When you eat fish, you probably eat it off a plate, using a fork. Well, the dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, eat their fish from conch（海螺）shells!
Scientists have found some of these bottlenose dolphins（宽吻海豚）using their large beaks to trap fish in shells underwater. Then, carrying the shells to the surface, they shake out the fish into their mouths and eat them. Clearly, using the conch shells allows the dolphins to catch more fish than they would be able to without such a tool. The technique has been called “conching”.
Researchers noticed dolphins engaging in the behavior a handful of times from 2007 to 2009. This dolphin trend seemed to become popular.
Simon Allen, a scientist, was surprised to see the conching technique spreading. "In the lasts four months alone, the research team have seen and photographed the behavior no less than six times, possibly even seven," he said in a press release. He thinks the dolphins may be learning conching from one another.
Dolphins are known to be highly intelligent. The size of their brain is large in proportion（比例）to their body size. Compared with other animals, they have highly developed communication and social skills. This species of dolphin also uses other tools. They will break off pieces of sponges that grow in the ocean, for example, and use them to cover their beaks. This allows them to search for food on the ocean floor without hurting their noses.
Scientists are going to keep trying to catch the dolphins in the act of conching. They hope to see evidence of the dolphins teaching one another the technique. They also want to know how the dolphins get fish in the conch shell. Do they push the fish into the shell with their beaks? Or do they chase the fish into the shell before carrying them up to eat?
However they do it, Allen believes these dolphins to be particularly clever. "I wouldn't be too surprised to find such cunning ploys being adopted by Shark Bay's bottlenose dolphins," he said in statement.
1.The author develops the first paragraph by ______.
A. telling a story B. making n comparison
C. listing some facts D. offering an explanation
2.The technique "conching" refers to the fact that ______.
A. dolphins eat fish together with shells
B. dolphins attract fish with the conch shells
C. dolphins use shells to catch fish for food
D. dolphins catch fish with their beaks
3.According to Allen, the conching technique ______.
A. is spreading among sea animals quickly
B. has just been noticed at most 7 times
C. is sure to be learnt from one another
D. is becoming popular with dolphins
4.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Dolphins play a trick on each other
B. Dolphins use shells as tools to catch food
C. Dolphins depend on tools to find food
D. Dolphins are the cleverest sea creature
I was desperately nervous about becoming car-free. But eight months ago our car was hit by a passing vehicle and it was destroyed. No problem, I thought: we’ll buy another. But the insurance payout didn’t even begin to cover the costs of buying a new car－I worked out that, with the loan, we’d need plus petrol, insurance, parking permits and tax, we would make a payment as much as £600 a month.
And that’s when I had my fancy idea. Why not just give up having a car at all? I live in London. We have a railway station behind our house, a tube station 10 minutes’ walk away, and a bus stop at the end of the street. A new car club had just opened in our area, and one of its shiny little red Peugeots was parked nearby. If any family in Britain could live without a car, I reasoned, then surely we were that family.
But my new car-free idea, sadly, wasn’t shared by my family. My teenage daughters were horrified. What would their friends think about our family being “too poor to afford a car”? (I wasn’t that bothered what they thought, and I suggested the girls should take the same approach.)
My friends, too, were astonished at our plan. What would happen if someone got seriously ill overnight and needed to go to hospital? (an ambulance) How would the children get to and from their many events? (buses and trains) People smiled as though this was another of my mad ideas, before saying they were sure I’d soon realize that a car was a necessity.
Eight months on, I wonder whether we’ll ever own a car again. The idea that you “have to” own a car, especially if you live in a city, is all in the mind. I live—and many other citizens do too—in a place that has never been better served by public transport, and yet car ownership has never been higher. We worry about rising car costs, but we’d be better off asking something much more basic: do I really need a car? Certainly the answer is no, and I’m a lot richer because I dared to ask the question.
1.The author decided to live a car-free life partly because ______.
A. most families chose to go car-free
B. he was hurt in a terrible car accident
C. the cost of a new car was too much
D. the traffic jam was unbearable for him
2.What is the attitude of the author’s family toward his plan?
A. Supportive. B. Disapproving.
C. Optimistic. D. Unconcerned.
3.What did the author suggest his daughters do about their friends’ opinion?
A. Argue against it. B. Take their advice.
C. Think it over. D. Leave it alone.
4.What conclusion did the author draw after the eight-month car-free life?
A. Life cannot go without a car.
B. Life without a car is a little bit hard.
C. His life gets improved without a car.
D. A car-free life does not suit everyone.
Writing Contests, Grants & Awards in 2019 The Writing Contests, Grants （补助金） & Awards database includes details about the creative writing contests-including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, and more-that we've published in "Poets & Writers Magazine" during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it. Use the online submission system.
Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize
A prize of ﹩15，000 is given annually for a novel, or a story collection. U.S. writers who have published at least three books of fiction are qualified. Submit a manuscript （手稿） of any length, a brief biography, and a list of three previously published books of fiction with a ﹩25 entry fee by November 1,2019.
University of Alabama Press, P.O. Box 870380,Tuscaloosa,AL 35487.（ 773）702-7000.
Walt Whitman Award
A prize of ﹩5,000 is given annually for a poetry collection by a poet who has not published a book of poems in a standard edition. The winning book will also be distributed to 5,000 members of the Academy of American Poets. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 100 pages with a ﹩35 entry fee by November 1,2019.
Academy of American Poets,75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901,NewYork,NY10038.（ 212）274-0343.
Gabriele Rico Challenge in Creative Essay
A prize of ﹩1,333 is given annually for an essay. Using the online submission system, submit an essay of up to 5,000 words with a﹩20 entry fee, by November 1,2019.All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
San Jose State University, English Department, One Washington Square, San Jose,CA95192．（ 408）924-4425.
Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize
A prize of ﹩500 is given annually for a work of nonfiction that is set in Brooklyn, New York, and expresses the region's "rich soul and intangible （无形的） qualities through the writer's actual experiences of Brooklyn." Submit an essay of up to 2,500 words by November 15,2019.There is no entry fee．
Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize, P.O. Box 491,New York,NY10156.（ 207）778-7071.
1.Who has the qualification to attend the contest for the prize of﹩15，000______
A. Whoever has written 3 novel books．
B. Whoever has published at least 3 books．
C. U.S. authors who've published 3 novel books．
D. U.S. writers who've written 3 poetry collections．
2.What will happen to your manuscript if you win Walt Whitman Award______
A. It will be published as a book of poems．
B. It will be read by all the academy members．
C. It will be distributed to whoever likes poems．
D. It will become a book that will sell well．
3.Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize is different from the other three writing contests in that ______ ．
A. the work must be a writer's real experiences B. its entry fee is higher
C. it has a deadline earlier than them D. the winners have no prize money
假如你是李华，你校交换生Lirida热衷于参加慈善活（charity)，你想遨请她本周 日一起去离学校30公里远的孤儿院(oiphanage)做慈善。请你给她写一封邮件，内容包括：
1.写信目的：
2.活动内容：
3.交通方式.
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文，文 中共有10处语言铕误，毎句中最多有两处。错误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。
Last Saturday, eighty students from our school pay a visit to Liaoning Science and Technology Museum.
The museum, which main task is to spread the knowledge of science and technology, covers area of 15,000 square meters. The moment when we entered the museum, the exhibition caught their attention. In the museum, we saw the latest progresses in science and technology. Moreover, we did an amazed scientific experiment by ourselves. What appealed for us most was the 4D film which made us feel we were in real events.
Though the visiting time was slight short, we gained a lot. It is so an instructive activity that we hope more will be organized in the future.
阅读下面短文.在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Modern-day robots are programmed to handle tasks that are normally carried out by humans. They are faster and 1. (accurate) than human workers and never ask for a pay rise or take breaks!
Robots are also able to work2.dangerous situations.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas in the United States say that the mobile robots which have been created already are ideal for the job of hospital attendants. These mobile robots store a 3. (detail) map of the hospital in their memory. The robots’ sensors can detect 4. (object) and quickly get out of the way. Although these robots cannot go up and down know how 5. (press)a button of an elevator.
Researchers at the a Massachusetts' university are creating the first robot 6. can constantly change its shape according to the task it has to do. These are called polymorphic robots. “Polymorphic” means 7. ability to take different forms. A 3D printer8.(place)inside the robot to create the desired shape. The entire process of changing forms in this manner is called the rapid printing technology which is 9. (fair) common in the car industry to produce complex 3D structures quickly. Once the robot has performed 10. (it) task, it can be melted down and recycled into another useful part by the 3D printer.
