1 . Getting and staying focused can be a challenge even in the best of times. But with everything going on in the world, concentrating can often feel down-right impossible. Below are some tips to help you find your flow.
Distract (使分心) your brain. Schedule into every workday some breaks from all that focusing and allow your mind to travel into what’s called the “default (默认的) mode network” for a bit of freestyle activities.
Block interruptions before diving into deep work.
Know your body clock. Whether you are sharp in the morning or a night owl, don’t spend your day — in particular your peak brain hours — doing busywork.
Try new hobbies. Engaging in hobbies not only is fun but can help us come up with new solutions to problems we’re facing at work or home.
A.Try to daydream what happened |
B.We try to obtain focus but in vain |
C.Engage in positive constructive daydreaming |
D.Instead, reserve your best brain time for the big stuff |
E.This network of the brain circuit is where magic happens |
F.Our days are filled with distractions, from others and ourselves |
G.Allowing your mind time to play is another way to invite innovation |
The Chinese New Year is now widely known as the Spring Festival because it starts
One legend goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow a great many people with one bite. People were very
Today, the custom of putting up red paper and setting off fire-crackers
Diesel engines (柴油机) work on the same basic principles
The story of the diesel engine actually begins with the invention of the gasoline engine. Nikolaus August Otto
Rudolf Diesel created an engine with high efficiency, and he devoted much of his time to
For decades, diesel engines had a reputation for being dirty and loud. While Europe adopted the technology pretty widely, most
A Fortunate Escape
“Truth or Dare, Ben?” Max questioned. Max, Ben and I were walking home together while I took small bites of the beef burger I had grabbed from a shop nearby. “Truth or Dare” was a game we usually played to amuse ourselves on the lengthy, boring journey home. Ben wanted a dare. “Well, Ben, I dare you to carry my bag all the way home!” Max commanded as we laughed at poor Ben’s trouble.
As Ben pulled the heavy bag up his shoulder and adjusted the bag straps, he noticed that Max’s bag was partially open. When he hurriedly put it on his back, an object flew out of the bag, and over the fence of our neighbour’s house.
“Oh, no,” Max cried, “I think that was my English assignment.” Stretching his hand out and trying to crawl(爬)under the fence to save the paper, Ben found that it was just out of reach.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to climb over the fence to get it,” Ben said. He was barely able to climb up, using the small gaps in the wooden fence as handholds as the fence was nearly as tall as him(which was not very tall), and low enough for something to be thrown over it. Sliding down the fence, Ben grabbed the valued piece of paper, complaining about injured dignity. Just then, a loud and frightening bark cut his words short.
“Woof, Woof!” Our neighbour, Mr Mason, owned a German shepherd(kind of dog), well-known for its fierceness, which guarded the house. It was something we had overlooked, too focused on bringing back Max’s assignment. Ben’s legs trembled like jelly and his face turned a deathly white as the German shepherd advanced slowly on him like a wolf moving towards its target.
注意:
1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Max and I stared at it in fear.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Just then I caught sight of my half-eaten burger on the path.
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1.钦佩他的演奏;
2.提出互相学习。
注意:
1.写作词数应为80左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Dear Novak,
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Yours,
Li Hua
6 . Bringing species like beavers (河狸) back to England is no longer a priority, the government said on Friday to criticism from wildlife groups.
A recent report shows that one in six UK species are at risk of extinction. In September more than 60 conservation organisations reported a significant decline in species due to expansions in farming and the effects of climate change. In recent years, animals and plants have been reintroduced by charities as part of efforts to restore the country’s reduced biodiversity.
Despite the government allowing this, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee concluded in July that there was an absence of long-term plans on how to manage this. In response, the government has now said that the “reintroduction of species is not a priority”.
The government said it was focused on increasing biodiversity through habitat restoration. The government’s environment department has come under scrutiny (详细审查) for not doing more to prevent sewage dumping and other forms of pollution in England’s waterways.
Sir Robert Goodwill, chair of the Committee, said he was disappointed with the government response. Bringing back extinct species is a controversial issue — although farmers and landowners appear broadly supportive, there are risks of reintroducing new species, and without clear guidance, problems could arise.
A recent study showed that river barriers similar to those built by beavers can protect communities at risk of flooding. But there have also been cases documented in Europe where beavers have built their dams in places that have damaged crops and changed rivers.
Joan Edwards, director of Policy & Public Affairs at The Wildlife Trusts said, “Reintroducing wildlife must be part of the UK government’s arsenal (武器) for tackling nature loss and climate change — it is astonishing there is no strategy for doing so.”
“The return of wild beavers can help to recreate lost wetlands, with a knock-on effect that benefits other wildlife including insects, invertebrates and birds. Beavers also slow the flow of water, which can reduce flood risks to towns and villages,” she said.
1. What does paragraph 2 want to convey?A.The situation of species in the UK is severe. |
B.Reintroduction of species in the UK is not a priority. |
C.Expansions in farming have a great effect on climate change. |
D.The UK government’s response to reduced biodiversity is disappointing. |
A.By developing strategy. |
B.By offering guidance. |
C.By expanding farming. |
D.By restoring habitat. |
A.It was messy. | B.It was limited. |
C.It was beneficial. | D.It was costly. |
A.The advantages of reintroducing wildlife. |
B.The responses to a government statement. |
C.The effects of climate change on farming. |
D.The approaches to increasing biodiversity. |
7 . When Belquer first joined a team to make a better live music experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, he was struck by how they had developed workarounds to enjoy concerts. “What they were doing at the time was holding balloons to feel the vibrations (震动) through their fingers,” Belquer said. He thought the team could make something to help hard-of- hearing people enjoy live music even more with the technology now available.
Belquer, who is also a musician and theater artist, is now the “Chief Vibrational Officer” of Music: Not Impossible, which uses new technology to address social issues like poverty and disability access. His team started by tying vibrating different cell phone motors to bodies, but that didn’t quite work. The vibrations were all the same. Eventually, they worked with engineers to develop a light haptic (触觉的) suit with a total of 24 vibrating plates. There are 20 of them tied to a vest that fits tightly around the body like a hiking backpack, plus one that ties to each wrist and ankle. When you wear the suit, it’s surprising how it feels.
The vibrations are mixed by a haptic DJ who controls the location, frequency and intensity of feeling across the suits, just as a music DJ mixes sounds in an artful way. “What we’re doing is selecting and mixing what we want and send it to different parts of the body,” said the DJ. The haptic suits were just one component of the event. There were American Sign Language interpreters; the music was captioned on a screen on the stage.
The suits are the star attraction. Lily Lipman, who has auditory processing disorder, lit up when asked about her experience. “It’s cool, because I’m never quite sure if I’m hearing what other people are hearing, so it’s amazing to get the music in my body.”
1. What surprised Belquer about people with hearing problems?A.The way they enjoyed music. |
B.The attitude they held to life. |
C.The love they had for balloons. |
D.The frequency they vibrated fingers. |
A.The motors were the same. |
B.The vibrations lacked variety. |
C.The motors hardly worked. |
D.The vibrations were irregular. |
A.He interpreted the sign language. |
B.He captioned the music on stage. |
C.He selected suits for the attendees. |
D.He helped people feel the music. |
A.Comforting. | B.Challenging. | C.Satisfying. | D.Encouraging. |
8 . This is a true story that took place a few days ago. This woman looked
Her face was wrinkled from a very
Her
I only hope that one day my own face will
A.ordinary | B.accessible | C.delightful | D.delicate |
A.depressed | B.efficient | C.tall | D.lazy |
A.foot | B.image | C.back | D.dignity |
A.awarded | B.covered | C.associated | D.issued |
A.slowly | B.firmly | C.finally | D.obviously |
A.wondered | B.looked | C.glared | D.pointed |
A.superb | B.slight | C.typical | D.true |
A.long | B.common | C.reserved | D.strange |
A.concern | B.attention | C.curiosity | D.sympathy |
A.rewarded | B.motivated | C.formed | D.integrated |
A.options | B.emotions | C.smiles | D.eyes |
A.escaping | B.shining | C.dying | D.swinging |
A.anxious | B.compared | C.content | D.filled |
A.cast off | B.focused on | C.spoke to | D.applauded for |
A.change | B.present | C.lose | D.improve |
9 . Researchers have proposed a novel method for counting and tracking vehicles on public roads, a development that could improve current traffic systems and help travelers get to their destinations faster.
Using the cameras already installed on campus buses at the Ohio State University, researchers proved that they could automatically and accurately measure counts of vehicles on urban roadways, detect objects in the road and distinguish parked vehicles from those that are moving.
In previous studies, Ohio State researchers found that using these mobile cameras provides much better spatial and temporal (时间的) coverage than relying on often temporarily placed sensors that don’t provide a view of many streets and roads in a city.
“If we collect and process more high-resolution (高清) spatial information about what’s happening on the roads, then planners could better understand changes in demand, effectively improving efficiency in the broader transportation system,” said Keith Redmill, lead author of the study.
“If we can measure traffic in a way that is as good or better than what is conventionally done with fixed sensors, then we will have created something incredibly useful extremely cheaply,” he said. “Our goal is to start building a system that could do this without much manual intervention because if you want to collect this information over lots of potential vehicles and lots of time, it’s worth fully automating that process.”
While still a long way from total implementation (实施), the study suggests the system’s results bear promise for the future of intelligent traffic surveillance. Transportation planners, engineers and operators make vital decisions about the future of our roadways, so when designing transportation systems to work over the next 30 to 50 years, it’s necessary that we give them data that allows them to improve the efficiency of the system and the level of service provided to travelers.
1. How can cameras on buses benefit travelers?A.By shortening their travel time. |
B.By making their schedules tight. |
C.By decreasing their transport cost. |
D.By improving their safety awareness. |
A.They provide more spatial coverage. |
B.They can’t detect objects on the road. |
C.They cover less view of the urban traffic. |
D.They accurately record the flow of traffic. |
A.Operation. | B.Monitoring. | C.Protection. | D.Arrangement. |
A.Transportation automation is on its way |
B.It is time to improve the efficiency of traffic system |
C.Transportation planners use cameras to make policies |
D.Cameras installed on buses can better measure traffic |
10 . While Alice has her adventures in the Wonderland, you can have your own as well this summer. British contemporary artist Philip Colbert has created a Lobster (龙虾) Wonderland in Changsha, Hunan Province.
Date: July 15
Location: Changsha International Finance Square (Changsha IFS)
About Philip Colbert
His globally welcomed lobster series has won the hearts of a large number of followers. The artist, with a master’s in philosophy, takes lobster as his second personality.
Through large installations, public art theme exhibition and new media art, the artist has introduced works from galleries and created a surreal art scenery in city’s public space with a combination of pop art and local culture.
Features
In Changsha IFS, Colbert’s exhibition, which is the London-based artist’s first large-scale outdoor public art installations, has three major sectors, showcasing his large installations, sculptures and new media arts as well as the special works created for the event.
The opening ceremony, an art carnival, saw the debut (首次登台) of a 12-meter-long Lobster Taikonaut specially made by Colbert. His Lobster Flower and Lobster Shark also found their way in the parade. At the southwest square, people can find Lobster Fountain towering 12 meters and enjoy two major theme sectors, Lobster Island and Lobster Skate Park.
Lobster Rainbow, a lobster breaking through a roof with a rainbow behind it, is the artist’s brand-new work for Changsha IFS. In his works, such as Daydreamer, Colbert also expresses his wish of narrowing the distance between art pieces and people.
1. What is Philip Colbert well known for?A.Alice Wonderland. | B.Shark experience. |
C.Lobster series. | D.Rainbow story. |
A.It took place in the open air. |
B.There was no special works for the event. |
C.People can enjoy lobster fountain and lake. |
D.Lobster Island is the artist’s brand-new work for Changsha IFS. |
A.A shopping brochure. |
B.An art magazine. |
C.A science report. |
D.A fashion advertisement. |