1 . As the electric vehicle (EV) increases, drivers may start to find queues adding to their more time at charging stations. One potential solution to this is to swap out the run-down battery pack for a new one, and a company has just revealed that it’s managed to do so in just five minutes.
Since the company launched its first-generation battery swap station back in 2021, the company reports that stations have been built across the San Francisco Bay Area to support fleet (车队) partners in testing the quick-swap solution. The company has also been in consultation with a delivery services to get a better understanding of their needs.
“When working with these fleets, we continuously heard that despite efforts to electrify fleets, drivers could spend up to 10-12 hours at a charging station.” said the company in a blog post. “There is a lack of reliable EV charging for city residents who don’t have access to garages and the option of overnight charging, and our new solution seeks to fix that.”
The latest station is designed to support EVs of all sizes—from small passenger cars to mid-sized delivery vans. EVs fitted with modular batteries could roll onto the platform and have its spent modules automatically removed and replaced with fully charged ones within 10 minutes. The removed battery units are then recharged, ready for the next customer.
The shoebox-sized battery modules have been developed to improve their safety, and can be fit for any modern EV. The new stations have been redesigned for easier building at a site in just three days, and have also been made more durable to suit different local conditions as the company expands. They can also be remotely monitored 24 hours for enhanced safety and customer support.
The company is now calling for more EV manufacturers, fleet operators and municipalities to join them in the quest to electrify.
1. What is the problem that EV drivers are worried about?| A．Driving EVs takes up their too much time. |
| B．They have to wait long to charge their EVs. |
| C．They have to buy new batteries to replace the old ones. |
| D．EVs are in bad quality despite increasing development. |
| A．To build charging stations. |
| B．To deliver the last-mile goods. |
| C．To obtain some related information. |
| D．To give a helping hand in fixing vehicles. |
| A．Time-saving and safe. | B．Universal and pricey. |
| C．Heavy and complicated. | D．Convenient and durable. |
| A．A Company Is Developing a New and Safe EV |
| B．A Company Strengthens the Cooperation with Its Partners |
| C．A Company Has Expanded Its Charging Stations Across the World |
| D．A Company Makes the Replacement of EV Batteries Safe and Fast |
2 . A standard school day for the average American youth takes place indoors. But for some young students who attend forest school, most of their preschool or kindergarten education occurs outdoors in forests, parks, or other wild sites. At these schools, educators allow their students’ curiosity to guide the curriculum (全部课程) and rely on nature to instill environmental values.
Forest schools vary in the amount of time children spend outdoors, what they study, and how they’re assessed, but all forest schools put nature first. They have the same standards for child development as traditional schools do, but their methods are rooted in exploring and conserving the natural world.
Khavin Debbs, Executive Director at Tiny Trees Preschool in Seattle. Washington, says one of the benefits of a forest school is how it can adapt to students’ unique needs. High-energy students can run and climb. Shy students can sit alone to observe an earthworm with a magnifying glass. At Tiny Trees, in addition to learning with art materials, books, and toys, students engage in a wide range of play-based learning, including going on hikes, observing wildlife, and identifying plants and animal tracks. They might cook over a camp stove, or harvest berries to make jam. The students’ hands-on activities help them grasp scientific concepts that might otherwise seem abstract. “They’ve seen a tree’s leaves turn different colors in fall, and then seen that same tree bloom again in spring. All those things really do help them understand.” said Debbs.
The notion of children spending time outdoors to learn and play is nothing new. The modern-day forest school concept originated in Denmark in the 1950s, and then spread through Europe and abroad. In the United States, forest schools are currently on the rise. A national survey done in 2017 found 250 forest schools operating in 43 states—100 more than the year before, with 80 percent of them maintaining waiting lists.
But even though they’re increasing in popularity, forest schools aren’t yet reflective of the cultural, linguistic, or cognitive diversity of American youth. Thus, schools that want to be more inclusive must be purposeful in increasing their influence and making their programs more accessible.
1. What does the underlined word “instill” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Represent. | B．Design. | C．Maintain. | D．Develop. |
| A．The free optional curriculum. | B．The nature-centred philosophy. |
| C．The novel standard for students. | D．The evaluation of teachers’ values. |
| A．To highlight advantages of forest schools. |
| B．To show what teachers had for students. |
| C．To compare the differences in students’ grades. |
| D．To draw a conclusion from the teachers’ skills. |
| A．A limitation period of forest schools. |
| B．A solution to increasing popularity. |
| C．A wish to participate in a forest school. |
| D．A suggestion for the further development of forest schools. |
3 . One morning, Lindsey Sheely ordered delivery from her favorite restaurant. After
The
Then, she received a
“After losing my daughter this past week, Cohen’s gesture
| A．asking about | B．paying for | C．listening to | D．figuring out |
| A．removing | B．transforming | C．holding | D．purchasing |
| A．hesitated | B．promised | C．forgot | D．stopped |
| A．pizza | B．ride | C．supper | D．house |
| A．ordinary | B．odd | C．adorable | D．daily |
| A．sweet | B．real | C．stylish | D．curious |
| A．lesson | B．laugh | C．topic | D．inference |
| A．warning | B．title | C．diary | D．message |
| A．registration | B．strategy | C．order | D．emergency |
| A．shared | B．rescued | C．rejected | D．replaced |
| A．unavoidably | B．unexpectedly | C．unsteadily | D．uncertainly |
| A．challenged | B．persuaded | C．confused | D．touched |
| A．meant | B．cost | C．brought | D．amazed |
| A．girl | B．author | C．chance | D．boy |
| A．found | B．made | C．sent | D．credited |
4 . Summer is the swimming season. As fun as a swimming pool can be, it’s also a major safety risk if you don’t take the appropriate precautions (预防措施). Here are some tips for a safe swimming season.
Keep a variety of flotation devices in and around the pool like a life jacket plus pool noodles or a paddle board. That helps when accidents happen.
Supervisors should also learn basic CPR.
The steps are:
1. Place the person on his back and gently lift his chin and tilt (倾斜) his head back.
2. Place one hand over the other, place them over the patient’s breastbone and administer 30 chest presses.
3. Pinch their nose and place your mouth tightly over their mouth and administer two short breaths
Start again until the patient starts breathing.
Another risk is a condition called “dry drowning”. This happens after a near-drowning event in which water gets into someone’s lungs.
| A．Drowning can happen in an instant |
| B．Adults should watch over the safety |
| C．Drowning isn’t the only danger with pools |
| D．Pool owners should be sure to have a fence around their pool |
| E．Call for help and start administering CPR as quickly as possible |
| F．A drowning person having something to grab can get out of the pool quickly |
| G．That means the airway is closed off and can’t provide someone with enough oxygen |
5 . Love is one of life’s greatest motivators. That is exactly what inspired Zack to design a fully electric off-road wheelchair for his girlfriend suffering from paralysis (瘫痪).
Like most wheelchair-users, Cambry has always been restricted to the pavement for most of her adult life. Aside from that, using a wheelchair across long distances makes her shoulders ache. Zack Nelson, her boyfriend, wanted to give her the ability to explore more places conveniently, so he made a special wheelchair for her, which would make it possible.
Zack began by combining two electric bikes and installing a seat in the centre. It worked! Cambry experienced a whole new level of freedom using her new “ride”, and she couldn’t be more grateful to Zack for coming up with it. Fast forward to a year later, Cambry and Zack tied the knot. They also began mass-production of the special wheelchair. Throughout that time, they improved the original design to make it a more reliable off-roader.
While similar vehicles already exist in the market, they said they’re either slow or cost as much as a car. Cambry and Zack wanted to build something quick, light, super long-range, and affordable at the same time. However, coming up with that kind of electric off-roader wasn’t easy.
The toughest challenge when developing the special wheelchair is the price. “We wanted to create something that is affordable for everyone. Finding quality components, and a simple enough design at the cheapest price possibly took quite a bit of time,” said Zack. “But I think we have something now that everyone will be able to enjoy, at a fraction (少量) of the cost of other ‘off-road wheelchairs’ currently on the market.” Another great thing about the vehicle is that it’s silent. Its rider will have no difficulty chatting with their companion while using it. Cambry and Zack are very happy with the fully-electric machine, and they hope that other wheelchair-users will also benefit from it.
1. What was Zack’s motivation to invent a fully electric wheelchair?| A．The market demands. | B．His interest in invention. |
| C．His love for his girlfriend. | D．The request of his girlfriend. |
| A．Walking on the pavement with ease. |
| B．The special wheelchair made by Zack. |
| C．The ability to explore more places conveniently. |
| D．Cambry’s desire to reduce the pain of her shoulders. |
| A．They’re light. | B．They’re expensive. |
| C．They’re ugly. | D．They’re small. |
| A．He has an ambition to introduce the wheelchair to others. |
| B．He is satisfied with people’s reaction to the wheelchair. |
| C．He couldn’t afford the components of the wheelchair. |
| D．He spent many years designing the wheelchair. |
6 . Whether you want to broaden your horizons, entertain the family or are simply looking for something to do on a rainy day, a trip to a free museum might be just the ticket.
Science Museum
At the Science Museum, you can enjoy award-winning exhibitions and collections spanning the sciences. From Helen Sharman’s iconic space suit to Amy Johnson’s Gipsy Moth airplane, explore the extraordinary stories of human achievements and the challenges we have overcome. You can book your free admission ticket on its website.
Natural History Museum
London’s world-famous museum is home to over 80 million objects and specimens including plants, creatures, dinosaur fossils, rare bugs and more. Billions of years of natural history is all open to visitors, completely free of charge. You can even get up close to collections made by Charles Darwin.
Discovery Museum
The Discovery Museum offers a great selection of exhibits to the whole family. Here you can stand in awe at the world’s first steam turbine-powered ship Turbinia which stands proud in the central hall. It also offers educational workshops and also provides a wealth of online content for virtual learning opportunities. The museum is free of charge.
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
For art and design lovers, the Victoria and Albert Museum is the perfect free-to-visit attraction in Britain’s capital. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, who laid the building’s foundation stone in 1899, the V&A has an impressive collection of original masterpieces, contemporary art, architectural marvels and even a fantastic fashion gallery.
As well as dozens of free permanent exhibitions available in-house and online, the V&A also hosts temporary collections and events throughout the year, many of which are also completely free!
1. What can visitors do at the Science Museum?| A．Explore the world’s first ship. |
| B．Enjoy some contemporary art. |
| C．Admire Charles Darwin’s collections. |
| D．Learn about the great people and their achievements. |
| A．Science Museum. | B．Natural History Museum. |
| C．Discovery Museum. | D．Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| A．They offer free visits. | B．They are world-famous. |
| C．They show diverse ships. | D．They are in the same city. |
7 . When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant
Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for
Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he come back from hospital. He looked very
That season, I
One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller
His words freed me from my bad
| A．cheering for | B．relying on | C．tripping over | D．beating out |
| A．coach | B．student | C．teacher | D．player |
| A．practice | B．attempt | C．comfort | D．pleasure |
| A．pale | B．tense | C．energetic | D．ashamed |
| A．held | B．broke | C．set | D．sustained |
| A．decision | B．despair | C．accident | D．sacrifice |
| A．stuck | B．hurt | C．affected | D．lost |
| A．steady | B．hard | C．relieving | D．fit |
| A．satisfaction | B．advice | C．assistance | D．apology |
| A．let | B．helped | C．spotted | D．noticed |
| A．defensive | B．ready | C．capable | D．safe |
| A．fine | B．absolutely | C．quickly | D．normally |
| A．memories | B．origins | C．attitudes | D．dreams |
| A．challenged | B．cured | C．admired | D．invited |
| A．bigger | B．healthier | C．cleverer | D．cooler |
8 . Likely to suffer from loss of memory from time to time? Smart cameras can now remind you. Khai Truong at the University of Toronto in Canada and his colleagues have created a smartphone app that records interactions with household objects. The system involves a barcode-like markers that the user sticks to objects whose use they would like to track.
With the smartphone worn around your neck, the app automatically records a short video clip when a marked object comes into view. “The user is able to look through the application and see the last time they interacted with it. " says Truong. The app can help people track the state of objects — such as whether they locked a door or switched a light off—as well as routine actions. At present it successfully records about 75% of interactions, but only works for fixed objects.
A similar but separate system can solve the problem. E. Akin Sisbot and Jonathan Connell at IBM Research in New York have invented a ceiling-mounted(安装在天花板上的)camera that monitors objects and people. It continuously watches an area such as a tabletop in your home, tracking the placement of objects in relation to one another. It also remembers who first brought an object into the field of view as well as anyone moved it for afterwards. When asked, “Where is my wallet?” the system might respond, “It is next to the vase, under the magazines. ”
The camera could also be used in factories or operating theatres to track a vital tools, says Sisbot. For now, the camera uses a deep sensor to spot things. It is limited to detecting objects thicker than 3 centimeters, meaning that it has trouble with thin objects such as a closed laptop placed flat on a table.
The accuracy of such smart camera systems may need to improve before they are widely adopted, “You’ve got to trust the technology for it to be of any comfort or reassurance.” says Geoffrey Ward at the University of Essex in UK.
1. How does the smartphone app mentioned in Paragraph 2 work?| A．By switching of electricity automatically. |
| B．By scanning barcodes of household objects. |
| C．By recording the movement of marked objects. |
| D．By informing owners of potential dangers. |
| A．It is unlikely to make a sound. |
| B．It is unable to recognize movable objects. |
| C．It fails to find objects thinner than 3 centimeters. |
| D．It hardly senses objects without barcode-like markers. |
| A．Neutral | B．Supportive | C．Skeptical | D．Opposed |
9 . Stanford Summer Session provides high-achieving and ambitious students with a transformative educational experience at a world-class university. Here is a list of the courses.
Cellphone Photography
Instructor:Yanez, V
Course Description: The course combines critical analysis of cellphone photography with the creation of photographic artworks that explore this specific medium’s experimental, social and documentary potential. Note: No lab fee. Limited enrollment(注册人数). Attendance at the first class required. Enrollment will be determined at the first class meeting.
Human Rights and World Literature
Instructor: David Palumbo Lui
Course Description: This course has two components. The first will be a set of readings on the history of modern human rights. These readings will come from philosophy, history, political theory. The second component consists of novels and films that come from different locations in the world, each telling a good story.
Technology and Inequality
Instructor:Jihye Lee
Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to the social, politienl, and economic inequalities arising in the digital age. It also functions as an introduction to entry-level data science whereby you develop basic programming skills and apply them to present your group project. No previous programming experience is necessary.
Public Speaking: Romancing the Room
Instructor:James Wagstaffe
Course Description: A practical approach to the art of public speaking. The course aims to develop skills in speech types including those used for personal communication, interviews, demonstrations, persuading, and special occasions. Materials include video tapes, texts of famous speeches, and a final dinner program of speeches. Students evaluate presentations by others. ＄55 materials fee.
1. What should students taking Yanez, V’s class keep in mind?| A．They must show up at the first class. |
| B．They will be charged for using labs. |
| C．They should have programming experience. |
| D．They need to bring their photographic works. |
| A．Cellphone photography. | B．Social psychology. |
| C．Movie review. | D．Computer science. |
| A．Cellphone Photography. | B．Technology and Inequality. |
| C．Human Rights and World Literature. | D．Public Speaking: Romancing the Room. |
10 . Soot (煤) pollution is speeding up climate-driven melting in Antarctica, a new study suggests, raising questions about how to protect the delicate continent from the increasing number of humans who want to visit.
“It really makes us question, is our presence really needed?” says Alia Khan, one of the authors of the new study. “We have quite a large black carbon footprint in Antarctica, which is enhancing snow and ice melt.”
Black carbon is the leftover thing from burning plants or fossil fuels. Soot in Antarctica comes primarily from waste gases of cruise ships (游轮), vehicles and airplanes, although some pollution travels on the wind from other parts of the globe. The dark particles (微粒) coat white snow and absorb heat from the sun the way a black T-shirt does on a warm day. The blanket of dark bits speeds up melting that was already happening more quickly because of global warming.
When snow and ice are uncovered, they reflect an enormous amount of sunlight before it can turn into heat. “These are the mirrors on our planet,” says Sonia Nagorski, a scientist at the University of Alaska Southeast. “When those mirrors are covered in a film of dark bits, they don’t send back that much light and heat. That means more heat is trapped on Earth, speeding up melting and contributing to global warming.”
As a scientist who personally visits Antarctica every year, Khan says she is troubled by her own research results. On the one hand, she goes to Antarctica to collect crucial data about how quickly the snow and ice there are disappearing. “But then when we come to conclusions like this it really does make us think twice about how frequently we need to visit the continent,” she says, “and what kind of regulations should be placed on tourism as well.” That could mean requiring that cruise ships and vehicles be electric, for example, or limiting the number of visitors each year.
1. What is Khan’s attitude towards human actions in Antarctica according to paragraph 2?| A．Angry and abusive. | B．Cold and uninterested. |
| C．Doubtful and anxious. | D．Admiring and delighted. |
| A．The quick melting of ice and snow. | B．The emission from virous transport. |
| C．The remaining parts of burning plants. | D．The floating gases from other continents. |
| A．The covered ice is less reflective. |
| B．The melting speed of ice is slower than before. |
| C．The dark blanket serves as a big mirror. |
| D．The sunlight gets increasingly stronger recently. |
| A．What made our planet so polluted? | B．Who is to blame for air pollution? |
| C．Can electric vehicles save tourism? | D．Are we welcome to the South Pole? |
