Paris is one of the most important and influential cities in the world. In terms of tourism, Paris is the second most visited city in Europe after London. Everyone knows all about the iconic sights in Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum. But what about other facts that your average guide book doesn’t tell you?
•Every year the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14th 1789. Usually the jail held political prisoners but on the day the Bastille was stormed there were only 7 prisoners in the jail, none of political significance, and four of them had been jailed for check-forging(伪造支票).
• Paris is called the City of Lights. But it has nothing to do with the power used to illuminate the Eiffel Tower or the streetlights of the city. Lights in this case, means intellectuals, referring to the high-concentration of writers, artists and academics that have always been drawn to the city.
•Shakespeare And Company is the most famous English-language bookshop in Paris and it is named after the original store, owned by Sylvia Beach, which published James Joyce’s classic novel Ulysses in 1922. Now it has been a salon for writers and readers in Paris for more than seventy years.
• Paris is a city with a long, interesting but sadly a blood-stained history. Paris’ Latin motto is “Fluctuat nec mergitur” meaning “It is tossed by the waves, but does not sink.”
MoreinformationcanbegainedfromOnlinetravelguide@whatparis.com .
1. What facts about Paris can we learn from the passage?| A．Paris is the second most popular tourist city in the world. |
| B．Prisoners in the Bastille were all of political significance. |
| C．Paris is called the City of Lights because of the power of the road lights. |
| D．Shakespeare And Company is a meeting place for writers and readers in Paris. |
| A．Paris has a long and interesting history. | B．Paris will never sink into the ocean. |
| C．Parisians are tough in face of challenges. | D．Parisians are drowned by huge waves. |
| A．A news report. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．An announcement. |
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【推荐1】Most of the world’s potable water—freshwater suitable for drinking is accounted for by groundwater, which is stored in the pores and fractures in rocks. There is more than 50 times as much freshwater stored underground than in all the freshwater rivers and lakes at the surface. Nearly 50 percent of all groundwater is stored in the upper 1,000 meters of Earth. At greater depths within Earth, the pressure of the overlying rock causes pores and cracks to close, reducing the space that pore water can occupy, and almost complete closure occurs at a depth of about 10 kilometers. The greatest water storage, therefore, lies near the surface.
Aquifers, Porosity and Permeability. Groundwater is stored in a variety of rock types. A groundwater reservoir from which water can be extracted is called an aquifer. We can effectively think of an aquifer as a deposit of water. Extraction of water depends on two properties of the aquifer: porosity and permeability. Between sediment grains are spaces that can be filled with water. This pore space is known as porosity and is expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume. Porosity is important for water—storage capacity, but for water to flow through rocks, the pore spaces must be connected. The ability of water, or other fluids, to flow through the interconnected pore spaces in rocks is termed permeability. In the intergranular spaces of rocks, however, fluid must flow around and between grains in a tortuous path; this winding path causes a resistance to flow. The rate at which the flowing water overcomes this resistance is related to the permeability of rock.
Sediment sorting and compaction influence permeability and porosity. The more poorly sorted or the more tightly compacted a sediment is, the lower its porosity and permeability. Sedimentary rocks—the most common rock type near the surface—are also the most common reservoirs for water because they contain the most space that can be filled with water. Sandstones generally make good aquifers, while finer-grained mudstones are typically impermeable. Impermeable rocks are referred to as aquicludes. Igneous and metamorphic rocks are more compact, commonly crystalline, and rarely contain spaces between grains. However, even igneous and metamorphic rocks may act as groundwater reservoirs if extensive fracturing occurs in such rocks and if the fracture system is interconnected.
1. Groundwater differs from the water in rivers and lakes in terms of its____.| A．portability | B．abundance | C．usefulness | D．cost |
| A．Rocks that have high permeability have high porosity and vice versa. |
| B．The more pores a rock has, the higher its porosity but the lower its permeability. |
| C．If water flows through a rock easily, it has high permeability but low porosity. |
| D．Rocks with many internal spaces that are not connected with each other will have high porosity but low permeability. |
| A．When it is crystalline. |
| B．When it has many connected fractures. |
| C．When it lies relatively near the surface. |
| D．When it lies next to metamorphic rock. |
Belief Perseverance
We enter all conversations with a huge amount of baggage. We have already had numerous experiences that have shaped us in some way: we each have dreams that guide what we see or hear; we each have cultural traditions that push us to think in certain ways. In short, we start with opinions We think our beliefs are valuable because they are ours. Understandably, we want to hold on to them. And the tendency to hold on to our beliefs even when we should not is called belief perseverance.
If I prefer Cristiano Ronaldo as the best football player ever, regardless of how empty my reason may be, I may resist your choice of Lionel Messi. Because if I were to admit that my previous judgment had been wrong, I might feel bad about myself. Besides, it is our tendency to see only that evidence that proves our point.
What is behind belief perseverance is our overconfidence in ourselves. We tend to rate ourselves as more skilled at many things. This unfortunate habit of mind is probably responsible also for our sense that we are living in the middle of incredibly biased (有偏见的) people, while we are unbiased. We tell ourselves that we see things as they are, while others look at the world through a pair of foggy, colored glasses. Our biggest bias may be that we are not biased, but those with whom we disagree are!
To avoid belief perseverance, it’s helpful to remember that we can never permit ourselves to be so sure of anything that we stop searching for an improved version. As the famous scientist Francis Bacon pointed out in 1620, when we change our minds in light of a superior argument, we deserve to be proud that we have resisted the temptation to remain true to long-held beliefs. Such a change of mind deserves to be seen as reflecting a rare strength.
1. According to the passage, what is belief perseverance?2. What stops people from admitting their previous judgment may be wrong?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
▶Our habit of over-rating ourselves comes from our sense that other people are biased.
4. What strategy can be used to avoid belief perseverance and how can it be useful?(In about 40 words)
【推荐3】What is the purpose of lightning?
Many are familiar with the potentially deadly dangers posed by lightning, which is blamed for an average of 43 deaths in the United States each year, based on data from 1989 to 2018. Although the odds of being struck are quite low-1 in 1,222,000 in a given year and 1 in 15,300 in a lifetime-many in the weather community have long urged people to take proper precautions to stay safe amid storms, which can frequently cause lightning, even without turning severe.
However, the researchers recently uncovered a surprising and beneficial impact of lightning. The Earth is struck by lightning nearly 20 million times each year, and ligting can travel as much as 10 to 12 miles from a thunderstorm, instantly heating the air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Essentially, lightning occurs due to the buildup of electric charges in the atmosphere. In order to balance out the different charges, lightning is caused between two clouds or between a cloud and the ground.
The study was based on an airborne research flight conducted by a storm-chasing plane. The plane was used to examine the top portion of thunderstorm clouds. Researchers initially thought there was a problem with the equipment on the plane, which was being used to measure the hydroxyl radicals(羟基自由基)in the atmosphere, until they realized spikes they observed corresponded with lightning flashes.
Researchers previously understood that lightning could help to clean the atmosphere, but there was no evidence that it could generate compounds like these radicals. And the data showed surprising spikes of up to 1,000 more hydroxyl radicals than the normal value. As a result, the study estimates that somewhere between 2% and 16% of the cleaning that happens naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere, is done by lightning.
Why is this significant? The cleaning process helps to reduce chemicals like carbon monoxide and methane in the atmosphere. These chemicals, known for being greenhouse gases, have been proven to contribute to rising temperatures associated with climate change.
1. What is the best title for the text?| A．Lighting happens in a flash |
| B．Lighting causes deaths every year |
| C．Lighting can help fight against global warming |
| D．Lighting reduces gases in the atmosphere |
| A．Less than 1000 | B．About 1300. |
| C．About 2000 | D．More than1600 |
| A．By generating carbon monoxide. |
| B．By increasing hydroxyl radicals. |
| C．By heating the air. |
| D．By reducing greenhouse gases. |
| A．The electronic charges in the atmosphere |
| B．The times of lighting flashes |
| C．The top portion of thunderstorm clouds. |
| D．The increasing amount of hydroxyl radical. |
【推荐1】Grandparents who help out occasionally with childcare or provide support for others in their community tend to live longer than seniors who do not care for other people, according to a study
from Berlin, Germany.‘Having no contact with grandchildren at all can negatively impact grandparents’ health. This link could be deeply rooted in our evolutionary past when help with childcare was important for the survival of the human species,” said Sonja Hilbrand, one of the researchers. However, having full-time custody of grandchildren may harm their health.
The findings are drawn from data on more than 500 people over age 70 in the Berlin aging Study. The participants completed interviews and medical tests every two years. Overall after considering grandparents age and general state of health, the risk of dying was one-third lower for grandparents who cared for their grandchildren, compared with grandparents who didn’t provide any childcare.
Half of the grandparents who cared for grandchildren were still alive ten years after the initial interview. The same was true for participants who did not have grandchildren but supported their adult children in some way, such as helping with housework. In contrast about half of the participants who did not help others died within five years after the start of the study.
“Caregiving may be thought also as an activity that keeps caregivers physically and mentally active, said Professor Arpino, adding that previous studies suggest that caregiving may improve cognitive functioning, mental and physical health.
Arpino noted, however, that caregiving is not the only activity that can improve health, and too many caring responsibilities can take away benefits from other activities like working, being in social clubs, or volunteering.
“Children should take into account their parents' needs, willingness, and desires and agree with them on the timing and amount of childcare," Arpino suggested.
1. What is the caregiving study based on?| A．Data on elderly people. |
| B．Medical tests on children. |
| C．Human evolutionary history. |
| D．Interviews on local community. |
| A．Researchers | B．Attendants |
| C．Care-givers | D．Specialists |
| A．Childcare is bound to be beneficial to grandparents. |
| B．Grandparenting is meant to become a growing trend. |
| C．Proper amounts of childcare make grandparents live longer. |
| D．More childcare can provide grandparents with more health. |
【推荐2】Knock, knock. Starting from Nov.1, 2020, people will be knocking on doors across the country to collect personal information. But don’t panic. This is for the seventh national population census (人口普查). The Chinese population census takes place every 10 years. It gathers data including name, age, ID number, gender, education, job, marital status and housing situation.
Tracking down more than 1 billion Chinese citizens is by no means easy. This year, about 7 million staff will be needed to visit homes for registration work, according to Xinhua. New methods will also be used during this census, including online information registration, application of electronic devices and big data. Compared with previous surveys, new methods will be convenient for people who are not living where they are officially registered, as well as those who do not want to be bothered by census takers’ door-to-door surveys. The new methods also reduce census takers’ workload.
The data is expected to give a full picture of the population, including its size, structure and distribution and recent changes. It provides support for making national development policies.
The census has a large impact on our lives. For instance, areas with a high number of children may receive more funding for public schools. Researchers can use the results to investigate population trends in different cities. The census will help to find out the number of foreigners living in China. It can also tell how many Chinese people have moved to other countries.
However, citizens’ privacy concerns could be one of the biggest challenges. Some may not be willing to give their personal information to census takers because they are worried about what the data would be used for. There are also worries about privacy leakage among the public.
In response to such concerns, Jiangsu’s pilot work zone allowed residents to upload personal data on their own through WeChat, which avoids information leakage. The data will be delivered directly to the National Bureau of Statistics through a WeChat program.
1. Which can be inferred about the census according to the text?| A．This census will be conducted only by knocking on doors. |
| B．The previous census was likely to begin around 2010. |
| C．It gathers data including your name, age, and education. |
| D．This census will be easy by taking some new methods. |
| A．Positive | B．Negative |
| C．Neutral | D．Doubtful |
| A．Areas with a high number of children will receive the most funding. |
| B．Researchers can use population trends to investigate the results. |
| C．The census will help to drive out the foreigners living in China. |
| D．The census will help to learn about the immigration situation. |
| A．Because they are worried that the data would be used. |
| B．Because their privacy will be known by the government. |
| C．Because their information can be stolen by a man of ill will. |
| D．Because the data will be uploaded through a WeChat program. |
Kristen says the idea came to her after she saw how much vaster she and her three college roommates generated on a daily basis．The Fine Arts student began to dream about transforming the deserted bags and packages into beautiful garments．
Her first dress’ made from plastic bags and rolled magazines was strange, fun and even charming．However, she only made it to test her creativity．
The young designer did not consider starting a commercial venture（企业）until she spent a week working at Couture Fashion Week in New York City．There she observed the excitement generated by new and vintage（复古的）looks and decided to see if her unusual idea would result in as much enthusiasm．She began by creating a line of 12 garbage-inspired dresses．They were a huge success．
Today her company that has offices in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City, produces a wide variety of dresses ranging from cocktail dresses to ball gowns （礼服）．Kristen, of course, doesn't search garbage cans for her material anymore．Instead, she seeks it from companies that have produced more than they need and are planning to throw away the extras．
However, if you think the garbage-inspired dresses come cheap, think again．The price for ready-made creations retails（零售）from $500 to $1,500．Though that may appear expensive, the designer says she has no shortage of customers．In fact she now even has garbage-inspired clothing for men that includes jackets, ties, trousers and even board shorts! While most of the clothes are strong enough to resist multiple wears, whether they can be cleaned is a little unclear:
1. What made Kristen think of using trash as her favorite material?
| A．Her poor living conditions at college． |
| B．The education from her parents not to waste anything useful． |
| C．Her roommates' advice of using garbage to replace ordinary material． |
| D．Her consciousness of environmental protection and trained eyes． |
| A．she just wanted to test her creativity． |
| B．she was inspired by the enthusiasm caused by new and vintage dresses． |
| C．she was driven by the huge profits brought by new fashion． |
| D．she found there were no unique-looking but affordable clothes in New York． |
| A．the success of Kristen's career |
| B．the advantages and disadvantages of the garbage-inspired clothing |
| C．what clothing Kristen mainly designed |
| D．where Kristen got garbage for her clothing |
| A．New Use of Garbage |
| B．A New Trend of Fashion |
| C．A Talented and Ambitious Fashion Designer |
| D．Transforming Trash into Wonderful Garments |
