Inside a secured room in a beautiful castle near Paris, a small metal cylinder (圆柱体) rests on a shelf beneath a double set of bell jars. It has lain there for more than a century, its rest only occasionally disturbed when the room’s three key holders perform a coordinated opening ceremony to let technicians enter and clean this precious piece of metal.
First, the cylinder is rubbed with a piece of soft, alcohol-soaked cloth. Then it is steamed with pure water. Finally, the 1kg cylinder is returned, carefully, to its resting place.
Such attention to a lump of metal is unusual, but has a purpose. The castle houses the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and that piece of shining, circular metal is its holiest relic. It is the defining mass (质量)against which all other kilograms are measured. This is the international prototype, or standard, of the kilogram. The IPK, in short.
Dozens of carefully weighted copies of the original have been made. They are stored around the world and used to standardise individual nations’ weights and measures systems.
But the days of the IPK, in its current form, are numbered. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has decided to replace this single physical specimen with a more fundamental measurement – based on electric current – in order to define the mass of an object. The king of kilograms is about to be dethroned.
“One key reason for doing this work is to provide international security,” says Bureau spokesman Paul Robinson. “If the castle burned down tomorrow and the kilogram was destroyed, we would have no reference left for the world’s metric weights system. There would be chaos. The current definition of the kilogram is the weight of that cylinder in Paris, after all.”
Another major motivation for the replacement of the IPK is the growing need to be able to carry out more and more precise measurements. “Drug companies will soon be wanting to use ingredients that will have to be measured in terms of a few millionths or even billionths of a gram,” says Robinson. “We need to be prepared to weigh substances with that kind of accuracy.”
1.What do we know about the IPK from the first two paragraphs?
A. It’s cared for with great devotion.
B. It’s used in religious ceremonies.
C. It’s beautifully designed and decorated.
D. It’s the most valuable metal in the world.
2.Which of the following best explains “dethroned” underlined in paragraph 5?
A. rebuilt B. removed
C. destroyed D. upgraded
3.What is a reason for replacing the current IPK?
A. To protect the metal cylinder from damage.
B. To make taking measurements more economical.
C. To provide all countries with the same standard.
D. To satisfy the increasing demand for exactness.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. No more kilos
B. A heavy technology
C. The future of the kilo
D. The history of measures
“Anything you want, anytime you need it.”
The message appeared on computer screens across the country at the same time, on the same day: December 12th, at 12 p.m.. Simultaneously, important looking envelopes containing cards with the same message were hand-delivered to the offices of all the major news companies.
One found its way to the desk of Chris Lin, a business reporter at The Post. The card was beautifully designed – a black background with the words printed out in crisp white letters. There was no explanation on the back, just a website address.Chris went to the website. Its style was identical to the card’s and said: “Anytime: Starting Tomorrow.”
The next day websites and blogs were filled with articles theorising about Anytime. Was it a shopping website like Tao Bao or Amazon? A joke? Something illegal? Anytime’s marketing had worked – it was a household name before it’d even made a single sale.
When the opening came, that day at noon, the Anytime website suddenly had a single field that read, “What do you want?” All you had to do was type the words into that box, and then specify how quickly you wanted your item delivered: within one, ten, or twenty-four hours.
Bloggers were the first to test the service. And their reviews were glowing. Within weeks, Anytime had become a part of daily life. Nobody used other delivery sites or the post anymore as Anytime was much cheaper and faster.
Chris still wondered what exactly Anytime was. He tried to find out who owned the company, but it was registered in a small country that did not require such information to be made public. He did find some interesting facts, though. Anyone who challenged the company, it seemed, met with serious trouble. A government official critical of Anytime for avoiding tax was forced to leave his position after news stories suddenly appeared claiming he was dishonest. The head of another company taking Anytime to court died in a car accident just days before the case was to begin.
Chris began making a list of all the people who had something terrible happen to them after opposing or criticising Anytime. By lunch, he had more than one hundred examples. Something was definitely wrong. Chris worked on his list the rest of the day, emailing people who could provide more information and looking through newspaper records. After working through the night, an exhausted Chris finally fell asleep at his desk at 4 a.m..
When he woke a few hours later, there was a message flashing on his computer screen: “Stop making trouble.” Chris smiled. He had no intention of stopping now that he knew he was on the right track.
1.What was on the front of the card sent to Chris Lin?
A. An invitation to a company opening.
B. The website address of a new company.
C. The words “Anytime: Starting tomorrow”.
D. The words “Anything you want, anytime you need it”.
2.Why did the company choose to send the cards to many news reporters?
A. Because it didn’t have enough money for traditional advertising.
B. Because it wanted to attract the reporters as customers.
C. So the reporters would write stories about the new company.
D. So people would find the new company interesting.
3.What did Chris’ s research suggest about Anytime?
A. Itmay be very dangerous.
B. Its popularity would soon decrease.
C. It was doing business all over the world.
D. It was being widely criticised by journalists.
4.How did Chris feel at the end of the story?
A. Scared that he would get into trouble.
B. Confident that he would find the truth.
C. Nervous about what the company would do.
D. Satisfied that he had discovered the company’s secret.
Across the world, studies have consistently found that girls perform significantly better than boys in reading. These studies show that girls typically read more frequently than boys, and have a more positive attitude toward reading.
There are several reasons that help explain these gender-based differences. Parents read more with their daughters. This sends a strong and early message that books are for girls, as well as equipping girls with a significant advantage. Recent research has found even though boys read less frequently than girls, girls still receive more encouragement to read from their parents.
So how can parents and educators help bridge this socially-engineered gap for boys’ reading?
To improve boys’ reading performance, parents and educators may look for ways to connect boys with reading. This has led to discussion about the importance of promoting so-called “boy-friendly” books that boys supposedly “prefer” These are typically assumed to be non-fiction works, as many people believed that boys prefer to read non-fiction.
But this belief is not supported by recent research, which in fact suggests boys are more likely to choose to read fiction than non-fiction. Encouraging all boys to read non-fiction under the mistaken belief that it is their preference may actually be harmful. Fiction readers read more frequently and demonstrate faster language learning and higher language ability.
Besides encouraging more fiction reading, there are a number of ways that we can help connect boys with books. Firstly, don’t assume that boys of the same age have the same interests or that their interests stay the same over time. To match boys with suitable reading material, have regular discussions about reading for pleasure in order to keep up with their interests.
Schools should also provide access to libraries during lessons throughout the years of schooling. Girls visit the library in their free time more than boys, and as students move to higher grades they often have less access to libraries during class. Access to books for boys is essential to promote reading.
In addition, we should keep paper books available because research shows that boys are less likely to choose to read on screens than girls. Finally we should promote reading as an enjoyable pastime by being a role model. Let your children or students see you read for pleasure.
1.According to the author, what is the main cause of the difference in boys’ and girls’ reading ability?
A. Social factors.
B. Teaching methods.
C. Personal preferences.
D. Psychological differences.
2.Why does the author recommend that adults regularly talk to boys about reading?
A. To persuade boys to read more often.
B. To learn what boys are most interested in.
C. To help boys improve their language ability.
D. To show that adults are good reading role models.
3.When should schools give students additional library access according to the author?
A. Before and after class.
B. At any time of the school day.
C. At regular times during class.
D. When they are in the lower grades.
4.What is the main purpose of the text?
A. To show students ways to improve their reading.
B. To explain why boys are not as good at reading as girls.
C. To urge governments to provide more reading resources.
D. To provide strategies that can help improve boys’ reading ability.
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1.What is the cost for 2 nights of accommodation for 2 people at the Yakamoz Hotel with the Lonely Planet discount?
A. £88. B. £80.
C. £72. D. £64.
2.Rail holidays are available for ________.
A. North America, Europe and Australia
B. North America, South America and Asia
C. Australia, Asia and Europe
D. North America, South America and Australia
3.How many advertisements offer holidays to Peru?
A. One. B. Two.
C. Three. D. Four.
假设你是李华，正在教你的美国朋友Jason学习汉语。请你写封邮件告知他下次上课的内容。”
内容包括:
1.诗歌，尤其是唐诗在中国传统文化中的意义和影响。
2.诗歌形式多样、内容丰富、情感真挚。
3.请他提前了解一些诗歌。
注意:
1. 词数90左右:
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯:
3.文章的开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Jason,
It is 2 weeks since we met last time.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
读下面的短文，文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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。
3.必须按答题要求做题，否则不给分。
In the village store, John observed the little girl asking for cookies but her mother told her “no." The girl immediate got angry, but the mother said, "Ellen, don't be upset." Then in the candy area, the girl began to shout candies. After being told “no” again, he began to cry. The mother said, "Ellen, don't lose temper. We'll check in." John happened to be at the check-out, there the little girl burst into tears on finding no gum buying today. The mother patiently said it, “Ellen, we'll go home soon." John stopped the woman, “I couldn't help notice how patient you were with llen…”The mother breaks in, “My daughter is Tammy... I'm Ellen."
