1 . Someone has put forward a dream home which is so advanced that its kitchen can suggest what to make with certain things. Also, a Microsoft home doesn’t just warn you when you’re out of milk — it can send you a fresh gallon.
But are these innovations just magic, or are they really coming soon to a neighborhood near you? To find out, US News asked some experts to get their opinions about the home of the not-so-distant future. Here’s a look at the innovations.
The housing boom was marked by mass-produced buildings filled with units which look the same. The coming years, however, will give way to a personalized approach to home construction, with houses as more of an instrument of self-expression. “The successful builders will be the ones that figure out how to change their production model enough to make the buyers feel like they are really getting something that is designed for them, not just a model,” says Kermit Baker, the chief economist at the American Institute of Architects.
Future homes will probably become smaller. “We will be building smaller but smarter houses,” says Ed MeMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute. “Instead of having a room for just one use, consumers will demand homes that make better use of space,” says Susanka, whose best-selling book, The Not So Big House, has become increasingly influential in home design. Seldom-used quarters, such as dining and living rooms, will be replaced with space that can serve both functions. “The goal of his ‘right-size’ home is to fit its owners like a specially cut suit rather than a jacket you buy in a store,” says Susanka.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To present the main idea the passage. | B．To present what the future house is like. |
| C．To lead to the topic of the passage. | D．To show the history the housing. |
| A．Almost all the houses had no their own features. |
| B．The houses were designed according to owners’ idea. |
| C．The houses were smaller but smarter than before. |
| D．The houses could change production model easily. |
| A．Those that are much bigger and brighter. | B．Those that are much smaller but smarter. |
| C．Those that are much bigger and smarter. | D．Those that are environmental and energy saving. |
| A．Smart houses have a room for every use. | B．Smart houses can make better use of space. |
| C．Smart houses have very advanced furniture. | D．Smart houses can warn you when you’re out of milk. |
2 . The Coral Sea is home to an amazing variety of turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins, large fish, birds, corals, plants, and many other species. Many of these species are endangered elsewhere in the world, but still survive in the healthy environment of the Coral Sea.
The Coral Sea is a large series of coral reefs located off the northeast coast of Australia. This area is three times larger than Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef, which the Coral Sea borders.
The Coral Sea is one of the few coral reef environments that have remained largely undamaged by overfishing, oil and gas exploration and pollution. However, statistics show that coral reefs around the world are disappearing five times faster than rainforests. It is very likely that in the near future the Coral Sea will face the same threats to its existence.
The Australian government is currently looking at options for protecting the Coral Sea but has made no decisions. Environmentalists are pushing for laws to declare the Coral Sea area a marine protected area. This would mean a large “no-take zone” for fishermen, a no-exploration zone for gas and oil companies and a no-dump zone for pollution. This would make the Coral Sea a marine park larger than any in the world.
We can write letters to Australian leaders, Australian environmental protection agencies, and Australian friends, to let them know that people worldwide support this protection of the Coral Sea. To lose this last great marine wildness would be a loss for the whole world.
For more information, CLICK here please.
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?| A．To teach people how to protect the Coral Sea. |
| B．To call for the public awareness to protect the Coral Sea. |
| C．To show the amazing features of the Coral Sea. |
| D．To explain the function of the Coral Sea. |
| A．The Coral Sea, home to many species, will disappear soon. |
| B．The Coral Sea is rich in oil and gas. |
| C．The Coral Sea is three times larger than Great Barrier Reef. |
| D．The Coral Sea will be a marine park larger than any in the world. |
| A．in a guidebook | B．on a website |
| C．in a science textbook | D．on a TV show |
| A．The reason for protecting the Coral Sea. |
| B．The way to protect the Coral Sea. |
| C．The location of the Coral Sea. |
| D．The money-raising for saving the Coral Sea. |
3 . Streaming humorous videos on the Internet at work isn’t always a waste of time. They may be putting themselves in a good mood (心情) so that they can think more creatively.
According to Ruby Nadler, a PhD student at the university of Western Ontario, “Generally, a positive mood has been found to improve creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking.” She and her colleagues Rahel Rabi and John Paul Minda focused their research on a specific type of learning that benefits from creative thinking.
People in the study were put into various moods before being given a category (类别) learning task to complete: They learned to classify (分类) sets of pictures with visually (视觉) complex patterns. The researchers used music and video clips to change people’s mood; at the beginning, they tested out a few to see which ones made individuals the happiest and saddest. The happiest music was a cheerful Mozart composition, while the happiest video was a newborn baby laughing.
The researchers then used them in the experiment, along with sad music and videos that had no effect on moods. People were required to learn to spot a pattern after listening to the music and seeing the movie. Volunteers who were happy were better at learning a rule to categorize the patterns than those who were sad or indifferent.
“If you have a project where you want to think creatively, or you have a problem to carefully consider, being in a positive mood can help you do that,” Nadler says. And music is a simple method of putting yourself in a good mood. Everyone responds to various types of music, so don’t feel obligated (必须的) to switch to Mozart, she adds.
This, according to Nadler, might be one of the reasons why individuals enjoy watching humorous films at work. “I think people are unconsciously (无意识地) trying to put themselves in a positive mood, so the seeming waste of time may actually be beneficial to employers,” she says.
1. How did the researchers change the participants’ mood in their study?| A．By sets of pictures. | B．By music and videos. |
| C．By an assignment. | D．By a project. |
| A．Complete a given task. | B．Report how they felt. |
| C．Learn a piece of music. | D．Design a rule for the given task. |
| A．Happy and sad people are equally good at learning. | B．Only Mozart’s music can help keep a good mood. |
| C．A positive mood can help think creatively. | D．It’s a must to keep a good mood at work. |
| A．Ways to change moods. | B．Types of music and videos. |
| C．Methods of keeping a good mood. | D．Positive effects of a good mood. |
An odd thing happened to Arthur when he was on the way to work one day. As he walked along the First National Bank, he heard the sound of someone trying to start a car. He tried again and again but couldn’t get the car moving. Arthur turned and looked inside at the face of a young man who looked worried. Authur stopped and asked “It looks like you’ve got a problem,” Arthur said.
“I’m afraid so. I’m in a big hurry and I can’t start my car.”
“Is there something I can do to help?” Arthu asked. The young man looked at the two suitcases in the back seat and then said, “Thanks. If you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could help me get these suitcases into a taxi.”
“No trouble at all. I’d be glad to help.” The young man got out and took one of the suitcases from the back seat. After putting it on the ground, he turned to get the other one. Just as Arthur picked up the first suitcase and started walking, he heard the long loud noise of an alarm (警报).
It was from the bank. There had been a robbery (抢劫)!
Now the air around the bank was filled with the sound of an alarm and the shouts of people running from all directions. Cars stopped and the passengers joined the crowd in front of the bank. People asked each other, “What happened?” But everyone had a different answer.
Arthur, still carrying the suitcase, turned to look at the bank and saw a young woman walking towards him. She looked at the suitcase and then at him. Arthur was surprised, “Why is she looking at me like that?” He thought. “The suitcase! She thinks I’m the bank robber!” He became frightened, and without another thought, he started to run.
As he was running with the suitcase, Arthur heard the young man shouting behind, “Stop, stop! My money”,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Arthur seized (抓住) this opportunity to catch the young man and took him to the nearby police station by car.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Does wealth matter more than health?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Multiple brands (品牌) have canceled their partnership agreement with Li Yifeng after the
7 . A homeless man rescued all the animals at a shelter after it caught on fire, which made a local headline news. Hamlin, the
Keith Walker, 53, a homeless man,
“I was nervous as hell. I was really
“He is my guardian angel (天使),” Hamlin told the media. “Even the firefighters didn’t want to
Hamlin
Walker was on his way to
“
| A．tailor | B．founder | C．donator | D．conductor |
| A．risked | B．gave | C．lost | D．put |
| A．tied | B．limited | C．trapped | D．attached |
| A．thrilled | B．upset | C．annoyed | D．scared |
| A．walked | B．rushed | C．slid | D．squeezed |
| A．without | B．beyond | C．except | D．with |
| A．Before | B．Since | C．Until | D．While |
| A．spot | B．search | C．handle | D．touch |
| A．putting out | B．pulling out | C．pushing out | D．digging out |
| A．previously | B．eventually | C．independently | D．fortunately |
| A．find | B．protect | C．keep | D．train |
| A．put up | B．hold up | C．take up | D．pick up |
| A．Despite | B．Though | C．In face of | D．With |
| A．surprise | B．relief | C．understanding | D．disappointment |
| A．fighter | B．employee | C．partner | D．hero |
8 . It sounds like something from the field of science fiction — a space exploration into vast outer space, heading towards the Red Planet While we’re not quite ready to put a person on it, the question we ask today is:
The space race saw the USSR (the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and USA compete to achieve firsts in spaceflight. The USSR released Sputnik 1, an artificial satellite, before anyone else,
However, not everyone agrees. Leading astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has said the concept of changing habitability of a planet is not always practical.
It seems that the main reason at the moment is the search for alien (外星的) life.
| A．and the US landed on the moon first. |
| B．Instead, it makes no sense when we can simply terraform Earth because of the damage we have done to it. |
| C．One of these could be the survival of our species. |
| D．Why are so many countries interested in going to Mars? |
| E．It has been believed that, at one time, a certain form of life did exist in this red planet. |
| F．Surely inspiring a new generation to visit the stars is reasonable enough. |
| G．May landing on Mars inspire more people to become interested in exploring space? |
9 . Dog ownership may be associated with longer life, especially for heart attack and stroke (中风) suvivors who live alone, according to a new study.
Previous studies have shown that dog ownership alleviates social isolation (隔绝), improve physical activity and social bonds, even lowers blood pressure, leading researchers to believe dog owners could potentially have better health outcomes compared to non-owners. They sought to determine how dog ownership affected health outcomes.
Researchers compared the health outcomes of dog owners and non-owners after a heart attack or stroke using health data provided by the Swedish National Patient Register. Patients in the study were Swedish residents aged 40 to 85 who experienced a heart attack or stroke. Compared to people who did not own a dog, researchers found that for dog owners, the risk of death for heart attack patients living alone after hospitalization (住院) was 33% lower and 15% lower for those living with a partner or child. The risk of death for stroke patients living alone after hospitalization was 27% lower and 12% lower for those living with a partner or child.
The lower risk of death associated with dog ownership could be explained by an increase in physical activity and decreased depression and loneliness, both of which have been connected to dog ownership in previous studies.
While this study drew the conclusion from a large sample (样本), potential misclassifications (错误分类) of dog ownershipin couples living together, death of a dog and change of ownership could have affected the outcomes of the study.
The results of this study suggest positive effects of dog ownership for patients who have experienced a heart attack or stroke. However, more research is needed to confirm a cause-effect relationship. Moreover, from an animal welfare perspective (角度), dogs should only be owned by people who feel they have the ability and knowledge to give the pet a good life.
1. What does the underlined word “alleviates” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．reduces | B．increases | C．causes | D．shows |
| A．Healthy dog owners and those with illnesses. | B．Dog owners and non-owners in hospitalization. |
| C．40- to 85-year-old dog owners around the world. | D．Middle-aged and old heart attack or stroke survivors. |
| A．Dogs make people physically and mentally active. | B．Dogs give warning of heart attacks or strokes |
| C．Dogs encourage social participation. | D．Dogs save lives in emergencies. |
| A．Approving | B．Uncertain | C．Objective | D．Critical |
10 . Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia, wants the world to know exactly where she’s been during her worldwide vacation in a special way.
The traveler, who was born with a congenital bone disease (先天性骨病), had her right leg amputated (截肢) at the age of four. Although the amputation caused misfortune for Gallagher early on, she now sees it as an inspiration for living her best life.
To spread that message, Gallagher has taken to social media, where she shares photos of her travels around the world. Besides, she writes her location across her artificial leg (假肢) before taking a picture.
Now she has been taking pictures across Europe, which show her cycling over the canals in Amsterdam, relaxing on a wall overlooking the city of Barcelona, posing with a waffle (华夫饼) in Brussels, taking breath-taking pictures in Athens and enjoying a river cruise (巡航) in Budapest, with all the well-known locations written on her artificial leg.
“I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden idea to get a chalkboard (黑板),” Gallagher said. “My mum and grandmother didn't like the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did.”
Gallagher said people often stare when she’s writing on her leg, but once she shared the photos, she received only positive comment. “My leg hasn't stopped me doing anything I’ve wanted to do, I know it’s my determination to prove to myself that I can do it. Therefore, I’ve been able to keep up with my peers (同龄人) and lead a pretty great life.”
Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the way of your dreams. If life gives you an artificial leg, make art.
1. What message does Gallagher want to express in her special way?| A．She enjoys her traveling across the globe. |
| B．She suffers little from her leg amputation . |
| C．She looks on her misfortune as another form of blessing. |
| D．She has exactly fallen in love with posting photos online. |
| A．She is interested in art. |
| B．She lost her both legs at the age of four. |
| C．She wrote her travel destinations on her artificial leg. |
| D．She got permission from her family for getting a chalkboard. |
| A．Considerate and cooperative | B．Reliable and generous |
| C．Independent and selfless | D．Determined and creative |
| A．Never Too Late to Share | B．A Special Artificial Leg |
| C．An Outstanding Photographer | D．Gallagher’s Summer Holidays |
