1 . The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don’t know. By next year, half of the calls we receive will be scams (欺诈). We are finally waking up to the severity (严重性) of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late. By the time these “solutions” become widely available (有效的), scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.

That’s because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation (处理) and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use. At this year’s I/O Conference, a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human—sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist (接待员) and book a reservation without detection.

These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data breaches (数据侵入) of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to carry out individually targeted campaigns (活动) to cheat people. This means. for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller’s, ricking you into “confirming” your address, mother’s name, and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.

We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications—using apps like Face Time or WhatsApp, which can be tied to your identity.

Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose, and the problem is only going to harder from here on out.

1. How does the author feel about the solutions to problem of robocalls?

A．Terrified	B．Confused.
C．Embarrassed.	D．Disappointed.

2. Taking advantage of the new technologies, scammer can ______.

A．aim at victims precisely	B．damage databases easily
C．start campaigns rapidly	D．spread information widely

3. What does the passage imply?

A．Honest y is the best policy.

B．Technologies can be double-edited.

C．There are more solutions than problems.

D．Credibility holds the key to development.

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

A．Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted

B．Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Roboealls

C．Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous

D．How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology

2 . In 2013, my husband Robin took a new job in Ghana. Were located from London, where I worked as a photographer, to the capital, Accra. Robin worked, but my visa didn’t permit me to, and I was left homesick and lacking_________.With few people around, I turned to_________.I photographed horses and considered the outdoors the place where I felt most_________.

In September 2018, after one bad thunderstorm, I found a bird, barely a month old, on the ground. He was _________by his flock(群). His eyes were shut, too young to_________alone. I placed him in a cardboard box and stayed up all night, researching how to_________him. I spoke to an expert who said it would take 12 weeks to prepare him for the_________.

For the next 84 days, the _________bird lived on me. He would fly alongside me. He learned to fly, he’d make short _________from my hand, to my shoulder, and then settled on my hair. I__________named him because I had to__________myself that he needed to return to the wild. In return for putting his life back on course, he__________me by giving me purpose.

Three months later, he was__________enough and flying farther from me. It was time for him to go. The non a clear day when his flock re turned, Robin and I took him out and the little bird flew away with them.

__________him taught me how to live in the present. That, along with the__________that any little creature can make a difference, is what he left me.

1.

A．purpose

B．interest

C．experience

D．confidence

2.

A．family

B．sports

C．nature

D．school

3.

A．grateful

B．alive

C．stressed

D．scared

4.

A．bullied

B．spotted

C．surrounded

D．abandoned

5.

A．survive

B．fight

C．escape

D．play

6.

A．care about

B．tend to

C．focus on

D．feed on

7.

A．travel

B．stay

C．wild

D．change

8.

A．energetic

B．precious

C．ordinary

D．tiny

9.

A．noises

B．dances

C．flights

D．stops

10.

A．seldom

B．again

C．once

D．never

11.

A．remind

B．promise

C．cheat

D．inspire

12.

A．entrusted

B．honored

C．rewarded

D．recognized

13.

A．smart

B．strong

C．calm

D．flexible

14.

A．Raising

B．Tracking

C．Curing

D．Observing

15.

A．wish

B．fact

C．virtue

D．lesson

3 . Some China Podcasts (播客) to Listen to

Whether you’re an old-timer or a newcomer to China, there’s always more to learn about this awesome country. To help in your never-ending thirst for knowledge, we’ve rounded up some most entertaining China-focused podcasts that hit on everything from history to business.

Tech Buzz China by Pandaily

Tech Buzz China by Pandaily is a technology podcast about China’s innovations. Its co-hosted by Rui Ma and Ying Lu, who are both seasoned China-watchers with years of experience working in the technology space in the country. They share and discuss the most important tech news from China every week.

The China History Podcast

Started in 2010, Laszlo Montgomery presents topics that cover 5, 000 years of Chinese history and culture. The show has a lot of unknown and interesting history lessons that help provide more color as to why China is the way it is. Topics like the history of Tang poetry, or the Hokkien people are analyzed and explored.

China Untold

The China Untold podcast is a program that aims to introduce listeners to lesser-known stories from the Middle Kingdom. From urban tales and extinct religions to China’s role in the exploration of space, this podcast hosted by Matt Bossons, is your essential guide to the unusual and wonderful aspects of the world’s most highly populated nation.

The Wasai Show

The Wasai Show is hosted by Ne to Trevino from Mexico and Alice He who is a local Chinese. In each episode, stories are collected from listeners about a topic and shared in a funny way by both comedians. The first half of the show is presented in English, followed by a Chinese section.

1. Who are the podcasts intended for?

A．Foreigners in China.	B．Chinese historians.
C．Technology enthusiasts.	D．Podcast hosts in China.

2. Which podcast may talk about ancient poems?

A．Tech Buzz China by Pan daily	B．The China History Podcast
C．China Untold	D．The Wasai Show

3. What do we know about The Wasai Show according to the text?

A．It is a talk show about local Chinese life.

B．It has a single host discussing various topics.

C．It features two hosts sharing stories from listeners.

D．It includes interviews with experts on Chinese culture.

5 . A strong hit to the head will normally give you a concussion(脑震荡). Woodpeckers(啄木鸟), however, strike their beaks(喙) into trees thousands of times a day and are perfectly fine.

We used to think that a woodpecker’s skull(头骨) worked as a kind of safety helmet which absorbed the shocks. A new study by Sam Van Wassenbergh, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium, proved that this “common sense” was in fact false.

Van Wassenbergh and his colleagues argued that, if a woodpecker’s head absorbed the force, it would not be able to strike the tree with enough force.

“If the beak absorbed much of its own impact, the unlucky bird would have to pound even harder,” they said in their paper. In other words, if the theory were true, the woodpecker would have to peck even harder to compensate for both the shock-absorbing qualities of the sponge-like bone inside its skull as well as the density(密度) of the wood.

The scientists recorded four different kinds of woodpeckers in zoos as they were pecking. The team used data from their high-speed recordings to build digital models of the woodpeckers. Van Wassenbergh described the woodpeckers motion as “a hammer(锤子) hitting wood” since their movement appeared rigid and focused.

The research suggested that woodpeckers don’t have any shock-absorbing device or the ability to reduce the amount of force. Although they are without “helmets”, the team claimed that the woodpeckers’ tiny size and weight protect them.

A woodpecker’s brain is about 700 times smaller than that of a human. “Smaller animals can withstand higher deceleration(减速). Think about a fly that hits a window and then just flies back again,” Van Wassenbergh said. “So that is why even the hardest hits we observed are not expected to cause any concussion.

1. What did people use to believe about woodpeckers when they peck trees?

A．Their beaks could spread the shocks they produce.

B．They could stand slight concussions.

C．Their bodies were soft enough to absorb the force.

D．Their heads were able to reduce the shocks.

2. What does the underlined word “impact” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Influence.

B．Shock.

C．Limit.

D．Benefit.

3. Which of the following statements about the experiment proves to be true?

A．Woodpeckers do not have special safety devices.

B．How woodpeckers peck depends on their type.

C．Density of the wood affects a woodpeckers pecking force.

D．The shock absorber theory is mostly correct.

4. Where is this text probably taken from?

A．A guidebook.

B．A medical report.

C．A science magazine.

D．An advertisement.

6 . Did you watch the popular TV series Meet Yourself during your winter vacation? In the TV series, the heroine Xu Hongdou travels to a village in Yunnan province and volunteers at a local cafe. She gets free meals in return. As the show finds a growing audience, volunteer travel—an old-yet-modern form of travel similar to Xu’s type of work—has attracted more attention.

Volunteer travel refers to taking a trip where all or part of the purpose of the trip is to participate in an arranged service opportunity to help others. During the trip, volunteer travelers often provide services like teaching, cooking, animal caring and cultural activities. In exchange for their help, the volunteers may get free or discounted accommodation, meals and laundry, activities, or classes.

Traditionally, the volunteer activities take place in a foreign country. However, just as what Meet Yourself describes, more volunteer trips have taken place within the same countries or regions the volunteers originate from in recent years. Sanlian Lifeweek magazine commented that volunteer projects in rural (乡村的) areas are now attracting more urban (城市的) visitors as a break from the fast and stressful pace of urban living. Yang Yan, a founder of a volunteer platform, told the magazine that it has indeed been a growing trend for urban residents to volunteer in rural areas.

People try volunteer travel for several reasons. By working voluntarily while traveling, travelers may make a real, positive impact on the world. The services volunteers provide can be through charities with lower costs for the communities they serve. Another benefit of volunteer travel is that it helps urban residents to experience rural life. For those who are sick of urban pressure but can’t make up their minds whether to move permanently to the countryside, volunteer travel can be a solution. In this way, as Yang comments, travelers can catch some relief from their busy lives, while rural communities also benefit by receiving more customers for local tourism industries and temporary high-quality labor.

1. Why does the author mention Meet Yourself in the beginning of the text?

A．To raise readers’ interest in the TV series.	B．To encourage readers to visit Yunnan.
C．To show the popularity of this TV series.	D．To introduce the topic of the text.

2. What can we learn about volunteer travel from the text?

A．Its only purpose is to help others.

B．It requires travelers to be highly educated.

C．Its travelers can get something in return for their help.

D．It’s typically organized by those who want to make money.

3. Why are more urban residents attracted by volunteer projects in rural areas nowadays?

A．To give back to society.	B．To take a break from busy lives.
C．To provide high-quality labor.	D．To support the rural tourism industry.

4. Volunteer travel has all the following benefits EXCEPT________.

A．The communities can receive high-quality labor with no costs.

B．Urban travelers get a chance to experience country life.

C．It can relieve travelers from the urban pressure.

D．It creates a win-win situation for the volunteers and the communities they serve.

7 . As the foreign English teacher at my school in China, I have a weekly English music broadcast where I show different English songs. I try to get the students to recommend songs to me for the broadcast. At the broadcast, I usually announce who recommended the song and then play it for everyone to hear during lunch time.

I give everyone a chance to share themselves through their music, including one tough student of mine. This student constantly gets into fights with the other students, doesn’t study, and brings down the energy of the class. Most of the other teachers and students push him away. I knew though that he just needed a friend, or at least someone he can connect with.

I could tell he was warming up to me over the last year. I told him to think of a song he liked that has some English words in it and that I would play it on the broadcast for him. He eventually recommended a song. I actually really liked the song so I put it on the broadcast and made sure to announce his name, so everyone knew that he contributed and recommended such a great song. Needless to say, the boy was thrilled, and he’s been much happier and focused in English class ever since.

While everyone else misunderstood him and pushed him away, I saw right through and knew that he just needed someone who acknowledged him and gave him a chance. There’s still a language barrier between us, but words aren’t needed, you can always sense where you’re at with someone.

He recently walked by me and gave me the most genuine smile that I’ve ever seen. My coworker turned to me and said, “I’ve never seen him smile like that before. How did you get through to him?” “I gave him a chance,” I said, “through just one song.”

1. What’s the author’s purpose of running the English music broadcast?

A．To relieve students of learning pressure.	B．To help students have a great lunch time.
C．To encourage students to share their feelings.	D．To improve students’ listening skills.

2. What does the underlined word “thrilled” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Excited.

B．Depressed.

C．Confused.

D．Satisfied.

3. What can we infer from the text?

A．Colleagues are jealous of my ability to educate tough students.

B．It’s important to give the tough student a chance to show himself.

C．The tough student can communicate freely with me.

D．Others tried to be friendly to the tough student but failed.

4. Which one can be the best title for the text?

A．The Teacher’s Responsibility	B．The English Music Broadcast
C．The Magic Power of Music	D．Others’ Impression on the Tough Student