It’s late at night, the weather is bad and you’re hungry. Your favorite restaurant is less than a mile away, but you don’t want to leave the house, and you don’t want to pay a $5 delivery fee. So, what do you do? Back in the old days, you would have braved the weather. But those days are coming to an end, at least in Washington, D.C.
A group of about 20 knee-high robots recently has appeared on the sidewalks of the nation’s capital. Their tasks are to bring take-out food from restaurants to hungry customers at home—while keeping the delivery cost to around a dollar.
The robots are European, created in Estonia by a company called Starship Technologies. Each of them is a middle-sized cooler on six wheels, drives at an average speed of about 4 miles per hour, about the speed of a walker. It has lights and a tall, bright orange flag so that it can be noticed by people on the sidewalk.
Here in Washington, Starship has teamed up with Postmates, the online delivery service, and the robots already are completing deliveries around the city.
They move almost silently. They are electric so there isn’t much sound aside from their wheels. Their cameras recognize a lot—including traffic lights and stop signs.
The robots have only been in Washington for about a month, and they’re still causing quite a stir, often getting stopped for photos. A young mother Maria is on the sidewalk, pointing out the robot to her daughter. “It’s super cool,” she says. “But the only thing that concerns me—is it going to put people out of jobs?”
The company does not see robots as a replacement, says Russell Cook, the director of Postmates. “We have people that drive cars, walk and bike, and we see robots as another type of vehicle that helps us offer deliveries,” he says.
1.What purpose does Paragraph 1 serve in the text?
A.To introduce the topic. B.To express the main idea.
C.To tell an interesting story. D.To offer some suggestions.
2.What do we know about the robots?
A.They can communicate with walkers.
B.They create little noise while walking.
C.They are able to travel at a high speed.
D.They were developed by a US company.
3.Why is the mother worried about the robots?
A.They may be not as safe as expected.
B.They may cause a stir on the sidewalk.
C.They may be destroyed by some people.
D.They may take the place of deliverymen.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.A Leading Online Delivery Company
B.Delivery Robots in Washington, D.
C.C. The Latest Development of Postmates
D.The Growing Concern about Delivery Robots
Downshall Primary School based in the London Borough of Redbridge is trying a new project called “Bringing Together, Learning Together, Growing Together” that brings elderly people living alone or having certain mental illnesses into the classrooms.
This is the first time a school has hosted a day centre for the elderly who came three days a week with their carers and support workers. Across three classrooms, they spent 20-minute periods with the school’s four-and five-year-olds, doing activities that fit within the national curriculum.
Pam Abner, 71, used to be a primary school teacher. “It can be a little bit boring sitting in the house on your own. It’s nice to come out and meet people and children,” she said.
The projects was brought up by Dr David Hinchcliffe. The early signs are good. “It’s fantastic. Just the looks on everybody’s face,” said Hinchcliffe. “One lady said she could not remember being so happy. She wakes up in the morning and can’t wait to go to school!”
The children taking part in the project at Downshall also benefit. The headteacher, Ian Bennett, said, “We thought it would be a great idea to try this. We’ve had some amazing moments.”
One little boy, who had not spoken since joining the school, spoke for the first time while taking part in the project. “For these children, to have the experience of building a relationship with these elderly members of our community, as well as the opportunity to speak with them and develop their language skills is important,” said Maria Zgouralis, head of early years.
Stephen Burke, a director of United for All Ages, which promotes the development of shared places to bring generations together, said “It’s a win-win for the children and the older people, sharing activities and experiences, and thereby improving health, learning and understanding for all,” and he hoped there would be more such chances for more people.
1.How does the project bring two generations together?
A.By bringing kids to care homes.
B.By building shared places for them.
C.By inviting elderly people to classrooms.
D.By organizing activities for both generations.
2.Who first came up with the idea for the project?
A.Pam Abner. B.Ian Bennett.
C.Maria Zgouralis. D.David Hinchcliffe.
3.What does the underline word “their” in Paragraph 6 refer to?
A.The teachers’. B.The children’s
C.The elderly people’s D.The community members’.
4.What does Stephen Burke think of the project?
A.It’s especially helpful for shy kids.
B.It helps kids better plan for the future.
C.It should be more widely introduced.
D.It’s more beneficial to the elderly than to kids.
A young kangaroo is lucky to be alive today thanks to a pair of New South Wales teenagers.
Nick Heath and Jack Donnelly, both 19, were riding their motorbikes in the bush outside Sydney on Sunday when they came across a kangaroo stuck in the mud.
The boys saw the head of the animal sticking out of the mud at Agnes Banks near the Nepean River in southwest Sydney. The animal was clearly in pain but the boys couldn’t reach it, so they raced home to get some rope. When they returned, Mr. Donnelly tied the rope around his waist and walked into the thick mud to get hold of the kangaroo while his friend then pulled them about 30 meters to safety.
Appearing on Today this morning, the young men retold their experience to save the animal.
“The kanguarwo’s life was important to us so we pulled out all the stops to rescue it,” Mr. Heath said. “We lake pride in what we did. If we see something like that again, we’ll do it all over again,” Mr Heath added.
The animal, while not in great health after being save, was handed to wildlife rescue organization WIRES. It’s believed that the kangaroo was likely searching for water in the dry conditions when it got stuck in the mud.
As for the heroes of the story, they re glad to have been in the right place at the right time to help the animal—and don’t mind the attention it’s brought.
“Yeah we liked it, something different,” Mr. Donnelly told news.com.au.
1.What did the teenagers do on seeing the kangaroo?
A.They walked into the mud to save it.
B.They rode in the bush to look for help.
C.They went back home for some rope.
D.They tried to keep its head out of the mud.
2.What did Mr. Heath mean by saying the underlined words in Paragraph 5?
A.They stopped to think before acting.
B.They tried their best to save the animal.
C.They walked out of the mud without difficulty.
D.They were not sure if they should save the animal.
3.What do we know about the kangaroo?
A.It’s in good care.
B.It’s still in great danger.
C.It nearly died from thirst.
D.It ran too fast to notice the mud.
4.How did the teenagers feel after rescuing the kangaroo?
A.They were delighted and proud.
B.They were worn-out but excited.
C.They were worried about the kangaroo.
D.They were uncomfortable with the attention.
Music Festivals in 2019
Snowattack
Type: Electronic
Where: Les Orres, France
When: January 26-February 2, 2019
Camping: No
Snowaltack is a mid-winter event celebrating electronic music and ski culture. The festival takes place yearly at the Les Ores ski area in France with over 100 kilometers of slope (斜坡) and 19 lifts, giving great pleasure to tourists and music lovers.
Treefort Music Festival
Type: Hip-hop
Where: Boise, ID
When: March 20—March 24, 2019
Camping: No
It may sound strange lo choose Boise in Idaho as the city for such a large festival, but the Treefort festival continues to give us surprise year after year. Treefort takes place the week after another big music festival, South by Southwest, to attract artists on the way back to the northwest. The festival has grown in size to include things beyond music, like film, yoga and beer.
Black Deer Festival
Type: Country
Where: Eridge Park, Kent
When: June 21—June 23, 2019
Camping: Yes
Black Deer is going to bring a great deal of real Americanna and country music to the UK. The new festival promises to bring a wonderful mixture of excitement, experience and love with tasty food and drink, artisan wares (工艺品) and fantastic music.
Noise Pop Festival
Type: Pop
Where: San Francisco, CA
When: February 15-February 25, 2019
Camping: No
The Noise Pop Festival takes place every February across San Francisco. The show also includes activities about art and film along with some of the best musical artists. If you’re planning a winter-time trip, this is a special way to experience the fashion of the city.
1.Which festival should you go to if you are a hip-hop lover?
A.Snowattack. B.Noise Pop Festival.
C.Black Deer Festival. D.Treefort Music Festival.
2.What makes Black Deer Festival different from the other three?
A.It will allow for camping. B.It will last for a whole week.
C.It will bring different musical styles. D.It will include many kinds of activities.
3.What can you do during the Noise Pop Festival?
A.Try an exercise like yoga. B.Go skating to exciting music.
C.Play with country music lovers. D.Enjoy the fashion of San Francisco.
假如你是红星中学的学生会主席李华。一批来自美国的高中生来你校进行了一周的交流活动。现在他们即将回国，你将在欢送会上致辞。请你写一篇发言稿。主要内容包括：
1.回顾双方的交流活动；
2.谈谈收获或感想；
3.表达祝愿与期望。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头已给出，但不计入总词数。
Dear friends,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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。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，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改仅限一词。
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Ms. Chen,
I am writing to apply to the position as a student volunteer. I really want to obtain this precious opportunity because of, by offering my service, I will be able to improve my organizational ability and my confidence in speak English in public.
As the outgoing girl, I get along well with my classmates. Beside, I have such a good command of English that I was an assistant to my English teacher now. Successful, I have lent a helping hand to her in several English activities of my class, that has been appreciated by both teachers and classmates.
I am sure that you can perfectly live up to your expectations. I would appreciate if you could take me into consideration.
Yours truly
Lihua
