2 . National Ice Cream Month is approaching! This, of course, means a feast of ice cream. Here are fun facts about ice cream to keep you entertained.

The history of ice cream

· China is believed to be the one that invented the device that produces ice cream at around 200 BC.

· In the I6th century, the Mughal emperors used horsemen to get ice to produce fruit ice creams served on their table.

· In the mid-18th century, ice cream became less expensive, making it a common sweet in shops and people’s daily lives.

· In 1888, the ice cream cone (锥形蛋卷筒) was first mentioned and the eatable cone eventually became popular in the US during the 1904 World’s Fair.

The flavor may reflect one’s personality!

Most people think their ice cream choice is a function of their taste preferences. However, it may reflect an individual’s personality. Vanilla ice cream fans are real risk-takers, while those who love chocolate tend to be lively. Strawberry ice cream fans are usually devoted and not outgoing. Love coffee ice cream? Then you must be precise careful and a perfectionist!

The world’s largest ice cream

In 2014, Kemps, a Minnesota-based company, marked its 100th anniversary by showing the world’ s largest ice cream at the annual Strawberry Festival in Wisconsin. The 5-foot, 6-inch-tall, and 6-foot, 2-inch-wide frozen masterpiece was made using 733 containers of strawberry ice cream. After being confirmed to be a Guinness World Record, the history-making sweet treat was distributed to some lucky attendees.

1. When did ice cream become easily available to ordinary people?

A．In the late 16th century.	B．In the late 19th century.
C．In the middle of the 18th century.	D．In the early 2lst century.

2. Who will most probably choose strawberry ice cream?

A．A young explorer.	B．A shy girl.
C．An energetic man.	D．A careful employee.

3. Which of the following best describes the world’s largest ice cream?

A．It contained various flavors.

B．It aimed to break a record.

C．It was created for a celebration.

D．It was awarded to attendees.

4 . We’ve all heard the saying“Life slows down the older you get,” but that's certainly not true for Joan MacDonald.

The 75-year-old fitness influencer has accumulated an incredible following on social media, in part because she's chosen to actively reject the idea that aging robs you of your energy, focus and drive. In fact, MacDonald looks at movement as a “gift, ” and whether you're hitting the gym five days a week, or just beginning your fitness journey 一 it's never too late to take advantage of what your body was meant to do. Get moving.

“Just start with what you can, ” MacDonald tells Guideposts, org when asked what her best piece of advice would be for seniors looking to get active again.“If you can only walk three blocks, start there. Over time aim to add another block.”

And just because you' re starting small, it doesn’t' t mean that a short bike ride or quick stretch session isn't having an impact. The recommended amount of cardio （有氧运动）each day for most adults is 30 minutes, although even short bursts of movement can have a huge impact on decreasing the risk of being overweight, heart problems and other conditions.

The key is consistency. MacDonald knows that the road to healthy isn't easy and sometimes, the struggle can seem impossible to overcome. She had to battle against years of bad habits and recondition her body to push against her imagined limits. She tries to keep her social media channels focused on the positive aspects of working out and eating better, always encouraging and uplifting her followers, and never judging their difficulties 一 or her own. It's that attitude that she says is key to staying active.

“Focus on what is going right and well,” MacDonald says. “For me, I started my whole transformation because I wanted to feel better. I wanted energy to live my life! Now having my health, strength, and endurance is what keeps me committed.”

1. What may contribute to MacDonald , shaving numerous followers on social media?

A．Her attitude.

B．Her impact.

C．Her strength.

D．Her journey.

2. What does MacDonald suggest to the seniors?

A．They take advantage of what they want.

B．They start working out with what they can.

C．They get moving by doing what they need.

D．They perform short movement as they like.

3. What difficulties does MacDonald overcome in her fitness journey?

A．Inspiring the followers and evaluating their troubles.

B．Holding positive attitudes and keeping a balanced diet.

C．Managing the social media channels and gaining views.

D．Breaking bad habits and challenging herself to the limit.

4. What lesson can we learn from Joan MacDonald?

A．Prevention is better than cure.

B．A light heart lives long.

C．The nature of life lies in sports.

D．Content is better than riches.

5 . Jess, a 12-year-old girl, lives in Mallacoota, a small town in Australia. She is one of many children having been through mental; _________ and heartbreak in the New Year bushfires.

She_________the bushfires with fear. “I’ve never been so scared. The sky was turned to blood red, and the, embers (灰烬) were_________ all around us. It was much worse than any_________ film.” she said.

Jess, along with her family, spent two terrifying days on the local boat where. Residents stayed for_________，and it was also a place where_________could not be broken. Jess and her little companions planned to_________their community garden and the house for chickens.

One blessing for Mallacoota is that no one_________their life during the disaster. Roads into and out of the town are beginning to reopen. Wandering alone among the houses_________to the ground. Jess still managed to find a__________ side and said at least now she would not have to clean her bedroom anymore. In no time she and her companions__________started to restore the community garden and even__________a family of chickens to the new “home”, making something bad into something good.

It’s a long road back to__________life. But it is surely__________ if we have the will. As Jess said, “My beloved hometown wills __________again.”

1.

A．disorder

B．suffering

C．growth

D．training

2.

A．recalled

B．imagined

C．observed

D．controlled

3.

A．escaping

B．crowding

C．flying

D．running

4.

A．scary

B．artistic

C．fancy

D．silent

5.

A．comfort

B．peace

C．treat

D．safety

6.

A．rules

B．spirits

C．habits

D．promises

7.

A．reserve

B．design

C．rebuild

D．decorate

8.

A．saved

B．lost

C．took

D．changed

9.

A．knocked

B．blown

C．exploded

D．burnt

10.

A．positive

B．warm

C．familiar

D．correct

11.

A．wisely

B．luckily

C．actively

D．anxiously

12.

A．returned

B．welcomed

C．forced

D．contributed

13.

A．simple

B．common

C．normal

D．social

14.

A．hopeful

B．risk

C．special

D．tough

15.

A．rest

B．expand

C．struggle

D．shine

6 . Without sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, climate change threatens future Winter Olympic Games because their locations would be too warm to host the events, a new study has found.

If the world’s high emissions continue their trend, by the 2080s all but one of the 21 cities that previously hosted the Winter Games - Sapporo, Japan - would not be able to do so again. Among them, 6 cities would be considered “marginal” while 14 would even be seen “unreliable”— meaning the right conditions for snow and athlete safety cannot be met.

But that won’t necessarily happen if the world takes urgent action and follows the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, according to Daniel Scott, the lead researcher for the University of Waterloo’s report. Under that deal, nearly 200 countries agreed to greatly cut their collective greenhouse emissions.

Athletes and coaches surveyed by the researchers said they re already seeing the effect climate change has on their sports. “Some of the coaches that did the survey have been coaches in the sport for 30 years,” Scott said. “They’ve traveled the world, back to the same competitions, and they’ve seen that certain competitions don’t happen, as regularly or uninterruptedly as they used to because of warmer temperatures.”

The Summer Olympics are also feeling the effects of climate change. Tokyo’s Olympic and Paralympic Games are likely one of—if not—the hottest and most humid Games on record. Daily temperatures reached 80F high with high humidity (湿度) that could make it feel like 100°F.

But winter sports seem more strongly influenced by the impact of a warmer world. During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, skiers were overheating in the same way a marathon runner would at nearly 90F weather. Due to the great impact, the study makes us worry that outdoor games may have to move indoors or be held at a different time of year altogether in order to accommodate higher temperatures.

1. What does the underlined word “marginal” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Almost unqualified.

B．Pretty satisfactory.

C．Rather unpopular.

D．Quite suitable.

2. Why are Tokyo’s Olympics mentioned in Paragraph 5?

A．To show the spirit of the Olympics.

B．To stress the impact of climate change.

C．To reveal the cause of warmer climate.

D．To compare summer and winter Olympics

3. What is the author’s attitude to the finding of the study?

A．Conservative.

B．Tolerant.

C．Optimistic.

D．Concerned.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Global climate changes.

B．Greenhouse gas emissions.

C．The Winter Olympics crisis.

D．The future Olympic Games.

7 . It is lunchtime. At a long table inside a restaurant, some young people sit together over lunch. There is less conversation than you might expect from a typical group of friends: a boy seems to talk only to himself, and a girl looks anxious.

These young people met through a program organized by the nonprofit Actionplay, where young people with autism work together to write and stage a musical. Each Sunday, they work and have lunch together. “You meet other people just like you,” says Lexi Spindel. “That was the first time my daughter had a friend,” says Lexi’s father. “That never happened before Actionplay.”

For decades, scientists have supposed people with autism don’t have or need friends. A new research is forcing a rethink of those long-held beliefs. Autistic people report they want friends. One significant barrier to friendships is common people’s opinion that autistic people are not interested in connecting with them. Appearing uninterested, however, is not always the same as being uninterested. An autistic child looking uninterested in games may in fact be overcome by the noise. And behaviors like clapping hands repeatedly are a way to manage their anxiety and uncertainty, not a sign of their low social interest.

For some autistic people, friendships develop through experimental programs. In a program Lerner developed, participants play a game called Gibberish. where teenagers must interpret each other’s intentions without using real language. The point is not to get it right. but to attend to what the other person is doing in a way that creates opportunities to connect.

Lerner’s ideas were inspired by a moment 16 years ago after he established a small camp for children with autism called Spotlight. On the second day an l1-year-old boy ran up and pulled his clothes. “Lerner, Lerner, where did you find these kids?”

“All over the place,” Lerner answered. “Everyone wants to come to camp, just like you.”

“This is the first normal group of kids I have never met.” the boy said.

1. The scene in paragraph 1 is described to ________.

A．reveal the lack of an interpersonal conversation

B．prove the difficulty in reducing teenage anxiety

C．stress the great necessity of forming friendships

D．show the different behavior of a particular group

2. What is Actionplay aimed at?

A．Curing young people of autism.	B．Developing autistic people’s taste in art.
C．Offering autistic people a social platform.	D．Improving young people’s family relationship.

3. What can we infer from paragraph 3?

A．Autistic people have no intention to make friends.

B．Noise sets barriers to autistic people’s views on games.

C．Repetitive movements make autistic people feel secure.

D．Common beliefs cause autistic people’s low social interest.

4. What does the underlined sentence imply?

A．He feels at ease with his autistic fellows.

B．He no longer regards himself as an autistic kid.

C．Lerner’s guidance helps him get out of autism.

D．Autistic kids don’t long to socialize with normal ones.

8 . Online learning is a term used to describe distance courses that are offered over the Internet. The courses cover a wide range of subjects and audiences. This educational method is growing in popularity as an economical method of providing access to education for a large population.

There are two types of online course access: open and restricted. Open access allows actually anyone with an Internet user to view the course material. This type of online learning does not require interaction with an instructor. The material covered can range from very specific instructions to university level courses. This initiative removes the barriers to advanced knowledge and allows anyone with the interest to learn. The other type of online courses are restricted access courses. Restricted access is used to limit the class to registered students. These courses offer instructor interaction and are typically the method used by courses that require grades upon graduation.

It is more efficient for both the educator and the student to access course materials online. From the educator aspect, the course lectures can be recorded once and reused. This greatly reduced the staff time and costs. Meanwhile, online courses allow students to complete coursework from a wide range of locations and remove the time restriction to access course lectures. Students are no longer required to travel to the class and many course materials are included in the fee. The material for online courses has been carefully reviewed and approved before the course is offered. Many introduction and courses do not change, as the material is fixed. As a result, the courses are stable and can be reused as needed.

Technology continues to expand to meet the needs of online students. These tools include mobile audio and video viewers, improved online interactive tests, and tool and course management software. The continued development in this area will further enhance the quality of online courses and encourage more people to further their education.

1. Why is online learning winning more recognition?

A．It is cost-effective.	B．It is free to access.
C．No teacher is required.	D．Education is getting more important.

2. What do we learn about restricted access?

A．Learners are required to register.	B．Learners can learn without evaluation.
C．It is intended for advanced learners only.	D．It has no interaction with an instructor.

3. What is paragraph 3 mainly about online courses?

A．The participants.	B．The time restrictions.
C．The advantages.	D．The ever-changing materials.

4. How does the author feel about the future of online learning?

A．Challenging.

B．Critical.

C．Worrying.

D．Promising.

9 . Coming upon a clear - cut in an old forest is a shocking experience. Tees large and small are collapsed one above the other in pile, and the ground is covered with the tracks of heavy machinery. Such was the scene when forest activist Zack Porter and I hiked a newly built logging (伐木) road in Green Mountain National Forest.

Clear - cutting in the American forests has long been widespread. But now, the Forest Habitat Creation Project represents new reasoning which is hotly debated - that clear - cutting benefits native creatures. The thinking is that clear - cutting done wisely can mimic natural disturbances, for example, from insect invasions or from storms overturning older trees that produce what ecologists call Early Successional Habitats - places where young trees and bushes get the upper hand and animals that depend on such habitat thrive.

The project also states that forests “can only be saved by being destroyed” - by keeping them young. Timber (木材) interests are enthusiastic about the approach because it lets them profit from cutting trees while claiming the significance of conservation. Hunting groups favor it because a younger, less thick forest makes it easier to find the game and birds they're tracking.

Nevertheless, Porter says, “Allowing some of the oldest standing trees in New England to be removed is equal to dereliction of duty on the part of the government, who sees the forests as commodities (商品).” “Forests can produce clean water, clean air, carbon storage, and biodiversity that we need,” he continues as we walk among lovely mixed hardwoods and evergreens that are cut down for logging. “We shouldn't be removing them for short - term gain.”

In this sense, Zack Porter's description of logging for wildlife for short - term gain - the short - term gain of favoring habitat for species people today want to see and hunt - is reasonable.

1. How does the author start the text?

A．By presenting some ideas.	B．By listing some evidence.
C．By comparing different views.	D．By stating his own experience.

2. Which argument does the Forest Habitat Creation Project hold?

A．Profits can be made from logging.

B．Clear - cutting is beneficial to the wildlife.

C．The conservation of forest is of significance.

D．Clear - cutting can cause natural disturbances.

3. What does the underlined word “dereliction” mean in paragraph 4?

A．Fulfillment.

B．Promise.

C．Misconduct.

D．Exposure.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．A New Approach to Forest Protection

B．A Hiking Experience in the Logging Road

C．How to Build Early Successional Habitats?

D．Is Clear - cutting Forests Good for Wildlife?

10 . Columbia high school girls’ soccer team had lost every game in the season until a new ______stepped in two years ago.

Stuart Henley, a former soccer player and now a truck driver, ______the team and started training hard in February 2020. He ______the progress of the girls to team-building activities to help them bond on and off the field. He focused on the basics of football like passing, ______, and movement to try and bring the girls up to a good standard. His ______: coaches could give them guidelines, but girls ______what they felt they needed to work on.

Obviously, the girls were onto something big in the new season. They ______the skills they had learned and teamwork into their ______, which led them to an ______run of eight games, until they were sadly beaten 3-2 by Wyrley Pumas Team. Although this means they have been _____ the league title, the team have still exceeded (超出) expectation by earning the ______to the county’s top division.

“Whatever brings you down will ______make you stronger, especially for girls.” Captain Chelsea said, “Stuart has really ______our girls the philosophy of playing soccer. We’re going into next season full of confidence and ready to compete against tougher ______, but for now we’re still very much enjoying our ______.”

1.

A．player

B．driver

C．colleague

D．coach

2.

A．recognized

B．rewarded

C．reorganized

D．founded

3.

A．applied

B．preferred

C．credited

D．adjusted

4.

A．shooting

B．cheering

C．walking

D．observing

5.

A．principle

B．dream

C．plan

D．virtue

6.

A．found

B．decided

C．watched

D．liked

7.

A．turned

B．divided

C．integrated

D．translated

8.

A．styles

B．training

C．rules

D．game

9.

A．embarrassing

B．unlucky

C．intense

D．unbeaten

10.

A．awarded

B．denied

C．saved

D．limited

11.

A．promotion

B．approach

C．solution

D．contribution

12.

A．hopefully

B．officially

C．fortunately

D．eventually

13.

A．brought

B．taught

C．left

D．reserved

14.

A．participants

B．winners

C．opponents

D．partners

15.

A．harmony

B．victory

C．company

D．dignity