1 . Anyone wanting to help the poor may like this idea—recycling aluminum cans in a different way, which is apparently also good for the environment. So you're actually killing two birds with one stone. It goes without saying that recycling aluminum cans can save resources, energy, time and money. People usually save and place aluminum cans in the dustbins, which are then collected and taken away by cleaners, who will finally recycle them in the recycling center. But if you save the aluminum cans, and skip the cleaners, you can save these same cans for something more important—helping the poor. In other words, by doing less, you are giving the environmental cause some new significance.
Here is how to put this idea into action. Take your aluminum cans and place them in a plastic bag. For the dirty ones, rinse them out first. Store the bag of clean aluminum cans. Once you collect about one hundred cans or more, take the cans to the recycle center yourself. There are about eighteen aluminum cans in a pound. And you can receive three to four dollars for one hundred cans. Donate your three to four dollars to the poor or any charity organization of your choice.
By now, you may wonder if your few dollars have really made a difference to the poor. Consider this: Is there any individual or any specific event that is great enough to change the world or decide the direction that history takes? The answer is probably no. What if there were a lot of people who would do the same thing? History shows nothing but the collective will of the whole community. And that will surely be powerful enough to make a bigger difference.
Go to your community or your school and spread your idea. Share your idea and save your aluminum cans with other people. One hundred people can speak louder than one. And the money you make by saving cans can be multiplied by one hundred times. And if more people join in the cause around the world, an even larger difference can be made , and more people in need will enjoy the benefits.
1. What's special about the new idea?| A．It makes profits. | B．It saves resources. |
| C．It benefits the poor. | D．It involves cleaners. |
| A．Dirty cans do not sell well. | B．You decide who receives the money. |
| C．A hundred cans weigh about 3 pounds. | D．The recycle center is conveniently located. |
| A．A great individual or event. | B．The direction history takes. |
| C．The collective will of people. | D．The neighbourhood you live in. |
| A．Many hands make light work. | B．Kill two birds with one stone. |
| C．Don't put the cart before the horse. | D．No man can do two things at once. |
2 . A painting stamped with more than 4.8 million fingerprints and cost over 80, 000 yuan in paper has set the Guinness World Record for the largest fingerprint painting.
The fingerprint painting, named Descendants of the Dragon, was created by Kuang Xianpeng, a 35-year-old painter from Zhuzhou, Hunan Province. It describes a mix of nine Chinese dragons and six arts in ancient Chinese culture.
With a surface area of 1195. 14 square meters, 51. 526 meters long and 23. 195 meters wide, the whole painting used 685 pieces of xuan paper and took Kuang over two years to complete. It also took 40 volunteers two whole days to lay out the painting for Guinness certification officer to measure.
Kuang said it was a very arduous journey, and he had used up all his spare time to finish the work. “It was very hard to master the amount of strength you put in your fingers, ” he said. “You can’t press too hard or too light. Otherwise, your prints will blur. I have wasted over 300 pieces of paper due to blurred fingerprints. ”
The Guinness certification officer Luo Qiong said this world record wasn’t easy to earn. She said each fingerprint must be clear, the painting must have more than four different colors, and the distance between each fingerprint mustn’t be more than 1 centimeter.
The world record for this category had been broken 15 times since 2014, with the previous one set by an Indian with a work measuring 1, 188 square meters.
Before this painting, Kuang had spent 14 years in drawing a pen-and-ink painting of 247 meters long and 1. 6 meters wide, telling stories of historical myths. He also said he would never stop exploring more creative works.
1. What can we know about the painting created by Kuang Xianpeng?| A．It’s worth at least 80, 000 yuan. |
| B．It measures 1, 188 square meters. |
| C．It took him 14 years to complete it. |
| D．It consists of over 4.8 million fingerprints. |
| A．Difficult. | B．Satisfying. |
| C．Thrilling. | D．Frightening. |
| A．The colors of paints. |
| B．The amount of strength. |
| C．The quality of xuan paper. |
| D．The distance of fingerprints. |
| A．He is full of creativity. |
| B．He is full of imagination. |
| C．He is very courageous. |
| D．He is rich in experience. |
3 . The world's largest iceberg (冰山)is floating toward the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Scientists fear the iceberg could crash into the island and block major feeding areas for a large population of penguins (企鹅)and seals.
Satellite images show the iceberg has remained in one piece. It is estimated to be about 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide. It is traveling at one kilometer an hour and is on a path to hit South Georgia in around 30 days.
The British Antarctic Survey says it is concerned that if the iceberg hits the island, it could prevent the penguins and seals from reaching food supplies.
Professor Geraint Tarling, an ecologist with the Antarctic Survey, says right now is the time of year when seals and penguins spend a lot of time caring for their young. This means the distance that parents have to travel to find food is important.
"That means they have to go a lot further, they have to go around the iceberg, or to actually go further to find sources of food," Tarling said. "And that time is quite important at this particular period of their life cycle."
The breaking off of icebergs from Antarctica is a natural process. But the process is changing with climate change. " What we 're seeing with models and some observations now is the rate at which this is happening is increasing. And so, this might become more of a usual thing into the future," Tarling said.
The iceberg also could damage South Georgia's valuable fishing industry. Fishers pay for the rights to catch Patagonian toothfish, icefish and krill (磷虾)in waters off the island.
Officials are hoping that changing weather patterns could direct the iceberg out into the open ocean, where it would, in time, break up and melt.
1. What will happen if the iceberg hits the island of South Georgia?| A．Wildlife will lose their homes. |
| B．The iceberg will remain in one piece. |
| C．The island of South Georgia will disappear. |
| D．Feeding will be challenging for penguins and seals. |
| A．Icebergs are coming off faster than before. |
| B．Penguins and seals' birth rates are increasing. |
| C．The iceberg's breaking off is caused by human. |
| D．It's unusual to see the iceberg melting is speeding. |
| A．The present situation is beyond hope. |
| B．The weather patterns are controllable. |
| C．The iceberg is bound to melt very soon. |
| D．The crash of the iceberg may be avoidable. |
| A．The changing climate in Antarctica. | B．The potential problems of the iceberg. |
| C．The island of South Georgia. | D．The population of sea animals. |
4 . The language Centers first Trivia Night tested students' knowledge on different languages and their histories last Friday at Douglass commons.
"We have decided to conduct this event when the weather is bad so that students who have nowhere to go and stay on campus can come and find a comfortable shelter during a cold winter day," Language Center Director, Teresa Valdez said. According to Valdez, the idea for Trivia night came a year ago from a junior and team-member called Elizabeth de Los Reyes. The event engaged students' interest in languages and showed the high-quality services that the Language Center provides.
Participants competed in small groups that each represented a different language and country. There were five teams in total: Russia, China, Japan, Spain and France. The competition consisted of four rounds with each round consisting of three questions relating to the following topics literature, language, geography, culture and history.
After a few warm-up questions about how people greet each other in different languages, what continent Turkey is found in, and who is the first man to fly to the moon, the questions became increasingly difficult. Each round offered an increasing amount of points a team could receive. The final question was worth 20 points. If a team did not answer it correctly, the points were taken from the total.
In the meantime, students enjoyed pizza, snacks, and drinks while sharing their linguistic (语言的) interest. Most of the participants knew two or three languages. Others knew more, such as first-year Bartek Jezierski from Poland, who can speak English, Polish, German, Spanish, and Russian.
The winners from first to third place were France, Japan and Russia respectively. All five teams were given some prizes—a blue shopping bag, a cup and stuffed toys. However, students believed the most important prize of the evening was the process of the competition—how students from diverse backgrounds and cultures were able to participate in a friendly competition, and shared their mutual (相互的) love of languages.
1. What is one of the purposes of Trivia Night？| A．To attract students to learn languages. |
| B．To help the students suffering from coldness. |
| C．To collect opinions from the students on its services. |
| D．To select the best students for the Language center. |
| A．3 | B．4. | C．12. | D．20. |
| A．Quiet. | B．Relaxing. | C．romantic. | D．Depressing. |
| A．Some snacks and drinks. |
| B．Various prizes for winners. |
| C．The course of the competition. |
| D．The services provided by the language center. |
5 . Every year, companies like GoPro manage to pack more and more functions into smaller and smaller action cameras that are less noticeable to wear. But a team of researchers from the University of Washington have managed to build a live-streaming wireless camera that’s so small that even an insect can wear it. It’s not quite small and light enough to be held to a fly, but at around 250 milligrams, the camera was successfully carried by a beetle.
Although the camera inside a modern smartphone is certainly tiny, it’s too large and heavy for an insect to carry once the batteries are added. Capturing millions of pixels（像素）with every shot requires a lot of image processing, which in turn requires a lot of power. Taking an alternate route, the researchers copied nature’s approach to how flies see the world. Their large compound eyes can not only detect motion across a wide field of view（it’s why they’re so difficult to hit）but also feature a small, high-resolution（分辨率）region that can focus on their targets, which helps reduce the load on their tiny brains.
Given its size and low-power approach, the camera’s streaming abilities are similarly limited, with a Bluetooth connection that maxes out at a distance of roughly 120 meters, requiring a remote operator to be fairly close to the camera at all times. However, battery life is surprisingly decent. The camera can run for up to two hours, but to extend that, the researchers included an accelerometer so that it’s only capturing and broadcasting images whenever the beetle is moving That can increase the camera’s battery life to over six hours.
The researchers acknowledge that their design certainly raises some privacy concerns, given how easy it is for insects to find their way into your home. But the camera could provide entomologists（昆虫学者）with new insights into how insects cross their environment, respond to threats in the wild, and even provide a closer look at their social structures.
1. What is the feature of the new camera?| A．It’s small-size and low-weight. | B．It takes much clearer pictures. |
| C．It can perform tasks in the open air. | D．It protects beetles from their enemies. |
| A．How to enlarge its vision. |
| B．How to capture the target. |
| C．How to save power of its battery. |
| D．How to make sharp turns during flying. |
| A．casual | B．adequate | C．beneficial | D．unsatisfactory |
| A．Critical. | B．Doubtful. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
6 . Visiting the local library is the best way to celebrate Reading Month. Some libraries use unique architecture to encourage visitors to explore them and settle down with a new book. No matter how they achieve it, these creative libraries are keeping the magic of reading alive.
Stuttgart City Library
Stuttgart, Germany
Opened in 2011, this nine-story public library is characterized by its attractive white-on-white color scheme and its bold cubic shape. This cultural center for the city, designed to feel open and full of light, can be entered from any of its four sides, and regular visitors can borrow artworks as well as books.
Bibliotera Sandro Penna
Perugia, Italy
In a country known for classical architecture and historical buildings, Bibliotera Sandro Penna stands out for its modern aesthetics (美学). Housing books and multimedia, this library was built in 2004. It is named after a local poet and is easily identified by its circular pink glass top like a flying saucer.
Seikei University Library
Tokyo, Japan
Libraries are usually known for their quiet atmosphere, but this one encourages conversation. Pritzker Architecture Prize- winner Shigeru Ban designed the library, which not only respects those who need uninterrupted study, but also is a perfect spot for study groups and lively discussions.
Macquarie University Library
Sydney, Australia
This building was made from recycled materials and was designed to look like a eucalyptus tree (桉树). It uses robot cranes to bring requested books to the front desk.
1. What can you do as a new-comer in Stuttgart City Library?| A．Borrow books and artworks. | B．Enter it at any of four gates. |
| C．Open all its lights in it. | D．Use robots to bring books. |
| A．In Japan. | B．In Australia. | C．In Italy. | D．In Germany. |
| A．Stuttgart City Library. | B．Biblioteca Sandro Penna. |
| C．Seikei University Library. | D．Macquarie University Library. |
7 . Everybody hates rats. But in the earthquake capitals of the world-Japan, Los Angeles, Turkey-rats will soon be man's new best friends.
What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First，the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal. This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Christian Linster at Cornell University-New York says, “Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that.” Rats can also see in the dark.They are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!
The “rat project” is not finished, but Julie Ryan of International Rescue Corps in Scotland says, “It would be fantastic. A rat could get into spaces we couldn't get to and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe.” Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).
1. In the world earthquake capitals, rats will become man's best friends because they can ______.| A．take the place of man's rescue jobs |
| B．find the position of people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| C．serve as food for people alive who are trapped in buildings |
| D．get into small spaces |
| A．the noise made by the rat | B．the rat's unusual behavior |
| C．the signal sent by the radio on the rat's back | D．the smell given off by the person |
| A．rats smell better than dogs |
| B．dogs don't need to be trained to smell people |
| C．robots' sense of smell can be affected by other smells around |
| D．rats can not see in the dark |
| A．nowadays rats have replaced dogs in searching for people |
| B．the “rat project” has been completed |
| C．people are now happy to see a rat in a building |
| D．at present people still use dogs and robots in rescues |
8 . Somewhere in the warm, clear waters off the coast of Australia, a mature bottlenose dolphin is swimming with her daughter. It's dinnertime. But, instead of chasing down a fish in open waters like she usually does, mom swims over to a basket sponge (海绵)growing on the ocean floor. In a quick move, she breaks off a piece of the sponge, then fits it closely over her mouth. It's hard not to wonder what that watchful youngster might be thinking about all this. Are you going to eat that sponge? Are we playing?
With the sponge secured on her beak, the older dolphin starts sweeping her head back and forth across the ocean floor. She's looking for fish like the sand perch （沙鲈），which hide themselves on the floor of the sea under the sand. As for the sponge stuck onto her mouth, it allows her to clear away the sand without injuring herself on broken pieces of coral, or maybe even suffering the sting （刺痛）of the scorpion fish. The extra work it takes to catch a fish like the sand perch is worth it because they tend to be fattier. And for a dolphin, fattier means more nutritious.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, a sand perch comes out. The fish dashes off for a few yards and then hesitates, waiting for a moment before burying itself in the sand again. In that brief pause, the elder dolphin shakes off the sponge, surfaces for a breath, and then comes down and catches the sand perch before it can rebury itself. She then passes it to her daughter. And with that, the younger dolphin hasn't just gotten a good meal ； more importantly, she's learned a powerful hunting technique - one that years from now, she'll pass along to her own children.
1. Which word best describes the young dolphin's feeling in the first paragraph?| A．Anxious. | B．Curious. |
| C．Scared. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．To chase down fattier fish. | B．To play with her children. |
| C．To protect herself from being hurt. | D．To hide herself under the sand. |
| A．She waits for the right time. | B．She hides under the sand. |
| C．She sets a trap for it. | D．She makes use of space. |
| A．Guidance of an experienced elder. | B．Reliance of a young dolphinonher mom. |
| C．Theprocess of catching fat fish. | D．The powerful hunting technique. |
9 . 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 |
10 . Perhaps you have heard a lot about the Internet,but what is it,do you know?The Internet is a network.It uses the telephone to join millions of computers together around the world.
Maybe that doesn’t sound very interesting.But when you’ve joined to the Internet,there are lots of things you can do.You can send e-mails to your friends,and they can get them in a few seconds.You can also do with all kinds of information on the World Wide Web(WWW).
There are many different kinds of computers now.They all can be joined to the Internet.Most of them are small machines sitting on people’s desks at home,but there are still many others in schools,offices or large companies.These computers are owned by people and companies,but no one really owns the Internet itself.
There are lots of places for you to go into the Internet.For example,your school may have the Internet,and you can use it during lessons or free time.Libraries often have computers joined to the Internet,and you are welcome to use it at any time.
Thanks to the Internet,the world is becoming smaller and smaller.It is possible for you to work at home with a computer in front,getting and sending the information you need.You can buy or sell whatever you want on the Internet.But do you know 98% of the information on the Internet is in English?So what will English be like tomorrow?
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The Internet. | B．The information. |
| C．The computers. | D．The emails. |
| A．By post. | B．By email. |
| C．By telephone. | D．By satellite. |
| A．In the office. | B．At school. |
| C．At home. | D．In the company. |
| A．English is important in using the Internet. |
| B．The Internet is more and more popular. |
| C．Most of the information is in English. |
| D．Every computer must have the Internet. |
