阅读短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
Yellow Robot deliver snacks to your home
A robot makes its way back to a supermarket after making a delivery during a demonstration in Beijing.
Along a street on the outer edges of Beijing, a yellow and black cube about the size of a small washing machine moves leisurely to its destination. This “little yellow horse” is a delivery robot, transporting daily essentials like drinks, fruit and snacks from the local store to the residents. Equipped with GPS system, cameras and radar, the robot is seen by its creator as the future of logistics(物流) in China.
“The weak point is that it can’t deliver directly to the door like a human.” said one customer, who does not live on the ground floor. “But it is still quite practical. The robot delivers relatively quickly.”
The robot takes off for Chinese customers’ love of cashless payments and smartphone shopping. China is the world’s biggest online shopping market with more than half of its population making at least one smartphone purchase per month, according to professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Whether buying electronics, toilet paper or clothes, Chinese customers are used to simply tapping a button on their smartphone and getting a home delivery.
To get a delivery via the “little yellow horse”, customers select the desired products, tap in the address and pay via their phone. Then, the supermarket staff place the items in the robot.
Liu Zhiyong, founder and CEO of Zhen Robotics, which manufactures the robot, sees a bright future for his creation. “At the moment, there are 100 million packages delivered every day in China. It will be one billion in the future,” Liu said. “ There will not be enough humans to make the deliveries. We need more and more robots to fill this gap and reduce costs.” These costs are especially high in the last kilometer of a delivery.
1.What is the yellow robot equipped with? (no more than 8 words)
2.What is the weak point of the yellow robot? (no more than 12 words)
3.Why is the robot popular with Chinese people? (no more than 12 words)
4.What does the underlined word “manufactures” mean in the passage? (no more than 1 words)
5.What do you think of the invention of the yellow robot? Why? (no more than 20words)
A linguist is always listening, never off-duty. I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take only a few minutes. Thus one evening, three people turned up at my house and were shown into my front room. When they saw the room they were a bit anxious, for there was a microphone at head height, with wires leading to a tape-recorder in the middle of the floor. They sat down, rather nervously, and I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from 1 to 20. Then we could relax and have a drink. I turned on the tape-recorder and each in turn counted seriously from 1 to 20 in their best accents. When it was over, I turned the tape-recorder off and brought round the drinks. The rest of the evening was spent in total relaxation. I joined them in talking and joking freely, leaving them only to take a telephone call, which lasted some time.
As a matter of fact, the microphones were not connected to the tape-recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one in the kitchen. My friends, having seen the visible tape-recorder turned off, paid no more attention to the microphone which stayed in front of their chairs, only a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality. And my long absence meant that I was able to get as natural a piece of conversation as it would be possible to find I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the recording was over, and asked them whether it should be destroyed. None of them wanted to—but for some years after that, it always seemed that when it came to buying drinks, it was I who paid for them. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business.
1.The writer asked his friends to count from one to twenty because _________.
A. he wanted to record the numbers for his research
B. he wanted his friends to think that was all he wanted to record
C. he wanted to make his friends relax before real recording started
D. he wanted to find out whether the tape recorder was working
2.How did his friends react when the writer told them what he had done?
A. They wanted him to destroy the recordings he had made
B. They made him buy them more drinks
C. They were angry with him
D. They didn’t seem to mind much
3.The writer went into another room to _________.
A. stay away from too much drinking with his friends
B. bring a telephone into the front room
C. get a natural recording of his friends’ conversation
D. answer a long distance phone call
4.The writer successfully recorded his friends’ conversation on the recorder _______.
A. in the front room
B. in the kitchen
C. in the middle of the room
D. in the room where he was answering the call
5.Which of the following words can best describe the recording which the writer managed to make?
A. natural B. prepared
C. controlled D. unclear
For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practise how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. The students are more likely to stay in school, graduate and go on to higher education.
In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的) kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US，unemployment rates for 16-to-l9-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row.
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
1.In the author’s opinion, American high school leavers _______.
A. have enough career-related courses
B. need more career advice from their schools
C. perform better in exams than German students
D. can get higher earnings in later years
2.According to Robert Schwartz, ________.
A. there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US
B. students should get contact with the working world at high school
C. education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams
D. teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience
3.What can be inferred from the text?
A. Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment.
B. Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job.
C. US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment.
D. High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely.
4.What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Arguments about recent US education reform.
B. Tips on finding jobs for high school leavers.
C. The lack of career-based courses in US high schools.
D. Advice for American high school leavers.
5.The underlined word “daunting” in Paragraph 6 most probably means _______.
A. discouraging B. interesting
C. creative D. unbearable
If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.
Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall painting at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province. The 1,651-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square meters of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is China’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduation from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.
In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, but found Fan firmly in their way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed,” she said.
Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”
Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt,” she said. Fan, 79, retired two years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.
1.Which of the following measures didn’t Fan Jinshi take to protect Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes?
A. Opening Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes to the public extensively.
B. Planting trees and stopping the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes being eroded.
C. Picturing and classifying all the sculptures and paintings online.
D. Putting doors on the caves and monitoring temperature and humidity.
2.When was Fan separated from her husband?
A. In 1963. B. In 1967.
C. In 1986. D. In the late 1990s.
3.The phrase “in their way” in Paragraph 4 means ________.
A. Go to a place. B. Be in favor of something.
C. Reject something. D. Give in to something.
4.The passage is mainly about _________.
A. the history of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.
B. the attractions of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.
C. Fan’s devotion to preserving Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.
D. the appeal for the protection of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes.
5.What kind of person do you think Fan is?
A. Considerate and easy-going. B. kind and intelligent.
C. Humorous and sweet-tempered. D. Devoted and persistent.
The Workshops Rail Museum
Summer 2018-2019 Events
Steam Train Sunday
Sunday 2 December 2018
10:15 am
Travel back in time on a historic steam train.
1-hour trip starts and returns to Roma Street station.
Book early as these trips will set out.
Book now at theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au.
Adults $29; concession(优惠) $26; children $16.
Christmas Express
Saturday 8 December 2018
10 am
Catch the Christmas spirit with a festival return steam train journey to historic Grandchester station. This 2.5-hour trip starts and returns to the Workshops Rail Museum.
Add museum entry and make it a full day out.
Book early as this trip will sell out.
Book now at theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au.
Adults $55; concession $49; children $40.
Museum Twilight Markets
Friday 14 December 2018
5 pm-9 pm
Combining southeast Queensland’s best handmade markets, food trucks, and live music, this is an event not to be missed.
Entry $2; children under 15 years are free and must be accompanied by an adult.
Museum Torchlight Tours $ 10; children under 15 years must be accompanied by an adult.
Buy tickets at the door.
Mephisto On Display Now
See Mephisto, the only surviving German Sturmpanzerwagen A7V tank in the world. Recently returned from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, see this beloved war tank while protection work is being done.
Included in museum entry.
Contact us
North Street, North Ipswich
Phone: (07)34325100
Opening hours
9:30 am to 4 pm daily
Closed Good Friday, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Tickets
Entry Annual pass(年票)
Adult $14.50 $37
Concession (with a
Concession card) $12.50 $32
Child (ages 3-15) $11.50 $24
Child (under 3) Free Free
Family $44.50 $99
2 adults and 2 adults and up to
4 children 2 children
1.Which of the following events lasts 1 hour?
A. Christmas Express. B. Steam Train Sunday.
C. Mephisto On Display Now. D. Museum Twilight Markets.
2.What can be learned about Christmas Express?
A. It offers a couple of trips daily.
B. It’s a modern new train journey.
C. It leaves from Grandchester station.
D. It’s not included in the museum entry ticket.
3.On which day can you go to the museum to enjoy live music?
A. 2 December. B. 8 December.
C. 14 December. D. 25 December.
4.What do we know about the museum’s annual pass?
A. It allows all-year-round entry without limit.
B. Kids under 8 enjoy free admission.
C. A family annual pass has a limit on family members.
D. Annual pass holders can attend festival celebrations.
5.In which part of a magazine can you probably find the material?
A. Fashion. B. Lost and Found.
C. Ads. D. Tourism.
In this day and age taking a photograph is easier than ever. There are____built into our phones, computers . . . The way we share photos has____changed. There was a time when you’d ____your photos and file them away into photo albums, but ____the advances in technology and the Internet, all this has changed.
Not only do we have what seems like a (n) ____ amount of space to ____ photos on our devices(设备), but we also have the Internet and social media. Social networks such as Facebook _____ us to post our pictures and albums to share with friends and family.
While you could argue this____ way to store, share and enjoy photos is fantastic, it also could be said that photographs have ____ some of their meaning. I have over 1,000 _____on my smartphone and several thousand stored on my computer. I love Instagram and occasionally post my pictures to Facebook. Sometimes, ____, I’ll be in the middle of taking or posting a photo and think, is this something worth ____? I try to ask myself, will I ____ want to look back at this picture of a coffee or a selfie(自拍照) taken in a bathroom by myself? Probably not.
Even though I’m guilty of occasionally taking ____and boring pictures like this, a couple of years ago I decided to find a way to make my photographs more meaningful . ___did I do this? Disposable cameras! When I go on a trip, I always try to ____ a disposable camera. With only 24 pictures you can take, you really ____ the photographs you’re taking. It’s also kind of ____ that you can’t see the photograph straight away. And ____, it’s so much fun to get the pictures ____ and look through them.
1.A. players B. readers C. cameras D. calculators
2.A. even B. only C. also D. just
3.A. print B. check C. share D. forget
4.A. in case of B. in spite of C. instead of D. because of
5.A. limited B. equal C. exact D. endless
6.A. beautify B. store C. show D. take
7.A. force B. need C. allow D. expect
8.A. easy B. traditional C. bad D. similar
9.A. carried B. expressed C. lost D. refused
10.A. numbers B. songs C. articles D. pictures
11.A. however B. therefore C. otherwise D. besides
12.A. doing B. watching C. correcting D. knowing
13.A. hardly B. really C. nearly D. suddenly
14.A. interesting B. meaningless C. ordinary D. precious
15.A. When B. Where C. How D. Why
16.A. sell B. fix C. carry D. donate
17.A. learn about B. think about C. depend on D. put away
18.A. exciting B. disappointing C. confusing D. satisfying
19.A. gradually B. finally C. recently D. regularly
20.A. drawn B. published C. enlarged D. developed
