Expensive and new gloves allow chatterboxes（话匣子）to take the term “handsfree” to a new level—by talking into them as they make a call. The gloves are known as “Talk to the Hand” and cost £1,000 a pair. They fixed a speaker unit into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger that can be connected to any mobile handset using Bluetooth.
Artist Sean Miles designed the new gloves that double as a phone in part of his project that shows the possibilities of gadget(小配件) recycling. He uses outdated gloves and combines them with parts from mobile handsets recycled through O2, which commissioned（承担）the project. Mobile phone users will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets or handbags.
Mr Miles designed two pairs of the new gloves—one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear in an exhibition this July and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If demand is high, they will then be produced on a larger scale. O2 Recycle, which backed the project, estimates that there are already 70 million unused mobile handsets in the UK. The service pays up to £260 to those who recycle gadgets including phones, handheld consoles, MP3 players and digital cameras.
Designer Sean Miles hopes his work will get people thinking about recycling. The 41-year-old said, “I hope that my ‘Talk to the Hand’ project will get people to think again about the waste created by not recycling gadgets. If a few more people recycle their gadgets rather than send them to trash, I think this project will have fulfilled its aim.”
Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, urges people to recycle their phone responsibly. He said, “There’s a pressing need for all of us to look at outdated handsets, and all the gadgets that we move on from or upgrade each year. Whether they are consoles or cameras, we should think of them as a resource that we need to recycle responsibly rather than throw them away.”
1.The underlined word “O2” in Paragraph 2 is probably the name of ______.
A. an artist B. a company C. a mobile D. an exhibition
2.Consumers can buy the “Talk to the Hand” gloves ______.
A. in the exhibition B. from Mr Miles
C. when they are mass produced D. after they recycle the gadgets
3.The purpose of the project is to _______.
A. promote the technology of IT
B. enable people to talk to their hands
C. raise people’s awareness of recycling
D. attract visitors’ attention in the exhibition
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. New mobiles that are fashionable.
B. Outdated handsets that are upgraded.
C. Outdated gadgets that can be used for recycling.
D. New gloves that can be used for making phone calls.
Below are some smart ways to stay healthy suggested by some American experts.
Drink More Coffee
When was the last time you heard a doctor use the word miracle? Well, wake up and smell the coffee: “It’s amazing,” says liver specialist Sanjiv Chopra, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Coffee is truly a lifesaving miracle drug.”
Though he says it’s still a “scientific mystery” how a simple cup of coffee works its wonders in the body, large epidemiological studies have repeatedly proved its astonishing benefits.
“Drink it black, or at most put a little skim milk in it” to minimize calories, Dr. Chopra recommends. He drinks at least four cups a day himself, though most people should limit themselves to two. And no, he jokes, “I’m not sponsored by Starbucks.”
Take a Walk for Your Memory
Aerobic (有氧运动的) exercise is good for your body, great for your mind, according to the latest research from brain-fitness pioneer Arthur Kramer. Every year, an area called the hippocampus, which is key to memory, shrinks by about 1 to 2 percent, increasing the risk of dementia (脑衰) as the years roll by. However, Kramer’s new investigations reveal that the hippocampi of adults who walked briskly for about 45 minutes three times a week grew by about 2 percent over the course of a year, preventing age-related shrinking.
It’s never too late to start exercising, Kramer says; volunteers in his research were between 55 and 80 years old and hadn’t exercised at all. And it doesn’t need to be backbreaking. “Anything that raises your heart rate seems to work,” he says. “Walking is fine. Just find something you like and do it.”
Early to Bed, Early to Eat
“Being a night owl might increase your waistline,” says sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD. People who stay up late and sleep late tend to eat more fast food and consume more of their calories after 8 p.m. than do normal sleepers.
“One of the easiest things that anyone on a diet can do to improve her results is go to bed and wake up at the same times every day,” Breus says. “This way, your body knows when to sleep and is much more efficient. Organize your eating, too, by trying to eat meals at the same times every day. Avoid eating after 8 p.m., and don’t miss morning meals by sleeping in.”
Use the 20-Second Rule
What’s the difference between having a goal and actually accomplishing it? Just 20 seconds, says positive-psychology specialist Shawn Achor. Researchers have learned that if we can cut 20 seconds off the startup time required for a task, we’re much more likely to follow through. So, for example, if you want to work out in the morning, place your shoes and exercise clothes next to your bed the night before. If you want to praise people more, put thank-you notes and a pen on your desk.
Imagine the Worst to Feel Better
Don’t count your blessings; subtract (扣除) them. “Consciously spend a few minutes imagining what your life would be like without the good things,” says Timothy Wilson, a psychologist at the University of Virginia. You’ll experience stronger feelings of love, gratitude, and happiness when you think about what life would be like without the people and things you love. “And they’ll seem surprising and special again,” he adds.
1. According to Sanjiv Chopra, most people should not drink more than ______ cups of coffee a day.
A. two B. three C. four D. six
2.Which of the following may help people on a diet to improve their results?
A. Raising their heart rate. B. Taking a walk for their memory.
C. Eating at fixed times. D. Sleeping in every morning.
3.According to Shawn Achor, if people place their shoes and exercise clothes next to their bed at bedtime, they’re more likely to ______ the next morning.
A. do exercise B. set a goal
C. cut 20 seconds off D. sleep 20 minutes more
4. Why should people spend a little time imagining their life without good things?
A. To experience surprise. B. To feel better.
C. To consider their own blessings. D. To prepare for the worst.
Many of us have heard stories about teachers who can “see” into a student’s future. Even if a student is not performing well, they can predict success. We are convinced that this ability, this gift, is evidence that they were “called to teach.” If the gift of sight is evidence, how greater must be the gift of touch. I have a story.
I grew up in the fifties in a poor African American neighborhood in Stockton, California, that had neither sidewalks nor an elementary school. Each day, always in groups at our parents’ insistence, my friends and I would leave home early enough to walk eight blocks to school and be in our seats when the bell rang. For four blocks, we walked on dusty roads. By the fifth block, we walked on sidewalks that led to lovely homes and to Fair Oaks Elementary School. It was at Fair Oaks, in a sixth grade English class, that I met Ms. Victoria Hunter, a teacher who had a huge influence on my life.
During reading periods, she would walk around the room, stop at our desks, stand over us for a second or two, and then touch us. Without saying anything to us (nothing could break the silence of reading periods), she would place two fingers lightly on our throats and hold them there for seconds. I learned many years later when I was a student at Stanford University that teachers touch the throat of students to check for sub-vocalization (默读), which slows down the reading speed. I did not know at the time why Ms. Hunter was touching our throats, but I was a serious and respectful student and so, during silent reading period, I did what Ms. Hunter told us to do. I kept my eyes on the material I was reading and waited for her to place her fingers lightly on my throat.
One day, out of curiosity, I raised my head from my book — though not high — so that I could see Ms. Hunter, a white woman from Canada, moving up and down the rows, stopping at the desks of my classmates. I wanted to see how they reacted when she touched their throats. She walked past them. I was confused. Did she pass them by because they were model students? What did we, the students who were touched, not do right? I sat up straighter in my chair, thinking that my way of sitting might be the problem. I was confused. Several days later, I watched again, this time raising my head a little higher. Nothing changed. Ms. Hunter touched the same students. Always, she touched me.
She touched me with her hands. She also touched me with her belief in my ability to achieve. She motivated me by demanding the best from me and by letting teachers I would meet in junior high school know that I should be challenged, that I would be serious about my work. I am convinced that she touched me because she could “see” me in the future. That was true of all of us at Fair Oaks who sat still and silent as Ms. Hunter placed her fingers lightly on our throats. We left Fair Oaks as “best students,” entered John Marshall Junior High School, finished at the top of our high school class, and went on to earn graduate degrees in various subjects. Ms. Hunter saw us achieving and she touched us to make certain that we would.
I was not surprised that she came to my graduation ceremony at Edison High School in Stockton or that she talked to me about finishing college and earning a Ph. D. She expected that of me. She gave me a beautifully wrapped box. Inside was a gift, the beauty of which multiplies even as it touches me: a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life.
1.According to the writer, what is a special ability many good teachers possess?
A. The ability to make all students behave well.
B. The ability to treat different students in the same way.
C. The ability to discover a student’s potential to succeed.
D. The ability to predict the near future of a poor student.
2.When she saw Ms. Hunter walk past some students without touching their throats, the writer felt ______.
A. disturbed B. puzzled C. ashamed D. annoyed
3.What does the writer mean by “a necklace to which I can add charms for each stage of my life” (paragraph 6)?
A. A gift which encourages me to do well on the journey of my life.
B. A gift which becomes more and more valuable as time goes by.
C. A necklace which I wear on all important occasions in my life.
D. A necklace which suits me and adds to my charm.
4.Which of the following serves as the best title for the story?
A. Ms. Hunter’s Surprise B. Ms. Hunter’s Challenge
C. A Teacher’s Touch D. A Teacher’s Memory
I grew up in a tiny Baltimore row house in a faraway mountain area. My parents the necessities of life they couldn’t give much more. If I asked my father a pair of jeans, he would say, “If you want them, make the money and buy them .” He wasn’t being mean; he just couldn’t them. From age 12 on, I did part-time jobs after school.
When I from high school, I joined the navy. Soon I was in a boot camp(新兵训练营) at Parris Island, S. C., where I learned that life in the navy centered around completing daily . These could be anything from cleaning the camp to conducting mock(模拟的) battles. Completing these tasks successfully discipline, team-work and responsibility. It didn’t whether you were black, white or Asian; everyone worked together for the of the company.
I went to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and later became an officer in the navy. The part of my job I most was the consulting(咨询) meetings I with the family members of the men and women in my , trying to help them deal with the long periods of . These proved popular and word of them spread. I was being asked to give encouraging to business groups, educators and kids across the country.
But I consider the boot camp my first real , and my life is still guided by the lessons I learned there. It taught me discipline, friendship and the pride related to setting a task every day and working hard to it.
1.A. provided B. got C. made D. bought
2.A. while B. but C. so D. or
3.A. about B. with C. for D. of
4.A. themselves B. ourselves C. yourself D. myself
5.A. pay B. find C. produce D. afford
6.A. came B. returned C. escaped D. graduated
7.A. drills B. tasks C. exercises D. reports
8.A. included B. asked C. required D. met
9.A. matter B. mean C. exist D. work
10.A. good B. boss C. rest D. right
11.A. out B. on C. away D. off
12.A. took B. hated C. enjoyed D. did
13.A. ended B. began C. continued D. held
14.A. charge B. situation C. position D. choice
15.A. lessons B. meetings C. training D. separation
16.A. Long before B. Before long C. As usual D. Once again
17.A. performances B. descriptions C. speeches D. gifts
18.A. vacation B. place C. job D. travel
19.A. important B. bitter C. normal D. difficult
20.A. gain B. achieve C. show D. match
----How did your interview with the manager go?
---- He seemed interested in my experience, but he didn’t ask for references.
A. Perfect! B. I’m not sure.
C. That’s right. D. Couldn’t be better.
It be the vocabulary that caused you the problem in the exercise because you know a lot of words.
A. may B. couldn’t C. should D. needn’t
