Inside the Rain Room

The Rain Room has arrived and local art lovers are taking notice. Is it worth the wait? Yes, I assure you it is. Once inside, visitors find a long, dark room with a high ceiling. A single bright light shines through heavy rain falling around visitors. The mist. The damp air. The noise. It feels like a mighty storm is pouring down. But the storm is inside. And visitors aren’t getting wet. Instead, visitors wander in awe, admiring the rain and the artists who created it.

The Rain Room was created to highlight the connection between humans, nature and technology. With a tracking system that senses movement and stops the rain wherever visitors move, it does just that. Light and sound produce an experience that feels both natural and foreign. The exhibit is moving on to Atlanta next month. I urge you to visit before then. It’s time to experience the Rain Room for yourself!

Welcome to the Rain Room

The Rain Room features falling water. Please be aware you may get slightly wet. However, visitors wearing raincoat will be turned away.

This exhibit features advanced technology. To ensure its effectiveness, please avoid wearing dark or reflective clothing.

Visitors are welcome to take photographs of the exhibit.

Children must be accompanied by an adult.

For the convenience of all guests, visits are limited to 10minutes.

1.What’s the purpose of the text?

A. To attract visitors to a new art exhibit.

B. To explain how an exhibit has been created.

C. To describe the technology used in the exhibit.

D. To promise the artists taking part in an exhibit.

2.What’s the function of the exhibit’s tracking system?

A. To keep visitors from getting wet.

B. To protect the exhibit from water damage.

C. To time how long visitors are in the room.

D. To count the number of visitors in the room.

3.What must you do when visiting the Rain Room?

A. Wear a raincoat

B. Wear dark clothing

C. Leave your camera outside.

D. Pass through within 10 minutes.

A new smart phone system under development can locate you even when you’re inside a building, which GPS can't do. While the concept sounds powerful, it’s not yet clear how practical it might be.

The set-up, called SurroundSense, sends information from cameras and microphones—gear in the latest smart phones—to a server that produces a fingerprint of the location.

“You can’t tell much from any of the measurements individually, but when combined, the optical (光学的), acoustic (声学的) and motion information creates a unique fingerprint of the space,” said Ionut Constandache, a student in computer science.

The system distinguishes between two indoor spaces in this manner: It knows that a bar is likely to be dark and noisy and people move little, sit a lot, whereas a department store will be brightly lit, contain vibrant colors, and will see a lot of people moving up and down passages. The more the system is used, the more it learns about specific places.

More work is needed before the set-up would be ready for prime time, however. For now, it can’t work if a person’s cellphone is in a handbag or otherwise unable to employ the camera. Finally it would be best served if paired with phones that were worn on the wrist or hung around the neck. Batteries, too, are a problem.

Students on the research team went out across Durham, North Carolina, with their cellphones collecting data in different types of businesses. The students mirrored the actions of the selected customers so that they would not prejudice the measurements.

“We went to 51 different stores and found that SurroundSense achieved an average accuracy (精确性) of about 87 percent," Constandache said.

“As the system collects and analyzes more and more information about a particular site, the fingerprint becomes more precise,” said Romit Roy Choudhury, professor of computer engineering. “Not only is the ambience different at different locations, but also can be different at different time at the same location.”

1.We can infer from the first paragraph that GPS .

A. can find you wherever you are

B. can make too much loud noise

C. can only find outside things

D. isn’t really practical yet

2.Why did students mirror the actions of the selected customers?

A. To get a reasonable result.

B. To collect data in different ways.

C. To receive information about a particular site.

D. To learn more about specific places.

3.The underlined word “ambience” in the last paragraph may mean .

A. the fingerprint of the location

B. the character of a place

C. the existence of people

D. the area of store

4.The main idea of the passage is about .

A. comparing GPS with a smart cellphone

B. the development of cellphones

C. a cellphone knowing where you are

D. what kind of future cellphones face

March 16th is World Sleep Day. This year’s slogan (标语) is “Breathe Easily, Sleep Well”. Its aim is to celebrate the benefits of good and healthy sleep.

Sleep is like food for the brain. Enough sleep helps the body and brain grow and develop. According to the National Sleep Foundation in the US, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. For students aged 10 to 17, a healthy amount is about eight to nine hours per night.

But many students don’t get enough sleep because of early school start time and heavy homework. About 80 percent of middle school students don’t get enough sleep, the China Youth and Children Research Center reported. For some students, they want to sleep early, but they keep worrying about their schoolwork and can’t fall asleep quickly. For others, they may even have insomnia which might keep them awake (醒着的)all night.

These sleeping problems greatly affect people’s lives. Experts have shown that lack of sleep for teenagers leads to poor grades. Students without enough sleep cannot pay attention in class or do well in sports. Also, the lack of sleep may make them depressed (沮丧的).

Luckily, with good sleeping habits, it is easier to fall asleep. Some of these good habits include avoiding drinks that make people excited late in the day, going to sleep at the same time each night, and sleeping in a comfortable place that is dark, quiet, and neither too warm nor too cold.

1.If Li Hong is 15years old, how much sleep does she need every night?

A. 10-12 hours. B. 8-9 hours.

C. 7 hours. D. Less than 7 hours.

2.What might happen if teenagers don’t get enough sleep?

A. They might do well in sports.

B. Their bodies and brains might grow better.

C. They might feel depressed.

D. They might not be able to finish their schoolwork.

3.The underlined word “insomnia” means “_______” in Chinese.

A. 健忘症 B. 肥胖症

C. 多动症 D. 失眠症

4.Which of the following are good sleeping habits?

a. Sleeping in a bright place. 

b. Going to bed at the same time.

c. Sleeping in a dark and quiet place.    

d. Drinking something that makes you excited.

A. a-b B. a-c

C. b-c D. b-d

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