1 . While a lot of undergraduates live with loud roommates, 24-year-old Nikolai shares his home with over 600 noisy animals. It is no
Twenty years ago his parents bought a zoo in Denmark and started the first zoo and rescue centre for animals. Two years ago his dad unfortunately
Owning a zoo is busywork with Nikolai taking on many
“As it is a rescue zoo, everything
Having to support his mother and the zoo, Nikolai has come up with a
| A．wonder | B．possibility | C．use | D．pleasure |
| A．appealed to | B．came across | C．went through | D．died of |
| A．manage | B．guard | C．construct | D．decorate |
| A．projects | B．events | C．performances | D．jobs |
| A．plenty | B．richness | C．majority | D．maximum |
| A．grow | B．root | C．survive | D．last |
| A．focuses | B．reflects | C．functions | D．responds |
| A．historical | B．traditional | C．formal | D．royal |
| A．affection | B．command | C．schedule | D．responsibility |
| A．registered | B．introduced | C．transformed | D．directed |
| A．carefully | B．cruelly | C．sincerely | D．aimlessly |
| A．effects | B．results | C．diseases | D．marks |
| A．complex | B．creative | C．universal | D．common |
| A．scores | B．funds | C．allowances | D．profits |
| A．raised | B．spared | C．charged | D．saved |
2 . Fu Lei’s Family Letters is a book of letters written by Chinese translator and writer Fu Lei to his elder son Fu Cong, who is a famous pianist. Between 1954 and 1966, Fu Cong spent a lot of time away from home training as a piano player. As a result, writing letters became Fu Lei’s usual way of communicating with his elder son. Fu Min, Fu Lei’s younger son edited the letters and the book came out in 1981.
The book shows Fu Lei’s family tradition and value. To Fu Lei, the purpose of education of a person, is to make that person useful to the society. Fu Lei praised his son Fu Cong after winning a piano competition. Fu Lei wrote, “We are happy because you make your country proud. I am so excited when I think about your future. You will make great progress and serve more people, encourage them and heal them.”
In the family letters, Fu Cong was also advised to read famous Chinese texts. When reading these books, Fu Cong was told to connect ideas and feelings together, for that would help him become a better person. To Fu Lei, learning to be a good person comes before any academic training.
Fu Lei’s Family Letters has a great impact on people in China because it helps many young students understand how they should live their lives.
1. Who edited Fu Lei’s family letters?| A．Fu Lei. | B．Fu Cong. | C．Fu Min. | D．A translator. |
| A．Fu Lei’s family tradition and value are shown in the book. |
| B．People in the 1950s communicated with each other by books. |
| C．It’s difficult for parents to make their children well educated. |
| D．Praising children after taking part in a competition is important. |
| A．It would be uncertain. |
| B．It would be hopeful. |
| C．It would be difficult. |
| D．It would be interesting. |
| A．To be a richer man. |
| B．To do more academic training. |
| C．To help more people. |
| D．To become a better person. |
3 . Rick Guidotti put aside his career as a fashion photographer to turn his lens (镜头) to people living with genetic, physical and behavioural differences.
He says what changed his perception (看法) of beauty was a chance encounter with an albino (患白化病的) girl. “I was just tired of people telling me who was beautiful. Every season that face would change but I was always told who was beautiful. As an artist, I don’t see beauty just on covers of magazines. I see it everywhere. So that was my original intention — that opened my eyes a little wider and wider.”
Guidotti has created Positive Exposure, a not-for-profit organization that uses photography and video to transform public perceptions and promote a world where differences are celebrated. Guidotti and Positive Exposure are featured in a new documentary called On Beauty.
One of the women featured in the film is Jayne Waithera. “I never thought I was beautiful because nobody said that to me, but meeting him was my profound moment. I remember that particular day. He took my picture and I felt so good like I felt there’s somebody who, like, really loves me and sees me for who I am and who sees me more than my condition.”
Guidotti is travelling from city to city to promote On Beauty. He says his tour is not about money; it’s about the message. “As I travel from community to community, I’m taking photographs and I’m empowering (给某人……的权力) individuals with a positive sense of who they are. They’re seeing beauty in their reflection but I’m also empowering their families and they in turn are empowering their communities as well. All is based on the philosophy of change — how you see, how you change.”
1. Why did Guidotti change his career?| A．The beauty on covers of magazines is not beautiful. |
| B．He wanted to create his own company. |
| C．His comprehension of beauty changed owing to an albino girl. |
| D．He couldn’t earn enough money from his former career. |
| A．It welcomes differences in the world. | B．It brings a lot of money for Guidotti. |
| C．It makes photography more popular. | D．It makes the public more beautiful. |
| A．Jayne’s picture was more beautiful than herself. |
| B．Jayne was beautiful indeed. |
| C．Photographs gave Jayne a positive sense of who she was. |
| D．It was unfair that nobody discovered Jayne’s beauty. |
| A．Communities have a great influence on everyone. |
| B．We should travel frequently. |
| C．Your attitude to seeing the world decides your behaviour. |
| D．We should make contributions to our community. |
4 . Art museums are full of centuries-old paintings with details of plants that today give us clues about evolution and breeding.
Exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, The Harvesters created in 1565 shows farmers cutting wheat nearly as tall as they are. “Nowadays, if you walk through a wheat field, you basically see that w heat is about knee height. The short wheat is essentially a consequence of breeding from the second half of the 20th century,” said biologist Ive De Smet.
According to De Smet, wheat is just one example of how historical artworks can allow us to track the transformation of crops over time. He has teamed up with art historian David Vergau wen to seek similar kinds of artworks around the world.
As friends since childhood, their interest in plants in artworks began with a visit to a museum in Russia, where they noticed an old-looking watermelon in an early-7th-century painting. A watermelon is usually believed to be red on the inside. However, that one appeared to be pale and white. De Smet assured the painter had done a poor job. But Verguawen had a different idea. “This is one of the best painters ever in that era. So, if he painted it like that, that’s the way it must have looked like.”
Other paintings revealed that there were both red and white watermelons grown in the 17th century. The chemical compound that makes watermelons red is lycopene (番茄红素). “There must have been some sort of mutation (突变) preventing the accumulation of that color. Now, with all the genetic knowledge that we have of various plant species, we can look in more de tail at how something comes about.”
De Smet and Verguawen hope to create an online research database of historical plant artworks. They call for contributions of art enthusiasts around the world via the social media. But they caution, the source paintings need to be realistic. “If you’re going to use, for example, Picasso’s paintings to try and understand what a pear looked like in the early 20th century, you might be misled.” Instead, such an attempt could be fruitless.
1. What can we infer about wheat from Paragraph 2?| A．It became shorter and shorter as it evolved. |
| B．It was about knee height in the 16th century. |
| C．It might have had no short varieties before the 1950s. |
| D．It showed different heights as farmers’ heights changed. |
| A．Their lifelong friendship. | B．A white watermelon in a painting. |
| C．Their professional background. | D．An argument over the best painters. |
| A．To give an example of historical plant artwork. |
| B．To showcase the contributions of art enthusiasts. |
| C．To describe the appearance of a pear in the early 20th century. |
| D．To emphasize the significance of using realistic source paintings. |
| A．Plant evolution progresses throughout history. |
| B．Old art provides fascinating insights into agriculture. |
| C．Ancient art demonstrates the presence of white watermelons. |
| D．Plants serve as a popular subject in numerous historical artworks. |
5 . Why do children learn so quickly? Is it simply a necessity, or is a child’s brain more capable of taking in new information than an adult’s brain?
“It is a common way of thinking that ‘children are like sponges’ and have the magical ability to learn new skills faster than an adult, but there are some misconceptions here, “ said Debbie Raven, a researcher at the University of Chester. “A child’s cognitive (认知的) development is age-related and, naturally, children perform worse than their older peers in most areas. However, there are times when being young brings an advantage, and this is especially true around their earliest years.
This advantage is largely due to neuroplasticity, meaning the brain’s ability to form and change its connections, pathways and wiring based on experiences. Neuroplasticity is what gives children the capacity to learn-and, if necessary, unlearn-habits, routines, approaches and actions very quickly. This ability is most constant and rapid before a child’s fifth birthday, when much of what they encounter or experience is novel. “This ability to learn quickly is connected to several areas, including plasticity, their experiences with adults, their environment, and their biological drive to explore, “ Raven said. “Childhood is a place where children spend their time catching up with adults’ more sophisticated abilities. “
Language learning, in particular, is an area where children often have a huge advantage over adults. This is largely because “babies are able to tune in to the rhythm and sounds used in their native language, and can therefore become fluent speakers by the age of four. “This ability can help young children learn a second or third language with apparent ease, Raven said.
In a research paper, the authors suggest that “human babies are born seeing and hearing linguistic information that older children and adults miss, although they lose this ability with more experience in their environments. Moreover, babies can “discriminate speech sounds and tones used in al of the world’s languages, making them open to al input, regardless of the linguistic environment they are born into.
1. Why does Raven make the remarks in paragraph 2?| A．To prove a new theory. | B．To share personal experience. |
| C．To correct a wrong belief. | D．To solve long-held confusion. |
| A．It enables children to break a habit quickly. |
| B．It accompanies a person all through his life. |
| C．It is entirely based on a kid’s past experiences. |
| D．It disappears soon after a child’s fifth birthday. |
| A．Their brain structure. | B．Their habits and routines. |
| C．Their parents’ experiences. | D．Their inborn desire to explore. |
| A．Why children are talented language learners. |
| B．What are the proper ways of learning languages. |
| C．When is the best time to learn foreign languages. |
| D．How environments can influence language learning. |
6 . Vicky Umodu from Colton in California was in the process of moving into her new home. She was in urgent
Once she got it home, she started to
But to her
Vicky’s
| A．advance | B．charge | C．favor | D．need |
| A．flexible | B．real | C．new | D．simple |
| A．delighted | B．discouraged | C．honored | D．puzzled |
| A．worriedly | B．slightly | C．immediately | D．secretly |
| A．assess | B．exchange | C．arrange | D．design |
| A．horrible | B．strong | C．awesome | D．strange |
| A．realized | B．recognized | C．assumed | D．believed |
| A．regret | B．relief | C．joy | D．shock |
| A．lent | B．returned | C．presented | D．offered |
| A．belonged to | B．contributed to | C．subscribed to | D．adapted to |
| A．intention | B．idea | C．business | D．choice |
| A．distributing | B．showing | C．earning | D．hiding |
| A．generosity | B．honesty | C．affection | D．confidence |
| A．reward | B．order | C．promotion | D．certificate |
| A．fridge | B．gift | C．heart | D．lesson |
7 . The “Double Seven Festival” is a traditional Chinese festival. It has a longer history than the
The origin of this festival is related to a cowboy and a weaving girl, whose love story has become a part of the Chinese culture.
Unluckily, even such a hard life didn’t last long. His brother got rid of him and all he got was the old cow. Although they couldn’t talk to each other, they
Every day the cowboy went to work
Although the love story doesn’t end up with a happy ending, it is to be told from one
| A．celebration | B．congratulation | C．inspiration | D．liberation |
| A．As if | B．Even if | C．Until then | D．In case |
| A．open-minded | B．absent-minded | C．narrow-minded | D．business-minded |
| A．depended | B．based | C．concentrated | D．worked |
| A．sleep | B．bathe | C．dance | D．play |
| A．make | B．bring | C．steal | D．buy |
| A．Interested | B．Frightened | C．Tired | D．Surprised |
| A．while | B．as | C．before | D．after |
| A．careful | B．successful | C．peaceful | D．helpful |
| A．freed | B．risked | C．kept | D．prevented |
| A．gentleman | B．lady | C．cow | D．couple |
| A．why | B．when | C．where | D．how |
| A．dynasty | B．generation | C．age | D．person |
| A．shared | B．connected | C．filled | D．separated |
| A．meet | B．lose | C．miss | D．see |
8 . Work starts early on White Gate Farm in East Lyme, Connecticut. By 7 a. m., farm manager Dan Wood was at the East Lyme Post Office dropping off a box of fresh produce that later in the day would be delivered by mail to Chelsea Gubbins, who lives across town.
White Gate Farm is a member of Farmers Post, a pilot programme that enables smallholder farms across eastern Connecticut to ship fresh produce and other farm products to local households through the United States Postal Service (USPS). Farmers Post takes advantage of a USPS programme called Connect Local that allows small businesses to offer same-day and next-day delivery at a fixed low cost.
Food remains in the fields because either market prices are too low or the cost of the workforce is too high, or because the size and shape of the produce make it unattractive to stores. Each year, around 10 million tons of crops never get harvested, causing about 16% of total US food loss and waste.
“Food that is wasted has a much larger influence than just the loss of the food itself,” says Julia Kurnik, senior director of Innovation Start-ups at WWF. “Everything that went into growing it goes out the window as well—the water, the land, and the energy. And as the food breaks down, it produces greenhouse gases. The bad effects amplify greatly.”
Besides reducing food waste, selling farm products directly to local customers cuts down on the cross-country shipping of food grown in California or elsewhere. This reduces the so-called food miles that researchers believe cause about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gases. Fruits and vegetables, which are often transported out of season and require refrigeration, produce lots of greenhouse gases between farms and people’s plates.
Wood understands that Farmers Post can help to end that waste. “Farming is kind of like cooking for a big group.” he says. “This is helping us get right on the money, using almost 100% of what we grow and harvest.”
1. Why was Farmers Post started?| A．To provide professional modern farming methods. |
| B．To create more delivery jobs for local people |
| C．To pick up and carry customers to different farms. |
| D．To make the delivery of produce easier and cheaper. |
| A．The limited need for farm products. | B．The shortage of workers and harvesting tool. |
| C．Their low value and poor quality. | D．Bad weather and road conditions. |
| A．Increase. | B．Slow. | C．Switch. | D．Weaken. |
| A．The Food Safety Movement Has Met Some Challenges |
| B．A Farm-to-Table Programme Helps Reduce Food Waste |
| C．Farmers Post Explores Ways to Make High-Quality Products |
| D．Small Farms Play a Leading Role in Serving Communities |
9 . On January 1st, 2018, “gaming disorder” —in which games are played uncontrollably, despite causing harm — gained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO). Last year, China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day. Clinics are appearing around the world, promising to cure patients of their habit.
Are games really addictive? Psychologists have different opinions. The case for the defence is that this is just another moral panic. Similar warnings have been given about television, rock and roll, jazz, comic books, and even novels. As the newest form of mass media, gaming is merely enduring (忍受) its own time before it finally stops being debatable.
However, some argue that unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to engineer their products to make them addictive. For one thing, the business-model has changed. In the old days games were bought once and for all. But these days, games are free and money is earned from purchases of in-game goods, which ties playtime directly to developers’ income. For another, games makers combine psychological theory and data, which helps them maximize the playtime. Smartphones and modern video game machines use their permanent Internet connections to send gameplay data back to developers. That allows products to be constantly adjusted to increase spending on games.
The gaming industry should realize that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO recognition, diagnoses (诊断) become more common. Clinics are already reporting booming business, as lockdowns have given games more time to spend with their hobby. And being put together in the public mind, fairly or not, with gambling (赌博) will not do the industry any favours.
1. What is the purpose of Paragraph 1?| A．To inform the readers of the harmful effects of games. |
| B．To arouse the readers’ interest about the topic. |
| C．To show growing public concern about the problem of games. |
| D．To discuss whether it is necessary to panic about games. |
| A．To show that they are as highly addictive as games. |
| B．To prove that the panic over games will fade away. |
| C．To argue that these media forms are not harmful at all. |
| D．To compare the differences among these media forms. |
| A．They adjust products based on received data. |
| B．They don’t charge players for in-game goods. |
| C．They keep players’ video game machines updated. |
| D．They reward top players with more playtime. |
| A．Make a prediction. | B．Offer a suggestion. |
| C．Put forward a solution. | D．Give a warning. |
10 . My kids and I were heading into the supermarket over the weekend. On the way, we spotted a man holding a piece of paper that said, “
At this store, a sight like this is not normal. My 10-year-old noticed him and made a
In the store, I asked each of my kids to pick something they thought our “friend” there would
When we handed him the bag of
This has been a wonderful experience for our family. For days the kids have been looking for others we can
| A．Lost | B．Changed | C．Quit | D．Finished |
| A．suggestion | B．comment | C．decision | D．call |
| A．outside | B．proudly | C．inside | D．angrily |
| A．order | B．supply | C．appreciate | D．discover |
| A．dollar | B．job | C．hot meal | D．gift card |
| A．yet | B．even | C．still | D．just |
| A．declared | B．shared | C．ignored | D．expected |
| A．toys | B．medicine | C．food | D．clothes |
| A．sleepy | B．watery | C．curious | D．sharp |
| A．whoever | B．whatever | C．whichever | D．whenever |
| A．rely on | B．respect | C．learn from | D．help |
| A．suddenly | B．vividly | C．differently | D．perfectly |
| A．time | B．power | C．patience | D．money |
| A．fear | B．love | C．need | D．memory |
| A．strong | B．sweet | C．strange | D．simple |
