Japan. Similar to other ______, Japan imports(进口) most of its bananas. About 99% of bananas in Japanese stores are imported. The Mongee bananas mean Japanese can eat _______home-grown bananas.

1.

A．look for

B．think of

C．come over

D．set up

2.

A．strange

B．pleasant

C．light

D．new

3.

A．work

B．cut

C．keep

D．rise

4.

A．slowly

B．quickly

C．still

D．carefully

5.

A．Farmers

B．Teachers

C．Scientists

D．Patients

6.

A．spends

B．takes

C．costs

D．pays

7.

A．low

B．cheap

C．expensive

D．high

8.

A．buy

B．sell

C．plant

D．grow

9.

A．countries

B．planets

C．parks

D．forms

10.

A．less .

B．better

C．more

D．worse

10 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容完成表格。

In recent years, China has been making great progress in technology. A number of inventions have made our daily life more convenient（便利的）. Among them, four stand out. They are known as “four new great inventions” of modern China.

High-speed trains China created its first high-speed railway line in 2008. Since then, the number of passenger trips has grown by over 30 percent every year. It is reported that high-speed train network will connect 80 percent of important cities in China by 2020. China’s high-speed railway technology is also being used abroad. More and more high-speed railways are being set up in foreign countries like Turkey（土耳其）and Russia.

Mobile payment Mobile payment is turning China into a “cashless（无现金）society”. People now only need to pay for the things they buy by typing a short password（密码）into an app like Alipay（支付宝）on their mobile phone. Users can also pay their bills through Alipay, such as their water and electricity bills. Alipay also allows users to buy things on international websites and apps.

Shared bikes China has surprised the world with how quickly it has spread the shared bikes. Users simply pick up or park a bike on the street through GPS and smartphone apps, China’s two leading bike-sharing companies, Mobike and Ofo, have been spreading their business to markets abroad. People are riding their bikes in Singapore （新加坡）, the UK and the United States.

Online shopping China has been the world’s largest and fastest-growing online shopping market. Online shopping now takes up 15.5 percent of total retail（零售）sales in China. It also helped to create jobs of countryside areas. In 2016, online shopping created more than 20 million jobs in countryside areas.

China’s     1
High-speed trains	It is reported that 80 percent of important cities in China will     2     by high-speed train network by 2020. China’s high-speed railway technology is also being used abroad.
Mobile payment	China is being turned into a “cashless society”. Customers only need to use mobile apps like Alipay     3     the things or pay water and electricity bills.
4	More and more people are enjoying them. Not only people in China but also people in Singapore and the US are using them now.
Online shopping	Chinese online shopping market is growing very fast. And it helped people from countryside to find     5    .