We’ve been covering standing desks for a long time now because experts agree that sitting all day is killing us. We want to be productive while also keeping our bodies healthy. Over the years, there have been several solutions to this from fixed standing desks to adjustable ones, portable desks to ones that change into shelves.

However, the most high tech and elegant solution has to be this new smart desk called The Stir Kinetic Desk. The desk learns your daily behaviors and moves between a sitting and standing height regularly throughout the day to keep you moving without interrupting your work flow.

You can program specific sitting and standing intervals or let the desk set the schedule. If you tend to sit while returning emails in the morning, but always want to stand during that afternoon conference call, the desk will learn those regular habits and adjust the schedule to fit them. Of course, the desk can always be manually lowered or raised by using the touch screen on the lower left comer of the desk.

When switching positions, the desk gently dips and rises to let you know that a change is coming up. If you’re not ready to switch positions at that time, you can tap the touchscreen to stay sitting or standing for a while longer.

The built-in touchscreen also keeps track of your daily sitting and standing times and tells you how many calories you’ve burned. You can even set goals for how long or often you want to stand. The desk also works with fitness devices like the FitBit to track your movements.

All of that smart tech doesn’t come cheap though. The M1 desk, which is the everyday model, runs a steep $2,990, while the more executive model with added features, the F1, goes for$4,190.

While expensive, it’s worth thinking of how much time we spend at our desks. Much like a good mattress(床垫), a good desk that works with you is worth the investment. Hopefully in a few years these smart, integrated desks will be more common and less expensive.

1.The Stir Kinetic Desk has been designed to_______.

A. help users with their work

B. keep users moving all the time

C. get users to exercise while working

D. remind users of their working schedule

2.Which is the feature of the touchscreen of the desk?

A. It can tell users when to change positions.

B. It can track users’ changes of positions.

C. It can keep users in a fixed position.

D. It can detect users’ health condition.

3.Which of the following can best describe the desk?

A. Productive but challenging.

B. Convenient but unaffordable.

C. Complex and impractical.

D. Multi-functional and intelligent.

4.What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?

A. To spend money on such a desk is rewarding.

B. We should get such a desk as soon as possible.

C. It won’t be long before the desk is widely used.

D. Desks play a very important role in our daily life.

The new high-speed railway line between Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur self-governing region, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has cut train travel time by half to less than 12 hours.

The dramatic improvement will benefit many families planning reunions for Spring Festival.

"For the first time, I feel home is not that far away after all," said Liang Shaofu as he boarded a high-speed train in Urumqi with six members of his family.

The 35-year-old left Lanzhou to set up a dry fruit business in Xinjiang eight years ago, and he has now settled in Urumqi.

The 1,776-km line, which passes through Qinghai province and is the country's first high-speed railway to be built in a high-altitude region, came into service on Dec 26.

"We normally drive home for Spring Festival to avoid the difficulties of buying seven train tickets for the whole family during the peak season," Liang said. "Driving can be very tiring and dangerous sometimes, so one year we even decided not to go back to Lanzhou simply to avoid the trip.

More than 600,000 passengers traveled on the line during its first month, and the Urumqi Railway Bureau said the introduction of high-speed services will ease transport pressure during the Spring Festival peak season.

The existing usual railway line could no longer support Xinjiang's development. All passenger trains will gradually shift to the new link, leaving the old one to be used for goods. As a result, Xinjiang's annual goods ability could reach 200 million metric tons from the current 70 million.

The line passes through areas that experience high winds, and it also crosses parts of the deserted Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the bone-dry sands of the Gobi Desert.

The project could help China to promote its high-speed railway technology abroad, said Ma Xizhang, director of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway project's management department in Xinjiang.

1.How long did it take to go from Urumqi to Lanzhou by the usual train before?

A. about 12 hours. B. About 6 hours.

C. About 18 hours. D. About 24 hours.

2.What’s the main advantage of the new high-speed railway?

A. It takes more time to go to Urumqi to Lanzhou.

B. It will be more convenient for people all over the country to Xinjiang.

C. All the people in Lanzhou can return home on festivals.

D. It helps to improve Xinjiang’s development.

3. From the passage we can learn _______.

A. Xinjiang’s annual goods ability can increase nearly four times

B. the new railway technology may help more railway lines to be built abroad

C. the high-speed railway lines can’t be built across the bone-dry sands

D. the old railway lines can only carry goods now

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. The new high-speed railway line is good for all people to go home.

B. The new high-speed railway line benefits businessmen to carry goods.

C. Taking the new train is safer than driving home from Urumqi to Lanzhou.

D. Businessmen seldom went home for Spring Festival before.

完形填空

阅读下面短文,从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

Ricardo Semler became boss of his father's business Semco in Brazil at the age of 21. Ricardo worked like a(an) man, from 7:30 am to midnight every day. One afternoon, while he was visiting a factory in New York, he . The doctor told him if he like that, he would find a new home in hospital. Semler got the . He changed the way he . In fact, he changed the ways his worked, too.

He let his workers take more so that they would be the ones worrying when things went wrong. He them to set their own salaries, their own working hours and he cut all the jobs he thought were , like receptionists and secretaries.

He changed the office: walls, they have plants at Semco, so bosses can't themselves away from everyone else. And the workers are to decorate their work space as they want.

It sounds perfect,but does it ? The answer is in the :in the last six years, Semco's revenues(收入)have from $35 million to $212 million. The company has gone from eight hundred employees to 3,000. Why?

Semler says it's because of "peer pressure" which makes employees work for everyone else. If someone isn't doing his job , the other workers will not allow the to continue. In other words,Ricardo treats his workers like adults rather than children, and expects them to act like responsible . And they do.

1.A.interesting B. independent C. mad D. great

2.A. fell down B. gave up C. went out D. got off

3.A. changed B. continued C. dropped D. went

4.A.sound B. way C. sense D. message

5.A. walked B. talked C. worked D. treated

6.A. family B. workers C. friends D. children

7.A. responsibility B. money C. power D. expectation

8.A. persuaded B. forced C. forbade D. allowed

9.A. decide B. want C. understand D. try

10.A. unnecessary B. unpopular C. stupid D. difficult

11.A. above all B. instead of C. apart from D. except for

12.A. put B. get C. shut D. take

13.A. willing B. free C. tired D. eager

14.A. develop B. grow C. happen D. work

15.A. eyes B. numbers C. persons D. dollars

16.A. grown B. dropped C. beaten D. made

17.A. straight B. slow C. hard D. seldom

18.A. perfect B. wrong C. well D. late

19.A. trouble B. situation C. pressure D. suffering

20.A. children B. teenagers C. professors D. adults

The National Gallery

Description:

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance

Layout:

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titan and Veronese.

The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours:

The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm (Fridays 10am to 9pm) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There:

Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).

1. In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?

A. The 13th. B. The 17th. C. The 18th. D. The 20th.

2. Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?

A. In the East Wing. B. In the main West Wing.

C. In the Sainsbury Wing. D. In the North Wing.

3.Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?

A. Piccadilly Circus. B. Leicester Square.

C. Embankment. D. Charing Cross.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,选项中有两项为多余选项。

Four Ways to Be a Great Roommate

Having a roommate can be one of the best experiences in college or, easily, one of the worst。 1. Follow these tips to avoid the common mistakes that turn good roommate relationships sour.

◇Talk things out.

Communication is key. If something happens, sit down with your roommate and have a face-to-face conversation. I've seen roommate relationships fall apart because something happens and ,instead of talking to each other, the two start complaining about their roommates behind their backs 2.

◇Don't expect to be best friends.

Some roommates become the best of friends, and some don't. Don't put pressure on yourself or your roommate, especially when you first meet. 3. And if your roommate doesn't end up being your best friend, don't worry.

◇Ask before you take.

This applies to food, clothes and anything else. If you want to keep a relationship going, show your roommate that you have respect for what is his or hers by asking first. 4.

◇Clean up after yourself.

This should do without saying. Don't be lazy. Or, at least, don't bury your roommate in your clothes and garbage. Most people I've come across in college are messy. 5. But being considerate with where you put your stuff will help you avoid conflict.

A. So you need to think twice before you help your roommates out.

B. This creates nothing but awkward. situations and unhappiness.

C. Even if you both agree to share everything, you should still ask.

D. You don't have all the time to clean your room and keep it organized.

E. It all starts with you to have a good relationship with your roommate.

F. Sometime you get stuck with someone who has tons of negative energy.

G. Remember, you're trying to make a new friend, not to scare your roommate away.

Gabriela Mistral was born on April 6, 1889, at Vicu?a, a small town in northern Chile. Her parents were schoolteachers, but her father abandoned the family when she was 3. Taught by her mother, she began instructing in 1904, achieving success in many high schools. In 1909, her first love died. Shortly afterward her second love married someone else. In 1922 the Mexican minister of education, José Vasconcelos, invited her to assist in his reform program, and the peak of this career came the following year, when she was awarded the Chilean title “Teacher of the Nation”. In 1925 she retired but remained active.

Gabriela Mistral devoted much time to diplomatic (外交的) activity, serving as honorary consul (名誉领事) in Madrid, Lisbon, Nice, and Los Angeles. She also served as a representative to the United Nations. In fulfillment of these responsibilities, she visited nearly every major country in Europe and Latin America. She also continued her early literary pursuits.

In 1922 Gabriela Mistral’s first book, Desolation, a collection of poems previously published in newspapers and magazines, was released through the efforts of Federico de Onís, Director of the Hispanic Institute of New York. It reflected personal sorrow.

Two years later her second book, Tenderness, appeared; it contained some of the poems from Desolation and several new ones. Fourteen years passed before the next, Felling, appeared. It was much happier in tone.

Her last book, Wine Press, in 1954, dealt with most of the subjects previously treated but in a different manner. The winning of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1945 did not assuage (减轻) the loss of her nephew. Furthermore, by 1944 she had developed diabetes (糖尿病).

Gabriela Mistral went to the United States for medical aid in 1946, living in various places and, after her appointment to the United Nations, moving to Long Island. It was there that she died of cancer on Jan. 10, 1957.

1.According to Paragraph 1, Gabriela Mistral _____.

A. had a short happy marriage B. was born in a poor family

C. was a devoted teacher D. had a beloved father

2. The second paragraph is mainly about Gabriela Mistral’s _____.

A. retired life B. achievements

C. works of literature D. diplomatic activity

3. The theme of Gabriela Mistral’s early works is _____.

A. death B. happiness

C. teaching life D. personal suffering

4.Which of the following is the correct order to describe Gabriela Mistral’s life according to the text?

a. She retired.

b. She developed diabetes.

c. She published her first book.

d. She began instructing in school.

e. She won the Nobel Prize for literature.

A. e-d-c-b-a B. d-c-a-b-e

C. d-a-b-e-c D. e-c-b-d-a

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