1 . The concept of planning entire communities before their construction is an ancient one. In fact, one of the earliest such cities on record is Miletus, Greece, which was built in the 4th century BC. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance various planned communities (both theoretical and actual) were conceived (构思). Leonardo da Vinci designed several cities that were never constructed. Following the Great Fire of London in 1666, the architect Christopher Wren created a new master plan for the city, combining park land and urban space. Several 18th century cities, including Washington D.C., New York City, and St Petersburg, Russia, were built according to comprehensive planning.

One of the most important planned city concepts, the Garden City Movement, arose in the latter part of the 19th century as a reaction to the pollution and crowding of the Industrial Revolution. In 1898, Ebenezer Howard published the book To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path for Real Reform in which he laid out his ideas concerning the creation of new economically sustainable towns. Howard believed that these towns should be limited in size and density, and surrounded with a belt of undeveloped land. The idea gained enough attention and financial backing to lead to the creation of Letchworth, in Hertfordshire, England. This was the first such 'Garden City'. After the First World War, the second town built following Howard's ideas, Welwvn Garden City, was constructed.

In the early 1920s, American architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright, inspired by Howard's ideas and the success of Letchworth and Welwyn, created the city of Radbum, New Jersey. Conceived as a community which would be safe for children, Radbum was intentionally designed so that the residents would not require automobiles. Several urban planning designs were pioneered at Radbum that would influence later planned communities, including the separation of pedestrians and vehicles, and the use of 'superblocks', each of which shared 23 acres of commonly held parkland.

In America, following the stock market crash of 1929, there was great demand for both affordable housing and employment for workers who had lost their jobs. In direct response to this, in 1935 President Roosevelt created the Resettlement Administration, which brought about a total of three greenbelt towns: Greenbelt, Maryland; Greenhills, Ohio; and Greendale, Wisconsin. These towns contained many of the elements of the Garden City Movement developments, including the use of superblocks and a 'green belt' of undeveloped land surrounding the community.

1. The first paragraph talks mainly about ________.

A．famous urban planners	B．the history of urban planning
C．the future examples of urban planning	D．problem associated with urban planning

2. What can be learned about the Garden City Movement from the second paragraph?

A．It came just before the Industrial Revolution.

B．It was held back by a war and a lack of funds.

C．It resulted in cities that were larger than they had been before.

D．It was designed to address problems caused by modernization.

3. What was one aim in designing the city of Radbum?

A．To reduce the danger for families living in the area.

B．To create something totally different from cities elsewhere.

C．To make sure people could park their cars close to their home.

D．To increase green spaces by designing houses with gardens.

4. What do the towns of Greenbelt, Greenhills and Greendale all have in common?

A．Their residents were affected by the stock market collapse.

B．They were built for the wealthiest people in America.

C．They were each surrounded by natural parkland.

D．They were all constructed in the same year.

2 . Early last summer, I bought some yam（山药）roots for food but days later, a tuber （块茎）left was sprouting（发芽）. Thinking it was a waste of money to throw it away, I _____ the tuber into a flower pot hoping that it might take root and ______ something that could be put on the dinner table.

In the following months, I ____ the tuber regularly. Thankfully, the _____ yam grew well. Soon it was autumn, and I decided to ______ .

I pulled out the leaves of the yam and began to dig with my fingers carefully for I knew the yam could ______easily. Suddenly my fingers __ the yam root. When almost no __ was left, I tried to pull the root but failed.

In ______   , I turned the pot over. Half of the yam root had grown through one of the three holes ______

The whole tuber, _____ two parts, one in and one out of the pot, was in the _____ of a handwritten L. Unlike ordinary yam roots, the part outside the pot was not round—it was _____ , looking like a hand of an old farmer who works hard to make a ______ . The very end of the part outside the pot was _____ . Obviously, the skin must have been rubbed off during its __ with the heavy pot. The very tip of the unusual part seemed to be bleeding.

The sight filled me with ______ . Then and there my opinion of the plant _____ . I came to understand that the tuber, though ______ wounded, had struggled hard. Such was a yam, an ordinary-looking plant with ________characteristics.

1.

A．cooked

B．ruined

C．buried

D．cut

2.

A．remove

B．produce

C．replace

D．protect

3.

A．bought

B．threw

C．watered

D．ate

4.

A．abandoned

B．forgotten

C．injured

D．potted

5.

A．perform

B．attempt

C．harvest

D．withdraw

6.

A．stand

B．grow

C．fall

D．break

7.

A．touched

B．pulled

C．crashed

D．killed

8.

A．earth

B．root

C．air

D．plant

9.

A．excitement

B．shame

C．puzzlement

D．terror

10.

A．in the sky

B．on the top

C．in the bottom

D．under the ground

11.

A．picking out

B．consisting of

C．giving away

D．taking down

12.

A．color

B．form

C．voice

D．size

13.

A．flat

B．long

C．rough

D．weak

14.

A．choice

B．contribution

C．wish

D．living

15.

A．skinless

B．endless

C．useless

D．stainless

16.

A．negotiation

B．struggle

C．cooperation

D．relationship

17.

A．victory

B．regret

C．envy

D．respect

18.

A．strengthened

B．changed

C．disappeared

D．remained

19.

A．barely

B．temporarily

C．purposefully

D．seriously

20.

A．tough

B．steady

C．common

D．gentle

3 . When my son, Noah, was younger, going out with him in public was difficult. He had been suffering from autism (自闭症), needing extra ________. Though he had been longing to get a picture with Donald Duck (唐老鸭), just waiting in line in Disneyland was ________.

On a Sunday afternoon, my phone ________. A voice said, “If you’re going to be home this evening, I’d like to ________, dressed up as Donald Duck.” It was Denny, who had spent years helping special-needs children, never ________ by their strange behaviors.

I made preparations for ________ Donald Duck. But I still had ________: Would Noah even notice? Would he be frightened? Yet, Denny ________ that it would be arranged well.

A few minutes before dinner, Donald Duck knocked ________ on the living-room window. Noah was expressionless. My husband ________ the door, and Donald Duck stepped inside. His big mouth and bright blue suit attracted Noah. He       ________ himself with a funny voice and Noah smiled. Later Noah hugged Donald Duck ________ and I took many sweet pictures.

Denny was at our home for only a few minutes, but the time was ________. As he left, tears rolled down my face. He had ________ met us once before, but without my saying a word, he knew how much my kid would ________ meeting Donald Duck in our own home. Even now, it remains our most treasured memory.

1.

A．honor

B．attention

C．advice

D．behavior

2.

A．interesting

B．acceptable

C．impossible

D．important

3.

A．stopped

B．disappeared

C．broke

D．rang

4.

A．call back

B．turn around

C．drop by

D．sign up

5.

A．annoyed

B．touched

C．impressed

D．encouraged

6.

A．visiting

B．contacting

C．questioning

D．welcoming

7.

A．worries

B．methods

C．demands

D．proposals

8.

A．begged

B．comforted

C．realized

D．warned

9.

A．angrily

B．hurriedly

C．gently

D．heavily

10.

A．beat

B．answered

C．kicked

D．locked

11.

A．introduced

B．seated

C．enjoyed

D．praised

12.

A．with fear

B．in disbelief

C．in amazement

D．with joy

13.

A．magical

B．fruitless

C．creative

D．awkward

14.

A．frequently

B．gradually

C．simply

D．hardly

15.

A．understand

B．appreciate

C．regret

D．dislike

4 . In March 2020, as the snowstorm held steady, David Hockney released a painting of bright yellow daffodils (黄水仙) titled “Do Remember They Can’t Cancel the Spring”. In the midst of such depression, it offered a burst of optimism, reminding us that nature, with rebirth and renewal, could still offer hope.

Hockney has long appreciated the natural world. “We can only refresh ourselves by looking at nature,” he has said. A mere 20 minutes in a natural environment has been proven to lower stress levels. Even looking at paintings of nature can produce the same effect, so it is no surprise that visitors have been crowding into Hockney-Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature at The Museum of Fine Arts. “The freeze brought everything to a pause and people’s faces just light up when they walk into the museum,” says Ann Dumas, planner of the Houston show.

The exhibition explores the two artists’ response to nature as well as Van Gogh’s obvious influence on Hockney. The response to nature for both artists was influenced by a switch of scene. When Van Gogh moved to France, he made the colour breakthroughs that led to the vividly coloured landscapes. Similarly, Hockney’s return to Yorkshire gave him a renewed appreciation for the local landscapes that he has depicted (刻画) in his own unique colors.

Hockney has said: “I’ve always found the world quite beautiful. And there’s an important thing I share with Vincent Van Gogh: we both really, really enjoy looking at the world.” Perhaps unsurprisingly their themes frequently overlaps (交叠), “We have a beautiful painting by Van Gogh of some tree trunks: he seems to be lying on the ground and in front of him is a great carpet of wildflowers,” says Dumas. Hockney explored the same theme in his The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire, 2011, in which “all the wildflowers are really lively”. says Dumas. The painting, with its thick greens and branches tipped with leaves, is one of the highlights of the show. “People are spellbound.” says Dumas, “They see it very much as about hope.”

1. What effect would “Do Remember They Can’t Cancel the Spring” have on viewers?

A．Thrilling.

B．Disturbing.

C．Shocking.

D．Inspiring.

2. Why have visitors been pouring into Hockney-Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature?

A．Because paintings of nature help to reduce pressure.

B．Because Van Gogh’s masterpieces are on show.

C．Because the freeze outside is unbearable.

D．Because visitors tend to follow the crowd.

3. What similar experience do Hockey and Van Gogh have?

A．They were deeply influenced by others.

B．They were good at painting tree trunks.

C．They found the world quite beautiful.

D．They reacted actively to nature with the change of scene.

4. What is NOT mentioned in the last paragraph?

A．Dumas thinks highly of Hockey.	B．Van Gogh is famous for the Starry Night.
C．Hockey’s work brings hope to people.	D．Both of the artists enjoy observing the world.

5 . When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighbourhood. I was too little to _________ it, but used to listen with _________ when my mother talked to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful _________ lived an amazing person. Her name was “Information Please”. There was nothing she did not _________. For example, she could _________ anybody’s number and the correct time and date.

My first _________ experience with it came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbour. I was careless and I hurt myself. The _________ was terrible, but there didn’t seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one at home to give _________. I walked around the house, finally arriving at the telephone!

Quickly, I ran for the footstool (脚凳) and _________ it to the landing. Climbing up, I __________ the receiver to my ear. “Information Please,” I said. A small but __________ voice spoke into my ear. “Information.” She said.

“I hurt my finger and nobody’s home but me.” Tears __________ in my eyes now that I had a(n) __________. “Can you open your icebox?” she asked. I said I could. “Then cut off a little piece of ice and __________ it to your finger.”

Her tip __________ so well. After that, I called “Information Please” for everything. When Petey, our pet canary (金丝雀), died in its cage, I called “Information Please” and told her what I saw. She must have __________ my deep sadness, for she said __________, “Paul, always remember that there is a better place for Petey to sing in.” __________, I felt better.

Then I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really __________ me. I appreciated now how patient, __________, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

1.

A．fix

B．attack

C．reach

D．approach

2.

A．anger

B．attention

C．caution

D．gratitude

3.

A．hotel

B．company

C．engine

D．device

4.

A．know

B．expect

C．imagine

D．create

5.

A．gather

B．supply

C．make

D．dial

6.

A．regular

B．rich

C．normal

D．personal

7.

A．pain

B．function

C．stage

D．effect

8.

A．evidence

B．approval

C．wisdom

D．sympathy

9.

A．fastened

B．turned

C．dragged

D．searched

10.

A．dropped

B．held

C．connected

D．moved

11.

A．weak

B．sharp

C．clear

D．loud

12.

A．rolled down

B．welled up

C．dried up

D．brought out

13.

A．audience

B．partner

C．operator

D．friend

14.

A．treat

B．stick

C．squeeze

D．apply

15.

A．counted

B．produced

C．worked

D．behaved

16.

A．sensed

B．described

C．explored

D．suspected

17.

A．effortlessly

B．urgently

C．anxiously

D．quietly

18.

A．Somehow

B．Meanwhile

C．However

D．Otherwise

19.

A．influenced

B．impressed

C．left

D．guided

20.

A．ambitious

B．understanding

C．brave

D．generous

6 . Are you annoyed with the sound of the alarm clock when you are too tired and sleepy to get up? The good news is that you can get up refreshed after a happy battle with the following creative alarm clocks!

Banclock (Price: $85 each, 20% off for more)

Have you been keeping a pocketful of change for some time without knowing what to do with it? Maybe you can deposit those coins in your alarm. This cube is both an alarm clock and a money-box. It only stops ringing if you put a coin in it.

Dmbbell Alarm Clock (Price: $25 each)

You have to shake the 5-kilogram alarm clock up and down 30 times to stop it. Of course you will be totally refreshed then. Don’t be lazy and build up your body in the morning!

Glo Pillow Alarm Clock (Price: $60 each)

This alarm is special because it is a pillow and it doesn’t ring loud. The pillow gradually glows (发光) from inside 40 minutes before the pre-set alarm time. It resembles the effect of sunlight. That’s a more pleasant way to get out of bed.

IQ Alarm Clock (Price: $100 each, 30% off for more)

What about a brain workout in the morning? IQ alarm will go off and ask you a set of IQ questions. Don’t even think about removing the battery, because it has a hard-to-open battery compartment (电池盒). The only way to shut it off is to answer all questions correctly.

1. Which alarm clock best suits people who like doing sports?

A．Banclock.	B．Dmbbell Alarm Clock.
C．Glo Pillow Alarm Clock.	D．IQ Alarm Clock.

2. What makes a Glo Pillow Alarm Clock special?

A．High technology applied.	B．Excellent after-sale service.
C．Low price and high quality.	D．The gentle way to awaken people.

3. How much should you pay for two IQ Alarm Clocks?

A．$60.

B．$100.

C．$140.

D．$200

7 . China has announced that couples will be permitted to have up to three children in a major policy shift from the existing two-child limit, after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world's most populated country.

"To actively respond to the ageing of the population…a couple can have three children," state media Xinhua reported on Monday, citing a committee meeting hosted by President Xi Jinping

Early this May, China reported the slowest population growth since the early 1960s, despite scrapping its one-child policy in 2015 to encourage more births and avoid a potential population crisis.

A once-a-decade survey showed that the overall population of China grew to 1,41178 billion in the 10 years to 2020, up by 5. 38%. The increase reflects an average annual rise of 0.53%, down from 0.57% reported from 2000 to 2010.

The announcement drew a chilly response on Chinese social media, where many people said they could not afford to have even one or two children. "I am willing to have three children if you give me 5 million yuan (£554,350)," one user posted on Weibo. As a matter of fact, experiment of the three-child policy in Heilongjiang province in the last few years also resulted less effectively than expected.

It is not only China that is facing such a population challenge. Across east Asia, authorities have, for years, been struggling to persuade couples to have more babies. South Korea and Japan both have used allowance to encourage.

The policy change will come with "supportive measures, which will be beneficial to improving our country's population structure, fulfilling the country's strategy of actively coping with an ageing population and maintaining the advantage of human resources", Xinhua said. It did not specify the support measures.

1. Why did China announce the three-child limit this May?

A．To completely stop the population from ageing.	B．To show concern over the ageing population.
C．To increase the birth rate of the country.	D．To remove the two-child limit.

2. What's the meaning of the underlined word scrapping in para 3?

A．Issuing.

B．Changing.

C．Adopting.

D．Canceling

3. What can we infer from para 4 to para 6?

A．China has a smaller population in 2020 than in 2010.

B．Many couples can't afford to raise two or more children.

C．Hei Longjiang has the smallest population among the provinces.

D．Korea and Japan have managed to cope with ageing population.

4. Where is this text most probably from?

A．A book review.

B．An online newspaper

C．A travel brochure.

D．A biology textbook.

8 . Have you ever walked into a room and completely forgotten why you came into it in the first place? I couldn’t agree more when I read an article from Live Science that stated, “There are several types of memories, and the brain has a unique way of forgetting each kind.” Memory does some funny things. While forgetting is a normal and vital part of our brain function, we have to admit that memory can be a mysterious and naughty joker. One of the most common mysteries is a short-term memory failure where people find themselves entering a room with no memory of why they did so.

Everyone has experienced this at least once in their lives. We call it a “senior moment”, but researchers say it’s actually okay to put the blame on our doorways and not on our ageing brains. The act of walking through a doorway sends a signal to our brains that a new scene has started and that previous memories should be put away. This is what causes our memory failure and confusion. The thoughts we had before we entered that new scene have actually been sectionalized (分区). In an interview with Live Science Gabriel Radvansky, a psychologist at the University of Norte Dame said, “Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an ‘event boundary’ in the mind.”

I find this amazing, as I watch it happen to people all around me every day. I guess I should stop telling them they’re getting old and actually explain the cause. For me it’s not doorways that cause a problem. It’s flights of stairs. Every so often I find myself going up the stairs and forgetting why I did so just as soon as I’ve reached the landing. What’s up with that? Now if I can only find out what that means, I’d be truly fascinated.

1. What contributes to our “senior moment” according to the researchers?

A．Ageing brains.

B．Doorways.

C．Different moments.

D．The same scenes.

2. Which of the following is Radvansky likely to agree with?

A．Walking through a doorway makes us nervous in the mind.

B．Sectionalized thoughts disappear when we enter a new scene.

C．Too many events in life are harmful to our brain memory.

D．Exiting through doorways causes short memory failures.

3. What may confuse the author?

A．Whether he should explain the cause to others.

B．How much he was fascinated by science.

C．How many people suffer from doorway problems.

D．Why going up the stairs makes him forgetful.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Short memory failures do have scientific reasons.

B．Our brain has several types of memories.

C．Everyone has a unique way of forgetting things.

D．Psychology theories can help us improve memories.

9 . Jerry was born on October 14, 1966. Shortly after birth, he was discovered to have a heart defect (缺陷) and quickly had an operation to save his life. Although he always thought his childhood to be “normal”, there were quite a few things that made him a little different. He couldn’t do heavy farm work like his brothers and his classmates called him “grape juice” because his lips would turn purple in gym class.

After another operation, Jerry went on to live a very full life. He studied in a technical school and met his love after graduation. They married in 1989, and in 1993, the first light of Jerry’s life was born.

Growing up with Jerry as my dad was the greatest blessing of my life. He was always full of life and light, making anyone around smile. He never wanted to draw attention to his medical condition. Even many of his close friends and co-workers were unaware of his heart problem. To all of us he was just a normal guy — that was just the way he wanted it.

I didn’t know or understand my father was sick until he was placed a pacemaker (心脏起搏器). Despite several times of unconsciousness, and 19 days’ stay in ICU, he managed to celebrate Christmas with us and even work as usual. With his wide laugh, I soon adjusted to a “new normal” father. The progress and life, as we now know, came to a grinding halt one night after he came down with a cold.

He was picked up by a helicopter. The nurse said my dad was in good spirits throughout the trip, cracking jokes and making her laugh. When he was unloaded, his eyes rolled back and was unresponsive. The man who loved his life and family was gone.

My dad taught me many lessons. But probably the most important one was in his death. I know as I celebrate his incredible life, he will be looking down on me with smile.

1. What’s paragraph 1 mainly about?

A．Jerry’s family and friends.	B．Jerry’s first operation.
C．Jerry’s birth and childhood.	D．Jerry’s love for life.

2. What is “the first light” of Jerry’s life?

A．His graduation.	B．His marriage.
C．His brother.	D．His child.

3. What does the underlined phrase “a grinding halt” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．A sudden stop.	B．A turning point.
C．A bright stage.	D．A quick recovery.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Smile at Death	B．Silent Love from Father
C．Grow up Against Heart Defect	D．A “Normal” Father with a Big Heart

10 . Five years ago, French navy officer Jérôme Chardon was listening to a radio program about the journey of the bar-tailed godwit, a bird that migrates 14,000 kilometers between New Zealand and Alaska. Chardon understood how treacherous the journey would be, as heavy storms frequently hit Pacific island communities. Yet, somehow, bar-tailed godwits routinely pass through the area uninjured. Chardon wondered whether learning how birds traveled could help coastal communities avoid natural disasters.

This past January, a team from France’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) began experiments designed to test Chardon’s idea. Researchers with a project led by Frédéric Jiguet from NMNH equipped 56 birds of five species with cutting edge animal tracking technology. The team members were ferried to remote islands in French Polynesia, where they attached tags (标签) using tracking technology. These tags sent the birds’ locations to the International Space Station, which bounced the data back to scientists on Earth who could then follow the birds—waiting to see how the birds responded to natural disasters.

The project is focusing on birds’ ability to hear infrasound, the low-frequency sound humans cannot hear but that the researchers believe is the most likely signal birds would use to sense storms and tsunamis (海啸). In a 2014 study, scientists tracking a kind of golden-winged birds in the central and southeastern America found that the birds flew up to 1,500 kilometers to escape from an outbreak of tornadoes (龙卷风) that killed 35 people. The birds fled at least 24 hours before any extreme weather hit, leaving the scientists to believe that they had heard the storm system from more than 400 kilometers away.

The team plans on tagging hundreds more birds across the Pacific to prepare for a potential tsunami. “I think if there’s one wave that spreads across islands, we can get data from different species at different locations,” says Jiguet. “That will say it s worth continuing to tag and to develop local systems to better analyze this. There are chances that we will develop a bird-based tsunami early warning system.”

1. Which of the following best explains the word “treacherous” underlined in paragraph 1?

A．Strange.	B．Boring.
C．Frequent.	D．Dangerous.

2. What is the function of the tags?

A．Tracking natural disasters.	B．Distinguishing bird species.
C．Guiding researchers to islands.	D．Reporting the birds’ locations.

3. Why is the 2014 study mentioned in paragraph 3?

A．To prove an assumption.	B．To clarify a concept.
C．To present a new topic.	D．To make comparisons.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．How Can Birds Avoid Natural Disasters?

B．Can Birds Warn Us of Natural Disasters?

C．How Does a Warning System Function?

D．Can Birds Play a Role in Human Research?