What if you arrived home to find it delicious hot meal waiting for you, prepared by your very own kitchen robot It might sound like science fiction. but professors at the university of Tokyo have taken the first steps toward making that scenario a reality. The team recently introduced a humanoid kichen robot that can pour and other drinks into cups and serve the m to guests.When teating is over, the robot can also wash the dishes and put them away.
In Califormia, another interesting kitchen robot has been developed, called Readybot. It can pick up objects and either srore them in cabinets (橱柜）or put them in the trash. It also carries a separate floor-cleaning robot that can operate by itself.Unlike the Japanse robot,Readybot just looks more like a large box with arms and wheels.
Readybot was created by engineers and designers who who etablished a called the Readybot Challlenge. They believe that in the future millions of robots will be needed in homes to perform ordinary household tasks. Readybot is just the step in their plan to create a robot that can do jobs not only in kitchens but in other rooms of homes and in offces as well.
Clearly there are tcchnogical difficulties to to solve before robots can cook a Complete dinner, and there arc diso many safety concerns (忧虑） .Not everyone (especially parents) would be comfortable with the idea of robots in their house, manipulating hot pans and sharp knives. The European Commission recently furtded(资助） a project to study these concerns. According to lead researcher Professor Chris Melhuish,“ Enabling robots to work safely with humans is a key need for the future developmem of
robots.”
1.Compared with Readybot, which of the following is true about the Japanese robot?
A. It is more popular.
B. It performs more jobs,
C. It moves inore quickly.
D. It looks more like a person.
2.What can Readybot be used to do?
A. drive you around
B. clean your kitchen
C. prepare food for you
D. work for office workers
3.what's the meaning of Ac underlined word “manipulating ” in the last paragrsph?
A. Inventing
B. Avoiding.
C. Controlling.
D. Making.
Unlike most other holidays, the history of April Fools’ Day. Sometimes called All Fools' Day, is not as the totally clear. The only point in time that can be agreed on as the beginning of this tradition was 1582,in France. Before that year, the New Year was celebrated for eight days,
beginning on March 25.The reform of the calendar celetxration reached the highest point on April l_With the riform of the calendar under Charles 1X,the
Gregorian calendar (公历, 阳历）was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved lo January 1.
However, because in those days communications were not as developed as they are today, many people did not receive the news for several years. Some people refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April , These backward people were considered “foots” by other peopk. They were often sent on “fools” errands (徒劳无益的工作)or were made the taragets of jokes.
This developed, over time,into a tradition of playing a trick m someone on the first day of April. The tradition eventully spread to England and Scotland in the eightreenth century. It was later introduced to the American
colonies of both the Britain and Francc.April Fools’ Day thus developed into an international fun feast,so to speak,with different nationalities specializing in their own kind of humor at the expense of their friends and families.
1.Acconibg to the new calendar, which day was New Year's Day moved la in France ?
A. March 25. B. January 1.
C. April I. D. April3.
2.Which of the following first had the tradition of celebrating the April Fools’ Day?
A. Frmce B. England,
C. Scotland D. America.
3.What was people's attitude towards the new calendar?
A. They accepted it happily. B. They refused it immediately.
C. Some recognized it. D. Some laughed at it.
4.What does the passage want 10 tell us?
A. What the French did un April Fools' Day.
B. How April Fools’ Day come into being.
C. When was the new calendar introduced.
D. Why some people were fooled in France.
How old are the apps on your smartphone? Is it time for an update? Here are three apps for you. Try them out and have fun.
DuoLingo
Learning a foreign language doesn't always mean you have to sit in a class and take endless exams. An app called Duolingo has been designed to help you memorize(记住) new words and grammar in creative ways, such as online lessons, games and interesting exercises. For example, one exercise asks you to put words in the right order to make the correct sentence. You can also try translation practice.
Douban FM
A music app is necessity for almost every smartphone now. Douban FM might be the right thing for you.
There is no playlist on Douban FM—songs just keep streaming(播放) one by me, You can use the “heart”, “trash” and “skip” buttons (按钮) to mark the songs you like, don’t like and want to cut short, respectively(分別地). Those marked with a heart will be stored in another list as your favorites for you to listen to anytime you want. Douban FM also has different channels(道频). There are many types of music, such as blues, jazz, and pop. You can choose the music for outdoor activities work or studying depending on your mood (心情).
It is one of the hottest news apps right now. With Flipboard, you can make everything personal to you. All you have to do is open up the app, “flip through” to select whatever interests you, and click the button. At the end you’ll have your own magazine, complete with a front page, new articles, and information.
1.What’s the purpose of the passage?
A. To show a new way to learn English.
B. To offer a hottest news website.
C. To introduce three apps.
D. To give advice to music lovers.
2.What does Duolingo help you do?
A. Get away from endless exams.
B. Keep words and grammar in mind.
C. Have easy access to online lessons.
D. Practice speaking English correctly.
3.Which statement is true about Douban FM？
A. There is no playlist on it, making a smartphone easier to operate.
B. It has special channels where concerts are regularly broadcast live.
C. It knows about your mood based on what you are doing.
D. You can choose with it your favorite songs and music as you like.
4.According to the text, what can you do wish Flipboard?
A. Make a personalized news magazine.
B. Go through everything that interests you.
C. Safely store some personal information.
D. Contribute your articles to popular magazines.
The 18yearold girl from Linyi，Shandong Province scored 568 points on her college entrance exam this year and was admitted to Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
On Aug.19，Xu received a phone call from an unknown person telling her that she was due to receive student funding.Following the call，Xu transferred a 9,900yuan “activation fee” into the man’s bank account，hoping the money would appear in her student account，but it never did.
After discovering they had been cheated，the family immediately reported the incident to the police，but Xu was said to be frustrated.On their way home，she suddenly fainted and despite doctors’ best efforts to rescue her，she passed away.
The death of Xu Yuyu immediately caused an outcry over the society，and once again，it fired a public anger towards those who commit heartless fraud(欺诈)．
So how was Xu’s private information leaked out?
Reporters have discovered that there are many people who openly sell the examinee’s information online.The information includes the examinee’s name，school，phone number，and address.The personal information of examinee has become the target of the online fraud industry.
写作内容
1．用约30个单词写出上文概要；
2．用约120个词就“Personal information leakage”谈谈你的看法和感受，内容包括：
(1)简述个人信息泄露的危害及保护个人信息的重要性；
(2)就如何保护个人信息提几点建议(至少两点)。
写作要求
1．写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2．作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3．不必写标题。
评分标准
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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The ability to deal with anxiety is an important part of sports training.People who are able to overcome their anxiety perform much better than some of the strongest competitors of the game.Unfortunately，at times sportspersons fail because they feel nervous when they are on the playing field，which makes them lose confidence in themselves.As a matter of fact，performance anxiety is quite common among stage artists and athletes，who are required to present themselves and their skills to a large crowd.
Various psychologists have found that expert athletes may behave like amateurs under great pressure.So what causes performance anxiety？First of all，during training and preparing for any competition，an athlete focuses on improving his or her skills in a familiar environment.All the efforts taken and practice done are，thus，stored in the procedural memory.However，in a real competitive situation，the conscious awareness of new grounds corrupts the memory of the practiced game，thus causing anxiety.It is also found that with more cheering crowds，the pressure for the athlete to achieve the best builds up rapidly.
Secondly，our body releases certain hormones(荷尔蒙) to welcome the upcoming exciting situation，which causes quickening of the heartbeat and sweaty hands.These signs are often misinterpreted(曲解) by an athlete as fear and lack of ability to perform.The negative thoughts often result in a terrible panic attack.
Thirdly，while training，some athletes set unrealistic targets for themselves.Failure to achieve those targets is regarded as lack of skills and puts the athletes in selfdenial(自我否定) of their own improvement.Even if they are fully prepared for an event，they tend to think poorly of their capabilities.Such reaction can turn any professional player into a green hand，thus ruining their performance.
Fortunately，something can be done to solve the problem.One of the best ways to overcome such a situation is distraction(分心)．As soon as you have the awareness of anxiety，pay your attention to something else—maybe singing or asking a fellow sportsperson about something that is not related to the game.Besides，you can take some small but effective measures.For instance，cut down on caffeine and sugar and have a carbohydraterich meal before the game to preserve energy.Anyway，performance anxiety is not a disease that athletes can get rid of once and for all.They should handle it properly to improve their performance so as to achieve sporting glory.
Performance Anxiety in Sports | |
Concept of performance anxiety | ·Performance anxiety refers to the 1. of nervousness，which leads to athletes doubting their abilities. ·Its common 2. are stage artists and sportspersons. |
Causes of performance anxiety | ·Sportspersons can feel anxious when competing in a(n) 3. environment. ·The 4. of large cheering crowds makes a sportsperson feel more stressed. ·Sportspersons think too 5. about some normal body signs，such as fast heartbeat and sweaty palms. ·Sportspersons begin to doubt themselves when they 6. to achieve their targets.Thus，they tend to undervalue themselves even though they’ve made full 7. for the event. |
8. to performance anxiety | ·When you feel anxious，pay your attention to something 9. to the game. ·10. caffeine and sugar，and consume something rich in carbohydrate before the game. |
I was 20 years old when my mother passed away.It was the first real blow that life had dealt me，and I thought I would never recover.Then，by the time the following spring came，the pain was almost bearable and again I could find pleasure in the miraculous reward of nature.
At first，I went to the cemetery with trepidation.But then，amazingly，by tending her grave and decorating it with flowers，I was ridding myself of the painful memories.
The years passed.I moved from Kaposvar，Hungary，the town where I had been born and had spent my youth.So did my siblings.We only came together on feast days，especially on All Souls’ Day in the cemetery.
Father lived with me for many years，to a ripe old age.Now that he，too，rests beneath the white marble stone，I go even more eagerly to the cemetery.While I tend my parents’ grave site，again I am with them in thought.
One day I noticed a modest grave site behind my parents’ plot.It lay among the magnificent granite and marble markers of the other graves，its very simplicity calling attention to itself.Ivy(常春藤) had covered the site and its only decoration was a simple wooden cross on which was written in copper letters a name，and that she lived 22 years.Whenever I went by，the plot and its surroundings looked cared for and neat，and each time I felt curious about this mysterious woman who had lived all of 22 years.
Once I saw an elderly man leaving from there.I concluded that perhaps he had come to visit his wife.In 1996 I was preparing for All Souls’ Day in the cemetery when again I caught sight of him，tending the grave.Tall，somewhat bent，he was well passed middle age.We nodded to each other and continued our work.Occasionally I stole a glance at my neighbor.When I noticed that he hadn’t got the tools for a proper cleanup，I offered him mine，which he gratefully accepted.After this，it seemed only natural to engage him in conversation.I asked him whose grave it was.This was his answer：
“My mother’s.She died young，in 1912 when I was only a yearanda half old.I really never knew her.I made her that cross and the copper letters.”
Then he went on：“No one comes to visit this grave but me because I was her only child.She died of pneumonia.My father remarried and my stepmother only cared for her own children.So then I always came here to my mother，whether in sadness or in joy.Later，life took me far afield，but I never forgot this grave.For me it was the same as the family home is for others.I always came home here.”
“With the years passing，it is getting more difficult for me to come，but as long as my legs will carry me，at least twice a year I visit my mother.I’m in my 80s，so who knows how long I can still make it.”
In stunned silence I listened.Tears clouded my eyes as I realized that I had never seen such boundless love.How much easier is my lot，I thought，for at any moment I can reach into my storehouse of memories and draw out the joyful or sad vignettes(小插图) that bind me to my parents with a thousand threads.What memories might this kindly old gentleman harbor？Perhaps a face from an ancient faded photograph of his mother.
What a great attachment throughout his long life must have led him back again and again to the resting place of that young woman whose motherly love he could never truly savor(尝到)，only forever feels its enormous lack.
We said goodbye.I was deeply moved because I knew that I had been given a great gift.I had been allowed a glimpse of the royal and longlasting affection that bound a simple and noblehearted man to his mother.I decided I would tend the grave together with that of my parents，where，finally，the aged child will have met his youthful mother.
1.All Souls’ Day is a feast day .
A. to visit the cemetery and memorize the dead
B. for families to get together in the cemetery
C. to give gifts to family members
D. for daughters and sons to memorize their parents
2.From the passage，we know .
A. the author’s mother died young and her father，too
B. the author’s mother was dead while her father enjoyed a long life
C. the man’s mother died very young before he was born
D. the author’s father lived long while the man’s mother died very young
3.The underlined words “calling attention to itself” in the 5th paragraph mean .
A. desiring to be paid attention to
B. making it easily noticed
C. too modest to be noticed
D. calling itself to draw others’ attention
4.The author stole a glance at her neighbor because .
A. they were living in the same neighborhood
B. the man was tall and straight，well passed middle age
C. she was wondering about the dead young lady’s story
D. she knew the dead in the grave was the man’s mother
5.From Paragraph 10 we can conclude that .
A. the author lived near the cemetery and can visit her parents at any time
B. the poor gentleman had hardly any memory of his dear mother’s love
C. the author is bound to her parents with threads
D. the gentleman comes back “home” whenever he wants to
6.What message is conveyed in the passage?
A. Love is a length of thread to bind mother and children together.
B. Mother needs love from her children even if she is dead.
C. Parents’ love is always royal and longlasting to children.
D. Mother’s love can be a boundless gift to their children.
