1 . Anxious thinker. Loner. Wallflower. These are some negative comments for “introvert” (内向者), showing a common mind-set in America. Actually they just interact differently; they do well when given time alone to think and prefer close conversations.
American society is ruled by the “Extrovert Ideal (外向理想型)”: successful people take risks and always voice their opinion, whether or not they know what they’re doing. The problem is that people value this ideal so much that they often ignore meaningful opinions from the quieter introverts. Isn’t there something problematic about having to get our thoughts out before we finish thinking about them?
Over-stressing the Extrovert Ideal can lead to unwise decisions. In one case, several introverts, who tend to be more careful and think more, pointed out warning signals before the economic downturn of 2008. But the decision makers — often the bold, risk-taking types —ignored their opinion. People say introverts often overthink every decision. Yes, maybe we think before we speak. But is that really so bad?
Of course, social skills are important for everyone. But the misunderstanding about how introverts work creates a cultural bias (偏见). Required class participation at school often leads to students shouting out whatever thoughts come to their mind, too pressured by their participation grade to take the time and think of a meaningful response. During the Covid-19quarantine, some of my classes started using Parlay, a website that allows for discussions through anonymous (匿名的) written comments. I saw that many of my classes were able to have deeper conversations this way, freed from the pressures of having to speak up on the spot. So encouraging a balanced variety of learning methods can reduce the existing bias.
Society seems to think only the loud and outgoing ones can make a difference. But Rosa Parks was known for being “soft spoken” and “timid.” Gandhi said, “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” So please, give us introverts a chance to change the world in our own quiet way!
1. What is the author’s attitude towards the “Extrovert Ideal”?| A．Objective. | B．Doubtful. | C．Favorable. | D．Unclear. |
| A．The benefit of the Extrovert Ideal. | B．The introverts’ poor social skills. |
| C．The harm of over-valuing extroverts. | D．The extroverts’ ways of decision-making. |
| A．requiring no class participation | B．providing online learning platforms |
| C．allowing different learning styles | D．conducting free classroom discussions |
| A．Brave. | B．Lazy. | C．Easygoing. | D．Shy. |
2 . If there was to be a praise to the frog, it would have to contain one new piece of information: its ability to predict earthquakes. A scientific study has suggested that they escape an area just before such disaster strikes.
The evidence, published yesterday in the Journal of Zoology, centers on a population of breeding (繁殖) frogs in Italy. It seems that, a few years ago, these creatures had suddenly escaped from their home five days before an earthquake struck their breeding ground.
The frogs’ ability to sense the earthquake is not fully understood, but 96 percent of male frogs escaped and returned a day after the danger had passed. This discovery baffled Dr. Rachel Grant, who hadn’t set out to learn about frogs’ reactions to earthquakes, but to study the effect of the lunar cycle on them. She now believes that frogs may be able to sense some signs and use them as an early-warning system for earthquakes.
Frogs are not the only creatures born with an unusual power to predict natural disasters. In 2004, elephants in Thailand made loud noises before the tsunami hit, while bats in Sri Lanka flew around in anxiety before the disaster.
While most of these animal warnings have been ignored, there are times when they have been noticed. In 1975, scientists in Haicheng, China, noticed unusual behavior in the city’s dogs and cats. They demanded the evacuation of the city, expecting a major disaster. Their warning came five-and-a-half hours before an earthquake struck, resulting in 2,000 deaths. Without the evacuation, another 150,000 people could have been killed.
“There are things we can’t see and sounds we can’t hear. But many animals can. There is a sense called electro-perception that fish and sharks use to form a picture around them, while dolphins and bats use sonar to find their way around,” says Professor Daniel Mills, an expert in animal behavior at Lincoln University.
1. According to paragraph 3, Dr Rachel Grant was ______ about the frogs’ unusual behavior| A．worried | B．confused | C．disappointed | D．anxious |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By listing numbers. |
| C．By explaining causes. | D．By presenting contrasts. |
| A．To stress the seriousness of the disaster. | B．To praise the government’s timely action. |
| C．To describe a successful evacuation in history. | D．To show the benefit of noticing animal warnings. |
| A．Why animals can sense disasters. | B．What his study will focus on next. |
| C．How humans learn about the world. | D．How animals behave before disasters. |
3 . There are times in life when we don’t have the energy to get through our problems or the strength to push ahead. That’s when our friends carry us. They remind us that we are not alone — they stand with and comfort us. Even when some friends don’t always know how best to help, they want to be there for us.
Author Parker J. Palmer in his book, Let Your Life Speak, shares about the time he was battling depression (抑郁). He recalls that some people who visited him tried to cheer him up. “It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t you go out and soak up some sunshine and look at the flowers?” Although he understood their purpose, it made him more depressed. Others reminded him that he was a teacher and writer who had helped so many people. “Try to remember all the good you’ve done and surely you’ll feel better.” That advice, too, left him depressed.
Then there were those who had the courage to stand with him in simple and healing ways. One was a guy named Bill who asked Parker’s permission to visit him in the afternoons. Bill would sit Parker in the chair, kneel in front of him, remove his shoes and socks and for half an hour, massage (按摩) his feet. Bill had found the only place in Parker’s body where he could still experience feelings and reconnect with the human race. Bill would simply do this and say very little. When he talked, he would not give advice but mirror Parker’s feelings. This simple act of care was what carried Parker through his dark time.
We are thankful for the friends who sit with us in easy and healing ways. And we are thankful for the opportunity to be that friend, to offer our presence to those who are hurting, sick, battling depression, suffering great pain and more. May the pathways of love, patience and kindness lead us to friends who are suffering. And once there, even if we are unsure of what to do, we can simply be present.
1. According to paragraph 2, how did Parker find his friends’ ways to cheer him up?| A．Nice but unhelpful. | B．Warm but old-fashioned. |
| C．Simple but creative. | D．Kind but unimaginative. |
| A．It reduced his physical pain. | B．It encouraged him to take advice. |
| C．It helped him reconnect with the world. | D．It gave him professional medical care. |
| A．Be thankful to them. | B．Keep them company. |
| C．Be quick to respond. | D．Offer practical advice. |
| A．How to Win over People and Make Friends |
| B．The Benefit of Friendships in Battling Depression |
| C．The Great Power of Simply Being Present for a Friend |
| D．Why Friends can Carry You Through Your Darkest Times |
4 . Street art is always something I look out for when I travel. At the very beginning, street art was a means to share social comments or political ideas, but now it’s increasingly used in many places around the world to beautify the environment, sometimes becoming popular tourist attractions. Here’s my collection of street art around the world.
Amsterdam, the NetherlandsMy hometown has plenty of fantastic street art. You can find some cool pieces in the Jordaan neighborhood and in the North and West parts of the city. One place you absolutely have to visit in Amsterdam is the STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam North. This museum houses huge murals created by artists from around the world in an old industrial warehouse, and is a rich addition to the Amsterdam street art scene.
Bristol, United KingdomThe birthplace of Banksy, one of the world’s most famous street artists, Bristol is another of the world’s great street art cities. You can find street art across the city on buildings, streets and bridges. The annual Upfest, in the Bedminster suburb, during which artists from around the world are invited to create street art on houses and buildings, is a popular attraction.
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilRio de Janeiro also has a fantastic street art scene. For the 2016 Olympic Games, the city invited famous Brazilian street artist, Kobra, to create the world’s biggest mural along the Olympic Boulevard. The result is simply amazing! Click here to see street art in Rio de Janeiro, or my photos of Rio de Janeiro.
1. Why did people create street art at first?| A．To practise painting skills. | B．To show social or political opinions. |
| C．To beautify the environment. | D．To draw tourists at home and abroad. |
| A．The Olympic Boulevard in Rio. | B．The birthplace of Banksy in Bristol. |
| C．The annual Upfest in Bedminster. | D．The STRAAT Museum in Amsterdam. |
| A．An art website. | B．A research paper. | C．A travel magazine. | D．A history textbook. |
5 . If humans do want to set up communities on the moon or other planets, what will they eat? A new test has begun to see if meat cells can grow.
Growing meat from cells even on Earth isn’t easy. Cells from a cow(though it could be any animal)are fed the things they need to grow, like amino acids and carbohydrate. The cells multiply until muscle tissue forms, and eventually becomes meat that you can eat. This process is called “cultivation (培养)”. The meat is grown in tanks that look more like what you’d find in a brewery than a farm yard. The life-cycle of an animal raised for meat — birth, life and kill — is completely ignored.
“Animal cells grow slowly,” says David Humbird, a chemical engineer. “If bacteria were to get into the cultivation, they would grow much faster from animal cells and they will just take over so you aren’t making the animal cells anymore. You are making bacteria. And you have to throw them away,” says Mr Humbird. “Those cells that are themselves grown on eatable material are going to be sugar, amino acids and water. And the caloric value of the cells that you make will always be less than that. At the best case you could probably recover 25% of the calorie and eat them as food. So the question is, why would you drag all those calorie into space just to waste 75% of them?”
Karen Nyberg is a former astronaut. She says food plays a crucial role in space missions. “Food like powdered milk and that sort of thing comes as a regular source for astronauts, and meat produced in space is just something we don’t have. So anything like that makes us feel great and eases our pressure.” For Ms Nyberg, fresh food and vegetables are vital if humans are expected to be away from Earth for years at a time.
Certainly if humanity is serious about putting people on Mars, how to feed astronauts with nutrient-rich food that doesn’t spoil—and tastes good — is an important and difficult mystery.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The taste of lab-grown meat. | B．The reasons for growing meat in space. |
| C．The potential benefits of growing meat. | D．The process of growing meat from cow cells. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Supportive. | C．Disapproving. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Eating is always a problem for astronauts. |
| B．Food tastes much better in space than on Earth. |
| C．Growing meat does good to astronauts’ mental health. |
| D．Astronauts suffer from mental illnesses after long space tasks. |
| A．Can meat be grown in space? | B．Can astronauts enjoy meat in space? |
| C．Can meat in space be delicious to eat? | D．Can lab-grown meat help tackle climate? |
6 . The jack fruit is a delicious fruit found throughout certain parts of Asia. But there is more to the fruit than just its taste. When considering the fruit’s English name, it is easy to become overwhelmed with questions like: “Who is Jack? And why does he have his own fruit?”
Surprisingly, “jack fruit” isn’t a person’s name at all. The fruit’s name originally comes from the southern Indian word chakka pazham, with India thought to be the fruit’s place of origin. Portuguese explorers who journeyed to this region went on to call it jack, which leads us to the current English name of jack fruit, according to National Public Radio(NPR). Unfortunately, no one called Jack has been proven to be involved at any point in this process.
There is another food, however, that was directly named after a person—the sandwich. In the 18th century, playing card games late into the night became fashionable in British high society. John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, started the habit of ordering pieces of cold beef between two pieces of bread in order to get a late-night snack without having to leave the gaming table or use a knife and fork.
This newly-created snack kept hands clean so card players could continue on without dirtying their cards. The midnight snack quickly became popular among everyday people, and before long everyone was making their own sandwiches. That is how the sandwich was invented and got its name.
Away from the world of food, there are more examples of names inspired by people. Long johns, the warm trousers that keep us warm in winter, are said to have been named after the US boxer John L. Sullivan who took to wearing a similar type of garment in the ring (比赛).
There are many other interesting etymologies(词源) in the English language like these. So the next time you find an interesting name, why not explore its history too?
1. What does the underlined word “overwhelmed” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Puzzled. | B．Excited. | C．Worried. | D．Annoyed. |
| A．A place in India. | B．An Indian word. |
| C．A Portuguese explorer. | D．A discoverer of the fruit. |
| A．It was named after a popular card game. |
| B．It was once eaten as a snack in the daytime. |
| C．It was first popular among the UK’s middle class. |
| D．It was created for the convenience of playing cards. |
| A．To raise readers’ interest in etymology. | B．To introduce things named after people. |
| C．To stress the importance of learning history. | D．To explain the effects of people’s names on food. |
7 . The other day, Dino, our neighbor across the road, saw me in front of our new home in Italy and called out, “Good evening!” His English, though limited, is much better than my Italian. “You OK?” he asked.
He had greeted me before, usually with a good morning or a good evening. Once, seeing him trying to fix a tall street lamp, I’d held the ladder for him to climb. But that was pretty much it for us: a general air of friendliness, nothing more.
I’d just concluded 46 years living in New York City. But now I’m living in a town in Italy’s Puglia region, and everyone here except my family is a stranger. And, living in the countryside as we do, I’ve started to sense pains of being disconnected.
This moment therefore seemed an opportunity to get to know Dino a little. I could have stayed behind our gates to talk with him through his gates. But instead I went across the road toward him. I stood in the street talking with Dino and his wife, Grazia — I in English, they in Italian. One minute later they invited me in for a tour.
Here was a fig tree, bearing ripe figs. Dino picked a few of the fruits, tore one in half, and put one-half in his mouth. He handed me the other half and signaled to me to follow suit, and I did.
“Delicious!” I declared.
I once saw a wonderful documentary about Gregory Peck. In it, the older actor travels to Ireland to meet his new grandson. But first, wandering a field, he happens upon a fig tree. He picks a fig and eats it with obvious delight. To me, the scene captures the sweetness of life and how such sweetness is all around us—if only we’d bother to reach out and taste it.
Dino and I repeated this sequence with trees bearing plums and walnuts, too—he picking, I tasting. Despite our differences in language—neither of us knew many of the other’s words— nothing important was lost. Both of us understood all we needed to understand: that now we were true neighbors.
1. What is the author’s current feeling about the new living situation?| A．He feels happy and content with his move. |
| B．He feels separated and kind of lonely in the new town. |
| C．He feels homesick and wants to go back to New York City. |
| D．He feels thrilled to meet new people in the new community. |
| A．To help Dino fix the street lamp. | B．To become more familiar with Dino. |
| C．To hold the ladder for Dino to climb. | D．To avoid talking with Dino behind the gates. |
| A．He picked fruits for the author to taste. | B．He showed off his private possessions. |
| C．He told the story of his family members. | D．He taught the author how to plant fruit trees. |
| A．The fig is really the sweetest fruit. | B．Fig trees can survive in any places. |
| C．Life is a mixture of sweet and bitter. | D．Sweetness exists in life everywhere. |
8 . CHI’s Academic Year Program(AYP)is your chance to study in America and spend either an academic year or a semester living with a volunteer host family.
The requirements for studying in America:
● High school students who are aged 15 to 18
● A score of at least 212 on the ELTIS exam
●Application
Contact a partner agency in your home or a nearby country. We can also send you a list of partners near you. They will set you up with an application and let you know what you need to submit in order to be considered.
● Admission and visa
Our Admissions Department reviews and accepts your application. We issue and send your agency the Form as-2019, which is the official US Department of State document that allows you to apply for and receive your J-1 visa. Once you receive the DS-2019, you can make your visa appointment. When the visa is granted, you are all set to travel to America.
●Home stay zksq
Meanwhile, our Field and Operations staff work hard to find you the perfect family and school as soon as possible! Once we find the right host family for you, you can start to get to know your family by email.
● Depart to the US and meet your family and friends
Your agency will book your flight according to your school start date. When you arrive, we will give you a student orientation(迎新会)and introduce you to other exchange students and the surrounding community. When school starts, you will begin the process of cultural exchange!
Contact us: 1-800-432-4643; 1-415-459-5397
Location: 255 W End Avenue San Rafael, CA 94901
1. Who can take part in this home stay project?| A．Those interested in American culture. |
| B．College students with 220 on the ELTIS exam. |
| C．14-year-old students with good graded at school. |
| D．17-year-old high school students with 212 on the ELTIS exam. |
| A．Call-800-432-4643. |
| B．Contact a partner agency in their country. |
| C．Visit CHI’s website and fill out an online application. |
| D．Apply in person at CHI’s headquarters in San Rafael. |
| A．Tourism. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
9 . Today, millions of people around the world take up knitting (编织). “It is connected with our mental health,” says Janine Smith. Along with David, she co-owns a store in Sydney, Australia, that sells supplies for knitting. “I know that if I haven’t knitted for a few days, I really miss it.”
Research supports Smith’s statement. Professor Corkhill and professor Riley were part of a team from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom that, 10 years ago, surveyed more than 3, 500 knitters and found that the more frequently people knitted, the calmer and happier they felt. Or, as David puts it, “That rhythm (节奏) of knitting is like deep breathing. It’s a flow where you don’t have to stress about it, you’ve got the rhythm happening.”
“Flow” is a concept first named by expert Mihaly. As he wrote in his book, “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times. The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is pulled to its limits in a voluntary effort to achieve something difficult and worthwhile.”
The Cardiff research team found that even though most of the people surveyed were employed, three-quarters of those who knitted three or more times a week felt significantly more able to organize their thoughts and forget their problems.
Many respondents (调查对象) described feeling calmer and in a better mood after knitting, and the majority of respondents who suffered from stress “thought that knitting made them feel happier.” For respondents who suffered from pain, almost nine out of ten said that knitting gave them a means of dealing with their pain.
Interestingly, more than half of those surveyed said that knitting pushed them to develop other skills, like building furniture. Because knitting is so accessible — at its heart it’s two sticks — it enables people to have belief in their abilities. After all, if you make a mistake, you can just pull it all out and start again.
1. What did the two professors find in the research?| A．Few people would miss knitting. | B．Knitting was like deep breathing. |
| C．Knitting had a positive effect on people. | D．People frequently knitted in their spare time. |
| A．What “flow” is. | B．Introduction of an expert. |
| C．The best moments in our life. | D．How to achieve something difficult. |
| A．Knitting requires lots of tools. |
| B．All respondents develop other skills. |
| C．People always make mistakes when knitting. |
| D．Knitting makes people confident to learn other skills. |
| A．Textbook. | B．A magazine. | C．A storybook. | D．A brochure. |
10 . NatureScot, an organisation that looks after Scotland’s natural world, has agreed to release(放出) Scottish wildcats into the UK’s largest national park.
About 60 wildcats have been raised at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig. They will be released in June into an area of the Cairngorms National Park in the Scotish Highlands. Researchers will monitor the cats through GPS, tracking their movements as they live in their new home.
Wildcats already live in the Cairngorms, but researchers say they are under threat from extinction because of habitat loss and disease. Wildcats look a bit like pet cats but they are about twice the size and have thicker fur. They have longer legs and their ears are more sticked out to the side.
Wildcats were once found in England and Wales too, but they were hunted for their fur and lost a lot of their natural habitat because of human activity. They haven’t been seen in the wild outside Scotland for more than 100 years. However, another protection programme is planning to release around 40 of the animals into secret countryside locations in Cornwall, in southern England. Wildcats hunt small animals, so wildlife experts are hoping that the cats will keepdown the numbers of rabbits and mice, which damage young trees and crops such as corn, fruit and wheat.
The Scottish wildcats will be released in a part of the park called Caimgorms, where experts are working to restore(恢复) woodland areas. The plan is for as many as 20 cats to be set free every year, and it is hoped that other sites in Scotland will be considered too. Dr Helen from Saving Wildcats said, “The fight to restore Scotland’s wildcat populations is just beginning.”
1. How will researchers keep an eye on the released wildcats?| A．By using technology. | B．By working in the park. |
| C．By observing their new home. | D．By controlling their movements. |
| A．They are being hunted by human beings. |
| B．They need a new home due to habitat loss. |
| C．They can catch animals damaging the environment. |
| D．They haven’t been seen in the wild for a long time. |
| A．It is difficult to restore wildcats’ habitat. |
| B．Wildcats will begin to fight with humans. |
| C．The number of wildcats has greatly increased. |
| D．There is a long way to go to increase wildcat populations |
| A．Wildcats in danger. | B．Wildcats set free in highlands. |
| C．Wildcats’ habitat destroyed. | D．Wildcats different from pet cats. |
