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Inventions make the world better, smarter and a little more fun.
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| The folding bike helmet(头盔) People hate to wear a helmet because it's thick and heavy. Morpher is a bike helmet made from plastics. It is just as strong as the traditional ones, but flexible(灵活的)enough to fold almost totally flat. Also it is much easier to carry. |
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| Shoes that tie themselves After we see the movie Back to the Future, almost everyone wants a pair of selftying shoes. Now, thanks to Nike, the shoe dream comes true. When you press a button, the shoes can tie themselves. |
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| The smart alarm clock—Hello Sense An alarm clock, called Hello Sense, can improve your sleep. It can control the temperature, light and even air quality in your bedroom to help you have a perfect sleep environment. And it can record your sleep cycles. |
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| Sweet potatoes that could save lives The lack(缺 乏)of vitamin A can cause blindness and many other illnesses for illnesses. In subSaharan Africa, plant experts are helping them grow a kind of new sweet potatoes. These potatoes can help them fight against some illnesses. |
1.Which company makes selftying shoes?
A.Adidas. B.Kappa.
C.Nike. D.LiNing.
2.If a child has a poor eyesight, he may be in the lack of ________.
A.vitamin A B.vitamin B
C.vitamin C D.vitamin D
3.You can find the passage in a ________.
A.newspaper B.story book
C.guide book D.cookery book
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What would the world be like if cars could drive themselves?Imagine seeing an empty car passing by on its way to pick up its owner, or a car full of passengers who are reading, listening to music or even sleeping. But none of them is worried about the road ahead.
Well, all of these could be the future of driving. There are several companies, for example, Google, working on driverless cars. So far, no Google selfdriven car has got a traffic ticket, but some of them have been in accident when other cars hit them.
These cars are now still in the testing stages. If the tests are successful, these electric, selfdriven cars could be available very soon. But how is it possible for a car to drive itself?Cars already have many features allowing them to take the place of drivers during certain situations. Some features include cars being able to park themselves, or slow down when they notice other cars close by. They can also control the speed if there are dangerous conditions.
Scientists believe that with the help of wireless signals, cameras and GPS, it is possible to create a safe selfdriven car very soon.
The cause of deadly road accidents is usually careless drivers or dangerous conditions. The selfdriven car may be able to stop this. However, some people do not like the idea. American lawyer Whit Drake, for example, doesn't believe these cars are safe. He thinks that technologies can also be mistakes.
1.The main purpose of the first paragraph is to ________.
A.get readers to pay attention to road safety
B.tell readers the danger of selfdriven cars
C.ask readers to keep away from heavy traffic
D.make readers be interested in selfdriven cars
2.The testing selfdriven cars need ________ to run.
A.solar energy B.water
C.electricity D.coal
3.From the passage, we know that the testing selfdriven cars can already ________.
A.stop any accident on the road
B.turn around when getting near other cars
C.control the speed in dangerous situations
D.park themselves with the help of the drivers
4.Which is NOT helpful to make the selfdriven cars run safely according to the passage?
A.Ereading. B.Wireless signals.
C.Cameras. D.GPS.
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What do you think of a “talking kitchen”?A French Digital(数码)Kitchen has been developed at Newcastle University in the UK. It teaches students how to cook French food and speak French at the same time. For the first time, students can learn the language by the following cooking steps.
All grammar and ________ have been carefully chosen to make sure the users can understand French well. After learning for some time, the users can test themselves by doing a short test on the computer.
The kitchen project was started by professor Paul Seedhouse. He became interested in the idea after he visited another kind of talking kitchen. He said, “The purpose of the French Digital Kitchen is to make learning a language more interesting and more educational. ”
How does the kitchen work?There is a computer in the kitchen. With this computer, the users can first choose a French recipe that they want to follow. Using the information in the computer, the kitchen starts to guide the users how to make a French dish. If you follow the instructions on the computer, it moves on to the next. If you go wrong, the programme goes back and repeats the recipe or information. At any time, the users can ask the kitchen to repeat the recipe or any information.
The new kitchen can be used in schools, universities and even people's homes. The researchers can also be developing the European Digital Kitchen, for the next three years.
1.After reading the passage we know the French Digital Kitchen________.
A.is a “talking kitchen”
B.teaches students English
C.was developed in France
D.cooks food for professors
2.Which of the following can be properly put in the blank in Paragraph 2?
A.food B.vocabulary
C.recipe D.instructions
3.If the users don't follow the instructions on the computer, the kitchen ________.
A.chooses another recipe
B.goes on to the next step
C.repeats the recipe or information
D.stops working at once
4.The passage is written to ________.
A.show you how computer works
B.introduce a French Digital Kitchen
C.teach you how to cook French food
D.tell you the importance of language learning
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Many years ago，people depended on the sun，the moon and stars to find their way around. Later，the compass was introduced. And now，we have satnav(卫星导航)systems to guide us.
A satnav system uses groups of satellites to show the user's location. They send information to the receiver，such as a smart phone，to show us where we are.
The earliest built satnav system is the Global Positioning System(GPS)，which belongs to the US. Then there is Russia's Global Navigation (导航) Satellite System(GLONASS)，the European Union's Galileo and China's own satellite navigation system—BeiDou.
On October 14，2017，an ARJ21700 plane，which was the first plane made in China，with the BeiDou navigation system，successfully completed a test flight. The results showed the performance of the system developed by China matches that of similar systems produced abroad，according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
Since its introduction in 2000，the BeiDou navigation system has seen an increasing number of applications linked to everyday life，from shared bikes to farming. For example，smart locks with BeiDou chips make it easier to find a bike. Farmers can use BeiDou to help plow(犁)the soil and sow seeds. BeiDou's farming applications have spread to most parts of China.
With its many uses，the Beidou navigation system is even playing a big role in the Belt and Road Initiative(一带一路).“To date，the BeiDou system has covered most parts of the Asia-Pacific area”，said the main designer of the BeiDou system.
Today，there are more than 20 BeiDou satellites above the earth，and China plans to send even more this year to expand(扩展)the BeiDou network to better serve the Belt and Road Initiative. As BeiDou expands abroad，it will be increasingly popular in the logistics(物流)industry.
1.What is the purpose of the first three paragraphs?
A.To tell us something about GPS.
B.To show us the benefits of satnav systems.
C.To tell us how satnav systems were made.
D.To tell us about some satnav systems and how they work.
2.The underlined phrase “the system” refers to “______”.
A.the Global Positioning System
B.the Beidou navigation system
C.the European Union's Galileo
D.Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System
3.According to the article，the BeiDou navigation system is already widely used ______.
A.to help farmers with farming
B.to improve the speed of networks
C.in the international logistics industry
D.in the whole Asia-Pacific area
4.The writer thinks the future of the BeiDou system is ______.
A.worrying B.doubtful
C.hopeful D.surprising
