Sunflowers are something most of us usually think about in August, but with the arrival of the seed catalogs(分类), winter is a good time to start thinking about which ones you might want to grow this coming year. Most gardeners are familiar with the tall giant sunflowers. But there are three or four dozen other varieties.
First, you need to understand that sunflowers don’t all bloom at the same time. In my trials I grouped. them according to bloom time. Early means they bloom in late July or early August. The mid-season ones bloom in mid-August. The late season sunflowers usually flower from late August to early September.
For the early sunflowers, in my trials Pacino was one of the best one year, but was not as striking this past year. It has yellow flowers, about four inches across, and is about two fee high. Other low-growing, early choices are the yellow Sunspot, Del Sol, or Dwarf Yellow Spray. The latter has a lot of branches as its name indicates. Double Dandy is an early, low, red and yellow combination.
For the mid-season choices, this past year my best performers included three varieties that attain heights of five feet—the red-orange Claret, the strikingly dark red Moulin Rouge, and the gold Sunny. Two four-foot sunflowers that I’d recommend for home gardens are the red-yellow combination Ring of Fire, an All-America Selections Award winner, Lemonade, with its interesting mix of light and yellow petals(花瓣).
If you are looking for a late season variety, my favorite is Titanic, a double gold, four-foot tall variety that bloomed much of September and into October in my trials this past year. Other good choices include the light yellow Valentine, the gold Soraya, and the double gold Giant Sungold. This winter, as you leaf through(翻阅) the seed catalogs as the the snow gently falls outside your window, think about summer sunflowers. Thoughts of these flowers are sure to warm the coldest of winter days.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．There are many different varieties of sunflowers. |
| B．The writer likes the tall giant sunflowers best. |
| C．You can try to grow sunflowers in winter. |
| D．Sunflowers only bloom in August. |
| A．Sunny. | B．Claret. |
| C．Moulin Rouge. | D．Dwarf Yellow Spray. |
| A．It is two feet high and about four inches across. |
| B．The color of it is a combination of red and yellow. |
| C．It can only be planted in the southern areas of America. |
| D．It usually blooms much of September and into October. |
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
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【推荐1】Steve Forest is a scientist. He’s standing on an island off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Below him are several hundred penguins and their children. Forrest’s job is to count every one of them. It's snowing. There is a big wind, too. And their children won’t stay still. Penguins are great climbers. So Forrest and the team members must be too. And penguins aren't always clean.
Forrest has been coming to Antarctica every January for six years. He's helping count the area’s penguins. This will help researchers better understand the Antarctic environment. There used to be lots of penguins in Antarctica, “It's all because of climate change,” Heather J. Lynch says seriously. She is leading the research team. The team member Noah Strycker adds, “We know climate change is hitting the Antarctic Peninsula harder than anywhere else in the world. We are following the situation closely.”
Scientists think that warming waters do harm to krill, the tiny animals that penguins eat. This is bad for the sea life. But krill are hard to study, so researchers pay attention to penguins. They’re easier to follow. They return to the same place each year to lay eggs. If penguins aren't doing well , krill probably aren't either. “Penguins give us an idea about what is going on in the sea around us,” Forrest says.
This year, Lynch’s research team uses a drone to help them. They fly it over an area to take pictures to count penguins.
Counting penguins is quite necessary. The more we learn, the more we know about krill and the ocean animals that depend on them. When we understand them, we can start fixing them. We should consider carefully what Lynch says: “What’s happening in the Antarctic is happening everywhere.”
1. What is required of scientists like Forrest according to Paragraph 1?| A．Being clean. | B．Being good at math. |
| C．Being cool-headed. | D．Being skilled in climbing. |
| A．To protect this animal species from extinction. |
| B．To help find out how many krill might be living |
| C．To have a better knowledge of the Antarctic environment |
| D．To collect first-hand data for analyzing global warming. |
| A．Scientists. | B．Krill. | C．Penguins. | D．Ocean animals. |
| A．Penguins lay eggs in the same place on the island every year. |
| B．The penguin population is increasing due to climate change. |
| C．The penguin population determines the krill population. |
| D．Climate change is most obvious in the Antarctic Peninsula. |
【推荐2】Great whites and whale sharks are among the species at risk of extinction over the next century, a new study has found.
Pimiento is the lead author of a study published in Science Advances that looks at how the extinction of large marine species would impact the ecological roles of ocean ecosystems. “The extinction crisis challenges scientists to better measure biodiversity: how will the total variety of life on Earth be affected as human activities lead to the losses of more and more species?” they said. In the oceans, the biggest animals are thought to play crucial ecological roles, and are also facing high levels of threat from human activities such as fisheries and climate change.
The team was looking to move beyond traditional species extinctions, to find out more about the functional diversity, the range of roles that these species perform, and how biodiversity might respond under different extinction scenarios. They ran two different extinction scenarios. In one, researchers looked at extinction probability based on their current IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) status. In the second, they assumed all species listed as threatened, around 40 percent, had gone extinct.
Sharks were found to be one of the worst affected groups. “We already knew that sharks are one of the most threatened groups in the ocean,” they said. “They are also very vulnerable due to their large size and low reproductive rate. Our results show that future extinctions would be selective against the most functionally unique and specialized shark species, resulting in greater projected losses.” They also said the biggest threats to marine megafauna are fishing, either through accidentally getting caught up or directly targeted, and climate change. Mitigating these threats could be the best way to protect these species.
The good news is that the study identifies key species that can be targeted and protected. Sometimes ocean conservation can be a triage game. The science helps us know which species really need our help and which species we really cannot afford to lose.
1. What is Pimiento’s study about?| A．The possible threats of large marine animals. |
| B．The main cause of the extinction crisis in the sea. |
| C．The ecological role of large animals in the ocean. |
| D．The best way of balancing biodiversity with human acts. |
| A．By checking current data. | B．By predicting extinction rates. |
| C．By measuring marine biodiversity. | D．By analyzing traditional experiments. |
| A．The risk of sharks reproducing in the ocean. | B．The solution to animals’ protection in the sea. |
| C．The influence of sharks’ extinction on the ocean. | D．The reason for sharks being hit hardest in the sea. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Positive. | C．Skeptical. | D．Negative. |
【推荐3】Haikou—A shark was killed after being dragged to shore at Yalong Berth beach in Sanya, South China’s Hainan Province, on Sunday afternoon.
It was the first time a shark had been caught in the beach area, a popular tourist site in Hainan.
Local fishermen said they caught the 3-meter-long, l-ton shark by chance when they were fishing in sea water 1,000 metres deep near the beach.
Police temporarily protected the shark while oceanographers(海洋学家) decided whether it was a species belonging to State protection.
Fishermen later killed and sold the shark after oceanographers confirmed that it was a whale shark and therefore not under State protection.
The shark was believed to have drifted into the area from the deep sea due to strong waves caused last week by Typhoon Imbudo. It had no open injuries but experts said they believed it suffered from internal bleeding.
Local police officer Fu Chenggeng said beachgoers should not feel threatened by sharks because the fish never attack human beings on their own initiative. Fu said he had never heard of any shark attacks at the Sanya beach since he first started work there eight years ago.
However, police said they will improve the security system to safeguard tourists’ safety on the beach.
1. A possible title of the article should be______.| A．Tourists in Danger |
| B．Killing Whale Shark |
| C．Shark Caught in Beach Area |
| D．Whale Shark in Danger |
| A．the shark was caught because of obvious injuries |
| B．the number of the whale shark may be small |
| C．typhoon Imbudo may have brought the shark to the area |
| D．it’s not unusual to see a shark on the beach |
| A．said | B．believed |
| C．thought | D．made sure |
【推荐1】In England recently three foreign gentlemen came to a bus stop and waited. About five minutes later, the bus they wanted came along. They were just going to get on when suddenly there was a loud noise behind them. People rushed onto the bus and tried to push them out of the way. Someone shouted at them. The bus conductor came rushing down the stairs to see what all the trouble was about. The three foreigners seem all at sea and looked embarrassed. No one had told them about the British custom of lining up for a bus that the first person who arrives at the bus stop is the first person to get on the bus.
Learning the language of a country isn’t enough. If you want to have a pleasant visit, find out as much as possible about the manners and customs of your host country. You will probably be surprised just how different they can be from your own. A visitor to India would do well to remember that people there consider it impolite to use the left hand for passing food at table. The left hand is supposed to be used for washing yourself. Also in India, you might see a man shaking his head at another to show that he doesn’t agree. But in many parts of India a shake of the head means agreement. Nodding your head when you are given a drink in Bulgaria will most probably leave you thirsty.
1. The British people tried to push the three gentlemen out of the way, because the gentlemen _______ .| A．were foreigners | B．didn’t have tickets |
| C．made a loud noise | D．didn’t line up for the bus |
| A．learn the language of the country | B．understand the manners and customs of the country |
| C．have enough time and money | D．make friends with the people there |
| A．to use the right hand for passing food at table. | B．to pass food with the left hand. |
| C．to eat food with your hands. | D．to help yourself at table. |
| A．People’s Everyday Life | B．Mind Your Manners |
| C．Shaking and Nodding Head | D．Taking a Bus in England |
【推荐2】Electrical devices (仪器) could soon use power made by human energy. Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking. British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.
The device connects to a person’s knee. As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down. To do this, the device helps with the slowing down movement of the leg. The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity. Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute. Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.
There are several possible uses for the device. Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers. The device could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers (起博器). It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.
The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy. But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version. An improved version should be ready in one year.
The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries. Nearly twenty five percent of people around the world live without electric power.
A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania. He created a bag carried on a person’s back that also produces power from walking. The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag, but the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.
1. What does the second paragraph tell us?| A．How the device works. |
| B．How the device connects to a person’s knee. |
| C．What the device can do to help a person slowing down. |
| D．What the device can do to help people’s physical movements. |
| A．It is enough to operate a computer for a long time. |
| B．It can satisfy those working in areas without electricity. |
| C．It can be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers. |
| D．It has been used to move robotic arms and legs. |
| A．The device has been widely used. |
| B．The device needs some improvement. |
| C．The majority of people can afford the device. |
| D．It has brought benefits to the developing countries. |
| A．New Device Has Been Invented |
| B．The Knee Device Produce Energy |
| C．Device Helps Capturing Physical Energy |
| D．Device Gives New Meaning to the Idea of Power Walking |
【推荐3】Don’t you think robots are a part of your life? In factories, robots put together everything from toys to cars. Some homes have robots that sweep floors or mow the lawn(剪草坪). And more robots are soon to come.
 | Like a Human Robots don’t expect any thanks for all the work they do for us. After all, they don’t have feelings. But that may be changing with Nexi, a robot created by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nexi can move its face to show anger, happiness, or sadness. It can also raise its eyebrows to show surprise. |
 | Robots at Work Need a lift out of bed? RIBA, short for “Robot for Interactive Body Assistance”, will lend its helpful arms! Some patients at hospitals and nursing homes have a hard time getting in and out of bed. RIBA can gently lift a patient out of bed and help him or her into a wheelchair. The robot can safely pick up and carry people weighing 135 pounds. |
 | Water Bots Robots that work in water—and look like familiar sea creatures—are making news lately. One of them is a robotic fish. Researchers built the robo-fish to swim in water to detect pollution. There’s even a robotic penguin called the AP, which uses flippers(鱼鳍) to paddle and can move in all directions. |
 | 23 How would you like a robot to help clean up your toys, or one that plays hide-and-seek with you? can be programmed to do both those activities, and more. A two- foot-tall robot, Nao was designed by a company in France to be a helper and companion. It can talk, walk and even remember faces, voices, and places. Also, it can be programmed to assist with daily tasks, such as checking e-mails. |
Experts predict that by 2025 we could have robots in every household! You might be living or working with one of them every day!
1. By moving its face, Nexi might show its _________.| A．feelings | B．power |
| C．interest | D．opinions |
| A．discovering fish | B．picking up rubbish |
| C．studying sea creatures | D．finding out pollution |
| A．Household Helpers | B．Programme Designers |
| C．Hotel Cleaners | D．Game Players |
【推荐1】Tourist Guide to the National Gallery
Opening hours: Daily 10: 00 am- -6: 00 pm; Friday 10: 00 am- 9: 00 pm
Closed: 2426 December
Reasons to visit:
With over 2, 300 paintings in the collection, there are hundreds of reasons to visit the Gallery. Here are some to get you started...
Get into great art. From Leonardo da Vinci to Vincent van Gogh: See priceless works of art for free.
Get creative. Brush up your skills, and create your own great works of art...
Learn about art. Discover more about paintings...
Regulations:
Talk in a low voice when you use your cellphone in the gallery
Please do not touch the paintings or other exhibits. Do not take pets in or cross the barriers.
Consume food and drink in designated areas only i.e. not in rooms that contain paintings.
Follow our no smoking policy in any part of the building.
Follow our no photograph policy in exhibitions where a sign is displayed.
Access:
The National Gallery aims to make access to the paintings enjoyable and welcoming to the widest possible public. There are a range of facilities to help you see the collection, visit exhibitions and come to events.
The Gallery offers British Sign Language-interpreted talks on paintings for visitors who are deaf, and special art sessions(展期) for visitors who can't see.
Address: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square London WC2N 5DN
Click here to find more information.
1. What are visitors allowed to do in the National Gallery?| A．Make a phone call. | B．Take a dog in. |
| C．Smoke a cigarette. | D．Take photos. |
| A．Young visitors. | B．Deaf visitors. |
| C．Blind visitors. | D．Old visitors. |
| A．In a newspaper. | B．On a poster. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．On the Internet. |
【推荐2】Who wants to learn Chinese? Just about everybody in the world, it seems. The demand for Chinese as a foreign language is growing fast, both in English-speaking countries, such as Britain and the USA, and in other countries like France, where the number of students studying Chinese has increased each year in recent years.
There are a number of reasons for the interest. As China develops economically, opportunities for doing business increase dramatically-and if you know your partner's language, your chances of success increase. But there is also a renewed interest in the culture and traditions of China; the fact that Chinese culture has continued uninterrupted for more than 5,000 years is a source of curiosity and fascination for people in other parts of the world. A third reason is that learning Chinese is, simply, a challenge. With its characters and complicated tone system, most speakers of other languages think Chinese must be incredibly difficult. But is it really so? As one American student says, "The biggest problem about learning Chinese is often fear-sometimes caused by the teacher. I've studied quite a few languages, and none of them are as easy for me as Chinese. The grammar is easy, since sentence order is similar to English-but simpler."
With so much interest in the language, the Chinese government introduced an international exam system-HSK. Established in 1990, the HSK test was initially meant for those learners who regard Chinese as a second or foreign language. Later, it was introduced abroad. By 2016, there are about 980 exam centres in more than 120 countries around the world, with nearly 464,000 candidates taking the exam in 2016. And a spin-off of this is that teaching Chinese as a foreign language offers young Chinese language graduates interesting professional opportunities-and a chance travel across the world.
1. From what aspects does the author explain the enthusiasm for Chinese?| A．Economy, culture and challenge. |
| B．Economy, culture and test. |
| C．Culture, tourism and challenge. |
| D．Culture, profession and test. |
| A．To state some reasons. | B．To offer some advice. |
| C．To make some comparisons. | D．To introduce a new topic. |
| A．Chinese is generally considered single. |
| B．The HSK test was firstly held abroad. |
| C．More Chinese language graduates will teach abroad. |
| D．Chinese language graduates have more chances to be guides. |
| A．Reasons for Learning Chinese. |
| B．Tips on Learning Chinese. |
| C．The Development of the HSK. |
| D．Chinese as a Foreign Language. |
One day a lawyer said to him, “One thousand dollars, and here is the money.” As Hobbs took the package of notes, he was very dumbfounded. He didn’t know where the money came from and how to spend it. He said to himself, “I could go to find a hotel and live like a rich man for a few days; or I give up my work in the factory and do what I’d like to do: painting pictures. I could do that for a few weeks, but what would I do after that? I should have lost my place in the factory and have no money to live on. If it were a little less money, I would buy a new coat, or a radio, or give a dinner to my friends. If it were more, I could give up the work and pay for painting pictures. But it’s too much for one and too little for the other.”
“Here is the reading of your uncle’s will（遗嘱）,” said the lawyer, “telling what is to be done with this money after his death. I must ask you to remember one point. Your uncle has said you must bring me a paper showing exactly what you did with his money, as soon as you have spent it.”
“Yes, I see. I’ll do that,” said the young man.
1. Hobbs wanted to borrow money to _______.
| A．study abroad | B．work abroad | C．pay off the debts | D．learn to paint pictures |
| A．Surprised. | B．Frightened | C．Satisfied. | D．Excited. |
| A．planned to have a happy life for a few days | B．decided to give up his work in the factory |
| C．was to give a dinner to his friends | D．had no idea what to do |
| A．tell the lawyer what he did with the money after spending it |
| B．read his uncle’s will |
| C．buy some pictures |
| D．tell the lawyer what was to be done with the money |
【推荐1】A Teacher’s Lifesaving Call
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Julia Koch began what was only her second year as a first grade teacher in a virtual classroom.
One September afternoon a few weeks into the school year, she received a call from Cynthia Phillips, who was having technical difficulties with her granddaughter’s tools for online learning.
Koch immediately knew something was wrong with Phillips. The two women had spoken numerous times before, but Koch had never heard the grandmother sound quite like this. Her words were so jumbled that Koch could barely understand her, though she was able to make out that Phillips had fallen four times that day.
Koch called her principal, Charlie Lovelady, who assured her that he would call and check on Phillips himself.
Just like Koch, Lovelady could barely understand Phillips. He suspected she might be having a stroke—he recognized the signs from when his own father had suffered one. Lovelady was able to make out the word “kids” and immediately became concerned that Phillips’s two grandchildren, aged six and eight, were probably home alone with her—she is their primary guardian—and scared. Lovelady asked his office manager to send an ambulance to the grandmother’s home. Then Lovelady called two deans in the school district, to tell them what was going on, both of whom dropped everything and drove to the family’s home.
When they pulled up less than ten minutes later, the EMTs(急救人员)were treating Phillips while the two girls, looking visibly shaken, were outside with a neighbor.
The quick response from Koch and Lovelady saved Phillips’s life. She arrived at the hospital in time to get treatment and before chronic damage occurred.
“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here,” said Phillips from her hospital bed about a month after her stroke.
Thanks to an extended stay in the hospital, she has regained most of the movement throughout her body except for one hand and a portion of her mouth, which affects her speech.
1. When did the story happen?| A．When Koch was in her first grade. |
| B．When the grandchildren were having online classes. |
| C．When Lovelady was with his own father. |
| D．When the EMTs were giving medical help to Phillips. |
| A．Because Phillips’s voice sounded strange. |
| B．Because Phillips had seldom called Koch. |
| C．Because Phillips spoke a strange language. |
| D．Because Koch could not hear very clearly. |
| A．By calling the hospital for advice. |
| B．By visiting Phillips in person. |
| C．By recognizing the signs he knew. |
| D．By asking the office workers for help. |
| A．minor. | B．unknown. | C．obvious. | D．serious. |
| A．She could not move about properly. |
| B．She could not speak clearly. |
| C．She could not have meals properly. |
| D．She could not use her hands as before. |
【推荐2】About City Cruises - Red River Rover（24hr）
As the River Thames weaves its way through the heart of London there is history around every bend.
See and experience the sights and splendor of this great city from the relaxed comfort of a modern, all-weather, wheelchair-friendly City Cruises RiverLinerTM with open upper deck and spacious lower saloon with panoramic （全景的）windows. During your cruise you will have live commentary（解说）from the experienced crew giving you lots of insights you wouldn't find in the guide books.
The Hop on Hop off Pass allows you to make unlimited use of the river services between the piers（码头）of operation:
Westminster Pier: Houses of Parliament
Abbey Waterloo Pier: London Eye London Aquarium
Tower Pier: Tower of London, Tower Bridge
Greenwich Pier; Greenwich, Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark
Important Information
You should arrive at least 15 minutes before departure time.
Passenger numbers are difficult to predict each day and can vary on account of public holidays, weather condition, events, etc. City Cruises cannot guarantee that you will get the sightseeing sailing that you have booked—please ensure that you arrive in reasonable time.
All boats have seating and are fully heated.
All boats offer open space areas with great views. Many have open decks offering a better view.
Free live commentary is in English on each sightseeing cruise.
Free audio guides are available in 8 languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, English and Japanese.
1. What can we learn about City Cruises RiverLinerTM?| A．It doesn't provide services on windy days. |
| B．It is not accessible to disabled passengers. |
| C．It ignores the great history of River Thames. |
| D．It enables you to learn further about the sights. |
| A．Westminster Pier. | B．Greenwich Pier. |
| C．Tower Pier. | D．Abbey Waterloo Pier. |
| A．passengers sensitive to cold should wear more clothes |
| B．passengers can view landmark sights of London on board |
| C．passengers should book visits to get the guaranteed sailing |
| D．passengers can watch live commentaries in various languages |
【推荐3】You’re doing homework online for a science class. A question comes up: Do newborn human babies see the world in black and white? Do you guess or search for the answer? Searching online for the answer may get you a better grade on the homework. But a study suggests it won’t necessarily help you learn.
Psychologist Amold Glass gave his students a series of quizstyle online homework assignments. The day before a lesson, students answered homework questions about the upcoming material. They answered similar questions in class a week later and again on the exam. If you read about a topic again and again, you’re not likely to remember it very well. But if you test yourself again and again, you will have better performance in the end. So the students in Glass’s classes should have performed better on each set of questions in the homework series, and then best of all on the exam.
For many years, students had improved through each set of questions and did best on the exam. But later, many students are doing more poorly on the exam than before. Glass wonders “What a bizarre result that is? How can it be? ” His students tend to blame themselves, thinking, “I’ m not smart enough,” or “I should have studied more.” He suspects something else is going on, so he think about what has changed over those 11 years. One big thing is the rise of smartphones. So it is easier today to quickly go online and find the answer to just about any homework question. But students can’t use phones during an exam. And that might explain why they aren’t doing as well on the tests.
To test this, Glass and Kang asked students in 2017 and 2018 whether they came up with their homework answers themselves or looked them up. Students who tended to look up answers also tended to do better on homework than their exams.
1. What can we infer from the first 2 paragraphs?| A．Doing homework online is a trend. | B．Childish question is hard to answer. |
| C．Thinking over a question helps you a lot. | D．It is necessary to find an effective learning method. |
| A．Students get enough knowledge from tests. |
| B．Questions on tests were chosen from homework. |
| C．Students performed better on tests than on homework. |
| D．Questions on tests had nothing to do with homework. |
| A．Final. | B．Strange. | C．Possible. | D．Obvious. |
| A．Bad Effects of Online Knowledge | B．Technology is not Always Good for Us |
| C．What Is the Best Way to Get Knowledge | D．Guessing Answers or Searching Them Online |
