1 . If you’re looking to buy a gift for your children, why not keep up with the trend and get the best hoverboard?
What is a Hoverboard?
A hoverboard is a two-wheeled personal transportation device. It’s electrical, portable and became highly popular in 2015. Typically, this self-balancing device operates like a powered skateboard.
How Does a Hoverboard Work?
The device may have many designs, but the mechanism itself isn’t complicated. Basically, a standard hoverboard contains:
•Battery: stores the electrical power. Almost all hoverboards use a high-watt lithium-ion battery.
•Gyroscope (one for each wheel): allows riders to tilt (倾斜) the hoverboard while maintaining balance and adjusting their direction.
•Motor (one in each wheel): provides the power to the wheels to keep the rider balanced and upright.
•Logic board: functions as the hoverboard brain. It processes data—your speed, tilt, etc.—and sends information to the motors. This unit controls the power of the board so riders can adjust their speed.
All the above components work together to control the power and tilt of the hoverboards so the rider is balanced, upright and moving at a controlled speed.
Why Buy a Hoverboard?
Undoubtedly, hoverboards are cool. You’ve probably seen kids riding one around the house. They’re a phenomenon and everybody wants in. So, why deny your kids and prevent them from being part of this trend?
Where is a hoverboard legal?
Despite their wild popularity, hoverboards have yet to become “street-legal”. Currently, some places prohibit anyone under 16 from using these devices, and hoverboards are banned in academic institutions and public places, like campus buildings, parks, shopping malls and subway stations. Some places have also put speed limits on the devices and restricted their use to bike paths. However, open areas—including your yard—are free of these restrictions.
1. The logic board of a hoverboard can ______.| A．store electricity | B．power the wheels |
| C．send information to the riders | D．receive data and give command |
| A．on campus | B．in parks |
| C．on bike paths | D．in shopping malls |
| A．To evaluate a gift’s quality. |
| B．To suggest a gift option. |
| C．To compare new hoverboard models. |
| D．To explain functions of the latest hoverboards. |
2 . More and more shoppers are buying things online these days, allowing them to avoid aggressive salespeople and long lines at checkout counters. In spite of online convenience, however, there are some items—like clothes—that customers prefer to examine before buying. In light of this, two companies are Ending ways to modernize stores and bridge the gap between online and in-store retail.
Hointer, a software company that also sells designer jeans, has created a fast and painless shopping experience for its customers. Shoppers walk into a Hointer store and select one of the many pairs of jeans hanging down from bars. Then they point their smartphones at the tag and activate the Hointer app, after which they select the size and press “try on” The app then directs them to a specific dressing room. German-made robots search for the desired jeans and deliver them through a chute to the dressing room in about 30 seconds. Immediately after unwanted pairs of jeans are dropped through another chute, the “outbox”, they disappear from the list in the app.
Purchases at Hointer are made with a swipe of a credit card. And a salesperson is optional. This allows Hointer to hire fewer people and focus on their goal: developing technology that supports a retail revolution.
Men's clothing retailer Bonobos has come up with a more personalized shopping experience. Although it is in fact an online retailer, Bonobos has decided to open a handful of stores called Guide shops. Shoppers make an appointment online before arriving at a Guideship, where they receive one-on-one attention from a fitting guide. Because these shops have limited stocks, shoppers aren't able to take home the clothes they select. But guides help shoppers make online purchases before they leave, after which the items will be delivered to customers in one or two days. Following the purchase, the Bonobos customer service database keeps a record of each shopper's size, making future online purchases easier.
While Hointer focuses on convenience, Bonobos Guide shops focus on customer service. But both efforts have one thing in common: giving clothing retailers a new look for the 21st century.
1. The two companies are finding ways to modernize their stores because ______.| A．online shopping is losing its popularity |
| B．in-store retail makes higher profits |
| C．people's demand for in-store shopping still exists |
| D．store sales keep declining without high technology |
| A．It's a software company as well as a jean producer. |
| B．Shoppers can turn to a salesperson when necessary in Hointer. |
| C．The Hointer app makes clothes shopping more time-consuming. |
| D．Shoppers are welcomed by German-made robots in Hointer. |
| A．he needs to make an appointment online in advance |
| B．he has to make online purchases in the store |
| C．he should help create the customer service database |
| D．he can receive one-on-one attention from a guide |
| A．High Technology in Stores | B．Advantages of In-store Shopping |
| C．Competition between Two Companies | D．New Experience of Shopping for Clothes |
3 . The baobab tree is sometimes called “the Tree of Life." Baobabs grow in Africa and Australia. They are the most famous trees in Africa. Baobabs have very thick, wide trunks （树干）.Often the trunks have large empty spaces inside.
In South Africa, one famous tree had a hole so large that someone built a bar inside it. People could sit inside and order drinks. That tree was known as the Sunland Baobab. It was more than 1,000 years old. It was the biggest baobab in Africa. But in 2017 it fell down. In 2016, another famous baobab fell down and died. It was called the Chapman tree in Botswana.
A recent study shows that the problem is widespread. Adrian Patrut and his team started studying the baobabs in 2005.The team found bad news. In the past 12 years, “nine of the thirteen oldest and five of the six largest have died,” the report found. Sometimes parts of the tree didn't die. But the “oldest parts” did.
Experts aren't sure what is causing the baobabs to die. They think it may be related to climate change. But more research is needed to prove it.
The largest trees need more water and food than smaller baobabs. Patrut thinks that is what puts them at greater danger. More heat and less rainfall could have a big influence on the trees.
In Zimbabwe a fungus（真菌）turns baobabs black before they die. But Patrut's study didn't find signs of a widespread disease. No matter the cause, the loss is huge.
Baobabs are amazing. They are a major food source for people. The trees grow white flowers that open at night. Bats spread the pollen（花粉）and help the trees grow fruit. Their white fruit is called monkey bread. People use it as food and to make cool drinks. People make paper, cloth, and even drugs from baobab bark（树皮）.
1. What do we know about the Sunland Baobab?| A．It was the biggest baobab in Australia. |
| B．It was the oldest tree in the world. |
| C．It fell down in 2016 in Botswana. |
| D．It once had a bar inside it |
| A．More baobabs are dying, |
| B．Old baobabs are going to disappear. |
| C．Trees worldwide have common problems. |
| D．Trees' living environment is getting worse. |
| A．are certain human activities put them in danger |
| B．are sure it is because of climate change |
| C．have proved disease is the main cause |
| D．need to carry out more studies |
| A．The great uses of baobab trees |
| B．The danger of losing baobab trees. |
| C．How baobab trees help other plants |
| D．The importance of protecting the environment. |
