Safety is a huge concern whenever I run with my earphones in. But I need music to run. Otherwise all I hear is the sound of my own breathing. So I’ve found a compromise: I run with only one earphone in. The music sounds off. It’s an imperfect solution.
An updated pair of headphones, called AfterShokz, aim to do better. AfterShokz bills itself as using bone conducting technology to conduct music from the front of the ear, delivering sound through your cheekbone and inner ear. This keeps your eardrum (鼓膜) free to hear everything else.
“Earbuds (耳塞式耳机) are typically designed to block out all sound, which is fine when you’re inside. But when you’re outside, you need all your senses. It would be like sending you out cycling with a blindfold on,” says Rod Annet, managing director of AfterShokz.
Here’s where AfterShokz comes in. The headphones hook over the back of your head with the main “bud” resting high up against your cheek. This keeps your ear free to delight in other sounds.
So do they work? In a word, yes. During a 45-minute jog, they didn’t bounce or shift. I heard far more of my environment than I normally do: a nearby bike there; a runner passing me again to my left; and so forth.
What about the downsides? If you’re a huge fan of high-quality sound, you might find the headphones a bit tinny. One friend expressed concerns about missing the ability to get lost in the music as you might be distracted by other noises, although I personally didn’t find that an issue.
Yet those are all minor details. For me, probably the biggest problem is the price. Ranging between £ 49.96 to £ 83.29, AfterShokz headphones aren’t exactly cheap.
With all that considered, would I recommend them? Yes. AfterShokz headphones are quite useful. While out jogging, they were light, painless, and easy to use. They made me feel safer.
【小题1】What is special about AfterShokz headphones?

A．They are a good choice for inside use.

B．They allow users to hear other sounds.

C．They can make music sound more beautiful.

D．They can deliver sound through your eardrum.

【小题2】What does the author’s friend think of AfterShokz headphones?

A．They prevent users getting lost.

B．They deliver high—quality sound.

C．They often move while users are running.

D．They fail to allow users to enjoy the music.

【小题3】The author thinks AfterShokz headphones .

A．are too expensive	B．seem quite useless
C．make users feel pain	D．are too complex to use

【小题4】What is the main purpose of the text?

A．To express worries.	B．To introduce a product.
C．To share a personal story.	D．To complain about a product.

   James T. Green thought he was having a panic attack.

He took a break from work to walk around the block during a stressful day, and noticed he felt out of breath climbing up a small hill. That wasn’t normal, Green thought. He had become a regular biker in recent months and wasn’t exactly out of shape. He sat down at his desk, and looked at the Apple Watch on his wrist. His heart rate was through the roof, and the Heart Watch app he was using to check his pulse was flashing warnings. Maybe it was something more serious, he thought.

Although he had blood clots（血栓）in his lungs a few years back, he had been taking medication, and doctors said that it was an unusual condition for someone in their mid-20s. Still, the symptoms this time were much less severe, and he was feeling stressed, so his mind didn’t automatically jump to blood clots. Green’s doctor told him it sounded like anxiety. But then he showed her his heart rate recorded by the Apple Watch.

“This is my normal heart rate,” Green told her, pointing to the graph in the app. “This is where my heart is now. There’s something wrong.”

The doctor ordered a CT scan. The blood clots in his left lung had returned. An ambulance rushed Green to the emergency room, where he was pumped full of blood thinners（血液稀释剂）. He didn’t need surgery this time, but doctors told him that if he had waited, a clot could have killed him.

Green isn’t the only person who has discovered a serious health condition after seeing heart-rate data on a smartwatch. And he won’t be the last. Currently, smartwatches from Apple and others can tell you your heart rate and track your workouts. But these companies want to go beyond the basics by developing ways to tell you when something is wrong. In fact, it’s already happening.

【小题1】What is abnormal for Green this time?

A．He was hurt badly.

B．He breathed heavily.

C．He was out of shape.

D．He decreased physical activity.

【小题2】What really caused the severe symptoms of Green this time?

A．Tiredness.	B．Anxiety.
C．Work stress.	D．Blood clots.

【小题3】Which of the following confirmed his extremely serious problem?

A．He himself.	B．His doctor.
C．The Apple Watch.	D．The CT scan.

【小题4】What is the following paragraph going to talk about?

A．Smartwatches can help people in all aspects of life.

B．Smartwatches will replace doctors.

C．Other uses in health of smartwatches.

D．Other cases in saving lives by smartwatches.

   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

   A start-up company in California, called Zume, is testing machines that make pizza. The robot takes and shapes dough to create the base of the pizza. It then adds tomato sauce, cheese, meat or other toppings. Next, the robot places the uncooked pizza into a hot oven. A few minutes later, the pizza is ready. The pizza comes out the same each time. Zume says the robots work quickly and do not get sick. The robots do not get paid either.

Julia Collins is the company’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) . Her business can spend money on better food products because it does not have to pay the robots. Zume is using robots to make pizza.

Charity Suzuki has bought the robot-made pizza. She likes its taste. “It’s delicious. It’s always hot and fresh when it comes. I mean it’s great that they’re making it, but I can’t tell the difference that it’s made by a robot versus a human.”

Other companies say they are developing robots so people can get higher quality food faster. But what about the jobs the robots are taking from humans?

Ken Goldberg is a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. He also directs the school’s automation laboratory. Goldberg says researchers have been working with robots for 50 years. He says that, while there has been progress, the jobs are not going to disappear right away. “I want to reassure (使放心) restaurant workers that the skills that they have are still going to be of value,” Goldberg said.

“We’re going to get rid of boring, repetitive, dangerous jobs and we’re going to free up people to do things that have higher value. There’s going to be amazing new ways of working that don’t exist yet but are going to be created.”

【小题1】Why can Zume devote more money to better food products?

A．It earns a lot by selling pizza.	B．It wants to create more robots.
C．It can save a lot by using robots.	D．It hopes to attract more customers.

【小题2】What can we know about the robot-made pizza according to Suzuki?

A．It really agrees with her.	B．It is hot and fresh all the time.
C．It is tastier than the man-made.	D．It is delicious and free of charge.

【小题3】What’s the benefit of robots’ making pizza?

A．They work efficiently.	B．They help sick people.
C．They need few payments.	D．They produce more food.

【小题4】What does Goldberg think of the jobs of restaurant workers?

A．Interesting.	B．Boring.
C．Dangerous.	D．Necessary.

语法填空

In winter, gloves can prevent our hands from getting cold, 【小题1】 (especial) for people who ride bikes. Here is a new kind of gloves. The gloves are known 【小题2】 Talk to the Hand.

They come with a speaker into the thumb and a microphone into the little finger 【小题3】 can be connected to any mobile phone using Bluetooth. Mobile phone 【小题4】 (use) will be able to keep their hands warm while they chat without taking their phones out of their pockets 【小题5】 handbags.

Sean Miles combines (使结合) gloves with some parts of mobile phones, which are recycled through 02. He 【小题6】 (design) two pairs of the new gloves — one in pink and the other in brown and yellow. They will appear on a show and visitors will be able to win the gloves. If 【小题7】 (many) people want to own them, they will then be produced more in the near future.

It is said that the number of unused mobile phones in the UK is about 70 million. Bill Eyres, head of O2 Recycle, asks people 【小题8】 (recycle) their phones. Mr. Miles hopes his work will make people consider recycling, 【小题9】 (say), “If a few more people pay attention to recycling rather than send them to dustbins, I think this project will have reached 【小题10】 (it) purpose.”