Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read the life story of a famous man, when a short television program can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers sell in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and enjoyment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are printed today as paperbacks (平装本), which are quite cheap. A paperback collection of short stories, for example, is always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or the theater, and you can keep a book for ever and read it many times.
Books are a wonderful provider of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. A good encyclopedia, though expensive, is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. Besides, you can have such books as history books, science textbooks, cookbooks, and collections of stories and poems. Then from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favorite poets.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. TV programs are a chief provider of knowledge
B. cinemas are the best choice in getting information
C. reading is a cheap way of learning and having fun
D. newspapers are an expensive way to enjoy oneself
2.What does the sentences “Television has not killed reading, however” underlined in the second paragraph suggest?
A. People only need reading, though.
B. Reading is still necessary today.
C. Reading is more fun than television.
D.Watching television doesn’t help reading.
3.Which of the following is mainly discussed in the last paragraph?
A. Types of books
B. Kinds of dictionaries.
C. Lists of history books.
D. Collections of stories and poems.
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1.What is the purpose of the text?
A．To introduce a language school in Japan.
B．To hire language teachers to work in Japan.
C．To describe working conditions in Japan.
D．To make clear the requirements for Japanese teachers.
2.We know from the text that those who are going to Japan will _____.
A．teach English only in Osaka
B．receive a degree from a university
C．have free accommodation
D．get trained for the job
3.Before going to Japan, you need _____.
A．to see the manager of NOVA France
B．To take some computer courses
C．to write a letter to Japan
D．to find a place to live
4. If you want to work in Japan, you should _____.
A．have some working experience
B．know how to use computers
C．present good teaching plans
D．speak several languages
Whether in the home or the workplace, social robots are going to become a lot more common in the next few years. Social robots are about to bring technology to the everyday world in a more humanized way, said Cynthia Breazeal, chief scientist at the robot company Jibo.
While household robots today do the normal housework, social robots will be much more like companions than mere tools. For example, these robots will be able to distinguish when someone is happy or sad. This allows them to respond more appropriately to the user.
The Jibo robot, arranged to ship later this year, is designed to be a personalized assistant. You can talk to the robot, ask it questions, and make requests for it to perform different tasks. The robot doesn’t just deliver general answers to questions; it responds based on what it learns about each individual in the household. It can do things such as reminding an elderly family member to take medicine or taking family photos.
Social robots are not just finding their way into the home. They have potential applications in everything from education to health care and are already finding their way into some of these spaces.
Fellow Robots is one company bringing social robots to the market. The company’s “Oshbot” robot is built to assist customers in a store, which can help the customers find items and help guide them to the product’s location in the store. It can also speak different languages and make recommendations for different items based on what the customer is shopping for.
The more interaction the robot has with humans, the more it learns. But Oshbot, like other social robots, is not intended to replace workers, but to work alongside other employees.“We have technologies to train social robots to do things not for us, but with us,” said Breazeal.
1.How are social robots different from household robots？
A. They can control their emotions.
B. They are more like humans.
C. They do the normal housework.
D. They respond to users more slowly.
2.What can Oshbot work as？
A. A language teacher. B. A tour guide.
C. A shop assistant. D. A private nurse.
3.We can learn from the last paragraph that social robots will ______.
A. train employees
B. be our workmates
C. improve technologies
D. take the place of workers
4. What does the passage mainly present？
A. A new design idea of household robots.
B. Marketing strategies for social robots.
C. Information on household robots.
D. An introduction to social robots.
I arrived at my mother’s home for our Monday family dinner. The smells of food flew over from the kitchen. Mother was pulling out quilt(被子)after quilt from the boxes, proudly showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to fold and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the bottom of one box. I pulled it out. “What is this?” I asked.
“Oh?” Mom said, “That’s Mama’s quilt.”
I spread the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; irregular designs, childish pictures, a crooked line on the right.
“Grandmother made this?” I said, surprised. My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This certainly didn’t look like any of the quilts she had made.
“Yes, right before she died. I brought it home with me last year and made some changes,” she said. “I’m still working on it. See, this is what I’ve done so far.”
I looked at it more closely. She had made straight a crooked line. At the center of the quilt, she had stitched(缝) a piece of cloth with these words:“My mother made many quilts. She didn’t get all lines straight. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it finished. Her last quilt.”
“Oh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It occurred to me that by completing my grandmother’s quilt, my mother was honoring her own mother. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family treasure. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and continued with the loving hands of another.
1.Why did the author go to mother’s home?
A. To see her mother’s quilts.
B. To help prepare for a show.
C. To get together for the family dinner.
D. To discuss her grandmother’s life.
2. The author was surprised because ________.
A. the quilt looked very strange
B. her grandmother liked the quilt
C. the quilt was the best she had seen
D. her mother had made some changes
3. The underlined word “crooked” in the passage most probably means ________.
A. Unfinished B. broken
C. Bent D. unusual
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. A Quilt Show B. Mother’s Home
C. A Monday Dinner D. Grandmother’s Quilt
书面表达
假如你是李华，在感恩节即将到来之际，你校组织了以“What shall we do to thank our parents?”为主题的英语演讲活动。
请你根据自己的亲身体会并结合现实生活，写一篇100词左右的英语演讲稿。
短文改错
假设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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅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(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。修改：在错的词下画一横线，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
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to our English Corner. This Corner was set up three years before. Every Sunday morning, students from different schools and some foreigners often took part. Gather around here, we practise spoken English by talking about everything we are interested. We also exchange my experience in English study. We all have a good time here. Thousands of people have been here when it was set up.
We think that they have learned a lot by talking part in activity here. It is a really supplement to our English class and it is welcomed by students, their parents and teachers. They all think it is of helpful. If you want to know much about the corner, you may talk to the students here.
