Riding on an exercise bike at home may keep you in physical shape, but it can get pretty boring after a while. Aaron Puzey had been on his exercise bike for half an hour a day for years when he decided to look for a way to make it a bit more fun.
With virtual reality technology widely available nowadays, all he needed to do was find a way of applying it to his needs. So he set out to build an app for the Samsung Galaxy Gear VR headset(头戴式视图器) which would allow him to hook it up to Google Street view and make it seem like he's cycling through different real-life locations.
Building the app to download the 3D data from Street View and make it viewable in the VR headset was the toughest part of his project. Other than that, all he needed to do was tape a Bluetooth monitor to his exercise bike. Although the quality of the images sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, leaving complex scenes like trees looking like a mess, Aaron has been having a lot of fun on his journey.
Aaron's project is obviously no substitute(替代品) for real outdoor cycling as it lacks things like the wind blowing in your face or the pain of battling an uphill climb, but it has given him a goal, as well as the chance to take in the beauty of places he might have otherwise never seen. It definitely beats staring at a wall or at the TV for 30 minutes, anyway.
Obviously, Aaron's set up the officially allows him to ride a bike anywhere around the world. He says he has always wanted to see Japan, so once his ride comes to an end, he plans to start another one across the Land of the Rising Sun.
1.Why did Aaron Puzey build the app?
A.To invent a new kind of bicycle B.To participate in a competition.
C.To satisfy the needs of the public. D.To add fun to his exercise bike routine
2.Which of the following can best describe Aaron Puxey?
A.Creative. B.Ambitious.
C.Funny. D.Boring.
3.What was the challenge for Puzey in his project?
A.Changing the 3D data into pictures.
B.Downloading the software from the Internet.
C.Making the 3D data viewable in the headset.
D.Taping a Bluetooth monitor lo his exercise bike.
4.What might be the best title for the text?
A.Cycling Across the World at Home
B.The Lazy Man and His Crazy Idea
C.A New Way of Cycling Without Effort
D.A Substitute for Real Outdoor Cycling
From the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you can feel sweat running down your body, even if you' re barely moving at all. That's what most people in China felt like this summer. In fact, the entire northern hemisphere(半球)saw high temperatures in July.
The Arctic Circle was no exception(例外). Temperatures in the city of Norilsk, which is in the Arctic Circle, reached a record high of 32 ℃, The Atlantic reported. Temperatures there are usually just 10 ℃ at this time of the year.
The heat wave in the Arctic is mainly a long-term result of global warming, according to the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. In fact, while the whole world is getting warmer, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. This is called the polar amplification effect (极地放大效应).
The most direct impact of Arctic warming is the melting of Arctic ice. According to NASA, Arctic sea ice is now disappearing at a rate of 13.2 percent every 10 years. NASA said that if this continues, the Arctic will have no ice by the year 2040.
This has put some Arctic animals, like polar bears, in danger. The ice that the bears live on has shrunk(缩小), the Toronto Star reported.
Melting ice can also cause sea levels to rise in the long term. Since 1993, sea levels have risen at a rate of 3.2 cm every 10 years, the Guardian reported. Some countries, such as Tuvalu(图瓦鲁) in the South Pacific Ocean and Maldives(马尔代夫) in the Indian Ocean, are at risk of disappearing into the sea.
1.Which of the following is true?
A.Some countries in the ocean will disappear in 10 years.
B.China is the hottest in the northern hemisphere this summer.
C.The world gets warmer because of the heat wave in the Arctic.
D.The temperatures in Norilsk used to be lower than this summer.
2.What does the underlined word "this" in the third paragraph refer to?
A.The heat wave in the Arctic.
B.The result of global warming.
C.The Arctic getting warm faster.
D.Getting warmer in the world.
3.What may be the result of the melting of Arctic ice?
A.The polar will become dangerous.
B.There will be an end of water shortage.
C.Sea levels rise in the long term.
D.There will be no ice in the world by 2040.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Heat hits Arctic.
B.Arctic animals are in danger.
C.The world became hotter than before.
D.Some countries may disappear into the sea.
Stan Lee, co-founder of the Marvel Universe(漫威宇宙) and co-creator of many of its most popular superheroes, died at the age of 95.
Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York in 1992. As a son of working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, times were hard and he lived with his family in a shabby single-bedroom apartment. After graduating from high school at 16, Lieber landed a job as an assistant at Timely Comics. By the early 1940s, he was a temporary editor for the company. It was at this time that he began using his pen name--Stan Lee. In 1947, two years after returning from serving for the U.S. Army, Lee married his wife, Joan. The two began their 70-year marriage and had two children.
In the late 1950s, DC Comics breathed new life into its classic superhero and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League(正义联盟) of America.
To compete against DC Comics, Lee was given the task of creating their own group of superheroes. In 1961, Timely Comics changed its name into Marvel Comics after Atlas Comics, and that November saw the debut(首次亮相) of the Fantastic Four. Lee’s later famous and lasting creations of comic-book superheroes included Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the X-men.
Over the course of his career, Lee was an icon of Marvel Comics. As a writer and editor and, at various points, both the publisher and vice president of Marvel Comics, Lee not only introduced interesting characters to the industry, but changed the way that comic books came together. He also created a cooperative workflow between writers and artists, which became known as the “Marvel Method”. Lee received a National Medal of Arts in 2008 for his innovations that revolutionized (=completely changed) American comic books.
1.What do we know about Lee from paragraph 2?
A.He served for the U.S. Army for two years.
B.He suffered from an unfortunate marriage.
C.He had a tough and struggling childhood.
D.He adopted his pen name at the age of 16.
2.What was the company called when Spider-Man was created?
A.Timely Comics. B.Marvel Comics.
C.Atlas Comics. D.DC Comics.
3.What does the underlined word “icon” in the last paragraph?
A.Theme. B.Character.
C.Assistant. D.Symbol.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Stan Lee, the Godfather of Marvel Comics.
B.The Development of Marvel Comics.
C.Stan Lee, a Superhero in Comic Books.
D.The Popular Superheroes of Marvel Comics.
Antarctica, the great white continent and one of the last true wilderness areas on earth – largely unchanged since the early explorers, is home to the world’s greatest concentration of wildlife.
We offer an extensive list of trips to Antarctica at the best price. You may choose between our various trips which you like best, according to your needs, in terms of price, duration and type of excursion(游览).
The Antarctic season goes from late October to March.
Antarctica Expeditions
CRUISES Cruises to Antarctic Peninsula, Polar Circle, Weddell Sea, South Georgia, Falkland Island and mid-Atlantic Islands. Budget from $ 4,720 to $ 21 ,499 Length from 9 to 32 days | FLIGHTS Fly from Punta Arenas, Chile to Antarctica or to the very South Pole Budget from US$5,400 to US$68,500 Length from 1 to 9 days |
AIR-CRUISES Combine both sailing and Flying - Flying to or from Antarctica takes around 2.5 hours, 3Bmaking you save the 2.5-day navigations across the Drake Passage that are made each way in a regular cruise. Budget from US$3,995 to US$19,795 Length from 5 to 9 days | SAILBOATS Sail to Antarctica on board of sailboats with a capacity of 9 or 48 passengers Budget from US$7,750 to US$11,600 Length from 22 to 59 days |
If you’re looking to experience one of the most magnificent, exquisite, untouched regions of the world in an intimate, unhurried way away from the crowds, have we got a trip for you!
1.According to the passage, which type of excursion might take the longest time?
A.CRUISES. B.FLIGHTS. C.AIR-CRUISES. D.SAILBOATS.
2.What’s the main purpose of this article?
A.To introduce some geographical knowledge about Antarctica.
B.To help you compare the price of traveling to Antarctica.
C.To give you advice on how to choose from different trips.
D.To appeal to potential travelers to Antarctica.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.The Antarctic season goes from March to late October.
B.It might take more than two days to go across the Drake Passage in a regular cruise.
C.A sailboat can carry no more than 40 passengers.
D.A cruise to Antarctica is the cheapest.
假如你是李华，你的英国朋友Peter对中国的竹子非常好奇。请写一封电子邮件介绍竹子的短文。内容包括：
1．竹子的外貌特点：
2．竹子的作用：
3．竹子的象征意义。
注意：1．词数：100左右：
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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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。
To offer a chance for our students to keep in touch with society, last Saturday our class was organized some meaningful social practice activities. We were divided into second groups. One group went to the crossings near our school, intending to helping the traffic policemen. The another group went to collect rubbishes in Hongxing Park. Meanwhile, we introduced some simply ways of environmental protection and remind people not to destroy the beauty of nature. It was the memorable day because our behavior received praise the public and we benefited a lot from these activities.
