In many parts of the world, cars play an important role in daily life and many societies would not exist without them. So the idea that in 20 years’ time, no one will own cars may be hard to believe. But this is the prediction made by a team of transport researchers who are taken seriously, not only by government but also by car manufacturers.
The Human Science and Advanced Technology Institute at Loughborough in the UK is part of an international research program. The team there believes that by 2020 all cars will be computerized. That will mean much saving, no accidents and better use of roads. The super-intelligent car in the future will drive itself. And it will not be owned by one individual. Instead, we will have a choice of cars and change them as frequently as we change our clothing.
According to Dr. David Davis, who leads the research team, these predictions are based on the rising cost of the car culture, which had blocked up our cities, polluted our air, and caused more deaths than both world wars put together.
Davis says, cars will be fitted with some intelligent devices(装置) to regulate(调节) the distance between one car and another. The car will automatically speed up, or slow down, to match the speed of the car in front. computers are much safer drivers than people, so cars in a road train will be able to drive much closer together than cars driven by people.
By 2016, Dr. David Davis believes, car technology will give motorists a clear view of the road, whatever the weather conditions, by projecting an image of the road ahead on to the car’s windscreen. And by 2020, cars will travel in line, linked to each other electronically. Cars will be connected by an electronic tow bar to the car in front to form “road-trains”. “The front vehicle in such a train burns the normal amount.”says Davis. “but all the others in the train would burn about ten percent of the normal amount, and so produce about ten percent of the pollution.”We know from the passage that governments and car manufactures____________.
| A．don’t believe the prediction that no one will own cars by 2020 |
| B．are dedicated to the technological invention in car industry |
| C．consider the prediction made by the researchers seriously |
| D．have put the super-intelligent car into mass production |
Which of the following will be the characteristic of transport in 2020?
| A．The cars will consume no fuels. |
| B．There won’t be any car accidents. |
| C．All cars will be driven at the same speed. |
| D．All car drivers will be trained to be more skillful than today’s. |
Davis believes that the present car culture will change because__________.
| A．cars play an important role in daily life |
| B．many societies would stop working without cars |
| C．cars should not be owned by one individual |
| D．it causes more and more agonies（烦恼） to human society |
Which of the following sentences can explain “better use of roads”by 2020 mentioned in the passage?
| A．Computer-driven cars drive much closer together than cars driven by people. |
| B．Motorists can have a clear view of the road whatever the weather conditions are. |
| C．Cars will travel in convoy, linked to each other by an electronic tow bar. |
| D．Intelligent cruise control devices can regulate the distance between one car and another. |
What will happen if cars are linked to each other electronically in 2020?
| A．Motorists will get a clear view of the road. |
| B．The weather conditions won’t have effect on motorists. |
| C．There will be a great decrease in the pollution caused by cars. |
| D．All trains will burn less fuel than present. |
Planning to go to a gym? If you are one of those who have spent many days planning to join a gym or to attend it regularly, then why not choose some home exercise? Here are some home exercises without equipment.
Jumping jacks
This one is the best home workout without weights which is a great exercise that will work your hands and legs. Perform this exercise by standing with your feet placed together and arms at your sides. Now tuck in your abs(收腹) and jump by bending in your knees. At the same time, move your feet apart as much as you can and raise your hands to bring in line with your shoulder. While you come back you must be in a starting position, feet together, hands at sides and knees bent. You must land on your heels and again jump.
Jogging
Jogging is one of the best home exercises without weights. You don’t need to have a lawn or jogging track at home to perform this exercise. There are many benefits of jogging. It will work your entire legs. Moreover, it is a classic cardiovascular(心血管) workout. Make sure you wear jogging footwear even if you are jogging at home to avoid any stress on your feet. Also, you can gradually increase the jogging time and speed.
Rotating(旋转) exercise
Start by rotating your wrists, clockwise(顺时针地) and anticlockwise. Now, alternately rotate your feet in the same fashion. Now place both your hands on the shoulder and start rotating your shoulder clockwise and anticlockwise. Place an exercise mat and lie flat on your back. Now lift your left leg and rotate it clockwise; do not bend you knees. Now rest the left leg, lift your right leg and rotate it anticlockwise.
It is necessary to set a perfect mood for exercise which will help you stick to the exercise routine and excitement. Make sure you wear proper exercise clothes to perform the workout with ease. Also, putting on your favorite music will make your exercise session more lively. If you get bored with exercises, just dance, after all it’s also one of the best home exercises.To carry out jumping jacks effectively, you________.
| A．need to keep your two feet apart at first. |
| B．must stand straight first and bend your abs. |
| C．must use your arms to support your body. |
| D．need to use your heels to touch the ground. |
What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
| A．You may exercise your body entirely by jogging at home. |
| B．It may do harm to your feet to jog at home without shoes. |
| C．You’d better choose a space as the jogging track at home. |
| D．You must stick to a fixed time and speed while jogging. |
What is the right order of your body parts during rotation exercise?
| A．hands—legs---back----legs. |
| B．wrists—hands---feet---shoulders |
| C．wrists---feet---shoulders---legs |
| D．hands---shoulders---knees---legs |
To carry out home exercises continuously, you need________.
| A．a good atmosphere. | B．a good coach. |
| C．a dance teacher | D．a good timer. |
You may have heard of the book Moby Dick(《白鲸记》), written by the American author Herman Melville. You may also know that Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. However, it might surprise you to find out Herman Melville was not always a highly regarded author.
Melville’s first two novels, Typee and Omoo, were widely read and financially successfully. They were both exciting tales of adventures at sea and experiences with people in foreign lands. Melville became quite famous. However, upon the publication of his third book, Mardi, Melville’s popularity began to weaken. He was no longer interested in telling tales of pure adventure, and his writing took on a style that alienated(使疏远) the general reading public of his time.
Melville published Moby Dick in October of 1851. it was an original novel, combining aspects of sociology and philosophy, which confused readers by its complex symbolism. The book sold poorly.
Melville’s next book, Pierre, was almost completely disregarded by the public. Debt frustration and ill health finally forced Melville to take a low-paying job as a customs inspector. Eventually, Melville abandoned prose(散文) and began to write poetry.
The Civil War is the main subject of Melville’s poetry. He and his brother made a trip to the front line, and he published a book of poems, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of War, based on this experience.
Melville died in 1891 at the age of 72. at this point, his work had been completely forgotten by the public. His talent was to go unrecognized for the next thirty years. Then, in 1920s, his reputation began to improve as critics and readers rediscovered his work. Today Moby Dick is one of the best-known novels ever penned by an American author.What were Melville’s first two novels mainly about?
| A．His travel experience. |
| B．His successful communication skills. |
| C．Adventurous experiences in the front line. |
| D．Adventurous voyages and foreign experiences. |
We can learn from the text that Moby Dick________.
| A．sold a little better than Pierre. |
| B．was Melville’s favorite novel. |
| C．was copied from other books. |
| D．made Melville popular again. |
The text may be taken from___________.
| A．a writing guide |
| B．a literary journal. |
| C．a science magazine. |
| D．a critical book on literature. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The main works of Melville. |
| B．The skills in Melville’s writing. |
| C．The ups and downs of Melville. |
| D．The reason for Melville’s failure. |
It has always been thought that alcohol causes people to put on weight because it contains a lot of sugar, but new research suggests glass a day could form part a diet. Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight; those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight.
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain.” The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight.
Boston University’s Dr. Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms(生物学机制)relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood. His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病), which relate to increasing obesity. Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers．
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and a enot stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods. They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight.
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese. What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine destroys fat cells.The passage is mainly for those__________．
| A．who produce wine |
| B．who have a drinking habit |
| C．who go on a diet |
| D．who are eager to lose weight |
The underlined phrase“ in moderation” in the first paragraph means_________．
| A．excitedly | B．carefully |
| C． frequently | D．properly |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight. |
| B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat. |
| C．The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect. |
| D．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear. |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．How to do some easy experiments. |
| B．How to reduce the calories contained in wine. |
| C．How to prove the finding mentioned above. |
| D．How to make wine in a healthy way. |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
If you’re making the film with other people, organize your cast and crew effectively. Make sure everybody knows their roles and what day and times they’re needed.
Give people specific jobs so they can become experts in their field. For example, a soundrecordist listens to the sound through headphones as it’s being recorded, and holds an extra microphone if needed.
A camera operator frames the picture(取景), sets focus, checks the light and records the action. The editor “cuts” the picture together after it’s shot.
A producer is the contact point for the film. He or she makes sure crew and cast are there on time, talks to the press and organizes the budget.
A director has to make sure their vision is communicated. To do this everyone needs to be clear about what the director expects from each scene and each shot.
You may also need a make-up-artist, a choreographer, a driver, etc. However, you can quite easily make your first film on your own. Make a schedule that says which shots are to be taken where and when (this is called a shooting schedule) and when you’ve completed a take, cross it off the list. Remember that you may want to shoot “out of sequence”, e.g. shoot the last scene first, and the first last. Similarly if the film begins and ends by a tree in the park, it may make sense to film both scenes while you’re there.
If you’re making animation (动画片), have a space that you can control. You may need extra lights and you may need to leave work in progress. Make sure people living with you are aware what’s happening. Animation needs a lot of undisturbed concentration and patience. Keep at it and it’ll pay off. Aardman and Disney both started off at home experimenting with clay , pens and a camera.From the first two paragraphs we can learn that___________.
| A．every crew member is an expert in his field. |
| B．careful preparations and arrangements are quite necessary. |
| C．both the cast and crew must arrive at the same time every day. |
| D．every person should have his equipment while working together. |
A director knows the purpose of each step of the work, but___________ .
| A．he needn’t tell others about that |
| B．other members just follow his orders |
| C．he must have it known and well understood by others |
| D．others may have their own ideas and special ways of working |
To shoot a film, a shooting schedule must be fixed first ______________.
| A．but it may be crossed off if unnecessary |
| B．but you needn’t work exactly on it |
| C．and each step must be carried out according to it. |
| D．and no one can change it once it is settled |
Can eating a chocolate bar every day really prevent age-related memory loss? No. But a new research shows that large amounts of flavones(黄酮), substances found in cocoa,teaand some kinds of vegetables,may improve age-related memory failure.
Dr. Scott Small is a professor of neurology (神经学) at Columbia University in New York City. He is the leadwriter of a research paper describing the effects of cocoa flavones on brain activity. His study involved 37 volunteers aged between 50 and 69. Researchers gave them a high-level flavones drink madefrom cocoa beans or a low-level flavones drink. For a period of three months, somesubjects got 900 milligrams of flavones a day. The others got 10 milligrams of flavones each day. Brain imaging and memory tests were given to each study subject before and after the study. Dr. Small says that the subjects who had the high-level flavones drink showed much improvement on memory tests.
The researchers warn that more work is needed to be done because this study was performed only on a small group. Dr. Joann Manson is the leadresearcher of a four-year study involving 18,000 adults. This study will use flavones capsules. The studysubjects will be divided into two groups and will take two pills per day. The capsules used will all look the same. But one group's capsules will contain flavones, while the other group will take capsules made of an inactive substance, or placebo（安慰剂）.
Dr. Manson says it's not necessary for people to start eating more chocolate, because 3 persons would have to eat a huge amount of chocolate to get the same level of flavones given to the rest subjects. He adds many manufacturers have planned to remove the flavonesfromtheir chocolate products. Similarly, Dr. Manson says a cocoa-based flavones extract（提取）maybe developed in the future But he says that more studies are needed to see how much flavones is good for our health.What was done to thesubjects after Dr. Small's study?
| A．They were asked to take a high-level flavones drink. |
| B．They were given brain imaging and memory tests. |
| C．They were given capsules containing flavones. |
| D．They were asked to take two pills of flavones capsules per day. |
What's the similarity of the two experiments?
| A．Both use high-level flavones capsules. |
| B．The number of the subjects is the same. |
| C．Drinks and placebos are used in both experiments. |
| D．Thesubjects are divided into two groups in both experiments. |
Why will Dr. Manson carry out the four-year study?
| A．To carry out the experiment further. |
| B．To prove the first experiment is wrong. |
| C．To test how much flavones can improve our memory. |
| D．To show eating chocolate is better to improve memory. |
What can we learnfromthe last paragraph?
| A．It's not necessary for us to eat chocolate. |
| B．In the future we can get flavones without eating chocolate. |
| C．The more we eat flavones, the better our healthwill be. |
| D．It's easy for people to get the same level of flavones given to the test subjects. |
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