【推荐1】阅读理解。

Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased an amount of salt in fresh water used on farms near the sea. As a result farmers are unable to use fields close to the sea. Scientists call this process “salinization(盐碱化)”, which is reducing the world’s farm lands by 1 to 2 percent every year.

But a farmer in Holland, Marc Van Rijsselberghe started with an experiment, using a mixture of sea and fresh water to grow healthy and tasty vegetables. He put several kinds of plants in the fields. Mr. Van Rijsselberghe worked on the project with scientists from the Free University of Amsterdam. He divided a farm into eight areas. Every area was watered by different water. “We put in a lot of plants in the fields and then we put them in fresh water and in sea water with all the varieties(变化) between them, and then we saw which variety was surviving and which variety was dying.” A computer program created water with eight levels of salinity(盐度). Computerized measuring devices(测量仪器)controlled the water levels and the levels of salinity.

Mr. Van Rijsselberghe said he was able to harvest vegetables from most of the eight test areas. He said the vegetables were smaller than those grown in fresh water. But he said they had more sugar and salt, so they tasted better.

The farmer grew carrots, potatoes, cabbage and onions. He found that potatoes grew better than the other vegetables in the combination of sea and fresh water. Mr. Van Rijsselberghe said four kinds of these potatoes were recently sent to Pakistan, where thousands of hectares(公顷)of land have been damaged by salinization. Farmers in Pakistan will test the Dutch potatoes to see if they can be grown in those fields.

1. What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．Farms near the sea are becoming less and less in Holland.

B．The damage salinization brings to the farms in Holland.

C．Farmers improve the skills to make full use of fresh water.

D．A Dutch farmer uses a mixture of sea and fresh water to grow vegetables.

2. What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The plant.

B．Fresh water.

C．Sea water.

D．Fresh and sea water.

3. It can be known from the passage that______.

A．salinization brings great benefits to farmers in Holland

B．the farmer did the experiment using high technology

C．vegetables grew better in sea water than in fresh water in the experiment

D．the farmer achieved success without anyone else helping him in the experiment

4. The vegetables watered by a mixture of sea and fresh water______.

A．had less sugar than those grown in fresh water

B．were much bigger than those grown in fresh water

C．had a better taste than those grown in fresh water

D．had more beautiful colors than those grown in fresh water

【推荐2】Even as Google plans to test its fleet (车队) of self-driving cars on public roads this summer, its business model remains a bit of a mystery. By 2025, as many as 250, 000 self-driving vehicles could be sold each year globally, according to a study by an industry research firm.

“Vehicles that can take anyone from A to B at the push of a button could transform mobility for millions of people, ” said Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving car project. For now, Google has no plans to sell any of its self-driving cars. They are strictly for research. But they will hit public roads this summer near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California. Previous testing has taken place only on closed courses.

The cars are built to operate without a steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal. “Our software and sensors do all the work, ” Urmson said. “the vehicles will be very basic — we want to learn from them and adapt them as quickly as possible — but they will take you where you want to go at the push of a button. ” The prototype (雏形)   are the first of a 100-car fleet the tech giant is building.

In the long run, Urmson sees a future of safer roads —the majority of auto accidents are caused by human error —and fewer traffic jams. Robotic cars could also shuttle people who can’t drive because of age or illness.

Google has said that self-driving cars could launch new business models in which people buy the use of vehicles they don’t own. The company has already tested other types of self-driving cars on public streets, including modified Lexus sport-utility vehicles, under a special permit program by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that requires a human driver at the controls.

The state has issued six other companies permits to operate such cars, including Delphi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Tesla, Bosch and Nissan. The vehicles that will be tested on open roads this summer will have removable steering wheels, accelerators and brake pedals to allow “safety drivers” to take control if needed. Google says the cars are safe. The vehicles have sensors that “can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections, ” Urmson said. “We’re looking forward to learning how the community understands and interacts with the vehicles, and to uncovering challenges that are unique to a fully self-driving vehicle, ” Urmson said.

1. The passage informs us that self-driving cars .

A．have already passed necessary tests

B．will probably decrease traffic jams

C．have been purchased by some companies

D．will keep the drivers in good sprits

2. According to Chris Urmson .

A．software and sensors are vital for self-driving cars

B．self-driving cars can give driving orders to humans

C．self-driving cars are specially designed for the elderly

D．ordinary vehicles will be replaced by self-driving cars

3. What is the best title for this passage?

A．Self-driving Car Avoids Human Errors

B．Self-driving Car Meets New Challenges

C．Google’s Self-driving Car Graduates to City Streets

D．Google’s Self-driving Car Enjoys Global Popularity

【推荐3】When John Todd was a child, he loved to explore the woods around his house, observing how nature solved problems. A dirty stream, for example, often became clear after flowing through plants and along rocks where tiny creatures lived. When he got older, John started to wonder if this process could be used to clean up the messes people were making.

After studying agriculture, medicine, and fisheries in college, John went back to observing nature and asking questions. Why can certain plants trap harmful bacteria (细菌)? Which kinds of fish can eat cancer-causing chemicals? With the right combination of animals and plants, he figured, maybe he could clean up waste the way nature did. He decided to build what he would later call an eco-machine.

The task John set for himself was to remove harmful substances from some sludge (污泥). First he constructed a series of clear fiberglass tanks connected to each other. Then he went around to local ponds and streams and brought back some plants and animals. He placed them in the tanks and waited. Little by little, these different kinds of life got used to one another and formed their own ecosystem. After a few weeks, John added the sludge.

He was amazed at the results. The plants and animals in the eco-machine took the sludge as food and began to eat it! Within weeks, it had all been digested, and all that was left was pure water.

Over the years, John has taken on many big jobs. He developed a greenhouse — like facility that treated sewage (污水) from 1,600 homes in South Burlington. He also designed an eco-machine to clean canal water in Fuzhou, a city in southeast China.

“Ecological design” is the name John gives to what he does. “Life on Earth is kind of a box of spare parts for the inventor,” he says. “You put organisms in new relationships and observe what’s happening. Then you let these new systems develop their own ways to self-repair.”

1. What can we learn about John from the first two paragraphs?

A．He was fond of traveling.	B．He enjoyed being alone.
C．He had an inquiring mind.	D．He longed to be a doctor.

2. Why did John put the sludge into the tanks?

A．To feed the animals.	B．To build an ecosystem.
C．To protect the plants.	D．To test the eco-machine.

3. What is the basis for John’s work?

A．Nature can repair itself.	B．Organisms need water to survive.
C．Life on Earth is diverse.	D．Most tiny creatures live in groups.

【推荐1】The National Trust in Britain plays an increasingly important part in the preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support from the Government, it is not a rich government department. It is a voluntary association of people who care for the unspoiled countryside and historic buildings of Britain. It is a charity which depends for its existence on voluntary support from members of the public. Its primary duty is to protect places of great natural beauty and places of historical interest.
The attention of the public was the first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old houses and the castles of Britain by the death of the Lord Lothian, who left his great seventeenth-century house to the Trust together with the 4500-acre park and estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and started the Trust’s “Country House Scheme”. Under this scheme, with the help of the Government and the general public, the Trust has been able to save and make accessible to the public about 150 of these old houses.   Last year, about 1.75 million people paid to visit these historic houses, usually at a very small charge.
In addition to country houses and open spaces, the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind and water mills, nature reserves, 540 farms and nearly 2500 cottages or small village houses, as well as some complete villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the old village environment in any way and all the houses are maintained in their original 16th century style. Over 4,000 acres of coastline, woodland, and hill country are protected by the Trust and no development or disturbances of any kind are permitted. The public has free access to these areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife.
Over the past 80 years the Trust has become a big and important organization and an essential and respected part of national life. It helps to preserve all that is of great natural beauty and of historical significance not only for future generations of Britons but also for the millions of tourists who each year invade Britain in search of a great historic and cultural heritage.
1. The National Trust is a ______.

A．government agency depending on voluntary services

B．non-profit organization depending on voluntary services

C．government department but is not rich

D．private organization supported by the government

2. The National Trust is devoted to ______.

A．preserving the best public enjoyment

B．providing the public with free access to historic buildings

C．offering better services to visitors home and abroad

D．protecting the unspoiled countryside and historic buildings

3. We can infer from Paragraph 2 that Lord Lothian ______.

A．donated all his money to the Trust

B．started the “Country House Scheme”

C．saved many old country houses in Britain

D．was influential in his time

4. All the following can be inferred from the passage EXCEPT ______.

A．the Trust is more interested in protecting the 16th century houses

B．many people came to visit the historic houses saved by the Trust

C．visitors can get free access to some places owned by the Trust

D．the Trust has a story which is longer than 80 years

5. The underlined word “invade” in the last Paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

A．come in without permission

B．enter with invitation

C．visit in large numbers

D．appear all of a sudden

【推荐2】A good book is indeed the best friend sf a person. The same goes for outstanding CEOs of world recognized companies as well. Let’s have a look at the favorite books of some of the world-famous CEOs of the globe.

Microsoft CEO(Former)-Bill Gates, The Catcher in the Rye bu J.D. Salinger

A few themes explored in the novel are rebellion（叛逆）, anxiety and confusion. It acknowledges that young people are a little confused, but can be smart about things and see things that adults don’t really see. Gates said, “ I didn’t actually read The Catcher in the Rye until I was 13, and ever since then I’ve said that’s my favorite book.”

OWN CEO-Oprah Winfrey, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This book talks about how a little girl observes the people around her. Winfrey said, “I read it in eighth or ninth grade, and I was trying to recommend the book to other kids. So it makes sense to me that now I have a book club, because I have been doing that probably since I read this book.”

Apple CEO-Tim Cook, Competing A gainst Time by George Stalk Jr. And Thomas M. Hout

This book is based on 10 years of precious research done by the authors. It talks about how newer concepts of managing time in new product development, production and sales and distribution provide companies with the edge to succeed in this highly competitive world.

1. Which may be chosen by parents to learn about kids disobeying rules?

A．Competing A gainst Time.

B．The Catcher in the Rye.

C．Napoleon.

D．To Kill a Mockingbird.

2. Who enjoys reading the life story of a great person?

A．Tim Cook.

B．Bill Gates.

C．Larry Ellison.

D．Oprah Winfrey.

3. What can be inferred from Winfrey’s words?

A．She loved reading when young.

B．She read the book with other kids.

C．The book has an influence on her career.

D．The book is about a girl’s thoughts.

【推荐3】First aid means the aid or help that can be given to an injured person first before any other help. Usually the first thing we should do if a serious accident happens is to telephone for an ambulance, but sometimes quick actions by us may save someone’s life.

Shock: People often suffer from shock after receiving an injury. The face turns grey and the skin becomes damp and cold. They breathe quickly. They should be kept warm. Cover them with a blanket and give them a warm drink.

Broken Bones: Don’t move the person. Send for an ambulance at once.

Poison: A person who has swallowed poison should be taken to hospital at once. With some poisons, sleeping pills, for example, it is a good thing to make the person sick by pushing your fingers into his throat. But if he has swallowed some kind of acid, or anything that burns, it would be a bad thing to make the person sick by pushing your fingers into his throat. The poison would burn his throat as it came up. It is, therefore, best to find out what the person has taken so that you can call to tell the doctor.

Suffocation: This means not being able to breathe. For example, a drowning person will have his lungs full of water. Lay him down with his head lower than the rest of his body so that the water will drain out. If a person has something stuck in his throat, try to remove it with your fingers, or by hitting him on the back. When a person has stopped breathing because of drowning, electric shock, breathing in a poisonous gas etc., you can help him to begin breathing again.

Remember: When an accident happens, send someone to telephone for an ambulance at once. Keep the injured person warm and quiet. Give him plenty of air. Do not let other people crowd around him. If you see an injured person who is being looked after, keep away.

1. The underlined words “drain out” in Paragraph 5 probably mean _________.

A．leave out

B．squeeze out

C．flow away

D．let out

2. When someone is seriously injured, what should we do first?

A．Keep him warm with a blanket.

B．Send for an ambulance at once.

C．Make him sick by pushing your fingers into his throat.

D．Lay him down with his head lower than the rest of his body.

3. The passage is mainly about ________.

A．the importance of first aid	B．the symptoms of shock
C．the types of injuries	D．how to offer first aid

4. Where would this article probably appear?

A．In a safety booklet.	B．In an advertisement.
C．In a newspaper.	D．In a popular magazine.

【推荐2】Microwaves may be great at warming up food, but what about warming people?
Using microwaves to directly heat owners of a room would save much of the energy wasted by heating walls and furniture. And despite popular ideas about microwaves, this technique would be safe, according to Charles R. Burlier of the Microwave Research Center in Marlborough, New Hampshire. Low-power microwaves only penetrate (贯穿) the skin (low-power microwave penetration in a ham is about 0.2 inches, for example) and with no negative effects.
To test this idea, Buffler subjected himself to microwaves in a special room using a standard 500-watt, 2459 MHz magnetron (磁控管). He found that a person will start to feel warmth at about 20 milliwatts per square centimeter (mw. / sq. cm. ) ; a satisfactory feeling of warmth occurs between 35 and 50mw. / sq. cm. By comparison, a person standing in noonday summer sun feels the amount of 85 mw. / sq. cm. And a frozen meat pie in your microwave oven receives about 1000 mw. / sq. cm.
In houses of the future, each room could be provided with its own magnetron, says Buffler. When you stepped into the living room, for example, a motion detector (运动感应器)would turn on the magnetron, filling the room with low-power microwaves. In the same way that a microwave oven heats up a hamburger, but not the plate it’s on, you would feel warmth from the microwaves without changing the temperature of your coffee table. (You could, however, make your favorite easy chair even more comfortable by treating it with a radiation-absorbing chemical.)
While it might be some time before homeowners are comfortable enough with the idea to set up whole-body microwave heaters in houses, Buffler says microwaves may attract livestock(家畜) farmers. Lambs that are born outdoors in winter, for example, are frequently lost to cold. Microwaves could warm the lambs safely and quickly.
1. Which of the following can tell the main idea of the passage?

A．A new heating system.	B．A new microwave oven.
C．A popular technique.	D．The magnetron.

2. According to Paragraph 2, which of the following does not describe the characteristics of a microwave heater?

A．It directly heats people in a room.

B．It heats walls and furniture in a room.

C．It is safe.

D．It saves energy.

3. The test conducted by Buffler shows that when a person feels comfortable warmth, he receives about ________________.

A．20 mw. / sq. cm.

B．40 mw. / sq. cm.

C．60 mw. / sq. cm.

D．85 mw. / sq. cm.

4. According to Paragraph 4, which of the following fills the room with low-power microwaves?

A．The magnetron.	B．The motion detector.
C．The microwave oven.	D．The radiation-absorbing chemical.

5. Which of the following statements about microwave heaters would Buffler most probably agree with?

A．Microwave heaters will soon be widely used by homeowners.

B．Microwave heaters sometimes make people feel uncomfortable.

C．Perhaps microwave heaters will be first used by livestock farmers, who wish to protect their lambs in winter.

D．Microwave heaters cannot be accepted by the public because they are somewhat unsafe.

【推荐3】Mental health and happiness are important to student success in higher education but rarely get the attention they need. Colleges and universities in the United States have been seeing increases in mental illness among students for decades. Promoting student mental health and emotional happiness on campus requires more than a well-functioning counseling center. It calls for a campus-wide commitment action plan.

American undergraduate students have been reporting increasing rates of anxiety, depression and substance use for decades. In the 2018–2019 Healthy Minds Study (HMS) survey, 40% of about 300,000 students at some 300 colleges and universities reported experiencing a mental health problem, and 60% said they were having difficulty accessing mental health care on campus or in the community. Other studies estimate that the dropout rate for U.S. undergraduate students with mental health problems is over 40%, and that the popularity of mental health problems among graduate students is six times that of the general population.

Most academic institutions provide some mental health services, often through a counseling center. But no matter how good that center is, it alone cannot solve the problems. An important early step is for each institution to assess the extent of the crisis on its campus and whether there are enough treatment services either at the institution or in the local community. Another important question is whether there are elements of the institution’s own environment or culture that contribute to the problems that students are experiencing, like unreasonable workloads or deadlines for assignments.

Every college and university should carry out a comprehensive action plan to achieve this goal. This may require additional resources during a trying time for institutional budgets. But supporting the whole student is so important that financial priorities should be rearranged.

1. What happens to undergraduate students in America?

A．They pay little attention to higher education.	B．Increasing students suffer from mental illness.
C．They are lacking in a sense of happiness.	D．They lose confidence in the future careers.

2. What are the statistics in paragraph 2 about?

A．Terrible dropout rates.	B．Decreasing general population.
C．Emotional happiness.	D．Mentally healthy problems.

3. What is the key solution to fixing the problems?

A．Analyzing the present situation.	B．Opening more counseling centers.
C．Offering free mental health services.	D．Reducing unreasonable workloads.

4. How can we put a comprehensive action plan into practice?

A．By giving some useful advice.	B．By offering financial support.
C．By turning to the government.	D．By getting enough trying time.

【推荐1】Stress in middle age can make your brain shrink and make your memory worse, scientists have discovered. The brain-reducing effects of stress, identified in people in their 40s free from dementia - a serious mental disorder caused by brain disease or injury, were found to be caused by cortisol(皮质醇). The high levels of the stress hormone may be an early warning “sign that someone may end up with dementia, the research suggests.

Stress also made people's thinking skills worse, which the Harvard Medical School study, published in the journal Neurology found. For the research, scientists led by Dr. Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui studied 2,231 people with an average of 49 and free of dementia. He said." Our research detected memory loss and brain shrinkage in middle-aged people before symptoms started to show. So it's important for people to find ways to reduce stress, such as getting enough sleep, taking part in moderate exercise, making relaxation techniques part of their daily lives or asking their doctor about their cortisol levels and taking a cortisol-reducing medication if needed. "He also added, "It's important for physicians to give professional advice to all people with high cortisol levels."

Researchers found lower scores on tests of memory and thinking in people with higher levels of cortisol than those with average levels. In addition, people with higher cortisol levels had a smaller brain volume, with those with high cortisol levels having brains that were 88.5 per cent of the total cranial(颅骨的) volume. This was compared to 88. 7 percent of the total cranial volume for people with normal levels of the hormone. No links were found between low levels of cortisol and brain size.

Cortisol helps the body respond to stress and when we are stressed, cortisol levels increase because that is our fight - or - flight(战或逃) response. It can also help reduce inflammation(发炎) and control blood sugar and blood pressure. High cortisol levels can be caused by stress, medical conditions or medications.

“Cortisol affects many different functions so it is important to fully investigate how high levels of the hormone may affect the brain," Dr Echouffo-Tcheugui said, “While other studies have examined cortisol and memory, we believe our large, community-based study is the first to explore, in middle-aged people, cortisol levels and brain volume, as well as memory and thinking skills. ”

1. What may Dr. Echouffo-Tcheugui suggest people do about stress-reducing?

A．Early to bed and early to rise.	B．Strengthen the social network.
C．Eat food with more protein.	D．Ride a bicycle around a lake.

2. Which statement about cortisol may the author agree to?

A．Higher cortisol levels are associated with larger brain volume.

B．The more stressed one feels, the higher his cortisol levels are.

C．Age and gender play a big role in the participants' brain volume.

D．People with high cortisol levels will suffer from low blood pressure.

3. What's the possible direction for future research according to Dr. Echouffo-Tcheugui?

A．How high cortisol levels affect human brains.

B．The link between cortisol levels and memory

C．The link between cortisol levels and brain size.

D．How cortisol affects peoples response.

4. Why does the author write this passage?

A．To suggest the efficient ways to reduce stress.

B．To prevent the features and functions of cortisol.

C．To explain how cortisol affects people s stress level.

D．To show stress can cause memory loss and brain shrinkage.

【推荐2】When it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, which should come first — changing your diet or becoming more physically active?

Previous studies suggested that providing people with too much information about nutrition and physical activity at once tends to be discouraging. That has led to the popularity of advising people to make changes gradually, and set smaller goals.

So the scientists divided 200 inactive participants who were age 45 or older into four groups. One group was instructed about making diet and fitness changes at the same time, the second group was taught about diet changes first, then fitness changes four months later, the third group changed their exercise habits first and made changes in their eating habits four months later, and the final, control group was not instructed about either diet or fitness changes but about how to manage their stress.

The researchers tracked the groups for a full year. Compared to the control group, the three intervention (干预) groups made healthy changes in their diet. Those who changed their fitness habits first significantly increased the amount of exercise they received daily compared to the other groups after four months. However, at the end of the year, the group that changed both diet and exercise at the same time was the only one that met the nationally recommended targets for both exercise and nutrition levels, while those who worked on improving their nutrition first were unable to meet the recommended levels of fitness after a year. The researchers suspect that changes to diet are easier to make than changes to physical activity.

The findings show, however, that pairing diet and exercise changes may help to overcome some of the barriers people face in adding more physical activity into their lives. If folks change diet and exercise orderly, the scientists say, they may end up placing more importance on the first set of behavior changes and feel less pressured to address the second set.

1. The advice mentioned in the second paragraph seemed       .

A．popular

B．dangerous

C．scientific

D．unsatisfactory

2. Which group made progress earlier than other groups in increasing the amount of daily exercise?

A．The first group.	B．The second group.
C．The third group.	D．The control group.

3. The reason why those improving their nutrition first failed to meet the levels of fitness after a year might be that       .

A．they might be very lazy

B．they wouldn’t like to change their behavior

C．it is much harder to change physical activity

D．they might put on weight before changing their physical activity

4. Which of the following does the author probably approve of?

A．Pairing diet and exercise changes.

B．Becoming more physically active first.

C．Changing diet and exercise following a fixed order.

D．Changing diet first and placing more importance on it.

【推荐3】The new garbage sorting regulation(规定) has taken effect in Shanghai July 1. Many citizens are still confused about the four different types of garbage. Thankfully, the government has released(发布) an official guideline to make the new rules clear.

The guideline, published by Shanghai provides a rather clear definition（定义） on the four kinds of waste: recyclable waste, hazardous (有害的）waste，household food waste and residual (剩余的）waste.

Specific as the new guideline is, residents still have a hard time sorting trash correctly and are finding it challenging to memorize them all. "We should do this from a pig’s angle, "commented one netizen, "Those that can be eaten by pigs are household food waste. Those even pigs don't want to eat are residual waste. If a pig consumes something and dies of it,then something must be hazardous waste. Those that can be sold to gain some money used to purchase pigs are recyclable waste."

Garbage sorting is not only beneficial to the environment and a way of handling global warming, but is also good for business and industry.It saves energy. That's because it's cheaper to recover raw materials(原材料) from recycled waste than go through the former producing processes(过程).

One resident in Switzerland once said, "If you get used to it,it becomes normal. Now I don’t think much about it. It's become an instinct. " At present, those who do not sort their trash properly will be fined RMB200, but we hope one day the environmental protection will also become our instinct soon.

1. What do the old books you want to throw away belong to?

A．Residual waste.	B．Hazardous waste.
C．Recyclable waste.	D．Household food waste.

2. Which of the following best explains "instinct" underlined in the last paragraph?

A．instruction.	B．habit.
C．motivation.	D．challenge.

3. Why is garbage sorting beneficial to business and industry?

A．It can deal with global warming.

B．It can make more raw materials.

C．It can lower the cost by simplifying the process.

D．It can make the former producing processes easier.

4. What’s the best title for the text?

A．Shanghai Garbage Sorting Regulation Begins.

B．People Are Still Confused About Garbage Sorting.

C．Four Sorts of Garbage Are Forbidden in Shanghai.

D．Shanghai Citizens Support the Garbage Sorting Policy.