The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of scientific research. Recent studies have found positive effects. A study conducted in Youngstown，Ohio，for example, discovered that greener areas of the city experienced less crime. In another，employees were shown to be 15% more productive when their workplaces were decorated with houseplants.
The engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)have taken it a step further changing the actual composition of plants in order to get them to perform diverse，even unusual functions. These include plants that have sensors printed onto their leaves to show when they’re short of water and a plant that can detect harmful chemicals in groundwater. ＂We’re thinking about how we can engineer plants to replace functions of the things that we use every day,＂explained Michael Strano, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT.
One of his latest projects has been to make plants glow(发光)in experiments using some common vegetables. Strano’s team found that they could create a faint light for three-and-a-half hours. The light，about one-thousandth of the amount needed to read by，is just a start. The technology, Strano said, could one day be used to light the rooms or even to turn trees into self-powered street lamps.
In the future，the team hopes to develop a version of the technology that can be sprayed onto plant leaves in a one-off treatment that would last the plant’s lifetime. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and off＂switch＂where the glow would fade when exposed to daylight.
Lighting accounts for about 7% of the total electricity consumed in the US. Since lighting is often far removed from the power source(电源)-such as the distance from a power plant to street lamps on a remote highway-a lot of energy is lost during transmission(传输).Glowing plants could reduce this distance and therefore help save energy.
1.What is the first paragraph mainly about?
A.A new study of different plants.
B.A big fall in crime rates.
C.Employees from various workplaces.
D.Benefits from green plants.
2.What is the function of the sensors printed on plant leaves by MIT engineer?
A.To detect plants’ lack of water
B.To change compositions of plants
C.To make the life of plants longer.
D.To test chemicals in plants.
3.What can we expect of the glowing plants in the future?
A.They will speed up energy production.
B.They may transmit electricity to the home.
C.They might help reduce energy consumption.
D.They could take the place of power plants.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Can we grow more glowing plants?
B.How do we live with glowing plants?
C.Could glowing plants replace lamps?
D.How are glowing plants made pollution-free?
Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.
Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.
Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.
However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.
As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.
1.Why are race walkers conditioned athletes?
A.They must run long distances.
B.They are qualified for the marathon.
C.They have to follow special rules.
D.They are good at swinging their legs.
2.What advantage does race walking have over running?
A.It’s more popular at the Olympics.
B.It’s less challenging physically.
C.It’s more effective in body building.
D.It’s less likely to cause knee injuries.
3.What is Dr. Norberg’s suggestion for someone trying race walking?
A.Getting experts’ opinions.
B.Having a medical checkup.
C.Hiring an experienced coach.
D.Doing regular exercises.
4.Which word best describes the author’s attitude to race walking?
A.Skeptical. B.Objective.
C.Tolerant. D.Conservative.
Returning to a book you’ve read many times can feel like drinks with an old friend. There’s a welcome familiarity - but also sometimes a slight suspicion that time has changed you both, and thus the relationship. But books don’t change, people do. And that’s what makes the act of rereading so rich and transformative.
The beauty of rereading lies in the idea that our bond with the work is based on our present mental register. It’s true, the older I get, the more I feel time has wings. But with reading, it’s all about the present. It’s about the now and what one contributes to the now, because reading is a give and take between author and reader. Each has to pull their own weight.
There are three books I reread annually .The first, which I take to reading every spring is Emest Hemningway’s A Moveable Feast. Published in 1964, it’s his classic memoir of 1920s Paris. The language is almost intoxicating (令人陶醉的)，an aging writer looking back on an ambitious yet simpler time. Another is Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm, her poetic 1975 ramble (随笔) about everything and nothing. The third book is Julio Cortazar’s Save Twilight: Selected Poems, because poetry. And because Cortazar.
While I tend to buy a lot of books, these three were given to me as gifs, which might add to the meaning I attach to them. But I imagine that, while money is indeed wonderful and necessary, rereading an author’s work is the highest currency a reader can pay them. The best books are the ones that open further as time passes. But remember, it’s you that has to grow and read and reread in order to better understand your friends.
1.Why does the author like rereading?
A.It evaluates the writer-reader relationship.
B.It’s a window to a whole new world.
C.It’s a substitute for drinking with a friend.
D.It extends the understanding of oneself.
2.What do we know about the book A Moveable Feast?
A.It’s a brief account of a trip.
B.It’s about Hemingway’s life as a young man.
C.It’s a record of a historic event.
D.It’s about Hemingway’s friends in Paris.
3.What does the underlined word ＂currency＂ in paragraph 4 refer to?
A.Debt
B.Reward.
C.Allowance.
D.Face value.
4.What can we infer about the author from the text?
A.He loves poetry.
B.He’s an editor.
C.He’s very ambitious.
D.He teaches reading.
Train Information
All customers travelling on TransLink services must be in possession of a valid ticket before boarding. For ticket information，please ask at your local station or call 13 12 30.
While Queensland Rail makes every effort to ensure trains run as scheduled，there can be no guarantee of connections between trains or between train services and bus services.
Lost property(失物招领)
Call Lost Property on 13 16 17 during business hours for items lost on Queensland Rail services.
The lost property office is open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 5:00pm and is located(位于)at Roma Street station.
Public holidays
On public holidays, generally a Sunday timetable operates. On certain major event days，i.e.
Australia Day, Anzac Day, sporting and cultural days, special additional services may operate.
Christmas Day services operate to a Christmas Day timetable，Before travel please visit translink. com. au or call TransLink on 13 12 30 anytime.
Customers using mobility devices
Many stations have wheelchair access from the car park or entrance to the station platforms.
For assistance, please Queensland Rail on 13 16 17.
Guardian trains (outbound)
Depart | Origin | Destination | Arrive |
6:42pm | Altandi | Varsity Lakes | 7:37pm |
7:29pm | Central | Varsity Lakes | 8:52pm |
8:57pm | Fortitude Valley | Varsity Lakes | 9:52pm |
11:02pm | Roma Street | Varsity Lakes | 12:22am |
1. What would you do to get ticket information?
A.Call 13 16 17. B.Visit translink .com.au.
C.Ask at the local station. D.Check the train schedule.
2.At which station can you find the lost property office?
A.Altandi. B.Roma Street. C.Varsity Lakes. D.Fortitude Valley.
3.Which train would you take if you go from Central to Varsity Lakes?
A.6:42 pm. B.7:29 pm. C.8:57 pm. D.11:02 pm.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.Who would like to make small talk according to the speaker?
A.Relatives.
B.Strangers.
C.Visitors.
2.Why do people have small talk?
A.To express opinions.
B.To avoid arguments.
C.To show friendliness.
3.Which of the following is a frequent topic in small talk?
A.Politics.
B.Movies.
C.Salaries.
4.What does the speaker recommend at the end of his lecture?
A.Asking open-ended questions.
B.Feeling free to change topics.
C.Making small talk interesting.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.Who is Clifford?
A.A little girl.
B.The man’s pet.
C.A fictional character.
2.Who suggested that Norman paint for children’s books?
A.His wife.
B.Elizabeth.
C.A publisher.
3.What is Norman’s story based on?
A.A book.
B.A painting.
C.A young woman.
4.What is it that shocked Norman?
A.His unexpected success.
B.His efforts made in vain.
C.His editor’s disagreement.
