1 . A robot created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists could help elderly people with dementia (痴呆) and other limitations live independently in their own homes.
The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors installed in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.
“RAS combines the convenience of a mobile robot with the activity detection technology of a WSU smart home to provide assistance in the moment, as the need for help is detected,” said Bryan Minor, a postdoctoral researcher in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Currently, an estimated 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need assistance with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medication and the annual cost for this assistance in the US is nearly $2 trillion. With the number of adults over 85 expected to triple by 2050, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will relieve some of the financial strain on the healthcare system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.
RAS is the first robot researchers have tried to incorporate into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal Cognitive Systems Research that demonstrates how RAS could make life easier for older adults struggling to live independently.
“While we are still in an early stage of development, our initial results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said. “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what prompts, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot.”
1. How does RAS serve elderly people?| A．Through sensors. | B．Through objects. |
| C．Through a mobile robot. | D．Through their daily activities. |
| A．It is the first robot used in daily life. | B．Its function remains to be tested. |
| C．It can locate people and do any task. | D．It can cook for owners on its own. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Optimistic. | D．Uncertain. |
| A．Elderly people leave the nursing home. |
| B．Smart Home Tests first elder-Care robot. |
| C．RAS, the first robot to make home smart. |
| D．Older adults have benefited from RAS. |
2 . The World Happiness Report, a United Nations agency report, measures (估量) how happy people are, and why. Norway is the happiest place on Earth—beating neighbour Denmark from the number one position.
Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Finland round out the top five, while the Central African Republic came last. Western Europe and North America took up most of the places at the top of table, with the US and UK at 14th and 19th.
The World Happiness Report mainly depends on asking a simple question of more than 1,000 people every year in more than150 countries. “Imagine a ladder (梯子), with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top,” the question asks, “The top of the ladder is the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder is the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”
The average result is the country’s score—from Norway’s 7.54 to the Central African Republic’s 2.69. But the report also tries to explain why one country is happier than another. It looks at reasons including economic strength (经济实力) social support, freedom of choice, and generosity.
This year’s report also has a text titled “restoring (恢复) American happiness”, which examines why happiness levels in the United States are falling, despite continually-increasing economic improvement. “The United States can and should raise happiness by solving America’s social problems- rising inequality and distrust-rather than focusing mainly on economic growth,” the authors said.
Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which published the report, said President Donald Trump’s policies were likely to make things worse.
1. Which of the following is the correct order of the countries in terms of happiness levels?| A．Denmark, the UK, the US, the Central African Republic |
| B．Denmark, the US, the UK, the Central African Republic |
| C．the US, Denmark, the UK, the Central African Republic |
| D．Denmark, the US, the Central African Republic, the UK |
| A．By asking a question. | B．By having a conversation. |
| C．By doing scientific research. | D．By carrying out an online survey. |
| A．Its people live an unhappy life. |
| B．Its economy is going downhill. |
| C．Its social problems are hard to solve. |
| D．It has a lower happiness level than before. |
| A．To explain the reason for being happy. |
| B．To introduce the World Happiness Report. |
| C．To talk about America’s social problem. |
| D．To discuss the policies by Donald Trump. |
3 . One spring morning many years ago, I was on southeastern Alaska’s Kupreanof Island when I saw a huge wolf caught in a trap. From her appearance, I realized it was a mother wolf and that somewhere hungry pups (小崽) were waiting for her. I guessed she had been trapped only a few days. So her pups were probably still alive, hungry, surely no more than a few miles away. But I thought if I released the wolf, she would tear me to pieces.
So I decided to search for her pups instead. Following some footprints, I finally found four tiny pups. One by one, I placed them in a bag and headed back. When the mother wolf spotted me, she stood up, possibly picking up the smell of her young. I released the pups, and they raced to her.
What next? I wondered. The mother wolf was clearly suffering. Yet each time I moved in her direction, she let out a threatening sound.
I put up a shelter for myself and was soon asleep nearby. At dawn, I was awakened by the four pups sniffing at my face and hands. I glanced toward the anxious mother wolf. If I could only win her confidence, I thought. It was her only hope. Over the next few days, I fed her, talked gently with her and played with the pups. But the big animal never took her eyes off me. When I was beginning to lose hope, at dusk on the fifth day, I saw a wagging (摇摆) of her tail. I moved within the length of her chain. She remained still. My heart in my mouth, I slowly placed my hand on the wolf’s injured leg. “OK,” I said, “We’ll have you out of there.” I pressed and the trap sprang open, the wolf pulled free.
Slowly, she headed toward me. She smelled my hands and arms and then began licking (添) my fingers. I was astonished. This went against everything I’d ever heard about wolves. Yet, strangely, it all seemed so natural.
1. What did the writer do after he discovered the mother wolf?| A．He looked for the pups | B．He set up a trap. |
| C．He put the wolf in a bag | D．He frightened off the wolf. |
| A．To study the habit of the wolves. | B．To gain the trust of the mother wolf. |
| C．To witness the growth of the pups. | D．To experience the charm of the wild |
| A．Nervous. | B．Proud. |
| C．Relieved. | D．Hopeless. |
| A．creatures are born equal | B．having comes before giving |
| C．wagging wolves seldom bite | D．kindness deserves acceptance |
4 . Marian Wright Edelman, an American lawyer, educator and children’s rights activist, was born on June 6, 1939 in South Carolina, one of five children. Her father Arthur Wright was a preacher (牧师) who died when she was only 14 years old. In his last words to her, he advised her not to “let anything get in the way of your education.”
After high school, Edelman went on to study at Spelman College and later traveled to the Soviet Union. When she returned to Spelman in 1959, Edelman became involved in the civil rights movement. This work inspired her to drop her plans to enter the Foreign Service and study law instead. In 1973, Edelman set up the Children’s Defense Fund as a voice for poor and disabled children. She served as a public speaker on behalf of these children.
During a tour, Marian met Peter Edelman, an assistant to Kennedy, and the next year she moved to Washington, D. C. to marry him and to work for social justice in the center of America’s political scene. The couple had three sons: Joshua, Jonah and Ezra. Jonah is the founder of Stand for Children, a group that promotes children’s education, and Ezra is a documentary (记录片) filmmaker who won an Emmy for his film “O.J.: Made in America.”
Edelman is the author of many books for children and adults. Her titles for readers include I’m Your child, God: Prayers for Our Children, Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations for Our Children, Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors, and The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours, which was a surprising success.
1. What do we know about Edelman’s family?| A．She was the single child. |
| B．Her mother was a preacher. |
| C．They took education seriously. |
| D．The family had a poor life. |
| A．She wanted to study abroad. |
| B．She intended to be a lawyer. |
| C．She had little time for her work. |
| D．She was interested in civil rights. |
| A．In Washington D. C. | B．In the Soviet Union. |
| C．In South Carolina. | D．In Spelman. |
| A．They all worked for social justice. |
| B．They achieved something in career. |
| C．They won many awards in their lives. |
| D．They contributed to their mother’s books. |
5 . On a hot summer weekend, Jorge Ayub saw the public beach north of Boston already crowded with nearly 1 million people drawn to the annual sand sculpture festival. Traffic on the nearby road was heavy, bands played music loudly, and later that night fireworks would light up the beach.
And on the sand were four pairs of tiny shorebirds. These chicks(小鸟) were still too young to fly and a precious addition to the national endeavor to save a bird once down to 139 pairs in Massachusetts. It was Mr. Ayub’s job. “Everyone made it,” Ayub, a coastal ecologist reported at the end of the long weekend over the nests.
Once common, piping plovers(笛鸻) were hunted and then squeezed out of their habitats(栖息地) by coastal development until, in 1986, the federal government listed the Atlantic Coastal birds as threatened. The bird’s recovery has been halting. After three decades, the Atlantic population stands just under the 2,000-pair goal set by federal law.
But the star has been Massachusetts, which has seen plovers increase to 687pairs from 139 pairs in 1986. One reason for that: “chick-sitting” in which conservationists sometimes spend all day watching over the birds.
That progress has made Massachusetts the only East Coast state that decided to relax some Endangered Species Act restrictions: for example, to reduce the fenced-off areas and vehicle limits that have annoyed residents（居民）.
“Look at the stretch(一片土地)，”Anyb says. “We had six nesting pairs between here and that bathhouse 600 yards away. By regulation, each nest should have 100 yards of fencing. We could have put up fencing and closed the beach all the way to the bathhouse.”
Instead, the plovers are surrounded in much smaller areas by “symbolic fencing”. None of the 52 seawall entrances to the beach are closed. “If we put up too much fencing, people will be upset, and they are going to destroy it or walk right through the nesting areas,” Ayub says. “By opening the beach, people are happier and the species does better.”
1. What was Jorge Ayub doing at the beginning of the text?| A．Directing traffic. |
| B．Enjoying fireworks. |
| C．Looking after some birds. |
| D．Watching some bands perform. |
| A．slow | B．Similar |
| C．Important | D．Complete |
| A．It is an important habitat for wildlife. |
| B．It has done well in protecting piping plovers. |
| C．It encourages the residents to keep piping plovers. |
| D．It allows ecologists to test certain species of birds. |
| A．Supportive | B．Disapproving |
| C．Uninterested | D．Doubtful |
6 . Why do we like drinking water form plastic bottles? Some people think it is healthy and clean. Others drink bottled water because it’s easy — you can carry it around with you. In hot countries, like Greece, they often buy bottles of cold water in summer.
However, making lots of plastic is not a good idea for many reasons. First of all, we need a lot of oil for plastic products. We usually use oil as a source (资源) of energy. If we reduced the number of bottles we made, we wouldn’t need so much oil. Plastic bottles also pollute the environment. If we recycled all our plastic bottles, we wouldn’t need so much space for rubbish dumps. But in Greece, they don't recycle much of the plastic they use. In 2006, Greeks recycled only about 10% of plastic waste. The rest became rubbish on land and in rivers and seas.
So next time you want to throw away a plastic bottle in the litter bin, stop and think. If you recycled it, you would help the environment. But what can you do when there isn’t a recycling bin near you? Well, there are lots of useful ways that you can use your bottles again. For example, an empty bottle makes a great piggy bank for your pocket money, and if you cut a bottle in halves, you will have a plant pot. Go green! You can make a difference.
1. What is not mentioned about bottled water in this passage? It’s ______.| A．expensive | B．healthy | C．clean | D．easy |
| A．energy | B．oil | C．soil | D．plants |
| A．10% | B．50% | C．80% | D．90% |
| A．To drop them into the river. | B．To make a plant pot. |
| C．To make a piggy bank. | D．To recycle them. |
7 . Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee. In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法) to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher.
1. What can we learn about the Character Hero?| A．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks. |
| B．It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China. |
| C．It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. |
| D．It draws great public attention across the country. |
| A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often. |
| B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy. |
| C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters. |
| D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology. |
| A．necessary for adults to survive in China |
| B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry |
| C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive |
| D．an ability to be developed only when you are students |
| A．A news report. | B．A science report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Children’s literature. |
8 . My elephant adventures began in 1984 when, with our one-year-old daughter, my husband and I crossed the jungle in a jeep, slicking behind a lorry for comfort and company. The elephants standing like watchers on either side of the forest highway had us praying for our safety. One elephant made loud noise and angrily pawed (抓) the ground, warning us off. We raced away before they could attack.
It was wise to keep elephants at a distance. We heard stories of tourists whose jeeps were overturned, and a couple of photographers were killed because they moved too close. Elephants are misleading animals. They give people an impression of being quiet and kind, so tourists think it’s safe to picnic in the jungle (丛林). Yet angry elephants have knocked them down in seconds before they could take off.
Elephants might make life unpredictable and dangerous. It’s difficult for inexperienced environmentalists to even, begin to grasp this reality. I’ve heard city people say “ We humans are encroaching (侵害) on their forests.” But what’s the solution?
When a poor farmer borrows heavily to plant a crop, he’ll do anything to protect it His life depends on it Elephants ruining an about-to-be-harvested com field cannot expect to be welcomed like special guests. The battle between beast and farmer is violent.
Experts are working on solutions to human-elephant conflicts (冲突). Some are sure to fail to like the plans to build electric fences around human settlements. Elephants rapidly figure them out and come in, around and over them.
There are more questions than answers, for sure. But as my husband said, “More people die in car accidents every single day, in every city on the earth. But they won’t take cars off the roads, will they?” So we need to seek practical ways of preventing elephant accidents.
1. What is the writer’s purpose in writing Paragraph 1?| A．To tell readers her family’s experience of elephant adventure. |
| B．To show readers elephants are angry and dangerous, |
| C．To introduce the topic of the whole passage. |
| D．To describe how her family keep away from elephants. |
| A．They think elephants are quiet and kind. |
| B．They haven’t heard the stories of elephant killing people. |
| C．They like elephants too much. |
| D．They think they can race away in seconds. |
| A．Welcome elephant like special guests. | B．Fight with elephants for his harvest. |
| C．Stop planting crops. | D．Depend on elephants for his life. |
| A．It is a good idea to build electric fences around human settlements. |
| B．It is impossible to find a solution to settle human-elephant conflict. |
| C．We should first reduce car accidents to prevent elephant accidents. |
| D．It is our duly to protect elephants rather than kill them. |
9 . An earthquake is one of the most common natural disasters. It may cause great damage. So it is wise to learn some simple safety tips to protect yourself or your family members.
Fragile items, like those made of glass are easily broken and should usually be placed on a lower surface, near the ground instead of placing them on cupboards higher up. Never place them near your bed, sofas and other furniture where you would be sitting or lying down. When there is a strong movement, these pieces will fall on the floor directly and not on you.
There is a strong chance of short circuits (短路) and fire breakouts during an earthquake. Make sure you turn off electrical connections and gas immediately when an earthquake happens.
During an earthquake, lie beneath an object that is not easily damaged. Do not go near objects that could directly fall on you. Never use the elevator to go down. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries happen when people inside buildings try to go out. Use the stairs at all times.
If you are outdoors, do not take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric poles or tall buildings. If you are driving, stop your car and stay in a safe place. Do not park your car under a tree or any tall object.
If trapped in debris (瓦砾堆), cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing. Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can find you. Use a whistle (哨子) if one is available. Never shout for help. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dangerous amounts of dust. Do not light a match because you may burn yourself. Do not move about or kick up dust.
1. The purpose of the passage is to tell readers _____.| A．the damage caused by earthquakes |
| B．the rescue work after earthquakes |
| C．what to do about earthquakes |
| D．how to prevent earthquakes |
| A．easily broken | B．easily found | C．expensive | D．heavy |
| A．go out the building at once |
| B．turn off electricity and gas immediately |
| C．take shelter under a tree |
| D．drive to a safe place quickly |
| A．Cover their mouth with a handkerchief. |
| B．Tap on a pipe or wall for help. |
| C．Use a whistle for help. |
| D．Light a match for help. |
10 . Do you love holidays but hate the increase weight that follows? You are not alone. Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don't have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a feast(宴会), have a small, low-fat snack(小吃). This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods. Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate; a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
Better not have high-fat foods. Dishes that look oily or creamy have much fat in them. Choose lean meat(瘦肉 ). Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables. If you have a sweet tooth, try mints (薄荷) and fruits. They don’t have fat content as cream and chocolate. Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20-minute walk after a meal can help burn off excess(过多的) calories.
1. Holidays are happy days with pleasure but they may ______.| A．bring weight problems | B．bring you much trouble in your life |
| C．make you worried about your foods | D．make you hate delicious foods |
| A．drink much water and have vegetables only | B．not eat the food in high fat |
| C．not accept invitations to feasts | D．turn away from delicious foods |
| A．vegetables | B．water | C．calories of energy | D．physical exercise |
| A．can’t control themselves | B．go to too many feasts |
| C．enjoy delicious foods | D．can’t help turning away from the foods |
