| A．At an airport. | B．At a bus stop. | C．At a train station |
Both research and
Thanks to global warming, Arctic ice is melting,
The trade routes are of great importance. In march, the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important sea trade routes,
In early history, The Silk Road was the most important trade route,
Though the Silk Road was mainly a trading route, it was
4 . A city in Netherlands is planning to construct a pretty bike path made of recycled wood.
The first of its kind in the world, the path near the city of Emmen will be surfaced not with the usual asphalt（沥青） but with wood chips packed together with organic resin(有机树脂).
The idea behind the path is to cut the use of conventional, less eco-friendly materials such as concrete, which is very difficult to recycle.And the creation of the wood chips will require no direct cutting down of trees; the company leading the experiment, Grontmij, plans to use waste products from sawmills(锯木厂).
The idea of creating a permanent road from a material that is celebrated for its biodegradability(生物降解性)might seem ridiculous. But the engineers working on the path insist that the wood and resin surfacing will stay in good condition for a long time, with a working life at least as long as concrete or asphalt. Rudi van Hedel, project manager of bio-based economy at Grontmij, explained that the light weight of the material also makes it far easier to move.
However, van Hedal said, “At present, the material costs of the path are higher than those of traditional paths made of asphalt or concrete, but the construction costs are comparable or perhaps slightly cheaper. We expect that as production ability increases, the costs will go down. In the future, we hope to use bio-fibres(生物纤维)that are cheaper than the wood fibres we’re currently experimenting with, and we expect that biodegradable materials will be able to compete with asphalt and concrete.”
1. What can we learn about the path?| A．It uses some asphalt. | B．It aims to protect trees. |
| C．It is a pioneering project. | D．It is being built by a sawmill. |
| A．Its material is heavy in weight. | B．It can stay in service for long. |
| C．Its length may break a record. | D．It is environmentally friendly. |
| A．Their production process is complex. | B．They are not as hard as asphalt. |
| C．They are not always available. | D．Their costs are relatively high. |
| A．A diary. | B．A novel. | C．A magazine. | D．A guidebook. |
5 . Looking around the streets of London, you’ll definitely see many methods people use to move around.
This traditional children’s vehicle has become more complicated over the years. And now, with the addition of a small electric motor, it’s become a cheap and easy mode of transport. Scooting around town can be fun and doesn’t involve much effort.
Many e•scooter riders in the U.K. broke the law. Some had been seen on pavements, and others on the road jumped red traffic lights, adding to the frustration of motorists stuck in traffic jams. In the U.K., the law states that riding one on the public highway or pavement is forbidden. Despite this, it seems the increasing popularity of e•scooters means they can be seen everywhere.
The U.K. government is looking at how safely they can be used on the road and is “reviewing” the law. But its transport minister, Michael Ellis, has told the BBC that “Micromobility products are appearing in countries across the globe and are an exciting innovation, for which we know there is demand.
| A．The roads are already very crowded. |
| B．What’s the best means of transport? |
| C．People seldom see e•scooter accidents in the U.K. |
| D．However, safety must always be our top priority. |
| E．And now users are asking that regulations be changed. |
| F．There’s no doubt that there are dangers of riding a two•wheeled scooter. |
| G．It’s no wonder that it’s becoming increasingly popular in the world. |
6 . Kids Flying Alone Guide
Helpful tips for children traveling alone | |||
Airline | Age | Fee per child (each way). | Notes |
Air Tran Airways | 6 to 8 years old — non-stop or direct flights only | $ 48 for a non-stop flight | Unaccompanied children. |
American | 6 to 8 years old — non-stop or direct flights only | $ 110 | Flights for unaccompanied children cannot be booked online. |
British Airways | 7 to 15 years old — can travel alone on connecting flights | $ 60 for flights within UK | Flights for unaccompanied children cannot be booked online. |
Frontier Airlines | 6 to 15 years old — non-stop or direct flights or connecting flights | $ 60 for non-stop or direct flights $120 for connecting flights | Flights for unaccompanied children cannot be booked online. |
Before the flight:
Try to book a morning flight. If it is delayed or canceled, you have the rest of the day to make alternate planes. Make sure your child doesn’t wear any clothing that has his or her name on it, which would make it easier for a stranger to convince a child he can be trusted.
At the airport:
Make sure the flight attendants know that your child is traveling alone. Make sure that he or she will be seated in an area of the aircraft that’s convenient for attendants to keep an eye on — the very front of very back of the aircraft is ideal.
Register your child’s travel plans with the U. S. State Department, which can provide assistance in an emergency. This is a free service.
What to pack:
Cell phone: If your child doesn’t have a cell phone, buy him or her a pay-as-you-go phone at a cell phone retailer (零售店) so he or she has an easy form of communication for emergencies.
Gift cards: Invest in a few pre-paid gift cards worth $ 25 or $ 50, This will reduce the worry of traveling with a large amount of cash.
Family/ friends contact information: Give your child a complete list of names, numbers and addresses of the people who are picking your child up at the airport.
1. How much should you pay if your child aged eleven travels alone on a connecting flight by Frontier Airlines?| A．$ 50. | B．$ 75. |
| C．$ 120. | D．$ 160. |
| A．Juice or water can’t be brought onto the aircraft. |
| B．Unaccompanied children can’t fly on the last flight of the day. |
| C．Pay-as-you-go phones are provided for free at the airport for children without cell phones. |
| D．Parents can register children’s travel plans with the U. S. State Department for free. |
| A．Booking them morning flights. |
| B．Giving them a large amount of cash. |
| C．Making them sit in the middle of the aircraft. |
| D．Dressing them in clothing with their names on it. |
7 . When a driver slams on the brakes to avoid hitting a pedestrian crossing the road illegally, she is making a moral decision that shifts risk from the pedestrian to the people in the car. Self-driving cars might soon have to make such ethical (道德的)judgments on their own — but settling on a universal moral code for the vehicles could be a tough task, suggests a survey.
The largest ever survey of machine ethics, called the Moral Machine, laid out 13 possible situations in which someone’s death was unavoidable. Respondents were asked to choose who to spare in situations that involved a mix of variables: young or old, rich or poor, more people or fewer. Within 18 months, the online quiz had recorded 40 million decisions made by people from 233 countries and territories.
When the researchers analysed these answers, they found that the nations could be divided into three groups. One contains North America and several European nations where Christianity has been the dominant (占支配地位的)religion; another includes countries such as Japan, Indonesia and Pakistan, with strong Confucian or Islamic traditions. A third group consists of countries in Central and South America, such as Colombia and Brazil. The first group showed a stronger preference for sacrificing older lives to save younger ones than did the second group, for example.
The researchers also identified relationships between social and economic factors in a country. They found that people from relatively wealthy countries with strong institutions, such as Finland and Japan, more often chose to hit people who stepped into traffic illegally than did respondents in nations with weaker institutions, such as Nigeria or Pakistan.
People rarely face such moral dilemmas, and some cities question whether the possible situations posed in the online quiz are relevant to the ethical and practical questions surrounding driverless cars. But the researchers argue that the findings reveal cultural differences that governments and makers of self-driving cars must take into account if they want the vehicles to gain public acceptance.
At least Barbara Wege, who heads a group working on autonomous-vehicle ethics at Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany, says such studies are valuable. Wege argues that self-driving cars would cause fewer accidents, proportionally, than human drivers do each year—but that people might focus more on events involving robots.
Surveys such as the Moral Machine can help to begin public discussions about these unavoidable accidents that might develop trust. “We need to come up with a social consensus,” she says, “about which risks we are willing to take.”
1. Why is it difficult to set universal moral rules for programming self-driving cars?| A．Social values always change with the times. |
| B．Moral choices vary between different cultures. |
| C．Drivers have a preference for sacrificing the weak. |
| D．Car makers are faced with decisions of life or death. |
| A．using a massive online quiz worldwide |
| B．comparing different cultures and customs |
| C．dividing the respondents into three groups |
| D．performing a series of controlled experiments |
| A．Nigeria | B．Colombia |
| C．Finland | D．Indonesia |
| A．Self-driving cars will greatly improve the traffic environment |
| B．Accidents caused by self-driving cars might receive more attention |
| C．Problems involving self-driving cars might shake the public trust in society |
| D．Car makers needn’t take the risk of solving self-driving car ethical dilemmas |
8 . I was coming back home late at night in a “Sharing” minivan. In Hyderabad, India, it is a cheap and quick means of transport. The van drivers ply (揽客) as many as 13 people at times in a vehicle which is designed for the transport of 8 people. Our van was
On the journey, one girl signaled the driver to
Even in pain, the girl held up a note and asked us to
I neither knew
We made her sit in a nearby lawn and her friend rushed to get a(n)
I do not know if I did enough. But I feel I gave some
| A．crowded | B．old | C．damaged | D．slow |
| A．wait | B．leave | C．come | D．stop |
| A．turned | B．fell | C．jumped | D．sat |
| A．early | B．cold | C．dark | D．quiet |
| A．then | B．now | C．here | D．there |
| A．up | B．down | C．in | D．back |
| A．thank | B．tell | C．pay | D．warn |
| A．calm | B．happy | C．ready | D．fine |
| A．him | B．her | C．them | D．it |
| A．but | B．so | C．as | D．though |
| A．danger | B．surprise | C．horror | D．pain |
| A．policeman | B．doctor | C．taxi | D．ambulance |
| A．shop | B．clinic | C．restaurant | D．school |
| A．manage | B．struggle | C．recover | D．settle |
| A．belief | B．advice | C．joy | D．comfort |
