1 . The SNAG stands for stereotyped nature-inspired aerial grasper and it’s a 3D-printed bird robot with claws. It can fly, stay on various surfaces catch and carry objects, just like the mighty falcon(隼)that was used as the source of inspiration in its development.
Each leg of the SNAG has two motors, one for helping it move back and forth, and the other one for grasping. Twenty printing attempts were necessary for the robot to finally reach its current structure, but it was worth it. Now, according to researchers, the flying machine has an impressively strong and high-speed clutch(离合器),being able to land and wrap its claws around a branch in about 20 milliseconds. SNAG has ankles lock, and there’s an accelerometer (加速计)on its right foot that reports that it’s landed while triggering(触发)a balancing process to stabilize it.
Scientists have already conducted several tests with the robot in rural areas and on different surfaces. In all the situations, the SNAG was able to catch objects thrown by hand, such as bean bags, a tennis ball, and more.
As for the applications of the bird-like robot, the SNAG can get attached to drones(无人机)and be used for search and rescue missions, wildfire monitoring, to offer just a few examples. Another great application is environmental research, with the SNAG also featuring a temperature and humidity(湿度)sensor. By using a robot that can act like a bird, you can unlock new ways of studying the environment, as explained by William Roderick, mechanical engineer and one of the researchers involved in the project. Now scientists are moving on to improving the robot’s situational awareness and flight control.
This isn’t the first time that nature has inspired groundbreaking technologies. We also wrote a piece recently about the F-SAM micro drone, which was inspired by the flight of samara(翼果)seeds, also known as “twisters” which have a special way of spinning down to the ground.
1. What gave the researchers inspiration for the SNAG’s development?A.The plane. | B.The falcon. |
C.The micro drone. | D.The samara seeds. |
A.To balance the SNAG in flight. |
B.To change the SNAG’s flying speed. |
C.To keep the SNAG’s feet in balance. |
D.To make the SNAG steady on a surface. |
A.The SNAG has huge potential for practical use. |
B.The SNAG has a long way to go before being used. |
C.The SNAG will be helpful in putting out forest fires. |
D.The SNAG is sensitive to temperature and humidity. |
A.It doesn’t know its situation well. |
B.It can’t fly fast enough in the air. |
C.It is easily broken by the branches. |
D.It can’t catch objects with smooth surfaces. |
2 . Facial recognition software has found an unlikely new application: scanning the faces of thousands of British children in school canteens.
Nine schools in North Ayrshire will today start taking lunch payments by scanning the faces of pupils, claiming that the new system speeds up queues and is more secure than the card payments and fingerprint scanners they used previously. “It’s the fastest way of recognising someone at the till,” said David Swanston, the managing director of CRB Cunninghams, the company that installed the systems. “In a secondary school you have around a 25-minute period to serve potentially 1,000 pupils. So we need fast productivity at the point of sale.” He said the average transaction time was cut to five seconds per pupil.
However, privacy campaigners say there is little need to spread out facial recognition technology, which has been criticized for often operating without gaining approvals from the owners. Swanston argued that CRB Cunningham’s system, which uses cameras to check against coded face-print modes stored on servers at the schools, was different from live facial recognition systems that scan through crowds to identify faces. Live facial recognition has previously caused debate after being used by schools for security or to monitor attendance.
North Ayrshire committee said that 97 percent of children or their parents had given agreement for the new system. “Pupils often forget their PINs and unfortunately some have also been the victim of PIN cheating, so they are supportive of the planned developments and appreciate the benefits to them,” the council said.
But some parents said they were unsure whether their children had been given enough information to make their decision, and suggested that peer pressure had also played a role.
1. What can we infer from Swanston’s word?A.He speaks highly of the system. |
B.The software is intended to promote the sales. |
C.The technology has previously caused debate. |
D.The system will be helpful when the students forget their PINs. |
A.It speeds up the queues. |
B.It is safer than the previous payments. |
C.It operates without being approved of. |
D.It benefits the pupils who often forget their PINs. |
A.Supportive | B.Disapproved |
C.Objective | D.Critical |
A.Facial recognition has been the best way adopted so far. |
B.Parents disagree with the application of facial recognition system. |
C.The facial recognition system can benefit the pupils who are forgetful. |
D.Schools speed up canteen queues with facial recognition technology. |
A New Addition to the Family
For the initial ten years of his life, Victor was the prince of the household. As he was an only child, his parents petted him and showered all their love and attention on him. Whatever toys his parents bought, they were always meant for him. Whatever food was in the refrigerator, there was no one to compete with him to polish it off first. Victor could leave his toys or books around the house with complete ease of mind, knowing that there was no one who would get their hands on his belongings and cause any damage.
However, all that was to change overnight when Victor’s parents brought back his new baby sister, Lina, from the hospital. With her rosy cheeks, wide open eyes and angelic smile, Lina caught the hearts of her parents, grandparents and relatives. Everyone focused their attention on the cute bunch of joy. Whenever she cried, her mother or father would rush to her bed. She simply cried because she wanted to be carried. There was little time left for Victor.
Now that Victor’s mother had his baby sister to take care of, she expected Victor himself to do most of the chores he can do. Victor was asked to clean his own room, iron his own school uniform and clean his own shoes. Before Lina’s arrival, he had never lifted a finger to help out with these tasks. The whole family also went out less because it was unhealthy to expose Lina to the bacteria(细菌) being in the outside world too often.
Victor felt neglected by his parents. He felt that they loved Lina more than him. As a result, he tried to attract his parents’ attention by becoming resistant. One evening, Victor’s parents were called up by his teacher because Victor had got into a fight at school. His teacher had noticed Victor’s behaviour and work attitude changing downwards in the past two months. Before that, he had been a model student.
注意:1.续写词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡相应位置作答。
Upon hearing the teacher’s feedback, Victor’s parents got lost in thought.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Victor realized that his parents still cared for him.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Recently, Chinese people from all walks of life
Our society is becoming increasingly competitive when population outgrows resources. Accordingly,
Netizens now use involution to describe their current conditions, especially in the study of children. Parents feel stressed
Too much pressure is bound to do harm to children physically and mentally. Parents should cool down firstly and relieve their own anxiety, taking
5 . New England holds some special museums. They are devoted largely or entirely to the work of just one person. And they are the artists’ birthplaces or onetime homes. Here are four examples of such museums.
Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum
The name Cyrus E. Dallin (1861-1944) might not be familiar, but several of the artist’s sculptures (雕塑) are, especially those related to Native Americans. A good example is his “Appeal to the Great Spirit” standing in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. Born in Utah, he lived in Arlington for the final four decades of his life. The museum is in the Jefferson Cutter House, an 1830 Greek styled building.
Norman Rockwell Museum
Rockwell (1894-1978) was America’s well-known artist. The museum, founded in 1969, moved into its present location, Robert A.M. Stern-designed building in 1993. Its 998 paintings and drawings are the largest single collection of Rockwell's artworks.
Kids 16 and under: free; adults: $20; the old: at a 10% discount (折扣)
Edward Gorey House
Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was an artist, but he was also an author and clothes designer. Gorey bought this 18th-century house in 1979 and lived there for the rest of his life. Edward Gorey House is also known as the Elephant House. Gorey had respect for animals. The activities of the house, from art education to exhibits, show Gorey's support of animal well-being.
Gibert Stuart Birthplace and Museum
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) is responsible for what may well be the most familiar work of any American artist, His drawing of George is the basis of the first president’s portrait (画像) on the dollar. Stuart painted more than a thousand portraits throughout his life.
1. What do we know about Cyrus E. Dallin?A.He built the Jefferson Cutter House. |
B.He lived in Arlington for half a century. |
C.He was best known for his Greek styled sculptures. |
D.He created famous works related to Native Americans. |
A.$36. | B.$40. | C.$60. | D.$72. |
A.Edward Gorey House. | B.Norman Rockwell Museum. |
C.Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum. | D.Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum. |
6 . When Mina was just nine months old, she was deserted by her parents. But she was
From an early age, Mina began to play with animals and
One day while
“I love the Senior Dog Rescue,” she said. “The dogs may be old, but they’re so friendly and not
Up to now, she has already
She said “I took care of my grandpa very
A.adopted | B.raised | C.encountered | D.educated |
A.finally | B.gradually | C.eventually | D.frequently |
A.living | B.drawing | C.visiting | D.finding |
A.sent | B.presented | C.told | D.taught |
A.feeding | B.walking | C.dressing | D.training |
A.old | B.sick | C.ugly | D.friendly |
A.Scared | B.Bored | C.Moved | D.Changed |
A.mistake | B.difference | C.decision | D.schedule |
A.violent | B.wise | C.joyful | D.neat |
A.team | B.business | C.advertisement | D.factory |
A.foods | B.fortune | C.attitudes | D.earnings |
A.put up | B.given away | C.given out | D.picked up |
A.sad | B.terrible | C.happy | D.final |
A.cave | B.home | C.nest | D.host |
A.urgently | B.extraordinarily | C.carefully | D.gratefully |
7 . Travel Peru
Amazon Rainforest TourA short flight from Cusco takes you from the Andes into the Amazon rainforest. From there, you'll spend one day travelling by boat to your accommodation in the middle of the forest. You can then spend three days exploring the rainforest with a local guide and enjoying the plants and animals unique to the rainforest.
Machu Picchu TourThis four-day walking tour will take you on amazing paths through the Andes Mountains on the way to the city of Machu Picchu. After reaching your destination, you will have a day to explore and be amazed by this ancient city. Especially amazing is the Incas' dry stone method of building Inca builders cut stones to exact sizes so that nothing was needed to hold walls together other than the perfect fit of the stones.
Cusco TourSpend four days enjoying the unique Spanish and local Indian culture high in the Andes at Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th century. Stay in a local hotel, visit the museums, admire the architecture, enjoy the excellent local food, and go shopping at the local markets.
Lake Titicaca TourEnjoy the beautiful countryside as you spend a day driving along the new highway connecting Cusco to Lake Titicaca. There, a boat will take you to stay with a local Uros family on an island for three days. Both the island and the Uros homes are made of water plants from the lake.
1. What is scheduled on Machu Picchu Tour?A.Cutting dry stones. | B.Fixing stone walls. |
C.Exploring the ancient city. | D.Enjoying unique animals. |
A.Water plants. | B.Lake Titicaca. |
C.The local island. | D.The beautiful sight. |
A.They are in the rainforest. | B.They are on foot. |
C.They have a local guide. | D.They last four days each. |
8 . As a well-known Chinese TV hostess, Dong Qing is now hosting two cultural shows, Chinese Poetry Conference and Readers. The two shows are encouraging people to love traditional culture and find the beauty of life.
Dong was born in a highly educated family in 1973. She had a great love for traditional literature from an early age. In 2015 when she was about to study in the U.S, Dong received an invitation from the director of Chinese Poetry Conference asking her to be the hostess. Because of her passion for traditional literature, Dong accepted the job.
"The contest interests me very much. Hosting it is a process of learning about poetry and performing, "said Dong. To her great joy, the show has become more and more popular.
Under the slogan ”Reading touches people's hearts”, the new TV show Readers has become a success. It invites famous guests from all walks of life to read something. Dong works as both hostess and producer.
Readers became a turning point in Dong' s 21 years of hosting She said it brought her "quite a huge challenge”.
"There is no shortcut in this world. If you want to be a good host, you need to make thorough preparations, said the beautiful hostess. "The charm of life lies in its unknown, so we just have to try and keep going.
1. What show is Dong Qing hosting now?A.Readers. |
B.Chinese Poetry Conference. |
C.Chinese poetry Conference and Readers. |
D.The Voice of China. |
A.In France | B.In England |
C.In Japan | D.In America |
A.An actress | B.A singer |
C.A hostess | D.A hostess and producer |
A.love | B.joy |
C.surprise | D.pride |
A.Find the Beauty of Life | B.How to Be a Successful TV Hostess |
C.Reading Touches People’s Hearts | D.Dong Qing—a Talented Lady |
9 . Which is better for Earth: an electric or gas-powered vehicle? The answer to this question might seem blindingly obvious. Of course electric cars must be better for the environment, because they don’t give off greenhouse gases as people drive. However, electric vehicles (EVs) aren’t perfect, and they come with their own set of polluting problems. Their batteries require a large amount of energy to produce.
Battery production is just one part of an electric car’s life span. A study looked at the entire life cycle of an EV’s emissions(排放),from mining the metals for the batteries to producing the electricity needed to power them, and then compared this with the average emissions of a gas-powered vehicle. The team found that when EVs are charged with coal-powered electricity, they’re actually worse for the environment than gas-powered cars.
“Only when connected to the clean energy do EVs have an advantage over the gas-powered cars on a greenhouse gas basis,” said Colin Sheppard, an expert in energy and transportation systems. That’s why more and more countries are decreasing the power supply from coal. In China, the national grid is improving with more efforts in renewable energy. For example, it has twice as much wind energy capacity as the U.S. and it builds more solar panels per year than any other countries.
Sheppard has modelled a future in which all cars are electric. “We want to understand what it might be like if all passenger vehicles were electrified.” The model suggests that if all vehicles in the U.S. were electric, greenhouse-gas emissions would be 46% less every year. This reduction could be increased even further if those vehicles were using a technique known as “smart charging” in which cars are recharged at chosen times (often at night) to reduce the cost of electricity.
In short, it’s far easier to argue for buying an EV than a gas-powered vehicle. But what about the cost? Aren’t electric vehicles too expensive for most people?
1. In which case do EVs get more heavy-polluted than gas-powered cars?A.Being powered only by batteries. |
B.Using coal-powered electricity. |
C.Starting to give off greenhouse gases. |
D.Replacing gas-powered vehicles entirely. |
A.With a discussion. | B.With an examination. |
C.With a comparison. | D.With a questionnaire. |
A.China is making advances in renewable energy. |
B.Compared with gas-powered cars, EVs are at an advantage. |
C.There is still room for the development of EVs. |
D.It’s not a challenge to choose between EVs and gas-powered cars. |
A.Inventing green gas-powered vehicles. |
B.Developing environment-friendly grids. |
C.Getting rid of fossil energy like coal and oil. |
D.Making electric vehicles more affordable. |
10 . As everyone grows, they realize there will always be someone who is better.I learned this
Her name is Jenny.She was the girl who always raised her hand and had useful comments about everything.When teachers needed challenging problems answered, they
I stopped trying to put on a show because no one was
A.lesson | B.course | C.plan | D.excuse |
A.proved | B.remembered | C.changed | D.checked |
A.called on | B.stand for | C.beat off | D.fight against |
A.hate | B.hurt | C.matter | D.occur |
A.protected | B.noticed | C.missed | D.served |
A.somewhere | B.everywhere | C.nowhere | D.anywhere |
A.first | B.again | C.alone | D.together |
A.standard | B.challenge | C.fact | D.chance |
A.even if | B.as if | C.once | D.since |
A.ask | B.convince | C.remind | D.accuse |
A.Frightened | B.Confused | C.Bored | D.Heartbroken |
A.laughing | B.chatting | C.watching | D.hosting |
A.decision | B.attempt | C.speech | D.appointment |
A.break up | B.give up | C.take off | D.show off |
A.loved | B.deserved | C.needed | D.escaped |