George Nakashima always insisted that he was a simple woodworker, not an artist. Even though major museums exhibited his works and the director of the American Craft Museum called him a national treasure, Mr Nakashima rejected the label of artist. For almost fifty years he simply went on shaping wood into beautiful chairs, tables, and cabinets.
Nakashima had a clear goal. He intended each piece of furniture he made to be as perfect as possible. Even making a box was an act of creation, because it produced an object that had never existed before. Initially Nakashima used local wood, sometimes from his own property. Later, he traveled to seek out English oak, Persian walnut, African zebra wood and Indian teak. He especially liked to find giant roots that had been dug out of the ground after a tree was taken down. Nakashima felt that making this wood into furniture was a way of allowing the tree to live again.
Most furniture makers prefer perfect boards, but Nakashima took pleasure in using wood with interesting knots (节疤)and cracks. These irregularities gave the wood personality and showed that the tree had lived a happy life.
He never failed to create an object that was both useful and beautiful. One early piece Nakashima designed was a three-legged chair for his small daughter, Mira, to use when she sat at the table for meals. The Mira chair became so popular that Nakashima later made both low and high versions. Another famous piece, the Conoid chair, has two legs supported by bladelike feet. Always, Nakashima's designs were precise and graceful, marked by a simplicity that revealed his love for the wood.
As the years passed, Nakashima's reputation grew and his work received many awards. His children Mira and Kevin, now adults, joined the team of crafts - people in their father's studio. Nakashima's dream of integrating work and family had come true.
1.Which of the following best describes Nakashima?
A.Generous and outgoing. B.Honest and simple.
C.Capable and friendly. D.Creative and modest.
2.Why was Nakashima called a national treasure?
A.His art work made trees live again.
B.He used precious wood materials.
C.His chairs were beautifully designed.
D.He was devoted to making furniture.
3.What can we learn about Nakashima from the last two paragraphs?
A.He loved his work and family.
B.He made chairs of the same style.
C.He sought for a simple life and art.
D.He was lost in researching the wood.
4.What can be inferred about Mira and Kevin?
A.They had an art studio of their own.
B.They still lacked the ability to create art works.
C.They had a common interest with their father.
D.They enjoyed the same reputation with their father.
At Englands University of Plymouth, Professor Eduardo Miranda has been programming pairs of robots to compose music. Miranda's robots have simple “ vocal cords”(声带)and are programmed to sing and to listen to each other. The robots' unique warbling sounds (颤音) do not perfectly match the human voice, but each machine is exactly sharing music with the other in a new and unique way.
Each robot is equipped with speakers, software that mimics the human voice, a mouth that opens as it “sings,” a microphone for ears, and a camera for eyes. The robots also move. Miranda hopes that by studying his robot vocalists, he can discover something about how and why humans create, perform, and listen to music.
When the robots sing, first one robot makes six random sounds. Its partner responds with more sounds. The first robot analyzes the sounds to see if their sequences (序列)) are similar. If they are, it nods its head and commits the sounds to memory, and the second robot notices and “memorizes” the musical sequence, too. If the first robot thinks the sounds are too different, it shakes its head and both robots ignore the sounds. Then the process continues.
Miranda set up an experiment in which he left the two robots alone in his study for two weeks. When he returned, his little warblers had, by imitating each other, not only shared notes but combined them. The product of their cooperation was far from symphonic, but the robots had begun to combine the notes into their own self-developed “songs”.
With the help of his warbling robots, one of Miranda's goals is to create music that no human would ever compose. Miranda believes the robots are ideal for this purpose because they would not be influenced by any existing musical styles or rules.
1.Which is closest in meaning to the underlined word “mimics” in Paragraph 2?
A.Substitutes. B.Interrupts.
C.Controls. D.Copies.
2.What did the two robots do during Miranda's experiment?
A.They interacted with each other.
B.They ignored the unique sound.
C.They learned to sing better than humans.
D.They committed random sounds to memory.
3.What does Miranda want his robots to do?
A.Sing as well as humans do. B.Create new styles of music.
C.Memorize a variety of music. D.Promote traditional musical forms.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.Future robots. B.Special songs.
C.Music by robots. D.Experiments by Miranda.
Improving your lifestyle through sports
Do you want to lead an active lifestyle? Are you passionate about sports? Have you thought about making new friends? Come on down and sign up for any of our classes at our exclusive launch!
Date: 5 April
Time: 10 a. m. to 7 p. m.
Place: VibraSquare Atrium
We offer classes like badminton, tennis, basketball and volleyball for everyone from the age of 10 to 40. Come on down to learn more about our classes as well as our special rates. All our classes are conducted by certified coaches.
A Mystery Gift will be given to the first 50 people who sign up for any sports class with us!
Highlights of our launch event:
• 1 p. m. : Talk on balancing sports and studies by Dr Claire Leow
• 3 p. m. : Autograph signing session by professional badminton player Kate Wee, winner of the recent Singapore Open
• 5 p. m. : Talk on how sports can benefit one's lifestyle by Mr Ryan Tan
• 6 p. m. : Free tennis clinic for children conducted by Michael Ismail, a former professional tennis player
To register for the above events, please contact Michelle at 6234 6226 or email sports@ edufit. com
Limited places available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Take part in a sure-win lucky draw when you enter for any sports class on the day of our launch! Prizes include VibraSquare Mall vouchers (票券),Wellness & Fitness sports clothing and many more j
Official Sponsors:
VibraSquare Mall Wellness & Fitness Glizard Drinks
1.What can we know about the Mystery Gift?
A.It is available anytime during April.
B.It is given to the first fifty class applicants.
C.You may choose vouchers or clothing.
D.Each participant of the launch event can get one.
2.When will kids attend the launch event if they are fond of tennis?
A.At 1 p. m. . B.At 3 p. m. . C.At 5 p. m.. D.At 6 p. m..
3.What is the main purpose of the text?
A.To report the sports events. B.To introduce healthy lifestyles.
C.To advertize the sports classes. D.To give advice on making friends.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What is mentioned as a relaxing way?
A.Being concerned about the progress.
B.Thinking about reducing stress.
C.Breathing deeply and slowly.
2.What is one of the most frequent problems during relaxation?
A.Physical condition.
B.Disturbance from outside.
C.Wandering mind.
3.When can you use the relaxing way for a problem situation?
A.After you have 10 practice sessions.
B.When you are picking up the kids.
C.Before your annoyance starts.
4.Who are the probable audience of the talk?
A.Kids. B.Parents. C.College students.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Why was Jane unhappy about living in the dormitory?
A.She disliked the food.
B.She lacked personal space.
C.She had no washing machine.
2.Where did Jane have meals?
A.In the dormitory. B.In her own kitchen. C.In the school canteen.
3.How many hours was the dining hall open every day?
A.Three. B.Five. C.Six.
4.What is the dialogue mainly about?
A.Social activities. B.College life. C.Dorm buildings.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.How do most readers find Island Intrigue” 2
A.Absurd. B.Boring. C.Thrilling.
2.What kind of books do the speakers both like?
A.Horror stories. B.Science fictions. C.Adventures.
3.What will the speakers do?
A.Exchange books.
B.Go to the library together.
C.Fix a time to communicate ideas.
