1 . Every day people board planes,get on trains and ready themselves for an adventure. But what about the deep sea? Although it covers 70 percent of the Earth's surface,we hardly stop to think of it as a tourist destination. However, the travel industry has made great advancement in creating aquatic(水中的) hotspots.
From the luxury to the relatively modest,underwater resorts have been popping up in recent years. For those with a truly adventurous spirit and some money to spend,you can even rent your own submarine. Staffed with a captain,a personal chef and a butler(管家),Oliver’s Travels’ submarine,the Lovers Deep,is a unique getaway. For those looking for a slightly different experience,there is Jules'Undersea Lodge in Florida,US,named after Jules Verne,the author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Other sectors of the emerging underwater tourism industry have brought a bit of art to the deep sea. According to the BBC,“there's a move to combine underwater tourism with art tourism to attract a new kind of traveler." Underwater museums and exhibits like the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada and Australia's Museum of Underwater Art allow visitors to see incredible sculptures in a truly magnificent atmosphere. Underwater archaeological(考古的)sites have also become popular destinations, such as the ones in Turkey, where people can visit sunken cities.
Exploring Earth's bodies of water has brought more awareness to the importance of protecting oceans and the animal life that calls them home. British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor,whose artwork can be seen in multiple underwater attractions around the world, feels this is key. “Most people just see the surface of the ocean and it is hard to think of something so plain and enormous as fragile. We don't regard our oceans as sacred(神圣的)and we should.”
1. What does the underlined expression "popping up" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Appearing suddenly. | B．Changing constantly. |
| C．Working properly. | D．Moving unexpectedly. |
| A．To prove the power of art. |
| B．To explain a new travel rule. |
| C．To introduce a new travel trend. |
| D．To recommend popular destinations. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．Enormous resources are there for exploration in the ocean. |
| B．Underwater vacation has brought huge commercial benefits. |
| C．Artists consider it tough to protect underwater environment. |
| D．Underwater travel has a positive effect on ocean protection. |
2 . The LEGO Group, whose plastic building toys are familiar to many people, has been working on making LEGO bricks out of recycled plastic. The bricks aren't ready yet, but the company says it's making progress.
Since roughly 1960, LEGO bricks have been made from ABS plastic which makes LEGO bricks very tough and gives them great clutch power so that the things users build don't fall apart easily. Sadly, ABS plastic can't really be recycled and it takes an extremely long time to break down.
However, since 2015, LEGO has been trying to make earth-friendly products. Making bricks from recycled materials could cut pollution from the company's bricks by 70%. But making bricks out of recycled plastic is challenging. The goal is to make bricks out of PET plastic, which is softer than ABS plastic and can be found in things like bottles and clothing. A recycled one-liter plastic bottle could make about ten 2×4 LEGO bricks. Over the past three years, the company has tested over 250 different ways of creating LEGO bricks from recycled plastic. A team of more than 150 people are working on the problem. Tim Brooks,who focuses on environmental responsibility at LEGO, says that experimenting and failing is “an important part of learning”.
Now, the company says they can make a good 2×4 brick from PET. One important step was finding a way of adding things to PET plastic to make it tougher and give it better clutch power like ABS. They will also work on shaping bricks into other forms and adding color to them-right now they are just white. The bricks will go through many different tests, which will take at least a year.
The company aims to make all their main products out of sustainable materials by the year 2030. “We know kids care about the environment and we want to tell them we're working on it.” said Mr. Brooks.
1. Which of the following can best describe LEGO bricks made from ABS plastic?| A．Strong and firm. |
| B．Recyclable and soft. |
| C．Cheap and familiar. |
| D．Popular and new. |
| A．Because the company wants to show that it's making progress. |
| B．Because this has always been LEGO's goal since its foundation. |
| C．Because using PET plastic bricks can reduce pollution to the earth. |
| D．Because PET plastic bricks are much softer and cheaper. |
| A．LEGO has found a way to make colorful PET plastic bricks. |
| B．It's not necessary to put things into PET plastic to make it tough. |
| C．A lot of tests have been carried out and there will be more tests. |
| D．Children keep asking the company to replace ABS plastic bricks. |
| A．LEGO becomes a leading toy company |
| B．LEGO works to make bricks from recycled plastic |
| C．LEGO recycles plastic toy bricks to protect the environment |
| D．LEGO makes the best of ABS plastic to reduce cost |
3 . Hiking in the mountains I met a young lady who wanted to pet my dog. While she played with him, I asked, “Do you have a dog of your own?” “He just died,” she said. She explained that as a child she got a little dog. They grew up together, went everywhere together and were best friends. She even took him to college though he was very old and couldn't get around well. And as he got worse, she stayed by him day and night thinking they would always be together.
But one day，while petting him, he growled（咆哮）and bit her hand. She was shocked. He never did that. How could he turn on her? Friends convinced her to put him to sleep. Unwillingly she did, but admitted that she hated herself ever since. “How could I kill my lifetime friend?” she sobbed.
“Suppose,” I said, “your dog was a genius! Suppose he knew you better than you know yourself. He didn't turn on you. You were too young to know about his getting old and needing to go. He knew you needed a helping hand to let him go. . . so he bit you. And it worked, didn't it?”
She was coming out of her deep sadness. I added, “Is it hard to imagine that dogs have late friends calling them to dog heaven? They never forget who they love. He is there. He still loves you more than ever. He knows you'll live a lot longer than he did.”
She was obviously happy now as she considered my words. We parted with a long hug and thanks. I'm pretty sure her dog was standing behind her, thanking me with his wagging tail and smiling face. Love is the highest kindness.
1. What do we know about the young lady?| A．She relied too much on her dog. |
| B．She missed her dog very much. |
| C．She wanted the author's dog. |
| D．She tried to forget her dog. |
| A．Attack. | B．Comfort. | C．Hate. | D．Leave. |
| A．Her dog wanted to live alone. |
| B．Her dog was too old to be a pet. |
| C．Her dog asked her to end his life. |
| D．Her dog would come back sooner or later. |
| A．Moved. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Excited. | D．Satisfied. |
4 . Cat lovers finally have the chance to understand what their pets are saying thanks to a smart collar that can interpret meows and translate them into human speech. Named Catterbox, the collar supposedly has a digital sensor that detects meows, and uses a special program to interpret the meaning behind them.
Developed by London ad agency adam&eveDDB, for Temptations cat treats, the invention comes preloaded（预装）with a dictionary of cat meows and several other sounds to make the interpretation as accurate as possible. “We're fascinated by cats, so we set out on a mission to get to know them better.” said Pete Simmons, global brand director of Temptations.
The promotion video of the smart collar claims that Catterbox, the world's first talking cat collar, is designed to finally help humans understand the meaning of meows. “Cats are often thought of as independent pets quite hard to get to know, so we set up The Temptations Lab to find creative ways to inject even more pleasure into a cat and owner's relationship,” said Richard Brim, executive creative director of adam&eveDDB.
“Studies show cats only meow in order to communicate with humans,” the video adds. “So we set out on a mission to get to know them better. By analyzing different cat meows, we've designed a digital sensor that detects a cat's meow and uses a unique program to turn it into a human voice.” So by using the collar, owners can speak to their cats and expect a meaningful response. The responses are delivered in a British accent, in a voice of the owner's choice, selected through a smartphone app paired with the collar.
A few sample responses are shown on the company's YouTube channel-they are quite funny, but obviously not very convincing. In all probability, Catterbox is useless though it has a very clever marketing means.
1. Why did the researchers set up The Temptations Lab?| A．To help cat lovers get more fun in keeping cats. |
| B．To tell cat lovers how to get along with cats. |
| C．To do some research on cat's habits. |
| D．To prove cats are really difficult to understand. |
| A．It is selling well among cat lovers now. |
| B．It can also help cats understand their owners' languages. |
| C．It can translate meows into different languages. |
| D．It can be set by a paired smartphone app. |
| A．Positive. | B．Uncaring. | C．Doubtful. | D．Opposed. |
| A．A smart collar that translates cat meows into human speech. |
| B．Cat lovers who want to understand what cats say. |
| C．Scientists who are devoted to inventing a smart collar. |
| D．A dictionary of cat meows and other sounds. |
5 . Have you wondered how dogs became man's best friends? On October 30, a study published in the online journal Science revealed more information about the history between dogs and humans, dating back thousands of years.
From previous studies, it was known that sometime between 15,000 to 40,000 years ago, humans first encountered a friendly gray wolf, and that forever changed the relationship. The dogs of today are descendants of and were domesticated from gray wolves.
Greger Larson from the University of Oxford, along with an international team, examined the genomes (genetic makeup) of 27 ancient dog species from remains dating back 800 to11,000 years ago. The team discovered that 11,000 years ago, there were five distinct species of dogs from Northern Europe, the Near East, Siberia, New Guinea, and the Americas. It turned out that today's dog species can trace their ancestry to one of these five ancient species. For example, the chihuahuas are descendants of ancient dogs from the Americas, while the huskies are descendants of the Siberian breed. The team also found that most of the modern European dog breeds come from two breeds - Northern Europe and the Near East. And finally, the five species trace their origin to one ancient species of wolf.
The scientists found remains of dog species in Europe are originally from the Near East. This led them to conclude that humans traveled with their dogs as they migrated from one area to another. These dogs were brought as companions or to act as guard dogs or hunting dogs.
Finally, with dogs and humans living together, the two also developed similar characteristics such as the ability to digest high-starch diets. When two species adapt to an environment in similar ways, it is known as “convergent evolution”.
As you can see, this study is already changing what we know about our favorite companion. We cannot wait to hear what else scientists unearth!
1. Where did the huskies originate from?| A．Northern Europe. | B．The Near East. | C．Siberia. | D．New Guinea. |
| A．By tracing the ancestry. | B．By examining the genomes. |
| C．By observing the remains. | D．By referring to previous studies. |
| A．Humans traveled to Europe with their dogs' remains. |
| B．Dog species once migrated from Europe to the Near East. |
| C．Humans migrated from the Near East to Europe in history. |
| D．Humans only migrated with hunting dogs from area to area. |
| A．Five Distinct Species of Ancient Dogs. |
| B．Long Relationship Between Dogs and Humans. |
| C．Convergent Evolution of Dogs and Humans. |
| D．How Dogs Were Domesticated from Gray Wolves. |
