Look out of the window of your workplace. Is the view pleasing? Can you see trees and grassy areas, or rubbish bins? Do you enjoy leaving the building at lunchtime or would you rather stay in your office?
Indoor work environments (in particular factors like light, noise and temperature) have an effect on working quality. Attractive offices, with common areas and relaxing activities, will appeal to businesses and workers. If a positive office indoor environment helps, it makes sense that a nice outdoor one should do the job, too.
Those who work in a big city are complaining about crowded conditions, surrounded by busy roads. But there are exceptions. Chiswick Park in west London is the kind of area that local people like to frequent on their days off. It has its own waterfall and lake, where ducks have settled, and there are tree-shaded lawns where one can picnic on sunny summer days. The actively minded can head for a special area to play basketball or football. The autumn brings firework shows and when the weather is good, the site holds food fairs, concerts or other events.
During the week, however, 9,000 people flood into the park’s 12 office buildings. They are home to 73 businesses, including big companies like Paramount and Sony.
Anyone who has visited the main office of a tech company will be surprised to find comfortable chairs, pool tables and even guitars or bikes for hire, like those in a big hotel. The worry about such services is that they aim to keep employees in the office for as long as possible. If you can eat, go to the gym and even get your dry cleaning done at work, why go home?
The danger, as with many aspects of the future economy, is of another class divide. In addition to fat pay checks, well-decorated offices with top-class services located in attractive parks for the fortunate few who program for big tech groups or run large companies; dissatisfying jobs in “satisfying centers” and busy roads outside for the rest. On the bright side, office workers in the latter will at least still have a reason to head home.
1.Why does the writer raise those questions in paragraph 1?
A.To encourage readers to find answers all by themselves.
B.To point out the trouble in improving working conditions.
C.To attract readers’ attention to the topic of the article.
D.To remind readers to share their comfortable offices.
2.What is special about Chriswick Park?
A.It is regarded as local people’s favorite park.
B.Indoor events and ball games can be held here.
C.Its unique natural beauty is beyond compare.
D.Employees enjoy a pleasing environment here.
3.What is the problem with the satisfying offices?
A.Employees are eager to give up family life for work.
B.Employees feel superior to those in regular offices.
C.Employees get cheated into working with less salary.
D.Employees experience differences in social positions.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.An office with a view B.An unusual business park
C.A call for office services D.A new style in decoration
In 2009 a group of parents in Lymington started sharing worries about their children’s money-management skills. Pocket money was now stored in a building society rather than a piggy bank (储蓄罐); household shopping was done online; the children rarely saw their parents handling cash. They were spending online, too. Money had become intangible. How, then, were children to learn its value?
The answer they came up with was GoHenry, an app now available in America as well as Britain. It is designed to help young people learn good spending habits through real-world money activities. Parents sign up with their own bank accounts and pay a monthly fee of £2.99 or $3.99 for each child aged six or over. Adults and children download separate versions. Parents can schedule pocket money and set chores. When those are marked as done, the child is paid the agreed amount. Parents can see what the child has bought and where. And they can choose where the card can be used: in shops, online or at ATMs.
Children get cards printed with their name. They can put money in savings pots, view their spending and balances, and set savings targets. “They could decide to save ten dollars for a friend’s birthday in four weeks’ time, or set a goal at 12 to have $2,000 to buy a car at age 18,” says Dean Brauer, one of GoHenry’s founders. “The app tells them how much to save each week to meet their goal.”
A big benefit of such apps is that they inspire family conversations about money. According to the latest research, more than half of British parents find the subject hard to discuss with their children. And yet most agree that children’s attitudes to money are formed in their early years.
Some GoHenry customers are wealthy parents who worry that their children will grow up with little knowledge of money. Others have slim incomes but regard the app as a preparation for their child’s future. Some say that they have been in debt and want their children to avoid that mistake when they grow up; others that the app is cost-effective because their children learn to plan spending. Even though young people no longer touch and hold money, they can still be taught to handle it well.
1.What does the underlined sentence suggest?
A.Money no longer existed physically. B.Money was spent by children.
C.Money took on a fashionable look. D.Money became less valuable.
2.What is the purpose of GoHenry app?
A.To update people’s idea of money.
B.To educate kids on money management.
C.To promote parent-kid relationship.
D.To build up wealth in American families.
3.How do parents or children benefit from GoHenry?
A.Parents monitor children’s using of money.
B.Children have freedom to earn extra money.
C.Parents lend much money to children in relief.
D.Children turn to saving instead of spending.
4.What is the best reason for the popularity of GoHenry among parents?
A.It brings to the table the topic of money.
B.It trains kids to deal with money wisely.
C.It ensures a successful future for children.
D.It makes it possible for kids to get wealthy.
A team of Israeli scientists “printed” a heart with a patient’s own cells (细胞) first in the world, researchers say.
Past researchers had been able to print simple tissues (生物组织) without blood vessels (血管), the team said. The new development is the first time “anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart filled with cells, blood vessels and so on,” Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University told The Jerusalem Post.
Dvir and his team reported the findings Monday in Advanced Science. The heart, about the size of a rabbit’s, is too small for a human, but the process used to create it shows the potential for one day being able to 3D-print pieces and maybe full transplants (移植), the team said. Because the heart is made from the patient’s own biological material, it reduces the chance that the transplant would fail, according to the research paper. The team used fatty tissues, then separated and “reprogrammed” the materials. The cells that become heart cells were then created.
The development is being praised as a “major breakthrough” in medicine and one that could help battle heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Patients will no longer have to wait for transplants or take medicines to prevent their side effects,” Tel Aviv University said in a statement. “Instead, the needed hearts, lungs etc. will be printed, fully personalized for every patient.” The research is still a long way off from clearing the way to transplant the 3D-printed hearts into humans, the team says.
Dvir told the news organization Bloomberg that the heart the team printed will need another month before cells develop full to beat. Tests on animals would need to be done before the technology could be tried in humans, he added. It would take a whole day and billions, rather than millions, of cells to print a human heart, Dvir told Bloomberg.
But Dvir remains hopeful. “Maybe, in 10 years, such printers will be seen and used in the finest hospitals around the world,” he told The Times of Israel.
1.Why is the heart transplant less likely to fail?
A.Because the number of heart donators has been increasing.
B.Because the transplant technology has been improved.
C.Because the heart is created with the receiver’s own cells.
D.Because every hospital has easy access to such printers.
2.What can we infer about the 3D-printed heart?
A.This heart can be transplanted into humans immediately.
B.This heart has been printed just for rabbits due to the size.
C.It made heart transplant much less difficult than before.
D.The new technology hasn’t gained much praise in medicine.
3.Dvir’s attitude towards the future of the technology is___________.
A.positive B.worried C.doubtful D.unclear
4.What is the text mainly concerned with?
A.The personalized heart transplant.
B.Heart 3D-printed using human cells.
C.A scientist discovering a new technology.
D.Heart disease, the leading cause of death.
﹡After the fire, what now?
Bishop Patrick Chauvet, Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院)’s manager, admitted that the famous building would close for “five to six years” as he spoke with local business owners Wednesday. He added that it was unclear what the church’s 67 employees would be doing in the future. French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he wanted the church rebuilt in five years.
﹡What are the new rules?
While tourists can’t go inside the site itself, the area still may prove popular to those paying their respects. Visitors are welcome to write messages of support in both the main and local city halls.
The island that houses the church has been closed and the people there have been evacuated since the fire. Paris businessmen who depend on Notre Dame tourism are worried about the church’s future as well as their own.
﹡_________________________
It’s known that spring is a busy time for tourists in Paris. The travel company recommends people visit other places, like the Basilique Saint-Denis, the Sacre-Coeur and so on. Those who tend to observe church services during Holy Week are advised to go to Saint-Eustache.
﹡Looking ahead to rebuilding
It seems rebuilding can begin, since firefighters put out the fire early Tuesday, more than 12 hours after nearly 400 firefighters had battled the flames that changed the city’s skyline. Two policemen and one firefighter were not badly injured, according to the Paris Fire Service.
A large campaign to raise money already is underway to rebuild the church. Up to Wednesday, donations came to $1 billion.
1.What does the underlined word “evacuated” mean?
A.removed B.examined C.accused D.ruined
2.Which of the following subtitles can fill in the blank?
A.Saint-Eustache is favored by tourists.
B.Tour companies offer other choices.
C.Church culture develops fast in Paris.
D.The best time to visit Paris is spring.
3.According to the passage, what will happen after the fire?
A.The government will arrange work for 67 employees.
B.Visitors will be forbidden to leave messages anywhere.
C.Churches in Paris will also be examined and repaired.
D.More money will be donated for the rebuilding project.
假设你叫李华，你的一个朋友John刚从美国归来，邀请你参加本周日在他家举办的朋友聚会，但你不能参加，请你根据以下要点给他写以封电子邮件：
1.表达想参加的意思；
2.忙于准备考试；
3.由于感冒，身体不适；
4.表示歉意并另约时间。
注意：可适当添加细节以使行文连贯；字数100字左右，开头和结尾已给，不计入总词数。
Dear John,
I’m extremely sorry to tell you that I am unable to go to your party this Sunday.
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Yours truly,
Li Hua
双向翻译
The target audience is high-school teenagers. 1. 我们的目标是劝阻年轻人不要吸烟。Our research shows that young people care about their health and future. 2. We will educate them about the bad physical effects of smoking and how smoking affects those people around them. 3.我们将解释不吸烟的所有好处, such as saving money which can then be spent on other things. Our interviews also indicate that young people are concerned about what is cool and what their friends like. 4. We will show how smoking is not cool or attractive, because it makes people smell terrible, and gives them bad teeth, skin and fingernails. If we can convince young people not to start, 5. they might then urge their parents and other people to give up smoking, too.
