Alice was a stubborn girl
Her teacher
“Well,” said Alice, “What do you think of
“My dear,” said the teacher, “you’ll never be better
2 . How crowded your neighborhood is can affect the health of our planet, a new study finds. Scientists measured the effect that people have on the environment using a carbon footprint. That footprint reflects the amount of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳)—a greenhouse gas—that is sent into the atmosphere because of people’s daily activities.
Carbon footprints tend to be low for citizens. Living in a suburb (郊区) outside a city, however, can be opposite.
People living in the city centers have low carbon footprints, the researchers found. “It is much easier to have a low carbon effect if your home is close to where you work, shop and play,” explains Jones. Living within walking or biking distance cuts back on the amount of carbon dioxide compared with moving people by cars. And cities with bus and subway networks allow people to travel great distances while keeping the amount of greenhouse gases low.
Not everyone can afford to live in the city, however. Suburbs offer more space, allowing people to build larger homes. Suburbs may offer better schools to kids. But those homes are usually far away from where owners work, play or learn. So people who live in suburbs often drive long distances.
The average household in a large city sends out about 40 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The average suburban household, however, sends out close to 50 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The new findings are an important contribution to climate research. They would give scientists a better understanding of how culture might mix with locations to influence our carbon footprints.
You may not have any control over the location of your home. Still, everyone can take steps to reduce their carbon footprints. That’s because how much we pollute is influenced not just by where we live, but also by how we live.
To reduce your footprints, start small. Turn off lights when they’re not in use. Recycle or reuse things instead of throwing them away. And as people get used to making small changes, the leap to bigger ones will get easier.
1. Why do people living in suburbs have higher carbon footprints?| A．Because they often drive to work, play or do other things. |
| B．Because their homes take up too much space. |
| C．Because they often use buses and subways to travel great distances. |
| D．Because they have to send their kids to schools by car. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By explaining processes. |
| A．People living in big cities produce more carbon dioxide. |
| B．Culture plays the most important role in influencing the environment. |
| C．Any process of making new products may pollute the environment. |
| D．One’s small step can make a big difference to the environment. |
| A．Health. | B．Sports. | C．Culture. | D．Environment. |
3 . You know that classics like Little Women and To Kill a Mockingbird started as novels. But you probably didn’t know that these other famous movies also came from books.
Hidden Figures
This film told the story of real-life Katherine Johnson and other female African-American mathematicians who helped drive the United States into space in the 1960s. It was actually based on a 2016 non-fiction book and the movie did boost sales of the book.
Forrest Gump
The 1994 movie which was based on the book by Winston Groom won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for the star Tom Hanks. Although the movie’s critical and box-office success gave the book a huge boost, it’s the film that made its mark on pop culture history.
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkin’s psychological thriller, about a woman on a train who thinks she sees something strange out of the window, was a huge success. But unlike the fast—paced, can’t-be-put-down quality of the novel, the movie was boring.
Field of Dreams
It’s hard to describe the plot of this movie: Ray Kinsella hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field in his Iowa cornfield, and what happens next explores the themes of lost dreams, childhood heroes, and healing the pain of the past. The 1989 movie is based on W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 original, Shoeless Joe, but cuts out some extra characters.
1. Which is the best choice for a person who loves math?| A．Hidden Figures. | B．Forrest Gump. |
| C．The Girl on the Train. | D．Field of Dreams. |
| A．Tom Hanks. | B．Winston Groom. |
| C．Paula Hawkin. | D．W. P. Kinsella. |
| A．It is a romantic comedy. | B．It presents several themes. |
| C．It shows all the figures in Shoeless Joe. | D．It was released in 1982 for the first time. |
4 . London and Paris are two of Europe’s biggest tourist destinations, just a few hours away from each other by road or rail and an hour’s distance by air. What about the train-ferry combination that many recall fondly from their childhoods? Well, though it’s budget-saving, this option is too time-consuming today, so better leave it to your memories. Since the UK is not part the Schengen Area, passengers need to go through passport control prior to boarding.
Air trips
Though flying between London and Paris is by no means recommended, there are still a few people traveling between the two dynamic cities by air. A very low one-way fare is possible through advanced booking, but of course it’s rare, and that doesn’t include the taxi and rail fares traveling to and from the airports.
* One-way fares from Paris can be as low as 49;
* From London, Air France flies with fares as low as £39(46), and British Airways as low as £48 (56).
Rail trips
The only direct train between London and Paris is the Eurostar, which travels 15 -17 times per weekday. Eurostar’s 2015 edition trains can make the journey in two hours at speeds of up to 320 km/h. Besides, they offer good seating space.
* Fares begin at a reasonable £58(68), round trip;
* The earlier you book, the more you save.
Bus trips
The bus is by far the least expensive and longest way to travel between Paris and London. Eurolines and OUIBUS are two major bus lines traveling between the two capitals. The journey takes between seven and nine hours. Both lines advertise free Wi-Fi.
* One-way Eurolines fares begin at 15;
* One-way OUIBUS fares begin at 15 too, but early bird sales can even lower the fare.
1. Which way is probably the cheapest for a round trip?| A．By train-ferry. | B．By air. | C．By rail. | D．By bus. |
| A．Free booking. | B．Taxi pickup. |
| C．Good seating space. | D．Free Wi-Fi. |
| A．There are different competing companies. |
| B．They are cheaper if booked ahead of time. |
| C．They are more expensive from the Paris end. |
| D．There are still additional fees to be included. |
5 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulties than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and overlook the mouth.”
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than Westerners did. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion. Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.
1. What does the discovery show about Westerners?| A．They pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth. |
| B．They consider facial expressions universally reliable. |
| C．They observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways. |
| D．They have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions. |
| A．To get their faces impressive. | B．To make a face at each other. |
| C．To classify some face pictures. | D．To observe the researchers’ faces. |
| A．They do translation more successfully. | B．They study the mouth more frequently. |
| C．They examine the eyes more attentively. | D．They read facial expressions more correctly. |
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul | B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills | D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
6 . I’ve been farming sheep on a hillside for 54 years. I use a small tractor to get about. My dog Don always sits beside me in the passenger seat.
One morning I
Lamb and mother
My heart froze in my chest as I
Heart in mouth, I
The police
| A．dropped | B．saw | C．carried | D．returned |
| A．kids | B．friends | C．owner | D．mother |
| A．ask about | B．play with | C．take care of | D．run into |
| A．freed | B．exchanged | C．reunited | D．examined |
| A．unexpected | B．dangerous | C．embarrassing | D．difficult |
| A．Fortunately | B．Generally | C．Immediately | D．Obviously |
| A．lamb | B．vehicle | C．seat | D．fence |
| A．saw | B．stopped | C．remembered | D．drove |
| A．crowd | B．motorway | C．field | D．hill |
| A．take off | B．catch up | C．hold back | D．get out |
| A．real | B．best | C．basic | D．last |
| A．fixed | B．noticed | C．reached | D．closed |
| A．resting | B．running | C．parking | D．turning |
| A．steep | B．long | C．rough | D．busy |
| A．abandoned | B．approached | C．recognized | D．repaired |
| A．unclean | B．uncertain | C．unhurt | D．unhappy |
| A．arrived | B．replied | C．survived | D．waited |
| A．ability | B．dream | C．luck | D．idea |
| A．common | B．confusing | C．desirable | D．awful |
| A．meal | B．test | C．job | D．lesson |
7 . In Singapore, authorities are looking at the possibility of digging deeper underground to create new space for human activity. The demand for underground lighting is therefore expected to rise in the future. Fortunately, a team of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) researchers has designed a “smart” device to harvest daylight and relay it to underground spaces, trimming the need to draw on traditional energy sources for lighting.
To develop the daylight harvesting device that can sustainably handle the problem, the NTU team drew inspiration from the magnifying (放大) glass, which can be used to focus sunlight into one point. The device sits above ground and just like the lens of a magnifying glass, the acrylic ball acts as the solar concentrator, enabling the sun’s rays to form a sharp focus at its opposite side. The focused sunlight is then collected into one end of a fiber cable (电缆) and transported along it to the end that is fixed underground.
As the sun moves across the sky throughout the day, so will the position of the focused sunlight inside the acrylic ball. To ensure that maximum sunlight is being collected and transported down the fiber cable throughout the day, the system uses a computer chip-based mechanism to track the sun’s rays. The Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of the device location are preloaded into the system, allowing it to determine the spot where maximum sunlight should be focused at any given time. Two small motors assisted by computer chips are then used to adjust the position of the fiber to catch and transport sunlight from the focused spot.
Assistant Professor Yoo Seongwoo, lead author of the study said, “Our innovation is made of commercially available off-the-shelf materials, making it potentially very easy to produce at scale. We have intentionally designed the device to be lightweight and compact, which makes it convenient for our device to be combined with existing facilities in the urban environment.”
Moreover, the NTU researchers found the device’s luminous (发光的) efficiency far exceeds that of commercially available LED bulbs recorded in experiments. The quality of the light output of the NTU smart device is also comparable with current commercially available daylight harvesting systems which are far more costly.
1. What does the underlined word in Paragraph I mean?| A．Meeting. | B．Reducing. | C．Emphasizing. | D．Feeling. |
| A．The inspiration for the daylight harvesting device. |
| B．The right locations to fix the daylight harvesting device. |
| C．The working principle of the daylight harvesting device. |
| D．The purpose of developing the daylight harvesting device. |
| A．Collecting sunlight and transporting it to the fiber cable. |
| B．Adjusting the position of the fiber cable automatically. |
| C．Determining the location of the device. |
| D．Searching for maximum sunlight. |
| A．It is far more efficient than other daylight harvesting devices. |
| B．It costs much less than other daylight harvesting devices. |
| C．It will gradually replace existing facilities. |
| D．It’s easily available on the market. |
8 . Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in l564 and where he grew up. The property (房产) remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806. The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the world for over 250 years.
◆Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare’s World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.
◆Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.
◆Enjoy the traditional English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet’s works.
OPENING TIMES
20 Mar to 19 Oct
Mon to Sat: 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Sun: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
20 Oct to 19 Mar
Mon to Sat: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Sun: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map; nearest is Windsor Street (3 minutes’ walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition, and the garden are accessible to wheelchair users.
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).
| ADMISSION: Adult: ￡4.90 Child: ￡2.20 Family: ￡12.00 (2 adults + up to 3 children) |
| A．8:30 am. | B．9:00 am. | C．10:00 am. | D．4:00 pm. |
| A．At Windsor Street. | B．Near the Coffee House. |
| C．Behind the exhibition hall. | D．Opposite the Visitors’ Centre. |
| A．￡9.80. | B．￡12.00. | C．￡13.20. | D．￡16.90. |
9 . Most people above 16 years old have a strong wish that they should drive on the road by themselves. Thus, getting a license is an exciting time in their life. Ultimate Drivers is there to help your teen learn the rules of the road and get important driving experience.
What We Offer
Intimate Drivers’ program will help students prepare for their road test and give them the skills they need to become lifelong safe and defensive drivers.
The beginner program offers 20 hours of in-class training, 12 hours of homework assignments and 8 hours of in-car training. Each in-class training lasts 120 minutes and each one-on-one in-car training 80 minutes. What’s more, students can be picked up for free from home, work or school.
What You Need To Know
Students can complete the classroom part of the course in just two weekends or if it better suits their schedules, they can take it during the evenings on weekdays. There are also classes offered during the holiday break.
Students can start taking line classroom part of the driving training without the G 1 license, but do need it by the time they’re ready to start the in-car driving lessons.
What Extra Benefits Are
The beginner drivers can get much through the program. After that they’ll receive student testimonials (证明书) . The testimonials show teenagers who have taken the course feel more confident in their abilities and many believe they couldn’t have passed the road test without it.
Sign up before April 5th, and students can get an insurance discount!
1. How many times does the program offer in-class training?| A．20. | B．12. | C．10. | D．8. |
| A．Get the G 1 license. | B．Finish the classroom part. |
| C．Sign up before April 5th. | D．Receive a student testimonial. |
| A．A review. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A guide. | D．An encyclopedia. |
10 . Shirley Allen loved to sing and play the piano. She studied music in college and her
Shirley would never give up playing the piano,
For three years, Shirley worked as a clerk in Washington, D.C.
Always
This amazing woman became the first black deaf female in the world to receive her Ph.D. She made history in 1992 when she received the highest degree in education from the University of Rochester in New York.
1.| A．job | B．interest | C．duty | D．dream |
| A．disappeared | B．changed | C．stopped | D．ended |
| A．made | B．supplied | C．invented | D．thought |
| A．allowed | B．caused | C．encouraged | D．enabled |
| A．almost | B．actually | C．totally | D．gradually |
| A．loved | B．written | C．created | D．remembered |
| A．and | B．so | C．but | D．even if |
| A．career | B．interest | C．life | D．attitude |
| A．information | B．help | C．an assistant | D．a job |
| A．happy | B．independent | C．free | D．confident |
| A．Unfortunately | B．Then | C．Thus | D．Besides |
| A．worked | B．walked | C．lived | D．played |
| A．attend | B．observe | C．describe | D．advertise |
| A．interested in | B．busy with | C．concerned about | D．ready for |
| A．learns | B．offers | C．pays | D．promises |
