What kind of house will you buy in the future? Would you like to live in a house where your plants can call your phone to tell you that they need to be watered? Or a house that helps you cut your energy bill by turning off the lights when you leave a room? It may sound like science fiction, but it already exists! Come and visit the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It will show how you can live a green lifestyle by making use of advanced technology throughout the home that makes your life easier and simpler.
The Smart Home uses green technology to record the energy it uses, including electricity, water and gas. The house’s energy dashboard (仪表盘) lets you know your energy use through your television and computer. The house greets you with the new information when you walk in the door. It is able to record when you enter and leave rooms, and can switch the lights, television and music off .
The Smart Home is made entirely of recyclable and renewable materials. The furniture is made from used light bulbs, plastic bottles and other renewable materials, but you can’t tell from just looking at them. The kitchen countertops (工作台面) are made of recycled glass.
The entire house is designed to control the use of energy. The roof of the Smart Home has a sustainable vegetable garden, which does little harm to nature. Even the personal computer is green: it uses less power than a 60-watt light bulb. The house can raise and lower the window shades by itself.
1.What is the text mainly about? (no more than 8 words)
________________________________________
2.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words. (no more than 5 words)
________________________________________
3.What is the Smart Home made of? (no more than 10 words)
________________________________________
4.What does the unlined word “sustainable” mean in the last paragraph? (no more than 3 words)
________________________________________
5.What do you think of the Smart Home? Explain your reason. (no more than 25 words.)
________________________________________
认真阅读下面的短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空一词。
Focusing in class really proves to teachers that you are a capable student but it also shows that you have got a solid level of self-control, which will be very important in your future life.
Get a good night’s sleep. Students should get at least nine hours of sleep each night. However, it’s hard to maintain those good sleep habits. Set a bedtime routine, and go to bed at the same hour each night. Your mind will not be able to concentrate if it’s not rested...it needs a break!
Eat a healthy breakfast. Although this may seem irrelevant to focusing during class, eating a nutritious meal in the morning gives you fresh energy for the day. If you consume a big meal, you’ll feel better throughout the day.
Get involved in class discussions. This is a wonderful way to become a more focused, successful student. When a teacher asks a question, offer to answer it. This shows the teacher that you’re listening carefully during the class.
Do your best. When you walk into that classroom, put a smile on your face and some confidence in your pocket.
Listen to music during your break. It is very refreshing and it can clear your mind between subjects, which could improve your productivity. But don’t get too carried away with the music.
Warnings:
Keep away from your more talkative friends. They can often distract you from your work.
Don’t stare at the teacher for too long. This might not let you work properly. In short, look at the teacher, but don’t overdo it.
1. to focus more in class
2. | Get a good sleep. | Although it’s a 3. to maintain those good sleep habits, you should make it a 4. to go to bed at the same hour each night. |
Eat a healthy breakfast. | Eating a nutritious meal in the morning makes you 5. for the day. | |
6. yourself in class discussions. | This is a wonderful way to become a more focused, successful student. | |
Do your best. | Enter the classroom with smile and 7.. | |
Listen to music. | Music is refreshing and makes you more 8.. | |
Warnings | 9. your more talkative friends. | |
Don’t 10. your eyes on the teacher for too long. |
课文语法填空
TRAVEL PERU
Amazon Rainforest Tour A short flight from Cusco takes you from the Andes into the Amazon rainforest. From there, you’ll spend one day travelling by boat to your 1. (accommodate) in the middle of the forest. You can then spend three days 2. (explore) the rainforest with a local guide and enjoying the plants and animals unique to the rainforest.
Machu Picchu Tour This four-day walking tour 3. (take) you on amazing paths through the Andes Mountains on the way 4. the city of Machu Picchu. After reaching your destination, you will have a day to explore and be 5. (amaze) by this ancient city.
Cusco Tour Spend your days enjoying the unique Spanish and local Indian culture at Cusco, 6. capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th 7. the 16th century.
Lake Titicaca Tour Enjoy the beautiful countryside 8. you spend a day driving along the new highway connecting Cusco to Lake Titicaca. There, a boat will take you to stay with a local Uros family on an island for three 9. (day).
For 10. (many) brochures about other package tours around Peru, contact us at tourinfo@ travelperu. org.
The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphones, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (怀旧的) skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful—both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks—both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active, which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe (转换) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “_______” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”
1.What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?
A.The popular use of smartphones.
B.The absence of blackboard in classrooms.
C.The lack of practice in handwriting.
D.The use of new technologies in teaching.
2.Berninger’s study published in 2009 _________.
A.discussed the importance of writing speed
B.found that good essays are made up of long sentences
C.indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper
D.focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer
3.What does “mind’s eye” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Imagination. B.Soul. C.Picture. D.Window.
4.What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?
A.Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.
B.Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.
C.Computers can help people with their choice of words.
D.Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade.
Instagram（图片分享社交应用程序）is about to take its biggest step toward removing likes from its platform. After months of testing an option to hide likes in select international markets, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook（FB）, has already been testing hiding likes in seven other countries, including Canada, Ireland and Australia. For years, likes have been central to how celebrities, brands, politicians and everyday users experience Instagram and Facebook. It's a way of measuring popularity and success. But in recent months, Instagram has been rethinking how likes contribute to making its platform more toxic. Now it's considering a change.
The total number of likes on posts — which appear as hearts on the app ——will disappear from Instagram's main feed, profile pages and permalink（永久链接）pages. The owner of the account can still see their own likes, but their followers won't know the count.
CNN Business previously spoke with users in countries with the test. The majority felt this move would improve well-being on the app. Instagram is the most detrimental（不利的，有害的）social networking app for young people's mental health, such as negatively impacting body image, according to one study.
But other users and psychologists said hiding likes won't fix everything. The test doesn't address some of the key ways that activity on Instagram can impact the well-being of users, including bullying, feeling left out and thinking other people's lives are better than their own.
Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, voiced his opinion that the biggest impact of Instagram is the content and the exposure to this constant stream of perfected images is what seems to hurt psychologically. Plus, users can still see their own likes ——and feel badly if their posts don't perform well.
1.How do users experience Instagram in this passage?
A.By giving likes. B.By hiding likes.
C.By selecting platforms. D.By showing off talents.
2.The underlined word “toxic” in Paragraph 1 most probably means “ ”.
A.profitable B.poisonous
C.popular D.positive
3.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Instagram has affected youngsters' mental health.
B.The account owners won't know the count o£ likes.
C.Instagram tested hiding likes in seven countries first.
D.The majority think Instagram has been a well-being app.
4.What could be the best title of the passage?
A.Instagram Misuses Likes
B.More People Are Against Likes
C.Likes Cause Mental Problems
D.Likes will Be Hidden on Instagram
For the longest time,Amber Austwick was unable to speak.In fact,it took a donkey to inspire her first words. Amber,a 6-year-old girl in Birmingham,England,was born prematurely,along with her twin sister,Hope,in June 2010.
Both babies suffered severe bleeding in their lungs,but Hope got stronger while Amber needed a life-saving tracheotomy(气管切开术)that restricted air to vocal cords(声带).As a result,she was able to breathe,but unable to speak.But that changed three years ago,when Amber's mom,Tracy Austwick,took her to an animal shelter.It was there that Amber met Shocks,a donkey that had been rescued from abuse.
“It was quite scary really,”Tracy Austwick said.“Shocks was in the stadium and the riding instructor took little Amber to him and I found it scary for me because Shocks was so much bigger than her.”“But Amber wasn't scared and Shocks was really excited to meet her and they've kept that bond ever since.”The bond is so strong that when Amber was ready to say her first words,she said them to Shocks:“I love you.”
Amber's mother was shocked that her daughter spoke to Shocks.“It was such an emotional moment.I couldn't believe my daughter had finally found her voice,”she said.“Once she met Shocks he brought her out of her shell, she's a lot more confident with him and with friends at school who she loves to talk to about him and the donkey shelter.”
Although Shocks still lives at the shelter,he's part of the Austwick family.“Amber will always visit Shocks and she still sees him whenever she can,”Tracy said.
1.What do the twin sisters have in common?
A.They were born deaf and dumb.
B.They had vocal cord injured.
C.They suffered physical abuse.
D.They had severe lung problems.
2.The bond with Shocks made Amber______.
A.like going to the donkey shelter with her good friends
B.fear animals no longer and dare to get close to them
C.become more confident and willing to talk to people
D.fight against her lung disease bravely
3.Which of the following might be the best title for the text?
A.Shocks Helps Amber to Recover from Her Lung Bleeding
B.A New Medical Cure Is Applied to Rescue the Patients
C.Amber Has Developed a Strong Bond with Her Friends
D.Girl Who Couldn't Speak Tells A Donkey “I Love You”
