1 . I wish I’d been more confident in my own abilities, especially when I was at school.
I was a shy child and struggled a bit when talking to other people. On the whole, my parents were very supportive, always encouraging me and trying to help me relax in social situations, but I was always terribly self-conscious. I wish I hadn’t been so worried about what everybody thought of me. I know now that if you are extremely shy , then it’s hard work to have a conversation with you. Now I try to think about the other person I’m talking to and put them at ease in my company .However, at school, I found it especially difficult in my peer group. I wasn’t competitive, but I was aware of my appearance and I always compared myself to other people, usually coming to the conclusion that I wasn’t as clever or as popular or as cool as they were. I wanted to be popular. I know now that the kids who are considered the coolest at school aren’t necessarily the most popular or successful when they grow up.
I realize now that everything changes during your teen years — physically, mentally, socially and emotionally — and I just had a harder time than most. I wish I hadn’t let it stop me from doing things, though. I wish I’d taken a gap year or at least traveled more when I left school. But to tell the truth, I didn’t have the courage to go off alone before going to college. I could have gone to Europe and America with a friend as I’d saved up enough money, but in the end I just didn’t want to do it. My parents really wanted me to try a gap year. They said it would be a great experience before college. I think they were right, and now I won’t have another opportunity to do that for a long time.
1. What can be learned about the author when she was a child?| A．She found being sociable difficult. |
| B．She was considered too direct. |
| C．She lived a rich life. |
| D．She felt uncomfortable with her parents. |
| A．She had a big heart. |
| B．She was a first-class student. |
| C．She suffered greatly during her teen years. |
| D．She used to let her parents down. |
| A．Not paying enough attention to her parents. |
| B．Not saving up enough money to go abroad. |
| C．Not going to college together with her best friend. |
| D．Not being brave enough to travel before college. |
| A．To honor her parents | B．To share her life lessons |
| C．To remember her childhood | D．To discuss skills needed for school |
2 . Women scientists around the world have made significant contributions to Stem (science, technology, engineering, and maths). Here are four who pushed boundaries and changed the world.
Wu Chienshiung (1912—1997)
Born in Taicang, Jiangsu province, Wu took part in the Manhattan Project which helped create the world’s first nuclear weapon. Her famous Wu experiment overturned the theory of parity in physics. This breakthrough led to a Nobel Prize that was awarded to her male colleagues, but Wu’s critical role in the work was overlooked.
Hedy Lamarr (1914—2000)
Austria-born Lamarr starred in a lot of Hollywood films and made great success. She was also super smart and a self-taught inventor. During the second world war, Lamarr together with George Antheil, a composer, developed a radio guidance system. The principle of their work is part of the basis of Bluetooth and wireless technology.
Katherine Johns (1918—2020)
African American NASA mathematician Johnson’s calculations were critical in getting the first US astronauts to space and back safely. During her 33-year career at NASA, Katherine earned a reputation for mastering complex calculations and was referred to as a “human computer”.
Tu Youyou (1930—)
Born in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, Tu shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two other foreign scientists, for her work in discovering artemisinin, a drug used to treat malaria. Her work has saved millions of lives all over the world. Tu is the first Chinese Nobel winner in physiology or medicine and the first female citizen of the PRC to win a Nobel Prize.
1. Besides being an inventor, Hedy Lamarr is also a(n) ________.| A．composer | B．producer | C．actress | D．mathematician |
| A．She treated people for cancer. | B．She is the first Chinese Nobel winner. |
| C．Her discovery helped save millions. | D．Her research project is one of a kind. |
| A．They shared the same interest. | B．They each constructed a theory. |
| C．They were all awarded the Nobel Prize. | D．They all made a difference to the world. |
3 . It was a cold Saturday night in February. Some 200 New Yorkers carefully made their way to the reservoir (水库) in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the magical snowy owl, who had touched down in the park the week before in what was reported as the first visit there by the species in more than 130 years.
Except for a few excited screams from children, people were quiet — patiently awaiting the owl’s arrival at the reservoir’s north gatehouse. The snowy owl did not disappoint. She flew down from the darkness and surveyed the water and the people holding phones and cameras before taking off into the night to the applause of her many fans. They simply wanted to see this lovely creature whose improbable appearance seemed to signify hope after the lockdown.
New Yorkers who had long taken Central Park for granted felt a renewed love for this rectangle of green in the heart of the big city and, of course, its amazing wildlife. That the park is a beautiful and essential refuge is something that humans have only come to fully appreciate during these recent times of uncertainty.
Central Park was originally planned and constructed during another difficult time in the nation’s history — in the years before and during the American Civil War. Unlike many European parks that had originally been built for the aristocracy (贵族), Central Park was designed as a public space. In its chief architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s words, the poor and rich alike could “easily go there after their day’s work is done” and “stroll for an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the noise of the streets.”
As spring turns into summer, we see people sitting on the grass or benches — catching some sun, having family picnics, or tapping away on their laptops and iPads. Just being in proximity to other people in Central Park gave us a sense of community — the sense that we would somehow persevere.
1. What did people do in Central Park on that Saturday night?| A．They cheered for each other. | B．They paid their first visit. |
| C．They came for a rare sight. | D．They appreciated a water event. |
| A．Give some examples. | B．Make a comparison. |
| C．Introduce a new opinion. | D．Add background information. |
| A．close to | B．free from |
| C．at a distance from | D．in comparison with |
| A．Find Refuge in Central Park |
| B．Take Your Breath by Snow Owl |
| C．Trace Central Park to difficult times |
| D．Meet an improbable “visitor” in person |
4 . I was gating ready to head to my daughter’s college to bring her home for New Year. The
Usually a three-hour round
I tried pulling out again and again but could only hear
Just as a famous writer Henry
| A．snow | B．rain | C．fog | D．shower |
| A．rescue | B．flight | C．search | D．trip |
| A．shorter | B．faster | C．longer | D．easier |
| A．clear | B．match | C．consider | D．find |
| A．even | B．further | C．finally | D．immediately |
| A．moving | B．causing | C．throwing | D．holding |
| A．untrustworthy | B．unfriendly | C．patient | D．inexperienced |
| A．stop | B．brake | C．work | D．hit |
| A．spinning | B．running | C．flat | D．broken |
| A．curiously | B．hopefully | C．helplessly | D．surprisingly |
| A．move | B．trap | C．jump | D．increase |
| A．lady | B．truck | C．car | D．figure |
| A．suddenly | B．surely | C．eventually | D．simply |
| A．makes | B．puts | C．helps | D．gets |
| A．safe | B．different | C．pleasant | D．dangerous |
5 . Today’s 14-and 15-year-olds are ambitious. They are optimistic about their future, but their career ideas are rather unclear. A job for life is not in their vocabulary. Almost half the boys surveyed expected that their hobbies would lead them into the right sort of job, while most girls seemed determined to avoid traditionally female careers such as nursing.
In the past, this might have counted as bad news. But the world has changed. The global economy is not kind to yesterday’s hardworking and dependable workers. The future belongs to quick-thinking people who are resourceful, ambitious and creative. This means that young people need training and guidance to help them develop the right skills for today’s market; not the rigid preparation for a workplace that disappeared 20 years ago.
So what is to be done? A good first step would be to change the way in which schools prepare young people for adult life. The education system is becoming less flexible and paying more attention to traditional skills when the employment market is going in the opposite direction.
Accurate, latest information on new jobs and qualifications can help guidance counselors to help their students. Young people need solid information on the sort of training they need to their dream career. Also, a little bit of encouragement can go a long way.
What, then, can we as parents do to help them? The best thing is to forget all the advice that our parents gave us, and step into our teenager’s shoes. It is important for them to learn how to be independent and resourceful. Give them courage to follow their dreams—however odd they might sound right now. In a world that offers economic security to almost no one, imagination is a terrible thing to waste.
1. According to the survey, how are boys and girls different in career ideas?| A．Male teenagers are more ambitious and optimistic. |
| B．Dead-end but secure jobs are more popular with girls. |
| C．Boys prefer to choose jobs based on their interest. |
| D．Girl teenagers have clearer career ideas than boys. |
| A．Inventive. | B．Hardworking. | C．Modest. | D．Reliable. |
| A．Wasting is the main cause of terrible economy. |
| B．Creativity should be valued most in the changing world. |
| C．No one can be secure in such a terrible world. |
| D．Wasting imagination leads to economic insecurity. |
| A．To analyze teenagers’ ideas about the economic world. |
| B．To explain how the world has changed the young. |
| C．To encourage parents to help the young to be independent. |
| D．To offer advice on how to prepare teenagers for careers. |
6 . A young man was about to go to the office when he received a phone call from a nurse who told him his father was injured and in hospital. So he
The nurse
Throughout the night the young man
Sunrise
| A．jogged | B．rushed | C．jumped | D．slid |
| A．left | B．forgot | C．remained | D．removed |
| A．more | B．better | C．worse | D．finer |
| A．in favor of | B．in search of | C．in fear of | D．in memory of |
| A．despair | B．joy | C．relief | D．anxiety |
| A．called in | B．turned in | C．took in | D．broke in |
| A．directed | B．connected | C．appointed | D．joined |
| A．roared | B．shouted | C．whispered | D．whistled |
| A．faintly | B．positively | C．passively | D．generously |
| A．turned | B．tended | C．led | D．adapted |
| A．confirmed | B．announced | C．recommended | D．ensured |
| A．received | B．reserved | C．revised | D．rejected |
| A．advancing | B．approaching | C．amounting | D．assuming |
| A．obvious | B．impressive | C．impossible | D．necessary |
| A．reading | B．writing | C．drawing | D．demanding |
7 . Many people treat “life” as something that happens to them. They think they are the victims.
Choose your friends carefully. As they say, “
When you go your own way, everyone will tell you that you’re wrong at first. But when they find actually they are wrong, they will all come back around.
In order to get to where you know you can go, you have to say “no” a hundred times more than you say the word “yes”.
| A．Everybody sets goals. |
| B．They create the life they want to live. |
| C．Some people just don’t know when to quit. |
| D．They will see the life you’ve built for yourself. |
| E．You must be faithful to yourself and your goal. |
| F．When things go wrong, they think it’s someone else’s fault. |
| G．You are a reflection of those who you spend the most time with. |
8 . Monthly Talks at London Canal Museum
Our monthly talks start at 19:30 on the first Thursday of each month except August. They end around 21:00.
November 7th
The Canal Pioneers ,by Chris Lewis. James Brindley is recognized as one of the leading early canal engineers. He was also an important player in training others in the art of canal planning and building.
December 5th
Ice for the Metropolis, by Malcolm Tucker. Malcolm will explain the history of importing natural ice and the technology of building ice wells.
February 6th
An Update on the Cotsword Canals, by Liz Payne. The Thames and Severn Canal will take a little longer. We will have a report on the present state of play.
March 6th
Eyots and Aits-Thames Islands, by Miranda Vickers. The Thames had many islands. Miranda will tell us about islands of greatest interest.
Online bookings:www.canalmuseum.org.uk/book
1. When is the talk on James Brindley?| A．February 6th. | B．December 5th. | C．November 7th. | D．March 6th. |
| A．The Canal Pioneers. | B．An Update on the Cotsword Canals |
| C．Eyots and Aits-Thames Islands | D．Ice for the Metropolis |
| A．Miranda Vickers | B．Malcolm Tucker | C．Chris Lewis | D．Liz Payne |
9 . Sugar cane (甘蔗) contains around 10% sugar. But that means it contains around 90% non-sugar — the material known as bagasse (甘蔗渣) which remains once the sugar-bearing juice has been squeezed out of the cane. World production of cane sugar was 185m tonnes in 2017. That results in a lot of bagasse.
At the moment, most of this is burned. Often, it fuels local generators, so it is not wasted. But Zhu Hongli, a mechanical engineer at Northeastern University in Boston thinks it can be put to better use. "With a bit of improvement bagasse makes an excellent replacement for the plastic used for disposable food containers such as coffee cups," says Dr. Zhu.
Dr. Zhu is not the first person to have this idea. But previous attempts tended not to survive contact with liquids. She thought she could overcome that by combining the bagasse pulp (浆状物) with another biodegradable (可生物降解的) material. She discovered that the main reason past efforts failed is that bagasse is composed of short fibres which are unable to give resilience (韧性) to the finished product. She therefore sought to insert a suitably long-fibred substance.
Bamboo seemed to fit the bill. It grows quickly, degrades readily and has appropriately long fibres. When the researchers mixed a small amount of bamboo pulp into bagasse, they found that the short and long fibres combined with each other closely.
To put their new material through its paces, Dr. Zhu and her colleagues fist poured hot oil onto it and found that their invention showed resistance to oil. They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to the boiling point, the cup remained good for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would last it is long enough for all practical purposes. Moreover, the new material is twice as strong as the plastic used to make cups, and is definitely biodegradable. When Dr. Zhu buried a cup made out of it in the ground, half of it rotted away within two months.
1. What does paragraph l mainly talk about?| A．A big international market for cane sugar. | B．A plant containing a high content of sugar. |
| C．The large amount of world bagasse production. | D．The environmental impact of planting sugar cane. |
| A．They broke easily when wet. | B．They were non-biodegradable. |
| C．They consumed little bagasse. | D．They had too much resilience. |
| A．Avoid the attempts. | B．Meet the requirements. |
| C．Fill the vacancy. | D．Survive the environment. |
| A．It can satisfy basic usage needs. | B．It is hardly as strong as plastic cups. |
| C．It can disappear in two months if buried. | D．It is unlikely to be used as an oil container. |
10 . Once upon a time, a young man wanted to go to a village on business. Halfway there was a mountain. Before he left home, his family warned him to stay calm and climb onto trees if he was in face of beasts(野兽). In this way, the beasts couldn’t do anything to him.
The young man remembered these words and began his trip.
He walked for a long time carefully and found no beasts were out there. He thought his family’s worries were unnecessary. And he became relaxed as he walked. Just at that moment, he saw a fierce(凶猛的) tiger running to him and he climbed onto a tree nearby at once.
The tiger roared(咆哮) around the tree and even jumped to reach the man. The young man was too scared to hold the tree and fell right on the back of the tiger. Full of fear, he had to hold the tiger tightly. The tiger thought that must be a giant beast. So it was afraid and started running madly.
People on the road didn’t know what had happened and said, “Look at the young man. He is riding a tiger!” “Cool!” “Superman!”
Hearing these words, the young man was very angry. “Why can’t they see I’m suffering a lot? Don’t they understand I am in fear and almost scared to death?” he said to himself.
1. Why did the young man go to the village?| A．To travel | B．To visit friends. | C．On business. | D．For holiday. |
| A．Excited | B．Scared. | C．Surprised. | D．Bored. |
| A．It was old and weak. |
| B．The young man was very strong. |
| C．It thought people around would kill it. |
| D．It mistook the young man for a giant beast. |
| A．People on the road were wise. |
| B．The young man was very brave. |
| C．We shouldn’t admire others blindly. |
| D．The young man shouldn’t listen to his family. |
