1 . When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a landline (座机)?
These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime.
Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter (29%) rely only on their smartphones according to a survey (调查). Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.
More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor (因素)— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do with the makeup of your household.
Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we pick up the phone (using Caller ID would take the fun out of it).
How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries?
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?| A．Their target users. | B．Their wide popularity. |
| C．Their major functions. | D．Their complex design. |
| A．Admit. | B．Argue. |
| C．Remember. | D．Remark. |
| A．They like smartphone games. | B．They enjoy guessing callers’ identity. |
| C．They keep using landline phones. | D．They are attached to their family. |
| A．It remains a family necessity. |
| B．It will fall out of use some day. |
| C．It may increase daily expenses. |
| D．It is as important as the gas light. |
2 . Pierre is a 25-year-old penguin at the California Academy of Sciences. Due to his old age he was going bald which made him feel too cold to swim in the pool. Therefore biologists at the academy had a wetsuit created for this penguin to help him get back in the swimming pool.
Unlike marine mammals which have a layer of fat to keep them warm penguins depend on their waterproof feathers. Without them Pierre was unwilling to jump into the swimming pool and ended up trembling on the side of the pool while his 19 peers played in the water.
"He was cold; he would shake" said Pam Schaller a senior biologist. Schaller first tried a heat lamp to keep Pierre warm. Then she got another idea: if wetsuits keep humans warm in the cold Pacific why not make one for Pierre?
Schaller designed the suit which covered Pierre's body and had small openings for his flippers.
“I would walk behind him and look at where there were any gaps and cut and refit and cut and refit until it looked like it was extremely suitable” she said.
One concern was that the other penguins would reject Pierre in his new suit but in fact they accepted his new look. He swam freely and got along with others well although he was the only penguin with a black stomach.
Schaller couldn't say for sure whether the wetsuit allowed Pierre to recover his fine feathers but “certainly we were able to keep him comfortable during a period of time that would have been very difficult for him to stay comfortable”.
1. Pierre felt too cold to swim in the pool because of ________.| A．not having a layer of blubber |
| B．having few feathers due to old age |
| C．having no wetsuit |
| D．others penguins rejecting him |
| A．total invention | B．the use of heat lamp |
| C．the use of wetsuit on humans | D．waterproof feathers |
| A．if anywhere of wetsuit needed to be cut and refit |
| B．whether other penguins would reject him |
| C．if the wetsuit kept warm |
| D．whether the wetsuit would keep the feathers from recovering |
| A．Old Penguin Getting Bald | B．Unwilling to Swim |
| C．Strange Look of Pierre | D．Wetsuit for An Old Penguin |
3 . Hundreds of friends on Facebook can’t replace a handful of close friends in real life, a study has found. In a recent study, researchers discovered that people with only a few friends were at least as happy as those with far more if many of theirs were online.
Social media, the researchers said, has encouraged younger people to have larger but more impersonal networks of “friends”. But instead of trying to amass friends, they added, a better cure for loneliness might be spending time with those you’re closest to.
Scientists from the University of Leeds did their study using data from two online surveys on 1,496 people by a non-profit research organization. People taking part in the study showed their ages, the make-up of their social networks, how often they had different types of social interactions, and their own feelings of well-being. They included details of how often and how they interacted with families or neighbors, and whether they included people who provided services to them in their networks.
The number of close friends someone had appeared to be the only thing which influenced how satisfied they were with their social life.
“Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,” said Dr Wändi Bruine de Bruin. Actually, it's often the younger adults who admit to having a bad opinion of their friends.
If you feel lonely, it may be more helpful to make a positive connection with a friend than to try and seek out new people to meet.
1. According to the text, friends made on social media can ______.| A．take the place of friends in real life |
| B．only help people increase the number of friends |
| C．be as important as people’s close friends |
| D．bring people more happiness than friends in real life |
| A．Play the role of. | B．Increase the number of. |
| C．Take advantage of. | D．Think highly of. |
| A．Scientists conducted one online survey on 1,496 people. |
| B．People surveyed mentioned new forms of social networks. |
| C．The number of friends was the only cause of people’s happiness. |
| D．People surveyed showed their ways to interact with families. |
| A．To show us the importance of friends. |
| B．To tell us ways to get rid of loneliness. |
| C．To advise us to make few online friends. |
| D．To present us with the findings of a study. |
4 . Foreseeing a time when a patient's own cells may be harvested, multiplied, and fashioned into a replacement organ, researchers in Boston have successfully transplanted laboratory grown bladders (肾) into six dogs.
For a century, physicians have replaced diseased or damaged bladders by removing sections of a person's intestines (肠子）and shaping them into a substitute bladder. While the procedure offers some relief to patients, complications often develop because nature designs intestinal tissue for a purpose-absorbing nutrients-other than holding waste liquid of the body. “You start absorbing stuff that should be removed," says Anthony Atala of the Children's Hospital in Boston.
Other physicians have turned to human-made materials to create artificial bladders, but those efforts have also run into problems. Consequently, to build a better bladder, Atala and his colleagues decided to employ the organ's own cells.
To turn the cells into an organ, the researchers first form plastic which can break down naturally into bladder-shaped shell. They then coat its outside and inside with layers of cells needed.
To test this strategy, Atala's group obtained bladder tissue from dogs and grew it into organs. After removing the dogs' bladders, the investigators implanted(移植）the artificial ones coming from the dogs' own cells. Within a month, the organs began to perform like normal bladders.
Within three months, the plastic shells had broken down naturally, and the implanted organs were hard to distinguish from natural ones, Blood vessels(血管） quickly grew into them. Moreover, nerves seem to form proper connections with the new organs, allowing the dogs to regain normal control of their bladders. Some dogs have had the artificial bladders for nearly a year without any problems nearly a year without any problems.
While the bladders of dogs closely resemble those of people, Atala warns that more testing of this transplant strategy must occur before artificial bladders are ready for the clinic.
1. The traditional method of shaping parts of intestines into a substitute bladder ________.| A．allows the patient to absorb useless things |
| B．brings the patient a lot of sufferings |
| C．prevents the patient from absorbing nutrients |
| D．worsens both the function of the intestines and the bladder |
| A．worked perfectly as long as three months |
| B．began to work as well as a normal one in a few weeks |
| C．proved to be able to work for several years |
| D．did not work properly until after a month |
| A．What suits dogs' bladders will also suit human bladders. |
| B．Dogs' bladders can be implanted into human bodies. |
| C．Human bladders may well be different from dogs. |
| D．Artificial bladders grown in dogs can be used for human beings |
| A．The way of turning intestines into bladders. |
| B．The prospect of manufacturing plastic bladders. |
| C．The history of making artificial bladders. |
| D．The possibility of making bladders from their own cells. |
5 . When people sit together at night and enjoy the glorious moon, an ancient poem, Prelude to Water Melody, is often read for this occasion. Critics say it's probably the best poem about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let's just focus on its most famous five lines to make some analysis.
In the first two lines of the five, the writer is comparing the life of a man with the changing face of the moon. In Chinese culture the moon is always considered to be a perfect carrier of emotions like nostalgia (怀旧) and longing for family reunion. A full moon symbolizes perfection and unity, while a gloomy night may remind people of their misfortunes. When the moon is round and fair but people are separated from their loved ones, such moments can be even more heartbreaking.
Before the comparison, the poet actually complains about the seemingly “ruthless(无情的)” moon and asks her: You should have no spite (怨恨) against man, but why. When people part, are you often full and bright? However, he soon realizes that no one has an easy ride, just like the moon may not always be bright. The imperfections have been going on since the beginning of time. That's why he says "There has been nothing perfect since the olden days."
But should we get bogged down(陷入) by the suffering of things with which we can't change? The poet gives his answer: Change your attitude and stay positive. So, we have this everlasting line,"May we all be blessed with a long life; miles apart, we’ll share the beauty, of moon together." The poet hopes that people appreciate the fact that no matter where they are, as long as the ones they love and miss are healthy and happy, they can all admire the same moon high in the sky.
To this day people still use this verse to express their good will and wishes for family members and friends who can't be with them, especially during major festivals.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．How we can appreciate Chinese poetry about the Mid-Autumn Day. |
| B．When we must recite the best Chinese poetry about the Mid-Autumn Day. |
| C．What made a poet write the best ever Mid-Autumn Day Chinese poem. |
| D．Why a poem is the peak of Chinese poetry about the Mid-Autumn Day. |
| A．He doesn't understand why the moon hates humans. |
| B．He knows eventually the moon will become full again. |
| C．He realizes life is always accompanied by imperfections. |
| D．He understands life is too ruthless and has lost his interest in it. |
| A．is a very optimistic poet |
| B．likes the first two lines of the five most |
| C．appreciates the poet's optimism in the poem |
| D．believes a positive state of mind is a must to a good poet |
6 . Resolving (解决) Conflict in Friendships
Conflict is surely a common problem in life and friendships.
Resolve it the day it happens. One rule my parents follow in their marriage is that they don't go to bed angry with each other. They always attempt to resolve things the day it happens so that in the morning, it's a fresh start with no past grudge (怨恨). I've found I need a short cool down period so that I don't act in anger.
Initiate resolution.
Most importantly, be loving in what you do. Try to focus on peacefully resolving the disagreement. It is not a most pleasant task to resolve conflict in any friendship.
| A．Don't expect too much. |
| B．Try to see the other person's perspective. |
| C．Be the first person in a fight to say sorry for your part. |
| D．Many shallow friendships end up being ruined after an argument. |
| E．To say sorry bravely when a conflict breaks out is a better resolution. |
| F．However, it is worth the efforts because it results in a deeper friendship. |
| G．For some, counting to one hundred before saying anything may be an option. |
7 . Cecilia Chiang, the chef and restaurant owner, was greatly known for introducing regional Chinese dishes to the United States. She helped change the way Americans think about Chinese cooking.
Chiang was born into a wealthy Shanghai family with two full-time chefs—one from the north and one from the south. In 1949 her family settled in Tokyo, opening a restaurant called the Forbidden City. But it was a 1960 trip in San Francisco that set Chiang on her dramatic journey to cooking fame. She was both shocked and amused by the food most Americans considered to be Chinese. “They think chop suey(杂烩) is the only thing we have in China,” she said with a laugh. “ What a shame.”
So Chiang was determined to open a high-end Chinese restaurant that served authentic Chinese food. “Everybody said, ‘You cannot make it. You cannot speak English. You don’t know anything.’” she recalled. In 1961 then, Chiang opened the Mandarin.
The restaurant wasn’t immediately successful. About a year after opening, the Mandarin received a mention from the San Francisco Chronicle (旧金山纪事报). The effect of the powerful writer’s positive comment was immediate. Tourists, dignitaries and celebrities(达官显贵)—from Mae West to John Lennon—flooded into the Mandarin for then -unfamiliar food like tea smoked duck twice cooked pork.
Though the Mandarin was closed years later, Cecilia Chiang’s DNA can be found all over American Chinese food. Her son founded the chain P.F. Chang’s and the son of one of her chefs founded Panda Express.
In early 2017, Chiang shared how she lived to be so old: “I always think about the better side, the good side of everything. I never think about, Oh, I’m going to fail. Oh, I cannot do this. Oh, I feel sorry for myself.” Instead, Chiang wrote books, starred in a PBS documentary series and won the most famous award in American cooking when she was 93 years old.
1. Cecilia Chiang opened the Mandarin in order to ________.| A．remember her 1960 trip in San Francisco |
| B．Serve real Chinese food to the Americans |
| C．Show her shock and amusement towards food |
| D．Continue her family tradition of running restaurants |
| A．It is in the charge of Chiang’s son now. |
| B．It wasn’t successful until two years later. |
| C．It turned out pretty popular among Americans. |
| D．It changed the way Americans think about China. |
| A．Talented and active. |
| B．Ambitious and selfless. |
| C．Optimistic and creative. |
| D．Positive and determined. |
8 . The exact location from where Vincent van Gogh is likely to have painted his final masterpiece, perhaps just hours before his death, has been determined with the help of a postcard.
The scene in Tree Roots, a painting of trunks (树干）and roots growing on a hillside, was first spotted on a card dating from 1900 to 1910 by Van der Veen, the scientific director of the Institute Van Gogh. Following a comparative study of the painting, the postcard and the current condition of the hillside, researchers concluded that it was highly possible that the place where Van Gogh made his final brushstrokes had been unearthed.
The main trunk in the painting has survived the 130 years since the Dutch master’s death. It has long been believed that Van Gogh had been working on Tree Roots shortly before he took his own life with a shot to the chest. Andries Bonger, the brother-in-law of Van Gough's brother Theo, had described in a letter how the “morning before his death” Van Gogh had “painted a forest scene, full of sun and life” Van der Veen said, t4The sunlight painted by Van Gogh suggests that the last brushstrokes were painted towards the end of the afternoon.”
Teio Meedendorp, a senior researcher at the Van Gogh Museum, said the spot, some 150 meters from the hotel where Van Gogh had stayed the last 70 days of his life, would likely have been passed on a number of occasions by him. “The scene on the postcard shows very clear similarities to the shape of the roots on Van Gogh’s painting,” he said. “He must often have passed by the location when going to the fields behind the castle of Auvers, where he painted several times during the last week of his life and where he would take his own life.”
1. What is Tree Roots?| A．A trunk. |
| B．A hillside. |
| C．A drawing. |
| D．A postcard. |
| A．He had a close relationship with his brother. |
| B．What he drew in his paintings all came from real life. |
| C．He was working on his artwork shortly before killing himself. |
| D．He was so sick in his last days that he spent all the time in a hotel. |
| A．In the fields. | B．In a local hotel. |
| C．In the castle of Auvers. | D．In the scene on the postcard. |
| A．To remember a famous painter. Van Gogh. |
| B．To introduce Van Gogh's life and his works. |
| C．To describe the influence of Van Gogh in art. |
| D．To tell the place in Van Gogh’s last painting. |
9 . Wine and beaches, fireworks and music... our readers recommend some fantastic festivals.
Festa delTUva e del Vino, Italy
Set on the beautiful shores of Lake Garda, this grapes and wine festival takes over the small town of Bardolino for four days every October. With local wines, food, art projections, fireworks and live music. people come from miles around to celebrate. First and foremost，it’s about great wine，but it’s worth visiting to soak up the great atmosphere.
Free，1-5 October
Quest festival, Vietnam
This is a weekend camping festival held just a 40-minute drive from Hanoi, bringing together locals and visitors in a celebration of underground live and electronic music culture. Held in the beautiful Son Tinh campsite, there are usually about 30 local and international DJs and 10 bands. There are also workshops, pop-up cafes, fire performances, dancing and much more.
Weekend tickets about £25, 6-8 November
Estiv al Switzerland
This is a free festival of jazz which takes place in the first weekend in July in the pretty squares and lakeside beaches and parks around the southern Swiss town of Lugano. The palm trees and summer air to see some of Europe’s up and coming jazz bands and enjoy Swiss
Free, every July
Irish Redhead Convention, County Cork
A friendly gathering for all red-haired people is held in the small seaside village of Crosshaven where redheads from all over the world take part in light hearted events. There’s live music, art exhibitions, lectures and of course the traditional Parade of Redheads through the village led by the newly crowned Redhead King and Queen.
Free, Every August
1. Jennifer, a girl with red hair, may be interested in ________.| A．Estival. | B．Quest festival. |
| C．Festa deirtlva e del Vino. | D．Irish Redhead Convention. |
| A．They offer local food. |
| B．They have fireworks. |
| C．They are free of charge. |
| D．They have music activities. |
| A．In a textbook. |
| B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a news report. |
| D．In a research paper. |
10 . Every day around the world, thousands of people with little or no scholarly training in art history walk into museums. They may or may not read notice boards that share relevant information of the artworks or artists. Imagine, before being permitted to direct their eyeballs to the art on the walls, museum visitors were required to read a 15-or 20- page introduction to each piece or each artist. How many people would go to museums if that were the case?
Yet this seems to be the expectation when it comes to reading classic literature. Classic novels typically come with 15- or 20-page introductions, which often include spoilers, assuming that readers do not come to classic books to discover, be absorbed in, and be surprised by the story world. Also, evidently, we mustn’t read classics alone, without experts guiding our experiences.
However, classic literature is in a unique position to show us that we’re not alone in our pains and joys. By taking us out of our time, classic books free us to see beyond the set of beliefs we stick to and to connect human experiences that remain alive across time and place. What could be more grounding, more comforting, than seeing ourselves in the battles, longings, and pleasures that have played out across hundreds, thousands of years of human history? Our personal engagement (参与) is the first step of a longer journey of discovery that deepens our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our world. We may, for example, feel for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter though we feel hopeless of the world she lived in.
While we’re letting go of things, let’s stop worrying about understanding everything. We can’t. It will be fun if we embrace (拥抱) curiosity, the pleasure of working out a mystery, and our common relationships as humans. We can feel, for example, the power of self-sacrifice (牺牲) in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities even when we lack full understanding of the cultural references and language.
1. Most museum goers ________.| A．enjoy reading notice boards | B．understand the artworks well |
| C．lack professional art knowledge | D．share common interest in artworks |
| A．Story writers. | B．Readers’ expectations. |
| C．Guiding experts. | D．Content given away in advance. |
| A．Showing curiosity about the writers. | B．Letting go of things. |
| C．Trying to understand everything. | D．Working out mysteries. |
| A．We should find more fun from classics. |
| B．Reading classics is a personal exploration. |
| C．Experts need to give readers better guidance. |
| D．Classic literature benefits readers a great deal. |
