1 . Earl Forlales, a graduate in Materials Science and Engineering, took inspiration from the bamboo hut his grandparents lived in outside Manila and created a house made of bamboo that can be put together in four hours to solve the chronic(长期的) shortage of affordable accommodation in the Philippines. His design won a £50.000 top prize from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in its Cities for our Future competition.

His house, known as Cubo, could be produced in a week, constructed in four hours and costs £60 per square meter. Its use of bamboo—which releases 35％ more oxygen into the environment than trees—was praised by the judges. The ability of the houses to be constructed in any bamboo-producing area was one of the key attractions.

“The world’s cities are growing all the time and there is a real need to make sure they are safe, clean and comfortable places to live in,”John Hughes, the competition’s head judge and then president at RICS, said. “As we look at our competitors, who are our next generation of leaders， I believe that real progress will be made in tackling the world’s biggest issues.

Forlales has already identified a suitable area of land to start building his Cubo houses. He plans to begin the work next year with experts from the RICS in an attempt to help relieve the huge pressure on housing in Manila, where a third of the 12 million population live in poor districts. He said, “I would like to thank RICS for the opportunity, and look forward to working with them to put this money to good use in Manila and then hopefully elsewhere around the world.”

1. What contributes most to Forlales’ winning the prize？

A．The material of his house.	B．The shape of his house.
C．The design of his house.	D．The expense of his house.

2. Which word can best replace the underline word “tackling” in Paragraph 3?

A．Facing.	B．Treating
C．Covering.	D．Handling.

3. What can we infer about the Cubo house？

A．It is created by Forlales and his parents

B．It is environmentally friendly and economical.

C．It has already been built in Forlales’ hometown.

D．It can be constructed in a week.

4. Which of the following can be a suitable title？

A．A Competition in House Building	B．A Man Devoted to City Development
C．The Bamboo House Winning a top Prize	D．The Way to Solve Housing Shortage

2 . Four Healthy Experience Gifts Wellness Fans Will Love

You’ll surprise and delight your friends and family with these thoughtful gifts that have real health benefits.

Facial

Taking care of your skin is a way to take care of yourself. And anytime you prioritize your own well-being, that’s a very good thing. Gifting a facial will allow you to feel the healing benefits of walking out with a fresh face. A new skincare and facial destination in New York. Philadelphia, and LA. offers gift certificates to treat someone to much-needed time.

Facials start at $ 65

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Massage (按摩)

“We don’t have to tell you why a massage makes a good gift.” If you are m businesses, the chance to really feel your body less tense is always going to be a winning experience gift. Massage is too often one of those things we know are good for you, but you may rarely schedule the time to do that. Make it easy in your life to take the advantage of this relaxing self-care experience.

Massages start at $ 45

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Personal training session

There are so many health benefits to working out. Not only does regular exercise help improve your health now. It also helps you live longer. Gifting a yoga class or a one-on-one personal training session can help ease someone back into a regular routine. You can help with this: a ClassPass gift card that will allow you to choose the class that suits you best.

Price varies

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Private meditation (冥想) session

Investing in a regular meditation routine is an experience gift that you should give to yourself. Numerous studies have shown that meditation has an impressive list of benefits from reducing blood pressure to lessening symptoms of psychological depression. Meditation studios are popping up all over the country, so search for a studio in your area that offers private or group sessions, like MNDFL in New York or the Meditation Bar in Austin, Texas.

Price varies

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1. What can the “Facial” experience gift help you do?

A．Build up your muscles.	B．Have a new look.
C．Relax your body completely.	D．Reduce blood pressure.

2. Who may prefer the experience gift “Massage”?

A．Artists who want to meditate in nature.

B．Elderly women who want to live longer.

C．Businessmen who want to get rid of pressure.

D．Actresses who want to have a fresh appearance.

3. Which of the following can best improve mental health?

A．Facial.	B．Massage.
C．Personal training session.	D．Private meditation session.

3 . Scientists say they've developed a system using machine learning to predict when and where lighting will strike. The research was led by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.

European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. The strikes can also cause power outages, destroy property, damage electrical equipment and start forest fires. For these reasons, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict and control lightning. In the United States and other places, ground-based sensing devices are used to identify strikes as they happen. But, no system has been created to effectively predict lightning.

The system tested in the experiments used a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.

The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed.

The atmospheric data was placed into a machine learning algorithm（算法）, which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.

Amirhossein Mostajabi is a PhD student at the institute who led the development of the method. He said, “current systems for gathering such data are slow and complex and require costly collection equipment like radar or satellites.”

“Our method uses data that can be obtained from any weather station,” Mostajabi said. “This will improve data collection in very remote areas not covered by radar and satellite or in places where communication systems have been cut,” be added.

The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection system. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project.

1. Why have climate scientists tried to predict and control lighting?

A．To collect relative data.

B．To reduce the destruction lightning has been causing.

C．To create a scientific system.

D．To do research in relation to machine learning.

2. The four mentioned surface conditions include all the following EXCEPT ________.

A．air pollution	B．wind speed
C．relative humidity	D．air temperature

3. What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．lighting.	B．the system being tested.
C．the atmospheric data.	D．the machine learning algorithm.

4. What can we learn about Mostajabi from the passage?

A．He developed the method and the system himself.

B．He thinks the current systems are too slow and simple.

C．He is a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

D．He believes their system does much better in data collection.

4 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

In the latest beauty craze (狂热)     1     (sweep) social media in China, women and even some men are boasting (自夸) that they are paper thin, by posting photographs of their waists behind a piece of A4 paper. To qualify, the waist must     2     (hide) by the paper entirely. A piece of A4 paper is 8.3 by 11.7 inches, roughly     3     size of a sheet of American letter paper.

With the A4 waist, the trend is attracting hundreds of photographs and thousands of comments on Weibo and other social media networks like WeChat. Being     4     (normally) thin is a widespread standard of beauty for women,     5     has been criticized as an unhealthy ideal of female attractiveness.

Several commentators have found the A4 trend     6     (disturb). In a telephone interview, an expert said, “I find     7     completely stupid. Using a single size     8     (define) all human beings then thinking you have created new standards     9     (be) foolish.” The A4 waist challenge     10     (annoy) him, saying that it allows certain people to gain bragging (吹嘘的) rights, while leaving others in depression.

5 . There’s no doubt that one of the greatest human achievements is the exploration of the space. Ever since astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to be sent into the orbit around the moon in 1961, scientists have been pushing the boundaries further and further. But until now the exploration into the unknown has been dominated (主导) by men.

Of course, in the past, women were also included in the space projects and played an active role on the ground and behind the scenes. For example, they worked as seamstresses (女裁缝师), sewing vital spaceflight components. In fact, many of NASA’s key works would never have been possible without them. Recently Hollywood produced a movie called Hidden Figures to focus on a group of American female mathematicians, especially the black women, who helped NASA send the first American into space. But this was not women’s only contribution. Back in 1963, Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be sent into space. However, after that, space flight programs were slow to employ women. In the USA. NASA didn’t accept applications from women to become astronauts until 1978.

But attitudes have changed and leading officials at NASA say that the first person to set foot on Mars should be a woman. The space agency aims to have a sex-balanced workforce but can only achieve that if equal numbers of men and women are trained for science and technology jobs. As Allison McIntryre told the BBC, “My director is a woman. We have female astronauts. We haven’t put a woman on the moon yet. And I think that perhaps the first person to step on Mars should be a woman.”

1. What did Yuri Gagarin do in 1961?

A．He landed on the moon in success.

B．He discovered many new boundaries.

C．He led scientists to explore the moon.

D．He made the first journey into the space.

2. Why does the author mention the film Hidden Figures?

A．To show women are the true heroes of NASA’s first launch.

B．To stress that black people have won equal rights in NASA.

C．To prove women can do as well as men in NASA’ projects.

D．To present women’s contributions to NASA’s space programs.

3. What is Allison McIntryre’s attitude toward women astronauts?

A．Uncaring.	B．Disapproving.
C．Supportive.	D．Disappointed.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Will the First Person to Step on Mars Be a Woman?

B．Great Achievements Have Been Made in Space Exploration?

C．Why Men Played an Important Role in Exploring the Unknown?

D．Men and Women Have Made Equal Contributions to NASA’s Projects?

6 . 根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,选项中有两项为多余选项。

How to Improve Your Study HabitsPerhaps your are an average student with average intelligence. You do well enough in school, but you probably think you will never be a top student.    1    Yes, even students of average intelligence can be top students without additional work. Here are some tips for you:1. Plan your time carefully. Make a list of your weekly tasks. Then make a schedule or chart of your time. Fill in committed time such as eating, sleeping, meetings, classes, etc. Then decide on good, regular times for studying.    2    It’s important to set aside time for relaxation, hobbies, and entertainment as well. Furthermore, it will enable you to plan your activities so that you have adequate time for both work and play.2. Find a good place to study. Choose one place for your study area. It may be a desk or a chair at home or in the school library, but it should be comfortable, and it should not have distractions. When you begin to work, you should be able to concentrate on the subject.    3    Listening to what the teacher says in class means less work later. Sit where you can see and hear well. Take notes to help you remember what the teacher says.4. Study regularly.    4    Review important points mentioned in class as well as points you remain confused about. If you review your notes and textbook regularly, the material will become more meaningful and you will remember it longer. Regular review leads to improved performances on test.5. Develop a good attitude about tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t worry excessively about a single test. Tests provide more than grades.    5    

A．Be volunteer to raise questions.

B．Make good use of your time in class.

C．Go over your notes as soon as you can after class.

D．Those who make the best of their time study with more ease.

E．They also let you know what you need to spend more time studying on.

F．Of course, studying shouldn’t occupy all of the free time on the schedule.

G．This is not necessary the case, however. You can receive better grades if you want to.