【推荐2】Most maps show places you can visit and how to get there．Most maps, however, were not made by astronomers．At a recent meeting in Texas, three teams of these scientists presented new maps to show where dark matter was．

Dark matter neither produces nor reflects light, which means it's invisible (看不见) to human eyes and to most scientific instruments．That makes it a challenge to measure and study．What makes the matter more upset: Scientific measurements show that the universe holds about five times．as much dark matter as ordinary matter．Making up the known part of the universe, ordinary matter includes you, your dog, Earth, the sun, stars and planets．

Scientists find dark matter in the same way, they discover other things we can't see-by observing how the invisible matter affects things we can see．We can't see wind, for example, but we can feel a gentle wind or watch a windmill(风车) turning on a hill．Dark matter doesn't turn windmills, but it does have gravity．Like ordinary matter, dark matter holds everything around it firmly with gravity．Dark matter's gravity holds galaxies (星系) together and bends rays of light as they move past．

To make the new maps, astronomers trained powerful telescopes to watch for bending light arriving from distant galaxies．These telescopes recorded light that came from galaxies billions of light-years away．By studying how the light changed as it traveled through space, the astronomers could work out the location and shape of dark matter groups．

One of the new maps shows dark matter is more than 600 times as large as a full moon．The other covers an area more than a thousand times as large．But that's just the beginning: The astronomers want to carry on further studies to better understand the dark matter．

1. We can learn from the passage that_____________．

A．most maps show the location of dark matter．

B．human eyes can’t see dark matter directly

C．galaxies are usually made of dark matter

D．dark matter is as much as ordinary matter

2. What does the underlined word “gravity” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Pull．	B．Shape．
C．Light．	D．Wind．

3. In paragraph 3 the writer explains the way to locate dark matter by_____________．

A．providing numbers	B．listing facts
C．making a comparison	D．offering a quote

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Ordinary matter makes up the known part of the space．

B．Scientists have found ways to draw maps of dark matter．

C．Dark matter is studied with the help of powerful telescopes．

D．Scientists put forward the theory of dark matter for the first time．

【推荐3】A business school in Paris will soon begin using artificial intelligence and facial analysis to determine whether students are paying attention in class. The software, called Nestr, is used in two online classes at the ESG business school beginning in September.

The idea, according to LCA founder Marcel Saucet, is to use the data that Nestor collects to improve the performance both students and professors. The software uses students' webcams(网络摄像头)to analyze eye movements and facial expressions and determine whether students are paying attention to a video lecture. Professors would also be able to identify moments when students' attention declined, which could help to improve their teaching.

Advocates for AI in education say the technology could be used as a digital tutor that would adapt to a student's individual needs, and help develop more effective studying habits. Such software could also help teachers by providing quantitative(定量的)feedback on the effectiveness of their teaching.

But AI programs rely on massive information of personal data. and there are concerns over how such data would be treated. Saucet says Nestor won't store any of the video footage(片段)it captures and that his company has no plans to sell any other data the software collects. In addition, some are concerned that AI may one day replace teachers.

Rose Luckin, a professor at the University College London Knowledge Lab, says AI could unlock the "black box of learning" by providing information on how and when learning happens. But she cautions(告诫)against adopting new technologies that, while alluring, may not actually respond to critical needs. She thinks a program like Nestor could be useful for students who take classes remotely, since "there isn’t a human there watching them". So Luckin sees the technology more as an assistant, rather than a replacement.

Sauce agrees. "Human contact is not going to go away, " he says. "There will always be professors."

1. How does Nestor work to tell whether students are paying attention?

A．By controlling the thoughts of students

B．By analyzing eye movements and facial expressions

C．By collecting all the data of students' performance in class

D．By reminding professors to pay more attention to students

2. What does the underlined word "alluring" probably mean in the fifth paragraph?

A．Attractive

B．Controversial

C．Limited

D．Alarming

3. What do people concern about Nestor?

A．It will teach courses in place of teachers.

B．Nestor won't store any information it collects.

C．It can prevent students from more effective studying habits.

D．It can't benefit the company by selling students' data it collects.

4. What is Rose Luckin's attitude towards using Nestor?

A．Favorable

B．Doubtful

C．Objective

D．Disapproving

【推荐2】Half of all work tasks will be handled by machines by 2025 in a shift likely to worsen inequality, a World Economic Forum report has forecast.

The think tank said a "robot revolution" would create 97 million jobs worldwide but destroy almost as many, leaving some communities at risk. Routine or manual jobs in administration and data processing were most at threat of automation, WEF said. But it said there would be a need for new jobs in care, big data and the green economy.

The WEF surveyed 300 of the world's biggest companies, with more than 8 million employees globally. More than 50% of employers surveyed said they expected to speed up the automation of some roles in their companies, while 43% felt they were likely to cut jobs due to technology.

WEF said the pandemic （疫情） had sped up the adoption of new technologies as firms looked to cut costs and adopt new ways of working. But it warned workers now faced a double threat from "accelerating automation and the economic impact from the Covid-19".

"These things have deepened existing inequalities across labor markets and removed gains in employment made since the global financial crisis in 2007-2008," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director at WEF. "The window of opportunity for active management of this change is closing fast."

WEF said currently around a third of all work tasks were handled by machines, with humans doing the rest, but by 2025 the balance would shift. Roles that relied on human skills such as advising, decision-making, reasoning, communicating and interacting would rise in demand. There would also be a sudden large increase in demand for workers to fill green economy jobs, and new roles in areas like engineering and cloud computing.

But it said millions of routine or manual jobs would be displaced by technology, affecting the lowest paid, lowest skilled workers the most. It said millions would need to be re-skilled to cope with the change, while governments would have to provide "stronger safety nets" for displaced workers.

1. Who are included in “some communities” mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．Unskilled workers.	B．Software engineers.
C．Career consultants.	D．Organic fanners.

2. What is the purpose of paragraphs 3 and 4?

A．To analyse the reliability of the figures and facts.

B．To provide supporting evidence for the main idea.

C．To introduce two events for discussion.

D．To highlight two causes of the effects.

3. What do the displaced people expect their governments to do?

A．Slow down the automation.

B．Strengthen social security.

C．Improve network safety.

D．Promote the Robot Revolution.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Further inequalities from the Robot Revolution.

B．A double threat from automation and pandemic.

C．Half of all work tasks to be lost.

D．Half of all work tasks to be automated.

【推荐3】While a female politician or first lady can use her clothing to create a favorable image, male politicians don't have as many fashion choices to play with, But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have discovered a goldmine - his socks.

He's been seen wearing"statement socks".at many public events. For example, during a NATO(北大西洋公约组织) meeting in Brussels in May, Trudeau wore one blue sock and one pink, both with the NATO symbol printed on them. And in June, he wore a pair of socks with the pattern of maple leaves a national symbol of Canada --- when he appeared on a TV show.

The New York Times editor Vanessa Friedman praised Trudeau's play on his socks as"clever

"Socks are subtle enough not to be distracting, but visible enough that you can't miss the point, she wrote, "Rarely have a man's ankles said so much."

One example is a pair he wore during a meeting with Enda Kenny, then the prime minister of Ireland, in Montreal on May 4. During their meeting, Trudeau wore Star Wars socks-simply because that day happened to be Intemational Star Wars Day. If this pair of socks sent out any message, according to Vogue magazine reporter Emily Farra, that message was just that he has a quirky side and loves George Lucas films, " she wrote.

However, some say that 45-year-old Trudeau's unusual sock choices show a childish side of the prime minister that proves he isn't mature enough to be the leader of a country.

But Friedman doesn't see it that way. "The socks have been a source of pride and applause on an international scale-a symbolboth of Mr Trudeau's ability to embrace multiculturalism and of his position as a next-generation leader not bound by old traditions. "she wrote. They have opened up possibilities for the future.

1. Trudeau wore a pair of socks with the pattern of maple leaves to __________.

A．distract audience's attention from the TV show

B．send a message that he is proud of his country

C．narrow the gap between politicians and civilians

D．claim that he is the new-generation leader of the country

2. The underlined word"quirky" is closest in meaning to _________.

A．abnormal or immature

B．serious or straight

C．patriotic and enthusiastic

D．odd or unpredictable

3. According to Friedman, Justin Trudeau ___________.

A．has a promising future but is still an inexperienced politician

B．used a clever way to explore and finally discovered a goldmine

C．is open-minded and is ready to accept different cultures

D．is a leader who has abandoned old traditions to build up his future

4. The article is mainly about ___________.

A．the strange hobby of a young politician

B．a young leader's clever choice of socks

C．how male politicians maintain public image

D．the gender difference in modem politicians

【推荐1】Apple revealed new ways to discover and organize apps, confirmed a significant change and announced a new feature that will let users unlock their cars with their smartphones.

The updates, announced at Apple (AAPL)’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, highlight the company’s continued effort to involve itself into seemingly every corner of our lives, from our cars and living rooms to our personal health, while also facing the potential for app tiredness more than a decade after the App Store launched.

The company kicked off the event by focusing on iOS 14, the upcoming operating system for the iPhone. As part of its presentation, Apple unveiled a new feature called App Library, which automatically organizes the apps on your homescreen so you don’t have to scroll (滚屏) through several pages.

Apple also developed a more perfect way to discover and access new apps. The feature, called App Clips, offers a small part of an app for use at the moment it’s needed, whether it’s for ordering a scooter on demand or food from a restaurant. These apps are small in size and connect with Apple Pay. Users can then decide to download the full version of the app from the App Store.

At the same time, Apple attempted to demonstrate the still undeveloped potential of the iPhone, which remains its chief moneymaker. Having already turned the iPhone into a digital credit card, Apple now has plans to make it a digital car key. A new feature, called Carkey, will initially be available with the new 2021 BMW 5 series.

1. How many new features are mentioned in the text?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

2. Which word can replace the underlined “unveiled” in Paragraph 3?

A．Produced.

B．Developed.

C．Issued.

D．Downloaded.

3. Which can you probably choose if the phone is out of memory?

A．App Library.

B．App Clips.

C．Carkey.

D．Apple Watch.

4. What can we know according to the text?

A．Users can start their cars with Carkey.

B．Apples has already used iOS 14 for the iPhone.

C．Users still need to scroll the screen with an App Library.

D．Apple makes profit mainly from its undeveloped potential of the iPhone.

【推荐2】Scientists often complain that people are not rational (理性的) in their opposition to technologies such as nuclear power and genetically modified (GM) crops. From a statistical perspective, these are very safe, and so peopled fear can be explained only by emotion, strengthened by ignorance. Electricity from nuclear power has led to far fewer direct deaths than has coalfired power, yet many people are afraid of it, and hardly anyone is afraid of coal plants. Similar arguments can be made about GM crops, which studies have shown are generally safe for most people to eat.

Scientific illiteracy (无知) may be part of the problem. Most of us are afraid of things we don’t understand, and studies have shown that scientists tend to be more accepting of potentially risky technologies than laypeople. This suggests that when people know a lot about such technologies, they are usually reassured.

But there’s more to the issue than meets the eye. It is true that many of us fear the unknown, but it is also true that we don’t care enough about routine risks. Part of the explanation is complacency: we tend not to fear the familiar, and thus familiarity can lead us to underestimate risk. The investigation into the Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill (原油泄漏) in 2010 showed that complacency—among executives, among engineers and among government officials-was a major cause of that disaster. So the fact that experts are unworried about a threat is not necessarily reassuring.

Scientists also make a mistake when they assume that public concerns are wholly or even mostly about safety. Some people object to GM crops because these crops facilitate the increased use of chemicals. Others have a problem with the social impacts that switching to GM organisms can have on traditional farming communities or with the political implications of leaving a large share of the food supply in the hands of a few corporations.

Geoengineering (地球工程学) to lessen the impacts of climate change is another example. Laypeople as well as scientists are more concerned about oversight (监管) than safety. Who will decide whether this is a good way to deal with climate change? If we undertake the project of setting the global temperature by controlling how much sunlight reaches Earth’s surface, who will be included in that “we” and by what process will the “right” global temperature be chosen?

Can we say which group’s view is closer to an accurate assessment?

1. The underlined word “complacency” in Paragraph 3 probably means ________.

A．overconfidence	B．prediction
C．underestimation	D．carelessness

2. The example of geoengineering is used to argue that ________.

A．safety is not the whole concern of the public

B．geoengineering is highly recognized by scientists

C．the public are unnecessarily troubled by climate change

D．lessening the impacts of climate change is a great challenge

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Scientific illiteracy is a major cause of disasters.

B．The safety of technologies can be accurately assessed.

C．Scientists misjudge people’s opposition to technologies.

D．People are unworried about risks with proper oversight.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Ignorance or Safety

B．Who Is Rational About Risk

C．Why Can’t People Trust Technology

D．Should Scientists Have a Say in Risk

【推荐3】You know those nutrition guidelines the government issues every few years? It turns out that following them isn't just good for your health. It's good for the planet, too.

“What we found is that impacts vary across nations, but in the high­impact nations, in general, you can see that, if you follow a nationally recommended diet, despite the fact that these diets don't mention explicitly—or most of them don't explicitly mention—environmental impacts, that you are going to have lower environmental impacts due to that. So that's sort of fairly clear across all the high­income nations.” said Paul Behrens, an environmental scientist at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

The food we eat takes a big toll on the environment. A third of the ice­free land on Earth is used for agriculture, and according to some estimates, producing food accounts for roughly a fifth of all human­caused greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizer runoff also leads to other problems, like the algae blooms in Lake Eerie and the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, following dietary guidelines would reduce those impacts, especially in wealthy countries like the US. “Most of the reductions come from meat and dairy，” which have an outsized impact on land use and pollution, and are a major source of greenhouse gases.(That's partly due to cow farts. Seriously.) Following the suggestions would also mean eating fewer calories, since many people here eat more than they need.

Overall, in high­income countries, Behren's team estimates that following the rules could result in as much as a 17 percent reduction in land use, a 21 percent reduction in nutrient pollution, and a 25 percent drop in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting down on how much food we waste—which is roughly a third in the US—could help even more. The results are in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Of course, people are notoriously bad at following diets. But: “These nationally recommended guidelines do actually have a knock­on effect on other areas of policy making. So if I'm developing a new healthy­eating­for­schools program then that's going to be based off a lot of detail that I get from the nationally recommended guidelines. So while it might not necessarily be the case that people follow directly …   they actually are quite influential on the preparation of other advice.”

It seems that a smaller environmental footprint and a healthier lifestyle could go hand in hand.

1. Which of the following statement will Paul Behrens approve of?

A．Following a nationally recommended diet can have similar impacts in different countries.

B．Following a nationally recommended diet can do good to our health.

C．Not all the countries have recommended diets in an explicit manner.

D．Some high­income nations don't mention the diet explicitly for its impacts can be ignored.

2. What do the underlined words “takes a big toll on” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．shows signs of	B．has a bad effect on
C．takes full advantage of	D．makes up for

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Food production can lead to about 20 percent of human­caused greenhouse gas with only a third of the ice­free land used.

B．It is estimated that following dietary guidelines can lead to decrease in more land use than in nutrient pollution.

C．Paul Behrens' new program concerning healthy eating for schools is likely to be based on national nutrition guidelines.

D．Some wealthy countries tend to reduce meat and dairy though the other areas of policy making isn't effected much.

【推荐1】When I was about twelve，I headed to a restaurant for dinner with my family．It was winter，and on that night，the wind was really blowing hard．

As my mom and I headed to the restaurant from our car，a girl about my age and her mother came up to us. They asked if we had any spare change （零钱）. My mom right away asked where they lived．They pointed to an old car in a parking lot across the street. The girl said there were six of them living in that car．My mom said she had something to do after handing the people a few dollars. She sent me inside the restaurant with my dad and my three siblings （兄弟姐妹）. But she didn't come．Later，I found out she had gone home and put all the food in our cupboards （食橱） into a few bags．Then，she brought that food over to the car and handed the bags to the family．I wasn't there when that happened，but I can only imagine the joy it brought to those people．

A few days later, when I actually found out about what she had done, I asked her why she helped those people. She told me that they were not lucky. I remember the face of that girl who had asked us for change. She was the same age as me, yet we looked so different．

Here I stood，dressed in almost new clothes, headed to eat in a restaurant and then back home to the bedroom I shared with my younger sister. I remember thinking that the other girl didn't have any food to eat and she was heading back to a cold car shared with five other people．

After painting this picture in my mind, I understood why my mom had done what she did. I will never forget what she did that night, and how she taught me one of the best lessons I ever learned．

1. From the passage, we can know the writer's mother was ______ ．

A．humorous	B．determined
C．kind-hearted	D．selfish

2. From Paragraph 2, we can learn that ______ ．

A．the poor family had no place to live

B．the poor girl was older than the author

C．the writer's mother didn't know how to cook

D．the poor girl lived near the restaurant

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？ ______

A．It was a winter morning when the story happened．

B．There were six people in the writer's family．

C．A few months later the writer found out what her mother had done．

D．The writer couldn't understand what her mother did．

4. What is probably the writer's purpose of writing this passage？ ______

A．To tell us why to help poor people．

B．To give an introduction to her mother．

C．To tell us to show love to others．

D．To talk about a social problem．

5. What is the best title of the passage？ ______

A．How to support a poor family

B．A friend in need is a friend in deed

C．The hard life of a little girl's family

D．A lesson in kindness from my Mum．

【推荐2】Bad luck always seems to strike at the worst possible moment. A man about to interview for his dream job gets stuck in traffic. A law student taking her final exam wakes up with a blinding headache. A runner twists his ankle minutes before a big race. These are all perfect examples of cruel fate (命运).

Or are they? Psychologists who study such common accidents now believe that in many instances they may be carefully arranged schemes of the subconscious mind and that people often engage in a form of self-defeating behavior known as self-handicapping-or, in plain terms, excuse-making. It’s a simple process: By taking on a crippling handicap, a person makes it more likely that he or she will fail at an endeavor (努力,事业).Though it seems like a crazy thing to do, researchers say it is actually a clever trick of the mind, one that sets up a win-win situation by allowing a person to save face when he or she does fail.

A classic self-handicapper is the French chess player Deschapelles who quickly became champion of his region. But when competition grew tougher, he adopted a new condition for all matches: He would compete only if his opponent would remove one of Deschapelles’ pawns (〈国际象棋中的〉兵,卒)and make the first move,increasing the odds (概率)that Deschapelles would lose. If he did lose, he could blame it on the other player's advantage; but if he won against such odds, he would be more respected for his amazing talents. Psychologists now use the term “Deschapelles coup” to refer to acts of self-handicapping prevailing in today’s world.

Overall, men are more likely than women to make excuses. Several studies suggest that men feel the need to appear competent in all realms, while women worry only about the skills in which they’ve invested heavily. Ask a man and a woman to go scuba diving (水肺潜水)for the first time, and the woman is likely to jump in, while the man is likely to first make it known that he's not feeling too well.

In fact, the people most likely to become chronic excuse makers are those obsessed with success, says the researcher. Such people are so afraid of being labeled a failure at anything that they constantly develop one handicap or another in order to explain their failures.

Self-handicapping may be an effective way of coping with performance anxiety. In the end, researchers say, it is a Faustian bargain (浮士德契约).Over the long run, excuse makers fail to live up to their true potential. And despite their protests to the contrary, they have only themselves to blame.

1. Which of the following is the chief topic of the passage?

A．An analysis on how people avoid failure.

B．A comparison between the ways men and women avoid failure.

C．The story of a classic self-handicapper, Deschapelles.

D．The psychological tricks some people use to avoid failure.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that a student who wanted to engage in self-handicapping would most probably____.

A．work as hard as possible for an important exam

B．try to cheat on a test to get a high score

C．get drunk the night before a big exam

D．take down only the key points in the class

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Men are more competent than women in most trades.

B．Deschapelles’ way of self-handicapping was to give his opponents more advantages.

C．By self-handicapping, Deschapelles succeeded in showing the true limits of his ability.

D．Men are more ready to face new challenges than women.

4. By saying “it is a Faustian bargain,” researchers mean that ____.

A．self-handicapping is often an effective method of dealing with anxiety

B．chronic excuse-making is an indication of one's depression

C．excuse-makers will suffer from the destructive behavior eventually

D．self-handicapping behavior is a difficult and complex process to understand

【推荐3】Retired jet engines could help clear the smog that smothered big cities.

To land at Indira Gandhi Airport is to descend from clear skies to brown ones. New Delhi's air is poisonous. According to the World Health Organization, India's capital has the most polluted atmosphere of all the world's big cities. The government is trying to introduce rules that will curb emissions-allowing private cars to be driven only on alternate days, for example, and enforcing better emissions standards for all vehicles.

But implementing these ideas, even if that can be done successfully, will change things only slowly. A quick fix would help. And Moshe Alamaro, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thinks he has one. His idea is to take a jet engine, put it next to one of India's dirty coal-fired power plants, point its exhaust nozzle at the sky and then switch it on. His hope is that the jet's exhaust will disrupt a meteorological phenomenon known as "inversion", in which a layer of warm air settles over cooler air, trapping it, and that the rising stream of exhaust will carry off the tiny particles of matter that smog is composed of. Inversion exacerbates air pollution in Delhi and in many other cities, from Los Angeles to Tehran. A particularly intense example caused the Great Smog of London in 1952, when four days of air pollution contributed to 12,000 deaths.

Dr Alamaro thinks a jet engine could punch through the inversion layer to create a "virtual chimney" which would carry the trapped pollution above it, so that it could be dispersed in the wider atmosphere. He calculates that all the emissions from a gigawatt coal-fired power plant could be lifted away using a single engine with a nozzle speed of 460 metres a second.

However, he has not calculated whether a jet engine could disrupt the inversion layer and allow the pollution to escape the city-so he is now going to test that hypothesis. Within eight months, Dr Alamaro plans to put one of his updrafters next to a coal-fired power plant and monitor what happens using a fleet of drones. He is in discussions with Tata Group, a conglomerate with an electricity-generating arm, to run it next to one of the firm's power stations.

1. The second paragraph serves as _______.

A．a hook to raise reader’s interest in the topic

B．an introduction of the seriousness of pollution in India

C．an example of slow progress of smog control in India

D．a background to make the idea sound worthwhile

2. The idea of applying retired jet engines is most probably inspired by the fact that ______ .

A．New Delhi is suffering the most serious smog worldwide

B．a retired jet engine has a nozzle speed of 460 metres a second

C．the inversion layer prevent the pollutants from getting away

D．conventional ways to deal with air pollution are too slow

3. Which might be the best title of the passage?

A．New Delhi, the capital of Smog

B．Air Pollution, a Global Challenge

C．Air Pollution in Delhi

D．Air Pollution: Blown Away