A Smart Home
When you’re not at home, many worries may start to crowd your mind. Did I turn the coffee maker off? Did I lock the door? Are the kids doing their homework or watching television? With a smart home, you can quiet all of these worries.
A smart home is a home with a communication network. This network connects devices(装置), such as lights and TV sets, and allows them to be controlled from far away through electrical wiring, mobile phone communication or WiFi over the internet.
More and more people may start to consider owning a smart home, because it makes life much more convenient. It can help keep your room at a certain temperature. It can record what happens inside the home and send the video to your phone. When you are on vacation abroad, you can use a smart home controller to switch on or off the electricity when necessary. Some smart homes can receive a visitor, allowing him to come in and offering him a drink. They can even feed the cat and water the plants.
Besides, smart homes are easy to fix. Most smart home technology and devices are wireless and can be set up with a minimum of tools, using only the guiding information. When a problem appears, you can deal with it yourself without paying a professional.
However, for home-users, the smart home technology is far from perfect. It can be rather expensive to own the technology and the devices. Also, because the smart home system allow its owner to get home information from anywhere, it leaves the home easy to be attacked by hackers(黑客),who may secretly use or change the information in the system.
Now, many scientists are excited at the future of smart home technology. Imagine being able to get fashion advice from your mirror, or receive food shopping suggestions from your refrigerator. While there are others who worry that those smart devices will make people lazier and lonelier. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure---smart home technology will change the way we live and work.
1.According to the passage, nowadays a smart home can lock the door through______________.
A. electric lights B. mirror technologies
C. mobile phones D. shopping programs
2.The third paragraph of the passage is mainly about _________.
A. the steps to use smart systems
B. the prices of smart programs
C. the advantages of a smart home
D. the tools for setting up smart devices
3.What’s the writer’s opinion according to the passage?
A．People will become less happy in the future.
B．People’s life style will be different in the future.
C．Mobile phones are the most important in smart homes.
D．Smart homes are much better than other smart systems.
Lost in the Mountain
Teenager Jake Deham was skiing (滑雪) with his family in the USA when he fell over and lost one of his skis. His family didn’t know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of Jake.
Jake couldn’t find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn’t work out the right way to go.
It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm(镇定). At home, Jake watched a lot of programs about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programs and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn’t blow into it. Outside his hole, the temperature fell to a dangerous —15℃that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.
But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programs always said,“ If you are lost, you should find someone else’ s tracks (足迹) through the snow and follow them.” “I wanted to live my life.” remembers Jake. “So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those.” He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of worker who came to save him. He was safe!
His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn’t even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.
So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life!
1.Jake’s parents didn’t know that he was missing until.
A. they reached the foot of the mountain
B. they began to ski down the mountain
C. a team of workers found Jake
D. Jake lost one of his skis
2.What was the most important decision Jake made for his safety?
A. To go skiing with his family in the USA.
B. To search for the ski that he had lost in the snow.
C. To take off his other ski and walk down the mountain.
D. To build a hole in the snow to keep himself warm.
3.How did Jake get down the mountain the next morning?
A. He followed his parents.
B. He followed the workers.
C. He followed some ski tracks.
D. He followed some light.
4.What was the correct order in which these events happened?
a. Jake made a hole in the snow.
b. Jake lost one of his skis.
c. Jake finally saw lights.
d. He followed some tracks.
A. d-b-a-c B. a-b-c-d C. b-a-d-c D. c-b-a-d
Children’s Books Fair
MARS—The Red Planet “MARS—The Red Planet!” is one of our Early Reader Space books. It has surprising facts and photos explaining all about Mars. Aiming mainly at kids aged 7—10, it’s an interesting way for readers to find out more about the red planet. |
“The Weather” is one of our Early Earth books for boys and girls aged 13—15. This is a fun and fantastic way for readers to find out more about the weather on our earth. It offers information in a fun way—mixing facts, photos, and even has a web page with video clips explaining more about the information in the book. |
Horses Kids Book of Fun Facts & Amazing Pictures on Animals in Nature — A Perfect Horse Book for Kids Aged 5—8. The book written by Kate describes the noblest animal on the planet for early readers. The book is packed with beautiful and clear pictures that help your child to understand the (fun) facts about this animal. It also includes anatomy(解剖) of horses. |
No other book on Earth science is packed with so much fun. It’s for kids aged 9—12.The Earth Science Book’s pages overflow with dozens and dozens of enjoyable, educational, and easy-to-do activities that explain basic Earth science facts and important environmental issues. These activities show you all about the planet Earth.
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1.If your sister wants to know more about the space, she can choose ________.
A. MARS—The Red Planet B. The Weather
C. Horses D. The Earth Science Book
2.“The Weather” is one of our Early Earth books for boys and girls aged ________.
A. 5—8 B. 13—15 C. 9—12 D. 8—13
3.“Horses” is about ________.
A. the red planet
B. the weather on our earth
C. the easy-to-do activities
D. the noblest animal on the planet
4.Which is true according to the ads above?
A. The Weather is about the Moon.
B. Horses is a perfect book for kids aged 7—10.
C. The Earth Science Book was written by Dinah Zike.
D. MARS—The Red Planet is about the noblest anima
完形填空
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
The Magic of Waving
It began a year ago, around Christmas.
While driving around the corner of our townhouse sports center, I always noticed an old man sitting by his front yard. He was usually smoking or drinking and looked grumpy (脾气不好).
One day, while I was driving past him with my daughter, I decided to _________at him with a lot of excitement. At the beginning, when he noticed me waving at him, he looked a bit shocked(震惊). Then, I saw his _________go up and he waved back.
“Why did you wave at him?” my daughter asked.
I told her that it was just an act of kindness that didn’t _________anything, and it gave both him and me a sense of joy. She responded by saying that she was a bit embarrassed (局促不安) to wave to a_________, but next time she would try it as well.
Lucky for us, we lived close to the old man, so we_________him rather often. Whenever we drove by, both of us would wave at him and, pretty soon, the old man _________ waving at everyone who passed by his house.
One day, my daughter’s friend came to visit and she told my daughter that she saw this strange old man near our home who waved at her very _________ . She mentioned that she waved back at him, even though she didn’t know him, and that it felt really good.
Upon hearing this, my daughter told her friend the story of how all the waving began.
Her friend responded, “Tell your mom that’s really_________!”
Other friends made similar comments(评论), and this response taught my daughter just how much an act of kindness can be very natural and effortless, if you really want to do it. It showed us how giving happiness _________ both the giver and the receiver.
Inspired by all these positive effects, we’re planning to give our elder waving neighbor a thank-you card, to express our thanks for the warmth that he communicated through his enthusiastic waves. And to thank him for _________ this simple joy with all who pass by his house.
1.A. look B. laugh C. shout D. wave
2.A. leg B. hand C. foot D. head
3.A. cost B. bring C. break D. hide
4.A. smoker B. stranger C. manager D. driver
5.A. saw B. asked C. thanked D. visited
6.A. started B. succeeded C. guided D. lasted
7.A. slowly B. gradually C. excitedly D. safely
8.A. different B. easy C. cool D. humorous
9.A. attracted B. controlled C. reminded D. benefited
10.A. getting B. sharing C. following D. keeping
— Could you tell me __________ yesterday?
— Because my bike was broken on my way here.
A. why you came late B. why do you come late
C. why you come late D. why did you come late
Beijing is a nice city because more and more trees _______ every spring.
A. planted B. are planted
C. will be planted. D. plant
