In 2019, the state of California was on fire. Alexandria Villaseor, who was 13 at the time, witnessed the destruction of Northern California’s Camp Fire, which would go on to burn more than 150,000 acres of land. Villaseor was scared. “That’s when I found out how important climate education was,” she reflected. “And just how much we lacked climate education these past couple of years.”
Villaseor, at the age of 15, was determined to have a bigger conversation. She quickly realized the fight requires international, government-level changes. For her, what started as local concern turned into a year-long protest in front of the United Nations’ New York City headquarters and a global campaign for more compulsory climate education. She sat on a bench in front of the headquarters, begging for the world’s leaders to take climate change seriously.
Her action received national attention, with millions of other students around the world joining in the movement. “It’s completely unacceptable not to learn anything about our planet and our environment in school, after all the young people would inherit the Earth.” Villaseor said, “That’s why I think that climate education is so important, and that’s why I focus a lot on it now.”
Right now, Villaseor is working with the American Administration on its climate plan, which has promised to center on the needs of young people and communities most impacted by climate change. She even spoke at the 2021 Democratic National Convention. “This was definitely a huge moment when I realized that people were listening to the voices of me and youth climate activists.” Villaseor said.
When she isn’t connecting with her fellow youth activists, Villaseor is like most other teens. “My favorite thing to do, of course, is sleep,” she said, “I like to read a lot. I like fantasy books, normally. I also like to write.”
1. What does Paragraph 1 mainly tell us? (no more than 10 words)2. How did Villaseor make the world’s leaders attach importance to climate education? (no more than 15 words)
3. How do you understand the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3? (no more than 15 words)
4. When was the huge moment to Villaseor? (no more than10 words)
5. What do you think of Villaseor? Please explain in your own words? (no more than 20 words)
2 . You may be familiar with the following famous people, but have you heard of their graduation speeches, in which they either share their unforgettable experiences or give you some great inspiration.
●Michael Dell, University of Texas at Austin
And now you’ve accomplished something great and important here, and it’s time for you to move on to what’s next. And you must not let anything prevent you from taking those first steps. You must also commit to the adventure. Just have faith in the skills and the knowledge you’ve been blessed with and go.
●J. K. Rowling, Harvard University
Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between my ambition and the expectation from my parents who were not rich. But what I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure. The fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you know little about failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.
●Steve Jobs, Stanford University
Sometimes life’s going to hit you on the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.
●Bill Gates, Harvard University
We need as many people as possible to have access to the advanced technology to lead to a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches and deal with the world’s inequities (不公平) like hunger, poverty, and so on.
1. What did J. K. Rowling fear most when she was studying in university?| A．Appearance. | B．Poverty. | C．Hunger. | D．Failure. |
| A．Steve Jobs. | B．Bill Gates. | C．Michael Dell. | D．J. K. Rowling. |
| A．Making contributions to the environment. |
| B．Taking responsibility for their own behavior. |
| C．Making joint efforts to solve some global problems. |
| D．Mastering as much advanced technology as possible. |
| A．To introduce how some famous people overcome difficulties. |
| B．To give people some inspirations to live a meaningful life. |
| C．To show people ways of appreciating graduation speech. |
| D．To appeal to people to pursue a better university education. |
Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.
For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.
Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give up for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reaching Cuba. She believed she had touched the other shore.
When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things--travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.
1. What prevented Nyad from taking part in the Olympic Games? (Not more than 5 words)2. What does the underlined word “obstacles” mean? (1 word)
3. What achievement did Nyad make in 1970? (Not more than 10 words.)
4. Why did Nyad believe that she had touched the other shore? (Not more than 15 words)
5. Please explain how you are inspired by Nyad. (Not more than 20 words)
4 . Do you think cookies can tell stories? Jasmine Cho, 35, does.
A baker, artist, entrepreneur and activist, Cho tries to spread knowledge about social justice issues and diversity through the delicious medium of cookies.
It was in high school that she discovered her love of baking. At a sleepover a friend taught her how to make a dessert, “sort of demystifying baking and that whole process”.
Later, Cho realized her second passion: learning more about her Asian, American culture. An elective in college that taught Asian-American immigrant experiences brought an emotional moment for her. “So many emotions came up that I just couldn’t articulate. It was like this mix of anger, of relief, empowerment, sadness...” Cho said.
Cho realized she could combine these two passions to educate others about influential Asian American people and showcase matters that were important to her. With her online bakery, she designed cookie portraits about people she admired and posted the images on Instagram. “I don’t think I ever really knew how to communicate these stories until I found cookies,” Cho said. “Cookies are just so disarming. Who doesn’t like cookies?”
One cookie that Cho has identified with deeply is one she made of George Helm, a Hawaiian activist in the 1970s.
“It’s insane the amount of injustice that the native Hawaiian population has faced as well through the whole annexation (吞并) of the kingdom. There were so many horrific stories that I heard about nuclear testing and the fallout( 核爆炸后的沉降物)impacting native Hawaiian populations in all of this,” Cho said, “George Helm was one of those activists who really represented the spirituality of the native Hawaiians and the connection to their land, to nature.”
Among her amazing cookie art are other political figures such as Larry Itliong, a Filipino-American labor organizer, and pop culture figures such as Keanu Reeves, a Canadian actor.
Cho hopes her cookie art continues to inspire people to be creative and think positively.
“Instead of trying to think of something new and original, just look inward and see, maybe there’s already a passion or a love that you have,” Cho said. “Use that for something that will serve the world in a better way.”
1. What inspired Cho to take an interest in Asian-American culture?| A．One of her sleepover experiences. |
| B．One elective she took at college. |
| C．The process of learning baking from her friend. |
| D．A book she read about Asian-American immigrant experiences. |
| A．get rid of | B．put up with |
| C．express in words | D．stay focused |
| A．Cookies don’t cost much. | B．Cookies are easier to make. |
| C．Cookies have different images. | D．Cookies are liked by many people. |
| A．To inform the reader of Helm’s contributions to Hawaii. |
| B．To show what knowledge Cho focuses on with her cookies. |
| C．To introduce the spirituality of native Hawaiians. |
| D．To explain why Cho is interested in political activists. |
| A．Making use of your passion. |
| B．Turning to political figures for help. |
| C．Trying to do something creative and special. |
| D．Asking people around to work along with you. |
| A．Think outside the box to break new ground. |
| B．Spread something original to one’s heart content. |
| C．Hold your horses for a better self. |
| D．Throw yourself into your inner world for a better one. |
5 . When you think of Microsoft, Bill Gates comes to mind immediately; however, numerous sources reveal the company’s co-founder, Paul Allen, was also instrumental in the brand’s success. The documentary Inside Bill’s Brain recently revealed many facts of the world’s famous billionaire, including their friendship.
Gates and Allen met in 1960s at Seattle’s Lakeside School when Gates was in eighth grade. Allen was two classes ahead. The students landed in hot water with the school when they worked on computer terminals. Since they were rare at the time, it cost people up to $60 to use them. Allen and Gates were fascinated by the terminals, but the expenses proved too high. They worked out a way to use the system for free in exchange for helping the school repair them. Gates later mentioned the terminal as the object that brought the two together.
In the 1970s, Allen was a programmer in Boston, while Gates was a student at Harvard University. Gates quickly changed his focus and sped through the most advanced computer and mathematics courses Harvard offered. In 1975, Gates made a decisive call to a company that had built a personal computer called the Altair 8800. Gates offered to develop software for the system. The firm accepted and paid him $3,000 plus royalties(版税). In the same year, they co-founded Microsoft, which is a team effort between Allen and Gates.
It was Allen who persuaded Gates to drop out of college to pursue software development. Plus, he came up with the Microsoft name and suggested focusing on its goal of providing software for small computers, rather than the earliest models that filled entire rooms. Later some frictions appeared between himself and Gates; however, they repaired them soon. Bill’s wife, Melinda, says, “I often saw them sit for hours. They were like two little boys laughing together over these old stories.”
Allen and Gates both possessed brilliant minds. Allen and Gates’ collaboration made Microsoft possible. We shouldn’t lose sight of the people who help us along the way. Finding a business to work with those who support us sincerely and cheerfully is the surest path to accomplishing our goals.
1. What does the underlined word “instrumental” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．Helpful. | B．Delighted. | C．Surprised. | D．Forgettable. |
| A．How Bill Gates fixed the terminal problems. |
| B．How Bill Gates became a computer expert. |
| C．How Allen and Gates became friends. |
| D．What Allen and Gates shared in common. |
| A．he wanted to leave the university soon | B．he had a clear plan for the future |
| C．he built the first personal computer | D．he founded Microsoft by himself |
| A．Flexible and creative. | B．Adventurous and active. |
| C．Forward-looking and supportive. | D．Ambitious and considerate. |
| A．Sincerity is the key to success. | B．A faithful friend is hard to find. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | D．Two heads are better than one. |
6 . Most Chinese know the story of mythological Chang’e. It’s a story about a woman who takes an immortality pill and flies to the moon. The story is s0 popular that people can’t hear the word Chang’e without thinking of romantic images of a moon goddess.
For this reason, China’s mission to the moon was calling for a strong female figure. Therefore, pictures of a 24-year-old female space commander have gone viral on Chinese social media for her work on the Chang’e-5 Moon exploration programme with comments about how she is a “frontline soklier in the field of aerospace” that young Chinese can look up to.
Ms Zhou, 24-year-old lady of the Tujia ethnic group, is China’s youngest ever space commander. She was involved in the successful launch of the Chang’e-5 lunar probe on 24 November, in charge of the rocket connector system, described as a key role.
In Wenchang space launch site, though she is only 1.58 meters tall and looks “mini”, she is called “Big Sister” for her powerful core and energy. Since senior high, she has dreamed! of being a member of a space research team. With her great efforts, she was admitted to an aircraft system and engineering major of a domestic university in 2014, making her acrospace dream come true. To grow into a commander, in two and a half years, she changed five positions to be familiar with multiple posts and types of work, each of which takes great courage and is full of challenges. In a working space with no air conditioning and narrow space to accommodate only three people, she worked for 60 days until the completion of “the Long March 5 rocket goes around” battle.
Her story has received attention from Chinese state-run media as well as overseas media outlets. However, it has not appeared to have had much of an effect on her. According to the media, she declined repeated requests for interviews because she does not wish to let fame get in the way of her work.
1. Why does the writer mention the myth of Chang’e at the beginning of the passage?| A．To tell a romantic story. | B．To spread Chinese culture. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To give an example. |
| A．Her youth and beauty. | B．Her pictures on the media. |
| C．Her identity of the Tujia ethnic group. | D．Her performance in the moon-landing program. |
| A．She was the youngest space commander of the Tujia ethnic group. |
| B．She was called “Big Sister” not because of her physical strength but her central status. |
| C．To become a commander, she took five challenging and courageous jobs in two and a half years. |
| D．She worked in severe conditions for 60 days until the Long March 5 rocket was-launched. |
| A．Because she was too shy. | B．Because she was not available. |
| C．Because she was devoted to work. | D．Because she hated being famous. |
| A．Attitude is altitude. | B．The early bird catches the worm. |
| C．Many hands make light work. | D．Diligence makes up for inability. |
7 . Mona Lisa, the famous picture
Da Vinci himself loved it so much that he always
| A．written | B．praised | C．bought | D．painted |
| A．less | B．more | C．worse | D．better |
| A．changes | B．expressions | C．kisses | D．gloves |
| A．see | B．visit | C．greet | D．examine |
| A．laughing | B．smiling | C．crying | D．shouting |
| A．says | B．sits | C．stands | D．stops |
| A．Therefore | B．Otherwise | C．However | D．Instead |
| A．carried | B．hid | C．kept | D．buried |
| A．actually | B．finally | C．really | D．hopefully |
| A．taken | B．destroyed | C．broken | D．stolen |
| A．school | B．museum | C．house | D．factory |
| A．give | B．send | C．take | D．return |
| A．France | B．Germany | C．Italy | D．England |
| A．kept | B．hid | C．put | D．grew |
| A．feet | B．clothes | C．hands | D．hats |
8 . Called the “Iron Hammer” in her playing days, Lang Ping is considered as one of the biggest heroes of Chinese sports.
At the 1981 World Cup in Japan, the Chinese women’s team showed the world their speed and power for the first time. Playing outside hitter, Lang helped the team take home its first major title. Thanks to teamwork and their strong spirit, they achieved a record of five world titles in a row, which include two World Cups, two World Championships and a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Despite a lot of victories, after eight years of hard training and fighting, Lang retired as a player in 1986. But she never said goodbye to her favorite sport. In 1995, Lang became the head coach of the Chinese national team and led China to silver medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic and the 1998 World Championships in Japan.
Though she left the job in 1999 to coach an Italian club, in 2013 she returned to coach the young national team. In 2016, her team took home the gold medal at the Rio Olympics, making her the first person to win an Olympic gold for volleyball both as a player and a coach. The team was listed fourth after the preliminary competition. But Lang said in a public interview, “Sometimes you know you may not win, but you still have to pull out all the stops.”
Lang plays an important role in the creation and passing on of an honorable tradition of fighting and teamwork. “The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team is never to give up. My duty as the coach is to guide this young team to carry on this spirit,” said Lang. The spirit is about more than sport; it is an important source of spiritual strength for the country to draw on in its effort to press ahead.
1. When did Lang win her first world champion?| A．In 1981. | B．In 1984. | C．In 1986. | D．In 1995. |
| A．They won the first prize. |
| B．They had a good start. |
| C．They won all the games. |
| D．They didn’t enter the final. |
| A．Put you on the spot. | B．End up with the game. |
| C．Go all out. | D．Catch your eye. |
| A．We have to do sports every day. |
| B．We should keep fighting to the end. |
| C．We should try our best to be a coach. |
| D．We must spend time learning volleyball. |
| A．Lang Ping, a very strict coach |
| B．Lang Ping, a hero of Chinese sports |
| C．The Chinese people’s love for volleyball |
| D．The spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball team |
While other teenagers might be busy taking care of their personal pages online or playing games for hours, 14-year-old Jackson Oswalt from Memphis has been busy doing something different. He has spent his free time building his own nuclear reactor (核反应堆) in his home. Now, the boy is praised by city leaders for his achievement as he is the youngest person to have achieved nuclear fusion (核聚变).
At just 12 years old, Jackson chose to spend his time exploring his interest in nuclear physics. After scouring the Internet, the student learned of the story of Taylor Wilson, an Arkansas boy who won recognition in the field of science as the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion in 2008 at the age of 14. Jackson was greatly inspired by him.
The process of the nuclear experiment is not easy at all. But Jackson thought if Wilson could do it, then he could, too. Maybe he could even break Wilson’s record in the process. The boy started his project by turning his playroom into a laboratory. Then he bought different kinds of things to build own nuclear fusion reactor.
“The beginning of the scientific research was just learning about what other people had done with their fusion reactors,” Jackson said. His parents spent nearly $8,000 to $10,000 supporting his nuclear experiment. “With the money, I searched for and bought the parts that I needed. Often the parts I found were not exactly what I wanted, so I had to make improvements to them.”
Jackson’s hard work finally paid off. Hours before his 13th birthday, he made history as the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion in January last year. Months after the project, Jackson continued to test his fusion reactor to further prove his project. On Tuesday, Memphis City leaders officially praised Jackson’s achievements with a resolution.
1. What has Jackson Oswalt spent his free time doing? (no more than 10 words)2. What does the underlined word in Para.2 probably mean? (1 word)
3. How did Jackson Oswalt start his project?(no more than 10 words)
4. Why did Jackson have to make improvements to the parts?(no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of Jackson Oswalt ? Please explain.(no more than 20 words)
10 . The Museum: The Charles Dickens Museum in London is the world’s most important collection of material relating to the great Victorian novelist and social commentator. The only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) was opened as a museum in 1925 and is still welcoming visitors from all over the world. On the four floors, visitors can see paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and many items relating to the life of one of the most popular and beloved personalities of the Victorian age.
Opening Hours: The Museum is open from Mondays to Saturdays 10: 00—17: 00; Sundays 11: 00—17: 00. Last admission (允许进入) is 30 minutes before closing time.
Special opening times can be arranged for groups, who may wish to book a private view.
Admission Charges: Adults: ￡5.00; Students: ￡4.00; Seniors: ￡4.00; Children: ￡3.00; Families: ￡14.00 (2 adults & up to five children).
Group Rates: For a group of 10 or more, a special group rate of ￡4.00 each applies. Children will still be admitted for ￡3.00 each.
Access: We are constantly working to improve access to the Museum. Our current projects involve the fitting of a wheelchair ramp(活动坡道) for better access and an audio tour for visitors with impaired (受损的) vision. Our Handling Sessions (亲身体验活动) are also suitable for the visually impaired. The Museum has developed an online virtual tour through the Museum. Click here to visit all the rooms in the Museum online.
Hire the Museum: The Museum can be hired for private functions, parties and many other social occasions.
Find Us: The Museum may be reached by using the following buses: 7, 17, 19, 38, 45, 46, 55, 243. And by these underground services: Piccadilly Line; Central Line. For a map, please click here. The British Museum and the Foundling Museum are within walking distance.
1. Compared to going there separately, if a family with two adults and four children go to the Museum together they will save ________.| A．￡22.00 | B．￡14.00 | C．￡11.00 | D．￡8.00 |
| A．Anyone cannot hire the Museum for other uses. |
| B．Visitors with poor vision cannot enjoy the Museum. |
| C．The Museum is not very far from the British Museum. |
| D．people can be allowed into the Museum at 17:00. |
| A．magazine | B．Website | C．guidebook | D．Newspaper |
