1 . The COVID-19 pandemic has made our lives changed a lot. Now more and more people like cycling (骑自行车). It’s important to keep a safe distance (距离) from others, so many people turned from public (公共的) transportation to cycling these days around the world.
Beijing
Yang Xiaomeng lives 11 kilometres away from her workplace in Beijing. The 26-year-old girl has been cycling to work for three months. “I took the bus before. But now biking seems to be a safer choice.”
Yang has found that cycling is more relaxing and enjoyable than taking the bus. “There’s more fresh air on the road. It’s also a good way to exercise. I’ll keep cycling as my new habit,” she said.
London
Drive less, cycle more. That’s what the U. K. government (政府) wants to tell its people. Everyone in London will get £50. They can use the money to fix their bikes. And the government will build more bikeways for people. The government believes that if there are safer and more comfortable places for cycling, more people will ride bikes in the future. This will make the cities greener and cleaner, and makes their people happier and healthier.
1. Why do many people in the world choose cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic?| A．To enjoy fresh air. | B．To relax themselves. |
| C．To keep a safe distance. | D．To form a healthy habit. |
| A．By bike. | B．By bus. | C．By train. | D．By taxi. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
2 . “I don’t like my parents. They always tell me I should do this, and should not do that. It sometimes makes me angry,” said Wang Li, a middle school student in Guangzhou. Do you have the same problem? Perhaps your parents had the same problem when they were your age long ago. Why does it seem that some parents are not so friendly in their children’s eyes?
One of the most important reasons is when someone becomes a parent, he/she likes worrying things. They worry about everything about you, from the time you were born. They do a lot for you, though something would make you angry, because they care about you and worry about you. They worry about your choice of friends, the food you eat, your work at school, how much sleep you get and so on. All these things are part of your life. They want you to grow up healthily and happily.
So how can you make things easier on yourself? It’s easier than you think. Just make sure your parents know what you’re doing. Get them to know your friends. Phone them if you get home later than usual. Say sorry to them when you make mistakes. Talk about your ideas with them. They may talk about theirs with you.
Most of all, try to think about why your parents do this or do that. They are still practicing being parents and need help you can give them. When you become a parent, they may be able to help you know how to get on with your children.
1. Why are some of the children angry with their parents in the passage?| A．Because their parents think they eat too much. |
| B．Because the children don’t live with their parents. |
| C．Because they think parents have too much control over their lives. |
| D．Because the parents don’t like the friends that their children have made. |
| A．Parents want to control their children. |
| B．Parents want their children to grow up healthily. |
| C．Parents don’t want their children to make some bad friends. |
| D．Parents worry about everything about their children. |
| A．Tell their friends. | B．Tell their teacher. |
| C．Say sorry to their parents. | D．Make a call to their parents. |
| A．Parents are not always right. | B．Parents should practice more. |
| C．Parents have many mistakes. | D．Parents are always right. |
| A．Parents’ Responsibility | B．How to Get on with Parents |
| C．Wang Li’s Problem | D．What Are Parents Worrying About |
3 . Some students think that newspapers are boring and only for adults(成年人). But that’s not true. There are many interesting stories in the paper. You just need to make clear what you are looking at. “I spend(花) about half an hour reading newspapers every day,” said 15-year-old Gao Ming from Beijing. “I’m interested in things happening at school.” School news is just one kind of news story in newspapers. There’s also world news: from problems at home and abroad to pop stars.
Read the newspaper carefully, and we’ll find different kinds of articles(文章) on the pages:
News stories—These stories are about facts(事件). Reporters try to show all points of a story to help readers understand what happened. They also use pictures and numbers to show the readers that the stories are true. The newspaper has lots of news stories on the news page and front page. When we read them, we learn more about the facts, not the writers’ ideas.
Idea writing—Idea writing is usually about something happening right now. But it isn’t just facts. Here writers also show their own ideas about the news. Writers pick only the facts that help back up their ideas. They make readers believe that they are telling the truth. This kind of story often make people think.
Advertisement—Don’t get happy too early when you read them. Those sweet words and lovely pictures are just ways to make us interested in their products! People have to pay money to put advertisements in newspapers!
No matter how old you are, there are always some pages you like to read.
1. What is the 15-year-old schoolboy interested in reading in newspapers?| A．International news. | B．School news. | C．Pop stars’ opinions. | D．Advertisements. |
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
| A．should understand interesting news stories | B．should know which kind of things to read |
| C．need to look at the school news first | D．must know the contents(内容)of all the news |
| A．advertisements | B．school news | C．idea writing | D．news stories |
| A．readers can read the same news in different newspapers |
| B．newspapers have different kinds of articles for people of all ages |
| C．teenagers get interested in newspapers |
| D．why we read newspapers |
4 . Do you know cotton(棉花)? We might not notice cotton but it is everywhere in our life. Humans have been using cotton to make clothes for more than 7,000 years. Today, it is still the most widely used natural material(材料) in the world.
Cotton has many advantages(优点) that make it an excellent clothing material. On hot days, cotton clothing feels cool and comfortable.
Cotton comes from the cotton plant, a small plant that is easy to grow. The fruits of the cotton plant are covered by soft and light white fiber(纤维). These fibers are made into cloth and then it can be made into many things.
The cotton seeds are useful, too. We can make soil out of them. It is great for cooking and is used in many foods. The things that is left can be used to feed animals such as pigs and cows.
Everything from cotton is useful. That’s why cotton is such an amazing plant.
Now people like natural materials better than man-made materials. So the things made from cotton will be still popular in the future and people will continue wearing clothes made from cotton.
1. Humans have been using cotton to make clothes for _________ years.| A．less than 7,000 | B．less than 700 | C．about 700 | D．over 7,000 |
| A．it is white | B．it has many advantages | C．it is easily bought | D．it is very cheap |
| A．Because it can grow anywhere. | B．Because it is easy to take care of. |
| C．Because it has a very long history. | D．Because it helps a lot in people’s life. |
| A．Cotton is very popular in the world now. | B．It is comfortable to wear clothes made from cotton. |
| C．The future of cotton isn’t bright or good. | D．The cotton seeds are also useful. |
| A．How to Use Cotton | B．The Future of Cotton |
| C．The Introduction of Cotton | D．Why People Plant Cotton |
5 . Do you know about Huagu Opera? It started in Hunan. Some other provinces (省), like Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, also have Huagu Opera.
People could watch Huagu Opera 200 years ago. At that time, most of the Huagu Opera players were farmers. They dressed up in colourful clothes. They always sang songs and danced along the street to celebrate some special festivals, like the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. These players were popular (受欢迎的) in the countryside.
At the early time, there were only two roles (角色) in Huagu Opera: chou and dan. Chou is a male clown (男丑角) and dan is a young girl. Men played the two roles. After 30 years, a new role, sheng (a handsome young man), came into Huagu Opera. 50 years later, women started to play in Huagu Opera.
The early Huagu Opera was only 45 minutes to an hour long, and most plays were about the life of the farmers. Now, Huagu Opera has more roles and can be two to three hours long. People can enjoy different kinds of stories.
1. Where did Huagu Opera start?| A．In Hubei. | B．In Anhui. | C．In Shanxi. | D．In Hunan. |
| A．欣赏 | B．挑战 | C．庆祝 | D．举行 |
| A．The places. | B．The stories. | C．The roles. | D．The history. |
| A．30 minutes. | B．45 minutes to an hour. | C．Two to three hours. | D．Three and a half hours. |
| A．To ask people to learn to play Huagu Opera. |
| B．To tell people about the roles in Huagu Opera. |
| C．To ask people to take part in Huagu Opera clubs. |
| D．To tell people about the history of Huagu Opera. |
6 . I’m a procrastinator（有拖延症的人）. In college, I was supposed to spend a year writing my 90-page senior paper. I didn’t write a word until three days before the deadline（截止日期）. Finally, I wrote 90 pages over 72 hours, staying up two nights in a row to finish it on time. Of course, it was a very bad paper.
I have a theory（理论）that the brains of procrastinators are different from those of other people. Both kinds of people are able to make smart decisions. But the procrastinator’s brain also has a part that doesn’t like making the “right” decision. It only wants whatever is easiest and most fun.
For the procrastinator, this part of the brain makes all the decisions. So how can people like me work when we really need to? It turns out that procrastinators also have a part of their brain that makes them panic. This part isn’t active all the time. But it suddenly “wakes up” when deadlines are close. It’s the only thing that can make us take action.
The problem is that there are many things in our lives that don’t come with deadlines. We know that we should spend more time exercising or seeing our family. But these things don’t have deadlines. So how can we work on them?
One thing you can try is making a “life calendar”. Set a goal for yourself, such as exercising 20 minutes each day for a week. Take a regular, calendar and put a big red “x” on each day that you exercise. After a week, you’ll see a neat（整齐的）row of “X”. This will help you feel more confident about working toward your goals.
1. Why does the speaker mention his college experience first?| A．To give an example of procrastination（拖延症）. |
| B．To show that we all have limitless talent. |
| C．To explain that procrastination is quite common. |
| D．To prove that procrastinators are able to finish their tasks. |
| A．They are able to make good decisions. | B．They only want to do easy and fun tasks. |
| C．They stay calm when deadlines come. | D．They don’t sleep as much as other people. |
| A．not everything in life has a deadline | B．it is hard to finish big tasks quickly |
| C．some people change their goals often | D．some people have many tasks to finish |
| A．feel relaxed | B．feel glad | C．feel afraid | D．feel easy |
| A．Buy a calendar. | B．Find creative ways to put things off. |
| C．Set goals for ourselves and try to make it. | D．Do more exercise. |
7 . It is reported that some developed countries have shipped broken parts of computers to China. Such a thing can be found every day although it is against international laws. Last month Hong Kong officers found 131, 000 kilograms of broken computers, TVs and phones sent from Japan.
Things like these are called electronic waste, or e-waste. Dealing with e-waste is not an easy job because dangerous poisons（毒）like mercury（汞）and lead（铅）can be found in them. Every time an old computer breaks down, it needs to be dealt with safely. But at present, broken computer parts are usually buried. It may be hundreds of years before they are really gone in the earth.
Many places in China are polluted by e-waste. Guiyu in Guangdong Province is one of them. This town is named as “the e-waste capital of the world”. It has to deal with 1. 5 million kilograms of e-waste each year, from which it makes 75 million yuan. But it comes at a cost. Many of the poisons in e-waste find their way into the environment.
Plastic is burned outdoors and chemical water is poured into rivers. Greenpeace, an environmental group, has found the air, the earth and the rivers in Guiyu badly polluted.
The Chinese government wants the country to develop, but in a way that doesn’t do harm to the environment and people’s life. This year, China presents a new protection law, the strictest one we have ever had. Computer companies like Lenovo and Dell will be asked to take back their old computers. This is because the companies that make computers know best how to deal with them safely. Hopefully, the problem with e-waste will be solved in the near future.
1. The e-waste found in Hong Kong last month was from _________.| A．France | B．Japan | C．Germany | D．Australia |
| A．焚烧 | B．障碍 | C．回收 | D．掩埋 |
| A．tried to change people’s life | B．closed some computer companies |
| C．made a new environment protection law | D．asked people to hand in their old computers |
| A．the way in dealing with e-waste | B．the cost of burning e-waste |
| C．the e-waste problem in China | D．the need to pass a law against e-waste |
8 . I want a new smartphone. Like many old phones, my phone is slowing down and its battery life is getting short. But I’m having difficulty pulling the trigger（做决定）. It’s not because I don’t have time to choose a phone. It’s not about the cost either. It’s the environment. The influence of a new phone on the environment is about the same as using the old one for ten years.
Making smartphones, computers and other tech products produces a lot of greenhouse gases. Also, it takes noble metals（贵金属）and rare earth metals（稀土金属）. If you’re reading this on your smart phone now, you’re holding about 0.034 grams of gold, 0.34 grams of silver, and smaller amounts of palladium, platinum, yttrium and terbium. These are tiny amounts, but we have to consider the need for smartphones around the world. In the first quarter of 2022, for example, the Apple Inc. produced about 60 million iPhones.
All of these metals have to be mined（开采）from inside the earth. Mining is harmful to the environment. Forests are cut down, the ground is dug deep, and water quality in the area drops greatly. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), mining has caused a big fall in the population of Grauer’s Gorillas（东非低地大猩猩）. Worse still, the mining industry of the DRC depends on child labor.
It’s almost impossible to live in the 21st century without harming the environment. I am guilty（内疚的）as well—I eat a lot of meat and fly a lot. But that doesn’t mean we should pay no attention to the results of our actions and stop trying to do something for our planet. I strongly advise you to think carefully about buying a new smartphone, no matter what advertisements try to tell you.
1. In the first quarter of 2022, about _________ was used to make iPhones.| A．2,040 kilos of silver | B．2,040 kilos of gold | C．204,000 kilos of silver | D．20,400 kilos of gold |
| A．Disadvantages of mining for metals. | B．Bad influences of mining on the DRC. |
| C．Air and water pollution caused by mining. | D．Harmful influences of mining on animals. |
| A．People should eat a lot of meat. |
| B．People had better change a phone every two years. |
| C．People should take the plane as often as possible. |
| D．Buying a new phone is harmful to the environment. |
| A．To encourage people to care about technology. |
| B．To show how smartphone production gets into trouble. |
| C．To introduce noble metals and rare earth metals in smartphones. |
| D．To ask people to think twice about changing smartphones. |
| A．A science website. | B．A detective story. | C．A leaflet on phones. | D．A chemistry magazine. |
9 . Healthy eating doesn’t just mean what you eat, but how you eat. Here is some advice on healthy eating.
Eat with others. It can help you to see others’ healthy eating habits. If you usually eat with your parents, you will find that the food you eat is more delicious.
Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry. Have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty—sometimes you are just thirsty, and you need no food. Stop eating before you feel full.
Eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Because you don’t eat for the past ten hours, your body needs food to get you energy. You will be smarter after eating breakfast.
Eat healthy snacks like fruit, yogurt or cheese. We all need snacks sometimes. In fact, it’s a good idea to eat two healthy snacks between meals. This doesn’t mean that you can eat a bag of chips instead of a meal.
Don’t eat dinner late. In our busy life, we always put off eating dinner until the last minute. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed. This will give your body a chance to digest most of the food before you rest for the next 8-10 hours.
1. Which snack is NOT mentioned in the passage?| A．Fruit. | B．Yogurt. | C．Chips. | D．Ice cream. |
| A．消化 | B．享用 | C．储存 | D．循环 |
| A．where to eat | B．how to eat | C．why to eat | D．when to eat |
10 . During the novel coronavirus outbreak（新型冠状病毒爆发）, we wear masks to keep safe. But many of you might have faced a problem-you can't eat when you wear a mask. Now an Israeli company（以色列公司）has made a mask that you can wear while eating.
The mask has a remote-control（遥控的）mouth. You just need to open a slot （狭缝）in the front of the mask so that food can pass through. When you take out your eating utensil（餐具）,it will close.
The company said the mask can protect（保护）people from the virus while they eat. It plans to start selling the mask in the coming months at a price of 6 to 20 yuan higher than that of a common medical mask（普通的医用口罩）.
People have different perspectives about the mask. Offer Hameiri, 32, says that it is a must-have, because it helps him to eat while staying safe. But Ron Silberstein, 29, thinks it won't work when he eats ice cream. He wouldn't want to wear it because the mask will get dirty. But it is fine for solid（固体的）foods like meat.
1. What did the Israeli company make the mask for?| A．To want people to eat less. |
| B．To protect people from dust. |
| C．To help people breathe（呼吸）easily. |
| D．To help people eat while protecting themselves. |
| A．How the mask works. |
| B．When you can wear the mask. |
| C．How you should take off the mask. |
| D．What kinds of foods can pass through the mask. |
| A．guide | B．result | C．idea | D．answer |
| A．It is heavier than other masks. |
| B．It sells well. |
| C．it will cost 6 to 20 yuan to buy one. |
| D．It is more expensive than common medical masks. |
| A．Everyone should buy one. | B．It might get dirty very easily. |
| C．It will be hard to clean. | D．It won't work as well as it should. |
