1 . My name is Eivind Trodden, I’m 42 years old and on Svalbard in the North Pole. My background was originally software engineering, and years later I decided to go ahead and get my pilot license. This year I tried my hands at technology and got a job at Svatsat, the northernmost Satellite (卫星) Ground Station in the world. Now I work as a pilot and an operations engineer.
Originally, I moved here for the job. This was the first pilot job I got. After a while, I was attracted by the place, and right now the most important thing for me is to live here.
It is wonderful and full of differences. The polar night is balanced with the midnight sun. Here the year is much like a day. The winter is night. In the morning there is ice, snow and then spring. Then there is the endless day of summer, and finally, the town settles in with the sunset of autumn.
The summer is the most difficult. It is harder to create darkness than light. You have to have good blinds on your bedroom windows. A good trick is to create your own evening. I like to close the blinds and sit down in relative darkness with a good book or a movie before I go to bed.The dark season is the favorite of many people living here. There are fewer tourists, and people have a chance to get together and be social after the busy summer. You have to be self-controlled though, and not start lighting candles in the middle of the day. Don’t underestimate (低估) the cost of living here. You need a large number of tools to experience Svalbard to the fullest.
1. The author’s present work is probably connected with ________.
| A．training the pilots | B．software engineering |
| C．satellite controlling technology | D．researching the coldest place |
| A．The simple lifestyle. | B．His love for the place. |
| C．Better living conditions. | D．Chances to get a job. |
| A．They have spare time to relax. |
| B．There are less rules to follow. |
| C．There are no kids to disturb them. |
| D．They needn’t light candles any longer. |
| A．Busy but boring. | B．Simple but exciting. |
| C．Colorful and comfortable. | D．Great and different. |
2 . “Colour” and “color”, “favourite” and “favorite”, “honour” and “honor”… Have you ever wondered why Americans spell those words without a “u”? Is it because they are lazy? Of course not. In fact, the difference in spelling was started by Noah Webster (1758-1843). He was a teacher who reformed (改革) English to make American identity (特征) stronger. Linguists (语言学家) celebrate his birthday on October 16 every year.
After the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), Webster believed that Americans should have their own dictionary, rather than rely on British dictionaries. He dropped the British “u” in some words. And he changed “centre” into “center” for children to learn English by spelling words more like what they sounded. He used “subway” instead of British word “underground”. Some other examples are “soccer” and “football”, “fall” and “autumn”.
Webster wasn’t shy about expressing his opinions. In defining (定义) preposterous (unreasonable), he wrote: “A republican government in the hands of female is preposterous.”
Webster spent 28 years on the project before completing the 70,000-word dictionary with his American-style spelling in 1828. He also added local words.
His dictionary was widely used in schools. Linguists believed it helped a new country achieve unity (统一) and cultural independence at a time when most people cared about political freedom.
“He was the creator of our language and the creator of American identity,” said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a book about Webster. “He at last brought us together through our language.”
1. Which is NOT true about Webster’s dictionary?| A．It has local words in it. | B．It is a 70,000-word dictionary. |
| C．All the words are spelled without “u”. | D．Its words are in American-style spelling. |
| A．depend on | B．believe in | C．stand for | D．give up |
| A．It is the only dictionary that Americans still use today. |
| B．It helped to bring Americans together besides its cultural influence. |
| C．It has no influence on the development of American English. |
| D．It helped to make American English more useful than British English. |
| A．The development of the British English. |
| B．American English is better than British English. |
| C．Noah Webster added local words to the dictionary. |
| D．Noah Webster wrote an American English dictionary and reformed English. |
3 . Animals grow up in different ways. Some newborn animals are helpless, but their mothers protect them. A newborn kangaroo is very small. It is only a few centimeters (cm) long. It closes its eyes and doesn’t have hair. It stays safe in its mother’s pouch (育儿袋) for a long time. A newborn monkey cannot walk. Its mother carries it everywhere.
Other baby animals can walk soon after they’re born. They learn to run with their mothers when danger is near. A baby zebra can run, an hour after it is born.
Some baby animals are born in a place that is safe. Baby wolves are usually born in big holes with little light. Other baby animals are born in the open. A baby elephant is often born on open land.
Animals that drink their mothers’ milk are called mammals. A mother bear’s milk is rich. Baby bears have milk for a few months. This is the same as baby zebras. As baby animals grow, they need solid (固体的) food. Baby lions eat what their mother can catch!
1. According to the passage, many newborn animals need their mothers’ help because the babies can’t _________.| A．look after themselves | B．eat any food |
| C．walk by themselves | D．drink water |
| A．it is very small | B．it can’t walk | C．it closes its eyes | D．it is very weak. |
| A．mothers’ milk | B．solid food | C．smaller animals | D．water |
| A．six | B．seven | C．eight | D．nine |
4 . India, as a country with plenty of resorts (旅游胜地), is popular with different kinds of travelers. If you’re planning to visit the country, the followings are the places that may interest you.
DelhiDelhi is a perfect place for those who love history, and there are plenty of attractions here to keep tourists of all interests entertained. It’s often the first city that many tourists visit on a trip around India. There are many resorts including India Gate, the Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb.
AgraAgra is most well-known for the Taj Mahal, which draws a large number of tourists to the city. Built in the 1600s, the Taj Mahal is still standing strong today and is admired by tourists as an important part of India’s heritage (遗产).
KashmirKashmir is one of the most beautiful cities in India. With flower gardens, amazing water-falls, and snow-topped peaks, it’s a simply unforgettable place that tourists want to return to time and time again. Kashmir is especially popular with honeymooners and loved-up couples, because a lot of romantic trips are on sale in Kashmir.
GoaThough Goa is small in size, it’s one of the top resorts for young tourists and those who love taking beach vacations. The golden sands and coconut palm trees are the charm (吸引力) here, and the sunrises and sunsets are so gorgeous that you’ll never forget them.
1. What do we know about Delhi from the text?| A．It is the highest city in India. | B．It is known for the Taj Mahal. |
| C．It is the coolest city in India. | D．It is attractive to history lovers. |
| A．It is the smallest place. | B．It is the capital city of India. |
| C．It offers many tours attracting couples. | D．It drives young people crazy. |
| A．A novel. | B．A guidebook. | C．A magazine. | D．A medical journal. |
5 . Hello, everyone. It’s my honor to recommend (推荐) Educator of the Year. I’m sure everyone has a favorite teacher that they will be able to
First of all, she shows great interest in her
In addition, Ms Sullivan always shows us that she
In a word, I think Ms Sullivan should be Educator of the Year. Even if she doesn’t get the
| A．follow | B．visit | C．remember | D．understand |
| A．name | B．lecture | C．article | D．behavior |
| A．happy | B．amusing | C．brave | D．amazing |
| A．work | B．life | C．travel | D．research |
| A．speech | B．term | C．description | D．subject |
| A．calling on | B．putting on | C．depending on | D．turning on |
| A．enjoy | B．expect | C．achieve | D．imagine |
| A．cares | B．controls | C．trains | D．requires |
| A．strange | B．strict | C．fun | D．boring |
| A．change | B．believe | C．affect | D．develop |
| A．quietly | B．quickly | C．freely | D．easily |
| A．studies | B．checks | C．designs | D．tests |
| A．proud of | B．concerned about | C．connected with | D．confident in |
| A．practical | B．lively | C．lovely | D．normal |
| A．aim | B．progress | C．chance | D．honor |
6 . Across the world, people and governments are banning pesticides (杀虫剂) and planting more flowers to increase bee populations naturally. Now farmers and beekeepers have a new way to protect bee populations.
The traditional hive most commonly used in the world today was designed by humans about 150 years ago. Most people are so used to them that they mistakenly confuse them with bees’ natural habitat. By completely redesigning the beehive, a company called Beewise was able to address many of the inefficiencies of the box and significantly improve bees’ well- being and lifetime.
Using 24/7 monitoring and smart technology that significantly increases pollination capacity (授粉能力) and honey production, Beewise’s robotic beehive, the Beehome, discovers threats to a honeybee population such as pesticides and the presence of pests and immediately defends against them. Its automatic robotic system responds to threats in real time and requires no human assistance. Beehomes are thermally regulated (热调节的) and can provide protection from fires, flooding, and Asian wasps. The hive even feeds the honeybees when local food supply is not available.
In a statement, the company says, “The Beehome reduces bee deaths by 80%, resulting in increased production of at least 50%, while reducing about 90% of manual labor (体力劳动) when compared to traditional beehives.”
Beewise currently manages more than seven billion bees, which is equal to 25,000 acres of pollinated crops. Through the Beehome device, the Israeli startup says it has saved over 160 million bees over the course of the last 12 months.
Their task of saving bees recently received $80 million funding for their autonomous hive. “We are using precision robotics with the world’s most creative technologies including AI and computer vision in order to save the bees,” stated Saar Safra, CEO of Beewise. He says that with thousands of orders placed in the U.S. in just the last few months, their new funding will allow Beewise to meet the market demand through increased production.
1. What do we know about the traditional hive most commonly used today?| A．It is artificial. | B．It is bees’ natural habitat. |
| C．It can be confusing to bees. | D．It does more harm than good. |
| A．It is similar to natural beehives. | B．It can help bees to settle down. |
| C．It can monitor fires and floods. | D．It keeps bees away from threats. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Positive. | D．Conservative. |
| A．The benefits of banning pesticides. | B．A new device to save bee populations. |
| C．Potential threats bees are facing today. | D．Ways to increase bees’ pollination ability. |
7 . George jumped on an e-scooter (电动摩托车) and went to a supermarket. At the end of the ride, a message appeared on the screen: “Your ride was carbon-free.” These words showed the environment-friendly marketing of e-scooter companies. But George, then a graduate student, and his adviser, Johnson had doubts about them.
E-scooters have appeared in cities over the last two years. Sure, they don’t produce waste gases. “But you have to think about the other things that are required to have the e-scooter charged (充电) and ready for you to use,” Johnson said. So he and his students decided to work out the full environmental influence of e-scooters over their lifetimes.
The researchers bought an e-scooter and separated it into parts. They worked out the greenhouse gas emissions (排放) while people make it. They also looked at the resulting air and water pollution. Those influences were great. They found that materials and production accounted for about half of the e-scooter’s global warming influence.
Those results depend heavily on e-scooters’ long life. Bird’s first e-scooters lasted about 3—4 months, and the newer Bird Zeros are said to make it to about 10 months. However, one study found that e-scooters in Louisville, Kentucky, only survived about 29 days. If such short lifetimes are common, it would worsen the true influence of materials and production mentioned above, Johnson said.
Luckily, there are ways to reduce the environmental influence of e-scooters. They suggest that companies take steps to increase e-scooters’ lifetimes. They also suggest simplifying the collection process. Not every e-scooter needs to be picked up. About one in six e-scooters still had a full charge at the end of the day.
1. Why does the author talk about George’s riding an e-scooter?| A．To introduce the environmental benefits of e-scooters. |
| B．To describe e-scooter companies’ marketing methods. |
| C．To bring in research on e-scooters’ environmental influence. |
| D．To show the popularity of e-scooters among university students. |
| A．Disadvantages of e-scooters. | B．The development of e-scooters. |
| C．Preparations for the use of e-scooters. | D．The reason for their research on e-scooters. |
| A．Their lifetimes are too short. | B．Their charging rates are low. |
| C．They use too much electricity. | D．They need to be charged frequently. |
| A．They need to be managed better. | B．They shouldn’t be collected at night. |
| C．They need more support and attention. | D．They should be banned from production. |
8 . A Goodwill employee finds $42,000 in donated clothing and return s it to the owner.
The discovery came during a regular day on the job as Andrea Lessing, a goodwill employee, was performing her routine quality examination on closing items on the sales floor. As she pulled out two sweaters tied together from a donation box, she felt something heavy left. She first assumed the items were just books. When she pulled the sweaters apart, to her astonishment, she found lots of envelopes filled with $100 bills. The cash was in $100 bills and totalled $42, 000 dollars.
Andrea Lessing is used to discovering unique treasures in the varied collection of donated items her store receives daily. She always tries to be a good example to her daughter, so she immediately did the right thing and reported the cash finding. Luckily, the store’s manager was then able to locate and return the money to the donator who had mistakenly placed the cash in the wrong box.
Andrea, mother of a six-year-old girl, admitted it was hard for her to do with that much money. Some might have thought that it was Andrea’s lucky day, having a small fortune. However, the temptation (诱惑) to keep the cash by herself was just a passing thought. Andrea’s honest nature inspired her to do the right thing.
Without hesitation, she handed the cash over to the store’s manager so they could find the right owner. Andrea was not expecting a reward, but the owner of the money surprised her with a 1000 reward. Andrea was teary eyed and overcome with joy as her “good deed” flowed right back to her. She plans to spend part of the reward money on a memorable birthday party for her daughter.
1. What happened to Andrea Lessing?| A．She collected donated clothing as rubbish. | B．She lost some cash while working. |
| C．She found unique treasures in donated items. | D．She failed to be a good example to her daughter. |
| A．She is an honest and strong-willed mother. |
| B．She can’t resist the great temptation of money. |
| C．She has already been promoted as the manager. |
| D．She refused the reward from the owner of the cash. |
| A．Upset. | B．Thrilled. | C．Worried. | D．Proud. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. | B．Experience must be bought. |
| C．Early birds catch worms. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
9 . Eco-friendly replacement products for single-use plastic are appearing everywhere. But have you heard of edible (可食性的) straws?Now EQUO, a new eco-friendly company in Vietnam has come up with a natural edible solution to plastic or paper straws. The edible straws are completely plastic free, nontoxic, chemical free, and 100 percent biodegradable (可生物降解的) according to a company press release.
“It’s well-known that plastic straws are harmful to the environment. Most of the 500 million used every day in America end up in oceans where they pollute water and harm marine life. Currently, over eight billion straws create pollute to the world’s beaches,” said Marina Tran-Vu in the press release. “Although there are some plastic and paper straw alternatives on the market, most are environmentally harmful, but we were also unsatisfied with the quality and lasting of paper straws.”
All of the materials are locally from regions that support sustainable farming according to the company’s website and they struggle to have zero-net influence by “using the power of mother nature”. The name of the company was created by combining “ECO” — meaning environmentally friendly — with “STATUS QUO” — meaning the existent state. EQU stands for creating products that have minimal influence on the environment. The company was first shown on Kickstarter on May 18 and hit their funding goal in only 30 days.
Many counties are banning single-use plastics. The EU banned 10 single-use plastic products including straws that will take effect in 2021. Other items that will no longer be made of plastic include cutlery (餐具), and balloon sticks. These 10 items make up a large percentage of ocean waste that harms marine life.
So do your part, use biodegradable cutlery — you can carry your own edible straws, and reusable water or coffee cups. These small items can contribute to buffering plastic waste.
1. What does ECO stand for?| A．It means the original aim. | B．It means the existent state. |
| C．It means how to create products. | D．It means being nice to the environment. |
| A．Plastic straws will be forbidden. |
| B．Ocean waste can be removed completely. |
| C．Edible straws will be sold cheaply and widely. |
| D．Single-use plastic products will disappear completely. |
| A．Preventing. | B．Causing. | C．Reducing. | D．Transforming. |
| A．Plastic Straws Do Great Harm to the Environment |
| B．Single-use Plastic Straws Are to Be Prohibited Since 2021 |
| C．Everyone Can Make a Difference to Declining Plastic Waste |
| D．Scientists Have Developed Edible Straws to Replace Plastic Straws |
10 . What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump, loop and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?
This ability would allow us to witness historic wonders, change decisions and see people from the past. We could right wrongs and stop wars from starting.
The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math. This math tries to make the dream of time travel come true.
The scientist Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing. He called it “spacetime”. Einstein said that there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.
Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on the earth or in space.
The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.
Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? The most important thing is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.
1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To explain time and space are connected. |
| B．To show people’s interest in time travel. |
| C．To draw readers’ attention to time travel. |
| D．To make people believe time travel is possible. |
| A．Time travel is possible in the future. |
| B．People can’t move faster than light. |
| C．Time travel is against scientific rules. |
| D．Spacetime is not a real thing in theory. |
| A．The first science fiction story. | B．Some tools used in time travel. |
| C．Edward P. Mitchell, the pioneer. | D．Different works about time travel. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Approving. | C．Doubtful. | D．Hopeful. |
