1 . Elephant Conservation
Country:Thailand
This is a working vacation at a wildlife centre. Anyone can become a volunteer if he/she agrees to help the elephant keepers with tasks.
Daily tasks
Collect the elephants at 6:30 a.m. Take them to look for food in the forest. Clean the enclosure. Swim with the elephants in the lake in the afternoon. If volunteers want to relax after work, they can watch satellite television.
How this vacation helps
If these elephants hadn’t been rescued, they would still be living on the streets of Bangkok. A rural environment is much better for them than an urban environment where there is lots of pollution.
Gorilla Safari
Countries:Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
Departures:Aug.—Dec., 2—3 departures per month
Extras:gorilla permit ￡220
If you’re lucky, you’ll see lions, elephants and rhinos on safari. The highlight of the trip is the opportunity to see gorillas in the mountain forests. However, you must be in good health—if a gorilla caught a cold, it would be extremely harmful to its whole family.
How this vacation helps
There are only about 600 mountain gorillas left in the world as human activity has reduced the area where they can live. When you buy a permit, this will pay for the protection of the national park.
Polar Bear Watching
Country:Canada
Departures:sixty trips between Oct. 1—Nov. 19
Every October and November, groups of polar bears gather in Hudson Bay. As they are normally lonely creatures, this is unusual. The bears wait for the ocean to freeze so they can hunt seals, so this is the perfect opportunity to see them.
How this vacation helps
If the Arctic ice cap melts due to global warming, polar bears will be in danger. We give a share of our profits to the Polar Bears Alive Charity.
Your comment
These awesome bears get all the liquid they need from their food.
1. What will an elephant volunteer do?| A．Take food for elephants at 6:30 a.m. |
| B．Sweep the houses of elephants. |
| C．Wash elephants in the lake in the afternoon. |
| D．Watch satellite television on elephants. |
| A．You can find gorillas in Kenya and Canada. |
| B．You might get a cold in the mountain forests. |
| C．Visitors need to pay $220 to see 600 gorillas. |
| D．There are about 10 trips to visit gorillas. |
| A．Polar bears don’t need to drink water. |
| B．Polar bears store the liquid in their food. |
| C．Polar bears drink all kinds of liquid. |
| D．Polar bears eat mainly liquid food. |
2 . A few summers ago my daughter and I were swimming in our pool. The sun was setting and the night was
As we both gazed at this
Remember that the
| A．eventually | B．frequently | C．carefully | D．quickly |
| A．invented | B．noticed | C．informed | D．ruined |
| A．cloth | B．craft | C．pot | D．web |
| A．surprised | B．interested | C．frightened | D．excited |
| A．farther | B．more | C．longer | D．better |
| A．sight | B．signal | C．wonder | D．advertisement |
| A．caught | B．occurred | C．knocked | D．hit |
| A．how soon | B．how often | C．how long | D．how far |
| A．removing | B．building | C．painting | D．sending |
| A．for | B．without | C．by | D．in |
| A．ability | B．knowledge | C．happiness | D．experience |
| A．all | B．both | C．either | D．neither |
| A．simple | B．expensive | C．bright | D．flexible |
| A．office | B．earth | C．life | D．hope |
| A．kill | B．waste | C．cost | D．spend |
3 . A study has found that elephants possess a sense of smell that is likely the strongest ever identified in a single species, according to a study by Japanese scientists last week.
The African elephant’s genome (基因组) contains the largest number of olfactory receptor (嗅觉感受器) genes—nearly 2, 000—says the study in the journal Genome Research.
Olfactory receptors are aware of smells in the environment.
That means elephants’ sniffers (嗅探器) are five times more powerful than people’s noses, twice that of dogs, and even stronger than the previous known record-holder in the animal kingdom: rats.
“Apparently, an elephant’s nose is not only long but also superior, ”says lead study author Yoshihito Niimura of the University of Tokyo.
Just how these genes work is not well understood, but they likely helped elephants survive and navigate their environment over the ages.
The ability to smell allows creatures to find mates and food—and avoid predators.
The study compared elephant’s olfactory receptor genes to those of 13 other animals, including horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, cows, rodents and chimpanzees.
Primates (灵长类) and people actually had very low numbers of olfactory receptor genes compared to other species, the study found.
“This could be a result of our decreased reliance on smell as our sight improved, ” Niimura says.
1. Why do African elephants have the strongest sense of smell?| A．Because their noses are very superior. |
| B．Because they have more olfactory receptor genes. |
| C．Because they are very strong. |
| D．Because they have long noses. |
| A．Human. | B．Dog. | C．Rat. | D．Elephant. |
| A．Their genes. | B．Their noses. | C．Their legs. | D．Their ears. |
| A．To find mates. | B．To have fun. |
| C．To find food. | D．To escape from hunters. |
| A．People find elephants are very useful. |
| B．People like elephants’ noses. |
| C．Elephants possess “superior” sense of smell. |
| D．Elephants are smarter than other animals. |
4 . If you think a high-factor sunscreen (防晒霜) keeps you safe from harmful rays, you may be wrong. Research in this week's Nature shows that while factor 50 reduces the number of melanomas(黑瘤) and delays their occurrence, it can't prevent them. Melanomas are the most aggressive skin cancers. You have a higher risk if you have red or blond hair, fair skin, blue or green eyes, or sunburn easily, or if a close relative has had one. Melanomas are more common if you have periodic intense exposure to the sun. Other skin cancers are increasingly likely with long-term exposure.
There is continuing debate as to how effective sunscreen is in reducing melanomas -- the evidence is weaker than it is for preventing other types of skin cancer. A 2011 Australian study of 1,621 people found that people randomly selected to apply sunscreen daily had half the rate of melanomas of people who used cream as needed. A second study, comparing 1,167 people with melanomas to 1,101 who didn't have the cancer, found that using sunscreen routinely, alongside other protection such as hats, long sleeves or staying in the shade, did give some protection. This study said other forms of sun protection -- not sunscreen -- seemed most beneficial. The study relied on people remembering what they had done over each decade of their lives, so it's not entirely reliable. But it seems reasonable to think sunscreen gives people a false sense of security in the sun.
Many people also don't use sunscreen properly -- applying insufficient amounts, failing to reapply after a couple of hours and staying in the sun too long. It is sunburn that is most worrying. A recent research shows five episodes of sunburn in the teenage years increases the risk of all skin cancers.
The good news is that a combination of sunscreen and covering up can reduce melanoma rates, as shown by Australian figures from their slip-slop-slap campaign. So if there is a heat wave this summer, it would be best for us, too, to slip on a shirt, slop on (抹上) sunscreen and slap on a hat.
1. What is people's common expectation of a high-factor sunscreen?| A．It will delay the occurrence of skin cancer. |
| B．It will protect them from sunburn. |
| C．It will keep their skin smooth and fair. |
| D．It will work for people of any skin color. |
| A．It is ineffective in preventing melanomas. |
| B．It is ineffective in case of intense sunlight. |
| C．It is ineffective with long-term exposure. |
| D．It is ineffective for people with fair skin. |
| A．Sunscreen should be applied alongside other protection measures. |
| B．High-risk people benefit the most from the application of sunscreen. |
| C．Irregular application of sunscreen does women more harm than good. |
| D．Daily application of sunscreen helps reduce the incidence of melanomas. |
| A．It misleads people to rely on sunscreen for protection. |
| B．It helps people to select the most effective sunscreen. |
| C．It is not based on direct observation of the subjects. |
| D．It confirms the results of the first Australian study. |
| A．Using both covering up and sunscreen. |
| B．Staying in the shade whenever possible. |
| C．Using covering up instead of sunscreen. |
| D．Applying the right amount of sunscreen. |
5 . We don’t know how different our future will be in the future.We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will be making new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely.
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.
Spending holidays will also be completely different.Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as health will be in better condition.
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.
1. Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050?| A．Because the number of people will become much smaller. |
| B．Because there will be less face-to-face communication. |
| C．Because people won’t like making friends with each other. |
| D．Because people won’t communicate with each other much often. |
| A．that computers will do all the things for human beings |
| B．how people will use computers to communicate with each other |
| C．that machines like computers and robots will help people a lot |
| D．how people will use robots to do the housework |
| A．The relationship between people will be more important than that of today. |
| B．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today. |
| C．It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets. |
| D．Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars. |
| A．disappointed | B．surprised |
| C．curious | D．optimistic |
6 . Do you have a sore throat, a running nose and a headache? Do you keep coughing and sneezing? If you do, the chances are that you have a cold or perhaps flu, but which one? Although both colds and flu are caused by viruses, they are very different illnesses.
Colds, which usually last about a week, affect the nose most. They commonly cause a runny nose and sneezing. Sometimes, they cause a headache, a cough and slightly aching muscles.
Flu is a much more serious illness and is caused by different group of viruses. People with flu usually get all the symptoms described above. However, they also get a high fever, a dry cough and much worse aching. Fever is one of the characteristic symptoms of the flu for all ages. The symptoms also last much longer. Sometimes they don’t disappear for at least two weeks.
Flu can be a deadly disease. The elderly, who are weaker and less healthy than most young people, can die from flu. This is one reason why old people are advised to have a flu injection (预防针) before the start of winter when flu is most common. This injection is inexpensive and definitely worth it.
If you have a cold or flu, you must always deal with used tissues(纸巾) carefully. Don’t leave dirty tissues on your desk or on the floor. Someone else has to pick these up and viruses could be passed on. And finally, remember to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze! You don’t want to see the small drop of liquids blown out of your nose and mouth when you sneeze, do you? Disgusting, eh? Now you can understand why it’s a good idea to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze!
1. According to the passage, people with colds rarely get _______.| A．a headache | B．a high fever | C．a runny nose | D．aching muscles |
| A．flu injection can cause death | B．most old people die from flu |
| C．flu is most common in summer | D．flu can kill old people easily |
| A．it helps keep your classroom tidy | B．people hate picking up dirty tissues |
| C．it prevents the spread of colds and flu | D．picking up lots of tissues is hard work |
| A．Both colds and flu last the same time. |
| B．Both colds and flu can be prevented by injection. |
| C．Both colds and flu are caused by the same viruses. |
| D．Both colds and flu have an aching symptom. |
| A．Cold or Flu? | B．The Different Symptoms of a Cold and Flu |
| C．Prevention Is Better Than Cure | D．Cover Your Nose and Mouth When Sneezing |
7 . The new coronavirus is the latest example of a disease that jumped from animals into humans. When infections do this they can be deadly — and COVID-19 is no exception.
Many viruses that jump into people, like MERS, seldom spread from person to person. They can still infect thousands, though; rabies (狂犬病) is mostly passed on by dog bites, but kills 60,000 people a year. Others, such as Ebola, can spread from person to person, but aren’t very good at it and so cause relatively small outbreaks. COVID-19, by contrast, appears quite good at spreading from person to person. While we don’t know how deadly it is, Chris Coleman, a professor at the University of Nottingham, the UK, says, “It’s not the most deadly coronavirus we’ve ever had.”
To trace the new virus’s origins, researchers have been comparing its genome to that of other coronaviruses. This showed that it possibly derives from a strain that infects bats. “It’s highly related to bat coronaviruses,” says Vaithilingaraja Arumugaswami at the University of California, Los Angeles. This makes sense as bats are known to harbour many viruses, including coronaviruses. Viral infections are especially likely to spread among bats as they can fly long distances and roost close to each other. Bats also seem able to carry infections without getting ill, which helps spread the viruses.
The new coronavirus might have jumped from bats into another animal a few months or even a few decades ago, and then from that intermediate host into humans. We know that the coronavirus behind the SARS outbreak of 2002 to 2003 spread from bats into palm civets (狸猫) before infecting people.
Viruses that normally circulate among people can gradually become less lethal, as this helps them spread. “They don’t want you to drop dead within a day because you won’t pass it to anyone else,” says Chris Coleman.
Coleman thinks there is little we can do to stop people coming into contact with animals that may carry dangerous viruses. “It’s very difficult to control that,” he says. Instead, he says we need to have vaccines ready in advance. This could mean creating vaccines that are effective against a wide range of viruses or vaccines that require only minor tweaks to work against a new viral strain, much like annual flu vaccines.
1. What’s the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The intermediate host of viruses. | B．The mode of virus transmission. |
| C．The outbreak of the deadly COVID-19. | D．The serious consequence of COVID-19. |
| A．To support an idea. | B．To study virus infections. |
| C．To trace the coronavirus’s origins. | D．To map the new virus’s genome. |
| A．Complicated. | B．Active. | C．Healthy. | D．Deadly. |
| A．Seek right medicine for each virus. | B．Develop widely applicable vaccines. |
| C．Get away from animals carrying viruses. | D．Prevent viruses spreading among people. |
8 . On March 10, 2019, eight-year-old Tani defeated 73 young competitors to win the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship in his age group—kindergarten to third grade—with five wins and one draw. While the achievement is remarkable in itself, what is even more so is that the youngster, who was homeless at the time, began learning the game less than a year ago.
Tani and his family arrived in New York City from Nigeria in 2017, seeking religious protection. A church pastor (牧师) helped find the family of four space in a homeless shelter in Manhattan and, soon after, Tani entered the local elementary school. It was here that the young talent was first introduced to the basics of chess by a part-time teacher. Attracted by the game, then the seven-year-old begged his mother, Oluwatoyin, to allow him to join the school’s chess club. The family were concerned that they would be unable to afford the fees and expenses, which added up to thousands of dollars due to travel and chess competition admission. Oluwatoyin emailed chess instructor Russell, who ran the club. To her surprise and delight, Russell agreed to waive all costs for young Tani. The rest, as they say, is history. The young boy, who has got seven prizes in less than a year, currently ranks 27 in America in his age group.
Though the chess club certainly helps, Tani’s success can be largely owed to the efforts he has put into the game. The chess talent practices the game for several hours a day either on the floor with his board, or online, using his dad’s laptop. Every Saturday, Tani and his mother head to Harlem for a free 3-hour class to help further sharpen his game skills.
Not surprisingly, Tani’s incredible story, first reported by The New York Times, has resulted in an outpouring of support from the American public. Shortly after the young boy won the New York State Championship, Russell began a GoFundMe campaign for Tani and his family to “secure a home where he can continue with his journey”.
And the heart-warming story gets even better! Since they now have a home, the family have decided to “pay it forward” and donate the over $200,000 collected on GoFundMe to African immigrants in America who are struggling the way the family was.
1. What made Tani’s achievement especially remarkable?| A．His young age. |
| B．His quick learning. |
| C．Support from his family. |
| D．Help from his teacher. |
| A．To pay for Tani’s schooling. |
| B．To raise money for Tani’s family. |
| C．To teach Tani free of charge. |
| D．To spend more on Tani’s training. |
| A．Success of Tani. |
| B．Activities of the chess club. |
| C．Tani’s devotion to the game. |
| D．Public reaction to Tani’s story. |
| A．They are caring. |
| B．They live in poverty. |
| C．They are honest. |
| D．They are pitiful. |
9 . China is showing the world its great resolve in the global climate campaign with concrete and selfmotivated efforts as well as serious commitment.
At the opening ceremony of the Paris climate summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping restated China’s plan made in June to cut its carbon emissions( 排放)per unit of GDP by 6065 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase nonfossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent.
With a large population, China is facing increasing resource limits, severe environmental pollution and a worsening ecosystem, and its citizens are also becoming increasingly aware of environmental problems. Suffering environmental problems and seeing the efforts as important to transforming its economic growth pattern, the country has much at risk if climate change is left unattended.
Actually, climate change efforts are already included in China’s mediumand longterm program of economic and social development, and ecological efforts are the clear characteristics in China’s 13th FiveYear Plan(20162020)．
Although it is and will be a developing country for a long time to come, China has been actively involved in the global campaign against climate change, now topping the world in terms of energy conservation and use of new and renewable energies.
However, China’s development rights need to be respected. It is unfair to overstress China’s status as one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters and regard it as the major part of responsibilities in the global fight against climate change.
It is worthy of notice that China’s emissions of greenhouse gases per person are far lower than those of developed countries, especially the United States, although rapid economic expansion and its population base have made it one of the biggest producers of the gases.
To show its great resolve, Beijing in September also announced the establishment of an independent SouthSouth cooperation fund of ￥20 billion to help developing countries affected by global warming.
While China is eagerly accomplishing its policy commitments, developed countries should stop questioning China’s commitment to fighting climate change and pointing fingers, and start shouldering their due responsibilities instead.
1. China is selfmotivated to transform its economic pattern in order to ________．| A．top the world |
| B．fight against climate change |
| C．solve its population problem |
| D．respond to pressure from developed countries |
| A．China |
| B．the United States |
| C．economic expansion |
| D．the population base |
| A．China will completely use nonfossil fuels by 2030 |
| B．China will carry out its plan by stopping its development |
| C．Chinese emit more greenhouse gases than Americans on average |
| D．some developed countries are not taking on their due responsibilities |
10 . Our local Community Youth Club is a very popular organization with young people in my town. I have been a member for four years now and I’ve taken part in a lot of interesting projects. These include fun activities such as holiday camps and discos. We have organized sports competitions and we even made a video.
But it isn’t all just enjoyment, we have also started doing social work to help people in our neighbourhood. We have organized activities for small children during the holidays. We have also formed a social support group to help young people stop smoking.
We are particularly proud of the most recent group we have created. It organizes regular visits to the local old people’s home. This idea came from a school visit to an old people’s home. My class spent an afternoon at a home and everyone found the visit very rewarding.
The old people at the home were very excited by our visit. They were very talkative and they told us their personal stories. During our visit, the home was filled with the sound of laughter. We sang songs and played games with the old people and had tea together. But we realized that life wasn’t always easy. Some of them were in poor health and were very unhappy. They couldn’t go outside and the visits by children brought some sunshine into their lives.
Many young people like me do not live with our grandparents and we have very little contact with elderly people. As a result, many young people don’t know what they are like and we have a lot of wrong ideas about them. We have little or no idea of the kind of lives they lead in their homes. After this visit, my friends and I decided we should do something to help improve the quality of their lives.
Since the creation of our visiting group, over twenty volunteers have joined us. Up to now, we have organized three group evenings and a concert.But it is the individual (单独的) visits which are the most important. Club members regularly visit old people and everyone finds the experience rich and rewarding.
1. As for Community Youth Club’s future, the author’s attitude to it is ________.| A．positive | B．negative |
| C．neutral | D．indifferent |
| A．works at an old people’s home |
| B．lives with her grandparents |
| C．lives in an old people’s home |
| D．regularly visits old people |
| A．only organizes fun activities for young people |
| B．has made a video about life in an old people’s home |
| C．has arranged a school visit to the local old people’s home |
| D．mainly does social work |
| A．are not interested in how old people live |
| B．do not want to get to know old people |
| C．have very little contact with old people |
| D．live with their grandparents |
