1 . Luo Xinlin, 22, experienced her first ride in a self-driving taxi in Changsha, the capital of China's Hunan Province “I made an appointment soon after setting the starting and ending points in the app,” said Liu. “A safety supervisor contacted me and the taxi arrived in about 10 minutes.”
“The taxi drove very smoothly by itself. and the safety supervisor and technician sitting in the front basically didn't have any manual control of it,” said Liu after a 10-minute-long test ride. “The taxi passed through three or four intersections and it was a safe ride without any unexpected situations.”
The self-driving taxi, named Robotaxi, is operated by Hunan Apollo Intelligent Transportation Co., Ltd. based in Xiangjiang New Area in the city. On April 21, the company announced that a group of 30 self-driving taxis had entered public use in the city and users can hail one for a free ride.
“The in-car touch screen can display barriers and dynamic predictions within the 360-degree field of vision and clearly present the conditions of passing vehicles, intersections and traffic lights,” said Cheng Li, director of the test and vehicle operation department of the company. Cheng added users can learn information such as the vehicle's sped and remaining distance through the screen in real time.
In September 2019, the company launched a trial service for a group of citizens, who had to first complete training and other procedures. The technical personnel have started testing self-driving taxis and accumulated a lot of test data since the second half of last year.
China allowed local governments to arrange road tests for intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs), which cover different degrees of autonomous driving, in April 2018. An increasing number of cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, have issued license plates for road tests of ICVs.
1. What is Liu's attitude to self-driving taxis?| A．Mixed. | B．Cautious. | C．Uncertain. | D．Supportive. |
| A．It had unchanging routes | B．No one but the passenger was in it. |
| C．It allowed passengers to have free use. | D．A safety supervisor controlled it. |
| A．Vehicle operation. | B．The vehicle's speed. |
| C．Road conditions | D．Remaining distance. |
| A．Fashion. | B．Technology | C．Society. | D．Business. |
2 . Jobs Week: Find Your Next Job Here
▲ A Registered Nurse
Average salary: $ 65,470 per year
Top cities for hiring: San Antonio, Texas；Chicago, Illinois；Dallas, Texas
In the United States, registered nurses （RNs）are clinicians who have completed at least an associated degree in nursing. The Bureau of Labor Statistics（BLS）has identified it as one of the top ten occupations for career growth. RNs can either practice independently or as part of a healthcare team.
▲ A Retail Associate
Average salary：$ 21,410 per year
Top cities for hiring：Atlanta, Georgia；Houston, Texas；Chicago, Illinois
Retail workers sell products and help customers find the products they want. According to the BLS, nearly 14. 8 million people were employed as retail workers in 2014. Top places to find retail positions include Walmart, Target and Macy’s.
▲ A Truck Driver
Average salary：$ 46,000 per year
Top cities for hiring：Atlanta, Georgia；Houston, Texas；Indianapolis, Indiana
Truck driving doesn’t require a college degree and can pay well even at the entry-level stage. It takes a certain kind of person to work the long weeks away from home— but with a high level of demand, it can be a great career choice for someone who wants job security without the cubicle（工作间）.
▲ A Web Developer
Average salary：$ 62,500 per year
Top cities for hiring：Chicago, Illinois；New York；Atlanta, Georgia
Tech jobs like Web Developer frequently top lists of the best jobs for pay, worklife balance, and career welfare. The wide use of the Internet means that web developers are in continuous demand, and there are no education barriers preventing job seekers from learning programming languages like Java or Python.
1. According to the text, a registered nurse| A．can be paid at least US$ 70,000 every year. |
| B．must have an associate's degree in nursing. |
| C．is considered one of the top ten occupations with the most employees. |
| D．is a popular position in Atlanta, Georgia. |
| A．a registered nurse. | B．a retail associate. |
| C．a truck driver. | D．a web developer. |
| A．In a newspaper. | B．In a health magazine. |
| C．In a travel leaflet. | D．In a science report. |
3 . Men in Britain fear social shame of ordering vegetable dishes. There has been a red-wine-and-beef culture for a long time, in which men are expected to choose the food that is the richest, the fullest and the biggest. This may start from a time when meat was for most people more of an occasional feast choice than daily food, making it an economic status marker as well as one of strength. More recently, this has mixed with the growing culture of male physical perfection, with men spending more time in the gym to get that Instagram-perfect look, helped along by eating lots of protein.
Meat-eaters are increasingly aware of the ecological and health problems caused by their consumption. However, this isn’t enough to make them give up eating meat, but if enough people packed it in, which means if eating meat became the exception, then even the most enthusiastic meat-eater might change their habits.
Traditional ideas are poisoning our society. What should men do then, if they want to reduce their meat-eating without constant questioning of their choices? One answer may be to make a clean break. It is hard just to do less of something, because each time you need to order you have to make the effort to decide again. working out how best to avoid the unwanted advice of your fellow diners, as well as wrestling with your inside conflicts. Deciding once and for all to give up meat is a single decision which then doesn’t come up for discussion as often, as it becomes an accepted fact of life. If a vegetable diet can power the toughest men, it should surely be enough for males everywhere.
1. Why does the author mention men spending more time in the gym?| A．To explain why men love eating meat. | B．To advocate the practice of working out. |
| C．To introduce the popular Instagram app. | D．To stress the importance of physical appearance. |
| A．People’s unpleasant experiences of eating meat. |
| B．Public awareness of health risks of eating meat. |
| C．Men’s loss of enthusiasm about the nutrition of meat. |
| D．Enough people’s abandonment of meat-eating habits. |
| A．Traditional ideas are poisoning British society |
| B．Meat-eaters are increasingly aware of the health problem |
| C．British men are increasingly caring about physical perfection |
| D．British men fear social shame of ordering vegetable dishes |
| A．A health magazine. | B．A biology research. |
| C．An educational paper. | D．A medical report. |
4 . As an old saying in China goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period”, which is in Minor Cold (小寒), refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.
Eating hotpot
During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.
Eating huangyacai
In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.
Eating glutinous rice (糯米饭)
According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork, sausages and peanuts and mix them into the rice.
Eating vegetable rice
In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is incredibly delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausages and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.
1. What do we know about Minor Cold?| A．It lasts twenty-seven days. |
| B．The Sanjiu period is in this period. |
| C．It refers to the Winter Solstice. |
| D．It marks the first day of winter. |
| A．They fry and toast it. |
| B．They eat it for dinner. |
| C．They steam it with soy sauce. |
| D．They mix it with many other things. |
| A．travel | B．culture |
| C．fashion | D．science |
5 . We have the most friends at the age of 26 after having spent the first quarter of our lives building up our friendship circle, a new research has claimed.
The research into friendship shows that our social circle peaks at 26 years and 7 months, at which we typically have five close friends. Women are the most popular at 25 years and 10 months, with men hitting the highest friendship point a little later at 27 years and 3 months.
The research, by Forever Friends, shows that about a third of adults meet their closest friends while at school, with about a fifth saying they meet them at work.
Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter now also play a major role in building new friendship. The research points out that 25 to 34-year-olds make 22 friends via Facebook, compared to 18 to 24-year-olds who make 12, and 35 to 44-year-olds who make just four.
Forever Friends’ relationship coach Sam Owen says, “It is no coincidence that over a third of us meet our best friends at school. It is a key time in our lives when friendship is growing through sharing notes, giving gifts, seeing each other regularly and laughing a lot. As adults we can often forget how powerful these small things are and how the little things can make a difference. ”
Later in life we find ourselves losing friends. Over half of us lose friendship through moving, while 36% say that over time they grow apart from close pals. Having children also causes 19% to drift away from childhood friends.
With growing pressures being put on friendship these days, it’s important to make time for our friendship.
1. How many friends can a 20-year-old college student make via Facebook?| A．4. | B．18. |
| C．12. | D．22. |
| A．how important making friends is |
| B．that friendship is not easy to keep |
| C．how much has been done to keep friendship |
| D．that friendship at school is important |
| A．make sense of | B．lose contact with |
| C．feel sorry for | D．make up with |
| A．a brochure | B．an advertisement |
| C．a textbook | D．a newspaper |
