Blind people can read. They do so by running their fingers along a line of raised points or dots on paper. Of course, they first have to learn the code（代码）. Here are some examples of it. One dot stands for the letter “A”. Two dots side by side mean “C”. Four dots arranged to look like a box（：：） stand for the letter “G”. By placing the dots in special patterns, all the letters of the alphabet can be formed.

This code was made up by a Frenchman called Louis Braille. Though he could see at birth, he became sightless when he was only three. Braille was cutting leather in his father’s shop. His knife slipped and cut his eye. Infection（感染）spread to both eyes, and he became blind.

At 10, he was placed in a home for the blind. But young Braille had great talent. He became a skilled musician and soon got a job as a church organist（风琴弹奏者）in Paris.

Because he had talent and was quick, he became a teacher at a school for the blind. While there, he heard that a captain had sent messages to his soldiers that they could read at night without light. His messages were in the simple form of raised dots and dashes. This was the clue Braille needed. At the age of 15, he worked out his own six-dot code. Each group of dots is called a cell. The cells are three dots high and two dots wide. For the rest of his life, Braille taught his young flock to read both written and musical works using his code.

For the last 17 years of his life, Braille was ill with tuberculosis. He died at the age of 43.

【小题1】What is the text mainly about?

A．Different reading methods.	B．Blind people around the world.
C．How blind people communicate.	D．Louis Braille and his six-dot code.

【小题2】Louis Braille developed an alphabet for blind people after he __________.

A．worked as an organist	B．became blind as a young child
C．became a skilled musician in a church	D．was inspired by a captain’s messages

【小题3】The underlined word “flock” in Paragraph 4 probably refers to “____________”.

A．soldiers	B．blind students
C．famous teachers	D．skilled musicians

【小题4】The text is developed ______________.

A．in time order	B．in space order
C．by listing examples	D．by making comparisons

It is proved that a young scientist named Will Smith has invented a kind of advanced and intelligent robot. The small robot may help children who are ______ from a long-term illness in hospital or at home.
Whoever has had a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be ________, as everyone can’t keep them ________, especially when their family go out to work. These children may feel _______ from their friends and classmates, which can be particularly ________ of children. They may feel ________. Now these children may have a high-tech friend to help ________ the sense of loneliness. The friend is a robot, which takes their _______ at school. Through the robot, the children can _______ teachers and classmates. They ______ participate in class from _______ they are recovering. Mr. Smith, the inventor ________ how it works. He says the child uses a tablet or phone to start the robot. Then the _______ uses the same device to control the robot’s movements at school, the robot becomes the ears and _______ of the child, so that he or she can take part in classroom activities—________ you’re at home or from a hospital bed. The robot is ________ with microphones that makes ________ easy. It will become ________ to the public, for not only does it look simply cool but people can afford it. ________, it will help some children feel ________ lonely while they are absent from class.

【小题1】

A．suffering B．recovering C．escaping D．varying

【小题2】

A．lonely B．frustrating C．painful D．desperate

【小题3】

A．secret B．harmony C．watch D．company

【小题4】

A．tired B．free C．separate D．banned

【小题5】

A．true B．simple C．meaningful D．right

【小题6】

A．picked out B．taken in C．left out D．broken down

【小题7】

A．promote B．reduce C．improve D．form

【小题8】

A．turn B．chance C．place D．order

【小题9】

A．hear B．see C．feel D．smell

【小题10】

A．still B．even C．ever D．just

【小题11】

A．wherever B．how C．whenever D．why

【小题12】

A．analyses B．stresses C．defends D．explains

【小题13】

A．child B．robot C．teacher D．parent

【小题14】

A．hands B．mouth C．eyes D．feet

【小题15】

A．until B．unless C．whether D．since

【小题16】

A．equipped B．decorated C．occupied D．covered

【小题17】

A．movements B．communicating C．attendance D．understanding

【小题18】

A．reliable B．avoidable C．flexible D．available

【小题19】

A．Surprisingly B．Hopefully C．Strangely D．Increasingly

【小题20】

A．less B．extremely C．more D．slightly

   As vending machines (投币式自动售货机) have a bad reputation generally, they are particularly not allowed to be used in schools. That is because most of them are filled with foods that are thought to be unhealthy for both kids and adults. However, no one will be against JetBlue’s vending machines. That is because they are installed (安装) to give out free books!

The U.S. airline’s program was launched in early July in one of Washington, D. C. ’s historic neighborhoods. It was picked because JetBlue’s research showed that kids in the area had access to only one age-appropriate book for every 830 children. To turn the situation for the better, the company has installed three vending machines in locations that are visited frequently by the locals, and soon they gain their popularity there.

The machines are filled with twelve age-appropriate books for children from birth to fourteen years old. A total of 42 titles are being offered, and the selection is changed every two weeks. Kids can help themselves to as many books as they wish and return for more books as many times as they desire. Maybe you will ask what the best part is. Unlike a library, the books are theirs to keep.

JetBlue and its partners Random House Children’s Books and Magic Tree House’s author Mary Pope Osborne, say they are committed to giving away 100,000 books. As of August 25, about 16,000 books have been claimed. So far, JetBlue has made its plans to extend (扩大) its vending machine program to more poor neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston and New York City.

Though the book vending machines are new, this is not the first time that JetBlue and its partners have given away books. Since 2011, the company’s “Soar with Reading” program has collected over one million dollars’ worth of books to kids in need！

【小题1】People’s attitude towards vending machines is usually_____________.

A．positive	B．serious
C．concerned	D．negative

【小题2】Why are JetBlue’s vending machines becoming popular?

A．Because they offer kids in need free books to read.

B．Because they are located in the center of busy streets.

C．Because they help kids develop the good habit of reading.

D．Because they are aimed at bringing a brighter future for kids.

【小题3】What is the best news for the kids about JetBlue’s vending machines?

A．More libraries will be open to the kids.

B．The books will be kept by the kids themselves forever.

C．Kids can exchange these books they keep with each other.

D．Kids under fourteen years old have access to these free books.

【小题4】It is implied in the passage that book vending machines __________.

A．will change the way the books are sold worldwide

B．are going to be installed in economically advanced areas

C．will benefit more kids who have little access to books

D．begin JetBlue’s time to give away books to kids in need

   Self-driving cars are so popular that the University of Michigan has even established a town called Mcity to allow car manufacturers to safely test their autonomous cars.

While Mcity can be used to simulate（模拟）many real-life road conditions，it can't help test gestures drivers use to communicate their intention（意图）to other drivers，pedestrians or cyclists. To find a solution，US car manufacturer Ford，with researchers from Virginia Tech，at the beginning considered using text as a way to communicate the car's intention，but decided it would probably not work universally. The option of using symbols was also rejected，because research shows that a majority of people do not have a good understanding of what they mean.

Finally, the researchers settled on light signals. A white light warned that there were no humans in the car. A slow blinking one indicated that the car was coming to a stop, while a rapidly flashing light cautioned passersby that the car was about to speed up.

Then came the big challenge—testing the signals on real roads. "We needed to try out this new lighting to communicate the intention of the vehicle, but if you've got a driver behind the seat, you still have natural communication between humans," said Andy Shaudt, who led the research team. "So we needed to make it look like a driverless car."

The team designed a car seat costume（戏装）that the driver would wear to cover his or her face and upper body. Of course，the drivers could see very clearly. The researchers then equipped the car with cameras to capture human reactions to a light bar，which flashed one of the three signals when appropriate. Six drivers，all keeping their hands low on the wheel so as not to be noticed，took turns to test driving the car through the busy streets.

The overall reaction to the flashing lights was very encouraging. Who knew costumes could be useful for more than Halloween？

【小题1】What did the team first consider using as a way to communicate the car's intention?

A．Light.	B．Language.
C．Symbols.	D．Sound.

【小题2】The underlined word "they" in the second paragraph refers to ________.

A．symbols	B．drivers
C．researchers	D．flashes

【小题3】What does a rapidly flashing light mean?

A．The car was coming to a stop.

B．There was no driver in the car.

C．The car was about to speed up.

D．The car was about to slow down.

【小题4】The car seat costume was intended to ________.

A．amuse the driver	B．attract the pedestrians
C．warn the cyclists	D．confuse the people

   Trying to fight against the nation's food waste problem，Denmark opened the world's first supermarket that sells expired（到期的）or damaged products.

Ever since it was opened in Copenhagen，people have been standing in line outside WeFood for a chance to buy discounted items that would otherwise have ended up being rubbish because of damaged packing or very short use-by dates. Food，cosmetics，and other household items at WeFood are priced at least 30% to 50% lower than those at regular stores.

It's foolish to throw away or let food go to waste," said Hansen, former Minister for Food and Environment." It's bad for the environment and obviously it is money spent on nothing. A supermarket like WeFood makes so much sense and is an important step in the battle to fight against food waste."

While Denmark alone is said to waste about 700,000 tons of food this year, the United Nations has stated that globally, food waste adds up to 1.3 billion tons. It is really shocking, considering that about795million people in the world are still short of food. Denmark, however, has taken measures. As a result, it wastes 25% less food than it did five years ago.

The We Food project is cooperation between the Food Bank and Dan Church Aid. Together they have collected over s 150，000 over the past years. They faced many problems while convincing the government to permit the sale of expired or damaged products. They were finally allowed to carry out the project，and the store is now specially run by volunteers. The money it earns is used to provide funds（基金）for Dan Church Aid's other projects in developing nations.

If We Food can successfully maintain its goods deliveries and remain popular in the long term，Dan Church Aid plans to open many other branches across Denmark.

【小题1】According to the second paragraph，the items sold at We Food are _____________.

A．second-hand	B．unique
C．popular	D．perfect

【小题2】The We Food project is aimed at _____________.

A．helping the developing countries

B．turning all the rubbish into treasure

C．earning more money to expand the supermarket

D．attracting more people to buy their waste products

【小题3】What is the main problem We Food is faced with now？

A．Finding more volunteers to carry out the project.

B．Making sure they have plenty of items for sale.

C．Opening branches of We Food around the country.

D．Getting permission to sell expired or damaged products.

【小题4】Which of the following is the best title of the passage？

A．People stand in line outside We Food for food

B．We Food becomes the world-famous supermarket

C．Fighting against the problem of food waste in Denmark

D．The world's first expired or damaged product supermarket