After years of hearing drivers complain about scratches on their cars, Japan’s Nissan Motor Company has officially announced the next big thing — a paint that not only resists scratches and scrapes, but actually repairs itself within a few days.

The new material, developed by Nippon Paint Company, contains an elastic rubbery-like resin (弹性树脂) that is able to heal minor marks caused by car wash equipment, parking lot encounters, road debris (石头碎片) or even on-purpose destruction.

    The automaker admits its results vary depending on the temperature and the depth of the damage, but adds this is the only paint like it in the world, and tests prove it works.

Minor scratches, the most common type, are said to slowly fade over about a week. And once they’re gone, there is no trace that they were ever there.

The special paint is said to last for at least three years after it is first applied, but there is no word yet on whether more can be added after that period.

Nissan claims car washes are the worst offenders for this type of damage, accounting for at least 80 percent of all incidents.

    But the complete auto-healing won’t come without scratching your wallet. The vehicle maker notes the special paint adds about $100 US to the price of a car.

It plans to use its new chemical mixture only on its X-Trail SUVs in Japan for now, as it looks for a more widespread presentation. And while plans to offer the feature overseas haven’t been made yet, if it’s a hit there, you can be almost sure market forces will drive it to these shores, as well.

From the article, we can find that _________.

A. the paint has already been used on cars by now

B. it beats other products of its kind in its lengthy effect

C. car damage is mainly caused by scratches and scrapes

D. marketing this paint in Europe is not under way

The paint used on cars can _________.

A. last 3 years before it is reapplied again

B. fade only in a few days

C. help to protect minor paint damage

D. reduce car scrape incidents to 20 percent

What does the underlined part refer to?

A. certain models of Nissan                        B. name for one kind of paint

C. somewhere in Japan                              D. a word standing for a car-dealer store

What can be inferred from the article?

A. The paint was developed by Nissan Motor Company.

B. The paint might work better in summer than in winter.

C. The mark on the car could disappear as soon as the pain is applied.

D. The paint is very popular in Japan.

“To be or not to be.” Outside the Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of the world. They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are the most famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only for himself but also for every thinking man and woman. To be or not to be, to live or not to live, to live richly and abundantly, or to live dully and meanly. A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive or not, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally. He answered it by saying: “I think, therefore I am.”

  But the best definition of existence I ever saw was one written by another philosopher who said: “To be is to be in relations.” If this is true, then the more relations a living thing has, the more it is alive. To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity(强烈) of our relations. Unfortunately we are so constituted that we get to love our routine. But other than our regular occupation, how much are we alive? If you are interested only in your regular occupation, you are alive only to that extent. So far as other things are concerned --- poetry and prose(散文), music, pictures, sports, unselfish friendships, politics, international affairs ---you are dead.

On the contrary, it is true that every time you acquire a new interest --- even more, a new accomplishment(成就) --- you increase your power of life. No one who is deeply interested in different kinds of subjects can remain unhappy. The real pessimist is the person who has lost interest.

  Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend. But we gain new life by contacts with new friends, and new ideas and thoughts, too. Where your thoughts are, there will be your life too. If your thoughts are limited only to your business, only to your physical welfare, only to your narrow circle of the town in which you live, then you live a narrow restricted(有限的, 受约束的) life. But if you are interested in what is going on in China, then you are living in China. If you’re interested in the characters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interesting people. If you listen intently to fine music, you are away from your immediate surroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination.

To be or not to be --- to live intensely and richly, or merely to exist, which depends on ourselves. Let us widen and intensify our relations. While we live, let us live!

1.What does the author mainly want to do by this passage?

A.Argue against an idea.

B.Explain some famous sayings.

C.Introduce some famous sayings.

D.Put forward an idea.

2.What does the underlined word most probably mean?

A.Somebody who always lives in a world of passion and imagination.

B.Somebody who is always interested in making new friends.

C.Somebody who always expects the worst to happen.

D.Somebody who likes to live a rich and abundant life.

3.Which of the following behavior is probably NOT encouraged by the author?

A.Thinking more than your own business.

B.Caring only about your physical welfare.

C.Reading good novels.

D.Listening to fine music.

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A.To be is to be in relations.

B.I think, therefore I am.

C.To be or not to be, that is a question.

D.A man dies as often as he loses a friend.

 

The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image(印象)of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.

  An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is more harmonious than it has ever been in the past.” We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seen to be about their families,” said one member of the research team.” They’re expected to be rebellious(叛逆的) and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s more negotiation(商议) and discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”

  So it seems that this generation of parents is much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends.” My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-years-old Daniel Lazall.”I always tell them when L’m going out clubbing. As long as they know what I’m doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Crome,who is now 21,agrees.”Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call negotiation. For example, as long as I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”

  Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenagers rebellion is not rooted in real facts. A researcher comments,” Our surprise that teenagers say they get along well with their parents comes because of a brief period in our social history when teenagers were regarded as different beings. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled. The normal situation throughout history has been a smooth change from helping out with the family business to taking it over.”

1.What is the popular images of teenagers today?

A.They worry about school

B.They dislike living with their parents

C.They have to be locked in to avoid troubles

D.They quarrel a lot with other family members

2.The study shows that teenagers don’t want to ___

A.share family responsibility

B.cause trouble in their families

C.go boating with their family

D.make family decisions

3.Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents___.

A.go to clubs more often with their children

B.are much stricter with their children

C.care less about their children’s life

D.give their children more freedom

4.According to the authour,teenage rebellion____.

A.may be a false belief                     B.is common nowadays

C.existed only in the 1960s                 D.resulted from changes in families

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A.Negotiation in family                     B.Education in family

C.Harmony in family                       D.Teenage trouble in family

 

For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers (剩饭) in the microwave. What most passengers don’t realize is that their minute is already there.

Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.

The courtesy (礼貌) minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period(宽限期)for those who need the extra time to get off the platform and onto the train.

“If everyone knows they get an extra minute, they’re going to waste time doing unimportant things,” explained Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the Metro-North Railroad. Told of this article, Ms. Anders laughed. “Dont blow our cover!” she said.

Entirely hidden from the riding public, the secret minute is an odd departure from the railroad culture of down-to-the-second accuracy. The railroad industry helped invent the concept of standard time, and time zones were established in the United States in the 1880s, 35 years before they were written into law. And most commuters know their train by the precise minute it departs. The trains quickly make up the minute: at all other stops, the public timetable prevails. The phantom minute does not exist at commuter railroads in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. But in New York, the secret minute dates back decades.

“That’s been done forever, from my knowledge,” said Jack Swanberg, 70, an unofficial historian of Metro-North. “I was the trainmaster starting in 1970 and I’m sure it’s been the case since 1870 for all I know.”

1.The courtesy minute was hidden from the public to _____.

A. prevent the passengers’ idleness              B. help invent the concept of standard time

C. show the railroad company’s consideration     D. follow the ancient tradition of New York City

2. The underlined part “Don’t blow our cover” in Para. 4 probably means “_____”.

A. Don’t publish the timetable                 B. Don’t blame commuter trains

C. Don’t make it known by the public           D. Don’t forget our chances of catching trains

3.What can we conclude from the passage?

A. The courtesy minute exists in many cities in the US.

B. One minute means a lot for most of the commuters.

C. The courtesy minute has been in place for about ten years.

D. Most railroad staff in New York have no idea of the courtesy minute.

4. The passage mainly talks about _____.

A. the railroads in the US                      B. the secret New York minute

C. the mistake of the railroad industry         D. the history of New York commuter trains

 

High school students are some of the busiest people in the world. To get the most from all you do, you must be in control of your time. Otherwise decision that affect how well you play the game, what position you play and when you get to play will be decided for you. Your success in high school depends on your use of time. Here are some important things to remember.

·Begin each term by filling in a master plan. First fill in things you must do (classes, work, practice, etc. that you can’t change.) Then find the most effective use for these times.

·Set a regular time and place for study. This will save your time in the long run. If you have a study hall in your school, use it!

·Use daylight hours to study whenever possible. For most people for every hour of study done in daylight hours, it will take them one and a half hours to do the same task at night.

·Take breaks. Don’t plan marathon study time. Have a short rest before you study again.

·By using flash cards or summary sheets, you can use odd times to study while you’re waiting for class to start or for a friend to pick you up.

·If possible, plan study time with a partner. Choose your partner wisely however. Make sure you study, not socialize.

·Do the most difficult tasks for times when you are active. (For example, when you’re energetic, it will become easier to solve maths questions; when you’re tired, it will be impossible!)

·Make a daily checklist. Do the most important tasks first.

1.According to the passage, your success in high school mainly lies in _________.

A.making full use of your time

B.your hard work

C.your brainpower

D.how well you play the game

2.We should use daylight hours to study whenever possible because __________.

A.school study halls are open to students only in the daytime

B.most people can spare more time to study in the daytime

C.it’s more difficult to study effectively at night

D.we have more important things to do than study at night

3. On how to use our time, we should follow the following suggestions EXCEPT _______.

A.working out a complete plan for the whole term

B.keeping a good balance between study and rest

C.putting the most important tasks first

D.trying to study alone instead of working with others

 

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