1 . Increased use of the Internet and mobile phones are undermining pupils’ capacity for independent study and promoting poor grammar, it was claimed.
Cranfield School of Management found almost six in 10 schoolchildren were copying information directly from websites for homework tasks without properly reading it.
More than a quarter thought it was an acceptable practice, even though they know it was considered plagiarism (剽窃). The study, based on a sample of around 260 pupils aged from 11 to 18 at a secondary school in the Midlands, raised fresh concerns that modern technology was having a destructive effect on young people. Andrew Kakabadse, professor of International Management Development at Cranfield, said, “Our research shows that technology obsession prevents spelling skills, encourages plagiarism, and disturbs classroom learning.
“Despite school policies restricting mobile phone usage, students use the phone frequently, with the majority making calls from the toilets. The mobile phone continues to be a main channel of social communication during the school day.”
The report revealed that so-called “text-speak’’ was increasingly finding it was into pupils’ school work. Three in 10 students admit to using text message shortcuts, such as “ruok” in essays and classroom tasks.
It followed a study earlier this year that found almost half of teachers failed to understand some pupils’ writing because it was so full of confusing language. Phrases such as “innit” and “Gr8” were regularly found in school work, it was claimed. The Cranfield study found that mobile use was so common that many pupils chose to ignore school rules on phones.
More than a third said they would use their mobile in class, while nearly three quarters said they would not even make an excuse to leave class to answer a phone call.
1. The underlined word “undermining” in the first paragraph can best be replaced by “_________”.| A．keeping | B．determining |
| C．weakening | D．increasing |
| A．he believes schools are responsible for technology obsession |
| B．he is in favour of students’ mobile phone usage at school |
| C．the research finds a new way to improve school management |
| D．it is hard to limit students’ mobile phone usage at school |
| A．technology’s positive influence on students’ achievement |
| B．the negative effect of technology on students’ study |
| C．the importance of online social communication |
| D．the rapidly growing role of communication technologies |
| A．Approving. | B．Optimistic. | C．Anxious. | D．Tolerant. |
2 . The brain, rather than our eyes, may be more important for sight, researchers studying fruit flies have discovered. The discovery could change the way we think about vision.
Researchers in the University of Virginia have found that the very simple eyes of fruit fly larva (幼虫), with only 24 total photoreceptors (感光细胞) (the human eye contains more than 125 million), provide just enough light input to allow the animal’s large brain to make that input into images. Their discovery shows that vision may be less important to “seeing” than previously thought—and in fact it is the brain’s ability to process points of light into complex images that is key.
“It blows open how we think about vision.” said Barry Condron. “This tells us that visual input may not be as important to sight as the brain working behind it.”
Condron’s graduate students, Elizabeth Daubert, Nick Macedonia and Catherine Hamilton, conducted a series of experiments to test the vision of fruit fly larvae. They found that when a larva was tied to the bottom of a dish, other larvae were attracted to it as it attempted to free itself. After several further experiments to understand how they sensed the motion, the researchers learned that the nearly blind animals likely were seeing the action.
“The answer must be in the brain of these animals.” Condron said. “They are able to take just a couple dozen points of light and then process that into recognizable images; something like when an astronomer with a small telescope is able to use techniques to improve a limited image into useful information about a star.” Condron believes the animals are able to assemble useful images by rapidly scanning their heads and, in doing so, gather up enough light points to allow the brain to compose an image clear enough to “see”.
The researchers tested this by presenting larva with a video (therefore no sound and no smell) and found that the larvae still sensed and sought out the struggling larva on the video. This provides us with a good model for trying to understand the role that the brain plays in helping organisms, including humans, to process images, such as recognizing faces.
1. The writer mainly wants to tell us that __________.| A．the brain may be more important for sight than people thought |
| B．people should depend on brain rather than eyes for sight |
| C．using the fruit fly larva to test the eyes is the best way |
| D．some methods can keep our eyesight accurate and normal |
| A．doesn’t move very quickly | B．has a very wise brain |
| C．only has a few photoreceptors | D．doesn’t have large limbs |
| A．how the larvae gather up enough light points |
| B．why the larvae moved their heads side-to-side |
| C．the brain helps process the light points into images |
| D．how we can get useful information about a star with a small telescope |
| A．observe enough actions | B．receive useful information |
| C．choose proper equipment | D．put together separate parts |
3 . Have you ever wondered why some days all you want to do is snack?
Under normal circumstances, we feel hungry when we have burnt up the food we have eaten as energy and our blood sugar and insulin (胰岛素)levels begin to drop. Ghrelin, a hormone connected to appetite, then communicates this to the brain, which is how we feel the need to eat. But some sorts of things can influence this process.
According to a 2011 study by researchers at Columbia University in the US, those who are lack of sleep eat almost 300 calories a day more than those who get enough sleep. This is because levels of the hormone ghrelin, which tells the brain we need to eat, increase when we don’t get enough sleep.The Columbia researchers noted that the women who didn’t get enough sleep took in more fat rising by around 30g on sleep-lack days－four times as much as the average increase for men.
The bright blue light emitted by devices such as smartphones and tablets may give an unwelcome encouragement to your appetite. Research this year found that your appetite continued to increase when you are exposed to the light. It also changed people’s metabolism(新陈代谢), as blood tests showed that the blue-light subjects had higher insulin and glucose levels. One possible explanation is that bright blue light at night confuses our body clock, which has a role in controlling when we feel the need to eat.
1. What really causes people to feel hungry?| A．Our brain. | B．A hormone. | C．Our appetite. | D．Blood sugar. |
| A．Women take in fat easily. |
| B．Lack of sleep may lead to hunger. |
| C．The body clock does harm to hunger. |
| D．Blue-light subjects control appetite. |
| A．Broken out. | B．Picked up. | C．Taken place. | D．Given off. |
| A．To analyse a food study. |
| B．To report the situation of health. |
| C．To tell the factors influencing hunger. |
| D．To introduce the importance of snack. |
4 . In emergency medical services (EMS), the treatment of choice for unconscious patients that are breathing is to place them in the recovery position. The idea is to prevent getting stomach contents into the lungs.
The problem with the recovery position is the same as many other first aid treatments: it sounds good in theory but nobody knows if it really works. Positioning someone to prevent them from aspirating(吸入) is absolutely free. Because there's nothing to gain, very few people do research on things like the recovery position.
There is only one study that looked at the effectiveness of different body positions on aspiration. In that study, the recovery position was better if the unconscious person was lying flat on his or her back. However, the best option for protecting the airway—at least according to this study—was to make the patient lying on his or her belly. It turns out that if you are lying flat with your mouth at the lowest point, then the stuff coming out of your stomach won't find its way into your lungs.
Of course, it's not quite that simple. Most of us would hesitate to have our patient lie over completely.
The recovery position is taught in a very precise way. Some first aid textbooks—and more advanced texts as well—have the rescuer put the patient on his or her side with one leg bent and the head resting on an arm. However, the real world isn't like that. Understanding what you need to accomplish is more important than how you do it. Keep stuff out of your patients' lungs. If that means you roll them almost all the way on their bellies, do it. Make sure you are watching their breathing and if they stop, roll them back over and start CPR.
1. Why should unconscious patients be placed in the recovery position?| A．To assist them to recover consciousness. |
| B．To make them feel comfortable. |
| C．To keep them from choking. |
| D．To cure them of their illnesses. |
| A．Lying with his or her face up. |
| B．Bending one leg and having a rest. |
| C．Lowering his or her head and sitting. |
| D．Lying on his or her stomach. |
| A．Clear and accurate. |
| B．Perfect and helpful. |
| C．Valuable and important. |
| D．Simple and interesting. |
| A．First aid is necessary for an unconscious patient. |
| B．A suitable recovery position in first aid is important. |
| C．Reading books about first aid can help treat some patients. |
| D．Laying a patient on the ground can help him or her recover. |
5 . Scientists believe they could bring the likes of dodos(渡渡鸟)back from the dead through cloning experiments in the near future which could see the flightless birds revived from their extinction.
The big bird, which was about a metre tall and weighed up to 18 kilograms, was native to Mauritius but became extinct in the 1600s, shortly after humans discovered the island. However, 400 years later, scientists now believe that they could bring the dodo back to life through cloning of some of its closest living relatives.
Scientists recently published a paper which identified the overall genomic structure of dinosaurs. The team achieved this by tracing the ancestors (祖先)of birds — the dinosaurs closest living relatives — to create the genomic structure. Researchers involved in the study say it is an emphatic ‘no’ when it comes to the possibility of ever being able to clone dinosaurs, but they do say that more recently extinct birds like the carrier pigeon and the dodo could be brought back due to the fact that they have such close living relatives.
University of Kent scientists Darren Griffin and Rebecca O’Connor wrote in an article for The Conversation: “We discovered that birds and most flightless dinosaurs had a lot of chromosomes (packages of DNA). Having so many allows animals to generate variation, the driver of natural selection.”
“However, though it is a long shot, it may be possible in future to use Jurassic Park technology to help avoid some of the harm that humans have caused. Mankind has seen the extinction of well-known avian dinosaurs such as the dodo and the passenger pigeon.”
“Recovery(恢复)of DNA that is a only few hundred years old from these birds is a far more realistic way. It may also be that eggs from closely related living species might just be good enough. In the right conditions we may be able to use them to resurrect some of these species from extinction.”
1. What can we learn about dodos?| A．They flew to Mauritius in the 1600s. | B．They could be used to clone pigeons. |
| C．They would die out in the near future. | D．They might be brought back to life soon. |
| A．They clone dodos’ closest living relatives. | B．They trace those endangered birds closely. |
| C．They look for dinosaurs’ living conditions. | D．They identify genomic structure of pigeons. |
| A．Learn. | B．Protect. |
| C．Revive. | D．Prevent. |
| A．Scientists Expect to Clone the Dodos. | B．Scientists Find Close Living Relatives. |
| C．Dinosaurs Have Already Been Extinct. | D．Some Species Have Been Discovered. |
6 . Plastic waste is a huge problem in Indonesia, and this has led the country's second-largest city to come up with a novel approach to encourage residents to recycle—free bus rides in exchange for used plastic bottles and cups. The city of Surabaya launched the initiative back in April—the first Indonesian city to put it into practice, and citizens can ride city buses by either dropping off the plastic bottles and cups at terminals(终点站) or using the plastic items to pay their fare directly.
Under the new recycling initiative, a two-hour bus ticket costs up to five plastic bottles or 10 plastic cups, depending on the size. The city hopes this scheme will help it meet its target of becoming free of plastic waste by 2020.
''Garbage, like plastic bottles, piles up in my neighborhood, so I brought it here, so the environment is not only cleaner but also to help ease the workload of garbage collectors,'' said Linda, a resident of Surabaya.
According to Reuters, data show that 15 percent (nearly 400 tons) of the city's daily waste is plastic. The data also show that one bus can collect up to 550 pounds of plastic each day, totaling about 7.5 tons each month. After collecting the plastic waste, workers remove labels and bottle caps before the plastic is sold to recycling companies. This money then goes toward bus operations and to fund urban green spaces.
1. What does the underlined word ''initiative'' probably mean?| A．A new price of riding buses. |
| B．Dropping off the plastic bottles. |
| C．Selling plastic items to get fares. |
| D．The first action to recycle plastic. |
| A．Plastic items are only sold to companies. |
| B．Citizens are encouraged to sort plastic bottles. |
| C．Natives can take city buses instead of driving. |
| D．People can trade plastic waste for free bus rides. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Supportive. | C．Negative. | D．Uncaring. |
| A．To develop the city's economy. |
| B．To call on green travel in the city. |
| C．To raise the environmental awareness. |
| D．To solve the worldwide social problem. |
7 . More than 1,800 teen researchers came to the Valley of the Sun this week (May 12-17). Those who shone brightest took home big prizes. The prizes are from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Top winner Krithik Ramesh took home $75,000. He developed a system to help doctors do spinal surgery (脊椎外科手术) better. Using the technology, doctors can finish the surgery more quickly.
Krithik’s system can map a patient’s spine. It can give doctors advice about how to carry out spinal surgery. It can be used not only in cities, but also in the countryside. The new system could take the place of the methods being used by today’s doctors, says Krithik,16, who attends Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colo, USA. Krithik’s project won the Gordon E. Moore Award. It’s named for a founder of Intel. Other winners took home sizeable awards as well, this year. Together, these awards totaled about $5 million.
The Intel ISEF has been honoring (表扬) young researchers since 1950. This competition was created and is still run by Society for Science & the Public(SSP). It is the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. Now supported by Intel, the 2019 ISEF brought together students from more than 80 countries and areas.
“I am inspired by all of the creativity on show this week,” said SSP President Maya Ajmera. “Congratulations to our winners and all our finalists. They are, showing that world-changing ideas can come from anywhere in the world.”.
1. Krithik Ramesh won the prize for his ________.| A．computer skills |
| B．wonderful results |
| C．advice about surgery |
| D．system to help doctors |
| A．Intel. | B．Competition. |
| C．Prize. | D．System |
| A．Teenagers. | B．Scientists. |
| C．Engineers. | D．Doctors. |
| A．To praise the Intel ISEF. |
| B．To admire the young winners. |
| C．To encourage the competition. |
| D．To introduce a new technology. |
8 . Today in the UK teenagers are allowed to work from the age of 13, and many do take up part-time jobs. It's a taste of independence and sometimes a useful thing to put on their CV(简历). Teenagers agree that it teaches valuable lessons about working with adults and also about managing their money.
Some research has shown that not taking part-time job could be detrimental to a person later on. A 2015 study by the UK Commission on Employment and Skills found that not taking part-time work at school age had been blamed by employers' organizations for young adults being ill-prepared for full-time employment. However, recent studies have still shown that the number of schoolchildren in the UK with a part-time job has fallen by a fifth in the past five years.
So, does this mean that British teenagers are now more afraid of hard work? Probably not. Young people feel that going out to work will affect their performance at school, and they are under more pressure now to study hard and get good exam results — and a good job in the long term. However, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told BBC News that ''Properly regulated part-time work is a good way of helping young people learn skills that they will need in their working lives.'' In reality, it's all about getting the right balance between doing part-time work and having enough time to study and rest.
1. Which is the advantage of having part-time jobs?| A．Learning useful lessons. |
| B．Spending money at will. |
| C．Living independently. |
| D．Making some money. |
| A．Careful. | B．Helpful. |
| C．Faithful. | D．Harmful. |
| A．hard work is not fit for teenagers |
| B．a girl aged 10 is not allowed to work |
| C．a fifth children have taken part-time jobs |
| D．working benefits teens' performance at school |
| A．Learning some necessary working skills. |
| B．Keeping a balance between study and rest. |
| C．Having as many part-time jobs as possible. |
| D．Focusing on teenagers’ achievements at school. |
9 . Smart cities promise to bring better lives, faster transport, cleaner air and lower crime, all through the intelligent use of connected technology, said experts, and after huge investment in the field, China is leading the way.
“China’s smart cities market increases about 30 percent year-on-year in 2018, and all the provinces have begun development and construction for smart cities, with more to follow,” said an expert.
“Although most cities have started a smart city project, there is no globally unified thinking on the concept and operation of smart cities,” said Franco.
Alibaba is now involved in dozens of pilot projects across China, with its open AI (人工智能) platform Tianqing for the ET City Brain system officially launched in September. Set up by its cloud computing subsidiary (子公司), the Brain looks to make the city “think” through AI and cloud computing technologies, and help make the best of public services in real time.
Since introducing the technology, Hangzhou’s traffic jam has fallen from the fifth-worst in China in 2016, all the way to 57th place this year. “Now our experiments are mostly for government use, but we truly expect our open AI platform to enter more areas and help citizens live, work and entertain better,” said Hua.
In McKinsey Global Institute recent report Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future, they find cities can use smart technologies to improve some key quality life by 10 to 30 percent — numbers that translate into lives saved, fewer crime incidents, a reduced health burden, and carbon emissions.
1. What can we say about the smart city?| A．Its concept has not been accepted by people. |
| B．It can be achieved only by lots of investment. |
| C．The worldwide standard for it has been established. |
| D．Its progress in China is among the best in the world. |
| A．Traffic jam. | B．Traffic flow. |
| C．AI platform. | D．Public services. |
| A．its traffic problem has been settled |
| B．the city has become more intelligent |
| C．its public services have greatly improved |
| D．it has made achievements in smart city construction |
| A．Smart Cities are on the Way |
| B．Outline of the Future Smart Cities |
| C．Hangzhou’s Construction of Smart Cities |
| D．Alibaba Contributes More to Smart Cities |
10 . I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned how to make a coin disappear. I’d read The Lord of the Rings and ventured into the adult section of the library to search for a book of spells—nine being that curious age at which you’re old enough to work through more than 1,200 pages of fantasy literature but young enough to still hold out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. The book I found instead taught basic sleight-of-hand technique, and I dedicated the next months to practice.
At first the magic wasn’t any good. At first it wasn’t even magic; it was just a trick—a bad trick. I spent hours each day in the bathroom running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin over and over, a thousand times in a day, and after two weeks of this my mom got a carpet from the hardware store and placed it under the mirror to muffle the sound of the coin falling again and again.
I had heard my dad work through passages of new music on the piano, so I knew how to practice—slowly, deliberately, going for precision rather than speed. One day I tried the illusion in the mirror and the coin vanished. It did not look like a magic trick. It looked like a miracle.
One of the lessons you learn very early on as a magician is that the most amazing part of a trick has nothing to do with the secret. The secret is simple and often dull: a hidden piece of tape, a small mirror, a duplicate playing card, diversion of the audience’s attention. In this case, the secret was a series of covert ( 暗 中 的 ) technique to hide the coin behind my hand in the act of opening it, a dance of the fingers that I learned so completely I didn’t even have to think. I would close my hand, then open it, and the coin would vanish not by skill but by real magic.
1. What book did the author intend to find in the library when he was nine years old?| A．A book teaching people how to make a coin disappear. |
| B．The second book of The Lord of the Rings. |
| C．A book on how to become a magician. |
| D．A book of real magic. |
| A．clean | B．punish |
| C．lower | D．kill |
| A．Without music, life is of no value. | B．Practice makes perfect. |
| C．Great liars are also great magicians. | D．No pains, no gains. |
| A．Carrying out skillful hand moves. |
| B．Using real magic to create miracles. |
| C．Hiding some stage tools inside the coat. |
| D．Guiding the audience to focus on something unimportant. |
