1 . Covid-19 has brought a great deal of trouble for all of us since March 2020. During this time, mobile phones have been the solution for the boredom and restlessness caused from staying indoors. The most downloaded apps on play store 2020 are;

TikTok

TikTok was the most downloaded app. With over 111.9 million downloads, TikTok has seen a huge growth in 2020, twice more than what it got in 2019. 20% of its total downloads were from India and around 9. 3% of the total downloads were in the US.

Zoom

Zoom was the second most installed app in the overall downloads category. With nearly 94. 6 million installs, Zoom is the most used app for online meetings and virtual classrooms. 17% of its downloads were in the US and India. Offices and educational institutes were shut down and to continue working and studying from home, people relied heavily on Zoom for video conferencing and calling.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp ranked third in overall downloads with more than 100 million downloads. It is one of the most popular and widely used chat applications; WhatsApp also supports communication between international phone networks.

Facebook

It ranked fourth in the overall downloaded list. Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking application. Facebook builds technologies that give people the power to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses.

1. What do we know about TikTok?

A．It is an India-based app.	B．It has most users in America.
C．It is used for growing business.	D．It has doubled its download than in 2019.

2. Which app is the best to turn to for online education?

A．TikTok.

B．Zoom.

C．WhatsApp.

D．Facebook.

3. What function does Facebook probably serve?

A．Communication.

B．Training.

C．Teaching.

D．Payment

2 . As spring arrives, farmers around the world are making decisions about what crops to plant and how to manage them. In the U. S., farmers typically have big data to help make these decisions. These data have a clear upside. They make farms more productive. In the U.S., the past five years have seen a series of good harvests for both corn and soybean. A big part is generated by effectively using data to produce more food from the same amount of land, seed and fertilizer.

In the poorer parts of the world, however, the picture is much different. Many farmers are guided only by their history with the land and their community's traditions. Their skills and knowledge are impressive, but they suffer from a poverty of data. They rely on technical advisors for advice from governments and academic centers who often have very little knowledge of the local area. For seeds and fertilizers and other materials used in the field, they rely on companies that lack data on how their products will perform in the local conditions.

About 10 years ago, East African officials and their development partners started to explore why so few smallholder dairy farmers made profits from growing demand from urban consumers. Surveys of farmers in the region suggested poor access to veterinary(禽畜的) care and breeding assistance. An effort to provide these services has helped farmers get more milk.

Data would matter little if farming was easy and the paths to productivity were obvious. But in reality, agriculture is a complex mix of many factors, including climate, biology, chemistry, physics, economics and culture—all of which vary from region to region. In this situation, good data is necessary.

1. How has big data benefited American’s farmers?

A．By producing more seeds and fertilizer.

B．By helping the farmers to make decisions.

C．By informing the farmers to plant crops earlier.

D．By increasing the amount of land for farming.

2. What do farmers in poor countries need to improve their farming?

A．Big data.

B．Farming skills.

C．Technical guidance.

D．Farming materials.

3. Why does the writer mention the case of East Africa?

A．To show that East Africa relies heavily on diary farming.

B．To illustrate cooperation between countries was a great success.

C．To serve as an example of how data helps farmers in poor areas.

D．To prove that city people in East Africa didn't like drinking milk.

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Many changeable factors have influence on farming.

B．The American farmers can't decide what they will plant.

C．East African dairy farmers were experienced in raising cows.

D．The technical advisors in poor areas know the local areas well.

3 . It may seem as if Mother's Day was invented by a company named Hallmark,   but   people have been taking time on the calendar to give a shout-out to Mom for a long time. The Greeks and Romans had mother goddess festivals — although their celebrations didn't involve the menfolk taking their underappreciated mothers out to dinner. A more recent tradition was   Mothering Sunday, which developed in the British Isles during the 16th century. On the fourth Sunday in April, young men and women who were living and working apart from their families were advised to return to their mothers’ houses.

Mother's Day as it is observed in the United States started in the 1850s with Ann Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who held “Mothers' Work Days” to promote health and hygiene(卫生 ) at home and in the workplace. During the Civil War, Jarvis organized women to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides, and after the war she became a peacemaker, furthering the cause by bringing together mothers of Union and Confederate                    soldiers and promoting a Mother's Day holiday.

Jarvis's work inspired another 19th-century woman, Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe published her “Mother's Day Proclamation”, which envisioned(设想) the day not as appreciation of mothers by their children but as an opportunity for women to exercise their collective power for peace. Howe started holding annual Mother's Day celebrations in Boston, her hometown, but after about a decade she stopped footing the bill and the tradition faded away.

It was Jarvis's daughter Anna who succeeded in getting Mother’s Day recognized as a national holiday. After her mother died, in May 1905, Anna started holding yearly ceremony on   the anniversary and conducting a tireless PR campaign to have the day made a holiday. In 1908   she succeeded in enlisting the support of John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department store magnate and advertising pioneer, and by 1912 West Virginia and a few other states had adopted Mother's Day. Two years later, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution   declaring   the second Sunday in May a national holiday.

It wasn't long, though, before whatever ideals the day was supposed to celebrate were buried under an amount of greeting cards and candy. By the 1920s Anna Jarvis was campaigning against the holiday she had been instrumental in creating. “I wanted it to be a day of emotionalism, not profit,” she said.

1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that              .

A．mothers didn't get enough appreciation in the past

B．Mother's Day was invented by Hallmark

C．young people all returned to their mothers' houses

D．Greeks and Romans were the first to celebrate Mother's Day

2. Who plays the most significant role in creating Mother's Day?

A．Ann Jarvis.	B．Julia Ward Howe.
C．Woodrow Wilson.	D．Anna Jarvis.

3. Why did Anna Jarvis go against celebrating Mother's Day in the 1920s?

A．Because it was extremely emotional.

B．Because the festival was not profitable.

C．Because the celebrations went against the original spirit.

D．Because the day was celebrated in the form of exchanging greeting cards and candy.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．The Definition of Mother’s Day

B．The Argument on Celebrating Mother's Day

C．The Story Behind the Creation of Mother's Day

D．Different Forms of Celebration on Mother's Day

4 . Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.

Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.

In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.

Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person.” said the 30-year-old man.

Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”

The great 19^thcentury explorer John Muir once said. “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.

1. Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?

A．Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.

B．It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.

C．It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.

D．Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.

2. Traveling alone is challenging because ________

A．you have to make things on your own.

B．it is hard for you to prove yourself to others.

C．you can only depend on yourself whatever happens.

D．it will finally build your character.

3. What can we infer about Chris Richardson?

A．He started traveling alone at an early age.

B．He was once shot in the arm.

C．He used to work as a salesman.

D．His website will inspire others to travel alone.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Travel Abroad	B．Travel Alone
C．Travel Light	D．Travel Wide and Far

5 . Using Google's unique digital(数字的)technology, the stories of some English Heritage(遗产)sites around the country-from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall-are brought to life and shared by way of the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Stonehenge Skyscape	English Heritage's Stonehenge Skyscape enables people around the world to experience the skies above the stone circle, to learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets. Experience a live and special sunrise over Stonehenge, see the journey of the stars and the moon from within the stone circle and learn more about the design of Stonehenge and how its builders may have understood their place in the universe.
Osborne, Isle of Wight	Take a 360 video tour of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's palatial(豪华的)holiday home on the Isle of Wight in the company of English Heritage director Michael Hunter, including the Italian terraces(露台)with views over the Solent, which reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples, and the Indian-inspired Durbar Room, designed to show Queen Victoria's position as Empress of India.
Audley End House and Gardens, Essex	Explore the story of one of the greatest houses of early 17th-century England, deep in the heart of the Essex countryside, and fly over the great formal gardens designed by Capability Brown.
Tintagel Castle, Cornwall	Explore this medieval(中世纪的)castle set high on Cornwall's north coast. Linked with the legend of King Arthur, for centuries this impressive castle and coastline has inspired the imaginations of writers, artists and even the brother of a king. Discover the Early Medieval history of a distant outpost(哨站)trading objects from Spain, North Africa and Turkey.

1. Which heritage can you choose if you are interested in a unique sunrise?

A．Stonehenge Skyscape.	B．Osborne, Isle of Wight.
C．Audley End House and Gardens, Essex.	D．Tintagel Castle, Cornwall.

2. What do Osborne and Tintagel Castle have in common?

A．Both were built for their kings.

B．Both were built in the same age.

C．Both are related to previous rulers.

D．Both are palatial holiday homes for the rulers.

3. In which part of a website can you read the text?

A．History.	B．Travel.
C．Geography.	D．Culture.

6 . We recognize our friends’ faces. And we’re not alone. Many social animals can identify individuals of their own species by features of their faces. That's important, because they need to be able to change their behavior depending on who they meet. And a recent research has shown that some species of monkeys, birds, and domesticated (家养的) animals can even tell different faces apart by looking at photographs alone.

Ethologist Léa Lansade of the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment did an experiment to find out how well horses can recognize individual people in photographs.

She and her team first taught the horses how to “choose” between two side-by-side pictures by touching their noses to a computer screen. The horses were then shown photos of their present keeper alongside faces of unfamiliar humans. They had never seen photos of any of the people before. The horses correctly identified their current keeper and ignored (忽视) the stranger’s face about 75%of the time. In fact, even though the horses didn't get it right every single time, they were at least as correct in picking out their earlier keeper as they were at identifying their present one.

The results suggest that not only can horses differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar human faces, they also naturally understand that photographs are two dimensional representations (二维呈现) of real life, without any other intimations such as smell or sound. And they’re even better at this than our oldest animal parter, the domestic dog.

In addition, horses seem to have a strong long-term memory for human faces, like their long lifespan and history of domestication. In future experiments, the researchers would like to test whether looking at photos of people that they have had bad experiences with in the past might cause horses to act anxious or even avoidance. So maybe think twice before doing anything that might give a horse a long face.

1. Why did researchers show the horses both the keeper’s photos and the strangers’?

A．To find out what horses would do in the experiment.

B．To see why horses could recognize the keeper in the pictures.

C．To test whether horses could recognize the strangers in pictures.

D．To study to what degree horses can make out different people in pictures.

2. What does the underlined word “intimations” in paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Clues.	B．Differences.
C．Photographs.	D．Senses.

3. What are researchers still uncertain about?

A．Whether horses can live longer than other animals.

B．Whether horses can remember human's faces for a long time.

C．Whether horses can show their emotions at the sight of photos.

D．Whether horses are better at recognizing photos than other animals.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To talk about animals’ species.

B．To explain animals’ facial features.

C．To show animals’ behaviour for adaptation.

D．To introduce animals’ ability to identifying faces.

7 . Hello and welcome to English with Lucy. Today we have another topic:“Four common British expressions.” Now, before we get started, make sure you connect with me on all my social media which is right here. You can subscribe to my YouTube. You can also like me on Facebook. And for my Chinese followers, I have my Weibo account as well.

Four Common British Expressions:

“A piece of cake.”

And this is very similar to “Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy,” which we've discussed in a former video.   And basically, it means very easy.   So I might come out of an easy exam saving, “That exam was a piece of cake. ”

“Break a leg!”

It actually looks really rather cruel, but I promise you it's positive.   And “Break a leg!” means “Good luck!” So before a race, before a job interview, before a test, instead of saying “Good luck!” I might say “Break a leg!”

“It cost an arm and a leg.”

And this basically means something was really expensive.   If I say, “My bag cost an arm and a leg,” I mean it cost a lot of money.

“To call it a day.”

And this means “to end a task”.   So, for example, “I'm feeling a bit tired. I think I'll call it a day. ”That means “I think I'll stop here.   Let's finish.”

Thank you so much for watching this program of “Four Common British Expressions.” I hope you like it, and I hope you've learned something.

1. How can Chinese listeners connect with Lucy?

A．With Wechat

B．Through Weibo

C．On Facebook

D．By YouTube.

2. When John went to an English Speech Competition, you should say “_________” to him.

A．Break a leg!	B．It cost an arm and a leg.
C．To call it a day	D．A piece of cake.

3. What does he/she mean when the teacher says “Let's call it a day.” ?

A．He/She will stop that day	B．He/She feels tired
C．Class is over.	D．It is daytime.

8 . It was a Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting _______— some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene. Then _______ , a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so _________and active that the whole _______ of the car instantly changed.

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently （显然）_______ of the situation. The children were yelling and _______ things, and yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel _______ . I couldn't believe that he was _______ his children to run wild like that, and was taking no _______ at all. It was easy to see that ________ else on the subway felt annoyed.

So finally, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really ________ a lot of people. Could you ________ them a little more?"

The man lifted his gaze and said softly, ' Oh, you're __________; I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother __________ about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to ________ it either.

Can you ________ what I felt at that moment? Suddenly, I saw things differently； my anger was ________. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's ________. Now, instead of frustration （沮丧）, feelings of ________ filled my heart. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?”

Everything ________ in an instant.

1.

A．nervously

B．quietly

C．seriously

D．patiently

2.

A．suddenly

B．finally

C．carefully

D．immediately

3.

A．happy

B．cute

C．noisy

D．funny

4.

A．mood

B．view

C．condition

D．position

5.

A．afraid

B．sure

C．proud

D．unaware

6.

A．reading

B．throwing

C．folding

D．drawing

7.

A．worried

B．discouraged

C．annoyed

D．ashamed

8.

A．expecting

B．guiding

C．warning

D．allowing

9.

A．risks

B．notes

C．effect

D．responsibility

10.

A．everyone

B．someone

C．nobody

D．anyone

11.

A．supporting

B．embarrassing

C．disturbing

D．attracting

12.

A．notice

B．control

C．watch

D．encourage

13.

A．right

B．wrong

C．unlucky

D．crazy

14.

A．returned

B．worked

C．died

D．stayed

15.

A．understand

B．describe

C．deny

D．handle

16.

A．express

B．imagine

C．predict

D．remember

17.

A．lost

B．done

C．gone

D．deepened

18.

A．pain

B．joy

C．courage

D．faith

19.

A．bitterness

B．trust

C．freedom

D．sympathy

20.

A．restored

B．changed

C．settled

D．ended

9 . 54-year-old Abdul has a special job. He has been working as a living statue (活体雕像) for over three decades, standing perfectly still for six hours a day and resisting people' s attempts to make him move or smile, anything that proves he is a living person.

Abdul, known as “India's Statue Man”, has been performing his daily routine ever since 1985, soon after getting a job as a security guard. His boss had recently traveled to the UK, where he was So impressed by the statue-like members of the Royal Guard outside Buckingham Palace that he wanted to do something similar back home. So he had his guards receive three months of training, where they would sit perfectly still for around four hours. They weren't allowed to talk or smile, eat, drink, or even shoo away a fly if it sat on their faces. In the end, Abdul proved the best of the group, So he got the strange job.

Abdul isn't the only person in the world acting as a living statue, but what makes him special is the fact that he can do it for as long as six hours without even blinking his eyes. Once, a $ 155 prize was put up for anyone who can make him move a muscle. But try as they might, no one has ever succeeded. Actually, Abdul tries to move about as much as he can in his spare time, and only eats healthy home-cooked food, to keep his body in shape. But he claims yoga has been the biggest help. In the 32 years, Abdul has become a famous person in India and other Asian countries. Many Bollywood stars have come to witness this living statue and try to finally make him move, but none have succeeded.

Abdul earns about 10,000 rupees ($ 156) a month, which is enough to support his family, but definitely not enough to encourage his children to follow in his footsteps. It's just too stressful and taxing on the body. “Despite all the hardship and health problems, I love my job and I am thankful to people for the love and respect they have showered on me” he says, “When the time comes, I want to die playing a statue.”

1. What is Abduls daily routine?

A．Proving to be a living person.	B．Performing as a living statue.
C．Smiling at his customers.	D．Keeping his body in shape.

2. Why could Abdul get the strange job given by his boss?

A．He had his special ambition.	B．He was most familiar with the job.
C．He stood out among the group.	D．He knew the boss more than others.

3. What does Abdul do in his spare time?

A．He eats a lot of snacks.	B．He practices yoga for 12 hours a day.
C．He cooks for his family.	D．He always moves a lot.

4. How does Abdul feel about his job according to the text?

A．It's satisfying.

B．It's overpaid.

C．It's boring.

D．It's instructive.

10 . The situation of the world’s plants is not good. One fifth of the kinds of plants are in danger of disappearing, according to a report.

“Plants are very vital to human beings,” said Kathy Willis, who led the new report. “Plants provide us with everything—food, fuel, and medicine, and they are very important for our climate controlling. Without plants we would not be here.”

The good news is that deforestation rates around the world have dropped largely since the 1950s. However, this report on the health of plants around the world shows that there is much more to be done.

The report predicts that there are now 390,900 kinds of plants. And about 21 percent of those plants are in danger of disappearing. “The good side is that we’re still discovering lots of new plants, about 2,000 each year,” said Dr. Willis. “The bad side is that we’ve seen a huge change in land cover, mainly caused by cultural activity, with a little bit of climate change in there as well.”

Human activity has a great effect on the danger of plants disappearing. As humans cut down forests to make room for agriculture, towns and cities, biodiversity is lost. This could not only affect our own food supply directly, but also affect the food web.

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

A．Useless.

B．Friendly.

C．Equal.

D．Important.

2. Which of the following does Dr. Willis agree with?

A．New plants are more than ever before.	B．About half the plants will disappear soon.
C．Many new plants are found every year.	D．Plants mustn’t be used to produce medicine.

3. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

A．We have made little progress.	B．There is a long way for us to go.
C．We have achieved our goal.	D．There will be nothing we can do.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Biodiversity Being Lost	B．Human Social Activity
C．Environment Protection	D．Nature Climate Change