1 . With advanced communication technologics making the iconic British red telephone boxes expendable（可抛弃的）, a US firm is all set to bring them back to use. Call boxes would be changed into mini-offices for workers on-the-go and will offer free coffee to subscribers（认购者）.
Bar Works Inc's chief executive Jonathan Black, a Briton living in New York, said that his company will renew telephone boxes with fully functional printers, scanners, 25-inch screens and Wi-Fi. Bar Works specializes in offering bar-themed work stations in prime locations, charging customers with a monthly subscription in return for free access to the business and office supplies. The company plans to operate in a similar manner, offering British customers with monthly memberships to "Pod Works" for £19.99（$29）.
The company will refit telephone boxes in five major British cities and has already rented and changed 15 old call boxes in London and Edinburgh. As expected, they are coming into use by the public in the coming months. "Given the prime location, above all else, of the telephone boxes, the launch is expected to gain at least 10, 000 members by the end of 2021. It's an alternative to, say, Starbucks but obviously it provides you with total privacy. " said Black.
Thanks to mobile phones, the red telephone boxes have been effectively made expendable. According to a report by the Daily Mail, retired telephone boxes, especially those damaged deliberately, are sent to a "telephone box graveyard" of sorts, where they take great pains to restore to their former glory before being sold to collectors across the globe. Such is the demand for properly restored telephone boxes, that it is not uncommon for them to be sold for amounts as high as £10, 000.
Despite its setback, in a recent survey, the British red telephone box, which was originally designed in 1920, was voted the greatest British design of all time.
1. What will the red telephone boxes be used for?| A．Mini-offices. | B．Mini coffee boxes. |
| C．Bar-themed call boxes. | D．Leisure rooms for workers. |
| A．They will be put into use next year. |
| B．They offer as much privacy as Starbucks. |
| C．They will be equipped with office supplies. |
| D．They have been rented in five major British cities. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Confident. | C．Cautious. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．To arouse concern for them. | B．To introduce their new role. |
| C．To expand a larger market. | D．To advertise their launch. |
2 . What limits you from hiking more often? If not having a suitable hiking partner is keeping you out of the woods, why not take a look at the great hiking clubs across Canada?
● Yukon Outdoors Club
Membership cost:$10 for a single membership
Description: The club organizes day hikes, backpacking trips, canoe trips, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing trips for members to gain new skills and valuable information. The trips are open to everyone and range from easy to moderate to difficult.
● UBC Varsity Outdoor Club
Membership cost: Students $40; non-UBC students $60
Description: The UBC Varsity Outdoor Club is a social group that hikes and rock climbs. Members lead trips, run skills workshops, and host presentations. Members can borrow equipment from the club. The UBC VOC has also constructed a few huts in the Coast Mountains.
● Pender Harbor Hiking Group
Membership cost: Free
Description: The Pender Harbour Hiking Group offers a way for members to meet like-minded individuals and get fit. Hikes are scheduled two months in advance, so check the website regularly to find a hike that's right for you! Hikes are usually one and a half to two hours long every Monday and Wednesday morning, but some full-day hikes are scheduled, depending on member interest.
●Vernon Outdoors Club
Membership cost:A single membership is $25, and students pay $10. Children are free when they come with a registered family member.
Description: The Vermon Outdoors Club is an active group that enjoys hiking and cycling. Members are encouraged to share their activity ideas and interests. The group organizes a Tuesday Activity each week.
1. Which club organizes its trips based on their members’ hiking skills?| A．The Yukon Outdoors Club. | B．The UBC Varsity Outdoor Club. |
| C．The Pender Harbor Hiking Group. | D．The Vernon Outdoors Club. |
| A．They are mostly held on weekends. |
| B．They are arranged two months ahead of time. |
| C．Their schedule is always emailed to the members. |
| D．More full-day hikes are offered than half-day hikes. |
| A．$70. | B．$50. |
| C．$45. | D．$35. |
3 . Top Music Festivals
The festival season is just kicking off, and there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.
Pitchfork Music Festival
Anyone who likes indie (独立的) music and up-and-coming artists will have an amazing time at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park. It is an indie rock heaven where you can explore more underground and lesser-known bands than at the other big Chicago summer festival, Lollapalooza.
Date: July 14-16
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Music Type: Indie rock
Price: $126-$2,700
Essence Music Festival
No matter what time of the year it is, New Orleans is an amazing place if you love live music. The Essence Music Festival is a celebration of well-known artists like Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, and Mary J. Blige.
Date: June 29-July 2
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Music Type: R& B, soul, rock
Price: $75-$365
Sziget Festival
Budapest knows how to hold a party, and Sziget is one of the biggest celebrations of music and culture in all of Europe. You can expect to find favorite artists like Bad Religion and Mac DeMarco playing here during this three-day festival.
Date: August 9-11
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Music Type: Eclectic, Indie rock
Price: $70-$296
Flow Festival
The Flow Festival is a great excuse to explore the city of Helsinki. Artists including Lana Del Rey and The XX will be playing, among many others. Come to this festival to enjoy yourselves with an earth-friendly belief.
Date: August 11-13
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Music Type: Rock, soul, jazz
Price: $106-$199
1. What do the music festivals have in common?| A．They are given in the open air. |
| B．They are held in the USA. |
| C．They include rock music. |
| D．They take place from July to August. |
| A．Essence Music Festival. |
| B．Sziget Festival. |
| C．Flow Festival. |
| D．Pitchfork Music Festival. |
| A．It has the longest cultural tradition in Europe. |
| B．It is home to many well-known bands. |
| C．It is a city of high living cost in all of Europe. |
| D．It is good at organizing parties. |
Should you have your baby’s DNA sequenced? What keeps you awake? Step inside the Hall of Human Life. the Museums new biology exhibition, and encounter such far-reaching questions on an amazing journey inside the human body. Through digital media and personal interaction, you become “part of the story”, as you contribute your own data in a process of learning and discovery.
A Birds World(Permanent Exhibit)
This exhibit features the Museums extraordinary collection of birds，displaying over 300 species in New England. Here, you can learn to interpret the bird language taking place just outside your window at home.
Test your observation skills and see if you can get past different birds without them alerting(发信号)other animals to your presence. Learn to identify birds from a distance by recognizing unique flight patterns. Practice your flying technique in the Bird Walk.
Butterfly Garden(Permanent Exhibit)
Walk among the free-flying residents of this warm conservatory. It is a wonderful opportunity to get close to a variety of living butterflies from New England and across the globe. The “Emergence Box” offers a window into the butterfly behavior. Look inside to see hanging chrysalides (蝶蛹)transform into adult butterflies. Tickets are required and visitors should reserve at least two weeks in advance.
1. How can you become part of the story in the Hall of Human Life?| A．By keeping awake. | B．On an funny journey. |
| C．By answering questions. | D．Through offering the personal data. |
| A．Learn the bird language. | B．Watch all bird species. |
| C．Make your flying technique better. | D．Send signals to birds. |
| A．Hanging chrysalides. |
| B．Getting close to butterflies. |
| C．Keeping the conservatory warm. |
| D．Observing butterflies through its window. |
5 . “The pile of ice is so thick; it extends more than 10, 000 feet above the ocean. And if all that ice were to melt and go into the ocean, global sea levels would rise by about 24 feet everywhere around the world,” said Jason Briner, a geologist who studies the ice sheet in Greenland at the University of Buffalo. The ice sheet of the biggest island in the world is melting, and the ice sheet that sits atop it is massive. The ice sheet is melting, of course. But just how much, compared to the past?
Briner’s team did a computer simulation (模拟) of the southwest part of the Greenland ice sheet — which he says is a good indicator for ice melting across the entire ice sheet. The researchers plugged past climate data into that model to “hindcast,” rather than forecast, the past activity of the ice sheet. They then checked the model’s predictions of the past shape and size of the ice sheet by looking at piles of rocks and dirt on Greenland today, which outline the edges of ancient ice. And the simulation was in good agreement with the actual situation.
Using that reconstruction of the ice sheet over time, the team could compare the ice sheet’s historic losses to those happening today under human-caused global warming. And they determined that Greenland is on track to lose more ice this century than during any century in the past 12,000 years — possibly four times as much.
Finally, it’s up to us how much ice actually melts. If the world goes net carbon zero by 2100, for example, Briner says ice loss could stop entirely at the end of the century, according to one model. “That was what kept me from being completely depressed about our study.” Dozens of countries have already announced goals to go net zero by the middle of this century — so far the U. S. is not one of them.
1. What do we know about the Greenland ice sheet?| A．It is as thick as over 10,000 feet. |
| B．It is becoming smaller and smaller. |
| C．It has raised sea levels by 24 feet. |
| D．It is the largest ice sheet in the world. |
| A．By modeling part of the ice sheet on computer. |
| B．By doing a simulation of the whole ice sheet. |
| C．By studying the ancient rocks and dirt. |
| D．By forecasting the future climate change. |
| A．Its status has already been acknowledged. |
| B．Its growth can be improved by the model. |
| C．The speed of its melting will be increasingly fast. |
| D．The extent of its loss depends on human activities. |
| A．Rising Global Sea Levels |
| B．Climate Change is Speeding Up |
| C．Greenland — the Biggest Island is Melting |
| D．Net Carbon Zero — a Global Goal by 2100 |
6 . Jeremy Fox, a retired businessman in a small city in England, recently bought an old farmhouse with a yard and a small field, some five miles out of the town. There he planned to lead a simple life with his wife, Amelia.
It was while clearing out the old barn on the far side of the yard that he made an interesting discovery. In a corner, under some old sacks, he found some large fragments (碎片) of an antique (古董) bowl. Out of curiosity, he took them into the kitchen and, much to the anger of his wife, washed the mud off them. That evening he spread newspapers over the kitchen table and carefully stuck the fragments together. However, two pieces were found missing.
Two days later, having pulled down the barn, Mr. Fox was digging over the ground in preparation for the installation (安装) of a greenhouse, when he discovered the two missing pieces. When he had stuck them in position, the bowl looked so fine that Amelia agreed to its being placed on a table in the living room, in front of the window.
“We might have something a bit special here,” he said to his wife. A few days later, Jeremy took several photographs of the bowl, which he sent off to Sotheby’s in London.
Unexpectedly, Sotheby’s was extremely interested in the bowl and sent an expert to inspect it. It turned out that it was a Chinese Ming fish bowl, dating back to around 1500, and might be expected to get a five-figure sum at an auction(拍卖).
A week later still more unexpectedly, two police officers called and told the Foxes the bowl was stolen property(财产).
So the bowl never reached the auction room, and Mr. Fox never received the five-figure sum that had been mentioned. However, he framed one of the photographs he had taken and hung it on the wall.
1. At first Mrs. Fox seemed to be ________.| A．very much interested in the discovery |
| B．greatly annoyed at Mr. Fox’s enthusiasm |
| C．uncertain of Mr. Fox’s enthusiasm |
| D．curious about Mr. Fox’s findings |
| A．in the kitchen | B．in a greenhouse |
| C．out of the old barn | D．under the ground |
| A．five thousand pounds |
| B．less than ten thousand pounds |
| C．one thousand, five hundred and ninety pounds |
| D．at least ten thousand pounds |
| A．Most probably Sotheby’s purchased the bowl in the end. |
| B．It turned out that Mr. Fox got neither the money nor the bowl. |
| C．Mr. Fox preferred country life to city life after his retirement. |
| D．Mr. Fox was fond of gardening. |
7 . Do you remember what happened on Sponge Bob Square Pants yesterday? The day before? If so, you may be in need of a TV timeout!
Kids today are watching more TV than they watched before, researchers say. Kids ages 6 to 11 in the United States watch more than three hours of TV each day. Ten years ago, children watched only about two hours and 40 minutes of TV each day.
Why the increase? Experts say more TV shows today are focused, or aimed, at kids.
Some people want to limit kids' TV time. Researchers say that children who watch TV shows for more than three hours a day do not do as well in school. However, some programs can help kids learn. One example is BrainSurge. Some people say the show teaches kids facts.
How do you know whether a TV show can make you smart? Think about what you learn from watching, says Aletha Huston. She is a TV expert. But, she warns, don't spend too much time watching. “Limit the amount you watch. Get off the couch and do something else.”
TV Guide
This pie chart shows how long kids ages 6－11 use different types of TV technology each week.
1. What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Kids today watch more TV than they did before. |
| B．BrainSurge helps kids learn facts. |
| C．Kids do not watch proper TV shows. |
| D．More TV shows today are created for kids ages 6－11. |
| A．unusual | B．aimed | C．suitable | D．pleasant |
| A．Three. | B．Five. | C．Four. | D．Six. |
| A．Video games | B．DVD | C．VCR | D．TV |
8 . Friendship is an important part of human life. Friends can share our joys and sadnesses. We aren't alone. Many different animals also make friends.
Recently, a British research team finished an eight-year study of Indo-Pacific dolphins off the coast of Western Australia. These dolphins can use different tools to search for food. The researchers found that these dolphins are more willing to hang out with partners that like the same tool. Other factors, like family closeness or sex, have no impact on this relationship. It suggests that dolphins form social bonds based on shared interests.
Apart from dolphins, elephants and horses are also known to form friendships. Are friendships only limited to the same species?
Of course not, The Atlantic reported. In 2015,Timur, a goat, was left in the enclosure（围场） of a tiger, Amur, as a meal. But instead of eating Timur, Amur liked to play with him and got angry when others were close to his friend. That's because in captivity(圈养）, animals don't need to spend much time and energy marking their land or looking for mates the way they would in the wild. They are actually more likely to feel bored.
More interestingly, animals not only make friends but also try to keep lasting friendships. Take bats for example. In 2011, scientists found bats often hang out with a few particular friends, keeping loose ties to the rest of their group. Humans are different. "We do not work, play and live together with the same friends all the time," Swiss zoologist Gerald Kerth explained. "But nevertheless, we are able to maintain long-term despite our often highly dynamic（充满活力的）social lives."
1. What do dolphins pay more attention to when making friends?| A．The same interests. | B．Family closeness. |
| C．Hunting behavior. | D．The special sounds. |
| A．Amur wants to show Timur his land. |
| B．Amur longs for animals to play with him. |
| C．Amur has more friends than other tigers. |
| D．Amur pretends to be friendly to eat Timur. |
| A．Bats usually play with certain friends. |
| B．Humans keep their friendship longer. |
| C．Bats like to live together with friends. |
| D．Humans make friends in social activities. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By taking examples. |
| C．By asking questions. | D．By giving advice. |
9 . Nao, a small robot, looks like a person. If Nao begged you not to shut it off, what would you do?
Scientists did a study to see how people treat robots that act like people. Eighty-nine people volunteered for the study. They were asked to help to improve Nao’s social skills by finishing two tasks with it.
The tasks with the robot didn’t matter, though. What the scientists really wanted to see was how the participants reacted once the tasks were over. They were asked to talk with Nao and finally shut Nao off but it was not easy to do. Some people did not want to turn the robot off while others took a long time to do it.
People often communicate with non-human objects such as TVs and computers nowadays. But robots seem more like humans. Robots can show social characters themselves, like speaking with human voices or taking the shape of a human body. Scientists said people might have seen Nao’s cries as a sign of independent thought. In turn, this could have led people to see the robot as having the human-like character.
For thousands of years, humans lived in a world where they were the only ones who could have conversations. Our brains learned to react to social situations in a certain way. But our brains are not used to telling the difference between real people and fake people. The robot expressed feelings and desires and that got people to want to treat the robot as if it were alive.
1. Why did scientists use Nao in the study?| A．To communicate with humans. | B．To improve people’s social skills. |
| C．To help people finish their daily tasks. | D．To learn about how people react to robots. |
| A．All of them refused to turn it off. | B．All of them found it hard to operate it. |
| C．Not all of them took action immediately. | D．All of them followed the order soon. |
| A．often depend on humans | B．are more similar to humans |
| C．have independent thought | D．know well about different voices |
| A．How people treat human-like robots. |
| B．Robots will replace humans. |
| C．The relationship between humans and robots. |
| D．Compare robots with TVs and computers. |
10 . In the UK, electric and other low-emission（低排放）cars, vans, and buses could be given special green plates to encourage more people to buy such cars, and promote awareness for “clean” cars.
Strange as it may seem, there is some reason to believe that something as small as this could make a big difference. Already, similar ideas have been put into effect in Norway, Canada, Latvia, and China, and the results have been encouraging.
Elisabeth Costa, director of the Behavioural Insights Team, explains, “Simple changes based on behavioral science can have a big impact. Green plates would be more noticeable to road users, and this increased attraction can help normalise the idea of clean vehicles, highlighting（使突出）the changing social norms（规范）around vehicle ownership.”
Actually, hybrids and electric cars accounted for 5.5% of the cars sold in the UK in the first half of the year, compared to 4.2% for the same period in 2017.
However, colored plates can only go so far. At the end of the day, you need strong, concrete（具体的）measures if you want to support a market like electric cars. The UK already has generous allowances for electric cars, but a study for the RAC Foundation found that the lack of reliable, easy-to-use charging stations is the main roadblock to people purchasing more electric cars. This was repeated by separate research from AA, the UK’s largest motorist association, which found that although 1 in 2 young drivers want electric cars, 8 out of 10 drivers feel that the lack of adequate electrical chargers is the main reason not to buy an electric car.
Yet this all shows that more and more people are nearing a tipping point where they are willing to buy electric cars. And a small PR stunt（噱头）, the “coolness factor” of the colored plates could end up making a difference. Similarly, having red plates for the more polluting cars might also play a role.
A spokesman for the Environmental Transport Association said, “While green number plates will be positive PR for low-emission car makers and early adopters of the technology alike, to be truly effective any such measures will need to at the same time shame the drivers of the most polluting vehicles.”
1. Why does the UK give green license plates to cars?| A．To promote car sales. |
| B．To beautify the environment in the UK. |
| C．To separate “clean” cars from polluting cars. |
| D．To inspire people to buy low-emission vehicles. |
| A．The results of giving colored plates are discouraging. |
| B．The measures of giving colored plates will be at an end. |
| C．Giving colored plates has a limited impact on promoting “clean” cars. |
| D．Giving colored plates will be replaced by strong, concrete measures. |
| A．Allowances for electric cars are not attractive. |
| B．They aren’t fond of the green color. |
| C．Charging stations are not readily available. |
| D．Electric cars are unaffordable to them. |
| A．Banning people from buying polluting cars. |
| B．Continuing the use of green number plates. |
| C．Replacing green plates with red ones. |
| D．Shaming the drivers of polluting cars into buying “clean” cars. |
