“I think it's 50 or 100 more years.”Hmm, I wondered, will this talk generate headlines about “hearing crickets”？

Have you noticed this particular phrase?

You hear crickets when you don't hear anything else — in the perfect stillness of an evening.So to say that “people are hearing crickets” can be a way to describe the embarrassed silence that falls in a room in response to something someone does or says — telling a tasteless joke at a dinner party, for instance.

Mr.Mnuchin's “50 or 100 more years” comment was met with silence from the people in the room, and shock on the part of Silicon Valley, a center of the computer industry.

Most people studying artificial intelligence think robots will be replacing people within just a few years.

I did not, in fact, find the “crickets” idiom used in coverage of the Mnuchin comment, but other examples abound (非常多)．

“Mention ethics (道德标准) in Idaho and you hear crickets” was the headline on an account of a state official's struggle to advance a reform proposal.

A newspaper columnist in a Snow Belt city took issue with a state official's reported treatment of a popular local priest (牧师)．The columnist made it clear he expected an apology from the governor, but none had come forth.

“If it weren't for the two feet of snow on the ground, you could hear crickets，” the columnist wrote.

But just to nitpick (吹毛求疵), idioms like the “crickets” work best when they stick closest to their origin.It's not that one “hears crickets from” anyone after someone else's boneheaded comment; it's that one “hears crickets” because no one is saying anything at all.

语篇解读：本文是说明文。文章介绍hear crickets这个短语的含义。 25．What did Steven Mnuchin say? A．Robots made headlines frequently. B．Robots would put people out of work.

C．Robots would bring embarrassed silence to our life.

D．Robots wouldn't replace human beings in the immediate future.

解析：选D 细节理解题。由第三段中Steven Mnuchin所说的“I think it's 50 or 100 more years.”可知，他认为机器人不会很快取代人类。

26．How did employees in Silicon Valley probably feel about Mnuchin's talk? A．Satisfied. C．Indifferent.

B．Surprised. D．Appreciative.

解析：选B 细节理解题。由第六段内容可知，Mr.Mnuchin的言论让硅谷的雇员们惊讶得说不出话。

27．What do we know about the newspaper columnist? A．He was angry with the priest. B．He didn't like snowy weather. C．He advanced a reform proposal. D．He had a problem with an official.

解析：选D 推理判断题。由倒数第三段中的“A newspaper columnist in a Snow Belt city took issue with a state official's reported treatment of a popular local priest.”可知，专栏作家对一位州政府官员表示不满。

28．In which part of a magazine can we probably read this text? A．Politics. C．Lifestyle.

B．Learning. D．Technology.

解析：选B 推理判断题。这段文章提到的几个例子都是为了说明hear crickets这个短语的用法，故本文有可能出自学习版块。

C

The Thing About Yetis (雪人)

Everyone knows yetis love winter.They love snowball fights and hot chocolate and building snow houses.But even yetis complain about the cold.So here's a secret about yetis: sometimes they miss summer.Sometimes, they have to bring a little bit of summer to the coldest of winter days.Those yetis, they're just full of surprises.

But Excuse Me That Is My Book

Charlie and Lola have already won the hearts of readers in three winning books.And now they're quickly gathering more fans as an animated series on the Disney Channel.

In this new tale, Lola has become interested in Beetles, Bugs, and Butterflies, the best book in the whole world.It's funny, it has pictures, and it is “great and very interesting.” It's the only book she wants to take out of the library.What will she do when she discovers that somebody else has borrowed her book?

Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales

Brer Rabbit is causing trouble again — this time it brings together all the stories from the Tales of Uncle Remus series.

The Uncle Remus tales, originally written down by Joel Chandler Harris, were first published over a hundred years ago, and serve as the largest collection of African-American folklore.In this four-book series, Julius Lester makes some changes so the stories will be understood and enjoyed

by new generations of readers.

Merry Christmas, Mr.Mouse

A lively story about discovering the joy and meaning of Christmas.

When Mr.Mouse and his family move into a big house, they discover something new and wonderful: an evergreen tree decorated with lights and pleasant smells in the air.They hear about a happy man named Santa who brings gifts to celebrate Jesus's birth on a day called Christmas.And so Mr.and Mrs.Mouse decide that their family should celebrate Christmas, too.

语篇解读：本文是应用文。文中介绍了四本英文故事书。 29．What's a secret about yetis? A．They love summer as well. B．They have snowball fights. C．They can build snow houses. D．They eat chocolates sometimes.

解析：选A 细节理解题。由The Thing About Yetis中的“So here's a secret about yetis: sometimes they miss summer.”可知，雪人的一个秘密是：它们有时候会想念夏天，它们也爱夏天。

30．What may be Lola's problem? A．She couldn't find a good book. B．She couldn't find a good library. C．She couldn't borrow her favorite book. D．She couldn't afford to buy her favorite book.

解析：选C 细节理解题。由But Excuse Me That Is My Book中的“It's the only book she wants to take out of the library.What will she do when she discovers that somebody else has borrowed her book？”可知，Lola面临的问题是：图书馆里她最喜欢的书可能已经被别人借走了。

31．Which of the following books is rewritten for today's readers? A．The Thing About Yetis. B．But Excuse Me That Is My Book. C．Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales. D．Merry Christmas, Mr.Mouse.

解析：选C 细节理解题。由Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales中的“Julius Lester makes some changes so the stories will be understood and enjoyed by new generations of readers”可知，

该系列丛书被作者重新改写了。

D

New York teen Timothy Doner has an unusual hobby. He likes to learn languages! And not the way most of us do to get through basic school requirements, but well enough so that he can conduct a fluent conversation. Over the last five years, the 18-year-old has been able to master 23! While this has earned him the name of the world's youngest polyglot (通晓多种语言的人), he is still not satisfied.

His interest in learning languages began in 2009 after he completed basic Hebrew (希伯来语) lessons in preparation for his Bar Mitzvah ceremony (犹太男子成年礼). He enjoyed it so much that he decided to become fluent in Modern Hebrew. Then he picked up Arabic. Within

four days, he managed to master the alphabet (字母表) and by the end of the week, he could read the language fluently.

Over the years, he has added Russian, Farsi (Persian), Hausa, Italian, Swahili, Indonesian, Hindi, Ojibwe, Pashto language, Turkish, Kurdish, Yiddish, Dutch, Croatian, Spanish and German to his list of languages. The list does not include the ones that he has taken up at school, which include French, Mandarin, Latin and of course, English. The most amazing part is that he has managed to learn all the additional languages on his own, using just online programs and grammar books.

The young polyglot begins by learning how to pronounce the alphabet correctly and then teaching himself the correct grammar. He then enlarges this by reading newspapers and talking with people that speak that language, either in person or on Internet chat rooms. In order to attract other people with similar skills and interest, he has even started making videos of himself speaking different languages on YouTube. Among the polyglots is 32-year-old Ohio man Moses McMormick, who has mastered 50 languages!

Timothy whose next goal is to learn Sudanese and Malay, says that his language skills are very useful when he is on the subway, walking around New York City or even at a restaurant, because they allow him to listen to all kinds of fun and interesting conversations.

语篇解读：本文主要介绍了一位来自美国纽约的天才少年——Timothy Doner, 他通过自学通晓了二十多种语言。 32．Why does Timothy like learning languages so much? A．To go abroad. B．To pass school exams. C．To put them into practice. D．To become a famous polyglot.