1 . Our Favourite Tech Gifts of 2019

When it comes time for the holiday shopping season, we’re extra choosy about the countless technology products that we will buy and give to friends and family. Here’s what impressed editors, reporters and producers the most in 2019.

Lumos Matrix helmet

I recently bought a Lumos Matrix helmet(头盔)(﹩229)with built-in lights to make riding my bike at night a lot safer and less stressful. It’s a regular pain point for bikers like me to make sure careless drivers see you, especially when it’s dark. This does help.

-Matt Mcfarland, Writer

Goodreads app

Although this isn’t a gift, the free Goodreads app is a game changer. At the beginning of 2019, I promised myself   I’d read at least one new book every month. I set a goal of 12 books on Goodreads and use it to track my progress, keep a list of books I’m interested in and check out what friends and others on the app were recommending. I read 35 books this year! (That’s up from five books last year.) Goodreads feels like one of the rare feel-good social networks.

-Kaya Yurieff, Tech Reporter

Ember coffee cup

I drink my coffee slowly, so it has routinely cooled by the time I get halfway through it. For my birthday, my mum bought me a cup (﹩99), which keeps my coffee warm until I finish it without reheating. I can also set the temperature I want. It makes my mornings so much easier.

-Millie Dent, Intern

1. What is the main advantage of Lumos Matrix helmet?

A．Helping drivers concentrate.	B．Managing the bad weather.
C．Making night riding safer.	D．Making bikers less painful.

2. What does the writer mean by referring to the Goodreads app as “a game changer”?

A．It changes some readers’ reading rules.

B．It inspires readers to read more through communication.

C．It limits the number of books a reader can read.

D．It provides readers with free Internet games.

3. Which of the following can best describe Ember coffee cup?

A．Simple.

B．Expensive.

C．Eco-friendly.

D．Convenient

2 . Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the old objects launched into space, such as rockets and satellites? It’s called space junk, and much of it is still out there now. According to NASA, the definition of space junk is “any man-made object in orbit (轨道) around Earth that no longer serves a useful function”.

One large piece of space junk, a disused rocket, hit the dark side of the moon on March 4. The rocket’s origin is not clear, but scientists know that it was massive – weighing about 3 tons. It must have left a large crater (坑), estimated 10 to 20 meters wide, on the moon’s surface. It won’t be visible right away, but scientists are trying to locate it. “We will find the crater, eventually,” Mark Robinson, lead investigator for NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, told USA TODAY. “Depending on its location, it could take as long as 28 days.”

What’s significant about this space junk crash is that it draws attention to some of the potential dangers of space junk. First, the accumulation of space junk in Earth’s orbit means that satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) are at risk. In 2016, tiny space debris (残骸), smaller than a millimeter, caused a tiny chip in the ISS’ window. Imagine the damage that a larger piece of debris could cause. The European Space Agency website states that objects “up to 1 cm in size could disable an instrument or a critical flight system on a satellite” while objects over 10 cm “could shatter a satellite or spacecraft into pieces”. If this sounds terrifying, that’s because it is. Any collision with larger pieces of debris could be especially dangerous for manned spacecraft.

In addition to potential damage to spacecraft and satellites, space junk also poses a threat to the Earth itself. Crashes can send debris into the atmosphere where it can remain for many decades. Some powerful collisions can even send large debris hurtling (猛冲) toward Earth’s surface where it can affect the local environment. Leftover rocket debris can contain toxic materials that are harmful to plant and animal life. Some people in Siberia have even reported serious health problems after rocket debris landed in their regions in 2012, a local doctor told the BBC.

1. Which of the following can be regarded as space junk?

A．An abandoned space station.

B．A spacecraft orbiting the moon.

C．A crater on the moon’s surface.

D．A satellite working in low Earth orbit.

2. What does the underlined word “it” refer to in paragraph 2?

A．Tracking the rocket.	B．Locating the crater.
C．Cleaning up the space junk.	D．Finding out the rocket’s origin.

3. Why does the author mention the damage caused by tiny space debris in 2016?

A．To compare the effects of debris of different sizes.

B．To prove the space debris problem is getting worse.

C．To illustrate the potential dangers of space junk.

D．To explain the necessity of removing space junk.

4. What can be inferred about space junk from the last paragraph?

A．It’s likely to cause a global environmental crisis.

B．It can pose a lasting threat if it remains in the atmosphere.

C．It’s impossible to stop it from entering the atmosphere.

D．The toxic materials contained in space junk are the biggest threat it poses.

4 . Traveling on an airplane can be a very tiring task even in the best of circumstances, which is why when Sophie Murphy boarded a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne and noticed an “awful tension” in the cabin, she first thought it was caused by typical bad-tempered passengers. But as the flight neared its end, it became obvious that something was very wrong.

A teenage boy with Down syndrome (唐氏综合征) who was traveling with his family had become upset and would not return to his seat, regardless of the cabin crew’s warnings over the loudspeaker that it was almost time to land. The pilot was forced to circle above the airport, delaying the landing—and angering people on the already tense flight.

“If it were a cartoon,” remembered Murphy, “there would have been smoke coming out of people’s ears.”

As the boy’s elderly parents and adult brothers and sisters tried to persuade him to get off the floor and back into his seat, but in vain, Murphy, 42 — who had been a teacher for more than 20 years — stood up and quickly headed to the back of the plane.

She found the boy in the passage between rows of seats, lying on his belly, and lay down on her stomach to face him. She began chatting calmly with him, asking his name, his favorite book, and his favorite characters. He told her he felt sick and she tried to comfort him.

Minutes later, he allowed her to hold his hand—and then together they got properly back into airplane seats. Murphy asked for sick bags, and held them as the boy threw up several times, including on her. As she helped him clean up, she repeatedly told him everything would be okay and that they’d get through it together.

After the plane was finally able to land, no one was impatient to step off the flight as one might expect. Instead, calmed passengers—obviously following Murphy’s amazing example — allowed the boy and his family to depart first, smiling at them as they passed. His parents tearfully thanked Murphy for what she had done, and a doctor sitting nearby also let her know he had even taken notes on her expert way of handling the situation.

1. How did Murphy manage to handle the “awful tension” ?

A．She communicated with the boy.

B．She fought against unfair treatment.

C．She asked an experienced doctor to help.

D．She called on other passengers to join her.

2. The landing was delayed because ________.

A．a family ignored the warnings

B．a boy refused to sit in his seat

C．smoke was coming out of the engine

D．the pilot was forced to change the destination

3. What changed the angry passengers’ attitude at last?

A．The boy’s improvement.	B．The plane’s safe landing.
C．The teacher’s efforts.	D．The crew’s behavior.

4. Which of the following words can best describe Murphy?

A．Kind and cool-headed.	B．Patient and interested.
C．Wise and cooperative.	D．Generous and cautious.

5 . Beijing normally doesn’t have much snow in winter, so artificial (人工的) snow was used at venues (场地) for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

“This is by far the best man-made snow I’ve ever skied on,” American freestyle skier Ashley Caldwell said at a press conference.

Although sometimes mixed with natural snow, artificial snow has mostly been used in competitions in the past five to 10 years.

Snow-making machines were first used at the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics in the United States. At Sochi 2014 in Russia, 80 percent of the snow was artificial, and the figure was 90 percent at Pyeongchang 2018 in South Korea.

Cooled water and compressed (压缩的) air are mixed in the machine and shot out into water droplets (水滴). With the help of low temperatures, these droplets will become ice crystals (晶体).

There are totally nine types of snow made by snow machines, with different water content. The smaller type number is closer to powder snow. The larger number means the snow is wetter. Drier snow is used in the daytime, while No. 7 or No. 8 snow is used during the nighttime with over -20 ℃. Different types of snow are chosen for different sports.

“In most cases, No. 5 snow is used,” revealed Wei Qinghua, mountain operation manager of the Zhangjiakou Guyangshu venues for Beijing 2022.

However, there are concerns regarding the environmental problems of using so much water for snow-making.

“Water used for snow-making only comes from rainfall and surface runoff (径流), and it can be recycled,” Wei pointed out.

“For water from melted snow, we have two lakes which can store it so that it can be used for agriculture, irrigation, tourism and landscaping.”

1. Why are Ashley Caldwell’s words mentioned in the text?

A．To explain the advantages of artificial snow.

B．To show the quality of the artificial snow used.

C．To comment on the management of the venues.

D．To call for attention to the research on artificial snow.

2. What can we know about artificial snow from the text?

A．It is still not as good as natural snow.

B．It is made of water and ice mixed in machines.

C．It falls into eight types depending on water content.

D．It has been widely used in the Olympic Winter Games.

3. What kind of snow is used in the night?

A．Natural snow.

B．Powder snow.

C．Drier snow.

D．Wetter snow.

4. How do they prevent affecting the environment according to Wei Qinghua?

A．Underground water is pumped up for use.

B．Snow-making makes more water wasted.

C．Water from melted snow is collected and reused.

D．Natural snow is made use of as much as possible.

7 . “If you look up in the sky, you probably see, at some point, a plane. And behind that plane are white lines. And that’s what we call contrails(航迹云),” said Mare Stettler, an Imperial College London engineer. It’s believed that planes account for about 3 percent of the climate-changing carbon dioxide release we add to the atmosphere and are warming the planet in another way.

Contrails are made up of ice crystals(冰晶) that form when plane engines release exhaust that hits the cold air. The ice crystals reflect incoming light from the sun back into space, which has a cooling effect on the atmosphere. But contrails also stop heat coming up from the ground from escaping into space. It’s reflected back down toward the ground. And so that’s a warming effect.

Stettler said, “On balance, contrails warm the atmosphere more than they cool it. And that’s primarily because the cooling effect due to reflecting of sunlight can only happen during the day when the sun’s shining, while the warming effect due to trapping of outgoing heat happens all of the time. Some contrails can form clouds that last for up to 18 hours. During that time, they spread out, trapping even more heat. This process allows contrails to warm the earth about as much as the carbon dioxide release from planes.”

“By changing the altitude only by a couple of thousand feet, either up or down, it would no longer form a contrail. And so what we found in the study was that by changing the altitude of less than 2 percent of flights, we could actually eliminate just under 60 percent of the warming effect due to contrails,” added Stettler. This improved understanding of how to manage contrails presents an opportunity for the airline industry to reduce its global environmental impact.

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By asking questions.	B．By quoting someone’s words.
C．By presenting examples.	D．By listing comparative statistics.

2. What do we know about contrails?

A．They can warm and cool the atmosphere.

B．They are formed by the reflection of sunlight.

C．They do more good than harm to the atmosphere.

D．They hardly cause the cooling effect during the day.

3. What does the underlined word “eliminate” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Break away from.

B．Run out of.

C．Get rid of.

D．Put up with.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．The release of carbon dioxide is increasing.

B．Contrails are affecting the climate of the planet.

C．The altitude of planes is linked to global warming.

D．Clouds from plane exhaust are caused by global warming.

9 . Parisians have always been known for their courage and enthusiasm. They are very generous and trusting. The culture of communication is well developed among the local people, as they are taught to establish contact with others from early childhood. Here in Paris it is believed that a quiet and modest (谦逊的) person will never succeed even if he or she is very talented and smart.

Visitors are advised to learn at least a bit of French before their trip. If locals see a traveler who tries to communicate using the native language, they start respecting this person and are ready to help. It is worth remembering that even fluent English will cause only a sense of contempt (蔑视) among locals.

Paris is famous for its colorful celebrations and festivals. Various interesting events take place at Christmas and on New Year’s Eve here. June 21 is the day of a famous music festival in particular—this event attracts many music lovers from different countries of the world. All day long, the squares of the city are turned into concert spots, where free concerts are performed. Bastille Day is a very interesting holiday which is celebrated annually on July 14. A beautiful military parade (阅兵) is a necessary part of Bastille Day. The first mention about this celebration was made in 1789. The holiday ends up with grand fireworks.

In early February, the city of Paris is filled with collectors of antique (古董的) cars. The exhibition of antique (复古) cars is held in the center of Porte de Versailles, where you can see antique cars and details about them as well as communicate with interesting people.

Paris can impress anyone with its cultural richness and diversity. In this magical city, something interesting happens all the time. Once in the center of the city, almost every hour you will be able to attend one event or another, moving from the art center to the concert hall, admiring the performances of street artists on the way.

1. Who will be more welcome in Paris according to the text?

A．Someone who is shy and quiet.	B．Someone who is talented and smart.
C．Someone who knows a little French.	D．Someone who speaks English well.

2. What do we know about Bastille Day in Paris?

A．It takes place on Christmas Day.	B．It has a history of over 230 years.
C．It includes a lot of free concerts.	D．It ends up with a military parade.

3. What does the author want to tell us by mentioning the exhibition of antique cars?

A．Most Parisians are very wealthy.	B．Paris is a center of car manufacturing.
C．Parisians like collecting antiques.	D．Paris is a city with colourful life.

4. Where can the text be found?

A．In a history book.

B．In a novel.

C．In a science report.

D．In a travel magazine.