Anyone who has had a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be boring. This can be especially true of children. They may feel cut off from their friends and classmates. Now, these children may have a high-tech friend to help feel less lonely. That friend is a robot.
The robot is called Avatarl (AV1). It takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They also can take part in classes from wherever they are recovering. And the children's school friends must help. They carry the robot between classes and place the robot on their desks.
A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. There are another two co-founders: Karen Dolva and Marius Aabel.
Dolva explains how the robot works. She says from home the child uses an iPad or a phone to start the robot, control the robot’s movements with touch, and talk through it. The child can take part in classroom activities. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communicating easy. So it’s the eyes and the ears and the voice of the child at school. Inside AVI is a small computer connected to a 4G network. A small camera connected to a small computer could do the job. But that would not be the same.
AV1 was designed to be tough. It won't allow water to pass through it and can take a fall from a desk without damage. AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says it can't be just a tiny camera because the other kids can't pick it up and take it with them. This is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend to the children.
Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are absent from class.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The robot has been used widely in many fields.
B.The robot can make friends with sick children.
C.The robot will take sick children to take part in classes.
D.The robot may help sick children feel less lonely.
2.According to the passage, AV 1 may be started through ________.
A.an iPad B.a camera C.a computer D.a speaker
3.What does the underlined word “tough” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Strong. B.Amazing. C.Attractive. D.Fancy.
4.Where does this passage probably come from?
A.A tourist guide. B.An exhibition guide.
C.A science textbook. D.A science report.
Reading can be a social activity．Think of the people who belong to book groups．They choose books to read and then meet to discuss them．Now the website BookCrossing．com turns the page on the traditional idea of a book group．
Members go on the site and register the books they own and would like to share．BookCrossing provides an identification number to stick inside the book．Then the person leaves it in a public place，hoping that the book will have an adventure，traveling far and wide with each new reader who finds it．
Bruce Pederson，the managing director of BookCrossing，says，"The two things that change your life are the people you meet and books you read．BookCrossing combines both．"
Members leave books on park benches and buses，in train stations and coffee shops．Whoever finds their book will go to the site and record where they found it．
People who find a book can also leave a journal entry describing what they thought of it．E-mails are then sent to the BookCrossers to keep them updated about where their books have been found．Bruce Peterson says the idea is for people not to be selfish by keeping a book to gather dust on a shelf at home．
BookCrossing is part of a trend among people who want to get back to the"real"and not the virtual（虚拟）．The site now has more than one million members in more than one hundred thirty-five countries．
1.Why does the author mention book groups in the first paragraph？ ______
A.To explain what they are．
B.To introduce BookCrossing．
C.To stress the importance of reading．
D.To encourage readers to share their ideas．
2.What does the underlined word"it"in Paragraph 2 refer to？ ______
A.The book．
B.An adventure．
C.A public place．
D.The identification number．
3.What will a BookCrosser do with a book after reading it？ ______
A.Meet other readers to discuss it．
B.Pass it on to another reader．
C.Keep it safe in his bookcase．
D.Mail it back to its owner．
4.What is the best title for the text？ ______
A.Online Reading：A Virtual Tour
B.Electronic Books：A new Trend
C.A Book Group Brings Tradition Back
D.A Website Links People through Books
Cities usually have a good reason for being where they are, like a nearby port or river. People settle in these places because they are easy to get to and naturally suited to communications and trade. New York City, for example, is near a large harbour at the mouth of the Hudson River. Over 300 years its population grew gradually from 800 people to 8 million. But not all cities develop slowly over a long period of time. Boom towns grow from nothing almost overnight. In 1896, Dawson, Canada, was unmapped wilderness(荒野). But gold was discovered there in 1897, and two years later, it was one of the largest cities in the West, with a population of 30,000.
Dawson did not have any of the natural conveniences of cities like London or Paris. People went there for gold. They travelled over snow-covered mountains and sailed hundreds of miles up icy rivers. The path to Dawson was covered with thirty feet of wet snow that could fall without warming. An avalanche(雪崩) once closed the path, killing 63 people. For many who made it to Dawson, however, the rewards were worth the difficult trip. Of the first 20,000 people who dug for gold, 4,000 got rich. About 100 of these stayed rich men for the rest of their lives.
But no matter how rich they were, Dawson was never comfortable. Necessities like food and wood were very expensive. But soon, the gold that Dawson depended on had all been found. The city was crowded with disappointed people with no interest in settling down, and when they heard there were new gold discoveries in Alaska, they left Dawson City as quickly as they had come. Today, people still come and go — to see where the Canadian gold rush happened. Tourism is now the chief industry of Dawson City — its present population is 762.
1.What attracted the early settlers to New York City?
A.Its business culture.
B.Its small population.
C.Its geographical position.
D.Its favourable climate.
2.What do we know about those who first dug for gold in Dawson?
A.Two-thirds of them stayed there.
B.One out of five people got rich.
C.Almost everyone gave up.
D.Half of them died.
3.What was the main reason for many people to leave Dawson?
A.They found the city too crowded.
B.They wanted to try their luck elsewhere.
C.They were unable to stand the winter.
D.They were short of food.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A.The rise and fall of a city.
B.The gold rush in Canada.
C.Journeys into the wilderness.
D.Tourism in Dawson.
With the Chinese language growing in popularity,the UK government plans to invest （投资）10 million pounds to help more kids learn Mandarin（普通话）.Do you think it is necessary for the UK pupils to learn Mandarin?Some people share their opinions online.
Tsd（UK）:The learning of any language can be valuable and rewarding,but it is not suitable for everyone. Chinese is a difficult language to learn and the UK has a poor reputation for teaching foreign languages.Why should they learn Chinese when most people in the world speak English?
Mark（US）:I studied French for 2 years in high school and German for 4 years in college.I studied Mandarin informally for about 4 months before moving to China.Now I speak Mandarin every day as my wife doesn’t speak English.But it is far from being fluent.learning additional languages is a great thing,which offers a different perspective on the world around us. Nowadays,it’s almost necessary to be able to speak more than just your native tongue.
George（UK）:No,unless they’re taught from a very early stage of childhood.Mandarin is so difficult. If China really is going to dominate the world, it’ll have to do so by speaking the world’s dominant language---English.
Sam（UK）:I don’t think Chinese will become as widely spoken throughout the world as English.It is too difficult to learn as a second language,To learn Chinese you completely have to devote yourself to learning how to write and read it.If you have to learn it besides other subjects you can’t be good at it.But Chinese will become more popular,and that is a good thing.
1.What is probably Mark’s main motivation（动机）for learning Chinese?
A.Further education.
B.Effective communication.
C.His frequent travel.
D.The official policy.
2.What does Sam think of learning Chinese?
A.It’s necessary.
B.It’s of little use.
C.It takes too much time.
D.It’s not popular.
3.What seems to be the major problem when foreigners try to learn Chinese?
A.Its difficulty as a language.
B.Misunderstanding about China.
C.The great popularity of English.
D.A lack of learning resources.
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。
In the dark forests of Russia,where the snow lies on the ground for eight months of the year, there are large groups of wolves.It is a fearful thing for travelers,especially If’ night falls,to hear the hungry howls of the wolves as they get nearer and nearer.
A nobleman,with his family,was travelling in a sleigh(雪棉)over a plain.The sleigh was driven by his committed servant,who had worked his whole life for him.At nightfall they reached an inn,and the nobleman called for more horses so that he could continue his journey. The innkeeper begged him not to carry on.”There is danger ahead,”he said.”The wolves are out.”Not caring about the repeated warnings,the nobleman and his family left on their way.
The sleigh travelled quickly over the hard snow,and there seemed no signs of danger. Suddenly the little girl said to her father,”What was that strange howling sound I heard just now?”Her father replied,”Nothing but the wind is blowing through the trees.”The child shut her eyes,and kept still for a while.However,in a few minutes,with a face pale with fear,she turned to her father,and said,”Surely that is not the wind!I hear it again.Do you not hear it too? Listen!”The nobleman listened,and far,far away in the distance behind him,he heard a sound of the wolves.
Whispering to the driver,he said,”They are after us.Get your gun ready.We may be able to get away from them.Drive on!Drive on!”The man drove as fast as he could,but nearer,ever nearer,came the howling.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右:
2.续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好:
Paragraph 1:
By this time they could see the pack of wolves fast approaching.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Soon they were howling at the sleigh again.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
假定你是李华，你校将举办一年一度的中国传统文化节。请写封邮件邀请你的英国朋友John参加，内容包括:
1.时间，地点；
2.活动安排；
3.欢迎他参与。
注意:
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 信的开头，结束语已为你写好。
Dear John,
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours,
Li Hua
