Invertors are always looking for ways to make our lives easier, greener and more fun. Take a look at 2010’s coolest inventions in science and technology. What in the world will inventors dream up next?

Robot Teachers

Some students in South Korea have a new language teacher: an English-teaching robot. The robot help students practice speaking English. South Korea needs about 30,000 foreigners to teach English. The robot teachers are helping to solve a shortage(短缺)English teachers. Could robots take the place of the human teachers one day?

A Touch Tablet (书写板)

　 Apple, creator of the iPhone and iPod, had another hit invention this year with iPad. The iPad is a touch-screen tablet computer. It gives users video, websites, books and games at their fingers. Apple sold 3 million iPads in the first 80 days on the market.

　 Up, Up and Away

It took him 30 years to develop it, and now Glen Martin’s is ready to take off. The Martin Jetpack (喷气动力背包), a personal flying machine, allows the users to fly 2.4 km into the air. Unfortunately, you can not fly for very long. The jetpack only holds the fuel(燃料) for about 30 minutes’ flight. It will sell for S 100,000. Field tests begin in 2011.

71.The robot teachers can ___________

　 A. train students to speak English 　　　　　　 　B. help students learn Japanese and English　　　　　　 C. take the place of the human English teachers now

72.The underlined word “ hit” means ______.

　 A.撞击　　 　　　　　　　 B. 妙语 　　　　　　　 C. 成功

73. Glen Martin spent ______on his flying machine.

　 A. a very short time　　　　　　　 B. quite a long time　　　 　 C. just a little money

74. Which invention can you use to fly in the air?

　 A. The iPad　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. The robot　　　　　　　　　　　 C. The Martin Jetpack

75. The best title for this passage may be ________

　 A. Coolest Inventions of 2010 　　　　　　　　　　

B. Most Useful Comouter of 2010　　 　　　

C. Greatest Discoveries of 2010

1.If a kid aged 14 wants to know different cultures of the world, he or she can ______.

A. call 885-6321                        B. visit www. worldkids.net

C. call 885-7621                    D. visit www. mysportsclub.com

2.Which club is organized by kids?

A. Sports Club.                B. Model Time.

C. Kids Art Club.                   D. Keypals International Club.

3.If your 8-year-old sister is interested in drawing, she may join ________.

A. Model Time                       B. Sports Club

C. Kids Art Club                    D. Keypals International Club

4.At Kids Art Club, each drawing class has ________ children at most.

A. six           B. seven           C. eight            D. fourteen

5.Which of the following is TRUE according to the advertisement?

A. Model Time is a good place for us to take a train, plane, boat, etc.

B. We can do different kinds of sports at Sports Club.

C. Keypals International Club is mainly for kids aged 7 to 18.

D. Jim Todd has worked in the art field for less than 23 years.

Sports Club Sports Club provides you with many different sports to keep healthy. You’ll never get bored. Our programme is always working on new ways to keep you strong and happy. For more information, visit www. mysportsclub.com.

Model Time If you like models, then Model Time will be the right place for you. From model trains, planes and cars to boats and ships, we have them all! To get more information, please call 885-6321.

Kids Art Club Kids Art Club gives drawing classes to children aged 7 to 14. Classes are small with only 6 students each. Jim Todd teaches all classes. He has worked in the art field for over 23 years. For more information, please call 885-7621.

Keypals International Club KIC is a fun club started by kids, for kids aged 8 to 16. KIC tries to help kids understand different cultures through emails and other activities. KIC has members from 40 different countries. For more of it, visit www. worldkids.net.

1. 1.

   If a kid aged 14 wants to know different cultures of the world, he or she can ______

   1. A.
      call 885-6321
   2. B.
      visit www. worldkids.net
   3. C.
      call 885-7621
   4. D.
      visit www. mysportsclub.com
2. 2.

   Which club is organized by kids?

   1. A.
      Sports Club
   2. B.
      Model Time
   3. C.
      Kids Art Club
   4. D.
      Keypals International Club
3. 3.

   If your 8-year-old sister is interested in drawing, she may join ________

   1. A.
      Model Time
   2. B.
      Sports Club
   3. C.
      Kids Art Club
   4. D.
      Keypals International Club
4. 4.

   At Kids Art Club, each drawing class has ________ children at most

   1. A.
      six
   2. B.
      seven
   3. C.
      eight
   4. D.
      fourteen
5. 5.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the advertisement?

   1. A.
      Model Time is a good place for us to take a train, plane, boat, etc
   2. B.
      We can do different kinds of sports at Sports Club
   3. C.
      Keypals International Club is mainly for kids aged 7 to 18
   4. D.
      Jim Todd has worked in the art field for less than 23 years

Online shopping is growing fast in China, and more and more Chinese are buying books online. At the same time, traditional bookstores are facing new challenges. A bookstore in Beijing is going out of business（生意）. All of its books are on sale. Bookstore owner Wang Jian says hot sales of books on the Internet pushed him to change the way he did business.
China has the highest online book buying rate（率）in the world. More than years ago, dangdang.com became the first online bookseller, and now becomes very important in the Chinese online book market.
Facing this challenge, the Xinhua Bookstore also built its online store a few years ago. Zhang Jian, CEO of the Xinhuabookstore.com, says now they are enlarging their online services.
A “price war（战争）”is taking shape between traditional bookstores and online bookstores. Faced with the low-cost advantage of online bookstores, traditional ones can do nothing but lower their prices. At the same time, online bookstores are also starting price wars between each other.
Now some traditional bookstores are trying their best to attract buyers in their own way. They exhibit books better and provide(提供) a very relaxed reading environment in the bookstore. Even though, traditional bookstores can hardly compete with some of the advantages of online bookstores, for example 24-hour service.
【小题1】What is the passage about?