Many Americans think of driverless cars as a futuristic technology that will revolutionize travel in cities and along state highways. But recent experiments are proving that autonomous vehicles also have the potential to improve the quality of life for millions of Americans underserved by traditional ways of transportation, such as the elderly and disabled, so long as lawmakers make smart policies that pave the way for innovation.
A retirement community in San Jose, Calif, which has been transformed by a small fleet (车队) of driverless taxis, shows the potential of self-driving cars to transform people’s lives. Built by a tech start-up called Voyage, the modified (被改进的) Ford Fusions are currently limited to a two-mile road, but residents are already having the benefits of these autonomous vehicles, which allow them to participate in social activities they would otherwise be unable to enjoy simply because they could not get to them.
When the trial run finally expands to 15 miles of road, these residents—whose average age is 76—will also have a convenient and reliable new way to appointments. As these cars continue to serve residents there, it is easy to understand why California is moving to simplify regulations for the industry.
In Michigan, forward-thinking policies have the potential to unlock other hidden benefits of autonomous vehicles, especially for those with physical disability. The Michigan Disability Rights Coalition has strongly advocated for the development of this technology, saying that it could give people with disabilities greater opportunities in the workforce and enable them to lead more fulfilling (满意的), independent lives.
Many recognize that autonomous vehicles will be the future of transportation, but it is too often overlooked that this future cannot arrive fast enough for millions of Americans who are forced to depend on others for day-to-day travel. The policymakers should follow the lead of places like California and Michigan, and pass rules and regulations to unlock these hidden benefits of driverless cars.
1.What’s the attitude of most American people to the future of autonomous vehicles?
A. uncertain B. optimistic
C. indifferent D. doubtful
2.What is the modified Ford Fusion?
A. A kind of autonomous vehicle. B. The name of a retirement community.
C. The collection of social activities. D. A two-mile road for self-driving cars.
3.Examples are given in the third and fourth paragraphs to prove ________.
A. how driverless technology benefits the aged and disabled
B. why driverless cars are restricted in many states in America
C. what are preventing the development of the technology
D. when driverless cars can enter people’s life eventually
4.What does the author attempt to inform us in the last paragraph?
A. The concept of autonomous vehicles has been widely recognized.
B. Regulations should go hand in hand with driverless technology.
C. The benefits of driverless cars have been fully unlocked.
D. The weak groups are often overlooked despite technology advances.
As a little girl growing up in the early 1960s in a suburb of Pittsburgh, it was not always easy to find role models, But I was lucky. In my childhood, I knew smart, strong women who had accomplished much, one of whom invented the world’s first computer compiler (编译器).
Recently, though, I learned about a role model who was right under my nose—my own mother.
Growing up, I knew she had worked as a secretary before I was born. I knew that she had joined the WAVES—the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service branch of the U.S. Naval Reserve (海军预备队)—during World War Ⅱ. And I knew she’d worked in an office that was involved with codes (编码). But when she talked about it—rare, because she had been sworn to secrecy—she described her duties as ordinary, routine. I never questioned it. After all, the woman I knew was a reserved suburban mom.
Not long ago, a chance conversation with a colleague led me to the book, Code Girls. It tells the story of the WAVES, who decrypted (解码) and encrypted secret messages during the war. They worked around the clock, knowing that the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers—their brothers, husbands, fathers—were on the line.
Inspired, I began a journey to explore the mystery of my mother’s service that continues to this day. I got some of her working records about her unit, OP19. In two years, she was promoted three times. She was no secretary, and her duties were hardly ordinary.
My mother always encouraged my interest in science and insisted to my father that I go to college. “You’re going to grow up to be another Madame Curie,” she told me. She was always pointing at other women. She did not see herself as someone to model on. Neither did I. Now I see her differently.
1.Why didn’t the author’s mother tell the truth about her job?
A. She was afraid of being fired by her company.
B. She thought her job was just unremarkable.
C. She thought secretary was better than her real job.
D. She knew well what to be expected of her career.
2.Which of the following words can best describe the authors mother?
A. Devoted and faithful. B. Ambitious and reserved.
C. Cooperative and sincere. D. Hardworking and skeptical.
3.What can we learn from the text?
A. The author doubted her mother’s job when she was a child.
B. The author’s mother saw herself as an example to follow.
C. Code Girls’ job is more important than that of the soldiers.
D. Code Girls inspired the author to learn more of her mother.
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Code Girls, My Favourite Book.
B. Mom, My Real Role Model.
C. The OP19, A Buried Secret.
D. WAVES, A Mysterious Organization.
Nisha Pradhan is worried. The recent college graduate just turns 21 and plans to live on her own. But she’s afraid she won’t be able to stay safe. That’s because she isn’t able to smell.
Back home, her family do her smelling for her. She’s moved in with them for now, but she’s looking for a place of her own. “Now that I’m searching for ways or place to live as an independent person, I find that the sense of smell is important to how we live our lives,” Pradhan says.
She says when she was a child she liked to eat and ate a lot. But there came a point where she lost interest in food.
“One of the first things that people notice whenever they have a smell problem is that food doesn’t taste right any more,” says Beverly Cowart, a researcher. That’s because eating and smell go hand in hand. How food tastes often rely on what we smell. “When you lose your sense of smell, your whole sense of food flavors changed and reduced,” Cowart says, “You can still taste the basic tastes. What you’re missing are the small distinctions.”
“When I go out to eat I have often found that food is very tasteless to me. I never feel full,” she says. “I think a lot of us today like to pretend to be food lovers and we all like to talk about ‘Oh, I think this could use a little bit more flavor,’ or ‘I think this has a hint of meat,’ I can’t really participate in those conversations,” she says.
Pradam thinks her smell loss also may have affected her memory. Pradhan may be on to something, according to biologist Paul Moore. “When smell signals come in, you feel about them first. And then you think about it and then the memory is laid down. So without the feel part, the thinking about its part doesn’t come And that means no new smell memory gets created.”
1.What is true about Pradhan?
A. She has had no sense of smell since she was born.
B. She suffers from loss of appetite through lack of smell sense.
C. She has something wrong with her stomach.
D. She is looking for a roommate to share the cost.
2.What can we infer from what Beverly Cowart said?
A. People with a smell problem have no food tastes.
B. Different food tastes the same for people of smell loss.
C. Lack of smell sense makes eating a dull experience.
D. People feel hungry easily for lack of smell sense.
3.When eating out, Pradhan ________.
A. feels left out sometimes B. often has a good appetite
C. pretends to have good smell sense D. has a sense of being full quickly
4.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. Pradhan may be right. B. Pradhan may be foolish.
C. Pradhan may be crazy. D. Pradhan may be forgettable.
Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVENTS Big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival (19 Oct.) cost ￡169.15 at Booking.com. A week later, the same room cost ￡118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid -or you’re looking for a big event to pass your time—check out sites such as Whatsonwhen. com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don’t be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge’s Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its Covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75.And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡f62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a self-catering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O’Neill Flat on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, available for f 420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.
1.At Whatsonwhen.com, you can ________.
A. find a room close to the station
B. find a room which costs less
C. know how to kill time
D. know when and where there will be events
2.“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________.
A. an ideal holiday destination
B. the name of a railway station
C. a hotel away from the train station
D. the tube line to Covent Garden
3.The passage shows that the O’Neill Flat _________.
A. lies on the ground floor
B. provides cooking facilities for tourists
C. is located in central London
D. costs over f100 on average per day in late September
句子翻译
1.这些花每隔一周需要浇一次水．
2.Tom需要学习德语，因为他即将去德国工作． （原因状语从句）
3.当我到达电影院时，电影已经开演约半个小时了．（by the time）
4.直到他走进教室我才认出他来．（强调句）
5.自行车被偷，她只好坐公交车回家．（with复合结构）
6.窗边坐着一个年轻人，手里拿着一本杂志．（完全倒装句）
7.众所周知，当冬天到来时，白天变得越来越短．（it形式主语从句）
8.他伤心又疲惫，睡了一整天．（形容词做状语）
9.我无法忍受人们吃饭时抽烟．
10.这是她第一次去Hong Kong旅游．（the first time）
下列句中各有一个错，请把错处改正．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；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：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词．
1.The meat will go badly if you leave it in the sun．
2.On either side of the road were green fields and some farm house．
3.All he wants to do is go to abroad after he graduates from university．
4.He was about to go to bed while there was a knock on the door．
5.Do some fitness training or you will become stronger and healthier．
6.My opinion is similar in his when we are discussing how to get good grades．
7.The books on the desk， of which covers are shiny， are gifts for us from our teacher．
8.It is reported in the newspaper，talks between the two countries are making progress．
9.Under the environment of fierce competition， the only way Jim could imagine deal with stress was to get tougher by making great efforts．
10.Soon after I placed the order on the Internet， I received the dress as expected without get out of my room．
