Last week, two companies, Kitty Hawk and Uber, announced their plans to bring flying cars to reality very soon.
Kitty Hawk president, Sebastian Thrun, announced Kitty Hawk’s flying car plans last Monday. According to its website, the car is electric-powered and will be able to travel at speeds up to 40 kilometers an hour. It says such a machine “does not require registration or a pilot’s license and may be flown in uncrowded areas for recreational purposes.” As of now, the car can only be flown over fresh water.
Kitty Hawk is making a list of people interested in buying the flying car. They must pay a deposit of $ 100. Those who get their names on the list early will receive $2,000 off the final cost of the car. However, Kitty Hawk has not yet announced the price. Its first flying cars are expected to go on sale by the end of this year.
Unlike the Kitty Hawk company, Uber does not plan to build its flying cars. Uber expects to launch flying taxis in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, US by 2020. Like the Kitty Hawk car, Uber flying taxis will use electric power. Uber says its flying taxis could travel up to 241 kilometers an hour. The company says that could reduce the travel time between San Francisco and San Jose, California from 2 hours on the road to 15 minutes in the air.
Riders could use the Uber app to book a flying taxi to take them to their destinations. The company has not yet said how costly air taxi travel would be compared to road taxi travel.
Sooner than you think, flying cars may appear in the sky. Much convenience as they will bring, just imagine having to avoid other flying cars. Also, what if your battery dies when you are in the air? And, how will you know where to land?
1.What may Kitty Hawk’s flying car be used for at present?
A. Accelerating the speed. B. Having fun.
C. Advertising the company. D. Fetching water.
2.What do we know about Kitty Hawk’s flying car from the third paragraph?
A. It costs two thousand dollars each. B. It can travel over water.
C. It offers $100 to its potential buyers. D. It hasn’t gone to market.
3.In what way is Uber’s flying taxi similar to Kitty Hawk’s flying car?
A. They travel at the same speed. B. They are electric-powered.
C. They are supported by the Uber app. D. They require a flying license.
4.What is the purpose of the last paragraph of the text?
A. To call for public donations. B. To introduce some advantages.
C. To promote interest in science. D. To talk about possible problems.
Readers in Grenoble can now nibble (啃) fiction after Publisher Short Edition introduced eight short-story dispensers (自动售货机) around the French city.
The free stories are available at the touch of a button, printing out on rolls of paper like a receipt. Readers are able to choose one minute, three minutes, or five minutes of fiction.
“The feedback we got has been extremely positive. Just two weeks since its launch, more than 10,000 stories have already been printed. We are thrilled to see it working so well,” said the co-founder Quentin Pleple. “There are only eight dispensers in the city of Grenoble for now but we are planning to introduce more. We are getting requests from all over the world-Australia, the US, Canada, Russia, Grace, Italy, Spain and Chile.”
Pleple said he and his team initially came up with the idea a couple of years ago when taking a break at a drink dispenser. “We thought it would be cool to have it for short stories,” said the publisher. ‘Then, we decided to make a difference: the short-story dispenser was born.”
The French publisher hopes the story will be used to fill the “dead time” of a passenger. “In the bus or the subway, everyone can make the most of these moments to read short stories, poems, or short picture books,” said a statement from Short Edition. “And they can be sure to enjoy the quality.”
The dispensers arc now in locations including Grenoble’s town hall, its tourist office and its library. The stories are drawn from more than 60,000 stories on Short Edition’s website. But there is a problem that users are not able to choose what type of story they would like to read. “Right now they can only choose the length. But that is exactly what really counts, isn’t it?” said Pleple.
1.Where can you probably see a short-story dispenser at present?
A. In Chile. B. In Canada
C. In France. D. In Italy.
2.What does the underlined word “launch” in the third paragraph probably mean?
A. Coming into use. B. Being thrown away.
C. Being found out. D. Breaking down.
3.Why did Short Edition provide short-story dispensers?
A. To help people kill time in the journey.
B. To encourage people to write short stories.
C. To attract international tourists to Grenoble.
D. To do research in the field of new technology.
4.In what aspect does the short-story dispenser need to improve?
A. The length of the stories. B. The quality of the stories.
C. The number of the stories. D. The choice of different stories.
My father was a taxi driver but I am a king—King Renato, of the country Pontinha, an island on Funchal harbour. It’s in Madeira, Portugal, where I grew up. It was discovered in 1419; Captain Cook once came here.
In 1903, the Portuguese government didn’t have enough money to build a harbor port, so the king sold the land to a wealthy British family, the Blandys, who make Madeira wine. Fourteen years ago, the family decided to sell it for just € 25,000 (£19,500). I decided to buy it though I had no money—I was just an art teacher.
I tried to find some business partners, but they all thought I was crazy to want to buy what is actually a large rock; it has a small cave, a platform on top, and no electricity or running water. So I sold some of my possessions, put my savings together and bought it.
When the king of Portugal originally sold the island in 1903, he and all the governors signed a document, selling all the “possessions and the dominions (领土)” of the island. It means I can do what I want with it—I could start a restaurant, or a cinema, but nobody thought that someone would want to start a country. So that’s what I did: I decided that this would no longer be just a rock on the port of Funchal. It would be my island, about the size of a one-bedroom house.
After I bought it, the governor of Madeira asked to buy my island. Of course, I said no. He said that unless I sold it back to the state, he wouldn’t let me connect to any electricity. But I have a solar panel and a small windmill, and maybe in the future I will be able to generate power from the ocean around Pontinha.
1.What does the writer want to show by mentioning his father?
A. He had a royal family. B. He loved his family.
C. He was not a born king. D. He was not a good driver.
2.Who sold the island to the author?
A. A Portuguese king. B. An art teacher.
C. The Blandy family. D. Captain Cook.
3.How did the writer start the country?
A. He discovered the island.
B. He found business supporters.
C. He was supported by citizens in the island.
D. He took advantage of the official document.
4.What can we infer about the country Pontinha?
A. It was a tiny island.
B. A harbor port was built on it.
C. It was a wealthy land.
D. Life there was very convenient.
Two Interesting Stories
Shaving Away the Eyebrows
Si Burgher had some of the longest eyebrows in Indiana. They were so long that he had to brush them every day so that they did not look like a wild hair. They measured more than three inches in length. However, according to NBC News, the one thing that was even more important to him was the Bloomfield Rotary Club’s campaign to end polio (脊髓灰质炎). According to MSN.com, it started out as a light-hearted joke in which his fellow club members said that people would probably pay to trim (修剪) his eyebrows. After thinking about it, Burgher agreed.
Tickets for trimming Burghers eyebrows started at $100 for a swipe (刮) with the razor. The first person in line was his wife. With each eyebrow taking eight swipes to finish off, Burgher managed to raise $ 1,600 for the polio cure. His wife told reporters that she was delighted with his new look and that it made him look kind and handsome.
Stunt (特技) Driving
According to the report from World of Differcnce.com, Sue Harding hated the stereotype (成见) that librarians were boring just as much as she cared for the doctors and nurses in the Warwickshire and Northampton Air Ambulance Service. She came up with the idea to get rid of the stereotype by involving herself in a stunt driving course. In the process she raised funds. According to the Times, people could come out and watch. All earnings were to be donated to the Warwickshire and Northampton Air Ambulance Service.
When the big day came, her stunt driving skills turned out to be quite impressive for a librarian. She put the stunt car through the paces, throwing handbreak turns and following the speed and shoot chase formation. Not only did it get rid of the stereotype but it also raised money for the Ambulance Service.
1.What caused Si Burgher to have his eyebrows trimmed?
A. The club members’ joke. B. A report from NBC News.
C. His wife’s encouragement. D. His wish for handsomeness.
2.What is Sue Harding?
A. A reporter. B. A librarian.
C. A doctor. D. A nurse.
3.What did Si Burgher and Sue Harding have in common?
A. They collected money for others. B. They paid for interesting stories.
C. They took part in a club’s campaign. D. They were tired of their boring jobs.
高考即将来临,家长们也在想方设法为孩子做好服务.下面一幅图是关于某些家长的做法,请你用英语写一篇短文,谈谈你的理解.短文必须包括以下内容：
1. 图画内容反映了什么?
2.你对家长做法的看法.
3.你的建议.
注意：1、必须包括所有要点,适当发挥,不要简单翻译.
2、词数150左右,开头已给出,不计入总数.
3、文中不得提及你所在学校与本人姓名.
参考词汇：倒计时牌 a countdown board
过度关心和监管excessive care and supervision
With the College Entrance Examination around the corner, parents are making great efforts to help their child to prepare for it.
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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。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（∧），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。
To me, the concept of home changes continually along with my age.
In my childhood, home was a string of calls. It seemed that I am provided with less freedom than today’s children. I didn’t have to show up in front of my parents right after school. Instead of, I would go to play with my classmate who lived in the neighborhood. Days passed by as I grew up in a company of those calls. Even now the ringing voices are still echoed in my ears.
With I read more and more, my world has opened up, presenting a broader picture before me. The bed I used sleep in becomes too small, and words of care from my parents begin to sound endlessly. How I wish I could have a space of me own someday!
