Almost all of us have been there: A sense of uneasiness strikes us when we see the battery running low on the smartphone. While today’s smartphones enable us to surf the Internet, take pictures and play music, their limited, sometimes annoyingly short battery life has started to make people full of memories of early models. “My favorite phone of all time was a silver Nokia 6310i from the early 2000s. It may be primitive by today’s standards, but it could run for 17 days on a single charge,” wrote Daily Mail columnist David Derbyshire.
But scientists spend no time thinking about the past. They have built an aluminium (铝) battery which could be a cheap, fast-charging alternative to current designs.
You can squeeze, and practically bend it in half without breaking the packet. It is more environmentally friendly than alkaline (碱性的) batteries, and more safe than lithium (锂) batteries – it won’t catch fire “even if you drill through it”, as Hongjie Dai of Stanford University told The Telegraph. The battery is the work of a team led by Dai. And the best part is that it has a recharge time of around one minute.
However, at present, the only problem is that it produces just half the voltage (电压) of a typical lithium battery. But Dai explained they were setting about changing the voltage and energy density(密度)”. “Our battery has everything else you’d dream that a battery should have. I see this as a new battery in its early days,” he told The Telegraph.
1.How many advantages does the aluminium battery have according to the article?
A. 2 B. 3 C.4 D. 5
2.The passage suggests that _________________.
A. the aluminium battery catches fire easily if drilled
B. the aluminium battery still needs improving before it can be widely used
C. the aluminium battery is larger in size than alkaline batteries
D. scientists find it a real challenge to change the voltage of the aluminium battery
3.Which of the following can best summarize the passage?
A. A new battery in its early days.
B. A new trend in the smartphone market.
C. The annoyance short battery life causes
D. The invention of a new smartphone battery.
4.The last paragraph in the passage is probably followed by the paragraph about how to __________.
A. make the aluminium battery cheaper and more environmentally-friendly
B. lengthen the aluminium battery life
C. increase the voltage and energy density of the aluminium battery
D. charge the aluminium battery faster
“You get excited about everything because you were born in the summer!” Does that sound like something your grandparents used to say to you?
Of course, you’re a learned person who doesn’t believe in such things. But scientists now say that it might not all be superstition (迷信).
Researchers from Semmelweis University in Hungary recently asked 366 university students to fill out a questionnaire. The answers given included things like “My mood often changes for no reason”, “I love to deal with new projects, even if they’re risky ”, and “I complain a lot”. They then compared students’ answers to their birthdays. They found that the season of your birth may have some effect on who you are.
Researchers found that people born in the summer were more likely to quickly change between sad and happy emotions. People born in the winter, however, were less likely to become angry. Spring birthdays were more likely to make people overly positive, while people born in autumn were less likely to be depressive (忧郁的).
So, why could the seasons cause such differences?
“Biochemical studies have shown that the season in which you are born affects some monoamine neurotransmitters (单胺类神经递质),” lead researcher Xenia Gonda said in a written statement. “This led us to believe that birth season may have a longer-lasting effect.”
Monoamine neurotransmitters are given off from neurones (神经元细胞). They affect our emotions. So the researchers believe they might have an effect on the development of our personalities.
Different seasons also have different food and nutrients (养分) to offer. In addition, mothers usually get more physical exercise and enjoy more sunlight in warm seasons than in cold seasons. All these are “environmental factors ” which may influence a person’s personality, said Gonda.
But the research only included a survey and didn’t follow participants over time. More research is needed before a final answer can be given on the connection between season and personality.
Don’t worry, though. Even if the connection is proven, it won’t mean that your birth month completely decides who you are. Being happy or sad is up to you.
1.The study from Semmelweis University in Hungary intended to prove that _________________.
A. a person’s birth season might affect their monoamine neurotransmitters
B. monoamine neurotransmitters might be connected to our emotions
C. people’s personalities might depend on environmental factors
D. the season of a person’s birthday may affect their personality
2.According to the research, people with emotional instability are more likely to be born in .
A. spring B. summer
C. autumn D. winter
3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The season of your birth decides who you are.
B. Physical exercise can change your personality.
C. You can change your personality regardless of your birth season.
D. A lot of research has been done on how someone’s birth season affects their
Mrs Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen described Mrs Bennet as “a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper（脾气）”: she topped your list of the least favorite female family heads. With her single-minded devotion to marrying off her daughters, she is one of literature’s parents involving themselves in their sons’ or daughters’ private lives. And at least she pays attention to her daughters. Whatever one might lay at her daughters’ door, she defends them.
Helen Graham, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The second and final novel by Anne Bront was so shocking that after Anne’s death, her sister Charlotte prevented its re-publication. Published for the first time in 1848, it told the story of a woman who escapes her alcoholic husband to protect her young son. In fleeing her husband, Helen was not just challenging social structures, she was breaking the law: at the time, a married woman had no independent legal existence, and by taking her child with her she was likely to be punished for kidnapping(诱拐). Helen’s actions didn’t just establish her as a good mother; they helped to cause a movement.
Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables
The adoptive mother of orphan Anne makes herself known as a softy through the course of the 1908 novel: so much so that Margaret Attwood has claimed that Marilla is the true central character: “Her growing love for Anne, and her growing ability to express that love – not Anne’s duckling-to-swan act – is the real magic transformation. Anne is the catalyst(催化剂) who allows the strict Marilla to finally express her long-buried softer human emotions.”
Mrs Waterbury, The Railway Children
The Railway Children’s female family head is “a very real mother, strong but also easily hurt.” Presenting an idealized(理想化) vision of childhood, yet the novel contains a tension between appearance and reality – which some have said reflects its author E Nesbit’s personal life. Her husband had an ongoing affair with her best friend, who bore him two children that Nesbit raised as her own. Jenny Agutter has said: “Nesbit’s life was always unstable. What saved her was her belief that things would work out in the end … Against the background of her own tense and complex family life, she wrote stories about families that were joined perfectly together.”
1.The passage mainly discusses _____________ in literature.
A. families
B. mothers
C. emotional life
D. parent-child communication
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the four characters in the novels mentioned in the passage?
A. Mrs Bennet is a most controlling person.
B. Helen Graham is a person to give up easily.
C. Marilla Cuthbert is hard to get along with .
D. Mrs Waterbury is poor at holding together a family
3.According to the writers mentioned in the passage, we can infer that ____________________.
A. Jane Austen was good at writing detective stories
B. Anne Bront wrote three novels altogether all her life
C. E Nesbit was looking forward to having one harmonious family
D. Margaret Attwood was very popular with readers of the early 20th century
4.Which of the following can we recommend if anyone wants to read a novel about the sweetest expression of family love.
A. Pride and Prejudice.
B. The Railway Children.
C. Anne of Green Gables.
D. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Imagine a stranger walking past you on a cold, rainy day. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” the stranger says. Do you laugh, or even smile? If not, you may not have a dry sense of humor.
British people, and particularly the English, are well-known for our dry sense of humor. We often say the opposite of what we mean in order to be funny, and tell jokes in a tone of voice that makes it sound like we are being completely serious. As US writer Julian Tan put it on the HuffPost Students blog: “It is as if it is ‘Opposite Day’ every day in Britain.”
If the people of Britain are known for having a “stiff upper lip” and not showing emotion, then our dry sense of humor shows this through jokes. Often it will take a long time or several beers, to get a British person to tell you what they actually think about something and get behind the wall of humorous sarcasm (讽刺) that they have in front of them.
English comedian Ricky Gervais put it like this: “We play jokes on our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield (护盾) and a weapon. We avoid being serious until it’s absolutely necessary.”
It can be annoying and confusing if you haven’t been raised with these types of jokes: “Why did he just say such a ridiculous thing? Is he making fun of me?” But it is also true that understanding this type of humor is a good way to make friends with people in the UK, even if you don’t find it funny.
It’s important to remember that the person telling the joke may actually be making fun of himself or herself, not you. One of the characteristics of British humor is “its strong theme of self-deprecation” (making fun of oneself), according to Tan. So don’t worry – often, English people, and British people in general, just want to make fun of themselves!
1.According to the passage, we can know that someone with a dry sense of humor can ___________.
A. not use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon.
B. not make friends with people in the UK
C. pretend to play jokes on their friends
D. say funny things in a serious way
2.Which of the following words best describes British humor according to Julian Tan?
A. Opposite. B. Annoying.
C. Ridiculous. D. Funny.
3.The underlined phrase “stiff upper lip” in Paragraph 3 refers to a quality of ___________.
A. remaining calm
B. communicating feelings
C. taking a positive attitude
D. focusing attention
4.It can be inferred from the passage that _______________.
A. British people are famous for being emotional
B. British people’s humor is often misunderstood
C. it’s a tradition for British people to make fun of each other
D. it doesn’t take a long time to make friends with British people
5.The passage is mainly about ____________________.
A. why British people like laughing at themselves
B. some tips on how to make British people laugh
C. the importance of humor in British culture
D. what British humor is like
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
At home, ordering food from a menu is a normal, everyday routine. I don’t even give it a second thought. In China, it’s a whole other story! Here, ordering is a fun game of trial and error, and the adventure begins before the food is even served!
Many restaurants in central Beijing advertise “English language menus”, but the translations can just add to the confusion. Although accompanying pictures can be a helpful relief, the translations often make the whole experience even more amusing. During my first few weeks in China I tried some delicious dishes with off-the-wall names. As an experiment, my friends and I would order things like “students addicted to chicken gristle (软骨)” and “red burned lion head”. It was always fun to see what landed on our table. Eventually we learned that “lion head” was actually pork, and “students” are “addicted” to diced (切碎的) chicken with green pepper.
Recently, I came across a busy restaurant down a narrow side street in a Beijing hutong. It was lunchtime and the small room was packed with people sitting on small stools (凳子) eating noodles. I was hungry and cold, and the steaming bowls looked irresistible! I sat myself down and called out for a “caidan!” In response, the waitress pointed to a wall at the back of the restaurant. The wall was full of Chinese characters describing numerous dishes. There was only one sentence in English: “crossing over the bridge noodles”.
I had never heard of the dish and had no idea what it would taste like. I took a gamble and ordered one bowl of “crossing over the bridge noodles”. A few minutes later the waitress carried over a heavy bowl full of broth (肉汤) and I quickly dug in. It was the best bowl of noodles I had ever tasted! I have been back again and again and each time I point at the one English sentence – “crossing over the bridge noodles”. I always enter a restaurant in China feeling excited and a little nervous. Who knows what the next ordering adventure will show?
1.How does the writer find the English-language menus in many of Beijing’s restaurants?
A. Confusing but amusing. B. Easy to understand.
C. Boring and annoying. D. Accurate and helpful.
2.The underlined word “gamble” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
A. taste B. look C. step D. risk
3.The passage deals with ______.
A. the author’s favorite Chinese dishes
B. the fun the author had ordering food in China’s restaurant
C. a comparison between Western food and Chinese food
D. the correct way to translate the names of Chinese dishes into English
4.The passage is developed mainly in the form of _____________.
A. examples and statements
B. comparison and conclusion
C. causes and effects
D. time and description
阅读下面的短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
What are consequences of laziness? Many young persons seem to think it of not much consequence they do not improve their time well in youth, vainly they can make it up by careful work or effort when they are . They also think it is shameful for men and women to be lazy, that there can be no harm in persons who are young spending their time in any they please.
George Jones thought . At the age of 16, he went to an academy to prepare to enter college. His father obtained books for him, clothed him, and paid for schooling at his great . But George thought of nothing but present . When called to recite, he went red and what he recited were not the right words, the whole class would burst into laughter. Such are the applauses (掌声) a lazy person gets. , though he passed a very poor examination, he was with the test. It was those who him that thought it was possible that the reason why he didn’t .questions better was that he was frightened.
However, in college there is not much shown to bad scholars. George had his studies so long that he fell behind. Poor fellow! He paid for his laziness. All the good scholars him; they were ashamed to be seen in his . He was growing discouraged. Eventually, he had to quit college. Such are the of laziness.
Therefore, we should, from this history, take , and “stamp improvement on the wings of time”.
1.A. as B. until C. if D. since
2.A. expecting B. regretting C. indicating D. requiring
3.A. older B. better C. taller D. stronger
4.A. and B. but C. for D. or
5.A. order B. sense C. manner D. pattern
6.A. so B. again C. aloud D. ahead
7.A. sale B. speed C. length D. expense
8.A. purpose B. pleasure C. memory D. situation
9.A. so that B. in case C. as though D. now that
10.A. At first B. On the contrary C. At last D. In other words
11.A. faced B. satisfied C. combined D. admitted
12.A. saved B. examined C. submitted D. appreciated
13.A. come up with B. respond to C. end up with D. add to
14.A. motivation B. dignity C. interest D. mercy
15.A. ignored B. explored C. interrupted D. strengthened
16.A. generously B. greedily C. constantly D. dearly
17.A. saved B. attracted C. avoided D. recommended
18.A. college B. company C. class D. community
19.A. characteristics B. causes C. states D. wages
20.A. action B. charge C. warning D. advice
