The name sounds funny but the idea is no joke: it’s a personal toilet called the pee-pool, Anders Wilhelmson, a Swedish architect, is the inventor of the pee-pool.
He became interested in the idea of sanitation after taking part in a research project on the social and political development of cities. One of the most common problems he found in developing countries was the lack of toilets. He wanted to do something to help, so working with others, he started the project in 2005, and the next year started a company called Peepoolple.
The toilet is a single-use bag made of environmentally friendly plastics. The inside is treated with urea(尿素), a chemical commonly used as fertilizer. The hotter the weather, the more quickly the waste turns into what is needed by plants. The sanitation process can be as soon as a couple of hours or as long as two to four weeks, you can just bury it in a pot and grow whatever you like.
The company expects to start selling the bags in August in Kenya and Bangladesh, but it is just beginning production and sales in Nairobi now. Full production could reach about half a million bags a day and people may be able to buy the pee-pool in countries Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc.
The United Nations says more than two and a half billion people around the world do not have good sanitation. Many have no choice but to use the outdoors, which is not only bad for the environment, but also harmful to people’s health. Each year, poor sanitation leads to three fifths of those people getting an infectious disease which on average causes one out of 1,000 patients to die.
Jack Smith, the founder of the World Toilet Organization, says “This is quite an unacceptable situation given the fact that we are living in the modern world, and strangely, many of them own televisions, phones but have no toilet.”
1.What was the original purpose of Anders Wilhelmson in starting the company?
A. To protect the local environment.
B. To earn a lot of money from the project.
C. To do research on the social development.
D. To help solve the problem of lack of toilets in developing countries.
2.What can be learned about the pee-pool from the passage?
A. It can be used over again.
B. Its sanitation process doesn’t last long.
C. It works better in summer than in winter.
D. It should be buried in a pot after being used.
3.In which place can people buy the Pee-pool now?
A. Nairobi.B. Kenya.C. Sweden.D. Bangladesh.
4.The fifth paragraph is written mainly to tell us that ________.
A. poor sanitation may cause many problems
B. many people don’t care for the environment
C. many people get ill from using the outdoors
D. quite a number of people die from poor sanitation
5.The underlined word “This” in the last paragraph probably refers to ________.
A. the outdoors being damaged
B. many places being short of toilets
C. many people having TVs and phones
D. many people getting an infectious disease
There is a very instructive incident involving the life of Alexander the Great, King of Greek. Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. So, he lay helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, “I will depart from this world soon, and I have three wishes. Please carry them out without fail.”
“My first desire is that,” said Alexander, “My physicians alone must carry my coffin.” After a pause, he continued, “Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be spread with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected.” The king continued, “My third and last wish is that both my hands should be kept hanging out of my coffin.” Alexander’s favourite general kissed his hand and pressed it to his heart. “Oh, King, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?”
Alexander took a deep breath and said, “I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure any bodies. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let people not take life for granted.”
“The second wish of spreading gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a bit of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is just a waste of time to chase wealth.”
“And about my third wish of having my hands hanging out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty-handed into this world and empty-handed out of this world.” With these words, the King closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last.
1.The first paragraph suggests that Alexander ________.
A. wanted to leave the world as he came empty-handed
B. realized that what he got in his life was nothing to him at all
C. was spending a lot time conquering many kingdoms and had earned a great amount of wealth
D. regarded his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth as the most important things
2.The underlined word “clutches” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
A. sentenceB. attentionC. controlD. shadow
3.The author intends to ________.
A. tell us the story of Alexander
B. stress the power of Alexander the Great
C. persuade people to realized what Alexander said
D. introduce readers to the instructive lessons of Alexander
4.What would be the best title of the passage?
A. The Death of Alexander
B. The Greed of Alexander
C. Three wishes of Alexander
D. The Life of Alexander
Do you like shopping? Or does the thought of wandering around the shops fill you with terror? For some of us, shopping is an enjoyable way of spending our spare time and our money. For me, it’s something I would rather avoid. Thank goodness for the Internet! It’s more convenient to buy CDs, electrical items, even food from the comfort of your sofa. But that’s not the only reason: price is an important factor. We can buy goods and services cheaper online. But sometimes the problem is knowing what to buy. This has led to a type of shopping called “showrooming”.
Showrooming is something I’ve done. I will go to a shop to see, touch and try out products but then go home and buy them online at a knock-down price. I’m not alone in doing this. Research by a company called Foolproof, found 24% of people showroomed while Christmas shopping in 2013.
Amy Cashman, head of Technology at TNS UK, says the reasons for this new shopping habit are that “people are lacking time, lacking money and they want security about the products they are buying”. She explains that consumers are not only shopping online at home but they are using the Internet in store or on their smartphones to shop around.
But does this mean technology will kill shops? Certainly shops will change. They will have to offer more competitive prices or encourage people to buy more by giving in-store discounts or free gifts.
We mustn’t forget that buying in a shop means you can get expert advice from the sales assistant and you can get good aftercare. It’s good to speak to a real human rather than look at a faceless computer screen, but at least by showrooming, you get the best of both worlds!
1.The two questions in Paragraph 1 are raised to ________.
A. introduce the topic
B. give two examples
C. compare different opinions
D. get answers from readers
2.According to Amy Cashman, which is not the reason for showrooming?
A. The lack of time.
B. The comfort of the sofa.
C. The shortness of money.
D. The security of the product.
3.The author’s attitude towards showrooming is ________.
A. criticalB. neutralC. casualD. supportive
假如你叫李华，新学期开学两个月了，你的英语老师要求你在英语课堂上用英语和同学们交流一下你到新学校后的感受。交流内容要求包括以下要点：
1、校园环境和教学设施；
2、师生给你的印象；
3、给学校的两点建议。
注意：1、词数 100 词左右；
2、信的开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入词数；
3、内容可适当发挥，要注意行文连贯。
Hello, everyone,
I’m honored to stand here to tell you something about my school life in the past two months………….
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：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，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。
Many times when I was at a bad mood I shouted at the people around me. I scream, shouted and ran as fast as I could relieve my pressure. So it was useless, since I still had to return to the problem. This term I begin to change. I have realized however greater the difficulty is, I have to face with it. It's no use screaming and shouting at others. Beside, there are teachers and friends around me who are ready to helping me. As long as I try my best, I can make a progress in any aspect. Now I feel every day is a pleasant day and the sun is always shining bright on my face.
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。
Founded in Yan’an in 1941, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) is now a famous university located in the Haidian District of Beijing, a place in 1. the key institutions of higher 2. (educate) are concentrated. Excellence in foreign language teaching has allowed BFSU 3. (enjoy) a good fame for quality in teaching and research activities.
The university campus occupies 4. area of 304,553 square meters, with a student dormitory area of 40,000 square meters and a library of 9,997 square meters. The Third Ring Road runs through the center of the university campus, 5. （make）transportation very convenient. The university is 6. (wide) known as Beiwai in Mandarin and BFSU in English.
BFSU has over 600 highly-qualified and 7. (experience) staff members. Each year approximately 120 teachers and experts 8. (employ) from more than 20 9. (country) to teach at BFSU. BFSU is a member of Project 211, a university development program supported 10. the Ministry of Education.
