George Turner, 48, owner of Penuel Bicycles in Inglewood, California, talks with respect about his childhood BMX dirt bike. “I was mad keen on cycling.” he says. “I did whatever it took to get on that bike, as long as I was home before dark.” Home meant housework, homework and annoying brothers. But a bike meant escapes.
In 2010, George transformed his childhood love into a livelihood, and opened his bicycle shop, Penuel Bicycles. The shop fulfilled a lifelong dream. Before that, he had worked for years delivering boxes for FedEx while selling bike accessories online.
“Bicycles kept me out of trouble,” George remembers. “They were part of my life.” He figured that was still true for kids when he opened Penuel Bicycles. George expected parents to crowd inside, eager to buy shiny new bikes for their kids. He looked forward to helping boys and girls discover the joy of riding — and stay out of trouble — just as he had.
None of that happened, however.
George found that kids these days lead a different life. Usually, they don’t want a bike for their birthday. And most of them ever don’t know how to ride a bike. Instead of getting out and riding, they prefer spending their time on their phones indoors. As kids don’t ride, it is impossible that parents crowd in his shop to buy new bikes. Nine years after opening his Penuel Bicycles, George feared that he had to close the shop.
Then in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation. Surprisingly, the pandemic saved George’s business. During the pandemic, many American people found that cycling was a good way to exercise and also a safe way to get around. The demand for new bikes kept growing and people in George’s neighborhood pulled out their old bikes and wheeled them to Penuel Bicycles to get repaired. Now he is trying his best to meet his customers’ needs and hopes that his customers can really discover the joy of riding.
1. What did the bike mean to George in his childhood?| A．Taking up sports. | B．Getting away from daily routine. |
| C．A precious birthday gift. | D．A convenient vehicle. |
| A．Making a big fortune. | B．Being a member of FedEx. |
| C．Opening his own bicycle shop. | D．Helping people pursue riding pleasure. |
| A．The lifestyle of kids changed. | B．He wasn’t good at management. |
| C．Bikes were not as charming as before. | D．His business was affected by the pandemic. |
| A．Joy of Wheel | B．Passion for Exercise |
| C．Improvement of Bike Business | D．Increasing Demand for New Bikes |
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【推荐1】A couple of years ago Brian Arthur, an academic of the Palo Alto Research Centre, made a surprising prediction. In the next two to three decades, Western digital networks would end up performing functions equal to the size of the “real” US economy. Or, to put it another way, if you looked at all the work being done by electronic supply chains, robots, communications systems—and the bar code—then the digital economy would “exceed the physical economy in size”, Arthur wrote, on the basis of productivity and output calculations.
It sounds impressive. But it also raises a crucial question: as those digital networks increase in size, what are flesh-and-blood workers going to do in this future world? Simon Head, an academic who teaches at the University of Oxford and New York University, joined in this debate with a book entitled Mindless: Why Smarter Machines Are Making Dumber Humans.
As the subtitle suggests, Head is extremely pessimistic. He thinks the digital networks keep replacing jobs that used to be performed by the middle classes, throwing them out of work or into thankless, dull ones, as a few groups of skilled managers (or business owners) get wealthier. As a result, income inequality keeps growing and digital systems increasingly influence what we all do, overriding human common sense. This can be seen in the financial sector, Head argues, pointing out that digitization has overtaken many manufacturing companies.
But the real foretaste of the future—and digital hell—is with companies such as Walmart and Amazon, he claims. While the word “Amazon” tends to bring delight to consumers, given its wonderfully efficient shopping experience, people working inside the company’s warehouses live in a world of electronic observation, low wages and physically demanding work. And, of course, the rise of Amazon has also been deeply painful for many independent retailers, suppliers and writers.
On one level, Head’s anger is nothing new. Academics have been writing about the digitization revolution for some time. But what is perhaps most interesting of all about Head’s view is that while he writes from an annoyed viewpoint, even he cannot find any answers.
Unlike those early Luddites who simply destroyed 19th-century weaving machines, Head does not want to ban bar codes. Instead, he wants “higher-paying, higher-skilled jobs, with the digital networks used to supplement (增补) rather than replace employees’ expert knowledge or skill” in a new corporate culture where workers are treated with respect (or at least more attention than those robots). But while he mentions a few “case histories where alternative, employee-friendly cultures have taken root”, he also admits “these are not easily copied elsewhere”.
Thus, he admires “Germany’s culture of codetermination and labour-management partnership”, for example, or “the John Lewis Partnership in the United Kingdom, the employee-owned and the best high-quality retail chain in the country” or “exceptional US companies like Lincoln Electric”. But he also warns that “it would be delusional (妄想的) to think that, in the United States, the area of these alternative work cultures will expand naturally”. The Amazon example is just too strong.
The real problem of invisible digitization is exactly that: the revolution is unseen. Thus, while “the progressive response to the cruelty of 19th-century capitalism was fueled by a growing awareness of what was going on behind factory walls, digital networks are invisible”.
If you want to be cheerful, it is possible to hope that this howl of anger is simply a passing phrase. When millions of people lost their agricultural jobs in earlier centuries, nobody foresaw these labourers would find factory work. But it is also possible to imagine a darker future: as the French economist Thomas Piketty writes in another thought-provoking book, Capital in the Twenty-first Century, it is not clear what could stop this digitization trend—and the growing inequality it causes.
Either way, the key point is this: we have barely begun to understand the full implications of this second, digitized economy. That is a point we all need to consider more deeply. Start, perhaps, on the next occasion when you scan a bar code or place an order on Amazon with ease.
1. Amazon is mentioned to indicate that digital networks __________.| A．make the middle-class workers worse off |
| B．improve the efficiency of physical workers |
| C．exercise little influence on traditional retailing |
| D．bring customers excellent shopping experiences |
| A．free people from physical work | B．create an employee-friendly culture |
| C．assist workers with real skills | D．improve employers’ income and skills |
| A．By making a comparison. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By confirming a prediction. | D．By challenging an assumption. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favourable. |
| C．Negative. | D．Cautious. |
【推荐2】Georgia's public university system will not rename any of its 75 buildings with ties to slavery (奴隶制) or racial segregation (种族隔离), explaining that “history can teach us important lessons”. “The purpose of history is to instruct,” the Board of Regents for Georgia’s public university system wrote in a statement. “History can teach us important lessons, lessons that if understood and applied can make Georgia and its people stronger.”
The board(董事会) voted universally on Monday against such changes, nearly a year after it established a committee to study the names and potential changes. The internal committee had advised that changes be made to 75 buildings on campus that are named after Confederate leaders and others.
People in support of making changes to the names blamed the board following its decision on Monday. “The decision by Georgia s Board of Regents to keep the names of known racists and segregationists of the state' s public colleges and universities is not surprising. It demonstrates to us the board’s support for racism,” a group called Rename Grady said in a statement.
Some schools also established teams of experts to investigate whether building names or statues were regarded insensitive due to their connections to slavery, racial segregation or the mistreatment of American Indians in the history. Towson University, for example, removed the names of slave owners from two dormitory halls earlier this year. In Chicago, the public school system promised to rename 30 buildings bearing the names of slaveholders.
Other schools, however, have taken the same path as Georgia s public university system and chose against changing names. The Board of Trustees at Washington and Lee University voted earlier this year to keep its name, which partly honors Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate States Army.
1. Why will Georgia’s public university system refuse to change building names?| A．The names have a long history. |
| B．The names was decided by the board. |
| C．The names remind Georgia of going forward. |
| D．The names have no connections to racists and segregationists. |
| A．The board. | B．The decision. | C．The statement. | D．The committee. |
| A．Not every school has taken the same path. |
| B．Building names or statues should not be changed. |
| C．The teams of experts some schools established are powerful. |
| D．Building names or statues were regarded sensitive by some people. |
| A．Approval. | B．Objective. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Unfavourable. |
【推荐3】“Luckily, I have some outside space on my balcony (阳台). I love surprising myself with what I can successfully grow there. It is a not so-secret trick: going vertical (垂直),” said Song, a college student from Shandong Province, when interviewed by a local media.
According to a recent report, the sales of vegetable seeds online in the first quarter doubled compared with the same period last year. Sales of products like gardening tools have increased by three times since April of last year. Out of all the people buying farming tools and seeds, most were born after 2000, like Song.
Song, a young “balcony farmer”, said his passion for planting was formed in his childhood when he lived with his grandma in the countryside, who liked to plant seasonal vegetables in her backyard garden. Now, Song lives in the city without a yard, but he continues his hobby with a balcony garden. “Growing fruits and vegetables not only brings delicious food, but also reminds me of the happy times with my grandma,” said Song.
Song is not alone. Fang Hua, from a computer company, considers planting a garden a good way to relax and develop patience. Bearing many working responsibilities, the 26- year old girl sometimes feels stressful. To relax herself, she started planting seeds and waited patiently on her balcony in 2021. After half a year, her balcony has become a “small garden”, including different flowers and herds.
“I need a space to escape from my daily duties,” Fang said, seeing the various colors and breathing fresh air. “I feel closer to nature on my balcony.” The vegetables and herbs may not be main foods on our table, but they will surely add a touch of taste to our busy days.
The youth like Song and Fang believe being a city farmer means a lot to their life. In fact, the young people of the new era seem to know life better than their parents.
1. What can we know from paragraph 2?| A．The cost of gardening tools has risen now. |
| B．Balcony farming is difficult for most people. |
| C．More flowers and vegetables are sold online. |
| D．Many young people become interested in farming. |
| A．His learning stress. | B．His good taste for food. |
| C．His house with a big balcony. | D．His experience with his grandma. |
| A．To show a similar example. | B．To give more advice. |
| C．To present another fact. | D．To explain a problem. |
| A．Healthy eating habits. | B．Extra money. |
| C．Improving gardening skills. | D．Getting relaxed. |
【推荐1】On the way to his home the child turned many times and beat the dog, declaring with childish gestures that he held him in contempt (蔑视) as an unimportant dog. The dog apologized for being this quality of animal and expressed regret in fine form, but he continued stealthily to follow the child.
When the child reached his door-step, the dog was a few yards behind moving slowly toward him. He became so anxious with shame when he again faced the child that he forgot the dragging rope. He tripped (绊倒) upon it and fell forward.
The child sat down on the step and the two had another interview. During it the dog did his best to please the child. He performed a few playful jumps with such abandon (尽情地) that the child suddenly saw him to be a valuable thing. He made a swift, greedy charge (猛冲) and seized the rope.
He dragged his captive (俘虏) into a hall and up many long stairways in a dark building. The dog made willing efforts, but he could not walk very skillfully up the stairs because he was very small and soft, and at last the pace of the child grew so energetic that the dog became panic-stricken. In his mind he was being dragged toward somewhere unknown. His eyes grew wild with the terror of it. He began to wiggle his head wildly and to brace his legs.
The child redoubled his efforts. They had a battle on the stairs. The child was victorious because he was completely absorbed in his purpose and because the dog was very small. He dragged his acquirement to the door of his home, and finally with victory across the doorway. No family member was in. The child sat down on the floor and made overtures to (向……示好) the dog. These the dog instantly accepted. He smiled with affection upon his new friend. In a short time they were firm and abiding (矢志不渝的) comrades.
1. What might have happened before the first paragraph?| A．The child had wanted to own the dog for a long time. |
| B．The dog had been someone else’s pet but lost his way. |
| C．The child had been looking for the lost dog for a long time. |
| D．The dog had been driven out of home by the child’s family. |
| A．The dog’s apology. | B．His first interview with the dog |
| C．His pity on the dog. | D．The dog’s pleasing performance. |
| A．Frightened-relieved-anxious-happy. | B．Worried-angry-scared-delighted |
| C．Guilty-anxious-nervous-pleased. | D．Angry-regretted-scared-puzzled. |
【推荐2】I watched my Dad close the door. It was a really cold night in dead silence and I was all alone at home. My parents left because they had been running fever for several days and they were showing other symptoms of COVID-19. It was the 9th day of Wuhan lockdown (封锁) starting on January 23.
The virus we now know as COVID-19 is somehow frightening partly because it seems that it may infect anyone. But that is only partly true. All the proof suggests that it can be cruel to older people, so I was wondering whether my parents would make it and whether we would ever take family photos, which my parents and I had talked about during the Spring Festival holiday.
On their second day away my parents called and asked me how I was. We talked using FaceTime, and the moment I saw mom lying there with an oxygen mask (氧气罩) and my dad could not talk without breathing heavily, I realized that I had to live on my own.
But two weeks later, I had a fever and had to go into quarantine (隔离) and be put under medical observations for 14 days. Fortunately, my illness turned out to be due to a bacterial infections (感染) but not COVID-19.
The doctors and nurses would work a whole day preparing for new patients and seemed extremely sorry for not having everything that was needed. Most of the patients were really understanding, but of course there were those who were not, and complained loudly, but all the doctors and nurses tried their best to deal with it in a calming way. And they are all from other cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou, and some of them are just three or four years older than me.
When the quarantine was over, every patient thanked the workers for what they had done, but the answer they received was exactly the same: “That’s what we’re here for.”
1. When did the author’s parents leave her for the hospital?| A．January 23 | B．January 30 |
| C．February 1 | D．January 31 |
| A．COVID-19 is terrible because all the people will be infected. |
| B．Whether his parents could survive COVID-19 worried the author greatly. |
| C．The doctors and nurses didn’t seem extremely sorry for not having everything that was needed. |
| D．Some patients complained because the doctors didn’t work calmly. |
| A．The author had a fever and had to stay at home for quarantine. |
| B．The author was once infected with COVID-19. |
| C．The author was ill because of bacterial infections. |
| D．The author went into quarantine for seven days. |
| A．admirable | B．outgoing |
| C．impatient | D．grateful |
【推荐3】Mr. Peter Johnson, aged twenty-three, battled for half an hour to escape from his trapped car yesterday when it landed upside down in three feet of water. Mr. Johnson took the only escape route—through the boot(行李箱).
Mr. Johnson’s car had finished up in a ditch(沟渠) at Romney Marsin, Kent after skidding on ice and hitting a bank. “Fortunately, the water began to come in only slowly,” Mr. Johnson said. “I couldn’t force the doors because they were jammed against the walls of the ditch and dared not open the windows because I knew water would come flooding in.”
Mr. Johnson, a sweet salesman of Sitting Home, Kent, first tried to attract the attention of other motorists by sounding the horn and hammering on the roof and boot. Then he began his struggle to escape.
Later he said, “It was really a half penny that saved my life. It was the only coin I had in my pocket and I used it to unscrew the back seat to get into the boot. I hammered desperately with a hammer trying to make someone hear, but no help came.”
It took ten minutes to unscrew the seat, and a further five minutes to clear the sweet samples from the boot. Then Mr. Johnson found a wrench(扳子) and began to work on the boot lock. Fifteen minutes passed by. “It was the only chance I had. Finally it gave, but as soon as I moved the boot lid, the water and mud poured in. I forced the lid down into the mud and scrambled clear as the car filled up.”
His hands and arms cut and bruised(擦伤), Mr. Johnson got to Beckett Farm nearby, where he was looked after by the farmer’s wife, Mrs. Lucy Bates. Huddled in a blanket, he said, “That thirty minutes seemed like hours.” Only the tips of the car wheels were visible, police said last night. The vehicle had sunk into two feet of mud at the bottom of the ditch.
1. What is the best title for this newspaper article?| A．The Story of Mr. Johnson, A Sweet Salesman |
| B．Car Boot Can Serve As The Best Escape Route |
| C．Driver Escapes Through Car Boot |
| D．The Driver Survived A Terrible Car Accident |
| A．The hammer | B．The coin. |
| C．The screw. | D．The horn. |
| A．Luckily the door was torn away in the end |
| B．At last the wrench went broken |
| C．The lock came open after all his efforts |
| D．The chance was lost at the last minute |
| A．the ditch was along a quiet country road |
| B．the accident happened on a clear warm day |
| C．the police helped Mr. Johnson get out of the ditch |
| D．Mr. Johnson had a tender wife and was well attended |
【推荐1】A few years ago, at a medical laboratory clinic in Waterloo, an elderly woman sat on the edge of a waiting room chair singing the tune “My Heart Will Go On”. With little effort, she sent her sweet voice exploding into every comer of the clinic.
I was there with my father when the woman arrived. She settled into the seat directly across from my father. Because she was so tiny, she had to sit on the edge of the chair so her feet could touch the floor. It seemed as though she was sitting forward to start a conversation with him. I was concerned about how my father would react to the possible invasion of his space. He was 77 and had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for several years. Since Alzheimers has a tendency to destroy a person’s patience, Dad had had a few challenging experiences in the past. I couldn’t help but think that this woman was playing with fire.
Her singing began gently. My father was staring right at her. I couldn’t read his expression, but it seemed to be something like confusion. I wondered whether he was actually looking at her or if he was lost somewhere deep in his mind. Or maybe he was trying to discover whether this was someone he should know. That was what was happening now: no polite smile, no friendly nod. Just a stare. This lack of important acknowledgment didn’t deter the little woman one bit and her singing slowly got louder. Getting to the chorus, she was totally lost in her own singing with her eyes shut.
Still, I watched for any signs of an outburst of anger. But he didn’t show any signs of an explosion. Instead, his face softened and he was starting to look entertained. When her song ended, the woman opened her eyes. My dad was still looking directly at her. ‘‘That was beautiful,” he said. And she smiled and said, “Thank you.”
1. Why did the author worry about the woman’s sitting opposite?| A．Her father might lose his privacy. |
| B．Her father was likely to get annoyed. |
| C．Her father could be reminded of the past. |
| D．Her father had no patience with strangers. |
| A．Panic. | B．Confuse. | C．Surprise. | D．Discourage. |
| A．Typical. | B．Awkward. | C．Unexpected. | D．Unacceptable. |
| A．A song awakens my father |
| B．Music is the best medicine |
| C．A tune draws people closer |
| D．Classics will always live on |
【推荐2】18 years ago, a 14-year-old boy from Kasungu district in Malawi was forced to drop out of school for lack of fees. At the same time, a severe famine was destroying his village, claiming people’s lives and leaving desperation in its wake.
This was a situation to break the strongest of minds but William Kamkwamba did not give up. Young as he was, he knew that education was where his future lay. He found hope in the library and feasted on the knowledge that he harvested from its books. It was there that he came across a science textbook entitled Using Energy. He learned that he could generate electricity using wind. The youngster realized that, if mastered, this power could help his village in exceptional ways.
Armed with determination and an iron will, the teenager set out to build a windmill out of random materials from a scrapyard (垃圾场). Though his outside world was collapsing to dust, the youngster did not hesitate about his purpose. He defended himself from all doubt and criticism. He worked tirelessly until his dream of bringing electricity to his village became reality. Soon, he was caught in the center of media attention that took him to new places that he would never have stepped on without his invention.
In his village, the dust has not settled yet and the winds of change continue to blow across the land. Windmills pump water to irrigate crops, sweeping away another period of hunger. William’s former primary school boasts new and stronger buildings, thanks to the help of well-wishers and the villagers’ united efforts.
What seemed like a hopeless situation has been turned into an inspirational story that motivates each and every one of us, persuading us that no misfortune is set in stone. William refused to be a school drop-out forever. He sought solutions for his problems and continued fighting even when the going got tough. He was able to rise above poverty to become a graduate from one of America’s best universities, Dartmouth College.
1. What inspired William to bring electricity to his village?| A．His realization of the impact of electricity. | B．His awareness of the role of education. |
| C．The science textbook entitled Using Energy. | D．The severe famine destroying his village. |
| A．All people didn’t support William’s dream at first. |
| B．The public had little interest in William’s invention. |
| C．The invention enabled William to make a big fortune. |
| D．The windmill is energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. |
| A．Visible. | B．Avoidable. | C．Unchangeable. | D．Unpredictable. |
| A．Knowledge feasts mind and education promises wealth. |
| B．Necessity inspires invention and hardship makes heroes. |
| C．Criticism promotes success and doubt facilitates creation. |
| D．Adversity motivates inspiration and support pushes solutions. |
【推荐3】Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I changed my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn’t covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt, I wouldn’t have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn’t sure what to do. After all, it’s just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That’s when I discovered why my attacker was charging at me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate’s sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate’s safety seemed admirable. I couldn’t do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
Since then, I’ve always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
1. Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?| A．To reach the pool. | B．To avoid getting his shoes dirty. |
| C．To escape a sudden attack. | D．To get close to a butterfly. |
| A．Not to get hurt. | B．Not knowing what to do. |
| C．Being attacked by a butterfly. | D．Stepping on a butterfly. |
| A．Horrible. | B．Amusing. | C．Aggressive. | D．Courageous. |
| A．what he should do when faced with trouble |
| B．people should show sympathy to the weak |
| C．how he should perform to protect his male |
| D．whether people should protect butterflies |
