1 . European researchers say they have created a process that can produce oxygen from moon dust. The process could provide a major source of oxygen for humans taking part in moon exploration activities in the future. Researchers from the European Space Agency，or ESA，carried out the experiments at a laboratory in the Netherlands.
The team says ESA’s experimental“plant”was able to successfully produce oxygen from simulated moon dust. The dust is part of a material known as regolith，a top layer of dirt and rock pieces that sit on the surface of the moon. Samples of regolith returned from the moon have confirmed that the material contains about 45 percent oxygen by weight. However，the oxygen is chemically locked in the form of minerals or glass，so it is not easily available for use. Having real samples of regolith from the moon made it possible for the researchers to create the simulated moon dust material used during testing.
The oxygen extraction(提取)process is carried out using a method called molten salt electrolysis(熔盐电解). This includes first placing the regolith in a metal container. Calcium chloride salt is added to the mixture，which is then heated to 950 degrees Celsius. At this temperature，the regolith remains solid. Next，an electrical current is passed through the material. The researchers say it is this step that results in oxygen being extracted from the regolith. The study reported that up to 96 percent of oxygen in the simulated moon dust was extracted during the experiments.
ESA’s long-term goal is to design an oxygen-producing“pilot plant”to operate full-time on the moon. The first technology demonstration of the system is expected to take place in the middle 2020s. Beth Lomax，a lead researcher on the project，said，“Being able to acquire oxygen from resources found on the moon would obviously be hugely useful for future lunar settlers，both for breathing and the local production of rocket fuel. ”The researchers reported that“as a bonus，”the process also results in the production of usable metallic materials.
ESA and the US space agency NASA are both working on plans to return human beings to the moon. NASA has set a goal for 2024 with the aim to keep humans on the moon for long periods.
1. Why is oxygen from moon dust difficult to use?| A．It is tough for human beings to get moon dust. |
| B．It is chemically fixed in materials or glass. |
| C．The conditions of moon dust are terrible. |
| D．There exits only a little of it. |
| A．What molten salt electrolysis is. |
| B．Where the value of the study lies. |
| C．How oxygen is extracted from moon dust. |
| D．What is necessary in the oxygen extraction process. |
| A．Positive. | B．Skeptical. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Recent Studies of Moon Dust by Researchers |
| B．How Researchers Extracted Oxygen from Moon Dust |
| C．Potential Significance of Oxygen Extracted from Moon Dust |
| D．Researchers Report Extracting Oxygen from Moon Dust Successfully |
2 . The auto industry, aviation (航空) giants and lots of new companies are increasingly entering the race toward producing flying cars and air taxis, many of which are said to be fully electric. On the surface, there are so many innovations happening that it’s easy to forget that the world hasn’t even seen a fully autonomous car yet, let alone an electric flying vehicle you can park in your driveway.
In fact, there are several hurdles before people are riding through the air. “They are short on technology, and they are short on regulation.” said Jennings-Bates, vice president of a car company.
Uber and Boeing, both world famous companies, have announced ambitious plans for air taxis. However, the types of vehicles they have in mind would require magical electric batteries that don’t exist yet.
Whether the United States actually needs flying cars remains relatively unclear. Aviation experts say that air vehicles help solve congestion problems in big cities. “Today, we have a lot of traffic congestion on the roadways,” said Laurie Garrow, associate director for the Center for Urban and Regional Air Mobility at Georgia Tech. “Air taxis would provide a solution for that.” Others argue that putting traffic in the skies doesn’t solve very much. “We aren’t going to change the world in terms of traffic with flying cars,” said Jennings-Bates. “At best, it may take the place of traffic in the area, which is arguably less pleasant.”
Some experts say it’s not a question of whether flying cars will take off. Instead, it’s a question of how soon the concepts would be safe enough for humans to occupy. “Everyone is very excited and they’re coming up with very different designs,” Garrow said. “But you have a lengthy certification process that will need to go through to make sure the craft and flights are safe.” She estimates that it’ll be about 20 years before the U.S. sees more than test flights.
1. What can we infer about flying cars from Paragraph 1?| A．They are fully electric. | B．They are unavailable yet. |
| C．They need special driveway. | D．They equal autonomous cars. |
| A．Ambitious plans. | B．Big problems. |
| C．Electric batteries. | D．Current innovations. |
| A．Test flights. | B．Design. |
| C．Production. | D．Safety. |
| A．Why we should produce flying cars. | B．How hard the race of making flying cars is. |
| C．How close we are to seeing flying cars. | D．What people’s opinions are about flying cars. |
3 . Japan's biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn't traveling at all. For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that's controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter's face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she's really there.
“Virtual travel” is nothing new,of course.Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been stimulating the senses of armchair tourists for centuries. It's only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non- wealthy.
Yet even as the world's middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seat, there are signs of a post-travel society emerging. Concerns about environmental sustainability cause loss to airlines which release much carbon. And the aging of abundant societies is both restricting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an attractive response to these trends.
Of course, new technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn't plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be difficult to make: By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA's traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.
But if the business value for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA's robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they ll almost certainly be a part of travel's high-tech future.
1. Why does the author use the example of a couple interacting with a robot?| A．To show the Japanese are crazy about travel. |
| B．To indicate virtual travel begins to enter people's real life. |
| C．To show the couple are very enthusiastic over robots. |
| D．To express the close relationship between the couple and their daughter. |
| A．Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been using it for centuries. |
| B．Frequent and safe travel has become available to the ordinary people. |
| C．People are worried about the air pollution caused by airlines. |
| D．More and more people lose interest in travel. |
| A．They will be put on the market soon. |
| B．They will bring ANA a lot of money, |
| C．They will replace ANA's airplanes soon. |
| D．They are almost unavoidable in travel's future. |
| A．Your Next Travel May Be Virtual |
| B．Easy Travel in the Future |
| C．Virtual Travel Benefits |
| D．Air Travel Disappearing |
4 . Visitors to Henn-na, a restaurant outside Nagasaki, Japan, are greeted by an unusual sight: their food being prepared by a row of humanoid robots. The “head chef”, named Andrew, is using his two long arms; he stirs batter (面糊) in a metal bowl, then pours it onto a hot grill. In a nearby hotel, robots check guests into their rooms and help with their luggage.
CEO Hideo Sawada, who runs the restaurant and the hotel, predicts that 70% of the jobs at Japan’s hotels will be automated (自动化) in the next five years. He said, “Since you can work them 24 hours a day, and they don’t need vacation, eventually it’s more cost-efficient to use the robot.”
This is seemingly worrying. In fact, in America, automation helps the food-service and accommodation sector continue to grow. In the company Panera, because of its new kiosks, an app that allows online ordering, the chain is now processing more orders overall, which means it needs more total workers to meet consumer demand. Starbucks customers who use the chain’s app return more frequently than those who don’t, the company has said, and the greater efficiency that online ordering allows has boosted sales at busy stores during peak hours. Starbucks employed 8% more people in the U.S. in 2016 than it did in 2015, the year it launched the app.
Of course, whether automation is a net benefit for workers in restaurants and hotels, and not just a competitive advantage for one chain over another will depend on whether an improved customer experience makes Americans more likely to dine out and stay at hotels, rather than brown-bagging it or finding an Airbnb to book unique homes.
1. Why does the writer describe the unusual sight in Paragraph 1?| A．To promote robots. | B．To introduce the topic. |
| C．To voice his opinion. | D．To show the background. |
| A．Automation may be a challenge to human jobs. |
| B．Automation may increase business costs. |
| C．Workers may fail to focus on their tasks. |
| D．Many companies may fail to survive. |
| A．The two companies are trying to take over the market competitively. |
| B．Automation could open up more job chances for humans. |
| C．Starbucks employed more people than Panera did in 2016. |
| D．Automation helps the shops become famous online. |
| A．Critical. | B．Negative. | C．Objective. | D．Indifferent. |
For all the technological wonders of modern medicine, health care-with its fax machines and clipboards(写字板)—is out of date. This outdated era is slowly drawing to a close as the industry catches up with the artificial-intelligence ( AI) revolution.
Eric Topol, an expert in heart disease and enthusiast for digital medicine, thinks AI will be particularly useful for such tasks as examining images, observing heart traces for abnormalities or turning doctors' words into patient records. It will be able to use masses of data to work out the best treatments, and improve workflows in hospitals. In short, AI is set to save time, lives and money.
The fear some people have is that AI will be used to deepen the assembly-line culture of modern medicine. If it gives a “ gift of time” to doctors, they argue that this bonus should be used to extend consultations, rather than simply speeding through them more efficiently.
That is a fine idea, but as health swallows an ever-bigger share of national wealth, greater efficiency is exactly what is needed, at least so far as governments and insurers are concerned. Otherwise, rich societies may fail to cope with the needs of ageing and growing populations. An extra five minutes spent chatting with a patient is costly as well as valuable. The AI revolution will also enable managerial accountants to adjust and evaluate every aspect of treatment. The autonomy of the doctor will surely be weakened, especially, perhaps, in public-health systems which are duty-bound to cut unnecessary costs.
The Hippocratic Oath(誓言) holds that there is an art to medicine as well as a science, and that “warmth, sympathy and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug”. There's lots of sense in it: the patients of sympathetic physicians have been shown to recover better. Yet as the supply of human carers fails to satisfy the demand for health care, the future may involve consultations on smartphones and measurements monitored by chatbots. The considerately warmed stethoscope (听诊器) ,placed gently on a patient's back, may become a relic of the past.
1. What's Dr Topol's attitude toward AI's coming into medicine?| A．Concerned. | B．Doubtful. | C．Optimistic. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Medical costs. | B．National wealth. |
| C．Longer consultation. | D．Greater efficiency. |
| A．To prove the bright future of AI. |
| B．To show the advantage of a human doctor. |
| C．To explain medical equipment is more important. |
| D．To argue a human doctor performs as well as a robot. |
| A．Health care and AI | B．AI and its applications |
| C．Doctors and Patients | D．Dr Topol and digital medicine |
6 . A freshly baked roll is as delightful as a soft，light cloud on a summer's day.What gives bread much of its appealing texture is gluten，a group of proteins found in wheat.But in people with celiac disease(乳糜泻)，gluten damages the small intestine(肠).Many others may have milder gluten intolerance and avoid foods that contain it.
Most gluten-free bread is made from alternative flours such as rice or potato，so it tastes and feels different from wheat bread.Now，however，researchers say that they have found a way to genetically engineer wheat that contains far less of the most troublesome type of gluten—but still has other proteins that give bread its characteristic taste and springiness.
Genetically modified crops are the subject of fierce debate around the world.The biggest concern involves the practice of inserting DNA from one species into another，says Francisco Barro，a plant biotechnologist.To avoid this genetic crossover，Barro and his colleagues used the gene-editing technique CRISPR／Cas9 to cut selected genes from a wheat genome(基因组).
Their study zeroed in on alpha-gliadins(α-胶质蛋白)，gluten proteins believed to be wheat’s major troublemakers in the immune system.The researchers designed bits of genetic material that directed the scissor-like Cas9 protein to cut out 35 of the 45 alpha—gliadin genes.When the modified wheat was tested in a Petri dish，it produced an 85 percent weaker immune response，the team reported online last September in Plant Biotechnology Journal.
Wendy Harwood，a crop geneticist at the John Innes Center in England，who was not part of the study，notes that the engineered wheat has a long way to go before it can be turned into anything marketable.“I don’t think it's the end of the story.”she says.“This is just a really important step in maybe producing something that is going to be incredibly useful.”To develop a completely safe strain of wheat for celiac patients，the researchers may need to target more of the gluten genes.Barro says his team is working on that.
1. What’s the text mainly about?| A．Making gluten—free bread. |
| B．Advantages of gluten-free wheat. |
| C．Debate about genetically modified crops. |
| D．Developing genetically engineered wheat. |
| A．To advertise a new study. |
| B．To raise the topic to be written about. |
| C．To provide some advice for the readers. |
| D．To popularize some information about medicine. |
| A．Genetic crossover. | B．Gene-editing technique. |
| C．The practice of using DNA. | D．The subject of fierce debate. |
| A．A little alarmed. | B．Mildly surprised. |
| C．Somewhat opposed. | D．Cautiously optimistic. |
7 . Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict.” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and a sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears a necktie. “I am working harder than ever.” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work. In the United States, the change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday”. “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing.” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code.” “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative(保守的)dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(心境，士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative influence on productivity. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict,” because .| A．he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt |
| B．he couldn’t stand a clean appearance |
| C．he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time |
| D．he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes |
| A．they make him feel at ease when working |
| B．he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes |
| C．he looks handsome in casual clothes |
| D．he no longer works for any company |
| A．Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code. |
| B．Comfortable clothes make employees more productive. |
| C．A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees. |
| D．All the employers in the U. S. are for casual office wear. |
| A．Company workers started to dress down about fifty years ago. |
| B．Dress-down has become an everyday phenomenon since the early 90s. |
| C．“Dress-down Friday” was first given as a favor from employers. |
| D．Many workers want to wear casual clothes to impress people. |
| A．saving employees’ money |
| B．making employees more attractive |
| C．improving employees’ motivation |
| D．making employees happier |
