1 . Have you ever taken photos by using mobile phones with selfie sticks(自拍杆)? This new invention is a small, useful and cleverly－designed tool.
However, a pair of US artists from New Mexico, Arie Snee and Justin Crowe believe they have invented a better one and they call it “selfie arm”. For better or worse, they have taken the world by storm. It makes those people in the pictures seem to be holding hands with a loved one．
The pair say it offers a far better experience than using a straight stick. The selfie arm makes people feel they are not alone when they take photos. It seems that they are together with their friends. They think their invention solves the main problem that the selfie stick has — people look alone while they are taking pictures of themselves with great interests. The product, at present, just an art project and a model, conveniently provides you a welcoming arm. And better yet in the future, it'll talk in a friendly way and never get angry or upset. The pair say they are fascinated by these new ideas.
The “selfie arm” is made of fiberglass(玻璃纤维). It is lightweight and easytaking.
The project that they work on shows the growing selfie stick phenomenon(现象) directly and the increasing need for narcissism(自恋) and Internet agreement.
1. The selfie arm is ________．| A．the latest mobile phone |
| B．lightweight and easy-taking |
| C．cleverlydesigned but useless |
| D．a useful digital camera |
| A．a selfie stick | B．a selfie arm |
| C．a hand | D．a loved one |
| A．The storm | B．The selfie arm |
| C．The pair | D．The selfie stick |
| A．a new kind of fiberglass |
| B．a pair of artists who are interested in taking photos |
| C．an invention that can reduce loneliness |
| D．a cleverlydesigned tool for taking photos with mobile phones |
2 . The Little Prince was written by a French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint—Exupery. It is one of the most famous books around the world. It was published in 1943. This story has been translated into 42 languages and was adapted(改编) into a movie.
The little prince lives on a small planet alone. He leads a happy life. One day the winds bring him a seed. The seed then turns into the loveliest flower he has ever seen. He takes good care of the flower, but finally he decides to leave it and his planet in search for a secret—the most important thing in his life.
During his journey in space, the little prince meets a king, a businessman, a lamplighter and a geographer. They all live alone on different planets. At last he finds out the secret from a fox of the Earth. Before he returns to his planet, he tells his secret to the writer of the book, whom he meets in the desert. The secret is: the power of love.
When you read this touching and sincere story of the little prince, you can’t help smiling and feeling the beauty of life and love in your heart.
1. Where did the writer of The Little Prince come from?| A．England | B．France |
| C．America | D．Canada |
| A．who wrote the book | B．when the book was published |
| C．what is the book about | D．who adapted the book into a movie |
| A．无聊的 | B．感人的 |
| C．惊讶的 | D．失望的 |
3 . Henry worked in a factory. He came from a poor family and was in school for only four years. He had to do the hard work, but he was paid less. He liked to watch football matches very much and spent much time on them.
One afternoon there was a big football match on the playground. He borrowed some money from his friend and hurried there. There were a lot of people there. And all the tickets were sold out. He was sorry for it. He saw a pole (杆子) outside the playground and climbed it quickly. A policeman came and said, “It is dangerous to stay on it! Come down!”
“Wait a minute, please!” Henry said and just at that moment the policeman heard cheers on the playground and asked in a hurry, “Which team has kicked a goal (进球)?” “Ours!” “Wonderful! You can stay there. But take care!” The policeman said happily and left. When the match would be soon over, he came back again and asked, “Who has won?” “Theirs, 3:2.” “Come down,” the policeman said angrily. “Such a match is not worth watching!”
Henry had to come down. But soon they heard cheers again. The policeman said in a hurry, “Climb up quickly and see who has kicked a goal.”
1. Henry failed to get a ticket for the match that day because ________.| A．he had no money to buy a ticket | B．he didn’t want to buy a ticket |
| C．he had no time to buy a ticket | D．all the tickets were sold out |
| A．it was dangerous | B．Henry had no ticket |
| C．their team kicked a goal | D．the other team kicked a goal |
| A．cheer for their team | B．see the result of the match |
| C．cheer for the other team | D．say goodbye to their team |
4 . Nowadays, people all over the world have various ways of dealing with a common cold. Some take over-the-counter（非处方的）medicines such as aspirin while others try popular home remedies（治疗） like herbal tea or chicken soup. However, here is the tough truth about the common cold:nothing really cures it.
Then why do people sometimes still believe that their remedies work？According to James Taylor, a professor at the University of Washington, colds usually go away on their own in about a week, improving a little each day after symptoms peak, so it’s easy to believe it’s medicine rather than time that deserves to be praised, USA Today reported.
To many of us, it still seems hard to believe that we can deal with more serious diseases yet are powerless against something as common as a cold. Recently, scientists came closer to figuring out why. To understand it, you first need to know how antiviral（抗病毒的）drugs work. They attack the virus by attaching to and changing the surface structures of the virus. To do that, the drug must fit and lock into the virus like the right piece of a jigsaw（拼图）, which means scientists have to identify the virus and build a 3-D model to study its surface before they can develop an antiviral drug that is effective enough.
The two cold viruses that scientists had long known about were rhinovirus（鼻病毒）A and B. But they didn’t find out about the existence of a third virus, rhinovirus C, until 2006. All three of them lead to the common cold, but drugs that work well against rhinovirus A and B don’t work well when used against C.
“This accounts for most of the previous failures of drug trials against Thinovirus,”study leader Professor Ann Palmenberg at University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, told Science Daily.
Now, more than 10 years after the discovery of rhinovirus C, scientists have finally built a highly-detailed 3-D model of the virus, showing that the surface of the virus is, as expected, different from that of other cold viruses.
With the model in hand, hopefully a real cure for a common cold is on its way. Soon, we may no longer have to waste our money on medicines that don’t really work.
1. What does the author think of popular remedies for curing a common cold?| A．They are really quite effective. |
| B．They are slightly helpful. |
| C．They still need to be improved. |
| D．They actually don’t work. |
| A．By identifying the viruses and breaking them up directly. |
| B．By reshaping the top layers of the target cold viruses. |
| C．By attacking the viruses one after another like finishing a jigsaw. |
| D．By absorbing different kinds of cold viruses at the same time. |
| A．The surface of cold viruses looks quite similar. |
| B．Scientists have already found a cure for the common cold. |
| C．Knowing the structure of cold viruses is the key to developing an effective cure. |
| D．Scientists were not aware of the existence of rhinovirus C. |
5 . Charities
These days there are thousands of charities around the world and it is possible to donate money to help people, animals and places.
Mencap is a charity which is dedicated to fighting against discrimination towards those people who suffer from any kind of learning disability. Most of Mencap’s work is campaigning. People with learning disabilities are disadvantaged because of discrimination and lack of funding for community care. Mencap raises awareness by working at local, national and European levels to deal with those issues that affect people with disabilities. It also provides services of education, housing and employment as well as support and advice for families and carers of sufferers.
EveryChild is a relatively new charity which was created in 1983. EveryChild identifies the needs of a particular community and then sets up projects to ensure that children in these communities have basic rights such as healthcare, education, social services and community development. EveryChild sets up the projects so that they are self running. The organization then moves on to new projects, leaving things in the hands of locals.
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the first organization dedicated to the well-being of animals anywhere in the world. The RSPCA was set up in London in 1824. At this time it was considered strange that people should care about cruelty to animals. In 1840 Queen Victoria gave the organization permission to be called a royal society: The RSPCA. These days there are almost two hundred branches in the UK.
The TBG (Tidy Britain Group) is an independent national charity fighting to improve the quality of the local environment. They aim to get everyone involved in doing their bit to keep Britain clean. The work of the TBG is done mainly through campaigning. Volunteers work closely with governments and businesses to organize educational programmes designed to raise awareness of the problems. The TBG’s sister organization, Going for Green, concentrates on pollution issues. The two groups have the same chief executive.
1. What’s the main purpose of Mencap?| A．To improve community care. | B．To provide educational services. |
| C．To help people with learning disabilities. | D．To fight against and kind of discrimination. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Doubtful. | C．Worried. | D．Approving. |
| A．Mencap | B．EveryChild. | C．the RSPCA | D．the TBG |
6 . How to Select a College
Second term of junior year can be a scary time. The college application process is approaching and your fears are becoming more realistic. You may not get into every college you apply to, which is why it’s important to have “safety schools” that are practically guaranteed to accept you. It is also important to have “reach schools” that are more difficult to get into but offer a greater education.
Here are my tips on selecting a college:
Do you have any idea where you want to go? Juniors should make a top-10 list that includes three safety, three reach, and four dream schools.
Apply and visit. After you have thoroughly researched your top 10 schools, narrow the list to five. These are the colleges to which you will most likely apply. Check deadlines, but applications should usually be sent by November.
Have fun in college! You likely made the right choice, but college life may be difficult so always remember to study hard, get plenty of sleep, and fasten your seatbelt ---
| A．Choose wisely. |
| B．Find out the entrance requirements of these ten schools. |
| C．Set your goal high! |
| D．After you have applied, go a step further and visit each school if you haven’t already done so. |
| E．Everyone hopes to go to their dream college. |
| F．Never lose heart even though you fail to be admitted to a college! |
| G．It may be quite a rough ride. |
7 . You’ve probably heard of rain forests, but do you know what a cloud forest is? Cloud forests are evergreen forests that are often covered in clouds or mist and are located on mountains. Cool temperatures on mountain slopes create clouds that cover the trees. There are cloud forests on most continents. Central and South America have them, as do Asia and Africa. You can also find cloud forests in Hawaii and on Caribbean islands.
Cloud forests have different names, depending on where they are found. Cloud forests are also known as fog forests or mossy forests. In Peru and Bolivia, cloud forests are part of a larger ecosystem called yungas, which means “warm lands.”
Many scientists consider cloud forests to be a special type of rainforest. Cloud forests are not as warm tropical rain forests because they are found at higher elevations (海拔) that have colder air. But these cloud forests and tropical rain forests both have many different plants and animals living within their ecosystems.
Like tropical rain forests, cloud forest trees drip (滴下) with moisture, but it does not often rain in a cloud forest. Instead, the fog collects as dew on leaves, vines, and branches. This dew provides the water that the plants need. Green moss, ferns, and exotic, colorful orchid flowers hang down from the canopy. Other plants and bushes crowd between the trees, and hundreds of insects crawl (爬行) and fly amid the vegetation. Cloud forests are as diverse and interesting as rain forests or temperate forests.
Cloud forests have animals that aren't found anywhere else, such as mountain gorillas and a strange woolly mammal called the mountain tapir. The colorful Quetzalcoatl bird is also found there, and golden toads hop among the bushes. Lately, scientists discovered a new cloud forest animal, a black and brown rodent that looks like a cross between a squirrel and a rat. Cloud forests probably contain hundreds of other rare and fascinating plants and animals that people have never seen before.
1. The passage is mostly about .| A．the animals of the cloud forest | B．what the cloud forest is like |
| C．where cloud forests are found | D．how scientists study the cloud forest |
| A．temperatures are cool | B．there are so many trees |
| C．the forests are so low | D．it is so moist there |
| A．why scientists study cloud forests | B．the kinds of trees in cloud forests |
| C．the animals and plants of cloud forests | D．why cloud forests are endangered |
| A．Cloud forests have more plants. |
| B．Cloud forests are wetter. |
| C．Cloud forests are studied by scientists. |
| D．Cloud forests are found on mountain slopes. |
8 . Sometimes pets are more than we can handle, like when a small puppy grows up to be a huge dog. People can usually find a new home for a big dog, but a giant pet snake is not so easy to give away. As a result, some people in Florida have released their pet pythons into the wilderness of the Florida Everglades. Problem solved? Only for the pet owners.
The snakes that are the biggest problem are Burmese pythons. These snakes are not native to the Everglades. Pet dealers originally brought them to the United States from Southeast Asia. Because Burmese pythons are not native, they disrupt the natural order of the Everglades’ ecosystem.
The snakes’ size and strength are also a problem. Burmese pythons can grow to be 20 feet long. There are reports of terrifying battles between pythons and alligators in the Everglades. Even more worrisome is the impact on creatures that are no match for the monster snakes. For example, biologists have discovered endangered birds, bobcats, and wood rats in pythons’ stomachs.
Another effect of python dumping is the spread of these snakes beyond the Everglades. Pythons swim well and can move more than a mile a day on land. In addition, one snake can produce nearly 100 eggs. Their wide range of movement and high rate of birth means that the snakes can quickly overrun a habitat.
As a result of this scary scenario, Florida park rangers, wildlife officials, and others are on “python patrol.” They capture and kill Burmese pythons to try to keep the numbers under control. There is also a greater effort to teach people about the responsibilities of keeping a python.
1. Which of these has caused Burmese pythons to be found in the Florida Everglades?| A．Pet owners who let them go. | B．Pet dealers who released them into the wild. |
| C．The large number of eggs the snakes produce. | D．The snakes’ ability to swim and move well. |
| A．they can even grow to 20 feet long | B．they put endangered animals at greater risk |
| C．biologists can study them in the natural habitat | D．they control the alligator population |
| A．selling unwanted goods very cheaply | B．moving information from a computer |
| C．putting something down carelessly | D．getting rid of something unwanted |
| A．Pythons are not native to the Everglades. | B．Burmese pythons can grow to 20 feet long. |
| C．Pythons can swim and move well on land. | D．Florida park rangers are on "python patrol". |
| A．Pythons will grow too big to handle at home. | B．Owners will become educated about pythons. |
| C．People will no longer get pythons as pets. | D．Pet dealers will stop bringing pythons here. |
A Beginner’s Guide to Video Game Design TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: A Brief History of Video Game Design CHAPTER 1: The Dawn of a New Era: 1960s and 1970s ................1 CHAPTER 2: A Gaming Explosion: 1980s to the Present.................17 PART TWO: Types of Video Games CHAPTER 3: Action! Games That Test Your Reflexes and Timing...........39 CHAPTER 4: Explore! Games That Take You on an Adventure............... 55 CHAPTER 5: Role-play! Games That Let You Be Someone Else.............71 CHAPTER 6: Plan! Games That Require Strategic Thinking....................87 PART THREE: Game Design Fundamentals CHAPTER 7: Programming Gets a C++.........................103 CHAPTER 8: What Does Math Have to Do With It?......125 CHAPTER 9: Putting the Laws of Physics to Work........149 CHAPTER 10: Artificial Intelligence Makes Games Smarter Than You...........163 PART FOUR: The Hall of Fame and The Hall of Shame CHAPTER 11: All-Time Top Ten Video Games................197 CHAPTER 12: The Worst Video Games Ever....................227 |
1. In Chapter 9, you can probably read how video game designers .
| A．use math in their work on video games |
| B．create artistic backgrounds for video games |
| C．invent character names for video games |
| D．apply scientific knowledge to video games |
| A．Part One. | B．Chapter 3. | C．Part Four. | D．Chapter 11. |
| A．the best and worst video games ever created |
| B．how designers build video games |
| C．the history of video gaming |
| D．the different categories of video games |
10 . When a corporation(公司) is formed, it issues stock (股票), which is sold or given to individuals.Ownership of stock entitles you to vote in the election of acorporation’s directors, so in theory holders of stock control the company. In practice, however, in most large corporations, ownership is separated from control of the firm. Most stockholders have little input into the decisions a corporation makes. Instead, corporations are often controlled by their managers, who often run them for their own benefit as well as for the owners. The reason is that the owners’control of management is limited.
A large percent of most corporations’ stock is not even controlled by the owners; instead, is controlled by financial institutions such as mutual funds (financial institutions that invest individuals’money for them) and by pension funds (financial institutions that hold people’s money for them untilit is to be paid out to them upon their retirement). Thus, ownership of I Corporations is another step removed from individuals. Studies have shown that 80 percentof the largest 200 corporations in the US are essentially controlled by managersand have little effective stockholder control.
Why is the question of who controls a firm important? Because economic theory assumes the goal of business owners is to maximize profits, which would be true of corporations if stockholders made the decisions. Managers don’t have the same motivation to maximize profits that owners do. There’s pressure on managers to maximize profits, but that pressure can often be weak orineffective. An example of how firms deal with this problem involves stock options. Many companies give their managers stock options-rights to buy stock at a low price - to encourage them to worry about the price of their company’s stock. But these stock options dilute the value of company ownership and profits per share and can give managers an incentive (激励, 刺激)to overstate profits through accounting tricks, as happened at Enron, Xerox, and a number of other firms.
1. Why can’t the stockholders control the company?| A．Because they are separated from the managers. |
| B．Because they havea little input in making decisions. |
| C．Because they are limited in the control of management. |
| D．Because they are restricted to the ownership of the company. |
| A．Ownership is controlled by managers. |
| B．Ownership is separated from control of the company. |
| C．Ownership is removed from the stockholders. |
| D．Ownership is controlled by financial institutions. |
| A．maximize | B．arouse | C．decrease | D．ease |
| A．Stock option. | B．The right to own stock. |
| C．Controlling power. | D．Effective stockholder control. |
| A．Who Controls Corporation? | B．When should the Stock be Issued? |
| C．Importance of Financial Institutions | D．Stockholders and Managers |
