The International Space Station allows astronauts to live in space for extended amounts of time, enabling them to explore the outside universe and conduct many experiments. However, nothing like that exists for our oceans, and thanks to the high water pressure, ocean researchers are able to explore what lies undersea for very short periods of time.
They are therefore never able to fully explore the deep inside areas of our oceans. However, if French architect Jacques Rougerie has his way, that will change soon.
Jacqucs has designed a ship that will allow researchers to spend a long period of time observing the sea life and conducting experiments. The huge 167ft ship, named 'Sea Orbiter', consists of two areas—one above the water where the scientists and crew will live, and a lower pressurized deck (甲板), where scientists will be able to spend as much time as they wish. Since it is powered by sea currents and wind, he expects it to drift (漂流) along the oceans slowly, taking about two years to circumvent the globe.
Jacques will make their life as comfortable as possible in the ship. Besides being equipped with the latest sailing tools and communication equipment, the ship will also have a gym, a television and a DVD player. And these guys will not be eating freeze-dried food like astronauts. Instead, Jacques, an accomplished chef, plans on cooking them delicious meals every day.
The biggest problem to this giant ship is the cost, which is expected to be over $500 million—per ship! However, Jacques, who strongly believes that the secrets of our oceans may be the key to solving global warming and a vital supply for food and medicine in the future, is confident he will be able to convince governments all over the world to help out, and expects to start construction on not one, but four or five of these amazing ships soon!Why can’t ocean researchers explore the deep oceans for a long time?
| A．Because they can’t stand the high water pressure. |
| B．Because it’s too cold in deep ocean. |
| C．Because time for experiments is too limited. |
| D．Because it’s dangerous to observe the sea life. |
The underlined word "circumvent" probably means .
| A．fly away | B．get around | C．travel through | D．move into |
From the fourth paragraph we can learn that .
| A．Jacques intends to design the ship mainly for sightseeing and traveling |
| B．living a comfortable life helps to do the ocean research quickly |
| C．it’s much more expensive to eat freeze-dried food |
| D．researchers on Jacque’s ship will live more comfortably than astronauts |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Sea Orbiter—the ship of the future |
| B．A new way to explore the deep oceans |
| C．A great architect—Jacques Rougerie |
| D．Travel around the globe in Sea Orbiter |
The 115-year-old prestigious (有名望的)Oxford Dictionary will now include popular new Chinese terms like“shanzhai” “youtiao” and “fangnu”, as part of the modern Chinese language．
As China plays a more and more important role in the world economy, the Chinese language is forever developing, attracting more attention from people who want to understand this ancient yet lively language．
For instance, the word “shanzhai” is used to describe the countless knockoffs（名牌仿制品）of iPhones or designer bags imprinted with Louis Vuitton logos．
Another new term in the new edition is the word “fangnu”, or a “mortgage slave” —a term used to describe the phenomenon in large cities where well-educated youth complain of a miserable existence due to the heavy burden of a home mortgage．
All these new or often fashionable terms can be found in the new Oxford English –Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary that was unveiled(公布于众的)in the recently concluded Beijing International Book Fair last week．
The dictionary now is available for retail sales since the beginning of this month．This dictionary is the largest single volume English-Chinese, Chinese-English dictionary and contains 670,000 words and phrases after five years of preparation．Sixty editors from the Oxford University Press and its partner in China—the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press—worked together on the project．According to Julie Kleeman, the dictionary’s chief editor, most of the firm’s editors were Chinese, while about one fourth were native-English speakers．
“We don’t want to make it florid（绚丽的）, we want it to be modern and conversational．．．many of the words in the present dictionary are no longer in use,” said Kleeman．“The need for studying Chinese by foreigners today is totally different from decades ago．．．Precise, native and practical—that is our main advantage,” she said．
Kleeman said newer publications updates will be available only for the online version as language often changes too quickly for book versions to keep pace．The online version will also offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide．The online version, allowing access via different platforms from the PC to the iPad, will be ready “as soon as possible”, Kleeman said． According to the above passage, we learn that ________．
| A．knockoffs can be found in China but not very often. |
| B．the Oxford University Press made the dictionary without outside aid. |
| C．most Chinese editors are also native speakers of English. |
| D．well-educated youth in China’s big cities have difficulty buying houses. |
The possible reason why newer publications updates are not available for book versions is that ________．
| A．book versions can’t keep up with the changes of language. |
| B．the computer network is available everywhere. |
| C．book versions can’t offer a Chinese phonetic pronunciation guide. |
| D．computer technology like the PC and the iPad keeps pace with language. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．New Chinese terms like “shanzhai” and “fangnu” have got into Oxford Dictionary． |
| B．The latest Oxford English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary is on the market． |
| C．Oxford Dictionary has become more fashionable due to the Chinese language． |
| D．Beijing International Book Fair was where the new Oxford Dictionary was published |
Hundreds of students from around the world gathered in New York City last week for the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals. They came to present their ideas for using technology to solve world problems.
Microsoft education director Suzi Levine says the nine-year-old program began mainly as a competition to create technology.
SUZI LEVINE: "When we realized that students really actually want to have a purpose for what they're creating, we introduced the idea of inspiring them with the UN Millennium Development Goals and suggesting that they use those for their muse(灵感). "This past year we also rolled out something called the Imagine Cup Solve This library（创新杯求解计划知识库）, where IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits can submit some of the technical challenges that they would like students to consider for their solutions."
Microsoft says over 350，000 high school and college students registered for this year's competition. Judges chose more than four hundred of them to attend the finals.
SUZI LEVINE: "One from Thailand was called NewKrean, where they created a Windows Phone 7 application that allows you to broadcast your location to your social network of friends so that you can be more easily rescued." They named their application Terra.
Suzi Levine says there were also ideas from Egypt inspired by the revolution that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February.
SUZI LEVINE: "One was to use Bluetooth as sort of a Twitter equivalent so that if the government shuts down the Internet, you actually can still have a massive social distribution."
Students competed in nine categories. For example, in software design the top prize of twenty-five thousand dollars went to Team Hermes from Ireland. The students developed a device for cars to collect information on road conditions, driving behavior and traffic incidents.
A team from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University won first place in the embedded（内嵌的） development category. They developed a network of wireless devices to help plot the safest escape routes during a fire.
Next year's awards ceremony will take place in Australia. Registration for Imagine Cup twenty-twelve opened Friday. Also, Microsoft announced plans for a three million dollar program to help Imagine Cup winners further develop their projects.Which of the following is true ?
| A．The program is sponsored by Microsoft. |
| B．Next year, the awards ceremony will be held in New York City. |
| C．Any high school or college student can attend the finals. |
| D．The initial purpose of the program is to solve world problems using technology. |
What can we infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The UN offers great help to the program. |
| B．Microsoft sets up a library for the students who want to achieve their goals. |
| C．IGOs, NGOs and nonprofits also provide help for the students. |
| D．Microsoft takes effective measures to inspire the students. |
What does the underlined word “overthrew ” in Paragraph 6 mean ?
| A． Abandoned | B．Supported | C．Drove away | D．Overturned |
What can we know from Paragraph 7?
| A．They want to replace Bluetooth with Twitter. |
| B．They want to combine Bluetooth with Twitter. |
| C．They want to replace Twitter with Bluetooth. |
| D．Twitter can still be used without the Internet. |
People in the UK often talk about their homes: their mortgages (按揭), the interest rates, and rising prices. Here’s a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across.
It’s a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford.
The next step is to go to an estate agent and see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself.
If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor (卖家) can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don’t pay any money at this point, the offer isn’t legally binding (具有约束力), and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like.
Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems.
If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a lawyer to do the legal paperwork.. If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first-time buyers (those people who don’t already own a home), as they are not in a chain (waiting for other people to buy the house before they can buy their next house).
Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations! Which of the following shows the right order of what happens before the people in the UK move into a new house?
a. ask for a company which represents others of properties
b. decide how much to borrow from the bank
c. examine the structure of the house
d. hire a lawyer and make a contract
e. offer the seller the right money
f. visit the house and discuss a price with the seller
| A．b, a, f, d, c, e | B．b, a, f, c, d, e |
| C．b, a, f, e, d, c | D．b, f, d, e, c, a |
According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT ___________.
| A．People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank. |
| B．People care for mortgages, interest rates and the prices &house. |
| C．The sellers are more interested in the first-time buyers. |
| D．After getting the keys, the owners sometimes have a party. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Owners. | B．Surveyors. |
| C．Lawyers. | D．Collectors. |
The passage is maybe one that _______________.
| A．give some advice on the house |
| B．introduces a book on travelers |
| C．give some tips to buyers |
| D．introduces a guide to visitors |
In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.
As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. I know what it is like to work hard on a story only to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories. What if she doesn’t win the contest again? That’s the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.
A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Don’t you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”
I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them. Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall, I offered suggestions for characters, conflicts and endings for her tales. The story about a fearful angel starting first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.
Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks. Because I know very little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade, I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughter’s experience.
While stepping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment, grow and find their own voices.What did the author say about her own writing experience?
| A．She was constantly under pressure of writing more. |
| B．Most of her stories had been rejected by publishers. |
| C．Her way to success was full of pains and frustrations. |
| D．She did not quite live up to her reputation as a writer. |
Why did Rebecca want to enter this year’s writing contest?
| A．She wanted to share her stories with readers. |
| B．She had won a prize in the previous contest. |
| C．She was sure of winning with her mother’s help. |
| D．She believed she possessed real talent for writing. |
The author took great pains to refine her daughter’s stories because ________.
| A．she wanted to help Rebecca realize her dream of becoming a writer |
| B．she believed she had the knowledge and experience to offer guidance |
| C．she did not want to disappoint Rebecca who needed her help so much |
| D．she was afraid Rebecca’s imagination might run wild while writing |
What’s the author’s advice for parents?
| A．Children should be given every chance to voice their opinions. |
| B．Children should be allowed freedom to grow through experience. |
| C．Parents should keep an eye on the activities their kids engage in. |
| D．A writing career, though attractive, is not for every child to pursue. |
Never argue with one's own understanding.
The whisper of intelligence is always there, whatever you do.
If you create a time lag (隔绝层) between the whisper of intelligence and understanding in you and your action, then you are preventing the brain from growing into a new size. When you argue with intelligence, when you postpone acting according to understanding then there is confusion, the brain gets confused.
The voice of understanding, the voice of intelligence has insecurity about it. How do you know that it is the right thing?
So we tend to ignore it. Instead we accept authority. We obey.
But the brain cannot be orderly, competent, accurate and precise if you do not listen to it, if you have no respect. We are so busy with the outside world and its force that the world that is inside us does not command that respect and reverence (敬重), that care and concern from us.
So one has to be a disciple (信徒) of one's own understanding, and look upon that understanding as the master.
Sometimes one may commit a mistake, it might be the whim (念头) of the ego and we might mistake the whim, the wish of the ego for the voice of silence and intelligence, but that we have to discover. Unless you commit mistakes, how do you learn to discriminate between the false and the true? In learning there is bound to be a little insecurity, a possibility of committing mistakes. Why should one be terribly afraid of committing mistakes?
So instead of accepting the authority of habits and conditionings, while one is moving one watches, and when there is a suggestion, do not neglect, ignore, or insult the whisper from within and from one's own intelligence. What will happen if you refuse to follow your own understanding according to the above passage?
| A．Your brain will become smaller. |
| B．You will never get help from authority. |
| C．You will hardly know the world. |
| D．Your own intelligence will stop growing. |
What is the function of committing mistakes from the view of the author?
| A．Mistakes can make one practical. |
| B．Mistakes can make one know the facts. |
| C．Mistakes can allow one more time to develop. |
| D．Mistakes can improve one’s judgment. |
The whole passage is developed by ______.
| A．facts and ideas | B．reasoning and explaining |
| C．scientific experiments | D．arguing and debating |
The best title of the passage might be ______.
| A．Never argue with your own understanding |
| B．Never believe any authority while arguing |
| C．Never neglect whispers from around you |
| D．Never stop training yourself. |
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