1 . As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric(生物测量) technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.

Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device(装置) that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence(节奏) with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to—regardless of whether someone gets the password right.

It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.

In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word “touch” four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future.

Where is this text most likely from?

A．A diary.

B．A guidebook

C．A novel.

D．A magazine.

2 . Today’s world is not an easy adjustment for young adults. A key skill set for success is persistence (毅力), a characteristic that researchers say is heavily influenced by fathers. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered that fathers are in a unique position to help their adolescent children learn persistence.

BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 American families over several years. And over time, the persistence gained through fathers led to higher achievement in school.

“There are relatively few studies that stress the unique role of fathers,” Padilla-Walker said. “This research also helps to prove that characteristics such as persistence — which can be taught — are key to a child’s life success.”

Researchers determined that dads need to practice an “authoritative” parenting style. Authoritative parenting is not authoritarian: rigid, demanding or controlling. Rather, an authoritative parenting style includes some of the following characteristics: children feel warmth and love from their father; responsibility and the reasons behind rules are stressed; children are given an appropriate level of autonomy (自主权).

In the study, about 52 percent of the dads exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. A key finding is that over time, children raised by an authoritative father were significantly more likely to develop persistence, which leads to better outcomes in school.

This particular study examined 11 to 14-year-olds living in two-parent homes. Yet the researchers suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence, which is an avenue of future research.

Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Three Characteristics of Authoritative Fathers

B．Key Skills for Young Adults to Succeed in Future

C．Children Tend to Learn Determination from Father

D．Family Relationship Influences School Performance

5 . 【课本原文】

The Sky Railway

Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts claimed was “impossible”. The train has been racing along steadily since it left Xining. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been playing inside my head. The words “railways like massive dragons are winding among the mountains” seem particularly vivid as I travel across the “roof of the world”．

I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway. Taking years to complete, the Qinghai­Tibet Railway is a record of all of our efforts to overcome the most difficult engineering challenges. How to protect the delicate ecosystem was among the top concerns.

The first landmark to catch my eye is the splendid Qingshuihe Bridge, the world’s longest bridge built over permafrost. Look! A group of Tibetan antelopes is moving under the bridge, with some stopping to eat grass at their leisure. Thirty­three passages have been built under the railway to allow the animals to move safely and freely in their natural habitat. Wild animals such as these Tibetan antelopes have now been using these passages for years. They seem totally unaware that we are speeding past at over 100 kilometres an hour.

To prevent damage to wetlands and grasslands,675 bridges with a total length of about 160 kilometres were built between Golmud and Lhasa. We even moved 140,000 square metres of wetland to a new area in order to protect its distinct ecosystem.

The journey has been flying by, and before I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station. Located at over 5,000 metres above sea level, this is the highest railway station in the world. In locations such as this, the thin air, changeable weathe and high levels of UV radiation presented perhaps the greatest challenge for railway workers. To make sure we stayed healthy, several oxygen­making stations were constructed. We were also able to enjoy regular breaks in lower areas.

As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of pride and achievement. Using thousands and thousands of sandbags, we built a twenty­kilometre wall along the lake to protect it from construction waste. Cuona Lake is so close to the railway that I want to reach out and touch its pale blue mirror­like surface. Water birds playing in the lake, and cattle and sheep wandering the grasslands bring the scenery to life.

The Qinghai­Tibet Plateau has been attracting people’s admiration for centuries. Now, thanks to our efforts, passengers from all over the country have been enjoying these magical landscapes. I am proud that we built our “impossible” railway, and did so with the care that the environment deserves. It truly is an extraordinary “Sky Railway”.

1. The text mainly tells us         .

A．the Qinghai­Tibet Railway is the impossible railway

B．workers met many difficulties in the process of the Qinghai­Tibet Railway

C．the building of the Qinghai­Tibet Railway and the challenges it met

D．the Qinghai­Tibet Railway is the one we should be proud of

2. Why was the “Sky Railway” considered to be impossible?

A．It was built in a place with too much radiation.	B．It was extremely difficult to build this railway.
C．Too many bridges had to be built along the railway.	D．It was not easy to protect the workers.

3. What did the railway workers consider most?

A．How to protect the ecosystem along the railway.	B．Their own safety while building the railway.
C．The great number of bridges along the railway.	D．Grasslands and wetlands along the railway.

4. What’s the purpose of building Qingshuihe Bridge?

A．To prevent trains from falling into the river.	B．To protect wetlands and grasslands.
C．To allow the animals to move safely and freely.	D．To protect permafrost and grasslands.

5. What can we know about Tanggula Station from this text?

A．It is the biggest station of the whole railway.	B．All the railway workers take their breaks here.
C．Travellers usually breathe in some oxygen here.	D．There exists high levels of UV radiation.

6. 细读短文并找出使用修辞手法的句子
(1).__________________________________________________
(2).__________________________________________________
(3).__________________________________________________
7. 细读课文并找出心理描写的句子
(1).__________________________________________________
(2).__________________________________________________
(3).__________________________________________________
8. 细读课文并找出环境描写的句子
(1).__________________________________________________
(2).__________________________________________________

8 . About thirty years ago, Switzerland-based artist Klaus Littmann came across a great drawing titled The Unending Attraction of Nature by Austrian artist and architect Max Peintner. The drawing displays a scene in which nature is so separate (分开的) from the environment that it becomes just a small area of ground, protected for amusement.

“When I first saw the pencil drawing, I was interested. I knew that one day this work would be the starting point for a major art project in public space,” says Littmann. Now, decades later, Littmann has achieved the vision with the installation (大型艺术作品) of FOR FOREST: The Unending Attraction of Nature. The installation sets a native central European forest in the middle of Worthersee Football Stadium in Klagenfurt, with almost 300 trees planted, some weighing up to six tons each.

In the face of climate crisis and deforestation, FOR FOREST comes with a more pressing urgency. As explained in a statement about the installation, “In support of today’s most pressing issues about climate change and deforestation, FOR FOREST aims to challenge our perception of nature and question its future. It reminds us that nature may someday only be found in special places, as is already the case with animals in zoos.”

Overseen by Enea Landscape Architecture, the forest is made up of a diverse range of species. This attracting panorama (全景) will pave the way for a whole new view and understanding of forests.

In a short video about the work, Littmann says his goal is never to make something that will last forever; rather, he says, “My goal is for this picture to remain in people’s head for a lifetime.”

1. Why is FOR FOREST meaningful?

A．It has protected various rare plants.	B．It is Austria’s greenest artistic work.
C．It warns us of environmental issues.	D．It has greatly promoted local tourism.

2. What is the text mainly about?
______________________________________________________________________________________________

9 . 【课文原文】

THE STONE IN THE ROAD

Once upon a time there was a king who often thought, “Nothing good can come to a nation whose people only complain and expect others to solve their problems.” One day, he had an idea.

Early one morning, the king disguised himself and went to a local village. He placed a large stone in the middle of the main street and hid gold coins under the stone. Then he hid behind a huge maple tree and watched.

The first person down the street was a milkman with his cart. He crashed into the stone, spilling the milk everywhere. “What fool put this stone here?” he shouted. He picked himself up and angrily went away.

After a while, a group of women came along, each balancing a pot of water on her head. One woman tripped over the stone and her water pot went crashing to the ground. She picked herself up and limped away in tears. Neither she nor her friends thought about moving the stone out of the road.

The king watched all day as many people complained about the stone, but he found nobody making an attempt to move it. The king was in despair. “Is there no one in this village who feels any responsibility to keep their neighbours from harm?”

Just then, the king saw a young girl coming along. She was the daughter of a local farmer. She had been working all day and was very tired. But when she saw the stone, she said to herself, “This stone is a danger to anyone who comes down the street after dark. I’ll move it out of the way.”

The girl pushed the stone with all her might. After a great deal of effort, she finally succeeded in moving it to the side of the street. Imagine her surprise when she saw the gold coins where the stone had been!

Just then, the king stepped out from behind the tree. “Oh sir,” the girl said, “does this gold belong to you? If not, we surely must find the owner, for he will certainly miss it.”

The king said, “My dear, the gold is mine. I put it in the road and moved the stone over it. Now the gold is yours, because you are the only person who has learnt the lesson I wanted to teach my people.”

1. Fast reading
This passage is a ________. It tells a king tested his national quality by ________ in the middle of the main street and seeing the villagers’ responses.
2. Careful reading
True or False
(1) Early one morning, the king went to a local village, followed by his attendants. ________
(2) The milkman saw the the large stone in the middle of the street and went away round it. ________
(3) The group of women all tripped over the stone and their water pots went crashing to the ground. ________
(4) At last a girl pushed the stone to the side of the street and found the gold coins. ________
(5) The girl found the owner of the gold coins and returned them. ________

10 . 【课文原文】

MY AMAZING NAADAM EXPERIENCE

I experienced the Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for the first time this year. The festival falls on the fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, usually lasting for three days. Naadam means “games” in Mongolian, and it is represented by three events: horse racing, wrestling, and archery, which are all so exciting to watch!

On the first day, I set off to the games early with my friend Burin. I saw a lot of people wearing fancy Mongolian robes. Some were feeding their horses, some were practising archery, and others were chatting or taking photographs. Burin told me that Mongolians travel every year from near and far to attend the festival, just as their ancestors had done for centuries.

After the opening ceremony and some amazing performances, the wrestling competition began. Mongolian wrestling is different from the wrestling in the Olympic Games. There are no rounds, and wrestlers are not separated by weight. The wrestler loses if any part of his body above his knee touches the ground. After singing some songs, the competitors danced onto the green field, waving their arms in the air as if they were eagles. I was quite moved by their show of strength and grace.

I absolutely enjoyed the archery, too, but the horse races were my favourite part. However, I was surprised to see that the riders were boys and girls! I heard it is because children are lighter and the horses can run faster and farther. At first, I was a little worried about the children’s safety, but Burin said, “Don’t worry. They’ve been riding horsed all their lives. They’ll be just fine.” That was the moment I started to understand why people say “Horses are at the heart of Mongolian culture”.

I’m finally back home now, feeling really tired, but celebrating Naadam with my friend was totally worth it. He invited me back for the winter to stay in a traditional Mongolian tent and eat hot pot. I can’t wait!

1. What does Naadam mean?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. In the passage, the author describes what he sees and hears while attending __________________, and expresses his __________．
3. (1)．The Naadam Festival usually lasts for a week.________
(2)．The Naadam Festival has a history of several hundred years.________
(3)．Mongolian wrestling is the same as the wrestling in the Olympic Games.________
(4)．At the Naadam Festival, of the three events, the author likes wrestling best.________
4. How long does the Naadam Festival last?

A．2 days.

B．3 days.

C．4 days.

D．5 days.

5. The Naadam Festival in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region            ．

A．has a long history

B．only allows men to take part in

C．has only three events

D．falls on the fifth day of the sixth month

6. Which statement is true according to the text?

A．Mongolian wrestling is the same as the wrestling in the Olympic Games.

B．The archery was my favorite part of the three sports events.

C．The riders were boys and girls because they are lighter.

D．I was not worried about the children’s safety at all.