Scientists claim to have developed a revolutionary new giant 3D concrete printer that can build a 2,500-square-foot house in just 24 hours.
The 3D printer, developed by Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis from the University of Southern California, could be used to build a whole house, layer by layer, in a single day.
"It is basically scaling up 3D printing to the scale of building," said Khoshnevis.
The giant robot replaces construction workers with a nozzle (喷嘴), which can quickly build a home based on a computer pattern, MSN News reported.
Contour Crafting, as it is named, is a layered fabrication (构造) technology. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be constructed in a single run, embedded (嵌入) in each house all the wires and pipes for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning.
The potential applications of this technology are far-reaching including in emergency, low-income, and commercial housing.
"Our research also addresses the application of Contour Crafting in building habitats on other planets. Contour Crafting will most probably be one of the very few feasible approaches for building structures on other planets, such as the Moon and Mars, which are being targeted for human habitation before the end of the new century," researchers said on the project website.
The technology may potentially reduce energy use and emissions. And the main advantages of the Contour Crafting process over existing technologies are the superior surface finish that is realized and the greatly increased speed of construction.
8. Professor Khoshnevis has recently developed a 3D printer that can ________.
A. build a 2500-square-foot house in a single day.
B. construct a skyscraper, layer by layer.
C. design a group of houses automatically.
D. assist construction workers in their work.
9. The new 3D printer uses the following to build a house EXCEPT ________.
A. a nozzle B. a computer pattern C. a robot D. an air-conditioner
10. According to the text, the potential applications of Contour Crafting include building _______.
A. emergency vehicles B. low-income housing
C. commercial centers D. space stations on other planets
11. What advantages of this new technology is mentioned in the text?
A. It creates more jobs. B. It is less time-consuming.
C. It saves the building cost. D. It emits no carbon dioxide.
‘Iris scan (虹膜扫描) ， please,’ the bank’s computer voice tells you . You step up and the computer reads your eye , comparing it to the stored file it has of your iris. The images had better match—otherwise you won’t be able to get your money.
Iris scanning and other technologies , such as fingerprint and voice scanning , have appeared in many science fiction movies in the past. Today , these advanced technologies are part of the real world. They are common at work, the bank, the airport, and your local prison. The iris scan, fingerprint scan, and voice scan are all examples of biometrics( 生物测定学) a fast developing area of automatic personal identification technology . Basically , biometrics uses various ways to verify a person’s identity , based on the individual’s unique characteristics ,including fingerprints , voices, irises, body heat patterns, facial images, handprints , signatures and so on.
Biometrics identification systems have a number of advantages over password systems. The primary advantage is that an individual has to be physically present in order to be identified. Another important advantage is that there are no passwords to remember , forget, lose or steal.
The voice scan is the simplest and most affordable form of biometrics . It only requires a computer, a microphone and the correct software. The software records a subject’s voice and then compares it to a stored voice sample for identification purposes.
For additional safety, fingerprint and handprint scans can also be employed . Fingerprint scans take the image of a fingerprint and compare it to a stored file of prints. Handprint scans identify the unique features of a hand.
Iris scans currently give the highest level of accuracy among all the available biometrics systems. Another technology , full facial scans , is currently in use at border crossings and airports. Facial scanning equipment can actually track and identify moving faces within a crowd.
The potential of biometrics is exciting and encouraging . With continued development , testing , and application , current technologies will become even more effective in the future. Soon , the days of password and car keys will be gone . Just don’t leave home without your fingerprints!
59. The first paragraph serves as a(n) __________.
A. example B. comment C. conclusion D. explanation
60. The underlined word “verify” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_____”.
A. protect B. develop C. confirm D. change
61. Which is the most accurate form of biometrics?
A. The voice scan B. The fingerprint scan C. The iris scan D. The facial scan
62. What is the author’s attitude towards the future of biometrics?
A. He is uncertain about it . B. He feels hopeful about it
C. He is worried about it . D. He feels doubtful about it .
—Which room was Oliver taken to?
—It was the room ______ the managers of the workhouse were having a meeting.
A. where B. that C. which D. /
Basketball Statistician Help Wanted
The Athletic Department is looking for students to help assist staff during the Fall 2016, Winter 2016-17 and Spring 2017 semesters. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:
·Good computer skills
·Available evenings and weekends
·Knowing basketball rules and statistics
Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their respective(各自的) campuses.
·TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone,240-567-1308
·Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga,240-567-7589
·Springfield Athletic coordinator, Gary Miller,240-567-2273
·Germantown Athletic Coordinator, Gavri Chavan, 240-567-6915
5. When will the job start?
A .In May 2016 B. In September 2016
C. In May 2017 D. In September2017
6. Who is more likely to get job?
A. Sam, English major ,member of the college basketball team
B. Judy, IT staff with night classes, children’s basketball team coach
C. Ted, computer major, basketball fan, free on evenings and weekends
D. Molly, part-time programmer, high school basketball player ,new mother
7. Whom should you contact if you want to apply for the job in Rockville?
A. Jorge B. Michael C. Gauri D. Gary
Arthur owed his success to his family that offered a peaceful and happy ______ for his study.
A. content B. atmosphere C. competition D. assistance
What is the easiest way to stay warm in the super cold?____16____. At least that is what Santa Claus told me.
During Christmas, Dennis and I went to Finland. We brought back some tips for keeping warm in a cold temperature.
1. There layers(层)work wonders.
Start with the base layer, which sits right on your skin: choose something that can absorb sweat. ___17___. A sweater is a good choice. The most important layer is the outer clothes, which should be waterproof(防水的)and windproof.
2.___18___.
You lose heat from every millimeter of uncovered skin, which was the biggest lesson I learned on this trip. My whole body was well covered. But I missed one sport: my face. So it often felt like the wind was going to blow my nose off.
3. Exercise, don’t just stand still.
When it’s cold, exercising may be the last thing you feel like doing, but be smart.___19___, and you will feel the difference. When we first got to Finland, we were freezing. But after a couple of minutes jumping around, we felt less cold.
4. If you have a heater
You may want to turn it all the way up, but it’s best to keep it at between 18 and 20 degrees.____20____, but not create a huge difference between inside and outside.
A. Grow a crazy beard.
B. The key is what your layer is
C. Cover every bit of your skin
D. That will keep you comfortable
E. Take a walk, faster than your normal speed
F. Don’t forget to keep your hands and feet warm, too
G. The middle layer keeps your body heat from getting away
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days：Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible(有责任感的) citizens. They give love and care. These two days make us think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery(墓地). On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.
33. Which of the following is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?______.
A. Parents bring up children.
B. Parents give love and care to children.
C. Parents educate children to be good persons.
D. Parents pass away before children grow up.
34. What do you think “florists” do?______.
A. They sell flowers. B. They make and sell bread.
C. They offer enough room for having family parties.
D. They sell special gifts for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
35. What do you know from the passage?________.
A. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May.
B. Fewer women worked outside the home in the past.
C. Not all the children respect their parents
D. Fathers are not as important as mothers at home.
“ Finally, no more exams.” It’s a common feeling among high school graduates who have just completed the college entrance examination. What a 61 (relieve)! However, rather than fill the next three months 62 sleeping, eating, and watching TV, some students have started working on finding a good choice of foreign college.
Different from those who begin their applications for foreign colleges in Senior 2, Li made a late decision on a US education. She began to think about it in Senior 3, but decided not 63 (give) up the college entrance exam.
Li’s classmate Mao Bingxin is considering studying in Canada after the top exam. She began a TOEFL course on June 11.
He Wei, 64 18-year-old boy who studies at Shenzhen Bao’an High School, isn’t allowing herself much freedom this summer vacation either, 65 (devote) her time to looking for a language school 66 she can study French and some overseas study consulting agencies.
He Wei considers 67 worthwhile to spend the summer preparing for college rather than hanging out with friends. “Although we don’t really know 68 the future will be like, we are sure that only when we make 69 (good) preparations for it, will we 70 (offer) more chances.” she said.
Little David ______ his homework when his father came home.
A. finishes B. has finished
C. had finished D. will finish
“There’s nothing I can do，” the eye doctor told my parents. “Take your baby home. She's 21 ” Mom cried. “I'll give her a full，happy life，” Dad 22 .
As I grew，my parents realized I could see 23 . One day after school，my dad saw me holding Dick and Jane close to my eyes， 24 to read the letters. “Dad，I can’t do this. It’s too 25 . ” I said.“Honey，you，re not a quitter. I'll help you. ” He painstakingly drew 26 big enough for me to see and then pronounced them. I learned to read after my father and eventually read Dick and Jane 27 with my classmates. Because of my dad，I had 28 in myself as a reader—until middle school.
One afternoon a student 29 me，“You blind bat. If you get your face any nearer to that page，your eyes will fall out of your head!” I ran out of the school in 30 . Dad was home when I burst in. “I thought I was a good 31 ，but the kids are making fun of me. ”Dad hugged me. “I，m sorry，Pam. But that doesn’t change the 32 . You can read and your classmates can’t take that away from you， right?” 33 to speak， I just nodded. After Dad’s 34 ,the knot (结）in my heart went away.
Dad taught me to laugh at myself. He reminded me of the time I tried to 35 a sign painted to the floor. Another time，I 36 to eat flowers off an empty plate. When I was ten，I wanted to ride a two-wheeled bike. I heard Dad say to Mom，“I,m not going to hold Pam back from the 37 any kid has. ” On my first attempt，I said，“Dad，what if I fall off?” His 38 was，“You’ll get on and try again. ” 39 ，I learned to skate，climb trees，and so on.
I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for my dad. He made the 40 for me to believe in myself.
21．A. fine B. blind C. crazy D. deaf
22．A. promised B. explained C. admitted D. ordered
23．A. immediately B. separately C. partly D. clearly
24．A. pretending B. struggling C. offering D. deciding
25．A. absurd B. boring C. abstract D. hard
26．A. circles B. pictures C. letters D. lines
27．A. proudly B. secretly C. unwillingly D. noisily
28．A. interest B. confidence C. doubt D. disappointment
29．A. betrayed B. greeted C. scolded D. teased
30．A. rags B. surprise C. tears D. terror
31．A. reader B. member C. daughter D. listener
32．A . style B. way C. happiness D. truth
33．A . Eager B. Afraid C. Unable D. Pleased
34．A encouragement B praise C reward D conclusion
35．A. 1ook for B. pick up C. take out D. throw away
36．A. refused B . managed C . forgot D. attempted
37．A. examples B . adventures C . concerns D. changes
38．A comment B choice C reply D idea
39．A . Afterwards B. Otherwise C. Backwards D. Instead
40．A decision B progress C scene D diference
Dear Derrick ,
Although under great pressure, we all get on well with each other in this large office. You are one of the people who keep the social temperature at such a comfortable setting. I don’t know anyone in the office who is better liked than you .
You can perhaps help with this. The collection of contributions towards gifts for employees’ personal-life events is becoming a little troubling. Certainly, the group sending of a gift is reasonable now and then. In the past month, however, there have been collections for two baby shower gifts, one wedding shower gift, two weeding gifts, one funeral remembrance, four birthday gifts, and three graduation gifts .
It’s not only the collected-from who are growing uncomfortable(and poor), but the collected-for feel uneasy receiving gifts from people who don’t know them outside the office, who wouldn’t even recognize their graduating children, their marrying daughters and sons, or their dead relatives.
This is basically a kind gesture (and one that people think well of you for), but the practice seems to have become too wide-ranging and feels improper in today’s office setting .
Thank you for understanding .
1. The underlined word “ contributions ” probably means _________ .
A. reports B. suggestions C. understanding D. money
2. Derrick is expected to _________.
A. show more kindness B. discontinue the present practice
C. quit being the organizer for gift giving D. know more about co-workers’ families
3. This is basically a letter of _________.
A. apology B. dissatisfaction C. appreciation D. sympathy
— Will my daughter be all right soon, doctor?
— Well, she ________ be, if she takes these tablets.
A. must B. may C．can D. should
–Have you ever been to Beijing, our capital?
–Yes, only once. I there only for two days.
A. had stayed B. stayed C. have stayed D. were staying
– The boss said we had only three days to finish the work.
-- Don’t worry. We have already _____ two thirds of it.
A. got down B. got through
C. given in D. given away
It's a cold day in December. A little boy about 10-year-old was standing in front of a shoe store on Broadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said 61 (gentle)," My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?" "I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," the boy __62__ (reply).
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, 63 asked the clerk to get a half dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked 64 he could give her a basin of water and a towel. The clerk quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk 65 (return) with the socks. __66__ (place) a pair upon the boy's feet, she then purchased him a pair of shoes, and tying up the remaining pairs of socks, gave them to the boy. She patted him on __67__ head and said," My little fellow, do you feel __68__ comfortable now than before?" As she turned to go, the astonished boy, __69__ caught her hand and looked up in her face, __70__ tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words," Are you God's wife?"
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Last Sunday morning,our class goes to visit the Science Museum.There we saw many scientific phenomena showing in such a simple and direct way that we understood it easily.During our visit,the teacher explained us how science works in our daily life.Then the teacher added that science also had its disadvantages if we didn’t use it proper.So we should learn it well but try to make the use of it properly to serve our society better.
After the visit,I realized how an important role science plays on the development of our society.I’ll try my best to study science and use it as more as possible in my daily life.
Crows Have Had a Bad Press
36 They are smarter than any cat and sometimes children too. But despite this, they have a bad reputation.
“There are a few reasons for this,” says Kevin J. McGowan, a U.S. bird expert, who has studied crows for 25 years. “One is that they’re black, and in western European culture, that’s bad. 37 So somebody died, lying on the side of the road, and the crows came in and picked at it because there it was, free food. ”
Crows are also attacked by gardeners. It’s not deserved, says John Marzluff, professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington. U.S. Marzluff says crows do more good than harm to a garden. “They eat a great variety of crop pest insects,” he said, “so in the family garden they are a good natural insecticide.”
38
Crows have strong family values. They come closer to human beings in social behavior than any other animal studied. Crow society is family-based. 39 . When you see a number of crows gathering, they’re usually family groups that are helping each other make a living.
A crow has a big “vocabulary”. It can make around 30 calls unique to itself, each with a different meaning. From their calls, crows can tell the difference between family members, neighbors and strangers.
Young crows like to play. They get an object like a leaf or a feather and they chase each other around, trying to get the object. Then whoever gets it gets chased.
40 They let others know when they are calm, angry, fearful and playful. Some crow emotions and behavior are amazing, such as leaving goodies-candy, keys or shiny glass-for people who feed them, or pooping on the cars of people who bother them.
A. Crow emotions are wonderful
B. Here is something more about crows that you might not know.
C. Young crows show respect for their parents as humans do.
D. They also get associated with death because in Europe there are no vultures(秃鹰).
E. Crows are very smart.
F. Crows express emotions.
G. Parents take care of their kids, just like people.
Traffic conditions in Beijing ______ for decades. At first people only complained about jams during rush hours, but today every hour is rush hour.
A. are worsening B. have worsened
C. have been worsening D. have been worsened
British engineers at a company called Reaction Engines, have successfully tested a whole new kind of jet engine, named Sabre, Financial Times is reporting, so that the time of long-distance flight could be halved, or even quartered. Britain’s Orange News says jets with the new engine could fly from London to Sydney in four hours, instead of the usual twelve to sixteen hours and Mail Online adds that new engine not only allows for faster travel but pollutes less and the fuel for it costs less as well.
The secret to the new engine is patented(获得专利) and this new technology very quickly changes air from normal temperature to super-cold temperature. This means the engine can run faster without breaking apart due to overheating, which keeps most modern jets from traveling faster. The engine is air-breathing and use hydrogen as its fuel source. In addition to flying faster, a jet with the new engine would also fly much higher, allowing for an even faster flight in the very thin air. Because of the very high speed produced by the engine and the high altitude, a jet with Sabre in it would not have any windows.
This is the biggest breakthrough in jet technology since the invention of the jet engine, and they expect new aircraft with the new engine to be traveling in the sky in just ten years. They also note that tests of the engine were overseen by the European Space Agency which has now wholly supported the new engine and has even begun talking about booking flight time with future jets that could be used to deliver satellites into orbit around the earth.
This technology is not something that happens overnight. Instead, it is the result of many years’ hard work by thousands of engineers from over seventeen countries. Research has suggested that, with advances in jet plane technology to match the engine, flights could eventually reach speeds of nearly 20,000 miles per hour, making travel to distant parts of the globe as quick and simple as driving across town.
32. Which advantage of jets with the new engine is NOT mentioned?
A. traveling faster B. polluting less
C. costing less D. flying more safely
33. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to ?
A. Reaction Engines B. a long-distance flight
C. a jet with the new engine D. Mail Online
34. The modern jets without the new engine can’t travel faster mainly because _______.
A. their engines can’t stay cool
B. they use a normal fuel source
C. they just fly at very high altitudes
D. their engines can’t allow jets to fly in the thin air
35. The European Space Agency hoped to _____________.
A. be in charge of testing the technology
B. play the leading role in jet technology
C. use jets with the new engine to launch satellites
D. buy all the products made by Reaction Engines
I wish I ____(be) here then
