1 . If a pancake could dream, it might long for legs so it could jump off your breakfast plate in pursuit of a better, unchewed life. But legs aren’t necessary for something as flat as a pancake to jump around. A group of scientists have designed a pancake-shaped robot that can jump several times per second and higher than seven times its body height. The new robot named Hop, which swiftly jumps without feet, is an important contribution to the soft robotics.
Many ground robots move by rolling or walking. But it’s more efficient for robots to jump over obstacles (障碍物) than to go around them. Although jumping can offer some robots a competitive edge, engineering that ability has been a challenge for robotics researchers. Some soft robots that store energy can perform a single impressive jump very infrequently. Some lightweight soft robots that don’t store energy can jump frequently but can’t jump high or far enough to successfully cross an obstacle.
For inspiration, the researchers looked to gall midge larvae (瘿蚊幼虫) that miraculously throw themselves across distances 30 times as long as their loglike bodies. A gall midge larva bends its body and squeezes the liquid in its body to one end, making it rigid (僵硬的). The accumulation of liquid builds up pressure, and releasing the pressure sends it soaring (飙升). The robot’s body doesn’t resemble (像) that of a gall midge larva, but it jumps like one. Its body is made of two small plastic bags printed with electrodes; the front bag is filled with liquid and the back one is filled with the same volume of air. The robot uses electricity to drive the flow of liquid, which causes the body to bend and generate force with the ground, resulting in a jump. And the air bag imitates the function of an animal’s tail, helping the robot keep a stable position.
While the robot is currently restricted to Earth, it might be right at home exploring another planet. If this is true, the researchers robot might jump over dusty rocks and large holes on the moon or Mars, going where no pancake has gone before.
1. What does the author want to show by mentioning a pancake?| A．A pancake’s dream to have legs is unrealistic. |
| B．A robot is capable of serving a good pancake. |
| C．A pancake-shaped robot can jump without legs. |
| D．Research on pancakes advances our understanding of robots. |
| A．Hop’s avoiding an obstacle. | B．Hop’s moving around by rolling. |
| C．Hop’s performing one remarkable jump. | D．Hop’s jumping high and far continuously. |
| A．They are shaped like logs. |
| B．They have tails to change positions. |
| C．They bend their bodies and increase force. |
| D．They are filled with liquid and have rigid bodies. |
| A．Intolerant. | B．Positive. | C．Indifferent. | D．Ambiguous. |
1. What is the aim of the campaign?
| A．To remind people of Earth Day. |
| B．To encourage people to reduce garbage. |
| C．To warn people of the bad effects of pollution. |
| A．Planting trees. | B．Designing posters. | C．Collecting garbage. |
| A．Paint paper. | B．Stop driving cars. | C．Decorate classrooms. |
| A．Absurd. | B．Hollow. | C．Practical. |
3 . Time and how we experience it have always puzzled us. Physicists have created fascinating theories, but their time is measured by a pendulum (钟摆) and is not psychological time, which leaps with little regard to the clock or calendar. As someone who understood the distinction observed, “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours it seems like a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove, a minute seems like two hours.”
Psychologists have long noticed that larger units of time, such as months and years, fly on swifter wings as we age. They also note that the more time is structured with schedules and appointments, the more rapidly it seems to pass. For example, a day at the office flies compared with a day at the beach.
Expectation and familiarity also make time seem to flow more rapidly. Almost all of us have had the experience of driving somewhere we’ve never been before. Surrounded by unfamiliar scenery, with no real idea of when we’ll arrive, we experience the trip as if lasting a long time. But the return trip, although exactly as long, seems to take far less time. The novelty of the outward journey has become routine.
When days become as similar as beads (小珠子) on a string, they mix together, and even months become a single day. To counter this, try to find ways to interrupt the structure of your day — to stop time, so to speak.
Learning something new is one of the ways to slow the passage of time. One of the reasons the days of our youth seems so full and long is that these are the days of learning and discovery. For many of us learning ends when we leave school, but this doesn’t have to be.
1. What can we know about time from Paragraph 1?| A．Physical time has little to do with the calendar. |
| B．Physical time is distinct from psychological time. |
| C．Time should not be measured by a pendulum. |
| D．Psychological time is quite more fascinating. |
| A．A day spent exploring something unknown. |
| B．Staying with a person who you dislike. |
| C．A day packed with appointments to handle. |
| D．Driving to a new place for the first time. |
| A．Unfamiliarity. | B．Excitement. | C．Imagination. | D．Amusement. |
| A．To show the difference between physical and psychological time. |
| B．To explain why time flies and how to slow it down psychologically. |
| C．To describe how most of us experience time psychologically. |
| D．To give various explanations about fascinating time theories. |
4 . When you think of a map, is north on the top or the bottom? Usually, maps are designed with north on top, though when we think about it, there is no logical reason for this bias (偏见). After all, there is no up or down in space. So what is wrong with south, east or west being on the top of the map? The answer is: nothing at all. In fact, north-up maps only became the norm in the last few hundred years.
Ancient Egyptian maps had south at the top because the Nile River flows downhill from mountains in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Mecca was to the south of most early Muslim civilizations, and south-up maps were designed so that viewers would look up to see Mecca. Medieval Christian maps had east at the top, as they believed the Garden of Eden was in the east. The only early maps that had north at the top were those of early China because the emperor lived in the north.
North seems to have settled at the top of maps during the 16th century, largely thanks to a Flemish mapmaker, Mercator. Mercator was a great admirer of an early Greek mapmaker, who, for reasons now unknown, put north at the top of maps, so Mercator did, too. When Mercator’s world map became the standard map to navigate the oceans, north up became standard as well.
What is the implication of this north-view of the world? Psychologically, people tend to think of up as good and down as bad. Just think of words and phrases like “upmarket”, “upbeat” and “moving up in the world”, and how they contrast with their opposites. Because north is so consistently put at the top of maps, people now think of north as good, too.
Several attempts have been made in recent years by introducing south-up maps to the market. These maps not only give us a chance to see the world differently, but also give everyone the chance to see themselves on top.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．North-up maps were rare in ancient times. |
| B．Deciding up or down in space is ridiculous. |
| C．Mecca maps were based on a legend. |
| D．The south-up map first appeared in ancient Egypt. |
| A．An illogical reason. | B．The spread of Mercator’s maps. |
| C．People’s preference for up. | D．An age-old tradition in Greece. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Supportive. | C．Uncaring. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．To criticize a phenomenon. | B．To compare various facts. |
| C．To correct a cultural bias. | D．To argue for a viewpoint. |
5 . On June 15, the 100-day countdown to the Hangzhou Asian Games, the medal of the 19th Asian Games was released. The medal of the 19th Asian Games is named Shan Shui, which is another core (核心) element of the Asian Games, along with the official emblem (徽章) Tides Surging, mascots Congcong, Chenchen, Lianlian, color system Meeting the World and torch Eternal Flame. It is an important addition to the overall aesthetic (审美) of the event.
Shan Shui is characterized by the ceremonial jade (玉) Cong in the Liangzhu Culture(5,300BC-4,300BC). This square jade, integrated with a round medal, is truly unique and highly recognizable.
Shan Shui presents the geographical features of Hangzhou. By using noticeable lines, the picture scroll of Hangzhou is outlined on the front side of the medal with misty hills on three sides and the city on one side, a rippling lake, and wavelike mountains beyond. The back side is shaped like a square seal, which means the athletes leave a beautiful mark on the Hangzhou Asian Games,
Shan Shui expresses the character of Hangzhou as the capital of ecological civilization, with natural landscape, clear water and green hills, creating invaluable assets, casting gold and silver medals.
Shan Shui shows the sportsmanship of climbing the heights. Reaching the top, one will become even higher. On the way to the summit, athletes strive hard, challenge themselves, and overcome one peak after another.
The medal will be made by painting, milling, trimming and polishing, gold and silver plating effect treatment, and protection treatment. The medal ribbon (绶带) will be hand-sewn on both sides using weave technology and environmentally friendly printing techniques. The bridge shaped buckle at the top of the ribbon highlights the Jiangnan characteristics of the water town and the bridge town. The linking method adopts the raw ear structure of the spring buckle shaft (弹簧扣轴) to fix the ribbon inside the medal.
1. Why is the medal of the Hangzhou Asian Games named Shan Shui?| A．It is another core element of the 19th Asian Games. |
| B．It represents the overall aesthetic of the event. |
| C．It features the city’s geographical and ecological elements. |
| D．It is specially characterized by the ceremonial jade Cong. |
| A．Strive hard to unite people. | B．Live in harmony with nations. |
| C．Leave a beautiful impression. | D．Bravely challenge the new heights. |
| A．The processing techniques. | B．The weave technology. |
| C．The printing techniques. | D．The linking method. |
| A．Countdown: the Hangzhou Asian Games on the way |
| B．Official emblems: the core of the 19th Asian Games |
| C．Liangzhu Culture: the unique culture to be recognized |
| D．Shan Shui: the medal of the 19th Asian Games known |
Bill McDonnell, who was a soldier when young, was a 92-year-old now, still healthy and strong. He loved hunting very much. On December 15, Bill decided to go hunting in Shenandoah Mountain the next day as the deer season had begun. His wife Joanna McDonnell intended to let their son Bill McDonnell Jr. accompany him, but Bill Jr. had a football game that day. Bill McDonnell said he could manage all by himself. Joanna then required Bill to be out of the woods by 2 pm and home by 3 pm, plenty of time before sunset. She added, “ Do take some necessities like a flashlight, just in case.”
The next morning, Bill woke up at four, grabbed his muzzleloader (前装枪), and steered his Jeep toward Shenandoah Mountain. At the end of the old Laurel Run logging road, he began to walk. It was about 7:30 am and 25 degrees when the sun peeked through the trees.
Not long into the hike, he came upon a path he didn't remember. Maybe this was a secret route to the king of all bucks (雄鹿). He took it. Then, around 11 am, he came into a clearing (林中空地) along a ridge line (山脊线). He had walked farther than he had expected. It seemed that his path up the mountain had meandered quite a bit. “Where am I now?” he muttered. Bill figured he could drop into the valley, hunt a bit and then go back home. But when he snaked down through the forest, he found there was no path at all. The forest was thick. It was hard to tell the direction now.
By around 2 pm, Bill stopped at somewhere in the valley, exhausted. “I’ll get it figured out,” he said to himself. He took out his phone to call his wife, but the phone had died. He dug into his pants for the GPS device he always brought in case of emergency and pushed the “on” button. Nothing. He had forgotten to charge it the night before.
“No, I’m not lost,” he told himself. His eyes caught a stand of tall trees. He remembered admiring the line of fantastic oaks and pines earlier. Reach them and the car wouldn’t be that far off. It meant he would have to cover some ground.
注意:续写词数应为150左右。He was moving slower and slower, Joanna‘s 3 pm deadline having passed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was about 9:45 pm when Bill heard the whoop-whoop-whoop of a helicopter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 对该人物的简单介绍； 2. 敬仰该人物的理由；3. 从该人物身上得到的启示。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Often called the Porcelain (瓷器) Capital for its important role in the domestic and international ceramic (陶瓷) industry, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province is
As the most important ceramic production center in China, Jingdezhen produces high-quality porcelain that is appreciated both in China and worldwide. In December 2014, Jingdezhen was
Establishing a name for himself, Deng traveled from Qingdao to Jingdezhen
9 . Many people believe that working to the maximum is the secret to success, but new research has found that moderation (适度) also gets results on the job.
In a study led by Ellen Langer of Harvard University, researchers asked people to translate sentences into a new made-up language. Subjects who practiced the language moderately beforehand made fewer errors than those who practiced extensively or not at all. High levels of knowledge can make people too attached to traditional ways of viewing problems across fields, the arts, sciences, and politics. High carefulness is related to lower job performance, especially in simple jobs where it doesn’t pay to be a perfectionist.
How long we stay on the clock and how we spend that time are under careful examination in many workplaces. The young banker who eats lunch at his desk is probably seen as a go-getter, while his colleagues who chat over a relaxed conference-room meal get dirty looks from the corner office. “People from cultures that value relationships more than ours does are shocked by the thought of eating alone in front of a computer”, says Art Markman, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin. Social interaction has been shown to lift mood and get people thinking in new directions and in ways that could help improve any post-lunch effort.
Markman also promotes off-task time. “Part of being a good thinker is experiencing things that are seemingly unrelated to what you are working on at the moment but give you fresh ideas about your work,” he says. “Also, there is a lot of research showing that a positive mood leads to higher levels of productivity and creativity. So, when people do things to increase their life satisfaction, they also make themselves more effective at work.”
1. What does Ellen Langer’s study show?| A．It is worthwhile to be a perfectionist |
| B．Translation makes people knowledgeable. |
| C．Moderate effort makes for the best result. |
| D．Simple jobs call for being highly careful. |
| A．She is determined to succeed. | B．She can address bank problems. |
| C．He enjoys eating lunch at table. | D．He is popular with his coworkers. |
| A．A good thinker is able to inspire other people. |
| B．A cheerful mood helps make a creative mind. |
| C．Experience unrelated to your job is useless. |
| D．Focusing on what you do raises productivity. |
| A．Harmony in the workplace. | B．Balance between work and family. |
| C．Long-standing workplace culture. | D．Middle-of-the-road work habits. |
10 . A homeless man rescued all the animals at a shelter after it caught on fire, which made a local headline news. Hamlin, the
Keith Walker, 53, a homeless man,
“I was nervous as hell. I was really
“He is my guardian angel (天使),” Hamlin told the media. “Even the firefighters didn’t want to
Hamlin
Walker was on his way to
“
| A．tailor | B．founder | C．donator | D．conductor |
| A．risked | B．gave | C．lost | D．put |
| A．tied | B．limited | C．trapped | D．attached |
| A．thrilled | B．upset | C．annoyed | D．scared |
| A．walked | B．rushed | C．slid | D．squeezed |
| A．without | B．beyond | C．except | D．with |
| A．Before | B．Since | C．Until | D．While |
| A．spot | B．search | C．handle | D．touch |
| A．putting out | B．pulling out | C．pushing out | D．digging out |
| A．previously | B．eventually | C．independently | D．fortunately |
| A．find | B．protect | C．keep | D．train |
| A．put up | B．hold up | C．take up | D．pick up |
| A．Despite | B．Though | C．In face of | D．With |
| A．surprise | B．relief | C．understanding | D．disappointment |
| A．fighter | B．employee | C．partner | D．hero |
