1 . Shipping containers are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional houses. These 20-or 40-foot containers can be obtained for as little as several hundred US dollars a piece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Below are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.
London Container City (I and II)
London’s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another—Container City II—was added to it.
Los Angeles Redondo Beach house
With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House is a luxury beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are “nearly indestructible”.
Amsterdam Keetwonen
Amsterdam’s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a roaring success and features units that are quiet and comfortable. Each resident enjoys a bathroom, a kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.
Mexico M2ATK Container House
M2ATK designed this unique container house for an artist. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor of the house are “public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor are bedrooms, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.
1. Compared to traditional houses, container houses are________.| A．easier to maintain | B．less expensive to build |
| C．more comfortable to live in | D．more fashionable in style |
| A．It is the first container city in the world. | B．It’s equipped with modern facilities. |
| C．It features a luxury and unique style. | D．It includes living space and car parks. |
| A．London Container City (I and II) | B．Los Angeles Redondo Beach house |
| C．Amsterdam Keetwonen | D．Mexico M2ATK Container House |
2 . In the heart of the war-torn city, where buildings stood like wounded soldiers, Emma waited inline for her weekly ration. The line moved slowly, a somber procession of gaunt (瘦削憔悴的) faces and threadbare coats. When her turn came, the ration officer handed her the allotted food with a detached efficiency. “Two loaves, half a pound of sugar, and a tin of powdered milk,” he recited. The portions seemed to shrink each week, mirroring the dwindling hope in people’s hearts.
Clutching her meager supplies, Emma hurried through the bombed-out streets, dodging craters and debris. The city, once vibrant and bustling, now lay in a hushed surrender to scarcity and fear. At home, her family’s small garden offered a sharp contrast to the desolation around. Here, amidst the rows of struggling vegetables, her father toiled.
“Dad, let me help,” Emma offered, taking the shovel from his weary hands. Together, they dug into the earth, creating a hidden cache for extra food. It was a secret they guarded fiercely, knowing that in times of shortage, even neighbors could turn against each other out of desperation.
As they worked, Emma’s mind wandered to the days before the war, when food was abundant and their garden was a source of joy, not just survival. She remembered her mother’s cooking, the aromas that filled their kitchen, the laughter that accompanied their meals. Now, each bite of their bland rations was a reminder of what had been lost.
In the evenings, the family gathered around a small table, sharing their rationed food. Conversation flowed, weaving tales of better times, igniting sparks of hope. Emma’s younger brother, Tom, would often ask, “When will we have chocolate again?” It was a question loaded with longing, not just for the sweetness of chocolate but for the return of normalcy.
Despite the hardship, they found reasons to smile. Emma’s father would recount stories from his youth, tales of adventure that seemed like fairy tales in their grim surroundings. Her mother would hum old tunes, filling their home with a semblance of warmth and normalcy.
As winter deepened, the rations grew scarcer, and the hidden cache in the garden became their lifeline. Each day, Emma and her father would check the hole, ensuring their precious supplies were safe. The hole, a mere cavity in the ground, symbolized their resilience, a refusal to succumb to despair.
1. How did the amount of weekly rations appear to change each week?| A．Significantly increased | B．Dramatically decreased |
| C．Remained the same | D．Decreased each week |
| A．A treasure map | B．A buried capsule |
| C．A secret food storage spot | D．A mysterious box |
| A．Abundant food showshow the war has unexpectedly brought prosperity to their family. |
| B．The family’s conversations about a war-free future reflect their enduring hope. |
| C．Meals at the table are silent and rushed, highlighting their fear and anxiety. |
| D．The table becomes a place of conflict where family members argue over limited food. |
| A．It’s a simple craving for a treat, unrelated to the broader themes of the story. |
| B．The desire for chocolate symbolizes a yearning for the comforts of life before the war. |
| C．His wish for chocolate indicates his dislike for the food rationing and nothing more. |
| D．It is a secret code used by the family to communicate about their hidden food. |
3 . When is the best time to...
You might think you’re in control of your schedule, but your body evolved to follow a natural rhythm. Sticking closer to that routine can help keep you in tiptoe shape.
①Drink coffee
Sipping caffeine is best early in the day. Consumed later, it can reset your body’s clock and prevent sleep. If you’re sure you can take a shot of espresso at 8 p.m. and be snoring by 10, try skipping the caffeine for a few weeks to see what a night of truly good rest feels like.
②Eat
It’s best to eat your biggest meal carly, contrary to a typical American day. Insulin – the hormone that regulates metabolism – peaks in the first half of the day, then steadily drops. So your blood sugar is less likely to skyrocket after a big breakfast than after a comparable dinner.
③Sleep
Around 8 or 9 p.m., our bodies start to cool down, and we sleep better when we have a low core body temperature. But how much shut-eye is ideal? Studies show that those who get six and a half to eight hours are less likely to die prematurely. Eight hours seems to be perfect.
④Exercise
Some people prefer early-morning jogs. But muscle tone is highest around 5 p.m. It is even the same with professional ones: West Coast NFL teams won more often and by a higher margin in matches after 8 p.m. on the East Coast. Still on Pacific time, their bodies were prepared to play.
⑤Be creative
The evolution of language, religion, and philosophy all started with late-night talks. So save that short story you’ve been meaning to write for a dark and restless night.
⑥Do math
Scientists think we reach maximum alertness between l0 a.m. and 2 p.m., with a peak around noon. For the first few hours after we wake, organs with more basic functions take priority. Once they get activated, our brains have a chance to obtain more energy.
1. The author suggests people who drink coffee late in the day _____.| A．go to bed without drinking coffee |
| B．break their habit and go to bed early |
| C．stick to their habit to have a truly good sleep |
| D．go to bed just two hours after drinking coffee |
| A．8 a.m. | B．10 a.m. | C．6 p.m. | D．11 p.m. |
| A．Having a higher body temperature helps people sleep better. |
| B．Students should work on their math tasks as soon as they get up because their brain works best at the time. |
| C．Professional athletes are likely to achieve better results when training in the late afternoon than in the early morning. |
| D．Americans usually have their biggest meal in the morning. |
4 . National Science Center Guide
We’re excited to have you visit the National Science Centre (NSC). Spark your curiosity and explore the wonders of science and innovation with hands-on exhibits, live science shows and demonstrations.
◆Activities & Workshops| DNA Workshop Let’s uncover the secret behind DNA. See what DNA looks like by extracting it from cells, and get up close and personal with its structure by making your own DNA model! Suitable for 9-12 years old. |
| LED’s Play Ever wondered how electricity comes about? How is it possible that with a flick of the switch, the lights turn on? With all the materials to play with LEDs, learn more about electricity, circuits and even make your very own LED light-up card! Minimum age is 7 years old. Students below 12 must be accompanied by an adult with a valid ticket. |
| Science of Magic Do you want to perform magic? Join us where all is revealed! Enjoy a private tour through the ‘Mind’s Eye Exhibition’ and a workshop. You will learn the science concepts behind magic — cut a whole rope and fix it, make coins vanished and appear behind your ear! Suitable for 10 years old and above. |
◆Rental Information
Lockers are available to store any belongings during your visit. The lockers are located near the front entrance and outside the Innovation Centre. Pushchairs and wheelchairs are available to rent at the Information Desk in the Great Hall. ID required.
◆Support us
Since 1969, National Science Center has been inspiring a passion for discovery and lifelong learning in science, math and technology. Today National Science Center serves more than 1 million people a year and brings inquiry-based science education to classrooms and community events all over the country. It’s an amazing accomplishment and one we cannot achieve without generous support from individuals, corporations, and other social organizations. Please click here to make a donation.
1. Which of the following activities is suitable for an 8-year-old boy?| A．Discover the secret of DNA. | B．Make a LED light-up card. |
| C．Make coins vanished and appear. | D．Experiment with chemicals in a lab. |
| A．At the front entrance. | B．Outside the Great Hall. |
| C．At the Information Desk. | D．In the Innovation Centre. |
| A．To encourage donations. | B．To advertise coming events. |
| C．To introduce special exhibits. | D．To introduce the center’s history. |
5 .
ADT HEALTH &SENIOR SAFETY Staying home or stepping out — help is always on hand when you need it | |
| There is an ADT Medical Alert system to fit any lifestyle, so your grandparents can maintain independence when loved ones return to work or can’t visit often. | |
Medical Alert Plus Offers independence for the elderly who like to garden or relax in the yard. - In-home operations - Home temperature monitoring - Multiple help button options - Ready for use out of the box - Fall detector |
On-The-Go Provides freedom and peace of mind for the elderly while at home or miles from it. - Mobile base unit for active lifestyle - GPS location capabilities - Multiple help button options - Ready for use out of the box - Fall detector |
FREE $50 Visa Prepaid Gift Card and FREE shipping | |
| For more information call 800-658-7230 *Fall detector does not detect 100% of falls *Medical Alert Plus and On-The-Go medical alert devices can ONLY be discounted and sold over the phone. For more details visit http://www.adt.com. | |
| A．A high school student who goes home after school without parents. |
| B．A newly married man whose wife is on a business trip. |
| C．An old lady who lives alone in a suburban house. |
| D．A young traveler who loves travelling on his/her own. |
| A．Both devices can be delivered to users free of charge. |
| B．Medical Alert Plus can help monitor body temperatures. |
| C．People can order the devices either on the phone or online. |
| D．On-The-Go can give warnings whenever users fall on the ground. |
| A．In a science fiction novel. | B．In a literature book. |
| C．On an ad page in a magazine. | D．In a textbook on medical theories. |
6 .
How to Improve Your Listening Skills How are your listening skills? Listening in any language can be a challenge. You have to focus on the other person, understand their verbal and non-verbal cues and respond in the right way. Listening and comprehending what a native speaker says is an important part of learning English. After all, how can you have a conversation if you don’t understand what the other person is saying? Here are three tips that can help you improve your listening skills in English! Tip One: ___________________ This tip is useful when you are practicing your listening skills using podcasts, music, TEDtalks or other audio-only material. The first time you listen, you should just listen straight through without stopping. The second time you could pause when there is a word you don’t know or a sentence you don’t understand and do some research. Chances are, if you listen a third time, you’ll understand a lot more! Tip Two: Find a Conversation Partner One of the best ways to improve your listening skills naturally is to practice listening in active conversation. This can be accomplished by having a native speaker, or someone who is more fluent than you are, to talk to. It’s best to find someone who you can hire to do this. Or find someone who wants to do language exchange and make a trade! Tip Three: Listen for Key Words In English, not every word in a sentence is important. If you try to listen to every single word that someone is saying while you’re still learning, you’re going to get frustrated. Instead, focus on the nouns, especially proper nouns like names, places and dates, and verbs so that you can understand the actions and movement of what the speaker is trying to communicate. Finding these key words will make your life a lot easier! Although listening to native English speakers can be difficult and tiring, it gets easier and easier as you practice. Hope these tips can help you! |
| A．Pause Anywhere If Necessary | B．Use Different Listening Material |
| C．Listen to the Same Content Repeatedly | D．Understand as Many Details as Possible |
| A．Listening is harder than speaking. | B．Practicing with native speakers helps. |
| C．Each word counts in a conversation. | D．Listening skills only develop in listening. |
| A．Translators of languages. | B．Native English speakers. |
| C．Traders of language training centers. | D．English language learners. |
7 . 
The connection we have to cats is so strong it feels almost as though they can read our thoughts, study our moods, and even judge how to behave based on our needs. But what really goes on in their sweet, furry heads?
Research suggests that cats don’t necessarily see us as any different from them. While cats understand that their human caretakers are larger than they are, they continue to behave around us in the same way as if they were around other cats. The only key difference is that cats meow to humans, not other cats.
Owners wondering about what the cats are thinking about should turn to cat body language. Since these are the ways your cat primarily communicates with you, studying their body language can help you understand then on a deeper level and you may start with tails:
We may think we have great insight into “cat thinking”, but we may never fully understand them. There exist lots of misunderstandings about cats, most notably:
*Cats try to be alien and prefer to be alone. No! They are actually social animals who hope for close relationship.
*Purring (making a low continuous sound) only means happiness…In fact, it can also suggest pressure, fear, or pain. Keep an eye out for illness, and be prepared in the case of an unexpected accident.
*Cats scratch (抓) to anger people. Wrong again! Cats need to act out this to give themselves great pleasure and comfort.
A recent study concluded that cats, when given a choice between playing with certain toys or having interactive fun with a human being, decisively choose to play with a person. For us here at Cat Care of Vinings, it’s two-sided!
As always, please call us with any questions or concerns. Or, let us know what you believe cat thinking is all about!
| Tags: Cat Thinking Cat Thoughts My Cat’s Brain What Does My Cat Think Posted in: The Cat’s Meow Previous: A Pun-fact Match: The Keys to Successful Cat Adoption Next: Your Guide to Fourth of July Cat Safety |
| A．newspaper | B．poster | C．magazine | D．website |
| A．Keep its tail low. | B．Hook its tail. | C．Hide its tail. | D．Shake its tail. |
| A．interact with people | B．purr to suggest anger |
| C．keep away from man-made toys | D．scratch to attract attention |
8 .
 The National Gallery The National Gallery displays one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of paintings in the Western European tradition. It includes many famous works, such as Botticelli's Venus and Mars, Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus and Monet's The Water-Lily Pond. All major traditions of Western European painting are represented from the artists of the late medieval period and Renaissance to the French Impressionists. Become a Member Join today and enjoy free entry to exhibitions, exclusive (专属的) events, special offers,and more. To join, visit national gallery.org.Uk/ membership, call 0207747 2850, or speak to our Visitor Engagement team. Support us If you have enjoyed your visit, please make a donation in our visitor donation boxes, which can be found at all entrances. Donations from visitors make areal difference to the Gallery, helping to preserve and care for this unique collection. Thank you for your support. Free Wi-Fi nationalgallery.org.uk | Visiting information Admission free Opening hours Open daily 10 am-6 pm, Friday Lates 6-9 pm. Closed 1 January, 24-26 December. • Eat, drink and shop The National Dining Rooms Level 1, Sainsbury Wing Entrance Open daily 10 am-5 pm, (8:30 pm Fridays). Waiter service • The National Cafe Level 0, Getty Entrance Monday to Friday 8 am-11 pm, Saturday 10 am-11 pm, Sunday 10 am-6 pm Self-service cafe waiter and service restaurant. • Espresso Bar Level 0, Getty Entrance Open daily 10 am-5:45 pm, (8:45 pm Fridays). Self-service • Shops Open daily 10 am-5:45 pm(8:45 pm Fridays). Shop online at nationalgallery.org. uk Events For information on events and programs, please consult the What's On guide located at the entrances or go to nationalgallery.o rg.uk |
1. Which of the following is the most probable source of this passage?
| A．A guide to the National Gallery. |
| B．A research paper on Western European art. |
| C．A speech script introducing the National Gallery. |
| D．A newspaper article about collections in the National Gallery. |
| A．Free admission and free Wi-Fi. | B．No need to queue at all entrances. |
| C．Free meals inside the National Gallery. | D．Exclusive events and special offers. |
| A．Shops. | B．Espresso Bar. |
| C．The National Cafe. | D．The National Dining Rooms. |
9 . Once you get past the fact that it has no skin, the new robot from Disney Research is an impressive success in robotics. The new robot can imitate human facial movements, specifically blinking (眨眼睛) and slight head movements. A sensor in its chest area alerts the robot when to turn and face a person in front of it, and its eye movements shift from direct eye contact to rapid eye movements. It also moves slightly up and down to imitate breathing.
While most such robots generally focus their eyes on a human face and stay there, that’s not how people interact with each other. The Disney Research team explained: Gaze (注视) has been shown to be a key social signal, shaping perceptions of interaction partners. For example, people who make more eye contact with us are perceived to be similar to us, as well as more intelligent, sincere, and trustworthy. Furthermore, gaze appears to convey complex social and emotional states.
Given the importance of gaze in social interactions as well as its ability to communicate states and shape points of view, it is obvious that gaze can function as a significant tool for an interactive robot character. Thus, the aim of the team’s work is to develop a system to imitate a human-like mutual gaze.
It’s not hard to imagine how Disney might use this technology for animatronic (电子动画的) characters at its theme parks. The company’s research team has been working on making more lifelike robots for some time; in 2018 it showed its Stickman robot that could do backflips (后空翻) in mid-air to almost the height of a human performer with arms raised over his or her head.
They’ll just need to add something that looks like skin over the eye-tracking robot’s head. In this way, it will look more like a human.
1. What is the main feature of Disney’s new robot?| A．It has advanced sensors all over its body. |
| B．Its appearance is similar to a human being. |
| C．It can make some facial movements like humans. |
| D．Its movement is controlled by human facial movement. |
| A．It is expected to sell well. |
| B．The gaze is a popular concept. |
| C．This function can be designed easily. |
| D．The gaze is important in social communication. |
| A．represent one of the human-like robots made by Disney |
| B．prove Disney has been a pioneer in robot production |
| C．show it has been the most high-level robot until now |
| D．indicate animatronic characters are losing charm today |
| A．Record the gaze of the new robot. |
| B．Increase the sales of the new robot. |
| C．Improve the skills of its Stickman robot. |
| D．Explore new applications of its technology. |
10 . As an active theater-goer and play-reader, I edit this book to share my passion for the theater with others. To do this I have searched through many plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play.
Each play has a theme or central idea the playwright (剧作家) hopes to get across through dialogue and action. A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme. It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection, for that would, indeed, ruin the pleasure of reading, discussing, and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright. However, a variety of types are presented here. These include comedy, satire (讽刺剧), historical and regional drama. To show the diverse nature of the short play, I have included a guidance play, a radio play and a television play.
Among the writers of the plays in this collection, Paul Green, William Saroyan, and Maxwell Anderson have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater. More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book.
To get the most out of reading these plays, try to picture the play on stage, with you, the reader, in the audience. The house lights become less bright. The curtains (幕布) are about to open, and in a few minutes, the action and dialogue will tell you the story.
1. What do we know about the author from paragraph 1?| A．He has written dozens of plays. | B．He is a professional stage director. |
| C．He has a deep love for the theater. | D．He likes reading short plays to others. |
| A．State the plays’ central ideas. | B．Select works by famous playwrights. |
| C．Include various types of plays. | D．Offer information on the playwrights. |
| A．Control their feelings. | B．Use their imagination. |
| C．Apply their acting skills. | D．Bear their audience in mind. |
| A．A short story. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．A play comment. | D．An advertisement for a theater. |
