Although you can possibly get by as a tourist in weeks, mastering a language is a long-term commitment taking years, not months. The FSI has classified languages in degrees of difficulty for English speakers. Chinese takes approximately 88 weeks or 2,200 hours ranking top 5 along with Arabic, Korean and Japanese.
Each Chinese dialect is effectively another language but Mandarin(Putonghua in Chinese, which means the common language)is considered the official tongue in modern China. They all share roughly one evolving writing system, referred to as written language invented for administering a large, diverse empire.
To complicate(使复杂)the matter further, there are two main types of written Chinese characters under the same writing system: the traditional Chinese used in Hong Kong and Taiwan and the simplified Chinese in mainland China. For example, fly is written as 飛 in traditional Chinese and 飞 in simplified Chinese. They’re basically the same character written in two different ways but pronounced differently when spoken in different dialects.
Each written word when spoken is mutually incomprehensible between a Mandarin speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. If you think that’s odd, consider our number system: the symbol “9” is universally recognized but it’s pronounced “nine” in English and “devet” in Slovenian.
Every word must be memorized separately as you can’t guess its pronunciation from the script-but one could say the same of English if you consider plough, dough and tough.
Meanwhile, dictionaries list words according to stroke(笔画)count. These go from one to over 60 strokes. The archaic character zhé- which appropriately, means “verbose” - has 64 strokes.
And then there are the pronunciation challenges. There are four tones in Mandarin: high pitch (say G in a musical scale), rising pitch(like from C to G), falling(from G to C)and falling low then rising(C to B to G)- and if you think that’s difficult, there are nine tones in Cantonese. In Mandarin, there is a whole poem, “The Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den” with just the syllable “shi” repeated 107 times in various tones. In other words, if you are tone-deaf you might as well give up now.
1.What do all Chinese dialects have in common?
A.They were invented by the emperor.
B.They have the same writing system.
C.They evolve in the same way.
D.They serve the same purpose.
2.Why does the author mention the symbol “9” in Paragraph 4?
A.To prove different pronunciations of Chinese dialects
B.To indicate the similarities in all languages.
C.To show that Chinese is an odd language.
D.To compare English with Slovenian.
3.What challenge does the author think is difficult to overcome?
A.Complicated scripts and strokes.
B.Different types of characters.
C.Various tones.
D.Too many dialects.
4.What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Chinese has different dialects.
B.Chinese is very difficult to learn.
C.Chinese is an ever-developing language.
D.Chinese sounds like music and poems.
Ever since the beginning of human civilization, we are trying to reduce manual efforts by making simple to extremely complex machines. The next step in the same process is robotics and automation. Robotics and automation is a field with abundant potential. It expands its scope from household applications to solving mysteries of the Universe to curing untreatable medical conditions.
Up until the beginning of 2020, robots of any kind are made up of nor-living materials. Recently scientists from the University of Vermont & Tufts University introduced Xenobots, which have opened a whole new Universe for this field. Xenobots are the world’s first living and self-healing microbots. These robots are designed with the help of computer-generated- evolutionary algorithm(算法). The living cells used for its creation are skin, heart and stem cell from the African frog embryos(胚胎).
These microbots are very basic in nature, made up entirely from the organic substance. They can move forward, turn around, spin in circles and flip over. They are smaller than a millimetre and can travel inside the human body. Just imagine the possibilities we will have, once scientist is able to teach Xenobots to do the desired task. One day they even might be able to fight cancer cells. They will be able to clear microplastics in the oceans and lots more.
But if these bots are a life form, why are we calling them robots? This is because scientists are designing them to move or work according to their wills. A certain arrangement for skin and heart cells in an Xenobot will make it move in a straight line, while a different arrangement of the same cells will be required to move them in circular motions.
Xenobots are positively a great step. Scientists are also calling them a brand new life form on the planet. The future is unseen but is undoubtedly full of countless possibilities.
1.Which of the following is the potential of the robotics?
A.Making complex machines. B.Reducing manual efforts.
C.Expanding our scopes. D.Clearing space mysteries.
2.Where do Xenobots differ from the other previous robots?
A.In nature. B.In size. C.In movement. D.In materials.
3.What are Xenobots able to do already now?
A.Travel inside the human body. B.Create new life.
C.Fight cancer cells. D.Clear microplastics in the oceans.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the future of Xenobots?
A.Doubtful. B.Positive. C.Ambiguous. D.Disapproving.
The cub(幼兽)learned quickly. If he met mother hen he would become angry, remembering the pecks on his nose from his first day out of a cave.
Famine came again and for a while, neither mother or cub had anything to eat. Then one day, She-wolf brought home some meat! It was strange stuff, different from anything the cub had smelled or tasted before. And it was for him! Little could he know that his mother had taken the left fork by the stream, by the lair of the lynx(山猫巢穴), and stolen kitten. As he finished his meal, he heard his mother snarling(咆哮)in strange and terrible way. He shivered with fear.
The lynx was mad with anger at the loss of her child and she had tracked She-wolf to her cave.
In the glare of the afternoon light, the lynx crouched at the cave entrance. A coarse scream left no doubt what she meant to do. The cub and his mother were trapped!
The lynx threw herself inside the cave, and She-wolf leaped upon her.
Snarling and howling, the two mothers fought like crazy, the lynx pulling and tearing with her teeth and claws, She-wolf using her teeth alone.
Seeing his mother in such danger, the cub sank his teeth into the wild cat’s leg. Although he didn’t know it, this is probably what saved their lives. The lynx beat at the cub, tearing his shoulder, but he had slowed her down. After a brief, cruel fight, She-wolf put an end to her once and for all.
They had won, but at a price.
The cub licked his mother’s wounds. He knew she was weak and sick. For a week she never left the cave.
Then at last, her strength returned and she was ready to hunt again. This time, the cub went with her. She-wolf noticed a change in her child. He had complete faith in himself from their victory over the lynx. They had fought a wild cat and lived!
The cub now knew another law of the wild-eat or to be eaten: kill or to be killed.
1.What can be inferred about the cub from Paragraph 1 and 2?
A.A mother hen once attacked him.
B.He shared the meat with She-wolf.
C.The cub didn’t like the strange meat.
D.He could obtain meat secretly.
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “crouched” in Paragraph 4?
A.Fought. B.Tracked. C.Hid. D.Trapped.
3.What mostly helped She-wolf and the cub win the fight against the lynx?
A.The lynx fighting with her teeth and claws.
B.The cub biting into the leg of the lynx.
C.The three being wounded seriously.
D.She-wolf using her sharp teeth.
4.What did the cub get from the victory?
A.Carefulness. B.Strength. C.Friendship. D.Confidence.
Rainforest is scattered along Australia’s east coast in western Tasmania, and small pockets across north Australia from Cape York to the Kimberley. Most of Australia’s rainforest-over million hectares -is in Queensland.
Where can see rainforest?
You can see rainforest in many national parks in Queensland. Some parks have facilities for bushwalking; others are suitable only for experienced walkers. If you would like to know more about rainforest, check with your local Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Office.
Threats to survival
Weeds, fire, wild animals(pigs, dogs and cats), clearing for residential development, and visitor pressures(eg. littering)threaten remaining rainforest biodiversity.
Fragmented rainforest is particularly under threat. Private landholders who have rainforest habitat on their property can help conserve this special ecosystem and the many plant and animal species living within it.
How you can help
Stay on walking tracks. Delicate ground cover plants are easily trampled.
Clean your boots beforehand to avoid introducing soil virus.
Remember, everything is protected. Don’t pick, break or remove any plants.
Don’t feed native animals. Feeding is harmful and may lead to aggressive behavior.
Leave the rainforest as you found it. Take your rubbish home with you. Buried rubbish uncovered by forest animals can harm them.
Leave your pets at home. They are not allowed in national parks and can chase, scare and kill animals.
If you camp within the park， disturb the forest floor as little as possible. Don’t cut trees for tent poles or clear plants around your campsite.
Only use fuel stoves when cooking in rainforests Nutrient recycling is critical in a rainforest so gathering leaf litter and dead branches for fires can cause damage.
Don’t use soap, toothpaste, sunscreen or detergent in waterways. They pollute the water and harm aquatic animals.
1.How can you appreciate the rainforest in Queensland?
A.By building facilities in the national parks.
B.By accumulating experience of walking.
C.By bushwalking in the national parks.
D.By checking with the local people.
2.Which of the following contributes to the conservation if you are in the rainforest?
A.Gathering dead branches for firewood.
B.Cleaning your boots while walking.
C.Burying rubbish in the rainforest.
D.Keeping on the paths.
3.What is forbidden in the rainforest?
A.Camping.
B.Cooking.
C.Walking your dog.
D.Washing your hands.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What caused the number of black bears to decrease?
A.The fires. B.The pollution. C.The lack of food.
2.Where will the students have these trips?
A.In a museum. B.In a park. C.In a zoo.
3.When can the students have Trip 2?
A.On July 8. B.On July 15. C.On July 22.
4.What should students take in Trip 2?
A.A backpack. B.A warm coat. C.A bright-colored hat.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Where did the man go to college?
A.In England. B.In America. C.In Canada.
2.How old was the man most probably when he began to teach in a school?
A.35 years old. B.30 years old. C.25 years old.
3.What did the man write when he first began writing?
A.Popular books.
B.Poems for magazines.
C.Articles for newspapers.
4.What does the woman do?
A.A reporter. B.A teacher. C.A writer.
