Give Ugly a Chance!
When it comes to wildlife protection, all species—the good, the bad, and the ugly—should be treated equally. Pandas, dolphins, and other cute wildlife are important, but we must pay attention to less cute animals, too. The world needs all kinds—without variety, our planet cannot survive. So if you want the future to be beautiful, you have to give ugly a chance.
Don’t Make Paper with My Home!
Billions of trees are being cut down every year to make paper for humans. Every tree that is cut down is a part of the habitat of animals such as these koalas. In this way a lot of animal homes are being destroyed! Is it right to make animals homeless so that humans can have more paper?
1. Read the posters and write a one-sentence summary for each.2. Complete the structure of the posters.
| image |
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| title | Give Ugly a Chance! | ||
| content | situation | “Ugly” animals are not treated equally as cute ones. | |
| reason | People don’t like them because of their appearance. | ||
| hope | Treat “ugly” animals equally. | ||
2 . THE FATHER OF CHINA’S AEROSPACE
Perhaps no other scientist has had a greater impact on China’s aerospace science than Qian Xuesen. Described by the authors of the Story of Qian Xuesen as a man with “great scientific thought and scientific spirit” who was patriotic and served his homeland with effort, achievement, and devotion, Qian was an extremely well-respected man.
Born in Hangzhou in 1911, Qian attended schools in Beijing and then entered Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study Railway Mechanical Engineering. However, after the Songhu Battle broke out in 1932, Qian made the decision to switch his major to aviation because he realised that China needed its own powerful air force to protect and defend the country.
Qian went to the United States in 1935 to pursue his graduate studies. Over the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Qian became a pioneer in American jet and rocket technology. As a graduate assistant at the California institute of Technology during the 1930s, Qian helped conduct important research into rocket propulsion, and in the 1940s, he and several other people founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, now one of NASA’S leading space-exploration centres.
After overcoming some difficulties during his final few years in the US Qian returned to China in 1955. He received a hero’s welcome from his homeland and was put in charge of not only developing China’s rocket science but also its space and missile programme. At that time, China was poor and its rocket science was undeveloped. No institute or university in China offered rocket science as a major, and there were no talents or experts in this field in China. Nevertheless, Qian did not let that discourage him from taking on the challenge. When asked “Can we Chinese possibly make missiles?” his reply was a determined “Why not? We Chinese are able to make the same things that other people make.”
Under Qians leadership, China developed the Dongfeng missiles, followed by the first generation of Long March rockets. In 1970, China successful launched its first man-made satellite, Dong Fang Hong I, from a Long March rocket. Because much of the technology behind the Shenzhou rockets can also be traced back to Qian’s research, Qian earned the name of “the father of Chinas aerospace.”
Qian read a lot and was extremely knowledgeable, especially in the area of frontier science research. However, what might have made him such an outstanding and creative scientist was probably his strong interest in other things, such as music and drawing. His deep appreciation for art often gave him inspiration in his scientific research.
On 31 October 2009, the whole country was saddened by Qians death, and people honoured and remembered him in different ways.
A WORLD OF PURE THOUGHT
Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous and gifted scientists in physics. Most people are familiar with images of him in his wheelchair unable to move and using a computer to talk. Since he came down with a disease which caused him to lose the use of most of his muscles his world became one of abstract thought.
Hawking first achieved fame when he was still healthy enough to walk, as a graduate student in physics at Cambridge University in 1964. In general there were two main theories on the origin of the universe. The first was the steady state theory, which holds that the universe has no beginning or end. The other was the big bang theory, which holds that the universe began at a single point in time and space. The biggest champion of the steady state concept was Fred Hoyle, a professor at Cambridge. During the question and answer period after one of Hoyle’s lectures, Hawking stood up and pointed out that Hoyle had made a mistake in his maths. Once the maths was corrected, it showed that the big bang theory — and not the steady state theory — was true. Hawking’s own work on the big bang theory was soon proven by astronomers with telescopes. A star was born.
So, what made Stephen Hawking a genius? Besides being brilliant, he was brave, though sometimes careless in what he said or did. He was willing to say what others were afraid to say, and to dream of what others were afraid to dream about. Furthermore, he was quite determined. This had helped him as a scientist, and had helped him even more in his fight against his disease. Above all, Hawking was willing to admit his faults. This odd combination of characteristics had made him one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Ⅰ. 阅读文章，明确文章主旨。
1. The text is mainly about2. The Father of China’s Aerospace
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Ⅱ. 根据文章，回答以下问题。
4. Why was Qian called “the father of China’s aerospace”?My name is Ann Wells and I’m a Grade 10 student at Lakeside High School. I’m an active person and I love sports. I’m curious about everything. I often ask questions, but I learn best by doing. My favourite subject is physics. Dancing and skating are my hobbies, and I also like to read short stories. I plan to become an engineer in the future.
Thando, 16, South Hill High School South Africa
I’m Thando Gowon. I’m 16 this year. I come from South Africa. I’m a Grade 10 student at South Hill High School. I look good, think fast, and play hard.
You’ll never see me without a book or a pen. If I’m not in class, I’m either in the library or in the computer lab. At the weekends, I play computer games if I’m not busy studying. My dream is to start my own IT company!
1. What subject does Ann like best?| A．English. | B．Chinese. |
| C．Chemistry. | D．Physics. |
| A．Skating. |
| B．Reading short stories. |
| C．Dancing. |
| D．Chatting with others. |
| A．Playing computer games. |
| B．Running a company. |
| C．Buying a new computer. |
| D．Becoming an engineer. |
4 . Contribution And Sacrifice
Huang Danian, the renowned Chinese geophysicist, was born in 1958 in Guangxi, China. As a keen and able student, Huang went to the UK in 1993 to further his studies.
By the time Huang moved back to China in 2008, he had been living and working in the UK for 15 years. He had a good job and a life there, but he gave it all up to return to home, driven by the idea that he needed to contribute to his country. As one of the world’s leading experts in deep earth exploration technology, Huang was approached to participate in the “Thousand Talent” programme. He took up a position at Jilin University, Changchun.
Huang was named lead scientist on China’s deep earth exploration programme, developing advanced cameras that can see through the Earth’s crust so that it can be analysed without having to dig into it. He set up a state-of-the-art lab, sometimes paying for equipment with his own money. Some described him as a “lunatic” (a madman). but this passion and drive enabled Huang to propel China’s deep earth exploration technology into a world-leading position. Huang’s dedication contributed to China’s lunar probe Yutu being landed on the moon in 2013 and the launch of the spacecrafts Shenzhou-11 and Tiangong-2 in 2016.
Huang’s health also paid the price for his commitment to his word. He began having fainting fits in 2012, but paid them little attention, stating he did not have time to go to see a doctor – his work always came first. In November 2016, Huang collapsed and was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with cancer. The disease was so advanced that he had just a couple of months to live.
Like the true scientist he was, Huang never gave up, but always tried to push forwards. Even from his hospital bed, he continued his work, writing letters of reference for his colleague and replying to questions from his students. He had great faith in the talent of the up-and-coming generation, “Our country is in urgent need of talented people,” he said. “If we spend more time and pay more attention to the young, masters and even Nobel prize winners may rise among them.”
Huang died in January 2017, aged just 58. More than 800 people attended his funeral to celebrate a life that burned so bright, but was so short.
1. Huang moved back to China in 2008, because _________.| A．he would have a good job and a life in China |
| B．he took up a position at Jilin University, Changchun |
| C．he had the idea that he needed to contribute to China |
| D．he wanted to participate in the “Thousand Talent” programme |
| A．Huang’s education | B．Huang’s working experience |
| C．Huang’s influence on his colleagues | D．Huang’s achievements |
| A．Modest and outgoing. | B．Patriotic and committed. |
| C．Ambitious and disciplined | D．Passionate and considerate. |
5 . You know the feeling — you have left your phone at home and feel anxious, as if you have lost your connection to the world. “Nomophobia” (无手机恐惧症) affects teenagers and adults alike. You can even do an online test to see if you have it. Last week, researchers from Hong Kong warned that nomophobia is infecting everyone. Their study found that people who use their phones to store, share and access personal memories suffer most. When users were asked to describe how they felt about their phones, words such as “hurt” (neck pain was often reported) and “alone” predicted higher levels of nomophobia.
“The findings of our study suggest that users regard smartphones as their extended selves and get attached to the devices,” said Dr Kim Ki Joon. “People experience feelings of anxiety and unpleasantness when separated from their phones.” Meanwhile, an American study shows that smartphone separation can lead to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure.
So can being without your phone really give you separation anxiety? Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist and director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, says it is what is on the phone that counts — the social networking that creates Fomo (fear of missing out).
“We are talking about an Internet-connected device that allows people to deal with lots of aspects of their lives,” says Griffiths. “You would have to surgically remove a phone from a teenager because their whole life is ingrained in this device.”
Griffiths thinks attachment theory, where we develop emotional dependency on the phone because it holds details of our lives, is a small part of nomophobia. For “screenagers”, it is Fomo that creates the most separation anxiety. If they can’t see what’s happening on WeChat or Weibo, they become panic-stricken about not knowing what’s going on socially. “But they adapt very quickly if you take them on holiday and there’s no Internet,” says Griffiths.
1. Which of the following may Dr Kim Ki Joon agree with?| A．We waste too much time on phones. |
| B．Phones have become part of some users. |
| C．Addiction to phones makes memories suffer. |
| D．Phones and blood pressure are closely linked. |
| A．We worry we may miss out what our friends are doing |
| B．We fear without phones we will run into a lot of trouble |
| C．We are accustomed to having a phone on us |
| D．We need our phones to help us store information |
| A．Approved of. | B．Relied on. | C．Opposed to. | D．Determined by. |
| A．In a research report. |
| B．In a science textbook. |
| C．In a popular science magazine. |
| D．In a fashion brochure. |
6 . TikTok has pushed a new safety update to its app that allows parents to take more control of their teenager’s accounts, as social media companies come under increasing pressure to make their platforms safer for children.
The company said that its Family Pairing now enables parents to turn off comments on their children’s videos entirely or limit them to friends only. Parents whose accounts are linked to their kids will also be able to set their accounts to private ones, turn off the search function for content or users, and limit who can see which videos their children have liked.
The Family Pairing lets parents see how long their children are spending on TikTok each day and limit the content they can see.
TikTok allows children to register (注册) and create an account if they’re over the age of 13. All they need to do is provide their date of birth. However, because TikTok doesn’t require registrants (注册人) to prove their identities, some children under 13 have registered by lying about their age, according to U.K. regulator Ofcom (英国通信管理局)
Alexandra Evans, head of child safety public policy for TikTok in Europe, told CNBC that Family Pairing has “put itself in parents’ shoes”since it was launched. “If we’re thinking of it as a toolbox, we want to offer more tools,” she said on a video call ahead of the announcement.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The safety tips from TikTok. |
| B．The limits on Family Pairing. |
| C．New apps explored by TikTok. |
| D．The functions of Family Pairing. |
| A．The low age limit of users. |
| B．The demand for users’ birth dates. |
| C．TikTok’s failure to check identities. |
| D．The difficulty in opening an account. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Objective. | C．Disappointed. | D．Favorable. |
| A．TikTok’s Safety Update |
| B．New Guidelines for Safety |
| C．Family Pairing under Debate |
| D．Controlling Your Kids Online |
7 . Growing pains and gains
It’s not easy to grow up. Actually it’s far from easy. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. We are always doing things that someone else makes us do and aren’t allowed to do all the things we like. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don’t understand why we can’t stay young forever. When we look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude (态度), we realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!
As a young girl my parents forced my sisters and me to do so many things that I never liked. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music, just because it was what they wanted me to do. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I realize that my parents and teachers were always pushing me along, not because they wanted me to suffer but because they wanted me to succeed in life. They’ve always wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.
Every moment of our lives we are either living or dying, so live life to its fullest! We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just small pains in life. They might seem so huge at the time but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no fear and live life like that. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps (凸块) on our road to success we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!
1. What was the girl forced by her parents to do when she was young?| A．Take music lessons. |
| B．Turn gains into pains. |
| C．Take a look back on hardships. |
| D．Live a successful life by suffering a lot. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Thankful. | C．Passive. | D．Unfriendly. |
| A．Directly. | B．Terribly. | C．Carefully. | D．Completely. |
| A．Growing pains are necessary for us to grow up. |
| B．We all have to experience growing pains. |
| C．A little hard work and sweat are harmful to us. |
| D．Life without fear is a better choice for us. |
8 . Many people like to explore the Internet. Exploring the Internet is one of the most important activities of the day. The Internet brings the outside world closer to people’s homes. Some people say the world is smaller than before because of the Internet.
What’s going on in other countries? How do people live in faraway places? Is there a good sports game somewhere? What’s life like in the deepest part of the sea? If you want to answer all these questions, just come to the Internet. Of course, people can also learn through reading or listening to the radio. But with the Internet they can learn better and more easily. A lot of information can be collected at a great speed.
Can we go shopping without leaving home? Can we see a doctor without going to the hospital? Can we study without going to school? All these things seemed to be impossible, but now they have become true.
The Internet helps us to open our eyes. The Internet also helps to open our minds. The Internet often gives us new ideas. In a word, it helps us in many ways. Great changes have taken place in our life since the use of the Internet.
1. What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．We can learn only through reading or listening to the radio. |
| B．We can know nothing through the Internet. |
| C．A lot of information can be collected at a great speed through the Internet. |
| D．We can become wise because of the Internet. |
| A．go shopping without leaving home |
| B．see a doctor without going to the hospital |
| C．study without going to school |
| D．draw money without banks |
| A．we cannot think without the Internet |
| B．something is wrong with our minds because of the Internet |
| C．our minds can’t be opened unless we search the Internet |
| D．we can get some new ideas from the Internet |
9 . You may have heard video game characters deliver lines like “Shatter (击碎) the darkness with thunder!” But it’s refreshing to hear it in an unexpected place — the classroom. Xia Zhendong is a physics teacher working at a senior high school in south China. Now in his 30s, Xia has won the hearts of millions of online viewers with his classroom experiments.
In one video, Xia pointed a self-made “thunderbolt wand (魔杖)” toward a hanging light tube in his classroom and said, “Shatter the darkness with thunder.” Suddenly, an electric arc (弧线) emerged from the tip of the wand, illuminating the tube. After the cheers from his students, he went on to explain the science behind it—static electricity (静电) and point discharge (尖端放电).
“The idea came when I enjoyed playing a popular game on my smart phone,” he said. In his spare time, he likes to try out what students are interested in to get closer to them. Apart from the “thunderbolt wand”, Xia has done many other creative experiments. Once, he lit steel wool with a battery to show the heating effect of electric current. Another time, he used a “laser weapon” to pop balloons while explaining the principles of lasers.
For Xia, physics is supposed to be fun. So, when he saw his students struggle with physics, he decided to make a change. “Circuit diagrams (电路图) are abstract, and I want them to actually see the electricity through lightning to realize that knowledge is not just on paper. You can see it and even touch it,” Xia said. Now, Xia has also started free live classes online. “I hope that through online classes, more students can also have access to fun physics lessons. And their parents can also join in. I hope that physics could make them feel happier,” Xia said.
1. What does the underlined word “illuminating” mean in paragraph 2?| A．Shining light on. | B．Cutting down on. |
| C．Getting stuck in. | D．Taking advantage of. |
| A．The effect of acting a video game character. | B．Online viewers of his videos. |
| C．The pleasure in playing an online game . | D．Wild cheers from his students. |
| A．Because he hopes to get more students to have his classes. |
| B．Because he wishes to get more parents involved in his lessons. |
| C．Because he expects more students to have fun in learning physics. |
| D．Because he wants to win more hearts of online viewers of his videos. |
| A．What makes a fun teacher. | B．Bringing magic to school. |
| C．How to make physics fun. | D．Getting students to learn physics. |
10 . Fears over the disruption (干扰) to classrooms from pupils using smartphones have made the government decide to carry out research into the way technology affects behaviour in schools.
Children should not be allowed to use smartphones until they are 16, according to Tom Bennett, the school behaviour expert leading the research. “Children are using smartphones too young,” he said. People ask me, “When should I give my child a smartphone?” and I say “Whenever you’re comfortable with them viewing violence, because their curiosity (好奇心) will take them there.” According to him, teachers should not allow them unless necessary.
Mr. Bennett is already leading another study into how teachers are trained to deal with bad behaviour. He has now been asked to look at the wider challenges of managing modern classrooms. Although technology can improve learning, teachers have reported that the growing number of children bringing smartphones into class is leading to disruption, officials warn.
“We need to make sure the advice we give to schools, and the methods being used are fit for the 21st century when even primary school pupils may be bringing in phones. That is why we have taken the decision to widen Tom Bennett’s research to look at how teachers can deal with bad behaviour,” said Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools.
Most schools have some policies about smartphone use. However, the picture is far from uniform (统一的) — from complete bans (禁止) to partial bans. “I think smartphones in a classroom may be a temptation (诱惑) for students, but that isn’t to say that I would ban them. ”said Mr. Bennett. “My personal advice is that schools should think very carefully before allowing them. I think the basic rule should be not to allow them unless teachers invite them in for a certain reason.”
1. Why was the research started?| A．To find out the advantages of technology. |
| B．To learn about children’s behaviour in class. |
| C．To look at how smartphones affect kids at school. |
| D．To prevent children from using smartphones in class. |
| A．To look into students’ behaviour at home. |
| B．To change parents’ attitudes to smartphones. |
| C．To encourage children to attend modern classrooms. |
| D．To make sure that schools use proper methods to teach students. |
| A．Many pupils use smartphones for learning. |
| B．Schools have to try harder to ban smartphone use. |
| C．Students always have a good reason to use smartphones. |
| D．Different schools have different policies about smartphone use. |
| A．It is helpful in teaching. |
| B．Schools should take it seriously. |
| C．It should be banned completely. |
| D．There should be a uniform rule. |
