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. |
2 . Birthdays are especially important to the very young and the very old. On their birthdays, people receive birthday cards and birthday presents from their family and friends. Children’s cards often have a large number on them showing how old they are. Cards for adults have pictures of flowers or scenery, or humorous or rude cartoons. Inside there is usually a simple greeting, such as “Happy Birthday” or “Many Happy Returns of the Day.”
In the US, children who have their birthdays during the school year take a cake to school and have a small party with their classmates. In Britain, children sometimes get Bumped (lifted off the ground horizontally and put down again sharply) by their friends.
In the US, the 16th birthday is called sweet 16. It is the age at which a person can get a US driver’s license, and some wealthier parents give their children a car as a present. At 18, in Britain and in the US, young people become adults and many have a big party. In most parts of the US, 21 is the age at which people can drink alcohol legally.
In Britain, people celebrate 21st birthday less. Many adults dislike getting older and a few lie about their age. But in general older people are now much more willing to tell others their age. You may see a sign by the side of a road saying: “Dave Ell is 40 today!”, put there by Dave’s friends. At about 65, people retire, and those who have reached this age are called senior citizens. Few people live to be 100, so a 100th birthday is very special. In Britain, people reaching this age may receive cards containing a printed message from the Queen.
1. What’s the main characteristic of children’s birthday cards?| A．They are full of pictures of scenery. |
| B．There are some flowers on them. |
| C．There is a large number on them. |
| D．They have greetings written on them. |
| A．The 40th birthday is very special. |
| B．Many adults like lying about their age. |
| C．Dave’s friends like playing jokes on him. |
| D．Older people don’t mind telling others their age now. |
| A．be called a senior citizen |
| B．refuse to talk about his age |
| C．receive a card from the Queen |
| D．be invited to dinner with the Queen |
| A．Bars in the US are forbidden to sell alcohol to young people of 21. |
| B．In Britain, 18 means young people become adults. |
| C．Young people will get a car as the 16th birthday present in the US. |
| D．British young men love to celebrate the 21st birthday. |
3 . Diwali (Deepavali) is a festival of lights observed in October or November each year in Canada. During the festival, various community groups, businesses, schools and associations celebrate it in different ways. Some companies have Diwali dinners and some communities organise gatherings that feature firework displays, dances, street lighting, and plays.
Many women wear fine jewellery and silk outfits to celebrate Diwali. Some women and girls use Mehendi, a dye decoration which can last a limited time, on their palms, and then they will finally get colourful hand paintings. Many homes that celebrate Diwali have various types of sweets, salty and spiced food as well as Diwali herbs (香草). Various lights, candles and sparklers are lit inside and outside homes, particularly in courtyards, on Diwali. Diwali is not a nationwide public holiday in Canada, but it is a prevalent festival celebrated in many towns and cities. There may be traffic jams and parking places may be full in areas where events are held to celebrate Diwali. Some businesses may close early on Diwali.
Diwali is called the “Festival of Lights” and is celebrated to honour Rama, a hero who once fought and won a battle against the demons (恶魔). In the past, people lit their houses to celebrate his victory over demons (light over darkness). At the same time, every household did careful and complete cleaning at home in advance. It is believed that the goddess of happiness and good fortune, Lakshmi, travels around the Earth on this day and enters the house that is pure, clean, and bright.
Diwali celebrations may vary in different communities but its spiritual meaning is generally “the awareness of the inner light”. As the word “Deepavali” means “a row or cluster of light”， the festival symbolises the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness.
1. What can we learn about Diwali from the first two paragraphs?| A．It is celebrated on a fixed day. |
| B．It centres on various local foods. |
| C．People stay up late to prepare for it. |
| D．People from all walks of life enjoy celebrating it. |
| A．Popular. | B．Free. | C．Serious. | D．Funny. |
| A．To pray for a good journey. | B．To expect joy and good luck. |
| C．To create a romantic atmosphere. | D．To welcome their friends to visit. |
| A．To stress the importance of a public holiday. |
| B．To tell an interesting story about a Canadian festival. |
| C．To briefly introduce a traditional festival in Canada. |
| D．To show different holiday celebrations in Western cultures. |
4 . You are what you think. Whatever you are doing right now is determined by your thinking. All your emotions and desires are influenced by your thinking. The problem is that when you are not aware of your thinking, you have no chance of correcting it if it is poor. When thinking is subconscious, you are in no position to see any problems in it. And, if you don’t see any problems in it, you won’t be motivated to change it. What’s worse, few people realize the powerful role that thinking plays in their lives, so they don’t gain significant command of it. As a result, most people are in many ways victims of their thinking.
Consider your success as a student. The single most significant variable in determining your success as a student is the quality of your thinking. Your instructors will play a role in your learning, but even the best teachers cannot get into your head and learn for you. If you lack the intellectual skills necessary for thinking well through course content, you will not be successful in school.
Here is the key question we are putting to you in this book. If the quality of a person’s thinking is the single most significant determinant of both happiness and success, why not take the time to learn from the best thinkers?
This book will inform you of the tools that the best thinkers use and will illustrate the activities and practice you can use to begin to emulate them, and take control of your destiny as a thinker. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of these thinking aids, helping you discover the power of your own mind and of your potential to think systematically about your thinking.
This book, as a whole, introduces you to the tools of mind that will help you reason well through various challenges you face. If you take these ideas seriously and practice using them, you can improve the quality of your thinking and ultimately, the quality of your life.
1. Why do many people lack motivation to change their poor thinking?| A．They are victims of emotions. | B．They are unaware of the need. |
| C．They think highly of themselves. | D．They lack the academic guidance. |
| A．The course content. | B．The school environment. |
| C．The commitment of teachers. | D．The quality of an individual’s thinking. |
| A．Make friends with. | B．Win over. | C．Follow the example of. | D．Look up to. |
| A．types of life challenges | B．varieties of thinking tools |
| C．determinants of life value | D．ideas of different thinkers |
5 . Some beaches are perfect for relaxing, while others offer activities like hiking and water sports. Visit these beautiful beaches for an unforgettable vacation.
Cannon Beach
If your perfect beach vacation spot features postcard-worthy scenery and peace, look no further than Cannon Beach. In this Pacific Northwest town, you can even build a fire on the beach to relax beside while watching the sun set. When you need a break from the beach, grab a bike and head downtown to explore its art galleries, shops and restaurants.
Horseshoe Bay Beach
For a one-of-a-kind beach experience, head to Horseshoe Bay Beach on Bermuda’s South Shore. Known for its pink sand, this beach is a popular destination for families looking to play in the calm blue-green waters and build blush-colored sandcastles. Adventure seekers can also take part in the self-guided island bicycle tour or engage in exciting water sports.
Mohegan Bluffs
This beach is famous for its natural beauty. Upon arrival, pause to admire your surroundings and learn about its ties to the native people, their ancient traditions, and connection to the land, adding depth to your beach experience. Then, take the 141 steps down to the sand to sunbathe. After that, climb back up to visit the Southeast Light for an up-close view of its 18th-century lighthouse.
South Beach
This tropical district on Florida’s Atlantic Coast is world-renowned for its powdery white sand. Although technically part of the Miami Beach area, South Beach stands out due to its Art Deco architecture seen in everything from the beachfront lifeguard towers to the high-rise buildings along the famed Ocean Drive.
1. What similarity do Cannon Beach and Horseshoe Bay Beach share?| A．The chance to cycle around. | B．Their lively artistic scene. |
| C．The unique water sports. | D．Their distinctive sand color. |
| A．Those seeking water sports. | B．Fans of modern lighthouses. |
| C．Those interested in local culture. | D．Enthusiasts of mountain climbing. |
| A．Its beach sand. | B．Its architectural style. |
| C．Its ocean drive. | D．Its high-rise buildings. |
6 . Things To Remember On Your First Solo Travel Adventure
If you’ve ever thought about just taking a trip yourself instead of waiting for someone to join you, you’re not alone.
Don’t be afraid to talk to random people. Though there is someone who poses a threat, it’s important to remember that not everyone is out to get you.
It’s okay to have bad days.
It’s okay to start small.
| A．You are the boss of your own adventure. |
| B．You need to make an unusual travel choice. |
| C．It’s no secret that solo travel is on the rise. |
| D．Sometimes things can go incredibly wrong. |
| E．People like you simply don’t know how to start. |
| F．Most of the time people are just curious and try to be friendly. |
| G．Remember, your first solo trip doesn’t have to be to a whole other continent. |
7 . In recent years, much of my life, as a consumer has shifted to what I like to call background spending. As I’ve subscribed to more apps and streaming platforms, significant sums of my money tend to slip away each month without my ever thinking about it.
Think of it as automated trade. Spending without the trouble of spending. Acquisition without action or thought.
But while this flood of subscriptions was sold to me on the condition that it would make my life more trouble free, there was a certain shock I felt upon discovering how much I was spending without realizing each month ($179.45).
You see, the thing about background spending is that it tends to happen, well, in the background without your full attention. And there lies the point.
“Hand over your credit card details and let us take care of the rest,” these companies promise us. But by agreeing to this trade, we’ve become lazy passive consumers. And this laziness breeds more laziness because most of us can’t be bothered with conducting regular reviews of our subscription spending. We’re too lazy to even notice or cancel!
I know it’s not just me who is suddenly living life as a smooth-brained subscriber. The average consumer spends $273 per month on subscriptions, according to a 2021 study of 2,500 by digital services firm West Monroe. Not a single person surveyed knew what his actual monthly spending was.
It’s understandable why this model is so attractive to businesses. As companies questioned traditional advertising models, subscriptions offered the promise of “selling once and earning forever.” And while subscription services have been around for decades (think Wine of the Month Club), more customers have been willing to sign up thanks to the widespread availability of smartphones and the increasing ease of home delivery.
While these subscriptions promise ease and happiness, not all of us are satisfied. Last year, the Kearney Consumer Institute found 40 percent of consumers believe they have too many subscriptions. Almost half of us also think we pay too much for streaming video-on-demand subscriptions.
1. What can we know about background spending in paragraph 2?| A．Its purpose. | B．Its feature. | C．Its procedure. | D．Its requirement. |
| A．Its attractive price. | B．Some people’s poor habit. |
| C．Its secure service. | D．Some people’s addiction to it. |
| A．It offers good home delivery services. |
| B．It is like traditional advertising models. |
| C．It is popular among smartphone producers. |
| D．It brings repeated profits through a single sale. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Optimistic. | C．Critical. | D．Unclear. |
8 . ABOUT SMART
SMART runs both study tours for groups in England throughout the year and a holiday English course for foreign students during the summer in the centre of London. Our courses combine English language learning with cultural studies in different centres around England. Our students have plenty of holiday fun, make new friends and learn a lot of English!
The holiday course
We provide lessons and afternoon activities to help you speak, write, listen and read in English, as well as understand the English people and their culture. We will help you learn through topics which are interesting to you.
The school
The Elite School is in central London, just 5 minutes from Paddington Station and 10 minutes from Hyde Park. It has 15 classrooms including an IT room, a science lab, a music room, and an art room as well as a large cafeteria.
Travelling time from Heathrow Airport: 45 minutes
Trips
There are three trips every week. You can have fun either in London or outside London. In London we visit places such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the Tate Modern. Outside London we visit places such us Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton.
Terms
Age: 11-17
Minimum stay: 2 weeks
Maximum number of students in class: 15
Cost￡550 per week, including:
— registration fee (C60)
— tuition package: 15 hours of English; 1 half day of creative arts; 1 full-day trip on Saturday; all course materials; 1 half day of sport; 2 “Discover London” tours; lunch; welcome pack
— host family accommodation
1. Which of the following is provided by the holiday course?| A．A culture-based language study. | B．Free access to 15 classrooms. |
| C．Pick-up service from the airport. | D．Learning experiences in famous colleges. |
| A．￡550. | B．￡610. | C．￡1100. | D．￡1160. |
| A．A tour guide. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A journal entry. | D．A study report. |
9 . Imagine getting ready for bed, brushing your teeth, setting your alarm and then putting a device on your head that allows you to control your dreams. It might sound like something unfeasible, but it’s the real-life promise of a new futuristic-looking headband called Halo, at present in development by US tech company Prophetic.
Expected to be released in 2025, Halo aims to allow you to have more lucid dreams (清醒梦). In some cases, you might also exercise a degree of control over what happens in these dreams, perhaps in ways that benefit your waking life, such as solving work problems, practicing guitar and more.
Earlier research has shown lucid dreams could be used for real-life benefits. For example, one study carried out by researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland showed that participants who practised casting coins into a cup in their lucid dreams showed superior performance the next day.
The team behind Halo are using technologies like EEG (脑电图) to collect vast amounts of brain data from volunteers experiencing lucid dreams. The idea is to build a detailed map of what’s happening in the brain during different types of lucid dreams. This information will be key for the second main area of investigation, which involves using TUS (delivered via the headband) to control brain activity. TUS, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, can change brain function by using high-frequency sound.
“It’s seemingly true that the sound stimulation could contribute to the high-frequency brain activity that’s associated with lucidity,” says Professor Mark Blagrove, a sleep scientist based at Swansea University. “Sound stimulation has been used to cause low-frequency slow waves in slow wave sleep, so the method suggested is believable.”
However, TUS is a relatively new approach to brain stimulation and it’s not entirely clear what the long-term results of stimulating your brain with high-frequency sounds might be. Moreover, some sleep scientists believe dreams have basic functions, including processing emotional experiences. By using a device to change the nature of your dreams, maybe you risk interrupting the usual purpose of your dreams.
1. What does the underlined word “unfeasible” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Impossible. | B．Significant. | C．Logical. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．To suggest a way to dream a dream. | B．To provide a theory for developing Halo. |
| C．To prove the benefits of lucid dreams. | D．To indicate the meaning of being awake. |
| A．The way in which EEG works. | B．The reason for designing Halo. |
| C．The changes brought by Halo. | D．The methods used by the team. |
| A．Hal o has got widespread recognition. | B．There may be some side effects about Halo. |
| C．Dreaming doesn’t have any functions. | D．Lucid dreams cause emotional experiences. |
10 . Joseph Dituri hasn’t seen the sun for two fortnights. And he won’t see it again for months. Since March 1st, the professor has been underwater, with the goal of spending 100 days there-for science. If successful, he will break the current world record for time spent living underwater, which was set by two Tennessee biologists in 2014 when they stayed beneath the surface for 73 days.
Dituri, who has been nicknamed “Dr. Deep Sea”, is living in Jules’ Undersea Lodge (小屋) in Key Largo, Florida-the same underwater venue where the previous record was set. The 100-square-foot hotel, which sits 30 feet below the surface, is his temporary home, where he is carrying out research and giving virtual lectures for his students at the University of South Florida.
“The human body has never been underwater that long, so I will be monitored closely,” Dituri said. “This study will examine every way this journey impacts my body, but my hypothesis (假设) is that there will be improvements to my health due to the increased pressure.” This hypothesis comes from a study that indicated potentially positive effects of pressure exposure on cell growth and vitality (活力), and Dituri hopes that his underwater experience could reveal ways to combat age-related diseases and lengthen lifespan.
As part of his research, Dituri is investigating the effects of living in a high-pressure environment for an extended period. To keep water from entering the lodge, air must constantly be pumped into the space to create a pressure about 1.6 times higher than that of the Earth’s surface. Therefore, it can’t be achieved in his own right.
Before the journey, Dituri had undergone psychosocial, psychological and medical tests. He continues to undergo testing during and after his 100 days at the lodge. “The mental health part of this is important, because I’m in an isolated and limited environment,” he said.
Beyond research, the project is also a chance to cultivate children’s enthusiasm for exploring the science field. Dituri invites about 40 children to stay with him for 24 hours at a time and teach them to dive. To him, this outreach is what makes the whole project worth it-more than the chance for a world record.
1. What do we know about Dituri’s experiment from the text?| A．It is scheduled to end on July 9th. |
| B．It has been on for nearly a month. |
| C．Its aim is just to break the world record. |
| D．It is conducted where two Tennessce biologists settled. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Cautious. | C．Hopeful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．He pumps the air into the lodge. | B．He instructs invited children to dive. |
| C．He analyzes his own psychosocial tests. | D．He experiments in a spacious lodge. |
| A．To arouse their eagerness for science. | B．To case his loneliness and isolation. |
| C．To set a world record at full stretch. | D．To prove the value of his experience. |
