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

   From Japan to Detroit, automobile manufacturers have been busy creating the green car, a vehicle that, in all its forms, promises to be one of the cleanest technologies on earth. To create the green car of the future, say designers, they will replace dangerous substances with safe ones, recycle car parts from antifreeze to old tires and develop alternative fuels.

To meet high environmental standards, automakers began renovating（翻新）their practices at the heart of the matter: the manufacturing process.

At General Motors（GM）a two-seat electric car named the Impact can travel 110 to 160 kilometers on a single charge, depending on driving habits and conditions. GM will begin the consumer test to the Impact in 12 U. S. cities this year. About a thousand people have been selected to drive the vehicle for two-and four-week periods.

Meanwhile, another alternative to standard gasoline-powered cars is Volkswagen’s Golf Ecomatic, recently introduced in Europe and powered by a diesel（柴油）engine that shuts down automatically whenever the car doesn’t require the force of push — while drivers are waiting at traffic lights, slowing to a standstill in heavy traffic or driving downhill. In city traffic alone, Volkswagen engineers expect 60 percent of the trip is spent either moving without its engine turned on or waiting, and overall the carbon dioxide emissions（排放物）produced by the Golf Ecomatic are 22 percent less than those of a standard diesel-powered automobile.

In the end, the green car will be good not only for the environment but also for business. In the long run environmental success is essential to business success, and many companies have recognized this reality, as a growing number of people want to purchase products from environmentally responsible firms.

【小题1】What is the main purpose of automakers worldwide designing the green car?

A．To increase the efficiency of fuels now in use.

B．To solve the problem of the ever-worsening fuel shortage.

C．To meet high environmental standards.

D．To clear the world of waste car parts.

【小题2】Which of the following is the chief advantage of Golf Ecomatic?

A．It shortens waiting time in the street.

B．It reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

C．It cuts down on the consumption of diesel.

D．It ensures the quality of being pollution-free.

【小题3】What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Automakers have come to see the advantage of making green cars.

B．Environmental protection should not be achieved at the risk of business failure.

C．Automakers may lose much in the production of green cars.

D．The general public are all eager to use the green car.

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

A．To educate people on environmental protection.

B．To list the advantages of green cars over traditional ones.

C．To explain the process of developing green cars.

D．To inform people of the development of green cars.

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

   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

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Anvitha Vijay，who is only nine years old，has built two educational apps. One is Smartkins Animals，which helps many 【小题1】（child）identify more than 100 animals and 【小题2】 other is Rainbow Colors，which teaches kids colors.

With the help of YouTube videos，the young girl from Melbourne，Australia，learned codes（编码）at age 7 all by 【小题3】（she）. Soon，she was trying her hand at making apps.“When I first got my iPad，I 【小题4】（attract）immediately by all the apps on it，”she told TFK.“It wasn't long 【小题5】 I wanted to create my own.”

Anvitha's skills won her a scholarship to attend a big tech conference hosted by Apple in San Francisco，California. There，she got tips from the professionals and went to workshops 【小题6】 she learned about the latest software for app building. All that training led to an idea for a third app. This one，called GoalsHi，inspires kids 【小题7】（develop）good habits.

Anvitha's goal is to keep on 【小题8】 (create) technology that helps kids learn while they are having fun. But what's even more 【小题9】 (importance) to her is that the world sees the power of technology in kids' hands.“The more training we get in tech at an early age,”she says,“the 【小题10】 (good) chance we will have of becoming champions who will one day change the world.”