1 . One of the most beneficial skills you can learn in life is how to consistently put yourself in a good position. But not everyone knows how we can create that foundation. The position you find yourself in today is the accumulation of the small choices that you’ve been making for years.
The ordinary choices that guarantee a strong future go unnoticed. There is no pat on the back for doing the right thing just as there is no slap on the wrist for doing the wrong thing. Reading a chapter of a great book today won’t solve your problems just as not reading it won’t make them worse. Not doing the obvious thing that positions you for future success — rarely hurts you right away. But as the days turn to weeks, weeks into years, and years into decades do the small choices create massively different results.
Whenever this idea is brought up, people are quick to interject. “I do these things and I don’t get the results.” Most of us make the right choices most of the time. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time.
For your choices to compound, you need to be consistent. A lack of consistency keeps ordinary people from extraordinary results. It’s like we’re Sisyphus rolling a boulder halfway up the hill, only to throw our hands in the air and go home. When we show up the next day, we see the boulder at the bottom of the hill. Not only did this undermine our progress but it makes getting started even harder.
Excelling at the small choices that compound over time perpetually (不断地) leaves you in favorable circumstances. If you want results you need to pay the price. The price is knowing that time is working on your side even when the results don’t show it yet.
When you look below the surface, giant leaps aren’t really giant leaps at all. If you look for the magic moment, you’ll miss how ordinary becomes extraordinary.
1. According to the passage, what causes most people to fail?| A．Selection difficulties. | B．Lack of perseverance. |
| C．Insufficient exterior support. | D．Shortage of social resources. |
| A．exhibit the way to get compound choices |
| B．prove that a good beginning is half success |
| C．emphasize the importance of being consistent |
| D．explain the difficulty of achieving extraordinary results |
| A．Narration. | B．Argumentation. | C．Practical writing. | D．Expository writing. |
| A．No Pains, No Gains. | B．Time Heals Everything. |
| C．Never Too Late to Mend. | D．Small Steps make Giant Leaps. |
2 . Skeleton is one of the three sliding sports at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, alongside the luge(单雪橇)and bobsleigh(大雪橇). With only six medals up for grabs, skeleton has the fewest events at the Winter Games—which means competition will be fierce.
The sport of skeleton has its roots in the most popular winter pastime: sleighing. In the mid-19th century, British and American holidaymakers built the first toboggan(平底雪橇)run in Davos in 1882, and thus the sport of sleighing began.
Two years later, in 1884, the famed Cresta Run—a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track—was built in St. Moritz, Switzerland(the course has hosted the annual Grand National championships since 1885).
In 1892, a new sledge made entirely of steel was introduced, and some claim that its bony appearance gave the sledge and the sport the name ‘skeleton’.
Men’s skeleton was first introduced on the Olympic program in the 1928 Games in St. Moritz. But due to the sport only being available at the Cresta Run at the time, it fell into obscurity(默默无闻)while the luge and bobsleigh grew in popularity. However, in 2002, the skeleton was reintroduced as a men’s and women’s event at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and has remained a part of the Olympic program ever since.
While Great Britain has the most medals(nine)in skeleton competition at the Olympics, the top spot belongs to the United States(eight medals)by virtue of having four silvers to Great Britain’s one(both nations have three golds, while Britain has five bronze medals, and the United States one).
Great Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has featured at the Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of women’s skeleton since its introduction.
1. How many events does skeleton have in the Olympics?| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．In 1882. | B．In1885. | C．In1892. | D．In 1928. |
| A．Because its material steel was rare. |
| B．Because there was only one run for it. |
| C．Because only men could take part in it. |
| D．Because it was not on the Olympic program. |
| A．The number of medals. | B．The composition of medals. |
| C．The virtue of the athletes. | D．The times of hosting the Olympics. |
3 . An 89-year-old man, Manfred Steiner, has reached a goal he spent 20 years working toward and nearly a lifetime thinking about: earning his Ph. D. And now he is a physicist
Steiner values this degree because it is what he always wanted and because he overcame health problems that could have affected his studies. “But I made it, and this was the most satisfactory point in my life, to finish it,” he said.
When he was young, Steiner wanted to become a physicist after reading about Albert Einstein. But his mother and uncle persuaded him that studying medicine would be a better choice. He earned his medical degree in 1955 and moved to the US soon after.
Steiner studied hematology（血液学）at Tufts University and biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He became a full professor and led the hematology department at Browns’ medical school from 1985 to 1994. Steiner helped establish a research program in hematology at the University of North Carolina. He directed that program until he retired from medicine in 2000.
Steiner found medical research pleasing, but it was not quite the same as his interest in physics. “It was something like a wish that was never fulfilled, that always stuck in the back of my head,” he said. At age 70, he started taking undergraduate classes.
Physics professor Brad Marston was surprised when Steiner entered his quantum mechanics class. But he became Steiner’s adviser for his dissertation（学位论文）after realizing how serious Steiner was about the subject and how hard he worked. “He has written many papers in medical science, more papers than I’ve written in physics,” Marston said. “One thing that’s really true about Manfred is that he perseveres.”
After the university published a story about Steiner on its website, people across the US contacted him to ask for advice on how to go after their dreams later in life. His advice is: Do what you love to do.
1. Why did Steiner value his degree in physics?| A．Because it solved his health problems. | B．Because it was his long-pursued dream. |
| C．Because it met his mother’s expectation. | D．Because it was inspired by Albert Einstein. |
| A．Steiner’s contributions to teaching. | B．Steiner’s researches after retirement. |
| C．Steiner’s achievements in hematology. | D．Steiner’s performances at Tufts University. |
| A．His taking undergraduate classes at 70. | B．His writing more papers in physics. |
| C．His sticking to becoming a physicist. | D．His being a role model for Americans. |
| A．Active and open-minded. | B．Enthusiastic and easy-going. |
| C．Intelligent and warm-hearted. | D．Perseverant and hard-working. |
4 . According to the US economist Robert Gordon, all the “impressive stuff” has been created; we have run out of the big, life-changing ideas needed to encourage rapid economic growth and engineers are now only just making slight changes. Inventions such as mobile phones, Gordon says, have had less impact than, for example, the invention of indoor plumbing (管道系统).
But this is a misunderstanding of how engineers work. There is no “Wow!” moment. The development of new technology happens little by little. You build upon the work of those before you, thinking about what could be done better and what could be improved. It’s an unending task. Michael Faraday invented the first electric motor. But Faraday’s breakthrough followed William Sturgeon’s invention of the electromagnet (电磁铁), and Alessandro Volta’s invention of the battery before that. Faraday would have expected future engineers to pick up the baton (接力棒) later down the line.
Reduced energy supplies, increasing populations and mass urbanization keep clever young engineers awake at night. Those, for example, who enter the yearly James Dyson Award invent things that solve these problems and more. The 2012 winner Dan Watson designed a clever system of escape rings for fishing boat nets that deals with the issue of overfishing — not an exciting topic, but his invention is exceptional. Human inventiveness remains unreduced in the face of new global challenges.
Our problem is patience. We expect new technology at a rate like never before. I can’t tell you the world’s next big invention. Last week brought news that we’ve invented a new way to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Next week may bring a major development in another field. The biggest thing holding invention back is our impatience. With enough time and support, bright young engineers will develop exciting new technology to solve the world’s trickiest problems. Many have already begun.
1. Why does the author mention what Robert Gordon says?| A．To introduce the topic. | B．To illustrate a new invention. |
| C．To provide background information. | D．To express his opinion about the topic. |
| A．New technology has been developing step by step. |
| B．New inventions fail to deal with new global challenges. |
| C．Michael Faraday set a good model for William Sturgeon. |
| D．Technology helps future engineers achieve success smoothly. |
| A．His young age. | B．His patience with technology. |
| C．His effort to solve real world problems. | D．His wish to win the James Dyson Award. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Uncaring. | C．Disapproving. | D．Optimistic. |
5 . Astronauts traveling in space meet forms of radiation(辐射)that are uncommon on Earth. Some of this radiation has been shown to be harmful to human health. It is linked to cancers and heart problems. Yet a new American study suggests the radiation does not shorten astronauts' lives.
Researchers studied nearly 60 years of health records and other data about male astronauts from the United States. They then compared this data with information about a group of men who are in good health, richer than most Americans and receive good health care-professional athletes. The study found that neither group has higher rates of dying at a young age. In fact, both groups generally live longer than other Americans.
Astronauts are usually well-educated, earn more money and are in better physical conditions than the average Americans Some earlier research has linked being an astronaut to a lower risk of early death, the researchers noted. The findings were reported in the medical journal Occupational&Environmental Medicine.
Much of the existing research on mortality rates(死亡率) in astronauts has not yet explored the mental and physical demands of this job. There also has not been a lot of research on whether astronauts show what is known as the "healthy worker effect". This effect leads people with employment of any kind to have fewer medical problems than people who are unable to work, said Robert Reynolds.
Reynolds said, "The challenge has always been to understand if astronauts are as healthy as they would be had they been otherwise comparably employed but had never gone to space at all. To do this, we need to find a group that is comparable on several important factors."
1. How did researchers carry out their study?| A．By doing interviews. | B．By analyzing some factors. |
| C．By comparing different data. | D．By doing experiments in the lab. |
| A．All radiation is harmful to human health. |
| B．Athletes tend to be poorer than most Americans. |
| C．Healthy worker effect makes working people healthier. |
| D．Research has explored the mental and physical demands of being astronauts. |
| A．They are determined to face the challenge. |
| B．The research is almost impossible to conduct. |
| C．Several important factors hold back the research. |
| D．Astronauts are healthier than they haven’t been astronauts. |
| A．Astronauts--Healthy or Otherwise |
| B．Astronauts Are as Healthy as Athletes |
| C．Radiation Affects Astronauts' Health |
| D．Astronauts--- Well-Educated and Well-Paid |
6 . I was 17 years old. Along with a dozen other boys I had made a long trip to Iowa in order to see a college that I was thinking of
Here in Iowa everything was
| A．quitting | B．visiting | C．attending | D．exploring |
| A．fun | B．hard | C．plain | D．tiresome |
| A．assuming | B．picturing | C．reminding | D．missing |
| A．if | B．where | C．why | D．how |
| A．shapes | B．shades | C．shadows | D．sheets |
| A．flood | B．cloud | C．sea | D．blanket |
| A．easy | B．flat | C．beautiful | D．tough |
| A．hear | B．touch | C．taste | D．smell |
| A．cared about | B．dreamed of | C．prepared for | D．looked over |
| A．body | B．hand | C．face | D．soul |
| A．fill | B．break | C．separate | D．block |
| A．folded | B．sank | C．flowed | D．escaped |
| A．pain | B．breath | C．wealth | D．eyesight |
| A．splendid | B．pale | C．tiny | D．weak |
| A．creation | B．punishment | C．change | D．reflection |
7 . One day, Amanda was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer of an early stage. During this time, she was admitted to a college. She planned to save money to meet the college expense and then seek medical treatment for the cancer.
Her father, Clint and her friends didn’t want her to put off her treatment due to the expense. They took matters into their own hands and started a GoFundMe campaign. A longtime friend of the family was cofounder of a group named Praynksters, known for random acts of kindness. The friend decided to use their own group to help the family. The group came up with the creative idea to spread the word and invite families, friends, and strangers who wanted to help to take part in a donation activity. The event induced the enormous assistance from the local community.
Clint and Amanda were moved as the crowd passed by and the donations poured in. The event brought the family over $13, 000 in donations to go towards her medical treatments. The generous act of kindness gave the family a comforting, and optimistic feeling during a time when all hope seemed lost. Clint said that Amanda struggled with the idea of asking for help. She felt guilty and undeserving compared to others who are also struggling. She is still humbled by it all.
After several months of treatment, life for the family has started getting back to their normal routine. Once Amanda got her strength back, she returned to school and completed her bachelor's degree. The family is now inspired to volunteer in their local neighborhood and contribute to crowdfunding (众筹) efforts. They are grateful for the opportunity to give back and help others as many have helped them.
1. Why did Amanda postpone her treatment of cancer?| A．She didn't care about her disease. |
| B．She had to take care of her family. |
| C．She was in a bad economic situation. |
| D．She couldn’t find an effective treatment. |
| A．Brought about. | B．Made up. |
| C．Gave away. | D．Set about. |
| A．Shameful but caring. |
| B．Kind-hearted and grateful. |
| C．Curious and warm-hearted. |
| D．Hard- working and humorous. |
| A．It's quite easy to cure Amanda’s cancer. |
| B．Praynksters is a nonprofit organization funded by Clint. |
| C．Volunteering is very popular in Amanda's community. |
| D．A GoFundMe campaign is actually a crowdfunding activity. |
8 . China is determined to land its astronauts on the moon and set up a scientific station there,according to a project leader.
Zhou Yanfei,deputy chief designer of China's manned space program,said on Friday that China wishes to use the manned lunar missions to carry out scientific surveys and technology demonstrations,explore ways to develop lunar resources and strengthen the nation's space capabilities.
＂A new wave of lunar explorations has been emerging in the world,with participants aiming to make sustainable missions to deepen knowledge of the moon and exploit resources there,"he said in a report delivered at the 2020 China Space Conference in Fuzhou,Fujian province."Unlike other nations,China must depend on its own science and technology to realize our goals."
The country is independently able to land its astronauts on the moon because it has the technologies,a group of well-trained,innovative professionals and high-efficiency research and management systems,Zhou said."However,our existing carrier rockets can't perform landing missions to the moon because they are not powerful enough.The Shenzhou- series manned spaceships are not suitable for lunar expeditions.We don't have a lunar landing capsule,"he said."Our ground support system was designed for operations in low-Earth orbit rather than on the lunar surface.
To solve the problem, we set out to produce a powerful launch vehicle. Zhou said researchers thought about two approaches-making a new heavy-lift rocket,or adjusting the next-generation rocket designed to carry astronauts,which is under development.Researchers prefer the latter approach because it would be easier to design and make and would become operational earlier.
The new rocket is being designed at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.Its main body will be 87 meters tall,with a diameter of 5 meters,which would make it almost twice as tall as the Long March 5,currently the biggest of China's rockets.
1. Which is NOT the goal of the manned lunar mission?| A．To explore lunar resources. |
| B．To perform scientific experiments. |
| C．To set up a scientific station. |
| D．To strengthen the national space power. |
| A．China is not capable of pursuing the manned lunar program. |
| B．There are still difficulties in pursuing the manned lunar program. |
| C．There are a series of steps in the Manned Lunar program. |
| D．It is manageable to carry out the Manned Lunar program. |
| A．Nations must depend on themselves to explore the moon. |
| B．The Long March 5 is the biggest of China's rocket. |
| C．The newly-designed rocket will not carry astronauts. |
| D．Producing a powerful launch vehicle is the most difficult part in the program. |
| A．The new rocket is big enough to perform landing missions. |
| B．The new rocket is being made to launch lunar spaceship. |
| C．China's scientific power has improved. |
| D．The new rocket will be put into use soon. |
9 . My local supermarket is always busy. The first parking space I found was convenient, but I’d noticed a woman in a blue car
Pretty soon, I’d made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air. Feeling good, I
Just as I
After a pause, I opened the box.
| A．watching | B．circling | C．running | D．crossing |
| A．in a hurry | B．in a dilemma | C．in a good mood | D．in panic |
| A．edge | B．barrier | C．stage | D．point |
| A．turned | B．broke | C．divided | D．emptied |
| A．struggling | B．trembling | C．wandering | D．whistling |
| A．started | B．approached | C．parked | D．entered |
| A．former | B．later | C．ago | D．earlier |
| A．explanation | B．look | C．answer | D．coincidence |
| A．located | B．caught | C．spotted | D．sought |
| A．sell | B．wipe | C．drop | D．send |
| A．back seat | B．car | C．items | D．window |
| A．automatically | B．accidentally | C．eventually | D．unwillingly |
| A．Inside | B．Around | C．Beneath | D．Nearby |
| A．friend | B．companion | C．relative | D．stranger |
| A．award | B．expectation | C．reminder | D．view |
10 . This year’s United Nations Prize for Research in the Life Sciences（UNPRLS）goes to a Chinese scientist, Tu Youyou, for the discovery of artemisinin（青蒿素）and its use in the treatment of malaria（疟疾）—a medical advance that has saved millions of lives across the globe, especially in the developing world.
Tu’s pioneering work on malaria began on May 23, 1967 when the Chinese government started a program aimed at finding a cure for the deadly disease.
Tu combed the Chinese traditional medicine texts for possible treatments, and by 1972, had made 380 extracts（提取物）from 200 herbs. Her team then tested the extracts one by one on the malaria-infected mice. One of the extracts from Qinghao—or sweet wormwood—sharply reduced malaria growth in the animals.
At a March 1972 meeting of the project’s key participants, Tu reported that the natural plant extract wiped out the malaria in mice and monkeys. Later that year it proved effective in treating human patients.
The first English-language scientific journal（期刊）mentioning successful clinical trials for artemisinin appeared in late 1979 and two years later, Tu presented her discovery at an international meeting at the World Health Organization（WHO）and it was immediately recognized as a breakthrough. In 2015, she was finally awarded the Nobel Prize for her discovery.
Artemisinin is still the most powerful anti-malarial drug presently available, and an artemisinin-based drug combination is now the standard drug for the disease. The WHO lists artemisinin and related drugs in its catalog of “Essential Medicines”
“It is clear that Tu’s work has saved millions of lives, particularly in the developing world, and continues to bring about long-term medical benefits in the ongoing fight against this deadly disease,” the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization（UNESCO）prize committee writes in a statement published today.
1. What has served as the major inspiration for Tu’s discovery？| A．The English-language scientific journals. |
| B．Exchanges with scientists at international meetings. |
| C．Her malaria-fighting experience in the developing countries. |
| D．Her extensive reading of the Chinese traditional medicine books. |
| A．About 6 years. | B．About 7 years. | C．About 9 years. | D．About 43 years. |
| A．It has to be taken from the natural plants in China. |
| B．It is still the most effective drug in curing malaria. |
| C．It must be combined with other drugs for treatment. |
| D．It is the only anti-malarial medicine used in the world. |
| A．Her pioneering work has rid the world of malaria. |
| B．Her drug has promoted the use of natural herbs. |
| C．Her team discovered artemisinin and tested it successfully. |
| D．Her discovery has helped to save millions of lives in the world. |
