【推荐1】The answer to protecting and saving marine(海洋) wildlife can start with cutting back on something Americans use every day—plastic drinking straws. Actor Adrien Grenier, best known for playing Vincent Chase in 2015 movie Entourage, has launched a campaign to reduce the amount of single-use plastic usage in this country in order to protect and save marine wildlife and the environment. Plastic drinking straws are among many single-use plastic products contributing to the shocking loss of marine life, but they’re a great place to start because they’re something Americans are using by the hundreds of millions without any awareness that they’re so damaging.

According to Ecocycle, an international environmental organization, Americans use more than 500 million straws daily, which are enough to fill 127 school buses each day, and they can’t be recycled. They means plastic straws end up in landfills or oceans, where fish and other marine wildlife mistake the small bits for food and swallow them. After seeing a photo of a whale beached on the shore with a belly full of plastic, Grenier felt the inspiration to launch the Lonely Whale Foundation, hoping to inspire and educate others on the challenges facing marine life.

Along with stopping the use of straws, Grenier hopes to educate consumers on the dangers of other single-use plastic items such as grocery bags and water bottles. While many Americans use these plastic products in their daily life, there are more sustainable alternatives that can help protect the environment. Ecocycle recommends the use of straws made from stainless steel, glass, and even bamboo instead of plastic. You can buy a number of these environmentally friendly straws online and in stores.

1. What initially contributed to the start of Grenier’s campaign?

A．Plastic straws in landfills.

B．A picture of a dead whale.

C．The severe damage done to the sea.

D．The disappearance of some species under the sea.

2. What is the primary purpose of the Lonely Whale Foundation?

A．To advocate a green lifestyle.

B．To promote Grenier’s latest movie.

C．To save precious natural resources.

D．To encourage people to protect ocean life.

3. Ecocycle advises people to use straws that are ________.

A．easy to recycle

B．convenient to use

C．special to marine life

D．harmless to the environment

【推荐2】A man in northwest Spain, 54, died after being stung by a “ murder hornet (大黄蜂)”, according to a report. The man from Villestro in Galicia was stung in the eyebrow by an Asian giant hornet while tending to a nest close to a beehive he owned. The deadly insects from Asia were first spotted last weekend in Washington State. Such reports have caused a national panic that may lead to more “needless” damage to those essential insect populations, the experts warned. “Millions and millions of innocent native insects are going to die as a result of this,” Dr. Doug Yanega, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, told the Los Angeles Times. “People in China, Korea and Japan have lived side by side with these hornets for hundreds of years and it has not caused the collapse of human society there. My colleagues in Japan, China and Korea are just rolling their eyes in disbelief at what kind of snowflakes we are.”

Following the initial hornet sightings on May 2, the Washington State Department of Agriculture issued instructions on how to trap the hornets, stressing that so far, the hornets have been sighted only within the state. “There are no known sightings of Asian giant hornets anywhere else in the United States and trapping for them there will likely do more harm than good. PLEASE DO NOT TRAP FOR ASIAN GIANT HORNETS IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON STATE,” the warning read. The concern for bees has originated from their role in the general ecosystem: Bees are responsible for pollinating (授粉) approximately 75 percent of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the United States, according to the U. S. Geological

Numerous bug experts said that what they call “murder hornet” reminds them of the 1970s public when Africanized honeybees, nicknamed “killer bees”, started moving north from South America. However, they just kill people in rare situations.

1. What does the underlined word “snowflakes” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．People favoring cold weather.

B．People with a habit of rolling eyes.

C．Someone easily getting mad or offended.

D．Small pieces of frozen water falling from the sky.

2. Why does trapping hornets do more harm than good?

A．Because these insects seldom kill people.

B．Because insects do harm to the general ecosystem.

C．Because they are seen only in Washington state.

D．Because most plants in America depend on bees to grow.

3. What is the purpose of writing the text?

A．To teach the public ways to trap hornets.

B．To warn the public to stay away from hornets.

C．To appeal to people to live in harmony with hornets.

D．To remind people of the past killing cases by hornets.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A．An essay.	B．A news report.
C．A tourist brochure.	D．A geography textbook.

【推荐3】“Jewel wings fly around like little helicopters until they see preys (猎物), usually smaller flying insects,” said Bellido, a biologist at the University of Minnesota. “Then they dash at their meals in a burst of speed.”

You might mistake jewel wings for their cousins, dragonflies. New research shows that these two insects share something more significant than their appearance, however. In a paper published in Current Biology, Dr. Bellido and the dragonfly colleagues reveal that the neural (神经的) systems behind jewel wings’ vision are shared with dragonflies, with whom they have a common ancestor that lived before dinosaurs. But over the centuries, this brain wiring has adapted itself in different ways in each creature, enabling sharply different hunting strategies.

Jewel wings’ behavior involves attacking what’s directly in front of them, the team found. But recordings made in the lab by Dr. Gonzalez and her colleagues confirmed that dragonflies rise up in a straight line to seize unsuspecting insects from below. Researchers are particularly interested in the neurons (神经元) that send visual information to the wings.

To look closer at the neurons linking vision and flight, the researchers equipped jewel wings with sensors and showed them a video of a moving dot, comparing it with earlier dragonfly research. When a neuron fired, a popping sound filled the researchers’ ears, allowing them to tell exactly which movements-left, right, up, down or some combination-each neuron responded to. Jewel wings best see what’s right in front of them, they found, while dragonflies’ clearest vision is just above them.

The team was interested to find that while jewel wings’ neurons didn’t always respond like those in dragonflies, the number of neurons and organization were similar. That suggests that the system that conveys this information from the eyes to the wing muscles did not evolve recently, but has roots that are millions of years older than the oldest dinosaurs. And that ancient common ancestor likely had already developed remarkable speed in both vision and flight. Then, in the following years, the system has evolved to suit individual insect species.

This shared neural system may be more than 250 million years old, but it is also flexible enough to transform itself to meet the needs of a variety of creatures in different eras and environments, the findings suggest.

1. Jewel wings usually catch their meals ________ them.

A．on the right of	B．on the left of
C．straight ahead of	D．at the back of

2. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．What actions jewel wings take to catch preys.

B．How jewel wings ‘neurons respond to vision.

C．When jewel wings start to hunt for their preys.

D．Where researchers did the research into jewel wings.

3. What can we learn about dragonflies and jewel wings from the passage?

A．The two insects possess similar neural systems.

B．Jewel wings’ vision is sharper than dragonflies’.

C．Dragonflies ‘brain wiring is the same with jewel wings’.

D．The oldest dinosaurs react as rapidly as the two insects.

4. What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To analyse the habits of two similar insects.

B．To tell the difference between dragonflies and jewel wings.

C．To assess the effects of different insects ‘hunting strategies.

D．To present the result of a study on two insects neural systems.

【推荐1】The ringed planet Saturn has 53 known moons. And another one may be on the way. NASA’s Cassini-Huyens space probe has spotted（发现）a small shape in Saturn’s outermost ring. It suggests the existence of a new moon. The moon has not been directly spotted yet, but scientists have already given it a nickname---Peggy.

The probe’s findings were published in the journal Icarus. Casssini has been observing the ringed planet and its surroundings since 2004. Saturn is a big and powerful world. With a diameter of 74, 732 miles, it is 9½ times the size of Earth. It spins very quickly, and take only 11 hours to spin fully on its axis(轴). The planet is located about 885.9 million miles from the sun and has an average temperature of -285 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peggy will be joining a large community. Saturn has thousands of rings. The outermost ring, called the A Ring, is the largest and brightest. It measures 750 miles long and 6 miles wide. Saturn’s rings are made up of rock, dust and ice, and are constantly gathering space matter. As this material gathers and clumps together, moons are born.

If Peggy is a new moon, it is also a tiny one, measuring only 0.5 miles in diameter. But there is no telling how big this baby will grow over time. “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said astronomer Carl Murray in a statement . He is the lead author of the Icarus report. “We may be looking at an act of birth, where this object is leaving the rings and heading off to be a moon in its own right.” Once that happens, it will be given a formal name.

However, this mini moon may be one of Saturn’s last. The formation of all its moons, new and old, big and small, has used up much of the rings’ raw material. After 4.5 billion years, Saturn may have finally revealed all its babies.

1. Which of the following is TRUE about Saturn?

A．It has hundreds of rings.	B．It is much bigger than Earth.
C．It moves as quickly as Earth.	D．Its 53rd known moon is called Peggy.

2. What does the underlined word“It”in Paragraph3 refer to?

A．Saturn’s biggest moon.	B．Saturn’s innermost ring.
C．Saturn’s outermost ring.	D．Saturn’s new moon Peggy.

3. We can infer from Paragraph 4 that .

A．Peggy may disappear soon

B．Peggy may grow bigger and bigger

C．Peggy will have its own moon soon

D．Peggy is the new moon’s formal name

4. According to the last paragraph,     .

A．Saturn will have more and more moons

B．Saturn’s rings will have more and more material

C．Saturn’s rings may disappear in 4.5 billion years

D．Saturn won’t have too many moons younger than Peggy

5. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Saturn’s baby moon	B．The future of Saturn
C．Saturn’s beautiful rings	D．Interesting facts about Saturn

【推荐3】The FIFA World Cup 2022 kicks off on Sunday with a ceremony before the host Qatar and Ecuador’s opening Group A match at the Al Bayt Stadium in the city of Al Khor, 50 kilometres outside of Qatar’s capital Doha.

Enner Valencia scored two first-half goals as Ecuador beat hosts Qatar 2-0 in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup on Sunday. The result marked the first time that a host team has lost the opening game of the World Cup.

Even without a home team to cheer for, Chinese fans and enterprises (企业) remain enthusiastic about the Qatar World Cup.

Support from China has also come in a more concrete way, with most of the tournament’s stadiums, its official transportation system and its accommodation facilities featuring contributions from Chinese builders and providers. The 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium, which is scheduled to host the eye-catching final game, was designed and built by China Railway International Group with advanced energy-saving technologies and sustainable materials.

Doha’s first ever Panda House officially opened to the public on Thursday. Located at Al Khor Park near the Al Bayt Stadium, the Panda House is home to Chinese giant pandas, three-year-old female Si Hai and four-year-old male Jing Jing.

Chinese referee Ma Ning and two assistant referees, Cao Yi and Shi Xiang, have been appointed to judge at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to a list released by FIFA.

More than 1,500 buses from China’s leading bus maker Yutong are running through the streets of Qatar. From national flags to ornaments (装饰)and pillows emblazoned with images of the World Cup trophy, products made in Yiwu, China, have enjoyed nearly 70 percent of the market share of World Cup merchandise (商品).

1. What does the author intend to tell about the opening match?

A．Enner Valencia scored one in each half game.

B．Ecuador won the opening game by two to zero.

C．The Qatar team has never lost games in the opening match.

D．The host Qatar and Ecuador’s opening game was held in Doha.

2. What is Chinese business men’s attitude towards the Qatar World Cup?

A．Supportive.

B．Indifferent.

C．Doubtful.

D．Encouraging.

3. What does the underlined word “emblazoned” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Covered.

B．Brought.

C．Decorated.

D．Closed.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Products made in China are popular in the world.

B．China has become more powerful in world’s games.

C．Pandas symbolize friendship in the Qatar World Cup.

D．Many Chinese elements appear in the Qatar World Cup.

【推荐1】

KIMBOLTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE (K&C); ￡274,995 Lying in the popular town of Kimbolton, this modern house has got an entrance hall and a downstairs cloakroom. On the ground floor, there is a kitchen with breakfast room and a dining room. It has got a study and a playroom. On the first floor there is a living room and the master bedroom with a shower room. On the top floor, there are two bedrooms and the family bathroom and you can enjoy the scenery outside. There is a drive and a double garage to the front and large rear (后面) garden.

BRAMPTON, CUMBRIA(B&C); ￡399,995 Lyingon Pipers Lane in Brampton, this classic cottage has got two floors. On the ground floor, there is a kitchen with a breakfast room. There is also a sitting room, a dining room and a cloakroom. On the first floor, there are four bedrooms and a family bathroom. There are gardens to the front and rear and a garage with a drive to the side.

GODMANCHESTER, CAMBRIDGESHIRE (G&C); ￡152,500 Lying in the heart of Godmanchester, this house has got three storeys. On the ground floor, there is a kitchen with a dining area and a sitting room with a fireplace. On the first floor there are two double bedrooms and a family bathroom. There is a master bedroom with a shower room on the top floor. There is a rear garden and a storage shed.

LITTLE PAXTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE (L&C); ￡149,995 Set on the banks of the River Ouse, this modern flat has got an open-plan accommodation with dining, living and kitchen area. There is a balcony with views over the river. There are two double bedrooms with separate bathrooms. There is a parking lot on the basement.

1. What can we know about K&C?

A．It has three storeys in total.	B．It lies near a river with a rear garden.
C．Of the four it’s the 3rd most expensive.	D．On its top floor, people can overlook the city.

2. What do B&C and G&C have in common?

A．A double garage on the ground floor.	B．A sitting room on the ground floor.
C．A cloakroom beside the bedrooms.	D．A garden to the front of the house.

3. Which house has an underground parking garage?

A．K&C	B．B&C
C．G&C	D．L&C

【推荐2】Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.

Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调).

One of the study's authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”.This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.

Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A single­syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.

For this study，the researchers looked at 20 non­Chinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.

As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings:squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.

The lead author of the study，Patrick C.M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.

1. When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.

A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time

B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time

C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand

D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch

2. Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?

A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.

B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.

C．Because music training might help people with language study.

D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.

3. The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”.

A．created

B．spelled

C．seemed

D．pronounced

4. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers

B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study

C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning

D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs

【推荐3】The Z Hotel is in the heart of London’s West End and has comfortable accommodation in a contemporary design.

All rooms include handcrafted beds, 48-inch Samsung HD TVs with free Sky Sports and Movie channels, and free Wi-Fi. Each room also has under-bed storage for an overnight bag, and wall-mounted hanging space for clothing. The Z Hotel also offers wheelchair accessible rooms.

Continental breakfast is served in The Z Café every morning, including smoked salmon, fresh bread, fresh fruit salad and bacon rolls. A selection of salads, sandwiches and hot dishes are on offer throughout the day.

The hotel is a 5-minute walk from Prince of Wales Theatre and Chinatown London, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Heathrow Airport can be reached directly from Piccadilly Circus Underground Station.

This is our guests’ favorite part of London, according to independent reviews. This area is also great for shopping, with popular brands nearby: Apple, H&M, Zara, Burberry and Chanel.

The Z Hotel is rated for the best value in London! Guests are getting more for their money when compared to other hotels in this city. Come and stay with us!

Most popular facilities:

◆luggage storage        ◆Heating                    ◆Free Wi-Fi   ◆Air conditioning

◆24-hour front desk     ◆Daily maid service     ◆Parking        ◆Lift

Prices:

Room type	Prices	Options
Double room--non-smoking	￡179	·Non-refundable(不退款) ·Good Breakfast￡9.50
Twin Room--non-smoking	￡185	·Non-refundable ·Good Breakfast￡9.50
Queen Room --disability access	￡219	·Pay at the hotel (no prepayment needed) ·Good Breakfast included

1. When staying in this hotel, you will enjoy all of the following EXCEPT________.

A．free Wi-Fi	B．a TV with some free channels
C．airport pick-up service	D．under-bed storage space

2. If a man in a wheelchair wants to stay in this hotel for two nights, he should pay ________.

A．￡438	B．￡404
C．￡358	D．￡370

3. From the passage we can learn ________.

A．the hotel is close to Heathrow Airport

B．the hotel serves Chinese-style breakfast

C．the hotel is good value for guests’ money

D．there is a shop with popular brands in the hotel

【推荐1】“Mobile phone killed my man,” screamed one headline last year. Also came claims that an unpublished study had found that mobile phones could cause memory loss. And a British newspaper devoted its front page to a picture supposedly showing how mobile phones could heat the brain.
For anyone who uses a mobile phone, these are worrying times. But speak to the scientists whose work is the focus of these scares and you hear a different story.
One of the oddest effects comes from the now famous“memory loss” study. Alan Preece and his colleagues at the University of Bristol placed a device that imitated the microwave radiation of mobile phones to the left ear of volunteers. The volunteers were good at recalling words and pictures they had been shown on a computer screen. Preece says he still can’t comment on the effects of using a mobile phone for years on end. But he rules out the suggestion that mobile phones have an immediate effect on our cognitive（认识的）abilities. “I’m pretty sure there is no effect on short-term memory,” he says.
Another expert, Tattersall, remarked that his latest findings have removed fears about memory loss. One result, for instance, suggests that nerve cell synapses（神经元突触） exposed to microwaves become more — rather than less — receptive to undergoing changes linked to memory formation.
An even happier outcome would be that microwaves turned out to be good for you. It sounds crazy, but a couple of years ago a team led by William Adey at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California found that mice exposed to microwaves for two hours a day were less likely to develop brain tumours when given a cancer-causing chemical.
“If it doesn’t certainly cause cancer in animals and cells, then it probably isn’t going to cause cancer in humans,” says William. And while there’s still no absolute evidence that mobile phone use does damage your memories or give you cancer, the conclusion is: don’t be afraid.
1. Mobile phone users are worried because ______.

A．they are not sure whether mobile phones can cause memory loss

B．it’s said that mobile phones have a lot of side effects

C．one headline reported “Mobile phone killed my man”

D．a British newspaper showed mobile phones could heat the brain

2. According to the scientists, ______.

A．there is no evidence that mobile phones cause illness in people

B．the more people use mobile phones, the healthier they’ll be

C．mobile phone users are less likely to develop cancer

D．mobile phones’ radiation is the same as the general radiation

3. According to this passage, we can know that _____.

A．the mobile phone is a most wonderful invention

B．there’s no need to worry about the radiation from mobile phones

C．something must be done to stop people using mobile phones

D．mobile phone companies shouldn’t cheat customers

4. The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ______.

A．mobile phone radiation

B．a cancer-causing chemical

C．a happy outcome

D．a brain tumour

5. What would be the best title for this passage?

A．New Mobile Phones.

B．Special Mobile Phones.

C．New Special Investigation: Mobile Phones.

D．New Investigation.

【推荐2】2020 is special. When we dip into the model “suspended class, ongoing learning” during the pandemic(大流行）of NCP, have you thought of the inventors that supply us the convenience on the computers? Here, let’s know a respectable person who left us a few months ago.

Larry Tesler: computer scientist ,an icon of early computing, died at the age of 74 in this spring. Mr Tesler started working in Silicon Valley in the early 1960s, at a time when computers were inaccessible to the vast majority of people.It was thanks to his innovations ,which included the “cut”, “copy” and “paste” commands that the personal computer became simple to learn and use. Xerox, where Mr Tesler spent part of his career, paid tribute to him. “The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more, was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler,” the company tweeted. “Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas.”

Mr Tesler was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1945, and studied at Stanford University in California. After graduating, he specialised in user interface(界面) design, that is, making computer systems more user-friendly. He worked for a number of major tech firms during his long career. He started at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), before Steve Jobs invited him for Apple, where he spent 17 years and rose to chief scientist. After leaving Apple he set up an education firm, and worked for brief periods at Amazon and Yahoo.

In 2012, he told the BBC of Silicon Valley: “There’s almost a custom -- after you’ve made some money, you don’t just retire, you spend your time funding other companies.”

“There’s a very strong element of excitement, of being able to share what you’ve learned with the next generation.” he added.

1. Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?

A．Mr Tesler innovated the computer.

B．Mr Tesler invented the “cut”, “copy” and “paste” commands.

C．Mr Tesler spent part of his career as a data man in Xerox company.

D．Most people have many chances to use computers in the early 1960s.

2. How many companies did Larry Tesler once worked in ?

A．three

B．four

C．five

D．six

3. Which word can best describe Mr Tesler as a scientist?

A．selfless

B．friendly

C．special

D．humorous

4. What will the passage continue to talk about after the last paragraph?

A．Educating the next generation.

B．Discussing his retired life.

C．Showing the prospect of the Silicon Valley.

D．Sharing his knowledge with the next generation.

【推荐3】Whenever we see a button, we want to press it because we know that something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example, on a doorbell. But some buttons are actually fake (假的), like the “close” button on a lift.

Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait. But lifts’ “close” buttons are a complete trick, at least in the U. S.—the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.

It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the U.S., making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter safely. Only repair workers can use the buttons to speed up the door closing process if they have special keys.

But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.

“A sense of control is very important. It reduces stress and increases well­being,” said Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor at Harvard University. Experts also added that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose.

For example, pedestrian crosswalk buttons don’t live up to their names either. Pressing them used to help make the traffic signals change faster, but that was before computer­controlled traffic signals were introduced.

But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.

1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A．To describe different fake buttons.	B．To explore the functions of fake buttons.
C．To analyze various habits of pushing buttons.	D．To explain the disadvantages of fake buttons.

2. What can we learn about the “close” buttons on a lift in America?

A．They work when people press them hard.

B．They were designed for a sense of control.

C．They never speed up the door­closing process.

D．They take the safety of the disabled into account.

3. What can we infer about pedestrian crosswalk buttons?

A．They can make people feel better.	B．They help computers work faster.
C．They can control the traffic signals.	D．They help pedestrians cross safely.

4. Which may be the best title for the passage?

A．Buttons in the U．S.A.	B．Buttons Always Lie
C．Buttons May Not Work	D．“Close” Buttons on Lifts