1 . Vehicles on our roads are now mostly petrol and diesel (柴油) cars, but their days cannot continue for much longer. A recent university study found that current electric cars could be used for 87 percent of daily car journeys in the US. That figure could rise to 98 percent by 2020.
One hurdle to the widespread adoption of electric cars has been “range anxiety” — drivers concerns about running out of electricity on a journey. While petrol stations are conveniently located across national road systems, the necessary network of electric charging stations is still being developed. That said, charging points are becoming increasingly common throughout the USA.
Attitudes towards electric vehicles have changed greatly over the last few years. Not that long ago, electric cars were met with distrust, and their high prices drove customers away. Thanks to improvements in battery capacity, recharging times, performance and price, the current generation of electric cars are starting to persuade picky consumers. Plug-in cars will soon give internal combustion engine (内燃机) models a run for their money.
As well as development on the road, electric vehicles are taking to the seas and skies. Electric boats are among the oldest methods of electric travel, having enjoyed several decades of popularity from the late 19th to the early 20th century before petrol-powered outboard motors took over. Now, the global drive for renewable energy sources is bringing electric boats back. Steps towards electric air travel are also being made, with Airbus and NASA among the organizations developing and testing battery-powered planes. The experiments could soon make commercial electric flight a reality.
Electric vehicles do not produce any emissions (排放). If the US could replace 87 percent of its cars with electric vehicles, it would reduce the national demand for petrol by 61 percent. However, because of the production processes and the generation of electricity required to charge these vehicles, they cannot claim (声称) to be completely emission-free. That said, as many countries continue to increase their use of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles will become even cleaner.
1. The underlined word “hurdle” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．aim | B．difficulty | C．result | D．step |
| A．They were very poorly made. | B．They were not widely promoted. |
| C．They were expensive. | D．They couldn’t travel at a high speed. |
| A．To introduce the history of electric travel. |
| B．To explain why the world needs more electric cars. |
| C．To show why more people have interest in electric cars. |
| D．To describe different ways electric vehicles can be used. |
| A．Driving into a Cleaner Future | B．History of Electric Cars |
| C．Problems with Petrol and Diesel Cars | D．Best Means of Transportation |
2 . Anxious exam candidates’ problem is the run-up or preparation, not the exam itself.
Exams are always tense and worrying, especially for those of an anxious personality. The silence of the hall; the
What Dr Therobald found was that
This is a positive discovery,
| A．swinging | B．ticking | C．dropping | D．ringing |
| A．slightly | B．basically | C．hardly | D．completely |
| A．worse | B．better | C．less | D．higher |
| A．presentation | B．memory | C．revision | D．time |
| A．atmosphere | B．expression | C．outcome | D．anxiety |
| A．prepared | B．forgot | C．gained | D．increased |
| A．performed | B．responded | C．behaved | D．activated |
| A．because of | B．as for | C．except for | D．regardless of |
| A．took back | B．held back | C．pushed back | D．brought back |
| A．record | B．review | C．recite | D．reproduce |
| A．for | B．though | C．and | D．if |
| A．spirits | B．attitude | C．expectation | D．ideas |
| A．immediately | B．anxiously | C．approximately | D．extremely |
| A．theory | B．strategy | C．plan | D．decision |
| A．decrease | B．enhance | C．realize | D．recognize |
3 . A few years ago, I was serving customers hamburgers and fries at McDonald’s after graduating from high school in Rogers, but I wanted to do something else.
After the COVID-19 pandemic started, when I saw job
By the time I found the Reimagine website, I was working two health-related jobs, which made me a little
Trying to
My job as a phlebotomist includes performing venipunctures (静脉穿刺) on patients, and a venipuncture can be very scary, especially with our cancer patients who have
I would really like to encourage you to apply for what you might start as a(n)
| A．interviews | B．applications | C．advertisements | D．appointments |
| A．learning | B．working | C．teaching | D．travelling |
| A．Seeking | B．Appreciating | C．Analyzing | D．Switching |
| A．newspaper | B．website | C．office | D．library |
| A．stressed | B．reflected | C．offered | D．admitted |
| A．hope | B．exchange | C．stand | D．qualify |
| A．worried | B．excited | C．embarrassed | D．relaxed |
| A．immediately | B．unexpectedly | C．eventually | D．definitely |
| A．combine | B．balance | C．compare | D．benefit |
| A．got | B．mentioned | C．recognized | D．made |
| A．compared | B．impressed | C．provided | D．associated |
| A．competed | B．comprised | C．completed | D．committed |
| A．gone away | B．gone through | C．broken through | D．broken away |
| A．confident | B．nervous | C．desperate | D．careful |
| A．career | B．religion | C．interest | D．enthusiasm |
4 . REMARKABLE BOOKS TO ENJOY AGAIN AND AGAIN
The Second Coming
By Roué Hupsel
www. authorhouse. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book $27. 99 | $16. 95 | $3. 99
The son of an American scholar must begin an almost impossible battle against unknown, threatening powers that attack humanity in the core. In author Roué Hupsel’s The Second Coming, you will experience a fascinating tale that will take you into great adventures. This is a journey full of strange and terrifying events.
The Bobbsey Twins at School
By Laura Lee Hope
www. authorhouse. com
Paperback | Audio-book $ 17. 81 | $ 3. 99
The Bobbsey Twins at School tells stories about two pairs of twins, from which readers learn about a life with a twin and a life full of childhood innocence. Full of warmth and humor, the stories are wonderful and easy for children to read.
A Stroke Of Genius
By Sandy Simon
www. xlibris. com
Paperback | E-book $ 19. 99 | $ 9. 99
Starting with a disaster and leading readers through paths of paralysis and pain up to a good measure of healing, Sandy Simon’s A Stroke Of Genius is an insightful book that provides new insight into the nature of human condition.
Through the Trials Just Believe
By Nitza Hollinger
www. xlibris. com
Hardback | Paperback | E-book $ 24. 99 | $ 15. 99 | $ 3. 99
Through the Trials Just Beliere is a truly inspiring and immersive read that shows readers that when faced with trials, one must he well-grounded in what drives him or her to continue the fight to live and overcome what may seem as an unsurpassable trial. In this touching read, the author Nitza Hollinger inspires and encourages the readers to face life’s challenges with confidence and the determination to succeed.
1. If you’re interested in adventures, you would like to choose ______.| A．The Second Coming |
| B．The Bobbsey Twins at School |
| C．A Stroke Of Genius |
| D．Through the Trials Just Believe |
| A．It is a children’s book. |
| B．It can be bought on www. authorhouse. com. |
| C．The price of its E-book edition is $9.99. |
| D．It inspires readers to be confident when facing difficulties. |
| A．Hardback & Paperback. | B．Paperback & E-book. |
| C．Paperback & Audio-book. | D．Hardback & E-book. |
5 . Ritch Addison was a shy kid. In elementary school, he was too timid to speak up for himself. When he got to high school, he decided to make a(n)
“I believe laughter is the best medicine, for it has the power to heal and unite,” Addison said. “So I was
His new approach
Then one day, his good friend Holly pulled him
It didn’t happen overnight. But over the years, Addison were better felt for others and became a clinical psychologist, helping people
| A．effort | B．wish | C．fortune | D．shift |
| A．picking on | B．blaming on | C．counting on | D．agreeing on |
| A．showing | B．covering | C．making | D．adding |
| A．mattered | B．failed | C．worked | D．settled |
| A．profit | B．assistance | C．compliment | D．confidence |
| A．generously | B．ungratefully | C．unmercifully | D．kindly |
| A．aside | B．through | C．over | D．apart |
| A．disappointment | B．amazement | C．contentment | D．excitement |
| A．determined | B．meant | C．longed | D．afforded |
| A．formal | B．bold | C．previous | D．mysterious |
| A．teasing | B．pleasing | C．boasting | D．joking |
| A．acquire | B．deliver | C．doubt | D．comprehend |
| A．introduces | B．devotes | C．leaves | D．owes |
| A．awkward | B．difficult | C．polite | D．easy |
| A．faith | B．direction | C．content | D．value |
6 . Have you ever had the urge to open a book and stick your nose straight into the pages? The smell of old books can refresh any book lovers. We don’t know why, but it is just pleasant to us.
Describing the smell can be a challenge. And mere adjectives will likely be of little use to future generations of historians trying to document, understand or reproduce the scent of slowly decaying books. Now, that task may have just gotten easier thanks to the Historic Book Odor Wheel.
In one experiment, researchers asked visitors at the historic library to characterize the scents they smelled. All the visitors selected words like “woody”, “smoky” and “earthy” from the list, and described the smell’s intensity and perceived pleasantness. In another experiment, the study authors presented visitors to the Birmingham Museum with eight smells — one of which was an unlabeled historic book scent and seven were non-bookish, such as coffee, chocolate, fish market and dirty clothes. The researchers then had those museum goers describe the historic book smell.
The top two responses? Chocolate and coffee. “You tend to use familiar associations to describe smells when they are unlabeled,” study author Cecilia Bembibre says.
The team even analyzed the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (挥发性有机化合物) in the book and the library. Using the data from the chemical analysis and visitors’ smell descriptions, the researchers created the Historic Book Odor Wheel to document the “historic library smell”. Main categories, such as “sweet/spicy”, fill the inner circle of the wheel; descriptors, such as “chocolate/cream”, fill the middle; and the chemical compounds likely to be the smelly source, like furfural, fill the outer circle. The researchers want the book odor wheel to be a tool that “untrained noses” can use to identify smells and the compounds causing them, which could address conservators’ concerns about material composition and historic paper conservation. And hopefully, smells of the past can be reproduced in the lab someday and museums and historians can use it to reconstruct a past we can no longer smell.
1. What is mainly talked about in the first paragraph?| A．An strange reading habit. | B．Fascination for smells of books. |
| C．Addiction to reading books. | D．A dislike for smelling books. |
| A．By referring to familiar items. | B．By using adjectives to label them. |
| C．By analysing chemical compounds. | D．By connecting them with food smells. |
| A．To record historic library smells. | B．To identify smells and compounds. |
| C．To remove the conservators’ worries. | D．To put different scents into different libraries. |
| A．Creating a whole new scent. | B．Improving the people’s sense of smell. |
| C．Restoring smells of historic documents. | D．Extracting components of “old book smell”. |
7 . Today, I’ve been recording an audiobook. I am excited that I have realized my life-long dream.
I will never forget at primary school I used to wait with breathless anticipation to take my turn reading out a paragraph of great works in front. At my secondary school, when students were encouraged to select and present a reading at “morning talk”, I often added my name to the list.
This was all handy background for my career in broadcasting. But, much as I enjoy hosting shows and interviewing people, I often find myself missing the simple pleasures of reading out loud. I’d thought about putting myself forward as a narrator(朗读者) for audiobooks. But I’m not an actor. I can’t do regional accents or play female voice. Non-fiction, then, seemed the obvious target, but I felt that such books were best read by their authors. If it were authors’ own voice, their stories would touch me.
Recently, delivering my son’s nightly bedtime story has reawakened my love for reading out loud—highlights so far have included Charlotte’s Web. But I never thought I’d get the opportunity to do it professionally.
Then, last month, I was contacted by James Plunkett, author of End State, a forthcoming book about political ideas. He had no desire to read his book out loud, but as a fan of my program, he thought I might do a reasonable job.
So, I’ve spent this week in a studio, simply reading stuff out loud. And I’m LOVING IT!
Mind you, it’s an entirely unexpected experience. It’s disheartening when the recording needs to be stopped because I’ve just carelessly skipped over a ‘ the’, or had to clear my throat, or catch my breath. I’ve also learned how many words I’ve been mispronouncing my entire life: behavioral is BE-HAYVE-YOU-RAL, not BE-HAYVE-EE-AH-RUL.
Though tackling this 339-page book doesn’t turn out to be that easy, I’ve found the whole process awesome, and hope this becomes the first of many.
1. What does the author want to show by mentioning his experiences at school?| A．The purpose of schooling. | B．His love for reading aloud. |
| C．The power of encouragement. | D．His talent for silent reading. |
| A．He regrets being a TV host. | B．He doesn’t like non-fiction at all. |
| C．He lacks working experience. | D．He is aware of his disadvantages. |
| A．Because he was specifically invited. | B．Because he applied for it in person. |
| C．Because he read many bedtime stories. | D．Because he had a big crowd of fans. |
| A．Frightening but profitable. | B．Rewarding but unsafe. |
| C．Demanding but enjoyable. | D．Promising but unstable. |
8 . Lauren Price has come a long way from a taxi driver to an Olympic champion. She pursued her Olympic dream all the way to winning the middleweight gold medal at the Tokyo Games.
“When I look back now, I have to pinch (掐) myself at times, because I still think it’s mad that I won the Olympics,” Price told the media.
Raised by her grandparents, she was always encouraged to play sports. “They’ve always backed me. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have achieved anything,” Price said. Her grandma used to say to her, “Reach for the moon and if you fall short, you’ll land on the stars.”
She began with football. But Price was also a high standard kickboxer and was then talent-scouted by a taekwondo coach before she switched to boxing.
“For me the big turning point was as a child being inspired by Kelly Holmes. I remember watching her on TV and I was like, “Oh My God, I want to go to the Olympics,” Price recalled. “I had that dream over the years. I just worked hard. I believe if you put the effort in, you’ll get to where you want to be.”
When Price was breaking into the Welsh boxing team, funding was extremely limited. So she worked as a driver fora taxi company when she was still a teenager. “I was training Monday to Thursday and then I was taxi driving Friday and Saturday nights. I’d start work at five pm and I’d finish at four in the morning, picking up all the drunken passengers,” she remembered. That was a different kind of education. “It’s quite funny now when I look back,” Price smiled.
Ultimately, she excelled as a boxer. Price won every major gold medal going, despite the difficulties of competing against bigger opponents outside of her weight class.
1. Which event did Price compete in at the Tokyo Olympics?| A．Football. | B．Kickboxing. | C．Taekwondo. | D．Boxing. |
| A．Her grandmother. | B．An athlete. | C．A coach. | D．A passenger. |
| A．Determination. | B．Luck. | C．Education. | D．Talent. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Opinion. | C．Sports. | D．Destinations. |
9 . Few would question that arts, in its massive forms and media, are like a mirror that reflects the social, cultural, economic or even political situation of a society of a particular era. However, beyond being simply an illustration of the human condition, arts can be vital in pushing the country forward culturally and economically.
Without doubt, arts are important for the progress of society. They enable individuals to develop on the whole and deepen the social ties in communities by gathering people to create, experience and enjoy art together, which can be seen from traditional ethnic dances to interactive theatre performanccs. Beyond material wants and needs, human beings find fulfilment in experiencing and expressing things of remarkable value through arts. Meanwhile, strong citizens’ participation in arts also strengthens the social fabric of a nation.
Moreover, arts enable a nation to progress in human rights and values. As powerful media that are able to stir hearts and cause reflection, arts can speak up the human voice of criticism sharply and clearly in times of crisis, and call upon society to seek the common good. It is evident that arts, which express human values and emotions, can constitute a profound way of promoting human dignity and additionally, form the barrier of the ethical and moral life of society.
More often than not, a booming arts scene may not narrow the rich-poor divide. It’s not hard to see that in a highly competitive world, it is essential for governments to prioritize the development of a strong workforce and the building of sustainable industries. However, arts may well complement (补充) economic policies as arts encourage individuals to exercise creativity. As Albert Einstein stated, imagination is more important than knowledge. While knowledge and professional skills may stimulate a country’s development, the ability to innovate and think out of the box may be valuable to a society facing ever new and unpredictable challenges.
While the importance of arts may differ from country to country, depending on its economic circumstances and the socio-political issues, the importance of arts to the progress of a nation should not be overlooked.
1. What’s the first paragraph mainly about?| A．The forms of arts. |
| B．The functions of arts. |
| C．The definition of arts. |
| D．The development of arts. |
| A．By reflecting humans’ views. |
| B．By pointing out the common good. |
| C．By giving people a sense of fulfilment. |
| D．By forming the moral standard of society. |
| A．To praise Albert Einstein’s achievements. |
| B．To call on humans to remember our history. |
| C．To stress the importance of arts in creativity. |
| D．To show the necessity of knowledge and skills. |
| A．Arts serve as the major influence in values. |
| B．Arts play a part in the progress of a country. |
| C．Arts should aim at strengthening social bonds. |
| D．Arts can bridge the gap between rich and poor. |
