1 . On the banks of the beautiful Macquarie River, Bathurst is a town of pretty tree-lined streets, beautiful parks and wonderful heritage buildings. Many activities are held there year-round. Here are some for you.
The Lazy Sunday Afternoon
January 1
Join us for the Lazy Sunday Afternoon as we show you local award-winning wine from Three Views Vineyard. Please call in advance to book. Enjoy cheap wine tastings and a selection of cheeses. For those who do not want to drive, a pick-up is available.
International Museum Photograph Day
January 15
Celebrate International Museum Photograph Day with a selfie at Bathurst Regional Council Museums with free entrance. To win a prize for the most imaginative photographs, just use the marking Museum Photograph Day Bathurst when you post on Facebook.
Bathurst Miniature Railway
From February 1 to February 16
Bathurst Miniature Railway operates every third Sunday of the month. It is located next to the Tennis Centre in Durham Street. The club started in 1977 and today operates nearly 600 meters of race track in Durham Street Bathurst. Over the years more tracks for your enjoyment of sports have been added.
Challenge Bathurst
From November 28 to December 1
Challenge Bathurst is a great opportunity to drive your own street car or track racing car on the famous Mount Panorama Racing Circuit. With the most exciting 6.2 kilometers of bitumen (沥青) on the planet open for your speeding enjoyment, you won’t want to miss your chance to gain an unforgettable experience.
1. What do we know about the Lazy Sunday Afternoon?| A．It is held monthly. | B．It is free of charge. |
| C．It refuses to offer pick-up service. | D．It requires booking ahead of time. |
| A．A man loving food and wine. | B．A girl fond of taking pictures. |
| C．A kid expecting free car rides. | D．A teenager wanting to play tennis. |
| A．To introduce some events in Bathurst. | B．To advertise some summer activities. |
| C．To show races on the Bathurst streets. | D．To provide opportunities for indoor sports. |
2 . When leaving school, I was pleased that my exam results meant that I could study engineering at university. But I also wanted to travel before starting my course. A friend of mine told me about the Schools Exploring Society, an organization which helps students take a gap year （a year between leaving school and going to college）. It has three foreign journeys a year, taking 16-20-year-olds on science and nature trips. I love being outdoors, and a mountaineering trip to Alaska was on offer. So I signed up immediately.
There was one problem, though. I had to raise a large amount of money for the trip. It was a big task, but I managed to make it. I washed cars, worked in a cafe and also sold off some of my old books, clothes and CDs. Then, just before starting out, I started worrying. Can I do this? Am I fit enough? What if I see a bear?
Seventy of us traveled to Alaska. The first two days after arrival were spent in a school hall preparing our equipment and five tons of food. Then we left for the beautiful Talkeetna Mountain. On the trip we dug paths and recognized plant species. Then we climbed a mountain that was over 6,000 feet high. It was tiring but exciting.
Looking back, a gap year was so right for me. I learned a lot about accepting other people for what they are. We had to help each other and it made me less selfish. My gap year has also made me more able to concentrate. Now, whenever Tm worried about anything, I think I did Alaska-I can do this!
1. We can learn from Paragraph 1 that the author .| A．hadn’t taken foreign trips before |
| B．made the trip together with his friends |
| C．was not satisfied with his exam results |
| D．was going to study engineering at a college |
| A．His body was not strong. |
| B．He couldn’t afford the trip. |
| C．He had no outdoor experience. |
| D．He had little time to prepare for the trip. |
| A．was well worth it |
| B．got him interested in plants |
| C．made him fall behind others in study |
| D．helped him know more about himself |
| A．To explain how to prepare for trips. |
| B．To advise on how to spend a gap year. |
| C．To describe his experience in his gap year. |
| D．To encourage students to do part-time work. |
3 . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to travel to a foreign country without having to worry about the headache of communicating in a different language?
In a recent Wall Street journal article, technology policy expert A lec Ross argued that, within a decade or so. We’ll be able to communicate with one another via small earpieces with built-in microphones. That’s because technological progress is extremely rapid. It’s only a matter of time. Indeed, some parents are so convinced that this technology is imminent that they’re wondering if their kids should even learn a second language.
It’s true that an increase in the quantity and accuracy (准确) of the data loaded into computers make them cleverer at translating “No es bueno dormir mucho” as “It’s not good to sleep too much.” Replacing a word with its equivalent (同义词) in the target language is actually the “easy part of a translator’s job”. But even this seems to be a discouraging task for computers.
It’s so difficult for computers because translation doesn’t—or shouldn’t—involve simply translating words, sentences or paragraphs. Rather, it’s about translating meaning. And in order to infer meaning from a specific expression, humans have to interpret a mass of information at the same time. Think about all the related clues that go into understanding an expression: volume, gesture, situation, and even your culture. All are likely to convey as much meaning as the words you use.
Therefore, we should doubt whether a machine is able to translate the world around us. If people from different cultures can offend each other without realizing it, how can we expect a machine to do better? Unless engineers actually find a way to breathe a soul into a computer, undoubtedly when it comes to conveying and translation meaning using a natural language, a machine will never fully take our place.
1. What does the underlined word “imminent” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Ready. | B．Coming. | C．Helpful. | D．Advanced. |
| A．Their data is not adequate (充足的) enough. |
| B．The real meaning of words can change. |
| C．Their accuracy needs big improvement. |
| D．A soul hasn’t been breathed into them. |
| A．Proper translation can be difficult for humans. |
| B．Slight difference mean little in translation. |
| C．Some machines will translate our world properly. |
| D．Cultures deserve more attention than words used. |
| A．A new language translating machine |
| B．Translation will become easier |
| C．Who Will Be a Better Translator |
| D．Will Language Barrier (障碍) Actually Fall |
4 . It’s hard to turn down a tasty banana. They taste good and you don’t have to wash them before eating them. However, British scientists say that the fruit may disappear by 2050.
One reason for this is climate change. Scientists at the University of Exeter collected data from 27 countries and regions that produce 86 percent of the world’s bananas. They found that climate change has improved growing conditions in 21 of these countries. In the past 60 years the average yield has reached 1.37 tons of bananas per hectare.
However, if temperatures keep rising, this advantage will disappear. Ten of the countries, including India, the world’s biggest producer of bananas, will produce fewer bananas. By 2050, the fruit may die out.
Shouldn’t bananas grow more easily if it’s hotter outside? In fact, the perfect temperature range for growing bananas is between 24℃ and 32℃. If temperatures get too high, they will stop growing.
Another reason for this phenomenon is diseases. Unlike other crops, the bananas we grow come from shoot cuttings rather than seeds. This means that all banana plants have the same genotype. In other words, if a disease is able to kill one plants it could kill them all.
One serious disease is called Panama. Caused by fungus（真菌）in the soil, it spreads easily. It has spread across South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. If one banana plantation suffers from the disease, it will take 30 years until it is able to grow bananas again. Scientists have not found a cure for this disease.
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．People’s love for bananas. | B．The taste of bananas. |
| C．The future disappearance of bananas. | D．The convenience of eating bananas |
| A．More countries will start to grow bananas. |
| B．Bananas will not be able to grow any more. |
| C．Bananas will grow better in most countries. |
| D．Bananas won’t be as tasty as before. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
| A．What diseases bananas may suffer from. | B．How bananas are grown. |
| C．How diseases can easily kill bananas. | D．Which diseases can kill bananas. |
5 . Teenagers need to eat healthy food while they’re still young so that they will grow up to be healthy adults. Therefore, it is necessary for school cafeterias(食堂) to provide healthy food. With this in mind, the government has introduced a new food safety regulation that will improve health levels in schools.
The new regulation took effect on April 1. It requires those who are in charge of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools to eat with students in their cafeterias. Schools will also be required to make information regarding food sources and suppliers public.
The regulation also suggests that parents should eat with students at school in order to provide advice on food safety. Schools must find food safety problems and solve them in a timely manner.
If a school is caught buying low-quality food or failing to report food safety events, the people in charge of the school will be warned, fired or handed over to law enforcement(执法机关), the regulation says.
Parents across China have become increasingly angry about food safety events in schools, according to The Beijing News.
The most recent example occurred in March at the Chengdu No.7 High School Development School. Parents posted videos and photos of bad food that was served in the school’s cafeteria, China Daily reported. The school’s headmaster was eventually fired. In October, the head of an international school in Shanghai was fired after law enforcement found bad tomatoes and onions in the schools kitchen.
1. What does the new regulation require schools to do?| A．Allow teachers and students to eat together. |
| B．Improve the conditions of their cafeterias. |
| C．Show the public where their food comes from. |
| D．Build more than one cafeteria. |
| A．Parents should play a part in improving food safety in schools. |
| B．Teenagers should go home to eat meals every day. |
| C．Food safety problems can be easily solved. |
| D．Parents are angry about food safety events in schools. |
| A．School cafeterias often offer bad food to cut their costs. |
| B．School headmasters nationwide are not doing their jobs well. |
| C．Food can get bad more easily in the south than in the north. |
| D．The punishment for offering bad food is serious. |
| A．Students’ eating habits. |
| B．Food safety in schools. |
| C．School headmasters. |
| D．Parent-teacher relationships. |
6 . Taylor Pollard remembers when her younger sister, Kheris Rogers, was in first grade she once asked to stay in the bathroom longer---she hoped it would make her skin lighter. Kids were making fun of Rogers’ dark complexion. So Erika Pollard, the girls’ mom, moved Rogers to another school. Kids still made fun of her, but this time the kids bullying（霸凌）her were black.
Taylor Pollard wanted to help her sister feel good about herself. In 2017, she took a picture of Kheris. She posted it online. She wrote Kheris was “flexing in her complexion”. That is an expression their grandmother used often to encourage the girls to feel beautiful. Complexion means skin color. Flexing is a term for “showing off” or “showing pride”.
Then the sisters received many messages supporting Rogers and decided they wanted to direct that energy. Together, they came up with the idea of putting the message on a T-shirt Their business, Flexin’ In My Complexion, started shortly after that in April 2017. Erika gave the sisters about $100. Then their project got off the ground. They used some of the money to build a website. They also learned how to screen print T-shirts. The sisters set up shop in the garage behind their mom’s house in LA.
The sisters are co-CEOs. So far the sisters have sold more than 10,000 T-shirts. Flexin’ in My Complexion has done more than make money for the sisters. It has also helped Rogers become confident. When she was being bullied, Rogers says she would come home from school upset.
“I would always come home crying; I would just have tears coming down my face,” she says. “My confidence is probably 10 million times higher right now. You have no way of knowing but my confidence back then was probably as low as it could be.”
1. What made Rogers’ classmates laugh at her?| A．Her skin color. | B．Her behavior. |
| C．Her schoolwork. | D．Her family background. |
| A．By visiting their grandmother and asking her for help. |
| B．By choosing a new school for her. |
| C．By introducing her to kids with similar experiences. |
| D．By sharing her picture online. |
| A．To remember their grandmother. | B．To advertise their T-shirts. |
| C．To encourage others. | D．To support their family. |
| A．Honest and polite. | B．Brave and confident. |
| C．Popular but unhappy. | D．Hard-working but impatient. |
7 . When something on your fruit or vegetable looks strange, it isn't unusual to throw it to the side. without any hesitation. But some “unusual" parts of fruits and vegetables actually contain abundant amounts of health benefits or they may offer other little known uses. Those stings in your banana are no different.
Often thrown away with its skin, banana strings, which are scientifically called phloem bundles, are just as nutritious as the rest( inner pat) of the fruit. They are packed full of fibre, vitamin A, and vitamin B6 and other nutritional content, Phloem can be found in all plants, which is responsible for the transport of nutrients.“ Phloem bundles are made up of living cells that send food products and sugar to all the different parts of the plant," says Rebecca Lee, a registered nurse and the founder of remediesforme. com. And that is exactly what those strings do in the banana, transporting necessary nutrients throughout the delicious fruit so that it can grow up properly.
“They are not disgusting, and they just help the banana grow and become delicious," Dr. Elizabeth Trattner A. P. DOM, Doctor of Chinese and Integrative Medicine, told Reader's Digest. “It is fine to eat and although is structure is a little different from the inside.
Those phloem bundles can also be used to determine if your banana is ready to eat. If all of the nutrients haven't been transported completely in a balanced way throughout the fruit yet, then the phloem bundles stay on more tightly, meaning the banana is under ripe. Then the opposite occurs with ripe and over ripe bananas, as the strings can be removed more easily. But if your bananas do end up bring over-ripe. throw them away? Absolutely not!
1. What are the strings of a banana?| A．It’s nutrition producers. | B．It’s transporting cells. |
| C．It’s fleshy inner parts. | D．It’s protective skins. |
| A．The banana is not ripe enough. | B．The phloem's structure is tight. |
| C．The nutrients are distributed fully. | D．The phloem bundles become longer. |
| A．The ways to deal with over -ripe bananas. | B．The reasons for bananas being over -ripe. |
| C．The steps of stopping bananas being ripe. | D．The links between phloem and ripe bananas. |
| A．A biology textbook. | B．A research paper. | C．A medical brochure. | D．A health magazine. |
8 . The morning after an evening struggle to care for my three-year-old daughter, I couldn’t wait to get her to school. I, as a mother, was tired from the hopelessness and her inability to communicate because of her slowed language development.
As I accompanied her into the car, I felt desperate. Nothing was right with our world. She’d been born around the same time when the nation was witnessing the birth of another Great Recession. My job and my house had been victims. Then this happened. My child’s language delay was identified, but doctors struggled to properly help her, I felt like we both needed to be rescued.
I returned that afternoon as disenchanted as when I left. Walking slowly toward the school’s playground gate, I found her preschool teacher racing to greet me.
“You should have seen her today!” His breathy words were supported by excitement. I didn’t interrupt. “See that climber.” He pointed to a wooden piece of playground equipment that looked like a rock wall. I nodded. “Well, every day since she started school, she’s tried and failed to make it to the top.” He took a breath. “And today she did it!”
He expressed his joy just as he’d witnessed her conquering Mount Everest! “She cheered and celebrated! I wish I’d recorded it!” His words comforted me. My daughter had conquered her mountain.
As she ran toward me, I recognized something I hadn’t before. I saw her perseverance. I saw her strength. I saw a hero.
Everyday greatness celebrates ordinary people who do unusual things in big and small ways, showing courage, kindness, love and selflessness. We encourage you to click these brief accounts and invite you to share your own story.
1. Why did the author rush her daughter to school that morning?| A．She was in bad mood since they had a fight last night. |
| B．She was too tired from her own work and desired for a good rest. |
| C．She couldn’t control her anger because her daughter didn’t behave well. |
| D．She broke down because she was exhausted caring for her daughter last nigh |
| A．hopeless | B．relieved |
| C．satisfied | D．worried |
| A．Because she began to communicate with others normally. |
| B．Because she was so determined and ambitious to be a good climber. |
| C．Because she overcame the difficulty and managed to do what she wanted. |
| D．Because she was the only student succeeding in standing on Mount Everest. |
| A．In a radio program | B．On the Internet |
| C．In a newspaper | D．On a magazine |
9 . Head to Music City for a variety of great lodging (住宿) options. Whether you want to check out Downtown or head to the eastern part of the city, there’s something for everyone.
◎ Gaylord Opryland
Located in the downtown and Music Row area, it is home to two different fine dining options within its estate (庄园), three casual-style restaurants, and six options for fast food. Other great conveniences include an indoor pool, a hot tub, free WiFi, refrigerators and more.
◎ Hermitage Hotel
Also located in the downtown area, the Hermitage Hotel was named after the estate of late President Andrew Jackson. Guests can enjoy countless conveniences that will help to make their vacation absolutely unforgettable, including a fitness center, business center, free WiFi, and an on-site laundry facility.
◎ Radisson Airport TN
Located within miles of the International Airport, this is a fantastic option for those who are flying into the city as it offers free transportation service to and from the airport. The lodging features free WiFi, ATM machines on-site, and a free daily newspaper. Some great options for entertainment are also offered here, including an indoor heated pool, hot tub, gift shop, and fitness center.
◎ Hilton Garden Inn
Located just a mile away from the Country Music Hall, this downtown site provides convenience and wonder for any Music City adventure. Guests will be able to enjoy accommodations such as free WiFi and paid breakfasts. Plus, each room comes equipped with microwaves and refrigerators for added convenience. When you are not relaxing in your comfortable room, guests can take a dip in the indoor heated pool.
1. Which would a customer particular about food most probably choose?| A．Gaylord Opryland. | B．Hermitage Hotel. |
| C．Radisson Airport TN. | D．Hilton Garden Inn. |
| A．It supplies fast food options. |
| B．It is related to Andrew Jackson. |
| C．It is near the Country Music Hall. |
| D．It offers free transportation service. |
| A．They provide Internet service. |
| B．They offer an indoor heated pool. |
| C．They are located in the downtown. |
| D．They are equipped with microwaves. |
10 . Robots are now being employed not just for dangerous tasks, such as discovering mines or rescuing people in disasters. They are also finding application as household helps and as nursing assistants. As the number of machines increases, which are equipped with the latest artificial intelligence and take on a growing variety of specialized and everyday tasks, the question of how people see them and behave towards them becomes ever more urgent.
A team led by Sari Nijssen of Radboud University and Markus Paulus, Professor of Developmental Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilians- Universitat (LMU), have carried out a study to determine the degree to which people show concern for robots and behave toward them based on moral principles.
According to Sari Nijssen, the study set out to answer the following question: "Under what circumstances would adults be willing to sacrifice robots to save human lives?" The participants were faced with a hypothetical (假设的) moral dilemma:Would they be prepared to put a single person at risk in order to save a group of injured persons? The intended victim presented in the situations was either a humanoid robot that had been humanized (人性化的) to various degrees or a robot that was clearly recognizable as a machine.
The study suggested that the more the robot was humanized, the less likely participants were to sacrifice it. Situations that included vivid stories in which the robot was described as a merciful being or as a creature with its own understandings, experiences and thoughts, were more likely to stop the study participants from sacrificing it in the interests of anonymous (无名的) humans.
"This result indicates that our study group attached a certain moral status to the robot," says Paulus. "One possible suggestion of this finding is that attempts to humanize robots should not go too far. Such efforts could come into conflict with their intended function—to be of help to us."
1. What has become a concern about robots?| A．How to treat them in life. | B．How to humanize them. |
| C．How to use them effectively. | D．How to find more applications. |
| A．where to experience risks. | B．when to sacrifice a robot. |
| C．which robot to work with. | D．what robots should be like. |
| A．Humanized robots offer less help to people. |
| B．Certain moral status should be attached to robots. |
| C．Humanizing robots too much may be improper. |
| D．Conflicts often happen between humans and robots. |
| A．Robots, a Must for Future | B．Robots Saved, People Take the Hit |
| C．Humanized Robots, a New Trend | D．Humanized Robots Replace Human |
