Airbags, now found in almost every vehicle, have saved countless lives and largely reduced the severity of injuries in crashes. Similar technology could greatly reduce broken hips (髋部) resulting from a fall, something most seniors fear.
Dr. Robert Buckman and his start-up company, Active Protective in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has developed a promising solution, a wearable airbag that can protect hip bones in the event of a fall. The idea was the result of Dr. Buckman’s years as a doctor at Temple University. He noticed how many elderly people were being brought into hospitals with broken hip due to falls, and how they often never completely recovered from the injuries. He started to ask what he could do for these people, and that was when he started trying to figure out whether there was a way of helping people who were at the highest risk of falling and suffering these kinds of injuries.
The device is worn much like a regular belt, but on the outside of the clothing, and it includes sensors that monitor the movement of hips. If the device detects that the person, is falling, an airbag opens before the person hits the ground, cushioning the fall. When the wearer hits the ground, the bag reduces the force to the hip bones by 90 percent, enough to avoid the majority of hip injuries.
With one out of every three people aged 65 and older suffering serious falls each year, Active Protective has a big market for its wearable device. It also has the potential to sizably reduce hip - related health care expenses: Hip injuries among the elderly cost the US health care system in 2012 $30 billion, which doesn’t include the long-term care expenses associated with the high percentage of patients that can no longer live independently.
1.What is the purpose of the Active Protective’s airbag?
A. To avoid hip injuries among seniors.
B. To protect seniors from car accidents.
C. To help seniors with their daily nursing.
D. To help doctors deal with serious injuries.
2.What inspired Dr. Robert Buckman to make the device?
A. A report on seniors’ health.
B. A serious fall he experienced.
C. His work experiences as a doctor.
D. Suggestions of seniors at Temple University.
3.How does the device mainly work?
A. By predicting road conditions. B. By speeding up bone recovery.
C. By reducing the effects of falling. D. By preventing people from failing.
4.What does the author think of the Active Protective’s airbag?
A. It still needs improving.
B. It has a promising future.
C. It may encourage seniors to do exercise.
D. It may increase America’s spend on seniors.
Standing desks have become common across Silicon Valley, offering health benefits to those willing to work on their feet. However, due to their high price, they have failed to catch on until now. Recently, Ikea has brought out Bekant convertible（可变换的） standing desk that can become a normal desk at the touch of a button. The $500 adjustable desk can transform from a standard desk to a standing one, and Ikea hopes it could make the standing desk mainstream.
Experts say that changing from a seated to a standing desk can improve productivity. Similar desks have become a common sight at tech firms such as Google, where some employees have even installed treadmill (跑步机) and bicycle desks.
The desk is not the first “convertible” on the market. As early as 2013, Stir Kinect brought out an adjustable desk. The $3,890 Stir Kinect desk has a motor to raise and lower itself, changing it into a standing desk or a traditional desk. The desk can even be programmed to move up and down slightly, making it appear to take a gentle breath to remind the user to change their positions. To move between sitting and standing positions, owners simply double tap on the screen. The desk can learn the user’s preferences over time and suggest the best seating position.
The Stir Kinect desk was created by a team of ex-Apple and Disney engineers. It has a built-in touch screen to control and track movement, and can tell users exactly how many calories they burn by standing during their working day. It also has devices containing power points and USB ports for charging phones, to keep cables hidden.
“ Ikea’s height-adjustable desk is great for opening up the lower end of the market, ’’ said JP Labrosse, founder and CEO of Stir.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A. Ikea has brought out an adjustable standing desk.
B. Silicon Valley offered health benefits to officials.
C. Google formed their tech firms to design bicycle desks.
D. The Stir Kinect desk will become mainstream in the market.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Before Bekant desk, similar adjustable desks have been widely used.
B. The seated desks will take the place of the standing desks in the future.
C. Compared to the Stir Kinect desk, the Bekant desk is much cheaper.
D. The adjustable desks were designed by the Apple and Disney Company.
3.The Stir Kinect desk______.
A. can breathe in and breathe out by pressing the button once
B. can charge phones by using a device containing power point
C. can tell you how many calories you need for a walk
D. can advise you to do more exercise at a proper time
4.What can we infer from the last sentence given by JP Labrosse?
A. Ikea’s adjustable desk will be popular with average people.
B. Ikea will have to sell furniture at a lower price in the future.
C. This height adjustable table can only be found in Ikea.
D. It is not necessary for Ikea to open up the market at all.
When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London, a very interesting place, to try his fortune.
There was the famous London Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and palaces and markets and long streets full of shops.
Then, too, there were the daily crowds where could be seen people from all over the world. Knights, scholars and the highwayman (拦路强盗）or thieves, who had been infamous for their clever robberies, passed by each other.
Here, also, were noblemen dressed in gold, from Italy and Spain and France; slaves from Spanish America, sea captains and ministers, soldiers and servants—all held by chances or interests within the gray walls which circled London, and whose gates gave welcome to as strange a crowd as could be found in the world.
Into this curious crowd came Shakespeare, quick to see and eager to learn. And before long all these strange sights were as familiar to him as the faces of his own town’s residents. Each one told its story to him so plainly that, as before he had learned the secrets of the fields and woods, so now he learned men and men’s interests that make up the great world.
And he learned these lessons so well that when he came to write his plays, he made such use of them as no writer ever made before or since; for it is the use of this knowledge of the world, combined with his own genius, that makes Shakespeare the greatest dramatist that has ever lived.
1.What was London like in Shakespeare’s eyes when he first went there?
A. Dirty and small. B. Strange and interesting.
C. Infamous and terrible. D. Familiar and modern.
2.Which of the following best describes Shakespeare?
A. Shakespeare got inspiration to write from his hometown, London.
B. Shakespeare was eager to make friends with the noblemen in London.
C. Shakespeare was good at observing and learning from the daily life.
D. Shakespeare became the greatest dramatist owing to his own genius.
3.What does the word “one” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A. Crowd. B. Resident.
C. Face. D. Sight.
4.The passage probably comes from______.
A. a poster B. a textbook
C. an advertisement D. an announcement
Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
This modern-art gallery in a Victorian house was founded in the 1950s by Tate Jim and reopened in February following a two-year redevelopment by Jamie Fobert Architects, the team behind the 2017 Tate Steves extension. This means a new cafe, a four-floor education wing and improved gallery space that can accommodate more visitors. The gallery’s permanent collection includes works by Joan Miró, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.
Being Brunel, Bristol
To celebrate the life and work of famous civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunei, Being Brunei will open in March on Bristol’s harbourside. The museum will include a range of interactive and entertaining exhibits, including talking portraits of his friends and family and personal possessions, including an 1821 school report. It is a good place for families to strengthen connections.
Royal Academy of Arts, London
The RA reopens on 19 May for its 250th anniversary, following a £50m renovation (翻新) with a gallery and expanded exhibition programme. These will include three day-lit galleries, which will host exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art and architecture. The grand frontwall of the Burlington Gardens building has also been restored—possibly the first time it’s had a proper clean in its 150 year history.
V&A, Dundee
One of the most significant new openings of the year will be Scotland’s first design museum and also the first V&A anywhere outside of London on 15 September. The museum building sits on the river Tay. It will celebrate Scottish design and objects in its collection.
1.What do we know about Being Brunel?
A. It has a long school report.
B. It includes three day-lit galleries.
C. It is family-friendly.
D. It possesses permanent collections.
2.The purpose of the RA reopening is _______.
A. to expand the exhibition
B. to mark its 250th anniversary
C. to display contemporary art
D. to present its 150-year history
3.What does the writer intend to tell us?
A. To compare different tourist attractions.
B. To attract more visitors to the UK.
C. To describe some famous museums and artists.
D. To introduce openings of some famous art museums.
假设你是李华，双12你从网上购买了一套英文小说，昨天才到货，且包装破损，数量不足。请就此向网店客服写邮件投诉。要点如下：
1.介绍购物情况；
2.反映存在问题；
3.提出解决方案。
注意：1.词数100词左右；
2.可适当增加细节，使行文连贯；
3.开头结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
可能用到的生词：投诉complaint
To whom it may concern,
I am one of your customers.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Looking forward to your reply.
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处语言错误，每句中最多两处。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，并在其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11处起）不计分。
Yesterday, I got hurt in a accident in the supermarket besides our school. I was just going around the corner while a strong man crashed into me with his shopping cart. It was impossible see each other before the accident because the corner was very dark and the lights didn’t even work. What’s more, the floor was very wet because it was rainy yesterday. So I fall, got knocked out and was serious hurt. Although the supermarket paid for the accident, but I still want to give some advices to the supermarket. Always get the lights checking at least once a week and make sure the floor is dry all the time, that would help make the supermarket a safer place.
