Soaps are television serial (连续的) dramas of a highly dramatic and sentimental (情感的) nature. They are called soaps because many of them were originally funded by soap companies. They were appealing to an audience primarily made up of house wives. Soaps tell us a lot about the viewers they are produced for. These long-running serials, with potentially endless episodes (集), are concerned with everyday life. They are generally aimed at the lower classes in a country.
In the US, the most popular soaps usually feature the lives of the rich, the charming and the beautiful. Their houses are always beautiful, big and well decorated. The characters lead exciting lives. Most of these characters are very ambitious. One of the most popular soaps is The bold and the Beautiful. The name says it all really! It is set in Los Angeles and centred on the attractive and wealthy Forrester family and their impossibly gorgeous fashion house business. It is probably the most watched soap in the world.
The British prefer to see ordinary characters rather than the gorgeous high-flyers of the US soaps. They prefer to view on TV what they have experienced personally and what they actually see around them. They believe that one should accept one’s station in life and not attempt to be more than one actually is.
Coronation Street, first shown in 1960, is the longest-running British TV soap opera. It is watched by about one-third of the British population, more often by women, by older people, and especially by people from lower socio-economic groups. EastEnders is another popular British show, though it appeals to a younger generation. Again the characters tend to be working class. In addition to women, young people and men are also given strong roles in order to reach a wider audience.
Thus the soaps can teach us a lot about the audience that they are intended for. The characters, settings and even the story lines can show us what appeals to British and American people.
1.What’s the relationship between soaps and soap companies according to Paragraph 1?
A.Soap companies are named after soaps.
B.Soap companies support soaps financially.
C.Soap companies depend on soaps for promoting their products.
D.Soap companies make soaps appealing to the public.
2.How does the author introduce US soaps in Paragraph 2?
A.By using examples. B.By making comparisons.
C.By analyzing causes. D.By describing processes.
3.Which is the difference between British soaps and American soaps?
A.The audience they are intended for. B.Their popularity and influence.
C.The characters’ class and the settings. D.Their tradition and history.
4.What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
A.To show his love for soaps.
B.To remember some of the classic soaps.
C.To introduce American and British soaps.
D.To encourage audience to watch more soaps.
The rapid growth in skyscrapers worldwide, most of which have large windows, has led to a high demand for window washers. Though the job is well-paid, it is dangerous and accidents are not uncommon. However, if Israel-based start-up Skyline Technologies has its way, the dangerous job may soon be done by Ozmo, an intelligent window cleaning robot, with humans supervising (监督) from the safety of the ground.
Much like humans, Ozmo, sitting on platforms hanging from the buildings, uses its arms and brushes to clean the dirt on the glass. A 3D map of the building’s surface programmed into its system allows the robot to skillfully deal with any obstacle it is likely to meet, as it moves up and down the buildings. The robot will self-correct and move around every obstacle that it might have met so as not to break a window.
Unlike present window washers, the robot cleaner does not require soap to clean the glass. Instead, it uses distilled (蒸馏的) water to do the job. Yaron Schwarcz, CEO of Skyline Robotics explains, “We are environmentally friendly.”
Ozmo is also expected to be much more efficient than its human counterparts. While it presently takes three cleaners 480 hours each to clean windows of a 40-storey glass building, the robot will be able to do it in 80 hours. However, unlike other robots, Ozmo will not replace human workers, and only make their jobs safer by making them supervisors, who will be controlling the operation from the safety of the ground.
Whether Ozmo, which is still being tested, does as good a job as humans remains to be seen. If things go well, its creators have much bigger ambitions for Ozmo. Schwarcz told Forbes Magazine, “Window cleaning is just the tip of the iceberg. We plan to replace all tasks that are dangerous and dirty.”
1.Why is Ozmo friendly to our environment?
A.It uses less soap than other robots.
B.It depends on solar energy.
C.It makes our ecosystem more balanced.
D.It consumes nothing made from chemicals.
2.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Like cleaning windows, a well-paid job is usually dangerous.
B.Without humans supervising, Ozmo could have performed better.
C.Ozmo can save 400 hours per building compared to a human cleaner.
D.Ozmo can’t be stopped by obstacles with its advanced system.
3.What does the underlined part “the tip of the iceberg” mean?
A.A small part of a big plan.
B.As cool as the iceberg.
C.The most advanced technology.
D.The leading role in the modern world.
4.What is the best title for the text？
A.Robots make a difference.
B.Meet Ozmo, the window cleaning robot.
C.Supervise Ozmo, human safe.
D.Intelligent Ozmo becomes known worldwide.
Chokwe Selassie, an eighth-grader at Blackburn Middle School, was inspired to create an app on a recent morning, when his mother was driving him to school. Their car was damaged as it went over a huge pothole (坑洞) in the middle of the street in their hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. “I wanted to do something about the pothole problem in my city,” Chokwe, 13, told TFK.
Chokwe developed the app with his friends Rodriguez Ratliff and Emmanuel Brooks. “When the app detects a pothole, it is highlighted in red,” Chokwe says. “And if you get close to the pothole, your phone will warn you with a beep sound.” Drivers can also use the app to report any potholes they come across, and to look for other routes they can take to avoid roads that have them.
The app relies on current available information about the streets of Jackson, according to Chokwe. “It works by using the city’s 311 call system, so it uses information already stored in a database,” he says. Through the call system, citizens dial 311 to report non-emergency problems — which include potholes.
To get some help in developing the app, the boys took part in a Minority Male Makers Program sponsored by Verizon (an American broadband and telecommunications company) and held at Jackson State University. The program provides nearly 1,000 American middle school boys across the country with training in advanced technology.
“The students were really excited to participate and learn new things,” says Valerie Bradley, Chokwe’s principal at Blackburn Middle School. Through the program, Chokwe says, he and his friends received encouragement and guidance.
Although the app isn’t yet available for sale, Chokwe is already looking for ways to improve it. The prototype (雏形) remains limited to 10 streets in Jackson, but he hopes to add more, so that it includes every street in the city. And then he wants to go even farther. “I want to keep working on the app until it’s nationwide,” Chokwe says.
1.What is the app designed by Chokwe aimed at?
A.Perfecting the city’s 311 call system.
B.Planning the best routes for drivers.
C.Measuring the streets in Jackson.
D.Helping drivers avoid potholes.
2.What does the second paragraph mainly explain?
A.How Chokwe’s app works.
B.What Chokwe’s app relies on.
C.Where Chokwe’s app can be used.
D.Whom Chokwe’s app is designed for.
3.Whom is Verizon’s Minority Male Makers Program popular with?
A.Students at Jackson State University.
B.Teachers at Blackburn Middle School.
C.Boys who are interested in technology.
D.Males like driving and repairing vehicles.
4.Which of the following words can best describe Chokwe?
A.Proud. B.Honest.
C.Ambitious. D.Independent.
Enter The Guardian young critics competition 2019
Review one of The guardian children’s fiction prize 2019 longlisted books as an individual or a school book group and be in with a chance of winning books, gift cards and an invitation to the award ceremony in November!
If you are aged 18 or under on 18 November 2019, attend a school in the UK or are home educated in the UK and love reading, then you should enter The Guardian’s young critics competition — and here’s how?
All you need to do is submit a review (no more than 500 words) on one of the books (click here for more information) longlisted for The Guardian children’s fiction prize 2019. Make sure your review reaches us by 30 October 2019. 10 winning individual entries and one winning school entry will be selected. When picking the winners, the judges will be looking for the most interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking (发人深省的) book reviews.
There are two ways to enter:
1.You can enter on your own by filling out the form (click here to download the form) including your review of a longlisted book.
2. You can enter as part of a school group if you and at least three other students from your school all submit reviews.
The prizes:
The 10 individual winners will each receive a complete set of eight longlisted books, plus a￡20 gift card and an invitation to attend the award ceremony at The Guardian on 19 November 2019.
The winning school will be invited to spend a day at The Guardian Education Centre: up to 30 students from the winning school will have the chance to edit and print the day’s news at The Guardian Education Centre in London. In addition, the winning school will receive 10 complete sets of the eight longlisted books, a ￡150 gift card as well as an invitation for up to 20 pupils to attend the ceremony in London on 19 November.
Good luck!
If you have any questions about the competition or how to enter, please email childrensfictionprize@theguardian.com.
1.Which requirement should one meet if he or she wants to take part in the competition?
A.Being under 18 years old. B.Being educated in the UK.
C.Being part of a school book group. D.Being a winner of the fiction prize.
2.What’s the deadline for the entries?
A.30 October 2019. B.31 October 2019.
C.18 November 2019. D.19 November 2019.
3.What prize will group winners get?
A.A ￡150 card for each student.
B.Eight copies of the longlisted books.
C.The chance to produce the newspaper.
D.An invitation for 30 students to attend the ceremony.
由于新冠疫情严峻，目前学生都在居家学习。假如你是高三学生李华，你收到新西兰笔友 Bob 的电子邮件，对你居家学习情况表示关心。请根据以下要点，给他写一封回复邮件。
1. 感谢对方的关心；
2. 介绍居家学习情况：面临挑战；目前的学习方式（至少两种）；
3. 表达信心和愿望。
注意: 1. 词数 100 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：新冠状病毒 novel coronavirus
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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：在错的词下画一横线，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 Ashley,
You ask me how to protect your eyesight at your last letter. I am writing to give you some suggestion. Firstly, you shouldn’t keep your eyes work for a long time. After you have studied for an hour or so, you’d better to have a rest and look out of window. Secondly, while reading a book, you should keep your eyes about a foot away from them. Thirdly, keep it in mind what you shouldn’t read in poor light, in strongly sunlight, on a moving bus or in bed. Lastly, doing eye exercises every day help you protect your eyesight.
I hope my advice will be of help to you.
Yours,
Li Hua
