1 . Whistler Travel Guide

Snow-capped peaks and powdered steeps; sparkling lakes and rushing waterfalls; challenging hiking routes and inviting restaurants — Whistler’s offerings suit every season.

Things to do

The entire town displays the ski-chic atmosphere, hosting dozens of ski and snow board competitions and festivals annually. In the warmer months, more outdoor enthusiasts come out to play. Visitors can try hiking or cycling up the mountains. While Whistler is an ideal vacation spot for the active types, other travelers can enjoy the local museums and art galleries filled within formative exhibits. Plus, there are family-friendly activities and attractions like summer concerts, along with plenty of shopping options.

When to visit

The best times to visit Whistler are from June through August and between December and March.

How to get around

The best ways to get around Whistler are on foot or by bike. Or, you can take the shuttlebuses from Whistler Village, which transport visitors to Lost Lake Park and the Marketplace. Meanwhile, having a car will allow you the freedom to explore top attractions like Whistler Train Wreck and Alexander Falls without having to spend a lot of cash on a cab.

What you need to know

●Whistler receives feet of snow each year. If you’re driving in winter, slow down and make sure to rent or come with a reliable SUV.

●Snowslides are likely to occur on Backcountry routes, so only advanced skiers should take to this off-the-map area.

●Whistler’s wilderness is home to many black and grizzly bears. Keep your distance and do not feed them.

1. What are active travelers recommended to do in Whistler?

A．Bike up the mountains.	B．Host ski competitions.
C．Go shopping at the malls.	D．Visit museum exhibitions.

2. Which of the following is the most popular among travelers?

A．Whistler Village.

B．Lost Lake Park.

C．The Marketplace.

D．Whistler Train Wreck.

3. What are travelers prohibited from doing in Whistler?

A．Driving a rented SUV.	B．Feeding grizzly bears.
C．Exploring the wilderness.	D．Skiing on Backcountry routes.

2 . There is no way they just drove into that water, thought Corion Evans. The 16-year-old teenager was ___________ with friends near the Pascagoula River, when a car with three teenage girls inside accidentally_________ off the road into the river and started to___________ some 20 feet away from land.

It was around midnight in July. In the _________ , Evans and his friends could_________ figure out the girls holding on to the roof, the only part of the car still above water. But they could hear _________ for help.

Evans took off his shirt and shoes without ___________ , diving into the water. He helped the first girl he saw and led her to the shore. Then, he jumped back into the river to ___________ another of the girls. But halfway back to the bank, she was so_________ as to go underwater, pulling Evans down with her. Evans fought his way and pushed her to ______________.

There was still one girl in the water. Watson, 19, could not ____________. She was swallowing water, ____________ to stay afloat. And sacred. “I just knew my last breath was coming and I began to go under. Then, a shake. Evans ____________ me.” Watson said later.

The three girls were rushed to the hospital and well ____________. Evans risked his life to save them, but he said he had no other ____________

1.

A．checking out

B．hanging out

C．staying up

D．breaking up

2.

A．slipped

B．developed

C．stayed

D．skipped

3.

A．expose

B．tremble

C．sink

D．float

4.

A．silence

B．noise

C．sadness

D．darkness

5.

A．casually

B．nearly

C．instantly

D．barely

6.

A．whispering

B．screaming

C．complaining

D．claiming

7.

A．assumptions

B．explanations

C．hesitation

D．permission

8.

A．rescue

B．deliver

C．liberate

D．release

9.

A．anxious

B．panic

C．cautious

D．awkward

10.

A．health

B．independence

C．strength

D．safety

11.

A．drive

B．escape

C．swim

D．surf

12.

A．struggling

B．worrying

C．wandering

D．improving

13.

A．touched

B．grabbed

C．attached

D．detected

14.

A．adjusted

B．educated

C．protected

D．attended

15.

A．actions

B．challenges

C．alternatives

D．chances

3 . Imagine a team of humans and robots working together to process online orders. Real-life workers strategically positioned among their automated coworkers who are moving intelligently back and forth in a warehouse (仓库)space, picking items for shipping to the customer.

This could become a reality sooner or later thanks to researchers at the University of Missouri, who are working to speed up the online delivery process by developing a software model designed to make transport robots smarter.

“The robotic technology already exists,” said Sharan Srinivas, who specializes in data analytics and operations research. “Our goal is to best apply this technology through efficient planning. To do this, we’re asking questions like ‘given a list of items to pick, how do you optimize (优化)the route plan for the human pickers and robots?’ or ‘how many items should a robot pick in a given tour?’ Likewise, we have a similar set of questions for the human worker. The most challenging part is optimizing the collaboration plan between the human pickers and robots.”:

Currently, a lot of human effort and labor costs are involved with fulfilling online orders. To help optimize this process, robotic companies have already developed cooperative robots, also known as cobots or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), to work in a warehouse or distribution center. AMRs are equipped with sensors and cameras to help them navigate(确定方向)around a controlled space like a warehouse.

Srinivas said, “The robot is intelligent, so if it’s instructed to go to a particular location, it can navigate the warehouse and not hit any workers or other obstacles along the way. AMRs are not designed to replace human workers, but instead can work cooperatively alongside them to help increase the efficiency of the order fulfillment process.”

“The one drawback is that these robots do not have good grasping abilities,” said Srinivas. “But humans are good at grasping items, so we are trying to balance the strength of both resources.”

1. What does the underlined word “collaboration” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Technology.

B．Similarity.

C．Exploration.

D．Cooperation.

2. What is the function of the sensors equipped on AMRs?

A．To look cool.	B．To sense warnings.
C．To direct AMRs’ way.	D．To find human workers.

3. What are AMRs bad at?

A．Jumping.

B．Climbing.

C．Walking.

D．Holding.

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

A．The Simple Use of Robots

B．Warehouse Workers and Robots

C．Making Transport Robots Smarter

D．Transport Robots Invented by Sharan

5 . You may not know it, but your brain is already an amazing vocabulary learning machine. When you read or listen to something, your brain doesn’t take each word at face value: it’s continuously taking statistics about which words appear together regularly so that it can expect what’s coming next and process speech faster.

Our brains continuously release electrical signals, which change depending on what task your brain is dealing with. Scientists can use a technique to read some of these to study how your brain processes language.

One of these signals, called N400, changes depending on whether words make sense in context or not. The N400 is relatively small for expected word combinations, like coffee and cream, and increases in height for unexpected word combinations, like coffee and cap. This means that scientists can read the N400 height to analyze the kind of expectations you have about which words usually appear together.

In language learners, the N400 changes based on proficiency （熟练程度）. The better people get at a language, the closer their N400 pattern is to native speaker’s. This means that an important part of language proficiency is taking statistics and building expectations about what words usually appear together, just as native speakers do.

To get better at this, we need to flood our brains with loads of natural content, so we can build up a picture of which kinds of words usually appear together. Reading is a great way to do this and there’s lots of research that shows that reading works wonders for your vocabulary skills.

However, it is important to remember that if there are too many unknown words, it can be difficult to figure out what they mean from the context. And it is unpleasant having to stop every two miles to look up a word. Graded readers, which are books adapted to make them easier to understand at lower levels, are perfect for learners of foreign languages.

1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 1?

A．To state a fact.	B．To offer a suggestion.
C．To make a comparison.	D．To propose a definition.

2. What does it mean if the N400 increases?

A．We make sense of some word combinations in a context.

B．We combine some new words to make a sentence.

C．We memorize some word combinations to learn a language.

D．We meet some word combinations beyond our expectations.

3. How can we have a native speaker-like N400 pattern according to the author?

A．By reading some books about vocabulary skills.

B．By reading lots of natural content.

C．By reading loads of books about nature and drawing pictures.

D．By reading authentic content to increase our vocabulary.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．It is more beneficial to read easy books.

B．It is important to look up new words.

C．We should mainly read adapted books.

D．We should choose materials right for our level.

6 . Are all inventors scientists? No. Anyone can make an invention if he or she has ideas and is _______ to try again and again until the invention works. That’s just _______ happened to James Murray Spangler in 1907.

Spangler was a cleaner at a department store. He started to work every night after the _______. He liked his job, but it was a lot of work to clean all that space. He was _______. He wished that here was a better way to clean the store’s floor.

Each night as he worked, he _______ about the problem. What kind of machine could he make? After a while, some _______ formed in his head. He fitted an old box, a tape, a pillowcase, an electric fan, a broom hand and a paint roller together. He tried it at home. It _______ ! At last, he decided to take his _______ to the store.

A police officer was walking down the street when he saw Spangler using his invention through the window. The officer went to tell the owner that Spangler was doing something with a (n) _______ machine that made a lot of noise. He thought Spangler had lost his ________.

The owner rushed to the store. He told Spangler that he was ________ for messing around instead of doing his job. Spangler told him that he was doing his job ________ than ever before. He asked the shop owner to let him ________ how his machine worked. ________, the man agreed. He was shocked when Spangler moved his machine over dirt and gum wrappers. They disappeared! Spangler had just built the first vacuum cleaner. The next year he ________ his invention to a firm named Hoover. Before long vacuum cleaners were as common as stoves in homes.

1.

A．hesitant

B．determined

C．likely

D．scared

2.

A．which

B．how

C．what

D．that

3.

A．closing

B．opening

C．managing

D．buying

4.

A．excited

B．frightened

C．worried

D．tired

5.

A．thought

B．argued

C．talked

D．brought

6.

A．items

B．ideas

C．arguments

D．problems

7.

A．worked

B．changed

C．stopped

D．arrived

8.

A．box

B．fan

C．roller

D．machine

9.

A．old

B．strange

C．huge

D．special

10.

A．mind

B．time

C．life

D．job

11.

A．found

B．hired

C．fired

D．blamed

12.

A．better

B．worse

C．busier

D．slower

13.

A．make

B．say

C．introduce

D．show

14.

A．Angry

B．Curious

C．Frightened

D．Pleased

15.

A．brought

B．took

C．sold

D．gave

7 . Plant-based products have been breaking into the foodie mainstream in the United States, after years in which vegan (素食的) burgers and milk alternatives knocked on the market’s door. That is partly because more companies are targeting people who seek to reduce the amount of meat they eat, rather than forswear it altogether.

Now, as fish alternatives begin to attract investment and land at restaurants in the United States and beyond, people who track the fishless fish sector say that it could achieve significant growth.

One reason, they say, is that consumers in rich countries are becoming more aware of the seafood industry’s environmental problems, including overfishing and the health risks of some seafood. Another is that today’s plant-based companies do a better job of approaching fish flavor than earlier ones did—an important consideration for non-vegetarians (非素食者).

“There are a number of people already looking at alternative hamburgers,” said Joshua Katz, an analyst at the consulting firm McKinsey who has studied the alt-protein (替代蛋白) industry. “You might actually say, ‘I should work on something else.’ And seafood is still a massive market with convincing reasons to work on.” People who reduce their consumption of animal proteins for environmental reasons often stop eating red meat, which requires enormous amounts of land and water to farm.

But alt-fish advocates say that seafood also comes with environmental problems. Unsustainable fishing practices have destroyed fisheries (鱼汤) in recent decades, a problem both for biodiversity and the millions of people who depend on the sea for income and food.

“It’s simply a smarter way to make seafood,” says Mirte Gosker, the acting managing director of the Good Food Institute Asia-Pacific, a nonprofit advocacy group that promotes alternative proteins. “Full stop.”

So far plant-based seafood products in the United States account for only 0.1 percent of the country’s seafood sales, less than 1.4 percent of the U.S. meat market occupied by plant-based meat alternatives. But alt-seafood enterprises worldwide received at least $83 million from investors in 2020, compared with $1 million three years earlier. As of this June, 83 companies were producing alt-seafood products around the world, a nearly threefold rise since 2017. All but 18 of those 83 companies focus on plant-based products. A dozen others are developing lab-grown seafood, which is not yet commercially available in any country.

1. What does the underlined word “forswear” in paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Sample.

B．Consume.

C．Produce.

D．Abandon.

2. Which aspect of seafood do non-vegetarians focus on?

A．The health risks.	B．The protein intake.
C．The taste and mouthfeel.	D．The overfishing problem.

3. What is Mirte Gosker’s tone when he says “Full stop” in paragraph 6?

A．Determined.

B．Concerned.

C．Humorous.

D．Enthusiastic.

4. What do the figures in the last paragraph mainly show?

A．Seafood companies are struggling.

B．Plant-based meat products will be a trend.

C．Alt-seafood products have a promising future.

D．Seafood will be commercially available soon.

10 . Much of Puerto Rico is still without power after Hurricane Fiona struck the island on Sept. 19. The storm laid it in darkness and thousands of people in trouble, even some missing.

Yet some see signs of hope. Over the past five years, around 50,000 solar and battery power systems have been installed on homes in Puerto Rico, says Chris Rauscher, senior director of public policy at Sunrun, the biggest residential solar company in the United States. And almost all that equipment appears to have continued supplying electricity while the island’s central power system went dark, according to market participants and industry observers.

Climate change is making hurricanes wetter and more powerful, increasing the risks to electric reliability in places like Puerto Rico. That strengthens the case for more investment in home solar set-ups, Rauscher says.

“It’s showing that renewables paired with storage ... are really the fundamental building blocks of a clean recovery that we need to really focus on on the island and elsewhere,” he says.

John Berger, chief manager of Sunnova, another big solar company, agrees, calling Puerto Rico “a window into the future.” “The technology’s just physically and fundamentally better,” than the traditional power system, Berger says. “And that’s not going to change.”

But big challenges are still hanging over the island. Lots of reconstruction is still needed. And now on top of that, the hurricane season is not over yet. “The next storm after this — and it will come, I don’t know if it’s next week or next year or two years from now, but it will come — we’ll be in even better shape than we are right now,” Berger says.

1. What did the Hurricane Fiona result in?

A．The newly-built island’s central power system.	B．Power failure in much of Puerto Rico.
C．The loss of thousands of people.	D．Losing eyesight of some people.

2. Why is John Berger mentioned by the author?

A．To make the point convincing.	B．To give more choices for the islanders.
C．To state the status of Puerto Rico.	D．To make comparisons between the two companies.

3. What is the top challenge of Puerto Rico now?

A．The reconstruction work.	B．The coming hurricane.
C．The shortage of money.	D．The need for a safe shelter.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．A Severe Hurricane	B．Natural Disasters Are Approaching
C．Renewable Energy Give Puerto Rico Light	D．A Newly-rebuilt Island