Most kids can walk into a library or bookstore and find hundreds of books to read. But it's not that simple for kids who are blind. They read in a different way. Jenny Lee and other braille (盲文) transcribers take the printed words of a book and change them into a code of raised dots. Blind people can read these dots with their fingers. To know what braille feels like, take a ballpoint pen and press hard onto a piece of paper. Now turn the paper over and touch the raised dot made by the pen point.

When Lee first saw the dots of the braille alphabet, she wondered if she'd ever be able to read and write them easily. She took a class and practised hard for about six months before she passed the final exam: she had to convert 35 pages of a book into braille. Today, Lee works for a publisher. One of her jobs is to change children's books into braille.

To do this, Lee first types the story into a computer and then uses a computer program to translate it into the braille code. Next, she looks over the translation several times to make sure it's mistake-free. After that, a copy of the braille story is printed with a special printer. Then Lee and a proofreader work together to find and correct any mistakes. When a book is ready, many copies of it are printed. Afterwards, some are sold through websites and others are sent to libraries.

Sometimes, going over a story again and again gets tiring. That's when Lee takes a break. Several of Jenny Lee's co-workers, who are blind, use guide dogs. When the animals aren't working, Lee likes spending a few minutes with them. To her, playing with dogs "is always a pick-me-up in the middle of the day".

"I love this mission," Lee says. "Through my brain power and my fingers, I am putting the dots into some kid's hands."

Transportation shapes the world: along with communications, it forms a global net that connects person to person, city to city, and country to country. Transportation routes as well as vehicles are vital to the functioning and spread of every civilization.

A country's economy depends on reliable transportation. Cities spread out along roads, rivers, and rails, so does information. Until the 20th century, these routes were confined to land or water. With the invention of powered flight, the air became an open road as well. The earliest way of traveling was undoubtedly by foot, and humans' earliest means of transporting goods was carrying loads on their back or head. By 4000 B.C., people were using domesticated animals for transport, a method greatly improved in some parts of the world by the invention of the wheel, probably first developed around 3500 B.C..

Until the 19th century, animals were the engines of land transportation. But with the invention of the steam engine and the internal combustion engine, railroads and automobiles revolutionized travel and trade. More than 600 million cars and trucks travel the world today.

Water has always been a fast and efficient mode of travel, and even today it remains a primary mover of heavy goods. The importance of waterways to human civilization can be seen on any map: almost all of the world's major cities are located on coastlines or rivers. As early as 7000 B.C., people were building canoes; long-distance ships were common by 3000 B.C. Until the 1950s, ships were the chief means of overseas passenger travel.

Although the Montgolfier brothers took flight in balloons in the 18th century, air travel was not practical until the invention of powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903. Within ten years, the commercial air transportation business had begun.

Since the 20th century, high-speed rail has become another convenient way of travel. Today, two-thirds of the world's high-speed rail track is in China, which measures nearly 30,000 kms, and this is expected to reach 38,000 kms by 2025.

It's late in the evening, time to close the book and turn off the computer. You're done for the day. What you may not realize, however, is that the learning process actually continues in your dreams.

It might sound like science fiction, but researchers are increasingly focusing on the relationship between the knowledge and skills our brains absorb during the day and the often strange imaginings they generate at night. Scientists have found that dreaming about a task we've learned improves performance in that activity (suggesting that there's some truth to the popular idea that we're "getting" a foreign language once we begin dreaming in it). What's more, dreaming may be an essential part of understanding, organizing and retaining what we learn.

While we sleep, research indicates, the brain replays the patterns of activity it experienced during waking hours, allowing us to enter what one psychologist calls a neural (神经的) virtual reality. A vivid example of such replay can be seen in a video researchers made recently about sleep disorders. They taught a series of dance moves to patients suffering from sleepwalking and related conditions. They then videotaped the subjects as they slept. Lying in bed, eyes closed, one female patient on the tape performs the dance moves she learned earlier.

This shows that while our bodies are at rest, our brains are drawing what's important from the information and events we've recently encountered, then integrating that material into the vast store of what we already know. In a 2010 study, researchers reported that college students who dreamed about a computer maze (迷宫) task they had learned showed a 10-fold improvement in their ability to find their way through the maze compared with participants who did not dream about the task.

That study's chief researcher Herbert Smith suggested that studying right before bedtime or taking a nap following a study session in the afternoon might increase the probability of dreaming about the material. Think about that as you go to sleep tonight.

Endangered species

An endangered species is a group of animals that could soon become extinct. Many species are nearly extinct and could disappear off the face of the earth very soon if we don't do anything to save them. There are many reasons why species become endangered.

Habitat destruction is the main reason why animals become endangered and this happens in two ways. When humans move into a new area, the animals' habitat is destroyed and there is nowhere for them to live and nothing to eat because humans chop down trees and build houses and farms.Chemicals in rivers and poisons on farms cause the destruction of animals' homes and food supplies.

Animals have been brought to the edge of extinction because they are killed for their highly-valued meat, fur, bones or skin, or just for sport. Overfishing has resulted in many large sea creatures like whales and sharks becoming endangered species.

We should take care not to pollute natural areas, and farmers or companies who destroy animal habitats should face severe financial penalties. The public can help out by refusing to buy any products made from these animals' body parts. Governments can help, too, by making it against the law to hunt, fish or trade in endangered species. They can also provide funding for animal sanctuaries, to protect animals from extinction by breeding more endangered animals, which they later release into the wild.

A. Animal habitats are also destroyed because of pollution.

B. Endangered species are also the result of hunting and fishing.

C. Eventually, all the creatures on Earth will enjoy being together.

D. Recent changes, however, have helped to improve the situation.

E. So what can individuals and governments do to protect endangered species?

F. Extinction happens when the last of the species has died out and there will be no more.

G. If we all cooperate and take these steps, we will protect these animals for future generations.

Diego is in front of a group of people. He's blindfolded, but he can still show these people something1, which he calls "the art of2". First, the audience randomly3 sixty numbers. After that, a helper reads the4 to Diego. Then, after hearing them just a single time, Diego5 the numbers in the correct order from memory.  He does this first in the order he hears them, then again — backwards! The audience then cheer in disbelief.

Diego has a very special kind of memory. He 6, "It's a kind of memory that is 7 to what I experience. It means that every idea I learn, everything I read, becomes a part of me. Normally, a person who doesn't have this special ability and hasn't trained their memory 8 to just forget things. Not me." Diego says that with his special9, he can remember every 10 of every day of his life since he was less than one year old!

If there is a memory gene (基因) Diego probably has it, but his genes are only part of the11. Since the age of 11, he's been training his brain to remember more and more. He practices 12, thinking about memory and working on it all the time. He has even 13 a whole series of 250 historical books! Diego's practice and14 work shows that a great memory can be made, and not just15!

The Song Dynasty was an exciting period in Chinese history. At the height of (it) power, the country's population doubled. A fast growing economy and strong supportChinese rulers helped the development of technology and the expansion of knowledge. During this period, a huge number of technological innovations emerged. Many of them had significant practical (apply).

One particular invention from this period made a mark on the world: moveable type (活字印刷术) — that is, individual blocks that could print a single letter and then  (use) again. This technology finally ended up in Europe several centuries later. The Chinese language uses a huge number of characters, most European languages use individual letters that combine into words. Printing texts made up of individual letters (require) fewer blocks. This invention produced an enormous change in  (write) communication in Europe and made it easier for a (grow) number of people to learn to read.

The Chinese were also the first to invent the compass, changed how sailors navigated the seas. Together with star charts — another Chinese invention — and maps, the compass made sea travel much (safe).

内容包括：

1）写信原因；

2）题型简介；

3）你的困难。

注意：

1）写作词数应为 80 左右；

2）请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

"Ada! Milk!" Mama called.

Milk. It was Ada's turn to get it. Ada sighed and shut her first-aid book. Her head hurt from reading in the dim morning light, but how else was she going to learn?

Ada tied the cow close to a tree. Somewhere down the mountain, some volunteer doctors were teaching medical skills to village nurses. Ada heard Betty drive off hours ago. "She should have taken me with her. She thinks I'm too young, but she's wrong. I am already 16!" Ada thought.

Ada carried the milk back to Mama, then wandered up the road. Roy, a village boy, had gotten a donkey, and some kids had gathered around to see it. Roy was always doing something to get attention. Like now: he was trying to stand on the animal's bare back.

"No wonder they don't trust kids with anything important", Ada thought, sighing. She had just turned away when she heard a thud and a few screams. Roy lay on the ground nearby moaning in pain. The donkey stood several meters away. "Roy!" The kids nearby ran towards him. "Get Betty," one said. Ada shook her head. "Betty's gone to the city." The other kids seemed frozen in place.

Ada ran to where Roy was lying. She dropped to her knees on the dusty road. "Roy! Can you hear me?" Roy moaned in agony. Ada saw that one of his legs was crooked, bent a little sideways between the knee and the ankle. A broken leg!

She remembered what the first-aid book had said about broken legs: if there is no ambulance, straighten the bone before moving the victim. There certainly wouldn't be any ambulance here. Ada looked back up the road. The other kids were still standing there, watching. "Victor!" Ada called to one of the boys. "Go get Roy's mama, and find someone with a truck." She turned to the others. "Give me your shirts. We need something to tie his leg with."

注意：

1）续写词数应为150左右；

2）请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Ada then found a strong stick, which she would use to keep his leg straight.

The next day, Betty came to Ada's home.