Flying cars may soon become a 1. (real). The rideshare service Uber has asked 2. expert from NASA, the American space agency, 3. (help) the company develop cars that can fly.
Uber plans to use flying vehicles 4. the future to avoid traffic in and around cities. The company wants to use small, totally electric aircraft, 5. could take off and land like a helicopter on top of parking garages. Uber said its flying vehicles would be much 6. (quiet), cost less to operate and produce less pollution than helicopters.
One person in San Francisco 7. (write) on Twitter, “I used to think that flying cars was a ridiculous idea. 8. I changed my mind this morning when I sat in a heavy traffic.” Another person added from Mumbai, India: “I’m reading about Uber 9. (hire) a NASA engineer to build flying cars, while Fm stuck in traffic. There is hope.”
The expert predicts there will be several early models of cars that can’t fly 10. (they) but with human pilots within one to three years.
第二节完形填空（共20小题）
Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a famous concert. After they were seated, the mother _______ a friend and walked over to greet her. Seizing the _______ to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy got up and explored his way _______ a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE (禁止进入)”. When the lights became less bright and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her _______ and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains _______ and the lights focused on the stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, _______ Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
At that moment, the great piano master, Paderewski, _______ on the stage, quickly went to the piano and _______ in the boy’s ear, “Don’t _______ . Keep playing.”
Then, leaning (倾斜) over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began ________ in a bass (低音的) part. Soon his right arm reached ________ to the other side of the child and he added a beautiful piece of music. ________ , the old master and the boy ________ a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative ________ .
That’s the way it is in life. ________ we can complete on our own is ________ noteworthy (值得注目的). We try our best, but the ________ aren’t exactly graceful or flowing music. ________ when we put our trust in the hands of greater power, our life can be truly beautiful.
The next time you set ________ to create great performances, listen carefully. You can hear the ________ of the master whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”
1.A.made B.saw C.looked D.called
2.A.chance B.performance C.piano D.lesson
3.A.over B.above C.across D.through
4.A.stage B.seat C.room D.table
5.A.parted B.drew C.pulled D.pushed
6.A.singing B.knocking C.playing D.creating
7.A.stood B.appeared C.sat D.fell
8.A.shouted B.cried C.whispered D.looked
9.A.perform B.stop C.leave D.run
10.A.filling B.getting C.breaking D.taking
11.A.forwards B.down C.up D.around
12.A.Separately B.Together C.Luckily D.Hurriedly
13.A.made B.became C.changed D.grew
14.A.experience B.play C.concert D.film
15.A.What B.That C.Which D.When
16.A.hard B.hardly C.always D.usually
17.A.failures B.successes C.causes D.results
18.A.So B.And C.But D.Though
19.A.down B.about C.away D.out
20.A.so B.noise C.voice D.song
It’s sometimes hard to understand a teenager. It’s even harder if a teenager doesn’t agree with you.1.
Listen to what the teenager has to say. 2. While you may not entirely agree with what he’s saying, the tension will be lessened if the teenager feels like you are listening and trying to understand him. Also, he might return the favor and give you the chance to talk as well. It’s best to have a conversation where both of your opinions matter rather than fight and possibly hurt each other in the process.
Understand that while teenager may appear grown up and perhaps even sound matured, his mind has not fully developed, and he cannot think like an adult all the time. 3. However, this doesn’t mean you’re completely right or he deserves to be ridiculed or treated like a child.
4.However, remember that the teenager should understand when “no” is “no”. Avoid bringing up a compromise every time you disagree on something. This might teach him that he can always get away with what he wants, whenever he wants it.
If the conversation launches into an argument, stop it. Tell him that you both need to calm down and think clearly or the problem will never be solved. If he refuses to listen and continues arguing, step out of the room and allow time for both of you to settle down. Do not scold him or shout back. Your words will possibly be lost on the teenager since you both are too angry to listen to each other.5.
A. He still needs to learn, and he doesn’t know everything.
B. Avoid having a bad tone, including accusations in your words.
C. Find the good points the teenager has and mention the negative points too.
D. This article tells you how to disagree with a teenager in a kind manner.
E. People like being listened to, so give him the chance to express his opinion.
F. Come up with a compromise if the situation allows one.
G. Bring up the topic after a while and make sure you listen to each other patiently.
Young mums shopping in the Copley Mall in downtown Boston-month found themselves being questioned about their use of soap by students from Harvard Business School usually known as HBS. The students were not doing odd jobs to earn beer money. They were preparing to help a firm in Brazil launch an antibacterial cleanser.
The 900 students arriving in Boston this summer for their two-year course were told that they wouldbe subjects. The new practical addition to HBS’s curriculum is known as “FIELD” that stands for Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development. Fieldwork — ie, going out and talking to people — is a big change for HBS.
Not all the staff and students were overjoyed to be experimented on. But the man responsible, Nitin Nohria, head of HBS, says that “If it works, the FIELD method could become an equal partner to the case method.”
What happens in the second year of the new course is still being worked out. But the first year has three elements.First, team-building exercises. Students take turns to lead a group engaged in a project. They learn to cooperate and to give and take feedback.Second, students will be sent to work for a week with one of more than 140 firms in 11 countries. In the third part of the course, students will be given eight weeks, and seed money of ＄3,000 each, to launch a small company. The most successful, as voted by their fellow students, will get more funding. The experiment does not come cheap, adding 5-10% to the course’s cost, which HBS will bear while it figures out what works.
1.Why were the students questioning those young mums, according to the first paragraph?
A.To promote an antibacterial cleanser. B.To earn some money.
C.To prepare to help a firm to launch a product. D.To make a study about soap.
2.According to the plan for the first year course, the students_________.
A.will be led by a group and learn to give and take feedback.
B.will have to set up a small company and earn at least $3,000 within eight weeks.
C.will get more funding if his/her company is considered to be most successful by the fellow students.
D.will be sent to work with one of more than 140 firms throughout the country.
3.What’s the best title for the text?
A.A New Course. B.Ways of Learning.
C.Learning Business in Practice. D.Launching a New Business.
A recent documentary produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has caused a stir in China and in the UK.
The documentary, titled Are Our Kids Tough Enough? focuses on five Chinese teachers who are sent to teach 50 UK teens at a school in Hampshire.
The teachers instruct the students for a month. The pupils are then tested, and the results are compared to the ones of those who have continued in the regular UK education system. The idea is to see if the Chinese method improves academic performance.
The Chinese teachers use their own teaching methods but receive strong resistance from the students. A clip from the documentary online shows some problems, with Chinese teachers calling their students lazy and lacking in discipline, while the students say the high pressure and harsh teachers are driving them crazy.
This has aroused a new debate in both China and the UK, with some arguing the teenagers need more regulation and discipline. Others say Chinese methods encourage rote learning (死记硬背) instead of independent thinking. For instance, Chinese language teachers should do more than pass on knowledge about words and characters. They should inspire students, helping them feel the sentiment from Chinese literature. This is a higher level of teaching.
Yang Dongping, dean of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, says, “The Chinese teaching methods are designed to strictly train the majority. Foreign teaching methods, however, are more natural and relaxing, and designed to inspire students’ interest in learning. Education methods are based on culture. That is why a successful education method in one place may not work that well when simply ‘transplanted’ into another place.”
Yang Dongping says, “The documentary does reflect some problems rooted in traditional Chinese teaching methods. Nobel prize winner, Yang Zhenning, gave a very fair comment on this issue. He said the Chinese-style education method works for most ordinary qualified students effectively, helping them reach high standards. However, it may weaken the training for high-potential outstanding students.”
1.Why are five Chinese teachers sent to teach 50 UK teens?
A.To test the intelligence of the UK teens.
B.To help the school improve their teaching efficiency.
C.To do some practical research into the UK education system.
D.To test the effectiveness of Chinese teaching methods.
2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “harsh” in the fourth paragraph?
A.Extremely strict B.Quite friendly
C.Rather cold D.Very attractive
3.According to Yang Dongping, Chinese teaching methods ______.
A.fit all countries B.could be improved
C.are the best in the world D.are not as good as British methods
Where can you find a nice place to relax on holiday for both you and your children? Well, I suggest you try the beautiful and green Isle of Wight (IOW). The Isle of Wight is one of the main tourist attractions. Here is some information on a few of the attractions on the IOW.
Dinosaur Isle
It is located in Sandown, a seaside town on the southeast coast. It’s a large, lovely museum, both fun and educational. Here you can see a large fossil collection of all kinds of dinosaurs, as well as a gift shop. You can walk into the past and then the future, learning about the history and the development of the civilization of dinosaurs that lived 120 million years ago.
Robin Hill Country Park
The park is in the beautiful countryside, and is suitable for children’s parties and games. It has five new gardens, and offers great opportunities to see and take pictures of the rare red squirrels.
The West of the Wight
Here we have the Marine Aquarium, the Archaeology Exhibition and the Model Railway. They offer another opportunity to combine fun with learning. This is a great place to see ancient boats crossing the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.
The Wight Bus Museum
This museum is run completely by unpaid volunteers. It has a bus collection stored in what was once a warehouse(仓库). Most of the buses in the museum date back to around the 1910’s.
With all of these choices, what are you waiting for? IOW Tourism welcomes you!
1.In Robin Hill Country Park, children can NOT .
A.have parties. B.buy gifts.
C.play games. D.take pictures.
2.It can be learned from the passage that .
A.there are five new gardens on Dinosaur Isle
B.visitors can drive buses in the Wight Bus Museum
C.those running the Wight Bus Museum work for free
D.on Dinosaur Isle we can learn about all kinds of animals
3.The purpose of this passage is to .
A.show the development of tourism on the IOW
B.advise readers how to relax on holidays
C.attract readers to come to the IOW
D.tell readers what is worth visiting
4.You can read this article in a .
A.travel magazine B.science journal
C.book review D.film advertisement
