Since 1964，colleges and universities in the U. S. have used Test of English as a Foreign Language，or TOEFL，to measure an international applicant's（申请人的）level of English. Universities in English-speaking European countries began using the International English Language Testing System，or IELTS，in 1989. These two tests have been the main choices for English ability testing in higher education admissions for international students until now.

In recent years，several companies have developed new English language tests that are low-cost and easy to use. And they aim to do more than just offer greater choices in the admissions process.

Founded in 2012, Duolingo creates software that teaches users many different languages, including English. In 2014, the company launched its own test of English language ability.

Jennifer Dewar works with Duolingo, helping to develop the test. She formerly worked as an admissions official at Washington University in St. Louis, Misouri. The school is one of hundreds of colleges, universities and other organizations in and outside the U. S. that now accept the test results for international admissions into their study programs.

Dewar says Duolingo created the test to lower the barriers to higher education for people worldwide, especially those in developing countries.

TOEFL and the IELTS cost about $ 300. They are given in a limited number of centers around the world. Some test-takers have to travel to take the tests, adding to the costs. Duolingo offers its test entirely over the Internet for $ 49. All test-takers need is access to a computer with a microphone，listening device and self-facing camera.

TOEFL，the IELTS and Duolingo measure a person's English reading，listening，speaking and writing abilities. But it takes about 45 minutes to complete a Duolingo test，compared to three or four hours for TOEFL or the IELTS. It is possible because Duolingo uses artificial intelligence（人工智能）to adapt to test-takers' abilities，using fewer questions to measure their skills.

【小题1】Why were TOEFL and the IELTS set up？

A．To make people understand English-speaking countries.

B．To help teachers to teach in colleges and universities in Europe.

C．To test an international applicant's level of English.

D．To help international applicants to improve their sEnglish.

【小题2】When did Duolingo begin to use its own test of English language ability?

A．In 1964.	B．In 1989.
C．In 2012.	D．In 2014.

【小题3】Compared to TOEFL and the IELTS, Duolingo _____________.

A．widely used in English tests

B．a less difficult test

C．affordable and convenient

D．a face-to-face test

【小题4】What is the author's purpose in writing the text?

A．To introduce Duolingo.

B．To instruct us how to pass English tests.

C．To introduce overseas studying.

D．To promote English teaching.

   Government intelligence agencies have a plan to build computers that store information inside DNA and other organic molecules（分子）.

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity（IARPA）announced plans to develop tabletop-sized machines that can store and retrieve（取回）data from large batches of polymers — a term that refers to a wide variety of long，string-like molecules. Polymers can store data in individual atoms or groups of atoms.

The project is an attempt to solve a basic problem of the modern era:the vast and growing costs of data storage. Datacenters around the world sucked up 416. 2 terawatt hours of electricity in 2016. That's about 3 percent of the global supply，and it accounts for 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

A 2016 paper found that DNA，in particular，could store computer information more densely，require less energy，and survive higher and lower temperatures than conventional hard drives. The authors of that paper reported on the successes of prototype（雏形）DNA computers that used the genetic molecules for both long-term storage and random access memory（RAM）.

But no one has yet figured out how to handle DNA data storage on large scales.

IARPA officials said the new effort, called Molecular Information Storage, will be broken up into three periods:a two-year program to figure out how to store data in DNA or other molecules at high speed,a two-year program to figure out how to retrieve that data at high speed, and a two-year effort to develop an operating system that can run on that DNA.

Many of the technologies IARPA wants to develop are untested at these scales, so it's unclear how far away that proposed tabletop device really is.

【小题1】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Store Data on DNA Computers

B．Develop Computers of Future

C．Polymers Used to Store Data

D．Information Stored in DNA

【小题2】Which of the following best explains“sucked up”underlined in Paragraph 3?

A．Consumed.	B．Stored.
C．Delivered.	D．Produced.

【小题3】What can Molecular Information Storage do compared to traditional hard drives？

A．Produce and save less energy.

B．Store more information faster.

C．Be better for the environment.

D．Control temperatures more easily.

【小题4】Where can you find the course of the test about Molecular Information Storage？

A．In Paragraph 3.	B．In Paragraph 4.
C．In Paragraph6.	D．In Paragraph 7.

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Exposure to sunlight produces vitamin D in our skin. This is 【小题1】 we call vitamin D the “ sunshine vitamin”. Vitamin D is good 【小题2】 everybody. In fact, research shows this “sunshine vitamin” could help women with breast cancer live longer.

Breast cancer 【小题3】 (patient) who have high blood levels of vitamin D have a 【小题4】 (good) prognosis (预后) than women who don’t. Researchers found that these women had less aggressive cancers. They were also 30 percent less likely 【小题5】 (die) from the cancer or to get it again.

Besides fighting breast cancer, vitamin D helps the body in other ways. It controls how the body absorbs calcium. It also makes sure the body’s immune system works 【小题6】 (normal) .

Getting enough vitamin D 【小题7】 (be) important for the normal growth of bones. If you don’t get enough, you are at risk of developing osteoporosis, a disease 【小题8】 makes your bones fragile, brittle, or easy to break.

Vitamin D may help reduce your risk of developing heart disease, according to a 2008 study 【小题9】 (publish) in the journal Circulation. And, it may also help protect you against getting the flu.

Other studies have shown that vitamin D might help people 【小题10】 (suffer) from depression.

Dyslexia is a problem that restricts the ability to recognize words and connect sounds with letters when people read. People with this learning disorder may also have problems when they write. Dyslexia is not related to eyesight or intelligence. The problem involves areas of the brain that process language. Brain scientists are studying whether they can predict which young children may struggle with reading to provide them with early help. John Gabrieli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is leading the study of five-year-olds in about twenty schools in the Boston area.
They studied in the schools with kindergartens. And for all the children joining in the study, they give them a brief set of paper-and-pencil tests to look at which children appear to be at some risk for struggling to read. So far, fifty of them have been examined in a scanner, a special machine, to show brain activity. Written tests are not always able to identify dyslexia or other problems, while brain scans may offer a more scientific way to identify problems. And with reading problems, early identification is important. When it comes to helping children overcome reading difficulties, the younger the child, the more effective they are.
Reading problems are not usually identified until a child is in the third or fourth grade. The later children are recognized as poor readers, the less treatment can help. And, as Professor Gabrieli points out, poor reading can make education a struggle. Reading is everything. Even math and science have textbooks.
While the children are given tasks related to reading, the brain scans measure the extent to which certain parts of the brain become active while the children do the work. The scientists say they are pleased with early results from the study, but have a long way to go.
【小题1】Dyslexia affects the part of brain concerning ________.

A．eyesight

B．intelligence

C．language

D．emotion

【小题2】Dyslexia problems are more likely to be identified through ________.

A．speech contests	B．reading efficiency
C．listening comprehension	D．brain scans

【小题3】According to the passage, which of the followings has the best time to overcome reading difficulties?

A．Tom, a boy in the kindergarten.

B．Kate, a high school leaver.

C．Jane, a primary school student.

D．Steve, a man in his thirties.

【小题4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．An effective way to identity Dyslexia at an early stage.

B．A learning disorder involving one’s intelligence.

C．Dyslexia — a problem affecting one’s reading and writing.

D．A possible solution to the problems related to Dyslexia.

   A new tool of communication called the "drift diary" is doing the rounds among young college graduates.

The "drift diary", like those ancient paper messages put into a bottle left to drift on the high seas to reach hundreds of miles away, connects lonely hearts. It was first started by a Beijing woman, who goes by the screen name Little S, in 2007.It has become the preferred tool of communication among youngsters afraid to reveal their innermost self to peers, but wanting to share their lives with others. The way it works is that the initiator（发起人）of the diary mentions it on popular Internet forums such as Tianya and Douban. Those wanting to react or otherwise add to the diary then send their real names and addresses to the initiator via e-mails or text messages.

The numbers in one group are usually restricted to between 30 and 50. The diary then is passed on to another by the express delivery or personal handover. The diary writers are mostly anonymous（匿名的）but if they wish to reveal their identity they can do so by posting their contact information at the end of their postings.

The diary writers not just add words but also decorate the plain notebooks with cartoons, drawings or even dress it up with a ribbon or a new cover. Interesting experiences, travel journals, the simple joys of everyday living or sweet recollections of childhood, all find a place in these diaries. Most often, though, the writers set down their frustrations and predicaments.

It usually takes one year for a diary to return to the initiator. The last recorder is the luckiest one, with access to all previous entries, while others can request photocopies of them from the diary's initiator.

【小题1】Why is the "drift diary" popular among youngsters?

A．Because they hate using the Internet.

B．Because they like to show themselves to peers.

C．Because they want to share their lives with strangers.

D．Because they find it fashionable to be a diary writer.

【小题2】Which one shows the correct way a drift diary works?
①The diary then is passed on between the recorders.
②The diary returns to the initiator.
③The initiator of the diary makes a mention online.
④Participants request photocopies of the diary from the diary's initiator.
⑤Those who want to participate in the program get in touch with the initiator.

A．③⑤①④②	B．③⑤①②④
C．④⑤①②③	D．①③⑤②④.

【小题3】What does the underlined word "predicaments" in the last but one paragraph probably mean?

A．Successful experiences.	B．Sense of achievement.
C．Difficult situations.	D．Favorable conditions.

【小题4】Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?

A．Drift Diary——A New Tool of Communication

B．How a Drift Diary Works

C．Share Your Lives with Strangers

D．The Diary Passed on