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Have you ever noticed the black and white bars on a book？Do you know what they are used for?
They are bar-codes（条形码）used in most products. If you go to a supermarket，you can see almost every product with a bar-code on it. Bar-codes have information about the product, such as name and production date.It's an easy and convenient way to know about the products. Just scan the bar-code and everything is clear.
The first use of a bar-code in a supermarket checkout system was on a pack of American Wrigley Company chewing gum in 1974.Beyond supermarkets, bar-codes are needed everywhere:for renting cars, for luggage checks on a plane, for parcels(包裹) you send. Life would be rather difficult without bar-codes.Most of our things would get lost in the post.
Bar-codes change as well.Bar-codes in the past were 1-D(one-dimensional空间), but now there are 2-D bar-codes,such as QR code.Since 2009, QR has been used on Chinese train tickets. People can enter stadiums,cinemas and theaters by holding certain types of bar-codes.
With these small codes, life is getting much easier for us.
If you find these bar-code things boring, a bar-code building might be more up your street. In St Petersburg, Russia, there is a building designed like a bar-code.It looks strange, but it's actually a shopping mall. There are games too. Bar-code Monsters is a mobile phone game. You have to scan bar-codes and find the monsters!
1.Bar-codes were first used in ________.
A.1974 in the UK B.1974 in the US C.2009 in China D.2009 in Russia
2.The underlined word “scan”might mean “________” in Chinese.
A.复印 B.展示 C.描写 D.扫描
3.From Paragraph 3 and 4, we can learn that ________.
A.bar-codes are very useful in our daily life B.our things will get lost without bar-codes
C.bar-codes make our life rather difficult D.we can’t live without bar-codes
4.Which of the following is NOT true about the bar-code building?
A.It looks like a bar-code. B.It’s in St Petersburg, Russia.
C.It’s used as a shopping mall. D.Its name is Bar-code Monsters.
5.The best title of this passage is________.
A.From 1-D Bar-codes to 2-D Bar-codes B.Why Bar-codes are Black and White
C.Small Codes that Make a Big Difference D.What if the World Doesn’t Have a Bar-code
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Dereck and Beverly are wildlife animal filmmakers（电影制片人）. They have made lots of films about animals and plants.
Their job is to keep and protect the big cats of Africa from damage（伤害）. Beverly also takes photos of the lions and her pictures have appeared in National Geographic magazines.
When they were kids, Dereck was quiet and healthy, he was good at math and science. Beverly had a twin brother. At that time, her brother and she often got their mother into trouble! Beverly was a dancer, an athlete, played the piano (not very well), and was a class leader. Her favourite subject was science and she always got excellent grades in her science exams.
When in the field, their work starts at around 4 am. After drinking a cup of tea, they drive out into a bush（灌木丛）to find their subjects. Sometimes that is a lion pride（群）. Lions are family animals, they usually live in groups of 15 or more. Sometimes that is a single leopard（花豹）. They follow the animals for the day, filming, researching, and collecting facts, information or pictures. They don’t stop working even when they have lunch. They are often back in camp by 8 pm.
When talking about the favourite places to explore, Dereck says, “We live in it!” Beverly thinks being in nature is her favourite. Dereck thinks running or taking a swim in the Okavango swamp（沼泽）-especially swimming close to crocodile（鳄鱼）is great fun, but Beverly says, “Swimming is fun but crazy in these waters.”
1.From the second paragraph, we can know when they were kids,______________.
A. Dereck was outgoing
B. Beverly was quiet and healthy
C. Beverly could play the piano very well
D. Dereck and Beverly were both good at science
2.When Dereck and Beverly are in the field, the right time order（时间顺序）is that they
______________________.
① drink a cup of tea ② follow the animals ③ drive out ④ find their subjects
A. ①②③④ B. ①④③② C. ①③④② D. ④①③②
3.How many hours do they usually work every day?
A. Eight. B. Ten. C. Twelve. D. Sixteen.
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Animals and plants. B. The story of Dereck and Beverly.
C. National Geographic magazines . D. Dereck and Beverly’s childhood.
5.From the passage, we can infer（推断）that ________________.
A. Dereck and Beverly don’t love at all
B. Dereck and Beverly are famous film stars
C. it’s safe to take a swim in the Okavango swamp
D. their work is dangerous sometimes, but they like it
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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ORBIS
ORBIS is a charity. It helps the people who can’t see. The doctors and nurses in the charity fly to the poor places all over the world to help blind people. But they need lots of money to do this, so the doctors at ORBIS hope that more people can raise money for them to support their work.
Detroit Public Radio
One way you can help Detroit Public Radio is by volunteering your time during one of the station’s fundraising（筹款的） events such as WDET’s Pledge Drive. We’re always looking for volunteers to help the station.
UNICEF
United Nations International Children’s Emergence Fund(UNICEF) was set up on December 11, 1946 to help children in poor countries. It helps make the world a better place for children. People can help UNICEF by doing the volunteer work.
Taichung PAWS
Anyone with an interest in helping animals out is welcome to join in us, whether you want to volunteer for a short or a long time. If you love animals, please join us!
1.What kind of people does ORBIS help?
A.The old. B.The young. C.The deaf. D.The blind.
2.What is WDET’s Pledge Drive?
A.A kind of car. B.A fundraising event. C.A radio station. D.A children’s hospital.
3.If Judy loves animals a lot, what may she be interested in?
A.Taichung PAWS B.Detroit Public Radio C.UNICEF D.ORBIS
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the information?
A.UNICEF was set up to help poor children.
B.The doctors in the charity go to the poor places by plane.
C.Detroit Public Radio is always looking for volunteers to help the station.
D.If you don’t want to volunteer for a long time, you can’t join Taichung PAWS.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Sometimes it seems that time is flying. Perhaps it doesn’t need to feel this way. Our experience of time can be possibly changed. By understanding the psychological (心理学的) processes behind our different experiences of time, we might be able to slow down time a little.
One basic law of psychological time is that time seems to slow down when we’re exposed(接触) to new environments and experiences. The law is caused by the relationship between our experience of time and the amount of information our minds process. The more information our minds take in, the slower time seems to pass.
It follows, then, that we have different experiences of time in different situations. In some situations, our life is full of new experiences. Our minds process a lot of information and time seems to slow down. In other situations, we have fewer new experiences and the world around us becomes more and more familiar(熟悉的). We become insensitive to our experience, which means we process less information, and time seems to speed up.
How can we slow down time? Here are two suggestions.
Firstly, since we know that familiarity makes time pass faster, we can expose ourselves to as many new experiences as possible. We can give ourselves new challenges, meet new people, and expose our minds to new information, hobbies and skills. This will increase the amount of information our minds process and expand (增加) our experience of time.
Secondly, and perhaps most effectively, we can give our whole attention to an experience-to what we are seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling or hearing. This means living through our senses rather than through our thoughts. For example, on the way home, focus your attention outside of yourself, instead of thinking about the problems you have to deal with. Look at the sky, or at the buildings you pass, traveling among them. This open attitude to your experiences helps take in more information and also has a time-expanding effect.
To a certain degree, we can understand and control our experience of time passing. It’s possible for us to slow down time by expanding our experience of time.
1.According to the writer, we can expand our experience of time by .
A.going to bed on time B.traveling to new places
C.having dinner as usual D.printing the same materials
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Being familiar with the world around helps us get more information.
B.Understanding psychological time makes life pass more quickly.
C.We can take in more information by living through our senses.
D.We should build a stronger relationship between time and us.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Slow Down Time B.Only Time Will Tell
C.Race Against Time D.Time Will Not Come Twice
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Louis Cha Leung-yung, one of the most influential（有影响力的） Chinese novelists and better known by his pen name Jin Yong, passed away on Oct.30th, 2018, in Hong Kong. Cha was most famous for his wuxia novels.
During his lifetime, Jin Yong wrote 15 martial arts novels. Over 300 million copies of his works have been sold in the Chinese-speaking world. He also created some of the most well-known characters in the history of Chinese literature, including Guo Jing, Wei Xiaobao and Linghu Chong.
Jin Yong was not the first person to write about the martial arts world known as jianghu, but no one can deny（否认） that he has written some of its best stories. His works were not only a joy for people to read, but also helped to shape Chinese people’s spirit and values in recent decades（十年）. Jin Yong once said, “Wuxia (martial arts novels) is not so much about wu (kung fu), but mainly about xia, a combination（结合体，联合体） of courage, justice（公正） and self-sacrifice（自我牺牲）.”
These values have been passed on to generation of Chinese through his books, as well as a large number of movies and TV shows that have been adapted from his novels.
“Jin Yong turns novels into an encyclopedia（百科全书） of Chinese history, medicine, geography, mathematics …” Boston University professor Petrus Liu told NPR.
Jin Yong once said that he hoped people would still read his books even 100 or 200 years after his death. We can say as long as the noble（高尚的） qualities that are mentioned in his stories never die out, neither will his great works themselves.
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Louis Cha is Jin Yong’s pen name.
B.Jin Yong was the first man that created jianghu.
C.Jin Yong’s works have a strong influence on Chinese people’s spirits.
D.Jin Yong’s values of wuxia are only passed on through his books.
2.In paragraph 4, the underlined word “adapted” means ________.
A.reduced B.organized C.published D.remade
3.What’s the best title of this passage?
A.An Influential Journalist（新闻工作者） B.King of Wuxia
C.Martial Arts World D.Jin Yong’s Books
难度: 中等查看答案及解析