Imagine a city built as a line across the desert. It can run on 100% clean energy and 100% renewable water. That sounds impossible, but it’s becoming a reality.
Saudi Arabia is building such a city called The Line. It starts from the mountains of Northwest Saudi Arabia and pushes its way to the Red Sea. With an area of just 34 square kilometres, it can be home to 9 million people. The Line is 500 metres tall, 200 metres wide and 170 kilometres long, with two huge mirror walls standing on its both sides.
To put living experiences and natural environment first, The Line is designed to have three layers (层) . The top layer has no roads or cars, keeping over 95% of the nature around. Carefully designed environment makes the best balance of sunshine, trees and other natural sights. The middle layer is for services. All of them are operated by AI. Robots and a huge man-made moon make the city a technology paradise (天堂). From shopping malls to sports areas, wherever you go, you will be amazed at how convenient life can be. The lowest layer is the most important pat which shows how fast the city runs. The Line’s high-speed railway powered by electricity makes it possible to travel end to end in 20 minutes.
The plan started in early 2021 and is expected to finish its first stage in 2030. However, not everyone shows enough confidence in the plan. Environmentalists argue that mirror walls of The Line will bring danger to animals. For example, birds may hit onto the glass or even die when they migrate every spring and autumn. Besides, some commentators (评论员) also question whether the city will be built successfully. But Tarek Qaddumi, the director of the plan, seems sure, “We hope to get faster, better and greener results, with less environmental influence. It will set a new standard for future city life.”
【小题1】What’s The Line according to the passage?| A．A city that will lie under the Red Sea. |
| B．A city that will be built in the shape of a line. |
| C．A city that will have a population of 11 million. |
| D．A city that will have stone walls on the two sides. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．①To travel to a new place or country, usually to find work and live there. | B．②To move from one place to another according to the seasons. | C．③To move information on one computer to another. | D．④To begin using a new computer system. |
| A．To tell who will build The Line. |
| B．To advise people to visit The Line. |
| C．To introduce a future city called The Line. |
| D．To show the difficulties of building The Line. |
The opening of the BeijingZhangjiakou highspeed railway took place in December, 2019. The railway is a milestone in China’s railway development because it has used the latest technologies in railway building.
The railway is 174 kilometers long, with 10 stations. The stations are managed by one control center, which is described by China Railway Beijing Group—also known as CR Beijing—as an “intelligent(智能的) brain”. The center collects and shares the stations’ realtime information. “With the information, the workers in the center can control the stations’ lighting and temperature, monitor (监测) trains’ operation and deal with emergencies (紧急情况),” said Zhu DianPing from CR Beijing.
Zhu said some trains on the BeijingZhangjiakou line are “smart” as they provide 5G signals and wireless charging (无线充电) for passengers, as well as intelligent lighting. These trains can start and stop, open and close doors, and deal with emergencies themselves.
All the ten stations provide eticket services. Travelers who have bought tickets online can use their ID cards instead of waiting in line for paper tickets.
At Qinghe Railway Station in Beijing, China’s first visual remote ticket vending machine (远程可视售票机) has been installed (安装) to help passengers who are not able to afford tickets online. Passengers keep in touch with the conductor through the machine and buy tickets according to video instructions.
In addition, the Badaling Great Wall Station, the deepest underground railway station in China, is another great example of the country’s achievements in railway building.
【小题1】What does the word “milestone” mean in Chinese?| A．英石(重量单位) | B．垫脚石 | C．里程碑 |
| A．can buy cheaper tickets |
| B．needn’t wait in line for paper tickets |
| C．can only buy tickets online |
| A．Fast and cheap. | B．Long and deep. | C．Smart and intelligent. |
Chinese Weather forecasters have warned that after influencing the North of the country, including Beijing, the freezing conditions will spread further south in the coming days. Many provinces have been hit by snowstorms. |
Police are looking for a man and a woman in their early twenties who broke into a bank in the early hours this morning. The man is said to be very well-built with very long dark hair. The woman is kind of small with short hair. Anyone who has any information please give further details to the police. |
The year of 2023 marks the 20th anniversary (纪念日) of China’s first manned space mission, with Yang Liwei becoming the first Chinese astronaut to go to space. Since then, another 17 astronauts have reached for the stars. But each astronaut has to receive the mind and body training for at least three and a half years before having the chance to go to space. |
After waking up, you may feel upset that you can’t recall the dreams you had last night. But recently researchers from Japan have trained an AI system to re-create images (图像) according to people’s brain scans (扫描). In the future, they hope that AI can be used to record imagined thoughts and dreams. |
【小题1】What’s the weather like in the first news?
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．tell us when to go to the bank | B．teach us to keep away from danger |
| C．show us what the two people look like | D．ask us to offer the police further details |
| A．16. | B．17. | C．18. | D．19. |
| A．Repair | B．remember | C．compare | D．cancel |
| A．health | B．history | C．business | D．technology |
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