Unit 2 Great inventions and discoveries 任务型阅读10篇（单元话题：发明与创造）-2025-2026学年八年级英语下学期单元重难点易错题精练（沪教版（五四学制））

Unit 2 Great inventions and discoveries 任务型阅读10篇 内容导航 单元话题 基础语篇练习 重难语篇练习 单元话题聚焦 发明与创造 基础语篇练习 稳扎稳打 必拿分数：聚焦稳拿分数题目，确保基础分值 重难语篇练习 突破瓶颈 争夺高分：聚焦高难度题目，争夺关键分数 基础语篇练习 Useful apps to make life better The online media group TechRadar recently made a list of “the most useful and interesting apps”. Let’s take a look at three of them. Things 3 Things 3 is an award-winning task manager. It helps users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently. The app’s chief design is a to-do list. It allows users to add context, such as the time, date, or location that they plan to carry the task out. It then shows a “Today” view with the day’s tasks, and groups things users do after work under the heading “This Evening”. It puts later tasks in a list titled “Upcoming”. StoryZ In the age of smartphones, everyone is a photographer. From taking selfie (自拍) to sharing them on social media, photo apps play an important role in making our pictures look perfect. StoryZ’s latest version takes it a step further. The app has two modes. The first one is “Ripple Effect (连锁反应)”, which makes still images move and come to life. It can create amazing animated photographs. Another one is “Motion Effect (动态效果)”, which creates video stories on still images. It can turn your photos into animated GIFs. TaoMix If you want to relax, sleep better or focus, the sounds of nature are an excellent choice. TaoMix allows you to listen to some soft sounds to release stress and helps you take a break from your busy life. This white noise (白噪声) app provides hundreds of nature sounds. You can hear sounds of birds, waves of the sea, falling rain, blowing wind, and many more! Better yet, you are not limited to one sound. You can build a soundscape (音景) by selecting several at a time. 1．Does Things 3 help users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently? 2．What are the three apps listed in the article? 3．What can users do with the“Motion Effect” mode of StoryZ? 4．According to the article, how can white noise be good for people? 5．If Tom wants to make a plan for the winter holiday, which of the three listed apps can help him? 6．Which one of the three listed apps do you like best? List at least two reasons. 【答案】1．Yes, it does. 2．Things 3, StoryZ and TaoMix. 3．They can create video stories on still images and turn photos into animated GIFs. 4．It can help people relax, sleep better or focus. 5．Things 3. 6．I like TaoMix best. The first reason is that it provides hundreds of nature sounds, which can help me relax and sleep better. The second reason is that I can build a soundscape by selecting several sounds at a time, which makes it more interesting and personalized. 【导语】本文主要介绍了TechRadar列出的“最有用且最有趣的三个应用程序”，包括Things 3、StoryZ和TaoMix，并详细说明了它们各自的功能和特点。 1．根据文中“Things 3 is an award-winning task manager. It helps users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently.”可知，Things 3可以帮助用户整理思路并高效地规划时间。故填Yes, it does. 2．根据文中“The online media group TechRadar recently made a list of ‘the most useful and interesting apps’. Let’s take a look at three of them. Things 3…StoryZ…TaoMix…”可知，文章列出了三个应用程序，分别是Things 3、StoryZ和TaoMix。故填Things 3, StoryZ and TaoMix. 3．根据文中“Another one is ‘Motion Effect (动态效果)’, which creates video stories on still images. It can turn your photos into animated GIFs.”可知，用户可以使用StoryZ的“Motion Effect”模式在静态图像上创建视频故事，还可以将照片转换为动画GIF。故填They can create video stories on still images and turn photos into animated GIFs. 4．根据文中“If you want to relax, sleep better or focus, the sounds of nature are an excellent choice. TaoMix allows you to listen to some soft sounds to release stress and helps you take a break from your busy life.”可知，白噪声可以帮助人们放松、改善睡眠或集中注意力。故填It can help people relax, sleep better or focus. 5．根据文中“Things 3 is an award-winning task manager. It helps users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently.”可知，如果Tom想要为寒假制定计划，Things 3可以帮助他。故填Things 3. 6．开放性问题，言之有理即可。参考答案为：I like TaoMix best. The first reason is that it provides hundreds of nature sounds, which can help me relax and sleep better. The second reason is that I can build a soundscape by selecting several sounds at a time, which makes it more interesting and personalized. You can’t always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn’t think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. To protect people from rain, he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain-sensing umbrella. The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on the streets. “Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy (伞篷) built into a street lamp.” he said. The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining. In addition to the rain sensor, there’s also a 360° motion sensor on the fibreglass street lamp which detects whether anyone’s using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed. According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lightning strikes. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed at two meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians. While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter. 1．Will the lampbrella be put into immediate production? 2．Why did Belyaev create the lampbrella? 3．From Belyaev’s words in Paragraph 2, we know that his creation was inspired by on the street. (No more than 3 words.) 4．Besides sensors, what are the other two things that help a lampbrella work? 5．How long will the canopy hold if it is not used? 6．What do you think of Belyaev’s creation? Why do you think so? 【答案】1．No, it won’t. 2．Because he wanted to protect people from rain. 3．his own experience/what he saw 4．A built-in electric motor and a canopy. 5．For three minutes. 6．I think it is both creative and practical. Because it can help those who forget to take the umbrellas to hide from rain and it won’t take up extra space when it’s sunny. 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要讲述了设计师Mikhail Belyaev发明了一种名为lampbrella的装置，它是一种带有雨感应伞的路灯，旨在保护人们免受雨淋。 1．根据文章最后一段“While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production”可知，目前没有计划将lampbrella立即投入生产。故填No, it won’t. 2．根据文章第一段“To protect people from rain, he created lampbrella”可知，Belyaev创造lampbrella的目的是为了保护人们免受雨淋。故填Because he wanted to protect people from rain. 3．根据文章第二段“The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on the streets.”以及Belyaev的话“Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy built into a street lamp.”可知，他的创作灵感来自于他在街上看到的人们被雨淋湿的情景，即他自己的经历或所见所闻。故填his own experience/what he saw. 4．根据文章第三段“It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand.”以及全文内容可知，除了传感器外，lampbrella还依靠内置电动机和伞篷来工作。内置电动机可以根据需要打开或关闭伞篷，而伞篷则提供实际的遮雨功能。故填A built-in electric motor and a canopy. 5．根据文章第四段“After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed.”可知，如果伞篷不被使用，它将保持打开状态三分钟，然后自动关闭。但题目问的是“hold”（保持打开）的时间，所以答案是三分钟。故填For three minutes. 6．开放性问题，要求评价Belyaev的创作并给出原因。可以从创意性、实用性、安全性等方面进行评价。例如，可以认为这个创作既具有创意又实用，因为它能帮助那些忘记带伞的人避雨，而且在晴天时不会占用额外的空间。故填I think it is both creative and practical. Because it can help those who forget to take the umbrellas to hide from rain and it won’t take up extra space when it’s sunny. Scientists Create World’s Tiniest Violin Scientists from the UK have created “the world’s smallest violin”. The violin is so tiny that it can only be seen with a powerful microscope. The researchers wondered if they could use a new kind of nanotechnology (纳米技术) to test the limits of how small a violin could actually be created. The tiny violin, made of a metal called platinum, measures just 35 microns long and 13 microns wide. A micron is one millionth of a meter. This means that the violin is even thinner than a human hair. The “nano-violin” wasn’t designed to be played. So what was the point? Physics professor Kelly Morrison, who led the project, says that “At first, we were just curious about how small a violin could be,” but the work they finally did is actually very important and creative for their research. In recent decades, computers and other technology have become faster as the parts inside of devices have become smaller. Building and studying extremely small things will help the scientists develop and test new ideas and materials for making things even smaller. The whole process of making the violin took about three hours. But it took the researchers several months to develop the methods they used to create it. Now that they’ve made the nano-violin, the researchers plan to use their system to study more serious things. For example, they’re looking at new ways to store information, and how to use heat to make computers work faster and use less energy. Task1: Answer the questions. 1．How can the tiny violin be seen? 2．What is the size(尺寸)of the tiny violin? 3．Why did scientists build and study extremely small things? 4．How long did the whole process of making the tiny violin take? 5．What do the researchers plan to do after they’ve made the nano-violin? Task 2: 6．Tiny things like nanobots (纳米机器人) are very useful in our daily life. What can we use nanobots to do? Write about 30 words to explain. 【答案】1．It can only be seen with a powerful microscope. 2．It measures just 35 microns long and 13 microns wide. 3．It will help the scientists develop and test new ideas and materials for making things even smaller. 4．It took about three hours. 5．They plan to use their system to study more serious things. 6．We can use it to fix small phone parts and make phones work longer/check food safety /clean dirty water to make it clean. 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，英国科学家利用纳米技术制造出世界上最小的小提琴，其制作虽耗时短但方法研发耗时久，这项研究不仅源于好奇，更有助于相关技术创新，后续还将用于更重要的研究。 1．根据“The violin is so tiny that it can only be seen with a powerful microscope.”可知，这把小提琴非常小，只能用高倍显微镜才能看到。故填It can only be seen with a powerful microscope. 2．根据“The tiny violin, made of a metal called platinum, measures just 35 microns long and 13 microns wide.”可知，这把小提琴长35微米、宽13微米。故填It measures just 35 microns long and 13 microns wide. 3．根据“Building and studying extremely small things will help the scientists develop and test new ideas and materials for making things even smaller.”可知，制造和研究极小的东西能帮助科学家开发和测试新想法与材料。故填It will help the scientists develop and test new ideas and materials for making things even smaller. 4．根据“The whole process of making the violin took about three hours.”可知，制作这把小提琴的整个过程大约花了三个小时。故填It took about three hours. 5．根据“Now that they’ve made the nano-violin, the researchers plan to use their system to study more serious things.”可知，研究人员计划用他们的系统研究更重要的事情。故填They plan to use their system to study more serious things. 6．开放性试题，答案合理即可。故填We can use it to fix small phone parts and make phones work longer/check food safety /clean dirty water to make it clean. Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答问题) Imagine you can have phone calls with your favourite star. Is it exciting? AI humans might help with it. Today, AI humans are popular at home and abroad. As we all know, AI humans now can be like real people. They can do real people’s voices and moves and even copy their personalities. But what else can they do? And what can only be done by humans but not AI? Digital humans today play roles in many ways. They can be idols, vloggers, reporters, and more. For example, China Daily has its own digital reporter, Yuanxi. She can speak English and cover the wonderful world of Chinese culture. She can process (处理) data fast. This can help the newsroom work faster. In 2022, a Chinese tech company showed its first digital idol Xi Jiajia. She can change her make-up and how she dresses, and even do webcasts (网络直播)! During China Fashion Week, Xi Jiajia became famous in an online virtual fashion show (虚拟时装秀). “Virtual idols could do something that people cannot do in the real world, such as time travel,” said Liu from the company. Liu took the digital tour guides as an example. They can be in different places and from different times in history. But AI humans have their disadvantages. Take Yuanxi as an example. She still doesn’t have much touch and EQ like us. These are things that only a real human can have. What’s more, virtual people can’t team up and communicate with others in real time. As Yuanxi wrote, “Virtual employees show the power of AI but they are not a replacement for traditional human employees.” 1．In what ways can AI humans be like real people? 2．What roles can digital humans play? 3．Who is Xi Jiajia according to Paragraph 4? 4．According to the passage, what could virtual idols do that people cannot do in the real world? 5．What are the things that only real humans have? 6．Will you buy AI humans in the future? Why or why not? 【答案】1．They can do real people’s voices and moves and even copy their personalities. 2．They can be idols, vloggers, reporters, and more. 3．She is the first digital idol of a Chinese tech company. 4．Time travel. 5．Human touch and EQ. 6．Yes. Because they can do many things for us so that we can relax ourselves. 【导语】本文主要介绍了AI人像技术及它的优缺点。 1．根据“As we all know, AI humans now can be like real people. They can do real people’s voices and moves and even copy their personalities.”可知，它们可以模仿真实人物的声音和动作，甚至还能复制他们的个性。故填They can do real people’s voices and moves and even copy their personalities. 2．根据“They can be idols, vloggers, reporters, and more.”可知，它们可以是偶像、视频博主、记者等多种角色。故填They can be idols, vloggers, reporters, and more. 3．根据“In 2022, a Chinese tech company showed its first digital idol Xi Jiajia.”可知，她是一家中国科技公司推出的首位数字偶像。故填She is the first digital idol of a Chinese tech company. 4．根据“Virtual idols could do something that people cannot do in the real world, such as time travel”可知，虚拟偶像能实现时间旅行。故填Time travel. 5．根据“She still doesn’t have much touch and EQ like us. These are things that only a real human can have.”可知，只有真人才具备人类触觉和情商。故填Human touch and EQ. 6．本题是开放性试题，言之有理即可，参考答案为Yes. Because they can do many things for us so that we can relax ourselves. You must know what skyscrapers (摩天大楼) look like, don’t you? From Shanghai Tower to Beijing’s CITIC Tower, there are many of them in China. But have you ever heard of “earthscrapers”? What would they look like? Well, you have probably guessed the answer to that second question from their name. “Earthscrapers” are the opposite of skyscrapers. They start at ground level and then extend a great distance downwards from the surface. So far, these underground buildings have remained a concept. None have ever been built. Many architects, however, have tried to design an “earthscraper.” An entry to the 2012 Evolo Skyscraper Competition is perhaps the best-known among these designs. It was put forward by BNKR Arquitectura, an architecture company in Mexico. The picture on the right shows the design, which was simply named the Earthscraper. This 300-meter-deep building would be located under the central square of Mexico City. It would include a ten-floor museum, a ten-floor shopping mall and ten floors of apartments. All of these would be above 35 floors of office space. These underground spaces would all be arranged around a central hole so that the building could get natural light and fresh air. The hole would be covered with a glass roof. This roof would also act as the floor of the square above the building. Mexico City has strict height limits for new buildings in its historic central area. No construction is allowed to have more than eight floors. However, many people want to make better use of this area. The Earthscraper was designed to provide a new solution to this issue. But BNKR Arquitectura admitted that many technical problems remained to be solved. Thirteen years have now passed since it created the design. The Earthscraper, as far as we know, ________. As more and more people move to cities, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before we “open up” these underground spaces. Many years later, maybe some of us will be living and working a few hundred meters beneath the ground! 1．Earthscrapers are the opposite of skyscrapers, aren’t they? 2．What does the word “It” in the third paragraph refer to? 3．How deep would the Earthscraper designed by BNKR Arquitectura be? 4．Why was the Earthscraper designed for Mexico City’s central area? 5．According to the passage, fill in the blank in the fifth paragraph. 6．Do you think building Earthscrapers is a good solution for crowded cities? Why? 【答案】1．Yes, they are. 2．The design of the Earthscraper/An entry to the 2012 Evolo Skyscraper Competition. 3．It would be 300 meters deep. 4．To provide a new solution to make better use of Mexico City’s central area./Because it was designed to provide a new solution to make better use of Mexico City’s central area. 5．hasn’t been built yet 6．Yes, I think so. Because as more and more people move to cities, the land above ground becomes increasingly crowded. Building Earthscrapers can make better use of underground space, providing more living and working areas without taking up valuable surface land. This can help ease the pressure on crowded cities. 【导语】本文主要介绍了地底摩天楼的概念及其设计理念。 1．根据“‘Earthscrapers’ are the opposite of skyscrapers.”可知，“地穴建筑”与摩天大楼相反，所以答案是肯定的。故填Yes, they are. 2．根据“An entry to the 2012 Evolo Skyscraper Competition is perhaps the best-known among these designs. It was put forward by BNKR Arquitectura, an architecture company in Mexico.”可知，2012年Evolo摩天大楼竞赛的一个参赛作品可能是这些设计中最著名的，它是由墨西哥的一家建筑公司BNKR Arquitectura提出的，所以此处“it”指代的是2012年Evolo摩天大楼竞赛的一个参赛作品，也就是下文提到的“the design”，即“Earthscraper”的设计。故填The design of the Earthscraper/An entry to the 2012 Evolo Skyscraper Competition. 3．根据“This 300-meter-deep building would be located under the central square of Mexico City.”可知，这座300米深的建筑将位于墨西哥城中央广场下方，所以BNKR Arquitectura设计的“地穴建筑”有300米深。故填It would be 300 meters deep. 4．根据“Mexico City has strict height limits for new buildings in its historic central area. No construction is allowed to have more than eight floors. However, many people want to make better use of this area. The Earthscraper was designed to provide a new solution to this issue.”可知，墨西哥城对其历史中心区的新建筑有严格的限高规定，任何建筑不得超过八层，然而，许多人希望更好地利用这一地区，“地穴建筑”的设计就是为了解决这一问题，即为墨西哥城中心区域提供一个新的解决方案。故填To provide a new solution to make better use of Mexico City’s central area./Because it was designed to provide a new solution to make better use of Mexico City’s central area. 5．根据“But BNKR Arquitectura admitted that many technical problems remained to be solved. Thirteen years have now passed since it created the design.”可知，BNKR建筑公司承认仍有许多技术问题有待解决，自设计提出以来已经过去了十三年，所以可以推断出到目前为止，“地穴建筑”还没有被建造出来，故第五段空白处可以填“hasn’t been built yet”。故填hasn’t been built yet。 6．本题为开放性试题，言之有理即可。参考答案为：Yes, I think so. Because as more and more people move to cities, the land above ground becomes increasingly crowded. Building Earthscrapers can make better use of underground space, providing more living and working areas without taking up valuable surface land. This can help ease the pressure on crowded cities. 阅读文章回答问题 The Story of Cassette Tapes If you ask a teenager what a cassette tape is, they might look confused. But for people born in the 1970s or 1980s, cassette tapes were a big part of life. Cassette tapes were invented in the 1960s by Philips, a Dutch company. They were small, light, and easy to carry—perfect for music lovers. Before that, people used records, which were heavy and easily broken. Cassettes could be played in cars, portable players, and home stereos, making music more accessible. In the 1980s, cassette tapes became popular around the world. People recorded their favourite songs from the radio onto blank tapes. They made mix tapes for friends, putting together songs that told a story or shared feelings. Bands released their music on cassettes, and many people collected them, storing hundreds in boxes or on shelves. But by the 1990s, CDs started to replace cassettes. CDs had better sound quality and didn’t get tangled like cassette tape inside the player. Then, in the 2000s, digital music on MP3 players and smartphones made cassettes almost disappear. Today, cassette tapes are making a small comeback. Some music fans prefer their “warm” sound, different from digital music. Artists release new albums on cassettes, and old ones are sold as collectibles. Many people now see them as a reminder of the past—a time when music was something you could hold, share, and treasure. Cassette tapes may not be as useful as they once were, but they tell a story of how technology changes, and how some things—like our love for music—stay the same. 1．Why were cassette tapes better than records when they were invented? 2．What did people do with blank cassette tapes in the 1980s? 3．What replaced cassette tapes in the 1990s? 4．Why are cassette tapes becoming popular again today? 5．What do cassette tapes tell us about technology and people? 【答案】1．They were small, light, and easy to carry, and not easily broken like records. 2．They recorded their favourite songs from the radio and made mix tapes for friends. 3．CDs replaced cassette tapes in the 1990s. 4．Because some music fans prefer their “warm” sound, and artists release new albums on them as collectibles. 5．They tell us that technology changes, but some things like love for music stay the same. 【导语】本文讲述了盒式磁带的历史，包括其发明、流行、被替代以及如今的回归等情况，展现了技术的变化和人们对音乐不变的热爱。 1．根据“Cassette tapes were invented in the 1960s by Philips, a Dutch company. They were small, light, and easy to carry—perfect for music lovers. Before that, people used records, which were heavy and easily broken.”可知，盒式磁带比唱片好是因为它们小巧、轻便、易于携带，而且不像唱片那样容易损坏，故填They were small, light, and easy to carry, and not easily broken like records. 2．根据“In the 1980s, cassette tapes became popular around the world. People recorded their favourite songs from the radio onto blank tapes. They made mix tapes for friends...”可知，20世纪80年代人们用空白盒式磁带从收音机里录制自己喜欢的歌曲，并为朋友制作混音磁带，故填They recorded their favourite songs from the radio and made mix tapes for friends. 3．根据“But by the 1990s, CDs started to replace cassettes.”可知，20世纪90年代CD开始取代盒式磁带，故填CDs replaced cassette tapes in the 1990s. 4．根据“Today, cassette tapes are making a small comeback. Some music fans prefer their “warm” sound, different from digital music. Artists release new albums on cassettes, and old ones are sold as collectibles.”可知，如今盒式磁带再次流行是因为一些音乐爱好者喜欢它们“温暖”的声音，艺术家们将新专辑以盒式磁带形式发行，旧的盒式磁带也作为收藏品出售，故填Because some music fans prefer their “warm” sound, and artists release new albums on them as collectibles. 5．根据“Cassette tapes may not be as useful as they once were, but they tell a story of how technology changes, and how some things—like our love for music—stay the same.”可知，盒式磁带告诉我们技术在变化，但有些东西如对音乐的热爱是不变的，故填They tell us that technology changes, but some things like love for music stay the same. Read the passage and answer the questions. How will geography affect your life? For some children around the world, the environment they grow up in has a huge effect on their lives. This is the case in Madagascar, an island country in Africa, where a 3D-printed school is now being built. Maggie Grout was just 15 years old when she set up a non-profit organization-Thinking Huts (小屋). Now 22, she is raising money to build a series of 3D-printed schools powered by solar energy. She led the whole process from start to finish, working with university professors. They chose Madagascar because it needs more schools. Many children in that country don’t have the chance to get an education. Besides, it has a lot of sunshine, which can be made into energy to power things. Maggie then drew a design for the school. She thought about what the people might need and where they worked best. Next, Maggie found an architect and a 3D printing company for the job. To make it environmentally friendly, they use a special 3D printer to build the school. It meant up to 50 percent less concrete (混凝土) used and less CO2. Plus, the school could be completed in just a week. They also used local materials to build the doors, windows and roof. What’s more, Thinking Huts trained local workers to use a 3D printer so that they could build more schools on their own in the future. Maggie plans to print more new schools in other parts of Madagascar because one in five children don’t have the chance to attend primary school there. So far, Grout’s charity has already raised $125,000. “It’s not so bad to me! Of course, we need more.” Maggie told Springwise website. 1．When did Maggie Grout set up Thinking Huts? 2．Thinking Huts trained local workers to use a 3D printer, didn’t it? 3．Why did Maggie build the 3D-printed schools in Madagascar first? 4．How did the 3D printing firm make its work environmentally friendly? 5．What would you like to do to support Thinking Huts? Show your reasons. 【答案】1．She set up Thinking Huts when she was just 15 years old. 2．Yes, it did. 3．Because Madagascar needs more schools and it has a lot of sunshine which can be made into energy to power things. 4．Because it used a special 3D printer that reduced up to 50% of concrete and thus produced less CO2 , and it used local materials to build the doors, windows and roof. 5．I’d like to spread the news about Thinking Huts on social media. Because more people knowing about it can attract more support, and I can also organize a small fundraising activity among my friends. Raising money can directly help build more 3D-printed schools for children in need.（答案不唯一，合理即可） 【导语】本文主要讲述Maggie Grout创立非营利组织Thinking Huts，在非洲马达加斯加建造3D打印太阳能学校的故事，介绍项目背景、过程及意义。 1．根据“Maggie Grout was just 15 years old when she set up a non-profit organization-Thinking Huts (小屋).”可知，Maggie Grout在15岁时创立了Thinking Huts。故填She set up Thinking Huts when she was just 15 years old. 2．根据“What’s more, Thinking Huts trained local workers to use a 3D printer so that they could build more schools on their own in the future.”可知，Thinking Huts有培训当地工人使用3D打印机的行为。故填Yes, it did. 3．根据“They chose Madagascar because it needs more schools. Many children in that country don’t have the chance to get an education. Besides, it has a lot of sunshine, which can be made into energy to power things.”可知，选择马达加斯原因一是马达加斯加需要更多学校，很多孩子没受教育机会；二是当地日照充足，能转化为能源供电。故填Because Madagascar needs more schools and it has a lot of sunshine which can be made into energy to power things. 4．根据“To make it environmentally friendly, they use a special 3D printer to build the school. It meant up to 50 percent less concrete (混凝土) used and less CO₂. Plus, they also used local materials to build the doors, windows and roof.”可知，环保举措一是用特殊3D打印机，减少混凝土使用和二氧化碳排放；二是使用当地材料建门窗和屋顶。故填Because it used a special 3D printer that reduced up to 50% of concrete and thus produced less CO2 , and it used local materials to build the doors, windows and roof. 5．I’d like to spread the news about Thinking Huts on social media. Because more people knowing about it can attract more support, and I can also organize a small fundraising activity among my friends. Raising money can directly help build more 3D-printed schools for children in need.（答案不唯一，合理即可） “Life is speeding up. Everyone is becoming unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unwell person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it. We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives? Imagine this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a WeChat message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the telephone is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps that is because they live simpler lives. One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons, Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phone. The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a trendy (时髦的), beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.Answer the questions. 1．The underlined sentence was written in the modern times, wasn’t it? 2．Why do you lose all your work on the computer according to the passage? 3．How do we often feel when new inventions have speeded up our lives too much? 4．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s house? 5．What kind of person did Benjamin’s grandmother use to be? 6．What does the passage mainly tell us? 【答案】1．No, it isn’t. 2．Because suddenly the computer goes blank. 3．We feel stressed and tired.　 4．Because they wanted to experience life without modern inventions. 5．She used to be a trendy, beer-drinking granny. 6．Problems caused by technology. 【导语】本文主要讲科技发明加速了我们的生活，但是并没有真正的改善我们的生活，却带来了很多问题。 1．根据“This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unwell person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it.”可知，这可能听起来像某人今天会说的话。但事实上，是一个生活在公元53年罗马的病人写的。因此这句话不是现代人说的。故填No, it isn’t. 2．根据“Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work.”可知，因为电脑空白了，你的工作就失去了。故填Because suddenly the computer goes blank. 3．根据“Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired.”可知，发明加速了我们的生活，让我们感觉压力和疲惫。故填We feel stressed and tired. 4．根据“One family in the UK went ‘back in time’ to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today.”可知，英国的一个家庭“回到过去”是因为他们想要去看看没有我们今天所有发明的生活是什么样子。故填Because they wanted to experience life without modern inventions. 5．根据“Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a trendy (时髦的), beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.”可知，Benjamin还注意到，他的祖母已经从一个时髦的、爱喝啤酒的奶奶变成了一个会做饭的奶奶。因此他的奶奶之前是一个时髦的、爱喝啤酒的奶奶。故填She used to be a trendy, beer-drinking granny. 6．根据全文可知，文章告诉我们科技发明加速了我们的生活，但是并没有真正的改善我们的生活，却带来了很多问题。故填Problems caused by technology. 重难语篇练习 Read the passage and answer the following questions. (根据短文内容回答下列问题) Some trains produce thick clouds of black smoke as they travel. They smell bad and are harmful to the environment. But luckily, they will soon be a thing of the past. In recent years, scientists have been experimenting with biodiesel (生物柴油). Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils and animal fats. It can also be made from cooking oil waste and leftover food. Biodiesel can power diesel engines. It is better for the environment than regular diesel. Amaterasu Railway is an open-air sightseeing train (敞篷观光列车) in Miyazaki Prefecture (宫崎县) in Japan. It has been powered by biodiesel since 2021. The train itself is very lovely. It is pink and white. While the train is moving, its conductors use bubble machines to create bubbles along the way. The train can carry up to 60 people. Its ride time is about 30 minutes. It travels through mountains, tunnels and rice fields. Its fuel is powerful enough to pull the train up high mountains. The train’s biodiesel costs about the same as regular diesel. Cooking oil provides about ninety percent of the train’s fuel. The other ten percent comes from pork bone noodle soup, and this makes the smoke from the train smell yummy. The railway company works with another company to run the train. They buy the used cooking oil and leftover noodle soup from some restaurants. The fat from the soup and the oil are refined into biodiesel. Unlike regular diesel, biodiesel goes bad in a few months. So, it has to be used right away. The biodiesel train reuses food waste and cuts down on harmful smoke. How useful it is! 1．According to the article, what can biodiesel be made from? 2．How long has the open-air sightseeing train been powered by biodiesel? 3．How long does the sightseeing train ride last? 4．What color is the open-air sightseeing train? 5．Why does the smoke from the open-air sightseeing train smell yummy? 6．Why does the biodiesel have to be used right away? 【答案】1．It can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, cooking oil waste and leftover food. 2．Since 2021. 3．About 30 minutes. 4．It is pink and white. 5．Because ten percent of its fuel comes from pork bone noodle soup. 6．Because biodiesel goes bad in a few months. 【导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了生物柴油的相关信息，以及日本宫崎县使用生物柴油驱动的露天观光列车的情况，包括列车特点、燃料来源与特点等和这种列车的环保作用。 1．根据“Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils and animal fats. It can also be made from cooking oil waste and leftover food.”可知生物柴油可由植物油和动物脂肪制成，也可由废弃食用油和剩余食物制成，故填It can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, cooking oil waste and leftover food. 2．根据“Amaterasu Railway is an open-air sightseeing train in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. It has been powered by biodiesel since 2021.”可知自从2021年起敞篷观光列车就由生物柴油提供动力了，故填Since 2021. 3．根据“The train can carry up to 60 people. Its ride time is about 30 minutes.”可知敞篷观光列车的行程时长为大约30分钟，故填About 30 minutes. 4．根据“The train itself is very lovely. It is pink and white.”可知火车是粉白相间的，故填It is pink and white. 5．根据“The other ten percent comes from pork bone noodle soup, and this makes the smoke from the train smell yummy.”可知剩下的10%的燃料来自猪骨面条汤，所以火车冒出的烟闻起来是香喷喷的，故填Because ten percent of its fuel comes from pork bone noodle soup. 6．根据“Unlike regular diesel, biodiesel goes bad in a few months. So, it has to be used right away.”可知几个月后，生物柴油会变质，所以必须被立即使用，故填Because biodiesel goes bad in a few months. Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答下列问题) If you think of the jobs that robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It’s easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but others need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating (低估) what robots can do? In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing illness. Also, some patients might feel more comfortable sharing their private information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all? British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He predicts robots will do most work of transferring information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students’ faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt (使……适应) the information to each student. It’s not a popular opinion, and it’s unlikely robots will ever understand other people’s feelings and be able to really connect with humans like another human can. One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. Teachers all over the world are limited. In some parts of the world, there aren’t enough teachers and 9 to 16 percent of children under the age of 14 don’t go to school. That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won’t suffer from stress, or get tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job. Teaching is generally recognized as difficult and teachers feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not “Will robots take the place of teachers?” but “How can robots help teachers?” Office workers can use software to do things like organize and answer emails, arrange meetings and update calendars. Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best. 1．What jobs do people usually believe robots are unable to do? 2．When does Anthony Seldon think robots will take over most classroom work? 3．How will intelligent robots adjust teaching information for each student? 4．Why can robots help solve the problem of insufficient teachers in some areas? 5．How many hours do teachers spend marking homework per week on average? 6．Do you think the writer is optimistic or cautious (审慎的) about using robots in education? Give one reason from the text. 【答案】1．Doctors and teachers. 2．In 2027. 3．By reading students’ faces, movements, and brain signals, then adapting the information. 4．Because they can teach anywhere and won’t suffer from stress, or get tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job. 5．More than 11 hours. 6．The writer is optimistic. Because he thinks robots can help solve the problem of insufficient teachers in some parts of the world. 【导语】本文主要介绍了人们对机器人能否胜任医生、教师等工作的看法，以及机器人在教育领域的应用前景、优势等内容。 1．根据原文第一段“If you think of the jobs that robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list.”可知，人们通常认为机器人无法胜任医生和教师的工作。故填Doctors and teachers. 2．根据原文第二段“And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027.”可知，Anthony Seldon认为2027年机器人会接管大部分课堂工作。故填In 2027. 3．根据原文第二段“Intelligent robots will read students’ faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt (使……适应) the information to each student.”可知，智能机器人会通过读取学生的面部表情、动作甚至脑信号来调整教学信息。故填By reading students’ faces, movements, and brain signals, then adapting the information. 4．根据原文第三段“That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won’t suffer from stress, or get tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job.”可知，机器人能在任何地方教学，且不会有压力、不会疲惫、不会为了更好的工作变动，所以能缓解教师不足的问题。故填Because they can teach anywhere and won’t suffer from stress, or get tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job. 5．根据原文第四段“Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework.”可知，教师每周平均花超过11小时批改作业。故填More than 11 hours. 6．本题答案不唯一，言之有理即可。根据原文第三段“One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all…That problem could be partly solved by robots”可知，作者是乐观的，因为他认为机器人能解决教育资源短缺问题。故填The writer is optimistic. Because he thinks robots can help solve the problem of insufficient teachers in some parts of the world. 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $ Unit 2 Great inventions and discoveries 任务型阅读10篇 内容导航 单元话题 基础语篇练习 重难语篇练习 单元话题聚焦 发明与创造 基础语篇练习 稳扎稳打 必拿分数：聚焦稳拿分数题目，确保基础分值 重难语篇练习 突破瓶颈 争夺高分：聚焦高难度题目，争夺关键分数 基础语篇练习 Useful apps to make life better The online media group TechRadar recently made a list of “the most useful and interesting apps”. Let’s take a look at three of them. Things 3 Things 3 is an award-winning task manager. It helps users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently. The app’s chief design is a to-do list. It allows users to add context, such as the time, date, or location that they plan to carry the task out. It then shows a “Today” view with the day’s tasks, and groups things users do after work under the heading “This Evening”. It puts later tasks in a list titled “Upcoming”. StoryZ In the age of smartphones, everyone is a photographer. From taking selfie (自拍) to sharing them on social media, photo apps play an important role in making our pictures look perfect. StoryZ’s latest version takes it a step further. The app has two modes. The first one is “Ripple Effect (连锁反应)”, which makes still images move and come to life. It can create amazing animated photographs. Another one is “Motion Effect (动态效果)”, which creates video stories on still images. It can turn your photos into animated GIFs. TaoMix If you want to relax, sleep better or focus, the sounds of nature are an excellent choice. TaoMix allows you to listen to some soft sounds to release stress and helps you take a break from your busy life. This white noise (白噪声) app provides hundreds of nature sounds. You can hear sounds of birds, waves of the sea, falling rain, blowing wind, and many more! Better yet, you are not limited to one sound. You can build a soundscape (音景) by selecting several at a time. 1．Does Things 3 help users collect their thoughts and plan their time efficiently? 2．What are the three apps listed in the article? 3．What can users do with the“Motion Effect” mode of StoryZ? 4．According to the article, how can white noise be good for people? 5．If Tom wants to make a plan for the winter holiday, which of the three listed apps can help him? 6．Which one of the three listed apps do you like best? List at least two reasons. You can’t always predict a heavy rain or remember your umbrella. But designer Mikhail Belyaev doesn’t think that forgetting to check the weather forecast before heading out should result in you getting wet. To protect people from rain, he created lampbrella, a lamp post with its own rain-sensing umbrella. The designer says he came up with the idea after watching people get wet on the streets. “Once, I was driving on a central Saint Petersburg street and saw the street lamps lighting up people trying to hide from the rain. I thought it would be appropriate to have a canopy (伞篷) built into a street lamp.” he said. The lampbrella is a standard-looking street lamp fitted with an umbrella canopy. It has a built-in electric motor which can open or close the umbrella on demand. Sensors then ensure that the umbrella offers pedestrians shelter whenever it starts raining. In addition to the rain sensor, there’s also a 360° motion sensor on the fibreglass street lamp which detects whether anyone’s using the lampbrella. After three minutes of not being used the canopy is closed. According to the designer, the lampbrella would move at a relatively low speed, so as not to cause harm to pedestrians. Besides, it would be grounded to protect from possible lightning strikes. Each lampbrella would offer enough shelter for several people. Being installed at two meters off the ground, it would only be a danger for the tallest of pedestrians. While there are no plans to take lampbrella into production, Belyaev says he recently introduced his creation to one Moscow Department, and insists this creation could be installed on any street where a lot of people walk but there are no canopies to provide shelter. 1．Will the lampbrella be put into immediate production? 2．Why did Belyaev create the lampbrella? 3．From Belyaev’s words in Paragraph 2, we know that his creation was inspired by on the street. (No more than 3 words.) 4．Besides sensors, what are the other two things that help a lampbrella work? 5．How long will the canopy hold if it is not used? 6．What do you think of Belyaev’s creation? Why do you think so? Scientists Create World’s Tiniest Violin Scientists from the UK have created “the world’s smallest violin”. The violin is so tiny that it can only be seen with a powerful microscope. The researchers wondered if they could use a new kind of nanotechnology (纳米技术) to test the limits of how small a violin could actually be created. The tiny violin, made of a metal called platinum, measures just 35 microns long and 13 microns wide. A micron is one millionth of a meter. This means that the violin is even thinner than a human hair. The “nano-violin” wasn’t designed to be played. So what was the point? Physics professor Kelly Morrison, who led the project, says that “At first, we were just curious about how small a violin could be,” but the work they finally did is actually very important and creative for their research. In recent decades, computers and other technology have become faster as the parts inside of devices have become smaller. Building and studying extremely small things will help the scientists develop and test new ideas and materials for making things even smaller. The whole process of making the violin took about three hours. But it took the researchers several months to develop the methods they used to create it. Now that they’ve made the nano-violin, the researchers plan to use their system to study more serious things. For example, they’re looking at new ways to store information, and how to use heat to make computers work faster and use less energy. Task1: Answer the questions. 1．How can the tiny violin be seen? 2．What is the size(尺寸)of the tiny violin? 3．Why did scientists build and study extremely small things? 4．How long did the whole process of making the tiny violin take? 5．What do the researchers plan to do after they’ve made the nano-violin? Task 2: 6．Tiny things like nanobots (纳米机器人) are very useful in our daily life. What can we use nanobots to do? Write about 30 words to explain. Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答问题) Imagine you can have phone calls with your favourite star. Is it exciting? AI humans might help with it. Today, AI humans are popular at home and abroad. As we all know, AI humans now can be like real people. They can do real people’s voices and moves and even copy their personalities. But what else can they do? And what can only be done by humans but not AI? Digital humans today play roles in many ways. They can be idols, vloggers, reporters, and more. For example, China Daily has its own digital reporter, Yuanxi. She can speak English and cover the wonderful world of Chinese culture. She can process (处理) data fast. This can help the newsroom work faster. In 2022, a Chinese tech company showed its first digital idol Xi Jiajia. She can change her make-up and how she dresses, and even do webcasts (网络直播)! During China Fashion Week, Xi Jiajia became famous in an online virtual fashion show (虚拟时装秀). “Virtual idols could do something that people cannot do in the real world, such as time travel,” said Liu from the company. Liu took the digital tour guides as an example. They can be in different places and from different times in history. But AI humans have their disadvantages. Take Yuanxi as an example. She still doesn’t have much touch and EQ like us. These are things that only a real human can have. What’s more, virtual people can’t team up and communicate with others in real time. As Yuanxi wrote, “Virtual employees show the power of AI but they are not a replacement for traditional human employees.” 1．In what ways can AI humans be like real people? 2．What roles can digital humans play? 3．Who is Xi Jiajia according to Paragraph 4? 4．According to the passage, what could virtual idols do that people cannot do in the real world? 5．What are the things that only real humans have? 6．Will you buy AI humans in the future? Why or why not? You must know what skyscrapers (摩天大楼) look like, don’t you? From Shanghai Tower to Beijing’s CITIC Tower, there are many of them in China. But have you ever heard of “earthscrapers”? What would they look like? Well, you have probably guessed the answer to that second question from their name. “Earthscrapers” are the opposite of skyscrapers. They start at ground level and then extend a great distance downwards from the surface. So far, these underground buildings have remained a concept. None have ever been built. Many architects, however, have tried to design an “earthscraper.” An entry to the 2012 Evolo Skyscraper Competition is perhaps the best-known among these designs. It was put forward by BNKR Arquitectura, an architecture company in Mexico. The picture on the right shows the design, which was simply named the Earthscraper. This 300-meter-deep building would be located under the central square of Mexico City. It would include a ten-floor museum, a ten-floor shopping mall and ten floors of apartments. All of these would be above 35 floors of office space. These underground spaces would all be arranged around a central hole so that the building could get natural light and fresh air. The hole would be covered with a glass roof. This roof would also act as the floor of the square above the building. Mexico City has strict height limits for new buildings in its historic central area. No construction is allowed to have more than eight floors. However, many people want to make better use of this area. The Earthscraper was designed to provide a new solution to this issue. But BNKR Arquitectura admitted that many technical problems remained to be solved. Thirteen years have now passed since it created the design. The Earthscraper, as far as we know, ________. As more and more people move to cities, perhaps it’s only a matter of time before we “open up” these underground spaces. Many years later, maybe some of us will be living and working a few hundred meters beneath the ground! 1．Earthscrapers are the opposite of skyscrapers, aren’t they? 2．What does the word “It” in the third paragraph refer to? 3．How deep would the Earthscraper designed by BNKR Arquitectura be? 4．Why was the Earthscraper designed for Mexico City’s central area? 5．According to the passage, fill in the blank in the fifth paragraph. 6．Do you think building Earthscrapers is a good solution for crowded cities? Why? 阅读文章回答问题 The Story of Cassette Tapes If you ask a teenager what a cassette tape is, they might look confused. But for people born in the 1970s or 1980s, cassette tapes were a big part of life. Cassette tapes were invented in the 1960s by Philips, a Dutch company. They were small, light, and easy to carry—perfect for music lovers. Before that, people used records, which were heavy and easily broken. Cassettes could be played in cars, portable players, and home stereos, making music more accessible. In the 1980s, cassette tapes became popular around the world. People recorded their favourite songs from the radio onto blank tapes. They made mix tapes for friends, putting together songs that told a story or shared feelings. Bands released their music on cassettes, and many people collected them, storing hundreds in boxes or on shelves. But by the 1990s, CDs started to replace cassettes. CDs had better sound quality and didn’t get tangled like cassette tape inside the player. Then, in the 2000s, digital music on MP3 players and smartphones made cassettes almost disappear. Today, cassette tapes are making a small comeback. Some music fans prefer their “warm” sound, different from digital music. Artists release new albums on cassettes, and old ones are sold as collectibles. Many people now see them as a reminder of the past—a time when music was something you could hold, share, and treasure. Cassette tapes may not be as useful as they once were, but they tell a story of how technology changes, and how some things—like our love for music—stay the same. 1．Why were cassette tapes better than records when they were invented? 2．What did people do with blank cassette tapes in the 1980s? 3．What replaced cassette tapes in the 1990s? 4．Why are cassette tapes becoming popular again today? 5．What do cassette tapes tell us about technology and people? Read the passage and answer the questions. How will geography affect your life? For some children around the world, the environment they grow up in has a huge effect on their lives. This is the case in Madagascar, an island country in Africa, where a 3D-printed school is now being built. Maggie Grout was just 15 years old when she set up a non-profit organization-Thinking Huts (小屋). Now 22, she is raising money to build a series of 3D-printed schools powered by solar energy. She led the whole process from start to finish, working with university professors. They chose Madagascar because it needs more schools. Many children in that country don’t have the chance to get an education. Besides, it has a lot of sunshine, which can be made into energy to power things. Maggie then drew a design for the school. She thought about what the people might need and where they worked best. Next, Maggie found an architect and a 3D printing company for the job. To make it environmentally friendly, they use a special 3D printer to build the school. It meant up to 50 percent less concrete (混凝土) used and less CO2. Plus, the school could be completed in just a week. They also used local materials to build the doors, windows and roof. What’s more, Thinking Huts trained local workers to use a 3D printer so that they could build more schools on their own in the future. Maggie plans to print more new schools in other parts of Madagascar because one in five children don’t have the chance to attend primary school there. So far, Grout’s charity has already raised $125,000. “It’s not so bad to me! Of course, we need more.” Maggie told Springwise website. 1．When did Maggie Grout set up Thinking Huts? 2．Thinking Huts trained local workers to use a 3D printer, didn’t it? 3．Why did Maggie build the 3D-printed schools in Madagascar first? 4．How did the 3D printing firm make its work environmentally friendly? 5．What would you like to do to support Thinking Huts? Show your reasons. “Life is speeding up. Everyone is becoming unwell.” This may sound like something someone would say today. But in fact, an unwell person who lived in Rome in AD 53 wrote it. We all love new inventions. They are exciting, amazing and can even change our lives. But have all these developments really improved the quality of our lives? Imagine this: You’re rushing to finish your homework on the computer. Your mobile phone rings, a WeChat message from your friend appears on the screen, the noise from the telephone is getting louder and louder. Suddenly the computer goes blank and you lose all your work. Now you have to stay up all night to get it done. Inventions have speeded up our lives so much that they often leave us feeling stressed and tired. Why do you think people who live far away from noisy cities, who have no telephones, no cars, not even any electricity often seem to be happier? Perhaps that is because they live simpler lives. One family in the UK went “back in time” to see what life was like without all the inventions we have today. The grandparents, with their daughter, and grandsons, Benjamin, 10, and Thomas, 7, spent nine weeks in a 1940s house. They had no washing machine, microwave, computer or mobile phone. The grandmother, Lyn, said, “The more things you have, the more difficult life becomes.” The boys said they fought less. Probably, they said, because there was less to fight over, such as their computer. Benjamin also noticed that his grandmother had changed from being a trendy (时髦的), beer-drinking granny, to one who cooked things.Answer the questions. 1．The underlined sentence was written in the modern times, wasn’t it? 2．Why do you lose all your work on the computer according to the passage? 3．How do we often feel when new inventions have speeded up our lives too much? 4．Why did the family choose to spend some time in a 1940s house? 5．What kind of person did Benjamin’s grandmother use to be? 6．What does the passage mainly tell us? 重难语篇练习 Read the passage and answer the following questions. (根据短文内容回答下列问题) Some trains produce thick clouds of black smoke as they travel. They smell bad and are harmful to the environment. But luckily, they will soon be a thing of the past. In recent years, scientists have been experimenting with biodiesel (生物柴油). Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils and animal fats. It can also be made from cooking oil waste and leftover food. Biodiesel can power diesel engines. It is better for the environment than regular diesel. Amaterasu Railway is an open-air sightseeing train (敞篷观光列车) in Miyazaki Prefecture (宫崎县) in Japan. It has been powered by biodiesel since 2021. The train itself is very lovely. It is pink and white. While the train is moving, its conductors use bubble machines to create bubbles along the way. The train can carry up to 60 people. Its ride time is about 30 minutes. It travels through mountains, tunnels and rice fields. Its fuel is powerful enough to pull the train up high mountains. The train’s biodiesel costs about the same as regular diesel. Cooking oil provides about ninety percent of the train’s fuel. The other ten percent comes from pork bone noodle soup, and this makes the smoke from the train smell yummy. The railway company works with another company to run the train. They buy the used cooking oil and leftover noodle soup from some restaurants. The fat from the soup and the oil are refined into biodiesel. Unlike regular diesel, biodiesel goes bad in a few months. So, it has to be used right away. The biodiesel train reuses food waste and cuts down on harmful smoke. How useful it is! 1．According to the article, what can biodiesel be made from? 2．How long has the open-air sightseeing train been powered by biodiesel? 3．How long does the sightseeing train ride last? 4．What color is the open-air sightseeing train? 5．Why does the smoke from the open-air sightseeing train smell yummy? 6．Why does the biodiesel have to be used right away? Answer the questions (根据短文内容回答下列问题) If you think of the jobs that robots could never do, you would probably put doctors and teachers at the top of the list. It’s easy to imagine robot cleaners and factory workers, but others need human connection and creativity. But are we underestimating (低估) what robots can do? In some cases, they already perform better than doctors at diagnosing illness. Also, some patients might feel more comfortable sharing their private information with a machine than a person. Could there be a place for robots in education after all? British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks so. And he even has a date for the robot takeover of the classroom: 2027. He predicts robots will do most work of transferring information and teachers will be like assistants. Intelligent robots will read students’ faces, movements and maybe even brain signals. Then they will adapt (使……适应) the information to each student. It’s not a popular opinion, and it’s unlikely robots will ever understand other people’s feelings and be able to really connect with humans like another human can. One thing is certain, though. A robot teacher is better than no teacher at all. Teachers all over the world are limited. In some parts of the world, there aren’t enough teachers and 9 to 16 percent of children under the age of 14 don’t go to school. That problem could be partly solved by robots because they can teach anywhere and won’t suffer from stress, or get tired, or move somewhere for an easier, higher-paid job. Teaching is generally recognized as difficult and teachers feel overworked. Perhaps the question is not “Will robots take the place of teachers?” but “How can robots help teachers?” Office workers can use software to do things like organize and answer emails, arrange meetings and update calendars. Teachers waste a lot of time doing non-teaching work, including more than 11 hours a week marking homework. If robots could cut the time teachers spend marking homework and writing reports, teachers would have more time and energy for the parts of the job humans do best. 1．What jobs do people usually believe robots are unable to do? 2．When does Anthony Seldon think robots will take over most classroom work? 3．How will intelligent robots adjust teaching information for each student? 4．Why can robots help solve the problem of insufficient teachers in some areas? 5．How many hours do teachers spend marking homework per week on average? 6．Do you think the writer is optimistic or cautious (审慎的) about using robots in education? Give one reason from the text. 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $