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Smart home applications can share all kinds of helpful information with homeowners. There appears a new housing platform which can detect the stress on electricity — and the stress on the heart.
“There is a growing population of elderly people, and there are statistics to show that more and more of them are going to live alone in the home,” said Johann Siau, a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K., who was leading the InterHome project.
The system was originally designed to provide remote access (远程访问) to a house so owners could be more energy-efficient. In a small type of the system, set-in controller devices connect securely to the Internet. The owner can then monitor them with a cell phone or computer. User feedback helps the system adapt to routines, saving on electricity.
While thinking about responding to user behavior and an increasingly elderly population, the researchers decided to add wristband (手腕带) technology that senses important organs of the body such as body temperature and pulse, Siau said. “If someone were to fall, it would detect the fall and it would immediately start the monitor of the pulse to see if the person has gone into shock (休克),” he said.
The wristband communicates with the home system wirelessly. Data from the band can be securely transmitted to the home network and accessed by authorized users. “We’re working on trying to reduce it to a level where it could potentially be a wrist-sized product,” Siau said.
But he warned that the technology presented new challenges. “When you start using that on a larger scale, you have issues of privacy or security,” he said. Siau said the InterHome home system isn’t intended to invade privacy. “We’re thinking about the elderly people who are living alone with no one looking after them,” he said. “Hopefully this will be able to decrease some concerns and possibly save a few lives.”
1.The system was first designed for a house owner to .
A. keep watch on his house
B. keep his house safe
C. monitor the elderly people inside
D. save electricity
2.The wristband technology is used in the system to .
A. sense important organs of a person
B. keep an old man from falling
C. get the medical information of a sick person
D. record a person’s daily activities
3.The researchers are now trying to make the wristband .
A. more sensitive
B. be connected with the Internet
C. available for common people
D. suitable to wear on the wrist
4.What challenges will the new technology bring according to Siau?
A. The wristband can be large and expensive.
B. The wristband will get
false information of a person.
C. It will not be used in the proper way.
D. It will bring inconvenience to the old people.
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Since there are other applicants, we can’t let you know our decision _____ all of them have got their chances for interview.
A．until B．once C．when D．because
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A Japanese company is developing a pair of smart glasses that can help those with visual or comprehension problems to read written text more easily. Called the Oton Glass, the glasses are meant to translate text into sound using two cameras and an earpiece, both fitted to its frame.
Half of the lens (镜片) is a mirror that reflects the wearer’s eyes back to the first camera, which tracks eye movement. The other camera captures the text. Wearers use the glasses by staring at the text they can’t read and blinking (眨眼) to trigger the glasses. Then the captured words are sent to a cloud system, which processes the text and turns it into sound played through the earpiece. If the system is unable to identify the words, the images are sent to a remote worker who can deal with them.
The Oton Glass lead designer, Keisuke Shimakage, started working on the glasses in 2012 to aid his father, who had developed dyslexia, a condition that makes it difficult for someone to read and spell. While his father eventually recovered, Shimakage continued his development in order to help others with the disorder.
Currently, the Oton Glass is seeking funding. Backers can get a pair of the glasses for 5,000 yen (roughly $47).
Smart glasses aren’t a new concept, but it’s difficult to point to any single pair of smart glasses that people have reviewed favorably. It could, perhaps, be that previous products tried to do too much, or were too expensive. That’s why Intel’s Vaunt smart glasses stripped out some features, like its camera, LCD screen, and speakers. The Oton Glass is for a very specific audience, and its relatively low price could make it more appealing to those who want an affordable way to understand the text around them.
1.What was Keisuke’s original purpose in designing the Oton Glass?
A. To treat his father’s disease.
B. To translate text into sound.
C. To assist his father to read.
D. To make written text easier to read.
2.What is the right order how the Oton Glass works?
a. The camera captures the words.
b. The wearer stares at the text.
c. The wearer hears the sound via the earpiece.
d. The cloud system turns the text into sound.
e. The wearer blinks to get the glasses working.
A. a, b, e, c, d B. e, b, c, d, a
C. b, d, a, e, c D. b, e, a, d, c
3.The underlined part “stripped out” in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.
A. improved B. removed
C. increased D. invented
4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
A. The advantages of the Oton Glass.
B. The characteristics of smart glasses.
C. Consumers’ evaluation of the Oton Glass.
D. The target audiences of various smart glasses.
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A life coach is somebody who helps you reach all kinds of personal and professional goals （目标） ．Each of us has the ability to be our own life coach．Here are some tips for you:
♦ Pay attention to your relationships with others
Ask yourself the following questions: How do you deal with disagreements? When was the last time you showed your family members that you care for them? Your relationships with friends, family members and teachers show a lot about the kind of person you are.
♦ Face the fears about the future
Now, imagine that one of your good friends told you that he or she was not strong enough to go back to school．83 We often give better advice than we are willing to take ourselves．Remember that even the most successful people were probably told that what they wanted to do was impossible, but they followed their dreams and succeed.
♦ Develop your talents
If you want to reach your goals, you will have to spend more time developing the talents you already have, and uncovering any hidden talents that you haven’t discovered yet．So you can take classes in subjects that you are interested in, even if you have no experience.
♦ Be thankful
Take some time to be thankful for the things you do have．Remember positive memories.84 Think of the best day（s） you have had in the past month or year．Remember special parties, vacations and holidays．Appreciate the wonderful people you have in your life.
A．根据短文内容简要回答问题。
1.Which tip do you think influences you most?
______________________________________________________________________________
2.Why should you pay attention to your relationships with others?
______________________________________________________________________________
B．将短文中划线的句子译成汉语。
3.__________________________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________________________
C．请给短文拟一个适当的标题。
5.__________________________________________________________________________
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阅读表达
A life coach is somebody who helps you reach all kinds of personal and professional goals （目标） ．Each of us has the ability to be our own life coach．Here are some tips for you:
♦ Pay attention to your relationships with others
Ask yourself the following questions: How do you deal with disagreements? When was the last time you showed your family members that you care for them? Your relationships with friends, family members and teachers show a lot about the kind of person you are.
♦ Face the fears about the future
Now, imagine that one of your good friends told you that he or she was not strong enough to go back to school．83 We often give better advice than we are willing to take ourselves．Remember that even the most successful people were probably told that what they wanted to do was impossible, but they followed their dreams and succeed.
♦ Develop your talents
If you want to reach your goals, you will have to spend more time developing the talents you already have, and uncovering any hidden talents that you haven’t discovered yet．So you can take classes in subjects that you are interested in, even if you have no experience.
♦ Be thankful
Take some time to be thankful for the things you do have．Remember positive memories.84 Think of the best day（s） you have had in the past month or year．Remember special parties, vacations and holidays．Appreciate the wonderful people you have in your life.
A．根据短文内容简要回答问题。
1.Which tip do you think influences you most?
______________________________________________________________________________
2.Why should you pay attention to your relationships with others?
______________________________________________________________________________
B．将短文中划线的句子译成汉语。
3.__________________________________________________________________________
4.__________________________________________________________________________
C．请给短文拟一个适当的标题。
5.__________________________________________________________________________
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．Canada, ________ second to Russia in size, is ________ home to all kinds of animals and plants, making it famous for its natural scenery.
| A．不填，a | B．the, the | C．the, 不填 | D．不填，不填 |
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Companion planting is the idea that some kinds of plants can help each other grow. Plants that are compatible together generally have similar needs in terms of nutrients, soil and moisture levels.
Advice about which plants are compatible is sometimes based more on tradition than proof. But experts say there is evidence to support certain combinations. These can improve harvests, reduce disease and help with pest control by attracting helpful insects.
For example, some kinds of soil bacteria take nitrogen from the air and make it into a form that plants can use. The plants hold the nitrogen in their roots. Legumes（豆科植物）are especially good at this nitrogen（氮）-fixing. Then any crops that share the same space with the legumes can get the nitrogen when the roots are broken down.
Beans and potatoes can also share territory well because their roots reach different levels in the soil. Deep-rooted vegetables get nutrients and moisture from lower down in the soil, so they do not complete with plants with shallower roots.
But some plants placed together may harm each other’s development. For example, tomatoes do not like wet soil but watercress does, so you would probably want to keep them separated.
Some kinds of produce should be kept apart even after being harvested. This is because of ethylene gas（乙烯气体）. Ethylene is a plant hormone（激素）that can cause some foods to ripen too quickly. Apples release ethylene gas. Apricots, melons and tomatoes also release a lot of ethylene. Some vegetable are easily affected by ethylene, including asparagus, broccoli, cabbage and cucumbers.
This risk of ripening too soon is why markets often separate high ethylene-producing foods from those that are sensitive to the gas. But if you put an apple in a bag with a green banana, the ethylene from the apple will make the banana ready to eat sooner.
What about peaches, plums and nectarines? These kinds of fruit do not need any help from an apple—they release enough ethylene to ripen themselves. But that does not mean there is no way to get the job done faster.
Growers suggest placing the fruit in a fruit bowl or in a paper bag with the top folded over. Keep the fruit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once the fruit is soft enough, either use it or put it in the refrigerator to keep it from getting too ripe.
1.Companion planting refers to the idea that ________
A. some crops can grow together to benefit each other.
B. some crops have the similar needs of nutrients, soil and water level.
C. some plants can damage each other if grown together.
D. a good farming method to prevent natural disasters.
2.According to the text, ________cannot grow together.
A. beans and potatoes B. tomatoes and watercress
C. legumes and corns D. rice and sugarcane
3.What is the function of ethylene?
A. To improve the quality of fruits. B. To produce a poisonous gas.
C. To keep vegetables fresh. D. To make fruits ripe earlier.
4.The text is most likely to be taken from ________.
A. a newspaper of medicine B. a magazine of biology
C. a journal of agriculture D. a travel report
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All we need a small piece of land where we can plant various kinds of fruit trees throughout the growing seasons of the year.
A. are B. was C. is D. were
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We live in the age of distraction, ______ we can be disturbed by all of kinds of useless and false information.
A.which B.what C.when D.where
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All we need ________ a small piece of land where we can plant various kinds of fruit trees throughout the growing seasons of the year.
A. are B. was C. is D. were
false information of a person.