Why does the woman hate her roommate?
A. She makes a terrible mess in the house. B. She always wears the woman’s clothes.
C. She never washes dishes.
What will the man do?
A. Lock the cupboard. B. Move the cupboard himself. C. Ask Jim for help.
What does the woman suggest the man do?
A. Stop eating fast food. B. Eat more fruit. C. Check his weight.
（写作内容）
1. 用约30个单词概述柱状图信息的主要内容；
2. 用约120个单词对文中所述话题进行讨论, 内容包括：
（1）外卖快递人员导致事故的原因；
（2）如何解决这一问题你有什么看法。
（写作要求）
1. 作文中可以利用了解到的经历, 也可以参照阅读材料的内容, 但不得直接引用原文中的句子；
2. 文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3. 不必写标题。
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I’ve always been an optimist and I suppose that is rooted in my belief that the power of creativity and intelligence can make the world a better place.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved learning new things and solving problems. So when I sat down at a computer for the first time in seventh grade, I was hooked. It was a clunky old Teletype machine and it could barely do anything compared to the computers we have today. But it changed my life.
When my friend Paul Allen and I started Microsoft 30 years ago, we had a vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home,” which probably sounded a little too optimistic at a time when most computers were the size of refrigerators. But we believed that personal computers would change the world. And they have.
And after 30 years, I’m still as inspired by computers as I was back in seventh grade.
I believe that computers are the most incredible tool we can use to feed our curiosity and inventiveness—to help us solve problems that even the smartest people couldn’t solve on their own.
Computers have transformed how we learn, giving kids everywhere a window into all of the world’s knowledge. They’re helping us build communities around the things we care about and to stay close to the people who are important to us, no matter where they are.
Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularly lucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it “tap-dancing to work.” My job at Microsoft is as challenging as ever, but what makes me “tap-dance to work” is when we show people something new, like a computer that can recognize your handwriting or your speech, or one that can store a lifetime’s worth of photos, and they say, “I didn’t know you could do that with a PC!”
But for all the cool things that a person can do with a PC, there are lots of other ways we can put our creativity and intelligence to work to improve our world. There are still far too many people in the world whose most basic needs go unmet. Every year, for example, millions of people die from diseases that are easy to prevent or treat in the developed world.
I believe that my own good fortune brings with it a responsibility to give back to the world. My wife, Melinda, and I have committed to improving health and education in a way that can help as many people as possible.
As a father, I believe that the death of a child in Africa is no less poignant or tragic than the death of a child anywhere else. And that it doesn’t take much to make an immense difference in these children’s lives.
I’m still very much an optimist, and I believe that progress on even the world’s toughest problems is possible—and it’s happening every day. We’re seeing new drugs for deadly diseases, new diagnostic tools, and new attention paid to the health problems in the developing world.
I’m excited by the possibilities I see for medicine, for education and, of course, for technology. And I believe that through our natural inventiveness, creativity and willingness to solve tough problems, we’re going to make some amazing achievements in all these areas in my lifetime.
Fueling our creativity
Outline | Supporting details |
Being enthusiastic | 1., I believe the power of creativity and intelligence can make the world better. ◇An old Teletype machine, which made me 2. in the computer, changed my life. ◇3. what sounded like crazy, Paul Allen and I dreamt of there being a computer for everyone. ◇For 3 decades, I still have a deep 4. for the computer. |
Being devoted | I feel lucky to do something challenging at Microsoft, and I have a sense of5. when we present people something new. ◇Computers are the most incredible tool, and there is no6. in terms of problem solving. ◇Computers are transforming how we learn,7.our horizons wherever we are. |
Being 8. | I’m bound to give my fortune to the world just in9.. ◇All children are created equal, and it doesn’t take much to make a difference in their lives. ◇Great importance is being10. to the health problems in developing countries. |
It is not hard to find evidence of the success of the “sharing economy”, in which people rent beds, cars and other underused assets directly from each other, or via the internet. One pointer is the large amount of demand and supply. Airbnb claims that 11m people have used its website to find a place to stay. Lyft, a company that matches people needing rides and drivers wanting a few dollars, has spread from San Francisco to 30-odd American cities. Another sign is the frothy values (泡沫价值) placed on sharing-economy companies: Airbnb is estimated to be worth $10 billion, more than hotel chains such as Hyatt and Wyndham, and Lyft recently raised $250m from venture capitalists. But perhaps the most flattering—and least welcome—indicator of the sharing economy’s rise is the energy being devoted by governments, courts and competitors to preventing it.
The main battlegrounds are the taxi and room-rental businesses. A court in Brussels has told Uber, another San Francisco ride-sharing and taxi-services startup, to stop operating in the city. Other cities have banned their services outright, or tried other ways of putting spokes in their wheels. Meanwhile the Hotel Association of New York has been lobbying for (游说) stricter enforcement of a rule that bans absent owners from letting their apartments for less than 30 days, which makes most of Airbnb’s listings there illegal.
The newcomers’ opponents, whether competitors, officials or worried citizens, complain that the likes of Airbnb and Lyft dodge (躲避) the rules and taxes that apply to conventional businesses. Regulations exist to keep hotel rooms clean and fire alarms in working order, to stop residential areas being filled with unlicensed hotels, and to see that drivers are insured, checked for criminality and tested on their knowledge of the streets. Cowboys such as Airbnb, Lyft and Uber, their critics claim, are a danger to an unsuspecting public.
The objectors have half a point. Taxes must be paid: a property-owner who rents a room should declare the income, just as a hotel should. Safety is also a concern: people want some assurance that once they bed down for the night or get into a stranger’s car they will not be attacked or robbed. Zoning (划分区域) and planning are also an issue: peace-loving citizens may well object if the house next door becomes a hotel.
Sharing-economy firms are trying to mitigate (缓和) these problems. They have tightened insurance cover for their drivers and have offered to collect hotel taxes. They have an interest in their participants’ good behavior: as hosts, guests, drivers and passengers all rate each other online, their need to protect their reputation helps to maintain standards and keep people honest. But if consumers want to go for the cheaper, less-regulated service, they should be allowed to do so.
The truth is that most of the rules that the sharing economy is breaking have little to do with protecting the public. The opposition to Lyft and Uber is coming not from customers but from taxi companies, which understand that GPS makes detailed knowledge of the streets redundant (多余的) and fear cheaper competition.
This all argues for adaptation, not prohibition. An unlikely pioneer is San Francisco. Lyft and Uber got going in the city partly because taxis were hard to find, but the authorities have tolerated them. San Francisco bans rentals of less than 30 days, but is considering allowing people to let their residence, provided they live there most of the time, register with the city and pay its 14% hotel tax.
1.According to Paragraph 1, the success of the “sharing economy” is indicated by the fact that __________.
A. many people are trading their underused assets freely via the internet
B. growth in online rental demand has exceeded supply in many regions
C. its total capital value has surpassed that of conventional business
D. sharing economy companies are suffering from a number of attacks
2.Opponents complain that the taxi and room-rental businesses _________.
A. frequently make anti-competitive market behavior
B. are often involved in illegal business practices
C. are lacking in necessary rules and regulations
D. have caused a lot of accidents and crimes
3.By “have a half point” in Paragraph 4, the author probably means the objectors “__________.”
A. fail to indentify the safety problems existing among sharing economy firms
B. have overstated the dangers brought about by sharing-economy firms to the public
C. fail to realize the need of zoning and planning in sharing economy
D. have overestimated the impact of sharing economy firms on the traditional counterparts
4.The author believes that the current opposition to sharing economy mainly reflects_________.
A. the mission of protecting the public B. the complaints from service consumers
C. the fear among conventional businesses D. the dissatisfaction among service providers
5.What is the author’s attitude toward the practice of San Francisco authorities?
A. Indifferent. B. Skeptical. C. Disapproving. D. Positive.
