A chocolate printer that allows sweet lovers to create 3D desserts by themselves is to go on sale at a cost of 2,500 pounds.
The machine squirts (喷射) out chocolate and, via computer instructions, allows the user to build any shape they like out of the food. But makers Choc Edge have missed the Easter rush. Even so, they hope the printer will be snapped up by retailers (零售商) immediately they come to the market. Britain’s biggest chocolatiers Thornton’s have already said they are interested. Because of the high cost, however, few individuals are likely to buy one. But the devicecould one day allow people to design their own 3D objects after submitting their designs on a website. Dr Hao, founder of Choc Edge came up with a prototype (原型) last year and has only just perfected it so that it can now go on sale. “We’ve improved and simplified the machine, so now it is really easy to use,” he told the BBC. “You just need to melt some chocolate, fill a syringe (注射器) that is stored in the printer, and get creative printing of your chocolate.”
3D printing is a technology where a three dimensional object is created by building up successive layers of material. The technology is already used in industry to produce plastic and metal products, but this is the first time the principles have been applied to chocolate. The research has presented many challenges. Chocolate is not an easy material to work with because it requires accurate heating and cooling cycles. Dr Hao said, “What makes this technology special is that users will be able to design and make their own products. From reproducing the shape of a child’s favourite toy to a friend’s face, the possibilities are endless. It could be developed to help consumers design many products from different materials, but we’ve started with chocolate as it is easily available, low cost and harmless.” “There is also no wastage as any spoilage (损坏物) can be eaten.” Dr Hao added, “Eventually we may see many mass-produced products replaced by unique designs created by the customer.”
EPSRC chief executive Professor Dave Delpy said, “This is a good example of how creative research can be applied to create new manufacturing and retail ideas. By combining developments in engineering with the commercial potential of the digital economy，We can see the new market prospect (前景)—creating new jobs and, in this case, the chocolate printer is called sweet business opportunities.”
1.Which is the advantage of the chocolate printer?
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A．It is easilyavailable, low cost and harmless. |
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B．It mainly produces children’s favourite toys. |
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C．The user can build the shape they like via computer instructions. |
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D．The designs made by it are the same as many mass-produced products. |
2.What can we conclude from the passage?
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A．The printer sold well during last Easter. |
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B．The technology of 3D printing promises a good future. |
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C．The printer was perfected and went on sale many years ago. |
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D．It’s the first time that the technology has been used in industry. |
3.Dave Delpy’s attitude towards the chocolate printer is __________.
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A．doubtful |
B．supportive |
C．negative |
D．critical |
4.We can conclude that this passage is a __________.
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A．science fiction |
B．book review |
C．news report |
D．travel guide |
Nicknames for Los Angeles
A nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity. Nicknames can also be funny.
Los Angeles, California is the second largest city in population, after New York City. Los Angeles has several nicknames. One is simply the city’s initials, L.A. It is also called the City of Angels because Los Angeles means “the angels” in Spanish.
Los Angeles often has warm, sunny weather. So another nickname is City of Flowers and Sunshine. New York is called The Big Apple. So Los Angeles is sometimes called The Big Orange because of the fruit that grows in that city’s warm climate.
The American motion picture and television industries are based in Los Angeles. So it is not surprising that it is called The Entertainment Capital of the World. Many films are made in the area of Los Angeles called Hollywood. Millions of people visit the area. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word "Hollywood" spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
Many movie stars live in Los Angeles. The city is sometimes called Tinseltown. This nickname comes from the shiny, bright and often unreal nature of Hollywood and the movie industry.
Another nickname for Los Angeles is La-La Land, using the first letters of Los and Angeles. This means a place that is fun and not serious, and maybe even out of touch with reality.
The city of Los Angeles is part of Los Angeles County. There are many smaller cities in the county. Beverly Hills, with its rich people, is one of them. So is Pasadena, with its Rose Parade each New Year's Day. So are the coastal cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, where people like to ride surfboards on the Pacific Ocean waves.
A good place for watching unusual-looking people is Venice, an area on the west side of Los Angeles. A system of waterways designed after the Italian city of Venice has been built there.
Many people love Los Angeles for its warm sunny weather, beautiful mountains and beaches, and movie stars. That includes Randy Newman, who sings about his hometown.
1.A nickname of a place can have the following functions except ___________.
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A．building up identity |
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B．entertainment |
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C．bringing pride to the locals |
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D．uniting surrounding cities |
2.The underlined sentence can best be replaced by __________.
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A．Your trip to Los Angeles is not perfect if you miss the big letters "Hollywood" on a hillside |
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B．Not seeing the word "Hollywood" on a hillside means you haven’t been to Los Angeles. |
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C．If you visit Los Angeles you should first pay a visit to "Hollywood" s on a hillside. |
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D．Seeing the big letters "Hollywood" on a hillside means you’ve been really to Los Angeles. |
3.How many nicknames have been given to Los Angeles?
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A．4 |
B．5 |
C．6 |
D．7 |
4.Which of the following is conveyed in this article?
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A．Los Angeles is most famous for its nicknames. |
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B．Hollywood alone adds fame to Los Angeles. |
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C．All the nicknames increase the charm of Los Angeles. |
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D．Los Angeles was built after the Italian city of Venice. |
I was feeling a little blue because my mother had been laid off from her job and she had lots of bills to pay. It left me wondering what was going to happen to us now. But it reassured me some when my mother told me she was relieved to be leaving since her boss wasn't the nicest person to be around.
I got off the college shuttle bus and started walking. That's when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower so I could find out where it was coming from. Through the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a carriage next to her.
She was singing songs about love, keeping on trying, and not underestimating the power within yourself. The way she was singing comforted me a bit. I stood there watching her play for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take courage to perform on your own in the middle of a crowded New York ferry terminal.
So I stood there listening.
She must have felt my presence because she would occasionally look in my direction. By now I was telling myself that if she could perform in front of hundreds of people she didn't know then I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked over and put some money in her carriage and she said, "Thank you." Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, "I have been going through a rough time lately, but you've made me hopeful again."
"I'm happy that I could help," she replied. "Why are you so sad?"
"Well, my mum told me she had got fired from her job, and that made me sad. I'm not so sure what to do ..."
"You see, here's the problem," she explained. "The way you were walking, your head was down. Don't look defeated, because opportunity comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should smile more ... lift your head up."
I smiled faintly, amazed by how she was encouraging me. So, I asked her, "Why are you playing the piano in the middle of a crowded place? I've seen you do this more than once."
She explained to me that she sees a lot of negative people in the world and she tries to alleviate the pain and bring more positivity by sharing motivational music. She told me that when she wasn't making music she studied psychology. So, that was how she knew some of the things she was telling me.
I smiled a little wider because I knew that she was doing a good thing. So, after that we parted, my heart touched and lightened by a musical soul!
1.We can learn from Paragraph 3 that the young lady sang to _________.
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A．show her love for life |
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B．rid herself of low spirits |
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C．earn money for her schooling |
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D．inspire others to live positively |
2.Which word may best describe the young lady?
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A．helpful |
B．outgoing |
C．ambitious |
D．humorous |
3.Which do you think is the best title of the passage?
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A．An Unforgettable Experience |
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B．A Heart Touched By A Musical Soul |
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C．Music Can Do Wonders |
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D．A Good Deed Helped Me Out |
There at a secondhand clothing store in Northampton Mass, my l4-year-old son, John, and I noticed the coat. While the other coats drooped (低垂), this one looked as if it were 41 itself up. The coat was beautifully made, with a Fifth Avenue label and an 42 price of $28, which was popular just then with 43 , but could cost several hundred dollars new. John tried it on and the 44 was perfect.
John 45 the coat to school the next day and came home with a big smile. “Did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They loved it,” he said, 46 folding it over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, a 47 came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness (作对) and 48 discussion replaced fierce argument. He became more mannerly and 49 , eager to please. He would generously lend his younger brother his tapes and lecture him 50 his behavior. When I mentioned this 51 to his teacher and wondered what caused the changes, she said laughing. “It 52 be his coat!” Another teacher told him she was giving him a good mark not only because he had earned 53 but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ran 54 a friend. “Could this be John?” he asked surprisingly, 55 John’s new height, appreciating the cut of his coat and holding out his hand, one gentleman to another.
John and I both know we should never 56 a person’s clothes for the real person within them. 57 , there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see and for 58 what is on the inside with what is on the outside.
For John, it is a time when it is as easy to try on different 59 to life as it is to try on a coat. The whole world, the whole future is stretched out ahead, a vast landscape 60 all the doors are open. And he could picture himself walking through those doors wearing his wonderful, magical coat.
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Not until I ________ to work ____ how much time I had wasted.
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A．did begin; didn't I realize |
B．began; I realized |
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C．did begin; I realized |
D．began; did I realize |
–--I play high-temperature Yoga in the gym every Sunday.
---- Good habit, but the air in the gym is bad ________.
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A．to be breathed |
B．to breathe |
C．breathing |
D．being breathed |
