1 . I soon saw two pirates (海盗) lying at the back of the ship. One was dead. The other, Israel Hands, was hurt and calling for rum (朗姆酒) . I gave Hands the rum. As he drank it, the colour returned to his cheeks.
“I am taking over this ship, Mr Hands,” I said. “You will treat me as your Captain Jim.”
He looked at me sourly, but he could do nothing. I then took down the Jolly Roger flag and threw it into the sea.
“You want to get ashore (海岸), now you need my help.” said Hands, “Tie up my wound, then I’ll tell you how to sail the ship.”
“I want to get to North Inlet.”
Hands agreed to help me, and the Hispaniola was sailing along the coast of Treasure Island. I tied up the knife wound in his leg with a cloth. After eating and drinking, he looked better.
We soon arrived at the North Inlet. Hands was very good at guiding me in, we turned into the beach, and came easily to have a rest.
I was busy bringing the ship in and forgot to watch Hands. When I turned around, Hands was standing behind me, his knife ready. I quickly climbed up the ropes and prepared both my guns.
“One more move, I’ll kill you! Mr Hands.” I shouted.
Suddenly, a knife flew through the air to me, both guns in my hands fired, and fell into the sea together with Israel Hands.
Then I climbed off the ship and swam ashore. I arrived at the fort (城堡) and walked in when my foot touched someone’s leg. Someone was sleeping on the ground. He moved but did not wake. Then suddenly a shrill (尖厉的) voice called out in the darkness:
“Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!”
It was Long John Silver’s parrot, Captain Flint!
“Who is it?” Silver cried.
I turned to escape, but someone closed his arms around me and held me tight.
------- From Treasure Island
1. Why did Jim help Hands tie up the wound in his leg?| A．Because Jim took a pity on Hands. |
| B．Because Jim got on well with Hands. |
| C．Because Hands would be his new captain. |
| D．Because Hands could guide Jim to sail the ship. |
| A．Angrily. | B．Sadly. | C．Politely. | D．Patiently. |
a. I climbed off the ship and swam ashore.
b. I climbed up the ropes with guns quickly.
c. A knife hurt me and Hands fell into the sea.
d. After drinking and eating, Hands feels better.
e. We turned into the beach, and came to have a rest.
| A．e-b-c-d-a | B．d-e-b-c-a | C．c-e-b-d-a | D．d-b-e-c-a |
| A．Jim was caught by Silver at the fort. | B．Jim was one of the pirates in this story. |
| C．There were only two pirates in the ship. | D．Hands arrived at the fort with Jim at last. |
2 . 
The Yellow River is known as the mother river of the Chinese people. However, flood control and disaster forecasts (灾害预报) of the river have always been challenging for people. Now, scientists can better work on these problems by giving the river a digital twin.
The digital twin of the Yellow River uses different kinds of technologies, including big data, artificial intelligence and the internet of things. Devices(设备)are set up along the river to collect and transmit (传送) information to the center. Based on the information, a 3D model of the river is showed on the computer screen. It’s like the Yellow River has a twin that describes its real conditions.
One big thing in the digital governance (治理) is “smart stones”. A smart stone is a detector (探测器) with chips, a battery, and a signal transmitter. They are put in important dikes (堤坝) to record and report the movement of dike stones. If it feels any movement of the dikes stones, it will send an alarm to the center for quick response.
In the sky, there are flying drones (无人机). They are designed to look at the river, its dikes and flood prevention projects. The drones provide researchers with photos and information. The researchers use this information to update a 3D model to watch the changes of water to avoid disasters.
Under the water and up in the sky, intelligent systems are helping to protect the Yellow River. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, in the future, we can expect to see an even more complete digital system for the river.
1. What does the digital twin of the Yellow River do?| A．To warn people to protect Yellow River. |
| B．To improve flood control and disaster prevention. |
| C．To do research with the history of the Yellow River. |
| D．To collect and transmit information to tourist center. |
| A．To repair the dikes along the river. |
| B．To prevent the dike stones moving into the river. |
| C．To monitor and report the movement of dike stones. |
| D．To send pictures of the stones along the dikes to the center. |
| A．They update 3D model to avoid disasters. |
| B．They tell weather changes along the river. |
| C．They send photos and information to researchers. |
| D．They watch the dikes but flood prevention projects. |
| A．The Yellow River is the origin of Chinese culture. |
| B．The digital twin is helping protect the Yellow River better. |
| C．The Yellow River will avoid disasters with the digital twin. |
| D．The Yellow River is facing flood and disasters all the time. |
3 . The human brain is amazing. People think and solve problems with their brains. What if a city had a “smart brain”? There might be something like that in Beijing! Beijing’s Haidian district has been working on it since 2018. Recently, they added a big data (大数据) model called Jiuzhou to make the city brain even better. It uses artificial intelligence (人工智能AI) to quickly collect data and highlight what people care about. It can give suggestions for fixing problems within minutes, making city management smarter.
To explain how it works, the official asked it to name the top three streets with the best noise pollution solutions. The big model quickly found the streets that did well in fixing noise pollution in early August 2023. It also suggested ways to deal with the problem.
The area plans to build 572 smart and safe communities using technologies like smart entrance control and facial recognition (识别). These technologies help keep people safe by quickly knowing what problems might happen and improving how the police deal with situations.
The area also plans to watch out for cars that make black smoke. This system has machines on important roads to catch black smoke, an online system that checks in real time, and sensors that study the bad things in the air. This can make sure that the important roads are always watched carefully. It works together with the police and transportation teams to stop cars that make black smoke and keep the air clean.
Smart governance wants to make the city work better and improve people’s lives by using smart technology and analyzing data.
1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Human brain. | B．Haidian District. | C．The city brain. |
a. Collecting data b. Catching black smoking c. Giving suggestions d. Fixing noise pollution
| A．a and b | B．c and d | C．a and c |
| A．put 572 kinds of technologies into use |
| B．clean the cars with black smoke |
| C．improve people’s safety |
(①=Paragraph 1 ②=Paragraph 2,……)
A． | B． | C． |
| A．High-Tech Changes everyone |
| B．“City Brain” Guides the future |
| C．Tomorrow of “Human Brain” |
The Secret of happiness
Another secret to leading a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies that can help you forget your problems. Many people experience this by dancing or playing a sport, such as skating or playing.
Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to studies, people feel good when they volunteer their time to help others.
| A．The second secret of happiness is to do more exercise. |
| B．If you want to feel happier, do something nice for someone. |
| C．People who have brothers and sisters are happier than others. |
| D．The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. |
| E．Most people want to be happy, but few knows how to find happiness. |
| F．People who have several close friends live happier and healthier lives. |
| G．You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity. |
5 . The sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville made everybody sad as he was a nice and respected man and had made many friends in Dartmoor during the two years he was at Baskerville Hall.
Mr. Barrymore, the butler (男管家), said that Sir Charles had been sad and stressed these days. He told Barrymore that he was planning to return to London the next day. Then, he went for his usual evening walk. He did not return, and at midnight, Barrymore went to look for him. He followed Sir Charles’s footprints along the path until he found his master’s body lying near the end of it.
A man called Murphy was on the moor at the time and said that he heard shouting, but he was drunk at the time and no one would believe what he said.
The report said that Sir Charles had a weak heart and died of a heart attack. And this made it clear that the stories of a huge hound should not be believed.
“Do you know anything more than what is in the newspapers?” said Holmes when Dr. Mortimer had finished.
“Yes indeed. Sir Charles would never go out onto the moor at night because he was in fear of being attacked. He asked me several times whether I had heard the hound bowing at night, but I never had. I was there within an hour when he died. I went over to see his body. He lay face down on the ground with his arms out and his fingers dug into the ground. At the inquest, Barrymore said that he saw nothing else, but I did. I saw footprints, Mr. Holmes.”
“Footprints?” said Holmes, leaning forward. “A man’s or a woman’s?”
Mortimer looked at us for a moment before replying. “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a huge hound!”
1. From this passage, we know Mr. Barrymore is the ________.| A．brother | B．husband | C．butler | D．housewife |
| A．He had been in a good mood for a few days. |
| B．He could not get along with others and had few friends. |
| C．He usually took a walk with Barrymore at night. |
| D．He was going back to London the next day. |
①Mortimer arrived at the scene and checked the body.
②Mortimer found footprints of a huge hound.
③Barrymore saw a man called Murphy on the moor.
④Charles Baskerville went out for an evening walk.
⑤Barrymore went out to look for his master.
| A．④③⑤②① | B．④⑤③①② | C．③④⑤①② | D．④⑤①③② |
| A．the cause of Charles’ death | B．what Murphy said |
| C．Charles’ footprints | D．the hound’s footprints |
| A．what Barrymore said was true | B．Murphy saw who the murderer was |
| C．the murderer was playing a trick | D．Sir Charles killed himself |
As Earth is getting hotter, the world’s glaciers are melting (融化). In the end, they could be gone. As it affects the land, mountains are “taller” than before.
Scientists looked into Earth’s ice ages for answers. The last ice age happened 16,000 years ago, but the land once under the ice is still changing. The change is called the glacial isostatic adjustment (水川均衡调整). Imagine that you lie down on a soft mattress (垫子) and then get up.
根据短文内容，从选项中选出能填入文中空白处的最佳选项，选项中有一项为多余选项。
| A．How does this happen? |
| B．You can see a pit on the mattress. |
| C．It’s the same idea with Earth’s land. |
| D．As the land is lifted, some of the rivers can’t join the sea. |
| E．It could take tens or even hundreds of years to regrow melted glaciers. |
| F．The melting and lifting are happening very slowly, but the influence is great. |
7 . The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, completed a huge number of projects during his rule. Between 221 and 210 B.C., he started the building of the Great Wall. The emperor also ordered the building of a huge army of life-sized terracotta soldiers (兵马俑). These, he hoped, would protect his tomb(坟墓) after his death.
Lost in Time
The soldiers in Xi’an’s terracotta museum are today light brown, but they weren’t always. They began as an army of red, blue, yellow, green, white, and purple. Sadly, most of the colors did not last to the present day. After they were exposed(暴露) to air during digging, the coating under the paint began to fall off. The paint disappeared in less time than it takes to boil an egg, taking away with it important pieces of history.
New Technology
Now new technology is starting to show the army’s true colors. Archeologists(考古学家) have recently discovered an area with more than a hundred soldiers. Many of these still have their painted features(特征), including black hair, pink faces, and black or brown eyes. Chinese and German researchers have developed a chemical liquid (液体) to help save the soldiers’ colors. After they find a soldier or another art piece, archeologists put the liquid on it. They then cover it in plastic(塑料).
Back to Life
Archeologists are also finding colors in the dirt(泥土) around the soldiers. It’s important not to do anything with the dirt, so the colors won’t be lost. “We are treating the dirt as an art piece,” says Rong Bo, the museum’s leading archeologist. The next challenge, says Rong Bo, is to find a way to use the colors onto the army again. Once that happens, artists can bring Emperor Qin’s army back to its full, bright colors.
1. Why did the emperor set up an army of terracotta soldiers?| A．To take a big fight. | B．To build the Great Wall. |
| C．To protect his tomb. | D．To help him live longer. |
| A．Because they are too old. | B．Because they lost their time. |
| C．Because their paint fell off. | D．Because they took away the history. |
| A．The soldiers should stay in their present, brown color. |
| B．Archeologists can only guess at the soldiers’ true colors. |
| C．People should not try to bring back the army’s bright colors. |
| D．Artists should be able to paint the soldiers in colors they want |
| A．The true colors of the terracotta soldiers. | B．How the terracotta army was colored. |
| C．The death of Emperor Qin Shihuang. | D．How the soldiers lived during the Qin Dynasty. |
8 . Wang Xinyi, a college student from Shandong, is shopping online. His shopping cart is full of domestic products. Wang is among many young Chinese who would like to use domestic products in their daily lives. According to a report, nearly 70% of the post-90s generation (一代人) and around 80% of the post-00s generation like to buy domestic products. A similar report showed that Chinese people’s interest in domestic products rose by 528% compared with 10 years ago.
You may wonder why domestic products are getting more and more popular, especially clothing, smartphones and cosmetics. That’s because they are high in quality (质量) and they also try to meet customers’ needs. Mu Mu, a student from Beijing Foreign Studies University, fell in love with a local coffee brand. “After saving a certain number of coffee boxes, you can change them for some other products. It’s really encouraging for people who care about the environment,” she said.
Another reason is that domestic brands have their creative use of traditional Chinese culture. For example, the Palace Museum has launched a collection of products inspired by traditional Chinese styles of buildings.
The rise of domestic brands shows not only Chinese people’s stronger confidence and sense of national identity but also our country’s growing strength in culture, technology and economy.
Let’s hope that local brands will continue to improve the design and quality of their products and keep innovating to meet customer’s needs.
1. What does the underlined word “domestic” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．流行的 | B．民族的 | C．国内的 | D．外来的 |
| A．Nearly 70%. | B．About 80%. | C．About 90%. | D．Nearly 60%. |
| A．Mu Mu likes to collect the coffee boxes | B．Mu Mu likes all the products in this coffee shop |
| C．Mu Mu pays much attention to the environment | D．The price of the coffee is low in this coffee shop |
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
| A．many people will choose domestic products in the future |
| B．Chinese people will have stronger confidence |
| C．we should pay more attention to the environment |
| D．China will pay more attention to the quality and design of domestic products |
By Faith Pirlo
27 May 2022
Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question from Yousra, from Egypt, about how to use hyphens（连字符）when making a compound（复合的）adjective.
Question:
Hello, my name is Yousra from Egypt.
I would like to know when I should use a hyphen（-）between two words like, “top-selling” or “well-being.”
Thanks.
Answer:
Dear Yousra,
Thank you for your question! In this week’s program, we will explain how to use hyphens to make compound adjectives.
What is a hyphen?
A hyphen（-） is used to combine two or more words together to create a compound word.
Do not confuse（混淆）a hyphen with a longer dash（-）. In writing, we use a longer dash like a comma（,）, or a period（.）to separate sentences.
What is a compound adjective?.
Compound adjectives are modifiers（修饰成分）formed by combining adjectives with other adjectives, nouns, and even adverbs. We use them as a single expression to describe the noun that comes after.
The compound adjective “top-selling” from your question is a great example.
The top-selling employee had the most sales for the month.
Here, the two adjectives, “top” and “selling” are combined into one to describe the employee. “Top-selling” means “having the most sales.”
We use hyphens to create compound adjectives, but there are some important rules for creating them with hyphens.
How to use hyphens to make compound adjectives
1. Only use a hyphen when the two words could be misunderstood, and the compound adjective acts together as a single expression. Here is an example:
The well behaved cat slept all day.（no hyphen, incorrect）
The well-behaved cat slept all day.（hyphen, correct）
In this example, “well-behaved” acts like one expression.
If we separate the two words “well” and “behaved”, the sentence does not make sense. And it could be misunderstood.
2. Use only a hyphen in a compound adjective when it comes before a noun. Example:
I love old-fashioned（过时的）clothes.（Hyphen, correct）
I love clothes that are old-fashioned.（Hyphen, incorrect）
I love clothes that are old fashioned.（No hyphen, correct）
3. You do not need a hyphen between an adverb and an adjective, especially when using a present participle（分词）adjective or a past participle adjective.
The urgently-needed doctor arrived on time.
（Hyphen, incorrect）
The urgently（迫切地；紧急地） needed doctor arrived on time.
（No hyphen, correct）
These are just a few basic rules to help you create compound adjectives when writing or speaking. Please let us know if these rules, explanations, and examples have helped you, Yousra.
Next week on Ask a Teacher, we will explore using hyphens to create compound nouns!
What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com .
And that’s Ask a Teacher.
I’m Faith Pirlo.
1. Which word has the Chinese meaning of “句号”?| A．Hyphen. | B．Dash. | C．Comma. | D．Period. |
| A．There was nothing but a three-legged chair here. |
| B．As a grown-up, you must make your own decision. |
| C．The out-going young man has nothing to do with this matter. |
| D．The good-looking girl loves reading stories that has exciting plots. |
| A．The Leaning Tower in Pisa is a world famous building. |
| B．The quickly moving river reminded me of my childhood. |
| C．The badly polluted water in this lake can’t be drunk at all. |
| D．The country is a snow-covered place which attracts lots of tourists every year. |
| A．In writing, a longer dash like a comma is used to separate a sentence. |
| B．When a hyphen is correctly used between two words, it acts as one word. |
| C．Yousra from Egypt is the host or hostess of the program Ask a Teacher. |
| D．Hyphens can be used not only to create compound adjectives but also compound nouns. |
10 . After a long day, you may want to pet your cat to relax. A new device (设备) can now give you that same feeling even if you don’t have a cat!
Scientists at Cornell University, recently made a brush-like device, reported New Atlas, an online science website. Wear it on your arm and it can slowly move a piece of soft fur back and forth along your skin. It feels just like touching a furry (毛茸茸的) cat.
Scientists made this device to help people deal with stress. Past studies showed that touching either humans or animals can lower people’s heart rate (心率) and blood pressure, and allow people to relax. Why is that?
According to the science website Wired, this comes from evolution (进化). Primates (灵长目动物) spend about 15 percent of their waking hours grooming one another. They do this to make friends and trade food with others. Chimps (大猩猩) have been found to share food with those that groomed them earlier in the day. Touch is the basis (基础) of this act of kindness.
As humans evolved into the most social animals, touch became a more powerful way to show our ties with others. Many studies found that a hug or a pat can make our body produce oxytocin, a chemical (化学物质) that makes us more trusting, more generous (慷慨的), and friendlier, while also lowering our blood pressure.
The designers of the device also made a system that can detect users’ stress levels. Then it can automatically (自动) start to work when needed. They even want to use the design in the armrest (扶手) of the theater seat. The armrest will touch you while you are watching the movie, and its emotion (情绪) will change with the story in the film.
1. How does the brush-like device work to make users feel relaxed?| A．It brushes people’s arms to clean their skin. |
| B．People move the fur on the device back and forth. |
| C．The soft fur on it moves slowly back and forth on people’s arms. |
| D．The fake furry cat on the device touches people’s arms slowly. |
| A．To give suggestions on people’s social activities. |
| B．To prove that humans evolved from primates. |
| C．To show that humans differ from other animals. |
| D．To show the importance of touch. |
| A．It helps people keep fit so they can feel good about themselves. |
| B．It is the best way to show friendliness and kindness. |
| C．It works through a kind of chemical which can influence people’s feelings. |
| D．It can change people’s body temperature and make them feel warm. |
| A．the emotion of the movie | B．the emotion of the armrest |
| C．the emotion of the movie watcher | D．the emotion of the film’s story |
| A．The price of this kind of new armrest. |
| B．Other good ways to deal with stress. |
| C．More uses of the detecting system and the armrest. |
| D．Other recent inventions by scientists at Cornell University. |
