It’s a safe bet that a robot made your car and made your computer. Pretty soon, they could be making your bed and breakfast too.
Increasingly, engineers are saying that robots are going to move out of research departments and into your home. Companies including General Electric are working on designs for small robots. Products like the Roomba, a robot that can clean floors, are flying off the shelves.
What’s behind this new robot revolution? It’s partly a matter of technology. Devices that can recognize and respond to a human voice have been developed. There are now a few different ways for robots to move around. They can walk, crawl or ride on wheels. Robots are being made smaller and smaller. They are also becoming more and more able.
A bigger part of the story is on the demand side. From the day the television remote control was invented, people around the world have searched for new ways to be lazy. Take into consideration that more and more people can afford robots, and the time seems ripe to introduce robots to the ordinary family.
To be sure, robots that walk on two legs and talk like people are still a long way off. However, robots that do basic housework such as cleaning or gardening are sure to come out soon. One thing is certain — when these robots do come into our homes, will change things forever.
1.The underlined part “flying off the shelves” in the second paragraph means __________.
A.selling well B.cleaning the shelves smartly
C.flying freely D.dropping onto the floor
2.What can Roomba do?
A.Making beds and breakfast. B.Making cars and computers.
C.Cleaning floors. D.Looking after kids and pets.
3.Which plays a more important role in revolutionizing the robot?
A.Science and technology. B.Rapid development of companies.
C.Effective marketing means. D.Great demand from the buyers.
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Robots have already come into every home.
B.Technology is the only basis of the development of robots.
C.General Electric is not interested in designing small robots.
D.Robots that can walk on two legs and talk like people are still far from us.
My sister Alice and I have been trying to get people to stop dropping cigarette （香烟）butts（烟头）for seven years. One day, we were walking in our hometown and saw hundreds of cigarette butts on the ground. They made the town look so ugly that we decided to start a group to make people dropping butts. We called it “No Butts About It”.
At first, we drew pictures with “The Earth is not your ashtray（烟灰缸）”written on them. We put the pictures around our hometown—in parks, by beaches, and along roads. We wanted to make people understand that dropping butts hurts the environment. Most smokers don’t think that dropping butts hurts the Earth. But it does, and all rubbish does!
Later, we wrote to companies and asked them for money to help us. We used the money to buy ashtrays to give to smokers. We wanted smokers to carry the ashtrays with them so they didn’t have to drop butts.
At the moment, we are trying to get cigarette companies to put an ashtray in each pack of cigarettes. Some companies want to do it. Many people have started to join our group since it began. Today there are 45 other “No Butts About It” groups in America.
Now there even groups in England, Australia, and India! Many newspapers have written about my sister and me over the last seven years. And we have won many prizes for what we do. But we are not interested in prizes. We just want to make the Earth a better and cleaner place for animals, plants and people.
One day, it will be.
1.What did the writer think about the cigarette butts in the first place?
A.They made the town smelly. B.They made the town unhealthy.
C.They made the town dirty. D.They made the town poor.
2.What does the writer do with the cigarette butts?
A.Give ashtrays to the smokers. B.Stop people buying cigarettes.
C.Pick up the cigarette butts. D.Win prizes for starting groups.
3.From the passage we can know that _____.
A.no companies wanted to give money to them
B.The writer believes that the Earth will be a better and cleaner place
C.There are only 45”No Butts About It”
D.The writer likes to be on newspapers and win prizes
4.Which is the best tittle for the passage?
A.Save our Town From Cigarette Butts. B.Buy Yourself An Ashtray.
C.Cigarette Butts Also Destroy Other Countries. D.No Butts Prize.
I never saw my father home from work late or ill, nor did I ever see my father take a “night out with the boys”. He had no hobbies but just took care of his family.
For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 am. He was always interested in my life----how my family was doing. The calls even came when he and my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.
Nine years ago when I bought me first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked was a glass of iced tea, and that I hold a paintbrush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, for I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paintbrush, or talk to my father.
Five years ago, my 71-year-old father spent five hours putting together a swing set (秋千) for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.
The morning on Sunday, January 16, 1995, my father telephoned me as usual, this time he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the week before. I had to get to church, and I cut the conversation short.
The call came at 4:40 am. That day my father was sent to hospital in Florida. I got on a plane immediately, and I vowed (发誓) that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him and really get to know him.
I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, but my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time it was he who did not have time to talk, or time to wait for me.
In the years since his death I have learnt much about my father, and even more about every single day.
1.We know from the reading that the father_____.
A.liked to paint houses
B.had no friends around him
C.was not healthy in his youth
D.thought of his family as his all
2.When her father painted her first house, the daughter_____.
A.could only afford a glass of iced tea
B.was too busy to talk to her father
C.could do nothing but hold a paintbrush
D.spent eight hours a day working with her father
3.On January 16, 1995, the daughter felt that her father_____.
A.seemed to be a little different
B.had no time to phone her as usual
C.became interested in church
D.had forgotten to discuss some things with her
4.Which is the best title of the reading?
A.Painting Houses
B.Daughter’s Family
C.Father and I
D.Father’s phone calls
STA Travel, the world’s largest students and youth travel agency, beats any price! Every day we’re working with our partners around the globe to get you (students, teachers and anyone under 26) the cheapest and most comfortable flights and top-rated accommodations. This part of www.statravel.com provides great tips for green travel — how to pack, how to leave your house or apartment, and how to plan for your trips. You’ll also find a great selection of green travel adventure trips to all corners of the world.
Green travel means responsible (负责任的) travel! Leave as little influence as possible on the places you visit and protect the environment both at home and during your trip. Think “Green” when you pack and when you travel. You’ll help prevent long-term effects on the communities you leave and visit! Here’s some advice on how to do that.
Before you leave
◆ Turn your water heater to its lowest setting.
◆ Turn off your water from the outside.
While you travel
◆ Pack suitable clothes in your luggage, none of which is to harm the environment.
◆ Try products made from recycled materials.
◆ Don’t buy souvenirs produced from endangered species.
◆ Carry a reusable bottle for water and refill it as you go.
◆ Use the bathroom in the airport, NOT on the plane. The fuel used for a single flush (冲洗) could run a car for six miles.
1.Green travellers care most about .
A.flight B.accommodations C.nature D.prices
2.What are the readers advised to do before they go on a trip?
A.Learn about adventure travel. B.Pack as few things as possible. C.Examine the water quality. D.Examine the water supply.
3.Where can we most probably read the text?
A.On a travel website. B.In a travel magazine.
C.On an environmental website. D.In an environmental magazine.
假定你是李华，你家乡的高铁年初开始正式运行，请给你的美国朋友Mike写封邮件，邀请他来你家乡游 玩，体验高铁，内容包括:
1. 表达邀请；
2. 高铁的优势；
注意:1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
参考词汇:高铁CRH或high-speed train
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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:在错的词下画一横线，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。
Dear friends,
How time flies! I am Li Jin, president of the Student Union of Chenguang Middle School. It's my great privilege to be here, share this moment with our fellow friends from the UK.
During the two-week activities, we sure exchanged our ideas on learning, ways of life, PE and cultures. One of the highlight was the sports meeting where we competed for each other in the basketball match. The past two weeks have witnessed our grow and friendship. It is not only your enthusiasm but also your teamwork and good spirits which impress us. After the two-week exchange activities, we now have better understanding of each other on a whole new level. But I sincerely hope our friendship will last forever. Wish you all the best!
Thanks you.
