It’s always nice to have a little help around the house. But what if you could employ the assistance of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century？
That’s the idea behind a new robot modeled after Albert Einstein. Called Professor Einstein and standing at just over a foot tall, this personal assistant can tell you the weather and keep track of your schedule like any other robots. With built-in Wi-Fi, Einstein robot has access to brain ceasing games, and can answer math problems and science questions. With natural language speech processing, you can actually interact with Professor Einstein. And because the robot is connected to the Internet, it is constantly updated with new information.
To help get the perfect replica（复制品）of Einstein, the Hong Kong-based tech company Hanson Robotics turned to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the home of the Albert Einstein archives（档案）. “We worked very closely with them to bring the product co marker,” the company’s Dr. Jeanne Lim said.
Einstein robot was introduced to the public at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and was quickly hailed by those who saw it. “He became one of the breakout stars of the convention,” wrote Melia Robinson on Business Insider. “Crowds flooded into the company to have a look at the little guy.”
“Technology is often now very cold and socially isolating（孤立的）,” explained David Hanson, the co-founder of the company behind the new robot, “By bringing an lively character into our physical world, we’re humanizing（使人性化）the technology instead of dehumanizing the humans.”
As for Hanson Robotics, the company has been building human-size robots for over a decade. But this marks the company’s first commercially available product. “Professor Einstein is just the start,” said Hanson. “We’re witnessing the arrival of conversational robots that can walk in our world. It’s a golden age of invention.”
1.What can Einstein robot do？
A.Teach you to learn any new language.
B.Have a regular conversation with you.
C.Design a number of science questions.
D.Keep track of other robots constantly.
2.Which of the following best explains “hailed” underlined in paragraph 4？
A.Broken. B.Improved.
C.ignored. D.Praised.
3.What can be inferred from David Hanson’s words？
A.He expects humans to be less isolated from robots.
B.He dreams of humanizing humans through invention.
C.He worries about a golden age for conversational robots.
D.He stays hopeful about the future of robot invention.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.A New Robot Makes Humans Much Happier
B.The Golden Age of Invention Is Approaching
C.Albert Einstein Changes into an Assistant
D.Albert Einstein Helps to Humanize Robots
Many of us know about Russia’s Take Baikal from our textbook, or by listening to Chinese singer Li Jian’s hit song, Lie Baikal. But over the years, the world’s deepest freshwater lake has been in the spotlight for an extreme sport.
Each March, about 150 people from around the world sign up for the Baikal Ice Marathon. The 26-mile（41, 84 kilometers）journey starts on the lake’s eastern shore. In March, the ice is a meter thick and iron-hard. Runners cross this frozen surface, finishing on the western side of the lake.
It’s believed that Lake Baikal’s beauty is incomparable. Known as the “blue eye of Siberia”, Lake Baikal has particularly clear waters. This means that its ice is almost perfectly transparent（透明的）. Seen from above, a runner on the ice looks as if he or she were jogging through space.
The scenery might be beautiful, but strong winds blast（侵袭）acorns the lake and forcible can occur within half an hour. Runners say the cold climate is what draws them and that running in such condition is a test of their limits.
“When you are in such an environment, you don’t have cars around and don’t have the noise around. I think these extreme races push you to be alone” Alicia Badalona, a 64-year-old runner from the US said.
The place offers some strange and unique characteristics for this marathon The finishing line is visible（可见的）from the start, but the endless while offers no progress markers. Tourists crowding the ice are mostly addicted to snapping sallies（自拍）and just ignore the runners.
For runners, the absence of spectators（观众）makes the race more challenging, because it’s lonely. They must fight with themselves. “You are alone on Baikal. It is your race. You are alone with yourself. All you need to do is to defeat yourself.” Veronique Messina. a French runner, told the Telegraph.
1.What has kept lake Baikal being a focus over the years？
A.A famous Chinese singer. B.A popular song in Russian.
C.The Baikal ice marathon. D.The coldness of Lake Baikal.
2.What does the underlined word “This” in paragraph 3 refer to？
A.The fact that the waters of Lake Baikal are clear.
B.The belief that Lake Baikal is known for its waters.
C.The reason why Lake Baikal is popular with runners.
D.The popularity that clear waters in Lake Baikal enjoy.
3.Why do runners sign up for the Baikal Ice Marathon？
A.They prefer to get close to nature.
B.They like competition with others.
C.They want to draw much attention.
D.They intend to test their own limits.
4.Why is Veronique Messina mentioned at last?
A.To prove the power of the runners for the Baikal Ice Marathon.
B.To show that runners must fight against themselves in the Marathon.
C.To explain that independence is important for marathon runners.
D.To indieato the necessity of paying attention co marathon runners.
Former National Football League player and children’s author Tim Green has added another book to his list of accomplishments: Unstoppable. The book tells the story of a 12 year-old boy named Harrison, who survives life in a cruel lobster-home（寄养家庭）before he finally finds a loving family. Then he settles in and realizes his natural football ability but he loses his leg due to a deadly bone cancer. Unstoppable follows Harrison’s difficult life journey.
Tim Green said he decided to write a novel about a kid facing cancer after watching how his wife fought to survive her own illness. “Her mental and physical toughness were more heroic to me than anything I’d ever seen in the national sports leagues,” Green told TFK.
Green said, he knew he needed to write about a person who struggled through a serious illness. But because the target age for his books is the teen, he needed to tell the story through the eyes of someone of that age. He needed a perfect real story on which to base his book.
When friends introduced Green to Jeffrey Keith, Green knew he had found the right person to help him “capture（捕捉）the heroism that it takes to fight cancer”, Cancer- survivor Jeffrey Keith lost his leg at the age of twelve, but went on to be the goalkeeper and was also the first amputee（被截肢者）to run 3,300 miles across the country.
TFK asked Keith what it felt like to read Unstoppable for the first time. “Tim captured what it felt like for me to go through this experience and battle back, “Keith said.” Tim’s look sends a message to all the kids across the country that are facing challenges and that have nothing to do with cancer; you are all unstoppable, as long as you believe it.”
1.What does paragraph I mainly intend to say about Harrisons life？
A.It is poor but colorful. B.It is full of challenges.
C.It is filled with chances. D.It is peaceful but boring.
2.Why did Tim Green want to write Unstoppable？
A.He was impressed by Harrison’s encouraging life.
B.He intended to make Jeffrey Keith’s story well known.
C.He was inspired by his wife’s struggle with her illness.
D.He wished to encourage adults to light against illness bravely.
3.In what way did Jeffrey Keith play a role in Unstoppable?
A.It is based on his life experiences.
B.It is written by him and Tim Green.
C.He offered great advice to its author.
D.He has introduced it to many people.
4.What’s Jeffrey Keith’s attitude to Unstoppable？
A.Worried. B.Cautious.
C.Uncertain. D.Favorable.
Fantastic Magazines for Learning English
Digital Photogra pher
Perfect if you like: taking pictures with your camera or phone.
What you’ll find inside: This magazine is full of colorful photos and very pleasing to look at. There are many tips and guides on how to take great pictures, and they are written in simple and easy-to-understand English though there are some technical camera terms. You feel like the writers are tolking to you! You can impress your friends with your irnproved English and your new photography skills!
Fast Company
Perfect if you like: business and learning how successful companies work.
What you’ll find inside: Fast Company is one of the most approachable magazines about business and companies. It has many interviews of successful people, as well as general news about interesting new companics. It does use a higher level of writing than what is usual for magazines, so give it a try first to make sure you can understand the articles.
Cricket and Cicada
Perfect if you like: excellent literature and short stories.
What you’ll find inside: Cricket and Cicada are literary magazines aimed at teenagers. Each issue is full of wonderful short stories and poems, and beautiful illustrations. Even though these are technically children’s magazines, they are perfect for learning English because they have high quality writing.
Mental Floss
Perfect if you like: interesting trivia and facts.
What you’ll find inside: What does outer space smell like？ Why isn’t cat food mouse-flavored？ If you’re the kind of person who asks yourself these questions, you’ll love Meriful Floss, Each issue is full of bite-sized trivia and mostly short articles with really interesting facts that you’ll want to share with others.
While the print edition of the magazine stopped publishing in 2016, you can still read Mental Floss online. Click here to get more information.
1.Which magazine tells something about business and companies？
A.Digital Photographer. B.Fast Company
C.Cricket. D.Menial Floss.
2.What is special about Cricket and Cicada？
A.They focus on drawing skills B.They can only be bought online.
C.They are intended for teenagers. D.They are full of colorful pictures.
3.Where is the text most probably taken？
A.On a website. B.In a newspaper.
C.In an English textbook. D.From a science magazine.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
The event that stands out in Tom’s memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old. He was at home with his elder sister Jane. Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices. At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud, but he soon realized this time it was different.
“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone yelled.
Then a thick burning smell filled the air. When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate, a thick cloud of smoke greeted him. The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.
Jane, who had been playing the violin in her room, hurried to the living room. They rushed out of the door and along the corridor（走廊）through the smoke.
They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane stopped in her track. She turned around and headed back the way they came. Tom had no idea what she was doing, but he followed suit.
Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them, who they called Makcik, Malay for auntie. Jane began banging on Makcik’s door, but got no answer. As the smoke thickened around them, Tom could see many of their neighbors—some still in their pyjamas—running for safety. The thought of fear crossed his mind.
“She would have run for safety like everyone else!” Tom cried. However, Jane refused to give up. “I know Makcik’s still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik’s daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping. She pounded the door. “Go downstairs. Go now! Go!”
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph1:
Tom noticed the flame was reaching up.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Luckily, some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假设你是李华。你的外国笔友打算于 7 月来中国，特来信了解中国人的社交习俗。请你用英语回一封信，从以下几个方面作具体介绍：
1．见面时的问候方式；
2．接收礼物时的回应方式；
3．餐宴礼节。
注意：1．词数 80 左右，信的开头和结束语已写好，不计入总词数；
2．可根据内容要点适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
Dear Jane,
Glad to hear from you and you’re welcome to China in July.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
Li Hua
