After years of sales growth, major publishers reported a fall in their e-book sales for the first time this year, introducing new doubts about the potential of e-books in the publishing industry. Yet despite the increasing realization that digital and print can easily coexist in the market, the question of whether the e-book will “kill” the print book continues to surface. It doesn’t matter if the intention is to predict or dismiss this possibility; the potential disappearance of the book does not stop to inspire our imagination.
After television was invented, many claimed radio would die. But radio ended up surviving by finding new uses; people started listening in cars, during tram rides and on factory floors. The myth of the disappearing book isn’t new, either. As early as 1894, there was guess that they’d be replaced by what we today call audiobooks. This happened again and again. Movies, radio, television, and smartphones—all conspired to destroy print books as a source of culture and entertainment. It is not by chance that the idea of the death of the book surfaces in moments of technological change.
We create emotional bonds with media as they become an integral part of our life. The emergence of a new technology —like e-readers — doesn’t just in indicate economic and social change. It also causes us to adjust our relationship with something that has become an integral part of our day-to-day life.
The ones who still worry for the disappearance of print books may rest assured: Books have endured many technical revolutions and are in the best position to survive this one. Yet the myth of the disappearing medium will continue to provide an appealing narrative about both the power of technology and our dislike to change. Easy to remember and to spread, the story of the death of media reflects our excitement for the future, as well as our fear of losing parts of our intimate world一and finally, of ourselves.
1.What do people tend to believe according to the text?
A. Print books will disappear in the end.
B. It is unwise to invest in e-books.
C. Digital and print will exist all the time.
D. The death of books is just an imagination.
2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A. The forms of books change with new technology.
B. Books have a bright digital future actually.
C. Culture will disappear with the end of books.
D. The idea of book death follows technological changes.
3.What does the myth of disappearing books reflect?
A. Our doubt about the power of technology.
B. Our fear of losing ourselves in society.
C. Our preference for new technology.
D. Our pleasure of experiencing technical revolutions.
Ben Underwood is blind. Both eyes were removed when he was just three years old, leaving him with no vision at all. So how on earth does he ride his bicycle, play football and basketball?
Ben uses many common aids for the blind, like speaking software. He's also written a book and does his schoolwork on a hi-tech Braille writer. But what’s unusual is what he doesn’t use. Ben has no guide dog and never uses a white cane. He doesn’t even use his hands. Instead, he sees with sound. Amazingly, Ben’s ears pick up the echoes(回声）and he can precisely locate where things are. Ben is the only person in the world who sees using nothing but echolocation.
Ben was born perfectly healthy, with dark eyes like his mum. But, when he was two she looked into his eyes and saw something was terribly wrong. This is a rare infant eye cancer that affects only one in every six million. In an attempt to save his sight, doctors immediately began intense chemo and radio therapy, but like a lead balloon. His eyes had been removed.
Just one year after the operation to remove his eyes, in the car he asked his mum what the big building was that they were passing. Ben’s ears were picking up the sounds of the city traffic reflecting from the building’s surfaces. His mum let him play in the street because his sound pictures seemed to make him more aware of danger than his sighted friends.
There’s nothing his friends can do that Ben Underwood won't attempt and conquer. Doctors suspect that Ben Underwood has developed super-hearing to make for his loss of sight. However, tests show that he has only normal hearing. So, has Ben’s brain learned to translate the sound he hears into visual information?
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. How to see with ears. B. A boy’s poor life without eyes.
C. The way to fight with fate. D. A boy who “sees” without eyes.
2.In what way does Ben have much common with other blind people?
A. He uses a white cane in his everyday life.
B. He takes advantaged of computer software.
C. He feels the same echolocation as others do.
D. He uses his ears instead of his both hands.
3.What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 3?
A. His eye looked like a ball. B. The doctor stopped their efforts.
C. Nothing really worked. D. His mother was frightened.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A. The case of Ben has shocked the doctors.
B. The case of Ben is common to children.
C. Quite a few believe what Ben has said.
D. lien does have the super-hearing ability.
Today, widespread social pressure to immediately go to college together with increasingly high expectations in a fast -moving world often causes students to completely overlook the possibility of taking a gap year. And after going to school for 12 years, it doesn't feel natural to spend a year during something that isn’t academic.
But despite common misconceptions, a gap year does not impede the success of academics—in fact, it probably promotes it.
Studies show that students who take a gap year are generally better prepared for and perform better in college than those who do not. Gap year experiences can lessen the difficulty when it comes to adjusting to college and being thrown into a brand new environment, making it easier to focus on academics and activities.
Nearly 80 percent of college students end up changing their majors at least once. Many students find themselves listing one major on their college applications, but switching to another after taking college classes. At Boston College, for example, you would have to complete an extra year were you to switch to the nursing school from another department. Taking a gap year to figure things out initially can help prevent stress and save money later on.
Many people, however, argue that the gap year itself can take much money. That’s a math. There are formal gap year programs that are rather pricey, but there are also many opportunities to volunteer and receive free housing or even get paid for your gap year.
Perhaps the most convincing reason for taking a gap year is that it offers a unique opportunity that will likely never reappear. After graduating from college, it's possible to take some time off. Students should think about the next step in their future lives: Don’t rule out anything, including a gap year.
1.What might be the author's purpose by writing the passage?
A. To explain what the gap year really is.
B. To prove the necessity of the gap year.
C. To introduce the way to take the gap year.
D. To describe the students taking their gap year.
2.What stops students taking their gap year?
A. The pricey gap year programs.
B. Bad performance in high school.
C. High expectations for college life.
D. Worrying about falling behind in study.
3.What can we know about students from the passage?
A. Nearly 80 percent of college students change their majors only once.
B. High school students have little experience to choose college majors.
C. many new comers of college are suffering from acclimation blunders.
D. All colleges allow their students to change their majors free of charge.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the gap year?
A. Favorable. B. Critical.
C. Concerned. D. Indifferent.
Every year, TIME selects the best inventions that are making the world better, smarter and — in some cases—a little more fun. Here’s which ones made this year’s unranked list.
●Morpher
People refuse to wear a helmet because they’re thick and bulky. Morpher, a bike helmet made from interweaved plastics that is just as strong as its traditional helmets, but flexible enough to fold almost totally flat, making it easier to transport. Morpher has raised almost $300,000 on Indiegogo and may be available for sale in stores in future.
● Hyper Adapt
Almost everyone who sees the movie Back to the Future wants a pair of self-lacing shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoe dream is a reality. When wearers press a button near the tongue, the Hyper Adapt 1.0s automatically tighten and loosen around their foot. Simplified shoe fastening could give users an edge during sports competition, and it’s especially useful for people with impaired（受损的） motor function.
●Hello Sense
It's hard to believe that an alarm clock could not only be beautiful but also improve your sleep. That it could monitor the temperature, humidity(湿度), light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you engineer a perfect sleep environment. That it could monitor your sleep cycles and wake you when you’re least likely to feel groggy—all thanks to simple voice commands.
●Eatwell Assistive Tableware
It is hard for Alzheimer’s patients to use silverware without spilling. Eatwell Assistive Tableware is a dining set designed to make mealtime easier for people with Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect brain and body function. The tableware uses bright colors to help people distinguish their plates from their food and putting wide rubber bases on the cups to prevent spills.
1.What is the advantage of Morpher over traditional helmets?
A. It is portable. B. It is safer.
C. It is stronger. D. It is folding and light.
2.Who may like Hyper Adapt most?
A. Athletes. B. Officer workers.
C. Taxi drivers. D. Regular travelers.
3.What does the underlined word “groggy” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A. Energetic. B. Dizzy.
C. Tiring. D. Uncomfortable.
4.What invention is unavailable on the market at present?
A. Hyper Adapt. B. Morpher.
C. Hello Sense . D. Eatwell Assistive Tableware.
假设你是李华，你的一位在本市就读大学的美国朋友Jason邀请你周末观看《金刚狼3》并给你寄来了电影海报（如下图所示），但是海报所提供的信息不是非常完整，请你给Jason发一封电子邮件，请他解答下列的疑问：
1.这是系列电影的第三部，能否介绍前两部的主要情节，帮助你了解整个故事；
2.电影几点结束；
3.学生能否享受打折优惠；
4.请告知见面的时间和地点。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Jason,
I am writing to_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每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限一词;
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I’m happy to have older brother. He’s caring, smart or responsible. I’m proud in him, yet I am always annoying him and hurt his feelings.
But one thing made me to see how specially our relationship is, I had a cousin which died seven years ago. On the day of his funeral, his sister says she wished she had had a better relationship with him. But nobody can turn back the hand of time. I don’t want this to happen to my brother and I. I will try to be a better sister.
