The Indian government may use 3D paintings as virtual speed breakers（减速带） on major highways and roads, in order to check speeding and careless driving, and finally make its deadly roads a little safer. "We are trying out 3D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers," India's transport minister Nitin Gadkari wrote.
The optical illusions(视觉错觉) are supposed to encourage drivers to slow down automatically. Earlier, India had ordered the removal of all speed breakers from highways, which are considered to be a safety hazard for high-speed vehicles. India has the highest number of road accident deaths in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, over 200,000 people are killed by road accidents.
The use of optical illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in the American city of Philadelphia in 2008, as part of a campaign against speeding motorists. The technique has also been tried out in China to create floating 3D crossings. In India, cities such as Ahmedabad and Chennai have already experimented with 3D zebra crossings in the last one year. In Ahmedabad for instance, a mother and her daughter, both artists, have painted 3D crosswalks in the first few months of 2016. The artists say their motto is "to increase the attention of drivers", and that the concept has been successfully tested in accident-prone zones on a highway.
However, critics argue that once drivers know that these speed breakers are visual illusions, they may ignore them. Others also point out that India's decision does not consider the safety of a large number of pedestrians. In the end, the new policy may be just one step towards improving road safety.
1.Why are 3D paintings used on main highways and roads?
A. To make the surroundings more beautiful.
B. To attract the attention of tourists.
C. To reduce the rate of traffic accidents.
D. To show the advanced technology.
2.Which of the following words is closest to the meaning of “hazard” in paragraph 2?
A. Reminder B. Threat
C. Regulation D. Theory
3.What can we learn from Paragraph 3 and 4?
A. Philadelphia, the U.S.A is th second place to use virtual speed breakers in the world.
B. The idea tested in Ahmedabad recently has been a failure.
C. The new policy of 3D zebra crossings must be carried out smoothly.
D. The use of optical illusions as speed breakers is controversial in India.
4.What do we know about 3D zebra crossings from the passage?
A. They can vastly lower the death rate in India.
B. They have been widely used in India so far.
C. They are designed to increase drivers’ attention.
D. They are welcomed by both drivers and pedestrians.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
I used to believe courtesy was a thing of the past. Very seldom have I encountered a courteous human being in this modern era.
Recently, I had to change my thinking, when I came face to face with just such a human being in a coffee place, with my two daughters. The place was crowded as usual and we had to climb steep stairs in order to find an empty table. After enjoying coffee and snacks, we went down the narrow stairs, where there was hardly any space for another person to either climb up or come down.
Just as I was in the middle of the stairs, a gentleman entered the main entrance of the restaurant which was right in front of the staircase. I was sure I would be pushed roughly by this man going up. I kept coming down as fast as I could. My daughters were already down, looking up at me worriedly, hoping I would reach them before the stranger started walking up the stairs, knowing I was a nervous sort.
Nearly reaching them, I noticed the man still standing near the door. I reached my daughters and passed the stranger at the entrance door which he kept holding open. I looked back thinking he was still at the door, deciding whether to go in or find another less crowded place. I saw him going up the stairs, two at a time. I told my daughters about it and all three of us felt bad that we did not even thank the courteous gentleman who was actually holding the door open for us ladies to pass through before going up.
Such well mannered people are hard to find these days, when pushing is very common in our advanced but aggressive society. We applauded for his chivalry(骑士精神).
1.What did the author think of the man at the first sight of him?
A. He was in a hurry. B. He would wait for her.
C. He would cross her rudely. D. He was a man with good manners.
2.Why did the author’s daughters worry about her?
A. She was too old to walk fast. B. She was easy to be disturbed.
C. She took up too much space. D. She focused too much on the man.
3.What can we learn about the man from Paragraph 4?
A. He might be a waiter of the café.
B. He might have an urgent business to do.
C. He fell in love with one of the author’s daughters.
D. He would hold the door open for all.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Informal conversation is an important part of any business relationship. 1.Latin Americans enjoy sharing information about their local history, art, and customs. They expect questions about their family and are sure to show pictures of their children. The French think of conversation as an art form. 2.For them, arguments can be interesting---and they can cover pretty much or any topic---as long as they occur in a respectful and intelligent manner.
In the United States, business people like to discuss a wide range of topics, including opinions about work, family, hobbies, and politics. 3.They do not share much about their thoughts, feelings, or emotions because they feel that doing so might take away from the harmonious business relationship they’re trying to build. Middle Easterners are also private about their personal lives and family matters. It is considered rude, for example, to ask a businessman from Saudi Arabia about his wife or children.
4.This can get you into trouble, even in the United States, where people hold different views. Sports is typically a friendly subject in most parts of the world, although be careful not to criticize a national sport.5.
A.Instead, be friendly and praise your host’s team.
B.You may feel free to ask your Latin American friends similar questions.
C.Before you start a discussion, however, make sure you understand which topics are suitable in a particular culture.
D.In Japan, China, and Korea, however, people are much more private.
E.In addition, discussing one’s salary is usually considered unsuitable.
F.They enjoy the value of lively discussions as well as disagreements.
G.As a general rule, it’s best not to talk about politics or religion with your business friends.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Do not push yourself too hard
One Friday earlier this school year, all of a sudden it felt like I had pulled a muscle in my back. I knew I was _____. After a few days I stopped eating, which meant I lost ______; the clothes bought two weeks earlier began hanging _____. In addition, I started _____ so less that my eyelids were constantly heavy. My parents got ______. I thought fear wasn’t going to ______my life. Yet, I spent every minute of every day _____ how I was going to get myself out of trouble, and it made me mad.
Then I _____ to accept I was ill. I kept my job working 25 hours a week in a shop; I didn’t ____ any classes. When I was _____, I sucked it up and kept on going. _____ it kills you, it makes you stronger, right?
But now I find myself thinking whether that’s _____ it. I’m taking the classes and writing for the newspaper because it looks _____ on college applications. And I am working 25 hours a week so that, _____ I get into my dream school, I can afford it.
Here I am, already sick from the amount of work. So, what good is a(n) _____ application if I’m dead? What is the ____ of doing this work if I can’t enjoy the results?
____, by writing my story I’m not only _____ that I can’t take it, but I’m telling all the people who are too concerned with the _____ to worry about now. This is my warning: Don’t ______ the high dive if you don’t like the deep end.
1.A. tired B. ill C. sad D. cold
2.A. heart B. chance C. confidence D. weight
3.A. loose B. proper C. regular D. tight
4.A. protecting B. sleeping C. amusing D. observing
5.A. annoyed B. disturbed C. scared D. shocked
6.A. control B. lose C. take D. explore
7.A. noticing B. showing C. answering D. wondering
8.A. refused B. agreed C. determined D. managed
9.A. attend B. choose C. drop D. expect
10.A. leaving B. training C. performing D. hurting
11.A. Since B. If C. Though D. Unless
12.A. unfair B. honest C. worth D. equal
13.A. firm B. good C. curious D. serious
14.A. once B. though C. unless D. whether
15.A. expensive B. impressive C. instructive D. sensitive
16.A. point B. duty C. promise D. action
17.A. In case B. In return C. In fact D. In all
18.A. regretting B. reporting C. desiring D. admitting
19.A. income B. education C. pressure D. future
20.A. cross B. escape C. climb D. avoid
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
When I was a child in 1970s, my 1. was very poor, just like other average families in the countryside. The second-hand clothes and rain leaking roof of old house became part of my memory. However, the worst 2. (impress) is that I was feeling hungry all the time. Sometimes hunger bit me so severely 3. I regarded dried sweet potato slices as delicious snack. At that time, my dream was getting enough to fill my empty stomach.
In the early years of 1980s, as the reform and opening-up policy4.(carry) out, the children dream came true. And then,5.dream became clear and clear in my mind---I must try my best to escape out of my poor and backward hometown. I worked 6.(hard) at my study than most of my classmates, and , after luckily 7.(succeed) in the national college entrance examination, I realized my dream again: after graduation, I became a citizen working in a city. 8. the first college graduate out of a remote village, my success set an example for my folks. 9. came to realize that schooling is a good way to change one’s fate. In the following years, there were fewer dropouts and more college graduates in my village, of 10. I am proud even today.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析