1 . Many teachers believe frequent quizzes(小测验) help students better grasp classroom material. Crede, an associate professor of psychology, was skeptical that something as simple as a quiz could positively affect students’ academic performance. He decided to dig deeper and conduct an analytic study of existing research to see if there was any proof to the idea. What he discovered truly surprised him.

Crede analyzed data from previously published studies that examined 52 classes with almost 8,000 students, primarily college-level courses, to determine if frequent quizzes improved the students’ academic performance. Laboratory settings were kept out of the study because Crede wanted to observe whether similar studies from labs would apply to general classrooms.

Crede discovered that when students are quizzed over class material at least once a week, they tend to perform better on midterm and final exams compared to students who did not take quizzes. He also found that students who took frequent quizzes were less likely to fail the class, especially if they were struggling with the course content. Students who struggle the most in a class seem to benefit the greatest from frequent quizzes. The other surprising thing was how much quizzes helped reduce failure rates in classes. The chances of passing a class went through the roof where instructors used this. In addition to quiz frequency, another factor that seemed to positively affect students’ performance was immediate feedback from instructors. Also, quizzes that required students to answer with written responses proved more beneficial to their understanding of class material compared to multiple-choice questions.

Asking teachers to grade written quizzes daily or weekly may discourage some from carrying them out in their classes. Instead, it is recommended that instructors give online quizzes that can be automatically graded by a course management system. Quiz attributes(属性) proved insignificant in the study, including whether the tests were pop quizzes or planned, or if they were online or on paper.

1. What did Crede do to ensure his study’s accuracy?

A．He focused on what happened in classrooms.

B．He researched as many students as he could.

C．He made laboratory settings as real as possible.

D．He gave easy quizzes to make every student do well.

2. What did Crede discover in his study?

A．Frequent quizzes could remove students’ failure in classes.

B．Instructors’ feedback was more important than frequent quizzes.

C．Frequent quizzes were especially useful to the struggling students.

D．Multiple-choice questions shouldn’t be included in frequent quizzes.

3. What may be a disadvantage of frequent quizzes for teachers?

A．Accessing the Internet less frequently.

B．Having too many exam papers to mark.

C．Being unable to get appropriate test materials.

D．Finding it hard to choose the right type of quiz.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Quizzes Stimulate a Passion for Creation	B．Quizzes Improve Academic Performance
C．Quizzes Create a Heavy Burden	D．Quizzes Increase Boredom

2 . Most teenagers are still trying to find their passion and purposes in life. However, not Gitanjali Rao. The 15-year-old girl has been coming up with innovative solutions to worldwide problems since she was ten. It is, therefore, not surprising that the teenager has won the honor of “America's Top Young Scientist”.

In the third grade, Rao was inspired to build a device after witnessing the shocking story unfold in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to the use of a polluted river as the city's primary water supply and incredibly high levels of lead made their way into people's drinking water.

After two months' research, Rao designed a small and portable device that used sensors to instantly detect lead in water. Called Tethys, after the Greek Goddess(女神) of freshwater, it attaches to a cellphone and informs the residents via an app if their drinking water contains lead. The design earned her the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017. She is currently working with scientists and medical professionals to test Tethys' potential and hopes the device will be ready for commercial use by 2022.

Later, Rao took on another social issue-drug addiction. Her app, called Epione, which won the Health Pillar Prize at the TCS Ignite Innovation Student Challenge in May 2019, is designed to catch drug addiction in young adults before it's too late.

More recently, the teenager has developed an app named Kindly, which uses artificial intelligence technology to detect possible signs of cyberbullying(网上欺凌). When users type in a word or phrase, Kindly is able to pick it up if it's bullying, and then it gives the option to edit it or send it the way it is. It gives them the chance to rethink what they are saying so that they know what to do next time.

All kinds of awesome, Gitanjali Rao has been selected from 5,000 equally impressive nominees(被提名人) for TIME Magazine's first-ever “Kid of the Year”.

1. What gave Rao the idea of inventing the device Tethys?

A．The incident of lead pollution.

B．The issue with drug addiction.

C．The shortage of water supplies.

D．The high cost of purifying water.

2. What is Rao expecting of Tethys?

A．It'll remove metal from water.

B．It'll make it to market soon.

C．It'll win her a higher prize.

D．It'll be fitted to cellphones.

3. What will Kindly allow users to do?

A．Receive pre-warning signals of threat.

B．Input words into a computer automatically.

C．Choose from secure social networking sites.

D．Weigh their words before posting them online.

4. Which of the following can best describe Gitanjali Rao as a young scientist?

A．Ambitious and humble.	B．Optimistic and adventurous.
C．Talkative and outstanding.	D．Creative and productive.

3 . 8:30 PM

Outlook

Outlook is back with a new series of reports to keep you up date with all that’s new in the world of entertainment. Stories go all the way from the technical to the romantic, from stage to screen. There will be reports of the stars of the moment, the stars of the future and the stars of the past. The director with his new film, the designer with the latest fashion, and the musician with the popular song are part of the new Outlook. The program is introduced by Fran Levine.

9:00 PM

Discovery

When a 10-year-old boy gets a first-class degree in mathematics or an 8-year-old plays chess like a future, grand master, they are considered as geniuses. Where does the quality of genius come from? Is it all in the genes or can any child be turned into a genius? And if parents do have a child who might become a genius in the future what should they do? In this 30-minute film, Barry Johnson, the professor at School of Medicine, New York University will help you discover the answer.

10:00 PM

Science/Health

Is it possible to beat high blood pressure without drugs? The answer is “yes”, according to the researchers at Johns Hopkins and three other medical centers. After a study of 800 persons with high blood pressure, they found that after 6 months, those devoted to weight loss— exercise and eating a low-salt, low-fat food- lost about 13 pounds and became fitter. Plus, 35% of them dropped into the “normal” category(范畴). This week, Dr. Alan Duckworth will tell you how these people reduce their blood pressure to a level familiar to what’s achieved with Hypertension drugs.

1. The main purpose of writing these three texts is           .

A．to invite people to see films	B．to invite people to topic discussions
C．to attract more students to attend lectures	D．to attract more people to watch TV programs

2. Who will be most probably interested in Discovery?

A．Children who are good at mathematics.

B．Children who are interested in playing chess.

C．Parents who want their child to become another Albert Einstein.

D．Parents who want to send their children to a school of medicine.

3. In Science/Health, “Johns Hopkins” is           .

A．a famous university	B．a medical center
C．a well-known doctor	D．a drug company

4. According to the third text, which of the following has almost the same effect as Hypertension drugs?

A．Exercise plus a healthy diet.	B．Loss of thirteen pounds in weight.
C．Six months of exercise without drugs.	D．Low-salt and low-fat food.

4 . A group of second-year college students have discovered hidden writing on a page from a book from the 1500s, using a special camera system they built.

Surprisingly, finding hidden writing on very old documents isn’t all that unusual. In fact, there’s even a special name for documents like this: a palimpsest (再生羊皮纸卷).

Long ago, writing was done on parchment — thin, dried animal skins specially prepared for writing. But parchment wasn’t easy to make and wasn’t cheap. So it became common to erase the old writing off a parchment and then reuse it for another piece of writing. That’s what creates a palimpsest.

The writing erased off the parchment can’t be seen directly, but scientists have learned ways to use special lighting to reveal the original writing. But it’s unusual for young college students to discover palimpsests.

Last year, first-year students at the Rochester Institute of Technology took part in a class that brought together many students to take on a project as a group. The project was to build a special camera system that could take pictures using different kinds of light.

Over the summer, the students working on the imaging camera managed to finish it. When they were done, they borrowed several old parchments from the collection at the school’s Cary Graphic Arts Collection. When they put one of the pages under their camera system with UV light, the hidden writing suddenly appeared. Under the UV light, handwriting in French could easily be seen behind the fancy writing and decorations normally visible on the page.

Zoe, a student involved in the project, said, “This was amazing because this document has been in the Cary Collection for almost 10 years and no one noticed it.” The students are even more excited because even though the parchment is no longer part of a book, they know where 29 other pages from the same book are. The students, who are now working with others to locate the other parchments, hope these, too, will have hidden writing and that they can figure out what it means.

1. What was parchment designed for in ancient times?

A．Writing.	B．Decorating.
C．Imaging.	D．Collecting.

2. What does the underlined word “reveal” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Heat up.	B．Bring out.
C．Adjust to.	D．Clear away.

3. What are the students expecting to do according to the last paragraph?

A．Make a handwriting-recognizing camera.

B．Identify what the parchments are made of.

C．Track the origin of the palimpsests in the Cary Collection.

D．Discover hidden writing and its meaning on more parchments.

4. What’s the purpose of this text?

A．To tell about a new discovery.	B．To recommend a special book.
C．To explain a cultural phenomenon.	D．To introduce an old document.

5 . Allison Guallpa concentrates on following the video directions for an unusual painting at home — the eighth-grader must draw a face using fruits or vegetables. She chooses peaches for rosy cheeks and a banana for the mouth.

That’s just one project Guallpa and other children are participating in during a 10-week, free, virtual art education series led by Marie Saint-Cyr, owner of Saint-Cyr Art Studio. Other challenges have included drawing a black-and-white still life of bottles, creating a watercolor landscape (风景) and copying works of artists like Van Gogh.

Saint-Cyr began the program during the summer of 2020 to give children an opportunity to express themselves and their feelings during dramatic changes in their lives because of COVID-19. Saint-Cyr, 25, moved to Long Island at 8. The programs she attended after her arrival were free and influenced her so much that she wanted to create something alike for the next generation.

Parents first contact Saint-Cyr through her website, Saintcyrartstudio.com. Saint-Cyr works with program supporters who pay her and provide the supplies for the children, which parents can pick up or have delivered. Saint-Cyr then provides 30-minute videos through Google Classroom that walk students through creating their artwork projects. At 4 p.m. meetups Mondays through Thursdays, whoever can make it attends a Zoom meeting where children show off their works in progress, give each other feedback (反馈) and ask questions. They also do 5-to 10-minute small exercises to improve their skills. It might be “Find an object and draw it without lifting the pencil off the paper”. At the conclusion of the series, Saint-Cyr displays students’ work in the “walk-through” virtual gallery online. It looks as if viewers are really walking through a museum display with all the kids’ professional artwork hanging on the walls.

Instead of being bored, the students participating in the program have got something to do — create things, see all the students’ works and get ideas. Saint-Cyr is considering bringing the program to nearby schools as an optional after-school activity.

1. How does Guallpa learn to create the unusual painting?

A．Through TV programs.

B．Through picture books.

C．Through school courses.

D．Through video instructions.

2. Why did Saint-Cyr start the program?

A．To strengthen teacher-student relationship.

B．To help kids express emotions artistically.

C．To provide parents with painting supplies.

D．To sharpen kids’ organizational skills.

3. What’s paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．How the art program works.

B．How parents react to the art program.

C．What kids do at the regular meetings.

D．What viewers think of kids’ creations.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards the program?

A．Doubtful.	B．Positive.
C．Uncaring.	D．Opposed.

6 . If you want to help others and improve the world, you still can, without leaving the house. Many volunteer opportunities require only a computer or a phone. We’ve rounded up four websites offering a variety of choices.

Points of Light

Founded by President George Bush, this is the world’s biggest organization about volunteer service.

 History and garden lovers can help make collections more available by copying historic documents or tagging (加标签) images of American gardens by plant type in its database.

 Help research cold cases of missing and unidentified people for the Doe Network.

Volunteer Match

This is a huge database of more than one million virtual (虚拟的) volunteer listings.

 Got a legal background? Lawyers can review online content for Illinois Legal Aid.

 Retired business owner? There are many opportunities to instruct small business owners in sales and marketing, business planning and product development.

Create the Good

AARP, the membership group for people 50+, operates this volunteer opportunities database for the 50+ age group.

 Offer career advice to high school students in poor families in fields from baking to handyman by email for Career Village.

 Raise awareness about scams (诈骗), especially those aimed at older people, identified by AARP’s National Fraud Team.

United Nations Volunteers

This group lists organizations for peace and development all over the world. You can:

 Research money and its sources for young people who start business in Asia and the Pacific.

 Brainstorm ideas to collect plastic waste in Cameroon.

Want to get involved? Click here to become a member or send an email to membership @seniorplanet.org to learn about opportunities.

1. What do all the volunteer opportunities have in common?

A．They are difficult to acquire.

B．They require no related knowledge.

C．They allow one to provide help at home.

D．They’re aimed at excellent professionals.

2. What can volunteers do through Create the Good?

A．Teach the elderly how to bake.

B．Raise money for poor families.

C．Provide job suggestions for poor students.

D．Train teenagers to run their own businesses.

3. Which website helps improve the environment?

A．Points of Light.	B．Volunteer Match.
C．Create the Good.	D．United Nations Volunteers.

7 . After a whole day’s football practice with her three kids, Brittany felt worn out and decided to grab dinner from McDonald’s.

Wyatt was a teenager working at McDonald’s who took Brittany’s _______. As Brittany pulled up to the drive-through window to _______, her 4-year-old son began crying and the other two soon _______, almost driving Brittany mad. And that was when it _______ Brittany that she’d left her purse at home.

“I wanted to cry,” Brittany recalled (回忆). “I looked at the young man with _______ eyes and said, ‘I’m so sorry but I have to _______ the order.’”

_______, Wyatt pulled out his wallet, swiped (刷) his card and paid for the _______ mom’s meal.

Wyatt probably couldn’t make much money from his job. Yet, he firmly _______ Brittany’s promises to pay him back later, ________ saying that it was no big deal.

Brittany was so grateful that she was determined to ________ Wyatt’s kindness in a big way! She discovered that Wyatt was saving up for a vehicle, so she shared the story on social media and started a ________ campaign to help him realize his dream.

Strangers from all over the country were inspired by the young man and ________ poured in. Before long, Brittany collected over $ 40,000! She was shocked. “I honestly didn’t expect such an incredible ________! Wyatt will now have enough money to buy a car and even start saving for college. So when you put ________ out in the world, it comes back to you more than you expect.”

1.

A．opportunity

B．order

C．position

D．advice

2.

A．pay

B．rest

C．eat

D．explain

3.

A．stood out

B．moved aside

C．cooled down

D．joined in

4.

A．hit

B．attacked

C．reminded

D．touched

5.

A．curious

B．cold

C．tearful

D．sharp

6.

A．place

B．cancel

C．refuse

D．change

7.

A．In secret

B．Out of respect

C．Without hesitation

D．By accident

8.

A．responsible

B．relieved

C．elegant

D．stressed

9.

A．declined

B．accepted

C．considered

D．appreciated

10.

A．proudly

B．humbly

C．impatiently

D．vividly

11.

A．deserve

B．express

C．reward

D．spread

12.

A．brain-washing

B．painstaking

C．time-saving

D．fundraising

13.

A．letters

B．supplies

C．donations

D．complaints

14.

A．experience

B．response

C．arrangement

D．behavior

15.

A．good

B．hope

C．honesty

D．passion

8 . Faced with a declining population and workforce, Japan has been increasingly turning to robots for help. Over the years, the robots have carried out a large number of human tasks, including building products and providing care for the elderly.

However, the robots currently being used by companies, like Walmart and Amazon, are only able to perform single, repetitive tasks, such as stacking boxes. Model-T, on the other hand, has a wider range of movement and is able to hold, pick and place objects of several different shapes and sizes into different locations, making it ideal for convenience and grocery stores, which sell a large variety of items.

Model-T robots are operated from a distant location by human “pilots” wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset and special gloves, which allow them to feel the product the robot is holding in their hands and guide it to the right shelf.

The VR-controlled robots are ten times cheaper than automated robots, because they don’t require advanced programming and are easier to develop and maintain. And their easy-to-use controls require little training. Tomohiro Kano, a general manager in charge of development at FamilyMart, believes this will enable the chain to recruit workers who would typically not work in stores.

Though Model-T appears to be getting rapidly through the experiments, it is not quite ready to enter the workforce. Besides being a lot slower than humans, it is also only able to lift packaged items, and cannot get hold of things such as fruits and vegetables. The company is working to improve the weaknesses and hopes to introduce a faster, more skillful Model-T within the next two years. They believe that in addition to the stores, the robots could also be useful in hospitals, allowing doctors to do operations from remote locations.

1. What is one of the features of Model-T according to the text?

A．It works much faster than humans.	B．It can easily hold all kinds of objects.
C．It can be operated from a distance away.	D．It is harder to produce than an automated robot.

2. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．The low price of Model-T.	B．The easiness to operate Model-T.
C．The low-level programming of Model-T.	D．The strict training for maintaining Model-T.

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Model-T is now being massively produced.

B．Japan’s workforce will be reduced by Model-T.

C．The weaknesses of Model-T have been overcome.

D．Model-T may be used in wider fields in the future.

4. In which section of a website can we read this text?

A．Technology.

B．Economy.

C．Lifestyle.

D．Environment.

9 . Kipp's been working as a UPS delivery man for 28 years. He_______ what he does. “It's not merely a job. It's an extension of my life,” he says.

With the COVID-19 keeping so many at home, the demand for _______ has skyrocketed, giving Kipp opportunities to make even stronger relationships with those on his route.

Kipp makes frequent _______ at the home of Max, a 14-year-old boy with autism (自闭症) who _______ the visits from Kipp and sees Kipp as his hero.

For several years, Max has always _______ for Halloween as a UPS delivery man. And as the 2020 Halloween approached, Kipp had a deep _______ to give a special surprise to his biggest _______!

He showed up at Max's house with a big box, in which were all kinds of UPS branded gear (装备): a (n) _______ uniform, a hat, a vest, gloves and Max's very own toy UPS truck.

“Max wants to be a UPS man, so why not just _______ him?” Kipp says.

The ________ from overjoyed Max was priceless. He was smiling from ear to ear, which is ________ for the boy with autism.

People don't always ________ those who process the world differently. So Max's family is grateful for the time Kipp ________ takes out of his day to ________ with Max. “Kipp's thoughtfulness means the world to my son,” Max's mother said.

However small, any act of kindness can have a huge impact. So never ________ the difference you can make.

1.

A．keeps track of

B．plays safe with

C．has enough of

D．takes pride in

2.

A．examinations

B．deliveries

C．treatments

D．appointments

3.

A．requests

B．surveys

C．stops

D．encounters

4.

A．rejects

B．treasures

C．imagines

D．ignores

5.

A．dressed up

B．tried out

C．stayed up

D．shown off

6.

A．need

B．mood

C．desire

D．concern

7.

A．friend

B．patient

C．customer

D．fan

8.

A．newly-invented

B．specially-made

C．old-fashioned

D．high-priced

9.

A．convince

B．appreciate

C．recommend

D．encourage

10.

A．reaction

B．impression

C．memory

D．curiosity

11.

A．rare

B．funny

C．common

D．impossible

12.

A．forgive

B．remind

C．accept

D．identify

13.

A．occasionally

B．eventually

C．gradually

D．regularly

14.

A．discuss

B．cooperate

C．interact

D．compete

15.

A．recognize

B．underestimate

C．emphasize

D．misunderstand

10 . One day about eight years ago in the departure lounge (休息室) of a flight from New York's LaGuardia airport to O'Hare in Chicago, I found a young boy in tears and his mother at his side also appeared upset, I walked to them and invited them to our VIP lounge.

As it turned out, the boy, Miles and his mom were returning to their home in Kansas City. Miles has had some health problems. Though he had received more than thirty operations in a Jewish Hospital in New York, he would be back for more.

Miles enjoyed spending his time in our VIP lounge looking at the entire wall filled with the pictures of many celebrities (名人) who often came to our office. We soon added Miles' picture to the wall among those celebrities.

Among the celebrities, Miles like the country singer Garth Brooks best. Miles would just sit and stare at Garth's picture,

One day, Mr. Brooks was waiting in the lounge for his flight. As he looked at the collection of photographs, Garth asked about the youngster with the big smile. We told him about Miles. We also told him how much Miles loved and respected (尊重) him. He nodded and left.

About six months later, Garth was going to be performing in Kansas City and he asked our workers to help him get in touch with the family. He wanted Miles to be his guest. That evening, not only did Miles sit in the front row, but he and Garth also had a private meeting after the performance.

Although Miles would receive many more treatments after that special evening, his smile greeted us with every following visit. The face of a sick boy was changed by the joy of a stranger.

1. What does the author probably do?

A．A worker at an airport.	B．A killed photographer.
C．A country music singer.	D．A doctor in a Jewish hospital.

2. What did Miles enjoy doing in the VIP lounge?

A．Interviewing celebrities he saw there.

B．Seeing pictures of celebrities on the wall.

C．Drawing pictures of the celebrities there.

D．Singing together with his favorite singer.

3. Which words can best describe Garth Brooks?

A．Determined and generous.	B．Proud and selfish.
C．Kind and helpful.	D．Powerful and rich.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Importance of Good Service	B．Kindness from Strangers
C．A Serious Health Problem	D．A Helpless Mother