1 . Here are some pet-friendly universities in the UK and US.
University of Illinois
Students are allowed up to two pets in each apartment, as well as a fish tank of no more than 50 gallons.
To keep a pet, you will need to get approval from the Family & Graduate housing department at the University of Illinois. You will have to provide proof that your pet is up to date with its vaccinations(疫苗), and pay a monthly US$30 pet fee, which is non-refundable(不可退款的).
Your pet can’t be left for extended periods of time, and if there’s evidence that you’ve left it alone due to vacation or illness, the university may remove it.
Harvard University
With as many as 12 pet-friendly apartments, Harvard is a very pet-friendly university. It allows students to have fish in a tank of no more than 50 gallons, except for Harvard’s Cronkhite Graduate Center.
In Harvard’s pet-friendly apartments, you’re allowed: one cat or one dog, which can’t be over 40 pounds when fully grown. At most, two pet birds.
University of British Columbia Students can take advantage of the university’s B. A. R. K program, which uses the calming power of therapy dogs to help them.
B. A. R. K started at the University of British Columbia, after an assistant professor called Dr. John-Tyler Binfet noticed that he couldn’t walk across campus without students running over to play with his dog, Frances. The students told him they were homesick and missed their pets, which encouraged Binfet to establish B. A. R. K as a way of fighting their loneliness.
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is famous for its resident pets, who happily wander around college grounds. Many Oxford colleges have their own tortoise and take part in the annual Corpus Christi tortoise race.
Although you are not allowed to keep your own pet as a student, several Oxford colleges hold dog petting and walking therapy sessions.
1. What is one of the rules for keeping pets at the University of Illinois?| A．Pet keepers should pay a monthly US$ 30 pet fee which will be returned. |
| B．Pets can’t be left alone in the apartments due to vacation or illness. |
| C．Students have to keep fish in a fish tank of no more than 20 gallons. |
| D．The cat or dog can’t be over 40 pounds when fully grown. |
| A．To help students to fight against homesickness. |
| B．To do research on dogs and train them to be pets. |
| C．To help more professors to do exercise on campus. |
| D．To give assistance to the pet dogs by offering them foods. |
| A．Harvard University. |
| B．University of Oxford. |
| C．University of Illinois. |
| D．University of British Columbia. |
2 . Ever walked to the shops only to find, once there, you’ve completely forgotten what you went for? Or struggled to remember the name of an old friend? For years we’ve accepted that a forgetful brain is as much a part of aging as wrinkles and gray hair. But now a new book suggests that we’ve got it all wrong.
According to The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, by science writer Barbara Strauch, when it comes to the important things, our brains actually get better with age. In fact, she argues that some studies have found that our brain hits its peak between our 40s and 60s — much later than previously thought.
Furthermore, rather than losing many brain cells as we age, we keep them, and even produce new ones well into middle age. For years it’s been assumed that brain, much like the body, declines with age. But the longest, largest study into what happens to people as they age suggests otherwise.
This continuing research has followed 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years. It has found that on average, participants performed better on cognitive (认知的) tests in their 40s and 50s than they had done in their 20s. Specifically, older people did better on tests of vocabulary, verbal memory (how many words you can remember) and problem solving. Where they performed less well was number ability and perceptual speed — how fast you can push a button when ordered. However, with more complex tasks such as problem-solving and language, we are at our best at middle age and beyond. In short, researchers are now coming up with scientific proof that we do get wiser with age.
Neuroscientists are also finding that we are happier with aging. A recent US study found older people were much better at controlling and balancing their emotions. It is thought that when we’re younger we need to focus more on the negative aspects of life in order to learn about the possible dangers in the world, but as we get older we’ve learned our lessons and are aware that we have less time left in life: therefore, it becomes more important for us to be happy.
1. Barbara Strauch probably agrees that ______.| A．the young are better at handling important things |
| B．wrinkles and gray hair are the only symbols of aging |
| C．aging leads to the decline of the function of the brain |
| D．people’s brains work best between their 40s and 60s |
| A．vocabulary tests | B．number ability |
| C．perceptual speed | D．body balance |
| A．they know how to share feelings | B．they learn to value the time left |
| C．they cannot focus on negative aspects | D．they do not realize the possible dangers |
| A．People get happier with age. | B．People get more forgetful with age. |
| C．People get wiser with age. | D．People get more self-aware with age. |
3 . The Boy Made It!
One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.
Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.
He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.
Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.
By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.
The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.
Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls’ survival show Man vs. Wild. That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life. In each episode (一期节目) of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.
When Gxrylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.
1. What happened to Nicholas one Sunday afternoon?| A．He got lost. | B．He broke his skis. |
| C．He hurt his eyes. | D．He caught a cold. |
| A．He found a shelter. | B．He lighted some branches. |
| C．He kept on skiing. | D．He built a snow cave. |
| A．returned to his shelter safely | B．was saved by a searcher |
| C．got stuck in the snow | D．stayed where he was |
| A．did the right things in the dangerous situation |
| B．watched Grylls’ TV program regularly |
| C．created some tips for survival |
| D．was very hard-working |
4 . Margot doesn’t have a garbage can. It doesn’t need one because Margot simply doesn’t cause anything to get thrown away. The restaurant doesn’t allow any type of single use plastic. Margot, which opened last year, is one of the small but growing restaurants around the world aiming to avoid not only food leftovers, but also any garbage.
“Food waste has been increasing as an issue for restaurants over the last 10 years,” says Calvin Brown. He runs the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Based in the United Kingdom, the organization helps food business become more environmentally responsible. He says that food waste contributes to releasing the greenhouse gas, so there is strong motivation to reduce waste and help the environment.
In the USA, food waste and packing account for nearly half of the material sent to landfills. Restaurants from McDonald’s to Starbucks are addressing this issue with “no straw Mondays” and limits on single-serving plastic, but a handful of restaurateurs are trying to get rid of rubbish entirely. There’s also economic case to be made for waste reduction. One study shows that restaurants save seven dollars for every dollar invested in anti- waste methods.
Avoiding food waste is the first and perhaps most obvious challenge for sustainable restaurants. Doug McMaster, chef at Silo in London, only serves a set menu. This removes the worry that one particular item won’t sell well, and will spoil in the refrigerator. Compost (堆肥) is a necessity as well. Nolla (meaning “zero” in Finnish) in Helsinki, Finland is giving compost to its suppliers as well as its diners. Nolla also has food- tracking software more commonly used among corporate food service companies to keep track of what sells and what rots.
Sometimes restaurants call themselves environmentally friendly, but they might just be using the label. Calvin offers some pointers on what to look for to make sure a restaurant is truly committed to sustainability.
1. What does Margot feature?| A．Its large size. | B．Its opening hours. |
| C．Its zero-waste goal. | D．Its plastic garbage cans. |
| A．Ways of packaging food. |
| B．The issue of investing in services. |
| C．The importance of environmental protection. |
| D．Efforts of some restaurants to reduce rubbish, |
| A．Only serve a set menu. |
| B．Hardly use refrigerators. |
| C．Supply compost to its customers. |
| D．Keep track of diners’ preferences. |
| A．Expand food business. |
| B．Use eco-friendly labels. |
| C．Save money on dealing with kitchen garbage. |
| D．Contribute to sustainable development of the food industry. |
5 . How to Make a Chinese Hot Pot
Eating a Chinese hot pot is a very common experience. People gather around the pot, dipping their food, waiting for it to cook, mixing their own seasonings (调味品) and enjoying each other's company.
Firstly, prepare a large pot of soup. There is no right or wrong way to prepare a soup, so feel free to make your own. A simple soup can be made by boiling water with the addition of meat bones or fish heads and a mixture of herbs, seasonings and vegetables.
Then, cut a variety of meats and fish into thin slices.
| A．Finally, arrange the seating reasonably |
| B．Now comes the turn to enjoy your hot pot |
| C．It will guarantee that the items will cook quickly and fully |
| D．Here are some easy steps to make a Chinese hot pot at home |
| E．For more variety, consider dumplings, rice cakes and tangyuan |
| F．Popular choices include: cabbage, pea leaves, winter melon and tomato |
| G．It usually lasts a couple of hours because you are cooking and eating in small parts |
6 . There is a widespread belief among sleep researchers that many people, especially young adults, regularly obtain skimpy sleep due to work, school, and social activities. The move toward remote work and school has provided a novel opportunity to test this belief.
A new research compared self-reported data on sleep habits from 80 students enrolled in a 2020 summer session course with data collected from 450 students enrolled in the same course during previous summer semesters and suggests that students learning remotely went to bed an average of 30 minutes later than pre-pandemic (疫情前) students. They slept less efficiently, less at night and more during the day, but did not sleep more overall despite the time saved commuting (通勤), working or attending social events. Actually, they have no early classes and 44 percent fewer work days compared to students in previous semesters.
One very consistent finding is a collective delay of sleep timing—people go to bed and wake up later. Not surprisingly, there is also a marked reduction in natural light exposure, especially early in the day. The lack of change in sleep time was a bit of a surprise, as it goes against the assumption that young adults would sleep more if they had the time.
Self-described night owls (夜猫子) were more likely to report a greater positive effect on their sleep, getting to sleep in, instead of waking up early for that morning class, while morning types were more likely to report a negative response to sleeping later than usual.
Sleep plays an important role in immune (免疫的) functioning and mental health, which is why good sleep habits are important. Students and anybody working from home should try to get outside and work out early in the day because the morning light helps strengthen their regular sleep-wake cycle—this should improve their sleep, and allow them to feel more rested and energized during the day.
1. What does the underlined word “skimpy” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Needful. | B．Effective. | C．Unnecessary. | D．Insufficient. |
| A．They sleep more overall. | B．They sleep no more than others. |
| C．They sleep less during the day. | D．They sleep more at night. |
| A．Busy bees. | B．Night owls. | C．Lazybones. | D．Early birds. |
| A．Rising early to do morning exercises. |
| B．Developing irregular sleep-wake cycle. |
| C．Learning more about immune functions. |
| D．Getting rested and energized during the day. |
7 . For centuries people have wondered who was the model for Leonard do da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and what was the reason for her smile. But the Mona Lisa is just one of the many mysteries in the art world. Here are some other notable unsolved art mysteries that might be a little less familiar.
Mystery 1: Who Is the girl in Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring?
Around 1665, Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer painted a charming portrait of a young girl. People around the globe have long wondered who this fetching young lady was. Many say she must have been Vermeer’s daughter or girlfriend. Others think she wasn’t a real person, but rather an intentionally mysterious, timeless figure. The painting, referred to as the “ Mona Lisa of the North ” , has been part of The Hague’s permanent collection since 1903. But it draws record-breaking crowds whenever and wherever it tours around the world.
Mystery 2: Where Is Raphael’s Portrait of a Young Man?
Portrait of a Young Man is considered one of the most important pieces of art to go missing during World War II. The painting was created around 1513 by Raphael, a famous Italian Renaissance artist, and stolen from Poland’s Princes Czartoryski Museum in 1939.
The portrait had traveled to Germany and Austria before it was gone in 1945.
Mystery 3: Was Van Gogh Murdered?
One of the main things people know about Vincent van Gogh is that he cut off his ear. That was likely because the Dutch post-impressionist painter suffered from mental illness, probably severe depression. The official cause is suicide from a gun shot at close range.
That certainly seems plausible (貌似有理的), given his poor mental health. However, no gun was found near his body, and locals reported two teenage boys bullying him shortly before his death.
1. What do Portrait of a Young Man and Girl with a Pearl Earring have in common?| A．They are both gone. | B．They are both portraits. |
| C．They were created at the same period. | D．They are both related to World War II. |
| A．Leonardo da Vinci. | B．Johannes Vermeer. | C．Vincent van Gogh. | D．Raphael. |
| A．Art lovers. | B．Book reviewers. | C．Tour guides. | D．Music composers. |
8 . Born in New York in 1918, scientist Gertrude B. Elion had an impressive career, during which she developed medicines to cure many major diseases. Elion spent her early youth in Manhattan. She attended senior high school and had, in her words, an unbelievable thirst for knowledge.
Influenced by the death of her grandfather, who died of cancer, Elion entered Hunter College at the age of 15 and graduated in chemistry at the age of 19. She had difficulty finding employment after graduation because many laboratories refused to hire women chemists. She found a part-time job as a lab assistant and went back to school at New York University. Elion worked as a high school teacher for a few years after finishing work on her master’s degree.
The start of World War II created more opportunities for women. At the age of 26, Elion was able to get a job at Burroughs Welcome, where she began a 40-year partnership with Dr. George H. Hitchings. Her thirst for knowledge impressed Dr. Hitchings, and he permitted her to take on more responsibility.
Elion and Hitchings set out on a course of creating medicines by studying the chemical composition of diseased cells. Rather than relying on old trial-and-error methods, they used the differences in biochemistry between normal human cells and pathogens(病原体)to design medicines. In all, Elion obtained 45 patents on medicine and was awarded 23 honorary degrees.
In 1988, Elion received the Nobel Prize for Medicine, together with George H. Hlitchings and Sir James Black. She received other awards for her work, including the National Medal of Science in 1991, and that same year, she became the first woman to be absorbed into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 1997, she was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award.
1. What can we say about Elion as a high school student?| A．She had a satisfying part-time job. |
| B．She had a strong desire for learning. |
| C．She had a gift for chemistry at high school. |
| D．She made great achievements in chemistry. |
| A．To meet her grandfather’s wish. |
| B．To find a good job after graduation. |
| C．To create medicines to cure diseases. |
| D．To be a chemistry teacher in the future. |
| A．In 1944. | B．In 1937. | C．In 1933. | D．In 1984. |
| A．Her later life. | B．Her contributions. |
| C．Her interest in chemistry. | D．Her honors. |
9 . I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now can I speak of it without tears filling my eyes at the memory.
Our flight left the Orlando Airport one Friday morning. But immediately upon the take-off, it was clear that something was wrong. The aircraft was bumping (颠簸) up and down. All the experienced travellers, including me, looked around with knowing (会意的) smiles. If you fly much, you see these things and learn to act calmly about them. However, we did not remain calm for long.
Minutes after we were in the air, our plane began falling quickly. The pilot soon made a serious announcement. “We are having some difficulties,” he said. “Our indicators show that the control system has failed. We will be returning to the Orlando Airport. The flight attendants will prepare you for a bumpy landing. Also, if you look out of the windows, you will see that we are dumping (倾倒) fuel from the airplane. We want to have as little on board as possible in the event of a rough touchdown.” In other words, we were about to crash. Many travellers looked visibly frightened now. No one faces death without fear, I thought.
Then a couple of rows to my left, I heard a still calm voice, a woman’s voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational tone. I had to find the source of this voice. All around, people cried. Many screamed. Finally, I saw her. In this state of complete confusion and lack of order, a mother was talking to her child. The woman, in her mid-30s, was staring full into the face of her daughter, who looked to be four years old. The child listened closely, sensing the importance of her mother’s words. The mother’s eye held the child so fixed that she seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and fear around her.
Finally, I leaned over and could hear this soft sure voice with the tone of comfort. Over and over again, the mother said, “I love you so much. Remember, no matter what happens, I love you always.” Fortunately, our landing gear (起落架) held at last and our touchdown was not a tragedy.
However, the voice I heard that day never faded. That mom showed me what a real hero looks like.
1. What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?| A．The crew was getting ready for a take-off. |
| B．The travellers were taken good care of on the plane. |
| C．The aircraft was not in normal condition when flying. |
| D．The passengers were enjoying themselves on the aircraft. |
| A．To prepare for a landing. | B．To have the airplane not bump. |
| C．To make the airplane to fly faster. | D．To make sure the control system worked well. |
| A．She looked quite angry. | B．She didn’t appear so worried. |
| C．She felt extremely nervous. | D．She sounded rather hopeless. |
| A．She paid attention to her mother’s words. |
| B．She screamed and cried with other passengers. |
| C．She comforted her mother after hearing the emergency. |
| D．She didn’t seem to be interested in what her mother said. |
10 . Different weather makes people feel different. It influences health, intelligence and feelings.
In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.
The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 2018 report by scientists, IQs of a group of students were very high when a very strong wind came; but after the strong wind, their IQs were 10% below. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).
Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel unhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18℃, people become stronger.
Low air pressure (气压) may make people forgetful. People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low — pressure days. There is “good weather” for work and health. People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃.
Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the problem of weather.
1. When do people in the Northeast in America have more heart trouble?| A．In February. | B．In July. | C．In August. | D．In November. |
| A．People’s health. | B．People’s appearance. |
| C．People’s intelligence. | D．People’s feelings. |
| A．More hesitant. | B．More friendly. |
| C．More energetic. | D．More generous. |
| A．People can feel best when air pressure is high. |
| B．People may be forgetful when air pressure is high. |
| C．People may buy more things when air pressure is low. |
| D．People can’t remember things so well when air pressure is low. |
