Hidden in our subconsciousness (潜意识) is a perfect mental picture. We see ourselves on a long trip that goes across the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we think in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle feeding on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, or row upon row of corn and wheat, of flat lands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw（拼图玩具） puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles(通道), condemning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 38.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercdes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the loan!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! ”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish(appreciate) the moment” is a good motto, actually it isn’t the burdens of today that drive man mad. It is the regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. Then the station will come soon enough.Why does the author describe the mental picture?
| A．To lead us into a perfect world. |
| B．To let people enjoy the scenery. |
| C．To introduce an actual trip of his. |
| D．To compare it to our life’s journey. |
How do people feel when they’re on their trip?
| A．Puzzled. | B．Happy. | C．Relaxed. | D．Impatient. |
What does the author mean by “Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today” in Line 2 Paragraph 5?
| A．Regret and fear are responsible for the loss of today. |
| B．We must be careful of the two thieves: regret and fear. |
| C．regret and fear stop us from enjoying our present life. |
| D．We’re frequently challenged by the two : regret and fear. |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To teach us a good lesson. |
| B．To tell us the right attitude to life. |
| C．To advice us to forget our worries. |
| D．To stop us wandering along the aisles. |
Parkour is all about throwing yourself quickly and effective past whatever barriers are in your path while maintaining as much force as possible to move forward. It’s a challenge for humans, so how would robots get along? In an effort to push the boundaries of robotic agility(灵活), researchers at the University of Pennsylvania decided to find out by teaching their Rhex robot some Parkour moves.
The Rhex is designed to be a walking robot that can deal with barriers, such as stairs and small stones to accomplish rescue tasks or carry out surveys in difficult areas. While the Rhex has been around for over a decade, a new version called XRL(X-Rhex-Light) is now being taught some new tricks by Professor Daniel Koditschek of the University of Pennsylvania.
The XRL differs from its earlier relatives by using lighter materials and simpler fabrication(装配) methods. A complete shell of carbon fiber board surrounds the XRL framework, and it has only a single battery room. The XRL is 51 cm long, 40.5 cm wide, and the body alone is 10 cm in thickness. Its weight including battery pack is 6.7 kg.
The XRL legs are equipped with force and power sensors(传感器), which allow the work of moving to be analyzed in detail. Among other benefits, the research team found that the response of the legs can be used to give an indication of what sort of surface the XRL is walking on. For example, the XRL responds very differently to stone surfaces and grass ones. Besides, the XRL is equipped with a laser scanner(激光扫描仪) to allow the XRL to move around simply.
"What we want is a robot that can go anywhere," said graduate student Aaron Johnson. "These latest jumps greatly expand the range of what this machine is capable of, as it can now jump onto or across barriers that are bigger than it is."
Why does the passage mention Parkour in Paragraph 1?
| A．To compare Parkour with the XRL. |
| B．To recommeng Parkour to readers. |
| C．To explain why people like Parkour. |
| D．To show the Rhex uses Parkour moves. |
The Rhex is mainly used to .
| A．do some difficult work |
| B．attend sports competition |
| C．conduct university surveys |
| D．research the XRL further |
Compared with the Rhex, the Rhex, the XRL .
| A．has two battery rooms |
| B．uses heavier materials |
| C．moves around more easily |
| D．takes along fewer instruments |
You are sending a text, watching the TV or listening to the radio ? You may want to stop and give this your full attention after you finish reading this article.
Multi-tasking shrinks the brain, research suggests.
A study found that men and women who frequently used several types of technology at the same time had less grey matter in a key part of the brain.
University of Sussex researchers said: “Simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains .”
Worryingly, the part of the brain that shrinks is involved in processing emotion. The finding follows research which has linked multi-tasking with a shortened attention span, depression, anxiety and lower grades at school.
The researchers began by asking 75 healthy men and women how often they divided their attention between different types of technology. This could mean sending a text message while listening to music and checking email, or speaking on the phone while watching TV and surfing the web.
The volunteers were then given brain scans which showed they had less grey matter in a region called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The findings held even when differences in personality were taken into account. The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, is the first to make a link between multi-tasking and the structure of the brain. Researcher Kep Kee Loh said: ‘Media multi-tasking is becoming more popular in our lives today and there is increasing concern about its impacts on our social-emotional well-being.’ He added that more research is needed to prove that multi-tasking shrinks the brain. This is because it is also possible that people with less grey matter in the ACC are more drawn to using lots of gadgets simultaneously.
Scientists have previously demonstrated brain structure can be altered on prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience.
Other studies have shown that training – such as learning to juggle or taxi drivers learning the map of London – can increase grey-matter densities in certain parts of the brain .Experts have also warned of the harmful effect technology can have on our memory and attention span.
The University of California team conducted a survey of more than 18,000 people aged between 18 and 99 and found 20 percent had problems with memory. Researchers were taken aback by the 14 per cent of 18 to 39-year-olds who also worried about their memories.
Multi-tasking with gadgets may shorten attention span, making it harder to focus and form memories, the researchers said, adding that youngsters may be particularly affected by stress.In writing the passage, the author intends to _____.
| A．tell people multi—tasking is becoming more and more popular in our life today |
| B．inform people of the findings that stress and other emotional problems are caused by using media devices |
| C．warn people of the possible damage to our brain by performing several tasks at the same time |
| D．prove the links between multi-tasking with the increase of grey matter in the brain |
What does the underlined word “held” in the eighth paragraph mean?
| A．contained | B．carried | C．owned | D．remained |
It can be inferred from the passage that __________
| A．Multi-tasking has a bad effect on men rather than on women |
| B．Multi-tasking could change the structure of the brains and shrink the brain |
| C．the part of the brain that shrinks is involved in language learning |
| D．the writer doubts that using mobile phones and other media devices at the same time could shrink the brain |
The reason why Kep Kee Loh thought more research would be needed to prove that multi-tasking shrinks the brain was that ____
| A．he doubted the findings of the research |
| B．it was also possible that people with less grey matter in the ACC are more drawn to using lots of gadgets simultaneously. |
| C．the study published in the journal PLOS ONE drew a different conclusion |
| D．he wanted to prove training can increase grey – matter densities |
The passage suggests that _____
| A．when watching TV or listening to the radio, people’s brain will shrink |
| B．no measures can be taken to increase grey – matter densities in people’s brains |
| C．people gradually realize the negative impact media multi—tasking could have on people’ s social-emotional well –being. |
| D．multi—tasking can’t affect the grey matter in our brain |
Chinese airline travellers might be permitted to use mobile phones with in-flight Wi-Fi in 2016, as long as they are in flight mode, although progress still falls behind the rest of the world, the Beijing Times reported.
Zhou Hong, an aviation communication expert, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has been exploring the possibility of air travelers using electronic devices at a height of more than 3,000 meters.
It's estimated that the result will come out in 2016, and it will likely be approved, he said.
China's major airlines and telecommunication companies have been preparing an alliance to conduct research into making phone calls during flights, said He Guili, head of China Telecom Technology Labs under the Ministry of Information and Industry Technology.
He said the main obstacle lies in the compatibility(兼容性)between mobile signals and aircraft electronic navigation systems, but that two solutions offered are already technically mature.
During a test on July 23, about 80 passengers were invited to use China's first onboard Wi-Fi service on a China Eastern Airlines flight between Shanghai and Beijing. They were only allowed to use iPads and laptops, however.
Compared to the boom of Wi-Fi service abroad, the service in China is still in the start-up stage, and has not yet been put into mass commercial use.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has just announced that airlines can now permit passengers to use electronic devices such as mobile phones during flights.It said electronic devices do not cause a safety risk, and that airlines can allow passengers to use mobile phones once they have conducted their own safety reviews
The underlined word “boom” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to_________.
| A．discovery | B．prosperity |
| C．invention | D．advantage |
According to the passage, the following statements are wrong EXCEPT____
| A．According to the passage, Zhou Hong is head of China Telecom Technology Labs |
| B．About80 passengers were involved in a test conducted on a China Eastern Airlines flight between Beijing and Guangzhou. |
| C．The CAAC has been exploring the possibility of air travellers using electronic devices at a height of more than 3,000 meters nowadays |
| D．Chinese airline travellers have already been permitted to use mobile phones with in-flight Wi-Fi |
What’s the attitude of the EASA towards the use of phones during the flight ?
A.Supportive B．Negative.
C Sceptical. D．Disapproval
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．China may permit air travellers to use phones freely during flight by 2015 |
| B．Air travellers may be allowed to use phones with in-flight Wi-Fi in flight mode by 2016 |
| C．China is catching up with developed countries in technology |
| D．Wi-Fi service has already been used commercially in China |
The passage is most likely a part of ____
| A．a science fiction | B．a guide book |
| C．a commercial ad | D．a news report |
All across California, honeybees are flying away from their hives and dying. Empty hives are causing a lot of worry about some important food crops.
Bees give us a lot more than delicious honey. They are pollinators （授 粉 者）—they enable plants to produce the fruits and nuts we enjoy by carrying pollen from one plant or flower to the next. The wind pollinates oats, corn, and wheat, but many other plants (like apple and cherry trees and melon vines) depend on insects, bats, and birds. In the U.S., millions and millions of bees kept by human beekeepers fly around doing a lot of this important work for food crops. “Bees are worth protecting because their work adds so much to our diet,” says Dr. Jeff Pettis of the Bee Research Laboratory.
California’s almond crop alone depends on about half the bees in the country. But now the almond crop and many others could be in trouble with so many bees dying.
Researchers at government and university labs all over the country are trying to figure out why so many bees are dying. However, bees are hard to study. Most die away from the hive, so researchers don’t have dead bodies to examine. And when researchers return to a hive after two weeks, about half the bees they studied on their first visit will be dead, replaced by new ones in the natural life cycle of bees. “It isn’t like studying a large animal like a cow that doesn’t move around much and is easy to find out in the cow field,” says Pettis.
Researchers have some ideas about what could be affecting bee health. They could be sick from poisons widely used to kill insects, or they might not be getting enough good food to stay strong. Also, tiny insects called mites feed on bees. “A virus or bacteria could also be doing the killing.” explains Pettis.What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．The ways of crops pollinating |
| B．The importance of bees to food crops. |
| C．The variety of food crops |
| D．The protection of honeybees |
The reason why bees are hard to study is that ____________.
| A．all the bees studied by researchers are often replaced by new bees by beekeepers |
| B．they never return to hives |
| C．they are too small to be seen |
| D．they fly around too much |
The almond crop and many others in California could be in trouble because ____
| A．many bees are dying |
| B．researchers have difficulty studying bees |
| C．there is no rain and the crops can’t be irrigated |
| D．all the pollinators such insects , birds and bats disappear |
According to the passage ,which of the following can’t affect bee health ?
| A．Poisons to kill birds. |
| B．Lack of good food |
| C．Large birds feeding on insects |
| D．Some virus. |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．A large number of bees have died in the hive. |
| B．Without bees, some foods would disappear from our diet. |
| C．Only researchers in California want to know what kills bees. |
| D．Large animals are easier to study than tiny insects. |
An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window.
The father asked his son, “What is this?”
The son replied, “It is a crow.”
After a few minutes, the father asked his son the 2nd time, “What is this?”
The son said, “Father, I have just now told you ‘It’s a crow’.”
After a little while, the old father again asked his son the 3rd time, “What is this?”
At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the son’s tone when he said to his father. “It’s a crow, a crow, a crow.”
After a while, the father again asked his son the 4th time, “What is this?”
This time the son shouted at his father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”
A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary:
“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated, I rather felt affection for my innocent child.”The underlined word “irritation” in the passage can be replaced by ___________.
| A．puzzlement | B．Patience |
| C．annoyance | D．excitement |
What was the father’s age when he wrote down this page in the diary?
| A．38 years old | B．35 years old |
| C．45 years old | D．80 years old |
Why did the old father keep asking his son the same question?
| A．Because he developed a kind of disease. |
| B．Because he was so boring that he wanted to play a joke on his son. |
| C．Because he wanted to know whether his son was as patient as he himself used to be. |
| D．Because his son loves playing this game with him. |
Why didn’t the father feel irritated when his son asked him the same question for 23 times ?
| A．he knew his son was foolish |
| B．the father loved his son so much that he never got tired of doing this again and again |
| C．because the father was deaf |
| D．the father had already got used to this kind of situation |
How would the son probably feel after reading the words in the diary?
| A．impatient | B．sad |
| C．grateful | D．ashamed |
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