1 . I always seemed to be running late and hurrying up. I’d wake up early in the morning in order to have enough time to get to where I wanted to go. But by the time I found myself on the road, I was clearly going to be late.
Then one day when going to work, I had been running behind again. Unluckily, on the way, my car was out of gas. As my car left the road, I looked at my watch. It’s clear that I’d be late.
But as I looked out towards the east, the sun was just beginning to climb out of the hill. There was fog hanging over the river and some ducks were swimming across the glass-like surface of the water. A few boats sat on the river, which was shining in the sunshine.
I was surprised. This pretty scene had been going on right outside my car every morning.
| A．How could I avoid it? |
| B．I became worried and upset. |
| C．What an amazing picture outside! |
| D．I found some surprising things happened. |
| E．However, I had never taken the time to see it. |
| F．So I would drive fast to make up for the minutes I had lost. |
| G．Finally a co-worker recognized my car and stopped for me. |
2 . A Japanese start-up called Ashirase is stepping into the global market with a new navigation (导航) assistance product intended to help people with low vision.
Its new product will feature flexible vibrating (震动) bases around each foot and are put into each shoe, and a small pack that can be removed for charging (充电). Once fitted, the vibrating parts are set along the sensitive nerves on the foot and can send coded walking instructions to the user.
Its present form navigates a route that comes from a smartphone app. It can help clear up distractions by freeing up the attention that is normally needed to either listen to voice directions or check the phone. Visual-damaged users can use their hearing to listen to traffic sounds and signals, like warning beeps at crossings or sidewalks, and use their hands to carry walking sticks or other belongings.
The device is paired with an app through a Bluetooth connection. The app uses information from Google Maps or similar vendors to draw up a walking route to the destination. Based on the destination and how the user is walking, it will send signals to the device that will cause a vibration on the foot.
The device will vibrate at a regular frequency at the front of the foot to let the users know they’re on the right track and should keep going straight. It will speed up the vibrations once the user is approaching a turn and needs to stop, and it will vibrate in either the left or right shoe to signal the direction the user needs to turn.
Ashirase’s new tech is waterproof and washable. It can be charged at the end of the week to power through seven days of walking, accounting for three active hours each day. And it can be fitted in two types of shoes: sneakers and leather lace-up shoes.
1. Who can benefit most from this device?| A．Deaf people. | B．Blind people. | C．Normal people. | D．Poor people. |
| A．A computer. | B．Nothing else. | C．A mobile phone. | D．Both A and C. |
| A．By how often the device vibrates. | B．By the sound sent by the device. |
| C．By the signals from their mobile phones. | D．By how long the device vibrates. |
| A．The device can be used for 21 hours a week. |
| B．The device can’t be washed or charged. |
| C．The device can only be fitted into sneakers. |
| D．People wearing the device can’t hear traffic warnings. |
3 . While many people prefer to buy a new dog from a breeder, another option is to adopt a rescue dog. As the Svilicics already had a healthy daughter Charlotte, they felt fortunate enough to save another life. Thus, Catherine adopted a dog and named it Khan. Catherine was hopeful this would provide valuable lessons for her baby, such as sharing, learning to love and responsibility to care for animals.
They trained Khan during the first few days and everything began smoothly. Charlotte and the new dog made a habit of playing out in the backyard. However, things were different this day. They began running through the backyard grass together. That was until Khan’s temperament seemed to change dramatically. Khan began acting wildly aggressively (富于攻击性的), grabbing the baby.
This was not the normal play between the two. Mouth open, Catherine watched in complete and utter shock. She watched as Khan tossed (抛) Charlotte across their lawn. What happened next alarmed Catherine and everyone present. He tightly clenched his jaws into her diaper to toss her back and forth. Therefore, with urgency, she ran to Charlotte and carried her to safety.
Miraculously, her child was unharmed. While Catherine brought her baby to shelter, Khan barked madly and then collapsed. The dog began crying. No one understood what was going on! Khan was obviously not doing well. The dog continued crying and then fell lifeless. Catherine focused on the dog, watching his dying eyes and realized he had been protecting her child. It turned out that Khan was protecting Charlotte from a poisonous, dangerous snake. She used all her strength to bring the dog to her car and sped for the vet, hearing his breath slow. When the vet took over, Catherine cried and felt totally helpless, so she prayed for his recovery.
The vet had to remove all the snake poison from the body. Quite a few days later, Khan was slowly getting stronger through the vet’s effort. Eventually, he made progress and the snake’s venom was removed. Actually, Khan impressed even the vet with his rapid recovery and progress.
The whole family could be reunited once again with this amazing and heroic animal. Catherine was determined to protect this amazing animal as if it were her own child.
1. What caused Catherine to carry her child away from Khan?| A．That Khan tossed her child back and forth. |
| B．That Khan grabbed her child aggressively. |
| C．That Khan tossed her child across their lawn. |
| D．That her child played with Khan for such a long time. |
| A．Catherine adopted Khan to protect her child. |
| B．Khan’s sickness was too serious to be cured. |
| C．The child was hurt because she was treated badly. |
| D．Khan was attacked by a snake in order to protect the child. |
| A．Outgoing. | B．Caring. | C．Faithful. | D．Honest. |
4 . In times of stress, particularly when the water gets too warm, the coral(珊瑚)erupts the algae(海藻), and the coral turns white, causing a state called coral bleaching(漂白). Just a few degrees of heat can lead to coral bleaching, putting the coral on a path to starvation and death.
Driven by climate change, marine heat waves are becoming one of the greatest threats to the existence of coral, which is important to the ocean ecology. But in some rare good news researchers have discovered coral can recover from bleaching even before a heat wave ends, suggesting it has the potential to survive long heat waves. Coral was thought to survive only if a heat wave lasted just a few weeks.
But no one had studied this process during a longer heat wave. Then in 2015, Julia Baum, a marine ecologist at the University of Victoria, began a survey of two common species: brain and star coral around Kiritimati in the central Pacific Ocean. They checked the condition of the coral as the heat wave struck and disappeared.
Starting in May 2015, the temperature rose about 1 ℃ within 2 months. As expected, coral that housed heat-sensitive algae bleached sooner than those housing the heat-tolerant kind of algae. As the water continued to warm, even heat-tolerant algae erupted.
Many brain and star coral on Kiritimati recovered from bleaching while the water was still unusually warm. Baum said, "The unexpected recovery provides new hope, because it means that even under lasting heat waves, there's a path forward for some of them."
An unusual feature of the recovery is that brain coral that started out with heat-sensitive algae had a higher survival rate(82%)than coral that began with heat-tolerant algae(25%). "That finding is surprising," said Baum, expecting that heat-tolerant algae would be better suited for helping coral survive a heat wave. But during a longer heat wave, it might be more advantageous to start with a heat-sensitive algae.
1. What results in coral bleaching?| A．The white algae. | B．The coral's death. |
| C．An attack of waves. | D．A rise in ocean temperature. |
| A．To prove that coral can stop climate change. |
| B．To study how coral bleaching comes about. |
| C．To figure out whether coral survives long heat waves |
| D．To explain why coral bleaching is a big threat to coral |
| A．Ashamed. | B．Confused |
| C．Worried. | D．Astonished. |
| A．Protect the ocean environment. | B．Reduce coral bleaching. |
| C．Grow more different algae. | D．Regulate the heat wave. |
5 . Why don’t we have eyes in the back of our heads? There are at least two reasons. Eyes are biologically expensive things to make and rear view (后视) eyes don't fit well into the human evolution (进化).
Even animals, such as rabbits, whose main survival advantage is rear vision, have only the side eyes. Rear vision is not so important. There are other species that have evolved this ability by moving the position of their eyes relative to the rest of their head. Many birds have their eyes positioned towards the side of their head, allowing them a very wide angle of vision and, in the case of some birds such as the woodcock, they are positioned so they can actually achieve 360- degree vision. It is also obvious that spiders, which tend to have many eyes, only have them facing forwards.
Humans, and probably some other animals, do have another adapted sense to make it up. Many experiments showed that sounds behind the head were noticed by a listener more than sounds to the front, especially if a listener was in a dark room. So, our ears can make up for the lack of rear-facing vision. You can look at it another way. Rear vision is useful only if the potential threat is visible. During human evolution, that was most often not the case.
Finally, there is often more than one potential “solution” to a given problem. In many species, the answer to maintaining 360 degree awareness of surrounding danger is to rely on many eyes. Social behavior is common in the animal kingdom and one reason for this is that there is safety in numbers. You might be looking the wrong way when a tiger approaches, but if your teammates raise the alarm this is as effective as having eyes in the back of your head.
1. Why do humans have no rear view eyes?| A．They are bad for human survival. |
| B．They are replaced by other organs. |
| C．They are less likely to spot the danger. |
| D．They are abandoned by natural selection. |
| A．To explain why animals have other functions. |
| B．To state rear-view eyes aren’t a must for survival. |
| C．To prove rabbits, birds and spiders are very special. |
| D．To show rear view eyes are against the natural selection. |
| A．The visible threat behind the head. | B．Sensitive hearing. |
| C．The sounds behind the head. | D．Rear vision. |
| A．A travel brochure. | B．A fiction. |
| C．A science magazine. | D．A book review. |
6 . Does solving a math problem give you a headache?Do you feel nervous in a math exam? For most students, math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually cause physical pain.
Scientists came to this conclusion with an in-depth experiment, which was published in the Public Library of Science One journal. They began by finding out how much participants fear math. Those involved were asked a series of questions such as how they feel when they receive a math textbook or when they walk into a math lesson.
Based on their answers, participants were divided into groups. One group was made up of people who were particularly afraid of math and participants in the other group were more comfortable with the subject. Both groups were then given either math tasks or word tasks. When a math task was going to come next, a yellow circle would appear but when a word task was soon to come, a blue square would be shown
.
Using a brain-scan machine, scientists noticed that whenever people from Group One saw a yellow circle, their brain would respond in a way similar to when their body is feeling pain. It was like the pain they would feel, for example, if they burnt their hand on a hot stove. But they reacted less strongly when they knew that they would be faced with a word task. However, scientists saw no strong brain response from people in the second group.
Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMA), math is associated with tension, and fear. “The higher a person’s anxiety of a math task, the more he activated brain regions associated with threat detection, and the experience of pain.” said Lyons, leader of the study.
More interestingly, the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealing with the math tasks. “This means that it’s not that math itself hurts; rather, the anticipation of math is painful,” Lyons said.
Based on the study, scientists suggested that things could be done to help students move past their fear of math, which might mean they perform better in tests.
1. In the first stage, scientists ask participants some questions to________ .| A．see whether math hurts |
| B．find out how much they fear math |
| C．observe how their brain response |
| D．test if they are good at math |
| A．Group One reacted more strongly when they saw a blue square. |
| B．Group Two showed no brain response during the whole experiment. |
| C．Effective solutions have been worked out to lower students’ anxiety of math. |
| D．Physical pain caused by HMA disappears in the process of doing math problem. |
| A．the attempt of learning math |
| B．the motivation to work out a math problem |
| C．the effort to understand math |
| D．the act of thinking about math |
| A．How to overcome math fear. |
| B．Physical pain affects math performance. |
| C．Math pain in your brain. |
| D．Unknown truth about pain. |
7 . Hobbies play an important role in our life. Most people have a lot of free time available but seldom use it gainfully.
Once you have decided to start a hobby, it will be wise to go through a list of popular hobbies and choose one that is close to your heart and can make you feel confident. Some of the most popular hobbies that people generally take to are reading, listening to music, gardening, fishing, sports, music, exercise and computer-related activities. Each of these hobbies can give you great benefits.
Learning a new hobby is really a wonderful experience. As you progress, you will be living in a new world and learning new skills. You will begin to discover your hidden talents that you didn’t know. You will start reading more about your hobby, meeting other hobbyists with similar interests, exchanging views and building friend circles both near and far.
People take up hobbies for interest, enjoyment and relaxation. Over a period of time, you might develop outstanding skills and get financially rewarded.
| A．This will change when you play games like golf, basketball or tennis. |
| B．Once you start, you seldom think of giving it up. |
| C．Physical hobbies like sports and gardening can be very rewarding. |
| D．This will be more so if you take up games like golf, basketball or tennis. |
| E．Most importantly, the main aim of having a hobby is for personal satisfaction. |
| F．They would rather chat with their friends than use their talents and start a hobby. |
| G．Although these hobbies can benefit you a lot, you may not keep them forever. |
8 . The biggest challenge faced by travelers, especially those who like to have a backpacking trip is how to ensure a steady supply of clean clothes. Now, thanks to a great invention called Scrubba Wash Pack, that worry may be a thing of the past.
The portable washing machine was invented by Ash Newland in 2010, while he was planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Struck by the limited packing space, he got inspiration from traditional washboards to create a bag that could be used to clean clothes. Then he quitted his career as a lawyer and focused on perfecting the bag’s design. By 2012, the bag was ready for the public. It weighed only 180 grams and required very little storage space, making it perfect for anymore wishing to travel light.
Not surprisingly, the bag which was worth 55 dollars was an instant hit with travelers, university students and even passengers. However, Newland was not satisfied. He still saw a disadvantage with his invention--dirty clothes had to be carried around in a separate bag! The recently introduced Scrubba Wash Pack solves that problem.
In order to make the pack active, dirty clothes are placed inside the bag along with two or three liters of water. The bag is then shut tightly to ensure all air is squeezed out and the colors are massaged for a few minutes. After a quick wash, they are clean and ready to be dried. According to Newland, the pack can clean anything from jeans to smelly socks! What’s even more amazing is that with a capacity to hold 13 liters of water, it can be used to wash more clothes at a time.
The best part is that the 99-dollar pack that will be available for sale later this year, only weighs 300 grams and is completely foldable, making it easy to store when it’s not in use. With the Scrubba Wash Pack, wandering through foreign cities searching for a washing shop, or paying for washing machines may soon be a thing of the past!
1. What led Ash Newland to create the Scrunba Wash Pack?| A．His job requirements. | B．A traditional washboard. |
| C．His interest in invention. | D．His personal experience. |
| A．Clothes couldn’t be washed well. |
| B．The invention was not so convenient. |
| C．The bag couldn’t contain enough water. |
| D．The cost of the invention was very high. |
| A．turns to be much environmentally friendlier. |
| B．will replace the traditional washing machines. |
| C．will be widely used by more travelers in the future. |
| D．can encourage more people to travel a long distance. |
| A．A thing of the past: Travelers’ worry of washing clothes. |
| B．The Scrubba Wash Pack--A bag free of washing. |
| C．The development of a great invention. |
| D．How to design a new pack for travelers. |
9 . During World War II, William Powell served in Europe as a solider in the US Army. Golf was his hobby. He played at some of the most popular courses in Scotland. However, upon his return home, William Powell was discouraged to find that he wasn’t allowed to play golf at local courses because he was an African American. William Powell took a unique approach to solving his problem. He built his own golf course.
William Powell began the construction of the Clearview Golf Course in 1946. He moved rocks and spread grass seeds to build a golf course in Canton, Ohio. He convinced two African American doctors to invest in the course and continued to build it for the next year and a half. William Powell built it without the help of a designer. He did it while working at night as a security guard. In 1948, the Clearview Golf Course opened, and the business is still popular today.
In 1967, William Powell’s daughter, Renee, became a professional golfer on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. Now, she serves as Head Professional at her father’s golf course. In 2001, the Clearview Golf Course was one of the 15 golf courses listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s the only course owned, built, designed and run by African Americans. The Clearview Golf Course not only serves as a challenge to experienced golfers, but also provides an enjoyable round for those players who are new to the game.
In 2009, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America(PGA of America) honored William Powell with a Distinguished Service Award. William Powell, 92 years old, accepted the award politely. “I have had so many special things happen to me, because the golf sees no color,” he said.
1. Why was William Powell refused to play golf at local courses?| A．He was a bad golfer. | B．He was a black man. |
| C．He was a retired soldier. | D．He was a poor guard. |
| A．was built with the help of a designer. | B．was built during World War II. |
| C．was invested in by two doctors. | D．only serves experienced golfers. |
| A．He died at the age of 92. | B．His contribution to golf is recognized. |
| C．He built a golf course for black people only. | D．He was a native American. |
| A．By time order . | B．By comparing facts. |
| C．By space order. | D．By providing examples. |
10 . I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone ; in the other a toy. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe little friend and I’ll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.
She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very good. She didn’t listen to a word I said or do the things she should.” In the corner I saw her baby doll well dressed. It was obvious that she’d been put there to sit alone and think .
My daughter continued her “conversation” , as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up and I just don’t know what to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach... And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play - don’t you know what I mean?”
And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, after listening to her innocent words cut me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear. I’d been caught up in responsibilities that increased throughout the years.
But now my attitude has changed because in my heart I realize that I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So let the cobwebs(蜘蛛网) cut the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them any more.
I’m going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother, for we have only one childhood and we will never get another.
1. Who is Suzie?| A．The girl’s phone. | B．The girl’s friend. |
| C．The author. | D．A baby doll. |
| A．Interested. | B．Uncomfortable. |
| C．Moved. | D．Unbelievable. |
| A．the little girl doesn’t hate her mother any more. |
| B．the author has become lazy because of her daughter. |
| C．the author cares nothing about her daughter’s happiness. |
| D．the author wants her little girl to have a happy childhood. |
| A．Only one childhood. | B．My lovely daughter. |
| C．How to deal with my daughter. | D．A world of children. |
