1 . The tech industry created many wonders. However, when it comes to how they are used by kids, they usually bring a
My kids
Things were good for a few years
After seeing how my kids got lost in YouTube, I
| A．slight | B．personal | C．negative | D．beneficial |
| A．had control over | B．got exposed to | C．caught sight of | D．got rid of |
| A．treasured | B．repaired | C．researched | D．quitted |
| A．amused | B．frightened | C．disappointed | D．confused |
| A．abnormal | B．private | C．educational | D．expensive |
| A．because | B．if | C．unless | D．until |
| A．shocked | B．curious | C．relaxed | D．proud |
| A．meaningful | B．appealing | C．familiar | D．essential |
| A．hopeful | B．stupid | C．costly | D．powerful |
| A．ignore | B．stop | C．improve | D．monitor |
| A．analyze | B．leave | C．advertise | D．notice |
| A．children | B．neighbors | C．teachers | D．parents |
| A．want | B．forget | C．fail | D．manage |
| A．adopted | B．changed | C．discussed | D．refused |
| A．efficient | B．latest | C．useful | D．addictive |
2 . The days of the bedroom fitting room are numbered. Online retail giant (零售巨头) Boohoo has become the latest in a string of retailers to start charging shoppers for returns.
By offering free returns in the first place, companies, such as Boohoo, created entirely new behaviour around shopping. A 2018 study found that 9% of UK consumers buy clothes to post on social media, only to return them straight after. Almost one in five 35-to 44-year-olds admit to doing it, and men, apparently, do it more than women.
However, when clothes are returned, they’re likely to be thrown away rather than resold. This is because processing returns is time-consuming and costly. Buttons need to be rebuttoned, labels need to be reattached, products need refolding and rebagging, and then they must be put back into the system for sale. So it is clearly a cheaper and easier solution for businesses to send the whole lot to landfills (垃圾填埋场). It’s really a great waste of resources, not to mention an insult (冒 犯) to the skilled people who put their time into making each product, but it’s the reality of modern fashion.
When clothes don’t become rubbish, there’s still the impact of the extra shipping to consider, as well as the packaging waste. About 180bn plastic bags are produced every year to store, protect and transport clothes, and less than 15% of them are collected for recycling.
The impact of returns is a fairly well-kept secret, likely to keep people shopping guilt-free (没有负罪感地). But even if it was widely known, it wouldn’t guarantee people would stop treating returns thoughtlessly. After all, other environmental and human impacts of fast fashion are out there for all to see and yet the industry continues to thrive.
Hopefully, charging for returns is expected to change people’s behavior. Without free returns on the table, shoppers may think twice about buying 10 items when they know they’ll only keep five or buying clothes purely for social media content. And with the arrival of return charges, the clothes we already have might also start to look a little more appealing.
1. Why do retailers tend to throw away returned clothes?| A．To keep up with the latest fashion. | B．To avoid a huge waste of resources. |
| C．To let the skilled people feel honored. | D．To save the trouble of processing returns. |
| A．They will feel guilty about shopping. | B．They will continue their shopping behavior. |
| C．They will consider their shopping carefully. | D．They will keep their shopping behavior secret. |
| A．It puts great pressure on customers. | B．It can influence social media content. |
| C．It can do little to help reduce returns. | D．It will turn out to be an effective measure. |
| A．It is necessary to charge shoppers for returns. | B．It is difficult to control the number of returns. |
| C．Many retailers are struggling to process returns. | D．People have different opinions on the end of free returns. |
3 . Palestinian farmer Salman al-Nabahin was working in his garden in Gaza when he noticed that some of the new trees he’d planted on his land did not root properly. Curious about what might be causing the issue, al-Nabahin asked his son to help him start digging.
His son’s ax (斧子) struck something hard. When the two men began to clear away the dirt, they discovered an item they did not recognize. A little Internet searching provided the answer to their mystery: They’d come across a Byzantine-era floor mosaic (拜占庭时期马赛克地画) featuring birds and other animals.
This happened six months ago. Now, archaeologists (考古学家) are hard at work studying the flooring to learn more about its secrets and civilization values.
The mosaic features 17 images of birds and other animals presented in bright colors. Archaeologists believe artists created the flooring sometime between the fifth and seventh centuries, though they don’t know whether the mosaic had religious (宗教的) origins. In total, the land covering the entire mosaic is about 500 square meters, and the mosaic itself measures about 23 square meters. Some parts of the mosaic appear to be damaged, likely from the roots of an old tree.
“These are the most beautiful mosaic floors discovered in Gaza, both in terms of the quality of the vivid representation and the complexity of the pattern,” says René Elter, an archaeologist in Jerusalem. “Never have mosaic floors of this precision in the patterns and richness of the colors been discovered in the Gaza Strip.”
The Gaza Strip, which is located between Israel and Egypt and was a busy trade route throughout history, is home to many ancient civilizations. The farmer and his son discovered the mosaic about a kilometer from the border with Israel. Archaeologists and other experts are concerned about the mosaic’s future because of the ongoing conflict there and a lack of funding for historical protection.
1. What led Salman al-Nabahin to the unexpected discovery?| A．His son’s constant digging work. | B．His decision to remove some new trees. |
| C．The improper growth of some new trees. | D．The appearance of some birds and other animals. |
| A．Its origin has something to do with religion. | B．The time of its creation can be figured out. |
| C．It has been seriously damaged by digging work. | D．It reflects relationships between humans and animals. |
| A．The history of the mosaic floors. | B．The great value of the mosaic floors. |
| C．The secrets hidden in the mosaic floors. | D．The difficulty in creating the mosaic floors. |
| A．It may not be well -protected. | B．It may be too large to carry. |
| C．It may cause regional conflicts. | D．It may lose its historical meaning |
4 . March 12 was my last typical day in the classroom before COVID-19 changed everything. When my district closed the following day, I assumed, as many did, that this was a temporary move. However, the closure did not end as quickly as we expected. As the closure continued, while I was glad that none of my students was infected with the virus, I began to worry that the growth of reading ability my first-graders and I worked so hard for would gradually disappear.
It is reported that only one-third of students in the US achieved reading proficiency at grade level in 2019. As the years go by, the gaps become larger, and students who are reading below grade level seldom catch up with their peers. These students often encounter significant social and emotional challenges as they become increasingly aware of their differences from their classmates. And school closures caused by COVID-19 have made the situation even worse.
So when my district reopened in the fall, we were faced with difficult decisions about how to best deliver instruction. At our school, all students have to take a series of short screening tests to assess reading ability at the beginning of the school year. Considering that one size cannot fit all, I adjusted my teaching plans in time throughout the year. If a student received a low score in a particular area, I’d conduct a follow-up assessment to learn about the real cause of the difficulty.
I also conducted exercises to help students practice reading skills. Using other online platforms, I created interactive
lessons with other teachers, in which students practiced reading and writing specific words, reading full sentences and answering corresponding comprehension questions. The platforms enabled us to see all students’ screens at once and gauge which students were on target and needed additional support. They also provided information for planning subsequent lessons.
As a teacher, I know I cannot make all children reach proficiency in literacy (读写能力) myself, but I believe what I am doing can really make a difference to their lives, and I will go on with it.
1. What did the author worry about during the closure?| A．The health condition of her students. |
| B．The decline in her enthusiasm for work. |
| C．The uncertainty about the duration of the closure. |
| D．The influence of closure on students’ reading ability. |
| A．She motivated students to analyze their own problems. |
| B．She adapted teaching strategies to suit her students’ needs. |
| C．She used technology to make reading exercises more interesting. |
| D．She instructed students to take screening tests before each class. |
| A．Judge. | B．Explain. | C．Control. | D．Change. |
| A．Strict and wise. | B．Responsible and flexible. |
| C．Sensitive and optimistic. | D．Humorous and considerate. |
5 . Have you ever imagined being able to communicate with your pet at home and have it understand everything you say? It sounds too good to be true, but scientists have started using artificial intelligence (AI) to help communicate with animals.
Professor Karen Bakker—who is the author of a book called The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants—said that AI is already helping humans communicate with bats and honeybees and this could change what we know about nature and our non-human relationships.
Scientists have worked out how bats speak to each other to argue over food and how mother bats communicate with their young.
Professor Bakker explained how researcher Yossi Yovel had used recordings and AI to understand bats.
“Bats argue over food; they actually distinguish between genders when they communicate with one another; they have individual names, or ‘signature calls’,” she said.
“Mother bats speak to their babies in a kind of ‘motherese’.
Bats learn to ‘speak’ with signals from their mothers.
But while human mothers raise the pitch(音高) of their voices when talking to babies，mother bats lower the pitch.
She said it was a great example of how animal patterns could be revealed using sensors and microphones that would otherwise never be heard with the human ear.
AI makes this possible because a computer can be trained to listen like a bat.
With honeybees, the computer combines listening with vision of the bees’ body movements to understand what they are communicating. Researchers now know how be essay things such as “hush” or “stop”.
Researcher Tim Landgraf even created a robot honeybee that entered a hive(蜂房) and was able to communicate with other bees when it wanted them to stop doing something or fly.
1. What is the role of AI in communicating with animals?| A．Allowing humans to speak to animals. |
| B．Translating human language into animal language. |
| C．Transforming human thoughts into animal language. |
| D．Helping humans understand what animals are saying. |
| A．They use unique names given by human. |
| B．They live together like early human groups. |
| C．They share their food with each other without arguing. |
| D．They can distinguish between genders when communicating. |
| A．By using a kind of “motherese”. |
| B．By raising the pitch of their voices. |
| C．By using sensors and microphones. |
| D．By making body movements. |
| A．It can speak with other bats. |
| B．It can build a hive with bees. |
| C．It can communicate with other bees. |
| D．It can teach other bee show to fly and stop. |
6 . My son Timmy was born with several rare developmental disabilities. By age 13, he had had at least 10 surgeries on his legs and feet. Balancing and walking was very
Meeting Janice, who
Larry has changed Timmy, s life so much for the better. Not only does Larry give my son
Larry slows to Timmy’s pace and watches every
| A．suitable | B．difficult | C．easy | D．perfect |
| A．used to | B．seemed to | C．had to | D．failed to |
| A．motivated | B．pushed | C．anticipated | D．formed |
| A．disappointed | B．strict | C．careful | D．familiar |
| A．judgement | B．day | C．match | D．task |
| A．dressed | B．stuck | C．pulled | D．invited |
| A．support | B．message | C．highlight | D．news |
| A．bleeding | B．falling | C．following | D．screaming |
| A．take | B．come | C．leave | D．see |
| A．sad | B．excited | C．angry | D．well |
| A．eat | B．drive | C．read | D．laugh |
| A．plan | B．decision | C．move | D．conclusion |
| A．amazing | B．shocking | C．boring | D．annoying |
| A．exercise | B．security | C．account | D．tension |
| A．doctor | B．journey | C．school | D．friend |
7 . WHY SHENNONGJIA?
As we know, in 2016, Shennongjia made it on to the UNESCO World Heritage List. But there are so many important places not yet on this list. So you might ask: why Shennongjia?
UNESCO awarded Shennongjia this status because it meets two criteria required by the list. It contains a naturally-balanced environment that allows the many and various species to live and prosper. It is also one of the rare locations in the world where scientists can observe in real time the ecological and biological processes that occur as the plants and animals develop and evolve.
For the first criterion, Shennongjia is apparently one of the most “complete” natural areas in the world. The region rises from about 400 metres to over 3, 000 metres above sealevel, giving it the name the “Roof of Central China”.
For the second criterion, we can see that Shennongjia has incredible biodiversity. Look at this slide. According to official statistics, over 3, 000 plant species have been recorded there. This represents more than ten percent of China’s total floral richness.
It is a challenge to look after so many species. In winter, scientists brave heavy snow and freezing temperatures to supply food to the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. Thanks to their efforts, the monkey’s population has doubled since the 1980s.Their number reached over 1, 300 in 2015 and continues to grow.
But the most impressive aspect of Shennongjia is the local people, who take things from nature without causing damage. I visited a local village which is known for its home-made honey. What is special about the honey is that it is produced by the earliest species of Chinese bee. All of this explains why Shennongjia earned—and deserves—its place on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as highlighting how understanding, awareness and hard work have contributed towards protecting a unique and wonderful part of our natural world.
1. Why is Shennongjia included in the UNESCO World Heritage List?| A．Because its forests stretch on and on like great green seas. |
| B．Because it is the legendary father of Chinese herbal medicine. |
| C．Because it satisfies the two requirements for the status. |
| D．Because it has the mysterious creature called “Yeren”. |
| A．Roof of Central China | B．Roof of Northern China |
| C．Roof of Eastern China | D．Roof of Southern China |
| A．Patient. | B．Careful. | C．Confident. | D．Hard-working. |
| A．A local village. | B．The local people. |
| C．Some special monkeys. | D．The wild bees. |
8 . Sri Lanka’s best tours: Wonders, exciting wildlife and unforgettable beaches.
Sri Lanka by land and sea
This14-dayadventure starting in Negombo , you’ll head to the pretty hilltop town of Kandy, visiting the ancient Temple of the Tooth. After that, you’ll walk around Ella Rock, learn to cook classic home- style Sri Lankan food there and visit the Elephant Transit home in Udawalawe National Park. Then you’ll head over to Galle and the southern coast for some time with swimming and a beach barbecue.
Cycle the back roads of Sri Lanka
Explore a different Sri Lanka in depth and at a more joyful pace on a 14-day cycling tour.
Cycling along back roads, you’ll get under the skin of the country and its people enjoying once-in-a- lifetime experiences, like cycling through Nuwara Eliya and the remains of Buduruvagela.
A ride through Bundala National Park is one you’ll never forget and your downtime on the beaches of Ahangama will be an enjoyable break
Experience Sri Lanka’s wild side
Treat yourself to a wildlife trip like no other on this holiday to Sri Lanka’s famous national parks and underwater reserves (保护区) with Wexas Travel.
Your journey begins in Sinharaja Rain Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the last remaining Sri Lanka’s lowland rainforest. Next up is a visit to Yala National Park, the second largest in Sri Lanka and where you’ll get the chance to see elephants, water birds and other wild animals. Finally, finish your trip with a visit to Galle, where you will be able to enjoy some whale and dolphin watching. The focus of this trip is Sri Lanka’s various wildlife, and at the same time. you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy its food as well.
1. From where can you enjoy cooking home-style Sri Lankan food?| A．Ella Rock. | B．Nuwara Eliya. | C．Negombo | D．Kandy |
| A．Udawalawe National Park | B．Yala National Park |
| C．Bundala National Park | D．Wilpattu National Park |
| A．News. | B．Humor. | C．Travel. | D．Sports. |
9 . Bears can exactly make another bear’s facial expressions. Sun bears open their mouths to match their playmates (伙伴) when they are doing things with others face to face. Researchers believe that such facial mimicry (模仿) has not been seen outside humans and gorillas (大猩猩). In the behavioral study, they found that bears were able to use facial expressions to communicate with others in a similar way to humans and gorillas.
The researchers studied 22 sun bears in the wild for more than two years. In total, 21 matched the open-mouthed expressions of their playmates during face-to-face communications. When they were facing each other, 13 bears made expressions within one second of observing a similar expression from their playmates.
The bears aged 2-12, were housed in a natural center in Malaysia in which the areas were large enough to allow bears to choose whether to communicate or not. Although they prefer to live alone in the wild, the bears in this study took part in hundreds of games. Among them there were more gentle plays than rough ones.
The research was done by Doctor Ross in the University of Portsmouth. She believes that copying other bears’ facial expressions plays a great part in sun bears’ daily life.
1. How do sun bears respond to others in face to face communication?| A．Touching. | B．Smiling. | C．Opening their mouths. | D．Kissing on the face. |
| A．2. | B．12. | C．21. | D．22. |
| A．Quiet. | B．Violent. | C．Soft. | D．Fair. |
10 . We always celebrated my Dad’s November birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. As years went on, these events took on a(n)
When we knew that it might be Dad’s
Dad was a wonderful
A few months later, at Dad’s memorial service, we fully realized what we had given Dad that night. Those were the stories people normally tell at a
Words do
| A．double | B．original | C．complex | D．modern |
| A．congratulation | B．thanking | C．wish | D．apology |
| A．late | B．last | C．living | D．lost |
| A．by | B．as | C．though | D．with |
| A．writer | B．listener | C．storyteller | D．reader |
| A．listen to | B．hear of | C．make up | D．talk about |
| A．Little by little | B．Now and then | C．All at once | D．One after another |
| A．while | B．because | C．if | D．before |
| A．regretted | B．recorded | C．recalled | D．remembered |
| A．thoughts | B．possessions | C．tales | D．treasures |
| A．afford | B．wait | C．offer | D．help |
| A．task | B．duty | C．chance | D．decision |
| A．burial | B．party | C．meeting | D．wedding |
| A．Or | B．And | C．So | D．But |
| A．kindness | B．memories | C．care | D．hugs |
| A．healthy | B．old | C．young | D．alive |
| A．rolled | B．went | C．flied | D．came |
| A．benefit | B．work | C．matter | D．mean |
| A．properly | B．publicly | C．clearly | D．correctly |
| A．give back | B．search for | C．hand over | D．fall in |
