To switch or not to switch, that is the question.Google's announcement of its Nexus One smartphone happened over a week ago and I'm still receiving lots of e-mails from readers asking the same question: Should they give up their iPhone for the Nexus One? Some people with iPhones, disappointed by American Telephone&Telegraph's inadequate service and the high monthly cost, are wondering if they have really got something to replace it.Does the Nexus One offer the functions that Apple has led them to expect? I'm on the fence myself, even though I never thought I'd be interested in anything but the iPhone.From my experience using the Nexus One, and from talking to people who have made the change, it's not necessarily about the differences between the iPhone and the Nexus One.The phones are extremely similar in design and general feel.Instead, the decision can be made based on the software services you use on your desktop. My friend Chad Dickerson received a pre-launch Nexus One from Google three weeks ago.He said Google's phone feels connected to certain services on the Web in a way the iPhone doesn't."Compared to the iPhone, the Google phone feels like it's part of the Internet to me," he said."If you live in a Google world, you have that world in your pocket in a way that's cleaner and more connected than the iPhone." Personally, the phones work perfectly with their own software, but both of them don't make an effort to play well with other services. The best title of the passage might be _ . A) Apple's New Smartphone B) Torn Between Two Phones C) Good Services Matter D) Google's New Smartphone
B
(Question)
Humans might be the most highly-evolved species on the planet, but most animals possess skills we can only dream of having. Imagine how much electricity we could save if we could see in the dark the way cats do. Imagine leaping from tree to tree like a monkey. Giraffes, which are otherwise calm and good-natured, sleep only 4.6 hours a day. We realized a long, long time ago that nature provides the best blueprint for invention. We've borrowed canals from beavers and reflectors from cat's eyes. Although the words "bionics" became popular only after the 1960s, history shows that nature has always provided ideas on solving everyday problems. Our archives don't go back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci and his bird-like flying machines, but we can take you to the late 19th century, where we applied those same principles for building our first practical airplanes. To prepare for their flight at Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers studied the movements of pigeons to figure out how they stayed high up when they were heavier than air. Their success inspired scores of successors to improve on the airplane by studying various aspects of nature. One of Orville Wright's pupils caught and stuffed seagulls to examine their wingspan. Meanwhile, two French inventors examined spinning sycamore seeds in an effort to apply those same motions, reversed, to a helicopter . Some examples are more obvious than others. The outside of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers looks like a minimalistic structure. On the other hand, Barney Connett's fish submarine actually looks like a fish. Some bio-inspired concepts have yet to be invented. In the 1960s, the US Army commissioned several university professors to conduct research on the motor skills animals in hope of applying those same abilities to tanks. Tanks that run like horses or jump like grasshoppers -sounds shocking, doesn't it? But imagine how life would change if we could achieve that. What does the writer want to tell in the passage? A) many inventions get ideas from nature. B) Some animals possess unique skills. C) People should protect nature. D) Bionics is far from perfect
(Answer)
A
Ques: In May, 2014, some Chinese tourists found a Chinese-character message "Ding Jinhao once visited here" on a statue of god in a 3500-year-old Egyptian temple. An angry tourist took the photograph of the scrawl and posted it on social media Sina Weibo. It was quickly spread and there were more than 100,000 comments during two weeks. Later, a 15-year-old Chinese boy was searched out as the person who caved this message. Many netizens expressed their anger and disappointment for the uncivilized behavior. They searched and identified the boy and then posted his personal information including the address and pictures online. Over the weekend, his school's website was hacked, and reporters flooded into his home in the city of Nanjing. Besieged by reporters, the child's mother offered a formal apology for her son's behavior. "We want to apologize to the Egyptian people and to people who have paid attention to this case across China." the boy's mother told the local newspaper. With China's economy booming over the past decades, a growing number of the country's residents have become global tourists. Earlier this month, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang addressed: "Uncivilized behavior of some of tourists is giving this country a bad reputation abroad." The discussion about Chinese quality was carried out on many media. On the bright side, Egypt government described the damage to the temple as superficial and could be restored and they would forgive the boy. While the act of Ding Jinhao symbolizes a national shame, meanwhile, many people concern about the child's development and wish he could return to anonymity once more. "The boy has known his mistake and cried all night. He has to be moved around because reporters rushes to his house for interviews." said a reporter who talked with the parents. The passage is mainly about _ . A) Chinese tour in Egypt B) the wave caused by Chinese uncivilized behavior C) the discussion on Chinese education D) the importance of Weibo
Ans: B
Indonesia's coral reefs are in trouble. Coral mining, Industrial pollution and poisonous agricultural runoff all play a role in their destruction, but the fishermen have been the worst offenders. They not only bomb fish but also poison them with cyanide, an equally destructive practice. The fishermen are also among the biggest potential victims . Two thirds of Indonesia's 7, 000 coastal villages are close to coral reefs and thus depend for their livelihood on the harvest of reef fish. The disappearing reefs are already leading to a dramatic decline in the productivity of coastal fisheries and to increasing fights among fishermen. Indonesia's reefs are vast - they cover 51, 000 square kilometers, surround 17, 500 islands and stretch 3,500 kilometers - but they are not infinite. Many foreign experts and Indonesians fear that the region's entire marine environment could be seriously damaged if the reefs keep dying at their present rate. "The overall picture is depressing," says Ian Dutton, Indonesian director of an environmental group. Depressing, but not hopeless. Despite the destruction, environmentalists have in recent years made significant progress in changing the hearts and minds of the fishermen. Working closely with local Indonesian authorities in North Sulawesi and less populated eastern Indonesia, where most of the country's reefs are located, they have succeeded in preventing destructive fishing practices and coral mining from overwhelming the reefs. Increasing numbers of fishermen are waking up to the threat and protecting the life-sustaining coral before it's too late. Nuhung, a 56-year-old fisherman, says, "I always knew blast fishing was harmful. Then I suddenly realized that by bombing the reefs I was destroying not only my own but my children's future." This passage may be taken from _ . A) a magazine B) a novel C) a newspaper D) a storybook
C