5 . Nothing energizes office workers more than complaining about meetings. And it seems some of the world's greatest tech successes agree. Here's some of their advice.

Mark Zuckerberg: A decision or a discussion?

The Facebook CEO reportedly improved the effectiveness of meetings by asking managers to explain the point of a meeting: to make a decision or to have a discussion.

"If there's no point, then there are no decisions," Microsoft founder Bill Gates might agree. He is supposed to have said, "You have a meeting to make a decision, not to decide on the question."

Elon Musk: It is not rude to leave.

Elon Musk once sent out an email to staff in which he made some "recommendations".

"Walk out of a meeting or drop off a call as soon as it is obvious you aren't adding value," he went on. "It is not rude to leave; it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time."

Jeff Bezos: The "two--pizza rule".

The Amazon founder meets investors for just six hours a year, and tries to avoid early morning meetings.

Business Insider reports that Mr. Bezos also has a strict policy: Never have a meeting in which you couldn't feed the whole group with two pizzas. The businessman believes small groups are far more efficient than large ones, and the "two-pizza rule" helps him prevent large meetings.

Steve Jobs: No need for PowerPoint.

Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs shows the creative genius behind the iPhone making an attack on slideshow users. "People who know what they are talking about don't need PowerPoint," he said.

"Generally PowerPoint presentations are a great distraction(使人分心的事物), unless it's data or a graph," said Professor Andre Spicer. "Long slides mean no information being conveyed."

1. What did Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates both stress?

A．How to have a meeting.	B．When to have a meeting.
C．The purpose of having a meeting.	D．The importance of having a meeting.

2. Why was the "two-pizza rule" put forward?

A．To offer better services for a meeting.	B．To reduce the cost of a meeting.
C．To encourage short meetings.	D．To limit the size of a meeting.

3. From the underlined part in the last paragraph, Andre Spicer's opinion on slides is             .

A．less is more	B．the more the merrier
C．something is better than nothing	D．a picture is worth a thousand words

6 . One of the astronomy's most well-known telescopes-the 305-metre-wide radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico-is closing forever. Engineers cannot find a safe way to repair it after two cables supporting the structure suddenly and catastrophically broke, one in August and one in early November.

The Arecibo telescope, which was built in 1963, was the world's largest radio telescope for decades and has historical and modern importance in astronomy. It was the site from which astronomers sent an interstellar radio message in 1974, in case any extraterrestrial might hear it, and where the first known extrasolar planet was discovered, in 1992. It has also done groundbreaking work in detecting near-Earth planets, observing the puzzling celestial blasts known as fast radio bursts, and studying many other phenomena.

The cables that broke helped support a 900-tonne platform of scientific instruments, which hangs above the main telescope dish. The first cable broke panels at the edge of the dish, but the second tore huge gashes in a central portion of it. If any more cables fail-which could happen at any time-the entire platform could crash into the dish below. The US National Science Foundation(NSF), which owns the Arecibo Observatory, is working on plans to safely lower the platform down in a controlled fashion.

NSF's officials insist that the cable failures came as a surprise. After the first, engineering teams spotted a handful of broken wires on the second cable, which was more crucial to holding up the structure, but they did not see it as a major problem because the weight it was carrying was well within its design capacity.

Some of the observatory's scientific projects may be able to be transferred to other facilities, said Ralph Gaume, the NSF's head of astronomy. And he expects scientists to suggest where to shift their research. Science does continue at other portions of the Arecibo Observatory, which includes more than the 305-metre-dish. They include two lidar facilities that shoot lasers into the atmosphere to study atmospheric phenomena.

1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The history of building the telescope.	B．The key role of the telescope in astronomy.
C．The benefit of learning astronomical events.	D．The process of locating near-Earth planets.

2. According to Paragraph 3, we know that________.

A．NSF's officials tried to repair the platform

B．the second cable failure destroyed the platform

C．the scientific instruments broke down due to the cables

D．the platform would not break down if no more cables should fail

3. Why were NSF's officials careless about the broken wires on the second cable?

A．The cable was not very old.

B．The wires were specially designed.

C．The weight the cable bore did not go beyond its limit.

D．The cable was not as important as the first one.

4. What will happen to the ongoing scientific projects at the observatory?

A．All of them will be shut down.	B．Some of them will be moved to other facilities.
C．They will be distributed to different scientists.	D．Some of them will be put off.

7 . It's no secret that inhaling(吸入)smoke is bad for your lungs. But now, scientists are suggesting smoke may also carry and spread infectious diseases. The theory, published in Science Magazine, is based on the research that found wildfire smoke is full of thousands of species of microorganisms(微生物).Some of these microorganisms, including bacteria and fungal spores(真菌抱子).are known to cause disease.

The new research suggests that when a wildfire burns plants or animal matter and disturbs soils, it exposes thousands of species of bacteria and fungi that otherwise might not easily become airborne. You might think the high heat from fire would kill these organisms, but one study mentioned in the article found that some bacteria even multiply after fires. Scientists say the organisms stick with smoke particulates(颗粒物), allowing them to travel thousands of miles across continents.

Dr. Peter Chen, director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is interested in the theory but somewhat skeptical that the microorganisms in smoke would actually cause infections. Many bacteria and fungi don't cause lung infections, says Chen, but it's certainly possible that a significant number could worsen symptoms in someone with a preexisting lung condition. "I always thought it was the particulates in smoke that were causing these issues," says Chen. "But when I read this, I started thinking, could it be the microorganisms that are also worsening existing illnesses?"

Whether the microorganisms in smoke actually cause infections or simply worsen potential respiratory(呼吸的)issues, the article raises a new health threat that is "certainly alarming", says Kelsey Jack, an associate professor of environmental and development economics. This is especially true for lower-income populations, Jack says, because people with fewer protective means are often more exposed to the environment. If smoke is affecting the air quality in a certain area, the people who work outside, or who have to go to the office on foot or by bike will inhale more smoke than those who drive.

But until more research is done, Chen says the best thing people can do is just follow existing recommendations when air quality is poor-including staying indoors, keeping windows and doors closed, using HEPA filters and running air conditioning.

1. What can we know about the microorganisms from Paragraph 2?

A．Some could reproduce after fires.

B．They could be killed by high heat.

C．They could possibly travel through air by themselves.

D．Some could copy the smoke particulates.

2. How do most microorganisms affect people according to Dr. Peter Chen?

A．They will cause lung infection.	B．They might worsen lung diseases.
C．They will destroy living environments.	D．They might damage respiratory systems.

3. Why are lower-income people suffering more than others according to Kelsey Jack?

A．They live in poor areas.	B．They drive to and from work·
C．They have suffered from lung disease.	D．They are exposed to polluted air more frequently.

4. What does Chen advise people to do in the last paragraph?

A．To wait for the results of more researches.

B．To ignore the air quality and to work out outdoors.

C．To follow previous suggestions on dealing with poor air quality.

D．To avoid using filters and air conditioning.

8 . Fou Ts'ong, a Chinese-born pianist known for his sensitive interpretations of Chopin, Debussy and Mozart.died on Monday at a hospital in London, where he had lived for many years. He was 86.

A lover of classical music from a young age, Mr. Fou began taking piano lessons when he was 7. Mr. Fou made his first stage appearance in 1952. The concert caught the attention of officials in Beijing, who selected him to compete and tour in Eastern Europe. Mr. Fou soon moved to Poland, where he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory(音乐学校)on a scholarship. To prepare for the fifth Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1955.he practiced so diligently that he hurt his fingers and was nearly cut from the first round of the competition.

Mr. Fou was one of the first Chinese pianists to achieve global prominence when he took the third place in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955. He also won a special prize for his performance of Chopin's mazurkas(马祖卜舞曲). Almost overnight, he became a national hero. To China, Mr. Fou's recognition in a well-known international competition was proof that the country could stand on its own artistically in the West. Chinese reporters flocked to interview Mr. Fou, while many others sought out his father, Fu Lei, for advice on child-rearing.

In 1981, a volume of letters written by his father, primarily to Mr. Fou, was published in China. Full of advice, encouragement, life teachings and strict paternal love, the book Fu Lei's Family, Letters became a best-seller in China. Besides influencing a generation of Chinese, Mr. Fu's words resonated(共鸣)long after his death with the person for whom they were intended.

"My father had a saying that 'First you must be a person, then an artist, and then a musician, and only then can you be a pianist.'" Mr. Fou once recalled in an interview. "Even now, I believe in this order-that it should be this way and that I am this way."

1. What can be learned from Paragraph 2?

A．Fou Ts'ong competed and toured in Beijing.

B．Fou Ts'ong first performed on the stage at 7.

C．Fou Ts'ong made great efforts for competitions.

D．Fou Ts'ong started learning music in Eastern Europe.

2. Why does Fou Ts'ong's global recognition mean a lot to China?

A．It earns Chinese art a place in the West.

B．It promotes the spread of Chinese culture.

C．It proves Chinese people's talent for music.

D．It enables Chinese art education to be recognized.

3. What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Mr. Fu's words.	B．Young Chinese.
C．Fou Ts'ong and his family.	D．Readers of Fu Lei's Family Letters.

4. Which of the following agrees with Fu Lei's ideas in the last paragraph?

A．Pursuing art is a long and painful process.

B．It requires various qualities to be a pianist.

C．Everyone should develop an interest in art.

D．Talent is of the greatest importance for a pianist.

9 . If you've ever pulled a rolling suitcase through the airport, chances are that you've also been annoyed by this common occurrence: the suitcase starts rocking back and forth on each wheel and finally tips over.

"It's a very classic phenomenon in physics," said Sylvain Courrech du Pont, a physicist at the University of Paris Diderot. "So if you disturb the system it goes very easily unstable. This is shared by many, many phenomena in nature."

Courrech du Pont and his students wanted to get to the bottom of why luggage tips. So they built what looks like the structure of a wheeled suitcase, and then filmed it rolling on a treadmill (a machine for running). Then they modeled what they saw mathematically.

And here's what they found. Under normal rolling conditions, the forward motion of the suitcase is perpendicular(垂直的） to the wheels' axis of rotation（旋转轴）. All is good. But when you hit a bump or drag the handle fiercely and abruptly, one wheel lifts up. All of a sudden the pulling motion is no longer perpendicular to the still-rolling wheel's rotation axis, and the wheel corrects that by accelerating towards the center. But by that time the other wheel's coming down, the same thing happens, and now the suitcase is really rocking.

"And the first reaction you will have maybe is to slow down. But actually if you slow down you'll experience very big rocking. Therefore, the way back to a smooth ride is to keep up your speed," he says, "or move even faster, once rocking begins.

There are other solutions to suitcase instability—like doing a better packing job. "If you put heavy contents close to the axis of symmetry, then it will be stable, too."

And Courrech du Pont has one more piece of advice to avoid rocking in the first place: "If you go slow enough, it will always be stable." Keep that in mind, next time you're running to your gate.

1. What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?

A．Everyone has been upset by a rolling suitcase at the airport.

B．Physical phenomenon can be found in our daily life.

C．The disturbance of the system results from the instability of the suitcase.

D．The phenomenon of suitcase rolling is rare at the airport.

2. What mainly causes the suitcase rocking?

A．It hits a bump

B．One wheel lifts up.

C．One wheel falls down.

D．It is not perpendicular to the axis.

3. How do people react to a rocking suitcase firstly?

A．tip it over

B．accelerate its moving.

C．slow down its moving

D．drag its handle with great strength.

4. How many ways are mentioned to keep the suitcase stable in the text?

A．one	B．two
C．three	D．four

10 . China's ban on the domestic sale and processing of ivory(象牙) and its products took effect on Sunday, at the very beginning of 2018, making good on a commitment Chinese authorities made last year.

The move, which effectively closes one of the world's largest ivory markets, has been supported by conservationists as a crucial step toward combating elephant poaching."This ban alone won't end the poaching of elephants," Ginette Hemley,senior vice-president of the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement. "It's equally critical that China's neighbors follow suit and shut down ivory markets across Asia. Only then can we ensure the open trade doesn't simply shift to other countries for newly-poached ivory."

China's ban on the domestic ivory trade follows a similar measure adopted in the U.S. in 2016, when the Fish and Wildlife Service set a ban to reduce the movement of ivory within U.S. borders. Both the U.S. and China had been negotiating on their proposed ivory regulations since 2015.

An international ban on the commercial ivory trade was established in 1990 — but that rule hasn't exactly achieved all its aims."Wildlife experts had thought that the international ban on ivory trade would slow or even stop the killing of elephants for their tusks. However, the killing got worse. That's mostly because the ban didn't cover older ivory," Joyce, a journalist, reported, noting that ivory taken from elephants before the ban was still legal to trade. "So people are still killing elephants but passing off their ivory as old."That has had disastrous effects for elephants. Over the span from 2007 to 2014, for instance, there was a decline of roughly 144,000 animals in seven years.

Still, there have been some signs of hope for the campaign against elephant poaching: Prices for the animals' tusks in China had dropped from $2,100 per kilogram in 2014 to just $730 per kilogram in March 2017. And this, at least, is offering conservationists reason for cautious optimism — assuming the China’s ban is enforced effectively.

1. What did Ginette Hemley mean?

A．The poaching of elephants will never be banned.

B．China should put a more effective ban on ivory trade.

C．Other countries in Asia should ban ivory trade.

D．China’s neighbors will threaten China’s ivory market.

2. What happened after an international ban was established?

A．More old elephants were killed.

B．More ivory was sold as old ivory.

C．The number of elephants increased

D．People pulled off old elephants’ ivory.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The China’s ban will close the world largest ivory markets.

B．The measure in the U.S reduced ivory trade in China.

C．Prices for ivory have dropped about 65% in the last three years.

D．China is offering hope for the future of elephants.

4. How do conservationists feel about the China’s ban?

A．It’s disappointing.

B．It’s promising.

C．It’s demanding.

D．It’s history-making.