We have all heard of the smartphone and most of us will have one. Not far behind ： the smart home. In the latest issue of Journal Science，Washington State University's Diane Cook says it won't be long before our homes act as “ intelligent agents” to predict our needs and deal with tasks that improve our health, energy efficiency, even social media.

“Many homes are already halfway there, with computers helping warm food, record TV shows, and turn on coffee makers. What we're trying to do is get the home to think about what you need as a whole and use different parts to do the right things. ” she says.

Cook has been working on such smart homes since 2006. Some test homes already show that the technology can help monitor the elderly people and remind them to complete ordinary activities like rising, eating and taking medicine.

Similarly，the home can itself control energy use. Smart home technologies can run washing- machines at off-peak times, turn off unneeded appliances(家用电器）and put out lights in empty rooms. Many communities now are testing the concept of the smart home.

While the smartphone lets people take their social media with them, the home could act like a car's Bluetooth, making hands-free conversation from any room a reality. Cameras will let the people “ talk face to face from anywhere".

Although the technology is available，technologies like in-home cameras raise privacy con­cerns. The technologies，like many others，face a challenge of being accepted and adopted, says Cook. She has seen that in particular with the elderly participants in her studies.

“People will soon understand what these technologies do and see how user-friendly they are. I bet some technologies will develop fast once they're starting to be used. ”

71.  According to the passage，all of the following statements about the smart home technology are TRUE except that  .

A.  it is a completely new concept

B.  some tests are being carried out

C. it helps people do housework

D. it will soon become a reality

72.  According to Cook, the smart home technology can benefit _______.

A.  the teachers monitoring their students

B.  the housewives with babies to attend

C. the nurses in the hospital nearby

D. the senior people who need taking care of

73.  According to Paragraph 4, the smart home technology helps people _______.

A. make more money                                   B. use new energy forms

C. improve the energy efficiency                   D. develop good habits

74.  One of the obstacles that prevent the smart home technology from being accepted is ____

A. the concern about people's privacy            B. the concern about the cost from it

C. the concern about the loss of tradition     D. the concern about elderly people

75.  How does Cook think of the smart home technology?

A. useful but much too costly.                     B. challenging but promising.

C. convenient and affordable.                       D. user-friendly and practical.

 

We have all heard of the smartphone and most of us will have one. Not far behind ： the smart home. In the latest issue of Journal Science，Washington State University's Diane Cook says it won't be long before our homes act as “ intelligent agents” to predict our needs and deal with tasks that improve our health, energy efficiency, even social media.

“Many homes are already halfway there, with computers helping warm food, record TV shows, and turn on coffee makers. What we're trying to do is get the home to think about what you need as a whole and use different parts to do the right things. ” she says.

Cook has been working on such smart homes since 2006. Some test homes already show that the technology can help monitor the elderly people and remind them to complete ordinary activities like rising, eating and taking medicine.

Similarly，the home can itself control energy use. Smart home technologies can run washing- machines at off-peak times, turn off unneeded appliances(家用电器）and put out lights in empty rooms. Many communities now are testing the concept of the smart home.

While the smartphone lets people take their social media with them, the home could act like a car's Bluetooth, making hands-free conversation from any room a reality. Cameras will let the people “ talk face to face from anywhere".

Although the technology is available，technologies like in-home cameras raise privacy con­cerns. The technologies，like many others，face a challenge of being accepted and adopted, says Cook. She has seen that in particular with the elderly participants in her studies.

“People will soon understand what these technologies do and see how user-friendly they are. I bet some technologies will develop fast once they're starting to be used. ”

71.  According to the passage，all of the following statements about the smart home technology are TRUE except that  .

A.  it is a completely new concept

B.  some tests are being carried out

C. it helps people do housework

D. it will soon become a reality

72.  According to Cook, the smart home technology can benefit _______.

A.  the teachers monitoring their students

B.  the housewives with babies to attend

C. the nurses in the hospital nearby

D. the senior people who need taking care of

73.  According to Paragraph 4, the smart home technology helps people _______.

A. make more money                                   B. use new energy forms

C. improve the energy efficiency                   D. develop good habits

74.  One of the obstacles that prevent the smart home technology from being accepted is ____

A. the concern about people's privacy            B. the concern about the cost from it

C. the concern about the loss of tradition     D. the concern about elderly people

75.  How does Cook think of the smart home technology?

A. useful but much too costly.                     B. challenging but promising.

C. convenient and affordable.                       D. user-friendly and practical.

 

________ we have seen is quite different from ________ we have heard.

A. That; that

B. What: that

C. That; what

D. What; what

 

________ we have seen is quite different from ________ we have heard.

A. That; that

B. What: that

C. That; what

D. What; what

 

“A lot of learning comes through play,” says Mardy McGarry, 52, who has been a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She had seen the wood chips and sand of traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks. When she wanted to build a playground for children with special needs，she knew it wouldn’t take long to develop interest in it around the small fishing village. But she never expected that 2,800 people — a third of the town—would all be willing to make a great effort to bring her vision to life.

McGarry started doing some research into play equipment and contacting design companies and she also found a piece of land available. When the city council(市议会) agreed to set aside an area for a playground, she also asked physical and professional therapists(治疗专家) for their investment. And she turned to her friend, Sue, for help. “Neither of us is good at maths, which is why $450,000 didn’t sound like a lot of money,” McGarry says of the initial estimate.

Her Kiwanis Club came through with $7,000，and that’s when the grassroots movement really got started. One woman gave $25,000 and had her company match it. Soon, smaller businesses were joining in. There was a silent effort to collect money. The local Pieper Family Foundation offered to donate half of the remaining $170,000. All McGarry needed was 500 volunteers to work six 12-hour days.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of construction, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s operated their tractors. Ten-year-olds cleared up the mess. “None of them was paid. It was truly an amazing week,” says McGarry. Only three building managers were paid. Volunteers with “building experience” became coordinators(协调人); those who could operate power tools formed a separate group. One team served meals donated from local restaurants and churches, and another organized activities for the children of volunteers.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children, including the ones with special needs, play shoulder to shoulder. “Some playgrounds have special equipment in a different section. Here, you see all the kids in the same playground, all having fun.”

It’s exactly what McGarry imagined. “People used to ask, ‘Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?” She says, “It’s only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children.”

It didn’t occur to Mardy McGarry that __________.

A. her plan would soon draw the interest of people in the small village

B. so many people would volunteer to help her realize her dream

C. she would meet with so many difficulties in raising funds

D. the playground would be the most popular destination in Ozaukee County

We can learn from the fourth paragraph that __________.

A. the playground was finished in September 2008

B. everything was well prepared, apart from the volunteers

C. everyone worked unpaid, except for three building managers

D. the playground is so popular that it is overcrowded all the time

It can be inferred from the text that __________.

A. Mardy McGarry is a famous architect in the small town

B. Sue was forced to join in the project because of her son

C. people always ignore the real needs of disabled children

D. Mardy McGarry’s vision has been successfully accomplished at last

What would be the best title for this text?

A. Mardy McGarry: A Woman with Great Determination.

B. Cooperation: The Greatest Power in Overcoming Any Difficulty.

C. Show Real Concern for Poor Disabled Children.

D. Make it Matter to Build a Playground for Disabled Children.