To help self-driving cars drive safely, scientists are looking to an unlikely place: the sea. A new type of camera inspired by the eyes of mantis shrimps(螳螂虾) could help autonomous vehicles better assess their surroundings, researchers report October 11 in Optica. The camera has roughly half a million sensors that each capture a wide range of light and dark spots within a single frame, somewhat similar to how mantis shrimps see the world.
The researchers wanted to ''imitate the animals' ability to detect a wide range of light intensities(强度), ''says co-author Viktor Gruev, a bio-engineer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The shrimps’ visual system allows them to see both light and dark areas while moving in and out of dark cracks in shallow waters, he says.
The newly devised camera can take in a wider range of light intensities, measured in decibels (分贝), than other digital or polarization cameras. Previously, the best polarization cameras operated with a dynamic range of about 60 decibels; the new one works within a 140 decibel range, resulting in a clearer mapping of objects in the same frame.
Depending on the maker, autonomous vehicles currently use a mixture of methods to map the world around them, including lidar (light detection and ranging equipment), cameras and GPS. But the cameras currently guiding autonomous vehicles aren't good at handling sharp lighting transitions and have trouble detecting features in foggy weather. Because the new cameras are small and use many of the same parts as common digital cameras, Gruev says they could cost as little as $10, which means they are car-makers' best choice for their autonomous vehicles.
1.What do we know about the new cameras after reading the article?
A.They enable cars to go through cracks without trouble.
B.They use totally different parts from common cameras.
C.They have already been widely used on self-driving cars.
D.They see the surroundings by detecting the light intensities.
2.How does Viktor Gruev feel about the cameras' practical use on self-driving cars?
A.Hopeful. B.Uncertain.
C.Worried. D.Modest.
3.What is the best title for the article?
A.Self-driving cars are already on their way.
B.Bioengineering paves the way for our future.
C.Mantis shrimps bring inspiration for new cameras.
D.The popularity of self-driving cars depends on cameras.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, two plants were brought to England, for the first time, by Sir Walter Raleigh, both of which are now very much used—the tobacco-plant and the potato. Sir Walter had sailed across the seas to America, in search of new lands; and he brought back both these plants with him.
When he was in America, he had seen the Indians smoke, and before long he acquired the habit himself. He became extremely fond of smoking, and frequently indulged in the practice.
When he returned to England, he was sitting by the fire one day, and began to smoke. In the middle of his smoking, the door opened, and in came his man-servant. Now this man had never in his life seen any one smoke, and did not know that where was such a plant as tobacco. So, when he saw the smoke coming from his master’s mouth, he thought that he was on fire!
But very soon the old servant got used to seeing people with smoke coming out of their mouths; and all the young nobles of the court began to smoke because Sir Walter did so.
At first, people did not like the potato at all: nobody would eat it. Yet Sir Walter told them how useful it would be. The potato, he said, could be made to grow in England. He told them that, when the corn-harvest failed—which it often used to do—people need not starve if they had plenty of potatoes.
Queen Elizabeth, who was a very clever woman, listened to what Sir Walter said, and had potatoes served up at her own table. There the grand people who dined with her majesty were obliged to eat them. But they spread a report that the potato was poisonous, because it belongs to the same order as the deadly nightshade(龙葵属植物) and many other poisonous plants. So, in spite of all that the Queen could do, no one would eat potatoes, and they were left for the pigs.
The people did not find out their mistake till many years afterwards when the French king Louis XVI asked his people to eat them. And people began to find out how good and wholesome they were. The potato was more and more liked; and now there is hardly any vegetable that is more highly esteemed.
1.What do we know about Sir Walter?
A.He introduced the tobacco-plant and the potato to England.
B.He went to America in order to do research on plants and animals.
C.He was forced to smoke by the Indians in America during his stay there.
D.He taught Queen Elizabeth how to smoke in court with the young nobles.
2.People were afraid of the potatoes at first because ___________.
A.the Queen refused to eat them herself
B.they were used as poison by the Indians
C.they were long used as food for the pigs
D.they belong to the poisonous nightshade
3.What can we learn from the text?
A.Both the tobacco plant and the potato were native to France.
B.Young nobles in England refused to smoke for the terrible smell.
C.It was not easy to grow corn back in the age of Queen Elizabeth.
D.The English people were the first to accept potatoes as tasty food.
4.What conclusion can we draw from the two stories?
A.Only those who are willing to take risks can succeed in the end.
B.They are lots of new plants on the earth that can be used as food.
C.All people are afraid to try things that are new and strange to them.
D.The upper class had huge influence on the way people lived in the past.
In August 2017, Southeast Texas was underwater. Hurricane Harvey dumped five feet of rain in some areas, and nearly six feet of storm surge(风暴潮) made sure that the water had nowhere to go but into the houses, businesses, and lives of thousands of residents. More than 100 people died and $125 billion in damage was recorded before the waters went down weeks later.
About 30 miles due west of Houston, Katy, Texas, a former farm town of 18,000 residents, took a hard hit. Nearly 700 of its homes and 80 businesses were damaged or destroyed. But locals didn't wait for the rain to stop before opening their doors, refrigerators, and wallets to first responders, neighbors, strangers, and even pets.
Beaver Aplin, owner of the popular Buc-ee's chain of convenience stores, was preparing for the grand opening of his newest location just outside Katy. The 50,000-square-foot store was fully stocked with everything from food, water, and toiletries to batteries and Band-Aids. When the storm hit, Aplin opened the store early without thinking twice. He put the word out to first responders, telling them to take what they needed, free of charge.
Meanwhile, locals ran, drove, and paddled to rescue their neighbors stuck in the water. When the water was too deep, rescue came by boat. Pat Lester drove his air-boat into town from his home on the outskirts(郊外). He had seven life jackets, so he scooped up seven people at a time, starting with pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone who was ill.
These are just a small part of the stories of heroism that came out of Katy and all over Texas during one of the worst natural disasters the country has ever seen.
Even first responders coming from outside Katy could instantly feel the town's selfless spirit. ''We helped people in lots of other areas too, but Katy was amazing. Neighbors were going from house to house checking on people and helping everyone they could, '' David Scherff told Katy Magazine.
1.What was the result of Hurricane Harvey?
A.It killed almost 700 people. B.It cost $125 billion in damage.
C.It totally destroyed Katy. D.It forced all businesses to close.
2.What can best describe the people in Katy after reading the story?
A.Brave and selfless B.Driven and focused
C.Optimistic and open-minded D.Calm and intelligent
3.Why did Katy Magazine quote David Scheff’s words in the last paragraph?
A.To show respect to the first responders in Katy.
B.To point out the importance of natural disaster relief.
C.To praise Katy people for their heroic behavior in the floods.
D.To emphasize the need to help each other through hard times.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
A knock at the front door announced a visitor. Phil Radcliffe opened the door, looked down, and found a small boy of about 10, head down and face hidden, nose sniffling(抽鼻子), obviously in some unhappiness.
Phil and his wife Molly lived in this neighbourhood for almost three decades. The families here all knew and trusted one another. Youngsters bounced from home to home looking for friends and entertainment. In the school holidays, Molly and Phil had been known to take children at a time to the local cinema to give some of the parents a break.
Having taken him to the living room and had him seated, Phil asked the boy, “Philip, what’s happened?”
The boy seemed genuinely upset by the inquiry. “Sorry, Mr. Radcliffe,” he sobbed, “My dad’s just left home. He’s not going to live with us anymore. Mum’s crying. It’s made me cry. I don’t think I’m going to see him again.”
Phil sat down next to him and put a comforting arm around his shoulders, trying to reassure the youngster, “I’m sure that you’ll see your father again very soon, Philip. You’re a lovely boy and he’ll want to see you a lot. And your teachers will understand if sometimes you’re a bit sad.”
The boy wiped away his tears with the back of a hand.
“Let me get something for us,” Phil suggested. He went into the kitchen, and then returned with an orange juice for the boy, a coffee for himself and a selection of biscuits for them. However upset he might have been, young Philip was obviously happy with the drink and concentrated on the chocolate samples among the biscuits.
Once the boy seemed more settled, Phil proposed, “Perhaps you should call your mum and tell her where you are, so that she doesn’t worry.”
“It’s OK, Mr. Radcliffe,” he insisted. “I’ll go home in a few minutes. But I like talking to you.”
“You can stay as long as you want, Philip. I just don’t want your mother to think that she’s lost you.”
注意:
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
The response surprised and troubled Philip.
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Paragraph 2:
On the doorstep, young Philip looked up at his friendly neighbor.
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假设你是高三学生李华，你的母校校刊编辑邀请你给初三的同学写一封公开信，内容包括：
1．你在高三的学习和生活情况；
2．你对英语学习意义的认识；
3．你对初三同学英语学习的建议．
注意：1．内容包括以上要点，但不要逐句翻译；
2．字数100左右，文章开头结尾已提供，不计入总词数．
Dear fellow students：
I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts．________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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Yours，
Li hua
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
Do you know the UK government has 1.(successful) passed a law banning branding on packs of cigarettes? That means tobacco manufacturers will be forced 2.(pack) their cigarettes in plain packets. The motivation behind this 3.(decide) is to make smoking less appealing to people, especially children. A similar law 4.was passed in Australia in 2012 has resulted 5.a fall in smoking rates from 15.1% to 12.8% for people aged 14. As for January 2015, 22% of adult men and 17% of adult women smoke in Great Britain. The possibility of smoking in the UK increases with age so that at the age of 15, 8% of school children 6.(be) regular smokers. It is thought that children will be less attracted to cigarettes 7.(sell) in unbranded boxes. Smoking is one of 8.biggest causes of preventable deaths in England. Every year about 80,000 die and over 450,000 9.(send) to hospital due to smoking. This places a large strain(压力) on the health service and is also a factor in why the government would like to prevent people from 10.(take) up smoking or help them quit.
