Modern inventions have speeded up people’s loves amazingly. Motor-cars cover a hundred miles in little more than an hour, aircraft cross the world inside a day, while computers operate at lightning speed. Indeed, this love of speed seems never-ending. Every year motor-cars are produced which go even faster and each new computer boats (吹嘘) of saving precious seconds in handling tasks.
All this saves time, but at a price. When we lose or gain half a day in speeding across the world in an airplane, our bodies tell us so. We get the uncomfortable feeling known as jet-lag; our bodies feel that they have been left behind on another time zone. Again, spending too long at computers results in painful wrists and fingers. Mobile phones also have their dangers, according to some scientist; too much use may transmit harmful radiation into our brains, a consequence we do not like to think about.
However, what do we do with the time we have saved? Certainly not relax, or so it seems. We are so accustomed constant activity that we find it difficult to sit and do nothing or even just one thing at a time. Perhaps the days are long gone when we might listen quietly to a story on the radio, letting imagination take us into another world.
There was a time when some people’s lives were devoted simply to the cultivation of the land or the care of cattle. No multi-tasking there; their lives went on at a much gentler pace, and in a familiar pattern. There is much that we might envy about a way of life like this. Yet before we do so, we must think of the hard tasks our ancestor faced: they farmed with bare hands, often lived close to hunger, and had to fashion tools from wood and stone. Modern machinery has freed people from that primitive existence.
1.The new products become more and more time-saving because .
A. our love of speed seems never-ending
B. time is limited
C. the prices are increasingly high
D. the manufactures boast a lot
2.What does ＂the days＂ in Paragraph 3 refer to ?
A. Imaginary life. B. Simple life in the past.
C. Times of inventions. D. Time for constant activity.
3.What is the author’s attitude towards the modern technology?
A. Critical B. Objective.
C. Optimistic. D. Negative.
4.What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. The present and past times.
B. Machinery and human beings.
C. Imaginations and inventions.
D. Modern technology and its influence.
Recently, online hike-sharing has become the new favorite in China. In major cities, bikes in, yellow, orange, blue, white and green, can be seen almost everywhere on the street. It seems that these bikes appeared suddenly, adding a new beautiful scenery to Chinese cities.
Both the market and the public welcome online bike-sharing, but is it really a promising business? Well, it depends. After all, online bike-sharing platforms can never get away with huge operating cost and uncertain government policy.
Some theorists might say that online bike-sharing platforms can earn a fortune simply through deposit. Since users will always need to rent bikes, their deposit will always be kept to online bike-sharing platforms.
However, although online bike-sharing platforms may be able to use the deposit for other purposes at the primary stage, they will have to set up a special account, so that the deposit shall be used specially for its designated (指定的) purpose. As the market gets increasingly mature, they will have to do so whether to be responsible for users or in consideration of possible government regulations.
Now that online hike-sharing platforms can’t make profit through deposit，how can they become profitable as fiercer market unfolds? Although Hu Weiwei, CEO of Mobike, stated in an article that she would take Mobike as charitable(慈善的) project if she failed, running a startup is absolutely different from managing a charity organization. After all , she has to pay back investors’ billions of investment(投资).
To make profit, online bike-sharing platforms might have to increase rent fee for each trip, just as Didi did.
From this aspect, it might be a really good business. If we consider full screen ads fee, recommendation fee for business owners, etc. , its annual income might reach at least RMB 15 billion. If we consider the huge operation cost, including bike repairs，bikes’ service life and labor cost, there might not be much net profit left. After all, offline operation cost has always been an unbearable burden for such internet plus mode-based startups.
1.How does the author feel about the future of online bike-sharing platforms?
A. Optimistic. B. Doubtful.
C. Hopeful. D. Secure.
2.How do some theorists think online bike-sharing platforms can make money?
A. Through advertisements. B. Through services.
C. Through deposit. D. Through investment.
3.How should deposit be dealt with when the market is mature according to the author?
A. Used for other purposes.
B. Kept in a special account.
C. Used for charity.
D. Left aside to the users.
4.What does the underlined word ＂unfolds＂ mean in the passage?
A. Shrinks. B. Spreads.
C. Shows. D. Develops.
After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.
Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.
The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.
As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.
The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.
What is the author’s attitude towards the Yellowstone wolf project?
A. Doubtful. B. Positive.
C. Disapproving. D. Uncaring.
I work with Volunteers for Wildlife, a rescue and education organization at Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley. Trying to help injured, displaced or sick creatures can be heartbreaking; survival is never certain. However, when it works, it is simply beautiful.
I got a rescue call from a woman in Muttontown. She had found a young owl(猫头鹰) on the ground. When I arrived, I saw a 2-to 3-week-old owl. It had already been placed in a carrier for safety.
I examined the chick(雏鸟) and it seemed fine. If I could locate the nest, I might have been able to put it back, but no luck. My next work was to construct a nest and anchor it in a tree.
The homeowner was very helpful. A wire basket was found. I put some pine branches into the basket to make this nest safe and comfortable. I placed the chick in the nest, and it quickly calmed down.
Now all that was needed were the parents, but they were absent. I gave the homeowner a recording of the hunger screams of owl chicks. These advertise the presence of chicks to adults; they might also encourage our chick to start calling as well. I gave the owner as much information as possible and headed home to see what news the night might bring.
A nervous night to be sure, but sometimes the spirits of nature smile on us all! The homeowner called to say that the parents had responded to the recordings. I drove over and saw the chick in the nest looking healthy and active. And it was accompanied in the nest by the greatest sight of all — LUNCH! The parents had done their duty and would probably continue to do so.
How would the author feel about the outcome of the event?
A. It’s unexpected. B. It’s beautiful.
C. It’s humorous. D. It’s discouraging.
假定你是某国际学校的学生李华，你校即将开展“绿色校园”活动，现在向学生公开征集活动方案。请你向负责该活动的老师Smith先生写信，提出你的建议和想法。要点如下：
1.活动形式及内容；
2.注意事项；
3.其它。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Smith,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误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。
When I was 5 years old, I started my journey to the world of music. Playing the piano becomes a great source of joy. Now, study alone abroad, I have found other way to enjoy music-performing in my school band.
I remember the very first time when I played in a band. I practiced a lot. Still, when I sat at the piano, I felt scared and it seemed that I was getting small. My hands went cold when the conductor and other band member stared at me. The string of notes that came out the piano could not be calling a melody. However, that was only the beginning of your challenges.
In my opinion, even though the challenges are difficult for me to get through, but they make both me and the band even strong.
