Japan's biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn't traveling at all. For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that's controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter's face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she's really there.

“Virtual travel” is nothing new,of course.Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been stimulating the senses of armchair tourists for centuries. It's only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non- wealthy.

Yet even as the world's middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seat, there are signs of a post-travel society emerging. Concerns about environmental sustainability cause loss to airlines which release much carbon. And the aging of abundant societies is both restricting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an attractive response to these trends.

Of course, new technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn't plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be difficult to make: By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA's traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.

But if the business value for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA's robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they ll almost certainly be a part of travel's high-tech future.

1.Why does the author use the example of a couple interacting with a robot?

A.To show the Japanese are crazy about travel.

B.To indicate virtual travel begins to enter people's real life.

C.To show the couple are very enthusiastic over robots.

D.To express the close relationship between the couple and their daughter.

2.Which of the following is the possible reason for virtual travel's appearance?

A.Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been using it for centuries.

B.Frequent and safe travel has become available to the ordinary people.

C.People are worried about the air pollution caused by airlines.

D.More and more people lose interest in travel.

3.What can we learn about Avatars from the last two paragraphs?

A.They will be put on the market soon.

B.They will bring ANA a lot of money,

C.They will replace ANA's airplanes soon.

D.They are almost unavoidable in travel's future.

4.What can be a suitable title for the text?

A.Your Next Travel May Be Virtual

B.Easy Travel in the Future

C.Virtual Travel Benefits

D.Air Travel Disappearing

    America’s latest superhero Austin Perine, who calls himself President Austin, is now taking the country by storm. But he is not a typical superhero. Two things set him apart: He doesn’t fight human enemies, but hunger and homelessness. Also, he’s only four years old.

Our superhero’s origin story started from the day when TJ Perine, his father, took Austin to the Firehouse Ministries, a local shelter that provides housing, food and other services for the homeless. As they drove by the building, they saw a group of 25 homeless men standing on the street corner. That day, Austin used his allowance to buy each man a sandwich and handed the food out himself with his slogan, “ Don’t forget to show love!”

After he returned every week for five weeks in a row, word of Austin’s kindness spread through social media. Austin and TJ could feed 25 to 50 people at a time before, and now, thanks to community support, they can feed 800 to 2,000 people.

But Austin isn’t merely filling stomachs. He has been improving the lives of the homeless people he meets. On that first trip to Firehouse Ministries, TJ and Austin talked to a poor man named Raymont. The respect Austin showed for him touched 41-year-old Raymont, who regained his confidence in life and finally found a job with the help of TJ. All that was made possible because a little boy took the time to care.

Austin’s passion has become his family’s calling. After raising money through a GoFundMe page, Audrey, TJ’s mother established the nonprofit Show Love Foundation, dedicated to fighting homelessness. She now serves as president, and TJ oversees public relations for the foundation full time. They offer medical and mental health care as preventive steps against homelessness.

As for President Austin, he continues to give out food, smiles, and his inspirational message of love. “It makes me feel like I’m saving the day,” he said proudly.

1.Why has Austin become well-known to the entire country?

A.He has super power to fill the stomachs of the homeless.

B.He fights hunger and homelessness at such a young age.

C.He has removed the poverty of the local community.

D.He has chosen an impressive and unique name.

2.Why does the author introduce the example of Raymont in Paragraph 4?

A.To show Austin’s positive influence.

B.To persuade people to live off their own.

C.To prove the personal ability of Austin’s father.

D.To describe the difficult situation of poor people.

3.Which of the following can replace the underlined word “dedicated” in Paragraph 5?

A.exposed. B.opposed. C.devoted. D.addicted.

4.What is the author’s attitude towards what Austin does?

A.Sympathetic. B.Humorous. C.Approving. D.Considerate.

Panama City， Panama

For beach vacations that get you out of town and invite you and your family to dive into culture， consider a trip to Panama City． Here，you will enjoy beaches and city exploring． Book your stay at the Westin Playa Bonita， where you can book a room starting at ﹩222 a night． There are various programs，including beach Olympics， stargazing （天体观察）and Spanish lessons．

Jupiter， Florida

This place offers you quality time you can spend with your loved ones． Book your stay at Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa， with rates for a family of four starting at ﹩207 a night． Here， you can shoot baskets at the basketball courts，take a dip in the pool or teach your children beach yoga．

San Diego，California

The West Coast is a great spot for cheap beach vacations， so tell your family to pack their bags for a visit to San Diego． A cheap ﹩10 Uber ride from the airport will have you pulling up the Kona Kai Resort & Spa． Here，a family of four can stay in a Deluxe Guest Room starting at ﹩159 per night． Your kids can practice cannonballs at the pool after a visit to the world﹣famous San Diego Zoo．

Kihei Maui， Hawaii

For West Coasters who are growing bored with their backyard， fly to the islands of Hawaii． Stay at the Aston at the Maui Banyan， with a charge of ﹩179 a night for a family of four． Here，you'll witness some of the best sunsets of your life while your kids splash （戏水）in the Pacific， And if you're set on cooking a fancy meal， you'll enjoy suites that come with a full kitchen．

1.Which of the following charges you least a night？

A.The Aston at the Maui Banyan．

B.The Westin Playa Bonita．

C.The Kona Kai Resort & Spa．

D.Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa．

2.What can you do at the Aston at the Maui Banyan？

A.Admire beautiful sunsets．

B.Visit a world﹣famous zoo．

C.Observe fantastic stars．

D.Play some beach sports．

3.What is the common feature of the four destinations？

A.They all offer rooms with a full kitchen．

B.They are all intended for family trips．

C.They all pick up visitors from the airport．

D.They all provide bike riding on the beach．

假设你是李华，你的美国笔友John刚转入一所寄宿学校，他发来电子邮件向你询问如何与室友融洽相处。请根据以下内容，给他回一封电子邮件。要点：

1.你的建议；

2.说明理由；

3.表达祝愿。

注意：1. 词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出，但不计入总词数；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear John,

I’m very glad to hear you’re studying at a new boarding school.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ)，并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Dear Jackie,

The school holidays are drawing to near. I feel very exciting at the thought that I am going to visit America in the holidays. It’s the first time for me to travel abroad on my own, but I need your help. I’d like to visit some areas of scenic beauty, such for mountains, rivers or forests, which I could enjoy the beauty of nature. Could you suggest several place for me to visit? Beside, I prefer to live in a hotel and I hoped the traffic isn’t too heavy. Perhaps you could help me book hotel.

I’m expecting to hear from you, and I’m looking forward to meet you in America.

Yours,

Zhang Nan

    I was on my cellphone sharing my excitement about the stories we received for a new book about resolutions (决心). When I _______ my call, my 11-year-old son Bailey asked if he could write a story. I was surprised by his _______ and asked if he had “resolved”to do something _______ in his life. His reply _______ me. He said,“I have resolved to be nicer to younger children.”

Bailey has always been generous with older kids. _______, when it comes to younger kids, he falls _______. He gets angry when they touch his Lego creations or _______ to understand how to play his video games.

My husband and I have many friends with younger children who _______ regularly. Each time before they arrive, we tell Bailey how we would _______ it if he were more patient with the younger kids. He starts out great, but as the night wears on, his patience ________. I found it interesting that he was ________ making a change.

Later, I ________ our conversation and realized that Bailey had actually taken action. The last time our friend’s son, Brayden, ________, Bailey invited him to play with his Legos. Instead of getting angry that Brayden was not ________ correctly, according to Bailey’s ________, he allowed him to create his own version of an airplane. When playing video games, instead of telling Brayden he was too ________ to understand the concept, he gave him an unplugged (没插电的) ________ and let Brayden believe he was fighting alongside Bailey.

As parents, we often feel as if our ________ fall on deaf ears, but now I realize that my son has been listening all along. He is ________ to be a better person and I am ________ of him.

1.A.expected B.ended C.returned D.answered

2.A.concern B.talent C.request D.belief

3.A.different B.adventurous C.scientific D.enjoyable

4.A.puzzled B.embarrassed C.annoyed D.surprised

5.A.Therefore B.Instead C.However D.Besides

6.A.asleep B.sick C.impatient D.silent

7.A.agree B.fail C.tend D.manage

8.A.visit B.practice C.perform D.debate

9.A.handle B.appreciate C.recognize D.replace

10.A.pays off B.takes over C.reaches out D.wears out

11.A.casually B.normally C.innocently D.voluntarily

12.A.concentrated B.recalled C.counted D.commented

13.A.came over B.gave up C.showed off D.ran away

14.A.writing B.reading C.building D.sitting

15.A.standards B.situations C.memories D.experiments

16.A.weak B.nervous C.busy D.young

17.A.controller B.freezer C.computer D.lamp

18.A.assessments B.achievements C.instructions D.imaginations

19.A.pretending B.refusing C.training D.attempting

20.A.aware B.proud C.tired D.afraid

    Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where you find it hard to tolerate someone’s actions or words. Try to understand where each person is coming from, and avoid making it into a personal battle. You can try to develop a more tolerant attitude by learning about different people, developing confidence in yourself, and coming to appreciate differences. 1.

Make efforts to understand someone else. You may have very different backgrounds and experiences. 2. So try to see things from his side.

Ask for an explanation. If you are talking to someone and he says something that you find hard to accept, you can figure out his perspective without being intolerant. 3. For example, you might say something like, “OK, tell me more about that. What makes you think that？” Anyway, remember that tolerance does not mean accepting unacceptable behavior.

4. This may be a more negative kind of tolerance than learning to accept and value differences, but it can be useful. To do this you would have to avoid certain topics of conversation, or swiftly change the subject when necessary.

Deal with a conflict. When you have difficulty tolerating someone’s actions or words, you can start by calmly describing what you find offensive.5.And you should then explain how the problem would be dealt with.

A.Try to ignore your differences.

B.Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements.

C.Start by stating what you think a good situation is.

D.Try to understand his views well by asking him to explain them.

E.Here are tips that help you tolerate others in difficult situations.

F.What seems obvious to you might seem strange to someone else.

G.Next, try to get a better understanding of each other’s views about it.

    Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight and problem-solving.

“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr. Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake.

Dr. Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. “Sleep helped,” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.

“But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.

1.The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A.to get as much sleep as possible

B.to go on sleeping without being disturbed

C.to delay deciding something until the next day

D.to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning

2.What is the purpose of the experiment?

A.To test problem-solving ability in sleep. B.To discover people’s insight during sleep.

C.To prove a good sleep helps solve problems. D.To discuss how to improve sleeping quality.

3.How did Jan Born and his team carry out the experiment?

A.Through comparison. B.Through interviews.

C.Through talks. D.Through imagination.

4.What can we learn about the experimental evidence?

A.It helps scientists control memories. B.It explains the role of sleep in human.

C.It tells us the role of sleep is a mystery. D.It shows sleep does good to creative thinking.

    Many cities and towns have laws that require people to recycle paper and plastics. Now some state and local governments have passed laws that require citizens to recycle their food waste as well. California and Vermont have statewide laws about recycling food waste that apply to businesses and homes. The process of recycling food waste and turning it into usable soil is called composting (堆制肥料).

Food waste that can be composted includes fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, tea bags, and eggshells. Garden waste such as stems and leaves can also be composted. Meat, fish, and dairy food waste cannot be recycled.

According to environmental groups, composting reduces the amount of trash going into landfills, and composted waste holds a wide range of nutrients (营养物). When compost is added to the soil in gardens and fields, it helps crops grow. 

Reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfills is one reason why cities and states are passing food-waste recycling laws. “Our landfills are far from enough for the creation of new ones is shrinking.” Renee Crowley, a project manager at the Lower East Side Ecology Center in New York City, told TFK.

Officials in Seattle, Washington, say that food waste makes up 30% of the trash going into landfills, and they are looking to reduce that percentage. That city has a law requiring people to recycle food waste. It is banned from all garbage. There is a fine (罚款) for people who put it into regular garbage.

Those who are against food-recycling laws say that the composting process is costly. In addition, it can be difficult for people who live in apartments to store their waste because they don’t have access to outside storage bins. Patti Ferguson from Orange County, California, told her local newspaper that she thought an indoor container containing food waste would get smelly.

1.What do we know about composting from the text?

A.Leaves can’t be reused. B.Not all food waste can be composted.

C.It is cheap to compost food waste. D.It is usually processed in empty landfills.

2.What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A.Benefits of recycling food waste. B.Ways of keeping nutrients in the soil.

C.Ways of reducing the amount of trash. D.Examples of different useful nutrients.

3.In Seattle, throwing food waste into garbage is _____.

A.acceptable B.shameful C.required D.illegal

4.What’s Patti Ferguson’s attitude towards food-recycling laws probably?

A.Thankful. B.Negative. C.Uncaring. D.Supportive.

    Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs, but the brave 32­year­old man plays football and golf, swims, and surfs. Nick has a small foot on his left side, which helps him balance and enables him to kick. He uses his one foot to type, write with a pen and pick things up between his toes.

“I call it my chicken drumstick(畸形的小腿),” joked Nick. “I’d be lost without it. When I get in the water I float because 80 per cent of my body is lungs and my drumstick acts as a propeller (螺旋桨). ”

When Nick was born, his distraught mother couldn’t bring herself to hold him until he was four months old. “It was so hard for my parents, but right from the start they did their best to make me independent.” said Nick.

Throughout his childhood Nick dealt with the typical challenges. At the age of seven, Nick tried out some specially designed electronic arms and legs, in the hope that he would be more like other kids. But they turned out to be much too heavy for Nick to operate, affecting his flexibility quite significantly.

“When I was 13 I read a newspaper article about a disabled man who had managed to achieve great things and help others,” said Nick. “I realized why God had made us like this — to give hope to others. It was so inspirational to me that I decided to use my life to encourage others and decided to be thankful for what I do have, not get angry about what I don’t.”

“I tell people to keep on getting up when they fall and to always love themselves,” he said. “If I can encourage just one person then my job in this life is done.” By now, he has visited 35 different countries, touring the world as a motivational speaker.

1.What makes it possible for Nick to swim in the water?

A.His small size. B.His small foot.

C.His light weight. D.His big lungs.

2.The underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.

A.cold­blooded B.bad­tempered C.extremely upset D.really crazy

3.Nick abandoned the electronic arms and legs because ____________.

A.his family couldn’t afford them B.his classmates didn’t like them

C.they were too heavy to handle D.they affected his appearance

4.What did Nick decide to do when he was 13?

A.To travel to different countries. B.To set up his business in newspapers.

C.To try to become a motivational speaker. D.To encourage people who were in trouble.