One advantage of the Internet is shopping conveniently online for clothes; one disadvantage of the Internet is also shopping conveniently online for clothes.
“Nothing fits,” said Lam Yuk Wong, a senior in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University. “Everyone says this. They order clothes and they don’t fit. People get very unhappy.”
Wong and her design partner, Xuaner “Cecilia” Zhang, are Team White Mirror, creators of what they call a “virtual (虚拟)fitting room”. Their goal is simple and consumer-friendly: to let online clothing shoppers have a perfect fit and a perfect look when shopping every time. Both women are from China, Wong from Hong Kong and Zhang from Beijing. They both order most of their clothing online. They got the idea from their own experience as consumers and from listening to the complaints of friends and relatives. “They say, ‘The color is wrong’ or ‘I got the right size but it still does not fit.’ We want to make it like you’re in the store trying on the clothes,” Zhang said.
Using a Kinect developed by Microsoft for use with its Xbox 360 video game player, Zhang scans Wong and turns her image into, in effect, a virtual model, keeping Wong’s dimensions (尺寸), and even her skin and hair color. “We put the clothes on the shopper’s 3-D body models and show how they look when they are dressed,” Wong said. So far, Wong and Zhang have adapted the software to show dresses and shirts, and they are now working on shorts.
Asked if she thought men as well as women might be interested in using their virtual fitting room, Wong said, “I think their wives will care about this, so it will also be important to men.”
1.Why is shopping conveniently online for clothes a disadvantage?
A.Students may easily get addicted to it.
B.Clothes bought online may not fit.
C.It attracts more online clothing shoppers.
D.It causes shoppers to waste too much money.
2.Wong and Zhang got the idea to design a virtual fitting room from ____.
A. their shopping experiences
B. a program at their university
C. some shop-owners’ complaints
D. the Xbox 360 video game player
3.Which of the following shows the process of using the virtual fitting room?
A. scanning -- trying on clothes -- getting images
B. trying on clothes -- getting models -- scanning
C. scanning -- getting models --trying on clothes
D. trying on clothes -- getting images -- scanning
4.What did Wong think of her virtual fitting room?
A. It is perfectly developed.
B. It will have its market share.
C. It is limited to women shoppers.
D. It is like a kind of video game player.
Texting（发短信）walkers aren't just an annoyance to other walkers, Australian researchers armed with movie special-effects technology have determined scientifically that they're threats to themselves. Using motion-capture technology similar to that used for films, researchers concluded that texting while walking not only affects balance but also the ability to walk in straight line.
“Some people like checking emails while walking to work in the morning” said the study co-author Hoorn, “but they may not know it has a serious effect on the safety of themselves”. Other facts have also proved this. A tourist from Taiwan walked off a pier near Melbourne last month while checking Facebook, bringing a sudden and icy end to a penguin-watching visit. Another person who was too wrapped up in his phone to notice dangers walked straight into the fountain in front of a shopping mall.
The Australian study involved 27 volunteers, a third of whom admitted having knocked into objects while texting. They were asked to walk 8.5 meters three times—once without phones, once while reading text and once while writing text, when eight cameras recorded their actions.
They found the volunteers using the phone walked slower, and, more seriously, they locked their arms and elbows in like “robots”, which forced their heads to move more, throwing themselves off balance. “In a pedestrian（步行的）environment, inability to maintain a straight path would be likely to increase potential for traffic accidents”, said Mr. Hoorn. “The best thing to do is to step aside and stop, or keep off the phone.”
Authorities world-wide have taken note. Signs on Hong Kong's subway system advise passengers in three languages to keep their eyes off their phones. Police and transport authorities have highlighted the danger in Singapore, where the Straits Times newspaper recently declared cellphone-distracted road crossing as “bad habit No. 2” contributing to the rising number of road deaths. Some U.S. states, including New York and Arkansas, are considering bans on what they're calling phone jaywalking.
1.According to the passage, people texting while walking usually____________.
A. do not influence other walkers
B. do harm to their eyes
C. put themselves in danger
D. can still walk straight
2.【Which of the following words has the closest meaning to “wrapped up” in Paragraph 2?
A. absent-minded B. annoyed
C. confused D. absorbed
3.About the Australian study, we know that___________.
A. the volunteers using phones while walking moved normally
B. ten volunteers admitted having bumped into things while texting
C. the volunteers were divided into three groups during the study
D. texting walkers are exposed to greater possibility of traffic accidents
4.The last paragraph suggests that_________.
A. actions have been taken against texting while walking
B. Hong Kong’s subway system forbids texting walkers to take the train
C. New York has made laws to ban phone jaywalking
D. cellphone-distracted road crossing is considered the worst habit in Singapore
Her attractive lips seemed to speak words of kindness, while her eyes appeared to seek（寻找） out the good in people. “You have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” She used to say.
It was for this rare charm and inner beauty that British movie star Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) was named the most naturally beautiful woman of all time in June, 2004.“Her skin looks fresh in all her films and her warm and lively personality really shines through,” said one beauty expert.
Life was never easy for Hepburn. Shortly after her parents’ painful divorce when she was nine, she found herself in the Netherlands at the start of World War II. Hepburn watched helplessly as several of her relatives were killed. She survived by eating tulip bulbs and carried secret messages for the resistance in her ballet shoes.She dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer but was told she was too tall and not talented enough to be a success.Hepburn then turned to musicals and spent most of her time as a chorus girl (舞女). She had some small movie roles but it was not until Roman Holiday (1953) that she became a star. With her good manners and delicate figure, she was perfect in the role of a European princess. She took the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.In 1988 Hepburn began her most important role—as a Goodwill Ambassador(大使) for UNICEF(United Nations Children’s Fund). She traveled to the poorest places, doing her best to provide care and create awareness of the difficult situations in which some children live.
When Hepburn passed away, a message displayed at her funeral read, “In losing Audrey, the world not only lost a movie star, we lost a princess, an angel, a person who inspired us all and whose selfless and loving examples shall always be remembered.”
1. When Hepburn began to act as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, how many years had passed since her parents’ divorce? _________
A. 50B. 52 C. 38D.46
2.What is the purpose of the last paragraph?_________
A. To tell readers about Audrey Hepburn’s death.
B. To think highly of Audrey Hepburn’s whole life.
C. To tell readers the message displayed at Audrey Hepburn’s funeral.
D. To say goodbye to Audrey Hepburn.
3.Which of the following best describes Audrey Hepburn’s life? _______
A. Difficult and lucky.
B. Miserable and smooth.
C. Hard and successful.
D. Easy and smooth.
4.What would be the best title for the passage?_______
A. Beauty Is Not Just Skin Deep.
B. Beauty Is Just Skin Deep.
C. Beauty Never Stays Forever.
D. A World-famous Beauty expert
假如你是新华中学的学生李华，得知某英文报社招聘兼职记者，你有意应聘，请按下列要求给报社写一封自荐信。
内容要点：
1. 表示感兴趣
2. 说明优势：知识面，英语水平，合作精神，相关经历
3. 希望得到回复
注意：1. 词数: 100左右
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
Dear Sir or Madam,
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
________
Yours,
Li Hua
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Long ago, an Ojibway Indian naming Wenibojo went on a long trip to the forest. When he got hunger, he dug up the roots of a bush and ate them. The roots were tasted good, but they made him sick. Wenibojo looked for everything better to eat. Suddenly he heard the sounds of ducks nearby. He followed the sounds from a beautiful lake, which the ducks were eating plants. Wenibojo tasted one. To his surprise, it was wild rice! He returned his village to tell the people there about the special food. Nowadays, the Ojibways still harvests rice, but only as many as they need. They always left some rice on the farm so that the ducks can eat.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（ 1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Jonny:Hey! I’m just practicing Tai Chi(太极).Would you like to join me?
Peter:I know nothing about it. Is it difficult?
Jonny:It seems easy, but you need a lot of practice. You just follow me like this.
Peter:OK. Don’t laugh1.me. I may look funny.
Jonny: Bend your knees slightly and reach out your arms like tree branches, naturallyand2. (gentle). Try to keep your body straight. Move slowly , then be sure to keep your balance and don't let your body shake.
Peter:I cannot control my body well. My legs become3. (pain).
Jonny: Keep 4.(hold) your position for a while. It helps develop your strength and flexibility. Raise your leg and let 5. stay in the air for seconds.
Peter:I feel my legs shaking. I cannot do this any longer.
Jonny: Be patient! Tai Chi6. (call) “shadow boxing” in English. It asks you to act like water: to be flexible as well7.strong. In real competition, a Tai Chi master borrows the strength of the competitor and uses this energy to fight back. The harder you try to beat him, 8.more likely you will get hit. He controls you!
Peter:Unbelievable! Oh..., 9. you don’t mind, I’ll stop and take a deep10. (breathe) .
