1 . The sound that woke Damian Languell at 8:15 am was so loud that he assumed it came from inside his house. As he got up to investigate, he heard another sound, this one coming most definitely from outside. Looking out of his bedroom window, he spied a tree engulfed (淹没) in smoke about 500 yards away. A car was wrapped around the tree’s base, its engine on fire.
Grabbing buckets of water, Languell and his girlfriend ran to the crash site. The wreck looked worse up close. The car, a 1998 Buick, was split nearly in two, and the tree was where the driver’s seat ought to have been, as if planted there. No one should have survived this crash, and yet there was 16-year-old Quintin Thompson, his terrified face pressed against the driver’s side window, in visible pain. Languell tried putting out the fire with his buckets of water with no success. When the flames got into the front seats, he realized he had to get the boy out of there.
In an act that a police report described as showing “complete disregard for his own safety”, Languell opened the Buick’s back door and crawled in. Thompson was struggling to get free, Languell says. “That’s when I noticed how bad his legs were.” Using a pocketknife he’d had the foresight to bring with him, he sawed through Thompson’s seat belt.
Now that Thompson was free, Languell pulled him out a back window of the vehicle, then dragged the teen to safety before the entire car was engulfed in flames.
Although Thompson suffered multiple fractures (骨折) to his legs, spine, and face, a social media post described him as “looking great, smiling, and joking.” Languell thinks about that day often. “My heart goes out to Thompson. When you are that close to that level of hurt, you feel it so directly.”
1. When Damian heard the big sound, ______.| A．he called 911 immediately |
| B．he stayed inside his house |
| C．he woke up his girlfriend |
| D．he got up to see what happened |
| A．the police had arrived |
| B．the whole car was completely in flames |
| C．Thompson was terrified and painful |
| D．Thompson was smiling and joking |
| A．brave | B．lucky |
| C．simple-minded | D．warm-hearted |
| A．His own bravery and persistence. |
| B．The several buckets of water. |
| C．The timely arrival of the police. |
| D．The pocketknife Damian carried with him. |
2 . A new study establishes that environmental damage caused by corn production results in 4,300 premature deaths annually in the United States, representing cost of $39 billion.
The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Sustainability, presents how researchers have estimated for the first time the health damages caused by corn production using detailed information on pollution emissions, pollution transport by wind, and human exposure to increased air pollution levels.
The study also shows how the damage to human health of producing a litre (升) of corn differs from region to region and how, in some areas, the health damages of corn production are greater than its market price.
“The deaths caused per litre in western corn belt states such as Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska tend to be lower than in eastern corn belt states such as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio,” said lead researcher Jason Hill.
It’s important for farmers to have this information so that they can carry out practices that reduce the environmental influence of the crops they grow. Farmers can greatly improve the environmental profile of their corn by using precision agriculture tools and switching to fertilizers that have lower ammonia (氨) emissions. The study’s results also suggest potential benefits from improving nitrogen use efficiency, switching to crops requiring less fertilizer, and changing the location where corn is grown.
Aware that changes in practices can take time and planning, Hill suggests farmers could be offered motivation to switch to crops that demand less applied nitrogen while still offering market and nutritional benefits.
Hill said, “The number of deaths related to corn production could be reduced through these key strategies”.
1. Which of the states has the lowest death rate caused by corn production?| A．Nebraska. | B．Illinois. |
| C．Indiana. | D．Ohio. |
| A．Improve nitrogen use efficiency. |
| B．Plant crops with no fertilizer. |
| C．Change the corn’s location. |
| D．Using precision agriculture tools. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Pessimistic. | D．Neutral. |
| A．Health and lifestyle. |
| B．Art and design. |
| C．Science and environment. |
| D．Fashion and business. |
3 . Population data for European mountain birds have been for the first time combined in a recent study, with worrying results: the abundances of mountain-specialist birds has declined by as much as 10% in the 2000s.
Ecological communities in mountain areas include species not found in any other habitats. These species are also very susceptible to climate change, as global warming is reducing their liveable habitats. In principle, species may relocate further up the mountains, but closer to the top their habitat inevitably shrinks.
According to the new article, the abundance of European mountain birds has in fact declined in line with climate change projections.
The recently released study examined the population trends of 44 bird species in the 2000s in the mountain and fell regions of Fennoscandia, Great Britain, the Alps and the Iberian Peninsula. A decline was seen in 14 of the observed species, while eight of them saw significant increase.
“On average, population decline among the species studied was 7% over the 13-year research period, making the situation of mountain birds distinctly worse compared to, for example, European forest birds, whose numbers did not change during the same period,” explains Aleksi Lehikoinen, an Academy of Finland research fellow at the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus (part of the University of Helsinki), who headed the study.
The situation is the direst for species that only inhabit mountain regions and are unable to live in other European environments. For these species, known as mountain specialists, the numbers dwindled by as much as 10% during the monitoring period.
1. What can we get from the passage about European mountain birds?| A．They are newly found species. |
| B．They can be found at any place of the world. |
| C．The number of the birds has decreased greatly. |
| D．The number of the birds has increased greatly. |
| A．Air pollutions. |
| B．Global warming. |
| C．Human activities. |
| D．Competition with other species. |
| A．All 44 bird species decreased. |
| B．Only 8 of the species declined. |
| C．14 of the observed species declined. |
| D．There was no change in the number of the bird species. |
| A．Serious. | B．Useful. |
| C．Suitable. | D．Waterless. |
4 . Even though these monuments are extremely well known, they hold secrets that not many people are aware of.
Empire State Building
On the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building in New York, there is a secret observation deck that not a lot of people know about. To access the balcony, you have to take a series of elevators and then a very steep, narrow staircase. The observation deck isn’t open to the public, but many celebrities have been photographed there.
Eiffel Tower
There is a secret apartment and office at the very top of the Eiffel Tower that has just recently become open to the public. In 1889, Gustave Eiffel, the engineer of this famous Paris landmark, built himself a private apartment and office. It has been restored and has wax models of Gustave, his daughter, and American inventor Thomas Edison on display.
Statue of Liberty
There is actually a room in the torch of the Statue of Liberty that showcases breathtaking views of the city. People used to be able to visit that room until 1916 when German agents blew up a nearby wharf (码头). The explosion sent broken pieces into the raised arm of Lady Liberty, making the staircase up to the hidden room unsafe.
Disneyland
Hardcore Disney fans might think they know all of the secrets of the park, a famous U.S. landmark, but many haven’t heard of Club 33. This exclusive restaurant is hidden behind an unmarked door in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square. If you want to dine here on your next trip to Disneyland, don’t get your hopes up. It costs $25,000 to join the club, plus an annual fee of $12,000.
1. What do the monuments have in common?| A．They are all in Europe. |
| B．They all have skyscrapers. |
| C．They are all the best-known. |
| D．They all hide little-known secrets. |
| A．Disneyland. | B．Eiffel Tower. |
| C．Statue of Liberty. | D．Empire State Building. |
| A．Attractive. | B．Expensive. |
| C．Wonderful. | D．Beautiful. |
5 . What do you do with a withered orchid (兰花)?
Everything has a life cycle and orchids don’t
Some of the plants were moved to a table in the living room, and others were
Actually, everything has its own life cycle. Sure, you can
My wife kept moving the plants around the house looking for the right light.
Yes, you can
| A．Because | B．Although | C．Unless | D．If |
| A．bloom | B．struggle | C．live | D．care |
| A．continue | B．last | C．manage | D．go |
| A．help | B．stop | C．keep | D．stand |
| A．ruins | B．vain | C．need | D．trouble |
| A．effort | B．attempt | C．research | D．trial |
| A．reminded | B．informed | C．convinced | D．warned |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Also | D．Otherwise |
| A．removed | B．ignored | C．placed | D．sold |
| A．stick to | B．believe in | C．build up | D．give up |
| A．rescue | B．mind | C．notice | D．way |
| A．Generally | B．Normally | C．Surprisingly | D．Sadly |
| A．lose | B．miss | C．gain | D．keep |
| A．trust | B．confidence | C．hope | D．dream |
| A．great | B．big | C．hard | D．slim |
6 . A saint (圣人) was delivering his lecture on his moral theory. One of his students came up to say, “Sir, you told us that a truly cultured person is whoever
The teacher thought it over, and finally, he had to
The student became
The student got the answer: Here was a person who lived
| A．needs | B．continues | C．ceases | D．pretends |
| A．encourage | B．doubt | C．guess | D．admit |
| A．answer | B．promote | C．notice | D．regard |
| A．sight | B．debate | C．equipment | D．guidance |
| A．clapped | B．persuaded | C．abandoned | D．educated |
| A．chances | B．records | C．struggles | D．measures |
| A．consult | B．adapt | C．remind | D．inform |
| A．proud | B．curious | C．disappointed | D．depressed |
| A．introduced | B．employed | C．praised | D．welcomed |
| A．happen | B．manage | C．regret | D．afford |
| A．proper | B．risky | C．wrong | D．previous |
| A．encountered | B．overcome | C．arranged | D．explored |
| A．past | B．mistake | C．rule | D．truth |
| A．randomly | B．positively | C．toughly | D．hopelessly |
| A．dream | B．expectation | C．attitude | D．courage |
7 . You can find just about any skill you want to learn on the Internet. Steve Jobs’s appealing presentation style, Steph Curry’s jump shot, Michael Jackson’s moonwalk - all of these are easily accessible. Clearly, instructional videos, how-to guides, and online tutorials (教程)have changed the way we learn.
But have they? Watching experts’ performances might make you feel that you could similarly perform the same skills. But new evidence suggests that learning by observation may sometimes make a great difference. Observers may feel confident that they’re well prepared to try the task out themselves, but when they do, they’ll find that’s a different matter.
Researchers have conducted an experiment involving the moonwalk. One hundred participants watched an expert doing the moonwalk. They were randomly assigned to see a moonwalk video either once or 20 times continuously. They made predictions about their own moonwalk abilities and then attempted the moonwalk themselves. A video recorded their moonwalks and later their attempts were shown to an outside group of judges, who were blind to the number of times performers watched the training video. As a result, participants who watched 20 times and participants who watched once both predicted their scores, and the scores predicted by the first group were higher. But the judges gave similarly low ratings to both groups of participants.
Actually, when people watch videos, they see the performer’s technique, but they don’t feel it themselves. It is one thing to memorize what steps to take, but another thing to experience how those steps are worked out. People often miss subtleties (细小但重要的 地方)while watching, and people are likely to underestimate the complexity of the skill, and overestimate their own abilities, after watching experts.
We’re not saying that YouTube’s tens of millions of instructional videos are useless. People get more out of watching after they have already attempted the skill, so try the skill yourself and then revisit your favorite how-to videos often to improve your technique. Learning skills takes time.
1. What does the new evidence suggest?| A．Online tutorials do change the way people learn. |
| B．Observers perform as well as experts. |
| C．Learning by observation is not difficult to achieve. |
| D．Observing and learning are two different things. |
| A．They explained the moonwalk to participants. |
| B．They let participants watch videos after breaks. |
| C．They prepared different videos for participants. |
| D．They let different people watch a video for different times. |
| A．Watching experts more raises one’s confidence rather than ability. |
| B．The participants5 predictions are the same as the judges, scoring. |
| C．The number of times participants watch training videos matters to them. |
| D．Watching instructional videos increases observers, interest in the related area. |
| A．Compare the instructional videos from different platforms. |
| B．Combine instructional videos with repeated practice. |
| C．Watch instructional videos as much as possible. |
| D．Be patient and concentrated while learning. |
8 . A new study from the University of Southampton has shown that glass bottles are more than four times as environmentally damaging as plastic bottles. The researchers explained that the production of glass bottles involves much greater amounts of energy and natural resources.
Most current research focuses on the impact of plastic, which also requires a lot of energy to mass-produce, and breaks down into smaller particles (微粒) that are affecting natural environments worldwide. However, according to the new study, glass bottles’ total environmental impacts are much bigger than plastic bottles, when certain factors are accounted for, such as their contribution to climate change through overmuch energy use.
“A large amount of energy is needed to heat the raw materials to make glass,“ explained study co-author and postgraduate researcher Alice Brock. ”During the melting of the raw materials for glass, gas pollutants such as SO2 and CO2 can be released,5, said Brock. “And since glass requires materials to be mined for its production — silica sand, soda ash and dolomite — these have all the associated environmental impacts on mining such as land degradation (退化) and dust from the mines reaching water sources.” According to Brock, silica sand mining can also cause silicosis, a disease caused by tiny silica particles reaching lungs, so there is also a considerable impact on human health.
The major advantage of glass over plastic is that it is more durable (耐用 的).A glass bottle can be reused between 12 and 20 times. Unfortunately, glass bottles are often thrown away after a single use. “I think the meaning of this new study is that we really have to move to use bottles and cans more than once. Just recycling isn’t enough, said Brock, “We need to change our mindset and move to things like refilling bottles, bottle return plans and the like if we are going to cut these environmental impacts.”
1. What is the most current research mainly about?| A．The total energy consumption of making plastic. |
| B．The detailed production process of plastic. |
| C．Plastic’s popularization in people’s daily life. |
| D．Plastic’s negative impacts on the environment. |
| A．To show its damage to the environment and people’s health. |
| B．To stress the importance of the quality of raw materials. |
| C．To warn people to reduce the frequency of mining. |
| D．To indicate the complex process of making glass. |
| A．Improving the technology of treating used bottles. |
| B．Finding alternatives to the raw materials for glass. |
| C．Reusing glass bottles as much as possible. |
| D．Replacing glass bottles with plastic ones. |
| A．Economy. | B．Geography. | C．Healthcare. | D．Environment. |
9 . One of the most inspiring features of our mom is her ability to face adversity and not to get defeated. She always emerges with a renewed spirit and a sense of hope. Her attitude to unfortunate events is typically met with: “Hey, nobody died; nobody has cancer; we’ll get through this, too!” But by far, our mother’s most widely used motto is: ”Count your blessings !”
In 2003, our mother fell ill and had to have surgery. When the doctor told the unthinkable diagnosis to my family while Mom was in recovery - a kind of cancer - my sister called me and said, “Should we tell her?“
As it turned out, we didn’t have to say a word. Mom knew it even before she was told, and she soothed us when we should have been making her less worried. “Hey, let’s count our blessings; the doctor got it all and I’m not dead yet. Let’s have some faith.”
As usual, our wise mother was right. She survived not only the cancer, but five years later, she recovered from another round of cancer - colorectal cancer. She never needed chemo or radiation (化疗或放疗) because surprisingly both cancers were not getting worse and surgically (手术) removed. She has been cancer-free for nearly two years and counting.
“Faith - that’s all you need,” my mom said firmly as she tapped the table. “Feeling sorry for yourself doesn’t help anything or solve the problem. Pity just adds to your problems. Spend your time counting your blessings instead. You’ll see just how well off you really are. That’s my motto.”
Counting blessings is not just a motto drilled into our heads by our mom. It has become a way of life for all of us. So much so that when I count my blessings, my wise mother is always near the top of the list.
1. What does the underlined word “soothed“ in paragraph 3 mean?| A．Cheated | B．Surprised | C．Calmed | D．Persuaded |
| A．She led her life with gratefulness. |
| B．She was heavily hit by the bad news. |
| C．She took her health condition seriously. |
| D．She recovered without receiving treatment. |
| A．Traditional and strict. |
| B．Gifted and serious. |
| C．Strong and positive. |
| D．Considerate and generous. |
| A．My mother’s glory days | B．My mother - living by faith |
| C．My mother’s struggling days | D．My mother - never complaining |
10 . Four Great Restaurants in Bologna, Italy
If you’re looking for a restaurant in Bologna, don’t miss out on our picks of the best places to eat in the city.
Sfoglia Rina
Tradition and innovation are all on the menu at Sfoglia Rina, along-standing family restaurant near Bologna’s famous Two Towers. Rina was started as a fresh pasta (意大利面食) shop back in the 1960s, and the pasta is all still handmade. Ingredients are carefully and sustainably sourced, and pasta-making classes are periodically offered for kids and adults.
Via Castiglione, 5/b, 40124 Bologna
Zerocinquantino
Aperitivo is typically a pre-dinner snack and drink, but at Zerocinquantino, you may make it a meal as many people in Bologna do. Baskets of local bread are served with the region’s famous meat and cheeses, and a long list of wines is available in glasses and bottles. The service is fast, and the atmosphere is young and modern.
Via Pescherie Vecchie, 3/E, 40124 Bologna
Trattoria Da Vito
It’s a legendary gathering place for Bologna*s artists and educated people. The inside hasn’t been updated since Vito left the building long before; the menu hasn’t changed. Meals are traditional and extremely cheap, with nothing priced over € 10.
Via Mario Musolesi, 9a, 40138 Bologna
Drogheria della Rosa
With tables spreading out under Bologna’s medieval porticos (中世纪门廊), Drogheria della Rosa is a favorite for the best atmosphere in Bologna. Fortunately, that atmosphere is matched by excellent food and service, both provided by the chef and owner Emanuele Addone, who personally visits each table. The menu is a mix of traditional Bolognese food and dishes from around Italy, so you’re sure to find something you like as long as you have enough money.
Via Cartoleria, 10b, 40124 Bologna
1. What can we know about Sfoglia Rina?| A．It is famous for its snacks and drinks. |
| B．It has a history of about sixty years. |
| C．It becomes a must for educated people. |
| D．It is the best-preserved Italian restaurant. |
| A．Via Castiglione, 5/b, 40124 Bologna |
| B．Via Cartoleria, 10b, 40124 Bologna |
| C．Via Mario Musolesi, 9a, 40138 Bologna |
| D．Via Pescherie Vecchie, 3/E, 40124 Bologna |
| A．Communicate with the chef. |
| B．Take some dish-making classes. |
| C．Talk about art with famous artists. |
| D．Appreciate modern decorating styles. |
