1 . Don’t know how to take care of your plants? A little spider-like robot will chase the sunlight, run to shade, dance when it’s doing well and stomp (跺脚) when it needs to be watered.
It’s called the HEXA Plant, a six-legged machine created by Vincross, a robotics company in Beijing, China.
The robot plant will crawl toward the sunlight when it needs it, then will rotate (转动) when it enjoys the sun in order to absorb its rays on all sides. When it needs to cool off, it will look for shade. It also plays with humans and dances when it is happy, moving its legs up and down. But it gets “angry” when it’s thirsty by stomping its legs.
With six legs, the HEXA Plant can move anywhere-in any direction and around any objects in its path. It’s even nimble enough to navigate (导航) unexpected drops, like if it had to suddenly step over a gap between two tabletops. It has a variety of “eyes”, including an infrared sensor (红外线感应器), a distance sensor, and a 720p camera with night vision, which could be very handy if you want it to send it out like a guard dog at night, to go check on any sudden noises. It has a built-in Wifi as well as various ports (USB) to expand its many talents.
So sure, it’ s not as cute as a garden gnome (守护精灵), but it can do a lot more than just stand there and look cute.
The inventor of the cute robot, Sun Tiangi, was inspired by a dead sunflower. He had idea why it died-whether it was because of the lack of sunshine or water. That’s when he had the idea for the walking plant. He says plants are passive. He wants to allow plants to experience movement.
1. What can’t the HEXA Plant do?| A．Find a cool place when it feels hot. |
| B．Play with people. |
| C．Drink water when it’s thirsty. |
| D．Move in any direction. |
| A．Happy. | B．Clever. | C．Angry. | D．Passive. |
| A．A walking plant. | B．A dead sunflower. |
| C．Sunshine and water. | D．A strange animal. |
| A．In an advertisement. | B．In a novel. |
| C．In a science magazine. | D．In a storybook. |
2 . Medical Practices in Ancient Egypt
Learning from the Dead
To find out why people have died,today’s medical examiners perform autopsies(尸体解剖).They cut open the body and study its parts.Ancient Egyptians also performed autopsies to help understand causes of death.In addition,autopsies helped ancient Egyptians study the human body.By comparing the hearts of people who were different ages,for example,Egyptians could determine what a young,healthy heart was supposed to look like.
Keeping a Written Record
The Egyptians not only studied the human body,but they also kept detailed records of what they discovered.They wrote and drew their observations on papyrus,a form of paper.The papyrus records became the medical textbooks of that time.Their observations allowed Egyptian doctors to share their knowledge,including how to treat various diseases.
Edwin Smith Papyrus
In 1862,an American named Edwin Smith purchased a medical papyrus in Luxor,Egypt. Smith was not a medical expert,but he knew a lot about old documents.He knew that what he had found was valuable.The papyrus turned out to be an ancient textbook on surgery.The papyrus was probably written around 1600 BC,but it was based on information from a thousand years before that.The papyrus presents the information as case studies,including an analysis of how patients survived or died.
1. By performing autopsies,ancient Egyptians could____| A．determine the causes of illnesses |
| B．learn about different body parts |
| C．keep detailed records on textbooks |
| D．share what they had discovered |
| A．originally written on papyrus |
| B．an ancient medical textbook |
| C．discovered by a medical expert |
| D．written a thousand years before |
| A．a story book |
| B．a health leaflet |
| C．a medical magazine |
| D．a biology textbook |
3 . Several Eye-Opening Facts about Tears
Humans make three different versions of tears.Basal tears help our eyes move smoothly,reflex tears form in response to irritants(刺激物）such as smoke and dirt,and emotional tears flow when we're sad or over-joyed.Onion tears are obviously of the reflex variety-but what's the irritant?It turns out onions produce a chemical to defend themselves.To cut down on its release,freeze the onion before slicing,then use a sharp knife to reduce the damage to the onion and the release of the chemical.
Crying can be good for you.Some studies have shown a good cry can cause the release of certain chemicals that make us feel better.Crying can also improve people's sense of well being by bringing about social support.On the other hand,crying can sometimes make you feel worse than if you haven't cried at all.One study found that people who tend to cry in general more often feel worse after crying during a movie than people who seldom cry.
According to Entertainment Weekly,the biggest Hollywood tearjerker of all time is Terms of Endearment,about how a family deals with a cancer diagnosis.Number 2:Bambi.According to Merriam-Webster,the term tearjerker first appeared in 1912,which happens to be the same year the Titanic sank.(The movie Titanic is 16th on EW' s tearjerker list.)
In medieval(中世纪）times,crying was perfectly acceptable,even manly.In the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf,when Beowulf was killed by a dragon,his soldiers were extremely sad and cried aloud for his death.King Arthur was also known to turn on the waterworks.
Speaking of war,tear gas was banned on the battlefield via the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993,which was made to happen by Iraq's use of chemical weapons in Iran in the 1980s.That said,American police can still legally use tear gas for crowd control.
1. Why do people have tears while cutting onions?| A．Because they are sad. | B．Because their eyes are affected by a chemical. |
| C．Because they are over-joyed. | D．Because their eyes can't move smoothly. |
| A．a popular newspaper | B．a touching movie |
| C．a deadly disease | D．an interesting book |
| A．Crying is always beneficial to people. |
| B．Tear gas is strictly forbidden in any case after 1993. |
| C．Emotional tears only form in response to negative feelings. |
| D．It is socially acceptable for men to cry in medieval times. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A chemistry paper. |
| C．A medical report. | D．A popular science magazine. |
4 . Being able to tell human faces apart is a skill that almost every person has,although some are far better at it than others.But a new study says that this is not just a skill that humans have. Even fish can do it.
Following up on research studying different species’(物种)abilities to recognize human laces(sheep,dogs,cows,horses,and birds have all been tried),the researchers from the University of Oxford decided to pick an animal that does not have an evolved neocortext,the part of the brain that processes sight and sounds,and doesn’t have a close relationship with humans.That way,there would be no reason why these test subjects(实验对象)would have a past history of identifying human faces.
So they picked the archerfish,a reef fish variety that shoots water into the air to knock its prey(猎物)out of the sky.They used this adaptation to have the fish spray water at a face on a monitor hanging over their tanks for a reward.Most of the fish were able to pick apart their learned face,even when colors were taken away.
This study gives more support to the assumption that distinguishing between faces is not just a skill that big-brained organisms are born with.It is possible that a good percentage of recognizing faces is learned over time.The development of neocortext may contribute only to quickly processing a large number of faces in varying situations.
But more work needs to be conducted to find a deeper link to this possible learned behavior. The sample size of this study was very small-only eight fish were used altogether.Also,the faces displayed were only white,female faces from a German database,shown in a front view, with no expressions.Other animal trials have shown that some species,like pigeons,respond more to different angles and varied expressions.
1. The archerfish were picked as test subjects because they| A．have no evolved neocortext |
| B．have close relationship with human |
| C．have a skill of spraying water for a reward |
| D．have a past history of recognizing human faces |
| A．Some animals possess the ability to tell human faces apart. |
| B．Some animals gain the ability to recognize faces by learning. |
| C．The fish’s ability to tell human faces apart is a natural skill. |
| D．The fish’s ability to recognize human faces is related to neocortext. |
| A．To show more faces in a front view. |
| B．To display more white,female faces. |
| C．To test more fish samples to gather more data. |
| D．To test pigeons’ response to varied expressions. |
| A．A diary. | B．A biography. | C．A mystery. | D．A magazine. |
5 . BORDER
CROSSINGS
While there are no restrictions on the amount of money that you can bring across the border, you must report to both the US and Canadian border services amounts equal to or greater than $10,000.
PERSONAL EXEMPTIONS (免税) oN PURCHASES
AMERICANS RETURNING TO THE US
Less than 48 hours: $ 200 US
48 hours or more: $ 800 US duty-free personal exemption.
Next $1,000 US at 3%
Including up to 100 cigars and 100 cigarettes.
CANADIANS RETURNING TO CANADA
Less than 24 hours: $50 CAN
48 hours or more: $400 CAN
Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes.
7 days or more: $750 CAN
Including up to 100 cigars and 200 cigarettes.
DOCUMENTATION NEEDED FOR
BORDER CROSSING
LAND OR SEA TO THE US (INCLUDING FERRIES)
A valid passport or passport card, or a NEXUS card.
(A NEXUS card is a Trusted Traveler Program that provides quick travel for pre-approved, low risk travelers through special lanes. )
A recent Washington State, New York or BC drivers license.
Note: Children 15 years of age and younger require only a birth certificate or copy. (Certified copies are not required but are advised. )
AIR TRAVEL TO THE US
A valid passport, an Air NEXUS card, or a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant
Marine Document.
For more information, click here.
1. If a Canadian who is on a 7-day trip to New York buys 800 CAN worth of goods, how much should he pay tax on when returning home?| A．$800 CAN | B．$750 CAN | C．$400 CAN | D．$50 CAN |
| A．$24 US | B．$48 US | C．$52 US | D．$200 US |
| A．A BC drivers license, an Air NEXUS card, and a birth certificate. |
| B．An Air NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document, and a birth certificate. |
| C．Two valid passport cards and a certified copy of a birth certificate. |
| D．A NEXUS card, a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Document, and a certified copy of a birth certificate. |
| A．In a magazine. | B．On the Internet. | C．In newspaper. | D．In a novel. |
6 . Surviving treasures from the National Museum of Afghanistan
AFGHANISTAN
CROSSROADS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
3 MARCH — 3 JULY 2013
At the heart of the silk road, Afghanistan linked the great trading routes of ancient Iran, Central Asia, Indian and China, and the more distant cultures of Greece and Rome.
Nearly lost during the years of civil war and later Taliban (塔利班) rule, precious objects that reveal this diverse past were bravely hidden in 1989 by officials from the National Museum of Afghanistan to save them from destruction.
The surviving treasures date from 2000 BC to the 1st century AD and included rich gold ornaments (装饰品) found at a burial site and limestone (石灰石) sculptures of a Greek city.
This is a unique opportunity to discover the story of Afghanistan’s ancient culture, its immense fragility, and the remarkable dedication (奉献) shown to its survival and protection.
DETAILED INFORMATION
| OPENING HOURS The exhibition is open late on Fridays until 20: 30. ￡10, members free |
| EXHIBITION AND EVENTS BOOKING www. britishmuseum.org 020 7323 8181 |
| MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT ﹡On weekdays, take advantage of a classic afternoon tea package in the Court Restaurant for just ￡26 (including exhibition ticket). ﹡The exhibition catalogue (￡25 paperback) and other related titles are available in the museum shops or online at www. britishmuseum.org/shop. ﹡The exhibition Multimedia Guide (￡1) is available at the exhibition entrance. ﹡If you are visiting with a group, ask for the group ticket price. Details on group lecture packages are available at www. britishmuseum.org/groupvisits. |
| SPECIAL EVENTS ﹡Nowruz Monday 18 March, 17: 30. Nowruz, or New Year, is celebrated in many countries from Afghanistan and Iran to Uzbekistan. 17: 30~18: 00 Entrance to exhibition. 19: 00Talks and discussion on Nowruz. ￡15 (including exhibition entry). ﹡Performance: The art of the Afghan rubab. Tuesday 14 May, 16: 30~17: 30. Afghan rubab virtuoso Soudi Homayun Sakhi and tabla player Yusuf Mahmoud give a performance of a full raga and folk pieces. ￡5, members ￡3. ﹡Easter holiday activities Thursday 18 ~ Monday 22 April, 11: 00~16: 00. Explore the rich culture of Afghanistan. Listen to stories of Alexander the Great, try making a kite and be inspired by the treasures from the Hill of Gold. Suitable for all ages. Free, just drop in. |
1. If you arrive at the museum on April 20th, what can you enjoy?
| A．Near Year celebration. | B．Performance: The art of the Afghan rubab. |
| C．Easter holiday activities. | D．The exhibition without any special events. |
| A．booking tickets online | B．attending talks and discussion on Nowruz |
| C．calling at 020 7323 8181 | D．becoming a member of the British Museum |
| A．Of all the special events Performance costs least. |
| B．Museum officials saved these objects from destruction. |
| C．The Multimedia Guide is offered to visitors without any charge. |
| D．You can learn details about group visit either on website or by phone. |
| A．In a high school text book. | B．In a history magazine. |
| C．In a state-owned newspaper. | D．In a traveler’s booklet. |
7 . It doesn’t kill germs better than cooler water, but turning tap temperatures high, the US burns carbon equal to the emissions of Barbados.
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs, a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.
It’s cold and flu season, when many people are concerned about avoiding germs. But forget what you think you know about hand washing, say researchers at Vanderbilt University. Chances are good that how you clean up is not helping you stay healthy; it is helping to make the planet sick.
Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often “a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions.”
Carrico said, “It’s certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate.”
She explained that boiling water, 212°F (99.98°C), is sometimes used to kill germs — for example, to clean drinking water that might be polluted with germs. But “hot” water for hand washing is generally within 104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C.) At the high end of that range, heat could kill some germs, but the sustained contact that would be required would scald the skin.
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found “no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.” Even water as cold as 40°F (4.4°C) appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed (冲洗) and dried properly.
In fact, she noted that hot water can often have an unfavorable effect on hygiene. “Warmer water can harm the skin and affect the protective layer on the outside, which can cause it to be less resistant to bacteria,” said Carrico.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico’s team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
“Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear minor, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” she said.
That’s roughly equal to the emissions of two coal-fired power plants, or 1,250, 000 passenger vehicles, over the course of a year. It’s higher than the greenhouse gas emissions of small countries like El Salvador or Armenia, and is about equivalent to the emissions of Barbados. If all US citizens washed their hands in cooler water, it would be like eliminating the energy-related carbon emissions of 299,700 US homes, or the total annual emissions from the US zinc or lead industries.
The researchers found that close to 70 percent of respondents said they believe that using hot water is more effective than warm, room temperature, or cold water, despite a lack of evidence backing that up, said Carrico. Her study noted research that showed a “strong cognitive（认知的） connection” between water temperature and hygiene in both the United States and Western Europe,compared to other countries, like Japan, where hot water is associated more with comfort than with health.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.
1. What does the writer mainly focus on when writing this passage?| A．Whether hot water helps kill germs effectively in hand washing. |
| B．How hot water contributes to the serious worsening of our planet. |
| C．Why the consumption of hot water is unnecessary and wasteful. |
| D．What the advantages and disadvantages of using hot water are. |
| A．burn | B．improve | C．soften | D．wrinkle |
| A．two coal-fired power plants |
| B．US zinc or lead industries |
| C．1,250, 000 passenger vehicles |
| D．El Salvador or Armenia |
| A．Boiling water at 212°F (99.98°C) works effectively in killing germs. |
| B．Warmer water can damage the protective layer of the outside skin. |
| C．There is much difference between cold water and hot water in reducing bacteria. |
| D．Americans have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions in hand washing. |
| A．Warmer in winter and cooler in summer. |
| B．Between 104°F to 131°F (40°C to 55°C). |
| C．Below 104°F (40°C) or above 131°F (55°C). |
| D．Warm enough to kill germs and clean up. |
| A．Universal Science Fiction |
| B．Science & Discoveries |
| C．Environment & Protection |
| D．Exploration of America |
8 . An online tool has been released(推出）which is able to bring black and white photographs to life by adding colour to them using artificial intelligence(AI).
Colourisation(上色）of old photos is normally a process taking a lot of time,which requires special training and expensive software.The tool,ColouriseSG,is able to do it for free. It is trained on old pictures and uses machine learning to guess what it thinks the pictures would have looked like in colour.
＂The purpose of colourisation is to produce a picture with colours that seem to be right," the tool's developers say."It by no means makes sure that the colourised picture is an accurate（精确的）representation of the original photo in time."
The free-to-use tool was developed to provide an accurate way for people from Singapore to edit their black and white pictures.The idea of ColouriseSG was to provide a large enough data-set to be linked to people living in Singapore.
Tech firm NVIDIA has released several different picture editing tools that are powered by AI.Its latest release is software which uses deep learning to turn even the roughest drawings into works of art.
The new program,GauGAN,named after famous French impressionist Paul Gaugin,uses a tool called GAN to recognize simple lines and turn them into realistic pictures.
Its application could help jobs,for example,urban planning,edit pictures faster and with greater accuracy,according to the company.
“It's much easier to come up with designs with simple drawings,and this technology is able to turn these drawings into highly realistic pictures,"said Bryan Catanzaro,vice president of applied deep learning research at NVIDIA.
1. How does ColouriseSG colourise photos?| A．By learning from people in Singapore. |
| B．By presenting old photos correctly. |
| C．By editing original colors on the photos. |
| D．By making a guess based on a data-set. |
| A．colourise black and white photos accurately |
| B．employ deep learning to create works of art |
| C．make Tech firm NVIDIA known to people |
| D．turn rough drawings into realistic pictures |
| A．the colourisation of old pictures |
| B．the technology of machine learning |
| C．picture editing tools powered by AI |
| D．simple lines changed into photos |
| A．science report | B．technology review |
| C．research plan | D．laboratory record |
9 . Speaking in an interview, Naveen Jain, founder of a space exploration company called Moon Express, said that he believes moon travel is just a decade away. And his company, which is the first private firm to get approval from the U.S. government to carry out the project of moon travel, wants to play a role in helping people get to the moon surface.
''I believe in the next ten years, there is going to be gentlemen on their knees asking their sweethearts, honey, will you go to the moon with me for honey moon?'' Jain said in the interview.
Many people in the technology and scientific communities are crazy about space exploration. Space presents an unprecedented(史无前例的)number of chances for scientific and human advancement. Companies, big and small, are determining how they can create technologies that would allow people to explore space, the moon, and even Mars. Other companies are eyeing ways to play a role in space travel.
The key of that gold rush has been the declining cost of actually getting to space. Jain said that while it once cost billions of dollars to go to the moon, his company's unmanned space flight next year will cost just 7 million. As costs continue to decline(减少),he believes that within the next decade, getting to the moon will cost just $10,000.Better yet, it'll take just four hours to get there.
Still, Mars is the final prize. And even Jain, whose company will focus on moon travel, said that ''Mars is certainly the right place to be finally. '' When asked if he'd like to stage space fights to Mars, Jain said ''of course'', adding that he believes Moon Express could partner with Elon Musk's SpaceX to make that happen.
''Elon will build the rocket and we do the travelers,'' Jain said of a theoretical partnership. ''Generally, he lays the cables and we do the last mile.''
SpaceX and Musk have not said whether they would work alongside Jain and Moon Express. Either way, it looks like hopping from the moon to Mars (and back) might be just a part of our lives.
1. We can learn about moon travel from the passage that| A．it will take less time and money |
| B．it is already available for all |
| C．few people are interested in it |
| D．its future is not bright at all |
| A．Mars is the final destination difficult but valuable to reach. |
| B．Mars is the final destination expensive but easy to reach. |
| C．Mars is the first destination to choose for space travelers. |
| D．Mars is the last destination to choose for space travelers. |
| A．Moon Express is certainly an ideal partner for SpaceX. |
| B．SpaceX hasn't decided to cooperate with Moon Express. |
| C．Moon Express and SpaceX used to be close partners. |
| D．SpaceX has been successful in moon travel exploration. |
| A．entertainment | B．education | C．technology | D．literature |
10 . Courses & Curriculum of the College of Arts & Sciences in Cornell
The diversity of the courses you can take in the College of Arts & Sciences is extraordinary:
Academic Distribution Requirements
The College’s academic distribution requirements will include: effective writing; foreign language beyond the introductory level; imaginative and critical thinking.
To choose your courses for a semester, use the Class Roster. It shows the schedule of all classes offered in a particular term, along with class enrollment information and course details.
The Class Roster is updated frequently.
To plan your classes over your four years at Cornell, use the Courses of Study. It represents Cornell’s full catalog of courses and is published annually. It provides information on Cornell degree programs, requirements, policies and procedures.
If you need help, call 607-255-5004 for an appointment with an advising dean. Or contact a career counselor in the Arts & Sciences Career Development Center at 607-255-4166 to talk about your interests and how they can translate into a major and a future career.
A New Curriculum
On October 30, 2018, the College of Arts & Sciences faculty（教员）approved a new undergraduate curriculum to be carried out over the next two to three years. The new curriculum focuses on the theme of exploration and reaffirms the college’s commitment to a liberal arts and sciences education. Students who have questions about the new curriculum can view the approved proposal on the Course Designer app of Cornell.
Innovative Learning
If you’re one of the 3,000 students across the university taking biology or physics at the College, you may be part of an innovative（创新的）classroom project that uses active learning, a new model that is proving to be the quickest path to expert-level mastery.
Your education at Cornell will extend far beyond the classroom. You can join a faculty member’s research team on campus, conduct field study research in different states or spend a semester with Cornell in Washington D C. You could study abroad in one of more than 85 countries or develop your own research project through independent study. Give yourself the freedom to explore.
1. If you want to plan your courses over the long run, you can use the ______.| A．Class Roster | B．Courses of Study |
| C．Course Designer | D．Career Center |
| A．may study a new model |
| B．are on the quickest way to be experts |
| C．will get more freedom during research project |
| D．have advantages of studying outside the classroom |
| A．a college website | B．a science report |
| C．a travel magazine | D．an academic journal |
