1 . For most of December, Adele Adkins had the top-selling album in Australia, followed by Ed Sheeran, and then there was a collection of songs that took everyone by surprise.
Songs Of Disappearance is a collection of calls from endangered Australian birds. Last month, it briefly reached No.3 on the country’s top 50 albums chart (排行榜) — ahead of Taylor Swift.
Anthony Albrecht, a PhD student at Charles Darwin University, produced the album with Professor Stephen Garnett. “I knew it was a crazy thing to suggest. But Stephen’s a little bit crazy like me and he let me do it,” Albrecht said.
Songs Of Disappearance was published with a university report which found that 1 in 6 Australian bird species are now threatened. The album records 53 of those species.
“Some sing what you might think of as bird songs, but not all of them,” said SeanDooley, who represents the conservation organization Bird life Australia. “Songs from the golden bowerbird sound like a death cry from some sci-fi series. And the love songs from Christmas Island frigate bird, which has a piece of skin hanging under its mouth that caninflate (膨胀) like a huge red balloon, sound as bizarre as its unusual looks.”
There’s also the Christmas Island pigeon. When people hear that pigeon, they might think that it’s a human making silly noises, Dooley added.
The Charles Darwin University and Bird life Australia report does document successes in protecting endangered birds, the hope being that the album will protect more species.
“The increased awareness can make a difference,” Dooley said. “When we have a community on board, that brings pressure to the government to do the right thing. We know that these conservation actions do work.”
1. Whose album reached No.1 on the chart in December?| A．Taylor Swift’s. |
| B．Adele Adkins’. |
| C．Ed Sheeran’s. |
| D．Anthony Albrecht’s. |
| A．About 53 bird species are threatened in Australia. |
| B．It has not found success in protecting endangered birds. |
| C．One sixth of Australian bird species are now endangered. |
| D．Music is very powerful in encouraging people to protect birds. |
| A．Strange. |
| B．Beautiful. |
| C．Loud. |
| D．Sharp. |
| A．Crazy. |
| B．Amusing. |
| C．Uncreative. |
| D．Helpful. |
2 . People tend to use trees for papermaking. But maybe electronics (电子) engineers are missing out on something here. “It turns out that two major building blocks of wood have a lot of electrical qualities,” says Magnus Berggren, a professor at Linköping University.
His team has been working to make parts for electronics from the forest. Right now, they’re focusing on two materials of trees. The first material is cellulose, which can make energy. Lignin, the second material, can store that energy, just as a battery does. The team has found when pressed, cellulose can produce electricity.
Some device must then store the electricity until it’s needed. Batteries can do this. But batteries aren’t very green. They have harmful materials. That’s where lignin comes in.
Batteries cause electrons to flow from one place to another, which can produce electricity. In a typical battery, one material must give electrons. The other must accept them. Lignin can do both. A weak acid (酸) encourages lignin to produce electrons. “With a metal wire (金属线) to guide those electrons, you’ll have electricity,” says Berggren.
Berggren’s team use this quality to create its new lignin-based battery. Typical batteries use a metal wire as a path to guide the flow of electrons into or out of the device. But since Berggren wants to make a battery of the forest, he looks for a natural way. Once again, he turns to cellulose.
This natural material can serve as a wire-like path for electrons. To make it work well, Berggren lines them with another chemical known as PEDOT, which isn’t from a tree. But when PEDOT is added to cellulose, they can conduct electricity like a wire. “With a weak acid, now you have a battery,” Berggren says. “And two of its three materials come from the forest.”
Berggren can imagine one day having mobile phone batteries made largely from forest products. Tree-based electronics might also be useful in lighting.
1. What is cellulose used to do in the study?| A．Act as a weak acid. | B．Collect rainwater. |
| C．Produce electricity. | D．Make quality paper. |
| A．Well-received. | B．Eco-friendly. | C．Harmful. | D．Heavy. |
| A．They may change farming practices. | B．They might save a lot of wood. |
| C．They would serve the elderly. | D．They could light the rooms. |
| A．A Green Way to Make and Store Energy | B．An Attempt to Raise Power Production |
| C．Practical Suggestions on Planting Trees | D．Recent Advances in Mobile Phones |
3 . Our two-year investigation into caged (关在笼中) tigers in America sent us through 32 US states—with some truly shocking experiences. But as the deadline neared, I still needed a powerful and hopeful image.
When we began our reporting in 2017—Sharon, writing; me taking photos; and our son, NickRuggia, filming—more tigers likely lived in cages in the US than remained in the wild. The number ranged from 5,000 to 10,000, but without strict government oversight, no one knew for sure.
Roadside zoos that allowed tourists to take pictures of young tigers were the main cause of what’s been called a US tiger crisis (危机). Caged cats often ended up in the illegal wildlife trade. Young tigers, parted from their mothers at birth, were fed poorly and touched by hundreds of people. When they grew too big and dangerous to pet at around 12 weeks, young tigers were put on show, or simply disappeared.
While we documented the unpleasant part of this industry, we also wanted to show the good life these impressive animals could have. With two weeks left before my deadline, I headed to the Wild Animal Sanctuary near Denver, where well-cared cats walked freely in their habitat.
There I met Clay, Daniel, and Enzo, three of 39 tigers rescued from an animal park in Oklahoma. These nearly grown cats raced beside our car, which I’d seen only in the wild. It was a hot July day and soon two of the cats jumped into a pool to cool off. The third rested beside them on the ground. I crossed the road to take a picture of them. Then quietly, I came up close, trying not to disturb (打扰) them. I had the shot.
1. Why did the author start her reporting?| A．To dig out the dark truth of caged tigers. | B．To explore the amazing land in the country. |
| C．To tell people that baby tigers are harmless. | D．To share the happy moment during the trip. |
| A．Forest fires. | B．Climate change. | C．Roadside zoos. | D．Water pollution. |
| A．They prefer to stay indoors. | B．They are badly treated. |
| C．They get used to the changes. | D．They are traded legally. |
| A．To praise her family for their effort. | B．To explain what the animals suffered. |
| C．To introduce a special kind of tigers. | D．To show some tigers lead an easy life. |
4 . Leah Brown aged 36 fell several hundred feet from Oregon’s highest mountain right before the eyes of a group of volunteer rescue workers who rushed to her aid and helped save her life.
The woman was coming down a popular path (小路) on Mt. Hood, about 70 miles east of Portland, on Saturday morning, according to the local police. Mt. Hood is the highest in Oregon, standing at around11.240 feet.
The fall was seen by members of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR), a volunteer organization focused on helping people in mountainous areas. The group called 911 and rushed to the woman, providing medical care. They helped keep the woman warm for seven hours as the police worked to get her off the mountain safely. Finally, the woman was evacuated (转移) to a parking lot at 9:30 pm and taken to a hospital.
The climber, Leah Brown, said she didn’t know what caused her fall. “I can only guess it was either an ice tool or a crampon (冰爪) that didn’t land and stick like it should have, so I became detached from the mountain,” Brown said. “The thing I’d like to most stress is my appreciation for the members of PMR who evacuated me and took good care of me the whole time,” Brown added. “They saved my life. ”
In a statement after the rescue, PMR warned of the dangerous winter conditions at the mountain. “The short days and lower temperatures mean that the snow tends to be very hard and icy, and the conditions tend to be much steeper. Climbing the mountain in icy conditions is much more difficult,” the group said.
1. What happened to Brown on Saturday morning?| A．She lost her way in a forest. | B．She hurt her eye unexpectedly. |
| C．She failed to call her family. | D．She fell down on a downhill path. |
| A．Different. | B．Hidden. | C．Separated. | D．Tired. |
| A．Thankful. | B．Regretful. | C．Surprised. | D．Concerned. |
| A．Climbing requires teamwork. | B．Climbing in winter is too risky. |
| C．We must remain positive in hard times. | D．We can admire the view on sunny days. |
5 . Vehicles on our roads are now mostly petrol and diesel (柴油) cars, but their days cannot continue for much longer. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 percent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 percent by 2020.
One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been “range anxiety” — drivers concerns about running out of electricity on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.
Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed greatly over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their high prices drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade picky consumers. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion engine (内燃机) models a run for their money.
As well as development on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery-powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.
Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions (排放). If the US could replace 87 percent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 percent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim (声称) to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.
1. The underlined word “hurdle” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．aim | B．difficulty | C．result | D．step |
| A．They were very poorly made. | B．They were not widely promoted. |
| C．They were expensive. | D．They couldn’t travel at a high speed. |
| A．To introduce the history of electric travel. |
| B．To explain why the world needs more electric cars. |
| C．To show why more people have interest in electric cars. |
| D．To describe different ways electric vehicles can be used. |
| A．Driving into a Cleaner Future | B．History of Electric Cars |
| C．Problems with Petrol and Diesel Cars | D．Best Means of Transportation |
6 . In an inspiring series of events over six years, a remarkable woman has turned up as the guardian angel for one family. She
Six years ago, Kristi Hadfield was a nurse who saved John Cunningham’s life when he was
Hadfield stayed in
“And when I posted it, I got a(n)
| A．knew | B．caught | C．rescued | D．employed |
| A．having | B．avoiding | C．escaping | D．curing |
| A．enjoy | B．remember | C．regret | D．imagine |
| A．came across | B．worked on | C．turned to | D．got to |
| A．Fortunately | B．Gradually | C．Disappointedly | D．Basically |
| A．agreement | B．touch | C．comparison | D．competition |
| A．female | B．strange | C．serious | D．former |
| A．order | B．gift | C．request | D．suggestion |
| A．identified | B．recommended | C．shared | D．heard |
| A．quit | B．appreciate | C．allow | D．consider |
| A．invitation | B．message | C．argument | D．description |
| A．provider | B．waiter | C．user | D．protector |
| A．set out | B．took place | C．shut up | D．came back |
| A．remarkable | B．unique | C．successful | D．significant |
| A．life | B．luck | C．money | D．thanks |
7 . The Glover kids in Newburgh, New York, want to make a little extra money themselves before the school opens. So, earlier this week, they set up a lemonade stand on the side of the road.
Now, in most stories, that’s when the police
Whitney posted the picture on social media with explanatory words. The
Dozens of customers have
| A．Progress | B．Business | C．Budget | D．Service |
| A．demanded | B．proposed | C．warned | D．informed |
| A．angry | B．generous | C．anxious | D．responsible |
| A．take over | B．leave out | C．shut down | D．tear apart |
| A．course | B．licence | C．fund | D．record |
| A．surprised | B．tired | C．upset | D．confused |
| A．context | B．case | C．reason | D．issue |
| A．other than | B．instead of | C．as for | D．due to |
| A．investigated | B．prevented | C．praised | D．punished |
| A．contributions | B．differences | C．objections | D．adjustments |
| A．posing | B．exchanging | C．preparing | D．searching |
| A．refreshing | B．effective | C．amusing | D．creative |
| A．apology | B．development | C．support | D．debate |
| A．stood out | B．stood by | C．stopped out | D．stopped by |
| A．change | B．donation | C．supply | D．application |
8 . When I mentioned to some friends that we all have accents, most of them proudly replied, “Well, I speak perfect English/Chinese/etc.” But this kind of misses the point.
More often than not, what we mean when we say someone “has an accent” is that their accent is different from the local one, or that pronunciations are different from our own. But this definition of accents is limiting and could give rise to prejudice. Funnily enough, in terms of the language study, every person speaks with an accent. It is the regular differences in how we produce sounds that define our accents. Even if you don’t hear it yourself, you speak with some sort of accent. In this sense, it’s pointless to point out that someone“has an accent“. We all do!
Every person speaks a dialect , too. In the field of language study, a dialect is a version of a language that is characterized by its variations of structure, phrases and words. For instance,“ You got eat or not? ”(meaning “Have you eaten?” ) is an acceptable and understood question in Singapore Oral English. The fact that this expression would cause a standard American English speaker to take pause doesn’t mean that Singapore Oral English is “wrong” or “ungrammatical”. The sentence is well-formed and clearly communicative, according to native Singapore English speakers’ solid system of grammar. Why should it be wrong just because it’s different?
We need to move beyond a narrow conception of accents and dialects — for the benefit of everyone.
Language differences like these provide insights into people’s cultural experiences and backgrounds. In a global age, the way one speaks is a distinct part of one’s identity. Most people would be happy to talk about the cultures behind their speech. We’d learn more about the world we live in and make friends along the way.
1. What does the author think of his/ her friends’ response in paragraph 1?| A．It reflects their self confidence. |
| B．It reflects their language levels. |
| C．It misses the point of communication. |
| D．It misses the real meaning of accents. |
| A．To justify the use of dialects. |
| B．To show the diversity of dialects. |
| C．To correct a grammatical mistake. |
| D．To highlight a traditional approach. |
| A．Learn to speak with your local dialect. |
| B．Seek for an official definition of accents. |
| C．Appreciate the value of accents and dialects. |
| D．Distinguish our local languages from others’. |
| A．Favourable | B．Intolerant |
| C．Doubtful | D．Unclear |
9 . Being jobless for the last three months, I am upset nowadays. My son has lost his
In these circumstances I have two mental
I choose the second option for I believe that the pain I am suffering today will build up my
Two months later,
As I am back on the track of normal life, I can definitely say that the most important things that helped me
| A．admission | B．benefit | C．diploma | D．permission |
| A．share | B．reduce | C．break | D．raise |
| A．showed up | B．set off | C．fell down | D．passed away |
| A．putting | B．finding | C．forming | D．lifting |
| A．problems | B．concerns | C．choices | D．activities |
| A．link | B．replace | C．mix | D．exchange |
| A．intelligence | B．body | C．character | D．reputation |
| A．careful | B．hard-working | C．easy-going | D．successful |
| A．hide | B．destroy | C．strengthen | D．kill |
| A．desperately | B．unwillingly | C．hopefully | D．fortunately |
| A．regardless of | B．on account of | C．instead of | D．apart from |
| A．occupied | B．empty | C．open | D．closed |
| A．fight | B．meet | C．change | D．delay |
| A．general | B．optimistic | C．friendly | D．pessimistic |
| A．as if | B．in that | C．now that | D．in case |
10 . Many leading AI researchers think that in a matter of decades, artificial intelligence will be able to do not merely some of our jobs, but all of our jobs, forever transforming life on the earth.
The reason why many people reject this as science fiction is that we’ve traditionally thought of intelligence as something mysterious that can only exist in biological organisms,especially humans. But such an idea is unscientific.
From my point of view as a physicist and AI researcher, intelligence is simply a certain kind of information-processing performed by elementary particles (基本粒子) moving around,and there is no law of physics that says one can’t build machines more intelligent than us in all ways. This suggests that we’ve only seen the tip of the intelligence iceberg and that there is an amazing potential to unlock the full intelligence that is potential in nature and use it to help humanity.
If we get it right, the upside is huge. Since everything we love about civilization is the product of intelligence, amplifying our own intelligence with AI has the potential to solve tomorrow’s toughest problems. For example, why risk our loved ones dying in traffic accidents that self-driving cars could prevent or dying of cancers that AI might help us find cures for? Why not increase productivity through automation and use AI to accelerate our research and development of affordable sustainable (可持续的) energy?
I’m optimistic that we can develop rapidly with advanced AI as long as we win the race between the growing power of our technology and the knowledge with which we manage it. But this requires giving up our outdated concept of learning from mistakes. That helped us win the race with less powerful technology. We messed up with fire and then invented fire extinguishers (灭火器), and we messed up with cars and then invented seat belts. However, it’s an awful idea for more powerful technologies, such as nuclear weapons or super intelligent AI-where even a single mistake is unacceptable and we need to get things right the first time.
1. How do many people feel about leading AI researchers’ predictions?| A．Worried. | B．Curious. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．We know little about it. | B．It belongs to human beings. |
| C．It is too difficult to understand. | D．We have a good command of it. |
| A．Cost. | B．Potential. |
| C．Quantity. | D．Advantage. |
| A．Learning from failure. | B．Increasing our intelligence. |
| C．Avoiding making mistakes. | D．Making accurate predictions. |
