1 . From rolling hills to mountain ranges, views make any road trip memorable, but for blind passenger this is part of the experience they miss. Motor company Ford tries to change that. It teamed up with GTB Roma and Ae do Project to develop a technology that will give those unfortunate passengers a way to feel nature’s beauty through their car windows.

The prototype (原型) of the smart car window has a device with an outside-facing camera. With just a press of a button, the system takes a picture of the current view. The colorful picture is then turned into an image with different shades of grey through LED lights, which vibrates (震动) differently. As the finger passes over different regions of the image, its shaking movements provide feedback through the sense of touch to the person using it. The smart window also comes with a voice assistant that uses Al to identify the scene and help the passengers get information on what they’re seeing.

“As the prototype started taking shape, we realized we were giving birth to a completely new language that would give blind people a new chance to visualize and experience traveling,” Federico Russo, one director of GTB Roma, said. “When the idea was at its first stage, we looked for suppliers all around the world to make it come to life.“ He believes the technology can be employed not just in cars. “It could be introduced into schools and institutions for blind people as a tool that could be used in multiple ways.”

The technology may show up in a Ford autonomous vehicle. It’s known that the company is testing their technology and future business model and struggling to figure out how an autonomous vehicle gives different passengers the details needed to get from one destination to another. It’s unclear when this technology will be made available. However, the idea of building something for the less advantaged is indeed a kind and influential action.

1. How does the smart car window work?

A．By reacting to changing colors.

B．By translating scenery into vibrations.

C．By controlling shaking movements with voice.

D．By searching for the previously stored pictures.

2. What does Federico Russo say about the technology?

A．It will have a wide application.

B．It will make language learning easy.

C．It will soon be tested across the world.

D．It will change traditional way of travelling.

3. What is the problem the Ford company is struggling to solve now?

A．Developing autonomous cars.

B．Enabling the disabled to drive cars.

C．Replacing the traditional business model.

D．Providing personalized route information.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．AI-based Window Adds Fun to Road Trips

B．Technology Makes People’s Life Enjoyable

C．Ford Plans to Launch a Smart Car for the Blind

D．Smart Window Lets Blind Passengers Feel Views

2 . My daughter loved dancing until she didn’t find it attractive. After an _________ first year, I noticed her interest fading week by week. Then one day, she slowly walked to me before class and asked if she could just _________ it.

My first reaction was to advise her to “finish what you start”. _________, sticking with something difficult can teach perseverance, discipline and confidence. But watching mydaughter ____ herself into each ballet position, I started to question how much _________ that “blanket advice” made. Is it really in my kid’s best _________ or even practical, to make her stick to every commitment through until she reaches a bitter end? What if there are different but _________ valuable qualities, which can be gained by _________ the things that are not right for her.

After a few days’ consideration, she decided dance wasn’t for her - a choice I _________. Quitting is never a black and white issue. Sometimes, it means __________ a barrier in your way to love something else. In my daughter’s case, ending dance made space for her new hobbies, such as horseback riding and Girl Scouts. She’s into them for now, but it is okay if that __________ changes.

As adults, we are used to __________ the power of saying yes, but what about saying no? The ability to recognize when something isn’t an __________ investment of our time or energy is also important. As my daughter gets older, I want her to feel confident to __________ something that’s no longer meeting her needs. She shouldn’t be held back by the thought that she must finish something at any cost __________ because she has started.

1.

A．routine

B．passionate

C．depressing

D．independent

2.

A．defeat

B．make

C．try

D．skip

3.

A．After all

B．In case

C．In addition

D．By contrast

4.

A．addict

B．expose

C．drag

D．commit

5.

A．sufficiency

B．sense

C．energy

D．desire

6.

A．interest

B．help

C．manner

D．element

7.

A．seemingly

B．partly

C．equally

D．hardly

8.

A．insisting on

B．making up for

C．fixing up

D．letting go of

9.

A．required

B．suspected

C．ignored

D．supported

10.

A．spotting

B．clearing

C．challenging

D．crossing

11.

A．yet

B．once

C．still

D．even

12.

A．experiencing

B．stressing

C．monitoring

D．judging

13.

A．informal

B．unfair

C．external

D．proper

14.

A．abandon

B．attach

C．treasure

D．permit

15.

A．roughly

B．slightly

C．merely

D．nearly

3 . Do you like Chinese traditional painting and dance? They are two important parts of the traditional Chinese art. But what about when they meet each other?

This year, a dance drama titled Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting (《只此青绿》) was staged on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala and became popular.

According to CCTV, this poetic dance program was inspired by the 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains (《千里江山图》), created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at about 18. The painting is amazing in its sweeping size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported by CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: mountains and groupings of infinite (无限的) rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling (涟漪的) water.

When the dancers moved elegantly, audiences seemed to be looking at the moving mountains and rivers. “It brings me a pure experience of beauty. It is not only a drama but also an exhibition. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review. “More than a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still impress people as they did long ago.” Some people even decided to watch the dance again when it was staged in the theaters later. In fact, in recent years, more and more modern shows have featured Chinese traditional culture and received warm welcome. As for the reason, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.

“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mind. They accept Chinese culture and are proud of it,” Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.

1. What’s the writing purpose of paragraph 1?

A．To raise a question.	B．To introduce the topic.
C．To describe the art world.	D．To show a doubtful thought.

2. What pushed the poetic dance?

A．CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala.	B．A Chinese blue-green landscape.
C．Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng.	D．An old Chinese traditional painting.

3. Why did this poetic dance enjoy welcome?

A．Traditional culture is accepted and loved by people.

B．Green mountains and rivers greatly impress people.

C．The poetic dance can be staged in the theaters later.

D．Increasing modern shows feature Chinese traditional culture.

4. What’s the main idea of the whole text?

A．It explains why Chinese art enjoys popularity.

B．It shows us art can come to life through dance.

C．It highlights the beauty of Chinese traditional art.

D．It tells us the love for Chinese traditional painting.

4 . Carbon dioxide emissions from transportation are now thought as the top source of green-house gases. One of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to reconsider how much, and how often, you travel.

Going car free for a year could save about 2. 6 tons of carbon dioxide, according to a study from the University of British Columbia. How can you stop using a car? Try taking a train, bus or better yet, riding a bike.

But let’s be realistic. You will likely need to use a car this year. So, when you do, here are some tips to make your trip more climate-friendly. Driving efficiently can help to reduce emissions. Go easy on the gas and brakes and drive like you have an egg under your foot. Regularly service your car to keep it more efficient. Keeping your tires pumped correctly can re-duce emissions. Low tire pressure will hurt your fuel economy. Air conditioning and frequent city driving can make emissions go up. So cut down on these as often as possible. Use cruise control (定速巡航) on long drives-in most cases, this can help to save gas. Don’t weigh your car down with extra things that you don’t need on your trip.

Fly often? Taking one fewer long round-trip flight could reduce your personal carbon footprint significantly. If you use public transportation often and fly less, your carbon foot-print might still be relatively sustainable, but if you drive and fly a lot, your emissions will be sigher. If you can’t avoid flying, you can offset them by donating money to sustainable proacts, such as supplying efficient stoves to rural homes, or projects which help farmers deal with crop waste environmentally.

1. What does the author think of going car free?

A．Efficient.

B．Costly.

C．Impractical.

D．Reliable.

2. Which can be adopted to save fuel of your car?

A．Maintaining your car properly.	B．Using cruise control in the city.
C．Stepping hard on the gas and brakes.	D．Geiting rid of all the necessary loads.

3. What does the underlined word “offset” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Make up for.

B．Team up with.

C．Set foot in.

D．Put up with.

4. Which is the best title for the text?

A．How to save fuel when driving cars	B．How to reduce your carbon footprint
C．Reduce carbon footprint by all means	D．Lower carbon footprint in transportation

5 . In the late 1990s, a family visited the public elementary school where I taught deaf students. They said they would be moving to the district and planned to enroll (报名) their deaf daughter as a first grader. They were upset that their child’s kindergarten teacher Jane cautioned them not to have high hopes for her academically. Based upon assessment results, the teacher painted a discouraging picture for their little girl’s future. Standing behind them was Fiona, a beautiful five-year -old with long shiny brown hair and dark flashing eyes. The whole time her parents were there she didn’t make a sound or use sign language, even when her parents encouraged her.

After a few weeks with Fiona, I discovered I was dealing with a very bright, very strong-willed child. Although I was able to engage her in a variety of learning activities, writing was a continual struggle. I tried all kinds of ways to interest her in writing. Every time the pencils came out, she would shut down and refuse to participate.

One day Fiona got off her bus and stood in front of the school, weeping. The staff members present did not know enough sign language to ask her why she was crying. Finally they took her into the office where they handed her a pen and notepad. Fiona wrote: “PACBAK”. Immediately the office staff realized she left her backpack on the bus. They asked the bus to come back to school and soon Fiona was reunited with her backpack.

That day Fiona discovered the power of the pen. From then on, she had a new appreciation for writing. She is a young woman now and has become an excellent writer, public speaker and student leader. During her senior year in high school, Fiona became the Douglas County Rodeo Queen and the following year she enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado, determined to become a teacher. In the summer of 2008, I traveled to the National Association of the Deaf Conference in New Orleans and watched her perform competitively as Miss Deaf Colorado. Fiona keeps in touch and I especially treasure her e-mails with term papers attached. This young lady has a very powerful pen!

1. What made Fiona’s parents upset?

A．Fiona’s being unable to hear anything at birth.

B．Fiona’s being refused by the elementary school.

C．Fiona failure to use the sign language properly.

D．Fiona’s possible unpromising future in Jane’s mind.

2. What was a constant challenge to the author when educating Fiona?

A．Fiona’s lack of determination in learning.

B．Fiona’s extreme unwillingness to write.

C．Fiona’s bad relationship with the teacher.

D．Fiona’s incompetence in handling pencils.

3. What can we learn about Fiona?

A．She treasured the e-mails from her teacher very much.

B．She travelled to New Orleans to give thanks to her teacher.

C．She succeeded as a result of her affection for writing.

D．She decided to be a writer at the University of Northern Colorado.

4. Which can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Power of the Pen	B．Ambition of a Deaf Girl
C．Appreciation of the Pen	D．Spelling of a Backpack

7 . Anyone watching the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has seen lots of snow-man-made snow. Since the area gets little natural snow, this is the first time the Winter Olympics is taking place on almost 100% artificial(人造的)snow.

2022 Winter Olympics was held in Beijing, China, and in two areas northwest of Beijing, Yangqing and Zhangjiakou. The areas get cold in the winter, but they don’t get a lot of snow.

That’s because they’re not far from the Gobi Desert, and are generally very dry. That meant some serious changes were needed to hold the Winter Olympics there. China took water from a reservoir(水库)which helps supply Beijing’s drinking water. To carry the water to the mountains for making snow, the country ran miles and miles of pipes.

An Italian company called TechnoAlpin created the snow. TechnoAlpin created artificial snow at several earlier Winter Olympics. For the snow in 2022 Winter Olympics, TechnoAlpin laid over 40 miles of pipe and brought in hundreds of snow-making machines. Even with all of those machines, making the snow for 2022 Winter Games took seven weeks.

Still, the machines that make artificial snow are quite advanced and they can make several different kinds of snow depending on what’s needed for each sport. For example, the snow they make for downhill skiing is different from the snow made for cross-country skiing.

In recent years, it has become more and more common to use artificial snow at winter sports events. Some artificial snow was used in the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014 because of warm weather. In the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, roughly 90% of the snow was man-made.

As the world warms because of climate change, problems like this are expected to become far more common. Michael Mayr, who leads TechnoAlpin in Asia, says, “You could not have winter sports now without man-made snow.”

1. Why do the areas like Beijing fail to get much snow?”

A．They are far from the desert.	B．A reservoir was built there.
C．It’s usually too dry in winter.	D．Mountains surround the areas.

2. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Materials used for snow making.	B．Efforts to create artificial snow.
C．An Italian machine producer.	D．The cost of laying pipes.

3. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Games.

B．Machines.

C．Athletes.

D．Workers.

4. What can we infer from Michael Mayr’s words?

A．Artificial snow plays a key role in winter sports.

B．Climate change is getting worse due to artificial snow.

C．It’s far more difficult to fight against global warming.

D．Man-made snow makes winter sports more popular.

9 . A little boy told his mother that there was a teacher-parent meeting in his school. To the little boy’s_________, she said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teacher met his mother and he felt _________of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar (伤疤) that_________nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to_________why or how she got the scar.

At the meeting, the people were _________by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother_________the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed (尴尬的) and_________himself from everyone. He, however,_________ a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

The teacher asked_________, “How did you get the scar on your face?”

The mother replied, “When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of__________, so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked __________but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She __________the burned side of her face. “This scar will be permanent, but until this day, I have never__________what I did.”

At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and appreciated her great __________of sacrifice (牺牲), He held her hand __________ for the rest of the day.

1.

A．enjoyment

B．disappointment

C．surprise

D．sorrow

2.

A．sick

B．ashamed

C．afraid

D．tired

3.

A．included

B．passed

C．covered

D．shaded

4.

A．talk about

B．think about

C．care about

D．bring about

5.

A．impressed

B．shocked

C．excited

D．comforted

6.

A．in honor of

B．in spite of

C．instead of

D．because of

7.

A．hid

B．protected

C．separated

D．escaped

8.

A．understood

B．reminded

C．heard

D．learned

9.

A．carefully

B．angrily

C．nervously

D．anxiously

10.

A．control

B．order

C．danger

D．focus

11.

A．helpless

B．hopeless

C．senseless

D．useless

12.

A．hated

B．showed

C．wiped

D．touched

13.

A．forgotten

B．recognized

C．considered

D．regretted

14.

A．honour

B．spirit

C．happiness

D．pride

15.

A．quietly

B．slightly

C．tightly

D．suddenly