1 . American Unique Buildings
The country’s full of awe—inspiring natural wonders, but those made by man (and woman) are equally impressive. The architect behind a design or the creation’s history or purpose are all elements that may prove particularly attractive. These following buildings are all well worth visiting.
Bradbury Building
Los Angeles
Glancing at the Bradbury Building, built in 1893, the oldest commercial building in L.A., you may say: “OK, it’s a 19th-century relic.” Step inside and you will be surprised by the light-filled Victorian court, a wonder of open—cage elevators, marble stairs, and splendid iron barriers. Its architectural history is debatable — Sumner Hunt’s designs seem to have been completed by George H. Wyman, who monitored the construction.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Miami
Built in 1916, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, formerly Villa Vizcaya, is the one-time winter home of businessman James Deering. On Biscayne Bay in the Coconut Grove neighborhood, the early 20th-century property features Italian Renaissance (文艺复兴) gardens, native woodlands, and a complex of historic outbuildings. The property designed by Paul Chalfin is today operated by Miami-Dade County.
Rogers Building
Orlando
The 132-year-old, Queen Anne-style structure, now housing an art gallery but a one-time home to cocktail-and-gaming clubs, was donated to the City of Orlando in 2018 earlier by Ford Kiene. The restriction that it must remain an arts and culture center for at least 20 years ensures public access for the near future.
Griffith Observatory
Los Angeles
It’s possible to see the stars at this destination that includes sweeping views of the city and the Hollywood sign, and has a planetarium (天文馆) to boot. It’s been a draw for its construction style sign its 1935 opening, with a $93 million expansion completed in 2006.
1. Which of the following places has the shortest history?| A．Bradbury Building. | B．Griffith Observatory. |
| C．Rogers Building. | D．Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. |
| A．It used to be an art gallery. | B．It was expanded in 1892. |
| C．It was once privately owned. | D．It has been a culture center for 20 years. |
| A．Business. | B．Travel. | C．Science. | D．Education. |
2 . Issues such as global warming and sustainability have become passionate concerns for many of the concert industry’s fans and increasingly for the musicians. Coldplay, a pop band whose members scored their first big hit in 2000 with a song called Yellow, announced in November that it wouldn’t go on tour to promote its latest album, Everyday Life, until it could find a way to make concerts more sustainable and greener to the environment.
It’s not always easy to walk the talk. A growing number of artists, including Peggy Gou, have environmental demands built into their contracts when they tour, such as bans on plastic tableware. But there’s almost no way of avoiding carbon emissions produced by a tour, which involves moving hundreds of people and tons of equipment across large distances.
Lisa Pomerantz, who books travel for acts says that real change will require action by venue owners, concert promoters, and the fans. Major acts like Coldplay can afford to stop touring while figuring out how to lessen their environmental impact. But lesser-known artists can’t stay off the road, since streaming earnings haven’t been able to compensate (弥补) for the collapse in CD and downloaded music sales. Even when concerts are aggressive about being more sustainable, the impact of audience travel can easily swamp (淹没) their efforts. For bigger acts, this can represent as much as 80% of the carbon footprint, according to a 2015 study. Another analysis showed that roughly a third of the tour’s carbon footprint came from a venue’s power consumption.
Still, even the most green-conscious bands must balance their desire to be more sustainable against the financial necessity of touring. “I absolutely think you can go on tour and have a concern about the environment. It’s a matter of just keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible,” says Flavian Graber, lead singer of We Invented Paris.
1. Why did Coldplay stop its promotion tour?| A．Because it had already released a hit. | B．Because it wanted a more environmentally friendly concert. |
| C．Because its latest album needed further improvement. | D．Because they could afford the money. |
| A．Make it. | B．Talk it. | C．See it. | D．Appreciate it. |
| A．Stopping bands’ promotion tours. |
| B．Downloading music on the Internet. |
| C．Cutting down venues’ water and electricity consumption. |
| D．Combining efforts of bands, audiences and venue owners. |
| A．Achievable. | B．Fruitless. | C．Challenging. | D．Controversial. |
3 . A tragic case of Kitty Genovese, who was killed, happened in New York in 1964. However, subsequent investigations concluded that several people saw or heard what was happening, but did nothing to intervene. This has been termed the “bystander effect” — a well-known psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to someone when other people are present. The more people there are, the less likely they are to help.
None of us like to think we’d walk on by when someone needed our help. But sometimes we behave in ways we wouldn’t expect when faced with a situation we are unsure about. While we might like to think we would rush to someone’s assistance, we know from studies that often people hang back. Research from the British Heart Foundation has suggested that a third of people would not give first aid if they saw someone collapse on the street, with some even admitting they wouldn’t call an ambulance.
There are various factors contributing to this effect — people think that others will get involved. Afterwards people often say they did not feel qualified or important enough to be the one to intervene. It is also partly down to “pluralistic ignorance” — since everyone is not reacting to the emergency, they don’t need to either; it’s not serious because no one else is doing anything.
Other studies have shown that once people are aware of the bystander effect, they are less likely to be affected by it. Self-awareness is the best solution to it. When facing an emergency, think to yourself how you would behave if you were on your own. Ignore everyone else and go with your gut (直觉) — If you’d run for help, do it. If that’s how you would have behaved when you were on your own, then that’s probably the right course of action. The worst that can happen is that you’ll look a little foolish at having overreacted. You might also save someone’s life.
1. What is the author’s purpose of telling about the case of Genovese?| A．To show the high frequency of killing. | B．To highlight the indifference of bystanders. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the passage. | D．To lead to the investigations. |
| A．No one would like to admit the truth. | B．People tend to help when no people are present. |
| C．Few people will encounter uncertain situations. | D．Many people will not rush to help in an emergency. |
| A．The consequences of the phenomenon. | B．The reactions to different accidents. |
| C．The seriousness of an emergency. | D．The reasons for not helping. |
| A．Don’t Be A Bystander | B．Life-Saving Response |
| C．Importance of First Aid | D．Reactions in Emergency |
4 . It’s been 20 years since a cookbook changed my life. Before reading every page in Nigella Lawson’s Feast, I didn’t give much thought lo what I ate. Cooking was a boring task I wasn’t particularly good at. Moreover, fear of calories and not being able to fit into my jeans left little room for enjoying things like “chocolate cake”. Nigella, the author of Nigella Lawson’s Feast transformed my relationship with food, changing it from a source of panic to one of limitless pleasure. Leafing through the pages of Feast, I began to think of the women who shaped my cooking. They not only influenced me strongly with their words, recipes and passion for the art of eating, but they also left their mark on the culinary (烹饪的) world.
Take Eugénie Brazier, for example, who grew up with barely enough to eat yet with plenty of determination to achieve great things. After years of hard work on farms and later as a humble cook, she used the little savings she had to open La Mère Brazier, a restaurant that would attract the likes of celebrities. A second location followed, and in 1933, she became the first chef ever to hold six Michelin stars simultaneously (同时地). Known as the mother of modern French cooking, Brazier’s simple yet elegant food changed the way Britain ate.
What Brazier did for the UK, the passionate Julia Child did for America. At a time when TV dinners and tinned foods were gaining popularity, she inspired home cooks to try elegant recipes, teaching them about the use of quality ingredients in an approachable way.
While Julia Child tempted us with her recipes, it was the American author Fisher who enlightened us with her fine cooking prose (散文). In her brilliant essays, she praised the pleasures of the table and explored connections between food and culture. One of my favorite books is Love in a Dish, a charming collection of culinary experiences that transport you to French villages and even describe how the love of food can potentially save a marriage!
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By giving examples. | B．By raising a question. |
| C．By describing his experience. | D．By offering facts. |
| A．Friendly and determined. | B．Considerate and brave. |
| C．Generous and intelligent. | D．Ambitious and successful. |
| A．The ingredients of food. | B．The story behind food. |
| C．The significance of food. | D．The origin of food. |
| A．To motivate readers to cook at home. | B．To market high-quality cooking books. |
| C．To honor some exceptional women cooks. | D．To share his passion for cooking. |
5 . It was January 2016, and Jeremy and his girlfriend, Molei, were leaving Denver for a weekend of fun with friends on the slopes in Colorado.
The snow came earlier than they’d
“Life was really great,” he says. Then, within a blink of an eye, everything
A truck that came out of nowhere hit them. One minute, Jeremy’s Ford SUV was
Statistically, Molei should have died. Inside her neck, the vertebrae (脊椎) had basically been crushed. Her head was attached to her shoulders by
Henry Rodriquez, an officer on holiday, was driving on the same road not far behind the Ford and
For 45 minutes, Rodriquez
| A．observed | B．expected | C．enjoyed | D．realised |
| A．slope | B．tunnel | C．route | D．town |
| A．exactly | B．surprisingly | C．specially | D．correctly |
| A．grateful | B．terrible | C．difficult | D．awesome |
| A．happened | B．disappeared | C．moved | D．changed |
| A．driving | B．rolling | C．jumping | D．running |
| A．pinned | B．lay | C．sat | D．placed |
| A．terror | B．pain | C．panic | D．frustration |
| A．something | B．everything | C．nothing | D．anything |
| A．drove away | B．drove on | C．pulled back | D．pulled over |
| A．Since | B．After | C．While | D．Although |
| A．kept | B．left | C．appealed | D．improved |
| A．laid | B．rushed | C．dragged | D．walked |
| A．shook | B．touched | C．pounded | D．felt |
| A．rescue | B．check | C．response | D．arrival |
6 . My daughter had overbought several times over the last six months. Therefore, her food storeroom was
I was moved, though, by the
At that time, money was tight. My job
I was worried, nervous, and scared. I had never had to seek
Take your
| A．tasty | B．clean | C．full | D．tidy |
| A．waste | B．eat | C．deliver | D．store |
| A．donate | B．sell | C．desert | D．keep |
| A．grains | B．fruits | C．clothes | D．goods |
| A．generosity | B．enthusiasm | C．confidence | D．honesty |
| A．praised | B．judged | C．valued | D．received |
| A．price | B．amount | C．quality | D．demand |
| A．reminded | B．thanked | C．rewarded | D．warned |
| A．sense | B．dream | C．mind | D．brain |
| A．hardly | B．especially | C．nearly | D．eventually |
| A．owed | B．saved | C．wished | D．borrowed |
| A．food | B．energy | C．time | D．patience |
| A．friends | B．pets | C．kids | D．brothers |
| A．ran out | B．watched over | C．swept away | D．picked up |
| A．work | B．luck | C．help | D．fun |
| A．mad | B．ahead | C．wrong | D．hungry |
| A．gratitude | B．satisfaction | C．fear | D．sorrow |
| A．deliberately | B．carefully | C．silently | D．proudly |
| A．chance | B．task | C．adventure | D．place |
| A．shocked | B．ashamed | C．puzzled | D．surprised |
7 . Many people want to look away from injustice and other troubling issues. Visual artist Siyan Wong has chosen not to look away. Through her art, she helps us see what is right before our eyes.
Wong, who lives in New York City, was born in China. Her art focuses on women, the elderly, people who are experiencing homelessness, and clothing industry workers.
Wong has loved art since she was a child. Her family didn’t have much money, so she and her sister would cut out and draw paper dolls to play with. This early experience provided Wong with a creative outlet for her emotions.
After graduating from Stuyvesant High School, she went on to college and law school. She is now a workers’ rights lawyer, but her belief in the healing (治愈) power of art remains.
“Whenever I’m stressed or sad, I draw,” Wong said. “I express my feelings through art. Art is a comfortable way to bring people together to talk about difficult issues.”
One of Wong’s series is called “Five Cents a Can: Making Visible the Invisible.” It was inspired by the artist’s meetings with an Asian American woman in her neighborhood named Choi Yi. During early morning runs, Wong noticed the woman, who was more than 90 years old, collecting deserted cans and bottles in the trash cans behind her apartment building.
She is currently working on a painting for her “Home and Homeless” series. In the painting, she describes both a person who is homeless and an elderly canner. “The difference between someone who cans and someone who is homeless is hope,” Wong said.
Her goal is to highlight the difference between the two and spark questions for the viewer. Why does the elderly canner have hope, but the homeless person doesn’t? How did these individuals end up here?
1. What does Wong’s art express?| A．Social issues. | B．Charity projects. |
| C．Her artistic style. | D．Her childhood life. |
| A．It is her childhood dream. | B．It makes her feel good. |
| C．It is artwork to be seen clearly. | D．It is her hobby in her spare time. |
| A．Her early morning runs. | B．Cans and bottles in dustbins. |
| C．Poverty in her neighborhood. | D．An old female living a hard life. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Grateful. | C．Praiseful. | D．Supportive. |
8 . Unique Chinese Cultural Heritages
The Old Grand Canal
The 2,500-year-old Grand Canal-the world’s longest man-made waterway, half of which is used even today—made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. It links several major rivers across the country, including the Yangtze, Huaihe and Yellow, and runs through the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, besides the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
The Forbidden City
The birth of the Forbidden City, China’s imperial palace of the Ming (1368—1644) and Qing(1644—1911) dynasties in Beijing, is closely linked to the Grand Canal. The waterway promoted transport of materials for construction of the palace complex and helped transport workers.
Peking Opera Peking
Opera is a great form of the Chinese art of entertainment. It was formed in Beijing under the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911) by taking in characters of Huiju, Kunqu and Qinqiang operas. It gathers singing, acting, gymnastics and wushu arts, and was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010.
New Year Painting
Lunar(阴历的)New Year woodblock painting was a popular folk(民间的)art in areas along the grand waterway. These paintings are bright and lively, and mainly use the color red, which is considered to suit both festivals and happy events. Patterns are closely related to the life and livelihood of Chinese people. Paintings from Tianjin, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces are the most popular.
Yunjin
Yunjin,or cloud brocade (锦缎), is a unique silk craft native to Nanjing city in Jiangsu province. It is famous for its splendid patterns and gentle feel, which make it more valuable than gold. In 2009, Nanjing brocade was listed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
1. What do we know about the Old Grand Canal?| A．It affected the style of Forbidden City. | B．It helped put up the Forbidden City. |
| C．It was created for the Forbidden City. | D．It linked the Forbidden City at its end. |
| A．They bring enjoyment to people. |
| B．They are expensive to appreciate. |
| C．They are formed in the Qing Dynasty. |
| D．They are listed on the UNESCO. |
| A．Yunjin. | B．Peking Opera. |
| C．New Year Painting. | D．The Forbidden City. |
9 . Large clothing and technology companies are developing robots to make clothes. The process of using robots or computers for human work, known as automation, has raised concerns about jobs for many people around the world.
Many clothing companies are unsure about publicly discussing automation. Such reports would cause public concern that automation will take jobs from workers in poor countries.
One industry inventor, Jonathan Zornow, said he has received online criticism, and a death threat, in connection with his work.
Sewing—the act of using a needle and thread to make clothes-is especially difficult to automate. Robots do not have the fine touch skill that human hands do. Robots are getting better, but it will take years to fully develop their ability to handle cloth.
Work at Siemens grew out of efforts to create software to guide robots that could handle all types of materials, such as thin wire cables. Researchers soon realized one of the best targets for automation was clothing.
Siemens worked with the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute in Pittsburgh. They identified a San Francisco company with a promising way to deal with the fabric problem. The startup, Sewbo Inc. , hardens, or stiffens fabric with chemicals. The hardened fabric is then similar to other material robots can handle, like metal for example. Once the robots finish sewing the piece, the clothing is washed to remove the chemical.
There are other efforts to automate sewing factories. Software Automation Inc, a startup in Georgia, has developed a machine that can sew clothing by pulling the cloth over a special table, for example.
Sanjeev Bahl, who opened a small jeans factory called Saitex in downtown Los Angeles two years ago, has studied the Sewbo machines. He is preparing to set up his first experimental machine. At his factory in September, he said that many sewing jobs are ready for a new process.
“If it works,” he said, “I think there’s no reason not to have large—scale (jeans) manufacturing here in the U. S. again.”
1. Why has Jonathan Zornow been threatened?| A．His robots are risky to use. | B．His work will harm workers’ interest. |
| C．His invention was not effective. | D．His factory adopts sewing machines. |
| A．Increasing its hardness. | B．Pulling it over a table. |
| C．Washing it by machine. | D．Weaving it with chemicals. |
| A．Move his factory to the U. S. |
| B．Improve the designs of his jeans. |
| C．Offer many sewing jobs to workers. |
| D．Bring in robots for clothing production. |
| A．Robot Hands Are as Smart as Human Ones |
| B．Companies Develop Robots to Make Clothes |
| C．Robots Increase the Production of Clothes. |
| D．Robots Are Hard to Replace Clothing Workers |
10 . Scientists say the Earth’s temperature has risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius since the modern industrial period began. And they warn that the effects of rising temperatures will get worse with every increase of one tenth of a degree.
It is important to not burn more fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Such fuels release carbon dioxide. Many scientists blame rising temperatures on carbon dioxide trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The world depends on fossil fuels for much of its electricity, heating and transportation. Fossil fuels are also important for agriculture and industry. But cleaner, renewable energy sources—such as solar and wind energy—will replace much of that demand.
Observers say the cost of renewable energy is decreasing. Also, more renewable energy is being produced in sustainable ways. However, the total amount of energy produced has also gone up. Many places are using renewable energy, but emissions are continuing to rise.
That is why experts are studying technologies that might be used in some industries. Some have suggested using “green fuels,” such as ones made out of plant materials or natural waste, known asbiofuels (生物燃料).
Two newer technologies being explored include carbon capture, which takes carbon dioxide out of the air, and green hydrogen, which uses renewable energy to make hydrogen. But, these technologies are costly and untested completely.
Experts said there are two areas in which action could slow the warming of the atmosphere: stopping cutting down forests and reducing the eating of animals. Forests naturally take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When forests are cut for agriculture, especially for animals that need large amounts of land, more greenhouse gases are drained into the air. In most higher income countries, most people eat far more meat than they need to.
1. What does the author intend to do in paragraph 2?| A．Point out developing new energy. | B．Decrease traditional energy use. |
| C．Stress the damage of modern industry. | D．Explain the speed of rising temperature. |
| A．It is creating more pollution. | B．It can’t replace all fossil fuels. |
| C．It has not stopped greenhouse gases. | D．It adds to the amount of energy. |
| A．They are not used widely. | B．They still produce pollution. |
| C．They are difficult to be tested. | D．They create energy too costly. |
| A．Sent out. | B．Cleaned up. | C．Focused on. | D．Swept away. |
