Every year landslides(滑坡)cause 25 to 50 deaths and $1.5 billion in damage in the United States. They account for 15 percent of the deaths from natural disasters in Europe. And there was ever a single event killed more than 200 people in the Philippines. Sending workers to stabilize mountainsides using steel bars and cement(水泥)can help prevent disasters, but it introduces new difficulties. Shaking drills produce harmful dust and loosen heavy, dangerous debris(岩屑). “It’ s quite a risky job,“says Giorgio Pezzuto of D’ Appolonia, an engineering company in Italy. D’ Appolonia, working with eight other companies, may have an answer: a three-ton robot called Roboclimber. “The idea is to operate a machine far away that can drill without a human being on board,“ says Pezzuto, the manager for the project, which is supported by the European Commission. Engineers claim that the machine will be faster and cheaper than manual labor. The robot, a large radio-controlled four-legged mechanical spider, has cost at least $2 million so far. The final product should be able to climb unstable mountainsides, drill holes, insert bars and cement, and collect data on the stability. Testing should begin in May.

Who is smoking a French cigarette?M:(sniffing)Is that a French cigarette? W: Pardon? M: Is that a French cigarette you’ re smoking? W: Yes, that’ s right. Why? What’ s the matter? M: I don’t understand why you smoke French cigarettes. They make a terrible smell. W: I like them very much. I prefer them to English cigarettes. M: Have you got a lot of them? W: Yes, about 200, why? M: Well. . . er. . . could I buy some from you? W: Buy some from me? But. . . you don’t like French cigarettes! M: No, I don’t. But my wife does. The woman. The man. A new person.

What should the students bring with them to the exam?Now I’ d like to talk to you about the final exam. The exam will be held next Tuesday, the last day of the exam week. Remember to bring two or three pens in case you run out of ink. Unlike the midterm, this test will not include multiple choice questions. It’ 11 consist entirely of essays. You must answer three of the five essay questions. The exam will be comprehensive , which means you’ 11 be responsible for all of the subject matter we’ ve covered in class. I would suggest you review your midterms as well as the text book and your class notes. The final will count for 50% of your grade in the course. The research project will count for 20% , and the midterm 30% . I’ 11 be in my office nearly all day on Monday next week. If you run into any problems, please bring your questions to my office. Good luck with your study, and I’ 11 see you on Tuesday. This is the last day of our class in this semester, I want to say thanks to all of you for your great support in this term, and I hope I can still be your teacher next term. Thanks again! A final copy of the research project. Copies of the midterm. A few pens.

It was Clark’ s first visit to London Underground Railway. Against【C1】______advice of his friends, he decided to go there after 5 o’ clock in the afternoon. This is a bad time to【C2】______in London, because numerous people go home from work【C3】______this hour. He had to join a long【C4】______of people who were waiting for tickets. When his turn came, he had some difficulty in making himself【C5】______by the man selling tickets. However, he got the right ticket【C6】______the end and, by asking people the【C7】______, he also found the right platform. It was packed tight【C8】______people. He did not【C9】______to get on the first train, but he was【C10】______to move nearer to the edge of the platform so as to be in a better【C11】______to get on the next one. When this train came in, Clark was【C12】______forward on to the train by the【C13】______of people from behind. The doors closed and the train【C14】______off. He was unable to see the names of the stations where the train stopped, but he knew that the station he wanted was the sixth【C15】______along the line. When the train got to the sixth station, Clark got off, feeling good that his【C16】______had been so easy. But he suddenly【C17】______that he had come to a station he had never heard of. He explained his difficulty to a man who was standing on the platform. With a【C18】______on his face, the man【C19】______Clark that he had caught a train going in the opposite【C20】______

阅读下面的对话，根据其内容写一篇有关该调查的说明文。要求： 1．所写短文应与对话相关内容意义相符，涵盖其要点。 2．用你自己的语言来表达，可以改写对话中的句子，但不可以照抄原句。注意：词数80词左右。 Tina: What are you reading, Chris? Chris: A report about a recent Harris poll. They asked people in different countries how they spend their spare time. Tina: Sounds interesting. But I spend so much time working that I don’t have much time left for leisure activities. Chris: Exactly. The report says the average working hours for Americans is 50 hours a week. Tina: And we also have to sleep, eat, and take care of our families. Chris: Still, having time to relax and pursue your hobbies is important. Tina: Yeah, I agree. So what do people do in their free time? Chris: Americans read the most in their spare time. Tina: Yeah, you can often see people with books on the subway or while waiting for the bus. Chris: The NO. 2 popular activity is watching TV. Tina: I totally understand that. Don’ t you just want to sit there and let go of all complicated thoughts? Chris: Right. People in the U. K. also ranked watching TV and videos as their favorite spare time activity. The next thing they love is listening to the radio. Tina: Oh, the British. They love their radios. Chris: And they love their pubs, too. Their favorite outdoor activity is going to the pub.

Where are the speakers?M: Hi, Maggie. Nice to see you again. I want all these books here. W: Oh, my God, that might be a lot for your dad to buy at one time. M: But you see my dad always gets me all the books I want. W: Well, that’ s really very nice of him. You’ ve got a good father. In a bookstore. On a bus. At home.

Why does the woman call the man?M: Bob Gordon speaking. W: Hello, Bob. It’s Ann here. How’ s everything? M: Fine. How about you? W: Oh, not so bad. Listen, I want to talk to you, Bob, about next Thursday. I hope you haven’ t forgotten. M: No, no. I’ve got it in my diary. Just look it up. Thursday, the 14th, the meeting in Birmingham, I don’t know when or where, though. W: Right. That’ s what Don White asked me to tell you. It’ s in Birmingham at a quarter past eleven in the Rose. M: The Rose Hotel? W: Yes, the one opposite the park. Er, now you’ ve got the time, right? 11:15, OK? M: Yeah, fine, 11:15. I may be a few minutes late. There is a train from here at 8:10. I’ll take that one. Which train are you getting? W: I’ m catching the 10:17 one. I get in at about 10: 45. M: OK. See you Thursday then. Cheer then. W: Bye, Bob. To tell him the time and place of a meeting. To tell him how to get to Birmingham. To tell him to visit Don White.

Where did Gail spend the nights in the country?W: Morning. Gail. Did you enjoy your holiday in the country? M: Yes. We had a great time. And some friends went along with us. W: Where did you stay? In a hotel? M: No, we camped in the mountains. We cooked all our meals over an open fire. W: Sounds great’ Was the weather good? M: Yes, the sun shone every day and it didn’t rain at all. W: Did you like the people there? M: Yes, they were friendly. We met some farmers and had tea in their houses. W: I hope I have a chance to go there for my holiday. M: It is really a good chance. In a farm house. In the open. At a hotel.

There is distinction between reading for information and reading for understanding.【B1】______ The first sense is the one in which we read newspapers, magazines, or anything else.【B2】______ Such materials may increase our store of information, but they cannot improve our understanding. And clearly we don’ t have any difficulty in gaining the new information, for our understanding was equal to them before we started. Otherwise, we would have felt the shock of puzzlement. The second sense is the one in which we read something that at first we do not completely understand. Here the thing to be read is at the first sight better or higher than the reader. The writer is communicating something that can increase the reader’ s understanding.【B3】______ Otherwise one person could never learn from another. Here “learning“ means understanding more, not remembering more information. What are the conditions in this kind of reading? First, there is inequality in understanding.【B4】______ Besides, his book must convey something he possesses and his potential readers lack. Second, the reader must be able to overcome this inequality in some degree. And he should always try to reach the same level of understanding with the writer. If the equality is approached, success of communication is achieved. 【B5】______It is the least demanding and requires the least amount of effort. Everyone who knows how to read can read for entertainment if he wants to. In fact, any book that can be read for understanding or information can probably be read for entertainment as well. [A]The writer should have a better communicating skill. [B]Such communication between unequals must be possible. [C]We can get access to the content of those materials easily. [D]The writer must be “superior“ to the reader in understanding. [E]Thus, we can employ the word “reading“ in two distinct senses. [F]Reading for entertainment is capable of increasing our understanding for information. [G]Besides gaining information and understanding, there’ s another goal of reading-entertainment.

假设你是李明，在一家贸易公司工作，业余时间参加英语口语培训，但下周二的培训你因故无法参加。请你根据以下要点，向你的外籍教师Smith写一个请假条。内容要点： 1．很抱歉不能参加下周二的培训 2．理由：经理派你去海南出差三天 3．请Smith帮你把课程内容录下来，课下补听参考词汇：贸易公司：trade company 注意：词数：100左右。

How much a pound are these oranges?M: These oranges are nice. How much are they? W: They are sixty cents a pound. 6 cents. 16 cents. 60 cents.

What is the woman going to do this afternoon?W: I’ m free this afternoon. Shall we go to the movies? M: OK. But I hate love stories. Any films about war on today? W: I’m afraid not. How about the theatre? M: Well, most plays are badly written, though they’re cheap. W: Let’ s go to a concert. You like music very much, don’t you? M: Yes, light music. But now you can only hear noisy music, American songs or songs where you can’ t understand a single word. W: What are you going to do then? M: Why not go to the library to borrow some books. You like reading as much as I do, don’t you? W: OK, let’s go. Go shopping. Go to the library. Go to the cinema.

Last year, my brother and I went to Miami for a vacation. Some of my friends who had been there before said【K1】______was a wonderful holiday destination. Before we went, we had planned for months. When the day came, we were ready. After our plane landed, we went to the hotel. We had made our reservation six months 【K2】______ (early), but the man at the front desk said there had been a mistake. We were told that our rooms hadn’ t been reserved for that week,【K3】______for the week after. I didn’ t understand【K4】______this would happen and my credit card had already been charged【K5】______the reservation. What’s worse, the hotel had been fully booked. When we were wondering what to do, the manager came out. She was【K6】______ (surprise)helpful. She【K7】______ (apology)for the mistake and gave us a spare VIP room on【K8】______top floor. We had never stayed in such an amazing room, and we weren’ t charged extra. The next day, my brother and I went to the beach【K9】______we watched some people play volleyball. We got a little【K10】______ (sunburn), but the day had been so relaxing that we didn’t mind.

We found that bar at last. I didn’ t have to ask again, for there it was in big red neon letters over the window—Star Bar. There were some iron tables outside with plastic chairs around them. A few people sat around, looking at a portable television set that someone had brought out of the bar. They were all in thin summer dresses or short shirts; even at that late hour it was stifling. Two thin dogs lay under one of the tables with their tongues out, and some of the women were fanning themselves unenthusiastically(无精打采地)with magazines. “ He’ s not here,“ I said, after a quick look around. The television was speaking out an advertisement for a detergent(洗衣粉), and the people sitting round had their eyes glued to the picture of a woman proudly showing how white her husband’ s underwear was after having been washed. They took no notice of us at all. “Well, what did you expect?“ replied Fergus, yawning(打呵欠). “ It’ s only half past nine, and he said he would be here at nine. You ought to know Graig by this time. He’ 11 turn up sometime after ten. “

Most people have had a dog or wanted one as their companion at some time in their lives. If you are thinking of buying a dog, however, you should first decide what sort of companion you need and whether the dog is likely to be happy in your house. Specialists’(专家)advice is useful to help you choose the most suitable kind of dog. But in part the decision depends on common sense. Different dogs were developed to perform specific tasks. So, if you want a dog to protect you or your house, for example, you should choose the one that has the right size and characteristics. You must also be ready to devote(投入)a great deal of time to training the dog when it is young and give it the exercise it needs throughout its life, unless you live in the countryside and can let it run freely. Dogs are demanding pets. Cats love the house and so are satisfactory with their place where there is secure, but a dog is loyal to its master and consequently wants him to show proof of his affection. The first consideration in buying a dog is whether the dog is likely to be happy in the surroundings you can provide. The best time to buy a baby dog is when it is between 6 and 8 weeks old so that it can transfer its love from its mother to its master. If baby dogs have not established a relationship with the human being until they are over three months old, their strong relationship will always be with dogs. They are likely to be too shy when they are brought out into the world to become good pets.

The underlined word “event“(Paragraph 1)refers to______.

What is the purpose in writing this text?

What does the robot look like?

The biggest advantage of this product is that______.