1 . If you had boarded a passenger plane in 1950, you would have seen five people in the cockpit (驾驶舱): two pilots, a radio operator, a navigator and a flight engineer. Over the years, technical advances have gradually removed the need for the last three, leaving just two pilots. That has been the norm (标准) in commercial aviation for decades.
However, things could be simplified further — one of the two remaining pilots could soon go. Many military aircraft are already manned by a single pilot, and for commercial aviation this would mean stepping into a brave new world.
But how will airlines make this brave innovation come true? One way is to greatly increase automation in the cockpit, devoting more tasks to computers. Another is to shift the same tasks from the cockpit to the ground. “The latter approach seems to be more workable, at least in the short term, because much of what is required already exists,” says Patrick Smith, an airline pilot flying Boeing 767 aircraft. “A trained ground operator could observe a number of flights at once and even fully control the plane remotely if needed.”
It’s true that single-pilot operations could help airlines save money, but there is another reason which makes them quicken their pace for this crucial breakthrough. Boeing predicts a need for 600,000 new pilots in the next two decades, but by some estimates, there will be a deficit (赤字) of at least 34,000 pilots globally by 2025. Reducing the number of pilots on some crews or aircraft could lessen the impact of this.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to a single pilot will be selling the idea to passengers. In 2019, Don Hairis, a professor at Coventry University, conducted a survey on the prospect of flying on an airliner with just one pilot. Just a minority of participants said they’d be willing to take that flight, and the general idea was that removing a pilot increased the possibility of accidents. In the study, Harris concluded that the single-crew airliner would be still probably 20 years away.
1. What is the potential trend in commercial aviation according to the text?A.It will make air travel eco-friendly. |
B.It will switch to single-pilot operations. |
C.It will tighten its flight control for safety concerns. |
D.It will bring in many military aircraft to the industry. |
A.Raising the standards in admitting new pilots. | B.Making pilots adaptable to different situations. |
C.Using computers to automate the flight process. | D.Gaining piloting support from ground operators. |
A.The shortage of pilots. | B.The need for new airlines. |
C.The airlines’ brave innovation. | D.The financial problem airlines face. |
A.The prospect of single-crew airliners is bright. |
B.It's urgent that airlines reduce airplane accidents. |
C.Passengers are willing to try new types of airplanes. |
D.Airlines have a long way to go before the innovation occurs. |
Students of a Nanjing senior high school brought joy to the elderly and brightened up their day by
Though it was the first time many of the students
Wang Hong, the programme organizer, said, “
Running a few kilometres each day is good for our health. However, new research says running too much could be bad for us.Running long distances
Researchers looked
When Zhi Yueying, then 19, went to the remote Niyang village in Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province,
Over the past four decades, Zhi
Zhi has a profound understanding of
In Xixian county, located in Linfen, Shanxi province, a smart pear orchard (果园)
In this orchard, every pear is given
So far, Xixian
According to Wang, the platform not only helps with production but also promotes sales, as its tracking system can collect first-hand marketing feedback data. Pear farmers can learn about the market demand through the system to
6 . People will tell you the only way to really learn a language is to completely immerse(浸入)yourself in a country where that language is spoken. Not all language learners, of course, will have the opportunity to spend some time in an immersion environment. But if you can't actually fly across the world to learn a new language, you can always create an immersion environment where you can talk to native speakers.
That's where Babbel comes in. Babbel is one of the most popular language learning apps on the market for studying new languages at your own pace. The app emphasises real-life conversational skills, so you won't be stopped by grammatical structures and verb patterns.
And right now, you can get 15%off a lifetime subscription (订阅)to Babbel Language Learning($150; stacksocial. com).A lifetime subscription is huge when it comes to getting the most out of the app, since you'll be able to return to lessons time and time again and brush up on whichever section or topic you might need.
So how does it all work? First, you'll choose one of the 14 languages. While Babbel offers familiar languages like Spanish and Italian, it also offers less commonly studied ones like Polish, Indonesian and more. Once you pick your language, you'll choose a wide range of real-life topics. Each course takes about 10 to 15 minutes, so you can pick one up on the way to work, during your lunch break, or really at any point you have some time to kill.
Beyond this, Babbel includes a ton of additional features tailored to making sure you learn the language in a real, practical and accurate way. The app uses speech recognition technology to make sure your pronunciation is accurate compared with how native speakers would say certain words.
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us?A.The terrifying experiences of travelling. | B.The importance of language learning environment. |
C.Different ways to learn a new language. | D.Opportunities to communicate with native speakers. |
A.It's a tool for learning languages. | B.It is designed in various types. |
C.It focuses more on grammar structures. | D.It's the most popular app in the market. |
A.Choose the place to learn a course. | B.Pick the language they want to learn. |
C.Calculate the reading time. | D.Choose a proper topic. |
A.To represent its additional features. | B.To meet the needs of native speakers. |
C.To compare differences between words. | D.To make the pronunciation correct. |
Lifestyles differ from person to person. Some people, known as
8 . When other teenagers hang out with friends in the summer vacations. Erica doesn’t join. Instead, the 16-year-old senior high student is
Erica started baking out of
Always considered a
A.applied | B.occupied | C.accommodated | D.adapted |
A.assists | B.shelters | C.charges | D.runs |
A.sympathy | B.gratitude | C.passion | D.politeness |
A.failure | B.success | C.pressure | D.astonishment |
A.employed | B.perfected | C.shared | D.presented |
A.reminded | B.permitted | C.instructed | D.inspired |
A.confirmation | B.debate | C.consideration | D.contrast |
A.annoyed | B.elegant | C.cautious | D.serious |
A.distinguished | B.approved | C.neglected | D.hesitated |
A.regular | B.potential | C.favoured | D.demanding |
A.Unobviously | B.Unconsciously | C.Unfortunately | D.Unavoidably |
A.down | B.off | C.through | D.up |
A.model | B.sculptor | C.psychologist | D.captain |
A.keep to | B.go beyond | C.jump at | D.work on |
A.mean | B.modest | C.assured | D.sensitive |
A cultural tourism promotion event titled “Hometown of Confucius, Hospitable Shandong” opened in Rome Italy, on May 6,2023.
Shandong is
Shandong is willing to work with Italian partners
During the opening ceremony, Riccardo Busi, president of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), announced the decision to establish the China Coordination Office of the FIAP in Shandong province,
10 . About 20 years ago, while on the way to a student’s house, Zhang Guimei, then a rural teacher in Huaping county, Lijiang, Yunnan province, noticed a girl sitting on the hillside. The girl, 13, told Zhang she was about to get married though she wanted to go to school. It was arranged by her parents.
Zhang went to her house and tried to persuade her parents to let the girl return to school and promised to pay for her tuition herself. However, they didn’t agree. Zhang felt sorry for not being able to help. “We always say that each child should stand on the same starting line, but these girls didn’t even have a chance to get on the track,” Zhang said.
It persuaded Zhang to build a free high school for girls with the objective of helping break the cycle that saw women drop out of education, marry early and spend their whole life in the remote mountain. Zhang had spent years trying to raise funds, and in 2008, Huaping High School for Girls, a free public high school, was founded, where Zhang is the principal. Over the decades, Zhang has walked thousands of kilometers, visiting students’ families in the deep mountain, talking to villagers, and persuading girls to go back to school. It has been worth it. More than 1,800 graduates have been admitted to college. It is regarded as a “miracle” in the remote area, as most students didn’t perform well in academic study before the school was established.
Though lacking full health, Zhang insists on a daily routine—get up around 5 a.m. to call students to get up with a loudspeaker, accompany students to classes and sleep after senior students’ study ends at midnight. Zhang’s husband died in the 1990s. She doesn’t have children or a house, so she lives at the student dormitory. Besides girls in her school, Zhang also donates all her income to help rural education and poor people.
In early December, she was given the honor of the country’s “role model for teachers” and “outstanding woman”. Her commitment to her education career inspires thousands of people.
1. Why did Zhang feel sorry when the girl’s parents refused to let the girl return to school?A.The girl’s family was too poor to pay for her tuition fees. |
B.The girl had to marry a man who was much older than her. |
C.The girl didn’t even have the chance to complete her education. |
D.The girl was unable to find a high school nearby to continue her education. |
A.Not many girls want to attend this school. |
B.Few parents support their girls’ going to school. |
C.The local government didn’t offer the land for the school. |
D.It was not easy for Zhang to get enough money to build the school. |
A.Most students didn’t study well before Huaping High School for Girls was founded. |
B.Huaping High School for Girls was founded. |
C.Many girls can go to Huaping High School for Girls for free. |
D.Many girls from Huaping High School for Girls have gone to college. |
A.A teacher shows girls how to reach the top. |
B.Let girls stand on the same starting line. |
C.Inspiring stories of girls’ education. |
D.Huaping High School for Girls. |