Although air travel comes with jet lag, delays and awful food, it offers a brief digital detox—a precious few hours away from the wave of emails, messages and app announcements. But not anymore, In flight Wi-Fi is getting faster and cheaper, and is an increasingly common offering on budget and flagship airlines.
But how does in-flight Wi-Fi actually work? To simplify, there are two ways for an internet signal to reach your device when you’re up in the clouds. The first is via ground based mobile broadband towers, which send signals up to the aircraft’s antennas (天线). As you travel into different sections of airspace, the plane automatically connects to signals from the nearest tower, so there is (in theory at least) no interruption to your Internet. But if you’re passing over large areas of water or particularly remote zones, connectivity can be an issue.
The second method uses satellite technology. Planes connect to satellites in space (35,000 km above the planet), which send and receive signals via receivers and transmitters. Information is transmitted to and from your smart phone via an antenna on the top of the aircraft. These are the same satellites that are used in television signals and weather forecasting. Information is passed between the ground and the plane via the satellite.
All of that technology is expensive. The costs are usually passed on to customers. Over half of the world’s aircraft will be equipped with in-flight Wi-Fi within the next few years. It is set to become a billion-dollar industry by 2020. In the near future you’ll need to find a better excuse than “Sorry I missed your message—I was on a plane”.
1.What sends signals up to the aircraft’s antennas?
A.Internet companies. B.Ground-based receivers.
C.Budget and flagship airlines. D.Ground-based mobile broadband towers.
2.Who will pay for the in-flight Wi-Fi technology in the end?
A.Aircraft passengers. B.Satellite company.
C.Broadband towers. D.The local government.
3.What can we infer about in-flight Wi-Fi from the last paragraph?
A.It serves every customer. B.It has a bright future.
C.It develops very slow. D.It’s a high-tech industry.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.How to Use In-flight Wi-Fi? B.Why Only Some Airlines Have In-flight Wi-Fi?
C.Why Is In-flight Wi-Fi Expensive? D.How Wi-Fi Works on a Plane?
To me, Shakespeare is a bit of a touchy subject in the theatre industry. I believe Shakespeare’s plays to be the most challenging in terms of language. When you have challenging language, then understanding the plot and topics will become a challenge as well. It’s like a chain. If you don’t understand it from the start, it makes things hard later on and people tend to give up on it. Regardless of all of this, I believe Shakespeare is important in the sense that it’s where true theatre started. William Shakespeare is a name everyone knows regardless of whether you enjoy his works or not.
Many high schools or colleges put on at least one Shakespeare play every few years and I like that. I think it’s important to expose students to plays that are a bit more challenging than they used to be. Of course. it’s not easy to understand these plays but then think about the people who act in those plays. When acting, you have to understand your character and not only that, you need to completely know everything going on around you as well. So to understand the script (剧本) is one thing. but to act in a Shakespeare play is a whole another thing. How about memorizing the lines? That’s one of the hardest things actors have to get through. It is such heightened language that it’s almost like learning a foreign language. Shakespeare is tough and that’s what I think I love it the most. The challenge is understanding. Once you have that then you have room to play with it.
Therefore, if people walked into a Shakespeare play with more of an open mind, their experience would be so much better. There is a large amount of exploration and discovery in his plays and the experience can be really satisfying. It’s hard stuff, but it’s fascinating and we should be embracing it.
1.What’s the biggest challenge in understanding Shakespeare’s plays?
A.The challenging language. B.The variety of its topic.
C.The complicated plot. D.The memorable characters.
2.What’s the author’s attitude towards putting on Shakespeare’s plays at colleges?
A.Critical. B.Cautious.
C.Favorable. D.Indifferent.
3.What does the text suggest people do when enjoying Shakespeare’s plays?
A.Act them out. B.Remember the lines in them.
C.Learn Shakespeare’s language. D.Enjoy them with an open mind.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.The characteristics of Shakespeare’s plays.
B.The plots and topics of Shakespeare’s plays.
C.The importance and way of enjoying Shakespeare’s plays.
D.The stress from performing Shakespeare’s plays.
Richard Dermer is a pizza shop owner. But he is better known for his hobby. As a extraordinary kite collector, people are impressed by kites covering the walls from all over the world when they walk into his pizza shop.
Dermer worked at Hideaway. He bought the pizza shop in 1960. Then, in 1970, his game-partner and manager at Hideaway was the first to market the Japanese version of the game Go in the United States. It was this game that led Dermer to kites, and from there he took off—eventually becoming president of the American Kiefliers Association.
Dermer now has a huge kite collection. He told Collectors Weekly, “Initially, I was a novice, but I enjoyed learning, trying to acquire more about kites. And the more I got into kite festivals and collecting kites, the more I discovered and the deeper the subject became.”
What Dermer’s collection and hobby brings to the United States is an international perspective and history on kite flying. In India, for example, kite flying is a fierce, sometimes violent sport, while in Thailand, kite battles reflect the war of the sexes between men and women. Kites were used in World War II, to distract German planes and for target practice.
When Dermer started stunt kite (特技风筝), it was pretty new. All the kites were triangular, and they all looked the same. But soon with his efforts, that changed. People could see kites of all shapes, sizes and colors flying in the sky. During the 1980s and 1990s kites went through quite a developmental stage where they were getting better and better as new lighter, stronger materials were being developed. Dermer even set up the new rules for judging these stunt kite competitions, which take into account how much control the flier has, and the difficulty of the moves.
1.What is Richard Dermer’s occupation?
A.A plane pilot. B.A food businessman.
C.A kite seller. D.A sales manager.
2.What does the underlined word “novice” in paragraph 3 mean?
A.Advanced person. B.Learned person.
C.Inexperienced person. D.Well-known person.
3.What can we learn about the kites from paragraph 4?
A.Kites are not popular in the USA. B.Flying kites is illegal in Thailand.
C.Kites played a part in World War II. D.Flying kites is an interesting sport in India.
4.With the efforts of Richard Dermer, kites became ________.
A.portable B.diverse C.available D.delicate
The Shanghai Disneyland theme park officially reopens to the public on May 11, 2020. During the initial reopening period, the majority of Shanghai Disneyland’s attractions, rides, shows and shopping, accommodation and dining locations will resume operations, with controlled attendance. Some interactive attractions and experiences, such as children play areas, and theater shows will remain closed.
Guests shall obey the following requirements when Shanghai Disneyland reopens:
1. Purchase dated admission tickets for Shanghai Disneyland online, as on-site sales will not be available. Annual Pass holders must make a reservation for their visit date and time on-line before their visit to the park.
2. Provide basic personal information for each guest visiting the park, including name, phone number and ID number via Shanghai Disney’s official website after purchasing a ticket and before arriving at the park. A Shanghai Disneyland Reservation QR Code will be provided after the success submission of the required identification information, and guests will be required to present the code before entering the theme park.
3. Undergo temperature screening procedures upon arrival.
4. Wear a mask during the entire visit to the park except when dining.
1.Which of the following is closed during the initial reopening period?
A.The theater. B.The shop. C.The restaurant. D.The hotel.
2.What is mentioned about the Annual Pass holders in the text?
A.They needn’t provide basic personal information. B.They can enter the theme park at any time.
C.They can’t use the Annual Pass at present. D.They have to book the visit in advance.
3.What is a must during the visit?
A.Arriving on time. B.Wearing a mask.
C.Bringing food and water. D.Being accompanied with friends.
假如你是李华，你的英国网友Peter给你发来一封邮件，说他对汉语书法非常感兴趣，想学习但了解太少。请你给Peter回复一封邮件，内容包括：
1.汉语书法的特点：
1)是中国传统艺术，历史悠久，风格多样；
2)看似简单，实则需要很多技巧；
2. 给予对方鼓励。
注意:
1.词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.信的开头、结尾已为你写好，不计入总字数。
参考词汇：汉语书法 Chinese calligraphy
Dear Peter,
I’m delighted to learn that you are very interested in Chinese calligraphy.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面的短文，并用英语回答问题。注意：不能引用文中原句；答案不超过10个单词。
Sophie and Miles sat on the shore watching their cousin surf.Kerry was a few years older than Sophie and Miles,and she had started surfing almost before they were able to walk.
Kerry rode a wave into shore,and then jumped off her board and ran over to where Sophie and Miles were sitting.”Are you two.ready to give it a try?”she asked.
Miles took a deep breath and nodded.He was worried about looking silly in front of his cousin,but he had a feeling he was going to love surfing.He expected it to feel like riding his bike down a hill without using the brakes(刹车).
“Don’t go out too far!”shouted Mrs.Taylor,and Sophie cheerfully waved back to her parents.Sophie was usually good at the things she tried.She learned quickly and wasn’t afraid to dive in,even if she had never done something before.Miles admired these characteristics in his sister,but knew he just wasn’t as adventurous as she was.
“Okay,”Kerry began,"I’m going to start you two out on longboards.They are easier to handle,especially for beginners.”Here are some tips.First,never paddle(划桨，划动)your surfboard out farther than you can swim back without it.Know what weather conditions to expect.Never surf alone,and always remember your limitations.Don’t forget that,for the ocean isn’t something to take lightly.”Kerry paused for a moment and looked at the serious expressions on her cousins’ faces.
“Now for the fun part,”Kerry said,"You need to position yourself in the center of your board,between the nose and the tail.When you’re positioned the right way,the nose should be a couple of inches above the water’s surface.When a wave catches the tail of the board,start paddling.Try to remember the sweet spot on your board,because you’ll want to position yourself the same way each time you go out.”
Sophie smiled widely at Kerry.”I had no idea that surfing was so technical.I thought you just catch a big wave and try to ride it without falling off.”
1.When did Kerry start surfing?
____________________
2.Why did Miles take a deep breath?
____________________
3.What is the difference between Sophie and Miles in character?
____________________
4.Why did Kerry make her cousins begin with longboards?
____________________
5.What conclusion could be drawn from Sophie’s words in the last paragraph?
____________________
