Best Inventions

    Sun Power

    People who buy solar panels (嵌板）for their home hope to help the environment and save some money. But they end up with large metal boxes on their roof. Tesla, a car company, solved the problem. The solution is the Solar Roof. It is a series of tiles (瓦) made to look like traditional roofing material while using the power of the sun. Tesla developed it with SolarCity, a longtime provider of solar panels. It is now available to the public.

    Talking Tech

    Echo gives users the ability to talk to their tech. Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana do that too. But in many ways，Amazon's version，Alexa, which is built into Echo，is more powerful. Alexa has grown since it was put on the market in 2014, and today, you can use it to turn on the lights, order a pizza, and more. Echo costs $ 180. Amazon recently developed a junior version, the $ 50 Echo Dot.

    Spin and Roll

    Goodyear is reinventing the wheel. It introduced its Eagle 360 spherical tire (球形轮胎) in March, 2016. The tires allow cars to move in many directions, including sideways, and at angles to handle slippery surfaces. The key is magnetic levitation (磁悬浮). Tires are fixed to cars, but Eagle 360s float beneath them. They're meant for self-driving cars of tomorrow.

    Cycle Safety

    Jeff Woolf had a serious bike crash. If he hadn't been wearing his helmet, he would have been badly hurt. He wondered why so many riders didn't wear helmets. That turns out it was mostly because helmets were big and hard to carry around. Woolf, an engineer, came up with Morpher. The helmet is made from interwoven plastics (交错编织的塑料). It is strong, but it's also flexible enough to fold almost totally flat. That makes it easy to carry. Morpher is priced at $ 119.

    My mother raised me as best as she could, taking on odd jobs in the neighborhood for money. Still without a father to tell me how to act and what was expected of me, I felt lost. I wandered for years and got involved with tough guys on the East Side of New York. They would fight madly over a dropped coin. They would steal to get what they wanted. I wanted to be like them.

    It was lucky for me that I left the city and entered a world of discipline (纪律), after following my mother's advice. During three years of military service, I had time to rethink my life, and my thoughts often ran to my mother. I realized suddenly just how much of a heartache I must have been to her, how little I had noticed her suffering. When my father left this world, my mother was completely alone. To support us, my mother cleaned apartments and took in washing and ironing from the neighbors. And as she worked hard at this labor, she kept her head high. Each week she would bring a pile of books home from the library and read to us. My mother had wanted nothing more, than for me to turn into an honest responsible man. But I had acted against her. Finally, almost too late I had the sense to feel shame.

    Ten years passed and I returned to the apartment on the East Side. I knew I wouldn't fall back in with the wrong people, although I still wasn't sure where I was heading. My mother, I could tell, was worried about me. In my neighborhood, to become a police officer or a firefighter was a mark of significant social success and achievement. For me it was an opportunity for a real start in life. I wondered if I was up to it, but I knew that it was time to try. When I found myself in the big hall raising my hands to take the firefighters oath (誓言) of office, my mother was sitting a few rows behind with a smile of relief. She knew that at last I was off on life's road and moving steadily. Her smile said, “My job is finally done.”

    Teachers in some secondary schools in Britain are worried that their job may become impossible shortly unless something can be done to restore discipline in the classrooms. In the problem schools, mostly in large cities, a small minority of teenage pupils disturb lesson to such an extent that the teacher can no longer teach their classes effectively.

    Some people consider that the permissive (随意) nature of modern society is responsible for such kind of behavior. Small children who are continuously encouraged to express themselves without reservation are naturally unwilling to accept school discipline when they grow older. Furthermore, modern teaching techniques) which appear to stress personal enjoyment at the expense of serious study work, might be teaching the child to put his own interests before his duties to the community in which he lives.

    Perhaps the problem can be solved by improving facilities for the moral guidance of these difficult children or by better cooperation between the schools and the parents—for the parents may be mainly responsible for the bad behavior of their youngsters. Violence at home, violence and crime on TV make some children turn violence themselves.

    But some of the teachers believe that there ought to be a return to more “old fashioned” methods. At present, in some school teachers are even not allowed to punish a child who does something bad and wrong. Physical punishment is not permitted now. People are too soft on children these days. It seems that children can do whatever they like at school while the teachers can't do anything to punish them. I don't know why the schools authority abandoned some of the effective punishments that worked well. Things like that didn't happen when we were at school because the teachers kept those problem students under control by using a stick.

    Toronto is reminding citizens this month what exactly can and can't go into the blue bins an you may be surprised at what can't be recycled. As it turns out the takeout coffee cups you've been throwing into the recycling actually have to go in the garbage.

    The city's “recycle right” web explains that food left after a meal, woven (编织的) cloth, old VHS tapes and other things have been turning up in blue bins, where they don't belong.

    According to the city, about 45,000 tunes of garbage was mistakenly put into recycling bins last year alone.

    Among those things are the takeout coffee and tea cups we get while were on the go. The city says that because those paper cups are lined with plastic or wax they can't be recycled. The black plastic coffee lids (盖子) also can't go in the blue bin, although non-black plastic lids can be recycled.

    Emily Alfred, senior campaigner with the Toronto Environmental Alliance, said, “Millions of cups are used in Toronto every year and people are taking these out and putting them in the wrong bin.”

    When paper coffee cups are thrown in with the recycling. Alfred said, they produce a harmful effect on the system.

    “They can't separate the plastic and paper in a typical paper recycling center,” Alfred said, “so it just causes pollution of the recycling process, and it causes lower-quality paper if it does get recycled.”

    “New regulations passed last month call for changes to be rolled out over the next few years regarding what products companies can sell,” Alfred said. Her organization will be pushing for more producer responsibility laws, which call on companies that design and make products to take on the responsibility of recycling them.

    For now, consumers can consider carrying their own reusable coffee cups while they are on the go, ask for a ceramic mug (陶瓷杯) if they plan to consume their drink in the cafe, and support their local government officials if they have put efforts into changing recycling or producer responsibility laws.

    Alfred said, “I think people can change their habits easily if they understand what to do.”

    Anyone studying a foreign language knows the importance of memorizing words and expressions.        We still also tell you ways about developing a large vocabulary.

    You have probably faced a situation in which you can't remember new words. Perhaps you haven't heard the word enough times or you haven't used it for a very long time.       

    The easiest way to enlarge your vocabulary is to create flashcards. The word in English can appear on one side of the card.        By repeatedly using flashcards, you can remember more words. The important point is that you should not try cramming (突击学习) unfamiliar words if you want to have long-term learning. This method can help students on some exams. But a couple of days later you're not going to remember any of that information.        There are several websites that can help with testing. English learners can be helped by taking free language tests, which can be of great help to show you where you need to improve.

           However, with effort, a little sacrifice, and training, you can increase your number of vocabulary words.

A. You can also try using some free online tests.

B. Building a large vocabulary is not an easy task.

C. The difficulty in remembering and using words counts.

D. A large vocabulary improves our powers of expression.

E. You need to develop a large vocabulary for language tests.

F. We will explore the reasons for developing a large vocabulary.

G. The meaning in your native language can appear on the back.

    Many years ago, I read online of a woman who sold a lifetime of possessions and moved from the west coast of America to Hawaii with one suitcase. Apparently she had never regretted that  1 to simplify her life, and she had never been 2 I remember wondering a lot about that story. I just couldn't 3 how she could be happy without her things. What was it like waking every morning to a near 4  room, I wondered.

    Years after 5 that article, I found myself at a crossroad in life. I had to sell all my possessions, 6 what I could fit into two suitcases. I was very worried about losing things that I had previously decided were as 7 to my existence as the air I breathe. 8 I knew this was the right thing to do at that time, I still felt a bit 9 about who I would be without all my stuff. Then I remembered that woman who had found happiness in Hawaii after radically (彻底地) downsizing her 10 At that moment I decided to 11 her lead. I told myself that parting with all my stuff was a time of 12 and self-discovery.

    Life went on as usual. Better than usual, 13 ! I very quickly began to notice I felt  14 and freer than I had in a long time. And 15 I felt at peace and 16 In the absence of anything else in my room, I began to notice the 17 of light and shadow, and the subtle (微妙的) variations in each hour of the day.

    Over time I've come to see the benefit of 18 living. I've discovered the less stuff I have, the more  19 is my relationship with the things I have. I hope that woman who went to live in Hawaii sees how her words 20 one woman to take the journey of a lifetime and to learn that she is so much more than her stuff!

    Ski touring is exactly that—touring on skis. It combines        best bits of skiing and mountaineering and provides the perfect way        (explore) the mountain in winter. The        (advantage) of ski touring are that you can really escape the crowds, enjoy the peace of the mountains and        (reward) with breathtaking views and exciting descents.

    Ski touring involves both going up and down the mountain; both of        (they) present challenges and new skills are to be acquired. There is much to learn about getting up the mountain that improves efficiency and saves energy.        (similar) ，you want to be prepared to enjoy going down, which means learning to deal with the variety of snow conditions you will face. Because all ski touring is very demanding, you must be        good physical condition. The fitter you are, the        (much) fun you will have.

    Rapidly changing conditions and the human factors are the primary reasons for accidents. The human factors include stress, poor        (communicate), over-confidence and tiredness. You should always ski within the limits of your ability, and make sure you know        to navigate (导航) properly with map and compass.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

    When asking about my mother, I often reply that she is perhaps the only one can understand my feelings without any exchange of words. To my view, there's nothing strong than her love for me. She knows how to make me smile and at the same time knows how to make me behave me. Most important, she always does what she can to help me particularly when I am in the trouble. On a sad day I will always become happier» just by see her loving eyes and encouraged smile. My mother was» is and will always be my first and best friends forever.

1）回忆你们共同的经历；

2）谈谈收获；

3）表达祝愿。

注意：1）词数100左右；

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3）开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear friends,

    Thank you for listening.

Yours truly,

Li Hua