1 . It used to be mostly the army that used small, unpiloted aircraft, called “drones”. The little planes were very costly. But as they have dropped in price more people have begun to use them.
The fast rate of development of computer technology, image sensing equipment, satellite navigation and smart phones has led to lower-priced drones. Researchers and developers have learned how to build smaller and less costly drones. Nowadays, moviemakers are using drones to film from the sky. Historians use them when they explore ancient buildings. Rescue workers use them to look for people. And now farmers are also using them to watch over their crops.
Romain Faroux is a French businessman, whose father was a farmer. He believed drones could help farmers. He has helped create a company which has developed a small drone that could be controlled by people on the ground. It’s called “Agridrone”. It uses a special sensor to examine crops. The technology used on the drone is similar to that used on a smartphone -- except it has wings. A computer program directs the drone to fly over the crops. The sensor on the drone records four different-colored “bands” of sunlight that are reflected off the crops.
Jean-Baptiste Bruggeman is another farmer in France who is using a drone. He says the drone flies over his crops at different times of the season and provides a lot of information about his crops. The pictures taken by the drone show him the exact amount of fertilizer the crops need. It also shows exactly where the fertilizer is needed.
Romain Faroux says farmers use information provided by the Agridrone to place fertilizer only in areas where it is needed. This saves money and reduces pollution. Before they used the drones, farmers would put the same amount of fertilizer everywhere. Drones also save time because farmers can examine up to three hectares (英亩) in about a minute.
1. Why do rescue workers and farmers begin to use drones?| A．Because they are affordable now. |
| B．Because their sizes have become smaller. |
| C．Because they can save people a lot of time. |
| D．Because the technology has been developed. |
| A．Helping the sunlight shine on the crops. |
| B．Directing the wings to fly over the crops. |
| C．Examining the different colors of the crops. |
| D．Recording the sunlight “bands” reflected off the crops. |
| A．A smartphone. | B．A sensor. |
| C．A drone. | D．A band. |
| A．Crops will be harvested by drones soon. |
| B．Drones will be widely used in different fields. |
| C．French farmers use drones to examine their crops. |
| D．Farmers develop special drones for their crops. |
2 . The city of San Francisco is home to some of the nation's largest technology companies, including Twitter and Uber. At the same time, it has one of the largest homeless populations in the country. Homelessness and unemployment for local people continue to rise. But one program is helping connect the two worlds for these poor job seekers. Del Seymour created the program. He was once homeless himself.
Seymour spent years in a neighborhood known as the Tenderloin, an area with an extremely high rate of homelessness and unemployment. However, in recent years, large companies like Twitter and Uber have moved in or near the Tenderloin area. They started importing people from other regions countries to work in the neighborhood.
Seymour started making phone calls to technology companies. He thought it was unfair for the companies to ignore local people, including homeless ones. "You're not going to come in my neighborhood and ignore my people, "he said. “You' re going to include us in your business.”
To everyone's surprise, the companies started answering. As a result, Seymour started Code Tenderloin, an organization that is giving the homeless and other needy people a path to employment, including jobs in technology companies. It offers classes in coding for computer languages. It also gives six-week training classes in job readiness. The class teaches students public speaking, resume building, interviewing and other skills. Code Tenderloin’s students visit technology companies to meet people, ask questions and learn from employees. Although only a small number of students have found full-time technology jobs, many others have got internships(实习) through the program. And many others have found other full-time jobs.
1. What has happened to the Tenderloin in recent years?| A．The rate of homelessness is decreasing. |
| B．People are hired by large companies. |
| C．Twitter sent employees to work for it. |
| D．Large companies located their offices there. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Indifferent | C．Critical | D．Objective |
| A．To help people find jobs. |
| B．To create jobs for himself and local people. |
| C．To help technology companies find suitable workers. |
| D．To teach coding for computer languages. |
| A．A technology company. | B．An organization. |
| C．A learning path. | D．A job. |
3 . With chip (芯片)readers, auto-reload apps, and one-dick online purchasing, it’s only too easy to buy something without fully registering how much it costs. That said, even if you’re not counting out small change for the cashier these days, you’ve probably still noticed how often prices end in .99.
Maybe you assumed it had something to do with tax laws, or else it was a leftover practice from decades ago, when things cost less and pennies mattered more. In fact, it’s actually a clever psychological tool that tricks your brain into thinking the price of an item is lower. “Because we read from left to right, we pay less attention to the end of the number versus (与……相比) the beginning,” DealNews.com consumer analyst Julie Ramhold told Reader’s Digest. So, for example, your mind will interpret $9.99 as $9. though it’s obviously much closer to $10.
Just one dollar’s difference might not seem like enough to a fleet your decision on whether to buy something, but it can push an item into a lower price range—and that’s enough to make your mind think it costs significantly less. To your subconscious brain, a one-digit (一位数的)price like $9 seems a lot cheaper than a two-digit price like $10.
Though ending prices in 9 might be the norm, there is a fair amount of variation when it comes to retailers’ pricing tactics (定价策略). Live Science reports that because we often see a price ending in 9 as a cheap deal, some stores—like J. Crew and Ralph Lauren—save the nines for their sale items, and use numbers ending in 0 for their full-priced items, giving the impression that those items are high-quality. Thrift stores (二手商店),on the other hand, often use whole numbers for all their products.
1. What does the underlined word “it” refer to?| A．an auto-reload app | B．a chip |
| C．one-click | D．something |
| A．Ending in .99 is a mentally low price. |
| B．Ending in .99 is a reasonable price. |
| C．Ending in .99 is a fit to tax laws. |
| D．Ending in .99 is a one-digit lower price. |
| A．To show the items are cheap enough. |
| B．To show the items are in high-quality. |
| C．To show the items are fit for the norm. |
| D．To show the items are different enough. |
| A．Buy What You Want at the Right Prices |
| B．Why Are So Many Prices Lower? |
| C．The Reason So Many Prices End in .99 |
| D．Saving the Nines for Your Purchasing Items |
4 . From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you can feel sweat (汗水)running down your body, even if you’re barely moving at all. That’s what most people in China felt like this summer. In fact, the entire northern hemisphere(半球 )saw high temperatures in July. The Arctic Circle(北极圈) was no exception(例外). Temperatures in the city of Norilsk, which is in the Arctic Circle, reached a record high of 32 ℃, The Atlantic reported. Temperatures there are usually just 10 ℃ at this time of the year.
The heat wave in the Arctic is mainly a long-term result of global warming, according to the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. In fact, while the whole world is getting warmer, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is called the polar amplification effect(极地放大效应).
The most direct impact(影响) of Arctic warming is the melting of Arctic ice. According to NASA, Arctic sea ice is now disappearing at a rate of 13. 2 percent every 10 years. NASA said that if this continues, the Arctic will have no ice by the year 2040. This has put some Arctic animals, like polar bears, in danger. The ice that the bears live on has shrunk(缩小), the Toronto Star reported.
Melting ice can also cause sea levels to rise in the long term. Since 1993, sea levels have risen at a rate of 3. 2 cm every 10 years, the Guardian reported. Some countries, such as Tuvalu(图瓦卢) in the South Pacific Ocean and Maldives(马尔代夫) in the Indian Ocean, are at risk of disappearing into the sea.
1. Which of the following is true?| A．Some countries in the ocean will disappear in 10 years. |
| B．China is the hottest in the northern hemisphere this summer. |
| C．The temperatures in Norilsk used to be lower than this summer. |
| D．The world gets warmer because of the heat wave in the Arctic. |
| A．The heat wave in the Arctic. |
| B．The result of global warming. |
| C．Getting warmer in the world. |
| D．The Arctic getting warm faster. |
| A．The polar will become dangerous. |
| B．Sea levels rise in the long term. |
| C．There will be an end of water shortage. |
| D．There will be no ice in the world by 2040. |
| A．Heat hits Arctic. |
| B．Arctic animals are in danger. |
| C．The world became hotter than before. |
| D．Some countries may disappear into the sea. |
5 . When I stepped out of Heathrow Airport, the British accents were music to my ears! The roads were so empty and traffic was so organized, with open spaces everywhere and so few people on the streets—what a difference from where 1 came—Mumbai. The difference was even more obvious after I had spent 21 years of my life living in that place. The streets were unfamiliar, and the faces were all foreign.
I boarded my bus for my university town. I felt like I had been in a fairytale book—the small houses, the quiet streets and the well-dressed people among other things. A small and beautiful three-storeyed building is quite a rarity back home and here, I have yet to see a building taller than that! Back home in India, the kind of rent I pay here could have afforded me a luxurious(豪华的） 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen apartment in a good location. But my accommodation here is the size of my bathroom back home! It’s just a fact... reality can be rude at times!
I really cherish the first day of my new university. I’ve met so many students from countries that I didn’t even know. But living alone in a new place, away from the protection of my family and friends, is a different experience altogether—a wonderful experience of further education!
It's been almost two months now. The novelty(新奇)is gradually disappearing, and the dust is settling down. It’s all just daily now but I feel fully settled. I really like this place. It feels like home!
1. What does the underlined part “that place” in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Heathrow Airport. | B．Britain. |
| C．Mumbai. | D．A university of India. |
| A．Dirty and noisy. | B．Different but poor. |
| C．Hopeful and inspiring. | D．Strange but beautiful. |
| A．An international student. | B．A tourist from India. |
| C．A British college teacher. | D．An unknown writer. |
| A．The author is less interested in everything because of dust. |
| B．The author still feels curious about everything around. |
| C．The author has been used to the new environment. |
| D．The author feels like going home after nearly two months. |
6 . In March, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ended a decade-long citywide ban on cellphone in public schools and left them to make up their own rules because he argued that by denying access for some students, the city was exacerbating(使加重) the achievement gap in students’ performance.
Two researchers from the London School of Economics, Richard Murphy and Louis Philippe Beland argued that this might have the opposite effect because students are not generally using their phones to assist in their classroom work during school. "Schools could significantly reduce the education achievement gap by prohibiting cellphones use in schools, and so by allowing phones in schools, New York may unintentionally increase the inequalities of outcomes," they told CNN.
However, some educators have come to embrace the technology in their students' pockets. Teacher Ken Halla has been teaching world history and Advanced Placement for 22 years but his students' cellphone ownership forced him to adapt to his classroom dynamics where he no longer is the single authority lecturing, according to the National Education Association(NEA). He now roams(漫步) the classroom and encourages students to use their cellphones to help them complete their assignments, this way they are less likely to let their devices distract themselves.
"It's harder to do negative behavior when the phones are out and the teacher is walking around." Mr Halla told the NEA. "I've always been that type of person who likes to adapt and change as time goes on. Otherwise, I wouldn't still be teaching many years down the road."
1. Why was the ban on cellphones stopped in New York public schools?| A．Because it negatively affected students' health. |
| B．Because it limited most students' progress. |
| C．Because it brought about unexpected side effects. |
| D．Because it was requested by parents and students. |
| A．Appreciative. | B．Meaningless. |
| C．Impractical. | D．Worrying. |
| A．Students can solve problems using cellphones. |
| B．Students can use cellphones at will. |
| C．The class focuses on how to use cellphones. |
| D．He is the only center of the entire class. |
| A．A tolerant one. | B．A humorous one. |
| C．An easy-going one. | D．An open-minded ones |
7 . The Torch Festival (火把节) is a traditional festival which is celebrated among some ethnic groups in southwestern China, such as the Yi, Bai, Hani, Lisu, and Lahu, etc. It usually falls on the 24th or 25th of June, with three days of celebrations. The festival came from worship (崇拜) of fire by ancestors (祖先). For some ethnic groups, it’s a tradition in the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and educate them about taking care of crops.
During the festival, big torches are made to stand in all villages, with small torches placed in front of the door of each house. When night falls, the torches are lit and the villages are bright. At the same time, people walk around the fields and houses, holding small torches and placing the torches in the field corners. Inside the villages, young people are singing and dancing around the big torches that keep burning throughout the night. Other activities like horse races are also held during the festival.
In a horse race of the Yi people in Yunnan, torches are used to form hurdles for riders to get through. The Hani people in Yunnan traditionally tie fruits to torches with strings. When the strings are broken after the torches are lit, people struggle for the fruits for good luck.
For the Lisu people in Sichuan, the festival is an occasion for holding torch parades. Big torches are carried by teams of people, which is like a fire dragon. If different teams meet, it’s a tradition to exchange the big torches with one another.
1. What can we know about the Torch Festival from the first paragraph?| A．It has nothing to do with farming. |
| B．Its celebrations usually last two days. |
| C．It is a traditional festival of all China. |
| D．It is a festival to show worship of fire. |
| A．ancestors. | B．young people. |
| C．elders. | D．ethnic groups. |
| A．Why the festival is enjoyed. | B．Where the festival is celebrated. |
| C．How the festival is celebrated. | D．What torches are used for the festival. |
| A．Holding torch parades. | B．Tying fruits to torches with strings. |
| C．Struggling for fruits for good luck. | D．Using torches as hurdles for a horse race. |
8 . A company called Compass Pools has some good news for height and swimming enthusiasts.Recently, the company announced their novel design-a first of its kind 360-degree pool which is set to be placed on a skyscraper in London.The Infinity London will be the first and only building in the world to include this cutting-edge pool design. The pool will be laid on top of a 55-story skyscraper and will allow people to float over 200 meters above the London skyline with unobstructed（无障碍）views of the city.
The entrance to the pool is hidden.People began to raise questions about how anyone would get inside the pool. Compass Pools explains: "Swimmers will access the pool through a rotating spiral（螺旋）staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor when someone wants to get in or out."
But that is not the only unique technology of the pool.The designers found a way to make sure the wind doesn't blow the water down to the streets.They included a built-in anemometer（风力计）to monitor the wind speed. It is linked to a computer-controlled building management system which will also take care of the temperature of the water.
Alex Kemsley promises that this unique pool will surpass expectations."Swimming in the SkyPool at The Shard，it's quite a strange feeling to have helicopters flying past at your level but this pool takes it a step further," he says."Putting your goggles（防水镜）on and with a 360-degree view of London from 220m up, it really will be something else-but it's definitely not one for the acrophobic（恐高）!"
While the exact date of the construction is not clear yet, if things go well, it may begin in 2020.The location has yet to be confirmed too.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph? ______| A．The Infinity London is the only building to swim in. |
| B．Swimmers can enjoy the views of London in the poo1. |
| C．The pool is located on the first floor of a skyscraper. |
| D．Compass Pools has built many 360-degree pools in the world. |
| A．The pool floor. | B．A built-in anemometer. |
| C．The door of a submarine. | D．The entrance to the poo1. |
| A．People who enjoy flying. | B．People who lose weight. |
| C．People who fear heights. | D．People who have poor sight. |
| A．It is not certain when people can swim in it. |
| B．Its exact location of the construction is clear. |
| C．Swimmers can expect its designs easily. |
| D．It's impossible to monitor the temperature of the water. |
9 . Conventional wisdom says that hardship can make us old before our time. In fact, a new study suggests that violence not only leaves long-term scars on children’s bodies, but also changes their DNA, causing changes that are equal to seven to ten years of premature aging.
Scientists measured this by studying the ends of children’s chromosomes (染色体）, called telomeres(端粒), says Idan Shalev, lead author of a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.
Telomeres are special DNA sequences (序列）which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from separating. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell cannot divide any more and dies.
Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation and psychological stresses such as being treated badly when young and taking care of a chronically ill person.
In this study, researchers examined whether exposure to violence could make children’s telomeres shorten faster than normal. They interviewed the mothers of 236 children 3t ages 5, 7 and 10, asking whether the youngsters had been exposed to domestic violence between the mother and her partner; physical maltreatment by an adult; or bullying. Researchers measured the children's telomeres —in cells obtained by wiping the insides of their cheeks一at ages 5 and 10.
Telomeres shortened faster in kids exposed to two or more types of violence, says Shalev. Unless that pattern changes, the study suggests, these kids could be expected to develop diseases of aging, such as heart attacks or memory loss, seven to 10 years earlier than their peers.
Shlev says there is hope for these kids. His study found that, in rare cases, telomeres Better nutrition, exercise and stress reduction are three things that may be able to lengthen telomeres, he says.
The study confirms a small but growing number of studies suggesting that early childhood adversity imprints itself in our chromosomes, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.
1. The new study found that .| A．hardship can change a child's memory |
| B．violence can speed up a child's aging |
| C．violence leaves scars on a child s mind |
| D．hardship has an effect on a child’s mind |
| A．Telomeres. | B．Children. |
| C．Chromosomes. | D．DNA sequences. |
| A．Violence can cause quick cell death in children’s body. |
| B．Telomeres can help prevent chromosomes from separating. |
| C．Children who have shorter telomeres have heart attacks later. |
| D．Being treated badly will make a child’s telomeres shorten faster. |
| A．Violence and Telomeres |
| B．The Function of Telomeres |
| C．Violence Makes Children Aging |
| D．DNA Influences Children’s Growth |
10 . Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets).The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Riding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)
1. What is the similarity of the four hotels?| A．Being expensive. | B．Being beautiful. |
| C．Being natural. | D．Being unique. |
| A．The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B. |
| B．The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner. |
| C．The name of the hotel. |
| D．The name of the hotel owner. |
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal |
| B．Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B |
| D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel |
