Standing desks have become common across Silicon Valley, offering health benefits to those willing to work on their feet. However, due to their high price, they have failed to catch on until now. Recently, Ikea has brought out Bekant convertible（可变换的） standing desk that can become a normal desk at the touch of a button. The $500 adjustable desk can transform from a standard desk to a standing one, and Ikea hopes it could make the standing desk mainstream.
Experts say that changing from a seated to a standing desk can improve productivity. Similar desks have become a common sight at tech firms such as Google, where some employees have even installed treadmill (跑步机) and bicycle desks.
The desk is not the first “convertible” on the market. As early as 2013, Stir Kinect brought out an adjustable desk. The $3,890 Stir Kinect desk has a motor to raise and lower itself, changing it into a standing desk or a traditional desk. The desk can even be programmed to move up and down slightly, making it appear to take a gentle breath to remind the user to change their positions. To move between sitting and standing positions, owners simply double tap on the screen. The desk can learn the user’s preferences over time and suggest the best seating position.
The Stir Kinect desk was created by a team of ex-Apple and Disney engineers. It has a built-in touch screen to control and track movement, and can tell users exactly how many calories they burn by standing during their working day. It also has devices containing power points and USB ports for charging phones, to keep cables hidden.
“ Ikea’s height-adjustable desk is great for opening up the lower end of the market, ’’ said JP Labrosse, founder and CEO of Stir.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A. Ikea has brought out an adjustable standing desk.
B. Silicon Valley offered health benefits to officials.
C. Google formed their tech firms to design bicycle desks.
D. The Stir Kinect desk will become mainstream in the market.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Before Bekant desk, similar adjustable desks have been widely used.
B. The seated desks will take the place of the standing desks in the future.
C. Compared to the Stir Kinect desk, the Bekant desk is much cheaper.
D. The adjustable desks were designed by the Apple and Disney Company.
3.The Stir Kinect desk______.
A. can breathe in and breathe out by pressing the button once
B. can charge phones by using a device containing power point
C. can tell you how many calories you need for a walk
D. can advise you to do more exercise at a proper time
4.What can we infer from the last sentence given by JP Labrosse?
A. Ikea’s adjustable desk will be popular with average people.
B. Ikea will have to sell furniture at a lower price in the future.
C. This height adjustable table can only be found in Ikea.
D. It is not necessary for Ikea to open up the market at all.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题
Standing desks have become common across Silicon Valley, offering health benefits to those willing to work on their feet. However, due to their high price, they have failed to catch on until now. Recently, Ikea has brought out Bekant convertible（可变换的） standing desk that can become a normal desk at the touch of a button. The $500 adjustable desk can transform from a standard desk to a standing one, and Ikea hopes it could make the standing desk mainstream.
Experts say that changing from a seated to a standing desk can improve productivity. Similar desks have become a common sight at tech firms such as Google, where some employees have even installed treadmill (跑步机) and bicycle desks.
The desk is not the first “convertible” on the market. As early as 2013, Stir Kinect brought out an adjustable desk. The $3,890 Stir Kinect desk has a motor to raise and lower itself, changing it into a standing desk or a traditional desk. The desk can even be programmed to move up and down slightly, making it appear to take a gentle breath to remind the user to change their positions. To move between sitting and standing positions, owners simply double tap on the screen. The desk can learn the user’s preferences over time and suggest the best seating position.
The Stir Kinect desk was created by a team of ex-Apple and Disney engineers. It has a built-in touch screen to control and track movement, and can tell users exactly how many calories they burn by standing during their working day. It also has devices containing power points and USB ports for charging phones, to keep cables hidden.
“ Ikea’s height-adjustable desk is great for opening up the lower end of the market, ’’ said JP Labrosse, founder and CEO of Stir.
1.What is the text mainly about?
A. Ikea has brought out an adjustable standing desk.
B. Silicon Valley offered health benefits to officials.
C. Google formed their tech firms to design bicycle desks.
D. The Stir Kinect desk will become mainstream in the market.
2.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
A. Before Bekant desk, similar adjustable desks have been widely used.
B. The seated desks will take the place of the standing desks in the future.
C. Compared to the Stir Kinect desk, the Bekant desk is much cheaper.
D. The adjustable desks were designed by the Apple and Disney Company.
3.The Stir Kinect desk______.
A. can breathe in and breathe out by pressing the button once
B. can charge phones by using a device containing power point
C. can tell you how many calories you need for a walk
D. can advise you to do more exercise at a proper time
4.What can we infer from the last sentence given by JP Labrosse?
A. Ikea’s adjustable desk will be popular with average people.
B. Ikea will have to sell furniture at a lower price in the future.
C. This height adjustable table can only be found in Ikea.
D. It is not necessary for Ikea to open up the market at all.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
President Donald Trump's trade wars have reached Silicon Valley.
1.Trump administration is considering taxes on networking equipment from China. That could spell trouble for companies that buy Chinese components for their 2.(globe) cloud computing operations, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, analysts say.
And chip makers such as Intel could face taxes on computer chips. US companies often send mostly 3. (finish) chips to China for manufacture, testing and 4.(package).
Those companies could pay a fine when those chips 5. (ship) back into the country. So far, US tech giants have 6. (large) stayed out of the trade fight. The threat of tariffs 7.tech products from China could force Silicon Valley leaders to be 8.(outspoken) about their concerns than before. Modems and routers are on a list of Chinese 9. (good) worth $200 billion that could face 10% tariffs in the United States after August 30.A tariff on those products could also hurt the tech industry, 10. uses huge IT networks to deliver products and services around the globe.
高三英语语法填空困难题查看答案及解析
For its outsize reputation, Silicon Valley is a narrow thing. America’s innovation (创新) capital mainly consists of many small towns and cities on the San Francisco peninsula (半岛) squeezed between the coastal mountain range to the west and the bay to the east. It is traditionally made up of the top of Santa Clara County as well as the very bottom of San Mateo County.
Not long ago, this place was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight, famous for its plentiful fruit yards. The circumstances that turned the countryside into a technological center have been studied carefully, and many have attempted to replicate the magic in Silicon Valley. Would-be followers would be right to conclude that access to basic research and start-up capital. But for the past two decades, photographer Beth Yarnelle Edwards has been documenting the one aspect often unnoticed by these observers: Silicon Valley’s fundamentally suburban (郊区的)character.
Edwards’ Suburban Dreams project was born in 1997. “I felt lonely and trapped, but I realized that the people around me really loved being there, ” she recalled. She began by photographing friends and acquaintances near her home in San Carlos. The project grew as she interviewed her subjects to understand how their environment shaped their hopes and dreams. “It’s really important to me that the pictures are true to what is happening in the home,” she says. In 2016, Edwards began revisiting her subjects to see the effects of the growth and the wealth. But she was surprised by how little had changed in the lives of those still there.
Many Silicon Valley natives do not recognize much of what they see there nowadays. It’s true that modest bungalows have been replaced by very large houses. Almost everything is more crowded and more expensive. But a lot will never change. The main roads — Highway 101, the El Camino — are the same. So too the freestanding oak trees and gentle hills surrounded by golden grass. And at the heart of it all, as Edwards’ photos illustrate, the suburban dream is still alive.
1.Where is Silicon Valley?
A. In the center of San Francisco.
B. On the San Francisco Peninsula.
C. On top of Santa Clara County.
D. At the bottom of San Mateo County.
2.Which of the following best explains “replicate” underlined in paragraph 2?
A. Copy. B. Replace. C. Study. D. Report.
3.What did the project focus on later?
A. People’s hopes and dreams.
B. The wish of the acquaintances.
C. The true life of the local people.
D. Silicon Valley’s influences on the locals.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Crazy Changes, Crazy Followers
B. Wild Dream, Successful project
C. Lively City, Major Innovation
D. Unchanging life, Unchanging Dream
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
In fairy tales, it's usually the princess that needs protecting. At Google in Silicon Valley, the princess is the one defending the castle. Parisa Tabriz is a 31-year-old with perhaps the most unique job title in engineering- “Google Security Princess”. Her job is to hack into the most popular web browser（浏览器）on the planet, trying to find weaknesses in the system before the “black hats” do. To defeat Google's attackers, Tabriz must firstly think like them.
Tabriz's role has evolved dramatically in the eight years since she first started working at Google. Back then, the young graduate from Illinois University was one of 50 security engineers---today there are over 500.
Cybercrime（网络犯罪）has come a long way in the past decade - from the Nigerian Prince Scam to credit card theft. Tabriz's biggest concern now is the people who find bugs in Google's software, and sell the information to governments or criminals. To fight against this, the company has set up a Vulnerability Rewards Program, paying anywhere from $100 to $ 20, 000 for reported mistakes.
It's a world away from Tabriz's computer-free childhood home in Chicago. The daughter of an Iranian-American doctor father, and Polish-American nurse mother, Tabriz had little contact with computers until she started studying engineering at college. Gaze across a line-up of Google security staff today and you'll find women like Tabriz are few and far between（稀少的）--- though in the last few years she has hired more female tech geniuses. She admits there's an obvious gender disequilibrium in Silicon Valley.
Funnily enough, during training sessions Tabriz first asks new colleagues to hack into not a computer, but a vending machine. Tabriz's job is as much about technological know-how（专门知识）as understanding the psychology of attackers.
1.What can we learn about Tabriz from the passage?
A. She was the first female engineer at Google.
B. She must think differently so as to defeat the attackers.
C. Her job relates to not only technology but also psychology.
D. Her frequent contact with computers in childhood benefits her a lot.
2.Why has Google set up a Vulnerability Rewards Program?
A. To protect Google against cybercrime.
B. To monitor the normal operation of Google.
C. To help the government locate the cybercriminals.
D. To raise people's awareness of personal information safety.
3.What does the underlined word “disequilibrium” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Imbalance. B. Preference.
C. Difference. D. Discrimination.
4.Which of the following could be the best title of this passage?
A. What leads to cybercrime
B. The “Security Princess” who guards Google
C. Measures taken by Google to protect its users
D. How to become an excellent security engineer
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smartphone as a room key. The boutique hotel brand from Starwood to
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harlem neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif, before the end of the quarter.
Starwood officials are hoping this will be one of the biggest technological changes in the industry since free Wi-Fi. "We believe this will become the new standard for how people will want to enter a hotel." says Frits van Passchen, Starwood's CEO. "It may be a novelty at first,but we think it will become table stakes for managing a hotel.
Not everyone is so sure. Past attempts to use technology to streamline the check-in process have had mixed results. Robert Habeeb, president of the First Hospitality Group, which is the owner of 55 hotels in the U.S, says he pulled out check-in kiosks at two of his Holiday Inn hotels after finding that most guests ignored them. He found that many travelers will sacrifice speed or ease to talk with a staff member and ensure their room has the right view or location, or to try for an upgrade. Other guests may still want to be greeted when they arrive.
Hotels have never been known for being in the forefront of technology. The industry is often a delay, in part because many hotels are owned and managed by separate companies, making investments in technology more complicated. Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to remove the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel's front desk. The delays are the bane(祸根)of many a road warrior's travel experience. “Everybody has to check in, but we are all doing it pretty much the same way we were 100 years ago, ”says Christopher Nassetta, chief executive officer for Hilton Worldwide holdings Inc.”It' s something we are seriously addressing.
Yet it is still not clear that virtual keys will do better than previous attempts to beat traditional check-ins. An effort several years ago to allow guests to enter rooms with the magnetic strip on their credit cards never became popular . Guests worried about security and were unwilling to give their kids credit cards instead of room keys.
1.According to the first two paragraphs, which of the following is NOT true.
A. Aloft of Hotel in Manhattan will allow guests to use a smartphone as a room key
B. All Starwood Hotels plan to offer the new room key before the end of the quarter.
C. Hotel officials hope the new room key will be a great change in hotel industry.
D. The new room key may become a new standard of choosing a hotel
2.The word streamline(Para. 3) is closest in meaning to _____________.
A. simplify B. strengthen
C. change D. unify
3.Christopher Nassetta would most likely agree that _____________.
A. it's a good idea to cancel check-in
B. the way of check-in needs to be changed
C. the management of hotel needs to be improved
D. it's time to make use of technology in hotel industry
4.From the text we can see that the writer thinks the future of the new room key is __________.
A. optimistic B. negative
C. bright D. uncertain
高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析
Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smartphone as a room key. The boutique hotel brand from Starwood to Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harle neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif, before the end of the quarter.
Starwood officials are hoping this will be one of the biggest technological changes in the industry since free Wi-Fi. "We believe this will become the new standard for how people will want to enter a hotel." says Frits van Passchen, Starwood's CEO. "It may be a novelty at first,but we think it will become table stakes for managing a hotel.
Not everyone is so sure. Past attempts to use technology to streamline the check-in process have had mixed results. Robert Habeeb, president of the First Hospitality Group, which is the owner of 55 hotels in the U.S, says he pulled out check-in kiosks at two of his Holiday Inn hotels after finding that most guests ignored them. He found that many travelers will sacrifice speed or ease to talk with a staff member and ensure their room has the right view or location, or to try for an upgrade. Other guests may still want to be greeted when they arrive.
Hotels have never been known for being in the forefront of technology. The industry is often a delay, in part because many hotels are owned and managed by separate companies, making investments in technology more complicated. Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to remove the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel's front desk. The delays are the bane(祸根）of many a road warrior's travel experience. “Everybody has to check in, but we are all doing it pretty much the same way we were 100 years ago, ”says Christopher Nassetta, chief executive officer for Hilton Worldwide holdings Inc.“It' s something we are seriously addressing.
Yet it is still not clear that virtual keys will do better than previous attempts to beat traditional check-ins. An effort several years ago to allow guests to enter rooms with the magnetic strip on their credit cards never became popular . Guests worried about security and were unwilling to give their kids credit cards instead of room keys.
1.According to the first two paragraphs, which of the following is NOT true?
A.Aloft of Hotel in Manhattan will allow guests to use a smartphone as a room key
B.Hotel officials hope the new room key will be a great change in hotel industry.
C.All Starwood Hotels plan to offer the new room key before the end of the quarter.
D.The new room key may become a new standard of choosing a hotel
2.The word streamline(Para. 3) is closest in meaning to _____________.
A.strengthen B.simplify
C.change D.unify
3.Christopher Nassetta would most likely agree that _____________.
A.it's a good idea to cancel check-in
B.the management of hotel needs to be improved
C.the way of check-in needs to be changed
D.it's time to make use of technology in hotel industry
4.From the text we can see that the writer thinks the future of the new room key is __________.
A.optimistic B.uncertain
C.bright D.Negative
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
China has long been tipped to be the next Silicon Valley, but now the finances and support are in place to make it happen.
There is a growing consensus ( 共 识 ) that while Silicon Valley is not about to disappear anytime soon, its next biggest rival is already on the verge of bursting onto the international scene — not in the US, nor in the EU, but in Asia. More specifically, China.
This is not just an observation based on the rise of companies like Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent. It is grounded in a more widespread move to fund start-ups in Asia to the point where more money is being invested there than in Europe. Just five years ago, Europe and Asia are neck and neck in terms of investment.
In 2013, Europe made slightly more deals, 1550 compared to Asia’s 1071, but the total value of investment was $7bn. Just five years later, Asia is now four times the size of Europe with twice as many deals carried out.
Between 2013 to 2018, the number of deals in Asia increased nearly fivefold, and their value leapt to $81bn, compared to the $21bn raised in Europe. The Asian figure also shows that the continent is closing the gap on the US which saw $105bn worth of deals.
One of the main reasons that makes the country so attractive is not just the huge growth in investment and high education standards, but also local and national governmental support benefiting tech companies.
In fact, one of the conclusions of a recent Fortune tech conference was that China’s tech companies will soon be beating American companies on their home turf. One of the reasons is that investors believe US immigration policy is making it more difficult for the best talent around the world to find work there. Plus, Chinese companies are now able to start paying salaries that can keep pace with those on offer in Silicon Valley.
Hence, when Ian Roger, Chief Digital Official at luxury group LVMH was asked where he thought the next Facebook or Google would come from, he suggested it would be a close call between Silicon Valley and China. The latter had the investment that is needed as well as a hard work culture of a six-day week. It also has a superb education system and a huge population.
As Silicon Valley appears to be heating up a little too hard for some people, China would appear to be warming up at just the right pace.
1.What does the expression “on the verge of ” in paragraph 2 refer to?
A.on the way of B.on the list of
C.on the condition of D.on the point of
2.Which of the following is NOT a reason why China attracts foreign investment in tech companies?
A.High education standards. B.Huge growth in investment.
C.Support from the government. D.Higher salaries than those in Silicon Valley.
3.It can’t be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.the US immigration policy is strict but talent-friendly
B.Ian Roger believes the next Google might come from China
C.employees of Baidu might be accustomed to overwork
D.Chinese tech companies can provide highly competitive salaries now.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The total value of investment in Asia is four times that in Europe.
B.Finances, high education standards and support make it possible for China to become the next Silicon Valley.
C.Asia attracts worldwide best talents to tech companies.
D.American tech companies will soon be beaten by those in China.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
You may have come across the picture that has a number drawn on the floor with two people standing on either side of the number. One person sees a 6, and the other sees a 9.1.
They could either stay there arguing and holding on to their ideas, or they could move around and see the difference in their thoughts. This is perspective （视角）.
2.The world would be a better place if people understood this. But before you start thinking of how you can start seeing things from the perspective of another person, you need to first know what a life perspective is.
Just like the example, life perspective is the way we see life, including the way we approach life and all that are in our personal experience. 3. What we usually have are two different perspectives on one thing. We have a person saying something is bad and should not be done, and then we have another person saying that “bad” is a strong word to use for the same thing.
4.And everyone sees things a lot differently compared to the next person. This makes life more complex because, instead of seeing the similarities we share, we often focus on what is different, which leads to disagreements and fights.5.It's likely that these problems no longer annoy you.
A.There are more than 7 billion people in the world.
B.In our life, few things are absolutely right or wrong.
C.It seems difficult to decide which perspective is wrong.
D.Simply make a switch and see from a different perspective.
E.A perspective on life can be shaped, changed, or explained.
F.They are both right, yet they are wrong in the eyes of the other person.
G.And they usually make us believe that we are the one who s holding the truth.
高三英语七选五中等难度题查看答案及解析
Selfies (自拍) have become an increasingly common way to capture memorable moments. When it comes to taking selfies , knowing the following tips can directly affect the quality of your final product. .
The use of light is vital to improving image quality. Lights can help avoid shadows and create soft features on your face, so turn your face toward the main light. source. If you want to be creative, play with light angles by turning your body, but make sure the photo is properly exposed and your face is lit from the front or the side. Besides, avoid taking selfies against the main light source or with overhead lighting. Additionally, natural light possesses a warmth that makes you look like you're glowing.
When taking selfies, angles also matter a lot. Hold the camera away from your face, and try to take photos both horizontally and vertically. If not, your face might look bigger than usual. Ideally, the universal selfie angle is 45 degrees above your head. But you should study your face at different angles because finding your best angle requires you having seen all of them.
One problem with selfies is that most have distracting backgrounds. You can always do more to show others your best side. Try to simplify the background by taking selfies outdoors or in spacious areas. Document yourself engaging in interesting activities-hiking with family members, visiting landmarks, or working out with friends. At least, you can make the photo appealing by getting rid of your outstretched arm or a background that's too busy.
You can also download some photo apps that allow you to adjust the lighting and contrast. Some apps offer useful filters, which can change your skin tone and eliminate pimples (粉刺) on your face.
1.To get an image of high quality, you need to _______.
A. be under the light source
B. be against the main light
C. face the main light source
D. have the photo fully exposed
2.How can you find the angle that suits you most?
A. Study your face at different angles.
B. Hold the camera far enough from you.
C. Keep the camera lower than your face.
D. Place the camera 45 degrees above your head.
3.Which of the following should be avoided when taking selfies?
A. The use of natural light.
B. A landmark as a background.
C. Changes of the skin tone.
D. A busy background.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析
Selfies (自拍) have become an increasingly common way to capture memorable moments. When it comes to taking selfies , knowing the following tips can directly affect the quality of your final product. .
The use of light is vital to improving image quality. Lights can help avoid shadows and create soft features on your face, so turn your face toward the main light. source. If you want to be creative, play with light angles by turning your body, but make sure the photo is properly exposed and your face is lit from the front or the side. Besides, avoid taking selfies against the main light source or with overhead lighting. Additionally, natural light possesses a warmth that makes you look like you're glowing.（发光）
When taking selfies, angles also matter a lot. Hold the camera away from your face, and try to take photos both horizontally（水平地） and vertically. If not, your face might look bigger than usual. Ideally, the universal selfie angle is 45 degrees above your head. But you should study your face at different angles because finding your best angle requires you having seen all of them.
One problem with selfies is that most have distracting backgrounds. You can always do more to show others your best side. Try to simplify the background by taking selfies outdoors or in spacious areas. Document yourself engaging in interesting activities-hiking with family members, visiting landmarks, or working out with friends. At least, you can make the photo appealing by getting rid of your outstretched arm or a background that's too busy.
You can also download some photo apps that allow you to adjust the lighting and contrast. Some apps offer useful filters（滤光器）, which can change your skin tone and eliminate pimples (粉刺) on your face.
1.To get an image of high quality, you need to _______.
A. be under the light source
B. be against the main light
C. face the main light source
D. have the photo fully exposed
2.How can you find the angle that suits you most?
A. Study your face at different angles.
B. Hold the camera far enough from you.
C. Keep the camera lower than your face.
D. Place the camera 45 degrees above your head.
3.Which of the following should be avoided when taking selfies?
A. The use of natural light.
B. A landmark as a background.
C. Changes of the skin tone.
D. A busy background.
高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析