1 . Sand is probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the beach. However, the Panjin Red Beach in Liaoning, China has a different view.
It’s not a sandy beach. Instead, it’s a wetland in one of the world’s largest read* marsh areas, the Liaohe River Delta. It’s covered by a large area of a type of plant called Suaeda salsa*. In April, it grows out and its leaves are soft red at the beginning. As time passes, the color gets darker and darker till bright red in autumn. When it turns cold after middle October, the color of these grasses are different from red to purple. In this way, the Red Beach got its name.
Every year, especially in autumn, people from all over the world are attracted by the sights andflockto the beach. Walking along the wooden road, built above Suaeda salsa fields, and taking a boat travelling through the red fields are both good ways to enjoy its beauty. In addition, Red Beach Wharf is worth paying a visit. Tourists can watch a large scale of rice fields around. Either green in spring and summer or golden in autumn, the rice fields are like an oil painting under the blue sky and white clouds. Besides, tourists have a chance to meet some rared birds as the Red Beach is home to over 40 kinds of wildlife. Nearly 260 kinds of birds including some endangered ones, such as the red-crowned crane* can be found here.
With the splendid sights, the Red Beach is a wonderful place of interest to enjoy natural beauty.
1. The first paragraph is written to ________.| A．give an example | B．explain a problem |
| C．catch readers’ interest | D．show the writer’s opinion |
| A．its sand | B．the reed | C．Suaeda salsa | D．the red-crowned crane |
| A．the ticket to the Red Beach costs little |
| B．the Red Beach is very crowded every day |
| C．there are many things to do at the Red Beach |
| D．a large number of tourists visit the Red Beach |
| A．Many paintings have been drawn in the rice fields |
| B．Many wild animals have been protected well there |
| C．Suaeda salsa turns red more quickly in the warm spring |
| D．It’s difficult for tourists to get close to Suaeda salsa there |
We’re reading a book or opening an envelope when, all of a sudden, there’s a sharp pain on our finger. We see a little bit of blood and realize we’ve just gotten a paper cut.
Dr. Hayley Goldbach, a resident dermatologist at UCLA Health, explained that why paper cuts hurt so much is because the ones are mainly on finger tips which have a high density* of nerve endings. These nerve endings are known as nociceptors, which send signals to the brain about things that could cause a break in the skin, such as extreme hot or cold temperatures and chemicals.
After being cut, we’re using our hands throughout the day, meaning that the wound is getting opened again and again, which makes the cutting painful.
The paper itself is another reason why these superficial cuts leave us in so much pain. Paper might look smooth but, if we study it under a microscope, the edge is actually jagged.
“Paper is quite sharp,” said Dr. Goldbach. “It cuts us pretty quickly before we have the chance to realize it.”
Additionally, paper is made from wood pulp, cotton and other fibers, which can be left behind in the wound. They are inflammatory, so it’s important to run the cut under water and wash it with a little soap.
Dr. Goldbach added that there are mental* and emotional elements that cause paper cuts to hurt more than other cuts.
“It happens so quickly that we don’t have time to withdraw our hand,” she said. “We tend to be careful with a knife—we’re being careful on purpose because we know there’s a danger.”
If you do get a paper cut, she suggests washing it with soap and water and putting a band-aid on it. She says wounds that are kept moist under a bandage will be less painful and will help the damaged skin cells turn to new ones more quickly.
“If it’s red, if there’s drainage, it looks contaminated or infected, see a doctor immediately,” she warned.
1. According to the passage, how many reasons make paper cuts more painful?| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．We’d better use paper as carefully as using a knife all the time. |
| B．It’s dangerous to use a knife so we need to be careful all the time. |
| C．Paper cuts come surprisingly so they make us hurt more than others. |
| D．It’s necessary to know the danger of using paper so we can avoid hurting. |
| A．Results of Cutting by Paper |
| B．Ways to Deal with Paper Cuts |
| C．Be Careful with Paper in Your Hand |
| D．Paper Hurts You More than Expected |
3 . Up to one quarter of the world’s population use chopsticks as their main eating tools. Called kuaizi in Chinese, chopsticks were developed in China about 5,000 years ago. Often made from wood, chopsticks allow users to pick up pieces of food by clamping together and releasing the sticks with the thumb and first three fingers.
Before the invention of chopsticks, the Chinese used only their hands to eat. One reason why chopsticks were invented is that eating with one’s hands allowed some people to take more food than others. This was considered rude, so using chopsticks, which limited the amount of food that could be taken at one time, was thought to be a more polite practice. Another one was about the great Chinese thinker Confucius. He refused to use knives at the table, feeling that they reminded eaters of the slaughterhouse, so he preferred chopsticks.
At first, chopsticks were used only by nobles. Later on, during the Western Han Dynasty, commoners began to use chopsticks as well. But at that time, people used chopsticks only to eat side dishes, because they liked spoons more than chopsticks. Then, during the Northern Song Dynasty, noodles became a popular dish. It is very difficult to eat noodles with a spoon, so chopsticks were accepted by more people and were used more often. Today, chopsticks are the main eating tools in China, Japan and Vietnam, and people from countries all over the world commonly use these tools while eating Asian food.
1. Which of the following can replace the word “clamping” in paragraph 1?| A．moving | B．holding | C．waving | D．carrying |
| A．The steps of making chopsticks. | B．The rapid changes of chopsticks. |
| C．The reasons for inventing chopsticks. | D．The right way of using chopsticks. |
| A．Chinese people use other eating tools before chopsticks were invented |
| B．Confucius refused to use knives because they were from western countries |
| C．common people could also use chopsticks before the Western Han Dynasty |
| D．eating with chopsticks became common after noodles became a popular dish |
| A．ask us to use chopsticks more | B．help us know more about chopsticks |
| C．show us when to use chopsticks | D．tell us how to use chopsticks correctly |
4 . Artificial Intelligence (AI) products are not new. However, researchers have been working to improve the technology. Now AI helpers, like Siri and Alexa, can have short conversations with us. AlphaGo taught itself to play Go and became better than the top human players.
Now an AI system has been tasked with passing a multiple-choice exam. The goal is to improve machines’ language understanding and logic with so-called computer vision.
A system named Aristo was developed by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a lab in the United States city of Seattle. It recently passed an eighth-grade science exam taken by many US students, The New York Times reported. It correctly answered more than 90% of the questions. Then it was given a twelfth-grade exam. It scored more than 80%.
It’s an example of the progress in AI development. Four years ago, 700 computer scientists tried to develop AI systems that could pass these kinds of exams. None scored higher than 60%.
Aristo was able to pass the exams because it can not only understand language but also use logical thinking to solve difficult problems. For example, it can understand what a forest fire is and how it could endanger animals like squirrels or reduce the food supply they need.
The system used BERT, a kind of neural network technology developed by Google, to answer the questions. BERT has “read” thousands of English articles. If it looks at a sentence with a missing word, it can correctly guess what the word is. With BERT’s help, Aristo “read” many multiple-choice questions and answers. Over time, it was able to find logical patterns on its own.
“It may still be in the earliest stages,” said Jingjing Liu, a Microsoft researcher who has been working on similar technologies. “We can’t compare this technology to real human students and their ability to reason.”
However, Aristo’s success means that AI systems are getting better at understanding users, and we might see improved search engines and hospital databases in the near future.
1. Why did scientists develop Aristo?| A．To improve AI’s ability to teach itself. | B．To make better multiple-choice exams. |
| C．To shorten the time AI needs to “read” information. | D．To improve the language understanding and logic of AI. |
| A．It was best at understanding English. | B．It was smarter than most American students. |
| C．It could only deal with science questions. | D．It did better than other AI systems in similar tasks. |
| A．How Aristo teaches itself. | B．How Aristo reads English articles. |
| C．How Google developed BERT. | D．How difficult it was to design Aristo. |
| A．AI will replace humans in many tasks. | B．Humans can’t live without AI in the future. |
| C．Aristo performs better with a larger database. | D．Aristo still cannot compare to human reasoning skills. |
Self-driving cars are usually considered to be more efficient and convenient. Like human drivers using eyes and ears to determine what is going on around us, self-driving cars use sensors including cameras, radar, and lidar to do the same job. But using the sensors to analyze what they see is complicated. In some cases, self-driving cars can’t make exact decisions any better than a human driver could, which may result in great danger.
The idea of building smart roads can help solve the problem. These smart roads will be able to communicate with self-driving cars. Scientists have imagined lots of different ways to connect cars with other vehicles on the road, traffic lights, the road itself, and more. One idea is using radio signals to connect cars with traffic lights so that they work together. These signals might tell cars about a red light and help ensure a safe stop. Another idea is building a possible network of control towers to deal with all signals and make overall arrangements. Signals from cars and roadways would all come to and from these towers, allowing communication among the entire network. Each crossroad can also act like a control tower, communicating with each other and able to route traffic to reduce traffic jams.
____ One possibility is that roads continue to have sidewalks and bicycle roads, as they do now. Crosswalks on smart roads could be designed with sensors so that traffic lights will be lighted up green or red, depending on if it is safe for pedestrians to cross. However, this could cause problems too. People might step into the road as they like and fast-moving cars would not have enough time to stop. Another possibility is that we design two separate systems: roads for self-driving vehicles and pathways for pedestrians and cyclists.
While on the way to realize the idea, technology is still needed to be developed. Another problem is the cost. The various sensors in self—driving cars built for smart roads can be more than $100,000 per vehicle. Smart roads would require to be improved too, which will also cost a lot. Though there are difficulties to overcome, researchers and scientists are making efforts to address these problems.
1. While driving, self—driving cars ________.| A．are much smarter than human drivers |
| B．refuse to communicate with other cars |
| C．analyze situations with the help of drivers |
| D．use sensors to determine the things around |
| A．Which roads will be safer for self-driving cars? |
| B．What trouble will pedestrians have on smart roads? |
| C．How will the traffic lights and sensors work together? |
| D．Where will people walk and ride bikes on smart roads? |
| A．Control towers will help ensure safety and improve traffic. |
| B．Cost is the biggest difficulty people face in building smart roads. |
| C．Smart roads will offer more convenience to cars than pedestrians. |
| D．Smart roads will have separate systems for different self-driving cars. |
| A．Trouble of Self-driving Cars | B．Smart Cars Need Smart Roads |
| C．One Big Step for Smart Roads | D．A Future Vehicle: Self-driving Cars |
6 . What is a tattoo? A tattoo is a design, or word intentionally fixed or placed on the skin. The English word “tattoo” comes from the Tahitian word “tatau”. Tatau is the sound made by tattoo tools. Many historians believe that Captain James Cook first introduced the word into the English language.
In ancient times, many cultures liked tattooing and each one had different reasons for getting tattoos. The most common reason was to show that someone was part of a certain group or a community. Some ancient people were tattooed because it showed wealth and helped people get rid of bad spirits. The Anglo-Saxons tattooed those who broke the law or were homeless.
With the arrival of powerful Europeans, a change came. Europeans refused tattoos and saw them as something disrespectful. As they explored the rest of the world, they carried this idea with them and caused local people to lose interest in tattoos. Although not welcomed, tattoos continued to be spread by sailors and soldiers. In the 20th century, many people began to welcome tattoos again. The 1940s are remembered as the golden age of tattoos in Western culture.
In modern society, more and more people choose to get a tattoo just because they like a design. It might be a picture to express themselves. The heart is one of the most popular tattoo choices and holds deep meanings, including love, loss and heartbreak. The falling flowers symbolize letting go of the past and enjoying the present time. Hand tattoos remind us of promises while a snake represents danger or protection.
However, some people still can’t accept tattooing, considering them as a symbol of trouble makers.
1. From the passage, we can know that the word tattoo .| A．is a name of a tattoo tool | B．was created by Captain James Cook |
| C．comes from another language | D．appeared earlier than the word “tatau” |
| A．could mean a kind of punishment |
| B．could bring more wealth to people |
| C．showed leaders in different groups |
| D．represented the help from bad spirits |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
| A．show the popularity of tattoos |
| B．describe the influence of tattoos |
| C．explain the reasons of getting tattoos |
| D．introduce the development of tattoos |
It’s a pity that deaf people, or those who have hearing problems, can’t enjoy music. But now a vibrating suit brings them hope— it can allow them to “feel” music instead of hearing it.
Designed by a technology company, the suit is made up of a body harness ankle and wrist straps”. Music is sent to the suit and then the suit is able to translate it into a number of vibrating beats, which can be felt all over the body. The users can adjust the degrees of the vibrations.
Chase Burton, 33, a deaf filmmaker from Texas, US, has been testing out the suit for four years. He understands that a deaf person’s experience with music is very different. “When I was a kid, I’d lie on the floor above our garage so I could feel the vibrations from my brother’s band rocking out below my body,” Burton said. Now when he wears the vibrating device”, he says the sound hits different parts of his body. “Maybe it will hit me down in my ankles first. And then I’ll start to feel the vibrations in my back. And then I’ll feel some in my wrist,” Burton said.
The designers have been working to make more deaf people experience music through their skin. In 2016, a dozen prototype suits were tested at a Lady Gaga concert in the US. The suit was also tested at a different concert in Las Vegas in 2018. It was given to 150 audience members at the concert where half the audience members were deaf and half could hear.
At the same time, the company has been improving the technology, saying it’s ready to go to market soon. The suit may be used in video games or theme parks. The final goal is to make the technology available to all.
“We truly think that anything that has an audio element can also have a vibrational experience as well,” the company’s director Jordan said.
1. The vibrating suit is a wearable device that can ________.| A．keep deaf people safe | B．teach the deaf to play music |
| C．treat hearing problems | D．help deaf people feel music |
| A．the popularity of the vibrating suit | B．his experience with the vibrating suit |
| C．the development of the vibrating suit | D．his contributions to the vibrating suit |
| A．deaf people’s | B．the designers | C．vibrating suits’ | D．video games |
| A．There will be a lot of difficulties to put the suit into use |
| B．The suit will not just be used by deaf people in the future |
| C．The suit will be so expensive that few people can afford it |
| D．There will be better tools to replace the vibrating suit soon |
Data in the cloud is always stored in an encrypted form in cloud storage services so that it can’t be let out. The business cloud storage systems use a specific encryption key. The key can be stored either by the service itself or by individual users. Most services keep the key themselves, allowing their systems to read and perform operations on the data. It’s much more convenient than having users keep the key themselves. But it’s also less secure. Data might not be safe if the keys are stolen.
Some less popular cloud services, including Mega and Spide Oak, requires users to upload and download files through applications that have encryption functions. This extra step lets users keep the encryption keys themselves, yet users will fail to use some functions, such as searching among their cloud stored files.
Therefore, these services aren’t flawless. There’s still a possibility that the apps might be broken in and the files can be let out. What’s more, if a user loses the password, the data will never be found back.
, it’s best to combine the features of these different ways. Before uploading data to the cloud, first encrypt it with your own encryption software. Then, upload the encrypted file to the cloud. To get the file again, download it and then decrypt it.
This, of course, prevents people from using many cloud services. And the company providing the cloud services could still do with the data before you download it.
So the best way to protect against that is to use authenticated encryption. This method not only stores the data, but also allows a user notice whether the file has been changed.
Finally, for those who don’t want to learn how to programme their own tools, here are two basic choices: Find a good cloud storage service or use a good enough encryption software. These are generally free or very low-cost.
1. What does the underlined word “flawless” probably mean?| A．perfect | B．valuable | C．important | D．convenient |
| A．To provide plenty of new data | B．To get the information easily |
| C．To protect the files in the cloud | D．To find some searching functions |
| A．Only the users can own the encryption key of the data. |
| B．The cloud services keep the encryption key for the users. |
| C．The users use authenticated encryption when storing the data. |
| D．The users upload and download the data in Mega and Spide Oak. |
| A．What is Data Security? | B．What is Encryption Key? |
| C．How to Get your Data Easily? | D．How to keep your Data Safe? |
The most famous treasure on show in Hubei Museum is the Chime Bells. The bells cannot be shown abroad, which is the rule made to protect them.
These chime bells were uncovered in the tomb of Marquis Yi. 65 chime bells include 19 niu bells, 45 yong bells and one bo bell. They hung on a frame.
It is said that the king of Chu loved music. He also knew that Marquis Yi, the ruler of the neighbor state Zeng, shared this love for musical performances. The king had even visited the Marquis during his lifetime. So, when he learned of the Marquis’s death, he wanted a special gift to send as part of what would be placed in the Marquis’s tomb. He ordered his man to make the most wonderful bell and then wrote words on it. The skillful master made it. The bo bell was three feet high and weighed 297 pounds. It was—and still is the largest musical instrument yet known.
The largest one and another sixty-four bells were put in order by size—an order that also showed the different types of musical tunes. The bells have no clappers and are sounded by hitting against them. After over 1,000 years, the bells still sound perfect, ready to play melodies local and foreign, classic and modern.
Indeed, musical instruments have a very long tradition in China. Bells and drums, from the Shang Dynasty onward, were part of the musical show. During the Zhou Dynasty and then the Warring States Period that followed, they were used in battles to warn armies as well as to give messages during military attacks. Anyway, the music was still used especially for special celebrations. Various instruments opened up a very attractive world of sounds.
1. How many kinds of bells were found?| A．Three. | B．Nineteen. | C．Forty-five. | D．Sixty-five. |
| A．He was interested in music and the bell. | B．He made it as a present for Marquis Yi. |
| C．He decided to share his love for the bell. | D．He hoped to be remembered by Marquis Yi. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．Most of the bells were large and heavy, weighing as much as 297 pounds. |
| B．The chime bells are allowed to be sent to some museums in other countries. |
| C．Now musicians are able to play a certain piece of music using the chime bells. |
| D．Bells and drums were only used during the wars to give warning in ancient times. |
A hungry fly speeds through a forest. It smells nectar and lands on a green leaf. Many plants produce nectar, a liquid that insects feed on. The fly starts to drink the sweet liquid. Suddenly, the fly’s world turns green. The two sides of the leaf close against each other. Long green teeth lock together around it. The fly has been caught by a Venus flytrap. There is no chance to run away.
The Venus flytrap is perhaps the most famous killer plant, a kind of meat-eating plant. It grows in very few places, such as wetlands near the coast of North Carolina in America. The Venus flytrap is not a large plant. It grows to be only about a foot tall. The plant has white flowers in the spring, but it is the plant’s leaves that make it so interesting. The ends of the leaves have folding parts with stiff, tiny hairs. These are the plant’s “traps”. What does the Venus flytrap eat? It doesn’t only eat flies. As you might guess, the Venus flytrap also eats spiders, ants, and crickets. The Venus flytrap makes most of its food with sun, air, and water, just like other plants. Living things just give it more nutrition to grow well in wetlands.
How does this plant trap and eat living things? The Venus flytrap uses-a sweet liquid-nectar, to attract its food. When a fly lands on one of the plant’s open traps, hairs on the surface make the trap closed. As soon as the trap closes, the fly is dinner! However, scientists have only recently started to understand how it hunts and eats. After years of study, plant scientist Alexander Volkov believes he now knows the Venus flytrap’s mystery. “This,” says Volkov, “is an electrical plant.”
There are three small hairs along each of the Venus flytrap’s two leaves. When an insect touches a hair, it creates an electrical signal in the leaf. The insect can keep feeding-for now. But if it touches another hair within 20 seconds, the trap shuts immediately. This system allows the plant to tell the difference between a drop of water, for example, and a moving creature.
Once trapped, an insect has little chance of survival. Instead of nectar, the Venus fly trap now releases a different liquid-one that slowly eats away at the insect. Ten days later, hardly anything is left. The plant’s leaves open again, and the Venus flytrap is ready for its next meal.
1. Venus flytrap is ________.| A．a tiny plant that is able to fly in the sky |
| B．a small plant that catches and eats insects |
| C．a large plant that is dangerous to humans |
| D．a meat-eating plant that only eats spiders |
| A．something special | B．something general | C．something important | D．something harmful |
| A．It makes two kinds of liquid that feeds and kills insects. |
| B．It offers little possibility for insects to run away from death. |
| C．It produces electrical signals when an insect touches its hair. |
| D．Its leaves close very slowly so that the hunt will be successful. |
| A．To explain what the Venus flytrap looks. |
| B．To explain how the Venus flytrap works. |
| C．To describe different types of killer plants. |
| D．To describe an experiment on killer plants. |
