“Helicopter parent” may not sound pleasant, but given the chance, most parents would probably prefer a vehicle to zoom (快速移动)little ones between school, football practice and piano lessons. Getting children where they need to go is a huge task and expense, especially in homes where both parents work. Hailing rides (专车服务)through firms like Uber and Lyft has made life more convenient for adults. But drivers are not supposed to pick up kids who travels without an adult aside (although some are known to bend the rules).
Children represent a fresh-faced opportunity. Ride-hailing for kids could be a market worth at least $50bn in America, hopes Ritu Narayan, the founder of Zum, one of the startups in want of the prize. These services are similar to Uber's, except they allow parents to schedule rides for their children in advance. Children are given a code word to ensure they find the right driver, and parent sreceive warnings about the pick-up and ride, including the car’s speed. These services promise more careful background checks^ finger printing and training than typical ride-hailing companies.
Annette Yolas, who works in sales at AT&T, says that she spends around $200 a month on Hop Skip Drive, a service that operates in several markets in California, for her three kids to get to the school bus on time and to ballet practice. She says it has been a “life-saver” by allowing her to work longer hours. Meanwhile, kids avoid the embarrassment of a relative pulling up at school. But ride-hailing firms for kids may end up like the children in Neverland, and never fully grown. They face several challenges. One is finding enough drivers. All users need rides during the same limited set of hours: before and after school, which makes it hard to offer drivers enough work. It can also be challenging to persuade parents, who have drilled it into children never to get in a stranger's car.
And while ride-sharing companies can annoy adult passengers by cancelling or being late, such behavior can be a disaster when children are involved. Shuddle, an early entrant in the taxis-for-kids business, which shut down in 2016, had only two out of five stars on Yelp (点网站)for that reason， and lots of negative reviews from parents. It had made money on rides mainly by raising prices ever higher.
Shuddle’s failure has not discouraged Uber itself, which is expected soon to launch a pilot programme for teenagers under 18. Parents may be happier to use services they are familiar with. But Uber’s entrance is likely to add to the struggle of child-focused ride-hailing businesses as they compete for customers and new funds.
1.What does the underlined phrase “a fresh-faced opportunity” refer to?
A. A new market B. A new company.
C. A new service. D. A new challenge.
2.What is the purpose of the example of Annette Yolas?
A. To show the need of the working parents.
B. To show the benefits of the ride-hailing service.
C. To persuade more drivers into the business.
D. To persuade more parents to avoid the service.
3.What can be learned from the passage?
A. Drivers have towork all day long to meet parents’ needs.
B. Some parents are not willing to put their kids into strangers’ cars.
C. Small firms are not qualified enough to operate the service for kids.
D. Typical ride-hailing companies seldom check the background of their drives.
4.Whatmay be the future of those small ride-hailing firms?
A. They may make a fortune
B. They mayeasily get more funds.
C. They may struggle to survive.
D. They may get better reviews.
When Iwas.in the third grade, we had a hunt at school. We gathered up chalk，pencils，stones, and so on, rapidly filling our checklists. It was a very close race. I was out of breath when I reachedthe clover (三叶草)patch in search of the last, most hard-to-find item: afour-leaf clover.
I was pretty sure that I was going to win. 1 have always been able to find four-leaf clovers. I just see them.
I spent my childhood collecting and pressing four-leaf clovers into books at my mother's house. I started with big cloth- and leather-bound books. When I ran out of romantically bound volumes, I began to put my treasures into anything I could find: fiction paperbacks, cookbooks. The same is true in my house today. Shake a book, and a papery treasure just might fall into your hand.
A few years ago, in Nova Scotia, my husband and I pulled off the road for a picnic. The ground was thick with clover. Some shoots had four, five, even six leaves. I lined them up on the picnic table to admire as my husband, never yet having found one four-leaf clover, looked on with awe. To me, it was simple. The differences in their shapes popped out, breaking the pretty pattern of the conventional clovers with their three perfect leaves.
Two summers back, while waiting for an airport shuttle in Munich, I found a tiny four-leaf clover in a traffic circle and put it into my passport. On the way home, my husband and I were upgraded to business class. Friends attributed our good luck to the clover. I think, it's more likely that we were upgraded because a kind customer service officer took pity on us.
People disagree about whether the luck lies in the finding or in the possession of a clover. Some believe that the luck is lost if the four-leaf clover is even shown to somebody else, while others think the luck doubles if it is given away. I believe that positivity is increased by sharing. I feel lucky to find the clovers so often, but I don't think they influence my life any more than it does to share anything a little special—that momentary closeness between you and a friend or a stranger, as you all lean in to wonder at a rare find.
1.Why can the author notice four-leaf clovers so easily?
A. She always has good luck.
B. She has a special gift for plants.
C. She practiced a lot in her childhood.
D. She can tell the pattern differences.
2.How does the author deal with her four-leaf clovers?
A. She often gives them away.
B. She leaves them everywhere.
C. She treats them with special love.
D. She admires them with her husband.
3.How does the author understand luck and clovers?
A. Closeness brought by clovers really counts.
B. Clovers will influence one's good luck a lot.
C. C Good luck means finding or owning a clover.
D. Good luck may double if you give clovers away.
4.What may be the best title for the passage?
A. Hunting clovers B. Sharing clovers
C. Not for luck D. Just for luck
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Checklist for Traveling Abroad International travel is both fun and exciting but it can easily become stressful if you forget or lose important documents. This checklist will help ensure that you have everything you need for a smooth journey. 1.$100 worth of local currency. At least $100 worth of local currency-calculate the cab fare from the airport to your destination and carry more than that amount with you. Remember to bring some home country money as well, just in case you need it on the trip home. 2.Passports. Don t forget passports. Be sure to check expiration dates well in advance. It pays to check the destination country regulations as some countries require the passport to be in effect for one month or more after the trip dates. 3.One copy of each passport. Bring at least one copy of every passport packed separately from other travel documents. Consider including copies in a checked bag and then storing them in the hotel safe at your destination. |
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1.Who are the possible readers of the website?
A. Tourists. B. Guides.
C. Hotel managers. D. TV show producers.
2.Where can Jenny find related information if she9s planning her travel to New Mexico?
A. On the top of the website.
B. In the center area of the website.
C. On the left side of the website.
D. On the right side of the website.
3.Which of the following is RIGHT according to the website?
A. Carry as much local currency as you can.
B. Make sure your passport can still be used.
C. Keep your passport in the hotel safe.
D. Go City Cards adds to your expenses.
For thousands of years, people have known that the best way to understand a concept is to explain it to others.“While we teach, we __，”said Roman philosopher Seneca. Now scientists are bringing this ancient __up-to-date. They're __why teaching is such a fruitful way to learn
Researchers have found that students who teach others work harder to __the material, and apply it more __. Student teachers score higher on tests than pupils who're learning only for themselves. But how can children,__learning themselves, teach others? One answer: They can teach younger kids. Some studies have found that first-born children are more __than their later-born siblings (兄弟姐妹)，This__their higher IQs result from the time they spend teaching their siblings.
Now educators are experimenting with ways to__ this model to schoolwork. They engage college undergraduates to teach computer science to high school students, who then __ instruct middle school students on the __. But the most cutting-edge tool is the “teachable agent”-a computerized character who learns, tries, makes mistakes and asks questions just like a real-world__. Computer scientists have __ an animated(动画的)figure called Betty's Brain, who has been“taught” about science by middle school stints. Student teachers are motivated to help Betty __ certain materials. While preparing to teach, they organize their knowledge and__ their understanding. And as they explain the information to it, they identify problems in their own__.
Feedback from the teachable agent __improves the teachers' learning. The agents' questions drive student teachers to think and explain the materials in different __,and watching the agent solve problems allows them emotions one experiences into action.__,it’s the emotions one experiences in teaching that help learning. Student teachers feel __ when their teachable agents fail, but happy when these pupils succeed as they gain pride and satisfaction from someone else’s achievement.
1.A. learn B. doubt C. grow D. practice
2.A. tale B. lesson C. wisdom D. riddle
3.A. valuing B. proving C. questioning D. assuming
4.A. prepare B. preserve C. exchange D. understand
5.A. officially B. effectively C. fluently D. carefully
6.A. still B. even C. though D. once
7.A. curious B. energetic C. independent D. academic
8.A. approves B. witnesses C. suggests D. reviews
9.A. add B. apply C. offer D. show
10.A. as well B. at once C. in turn D. of course
11.A. topic B. event C. schedule D. experiment
12.A. teacher B. parent C. sibling D. pupil
13.A. created B. tended C. invited D. reserved
14.A. arrange B. mark C. master D. link
15.A. keep B. improve C. drop D. reach
16.A. thinking B. reading C. inspiration D. guidance
17.A. shortly B. hardly C. rather D. further
18.A. ways B. cases C. places D. orders
19.A. In all B. After all C. Above all D. For all
20.A. satisfied B. sick C. pleased D. upset
A healthy friendship isone____you share your true feelings without fearing the end of therelationship.
A. that B. who C. where D. when
She seldom smiles;____,I have seen her smile only once or twice since I came.
A. indeed B. instead C. however D. anyhow
