1 . Mountain gorillas (大猩猩) have been caught on camera as they“sing”during their supper,a behavior that has never before been documented on video. Filmmakers shot the astonishing footage of gorillas with the help from a very special camera: a robotic“spy”designed to look like a young gorilla.
Creating a realistic robot spy that could fool a gorilla means designing a face that is mobile and expressive, particularly around the eyes. “ Eye communication is very important among gorillas," said“Spy in the Wild" producer Matt Gordon.“You'll see in the film the gorillas came straight over to our spy gorilla and looked right into its eyes. So we made sure that the gorilla had the most amount of detail put into the face.”
Infiltrating communities of animals that live in groups requires a robot to smell like its animal subjects in order to get close to them, Sometimes animal waste is applied to the robot to allow it to be accepted into the group.
One tricky challenge for the gorilla robot is that it has to pass inspection by the chief male.“We wanted to make sure that we were not being threatening,so we avoided the stare of our spy gorilla ,”Gordon said. This display of obedience (顺从) convinced the male that the robot wasn't a danger; he then signaled to the troop that it was safe for them to take a closer look at the "stranger".
The robot was also able to beat its chest to respond to a baby gorilla' s chest- beating, allowing the filmmakers to shoot a rare sight of their playtime. “A young gorilla came over and beat its chest. For a baby gorilla, that means‘I want to play' ,and if our gorilla was lifeless, not moving, the gorilla would have lost interest. But our spy gorilla was able to beat its chest too,” Gordon said.
1. Why was the robotic spy made?| A．To record the songs gorillas sang at supper. | B．To produce a film called Spy in the Wild. |
| C．To test the spy's ability to communicate. | D．To study the environment gorillas live in. |
| A．Fitting in. | B．Focusing on. | C．Playing with, | D．Learning about. |
| A．By avoiding staring at the chief. | B．By beating its chest like a baby. |
| C．By putting some waste on itself. | D．By signaling to other gorillas. |
| A．Unusual daily behavior of mountain gorillas. |
| B．Scientific research on living habits of gorillas. |
| C．The procedures for making a robotic gorilla. |
| D．Ways to make a robotic spy close to gorillas. |
2 . What do you do when you need to look something up? Go to the library? Open an encyclopaedia? Click onto the internet? These days, most people go straight to Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia. But how reliable is it?
There’s no denying the popularity and usefulness of Wikipedia. It attracts a massive 78 million visitors every month, and the site is available in more than 270 different languages. It’s one of the most comprehensive resources available, and it’s got much more information than an ordinary encyclopaedia. The site is updated on a daily basis by thousands of people around the world. Anyone with an internet connection can log on and edit the contents or add a new page. And you don’t need any formal training.
Of course, there are some controls. Wikipedia has a team of more than 1,500 administrators who check for false information. But with more than 16 million articles to keep an eye on, it isn’t easy. So, while Wikipedia benefits from being constantly updated with information from all over the world, it’s also open to “destroyers”.
Some of the damage is easy to notice. One prankster(搞恶作剧者) drew devil horns and a moustache on Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ photo, while another edited Greek philosopher Plato’s biography to say he was a “Hawaiian weather man who is widely believed to have been a student of ‘Barney the Purple Dinosaur’ and to have been deeply influenced by his dog, Cutie.”
But other things are harder to spot. The most common form of vandalism involves adding tiny items of false information into the biography of a famous person. Incredibly, some of this misinformation has appeared in newspapers, with The Daily Mail, The Guardian and The Independent all having fallen victim to the pranks. For example, it was reported that TV theme tune composer Ronnie Hazlehurst had written the S Club 7 hit “Reach”. Of course, not true.
So, if you’re going to use any information from Wikipedia, make sure you double-check it first.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what is right about Wikipedia?| A．It is the most useful look-up tool. |
| B．Only professionals can edit its contents. |
| C．New information is added to it every day. |
| D．You can find information in any language on it. |
| A．To prove Wikipedia is unreliable. |
| B．To tell us what Bill Gate looks like. |
| C．To accuse someone of misbehavior. |
| D．To give an example of people’s pranks. |
| A．Damage. | B．Recovery. |
| C．Repair. | D．Protection. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Disapproving. |
3 . Candy comes in many flavors. Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy (太妃糖) and gum. Hard candies are, well. hard! So, they last a long time.
But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can’t eat eye candy. Eye candy is a person-man or woman-who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds.
Do you hear of candy coat? Of course it is not a coat made of candy. But you can say I don’t candy coat the truth. What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don’t directly discuss its bad parts.
After talking about candy you may want to eat some candies. However, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy, you can still be called a kid in a candy store. This expression means a person is very happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!
Talking about children brings us to another expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby. Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy—mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.
1. What kind of girl can be described as “eye candy”?| A．Beautiful | B．Optimistic |
| C．Hardworking | D．Warmhearted |
| A．Making. | B．Taking. |
| C．Selling. | D．Testing. |
| A．Hard candies. | B．Candy coat. |
| C．A kid in a candy store. | D．As easy as taking candy from a baby. |
| A．Candy. Enjoy It or Avoid It | B．Various Candies in English |
| C．The Best Candy in the World | D．Candies’ Different Flavors |
4 . China which boasts 4 inventions in ancient times, has once again shown its ability to change the world with its “new four great inventions”: high-speed railways, electronic payments, shared bicycles and online shopping. “The new great inventions are all related to China’s high technologies, which improved the quality of people’s lives.” said Wu Hao, executive director of the BRRI.
“It is increasingly clear that China is innovative and is leading in many ways such as social messaging app WeChat,”said Rebecca Fannin, founder and editor of Silicon Dragon.
The new four innovative ways of life were most appealing to youths from 20 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to a survey by the Belt and Road Research Institute of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
“My wallet is no longer in use. I can buy and eat whatever I want simply with a tap of my phone, “said Lin Jinlong, an overseas Chinese student from Cambodia, adding that. “even pancake sellers are using Alipay”. “I can order food at home in China, which is super convenient. If I were at home in Cambodia, I would have to go outdoors.”
“The trip from Beijing to the coastal city of Tianjin is more than 100 km. You can’t imagine how fast it takes if you travel by Chinese high-speed train. It will take only half an hour. But in Cambodia, which has only two railways, the traveling time of the same distance will be increased 6 times,” said Lin.
“China has entered a new period,” said Bernhard Schwartlander, World Health Organization Representative in China. As a huge fan of bicycles, Bernhard expressed his affection for China’s shared bicycles, saying that “shared bikes are bringing cycling back to people’s lives and they are making public transport more attractive and convenient, and encouraging people to be more active.”
1. What does the underlined word “innovative” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Creative. |
| B．Expensive. |
| C．Popular. |
| D．Convenient. |
| A．Food can be ordered by cell phones in Cambodian. |
| B．Alipay is only popular with pancake sellers in China. |
| C．Traveling 100 km by rail in Cambodia takes up to 3 hours. |
| D．Wallets can be replaced by cell phones both in China and Cambodia. |
| A．High-speed railways. |
| B．Electronic payments. |
| C．Shared bicycles. |
| D．Online shopping. |
| A．To compare old and new four Chinese great inventions. |
| B．To introduce benefits of popular means of transportation. |
| C．To present a Cambodian student's living experience in China. |
| D．To show how four Chinese new inventions impressed the world. |
5 . A Japanese school near Tokyo is conducting a pilot program allowing sick students to attend classes using a robotic avatar (替身)called Ori Hime and developed by Ory Laboratory. The program is being conducted at the Tomobe-Higashi special support school in Kasama, a city 60 miles north of Tokyo.
The Ori Hime robot is a small bust-sized robot designed to be placed on a counter top or desk. It has two flap-like arms and a camera mounted in its head, all of which can be controlled remotely via a touchscreen tablet interface.
Since October 31, sick students at Tomobe-Higashi school have each been assigned their own Ori Hime stand in, which is placed on their desk, giving them a live feed of the classroom through the head-mounted camera . Remote students will be able to speak into a mic and the Ori Hime will broadcast their voice through built-in speakers.
Students will also be able to rotate the robots head to look at different areas of the class room, as well as command it to perform simple emotive gestures like waving, pointing, and clapping.
“It's fun to turn the robot in directions I want to look in,” Kanae Sudo, an eleven-year-old student who's used the Ori Hime to attend a science fair from a nearby hospital room, told the Asahi Shimbun.
School administrators had previously allowed remote study with stationary (固定的)camera feed, but the ability to directly control the view and make the robot gesture has greatly improved the results according to school administrators .
“The robot can easily be operated, and students feel like they are actually attending class,” assistant principal Noboru Tachi said.
1. What is the main purpose of conducting the pilot program?| A．Replacing sick students to attend class. | B．Improving school's teaching quality. |
| C．Testing the functions of a robot. | D．Adding much fun to students' school life. |
| A．Touch. | B．Press. | C．Turn. | D．Force. |
| A．Sick students operate it by taking pictures. |
| B．It speaks into a microphone and broadcast the voice. |
| C．Students rotate its head and command it to wave, point and clap directly. |
| D．It is controlled remotely to broadcast students' voice and perform simple gestures. |
| A．Ori Hime has its own emotions. |
| B．Ori Hime may be used to more schools in Japan. |
| C．Students should give the robot something to feed it. |
| D．Students can command the robot to finish their homework. |
6 . The Gold Coast family holidays are always great fun whether you are from Australia or from abroad. There are beautiful beaches, adventure parks, nature parks and so much more.
There are so many sights to see here. It is a pity to drive in a car and you’ll miss a great part of it. Australia is home to many animals and birds that can only be seen when moving slowly and going into the areas where they live.
When you are on a bicycle, you have the strength of being able to stop whenever you want to see an interesting animal or bird that you have never seen before. It is a quieter way of transportation as well, so you might even be able to take a picture. When you are on the beach, you can breathe that clean air and view the beauty of the water and sand. It is a totally different experience from either simply sunbathing or passing it in a car.
There are many choices of hiring a bicycle to experience the Gold Coast attractions. There are stores that will fit a bike perfectly to your size. These bikes for both adults and children are in many styles and colors to please any taste. If you have ever wanted to try a tandem bike (双人单车), now is your chance, because they have those too.
A bicycle hire on Gold Coast is something that everyone should try at least once. This is a wonderful chance for anyone who likes to cycle and it is also a cheap way to travel with your family.
1. You’d better not drive in a car on Gold Coast because ________.| A．you will break the traffic rules | B．you will cause much noise |
| C．you can’t enjoy the beautiful sights well | D．you can’t drive into some parks |
| A．you can take photos of animals | B．it is a cheap way of traveling |
| C．you can get a clearer sight of animals | D．it is a good way to do sunbathing |
| A．advantage | B．weakness |
| C．appearance | D．importance |
| A．He thinks it’s a personal choice. | B．He supports it very much. |
| C．He doesn’t like this way of traveling. | D．He thinks it’s only good for adults. |
7 . It was a rainy day. I had no desire to drive up the winding mountain road to my daughter Carolyn’s house. But she had insisted that I come to see something at the top of the mountain.
So here I was, although unwilling to make the two-hour journey through fog and rain. After lunch, my daughter requested me to drive her to Barage. After a ten-minute drive，we parked the car and got out. We walked along a path that was thick with old pine needles. Huge black green evergreens towered over us. Gradually the peace and silence of the place began to fill my mind. Then we turned a corner and stopped--and I gasped in amazement.
From the top of the mountain to the slopes and valleys, were rivers of daffodils(水仙) in full bloom. A sea of amazing colors, like a carpet before us. It looked as though the sun had tipped over and spilled gold down the mountainside. At the center hung a waterfall of purple hyacinths. Here and there were breathtaking tulips.
A riot of questions filled my mind. Who created such beauty? Why? How?
As we approached the home. We saw a sign that read “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking.” The first answer was: “One Woman--Two Hands, Two Feet, and Very Little Brain.”The second was: “One at a Time.”The third: “Started in 1958.”
I was so moved by what we had seen. “She changed the world,” I said, not getting over the shock. “One bulb(球茎) at the time. She started almost 40 years ago, probably just the beginning of an idea, but she kept at it.”
“Imagine,” I added, “if I had a vision and worked at it，just a little hit every day, what might I have accomplished?”
Carolyn looked sideways at me, smiling. “Start tomorrow,” she said,”Better yet, start today.”
1. Why did the author decide to visit her daughter？| A．She missed her very much. |
| B．She didn’t want to disappoint her. |
| C．She must pick her up. |
| D．She has an urge to look at the sea of flowers. |
| A．A kind of flowers. | B．Famous waterfalls. |
| C．Mountain springs. | D．A name of a place. |
| A．Easier said than done. |
| B．Well begun, half done. |
| C．Women can shake the world. |
| D．Little steps add up to big success. |
| A．An Amazing Trip to Barage |
| B．A Moving Story of a Mother’s Love |
| C．A Special Sign on the Way Home |
| D．A Valuable Lesson From a Woman |
8 . A survey said the average Asian dad spent one minute a day with his children. I was shocked. I mean, a whole minute? Every day? Get real. Once a week maybe. The fact is, many Asian males are terrible at kid—related things. In fact, I am one of them.
Child—rearing (养育) doesn’t come naturally to guys. My mother knew the names of our teachers, best friends and crushes. My dad was only vaguely aware there were short people sharing the apartment. My mother bought healthy fresh food at the market every day. My dad would only go shopping when there was nothing in the fridge except a jar of capers and a bay leaf. Then he’d buy beer. My mother always knew the right questions to ask our teachers. My dad would ask my English teacher if she could get us a discount on school fees. My mother served kid food to kids. My dad added chili sauce to everything, including our baby food.
The truth is, mothers have superpowers. My son fell off a wall once and hurt himself all over. I demanded someone bring me a computer so I could google what to do. My wife ignored me and did some sort of chanting phrase such as “Mummy kiss it better,” and cured l7 separate injuries in less than 15 seconds.
Yes, mothers are incredible people, but they are not always right. Yet honesty forces me to record the fact that mothers only know best 99.99 percent of the time.Here are some famous slip-ups.
The mother of Bill Gates: “If you’re going to drop out of college and hang out with your nerdy friends, don’t come running to me when you find yourself penniless.” The mother of Albert Einstein: “When you grow up, you’ll find that sitting around thinking about the nature of time and space won’t pay the grocery bills.” The mother of George W. Bush: “You’ll never be like your dad, who became President of the United States and started his own war.”
1. The tone for the writer to write the passage is ___.| A．cruel | B．humorous | C．disapproving | D．critical(批评的) |
| A．females love kids more than males | B．males are not good at child—rearing |
| C．Males are not interested in child-rearing | D．child-rearing is difficult both for females and males |
| A．stories | B．shortcomings | C．mistakes | D．advantages |
| A．providing different examples | B．following the order of space |
| C．making comparisons | D．analyzing causes |
9 . I don't know exactly when my love for qipaos started.I just know that when I saw Zhao Wei and her costars wearing qipaos in Romance in the Rain TV series, which was set in Shanghai in the 1930s.I was smitten.
In my native United States, non-Asians are sometimes blamed on social media for wearing qipaos, but in China, people have what I consider a more reasonable and open-minded approach: If foreigners wear qipaos, it is seen as a gesture of appreciation for Chinese culture.
A.Chinese friend recently gave me one of her old qipaos.The ice blue cloth features circles with four plants known as"mei lan zhu ju"in China.The qipao fits well at the shoulders, but not at the waist.The qipao was simply too tight.Many of my friends advised me to buy a new one .However, the value in it was that my dear friend who had been an outstanding Chinese actress in the 1980s had given it to me; it was a symbol of our friendship I finally decided to have the woman in the qipao store alter (修改) it.Even before the alterations, I thought it suited me well and the blue matched the color of my eyes, and I'm fascinated by “old” things.
The woman said my qipao was“ Shanghai style” and made of brocade(织锦缎).It had held pretty well throughout the years.The "qipao doctor "said she could add material to widen it, so I chose a light pink cloth with a"noble""flowered design, which fitted well with the qipao and had a similar style with the original one.Finally, my old qipao was altered to my satisfaction and given a second life.
1. What does the underlined word"smitten"in paragraph I mean?| A．Confused. | B．Inspired. |
| C．Attracted. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．She valued the friendship. | B．The qipao fitted her well. |
| C．She disliked new designs. | D．The qipao was a “Shanghai style”. |
| A．the qipao doctor persuaded her. | B．it matched the color of her eyes. |
| C．it had a similar style with the qipao. | D．she appreciated the traditional culture. |
| A．The Increasing Popularity of Qipaos. | B．Giving an Old Qipao a Second Life. |
| C．My Enthusiasm for Collecting Oipaos. | D．Spreading Chinese Culture to the US. |
10 . In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity. Others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their selfworth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often lifeanddeath affairs. In their singleminded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn't matter because I really didn't try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one's selfrespect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition.
1. What does this passage mainly talk about?| A．Competition helps to set up selfrespect. |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition. |
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who value competition most highly |
| C．those who are against competition most strongly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
| A．One's worth lies in his performance compared with others'. |
| B．One's success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One's achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One's success is based on how hard he has tried. |
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
| C．Winning should be a lifeanddeath matter. |
| D．Competition should be encouraged. |
