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My father was a taxi driver but I am a king—King Renato, of the country Pontinha, an island on Funchal harbour. It’s in Madeira, Portugal, where I grew up. It was discovered in 1419; Captain Cook once came here.
In 1903, the Portuguese government didn’t have enough money to build a harbor port, so the king sold the land to a wealthy British family, the Blandys, who make Madeira wine. Fourteen years ago, the family decided to sell it for just � 25,000 (￡19,500). I decided to buy it though I had no money—I was just an art teacher.
I tried to find some business partners, but they all thought I was crazy to want to buy what is actually a large rock; it has a small cave, a platform on top, and no electricity or running water. So I sold some of my possessions, put my savings together and bought it.
When the king of Portugal originally sold the island in 1903, he and all the governors signed a document, selling all the “possessions and the dominions (领土)” of the island. It means I can do what I want with it—I could start a restaurant, or a cinema, but nobody thought that someone would want to start a country. So that’s what I did: I decided that this would no longer be just a rock on the port of Funchal. It would be my island, about the size of a one-bedroom house.
After I bought it, the governor of Madeira asked to buy my island. Of course, I said no. He said that unless I sold it back to the state, he wouldn’t let me connect to any electricity. But I have a solar panel and a small windmill, and maybe in the future I will be able to generate power from the ocean around Pontinha. 24. What does the writer want to show by mentioning his father? A. He had a royal family. C. He was not a born king.
B. He loved his family. D. He was not a good driver.
25. Who sold the island to the author? A. A Portuguese king. C. The Blandy family.
B. An art teacher. D. Captain Cook.
26. How did the writer start the country? A. He discovered the island. B. He found business supporters.
C. He was supported by citizens in the island. D. He took advantage of the official document. 27. What can we infer about the country Pontinha? A. It was a tiny island. on it.
C. It was a wealthy land. convenient.
C
Readers in Grenoble can now nibble (啃) fiction after Publisher Short Edition introduced eight short-story dispensers (自动售货机) around the French city.
The free stories are available at the touch of a button, printing out on rolls of paper like a receipt. Readers are able to choose one minute, three minutes, or five minutes of fiction.
“The feedback we got has been extremely positive. Just two weeks since its launch, more than 10,000 stories have already been printed. We are thrilled to see it working so well,” said the co-founder Quentin Pleple. “There are only eight dispensers in the city of Grenoble for now but we are planning to introduce more. We are getting requests from all over the world-Australia, the US, Canada, Russia, Grace, Italy, Spain and Chile.”
Pleple said he and his team initially came up with the idea a couple of years ago when taking a break at a drink dispenser. “We thought it would be cool to have it for short stories,” said the publisher. ‘Then, we decided to make a difference: the short-story dispenser was born.”
The French publisher hopes the story will be used to fill the “dead time” of a passenger. “In the bus or the subway, everyone can make the most of these moments to read short stories, poems, or short picture books,” said a statement from Short Edition. “And they can be sure to enjoy the quality.”
The dispensers arc now in locations including Grenoble’s town hall, its tourist office and its library. The stories are drawn from more than 60,000 stories on Short Edition’s website. But there is a problem that users are not able to choose what
D. Life there was very
B. A harbor port was built
type of story they would like to read. “Right now they can only choose the length. But that is exactly what really counts, isn’t it?” said Pleple. 28. Where can you probably see a short-story dispenser at present? A. In Chile.
B. In Canada
C. In France.
D. In Italy.
29. What does the underlined word “launch” in the third paragraph probably mean? A. Coming into use. C. Being found out.
B. Being thrown away.
D. Breaking down.
30. Why did Short Edition provide short-story dispensers? A. To help people kill time in the journey. B. To encourage people to write short stories. C. To attract international tourists to Grenoble. D. To do research in the field of new technology.
31. In what aspect does the short-story dispenser need to improve? A. The length of the stories. stories.
C. The number of the stories. stories.
D
Last week, two companies, Kitty Hawk and Uber, announced their plans to bring flying cars to reality very soon.
Kitty Hawk president, Sebastian Thrun, announced Kitty Hawk’s flying car plans last Monday, According to its website, the car is electric-powered and will be able to travel at speeds up to 40 kilometers an hour. It says such a machine “does not require registration or a pilot’s license and may be flown in uncrowded areas for recreational purposes.” As of now, the car can only be flown over fresh water.
Kitty Hawk is making a list of people interested in buying the flying car. They must pay a deposit of $ 100. Those who get their names on the list early will receive $2,000 off the final cost of the car. However, Kitty Hawk has not yet announced the price. Its first flying cars are expected to go on sale by the end of this year.
D. The choice of different
B. The quality of the
Unlike the Kitty Hawk company, Uber does not plan to build its flying cars. Uber expects to launch flying taxis in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, US by 2020. Like the Kitty Hawk car, Uber flying taxis will use electric power. Uber says its flying taxis could travel up to 241 kilometers an hour. The company says that could reduce the travel time between San Francisco and San Jose, California from 2 hours on the road to 15 minutes in the air.
Riders could use the Uber app to book a flying taxi to take them to their destinations. The comply has not yet said how costly air taxi travel would be compared to road taxi travel.
Sooner than you think, flying cars may appear in the sky. Much convenience as they will bring, just imagine having to avoid other flying cars. Also, what if your battery dies when you are in the air? And, how will you know where to land? 32. What may Kitty Hawk’s flying car be used for at present? A. Accelerating the speed. C. Advertising the company.
B. Having fun. D. Fetching water.
33. What do we know about Kitty Hawk’s flying car from the third paragraph? A. It costs two thousand dollars each. water.
C. It offers $100 to its potential buyers. market.
34. In what way is Uber’s flying taxi similar to Kitty Hawk’s flying car? A. They travel at the same speed. electric-powered.
C. They are supported by the Uber app. license.
35. What is the purpose of the last paragraph of the text? A. To call for public donations. advantages.
C. To promote interest in science. problems.
D. To talk about possible
B. To introduce some
D. They require a flying
B.
They
are
D. It hasn’t gone to
B. It can travel over
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