1 . Many Americans think of driverless cars as a futuristic technology that will revolutionize travel in cities and along state highways. But recent experiments are proving that autonomous vehicles also have the potential to improve the quality of life for millions of Americans underserved by traditional ways of transportation, such as the elderly and disabled, so long as lawmakers make smart policies that pave the way for innovation.
A retirement community in San Jose, Calif. , which has been transformed by a small fleet（车队） of driverless taxis, shows the potential of self-driving cars to transform people’s lives. Built by a tech start-up called Voyage, the modified(被改进的) Ford Fusions are currently limited to a two-mile road, but residents are already having the benefits of these autonomous vehicles, which allow them to participate in social activities they would otherwise be unable to enjoy simply because they could not get to them.
When the trial run finally expands to 15 miles of road, these residents—whose average age is 76—will also have a convenient and reliable new way to appointments. As these cars continue to serve residents there, it is easy to understand why California is moving to simplify regulations for the industry.
In Michigan, forward-thinking policies have the potential to unlock other hidden benefits of autonomous vehicles, especially for those with physical disabilities. The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition has strongly advocated for the development of this technology, saying that it could give people with disabilities greater opportunities in the workforce and enable them to lead more fulfilling(满意的), independent lives.
Many recognize that autonomous vehicles will be the future of transportation, but it is too often overlooked that this future cannot arrive fast enough for millions of Americans who are forced to depend on others for day-to-day travel. The policymakers should follow the lead of places like California and Michigan, and pass rules and regulations to unlock these hidden benefits of driverless cars.
1. What’s the attitude of most American people to the future of autonomous vehicles?| A．uncertain | B．doubtful |
| C．indifferent | D．optimistic |
| A．The collection of social activities. | B．The name of a retirement community. |
| C．A kind of autonomous vehicle. | D．A two-mile road for self-driving cars. |
| A．what are preventing the development of the technology |
| B．why driverless cars are restricted in many states in America |
| C．how driverless technology benefits the aged and disabled |
| D．when driverless cars can enter people’s life eventually |
| A．The concept of autonomous vehicles has been widely recognized. |
| B．The weak groups are often overlooked despite technology advances. |
| C．The benefits of driverless cars have been fully unlocked. |
| D．Regulations should go hand in hand with driverless technology. |
2 . When I was in my fourth year of teaching，I was also（and am still）a high school track and field coach（田径教练）. One year，I had a student，John，who entered my class when he was a junior. John changed to our school from Greece，and seemed to be interested in sports，so I encouraged him to join our track team. I explained to him that even though he had never taken part in it before，I did believe that he could do well in any event，and that I would be willing to coach him in whichever ones interested him. He accepted the offer，and began to work hard at every practice.
About a month later，I had found out from other sources that John was a first-class tennis player，winning various junior awards in his home country. I went to him asking，“John，I really appreciate that you came out for the track team，but why didn’t you play tennis instead？It seems that would interest you a lot more，since you’re so good at it.”John answered，“Well，I like tennis，but you told me that you believed in me，and that you thought I could do well in track，so I wanted to try it for that reason.”
From then on，I often remember my student’s reply. I told it to a friend and she suggested I write it down to share somewhere with more teachers. No matter how critical（挑剔的）students can be of themselves，I’ve found that a simple“I trust that you can do it！”can go a long way！
1. According to Paragraph 1，what did the author seem to think more about？| A．John’s PE marks. |
| B．John’s self-confidence. |
| C．John’s interest in sports. |
| D．John’s state of health. |
| A．He had been an excellent runner. |
| B．He was encouraged by his teacher. |
| C．He liked running more than tennis. |
| D．He had no tennis coach to train him. |
| A．To build a close teacher-student relationship. |
| B．To introduce a new way of sports training. |
| C．To explain the value of sports. |
| D．To show the importance of encouragement. |
| A．Teachers. | B．Parents. |
| C．Students. | D．Players. |
3 . Derek Rabclo is not the only surfer to conquer Hawaii' s famous Pipeline big wave break, but while all others use their sight to do it, this young professional surfer must rely only on his other senses. That's because he is completely blind.
When Derek was born, over 24 years ago, he got his name from Derek Ho, the first Hawaiian surfing world champion. A surfing enthusiast himself, Emesto dreamed that his son would share the talent of his uncle, a professional surfer. Unfortunately, Derek was born completely blind, but this didn't slop his family from believing lhat he could do anything he wanted, even if that meant becoming a surfer.
At age 2, Derek received a bodyboard and the beaches of Guarapari, Brazil, became his backyard. He was always comfortable in the water and surfing was in his blood, but he didn’t actually try riding a wave until he turned 17, when his father bought him a surfboard. His father taught him the basics and encouraged him to keep practicing, but after successfully standing up on the surfboard, Derek knew he needed to become much better if he was going to achieve Emesto's dream and become a professional surfer. So he joined the Praia do Moroo surf school, where he studied under coach Fabio Maru.
Standing up on a surfboard and conquering small waves is one thing, while gathering the courage to take on Hawaii's board-breaking Pipeline is another. But that’s exactly what Derek Rabelo set out to do just months after learning how to surf. Everyone told him it was too dangerous, but he felt he could do it. And he did, earning the praise of famous professional surfers like Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning. Now 24, Rabelo has been surfing the Pipeline every winter since.
1. What does the first paragraph tell us?| A．Good eyesight is necessary for becoming good suffers. |
| B．Nobody has ever conquered Hawaii’s big wave break. |
| C．Derek Rabelo dreams to conquer Hawaii's big wave break. |
| D．Derek Rabelo is the only blind professional surfer to conquer Hawaii’s big wave break. |
| A．He named him after his uncle. | B．He never lost confidence in him. |
| C．He sent him to a surfing champion. | D．He started his own interest in surfing. |
| A．began to try riding a wave | B．was no longer afraid of water |
| C．realized he still had a long way to go | D．knew his father’s dream had come true |
| A．Brave and confident. | B．Skillful but proud. |
| C．Thoughtful and modest. | D．Courageous but stubborn. |
4 . Sitting under the national flag and separated from the media by a transparent glass wall, 50-year-old Jing Haipeng and 37-year-old Chen Dong appeared calm as they prepare to be part of, what is scheduled to be, China’s longest-ever manned spaceflight mission.
The two were scheduled to spend a total of 33-days in orbit. This would be 3rd trip into space for veteran Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng. He has been on the Shenzhou-7 mission in 2008 and the Shenzhou-9 mission in 2012. The mission’s commander was also part of docking missions (太空对接任务) on both his previous space flights, giving him the experience needed to help dock Shenzhou-11 with Tiangong-2. Jing Haipeng said, “With the past 18 years of intensive professional astronaut training, together with the two previous experiences I’ve had flying in space, I’m very confident and determined that this mission is going to be a great success. Personally, I’m much calmer and in a more positive head-space than I was-during my previous missions. I’m very proud to be here to greet our country. I know my confidence is shared with the rest of our entire space program.”
With anunblemishedflight record of 15-himdred hours as a pilot, 37-year old Chen Dong was chosen in 2010 to be part of the next generation of Chinese astronauts. He too said he was confident of heading into the mission, even though it would be his first time in space. “I have the chance to join my first mission after 6-years of intensive training and learning. For me, the timing is perfect—not too early, but not too late either. When we train, Jing is my teacher. In life, he is my brother. He is so dedicated, and demands only the best from me and the others that he works with. Because of his experience, I am very lucky to be paired with him on this mission into space.” After being put into orbit, Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong were going to conduct a series of experiments, including testing the latest in China’s advanced life support systems, as well as scientific research.
Wu Ping deputy director of Chena’s Manned Space Program, explains the role of the two astronauts in space. “During their mission, the two are essentially back-ups to one-another. They are both capable of piloting the spacecraft, complex management, manual docking as well as handling any emergency situations or malfunctions (故障) .While in orbit, they are going to complete a number of maneuvers (演习) with Shenzhen-11, as well as orbital experiments, demonstrations and tests on human health in space.”
1. From what Jing Haipeng said we can infer ________.| A．previous experience matter a lot |
| B．the mission’s commander helped him |
| C．the Shenzhou-7 mission is to be docked with the Shcnzhou-9 |
| D．he lacked confidence during the previous launching |
| A．continuous | B．surprising |
| C．perfect | D．significant |
| A．His confidence of heading into the mission. |
| B．His intensive training and learning. |
| C．His luck to be paired with Jing Haipeng. |
| D．His experience of conducting a series of experiment. |
| A．In a newspaper | B．In a science journal |
| C．In a travel magazine | D．In a government document |
Johannes Gutenberg was chosen to be the most important figure of the past millennium (千年) by the media (媒体). You may not be familiar with him.
He was born into a wealthy family in the city of Mainz, Germany. His early training was in goldsmithing. In 1428, he moved to Strasbourg and lived there for almost 20 years.
The invention of the modem printing press changed the way information was delivered.
| A．Gutenberg made the world a much richer place |
| B．But he has certainly influenced your life in some ways |
| C．Gutenberg's idea was one of the greatest of all mankind |
| D．By 1450, Gutenberg was back in Mainz at work on a printing press |
| E．In fact, this invention contributed a lot of educating the masses (大众) worldwide |
| F．Before the spread of Gutenberg's idea, books were primarily handwritten |
| G．It was in Strasbourg that he probably made his first experiments with moveable type and printing |
6 . Eyes may be the “windows to the soul,” but depending on who’s reading them, they might tell very different stories. A new study in the UK found that women are more likely to notice something than men when determining another person’s feelings based only on their eyes and eyebrows.
In the study, the researchers surveyed a total of 2,000 men and women in the UK. They were shown pairs of eyes and eyebrows and asked to choose the correct term that describes which emotion (情绪) that person is expressing. In general, women were found to be slightly better at reading other people. Two thirds of women in the survey correctly recognized five or more emotions. Only 56 percent of men were able to do this.
The researchers also found that women were more confident in their ability to read emotions. Half of them reported that they were either “slightly better” or “much better” at doing so than their friends and family, while only 44 percent of men said the same. The survey also showed that men and women differ in their abilities to notice particular emotions.
Women were more likely to recognize “vulnerable emotions,” including someone being shocked or scared. More than three quarters of them were able to do so, but only 60 percent of men could tell that someone was scared. When it comes to recognizing a “guilty” look, women beat men by five percent.
In the survey, men were found to be better at recognizing emotions related to desire and anger. Roughly 58 percent of men could correctly discover someone was interested in something from what they saw, and 41.9 percent could recognize desire.
The researchers say the ability improves with age — until you reach 65. The best scores were seen in people aged 55-64 and 45-54. People aged 65 and over were best at determining when a person is “guilty.” On average, people scored 4.9/10 on the test. The researchers say this suggests that most people can’t recognize other people’s moods as much as they think they might.
1. What did the researchers find in the study?| A．Men were better at noticing guilty looks. |
| B．Men did better than women in recognizing anger and desire. |
| C．Women could recognize people’s emotions from their eyes and words. |
| D．Women were confident in their ability to show different emotions. |
| A．easily hurt or affected |
| B．not well behaved |
| C．prepared to fight |
| D．hard to get along with |
| A．Most people can’t truly realize what a person is feeling. |
| B．Men and women have the same ability to recognize particular emotions. |
| C．The older a person is, the better he or she can read other people’s emotions. |
| D．People aged 65 can best notice whether a person is interested in something. |
| A．Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul |
| B．The Ability to Read Emotions Matters a Lot |
| C．How Can You Manage Your Emotions? |
| D．How Well Can You Read Emotions? |
7 . When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there’d be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.
Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” she’d say. The first time she said that, soda(汽水) went up my nose.
I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).
I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.
I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I’m doing. When I don’t say “fine”, she sticks around to hear my problems. She’s lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, and not because they’re getting paid to do so. Sometimes it’s good to just smile, nod your head and listen.
1. Why did soda go up the author’s nose one time?| A．He was talking fast. | B．He was shocked. |
| C．He was in a hurry. | D．He was absent-minded. |
| A．He enjoyed the drink. | B．He wanted to be helpful. |
| C．He took the chance to rest. | D．He tried to please his dad. |
| A．recover from her sadness | B．move out of the neighborhood |
| C．turn to her old friends | D．speak out about her past |
| A．Open up to others. | B．Depend on each other. |
| C．Pay for other’s help | D．Care about one another. |
8 . Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle —named the Transition – has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and burns 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.
Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000.And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.
Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.
Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find relatively easy to meet.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The basic data of the Transition. |
| B．The advantages of flying cars. |
| C．The potential market for flying cars. |
| D．The designers of the Transition. |
| A．It causers traffic jams. |
| B．It is difficult to operate. |
| C．It is very expensive. |
| D．It burns too much fuel. |
| A．Cautious | B．Favorable. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Flying Car at Auto Show |
| B．The Transition’s First Flight |
| C．Pilots’ Dream Coming True |
| D．Flying Car Closer to Reality |
9 . There is no doubt that many parents want to mold (塑造)their child to be better, faster, smarter and more skilled. Even though human parents can’t do that, a robot that builds its own children can. Scientists at the University of Cambridge in England have created a mother robot that not only creates its own children, but tests out their performance.
The mother robot analyzes(分析)the performance of each of the “children” it creates, and passes down good characters to the next generation
For example, as the mother creates them and puts them to work, she measures how they’re behaving, and she uses data from this behavior to create the next generation of robots.
The mother robot can actually build hundreds of child robots and see the performance of these child robots. And if their performance is good, keep their design for the next generation. And if bad, just let it go.
“We program the robots based on some functions that define(规定)the reward the robots are going to get, depending on the construction that they make. They cannot change their own reward. For the child robot, the longer the distance the robot walks, the better the reward it receives,” said Fumiya Iida, the lead researcher.
After several generations, the “children” were running twice as fast.
“The mother robot produced 500 robots to see which one is good and which one is bad,” said Iida.
The researchers believe that the machines can be used in a car factory, for example, where robot cameras examine each ear in production line, find out any mistakes, and then design a better car.
1. What is special about the mother robot?| A．It can analyze data |
| B．It can create child robots |
| C．It’s smarter than human mothers |
| D．It can build and improve its own children. |
| A．It teachers them how to behave better. |
| B．It reprograms the bad ones after analyzing their performance |
| C．It copies hundreds of child robots and then chooses the best ones. |
| D．It keeps the good characters for the next generation to create a better robot. |
| A．Size | B．Distance. |
| C．Behavior | D．Speed. |
10 . Do you know sand has been used to draw pictures since ancient times? Today, sandpainting, an interesting art, will be produced to you.
Sandpainting is an art of using the sand to make a fixed or unfixed painting. Maybe we all played fixed sandpainting as we were young. We first painted a simple picture, then we brushed glue(胶水)to the section, and at last we poured colored sand onto the glue in order to make it fixed.Unfixed sandpaintings have a long cultural history around the world. People poured sand on a surface to make paintings or use some tools to draw pictures in the sand directly. They are often temporary(临时的). Different people draw sandpaintings to express different meanings: love of nature, admiration for God or love of beauty.
Nowadays, sandpainting becomes a performance art and its popularity has risen. On the stages, sandpainting performers make a series of images(图像)by drawing lines and figures in the sand with their fingers and hands. The series of images are used to tell a story.
Kseniya Simonova, who is from Ukraine, is one of the greatest sandpainting performers in the world. People call her “The Lady of the Sand”.
Simonova said that she never dreamed she’d become a sand artist, and when she began practicing, she nearly gave it up. But she persevered, caring for a household and her baby by day and training every night. You Are Always Nearby is one of the most famous performances of Simonoova. It is a story about a young couple separated by a war in which the solider is tragically killed, but returns in spirit to watch over his wife and child. This performance makes all audience cry.
Art is everywhere and is not far away from common people. Art of painting is in our life, even in the sand.
1. Which of the following is necessary to make a fixed sandpainting?| A．Glue | B．A printed picture |
| C．Colored paper | D．Water |
| A．She is the best painter in the world |
| B．Being a sand artist is her biggest dream |
| C．She once gave up performing for her family |
| D．Her performances are popular with people |
| A．How sandpainting is becoming popular |
| B．Why sandpainting is becoming popular |
| C．How an image is created in the sand |
| D．What sandpainting tries to express |
| A．set off | B．gave out |
| C．held on | D．ended up |
