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We were depressed and things were tough. Mom had a ____time raising us on her own because Dad died five years ago. We relied on social assistance for ____.

Looking back, I  ____ remember what Mom went through to send us to school. I studied hard then. Every morning,  she would put a new piece of cardboard in our shoes because our shoes were ____. Constant moving was typical for my family in these times. Rent was 25 dollars a month but Mom couldn't ____it. Though it was hard, we never ____. Christmas was approaching. We were given 25 dollars for social services. Instead of buying food, Mom would use the money to pay the ____, ensuring us all of a ____over our head. ____we had nothing for Christmas.

Unknown to Mom, I had been selling Christmas trees to earn enough money for a new pair of ____. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I was ____to go to catch the bus.

As I reached the stop, I began to feel ____. I was going to buy a new pair of boots____Mom was at home in tears.  My mind was ____and I realized what I had to do. I didn't get on the ____.

I went in a grocery store and bought the Christmas treats. I ____home and put them quietly against the door. I knocked on the door. When Mom opened the door, ____rolled into the house. She just stood there ____. I managed to hold back the ____, saying,  "Merry Christmas, Mom! There really is a Santa Claus!"

That day I got many ____and kisses from Mom. It was a Merry Christmas for us after all!

1.A. good    B. short    C. hard    D. funny

2.A. life    B. travel    C. nursery    D. movement

3.A. hardly    B. still    C. yet    D. then

4.A. handed over    B. picked up    C. turned over    D. worn out

5.A. store    B. afford    C. make    D. get

6.A. complained    B. glanced    C. envied    D. calculated

7.A. decoration    B. gifts    C. rent    D. clothes

8.A. cloud    B. light    C. roof    D. window

9.A. And    B. But    C. Or    D. So

10.A. glasses    B. jeans    C. boots    D. socks

11.A. lucky    B. concerned    C. fearful    D. excited

12.A. frightened    B. guilty    C. proud    D. content

13.A. while    B. because    C. whether    D. unless

14.A. woken up    B. made up    C. given away    D. turned down

15.A. platform    B. train    C. bus    D. plane

16.A. drove    B. rang    C. left    D. rushed

17.A. balls    B. shoes    C. dollars    D. things

18.A. surprised    B. nervous    C. disappointed    D. painful

19.A. words    B. trouble    C. tears    D. sweat

20.A. candies    B. hugs    C. awards    D. creams

Recently, I’ve been following a simple rule that is helping me crush procrastination(拖延症) and making it easier for me to stick to good habits at the same time．1. There are two parts to the 2-Minute Rule.

Part 1—If it takes less than two minutes，then do it now．

2. For example，washing your dishes immediately after your meal，tossing the laundry in the washing machine，taking out the garbage，sending that email，and so on．

If a task takes less than two minutes to complete，then follow the rule and do it right now．

Part 2—When you start a new habit，it should take less than two minutes to do．

Can all of your goals be accomplished in less than two minutes? Obviously not．But，every goal can be started in 2 minutes or less．3.

It might sound like this strategy is too basic for grand life goals，but I beg to differ．The 2-Minute Rule works for big goals as well as small goals because of the inertia(惯性)of life．4. I love the 2-Minute Rule because it embraces the idea that all sorts of good things happen once you get started．

The most important part of any new habit is getting started—not just the first time，but each time．It’s not about performance，it’s about consistently taking action．

I can’t guarantee whether or not the 2-Minute Rule will work for you．5. Anyone can spare the next 120 seconds．Use this time to get one thing done．Go．

A. I call this little strategy the “2-Minute Rule”．

B. And that’s the purpose behind this little rule．

C. Here’s what you need to know to stop procrastinating．

D. Once you start doing something，it’s easier to continue doing it．

E. But，I can guarantee that it will never work if you never try it．

F. The goal is to make it easier for you to get started on the things you should be doing．

G. It’s surprising how many things we put off that we could get done in two minutes or less．

Hollywood’s theory that machines with evil(邪恶) minds will drive armies of killer robots is just silly. The real problem relates to the possibility that artificial intelligence(AI) may become extremely good at achieving something other than what we really want. In 1960 a well-known mathematician Norbert Wiener, who founded the field of cybernetics（控制论）, put it this way: “If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot effectively interfere(干预), we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire.”

A machine with a specific purpose has another quality, one that we usually associate with living things: a wish to preserve its own existence. For the machine, this quality is not in-born, nor is it something introduced by humans; it is a logical consequence of the simple fact that the machine cannot achieve its original purpose if it is dead. So if we send out a robot with the single instruction of fetching coffee, it will have a strong desire to secure success by disabling its own off switch or even killing anyone who might interfere with its task. If we are not careful, then, we could face a kind of global chess match against very determined, super intelligent machines whose objectives conflict with our own, with the real world as the chessboard.

The possibility of entering into and losing such a match should concentrate the minds of computer scientists. Some researchers argue that we can seal the machines inside a kind of firewall, using them to answer difficult questions but never allowing them to affect the real world. Unfortunately, that plan seems unlikely to work: we have yet to invent a firewall that is secure against ordinary humans, let alone super intelligent machines.

Solving the safety problem well enough to move forward in AI seems to be possible but not easy. There are probably decades in which to plan for the arrival of super intelligent machines. But the problem should not be dismissed out of hand, as it has been by some AI researchers. Some argue that humans and machines can coexist as long as they work in teams—yet that is not possible unless machines share the goals of humans. Others say we can just “switch them off” as if super intelligent machines are too stupid to think of that possibility. Still others think that super intelligent AI will never happen. On September 11, 1933, famous physicist Ernest Rutherford stated, with confidence, “Anyone who expects a source of power in the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.” However, on September 12, 1933, physicist Leo Szilard invented the neutron-induced(中子诱导) nuclear chain reaction.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly tells us that artificial intelligence may         .

A. run out of human control

B. satisfy human’s real desires

C. command armies of killer robots

D. work faster than a mathematician

2.Machines with specific purposes are associated with living things partly because they might be able to        .

A. prevent themselves from being destroyed

B. achieve their original goals independently

C. do anything successfully with given orders

D. beat humans in international chess matches

3.According to some researchers, we can use firewalls to           .

A. help super intelligent machines work better

B. be secure against evil human beings

C. keep machines from being harmed

D. avoid robots’ affecting the world

4.What does the author think of the safety problem of super intelligent machines?

A. It will disappear with the development of AI.

B. It will get worse with human interference.

C. It will be solved but with difficulty.

D. It will stay for a decade.

There’s a new frontier in 3D printing that’s beginning to come into focus: food. Recent development has made possible machines that print, cook, and serve foods on a mass scale. And the industry isn’t stopping there.

Food production

With a 3D printer, a cook can print complicated chocolate sculptures and beautiful pieces for decoration on a wedding cake. Not everybody can do that — it takes years of experience, but a printer makes it easy. A restaurant in Spain uses a Foodini to “re-create forms and pieces” of food that are “exactly the same,” freeing cooks to complete other tasks. In another restaurant, all of the dishes and desserts it serves are 3D-printed, rather than farm to table.

Sustainability(可持续性)

The global population is expected to grow to 9.6 billion by 2050, and some analysts estimate that food production will need to be raised by 50 percent to maintain current levels. Sustainability is becoming a necessity. 3D food printing could probably contribute to the solution. Some experts believe printers could use hydrocolloids (水解胶体) from plentiful renewables like algae(藻类) and grass to replace the familiar ingredients(烹饪原料). 3D printing can reduce fuel use and emissions. Grocery stores of the future might stock "food" that lasts years on end, freeing up shelf space and reducing transportation and storage requirements.

Nutrition

Future 3D food printers could make processed food healthier. Hod Lipson, a professor at Columbia University, said, “Food printing could allow consumers to print food with customized nutritional content, like vitamins. So instead of eating a piece of yesterday’s bread from the supermarket, you’d eat something baked just for you on demand.”

Challenges

Despite recent advancements in 3D food printing, the industry has many challenges to overcome. Currently, most ingredients must be changed to a paste(糊状物) before a printer can use them, and the printing process is quite time-consuming, because ingredients interact with each other in very complex ways. On top of that, most of the 3D food printers now are restricted to dry ingredients, because meat and milk products may easily go bad. Some experts are skeptical about 3D food printers, believing they are better suited for fast food restaurants than homes and high-end restaurants.

1.What benefit does 3D printing bring to food production?

A. It helps cooks to create new dishes.    B. It saves time and effort in cooking.

C. It improves the cooking conditions.    D. It contributes to restaurant decorations.

2.What can we learn about 3D food printing from Paragraphs 3?

A. It solves food shortages easily.    B. It quickens the transportation of food.

C. It needs no space for the storage of food.    D. It uses renewable materials as sources of food.

3.According to Paragraph 4, 3D-printed food _____________.

A. is more available to consumers    B. can meet individual nutritional needs

C. is more tasty than food in supermarkets    D. can keep all the nutrition in raw materials

4.What could be the best title of the passage?

A. 3D Food Printing: Delicious New Technology    B. A New Way to Improve 3D Food Printing

C. The Challenges for 3D Food Production    D. 3D Food Printing: From Farm to Table

My First Marathon（马拉松）

A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was ＂not athletic＂.

The idea that I was ＂not athletic＂ stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: ＂GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!＂

By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was starving!

As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a ＂marathon winner＂.

1.A month before the marathon, the author ____________.

A. was well trained    B. felt scared

C. made up his mind to run    D. lost hope

2.Why did the author mention the P.E. class in his 7th year?

A. To acknowledge the support of his teacher.

B. To amuse the readers with a funny story.

C. To show he was not talented in sports.

D. To share a precious memory.

3.How was the author’s first marathon?

A. He made it.    B. He quit halfway.

C. He got the first prize.    D. He walked to the end.

4.What does the story mainly tell us?

A. A man owes his success to his family support.

B. A winner is one with a great effort of will.

C. Failure is the mother of success.

D. One is never too old to learn.