1 . How much sleep do we need? It’s a fundamental question about a basic human function we’ve been practicing for long, but there’s still no simple answer. But whether you’re a morning or evening person could be guided by your genes. That said, your sleeping pattern will change naturally with age, which is also reflected in the National Sleep Foundation recommendations: it suggests 14-17 hours of shuteye a day for newborn babies and only 7-8 hours for over-65s.
But scientists said it’s about more than simple duration. Teens and people in their early 20s do want to go to bed later and get up later too, something researchers suggest might be to do with changing hormones(荷尔蒙). “On average, there’s about a two-hour difference in preferred sleep times of somebody in their late teens or early twenties to somebody in their late 50s or early 60s,” he said. “So asking a teenager to get up at 7 o’ clock in the morning is the equivalent of asking a 55-year-old to get up at five in the morning.”
At the end of the day, the best way to measure how much sleep you each need is to listen to your own body. Do you rely on an alarm clock to wake up? Do you take a long time to feel awake? Are you dependent on coffee drinks to keep you focused during the day? Are you overly impulsive(冲动的) or do you find yourself running a lot of traffic lights, for instance? All these could be signs that you’re not getting enough sleep.
And that, we know today, is bad. The environment can affect your sleep preferences but your genes stay. Scientists said that the understanding of the importance of sleep was “one of the great achievements of modern neuroscience(神经科学),” and that society was moving away from the all-nighter culture to respect the need for sleep.
1. What’s the writer’s intention of writing the passage?A.To report his research results. | B.To express the importance of sleep. |
C.To list some sleeping patterns. | D.To persuade people to have enough sleep. |
A.Age. | B.Genes. |
C.Hormones. | D.Sleeping pattern. |
A.Not getting enough sleep. | B.Listening to your own body. |
C.Running a lot of traffic lights. | D.Not understanding of the importance of sleep. |
A.Sleeping Patterns |
B.The Importance of Sleep |
C.A Great Achievement of Neuroscience |
D.Different People Need Different Amounts of Sleep |
2 . People made wings and strapped them to their arms. They flapped their arms but couldn’t fly. They built gliders(滑翔机), light aircraft with wings. Some didn’t work, but some did.
The gliders that worked had special wings. These wings were arched on both the top and the bottom. The air pulled the wings from above and pushed the wings from below. When the wings went up, so did the glider! Arched wings help create a force called lift. Lift is the force that keeps the gliders in the air.
Most gliders have long, thin wings. The wings create enough lift to carry the aircraft and its passengers. Gliders usually ride currents of air the same way a hawk soars(飞翔).
Gliders are very light, and long wings and air currents can give them enough lift to fly. But to carry more than just a passenger or two, an aircraft needs a lot more lift. The question is: How do you create more lift?
The engine is the answer!
The engine is a machine that changes energy into movement. The forward movement that an airplane needs to fly is called thrust. More thrust makes an airplane move forward faster. Moving faster creates more lift. And with more lift, an airplane can carry more weight so an aircraft with an engine can carry passengers or cargo.
In 1903 the Wright brothers figured out how to get wings and an engine to work together in order to give an airplane enough thrust to fly. They made the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Since then people have made airplanes that can fly faster than sound can travel. They have made airplanes that can fly all the way around the world without stopping.
Today, thousands of people travel in airplanes every day. People really have learned how to fly!
1. If a flyer wants to stay in the air, it needs enough ________.A.lift | B.thrust |
C.wings | D.engines |
A.The air. | B.The lift. |
C.The thrust. | D.The wind. |
A.the lift | B.the thrust |
C.the sound | D.the engine |
A.how gliders were built | B.how important the engine was |
C.how people learned to fly | D.how the first airplane was made |
Like other big cities, Paris has also a traffic problem: lots of cars, traffic jams and traffic pollution. So since 2007, the city
Under a project, people can take a bicycle, use it as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour is free,
Paris isn’t the first city to operate a project like this. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only suitable for short
A city spokesman said, “The bicycle project won’t solve all our traffic problems, but it might work in
The success of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games depends on your contribution!Join us as a Games Volunteer!
Games volunteers will be directly involved in assisting Games operations before, during and after the Tokyo 2020 Games. Games volunteers will guide athletes around, welcome important people and help lost visitors.
Number of Volunteering Days and Daily Hours
※The Tokyo Olympic Games will be held from Friday 24 July to Sunday 9 August 2020. In principle, Games volunteers will be required to work for at least a fortnight before, during and after the Olympic Games.
※Games volunteers will work eight hours per day including rest breaks. Actual shift lengths depend on event schedules, activities, activity sites, etc.
Age and Residential Requirements
Applicants must fulfill the following two requirements:
※Born on or before April 1, 2002.
※Japanese national or person with valid visa permitting residence in Japan during the volunteer period (temporary visitors included). Native speakers of English will be preferred.
Number of Games Volunteer Opportunities
80,000.
Method and Applicant Categories
※Applications will be submitted online.
※Individuals only.
Offers and Confirmation
Those applicants who attend the training sessions(会议) and are assigned a volunteer role will be offered to become a Tokyo 2020 Games volunteer.
Please note that the above offer will be cancelled in the event of any of the following:
※If the volunteer engages in any activity that damages the image of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
※If the volunteer engages in any activity that severely damages teamwork.
※If any information contained in the original application form is clearly found to be false.
Items and Welfares Provided to Volunteers
Volunteers will be provided with a set of free Olympic Games volunteer uniforms and meals during the work day.
1. How long will a Games volunteer be required to work at least?A.One week. | B.Two weeks. |
C.Three weeks. | D.Four weeks. |
A.A Chinese. | B.A Russian. |
C.An Australian. | D.A German. |
A.Clothing. | B.Accommodation. |
C.Transportation. | D.Amusements. |
A terrible fire began to burn at France’s world-famous Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (巴黎圣母院)
Notre-Dame
One man said, “Notre-Dame
6 . In 1949, I just returned home from the war. On every American highway you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking (搭便车) home to their families, as was the
I left the hospital
I was too upset to
It got very
My mother
A.concern | B.custom | C.view | D.disadvantage |
A.Surprisingly | B.Obviously | C.Sadly | D.Disappointedly |
A.wanted | B.asked | C.needed | D.desired |
A.immediately | B.gradually | C.frequently | D.actually |
A.valuable | B.common | C.magical | D.rare |
A.banks | B.shops | C.hospitals | D.factories |
A.body | B.blood | C.health | D.identity |
A.success | B.perfection | C.possibility | D.match |
A.crying | B.dying | C.suffering | D.bursting |
A.on purpose | B.in peace | C.in relief | D.in tears |
A.so that | B.in case | C.as though | D.if only |
A.Driving | B.Walking | C.Removing | D.Wondering |
A.road | B.stop | C.place | D.route |
A.ever | B.even | C.never | D.already |
A.anything | B.something | C.everything | D.nothing |
A.peaceful | B.calm | C.active | D.quiet |
A.commanded | B.allowed | C.told | D.persuaded |
A.away | B.in | C.around | D.down |
A.lived | B.died | C.recovered | D.disappeared |
A.stranger | B.rescuer | C.lover | D.angel |
Science for Kids This month’s most popular books. | |
1. Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky Price $25 We all know the story of Marie Curie and her many scientific achievements. But many other brilliant female scientists are far less well known. This book is a great introduction to the lives and works of some of the most important and up-to-now unknown women in science. Recommended for Ages: 12-15 【Order Now »】 | Special Offer For this month only, all Besthooks Book Club members will pay 20% less for every book ordered. Join our club for free and save big money! Delivery We bring every book you order right to your door within three days. For Bestbooks Book Club members, this is free. Non-members must pay an extra $2 per book. |
2. First Big Book of How by Jill Esbaum Price $15 An excellent book about sea life for young children. The book is divided into 4 parts, one for each of the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans. It focuses on the different animals found in each of these seas, along with interesting facts and amazing pictures. Ages: 5-10 【Order Now »】 | |
3. A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Price $15 Bill Bryson takes readers on a very funny and educational trip through the history of modern science-from its unexpected successes to its great failures and everything in between. Ages: 14 and over 【Order Now »】 | |
4. National Geographic’s First Big Book of the World by Jan Carn. Price $20 This book is the perfect introduction to the seven continents. It tells young readers about the different animals that live on each of these lands and gives a simple descnption of the people’s history and culture. Ages: 5-12 【Order Now »】 |
A.By price. | B.By popularity. |
C.By reader’s age. | D.By writer’s name. |
A.$24. | B.$26. |
C.$30. | D.$34. |
A.Women In Science |
B.First Big Book of How |
C.A Really Short History of Nearly Everything |
D.National Geo-graphic’s First Big Book of the World |
A.To sell books to young readers. |
B.To attract new book club members. |
C.To encourage students’ interest in science. |
D.To review books young readers might like. |
News anchors(主播) must have been reluctant to read out the following news: Xin Xiaomeng began working as the world’s first female artificial(人工的) intelligence news anchor at Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, three months after a male robot joined the profession.
Unlike previous news robots though, Xin does not read news like a cold machine; she reads it almost like a human being. The muscles on her face stretch and relax-and her reactions change-as she continues reading. That’s why many news anchors were worried: Will AI replace us in the near future?
To find the answer, we have to analyse the technologies that support Xin at her job. Three key technologies are used to support Xin. First, samples of human voices are collected and synthesized (合成). This is followed by the collection and synthesis of human muscle movement samples. And third the voices and movements are married in a way that when the Al news anchor reads, the micro -electric motors behind her face move to make her expressions seem more human.
Yet we need a thorough knowledge of deep leaning technology to make a robot imitate a person’s voice. The developer needs to collect tens of thousands of pieces of pronunciations, input them Into the machine and match them with the text or the Al to lean and read. The process for imitating facial movements is similar. The developer has to analyse the movements of the 53 muscles in the human face, make a model set from the collected data for the AI news anchor to lean, and imitate the movements of facial muscles via programs
Both the technologies used to make Xin’s performance impressive are mature. The real difficulty lies in the third -the technology to match the pronunciations with facial movements so that Xin expressions vary according to the content of the news report. In fact, Xins expressions don' t always change according to the content. As a result, her expressions look anything but human. Actually. AI is still no match for human qualities.
1. What does the underlined word "reluctant "in the first paragraph mean?A.Delighted. | B.Unwilling. | C.Confused. | D.Optimistic. |
A.They read news without expressions. | B.They looked like a human being |
C.They could interview sports stars | D.They could interact with audience. |
A.This technology is very perfect so far |
B.This technology is quite popular now |
C.This technology remains at the theoretical stage |
D.This technology is far from mature. |
A.human news anchors should learn from AT anchors to save their jobs |
B.Al anchors perform much better than human news anchors at present |
C.Al news anchors won 't replace human news anchors in the near future |
D.Xin Xiaomeng s expressions vary so naturally that they are true to life |
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(A ),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。.
When I was in the 6th grade, my parents bought me a cell phone. I was really exciting to receive the phone. The next weekend, my family went on camping in the East Lake Park. We enjoy boating on the lake. I used our new phone to play some of my favorite song. I thought it would be brilliant idea to put my phone in a plastic bag to protecting it from water. After getting back, I took the phone in, only to find the bag full of water. I didn’t know what to save my phone and I tried laying it out to dry. Unfortunately, it started to rain. What an awfully experience!
10 . The boy sat on his chair, with his hand above the keyboard. He thought about what to write.
He recalled that the competition deadline was merely a week away. But he still had not even started on his piece. He looked at the brochure again. “ WRITING COMPETITION!” the title read. His mom had encouraged him to enter the writing competition, and now he was taking it on as his personal task for the holidays.
As the boy reflected on his previous writing efforts, he realized how hopeless his task of winning was. Every story he ever wrote was based on other stories. He had little imagination, and unfortunately, imagination was the key to writing.
Suddenly, he had a brainwave. This time, he came up with an original and imaginative story.
The words shot towards him like a storm of leaves. Words were coming easily, flowing through him, faster than he could type. He typed faster than he ever had before. He continued to type, amazed at how easy writing this story was. The boy could not stop writing. He looked at the word count and saw the number “ 248 ” staring right back at him. He was not even halfway yet.
Then he heard the call of his mother saying time for bed. He continued writing the piece, ignoring her. He had to make up for the time he had lost thinking about a topic to write.
Finally, he finished. The word count now read “498”.
“Perfect,” he thought, “just under the word limit.” He knew this was the story that would win.
He went onto Google and searched for the competition. He found the page but there was no “Enter” button.
1. What caused the boy to take part in the writing competition?A.A new computer. | B.The prize money. |
C.His own interest. | D.His mom’s advice. |
A.His mom helped him. | B.He copied others’ ideas. |
C.His friends assisted him. | D.He used his imagination. |
A.Because he was terribly lazy. | B.Because he didn’t know what to write. |
C.Because he wasn’t confident. | D.Because he read too many stories. |
A.100. | B.250. |
C.500. | D.1000. |