Heikki Koski, vice president of Helsinki Airport, says that improved flight information display system and interactive kiosks(交互式自助服务机), together with advances in mobile technology, are changing the way airports communicate with passengers. At Munich airport, InfoGate kiosks allow for video-based face-to-face conversation with a live customer service representative in the traveler’s language of choice. Interactive signs, on the other hand, give directions at the touch of finger. Passengers can tap a “you are here” display to get directions and approximate walking time to their destinations.
Of course, an airport will never be as silent as a temple. There will continue to be a need for airport-wide emergency announcements along with boarding calls. But at silent airports, the latter can be restricted to specific gates, as has adopted in Helsinki.
5. What is Angela Gittens’ opinion on the silent airport concept? A. It makes airport noise-free.
B. It is intended for passengers’ benefit.
C. It has changed international airports’ reputation. D. It has encouraged the catering industry in airports.
6. What should passengers pay close attention to at Helsinki Airport? A. Their boarding time. B. Finland’s tourism slogan.
C. The shop’s opening hours. D. The “you are here” display. 7. Why is Munich Airport mentioned in the text?
A. To show its popularity. B. To introduce Infogate kiosks.
C. To prove Heikki Koski’s words. D. To be compared with Helsinki Airport. 8. What is the best title for the text? A. Silence, please. This is an airport. B. Can airports be as quiet as temples? C. Silent airports all around the world.
D. Technology helps airports become interactive.
Passage 3
September 8, 2017, was an exciting date for Katey Walter Anthony. On this cool, windless evening she first visited Alaska’s Lake Esieh. Few people visit this remote area of wilderness, covered by frozen ground with spruce trees. Thousands of lakes dot the region. But Walter Anthony quickly realized that this lake was strange. As her boat moved across it, she came to a place where the water seemed to be boiling.
The water wasn’t warm. Bubbles of all sizes streamed up, popping at the surface. One bubble, as large as a softball, gave off a loud sound as it burst. The bubbles, which rose with such force that they slowly pushed her boat to the side, covered a part of the lake larger than a football field.
Walter Anthony leaned over the edge of the boat and collected some bubbles in a bottle. Then she struck a match and opened the bottle to release the gas she had just collected. The gas caught fire!
The fire dancing over the bottle confirmed her belief. It showed that the lake was flowing out a gas called methane(甲烷). Each molecule(CH4) contains one atom of carbon bonded to
four atoms of hydrogen. As a strong greenhouse gas, it can absorb radiation from the sun, warming the atmosphere. Methane, along with carbon dioxide, is a major source of global warming.
Scientists believe that the Arctic could release large amounts of methane over the next 100 years. Some of them worry that this methane will cause the world to warm more quickly than they had predicted.
Walter Anthony has spent nearly 20 years trying to understand this threat. She is trying to measure how much methane is coming out of warming Arctic lakes. And to her, Lake Esieh could be a warning. If other lakes respond the same way, the Arctic could be poised to flow out far more methane than anyone had expected. “We don’t even know how much gas is down there,” she says. “It’s a wild card.”
9. Why is Lake Esieh considered strange? A. The water there is boiling. B. It is located in a remote area. C. Bubbles there give off a loud sound. D. It is flowing out a gas that can catch fire.
10. What effect does the gas from the lake have on the environment? A. It warms the water of the Arctic lakes. B. It pollutes the fresh air in the Arctic.
C. It takes in the sunlight and holds the Arctic ice.
D. It absorbs carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen.
11. How does Walter Anthony feel about the gas methane?
A. It is amusing. B. It is beneficial. C. It is a blessing. D. It is a threat. 12. Where might this text come from? A. A science fiction. B. A tourist brochure. C. A science report. D. A geography textbook.
Passage 4
When men and women take personality tests, some of the old Mars-Venus stereotypes(定式) keep reappearing. On average, women are more cooperative, kind, cautious and
emotionally enthusiastic. Men tend to be more competitive, confident, rude and emotionally flat. Clear differences appear in early childhood and never disappear.
What’s not clear is the origin of these differences. Evolutionary psychologists think that these are natural features from ancient hunters and gatherers. Another school of psychologists argues that both sexes’ personalities have been shaped by traditional social roles, and that personality differences will shrink as women spend less time taking care of children and more time in jobs outside the home.
To test these hypotheses(假设), a series of research teams have repeatedly analyzed personality tests taken by men and women in more than 60 countries around the world. For evolutionary psychologists, the bad news is that the size of the gender gap in personality varies among cultures. For social-role psychologists, the bad news is that the change is going in the wrong direction. It looks as if personality differences between men and women are