Gauri Nanda sees a wearable computer as a handbag — one that’s built out of four-inch squares and triangles of fiber, with tiny computer chips embedded (嵌入) in it. It looks, feels and weighs like your typical leather purse.
That’s where similarities end: This bag can wirelessly keep track of your belongings and remind you, just as you’re about to leave the house, to take your wallet. It can review the weather report and suggest that you grab an umbrella. This purse can even upload your favorite songs onto your scarf.
Sure, a computing purse and scarf set may seem like the stuff of science fiction. But these devices, part of next generation of wearable computers, could become commonplace within a few years. DuPont created new super strong fibers that can conduct electricity and can be woven into ordinary-looking clothes. And the chipmaker developed chip packaging allowing wearable computers to be washed, even in the heavy-duty cycle.
As a result, these new wearable devices are different from the heavy and downright silly versions of the recent past, which often required users to be wrapped in wires and type on their stomachs. Unlike their predecessors, these new wearable computers also make economic sense. When her bag becomes commercially available in two to three years, Nanda expects it will cost around $150, which is the price of an average leather purse.
Here’s how the bag works: You place a special radio-signal-transmitting chip on to your wallet. A similar radio in your purse picks up the signal and notifies you that you’ve forgotten to take your wallet. In turn, sensors on your purse’s handles will notify the computer that you’ve picked up the purse and are ready to go.
Already, these new kinds of wearable devices are being adopted for use in markets like auto repair, emergency services, medical monitoring — and even, increasingly, for consumers at large. Indeed, more people will want to cross that bridge in the coming years — making for a booming market for wearable computers that don’t like something out of science fiction.Which of the following describes a wearable computer?
| A．It can be washed in a washing machine. |
| B．It is much heavier than a leather purse. |
| C．It can download songs from the Internet. |
| D．It is made of clothes conducting electricity. |
According to the passage, these new wearable computers ________________________.
| A．require users to operate on the stomach |
| B．pick up the signals through wires and chip |
| C．are being applied in some different areas now |
| D．are smarter but more expensive than the old ones |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．These new wearable computers have become fashionable. |
| B．People would like to learn more about these new computers. |
| C．These new wearable computers promise to sell well in the future. |
| D．The idea of these purse-like computers comes from science fiction. |
The purpose of the passage is ________________________________________.
| A．to introduce a new kind of computer | B．to explain the function of computers |
| C．to compare different types of computers | D．to show how high technology affects our life |
A few days ago，I went to school with lots of books，hoping to get a locker (锁柜)．Suddenly，it started raining heavily. I hurried to pay for my locker，but I was disappointed when they informed me they only accepted cash. I was $7.00 short，which meant I had to carry the books back home. It would be an exhausting (令人筋疲力尽的) twohour journey back home with all those books.
An elderly gentleman nearby noticed my problem. He asked how much cash I needed. When I told him I was $7 short，he quickly took out the money from his wallet. “You don’t have to pay me back，”he said. I was speechless；I didn’t know whether to take the money or come back with the books the next day. A young student who was working there noticed my hesitation. “He’s really nice，” said the student. “I was starving this morning and he bought breakfast for me. He always helps people in different ways.”
The next day，I went to him and thanked him for trusting me and lending me the money. He said he forgot about it and didn’t expect I would give it back. “I’m very happy，”he said，“not because I’m getting my money back，but because this is the right way to go—whatever you get from this world，give it back as much as you possibly can. Spread kindness around the world with the smallest things you can do.”
Later，I found out he wasn’t involved with any charity organizations. He has been performing these types of acts for years. Earlier，someone had done something incredibly kind for him and he has been spreading the kindness ever since. He taught me a very important lesson in life—we come to this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing. Whatever we own，it will become somebody else’s and whatever we leave，it will become somebody else’s.When the old gentleman offered the money，the writer was________.
| A．touched | B．hesitant | C．amazed | D．embarrassed |
From Paragraph 3 we learn that________.
| A．the gentleman worked in the school |
| B．the gentleman was kind but forgetful |
| C．the gentleman refused to take back the money |
| D．the gentleman thought it right to give back to society |
Why had the gentleman been doing acts of kindness?
| A．He wanted to join the charity organizations. |
| B．He managed a lot of other people’s money. |
| C．He had received help from others before. |
| D．He thought money was of little importance. |
Can noncombustion (非燃烧) technology create a no-pollution way to drive？Imagine pulling into a service station to fuel up your car. But not at the gas pump or electric battery charger —at the air pump! That’s not hot air, either! The next generation of cars may run on thin air. Wouldn’t that be an incredible way to cut both pollution and dependence on foreign oil?
If you’ve ever inflated a balloon and then let it go, you’ve got the basics to test-drive the amazing MiniCAT, currently being developed by Noteur Development International (MDI), headquartered in Luxembourg. Invented by Formula One racing car designer Guy Negre, this experimental vehicle is unlike any car you’ve ever seen. While your family’s traditional car or SUV draws its horsepower using combustion, the only fuel that MiniCAT needs (CAT stands for Compressed Air Technology) is the air we breathe.
Start with about 25,000 gallons of air. Now, press it all into a space smaller than your school locker—because that’s the size of two super-strong, high-pressure air tanks, made from fiber and fixed beneath the air car.
Confining that much air inside those small tanks generates an internal pressure of over 4,000 pounds per square inch. That’s over 300 times normal air pressure.
When this cold, high-pressure air enters MiniCAT’s unique engine, it interacts(交互作用) with warmer air to create pressure waves that pump the engine’s engineered pistons (活塞) to move the car. MiniCAT’s projected top speed is 60 miles per hour, with a range of 120 miles on a full air supply.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Ways to cut down air pollution. |
| B．Cars that run on thin air. |
| C．Formula One racing car designer. |
| D．Dependence on foreign oil. |
What is MiniCAT according to the passage?
| A．The name of a car. |
| B．The name of a balloon. |
| C．The name of a car company. |
| D．The name of a car designer. |
The underlined world “Confining” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ___________.
| A．Keeping | B．Preventing | C．Pushing | D．Running |
What does the last paragraph tell us?
| A．How much pressure the air creates. |
| B．How the car works. |
| C．What the normal air pressure is. |
| D．How the air gets into the engine. |
Schooling Matters
March 25, 2014 Chengdu Michelle Obama
You see, the truth is that I grew up like many of you. My mom, my dad, my brother and I, we lived in a tiny apartment in Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in America. My father worked at the local water plant…
While we certainly weren’t rich, my parents had big dreams for me and my brother. They had only a high school education themselves, but they were determined to send us both to universities.
So they poured all of their love and all of their hope into us, and they worked hard. They saved every penny. And I know that wasn’t easy for them, especially for my father. You see, my father had serious illness called multiple sclerosis(多发性硬化症). And as he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, and it took him longer to get dressed in the morning.
But no matter how tired he felt, no matter how much pain he was in, my father hardly ever missed a day of work, because he was determined to give me and my brother a better life. And every day, like so many of you, I felt the weight of my parents’ sacrifices on my shoulders. Every day, I wanted to make them proud.
So, while most American kids attend public schools near their homes, when it was time for me to attend high school, I took an exam and got into a special public high school where I could get a better education. But the school was very far from my home, so I had to get up early every morning and ride a bus for an hour, sometimes an hour and a half if the weather was bad. And every afternoon, I’d ride that same bus back home and then immediately start my homework, often studying late into the night – and sometimes I would wake up at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning to study even more.
And it wasn’t easy. But whenever I got tired or discouraged, I would just think about how hard my parents were working for me. And I would remember something my mother always told me – she said, “A good education is something that no one can take away from you.”The passage can be sorted as a ．
| A．self-introduction | B．short story | C．news report | D．speech draft (草稿) |
Which of the following is TRUE about Michelle Obama and her family?
| A．Her parents were poor but had good educational backgrounds. |
| B．She attended a public high school near her home. |
| C．Her father suffered a serious disease and became disabled. |
| D．She was aware of her parents’ sacrifices and expectations. |
Which of the following words best describes Michelle’s father?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Humorous. | C．Strong-minded | D．Generous |
What does Michelle mainly want to tell readers in this excerpt?
| A．We should work hard and get good educations. |
| B．Our parents always have high expectations for us. |
| C．She is an ordinary person from an ordinary family. |
| D．The road to the US First Lady is not easy. |
Henry Ford grew up on an un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's career as the inventor became a national role model. Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer．
In 1896 Ford was thirty-three and, though still working for Edison Co., he had created his first experimental automobile the Ford Quadricycle2 during his off-time. At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison and was able to explain his new automobile to the great inventor. Edison was impressed. Edison is said to have slammed his fist down_and shouted, “Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self-contained and carries its own power plant.” Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a somewhat new one．
The words comforted Ford greatly, who immediately set out building a second car which was to become the Model-T.6. The two men became fast friends and would go on camping trips together．When Edison later became limited to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his house so they could race．At the 50th anniversary of the invention of light-bulb, Ford honored Edison．When Edison spoke, he ended his speech directed at Ford, “ As to Henry Ford, words fail to express my feelings．I can only say that he is my friend.” Therefore it is no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931.
Once, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath. Ford was a man with many strange behaviors (as was Edison) including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism（夏活通灵术）and some say that he was attempting to catch Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later bringing the inventor back to life.
The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was listed in the Ford possessions after Clara Ford's passing away, and then lost again until 1978 when it was discovered in an exhibit Entitled “Henry Ford-A Personal History” in the Henry Ford Museum. It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled “Edison's Last Breath”.
There is a further mystery of this “last breath” test tube．It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison Estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath．
Regardless of the excitement over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning．Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a deep respect and admiration．The purpose of the author writing this passage is to .
| A．remind the readers of the importance of the two inventors |
| B．stress the importance of friendship |
| C．tell the readers some stories about the two inventors |
| D．show that love can lead to some poor behaviors |
From the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2, we can learn that .
| A．Edison envied what Ford had achieved |
| B．Edison was annoyed that Ford did better than him |
| C．Edison was angry because Ford stole his idea |
| D．Edison was extremely amazed at Ford's new idea |
“The 1ast breath test tube” can probably be regarded as .
| A．a symbol of a friendship and memory |
| B．a witness to a scientific breakthrough |
| C．a failure to bring Edison back to life |
| D．a sign of the two inventors' poor behavior |
It can be learned from the last paragraph that“ ”.
| A．Great minds think alike |
| B．Nobody is perfect |
| C．Two heads are better than one |
| D．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
Below are pages adapted from, http://sochi2014. com/en/
Sochi Volunteers
● 5 December 2013 Sochi 2014 Volunteer Team is Prepared for Games
On international Volunteer Day, 5 December, the Organizing Committee of the Winter Games in Sochi presented the national “Sochi 2014 Volunteer Team”, The Sochi 2014 Volunteer Team is complete, consisting of 25,000 volunteers from 26 volunteer centers across Russia as well as global volunteers.
● 6 August 2013 Sochi 2014 Sochi 2014 volunteer s meet athletics stars in Moscow
Approximately 2,000 Sochi 2014 volunteers will take part in the staging of the World Athletics Championships, which will be held in Moscow from 10-18 August.
● 30 May 2013 “Sochi 2014”volunteers on the presentation of the Olympic and Paralympic medals
In St. Petersburg during the 11th “Sport Accord”, Annual International Sports Convention was held on the presentation of the Olympic and Paralympic medals.
● 11 March 2013 Sochi 2014 Volunteer Training Program Launched across Russia
On March 11, the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee launched a large-scale project for training 25,000 volunteers for the 2014Games in Sochi.
Sochi Culture Activities
● International Ballet Stars Gala, 29 January 2014
Year of Russian Culture in the United Kingdom and Year of British Culture.
● Sochi 2014 Culture Olympiad to Present History of Sports in Russia, 20 December 2013
As part of the Year of the of the Museum of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad the “ Training the Strength of the Body, Sports and the Romanov Family ” exhibition will be open starting from 21 December at the Sochi Art Museum.
● Sochi 2014 Cultural Program Culminates in Grand Finale, 16 December 2013
The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has presented an entertaining Cultural Program for the guests and participants of the Olympic Games.
● Sochi 2014 Games Fans’ Anthem will Unite Spectators in the Stands, 31 October 2013
100 days before the start of the first ever Olympic Winter Games in Russia, the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad and General Partner of the Games Sberbank have unveiled the fans’ anthem for the Games. The anthem will be played at all Olympic venues and will be the main song at the sports fields for the competitions.
● “White Stick” Music Festival to Take Place during the Start of Sochi 2014 Torch Relay, 7 October 2013
On 7 October, during the launch of the Olympic Torch Relay, the “White Stick” IV International charity festival will take place against the backdrop of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad in Moscow.
● Winners of Cultural Program Competition to Perform at Sochi Games, 19 September 2013
The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee’s cultural program Contest has come to an end and the winners have been announced. It took place within the framework of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad.
● Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad to Showcase Russia’s cultural diversity, 22 August 2013
From August, 25 to September 8, the “Alluring Worlds, Ethnic Russia” travelling festival will travel along the coast of the Black Sea. The festival is part of the Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad’s Year of the Museums and will illustrate Russia’s diversity.Sochi 2014 Volunteer Training Program was launched on ．
| A．30 May 2013 | B．11 March 2013 | C．16 December 2013 | D．19 September 2013 |
“White Stick" Music Festival took place in .
| A．Sochi | B．St. Petersburg | C．the United Kingdom | D．Moscow |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．The 25 ,000 volunteers were from Russia. |
| B．Winners of Cultural Program Competition weren't known until 19 September 2013. |
| C．From August,25 to September,8,you were able to enjoy Winter Games in Sochi. |
| D．Few of the cultural activities were intended for creating atmosphere of Sochi Winter Games. |
From the two boxes, you can learn that the activities were listed according to .
| A．importance | B．place | C．date | D．name |
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