浙江省历年中考真题分类汇编：阅读理解（新闻报道类）

Top Global Cities

    What makes a city great? To answer this question, the creators of The Global Cities Index(全球城市指数)" look at the following areas:

    The 2018 Global Cities Index

    The Global Cities Index is a list of the world's most powerful and important cities. Here are the top 10 cities on the 2018 index. Some top cities are strong in five areas.

   
   Future Leaders

    Which cities will become more powerful in the future? Creators of the Global Cities Index predict the most growth in the following places:

    Asia: Beijing and Shanghai are both business centers and will continue to grow. In a few years, they will be as powerful as New York. Some Indian cities have a lot of business potential(潜力), too.

    South America: Some cities in Brazil and Colombia will become more powerful. In these cities, life for many people is improving.

    The Middle East: Istanbul in Turkey, Cairo in Egypt, etc. will hold more power in international politics and business—especially in helping East and West work together.

    In 10 years, the top cities on the index may be different, but one thing is certain: tomorrow's global cities will be more powerful than ever.

    To help Japanese companies better deal with the increasing number of foreigners visiting the country, Panasonic has created a megaphone (扩音器) which is able to smartly translate Japanese into English, Chinese and Korean.

    Panasonic named the product "Megahonyaku". It is a term for the Japanese words for "megaphone" and "translate", which actually makes g lot of sense because it's a megaphone that can translate Japanese into several other languages in real time. When a user speaks Japanese into the megaphone, it recognizes (辨认) and translates what is being said immediately, and outputs the words in English, Chinese or Korean.

    It sounds amazing, and seeing it in action is wonderful, but Megahonyaku is not good enough. It cannot translate everything you say, as it only stores 300 common expressions, like "The train has been put off" or "Watch your step". However, the Japanese company behind Megahonyaku promises to add new expressions regularly, which users can get on the Internet.

    The machine was designed to be used in places like transport stations, airports and places of interest where quick and exact announcements are needed most. Around 30 Japanese organizations, including the police and guides, have been trying out Megahonyaku for about one year, but Panasonic says it will come onto the market on December 20th. Instead of selling these speech translators, Panasonic plans on renting (出租) them out for less than $183 a month on a three-year agreement, and offering users future improvements and necessary services.

    Panasonic has also said that it may add support for other languages, like Russian, depending on customers' needs. Megahonyaku also includes a touch screen that allows users to choose the language they need their speech translated into.

    "Made in China" is having its moment now—and it's a fashionable one.

    The story of Chinese fashion began in 2011 when Feiyue and Huili, both Chinese sports shoe brands (品牌), suddenly got international attention. Their products were seen all over the world. Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning was at the New York Fashion Week in September, 2018. They showed their new designs~ sweaters and jackets with Chinese characters.

    Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, said that the latest Chinese brands no longer catch customers" eye by low price. He told CNN, "They are sure that they can head to head with foreign brands."

    Maybe it is because China's young people are now more confident about their own culture. They don't show immediate interest in western culture any more.

    "Today's young people in China are crazy about Chinese cultural elements (元素)," Jin Qu ,the manager of a clothing shopping website, said at a cultural festival in 2018. "They" like these elements printed on their clothes, even the brand picture of Laoganma in China, which was once seen as outside of fashion. But now young people are proud of these Chinese symbols."

    In fact, many stars in the West are now interested in Chinese cultural elements in fashion. Rihanna, a US singer, for example, wore a Chinese red dress to the 2015 Met Gala in New York. The dress was designed and made by Chinese designer Guo Pei.

    "We have to move from making to creating," Chinese-American designer Aric Chen once told The New York Times. "We want to replace the words 'Made in China' with "Designed in China'."

    Texting while driving is against the law in 47 states. But what about texting while walking? A 2018 study reported that more than 2, 500 people in the US ended up in hospitals resulting from using a mobile device (设备) while walking.

    Hawaii passed a law making it illegal (违法的) to text or look down at a mobile device while crossing the street, it is the first state with a law like this. Do people think more places should accept such a law? The LA Times did a survey. Here are some replies they received.

    Every night in Jinan University in Guangzhou, a group of students plays diabolo(空竹)as a crowd watches on in amazement.

    Chen Zhelun, 25, a Malaysian-Chinese started the diabolo club, which helps to increase the popularity of this traditional Chinese game, He is one of many students expressing their interest in the country's cultural heritage(通产)by starting clubs.

    The diabolo, which came from China, is popular among Chinese living in Malaysia.

    "We played diabolo from primary school onward. I thought I could find someone to play with in China, but only a few students knew about it. So I started a club to develop it," says Chen.

    To Chen's surprise, the old game has interested a huge crowd--more than 1,000 students have joined the club.

    "It keeps your body strong and it's fun," says Chen.

    But some prefer quieter activities. Every weekend, one classroom in Shenzhen University is always crowded, but it's unusually silent. The members of Lanting Calligraphy Club are writing Chinese characters with traditional brushes.

    Fan Dongling, 21，a student in Shenzhen university, says it's a shame that young people no longer enjoy the beauty of Chinese characters.

    Although her club is quiet. Fan says it keeps members healthy, mentally and physically.

    "Some students think traditional things are outdated. They like celebrating Western festivals like Christmas or Valentine's Day, but they seldom pay attention to traditional ones."says Kong Yanquan, 21，a student in Guangxi University.

    As head of the traditional Chinese local operas club. Kong plans to put modern elements(元素)into traditional culture to get students to join his club.

    "I think it's everyone's duty to save and develop China's traditional culture among young people," he says.