Last week the electricity in my flat went out.1. My typical evening is spent watching TV and scrolling (滚动) through social media. Tonight this wasn’t possible. My roommate and I weren’t prepared with candles and matches. We just rely on electricity.
So for me it was an early night, 2. That night, losing our electricity felt like losing a basic necessity, as basic as running water. But really, electricity is a luxury that we’ve grown to take for granted. I use electricity all the time, even when it’s not really necessary.
3. And as I’m writing this, I have my lights on, even in the middle of the day when I don’t really need them.
4.It contributes to global warming. It is harming our environment and we need to do what we can to stop it. Not only that, but if we continue to use the same large amount of energy, we will soon run out of it.
How would we survive in a world without electricity? Our daily lives go around it. We wouldn’t be able to function. 5.So, shouldn’t we start preparing for it now? Cutting down on our use of electricity would save energy resources so that they could last for longer. And if everyone does it, we can make a big difference.
A. Yet we know one day we will run out of it.
B. Our over-use of electricity is a big problem.
C. This left me in complete darkness the whole night.
D. It is a real problem to cut down on the use of electricity.
E. I know for sure I could cut down on my use of electricity.
F. I couldn’t help but think, do we rely too much on electricity?
G. I turn on the TV in the background even when Tm not watching it.
Imagine you’re standing in line to buy an after-school snack at a store. You step up to the counter and the cashier scans your food. Next, you have to pay. But instead of scanning a QR code (二维码) with your smartphone, you just hold out your hand so the cashier can scan your fingerprint. Or, a camera scans your face, your eyes or even your ear.
Now, this type of technology might not be far away. As technology companies move away from the traditional password, biometric(生物识别的) security, which includes fingerprint, face and voice ID, is becoming increasingly popular.
In 2013, Apple introduced the iPhone 5s, one of the first smartphones with a fingerprint scanner. Since then, using one’s fingerprint to unlock a phone and make mobile payments has become commonplace, bringing convenience to our lives. And since last year, Samsung has featured eye-scanning technology in its top smartphones, while Apple’s new iPhone X can even scan a user’s face. But despite its popularity, experts warn that biometrics might not be as secure as we’d imagined. “Biometrics are ideally good, but in practice, not so much” said John Michener, a biometrics expert.
When introducing the new iPhone’s Face ID feature, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, said, “The chance that a random person in the population could look at your iPhone X and unlock it with their face is about one in a million.” But it’s already been done. In a video posted on community website Reddi, two brothers showed how they were each able to unlock the same iPhone X using their own face. And they aren’t even twins.
“We may expect too much from biometrics,” Anil Jain, a computer science professor at Michigan State University, told CBS News. “No security systems are perfect.”
Earlier this year, Jain found a way to trick biometric security. Using a printed copy of a thumbprint, she was able to unlock a dead person’s smartphone for police, according to tech website Splinter. “It’s good to see biometrics being used more,” Jain told CBS News, “because it adds another factors for security. But using multiple security measures is the best defense.”
1.What is the latest technology to unlock a smartphone according to the article?
A. QR code scanning. B. Face scanning. C. Fingerprint scanning. D. Eye scanning.
2.What’s a major problem of the iPhone X’s Face ID system?
A. It takes too long to unlock the phone.
B. It often fails to recognize its owner’s face.
C. Face data could be used for other purposes.
D. Different faces could be used to unlock the same phone.
3.What does Anil Jain think of biometric security?
A. It’s as secure as traditional measures.
B. It has caused much trouble for police.
C. It should be used with other security measures.
D. It is perfect without any room for improvement.
4.The author wrote this article mainly to ______.
A. describe the popularity of biometrics
B. show how biometrics has changed our lives
C. point out various problems with biometrics
D. discuss the security problems of biometrics
Food blogs, celebrities, and nutritionists all advocate the benefits of eating organic (有机的) fruits and vegetables. But a new study published in Science Advances paints a more complex picture. While organic produce is likely slightly healthier to eat and, in some ways, more sustainable to grow, there are also downsides.
Organic fruits and vegetables typically cost more than conventional ones. To get a certificate as organic, farmers must meet specific criteria, including growing produce without the use of genetic engineering and chemical inputs. Without these methods, the growing process typically requires more labor, time, and money, a cost that is passed down to consumers.
It’s true that in many ways, organic is more sustainable than conventional farming. But when it comes to environmental concerns such as greenhouse gas output and water loss, the comparison gets complex. Organic farms produce less greenhouse gas output per acre. However, because they are barred from using genetic engineering, pesticides (杀虫剂), and other methods that increase efficiency (效率), organic farms also produce an estimated 19% to 25% less yield than conventional farms. While there isn’t a whole lot research on the topic, the few studies that do exist suggest green gas output and water loss might actually be higher on organic farms, on a per unit basis, says study author Verena Seurfert.
In addition, while organic produce is likely more nutritious than conventional fruit and vegetables, there’s not a lot of evidence to support the claim that these often slight differences influence consumer health. The same is true for pesticide remainder. In developed countries, where pesticide use is tightly regulated, there’s no scientific consensus on how these often slight differences influence human health.
Still, Seurfert stresses that if you can afford to eat organic, you should do so. Organic farms provide safer work environments for workers, plus they support great biodiversity. The real takeaway from her study is not that organic is bad but that the practice needs more studies to increase yield without lowering sustainability.
But if you can’t afford to buy organic produce, don’t stress too much, particularly from a nutritional perspective.
1.What does the underlined word “downsides” in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?
A. Dangers. B. Drawbacks. C. Benefits. D. Differences.
2.Which key factor makes it hard to compare organic farming and conventional farming when it comes to environmental concerns?
A. The yield. B. The price. C. The water loss. D. The labor.
3.Which of the following will the author most probably agree with?
A. Farmers, work environment should be improved.
B. Organic produce should be made more efficiently.
C. It isn’t wise for consumers to buy organic products.
D. Pesticide remainder does no harm to people’s health.
4.In the author’s opinion, why should we support organic produce?
A. It’s environmentally friendly. B. It’s more nutritious.
C. It helps keep the variety of plants. D. It’s safer for consumers.
My wife, daughter, and I moved into our home nine years ago and we spent a lot of time and energy in the yard to get it looking like the way it does today. We live on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard is surrounded by a professionally built rock wall. The front of the house though is another story because instead of a wall along the sidewalk, the rocks appear to be just thrown up onto the dirt as if someone were in a hurry to finish.
We did the best we could with what we had to work with and called this area our “rock garden”. Whenever we had leftover flowers or plants, Denise or I would stick them out front, just to bring some color to the area. We would do all of the yard work on our own, even the tiring weed-pulling.
Last summer I had reached the end of the rock garden and found a tiny little plant that I could not immediately identify, I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise claimed that she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could figure out what it was.
Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a sunflower with a tall skinny stalk(茎，杆) and only one head on it. I decided to baby it along and weed around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something unusual. The sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the sun.
That’s when I realized that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. Once our environment begins to see that we believe in ourselves like that little sunflower, we can attain the same nourishment(营养) and growth as well.
Stand tall like the sunflower and be proud of who and what you are and the environment will begin to support you. You will find a way to go under or around your big obstacle in order to reach your desires.
1.We can know from the first paragraph that _______.
A. there is a wall along the sidewalk
B. the author’s home is made of rock walls
C. the author finished building his home hurriedly
D. the author’s family have lived in this home for nine years
2.The author found it unusual that_______.
A. the mystery plant turned out to be a sunflower B. the sunflower had a tall stalk and only one head
C. the sunflower grew under and around a big rock D. the sunflower had started where the stalk was seen
3.Which of the following best describes the sunflower?
A. Brave and stubborn. B. Confident and persistent.
C. Optimistic and modest. D. Mysterious and devoted.
4.What can be inferred from this passage?
A. Human beings are able to remove obstacles.
B. The universal truth made the sunflower survive.
C. A big rock blocked out the sunlight of the sunflower.
D. We can achieve success as long as we are self-confident.
We may be only three weeks into December, but artist Jonnie Hartman has been in the holiday spirit for months, designing and building the Grand America Holiday Window Stroll.
The goal with each window stroll is to create playful and uplifting displays (展示), according to Hartman. “I really try to do something lighthearted, something whimsical, that is, something everyone can connect with and maybe not see every day in the real world,” Hartman said.
She designs all of the window displays by hand, starting with pencil sketches, then illustrating the designs on her computer and sending parts of the drawings to be printed. From there, Hartman works with a team of five people to build the displays, creating, sewing and embellishing (润色) many elements by hand.
However, a challenge Hartman has faced over the years as she has designed the displays is making sure all of the measurements are right for elements to fit inside the windows.
“When I was in college, I was an art major, and I thought, ‘I don’t need math. I will never use it. I’m an artist,’ and guess what, it’s the most important thing that I use, ‘‘Hartman said. “If I don’t get that right, then the windows don’t fit, the pieces don’t come together and it just doesn’t work out.”
The holiday window stroll gives Hartman a unique opportunity to hear feedback from those who observe her creations, which is something she doesn’t always get to experience with her other artworks. She said it’s fun to hear people’s reactions as they go through the holiday window stroll.
“It just makes me happy that I can kind of set the tone for people’s holiday season and just maybe bring a smile to their face,” Hartman said.
1.What challenges Hartman most in designing the displays?
A. The pattern. B. The fit. C. The colour. D. The teamwork.
2.What does Hartman think about math now?
A. She values it very much. B. She still thinks it’s useless.
C. It is a piece of cake for her. D. It’s not suitable for her to learn.
3.Why is the holiday window stroll unique for Hartman?
A. It just can make her happy.
B. She has a chance to create by hand.
C. It can help improve her other artworks.
D. She can get some remarks from the viewers.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.What do we know about the travel destination, Costa Rica?
A. It’s suitable for newly-married couples.
B. It’s suitable for old people.
C. It’s family-friendly.
2.What language do Costa Rican people probably speak?
A. English. B. Spanish. C. French.
3.What can travelers see in Costa Rica?
A. Sand beaches. B. Dead volcanoes. C. Fish farms.
4.How much will it cost a family to travel in Costa Rica?
A. 80 dollars. B. 185 dollars. C. Half the cost of a trip to Disneyland.
