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Changing Bit by Bit
A new contest challenges people to use micro:bit computers to solve problems.
Could you use your computing skills to aid the fight against illegal animal hunting? How about tackling ocean pollution or monitoring animals under threat of extinction?
A new global challenge called Do Your Bit aims to get young people using their computing creativity to solve real-world problems. It’s being run by a partnership involving the BBC’s micro:bit computer, the technology company ARM and a campaign called World’s Largest Lesson, and it's aimed at people aged 10 to 16. It kicks off on 16 September.
The contest in 2019 is based on two Global Goals: to protect life on land and under the water. To take part, young people first choose a problem that affects them and their community, then design something involving the micro:bit computer that could help to tackle that problem.
Participants need to write up to 500 words about the problem and their solution, as well as providing a photo of their drawn plans or a hex file of their prototype code (编码), plus any other photos and videos showing what they’ve done.
This is the second micro:bit Global Challenge to be held. In 2018, the contest's winning designs included a homemade thief alarm, a classroom health monitor, a food-waste watcher and a device to remind people to sit up straight.
The deadline for entering the challenge is 28 February 2020: the winners will be announced the following month.
1.The main purpose of BBC’s involvement is to _______.
A.report for this contest
B.call for ocean protection
C.introduce the Global Goals
D.promote micro:bit computers
2.The Do Your Bit in 2019 is based on the theme of________.
A.getting rid of hunger
B.providing clean water
C.taking care of children
D.protecting life on the earth
3.To take part in the contest, contestants need ______.
A.buy micro:bit computers
B.sign up for it before 16 September 2020
C.choose a real problem and offer solutions
D.prepare photos and videos of group members
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Therapy (治疗) Appointment
“You want out again, Marmalade? You were just out. What, not the back door, you want out the front?” I was very surprised that our beautiful cat wanted out again.
Several days later, I realized that almost every day she had been asking to be let out at 1: 00 p.m. and always wanted the front door instead of the back door she normally used to go to the yard. I hadn’t been paying much attention, but I realized this had been going on for a while, and I had no idea why. Therefore, the next time it happened, I watched out the front room window to see what Marmalade was doing every day.
Marm went down the front stairs and out to the city sidewalk then just sat there. About three minutes later, she flopped (跳) down and rolled over so her belly (肚子) was showing.
This is unusual. She never does that unless she wants to be petted — but there is no one there. Wait-on the sidewalk just crossing a block down from our house was a group of about fifteen young adults from the nearby group home for young adults with Down syndrome (唐氏综合症). They were out for a walk.
As they approached, I could hear, “There’s the kitty, there’s the kitty,” coming from their mouths. When they were close enough to touch Marm, she lay quietly while each person took a turn petting her. This took quite a while, and obviously these teens were very comfortable petting her. When everyone had given Marm a petting, she turned over, stood up and gave herself a shake, then walked back up the sidewalk to the front door to be let in.
It had been a breathtaking experience to see. The next day, at the same time, I watched it happen again.
After a few more days of this, I wondered how long this had been lasting, so I went out and asked the adults. What I was told was both interesting and humbling. Our wonderful cat had been doing this every weekday for months, and these young adults thought it was the highlight of the walk to be able to have a chance to pet her.
How had she come to understand that these young people would enjoy petting her and could trust them? How could she comfort people when they felt sad, and how would she lick away the tears until she had made them feel better?
1.Marm’s owner was puzzled because Marm always _____.
A.desired to the front yard
B.went out from the front door
C.rolled over to show her belly
D.wanted out from the window
2.Marm flopped down and rolled over on the sidewalk to ________.
A.play with other cats
B.make the teens pet her
C.wait for passers-by to feed her
D.have a rest and enjoy the sunshine
3.What does the writer think of Marm?
A.Loving and caring.
B.Funny and helpful.
C.Mysterious and weird.
D.Vulnerable and puzzling.
4.What can we learn from Marm’s story?
A.No one can be neglected.
B.Cats can understand each other.
C.People need to give pets more petting.
D.Animals can believe and support human.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
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Traditionally, the more people in a city, the fewer trees there are. To create space for houses, offices and other buildings, nature takes second place. But, if the architect Stefano Boeri has anything to do with it, this will soon be changing.
Boeri has designed a forest city, to be created in the north of Liuzhou in Guangxi region in southern China. This mountainous area was chosen to be “a city where living nature is totally intertwined with architecture.” According to Boeri, instead of completely getting rid of the trees to build houses, the city’s design considers the surrounding greenery. Homes and commercial buildings will be covered with trees, with gardens on the balconies (阳台) of every floor, and rooftops that are home to miniature forests.
“I have been working on the idea of urban forestation for years,” says Boeri. “In those areas of the planet where it is still necessary to build new cities, we are planning real forest cities for a maximum of 150,000 citizens.”
The Liuzhou Forest City will be connected to central Liuzhou via a railway line and a road. It will be home to 30,000 people, and include commercial and recreational spaces, two schools and a hospital. On top of this, the vegetation will absorb carbon dioxide and pollutants, as well as releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.
Development is well underway for the forest city. “Our masterpiece for a forest city in Liuzhou has been approved by the local government,” says Boeri. Now, the government is starting the process of selling land to interested developers. “The current phase is still ongoing for land selling,” says Boeri. Building is expected to begin in 2020. At the same time, the firm has copied the concept in Lishui, a city in the southeast of China. The masterpiece has also been given the thumbs-up by local governments here, and the developer is collecting funds to launch the project.
If the Chinese cities prove successful, Boeri hopes that the idea will take hold across the world. “We are developing the same concept in other places with different climate conditions, such as Mexico and north Africa,” he says.
And there is science behind the idea of planting trees to halt climate change. A study earlier this year by scientists at ETH Zurich found that planting at least a trillion trees around the world could lock up 205 billion tonnes of carbon, once the trees are mature, helping to offset the effects of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
1.According to the passage, Boeri holds the belief that ______.
A.a city can be built in harmony with nature
B.climate change results from the city development
C.the building of a city may cost the damage of nature
D.we should stop building new cities to protect nature
2.What can we infer from the cities designed by Boeri?
A.Houses would be built in a huge forest.
B.Citizens will live in inconvenient areas.
C.Cities can be transformed to forest cities.
D.The idea will be tried out soon worldwide.
3.What is the attitude of the Lishui government on Boeri’s concept?
A.Supportive. B.Neutral.
C.Unclear. D.Critical.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A.Where the Problem of Pollution Is Rooted
B.How Forest Cities Are Affecting the World
C.Can Forest Cities Help to Clean Up Pollution
D.Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Pollution
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The first science project I ever did was in fifth grade with my partner, Delaney. We looked online together for ideas and came up with an experiment to slide glass balls down a slope covered with different-textured materials. Our project was torn to pieces by our teacher. Our procedure wasn’t thorough. She told us we should consider waiting another year to enter the science fair. I felt so discouraged.
That night, I folded up our poster and started thinking about all of the things I could do differently the next year. I wanted to find a topic I cared about, one that interested me. As a beginner of the piano, I was curious about how the piano I practiced on for five hours every week could make the sounds that it did. I learned about something called “sympathetic resonance,” a phenomenon that allows string to vibrate (振动) together when played. I built my next project around this and ended up getting first place at the science fair the following year.
Today, I am 22 years old, a climate scientist. In the decade since I did my very first science project, I have wondered a lot about what it takes to be a good scientist. To me, what makes a truly good scientist is what makes a good person.
A good scientist has patience — patience for others, patience for herself or himself, and patience when things go wrong. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to work on a NASA asteroid-sample retrieval mission called OSIRIS-Rex. The spacecraft launched in September 2016, headed to the asteroid Bennu. Late last year, finally, it reached its destination. In four years, OSIRIS-Rex will bring a piece of the asteroid back to earth so that scientists can learn more about it. Scientific discoveries do not take place overnight, and many are small and gradual. Missions like the one I worked on often take years to complete. Success almost never comes quickly or easily.
A good scientist is open-minded. It can be easy to ignore people you disagree with or to assume the worst about them. But we should be open to ideas that are not what we expected when we set out. We should take the time to consider other people’s opinions, even when they conflict with our own. There is so much we don’t know, but we do know some things. We live in a world where knowledge and uncertainty can and do coexist. As scientists, we should have both confidence in ourselves and humility as we move through our lives.
Of course, good scientists are driven by curiosity. But curiosity does not have to be limited to science. When we are curious about other people, we can become more considerate. When we are curious about other perspectives, we can become more understanding. After all, it costs nothing to be kind to someone — at school, at the grocery store, with your friends, with your family. A kind gesture can make someone’s day, even save someone’s life. You never know what people are going through unless you take the time to find out. Curiosity is not and never will be something to be ashamed of. Curiosity is our superpower. But it’s also what makes us human. All we have to do is ask.
1.What are the first two paragraphs mainly about?
A.The daily life of a scientist.
B.The procedures of choosing a project.
C.The personal experience of a scientist.
D.The achievements a scientist ever made.
2.What does the underlined word “humility” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?
A.Being modest. B.Being cautious.
C.Being sceptical. D.Being ambitious.
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Curiosity kills the cat.
B.Practice makes perfect.
C.When one door shuts, another opens.
D.Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.
4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To evaluate the effect of a science project.
B.To analyze the personalities of a scientist.
C.To explain the consequence of an experiment.
D.To compare some approaches to be a scientist.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
