Me : Hello Dad! I’ve an exam today.
He : All the best son! I’m getting a strong feeling. You’ll rock it today. May god bless you!
Me : Thank you dad. Bye! And I hang up the call.
My friend standing beside me chuckles, “Do you do this before every exam?” I answer, “Yes, I feel good and encouraged, and so do they.” It hardly takes a minute to call up your parents, but it gives a lot of confidence and makes their day too.
Not calling up parents is indeed a common mistake college students make. For me the most common mistake is treating it like school. When I went to university, most of the people around me came straight from school. They had the thought like children who were being forced to do something. They skipped classes, sat at the back talking during lectures and even didn’t do the reading! They were still in “school” mode, thinking that the point was to get through it with the least effort.
For my part, I was there after working in a beer factory for three years. I knew that I had gone to university because I wanted to learn. I wasn’t there because my teachers at school made me go, or my parents made me go, or because my friends were all going. I had chosen to go. I think that this put me in a different mind. I read all the set texts and I went to all the lectures and seminars. Don’t get me wrong. I had fun too, but I was there to learn and I learnt a lot. I enjoyed it and it was rewarding to learn about the authors, their works, the critic's opinions etc.
The kids around me thought that reading six novels for a module and going to a lecture for each novel was too much work. They would read one novel, go to the lecture for that one and write their essay on that one book. They thought that they were really clever to work out an easier way of doing it. But they were tricking themselves out of an education!
There are other mistakes that may cause future regrets for the college students. A large number of them focus too hard on getting good grades, showing no interest in out-of-class side projects. Some complain that they are too busy because of school. As a matter of fact, they do not seriously treat all the free resources that universities have to offer.
1.The writer begins the passage with a dialogue in order to __________.
A. show off his writing skills B. expect his friend to admire him
C. lead in the topic naturally D. show he likes making phone calls
2.What do most university students usually do in the opinion of the writer?
A. They attend every class for free chatting.
B. They show little interest in active learning.
C. They avoid reading books all the time.
D. They highly praise independent learning.
3.Why did the writer want to go to college?
A. Because his parents forced him to. B. Because he learned from his friend.
C. Because his teachers asked him to. D. Because he was dying for knowledge.
4.What do the underlined sentences in Paragraph 5 mean?
A. They lost their learning chances without noticing it.
B. They made up excuses for their laziness in learning.
C. They often pretended to be working hard at everything.
D. They told lies about what they were doing in college.
5.According to the passage, college students are supposed to __________.
A. stop being hard on themselves academically
B. make the most of the university they go to.
C. have some relaxation after taking classes
D. feel thankful for what they are doing now
On some Swedish trains, passengers carry their e-tickets in their hands. About 3,000 Swedes have chosen to put microchips (微芯片) beneath the skin between fingers. The chips, which cost around $150, can hold personal facts, credit-card numbers and medical records. They depend on Radio Frequency ID (RFID), a technology already used in payment cards, tickets and passports.
There are 10,000 people with chip implants (植入) around the world. Sweden, home to several microchip companies, has the largest share. People can order do-it-yourself kits. And sometimes they get T-shirts that say “I got chipped”.
Jowan Österlund, the founder of BioHax, a Swedish firm, argues that chips are safer than mobile phones because it is harder to steal information from them. But some people still have worries. RFID chips do not have GPS, but they leave a trail when they are used to open doors, operate printers, etc. In 2004 a Mexican government official and his workmates had chips placed in their arms that tracked who had accessed important information.
So why take the risk? Less trouble is one reason. The equipment for microchip implants exists wherever new payments are accepted. Sweden is well suited, as the world’s second most cash-less country (after Canada).
But the chips have little use unless all companies agree to work together. Few shops recognize this chip implants yet, even those organizations that do have had some troubles in the beginning. When Swedish rail officials began scanning passengers’ microchips, they saw private information rather than evidence of ticket buying. For now the chips are used largely as business cards, keys or to store important information.
So the desire to win notice or admiration is another explanation. Chip enthusiasts want to equip human bodies with technology. Elon Musk, an American businessman has spent money on this technology that connects machines with human brains, which caused fears from some Christians.
1.What is special about the microchips mentioned in the passage?
A. They have already become part of human bodies.
B. They have offered access to personal information.
C. They have become a symbol of modern society.
D. They have used the latest technology in payment.
2.Jowan failed to consider the fact that __________.
A. the information is safer to keep on chips than phones
B. RFID chips can also have GPS as mobiles phones do
C. information on chips is likely to be accessed and let out
D. some microchips have already been equipped with GPS
3.Why are people willing to risk putting chips into their bodies?
A. Because developed countries are well prepared for chip implants.
B. Because they want to save themselves the trouble of cash payment.
C. Because they encourage more companies to recognize chip implants.
D. Because it is an attention-catching technology that makes things easier.
4.We can infer from Paragraph 5 that __________.
A. There is a long way to go before the implanted chips are widely applied.
B. Many companies take a wait-and-see attitude towards this technology.
C. The chip implants have caused difficulty for both users and companies.
D. Microchips always successfully offer information about ticket buying.
I first saw a crayfish (小龙虾) around 2001. A friend brought one into the office and told me it was a female animal that was reproducing (繁殖) on its own. We realized the new type of animal was reproducing itself by the millions.
We think that in the 1990s, two crayfish got children either in a pet store or in the wild. Something went wrong and one of the daughters laid eggs without any males. It’s not unusual for such a sudden change like this to happen, but normally, the children can’t live on or reproduce, and the new type won’t spread. For some reason, this daughter and her children did.
In some way, many of the new crayfish appeared in German pet stores. They would naturally increase, and their owners would often set the children free, which let the animals reproduce and spread farther. In 2003, scientists officially proved that animals like crayfish were, in fact, reproducing themselves. They’ve gone from that single female 25 years ago to millions, or maybe billions, of the same crayfish found throughout Europe and Madagascar.
In 2018, we published a map of the clones’ genetic code (克隆类遗传密码图). This type is becoming a really useful tool for researchers like me: We can use crayfish-like animals to study everything from cancer development to the effects of drugs on the brain. Now that we know this code, we can start to try it in the lab. For example, we might try to make these animals grow to larger sizes so people can sell them for food. This is already happening in Madagascar. It turns out that crayfish are pretty tasty. It’s easy to get lots of them too because they grow up in about three months and lay hundreds of eggs. Just put one in a pool and wait.
1.What do people think happened to crayfish in the 1990s?
A. Crayfish’s children could not live on or reproduce .
B. Crayfish got their lives in a scientific way in the lab.
C. A daughter crayfish got a strange ability to reproduce.
D. All animals like crayfish could reproduce themselves.
2.What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us?
A. The reason why crayfish became pets. B. The place where crayfish came from.
C. The different ways to raise crayfish. D. The fact of crayfish’s self-reproduction.
3.The research on the birth of crayfish will be helpful in __________.
① diet ② medicine ③ brain ④ ocean
A. ①② B. ③④ C. ①③ D. ②④
4.Where could the passage be picked from?
A. a cookbook B. a science magazine C. an advertisement D. a guide brochure
WINNERS’ DESIGNS | |
GLENEAGLES HOTEL | It is Scotland’s country hotel landmark that won the first prize. This hotel’s recent renewing has put it back on the map. With a new spa, two-starred Michelin food and fresh decorations of the 1920s, you can say with confidence that you have landed on the Heaven. |
COMO HOTEL | It is far more than just a place to lay your head. Not one but two Singapore hotels are included. Yet it was a grand hotel closer to home that took the top prize. There are acres of gardens, a floating pool on the lake and a vast spa overlooking the water. Great food and service? It has the lot. |
CRUISES HOTEL | From hotels to travel companies, areas or attractions, it wants to support the forward-thinking idea of “green” out there. Who, where or what has caught your eye this year? Its devotion to tourism now extends to its cruise programme, adding eco-friendly, lower-carbon-emitting ships to its fleet. |
TREMEZZO HOTEL | It’s such a great hotel as can give an insider a great excuse for taking on a place for a long time. As this year’s winner, it offers something of a surprise — Yoga. It usually features strongly in this sort. Plus Japanese food. |
1.Which hotel is related to environmental protection?
A. GLENEAGLES HOTEL B. COMO HOTEL
C. CRUISES HOTEL D. TREMEZZO HOTEL
2.The purpose of this passage is to __________.
A. explain how to enjoy holiday lives B. advertise for hotel service
C. attract more people to travel there D. introduce some winning works
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.How did the speaker get the money?
A. He collected bottles and trade them.
B. He made money by doing housework.
C. He found a part-time job in the corner shop.
2.What did the speaker buy for his mother?
A. Cola and Candy. B. Candy and card. C. Card and Cola.
3.Why did the woman shout to the speaker?
A. Because he lied to her.
B. Because he spent too much money.
C. Because she worried about his safety.
4.What can we learn from the story?
A. We should treasure the love between parent and child.
B. We could collect bottles and trade them for money.
C. We should buy our parents gifts for their birthday.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How often does the girl get in touch with her friends?
A. Seldom. B. Once a week. C. Twice a week.
2.Who does the girl usually turn to when she is upset?
A. Her friends. B. Her parents. C. Her teachers.
3.Where would the girl talk with her friend?
A. In a shopping center. B. In a classroom. C. In a cafe.
4.What does the man suggest the girl do?
A. Rely on her parents. B. Shop with her friends. C. Keep in touch with her friends.
