Experts believe that the best time to teach kids language skills is when they are babies. Most times the task is easily accomplished with parents reading or talking to their babies. However，in some cases that is not possible due to parents' busy work schedules or when kids are born deaf. Now，a blue-eyed robot，a human image，and some high-tech neuroscience may be able to assist parents with this important developmental task.

The Robot AVatar thermal-Enhanced system，or RAVE，is the brainchild of a team of researchers led by Laura-Ann Petitto，an educational neuroscientist. The learning process begins when the robot's camera，which is focused on the baby's face，notices tiny changes in his/her body temperature. This，combined with the baby's facial expression，causes the robot to turn its head and guide the baby's attention to a computer screen，on which a human image starts to communicate with the baby. For example，if the baby points towards the screen，the image might respond，“Are you pointing to me？”and follow that up with a nursery rhyme or fairy tale，all in American Sign Language（ASL）. The“conversation”continues until the kid loses interest.

The researchers found that babies as young as 6 to 8 months old began to move their hands in a rhythm similar to ASL after communicating with RAVE for just a few minutes. Petitto says natural language，whether communicated through speech or sign，activates（激活）the same parts of the brain and believes the rhythmic motion proves the babies are learning the essential elements of communication.

What sets this technique apart from other methods，such as showing educational videos or television shows，is its interactive（互动的）nature and real-time response to the baby's actions. The researchers say that while it is too early to determine the system's long-term influence on baby communication, the initial response has been very encouraging. Next, they plan to introduce a robot that can both sign and speak to babies.

【小题1】What can the RAVE system help parents do?

A．Improve babies' health condition.

B．Take good care of babies.

C．Develop babies' language skills.

D．Keep company with babies.

【小题2】What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．How babies learn ASL effectively.

B．How parents educate their babies.

C．How robots talk and read to babies.

D．How the RAVE system works.

【小题3】What indicates babies are learning with the help of the RAVE system?

A．Interest in videos and TV shows.

B．Changes in their body temperature.

C．Improvement in their natural language

D．Hand movements in a rhythm like ASL.

【小题4】What do the researchers think of the RAVE system?

A．Promising.	B．Impractical.
C．Satisfactory.	D．Disappointing.

   In the modern world，there is an unfortunate tendency to value profit over intelligence. People may know a practice is harmful，but continue to do it anyway because it produces an in-demand product. Fortunately，there are inventors who work tirelessly to develop more responsible solutions. Sally Fox is one such individual.

Before Fox's invention of Foxfibre cotton，naturally colored cotton could only be spun（纺线）by hand，which was such a long and laborious process that businesses chose to take white cotton，bleach（漂白）it，dye it and spin it on a machine. This produced the colored fabrics people wanted，but also created a lot of pollution through the bleaching and dying processes. Sadly，there weren't really any practical choices available until Sally Fox came along in the late 1980s and revolutionized the industry.

While working as a pollinator（传花粉者）for a cotton breeder looking to develop more pest-resistant plants，Fox began breeding brown and green cotton，picking out the best seeds that produced the longest fibres and replanting them year after year. Finally，she created two kinds of colored cotton that could be spun on a machine，and she purchased a small lot of land to grow them. Sally even received Plant Variety Protection Certificates for the new cotton.

By the early 1990s，Sally Fox had had a 10-million-dollar business that produced naturally colored cotton for major companies like Levi's，Esprit，Land's End and L. L. Bean. It was a more environmentally friendly product that was also turning a profit. After globalization forced most of the spinning mills（工厂）to South America and Southeast Asia，Fox's business took a hit，but she continues to make new naturally colored cotton to this day. Each new color takes about 10 years to produce—but，for Sally Fox，the patience is worth the payoff.

【小题1】Sally Fox was famous because she invented __________.

A．colored cotton that can fight against the attack of pests

B．colored cotton that can be spun by machine

C．how to dye white cotton into colorful cotton

D．naturally colored cotton that can grow for 10 years

【小题2】According to the passage，at first Sally Fox was __________.

A．an inventor	B．a breeder
C．a farmer	D．a pollinator

【小题3】One advantage of Foxfibre colored cotton is that __________.

A．it has the longest fibre

B．it can protect itself against pests

C．it is environmentally friendly

D．it can grow into various colors

【小题4】The underlined phrase“took a hit”may mean“__________”.

A．survived	B．benefited
C．suffered	D．expanded

   Summer is in full swing，and as the temperature rises our food choices go down. During the hot days，hot dishes just do not taste as appetising as they normally do. Fortunately，there are many foods that taste just as good，and even better，when eaten cold.

In recent years，many different kinds of cold noodles have appeared on Chinese menus，including those from foreign countries. They are widely available in restaurants. They are also easy to cook and delicious when eaten straight out of the fridge. Let's take a look at the options！

Sichuan spicy cold noodles. A popular appetizer on Chinese tables，especially in Sichuan. The tongue-numbing noodles are pungent，richly sauced and mouth-watering.  It's one of the best foods to wake up a sleepy stomach in summer.

Shanghai cold noodles. Shanghai cold noodles are much milder in taste. While the noodles are cooled，seasonings，such as peanut butter and vinegar，are added. Toppings usually come in many varieties，served in small dishes.

Naengmyeon. Naengmyeon means“cold noodles” in English，and refers to a dish made of long，thin buckwheat noodles and served cold with half an egg and vegetables. The dish is widely available in Korean restaurants.

Japanese cold noodles.  Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. Cold soba noodles are enjoyed for breakfast，lunch and dinner in Japan.  Actually，this is one of those dishes that are perfect anywhere on a hot summer's day.

Italian cold noodles. Cold pasta is less heavy and tastes less greasy（油腻的）than the regular hot dish. You can go light on the sauce and dressings without making the taste less pleasant. Pasta is also easy to cook，and tastes good when served straight out of the fridge.

【小题1】What do the noodles mentioned in the passage have in common？

A．They are all tasty food.

B．They are all frozen food.

C．They don't cost you much.

D．They are available everywhere.

【小题2】Which of the following is popular in Korea?

A．Naengmyeon.

B．Italian cold noodles.

C．Shanghai cold noodles.

D．Japanese cold noodles.

【小题3】From the passage, we know_____________.

A．soba noodles are served with half an egg and vegetables

B．soba noodles are thin noodles

C．soba noodles are only enjoyed in summer

D．soba noodles are popular in Japan

【小题4】What do we know about cold pasta?

A．It is popular in Japan.

B．You can eat it only in a restaurant.

C．It doesn't take much time to cook.

D．It tastes more greasy than hot noodles.

   It is a familiar scene these days: employees taking newly laid-off co-workers out for a drink for comfort. But which side deserves more sympathy，the jobless or the still employed？On March 6，researchers at a conference at the University of Cambridge suggested it was the latter.

Brendan Burchell，a Cambridge sociologist，presented his analysis based on various surveys conducted across Europe. The data suggest that employed people who feel insecure in their jobs show similar levels of anxiety and depression as those who are unemployed. Although a newly jobless person's mental health may“bottom out”after about six months，and then may even begin to improve，the mental state of people who are continuously worried about losing their own job“just continues to get worse and worse”, Burchell says.

Psychologists support this theory by arguing that human beings feel more stressed during times of insecurity because they sense an immediate but invisible threat. Patients have been known to experience higher levels of anxiety, for example, while waiting for examination results than knowing what they are suffering from—even if the results are cancer. It's better to get the bad news and start doing something about it rather than wait with anxiety.  When the uncertainty continues, people stay in a nonstop“fight or flight”response, which leads to damaging stress.

But not every employee in insecure industries has such a discouraging view, Burchell says. In general, women get on better. While reporting higher levels of anxiety than men when directly questioned, women score lower in stress on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, even when they have a job they feel insecure about losing.  As Burchell explains,“For women, most studies show that any job—it doesn't matter whether it is secure or insecure—gives psychological improvement over unemployment.”He supposes that the difference in men is that they tend to feel pressure not only to be employed, but also to be the primary breadwinners, and that more of a man's self-worth depends on his job.

【小题1】Why do researchers think the still employed deserve more sympathy?

A．They have to do more work since then.

B．They have no chance to find better jobs.

C．They have to work with inexperienced workers.

D．They constantly worry about losing their jobs.

【小题2】What is most likely to cause a“fight or flight”response?

A．Not having a paid job.

B．Poor job conditions.

C．Not knowing what will happen.

D．Pressure to work longer hours.

【小题3】What will the writer talk about following the last paragraph?

A．Advice on preparing for a job interview.

B．Advice on handling pressure from insecure industries.

C．Some knowledge of psychology.

D．Difference in men and women.

【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Is it less stressful to get laid off than staying on?

B．Should more sympathy be given to the jobless?

C．Do employees bear more stress than ever before?

D．Do men or women show higher levels of anxiety?

   I am a social worker. I wanted to tell everyone about my very dear friend who passed away a few months ago. I met him many years ago while doing my internship（实习期的工作）in the county prison. He was _____ a program he had designed to help prisoners with drug and alcohol problems. He was always _____ new ways to bring hope and help to these men and their _____. One of his favorite _____ was the Toy Drive he would run every Christmas for the children of the prisoners. He did this for twenty years _____ his sudden death. As the Christmas _____ ，I decided that this tradition had to be _____，for the children as well as in _____ of my friend.

But the file where he kept the names of the people who had helped him over the years had gone _____. I had to start anew（重新）and with very little ______ ！I started making phone calls，explaining the project and my ____ . I prayed every night that the event would，______，be worthy of my friend. To my great ______，individuals，organizations and businesses began to come on board and，______，I had enough toys to give to all the children of the prisoners with some left over for the local community ______！

When Christmas Eve finally arrived，I felt very happy，thinking I had done all I could do and reflecting（认真思考）on what a（n）______ it had been for me. I was bagging up the remaining toys ______ if there was anyone left who might like them. Then my phone rang.

It was my daughter. She ______ to explain about a woman she knew in Kentucky who had five children，one seriously ill，no husband，no heating in the home，no toys！Ohh—how could we not help her？

My daughter and I drove all night，from New York to Kentucky，and those children woke up in a nice warm house with plenty of ______！My friend's ______ of kindness lived on that year，reaching all the way to Kentucky！

【小题1】A. recording B. directing C. attending D. improving
【小题2】A. coming up with B. catching up with C. keeping up with  D. puting up with
【小题3】A. company B. family    C. group     D. club
【小题4】A. hobbies   B. sports     C. events     D. games
【小题5】A. until B. after C. for D. since
【小题6】A. finished  B. arrived    C. followed D. approached
【小题7】A. lived on  B. relied on C. carried on D. carried out
【小题8】A. pleasure  B. memory C. benefit    D. favor
【小题9】A. extra B. hiding     C. Active    D. missing
【小题10】A. energy  B. time C. pressure D. confidence
【小题11】A. difficulties B. impressions C. fears    D. dreams
【小题12】A. however B. though    C. otherwise D. somehow
【小题13】A. disappointment B. curiosity C. puzzlement  D. relief
【小题14】A. absolutely B. eventually C. generally D. occasionally
【小题15】A. as well  B. at first    C. in particular     D. once more
【小题16】A. pity B. honor     C. burden    D. discovery
【小题17】A. wondering B. realizing C. predicting    D. evaluating
【小题18】A. came B. drove C. called     D. returned
【小题19】A. candies  B. flowers   C. chocolates D. toys
【小题20】A. courage B. spirit C. position D. attention

短文改错

Now I want to tell you something what happened last weekend. On my way to the cinema，I noticed a foreigner talk to a policeman who seemed able to understand what the foreigner was saying. They two looked very worriedly. So I went up to see what I could do help them. I told the policeman a foreigner had lost his wallet and camera. Finally the foreigner got back his belonging with the help of the policeman. All of them thanked me. By the time I arrived at the cinema，the film have been over. Although I'd missed the film，but I was very happy because I had helped others with my efforts.

假设你是李华，你的外国网友Peter因迷恋手机游戏而被父母批评，他为此写信向你抱怨。请给他写一封回信，要点包括：
1. 对Peter受到批评表示遗憾；
2. 指出Peter的错误；
3. 给出建议。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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