【推荐3】Imagine that you are in a remote village somewhere with no medical clinic.     1     Once the doctors get to you, they examine you and take blood samples, but they won’t be able to help you until they take the samples back to the hospital to find out what is wrong.     2     Thanks to engineer Andy Ozcan, many people may never be in this situation. He has invented an app that turns your mobile phone into a diagnostic (诊断的) tool.

Ozcan’s invention is important because it is very accurate and easy to use. In many remote places, even if doctors have microscopes and other instruments to help them make diagnoses, there may still be other problems. Many doctors, for example, don’t have enough training to correctly interpret what they see.     3     With Ozcan’s mobile phone app, health workers can take a special photo of a blood sample and send it to a central computer at a hospital. The computer will then automatically interpret the photo and send a diagnosis back in a few minutes.

    4     His technology only requires a mobile phone and an Internet connection. As more than four billion people already have mobile phones, the cost of establishing the diagnostic system is fairly low.

By inventing a medical tool that uses existing technology—mobile phones, Ozcan has developed a medical tool that is both practical and economical. Therefore, it can be used effectively almost anywhere.     5    

A．As a result, they may diagnose illnesses incorrectly.

B．People are trying to reduce the cost of this new medical tool.

C．This tool has become much more popular all around the world.

D．Another reason that Ozcan’s invention is important is that it is inexpensive.

E．You become very sick and must wait days until a mobile medical unit arrives to help.

F．It might just save millions of lives around the world.

G．Even though you may only have a simple infection (感染), you might die because of the delay.

【推荐1】When you think of a national park, you generally picture fresh air and wild animals, right? Well, now you’re going to have to add tea shops and something called “the Underground” to your definition, because London, England has signed up to be the first “National Park City.”

London was founded by the Romans around 2,000 years ago and people have continually lived there since then. In all that time, however, nobody had the idea to replace all the parks with big box stores or high buildings, which means London already has a much lower urban density than most of the world’s cities. Nowadays about a third of the city is green space.

In July 2019, London announced its willingness to become the world’s first National Park City. Now the city is moving toward the goal of achieving 50% green space by the year 2050 by connecting and increasing public parks, greening unused parking lots and the private yards of existing and new houses, and fixing some green roofs on existing buildings.

“Encouraged by the aims and values of our rural national parks, the London National Park City is basically about making life better in the capital through both small everyday things and long-term thinking,” Daniel Raven-Ellison, who began the movement to make London a National Park City six years ago, said. “We’ve been doing that in London for centuries, which is why London is so green.” It’s about going further to make the city greener, healthier and wilder; making the city richer in wildlife.

London will have a much easier job achieving this type of green transformation than more densely-urbanized cities like Paris and New York, which have 10% and 27% green space, respectively. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible — the National Park City Foundation hopes to include 25 more cities in addition to London by the year 2025. Glasgow, Scotland and Newcastle upon Tyne in northeast England are both considering becoming National Park Cities.

1. What makes London more likely to become a National Park City than other cities?

A．Its smaller population.	B．Its locals’ requirements.
C．Its government’s strict law.	D．Its wider area of green space.

2. What percent of London is green space now?

A．About 10%.

B．About 27%.

C．About 33%.

D．About 50%.

3. Where can you find out about London’s measures to achieve its goal?

A．In Paragraph 1.

B．In Paragraph 2.

C．In Paragraph 3.

D．In Paragraph 4.

4. What does Daniel try to talk about in the fourth paragraph?

A．The values of newly-founded parks.	B．The importance of his movement.
C．The influence of green space on cities.	D．The preparation for setting up a movement.

5. What would be the best title for the text?

A．London is leading the world in park construction

B．London becomes the world’s first National Park City

C．London is listed as the world’s most-visited city

D．London has built the world’s first underground park

【推荐2】Mass transportation revised the social and economic fabric of the American city in three fundamental ways. It catalyzed physical expansion, it sorted out people and land uses, and it accelerated the inherent instability of urban life. By opening vast areas of unoccupied land for residential expansion, the omnibuses, horse railways, commuter trains, and electric trolleys pulled settled regions outward two to four times more distant form city centers than they were in the premodern era. In 1850, for example, the borders of Boston lay scarcely two miles from the old business district; by the turn of the century the radius extended ten miles. Now those who could afford it could live far removed from the old city center and still commute there for work, shopping, and entertainment. The new accessibility of land around the periphery of almost every major city sparked an explosion of real estate development and fueled what we now know as urban sprawl. Between 1890 and 1920, for example, some 250,000 new residential lots were recorded within the borders of Chicago, most of them located in outlying areas. Over the same period, another 550,000 were plotted outside the city limits but within the metropolitan area. Anxious to take advantage of the possibilities of commuting, real estate developers added 800,000 potential building sites to the Chicago region in just thirty years – lots that could have housed five to six million people.

Of course, many were never occupied; there was always a huge surplus of subdivided, but vacant, land around Chicago and other cities. These excesses underscore a feature of residential expansion related to the growth of mass transportation: urban sprawl was essentially unplanned. It was carried out by thousands of small investors who paid little heed to coordinated land use or to future land users. Those who purchased and prepared land for residential purposes, particularly land near or outside city borders where transit lines and middle-class inhabitants were anticipated, did so to create demand as much as to respond to it. Chicago is a prime example of this process. Real estate subdivision there proceeded much faster than population growth.
1. With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?

A．Types of mass transportation.

B．Instability of urban life.

C．How supply and demand determine land use.

D．The effect of mass transportation on urban expansion.

2. Why does the author mention both Boston and Chicago?

A．To demonstrate positive and negative effects of growth.

B．To exemplify cities with and without mass transportation.

C．To show mass transportation changed many cities.

D．To contrast their rate of growth.

3. According to the passage, what was one disadvantage of residential expansion?

A．It was expensive.

B．It happened too slowly.

C．It was unplanned.

D．It created a demand for public transportation.

4. The author mentions Chicago in the second paragraph as an example of a city,

A．that is large.

B．that is used as a model for land development.

C．where the development of land exceeded population growth.

D．with an excellent mass transportation system.

【推荐1】One night many years ago, an old couple entered a small hotel in Philadelphia. The couple went up to the front desk, hoping to get a room for the night. “Could you give us a room?” the husband asked.

The clerk looked at the couple and explained that there were three meetings in the town. “ All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send you out into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite(套间) , but it will be good enough to make you comfortable for the night.”

As he paid his bill the next morning, the old man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. And the three of them had a good laugh.

Two years passed. The clerk received a letter from the old man. It contained a ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay him a visit. The old man met the clerk and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, and told him, “ This is the new hotel for you.”

The old man’s name was William Waldorf-Aster, and that building was the first Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt.

1. What was the weather like when the couple went into the small hotel?

A．It was very cold.	B．It was raining.
C．It was snowing.	D．It was sunny.

2. Where did the old couple stay in the end?.

A．In one of the hotel rooms.	B．In the meeting room.
C．In the clerk’s room.	D．In another hotel.

3. What can we learn about the clerk?

A．He was kind and helpful.

B．He was skilled in running business.

C．He became rich by managing hotels.

D．He treated people on the basis of their backgrounds.

4. The story mainly tells us that________.

A．Where there is a will there is a way.	B．After rain comes fair weather.
C．It’s easier to say something than to do it.	D．One good turn deserves another

【推荐2】When my grandmother died at the age of 96, there were two things she left behind in abundance — nearly 100 photo albums documenting decades of travel and home life, and a dozen quilts, one of which my mother gave me.

Quilting is the process of sewing together fabric (布料) to make one large piece of fabric. In my family, quilting and sewing is a tradition that has been passed down through the generations. My mother says her great-grandmother would occasionally travel around New York State to sew clothing for other families.

In the United States, quilting was a craft (手艺) that started as a necessity and eventually became much more. In 1862, the U.S. government offered millions of acres of land to Americans who wanted to move west. This allowed families to settle on land that they could eventually own. They often built their own homes and lived off the vegetables in their gardens and the livestock they had. Sewing was very important for women because they were responsible for clothing their families and keeping them warm.

Quilting also became a chance for women to socialize with each other. They would gather for so-called “quilting bees”, where they would meet and work on one quilting project together. This provided a much-needed relief from the lonely life of living on a large piece of land.

Throughout history, the different patterns on American quilts have conveyed all kinds of information. From them, we can tell where a person lived, what region of the world they originated from, or sometimes a story is told in pictures on a quilt. Even today, women still gather to quilt together in a show of friendship and a love for the craft, just like the old days. My sister has tried quilting a few times, and hopefully, her two daughters may one day continue this family tradition.

1. What do we know about quilting?

A．It is a lost traditional craft.

B．It is a major means of making a living in the USA.

C．It is a craft that has become a cultural symbol.

D．It was a way to carry on the American history.

2. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 3?

A．Introduce a new topic for discussion.

B．Summarize the previous paragraphs.

C．Add some background information.

D．Praise the U.S. government’s policy.

3. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Working on the land.	B．Participating in “quilting bees”.
C．Clothing the family.	D．Designing a quilting project.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Quilting patterns can convey limited information.

B．Quilting can’t meet the need to socialize nowadays.

C．Quilting is not a tradition in the author’s family.

D．The author hopes quilting can be passed on to younger generations.

【推荐3】People climbing Mount Everest are two times as likely to reach the top and less likely to die on the climb than 20 years ago, a new study finds. Everest, high in the Himalayans, is the tallest mountain above sea level on Earth. It reaches 8,848 meters into the sky.

Between 2006 and 2019, around two thirds of climbers were successful in their attempt to reach the top. In the 15 years before that, only about one-third went all the way to the top.

The number of attempts to reach the top of Everest has risen sharply over the years, leading to a 300 percent increase in overcrowding. In 2019, 955 climbers tried to reach the mountaintop. Only 222 people did so in 2000.

The study noted that on a single day in May of last year, 396 climbers had gathered at the narrow path just below the top. The area, known as the “death zone,” is so narrow that only a small number of climbers can pass through, one directly behind another.

Nine climbers died on Everest in May 2019. It was the deadliest Everest climbing season since 2015 when an earthquake killed at least 18 people on the mountain.

A picture of climbers waiting their turn to go up and down through the death zone became famous as it was shared online. Yet researchers say the crowds were not the main reason for the deaths last year.

“Surprisingly crowding has no evident effect on success or death” of Everest climbers, the study said.

However, overcrowding does make the climb more dangerous.

“If crowding slows climbers (as is expected), this increases their exposure to the elements, which should increase risk of an accident or illness,” said Raymond B. Huey, lead writer of the report.

An unexpected storm, earthquake, or landslide could be disastrous, he told Reuters by email.

Climbers have expressed concern that was giving anyone willing to pay the government $11,000 permission to climb Everest. Nepal plans to change its policy to require climbers to use guides, and meet physical fitness and experience qualifications, said tourism department official Mira Acharya.

Nepal temporarily closed its mountains to climbers because of the coronavirus health crisis. Now they are open again. However, Acharya noted that flights into and within Nepal have not restarted.

More than 6,000 people have climbed Mount Everest since 1953, when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to reach the top. At least 311 climbers have died trying.

1. Supposing 900 people took part in the climbing Mount Everest between 1990 and 2005, how many of them reached the top?

A．300.

B．400.

C．500.

D．600

2. Why does overcrowding make the climbing more dangerous?

A．Because it surprisingly leads to death for those climbers.

B．Because it stopped the climbers from reaching the top at the area called “death zone”.

C．Because it exposes climbers to increasing risk of an accident or illness.

D．Because it gets climbers stranded in “death zone” and unable to get further supplies.

3. According to the report, what is the possible reason for overcrowding?

A．More people want to experience the climbing to the top of Mount Everest.

B．A picture of climbers waiting to reach the top inspires more people to give it a try.

C．Nepal government gives climbers permission without restrictions.

D．More people want to climb the Mount Everest before Nepal takes restrictions.

4. What is the general idea of this passage?

A．Climbers are more likely to lose their lives before Reaching Top of Mount Everest.

B．More climbers need to be trained before climbing Mount Everest.

C．Enough experience in climbing mountains matters so much.

D．Climbers are twice as likely to reach top of Mount Everest than in Past.

【推荐2】We’re loving the sea to death. We swim into it, live near it, build beside it, and even imagine about living under the sea. For much of our history, we have turned to “hard engineering” to control the marine environment and manage its influence on us. We build dams, sea walls and channels. But all these efforts seem to fail, because we’ve not been thinking about design of structures with respect to ecology. Some coastal structures create shade, which reduces the growth of seaweed. Bright lights at night contuse species such as turtles. That’s why blue engineering comes in.

Johnson, a marine ecologist, is advocating for “blue engineering” — the marine version of the “green engineering” movement on land that has seen nations like Singapore building the walls and roofs of the concrete jungle with plant life.

Researchers with the World Harbour Project are creating tiles similar to the natural structures found on rocky shores with 3D printing technology. These make more attractive homes for marine creatures. Researchers are also actively seeding these tiles with local seaweeds and creatures such as the Sydney rock oyster, which is particularly good at improving water quality. Twelve harbors around the world are taking part in this marine tile experiment, each working with their own unique marine life.

It’s a far cry from the days when huge numbers of old tyres were thrown into the sea to build “artificial reefs”. Those early attempts are now costing millions to remove, showing just how far we have yet to go in understanding how best to co-habit with the underwater world.

1. What do we know about “hard engineering”?

A．It has improved sea environment.	B．It controls the influence of sea well.
C．It has failed to achieve its purpose.	D．It makes living under the sea possible.

2. What does the underlined word “contuse” in Paragraph 1 mean？

A．Injure.

B．Heat.

C．Defend.

D．Involve.

3. Which of the following is a form of “blue engineering”?

A．Growing plant life on concrete buildings.	B．Building rocky shores with 3D printers.
C．Creating an artificial reef with old tyres.	D．Building structures benefiting sea creatures.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Two ways of sea engineering.	B．The green engineering movement.
C．Construction of artificial reefs.	D．Research on blue engineering.

【推荐3】Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, is one of the most interesting. It was named after Jupiter, the most important Roman god. Nicknamed “King of Planets”, it is the fifth planet from the Sun and the fourth brightest object in the sky. Before the invention of the telescope, Jupiter was thought to be a bright star.

In 1610, the famous astronomer Galileo realized that Jupiter was a planet and revolved around (围绕……转动) the Sun. He also noticed that it had four large moons. These are known as the Galileo moons. The biggest is Ganymede, and it’s larger than the planet Mercury. Next in size is Calisto, which is the farthest away from Jupiter. Io is the closest to the planet and has many active volcanoes. Europa, the smallest of the Galileo moons, is covered with ice, and scientists believe there may be an ocean underneath.

Galileo said that Jupiter wasn’t a star but a planet. Before his time, people believed that the Sun, stars and other planets all revolved around the Earth. However, Galileo proved that the Sun was at the center of the solar system!

Jupiter is farther out in the solar system than the Earth, so it takes longer to revolve around the Sun. This means that one year on Jupiter as long as 11.6 Earth years. However, a day on Jupiter is much shorter, only 9.8 Earth hours. This is because it spins a lot faster than the Earth does. Another of Jupiter’s interesting features is its “Great Red Spot”. This large red spot on the surface of the planet is a huge storm, like a hurricane but bigger. It covers an area twice as big the Earth and has been going on for at least 400 years!

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Jupiter?

A．It’s the fourth planet from the Sun.

B．It’s the brightest object in the sky.

C．Either the Earth or Mercury is bigger than it.

D．One of its moons might have an ocean underneath.

2. Which of the Galileo moons is the farthest away from Jupiter?

A．Io	B．Europa
C．Calisto	D．Ganymede

3. Why is Galileo’s discovery important?

A．Because Jupiter was thought to be smaller than the Earth.

B．Because it proved that the Earth isn’t the center of the solar system.

C．Because Jupiter was found to be the only planet in the solar system.

D．Because it proved that the Earth goes around the Sun.

4. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．The features of the planet Jupiter.

B．How Jupiter moves in the solar system.

C．Galileo’s greatest contribution in astronomy.

D．Differences between Jupiter and other planets.