1 . When most people hear the words “Big Ben” they immediately think of the attractive Victorian Gothic structure of the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. Let’s clear up a common misunderstanding first; technically speaking, the name “Big Ben” does not refer to the famous tower, nor to the four huge clock faces of this London landmark; instead, it refers to the largest one of the five bells inside the clock tower.
Construction of the tower was begun following the disastrous fire which destroyed the old Palace of Westminster in 1834. Charles Barry was responsible for rebuilding the Palace, and his designs included a clock tower.
It took 16 years to build the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster and it was completed in 1859. The tower is 316 feet high. The spire of the tower is built with an iron frame, and it is this frame which supports the weight of the bells. Several small rooms are built into the lower part of the tower, including a small prison cell.
The iron frame of the clock face was designed by AW Pugin, who was responsible for many of the Gothic decorative elements of the Palace of Westminster. The dials are 23 feet in diameter and the faces themselves are not solid, but are made up of many small pieces of opal glass, like a glass window. Several of the central pieces of glass can be removed to make it easier for people to check the hands of the clock from inside.
At the time of its construction the clock movement was easily the largest in the world, and it is still among the largest today. The clock, designed by Edmund Beckett Denison, has proven to be very accurate over the years.
Big Ben — the hour bell — is said to have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who was known for his great size, as is the bell! The first Big Ben hour bell was completed before the tower, so the bell was hung in New Palace Yard. After repeated public ringing the bell cracked and had to be replaced by the current bell.
1. The name “Big Ben” actually refers to ____.| A．the famous tower | B．the huge clock faces |
| C．the biggest bell inside | D．the designer of the tower |
| A．was designed by Edmund Beckett Denison | B．was built in 1844 |
| C．is more than 300 feet high | D．has no rooms in it |
| A．Opal glass is cheaper than solid materials. | B．The huge body makes it much easier to see. |
| C．The glass is solid enough. | D．Pieces of glass can be removed to check the hands. |
| A．Sir Benjamin Hall was a famous architect | B．the first hour bell has worked till now |
| C．the bells are hung inside the spire of the tower | D．the clock is not accurate now |
2 . A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag which results from flying long distances in an airplane. People with jet lag feel extremely tired for several days. They may also have problems in thinking clearly and remembering.
Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty women who worked for international airlines. They had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights. The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.
The researcher took some saliva from the women’s mouths to measure levels of a hormone (荷尔蒙) that increases during stress. He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain’s temporal lobes (脑叶).
It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.
The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.
Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently affect memory.
1. What causes jet lag according to the passage?| A．Having a long trip. | B．Flying across many countries. |
| C．Making lengthy flight journeys. | D．Traveling across several time zones. |
| A．The process of the study. | B．The result of the study. |
| C．The meaning of the study. | D．The preparation of the study. |
| A．The women who have longer flights fail the memory test. |
| B．The women who have longer rest at home show better memory. |
| C．The women who rest more than 14 days produce more hormones. |
| D．The women who have less time in flight have smaller right temporal lobes. |
| A．Solution to Jet Lag | B．Influences of Jet Lag on the Brain |
| C．Jet Lag PermanentlyAffects Memory | D．FlightAttendants’BrainsAre in Danger |
3 . Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.
Zones
The library is divided into different zones. The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading, and places where you can sit and work with your own computer. The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs. The ground floor is the zone where you can talk. Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.
Computers
You can use your own computer to connect to the wi-fi specially prepared for notebook computers; you can also use library computers, which contain the most commonly used applications, such as Microsoft Office. They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.
Group-study places
If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others, you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor. Some study rooms are for 2-3 people and others can hold up to 6-8 people. All rooms are marked on the library maps.
There are 40 group-study rooms that must be booked via the website. To book, you need an active University account and a valid University card. You can use a room three hours per day, nine hours at most per week.
Storage of Study Material
The library has lockers for students to store course literature. When you have obtained at least 40 credits(学分), you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.
Rules to be Followed
Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library. Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.
Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library, but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.
1. Library computers on the ground floor _________.| A．help students with their field experiments |
| B．contain software necessary for schoolwork |
| C．are for those who want to access the wi-fi |
| D．are mostly used for filling out application forms |
| A．A group must consist of 8 people |
| B．Three-hour use per day is the minimum |
| C．One should first register at the university |
| D．Applicants must mark the room on the map |
| A．can afford the rental fee | B．attends certain courses |
| C．has nowhere to put his books | D．has earned the required credits |
4 . We have heard some interesting ways that 5G wireless technology might change our lives in the future.
5G, short for the 5th generation mobile communication technology, promises Internet speeds between 50 to 100 times faster than current 4G systems. While 5G is set to be used in some limited areas of America this year, much of the world is not expected to receive widely available service until 2023.
One project in Britain, however, is already testing this superfast technology on an unlikely group of Internet users-cows. The project was developed by American technology company Cisco Systems. It also receives money from the British government. Cisco says the program seeks to explore the future of 5G connectivity in rural areas around the world.
Testing areas were set up at farms in three rural areas of England. The cows are equipped with 5G-connected devices (装置) that link up to a robotic milking system, which uses sensors and machine learning to fully automate the process. System designers say technology takes over after a cow feels ready to be milked and walks toward an automatic gate. The device is designed to recognize each individual cow. It then positions equipment to the right body position for milking. During the process, machines release food for the cow as a reward.
Other 5G technology tools include automated brushes that turn on when the cow rubs up against them. Sensors also control the amount of light to the cows’ living areas depending on the weather. And, an automatic feeding system makes sure the animals always get enough to eat.
Duncan Forbes, head of the project, told Reuters that the project shows the farm’s cow operations can be greatly improved with 5G technology and that the experiment provides strong evidence that 5G technology can be widely used in the future, not just on farms in Britain, but in rural communities across the world.
1. What is the purpose of Cisco Systems’ program?| A．To win financial support from British government. |
| B．To test the effects of 5G technology on animals |
| C．To promote its technological development in Britain |
| D．To expand the future use of 5G in rural communities. |
| A．The project. | B．The company. |
| C．The technology. | D．The group. |
| A．It is no worse than 4G in terms of speed. |
| B．It is already widely available in the world. |
| C．It enables cows to control their own milking. |
| D．It is based on sensors and machine learning. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Lifestyle. |
| C．Education. | D．Technology. |
5 . These days, it seems like everyone wants to go out into space and live on new planets.Rather than depend on another pre-existing planet, could we make a new, proper planet ourselves?
To start with, if we do want to be living on it, we should find a good place in space to put the new planet. We’d want it to be in a habitable zone, meaning the planet should be at the right distance from its star to make sure there would be perfect temperatures and most importantly, liquid(液态的) water.
We’d also need the right materials to make the planet. Our Earth is made up of many different elements(元素). If we made our own new planet we’d probably want it to have similar elements and a similar structure(结构) We’ d also want enough water to form some oceans.
But even if we get all of the materials creating a new planet like Earth could have many troubles. It might be something more like a huge space station. It would be pretty expensive if we wanted it to be super big.
We would probably also need a lot of food since there s going to be many scientists and astronauts out in space working on this project!
According to NASA, each astronaut uses about 0. 83 kilograms of food per meal, including 0.12 kilograms of packaging(包装) material. Without the weight of the packaging material, we’d need about 780 kilograms of food just to feed one astronaut for a year.
Putting all these together could make it possible to make our own planet one day! In reality, creating a new planet would probably require a very modern technology and there would be tons of other things to think about. And if this is even possible, it likely won’t happen for a very long time.
1. What's the first thing we should do if we want to create a new planet?| A．To prepare enough food. |
| B．To design its inner structure. |
| C．To find a proper place to set the planet. |
| D．To collect materials similar to our Earth. |
| A．Our Earth. | B．Outer space. |
| C．The new planet. | D．The ocean water. |
| A．About 0. 12 kilograms. | B．About 0. 71 kilograms. |
| C．About 0. 83 kilograms. | D．About 0.95 kilograms. |
| A．It is a waste of money and time. | B．It should be one of NASA’S next plans. |
| C．It is not a good idea for humans. | D．It won’t come true in the near future |
6 . “One of the reason I find this topic very interesting is because my mom was a smoker when I was younger,” says Lindson-Hawley, who studies tobacco and health at the University of Oxford.
By studying about 700 adult smokers, she found out that mom quit the right way-by stopping abruptly and completely.
In her Study, participants were randomly(随机地) assigned to two groups. One had to quit abruptly on a given day, going from about a pack a day to zero. The other cut down gradually over the course of two weeks. People in both groups used nicotine replacement, like gum or spray. They also had talk therapy(疗法) with a nurse before and after quit day.
Six months later, more people who had quit abruptly had stuck with it--more than one-fifth of them, compared to about one-seventh in the other group. Although these numbers appear low, it is much higher than if people try without support.
And the quit rates were particularly convincing given that before the study started, most of the people had said they’d rather cut down gradually before quitting. “If you’re training for a marathon, you wouldn’t expect to turn up and just be able to run it. And I think people see that for smoking as well. They think, ‘Well, if I gradually reduce, it’s like practice,’” says Lindson-Hawley. But that wasn’t the case. Instead of giving people practice, the gradual reduction likely gave them addiction and withdrawal symptoms(脱瘾症状) before they even reached the day, which could be why fewer people in that group actually made it to that point. “Regardless of your stated preference, if you’re ready to quit, quitting abruptly is more effective,” says Dr. Gabriela Ferreira. “When you can quote a specific number like a fifth of the patients were able to quit, that’s acceptable. It gives them the encouragement, I think, to really go for it,” Ferreira says.
People rarely manage to quit the first time they try. But at least, she says, they can maximize the odds of success.
1. What dose Lindson-Hawley say about her mother?| A．She quit smoking with her daughter’s help |
| B．She was also a researcher of tobacco and health |
| C．She studied the smoking patterns of adult smokers |
| D．She succeeded in quitting smoking abruptly |
| A．They were given physical training |
| B．They were offered nicotine replacement |
| C．They were encouraged by psychologist |
| D．They were looked after by physicians |
| A．It is encouraging | B．It is unexpected |
| C．It is impractical | D．It is misleading |
| A．is something few can accomplish | B．requires a lot of patience |
| C．needs some practice first | D．is a challenge at the beginning |
7 . Choose Your One-Day-Tours!
Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B - Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter. Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶）” from St Mary‘s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court: including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL’s favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D –Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.
1. Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?| A．Tour A | B．Tour B |
| C．Tour C | D．Tour D |
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court | B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath & Stonehenge | D．Cambridge |
| A．It used to be the home of royal families | B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain | D．It is a world-famous castle |
