1 . Four stories to inspire you
Flipkart: Flipkart is a well-known e-commerce service provider that delivers the ordered product right from the shop to your doorstep. At first, Flipkart was a book market, but as it kept growing, it now sells almost everything. Its name currently comes in the top 5 global billion-dollar startups (初创公司) with a net cost of $11 billion according to the reports by The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones VentureSource.
RedBus: RedBus was launched in 2016, and in just five years, the company has grown rapidly. The company works to improve the booking of road transport and hotels via the online platform (平台). Its success is a result of an idea that three businessmen, Charan, Phanindra and Sudhakar came up with when Phanindra couldn’t go back home for a festival without a bus ticket.
Zomato: The company was launched in 2008, and in just 13 years, it has become one of the most known and globally liked food delivery and restaurant rating platforms. It currently covers 331, 200 restaurants in 19 countries. Many don’t know it was originally started as Foodiebay.com. The idea was so good that it was well received within two years of its launch in India and went on to obtain global recognition in another two years.
HestaBit: The company was a tech startup back in 2012 but it has now become one of the leading website development firms. The three founders, Dipanshu Upadhyay, Harshvardhan Lakhera and Prashant Gautam, started the company back in their college days with a little uncertainty and some big dreams. However, since they moved ahead in time, they not only expanded their business across the USA, the UK and India, but gained recognition from famous organizations like Bill.
1. Which startup was inspired by an unpleasant incident?| A．Flipkart. | B．RedBus. |
| C．Zomato. | D．HestaBit. |
| A．In 2008. | B．In 2010. |
| C．In 2012. | D．In 2021. |
| A．It was set up in India in 2012. |
| B．It was founded to help college students at first. |
| C．It started with a dream in some young minds. |
| D．Its founders were classmates at university. |
1. What are the speakers mainly talking about?
| A．A cafe shop. | B．A new supermarket. | C．A toy department. |
| A．All of the food there can be tasted. |
| B．The price there is reasonable. |
| C．It has so many interesting products. |
| A．Next to the “Foods of the World” section. |
| B．On the first floor. |
| C．Behind the toy department. |
The European Union is
The idea of the European Union
In 2004, the European Union increased to 25 members. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, plus the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and Malta all became members. The
4 . If knowledge is power, then books are fuel and libraries are power stations! Here are four amazing libraries that can get you positively charged.
New York Public Library—New York
Opened in 1911, New York Public Library was the largest marble building in the world. Over the years the library has a collection of 53 million items, including rare first edition books, 300 million pages of historical newspapers and around 40 ,000 restaurant menus dating back to 1850!
Chetham's Library— Manchester
Founded in 1653, Chetham's Library is a free public library with the longest history in the UK. The building itself is even older —built in 1421, it's one of the most well—protected medieval buildings in England!
With 100 ,000 + books lining the shelves, the special atmosphere of the library attracts students and scholars alike to attend guided tours offered throughout the year.
The Library of Congress Washington, D. C.
Located on Capitol Hill, the Library of Congress is considered the national library of the US and the second largest library in the world. The library has around 168 million items, adding 10 ,000 to this number every day.
Need to catch up on the news? The Library of Congress, which was founded in 1800, holds the world’s largest newspaper collection, with some dating back as far as 1659!
The British Library—London
The British Library was founded in 1973. With around 170 million items spread across 750 km of shelving, it's the largest library in the world. And this number is continually growing and 8 km of shelving has to be added every year! This is partly because the British Library must receive a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland, by law.
1. Where can you visit the oldest library?| A．In New York. | B．In London. |
| C．In Manchester. | D．In Washington, D. C. |
| A．Its large area. |
| B．Its various functions. |
| C．Its building materials. |
| D．Its newspaper collection. |
| A．The legal rule. | B．The public's help. |
| C．The printing skills. | D．The librarians' efforts. |
5 . Four Interesting Science Museums
Polytechnic Museum, Russia
For many guests of the capital, some of the most vivid childhood memories are associated with this museum. A variety of technical fields are presented in 65 halls-Mining, Space, Energy, and Transportation, etc. And the exposition（博览会）is the only museum project in Russia about the history of the bike. The interactive division "Technoplay" is open, where you not only can but also need touch most of the exhibits with your hands. In addition to self-experimentation, for personal requests the museum's experts will show many entertaining experiments.
Eureka, England
The Eureka educational center is a huge complex where modern science and technology are becoming clear, even to kids. The main exhibition is devoted to the human body, the laws of physics and natural things. Visitors can obtain energy or create paper with their own hands. On the area of the Eureka educational park there is a botanical garden and a collection of minerals from the rock types of Finland is presented there.
Deutsches Museum, Germany
In this museum you can see more than 100 thousand different items from windmills（风车）to medical equipment. All aspects of industrial production appear before the eyes. Several museum rooms are arranged especially for children-there are exhibits that entertain kids starting from three.
NEMO, the Netherlands
The largest Dutch research centre stands ready to share its secrets with everyone. This immersion（沉浸）in the world of science and technology will not be dull. All significant information is presented in the form of exciting games. All exhibits are interactive; visitors are allowed to touch, pull and press on anything. The museum is for children from 6 to 16, as well as for their parents-it will be interesting to all.
1. What can visitors do at Polytechnic Museum?| A．Learn how the bike developed. | B．Touch all of the exhibits. |
| C．Watch entertaining movies. | D．Show entertaining experiments. |
| A．Polytechnic Museum. | B．Eureka. |
| C．Deutsches Museum. | D．NEMO. |
| A．It is specially designed for children. |
| B．It is the largest museum in the world. |
| C．It shows information of exhibits in games. |
| D．Some exhibits can be touched or pressed. |
6 . The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation[BMGF] said this week it will provide up to $100 million to support action against the 2019 novel coronavirus. It says the money will help strengthen efforts to test people for the virus, separate healthy individuals from the sick and find treatment for them.
Controlling the epidemic: The donation will help speed development of the “tools to bring this epidemic under control,”the chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation; Mark Suzman said.
Worldwide emergency:The Gates Foundation is giving money and working with other donors to help the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese medical workers and others worldwide.It noted the need for an organized international effort to fight the virus.
Increased efforts to find and treat the coronavirus:The foundation promised $20 million right away to hurry the process of identifying those who are sick, keeping them separate, and helping them get better. The goal is to stop the disease from spreading to more people and places. Money is also going to public health officials in China and other countries with coronavirus patients to help them pay the start-up cost of medical workers and supplies.
Protecting at-risk groups in Africa and South Asia:Recent epidemics, such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, have had a big effect on people living in extreme poverty. Most of those people live in African countries south of the Sahara Desert or parts of South Asia. Another $20 million is going to public health officials in these areas to improve their emergency operations and to treat confirmed cases. One partner is the African Field Epidemiology Network, a non-profit service that currently operates in more than 30 African countries.
Developing Vaccines:Of the total donation, $60 million will go to speed the process of making vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus. One organization working on developing the anti-coronavirus vaccines is the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations with Chinese public- and private-sector researchers; trying to find ways to stop the spread of the virus.
1. The money donated by the BMGF will be used in the following aspects except| A．to test people for the virus | B．to separate the healthy from the sick |
| C．to build a new hospital in China | D．to find treatment for the virus -infected |
| A．One | B．Five | C．Two | D．Countless |
| A．The money is specially donated to China’s public health department. |
| B．Another $20 million will be used to help African people suffering from starvation. |
| C．The African Field Epidemiology Network is a non- profit medical service organization only in western Africa. |
| D．Most of the donated money will be put into the developing and innovating vaccines. |
| A．a news report | B．a magazine | C．a text book | D．a poster |
7 . Four of the Oldest Buildings in the World
Knap of Howar
One of the oldest buildings in the world is the Knap of Howar, which dates back to 3700-3500 BCE.The farmhouse is one of the oldest, still-standing stone houses in Europe. It includes two stone homes linked through a hidden passage and joint walls. Archaeologists say Irish or Scottish monks could be the first builders and residents of the Knap of Howar. Although the house is still standing, these abandoned places around the world are better candidates for restoration.
Ġgantija Temples
The Megalithic Temples of Malta, or the Ġgantija Temples, date back to 3600 to 3200 BCE. The two temples on the island of Malta are UNESCO World Heritage sites. It’s one of the oldest free-standing monuments in the world. Archaeologists think the temple was used for ritual animal sacrifices.
Shunet el-Zebib
Shunet el-Zebib is partially standing, but mostly in ruins. It’s still, however, one of the oldest buildings in the world. The Egyptian temple built in 2750 BCE is of mud and brick. It has an underground tomb as well as an above-ground complex. Architecturally, it’s a nod to the Egyptian pyramids soon to come.
Tomb of Cyrus
Built in 530 BCE, the Tomb of Cyrus is one of Iran’s World Heritage Sites and one of the oldest buildings on the planet. It’s also believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world, according to Atlas Obscura. The base isolating used on the tomb protects the main structure from moving apart from the foundation.
1. What do the four buildings have in common?| A．All of them are located in Europe. |
| B．All of them are made of stone and mud. |
| C．All of them are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. |
| D．All of them were built before the birth of Christ. |
| A．Knap of Howar. | B．Ġgantija Temples. |
| C．Shunet el-Zebib. | D．Tomb of Cyrus. |
| A．Shunet el-Zebib is earthquake protected. |
| B．Tomb of Cyrus has an underground tomb. |
| C．Ġgantija Temples are built by Irish monks. |
| D．Knap of Howar may be the oldest building among the four. |
