Humans have been keeping animals as pets for tens of thousands of years, but Dr Jean-Loup Rault, an animal scientist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, believes new companions are coming: robot pets.

“Technology is moving very fast,” Rault told ABC News, “The Tamagotchi in the early 1990s was really the first robotic pet, and now Sony and other big companies have improved them a lot.”

This may not sit well with pet lovers. After all, who would choose a plastic toy over a lovely puppy? But Rault argues that the robotic kind has a lot going for it: “You don’t have to feed it, you don’t have to walk it, it won’t make a mess in your house, and you can go on a holiday without feeling guilty.” The technology also benefits those who are allergic to pets, short on space, or fearful of real animals.

It’s not clear whether robot pets can replace real ones. But studies do suggest that we can bond with these smart machines. People give their cars names and kids give their toy animals life stories. It’s the same with robots. When Sony stopped its repair service for its robot dog Aibo in March 2014, owners in Japan held funerals.

As an animal welfare researcher, Rault is concerned about how robotic pets could affect our attitudes towards live animals. “If we become used to a robotic companion that doesn’t need food, water or exercises, perhaps it will change how humans care about other living beings,” he said.

So are dogs and cats a thing of the past, as Rault predicts? For those who grew up with living and breathing pets, the mechanical kind might not do. But for our next generation who are in constant touch with smart technology, a future in which lovely pets needn’t have a heartbeat might not be a far-fetched dream.

1.What does the underlined phrase “sit well with” means?

A. be refused by B. be beneficial to

C. make a difference to D. receive support from

2.What are the advantages of robot pets?

a. They are plastic and feel smooth.

b. Owners needn’t worry about them when going out.

c. They can help cure allergies(過敏).

d. They save space and costs.

A. ab B. bc

C. bd D. cd

3.We can learn from the passage that___________.

A. Sony is the first company to produce robot pets Aibo.

B. People can develop strong bond(聯(lián)系、關(guān)系) with their robot pets.

C. Rault thinks robot pets still have a long way to go.

D. Robot toys may help people care more about living beings.

4.The passage mainly tells us___________.

A. the advantages of robot toys B. the popularity of robot pets

C. living pets are dying out. D. robot pets are coming.

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But the closing decades of the 20th century witnessed major changes in both the style of bars (for example, themed bars) and their numbers. As of 2015, the number of bars declines sharply, with bars continuing to close at an average rate of 29 a week.

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A. The benefits brought by pub cultures

B. The popularity of local bars in Britain.

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D. People will communicate more online.

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增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號(∧)，并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

刪除：把多余的詞用斜線(\)劃掉。

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2. 只允許修改10處，多者(從第11處起)，不計分。

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假設(shè)你是李華，學(xué)校邀請著名書法家沈鵬到校舉行書法講座。請你給外教David寫封郵件邀請他參加。

內(nèi)容要點：

1.講座時間：5月15日（星期日）上午8:00---11:00；

2.講座地點：藝術(shù)樓演講大廳；

3.活動安排：聽講座，討論及提問題，觀摩名家即興創(chuàng)作等；

注意：

1. 詞數(shù)100左右；

2. 可以適當增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫；

3.calligraphy 書法；improvise即興表演

Dear David,

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Looking forward to your early reply.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

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假定你是李華，你的英國朋友Lucy在當?shù)氐囊凰鬃訉W(xué)院（Confucius Institute）學(xué)習，你剛獲悉她在學(xué)院舉辦的中文詩詞（poetry）比賽中榮獲一等獎。請你用英語給她寫一封電子郵件表示祝賀，并希望她有機會來中國深造。

注意：

1．詞數(shù)100左右；

2．可以適當增加細節(jié)，以使行文連貫；

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微信朋友圈似乎已經(jīng)成為我們與朋友溝通交流必不可少的工具，目前很多中學(xué)生也都開通了微信，在朋友圈里發(fā)表一些自己的感想。你想讓父母看你的朋友圈嗎？某英語報社就這一問題做了調(diào)查，結(jié)果如下：

40%同意

60%反對

父母可以了解我們的思想動態(tài)，及時溝通；

父母可以保護我們不受欺；

……

每個人都需要隱私，朋友圈是我們的私人空間；

我們與父母之間有代溝，讓他們看我們的朋友圈可能產(chǎn)生誤會；

……

請根據(jù)以上信息寫一篇短文，向該報社描述這一現(xiàn)象，并發(fā)表自己的看法。

注意：詞數(shù)不少于100字。

參考詞匯：微信Wechat 朋友圈Moments

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