When you are sitting in the car, do you ever notice the drivers looking over their shoulders or side to side in the car? Well, they are doing this to check their blind spots! Blind spots take driving extremely difficult and increase the potential for car accidents.
Fourteen-year-old Alaina Gassler from Pennsylvania noticed her mother struggling with blind spots while driving their family car. So she came up with an ingenious solution that won the first place and $25,000 in the Broadcom Masters Competition.
Blind spots are the areas around the car that cannot be directly observed by the driver. There are two kinds of blind spots---on the back of the car that cannot be seen with mirrors, and blind spots at the front of the car as well.
When a driver is changing lanes, he has to look over his shoulder through the side windows to make sure that there is no vehicle in the blind spot. This invisible area is big enough to hide a car!
The other blind spot is created in the front by the A-pillar（柱子）---the material on either side on the windshield（挡风玻璃）that holds the glass and forms the frame of the car. In some cars, this pillar can be quite thick. Usually, people or cyclists can be hidden by this pillar.
Alaina's design was to get rid of the blind spot created by the front A-pillar of the car, the one that helps hold up the windshield.
She put a camera on the outside passenger side of the car which then sent the photos to a projector above the drivers' head. Then, she covered the inside of the pillar in reflective fabric onto which the image was projected. Basically, her device made the pillar "see through" and removed the blind spot on that side of the car.
Alnina's solution is very creative and could be improved by using LCD displays that will make it easier to see during day time as well.
1.What can be learned about blind spots during driving?
A.They call for careful driving. B.They make driving thrilling.
C.They are many in kinds. D.They can't be get rid of.
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word "ingenious" in paragraph 2?
A.interesting B.creative
C.inspiring D.invisible
3.How did Alaina solve the problem?
A.By improving the A-pillar. B.By using a mirror on the outside of the A-pillar.
C.By relying on LCD displays. D.By using a camera to capture images.
4.What's the best title for the text?
A.An Introduction to Blind Spots B.A Warning About the Road Safety
C.A Teen's Creative Solution to Blind Spots D.Scientific Research on Blind Spots
That warm day was the only day of the week without rain.I opened the door,took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine.Suddenly,I noticed that the house near mine had been sold.An elderly lady was in front of the door,with some beautiful flowers beside her.I walked to her.She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.
“Hi!My name is Karmen,” I said smiling brightly at the old lady.She smiled back and said,“Hello,Karmen.I’m Kitty.” Her voice was very strong for someone at her age.Later,I learned that she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her.From that day on,I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food.A year passed,and I considered her to be one of my best friends.
One day,I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door,but there was no answer.I knocked again,and she still didn’t turn up.So I let myself in,using the key she had given me.I checked her living room and then her kitchen.I finally went into her bedroom,and she was lying peacefully on her bed.Beside her there were two notes.One was her will(遗嘱),which said all that she had would be given to me.The other was a thank-you note.I went to her bedside and cried sadly.
Though several years has gone by,I still miss her deeply.Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house,I remember the wonderful friendship we had.
1.Through visiting the old lady,the author learned that the old lady .
A.disliked all her relatives
B.had no one to look after her
C.didn’t want to live with her family
D.was looking for someone to look after her
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A.The old lady was not kind.
B.The author didn’t have any good friends.
C.The old lady didn’t know how to make food.
D.The author got along very well with the old lady.
3.What does “turn up” mean in Paragraph 3?
A.appear B.leave
C.try D.change
4.In order to thank the author,the old lady decided to .
A.give the author her favourite flowers
B.let the author know she was her best friend
C.give the author a key to her house
D.leave all that she had to the author
Fantastic Magazines for Learning English
Digital Photogra pher
Perfect if you like: taking pictures with your camera or phone.
What you’ll find inside: This magazine is full of colorful photos and very pleasing to look at. There are many tips and guides on how to take great pictures, and they are written in simple and easy-to-understand English though there are some technical camera terms. You feel like the writers are tolking to you! You can impress your friends with your irnproved English and your new photography skills!
Fast Company
Perfect if you like: business and learning how successful companies work.
What you’ll find inside: Fast Company is one of the most approachable magazines about business and companies. It has many interviews of successful people, as well as general news about interesting new companics. It does use a higher level of writing than what is usual for magazines, so give it a try first to make sure you can understand the articles.
Cricket and Cicada
Perfect if you like: excellent literature and short stories.
What you’ll find inside: Cricket and Cicada are literary magazines aimed at teenagers. Each issue is full of wonderful short stories and poems, and beautiful illustrations. Even though these are technically children’s magazines, they are perfect for learning English because they have high quality writing.
Mental Floss
Perfect if you like: interesting trivia and facts.
What you’ll find inside: What does outer space smell like？ Why isn’t cat food mouse-flavored？ If you’re the kind of person who asks yourself these questions, you’ll love Meriful Floss, Each issue is full of bite-sized trivia and mostly short articles with really interesting facts that you’ll want to share with others.
While the print edition of the magazine stopped publishing in 2016, you can still read Mental Floss online. Click here to get more information.
1.Which magazine tells something about business and companies？
A.Digital Photographer. B.Fast Company
C.Cricket. D.Menial Floss.
2.What is special about Cricket and Cicada？
A.They focus on drawing skills B.They can only be bought online.
C.They are intended for teenagers. D.They are full of colorful pictures.
3.Where is the text most probably taken？
A.On a website. B.In a newspaper.
C.In an English textbook. D.From a science magazine.
书面表达
假设你是李华，在英国朋友Toby家里度过了愉快的两周。回国后，你打算给他写一封感谢信，要点如下：
1．感谢他的热情招待；
2．总结两周收获（如了解了英国文化，提高了英语听说能力等）；
3．邀请他明年来中国。
注意：1．词数100左右；
2．可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯：
3．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Toby,
Yours,
Li Hua
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、删改或修改。
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(＼)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。
Do you have female friends whom you refer as “guimi”? If you are a girl and an answer is yes, you are a lucky dog. “Guimi” is not only used among girls. It refers to your more loyal girl friends. You had special emotional connections with each other. You share almost everything about each other and you keep each other companies whenever one of you is down. In English, the word with the same meaning is “BFF”, that stands by “best friend forever”, or “bestie”. Either one describes your best female friend. But if you want to say that a boy is your closely friend, you should use “bromeo”, which is made up of “bro” and “Romeo”.
Nicole was twenty-eight-month old and had been in our neighboring playgroup with other little kids for more than one year. Then my husband and I decided to move her to a full-day nursery _______. After doing a lot of _______, we finally chose the center named “Sunshine”.
We decided to start with two days a week, helping her _______ separation and stranger anxiety when starting a _______ kind of life.
During the first several days, I went together with Nicole every morning, and there her new _______, Diomara, was waiting for us. We three then stayed there for one _______. At first, she only played with me or asked me to _______ her wherever she went. After two or three days, I could sit _______ and watch her play with new friends, but sometimes she would make a _______ to look around searching for me.
During the second week Nicole gradually eased into the new ________, and Diomara suggested starting to leave Nicole there ________ me. At the beginning I decided to leave her for just half an hour. When I hugged, kissed and said goodbye to her, she started crying with the clear ________ that mom would go. I closed the door and could even hear her cry. ________ feeling sad and guilty, I knew it’s not my fault --- it’s just how babies ________.
I was back on time. My little girl laughed and ran to me at the ________ of me. Diomara told me that everything was super and perfect: Nicole stopped crying ________ after I left, and she had a good time ________ a castle using Lego blocks. The next day I left for one hour, and she enjoyed a wonderful lunch with other kids. The last day I stayed there only for a while. By the time she had already ________ the concepts of leaving and returning. That day she stayed there till 3 pm.
Now she is happily in the new day care for two days a week. Meanwhile she is still in the ________ playgroup for another two half days. Gradually she’ll quit from the playgroup. There should be a process. There are so many things far ________ her knowledge, so we need to perform step by step and with patience.
1.A.school B.kindergarten C.group D.center
2.A.discovery B.request C.job D.research
3.A.struggle B.overcome C.appreciate D.adapt
4.A.difficult B.wonderful C.different D.foreign
5.A.friend B.caregiver C.nurse D.schoolmate
6.A.hour B.minute C.moment D.day
7.A.watch B.accompany C.avoid D.keep
8.A.aside B.asleep C.outside D.awake
9.A.pause B.mistake C.gesture D.wish
10.A.classroom B.habits C.settings D.scenes
11.A.with B.around C.over D.without
12.A.dependence B.consciousness C.loneliness D.wonder
13.A.Though B.However C.As D.Since
14.A.study B.suppose C.treat D.develop
15.A.idea B.distance C.sight D.thought
16.A.long B.even C.shortly D.frequently
17.A.visiting B.building C.enjoying D.crashing
18.A.used B.shaped C.refused D.formed
19.A.valuable B.new C.precious D.previous
20.A.beyond B.within C.to D.for
