A Dutch artist and designer has come up with a device which he hopes will get rid of pollutants from Beijing's smog skies, creating clean air for the city's mask-wearing people.
An electromagnetic field（电磁场） will pull particles（微粒） in the smog to the ground where they can be easily cleaned.
“It's like when you have a balloon which has static（静电） and your hair goes toward it. Same with the smog,” says artist Daan Roosegaarde.
His studio has reached an agreement with the Beijing government to test the technology in one of tile capital's parks.
With its skies regularly covered by dirty gray smog, Beijing this week announced a series of emergency measures to handle the problem.
Roosegaarde says an indoor model device has already proven it works and is confident that the results — with the help of a team of scientists and engineers — can be replicated outside.
“Beijing is quite a good place because the smog in Beijing is quite low. It lies in a valley so there's not so much wind. It's a good environment to explore this kind of thing.”
“We'll be able to purify the air and the challenge is to get the top of the smog so you can see the sun again.”
Roosegaarde acknowledges that projects like this are a way of drawing attention to the problem, rather than a practical solution to Beijing's awful air pollution.
“This is not the real answer for smog. The real answer has to do with clean cars, different industry and different lifestyles.”
However, he hopes the project will make a “fundamental statement” by allowing the city's people to realize the difference between breathing clean and smog-filled air.
1.The device works by _______.
A. helping keep the particles out with more masks
B. pulling pollutants to the ground with an electromagnetic field
C. absorbing hair with a balloon with static
D. creating clean air and let it out into the sky
2.According to the passage, ______ .
A. the Beijing government has agreed to use the technology in Beijing
B. they have proven the results of the device both indoors and outdoors
C. the results of the air-cleaning device can be expectable
D. the Beijing government has never done anything to handle the air pollution
3.What does Roosegaarde really mean by saying “Beijing is quite a good place…... ”?
A. The air pollution in Beijing is not quite serious.
B. The weather in Beijing is good for foreigners to live in.
C. Beijing is quite fit for using the air-cleaning device.
D. It is easy to get the top of the smog in Beijing.
4.Roosegaarde appeals to people in Beijing to ________.
A. pay attention to air pollution and solve the problem finally
B. invent more devices to clean the smog in Beijing
C. drive modern cars and try different lifestyles
D. realize how serious the pollution they're facing is
Even when you’re extremely busy, you aren’t using your time with 100% efficiency. There are gaps in everyone’s schedule where they aren’t doing anything important. Even if your schedule has no gaps, there is probably lots of time where you aren’t working as fast or as effectively as you possibly could.
Why aren’t you completely efficient? It’s because time isn’t the limiting factor. If it were the limiting factor, people could work non-stop without breaks or any unproductive distractions. Instead, people, even those who are highly productive, need to take breaks, occasionally procrastinate(拖延) and slow down on tasks throughout the day.
The real and most important limiting factor for productivity is your energy levels to pay attention. Energy levels limit your productivity because when you’re tired, you can have ample time and still not get everything done. Your attention ability is also limited, because even if there are a million things that need to be done, you can only focus on one or two at a time.
You might not be able to insert another 4-5 hours into your schedule without making some sacrifices. But even extremely busy people can add an hour or two into their schedule without cancelling anything. The reason it’s hard to “find time” isn’t a lack of time. It’s because you don’t have enough energy left to focus on something else that needs to fit into your day.
I first suspected time wasn’t the real problem during an extremely busy period in my life over a year ago. I was insanely busy, but at that time I still exercised regularly. I had daily-to-do lists with over twenty items, and I still found time to exercise. However, after a few weeks off, due to illness, stopped exercising. I was not busy by any standards, in fact, my schedule was incredibly light. Despite this free time, I found it hard to find time to exercise. It seemed to get pushed later and later into my schedule until it was gone. How can I explain this odd experience? I believe you have known it.
1.If someone can’t work with 100% efficiency, the most important limiting factor is ______.
A. a schedule without gaps B. breaks and distractions
C. the limited time D. the limited energy
2.According to paragraph 4, everyone, including the extremely busy people, can ______.
A. work without any rest
B. focus on many things at a time
C. find some more time in a day
D. do some exercise regularly
3.After a few weeks off, what was the change of the writer’s life?
A. He had a longer daily to-do lists with over twenty items.
B. He stopped doing exercise because of the lack of energy.
C. He found it hard to find time to exercise because he was busier.
D. He pushed most of the things later and later in his schedule.
4.The writer gives the example of himself in the last paragraph in order to ___________.
A. prove what the real limiting factor is
B. show us how busily he needs to work
C. explain how important a healthy body is
D. tell us what an odd experience he has
The hottest TV drama in China – “Nirvana in Fire” or “Langya Bang” has just ended. Millions of people waited every day after midnight for the latest (two) episodes. Are you one of them? What is the story about? Why the show is so popular?
“Nirvana in Fire” is based on an Internet novel by author Hai Yan, who was invited to pen the screenplay for the television adaptation. The 55-episode series, set in a fictionalized kingdom, weaves together two storylines — one about a betrayed general's revenge and the other about princes fighting for the throne.
The series was put on screen on Sep. 19th, and the number of Internet views exceeded 140 million times the next day. Only during the week of National holiday, the number increased by 1.6 billion.
It’s now the hottest Chinese TV show with a very high score of 9.3 on Douban. (The classical TV drama, Journey to the West, produced in 1986 is with the same score). Previous and recent costume dramas such as “The Journey of Flower” and “Yun Zhong Ge” only scored 6.4 and 3.5.
Drawing comparisons to “The Count of Monte Cristo”, the story revolves around a gifted young man named Lin Shu, whose father serves as a general. Already a high-ranking military officer by his teenager years, Lin Shu enjoyed a close friendship with Prince Xiao Jingyan and was even engaged to Princess Nihuang.
At age 17, however, Lin Shu’s life turned upside down when his father’s army was framed and destroyed by a foxy political rival. Lin Shu escaped death, but due to the poisoning, his body became weak and frail, and he lost his martial arts abilities. From then on, his face was pale and his fingers always ice-cold.
After twelve years, Lin Shu returned to his country’s capital with a new name, Mei Changsu, and a new identity, the leader of the Jiang Zuo Alliance. He then became the strategic adviser for his friend, Prince Jingyan, who had been exiled(流放) by the king. Despite the efforts of Prince Xiao Jingheng and the crown prince to win the throne for themselves, Mei Changsu succeeds in paving the road for his friend to take over as king, as well as the avenging the injustices dealt to his troops many years before.
1.Which of the following is true?
A. Lin Shu changed his face and name in order to take revenge.
B. Lin Shu and the crown prince were childhood friends and Lin helped him to be the king.
C. Nirvana in Fire was set in a real kingdom in history.
D. Nirvana in Fire shares the same score with Journey to the West on Douban.
2.What is the underlined word mean?
A. made a false charge B. taken advantage of
C. defeated D. got ride of
3.What is more likely to talk about in the following paragraph?
A. How did the prince fight for the throne?
B. Where was Nirvana in Fire shot?
C. Why did Nirvana in Fire enjoy such popularity?
D. What happened to Mei Changshu after he succeeded in taking the revenge?
Now that American education has entered the era of the MOOC—the Massive Open Online Course-the opportunity for cheating appears greater than ever. The all-knowing Google search engine is never more than a few keystrokes away. So how can a teacher manage such a large number of examinees so far away, let alone searching out cheaters taking tests across the Internet?
Using technology, of course. While special services via webcam(摄像头)and cheating detecting software have been developed now, Mettl, an online company, has developed advanced techniques for netting cheaters, which the company claims are even more reliable and easier to use. Whatever small attempt to cheat, he or she will be found out.
Mettl has adopted a handful of technologies on its test—taking platform, creating a mini monitoring state in an exam. Here’s how it works：A test-taker signs on to Mettl and selects his／her exam from the site’s library of pre—loaded tests. Facial and keystroke recognition technology confirm the person that has signed in is the very person, and the system records both the test—taker(through the webcam)and the test—taker’s screen throughout the test.
Mettl’s technology uses the test—taker’s webcam to detect how many people are using the computer. Soon, it will track eye movement well enough to sense whether the test-taker is looking away from the screen, perhaps to Consult a smart phone or a friend in secret. Mettl also monitors the test-taker’s screen and can detect when the test-taker has changed a computer or moved from the test. The system will soon be able to record sound, thus detecting whether the test-taker is talking or being talked to.
If any irregularities are detected, the system flags the incident and reports it back to the test’s administrator. This can bring any number of things, depending on the test-giver’s wishes：a complete shutdown of the exam, a warning message that appears on the test-taker’s screen, even human instructions from the control center.
Mettl is hoping its technology will help it break into the country’s big MOOC markets.
1.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Advantages of Massive Open Online Courses
B. Using technology to fight against cheating online
C. A new Test system serving the online students
D. How Americans help increase educational opportunity
2.From the first paragraph we can infer that
A. MOOC has replaced the traditional form of education
B. Teachers should be more strict in dealing with cheating
C. Google is a software designed for cheating
D. Preventing online cheating is a tougher job
3.How can Mettl help to get rid of cheating online?
A. By equipping teachers with cameras.
B. By asking test-takers to sign in.
C. By providing different tests at the same time.
D. By recording the test-takers’ behaviors.
4.Which part of a newspaper does the article come from?
A. Health B. Education C.Entertainment D. Culture
书面表达
假如你是李明，你马上就要去英国留学。你的英国笔友George来信询问你在留学期间是住在学生公寓还是住在寄宿家庭，你现在回信告诉他，你打算住在寄宿家庭，并且说明你的至少三个理由。词数120字左右。
短文改错
假如英语课上老师要求同学们交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，要求你在错误的地方增加、删除或修改某个单词。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(/\)，在其下面写上该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，在该词下面写上修改后的词。
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。
Recently, our school has held the meaningful discussion on whether it is reasonable for middle school students to have classes on weekends. Some of our classmates believe we should have classes on weekends because we can make fully use of the free time to review the lessons we had learnt. Some others are against the opinion, saying we had better to have a good rest on weekends so that we can work effective during the weekdays. The rest agree with neither of the opinion. They have the view which keeping the balance between work and play are important for us. They suggest one day of the weekend should used to learn our lessons and during the other day we do something interested or have a rest.
