1. 阅读理解

    Keeping fit often means sharing a busy pathway with cyclists, runners and walkers, but imagine facing the task of doing it all without being able to see or hear. It is a challenge many disabled athletes face, unless someone agrees to be their eyes and ears.

    Newly formed group Achilles Brisbane pairs vision-and hearing-impaired(视觉和听觉受损的)athletes with a person who would like to guide them.

    “When we go out, we're always going out into an unknown course,”said Achilles Brisbane president Jane Britt, who is both vision and hearing impaired. “It's much less frightening to have someone beside you that has full hearing to listen for you and tell you what's there.”

    Ms. Cullen and Ms. Britt meet up most Saturday mornings to take part in the free five-kilometer Southbank park run. Their partnership is built on trust, but Ms. Britt said that it took time to develop.

    Ms. Britt said it took an unexpected storm for her to trust Ms. Cullen completely. “There was violent rain, my glasses were broken and we were walking together,”she said. “I suddenly had to tell her I couldn't see anything, and I was going to have to completely trust her. From that time I knew it was going to work because she was so good about dealing with the special situation we both found ourselves in. ”

    Isabella Allen and her seeing-eye dog Tatum are two new additions to the Achilles programme. Ms. Allen kept active by running and cycling but found it difficult to keep going as her vision became worse. After nearly giving up completely, she worked up the courage to ask Brisbane to find someone to share a boat with her.

    Ms. Alien said the fear of not finding anyone to row with almost stopped her from reaching out to Achilles Brisbane. “But, they found people and matched me to them.”she said, “It's the best thing I've ever done. ”

(1) What does Paragraph 1 try to show? A. The danger of walking on a busy road. B. The difficulty the disabled athletes face. C. The exercise people do to keep fit. D. The necessity of building roads for the blind.
(2) How does Jane Britt feel about going out alone? A. Relaxed. B. Excited. C. Worried. D. Bored.
(3) What happened in the heavy rain according to Ms. Britt? A. She developed a strong sense of teamwork. B. She led Ms. Cullen forward on the road. C. She began to rely on Ms. Cullen as her guide. D. She fell down on the ground.
(4) What was the best thing Ms. Allen has done? A. Asking Brisbane for help. B. Working in Brisbane. C. Exercising non-stop. D. Meeting Tatum.
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阅读理解 普通
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1. 阅读理解

    Parents complain that children outgrow their clothes so fast that it costs a fortune(£12, 000 on average per year), going through seven different sizes in the space of their first two years. There could now be a solution:a new high-tech fabric(织物)that expands as the wearer grows.

    Ryan Yasin, who is studying for a master's degree at the London Royal College of Art, came up with the idea after purchasing clothes for his newborn nephew, only to find the baby had outgrown them by the time they arrived. In addition to the expense Yasin was also concerned about the environmental influence. The process of making and distributing just l kilogram, or 2. 2 pounds, of new fabric results in an average of 23 kg, or 50 pounds of greenhouse gases. To make matters worse, the “fast fashion” trend worldwide has caused garment production to double since 2000, with more than half of the clothing ending up in landfills annually!

    To find a solution, Yasin used his previous experience designing satellites to invent a way to fold synthetic(合成的)material such that it stretches in all directions.

    The first design, a pair of tiny pants, not only fit his baby nephew, but also his 2-year-old niece! After spending a lot of time perfecting the process and testing the design, Yasin is now awaiting a patent for his design and seeking investors(投资者)to bring the clothing to market.

    For his new line of Petit Pli, the designer plans to produce outerwear that is both waterproof(防水的)and windproof. The clothing will be machine washable and fold small enough to fit in a jacket or pant pocket. Yasin plans to establish a take-back system so that worn-out Petit Pli clothing can be recycled into new fabric.

    The designer does not expect parents to dress their children only in his expandable clothing, particularly since the current designs use synthetic materials. But he plans to soon produce the wear in “a wider variety of garments” and hopes that Petit Pli will be able to have an “influence on over-consumption. ”We surely hope he succeeds!

(1) What inspired Yasin's invention? A. His great expense on clothes. B. His unhappy experience. C. His nephew's piled-up clothes. D. His desire for a master's degree.
(2) Which of the following statements about Yasin's design is true? A. It has been tested successful. B. It has come on the market. C. It has got a patent. D. It has attracted a lot of investors.
(3) What will be one advantage of the new outerwear? A. It comes in various styles. B. It needs no washing. C. It can never be worn out. D. It is space-saving.
(4) Why does Yasin suggest a limited use of the expandable clothing? A. Its cost is too high. B. It lacks stylish designs. C. Its materials are not natural. D. It is not easily recycled.
阅读理解 普通
2. 阅读理解

    Artificial intelligence(AI)is making it possible for companies to monitor workers' behavior in great detail and in real-time(实时的). Start to slack off(懈怠)and AI could talk to your boss.

    One company offering such services is London-based start-up Status Today. Its AI platform relies on a regular supply of employee data, including everything from the files you access to when you use a key card.

    From this, it builds a picture of how employees normally function and signals any unusual performance. The idea is to spot when someone might become a security risk by doing something different from their usual behavioral patterns. “All of this gives us a fingerprint of a user, so if we think the fingerprint doesn't match, we raise a warning, ”says Mircea Dumitrescu, the company's chief technology officer.

    The system also aims to catch employee actions that could accidentally cause a security breach(漏洞), like opening malware(恶意软件). “We're not monitoring if your computer has a virus。”says Dumitrescu. “We're monitoring human behaviors. ”

    But catching the security breach means monitoring everyone, and the AI can also be used to track employee productivity. “It seems like they are just using the reputation of AI to give an air of lawfulness to old-fashioned workplace surveillance(监视), ”says Javier Ruiz Diaz of digital campaigning organization the Open Rights Group. “You have a right to privacy and you shouldn't be expected to give that up at work. ”

    Exactly how companies use the system will be up to them, but it's hard to shake the picture of an AI constantly looking over employees' shoulders. “It will bother people, and that could be counterproductive if it affects their behavior, ”says Paul Bernal at the University of East Anglia.

Phil Legg at the University of the West of England says it will never catch every security risk. “If people know they're being monitored, they can change their behavior, ”he says.

(1) The underlined Part “a fingerprint of a User” in Paragraph 3 is most likely to mean________. A. An employee's best record. B. Evidence against an employee. C. An employee's general behavior. D. Access to an employee.
(2) What's Javier Ruiz Diaz's attitude towards the system? A. Critical. B. Suspicious. C. Indifferent. D. Curious.
(3) What is Phil Legg's concern for the system? A. It cannot change employees'、behavior. B. It may not be as effective as expected. C. It will affect employees' emotions. D. It is too risky to be used at work.
(4) What's the best title for the text? A. Watch out for security breaches. B. It's time to improve your job performance. C. Be aware of your privacy in the workplace. D. Workplace AI may tell your boss if you're slacking.
阅读理解 普通
3. 阅读理解

    The future of Australia's solar industry is looking bright after a record 3.5m panels(嵌板)were installed on rooftops last year, giving the equal output of a medium-sized coal-fired power station. The record 1,057 MW of capacity (产能) in small scale systems installed across the country broke the previous record set in 2012, figures from the Clean Energy Regulator showed on Tuesday.

    Australia's solar power prosperity could almost double capacity in a year, The data also revealed that the average system size has also doubled since then from three to six kilowatts as average prices continued to fall. A fully installed 5KW system costs an average of $5,930 in Australia, according to the energy broker Solar choice.net.au. Its records show that the price has roughly halved in many capital cities since 2012.

    The regulator's executive general manager, Mark Williamson, said there was increasing interest in renewals as a way to take control of electricity bills. But more importantly, he said it was also good news for reducing carbon emissions.

    “We are seeing a wide cross section of Australians—households, community centers, schools, and small businesses—receiving rewards under the small scale renewable energy scheme,” Williamson said, “Our data shows consumers are embracing renewable energy to take control of their electricity bills. ”

    In 2017, there was a 41% increase in installing renewable energy capacity across all states and territories compared to 2016. Queensland led the way with installed capacity at 295MW, with the Australian Capital Territory taking top place for the biggest annual increase by 57 %. “I he data collected by the Clean Energy Regulator in 2017 reflects the industry is going from strength to strength, It looks like 2018 will be another big year for the solar industry.”

    The total of installed capacity for last year is expected to rise to 1,070MW when all the data is collected. A large coal-fired power station such as Loyd Yang A in Victoria's Latrobe Valley has a capacity of 2, 200MW.

(1) What do we know about the Australia's solar industry from the first paragraph? A. It's still risky. B. It's promising. C. It's unpredictable. D. It's within expectation.
(2) What's the reason for the Australia's solar industry's development? A. The continuous fall of average price of installing a solar energy system. B. The entire decrease of the carbon emissions. C. The autonomous control of the electricity bills. D. The doubt about the capacity of coal-fired power station.
(3) What does the underlined phrase “from strength to strength” in Paragraph 5 suggest? A. Australia's solar industry is being accepted. B. Australia's solar industry is developing rapidly. C. Australia's solar industry is more practical than before. D. Australia's solar industry is more advanced than other countries.
(4) What is the biggest feature of the renewable energy according to Mark Williams? A. Reducing pollution. B. Providing enough energy. C. Lowering electricity bills. D. Simplifying installed equipment.
阅读理解 普通