A cute invention was revealed this month at the International Robot Exhibition (IREX) in Tokyo. It’s called Jukusui-Kun (“deep sleep” in Japanese) ---a robotic pillow in the shape of a polar bear.
The pillow is in fact a serious technological innovation hidden under a cute cover. It was developed by a group of scientists and engineers at Tokyo’s Waseda University to help people suffering from snoring (打鼾) and those who live with them. This is how the robotic pillow works: a microphone detects the noise level of the snoring, and if the snoring becomes very loud, which can be the sign of sleep apnea (睡眠窒息), the bear will raise its hand and carefully touch the face of the sleeper, leading to a change in the sleeper’s position without waking him or her up.
This is definitely the world’s first anti-snoring machine and an important potential treatment for sleep apnea. This sleeping disorder involves pauses in breathing, and can lead to heart attacks during sleep. In Japan, around 2 million people are struggling with the problem. When a sleeper starts snoring, the sleeper’s blood oxygen level drops. The new device tracks (追踪) the level of oxygen in the sleeper’s blood and wirelessly sends the information to the polar bear. But the only problem is that people not only have to sleep on a bear-shaped pillow with robotic hands, but also have to insert （插入）their hands into a monitor that keeps track of blood oxygen levels. If these levels fall below a certain point, it gives the bear another cue (提示) to lift its hand.
The bear is not yet on sale, and it remains to be seen whether a robotic hand reaching up to touch one’s face is any more effective than one’s partner giving one a good shove (推).What do we learn from the passage?
| A．Snoring can cause the blood oxygen to increase. |
| B．The bear pillow will be available worldwide soon. |
| C．A partner’s shove is more effective than the new robot’s touch. |
| D．With this device, the sleeper’s hands can’t move freely while sleeping. |
What do we learn about the robotic bear?
| A．It’s comfortable to sleep on. |
| B．It stops people snoring by waking them up. |
| C．It’s the first machine made to deal with snoring. |
| D．It uses a monitor to detect the loudness of the snoring. |
We would find the passage in the ________ section of a magazine.
| A．entertainment | B．lifestyle |
| C．technology | D．fashion |
What’s the author’s attitude to the new device?
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Objective. | D．Doubtful. |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Useful Robotic Polar Bear |
| B．The Disadvantages of Snoring |
| C．The Different Ways to Deal with Snoring |
| D．How New Technology Changes Your Sleep Pattern |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if these were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on-a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening, two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly went into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road’. Seeing a cake-flying through the air, a truck driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck and fell onto the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic to move again. In the meanwhile, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident; for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days.What does the writer mainly tell us?
| A．Troubles always happen at the same time. |
| B．Everyone may have trouble every day. |
| C．A small matter can cause great trouble. |
| D．Only the lucky man won’t have any trouble every day. |
according to the passage, what should be the correct order?
(1) The woman driver stopped her car suddenly. •
(2) The driver’s wife dropped her cake on the road.
(3) Only two dogs were happy.
(4) Two cars hit each other.
(5) The truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.
| A．(2)(3)(3)(5)(1) | B．(4)(1)(2)(5)(3) |
| C．(3)(5)(2)(4)(1) | D．(1)(4)(2)(3)(5) |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The woman’s husband brought three guests home to dinner unexpectedly. |
| B．The meal got burnt. |
| C．Her baby pulled the table-cloth off the table. |
| D．It is not strange to experience such accidents. |
What does the word "these" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refer to?
A. Your husband brings three guests to dinner unexpectedly.
B. The meal gets burnt.
C. The baby pulls the table-cloth off the table.
D. Both B and C.
Heading back to the room for dinner and a hot shower may sound like the act of a tired tourist ,but in a traditional Japanese inn ─ or ryokan ─ those activities can be as interesting as anything along the sightseeing trail.“People going looking for a sort of nostalgic(怀旧的),old-fashioned ,and traditional view of Japanese life will find it most easily in a ryokan,”said Peter Grilli, the president of Japan Society of Boston, Massachusetts.
Many ryokans sprang up in the 17th century to put up feudal lords traveling along the Tokaido highway to Edo(now Tokyo). Today tourists looking for a taste of the country’s historic lifestyle find varying levels of understated elegance in ryokans throughout the country.
A typical stay starts with a greeting from the inn’s staff and a change from street shoes into slippers .An attendant leads guests to their rooms, where slippers are removed before walking on the rice-straw flooring, called tatami. Walking slowly along behind a kimonoclad（身穿和服的）attendant on the creaky wood floors of Fukuzumiro ryokan,s hallways is like stepping back in time. The inn was established in 1890 by a former samurai（武士）.
Tim Paterson ,33, a banker living in Tokyo, has stayed at several ryokans. This New Zealand native leaves after a recent stay at Fukuzumiro. “I think it’s quite good mixing culture with history and not just going to see it ,but living in it, staying in it,”he said. Sliding glass doors line the inn’s rural hallways, bringing in the sound of tricking water and the quietness of the stone and tree-filled courtyards outside.From the first paragraph, we can see that_________________ .
| A．there is no dinner and a hot shower in the ryokan |
| B．such activities as dinner and shower in the ryokan can take you back in time |
| C．such activities as dinner and shower mean the same both in ordinary inns and traditional inns |
| D．such activities as dinner and shower are more important than the sightseeing for tourists |
What’s the purpose of building so many ryokans in the 17th century?
| A．Providing rooms for the noble when they traveled. |
| B．Keeping the Japanese traditional style of life. |
| C．Making people feel elegant in the ryokan. |
| D．Attracting more tourists to put up in the ryokan. |
Which of the following shows the right order of tourists entering the ryokan?
a. An attendant shows guests to their room;
b. The guests take off their shoes;
c. The staff greet the guests;
d. The guests walk on tatami;
e. The guests take off slippers;
f. The guests put on slippers.
A. b ; c ; d ; e ; f ; a B. c ; b ; f ; a ; e ; d
C. c ; a ; d ; b ; e ; f D b ; a ; d ; e ; c ; fFrom Tim Paterson’s words in the last paragraph ,we can infer that .
| A．he will never stay in such a ryokan again |
| B．he stays in such a ryokan just for its long history |
| C．he feels relaxed and culturally enriched after staying in such a ryokan |
| D．he would rather live in such a ryokan than go back home |
He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life graces our greeting cards and day-timers.
Fifty years after his death, his shock（乱蓬蓬的一堆）of white hair and hanging moustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton ,Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
Around the world , universities and academies（研究院）are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s “miracle year” when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time ,light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.
Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more changes in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunications, lasers, televisions and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world.
He escaped Hitler’s Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism（法西斯主义）and racial prejudice. His FBI(美国联邦调查局)file ran 1,400 pages.
His letters expose a disorderly personal life ─ married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy.The first paragraph implies that Einstein .
| A．had the gift for politics and music |
| B．had run for president before he worked at his research |
| C．was an excellent violinist |
| D．was more a political leader of a musician than a thinker |
When you think of Einstein, what typical appearance was formed in your mind?
| A．Funny and humorous, with an air of a musician. |
| B．Wearing very wide trousers and a moustache, with an image of an actor. |
| C．Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache , with an image of thinking . |
| D．Black long hair and moustache, with his eyes deep set. |
Why was 1905 called Einstein’s “miracle year”?
| A．Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity. |
| B．Because he made important discoveries of space, time , light and matter. |
| C．Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity. |
| D．Because he wrote five important articles to help people understand space, time , light and matter better. |
Which of the following is not true about Einstein according to the passage?
| A．When he was absorbed in his research ,he didn’t care for his family. |
| B．He tried to amuse his family and friends in his spare time. |
| C．He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics. |
| D．His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields. |
How often one hears children wishing they were grown up, and old people wishing they were young again. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.
Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is impossible that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child-things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. But a child has his parents, he is not so free to do what he wishes to do. He is continually being told not to do things or being punished for what he has done wrong. When the young man starts to earn his own living, he can no longer expect others to pay for his food, his clothes, and his room, but has to work if he wants to live comfortably. If he spends most of his time playing about in the way that he used to as a child, he will go hungry. And if he breaks the laws of society as he used to break the laws of his parents, he may go to prison. If, however, he works hard, keeps out of trouble and has good health, he can have the great happiness of building up for himself his own position in society. according to the second paragraph, the writer thinks that _______.
| A．life for a child is comparatively easy |
| B．a child is always loved whatever he does |
| C．if much is given to a child, he must do something in return |
| D．only children are interested in life |
After a child grows up, he ________.
| A．will have little time playing |
| B．has to be successful in finding a job |
| C．can still ask for help in time of trouble |
| D．should be able to take care of himself |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．People are often satisfied with their life. |
| B．Life is less interesting for old people. |
| C．Adults are freer to do what they want to do. |
| D．Adults should no longer rely on others. |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
| A．life is not enjoyable since each age has some pains |
| B．young men can have the greatest happiness if they work hard |
| C．childhood is the most enjoyable time in one’s life |
| D．one is the happiest if he can make good use of each age in his life |
The paragraph following this passage will most probably discuss _______.
| A．examples of successful young men |
| B．how to build up one’s position in society |
| C．joys and pains of old people |
| D．what to do when one has problems in life |
Several days ago, a Beijing-based IT company fired about 400 people overnight. No one had expected the job cuts, which broke with traditional ways of letting go of workers in China. Moreover, what was special about this case was that the day before the 400 were fired, they all received from their boss a gift—the book “Who Moved My Cheese?”
The book—a bestseller in the US—is being used by men and women to deal with changes in their lives and work. Some large organizations, including Coca-Cola, Kodak and General Motors, ask their employees to read it in order to encourage them to be active towards changes.
Cheese is something related to everyone’s livelihood—our jobs, the Industries we work in, relationships and love as well.
With China’s official entry into the WTO, the whole nation will face more changes and challenges. So what should we do once this “cheese” on which we are so dependent is moved?
whatever challenges and changes we meet, we should face up to them bravely, Jiang Hengwei, a civil servant said after reading the book.
Professor Zhang Yang in Renmin University of China agrees. “We should change our way of thinking. The coming competitive foreign companies and products provide us with great chances to learn from them and improve our own products to meet international standards and be more competitive.”
“With hard work and wisdom, we will create a much larger and better piece of cheese.” Zhang smiled confidently. The whole passage is about _______.
| A．people’s opinions about a bestseller of the US |
| B．what people think about China’s entry into the WTO |
| C．the change in people’s attitude towards changes and challenges |
| D．how a book influences the Chinese |
The company in Beijing gave each of the 400 fired workers a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese” in order to _______.
| A．be more competitive with foreign firms |
| B．find an excuse for their job cuts |
| C．let the workers make a living on their own |
| D．encourage the fired workers |
The word “cheese” in the passage can refer to _______.
| A．something we depend on for a living |
| B．a most important kind of food |
| C．change or challenge |
| D．way of life |
From what Hengwei and Professor Zhang Yang said, we can know that _______.
| A．they have different opinions on changes and challenges |
| B．people are not afraid of competition from foreign companies |
| C．the Chinese people are ready to face any changes and challenges |
| D．they are both greatly encouraged by the book |
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