【推荐1】Finally, a dictionary with a soul.

Our dictionary was written for humans, by humans. Look up a word, and you'll read a friendly explanation that you'll actually remember. It's as if your favorite teacher were explaining it to you.

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Read thousands of example sentences from current newspapers, magazines, and literature. We show you how words live in the wild and give you usage tips so that you're more confident about using the words you learn.

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Vocabulary.com is a platform for lifelong learning, growing with you every step of the way. As you improve, the words that you learn will become more and more advanced. And, with our easy-to-use progress-monitoring tools, you can always look back to see how far you've come.

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Sure, there's a lot of science and technology muscle behind our system, but expanding your vocabulary doesn't have to be a brain-buster. We've turned learning vocabulary into an addictive game. Accumulate points, achievements, and badges while competing against your Facebook friends, your classmates, or other members of the Vocabulary.com community. You may not even notice that you're learning along the way.

Vocabulary.com may seem simple on the outside, but behind the scenes we' re using sophisticated algorithms to help you learn over 14,000 words more effectively How? We start with our massive pool of over 205,000 questions. Then, we use the science of learning to model how you learn (and forget) new words. By comparing your answers to the hundreds of millions of answers given by other Vocabulary.com users, we personalize your learning experience and choose the best question for you at just the right time.

1. Each word item in Vocabulary.com is explained in a (n) ________ way.

A．clear and precise	B．easy-to-understand-and-remember
C．in-depth and thoughtful	D．humorous and thought-provoking

2. When a user types a word in the search box, Vocabulary.com will give is list of ________.

A．likely results for the user to choose	B．useful tips on word usages
C．most likely definitions	D．real-world examples

3. Regular users of Vocabulary.com can enjoy a (n) ________ vocabulary improvement.

A．progressive	B．persona
C．privileged	D．instant

4. What people is Vocabulary.com most suitable for to use?

A．Those who attempt long-term English learning.

B．Advanced English learners with a large vocabulary.

C．English learners who need a dictionary near at hand.

D．English teachers who want to monitor students' progress.

【推荐2】Liu Wen: I’ve been learning English since primary school. I used to get high marks in English, but now I’m having a lot of trouble with my listening. When I listen to native English speakers (以英语为母语者) talking in a video, I can catch only a few words. I can never quite get the main idea. Any advice?

Jia Xin: Listening to English programmes helps me get used to how fast native speakers talk. I also repeat what I hear to help myself to experience the feeling of the language. My biggest headache is how to be polite in English. It’s so much easier to just say “Open the window”, but in English that can sound really terrible. What should I do?

Li Rui: I think it all depends on who you are talking to. If I’m talking to a close friend, I can use short requests, like “Open the window”. But if I’m talking to someone who is not very close to me, I must make my request longer, “Could you open the window, please?” For me, vocabulary (词汇) is my biggest problem — there are just SO MANY new words and I certainly can’t remember how to use them all properly. HELP!

1. Who used to get high marks in English?

A．Li Rui.

B．Jia Xin.

C．Liu Wen.

2. What concerns Jia Xin most in learning English?

A．Who to turn to.

B．How to be polite.

C．What to talk about.

3. What do the three people want to do?

A．To ask for advice.

B．To learn new words.

C．To make study plans.

【推荐1】Sulphur-crested cockatoos (葵花凤头鹦鹉) are common in eastern Australia, where they normally live in wooded areas. But as forests have been cut down, cockatoos have gotten used to living near people.

In 2021, scientists at the Max Planck Institutes reported that the cockatoos had learned how to open the lids (盖) of garbage cans. That’s not an easy job. The cockatoos must lift the heavy lid with their beaks (喙) and then walk along, pushing the lid up until it falls over. Cockatoos open the lids to find food, but they can also make a big mess.

What really interested the scientists was that the birds were teaching other cockatoos how to do the same thing. When scientists first began studying the cockatoos in 2018, only three areas near Sydney had lid-opening cockatoos. A year and a half later, cockatoos in 44 different areas knew the trick. This time the scientists not only studied cockatoos, but also studied humans. The scientists spent weeks studying more than 3,200 garbage cans in four different areas of Sydney. They wanted to see how many garbage cans were protected and what methods were used.

In one area, over half the garbage cans were protected. The most common way of protecting them was to put a brick or some other heavy objects on the lid. Some people put things like rubber snakes on the top of their garbage cans. The scientists discovered that humans were teaching each other tricks, too. In most neighborhoods, many people used the same cockatoo-stopping methods as their neighbors.

The scientists say it’s like a race between humans and cockatoos to learn new ways of doing things. Now many cockatoos have learned how to push heavy items off the lids. As a result, humans have doped out ways to attach the items to the top of their garbage cans. The scientists describe the situation as a “human-wildlife conflict”. They expect these conflicts to become more common as humans take over more areas that used to be wild.

1. What can we learn about sulphur-crested cockatoos from the text?

A．They are very intelligent birds.	B．They are newly found in Australia.
C．They are unwilling to live with people.	D．They are able to copy humans’ behavior.

2. What’s the scientists’ focus this time?

A．How the cockatoos learn the trick.	B．Why humans prevent the birds’ trick.
C．How humans respond to the birds’ trick.	D．Why in more areas the birds play the trick.

3. What does the underlined phrase “doped out” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Made out.

B．Figured out.

C．Pointed out.

D．Brought out.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．A new place where cockatoos find food	B．A battle between cockatoos and humans
C．A big problem of “homeless” cockatoos	D．A human-wildlife conflict all over Australia

【推荐3】Thanks to YouTube, Streaming first caught on in 2005. Today nearly three quarters of American households subscribe to at least one video streaming service. With almost 200 million subscribers worldwide and a billion hours of content viewed each week, Netflix is by far the biggest paid service. No. 2 is Amazon Prime Video. But for every Goliath, there are a hundred Davids. Many smaller streaming services show nothing but sports, classic movies, or Japanese anime.

In the early days of streaming the appeal was the lower cost, and it still is. The average streamer spends $37 a month and subscribes to three streaming platforms, while the average cable ser pays more than $200 per month. Still streaming has become more expensive in recent years. In 2019, Netflix raised the price of its basic service 12. 5 percent to $8.99 a month. A quarter of its subscribers, who protested price increases, said they would cancel their subscriptions. Few did.

A major reason: streaming networks have become home to many of the most popular TV series, including recent Emmy winners. They offer full-length feature films as well, and last year, Netflix received more Oscar nominations than any other media company. In fact, streaming has changed the Oscar competition, at least for this year. Usually only films shown in theaters are considered, but because of the coronavirus, all movies released online in 2020 are qualified for the 2021 Oscar Academy Awards. That shift is especially good news for Disney, which is putting the much anticipated movie Mulan on a new streaming service, Amazon Prime Video. But watching Mulan from your own home will cost $29.99 — on top of the service’s monthly fee of $6.99.

Too much streaming can have its disadvantages, however. There are those who binge-watch, a term Merriam-Webster added in 2017 with the definition “to watch many or all episodes of a TV series on end.” Alejandro Fragoso from New York holds the Guinness World Record: 94 straight hours.

1. What do the underlined words “Goliath” and “David” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．TV viewers.	B．TV programs.
C．Streaming services.	D．Streaming subscribers.

2. Why did most Netflix subscribers continue their subscriptions?

A．They cannot go without it.	B．They think it is good value for money.
C．Netflix has controlled the market.	D．They think the low cost is a thing of the past.

3. What does the good news in Paragraph 3 mean to Disney?

A．The movie Mulan will win an Oscar award.

B．The movie Mulan will generate great profits.

C．The movie Mulan can be released on Amazon Prime Video.

D．The movie Mulan can compete for an Oscar.

4. What do binge-watchers tend to do?

A．They watch TV series continuously.	B．They start a new life.
C．They break world records.	D．They watch TV series aimlessly

【推荐1】Life sure can be stressful. It can take a toll on our mental health and our overall happiness. However, somehow the following cities have managed to find a way to become the happiest cities in the world. According to a report that was issued by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the results come from collecting data from 158 countries and up to 3000 people in each of the countries were included in the research over a span of about 3 years.

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki, the capital of Finland, can be found on the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The seaside city is home to many parks and gardens and open spaces, as well as historical buildings. It’s made up of 300 little islands connected by bridges. Helsinki is a beautiful city to visit, especially in the summertime.	Amsterdam, The Netherlands Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. It is known as the "Venice of the North’’ due to its many canals：165 in total! Ancient yet preserved buildings from the 17th century can be found alongside the modern ideals of the city. This city is fun to visit year-round!
Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm, Sweden, is the capital city of the beautiful country. It is made up of 14 small islands on the central coast of eastern Sweden but is conveniently connected by 57 different bridges.	Basel, Switzerland Basel, the third largest city in Switzerland, is located in the intersection of Sweden, France, and Germany, which is reflected in the local culture. Basel has a stunning medieval city center, many notable restaurants, and many world class museums.

1. We learn from Paragraph 1 that the happiest cities are selected based on______.

A．network selections	B．the survey results
C．reports done by citizens	D．votes from around the world

2. What can we know about Amsterdam?

A．It’s best to visit in the summertime.

B．It’s the largest city of the Netherlands.

C．It’s famous for its public green spaces.

D．It’s a successful combination of old and new.

3. If you are interested in trying delicious food, you may go to______.

A．Helsinki	B．Amsterdam
C．Stockholm	D．Basel

【推荐2】I’m a TV show host. One Sunday, I took my7-year-old daughter by the sea for lunch. On arriving at the beach, I saw JoJo, a wealthy man in the hotel business. We sat down to chat in an open air café.

Suddenly our conversation was interrupted（中断）by a stranger, who politely asked permission(容许) to speak to me. Often people want to tell me something about my controversial（有争议的）TV show, when I’m out on the streets.

He asked to speak to me privately, so we stood a bit away from my table. He said, “I’m James, 35 years old, father of a 7-year-old girl, who’s very sick. She needs treatment abroad. The doctors said that if she was treated in the UK, she would probably survive. But I’m poor, so can you please help me?”

Speechless, I stared in the man’s eyes full of tears and asked how I could help. After we talked for a while, I went to sit back at the table. JoJo asked me,“What’s wrong with you? Your face changed.” I told him. JoJo was very sorry for this family and said I had the means through the media to help him. Later we headed off to our destinations.

All weekend I thought about James, his daughter and his family. I even considered doing a special TV show to raise money for this sick child.

On Monday morning I was at the office after I finished presenting my show, when my secretary said a man needed to speak to me. It was JoJo. He walked into my office. Actually JoJo is so busy with his hotel business that I never imagined he had time to come and see me at the studios.

“Please, call the man with the sick child and tell him that I’ll pay all expenses for his sick daughter’s treatment,”JoJo said, with a check in his hand. “I’ve been married for 35 years. I wasn’t lucky enough to have a child. I want to help this child now.” I picked up the phone to call James.

Now James’ daughter is well and living a normal life. JoJo often visits her. I’m so happy that there are so many good people on this earth.

1. According to the text, the author_______.

A．often has lunch at the beach with his daughter

B．was once helped by JoJo

C．met JoJo at the beach by accident

D．was hesitant to help James

2. According to the text, the author thought that JoJo’s arrival at his office was_______.

A．annoying	B．moving
C．exciting	D．surprising

3. Why did JoJo make up his mind to help James?

A．To support the author’s work.

B．To show his sympathy for the poor.

C．To show his love for a child.

D．To set a good example to other rich people.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Famous hosts are always troubled

B．Kind people are everywhere

C．The media is powerful

D．Even the richest person is not always lucky

【推荐3】

Genetics (遗传学) is the science of what makes you who you are. People who study genetics，called geneticists, learn about how parents pass on information through their genes (bits of information in your body that you cannot see) to their children. Is there anyone in the world like you? No! Your eye color，how tall you are and the size of your nose all come from the special information in your genes that makes you different from everyone else.

We get our genes from our parents. So genetics explains why you might look similar to your mother or brother and why you like some of the same things or speak in a similar way. Genes come in pairs-you get half from your mother and half from your father. We know that some genes are stronger than others. For example, the gene for brown eyes is stronger than the gene for blue eyes. So does it mean that if your parents both have brown eyes that you do too? Not always.

Because genes come in pairs, it's possible that someone with brown eyes has the gene for both brown eyes(B) and blue eyes (b). Look at the picture on the right that shows how the genes from Mum and Dad might be passed on to their children.

Why is genetics important? It's fun to think about which family members you are similar to and which genes you have, but studying genetics is also very important for our health. Some diseases are in our genes, so studying genetics can help us know if we might become ill in the future. It also helps doctors and scientists to know what medicine might help that disease.

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．What genetics is.

B．What geneticists learn about.

C．How the size of your nose comes from.

D．How parents pass on information to their children.

2. What does human genetics explain?

A．Why you look like your friends.

B．Why you are different from other people.

C．Why parents pass on information to their children.

D．Why many people in the world look exactly the same.

3. What can we know from the text?

A．Our genes come in pairs.

B．Some genes are longer than others.

C．People get their genes mainly from their mothers.

D．Your parents both have brown eyes that you do too.

4. Why is studying genetics very important according to the text?

A．Because it is very funny.	B．Because it is useful for scientists.
C．Because it can help us fight diseases.	D．Because it can help us make medicine.

【推荐1】California has lost half its big trees since the 1930s, according to a study to be published Tuesday and climate change seems to be a major factor（因素）.

The number of trees larger than two feet across has declined by 50 percent on more than 46, 000 square miles of California forests, the new study finds. No area was spared or unaffected, from the foggy northern coast to the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the San Gabriels above Los Angeles. In the Sierra high country, the number of big trees has fallen by more than 55 percent; in parts of southern California the decline was nearly 75 percent.

Many factors contributed to the decline, said Patrick Mclntyre, an ecologist who was the lead author of the study. Woodcutters targeted big trees. Housing development pushed into the woods. Aggressive wildfire control has left California forests crowded with small trees that compete with big trees for resources（资源）.

But in comparing a study of California forests done in the 1920s and 1930s with another one between 2001 and 2010, Mclntyre and his colleagues documented a widespread death of big trees that was evident even in wildlands protected from woodcutting or development.

The loss of big trees was greatest in areas where trees had suffered the greatest water shortage. The researchers figured out water stress with a computer model that calculated how much water trees were getting in comparison with how much they needed, taking into account such things as rainfall, air temperature, dampness of soil, and the timing of snowmelt（融雪）.

Since the 1930s, Mclntyre said, the biggest factors driving up water stress in the state have been rising temperatures, which cause trees to lose more water to the air, and earlier snowmelt, which reduces the water supply available to trees during the dry season.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The seriousness of big-tree loss in California.

B．The increasing variety of California big trees.

C．The distribution of big trees in California forests.

D．The influence of farming on big trees in California.

2. Which of the following is well-intentioned（出于好心的） but may be bad for big trees?

A．Ecological studies of forests.	B．Banning woodcutting.
C．Limiting housing development.	D．Fire control measures.

3. What is a major cause of the water shortage according to Mclntyre?

A．Not enough snowmelt.	B．A longer dry season.
C．A warmer climate.	D．Dampness of the air.

【推荐2】Yoga is an ancient physical and spiritual practice originating in India. The word“yoga” comes from Sanskrit （梵文）and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and mind. Today it is practiced in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity. Recognizing its universal appeal, the United Nations declared 21 June as the International Day of Yoga in 2014 to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.

Yoga is an invaluable gift from an ancient tradition. It’s not just about exercise but a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself nature and the world. There is no written record of who invented yoga. Yoga practitioners （从业者）passed down the principles to their students. The earliest written record of yoga is generally believed to have been written by Patanjali, an Indian master who lived somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 years ago.

Various yoga types give you multiple choices. Hatha yoga is the most widely practiced type and is excellent for beginners. It is gentle with slow and smooth movements. Kundalini yoga combines a singing session besides body and mental control. Bikram yoga is practiced in a heated room. It is to loosen muscles and to sweat to clean the body and remove symptoms of disease and pain. Ashtanga yoga is taught as a difficult workout where you move quickly from one gesture to another to build strength and patience.

In recent years, the World Health Organization has urged countries to help their citizens reduce physical inactivity, which is among the top ten leading causes of death worldwide, and a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. Yoga is a proper exercise. It is known for its ability to ease stress and anxiety. It may also help reduce several risk factors for heart diseases and promote a better sleep.

1. Why did the United Nations set the International Day of Yoga?

A．To promote the research into Sanskrit.

B．To help people know more about India.

C．To popularize Yoga practice worldwide.

D．To give a declaration on cultural diversity.

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The principles of yoga.	B．The history of yoga.
C．The benefits of yoga.	D．An Indian yoga master.

3. What will you choose if you’re looking for a challenging exercise?

A．Hatha yoga.	B．Kundalini yoga.
C．Bikram yoga.	D．Ashtanga yoga.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Physical inactivity causes deadly diseases・

B．Yoga can help prevent communicable diseases.

C．Little or no exercise puts people’s health at risk.

D．Yoga can be a cure for many kinds of diseases.

【推荐3】Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its alkali sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.
Long ago the Panamint Indians called this place "Tomesha"-- the land of fire. Death Valley's present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming across from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been declared a National Monument and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has hardly ruined the special beauty of this place.
Here nature created a lot of surprising, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and colorful parts of Death Valley is the Devil's Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from dreams. Sand sculptures stand on a frightening ground, as evening shadows move and lengthen.
1. The name of the valley comes from__________ .

A．an Indian name	B．the death of the miners
C．the local people	D．a National Movement

2. From the passage we can learn that__________.

A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners

B．it's still not easy to travel across the desert

C．people can find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert

D．people have changed the natural sight of the desert

3. The Devil's Golf Course is famous for__________ .

A．the terrible sights	B．the moon-like sights
C．dream-like sights	D．the ever-changing sights

4. From the passage we can see that the writer__________the Death Valley.

A．appreciates

B．is fearful of

C．dislikes

D．is tired of