This could be the perfect gift for the partner, who embarrasses you on the dance floor. Smart socks, which can teach to dance, may be the answer for anyone with two left feet.
The socks have been developed as a running tool to help runners improve their skills. Thanks to the socks, users can accurately record not only how far and fast they run but also how well. It means the user maximizes their performance, and reduces damage to body and prevents hurt. The hi-tech socks are made of special fibers that watch the movements of your feet. They look, feel and can be washed like normal clothes.
Sensors (传感器) record each movement and send it by an ankle transmitter (脚踝发射器) to a smart phone. Then a “virtual coach” application shows the information and can tell the user what they are doing wrong, and help to improve skill in any task with feet.
The socks should be useful to athletes and weekend joggers. “People think running is so easy and of course everybody can do it but not necessarily safely and well,” Dr. Davide Vigano said. A recent study showed that between 60 and 80 percent of runners got hurt per year. This is pretty much more than any other human activity. Researchers say the technology can also be developed to teach people how to dance, play sports such as golf, or even to help to teach women to walk better in high heels.
Mr. Vigano said, “People could all benefit from the idea. We have had interest from all sorts of sports, like skiing, football, cycling and golf. Anything where you have to use your feet can use it. It could even be put in high heels to help women walk in them safely.”
Socks are just the start, and the technology could be used in gloves, hats and boots. The socks, anklet and software package, are expected to be sold for around￡120, which will go on sale in March.
1.What does the underlined part “anyone with two left feet” refer to?
A.People who are disabled.
B.People who are interested in dancing.
C.People who are not good at dancing.
D.People who invented the socks.
2.What’s special about fibers that the socks are made of?
A.They feel much softer than normal clothes.
B.They can monitor the movement of feet.
C.They are expensive to produce.
D.They act as a smart phone for users.
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the socks?
A.They can improve the skill of running.
B.They can help women walk better in high heels.
C.They can teach people to dance well.
D.They can be worn for days without washing.
4.According to Dr. Vigano, ________.
A.everyone can make good use of the smart socks
B.users can run as fast as they like with the socks
C.60 to 80 percent of runners would like to buy the smart socks
D.no runners will get hurt, thanks to the socks
Do you have a spare room in your house? What about a driveway for your car? Both of these can help you make money.Many people who are feeling the pinch are taking advantage of what’s been called the “sharing economy”.
Perhaps the best-known example of a company in this field is Airbnb---an American web business which allows you to rent out your spare room to holidaymakers.It says it operates in 34,000 cities and it has over 1,500,000 listings.It seems to have concerned the market!
A British company is doing something with parking spaces.JustPark’s founder, Anthony Eskinazi, says ,“When I had the original idea,Ispotted a driveway close to a sports stadium.It would have been so convenient if I could have just parked in that driveway rather than in commercial car park.” And he has a big clientele（客户）:around 20,000 people have advertised their spaces on the site,and he says around half a million drivers use it.There are other sites doing very similar things,like Uber and Lyft---these let drivers share their cars with other passengers.Any driver knows how valuable a place to park is .A church near Kings Cross in central London has apparently made over £200,000 by renting out space in its yard to travelers!
Because this is a new business world,those rules aren’t there yet and many people are happy to share...as long as it pays!
But the sharing economy has its critics:the competitors of these new companies.People who run things like traditional B&B, commercial car parks and taxi services are afraid of ending up out of pocket.And there is another issue:regulations on these new business are unclear.How will renting out your driveway affect your neighbor?
1.What does the underlined phrase “feeling the pinch” probably mean?
A.Lacking in money B.Full of curiosity
C.Willing to help others D.Unsatisfied with their life
2.Who may be against the sharing economy?
A.A taxi driver who can’t find a a parking place B.A priest in the church near Kings Cross
C.A traveller who needs accomodiation D.A well-known high-end holiday hotel
3.Why are many people pleased to share according to paragraph 4?
A.They can gain huge profits B.They needn’t pay any fee
C.There are few rules to limit them D.The new business has no risks
4.Which of the following words can best describe the booming business?
A.Creative and developed B.Competitive but unpractical
C.Effective and worrying D.Traditional and acceptable
Resorts of every kind have sprung up to cater to the Englishman need to spend a part of the year, however briefly, by the seaside. No town in Britain is more than eighty miles from the sea and there are seaside resorts all round the coast. On a summer Sunday most of the roads that lead to the sea axe congested (拥挤) with cars full of people eager to get a breath of sea air. In the evening when everyone is full of food, ice-cream and lollypops, there is the long slow drive home on roads crowded with returning cars.
Brighton
Brighton is one of the best-known south coast resorts and is very popular for day trip excursions. It is only fifty miles from London and can be reached by fast train in an hour. At the weekend the pebbled beaches are thronged with people sunbathing or picking their way to the water’s edge for a dip.
Bournemouth
Located a hundred miles from London, the beaches are wide and sandy. White houses line the cliff tops and narrow valleys, densely wooded with pine trees, reach down to the shore. The area near to the town of Torquay on the Devon coast is sometimes called Britains Riviera and the climate is so mild that palm trees grow along the sea front.
Blackpool
On the north-west coast, a popular resort for the people in the industrial north, Blackpool is a gay, noisy town, famous for its amusement facilities and the magical lights. At night people travel from miles around to see the extravaganza of lights decorating the sea front.
Southend
On the east coast at the mouth of the Thames, Southend is, like Brighton, one of the favorite resorts of Londoners. The pier here is the longest in Britain and offers a great variety of differing entertainments.
1.Why do people often have a long slow drive home on roads in summer?
A.Because it is extremely far from the sea.
B.Because too many returning cars often make a traffic jam.
C.Because people are full of food, ice-cream and lollypops.
D.Because people are attracted in the resorts so they leave slowly.
2.Which resort is famous for its entertainments and grand lights?
A.Bournemouth. B.Blackpool.
C.Brighton. D.Southend.
3.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.There are palm trees growing near Bournemouth.
B.Southend has the longest pier in Britain.
C.Southend is a better preferred resort than Brighton by London locals.
D.People crowded into the water’s edge at Brighton for a quick swim.
Translation
1.他刚要离开办公室，电话铃响了。(No sooner)
2.尽管很困难，他还是设法解决了问题。(Despite)
3.不管你乐不乐意，你必须忍受。(Whether)
4.他辞职一事令大家觉得很震惊。(which)
5.既然麻烦找上他，他觉得逃避是没有用的。(use)
Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main points of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Storm chasers
When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly as possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
Storm chasing is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Though anyone can do it, storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement. “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life, says Jasper Morley. ‘Every storm is an example of the power of nature. It is the greatest show on Earth.’
Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
Meal kits(餐具)cut food waste but packaging is a problem
Home delivery meal kits can slash(大幅消减)food waste by more than two-thirds, but suppliers need to switch to reusable packaging to make them environmentally friendly.
1. That means leftovers are minimized. But while the delivery services score well on reducing food waste, buying the same ingredients from the supermarket almost always saves energy overall simply because meal kits use so much single-use packaging. The good news is that if you have meals that are tailored for consumption, people won’t over-buy and you have less food waste. You fine-tune the portions to what people will actually eat.
Beyond the cost of the waste itself, thrown-away food generates methane(甲烷)that contributes to climate change. 2. A 2018 report from the Boston Consulting Group found that the waste was set to soar by a third by 2030 when global food waste was estimated to reach 2.1 bn tonnes.
Meal kits can reduce transport emissions if they mean people take fewer trips to the supermarket. If people only went to buy goods that are unlikely to decay such as soap and toilet paper, they might only have to visit the supermarket once every couple of months. That delivery truck can carry meals for you and dozens of neighbors. 3.
The study found that even if delivered meal kits reduced food waste to zero, they would still use up more energy overall than buying the same food from the supermarket unless the energy used for the meal kit packaging was cut by a fifth. 4. All the environmental benefits are lost. But if the packaging can be reused, you can get some benefits.
A. However, meal kits are likely heading for the mainstream.
B. If it’s single-use and thrown away, the packaging is a killer.
C. In that case, you might replace dozens of car trips with one truck trip.
D. Meal knits arrive on your doorstep by truck filled with every ingredient you need.
E. Tailor-made meal kits save waste by providing precise quantities of fresh ingredients.
F. If food waste was a country, it would rank third in emissions behind the US and China.
