A scientist locked himself in a small air-tight plastic tent with 200 plants to see if they could change CO2 into oxygen (氧气) fast enough to keep him alive.
Kurtis Baute locked himself in a 3m by 3m tent in his brother’s backyard in British Columbia, Canada. He hoped to find out if by surrounding himself with plants, the CO2 he breathed out could be changed into oxygen to allow him to survive in the locked tent for at least three days. Unfortunately, he had to give up the experiment after only 15 hours, as CO2 levels reached a dangerous point where he risked suffering brain damage.
“I could probably survive in the tent for three days,” Baute wrote on his website. “But my goal is not to just ‘not die’. My goal is to end this project without developing brain damage or just generally causing lasting harm to my body. But as it turns out, that’s exactly what he risked as the 200 plants he took with him into the tent couldn’t meet his needs. Clearly, a cloudy sky prevented them from receiving all the sunlight they needed to perform photosynthesis (光合作用), so they couldn’t recycle CO2 fast enough.
“Plants are great at taking in CO2 and they love it. Since it wasn’t a bright and sunny day, they weren’t getting the light they needed, which meant CO2 just kept rising. I had to give up the experiment as that continued.” the young experimenter said.
15 hours into the experiment, Baute reached the set danger point and then ended this experiment. Still, he called the experiment a “huge success” as his main goal was actually the terrible effects of climate change and CO2 emissions. “The conclusion about my experiment is that if CO2 is too high, I’ll escape, which is just everyday experiences for many people on this planet. Everyone deserves clean air, but not everyone has it,” he wrote.
1.Why did Kurtis Baute stay in the tent for only 15 hours?
A. The tent is too small for him to stay too long.
B. The environment in the tent is dangerous for him.
C. CO2 in the tent couldn’t be changed into oxygen.
D. He couldn’t survive in the locked tent any longer.
2.What made it hard for the 200 plants to satisfy Kurtis Baute’s needs?
A. His health condition. B. His wrong decision.
C. Too much CO2. D. The cloudy weather.
3.What does Kurtis think of the result of the experiment?
A. Disappointing. B. Surprising.
C. Satisfying. D. Interesting.
4.What may be the best title for the text?
A. A test to show the importance of clean air
B. Surviving in the tent
C. The set danger point
D. Making people know the use of plants
After a five-year pause, the Billboard Music Awards officially returned to the United States. Two of the big winners at this year’s awards were Rihanna and Taylor Swift. But a major symbol of the show’s popularity came from others such as Beyonce, U2, the Black Eyed Peas, and First Lady Michelle Obama.
This year marks the Billboard Awards’ rebirth. The Billboard Awards had been a big event since 1989, but the award in 2006 seemed to be its last award.
This year the show was brought back in Las Vegas, broadcast live on ABC, and hosted by “The Hangover 2” star Ken Jeong. However, like many other awards shows, the three-hour awarding ceremony served more as a marketing tool for today’s pop stars than an award presentation.
The show was packed with fans. Cee-Lo Green floated in the air with his piano. Surprising duets (二重唱) between Rihanna and Britney Spears, and this year’s Billboard Icon Award winner, Neil Diamond made the fans sing along to “Sweet Caroline” and “America”.
Rihanna’s two wins were Radio Artist of the Year and Top Female Artist. Taylor Swift won the evening’s first award, as Top Album Artist, as well as Top Country Artist
Beyonce received a special “Millennium” Award for her career achievements: The 29-year-old star was praised in a video by a series of other stars, including Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama. She also performed her new song, “Run the World”.
The Billboard Music Awards are given to the most popular artists in the mainstream music scene. The finalists and winners are determined by their rank on the Billboard charts.
1.When was The Billboard Music Awards first held?
A. In 1989. B. In 2006.
C. In 2011. D. In 2018.
2.What does the author wish the awarding ceremony to be?
A. A promotional tool for today’s pop stars.
B. An award presentation.
C. A live broadcast show.
D. A pop star show.
3.Why was Beyonce given an award by the Billboard?
A. For being the most popular artist. B. For making the fans sing along with her.
C. For her career achievements. D. For being praised by Lady Gaga.
4.What award was not mentioned in the text?
A. Top Album Artist. B. Top Female Artist.
C. Top Country Artist. D. Top Male Artist.
Adidas and Puma have been two of the biggest names in sports shoe production for over half a century.
Since 1928, they have supplied shoes for Olympic athletes, World Cup football heroes, Muhammad Ali, hip hop stars and rock musicians famous all over the world. But the story of these two companies begins in one house in the town of Herzogenaurach, Germany.
Adolph and Rudolph Dassler were the sons of a shoemaker. They loved sport hut complained that they could never find comfortable shoes to play in. So they started making their own. In 1920, Adolph made the first pair of athletics shoes with spikes (钉状物), produced on the Dasslers’s kitchen table.
On 1st July 1924, they formed a shoe company, Dassler Brothers Ltd and they worked together for many years. The company became successful, but in 1948, the brothers argued. No one knows exactly what happened. The result was that Adolph left the company. His nickname was Adi, and using this and the first three letters of the family name, Dassler, he founded Adidas. Rudolph also founded and relocated his own company across the River Aurach. At first he wanted to call it Ruda, but finally he called it Puma.
After the big split of 1948, Adolph and Rudolph never spoke to each other again and their companies have now been in competition for over sixty years. Both companies were for many years the market leaders, though Adidas has always been more successful than Puma. A hip hop group, Run DMC, has even written a song called My Adidas and in 2005 Adidas bought Reebok, another big sports shoe company.
The terrible family argument should really be forgotten. Ever since it happened, over sixty years ago, the town has been divided into two. Even now, some Adidas employees and Puma employees don’t talk to each other.
1.Why did Adolph and Rudolph start making their own shoes?
A. To play sports. B. To walk around the town.
C. To make a living. D. To show their talent.
2.How long had the two brothers worked in the same company?
A. 20 years. B. 24 years.
C. 16 years. D. 60 years.
3.The underlined word “split” in paragraph 5 is the closest in meaning to “________”.
A. separation B. connection
C. cooperation D. celebration
4.What can we learn from the text?
A. Dassler Brothers Ltd provided Olympic athletes with shoes in 1924.
B. Adidas was named after Adolph’s family name.
C. Run DMC wrote a song in memory of Reebok.
D. The argument has an influence on the two companies even today.
Coit Tower
Coit Tower provides 360-degree views of San Francisco and the bay, including the Golden Gate Bridge. The most fantastic views can be seen from the observation deck, which is reached by an elevator. It costs $7 to get on the elevator. It is 4. 9 miles from Coit Tower to Golden Gate Bridge.
Crissy Field
Crissy Field, a former army airport located south of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Presidio, was rebuilt in 2001 and offers wide walking and cycling trails between the Marina Green and Fort Point. It offers wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge, picnic areas and a small sandy beach which is popular with families. Along Crissy Field, visitors can stop for lunch at the Warming Hut, the Beach Hut Cafe or the House of Air. Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 2. 4 miles from the Marina Green.
Fort (堡垄) Point
For a close view of the bridge, visit Fort Point, which is a Civil War time brick fort which can be entered through the Marine Drive park at Crissy Field. Although Fort Point never had any military(军事的) action, the Golden Gate Bridge’s chief engineer, Joseph Strauss, redesigned the bridge to preserve the fort as a “fine example of some kind of art.” Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 1. 2 miles.
Lands End
Lands End near Lincoln Park offers a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Visitors can walk along a paved sidewalk near the 17th hole of the Lincoln Park Municipal Golf Course. Here, there are several benches and photo opportunities to picture the beauty of the bridge. Distance from Golden Gate Bridge: 3. 0 miles.
1.Where can visitors have a picnic?
A. At Coit Tower. B. At Crissy Field.
C. At Fort Point. D. At Lands End.
2.Why did Joseph redesign the bridge?
A. To offer wide walking and cycling.
B. To picture the beauty of the bridge.
C. To take a close view of the bridge.
D. To save the fort as an art.
3.What is the purpose of the text?
A. To introduce some places to view Golden Gate Bridge.
B. To introduce some great places in Golden Gate Bridge.
C. To compare the four famous places in San Francisco.
D. To introduce the history of Golden Gate Bridge.
假如你是李华，你在澳大利亚的笔友David来e-mail透露，他觉得他的朋友吸烟很酷，也想尝试一下，为此征求你的意见。请你根据下列提示，给David回一封不少于100词的邮件，劝他不要吸烟。
1、吸烟危害大，对自身及他人的影响等……
2、一旦上瘾，很难戒除……
3、应提倡健康、积极的生活方式……
要求：邮件的格式和开头已经给出，不计入总词数。 be addicted to上瘾
Dear David,
I have learned from your e-mail that you want to try smoking as you think it is very attractive. As far as I can see, smoking is a bad habit.
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Best wishes!
Yours Sincerely ,
Li Hua
文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处，每处错误仅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。
Dear Peter,
I am more than happier to know you got first prize in the speech contest. I’m writing to offer my sincere congratulations to you.
It is known to all, success lie in hard work. I think you must have been practiced a lot. And at the same time you must have gained much valuable skills. Could you please help me but tell me what I should pay attention when I speak in public? You know, when made a speech, I always get nervously. I would appreciate it if you could give me some advices.
Please write to me as soon as you can.
