| A．in; in | B．for; for | C．in; for | D．for; in |
—________, thanks. I’d like a cup of tea.
| A．Either | B．Neither | C．Both | D．None |
| A．sheep; foxes | B．sheeps; fox | C．sheeps; foxes | D．sheep;foxs |
| A．not to hear | B．to not hear | C．not hearing | D．not heard |
| A．to be doing | B．doing | C．with | D．to do |
6 . As aging population gets bigger and dementia (老年痴呆症) more common，more families are struggling with a complex question: How do you support a loved one with dementia, especially when you have a full-time job and several kids?
Reg Urbanowski may have an answer to this pressing issue: ROBOTS.
He and his team managed to develop a new type of robots named TP robots. Looking like stand-up vacuum cleaners attached to an iPad, they can be activated remotely via a smartphone and guided remotely by a controller app similar to the way a mouse is used on a desktop computer. All possess audio and visual communication capabilities, allowing the operator to be “in the room” to interact with Mom or Dad.
He believes that caregivers and family members can use a TP robot to “look in” on people with mild dementia. He says, “TP robots provide an effective solution for minimizing caregiver burden, especially for those who have career or other out-of home activities.”
Urbanowski and his team have conducted a study that involves providing TP robots for 15 Manitoba families. These robots are programmed to provide reminders of necessary daily routine like turning off the gas, taking medicine and having dinner. They will also help ensure patients are getting the exercise they need to maintain their health and well-being.
Erin Crawford, Program Director with the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba, says she has faith that TP robots will prove beneficial, particularly when it comes to reminding people with dementia to do certain things at certain times. “It means that family members that can’t be there, for whatever reason, know that those things are till happening,” she says.
1. What can we infer about TP robots from Paragraph 3?| A．It’s easy to operate. | B．It can clean the room. |
| C．It's convenient to carry. | D．It can be used on a computer. |
| A．By having dinner with them. | B．By turning off the gas for them. |
| C．By doing activities with them. | D．By reminding them to take pills. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Cautious. | C．Doubtful. | D．Critical. |
| A．TP robots provide a new solution to dementia. |
| B．TP robots help to take care of dementia patients. |
| C．Caregivers of dementia will be replaced by TP robots. |
| D．Urbanowski and his team are developing a new robot. |
7 . Poaching and habitat loss have threatened Africa's two species of elephants, taking them closer toward the edge of disappearance, according to a new report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN).
Before this update, Africa's elephants were grouped together and were evaluated as vulnerable by the IUCN. This is the first time the two species have been sorted separately. In the past, elephants were mostly considered as either Asian elephants or African elephants. Forest and savanna elephants were typically classified as subspecies of African elephants.
The African forest elephant is now listed as critically endangered and the African savanna elephant as endangered. The number of African forest elephants fell by more than 86% over a 31 -year assessment period. The population of African savanna elephants dropped by at least 60% over the last 50 years, according to the IUCN, which tracks the assessment risk of the world's animals. Africa currently has an estimated 415,000 elephants, counting the two species together.
Both elephant species experienced significant population decreases because of poaching. Although it peaked in 2011, illegal hunting still happens and continues to threaten elephant populations. African elephants also face continued habitat loss as their land is converted for agriculture or other uses.
There is some good conservation news, the IUCN points out. Anti-poaching measures, combined with better land use planning to support better human-wildlife relationships, have helped conservation efforts. Some forest elephant population figures have stabilized in well-managed areas in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and savanna population figures have remained stable or have been growing, particularly in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area in southern Africa.
But with constant demand for ivory and increasing human pressures on Africa's wild lands, concern for Africa's elephants is high, and the need to creatively conserve and wisely manage these animals and their habitats is more severe than ever.
1. What can be inferred from the new report about African elephants?| A．They are divided into three kinds. | B．They are dying out. |
| C．Their threat is mainly from poaching. | D．Their population has grown in Africa. |
| A．The detailed number of African elephants. | B．The similarities of African elephants. |
| C．The different types of African elephants. | D．The present situation of African elephants. |
| A．Expanded. | B．Protected. | C．Transformed. | D．Forbidden. |
| A．Hopeless. | B．Optimistic. | C．Uncertain. | D．Worried. |
Paper cutting is the art of paper designs. The art first appeared in the Han Dynasty in the fourth century. The
By the eighth or ninth century paper cutting appeared in West Asia. However, it was not until the sixteenth century
Although paper cutting is popular around the globe, only the Chinese paper cutting
Today, paper cutting has developed
9 . By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova — not as a musician but as her page turner. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance.”
Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.
“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr Titterton explained.
Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding” to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.
But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand,” Mr Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”
Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.
“My husband is the worst page turner,” she laughed. “He’s interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”
1. What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?| A．Read music. | B．Play the piano. |
| C．Sing songs. | D．Fix the instruments. |
| A．Boring. | B．Well-paid. |
| C．Demanding. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．Counting the pages. | B．Recognizing the “nodding”. |
| C．Catching falling objects. | D．Performing in his own style. |
| A．He has very poor eyesight. | B．He ignores the audience. |
| C．He has no interest in music. | D．He forgets to do his job. |
| A．are dropping | B．is dropping | C．have dropped | D．has dropped |
