1 . In the past, most libraries didn’t focus much on programs for kids whose age made it impossible for them to be quiet on demand. But growing knowledge about the importance of kids and teens learning through hands-on experiences has since caused a sea change in how libraries connect with young readers. Now libraries begin offering interactive programs for kids, including crafts, board games, and story times. These types of programs certainly aren’t designed to be silent.
What is paragraph 3 mainly about?| A．The past and the present of libraries. | B．The reason for the change of libraries. |
| C．The activities for young children in libraries. | D．The connection between libraries and readers. |
2 . I have watched good lives get put on hold because someone told a lie. I have seen people put in jail because of a lie. I have held the hands of a kind-hearted dying man who only wanted to know the truth about why his children were turned against him. Lies only hurt. Let’s remember that. Let’s not forget the damage that can be done, and maybe we will all get to live better lives, even though we are sharing a very difficult time. Lies are always uncovered. Always.
That may not help you right now, but it is something to hold onto.
What does “it” refer to in the last paragraph?| A．Lies will grow and spread. |
| B．Lies are not acceptable. |
| C．Lies will be exposed sooner or later. |
| D．One truth is better than a hundred lies |
3 . Science is a process that builds upon existing theories and knowledge by continuously revising them. Every aspect of scientific knowledge can be questioned, including the general rules of thinking that appear to be most certain. So why is science trustworthy if it is always changing? If tomorrow we will no longer see the world as Newton or Einstein found it to be, why should we take seriously today’s scientific description of the world?
The answer is simple: Because at any given moment of our history, this description of the world is the best we have. The fact that it can be made better can’t diminish (降低) the fact that it is a useful instrument for understanding the world.
Consider a folk healer’s herbal medicine. Can we say this treatment is “scientific”? ...
What can we learn about today’s scientific description of the world?
| A．It can be timeless. | B．It can be improved. |
| C．It is of little value. | D．It is the best at any moment. |
4 . The misery of my bike commute in Calgary, Alberta, is the river valley hill. It’s not particularly steep, but at about a mile long, I rarely climbed up without arriving with sweat. Studies have shown the prospect of arriving at work sweaty is one of the biggest
“Pedelec”, or pedal electric-assisted bikes like the one I rode, can end that worry. They look and act like traditional bicycles, but their motors make pedaling much easier when required. Sometimes called the most energy-efficient motorized mode of transportation ever built, they’re also incredibly green. The biggest barrier may be the outdated attitude that sees bikes only as a recreational athletic opportunity rather than a practical
At a time when cities across North America are struggling to combat crippling traffic and reduce climate emissions, e-bikes have the
Many of the barriers to e-bike
Few places on the continent,
Amid these legislative
| A．advantages | B．processes | C．barriers | D．complements |
| A．riders | B．builders | C．customers | D．volunteers |
| A．production | B．communication | C．facilities | D．transportation |
| A．routine | B．potential | C．temporary | D．major |
| A．make of | B．carry on | C．bring up | D．take off |
| A．adaptation | B．adoption | C．adjustment | D．justification |
| A．proved | B．alerted | C．banned | D．authorized |
| A．however | B．unless | C．meanwhile | D．anyway |
| A．originate | B．combine | C．separate | D．satisfy |
| A．factors | B．benefits | C．limits | D．damages |
| A．proper | B．critical | C．sensational | D．difficult |
| A．expensive | B．distinctive | C．sensitive | D．intensive |
| A．trouble | B．concern | C．power | D．scale |
| A．favored | B．folded | C．referred | D．gifted |
| A．appeal | B．address | C．amount | D．advocate |
5 . For children of the last twenty years born into this modern life, these technological marvels seem like elements of the periodic table: a given ingredient that is simply part of the universe. Younger generations don’t even try to imagine life without modern conveniences. They do not appreciate theunprecedented (史无前例的) technology that is in their possession; rather, they complain about the ways in which it fails to live up to ideal expectations. “My digital video recorder at home doesn’t allow me to program it from my computer at work.” “It’s taking too long for this interactive map to display on my portable GPS”.
What does the underlined statement in paragraph 6 probably mean?
| A．Space exploration provides us with new technology. |
| B．Adults learn technology while they are doing household chores. |
| C．High expectation makes up for the limitation of technology designers. |
| D．Consumers regard many technological inventions as unremarkable |
6 . “Lonely” is defined in the dictionary as “unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to”. However, in my perspective, “being alone” can also be meaningful and enjoyable. In other words, “being alone” isn’t equivalent to “loneliness”. Actually, we can literally enjoy our time when staying alone.
Think of loneliness as the “tunnel phase” of our lives. It’s a time when we don’t have a group of friends around to keep us company; when we are away from the hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of the outside world; when we get the chance to tune in to our inner monologue (独白); when we are given the time to recharge ourselves on our own so that we can focus entirely on ourselves. It is during these periods that, without being disturbed and distracted, we are able to discover the things we truly want from our lives. This process is like digging a tunnel, through which we improve ourselves, achieve our goals and get a jolt of power to prepare for the or darkness we may meet with in our future lives.
A distinguished figure skater (花滑冰运动员) once said in his interview that he often felt lonely, but the external environment would to some extent affect his mind and body, making it difficult for him to concentrate during his practice and performance, and thus he was actually willing to be alone and at times would rather be isolated from the world. This type of “loneliness” must be one of the reasons why he has been able to deliver so many elaborate and splendid performances throughout his career.
So don’t be frightened by the temporary void or unhappy feeling when you have to he alone. Instead, cherish and enjoy the sense of loneliness you get when you are completely free. Spend time with yourself.
We become more independent in loneliness. We grow stronger in loneliness. Most importantly, we find our complete selves in loneliness. When we learn to embrace the feeling of “loneliness” and enjoy the time in which there is no other, loneliness itself ceases to exist.
1. What’s the author’s opinion about “being alone”?| A．Being alone is as something shameful |
| B．Being alone means being lonely and helpless |
| C．There is no point in being alone. |
| D．We appreciate our time more when we are alone. |
| A．By providing examples. |
| B．By analyzing causes. |
| C．By making comparisons. |
| D．By listing figures. |
| A．To show athletes always feel lonely. |
| B．To demonstrate the factor of the success. |
| C．To indicate solitude (独处) is as important as practice. |
| D．To confirm the positive effect of “loneliness”. |
| A．Time spent with yourselves is more enjoyable than that with others. |
| B．People will always feel depressed when faced with being alone. |
| C．Loneliness can benefit us a lot in many aspects. |
| D．Loneliness can exist all the time, so we should change our attitude toward it. |
| A．To illustrate different opinions on staying alone. |
| B．To encourage people to learn to value and enjoy their time of loneliness. |
| C．To persuade people into staying away from others. |
| D．To offer some suggestions on how to spend time alone. |
7 . Teenagers are self-contradictory. That’s a mild and objective way of saying something that parents often express with considerably stronger language. But the-self-contradiction is scientific and personal. In adolescence, helpless and dependent children who have relied on grown-ups for just about everything become independent people who can take care of themselves and help each other. At the same time, once cheerful-and obedient children become rebellious teenage risk-takers.
A new study published in the journal Child Development, by Eveline Crone of the University of Leiden and colleagues, suggests that the positive and negative sides of teenagers go hand in hand. The study is part of a new wave of thinking about adolescence. For a long time, scientists and policy makers concentrated on the idea that teenagers were a problem that needed to be solved. The new work emphasizes that adolescence is a time of opportunity as well as risk.
The researchers studied “prosocial”(亲社会)and rebellious traits in more than 200 children and young adults, ranging from 11 to 28 years old. The participants filled out questionnaires about how often they did things that were selfless and positive, like sacrificing their own interests to help a friend, or rebellious and negative, like getting drunk or staying out late.
Other studies have shown that rebellious behavior increases as you become a teenager and then fades away as you grow older. But the new study shows that, interestingly, the same is true for prosocial behavior. Teenagers were more likely than younger children or adults to report that they did things like unselfishly help a friend.
Most significantly, there was a positive correlation between prosociality and rebelliousness. The teenagers who were more rebellious were also more likely to help others. The good and bad sides of adolescence seem to develop together. Is there some common factor that underlies these apparently contradictory developments? One idea is that teenage behavior is related to what researchers call “reward sensitivity.” Decision-making always involves balancing rewards and risks, benefits and costs. “Reward sensitivity” measures how much reward it takes to outweigh risk.
Teenagers are particularly sensitive to social rewards—winning the game, impressing a new friend, getting that boy to notice you. Reward sensitivity, like prosocial behavior and risk-taking, seems to go up in adolescence and then down again as we age. Somehow, when you hit 30, the chance that something exciting and new will happen at that party just doesn’t seem to outweigh the effort of getting up off the couch.
1. According to Paragraph 1, children growing into adolescence tend to .| A．see the world in an unreasonable way |
| B．develop opposite personality traits |
| C．have fond memories of their past |
| D．show affection for their parents |
| A．provides a new insight into adolescence |
| B．explores teenagers’ social responsibilities |
| C．examines teenagers’ emotional problems |
| D．highlights negative adolescent behavior |
| A．It results from the wish to cooperate. |
| B．It tends to peak in adolescence. |
| C．It is cultivated through education. |
| D．It is subject to family influence. |
| A．overstress their influence on others |
| B．become anxious about their future |
| C．endeavor to live a joyful life |
| D．care a lot about social recognition |
| A．Why teenagers are risk-sensitive. |
| B．How teenagers develop prosociality. |
| C．Why teenagers are self-contradictory. |
| D．How teenagers become independent. |
8 . When things don’t seem to go right, what’s your first thought? Do you just give up or do you make a promise to try a different approach? If you give up the effort simply because you’ve run into difficulty, you’re not only giving yourself a reason to call yourself a failure, you’re also depriving (剥夺) yourself of the opportunity to learn.
Nothing in life stays the same. Everything is always in a state of change. Your ability to recognize change and make peace with it, while also finding the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, will determine how effectively you can continue making progress toward your life goals.
Indeed, when you discover and accept your ability to be flexible, all things are possible. That’s because the realization that there are other ways to go about dealing with what happens in life and to find ways around seemingly impossible difficulties makes you stronger, more self-confident and satisfied. It also greatly improves your perception (感知) of your abilities.
Consider that overcoming difficulties is quite an achievement. When you combine that with the confidence you feel in being able to analyze and put together a workable approach or solution, you wind up with a positive outcome overall. This satisfying result adds to your motivation to solve the next item on your list, to go for another goal that may be a bit more challenging.
This ability to overcome difficulties doesn’t come about automatically, yet it is a talent you can foster. Indeed, it may seem like a losing plan, especially if you don’t see results right away. Instead of losing hope, keep on going.
Have you ever disappointed yourself despite your efforts when you’ve encountered challenges in adapting to changing circumstances? Suppose you haven’t been able to figure out a way around them or couldn’t determine a workable approach. Is this a terrible thing? Does it mean you’re certain to forever be at the end of the line when it comes to accomplishments? It’s not like that. What it does indicate, however, is that you may yet keep some unforgiving thoughts about your own abilities. You may, for example, not trust your instincts (本能) or you might not believe you’re capable enough of taking a calculated risk.
1. We can infer from the first paragraph that ______.| A．running into difficulty is a valid reason to stop trying |
| B．it’s a rare thing for people to have a good opportunity |
| C．facing challenges offers learning and growth opportunities |
| D．it’s better to give up than persist when faced with difficulty |
| A．Adapting and persisting through change to achieve goals. |
| B．Changing conditions to create new opportunities. |
| C．Accepting failure when faced with difficulties. |
| D．Giving up to avoid further complications. |
| A．Engaging in self-criticism for every perceived failure. |
| B．Missing chances to gain insights from challenging situations. |
| C．Abandoning efforts when confronted with a difficult challenge. |
| D．Conquering challenges with confidence and achieving positive results. |
| A．You may have negative thoughts about your own abilities. |
| B．You may have a strong capability for taking calculated risks. |
| C．You are likely to give up on accomplishing anything significant. |
| D．You are guaranteed to be always at the forefront of achievements. |
| A．The importance of avoiding difficulties. | B．The need to give up when facing challenges. |
| C．The benefits of staying in your comfort zone. | D．The significance of flexibility and adapting to change. |
9 . We may weep for the dodo, but could and should we bring this lovely bird back from the dead? De-extinction is the science of restoring lost species and it has been in the news for decades.
The story in modern times began in 1990 when Michael Crichton published his science fiction novel Jurassic Park, in which he imagined a world where scientists were able to bring dinosaurs back to life. Crichton imagined that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology could be a way to amplify (放大) tiny quantities of dinosaur DNA and thus build a living embryo.
Sadly, biologists soon realized that DNA in fact breaks down super-fast; even after 100 years, DNA from museum skins of dodos was decayed (腐烂) beyond repair. They could be sequenced (测定序列) using massive computational power, but then only with considerable uncertainty. And even if you capture a DNA sequence, there’s still the problem of how you get living cells to read that sequence and express proteins that make the dinosaur or the dodo.
But why would anyone want to see mammoths, or something like them, roaming (漫游) present-day Siberia? Well, they were undoubtedly amazing beasts. As well as hunting them, our distant ancestors painted their likenesses in caves across Europe. Fascinating as they may be, there's some ecological justification for the project too.
It was this diversity of land surface, broken up by heavy limbs and randomly fertilised by faeces (排泄物), that supported so much flora (植物群). Without the mammoths, that diversity disappeared. Return them and landscapes would once again be with a variety of species, including flowers and bushes.
True, it’s not de-extinction in the sense of bringing a long-dead species back to life. Instead it’s more like making a “dodo” by engineering a modern pigeon, its closest relative, to become huge and flightless. The result would be a big, fatty pigeon that, whether it looked like a dodo or not, would probably fulfil some of its ecological roles.
As a palaeontologist, I would of course love to see living dinosaurs, mammoths and dodos. In some ways, though, I am relieved that the optimistic claims for cloning and genetic technologies have not been borne out. The slowdown gives us time to consider the outcomes—and hopefully avoid some of Michael Crichton’s more fevered imaginings.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?| A．A science fiction review. | B．The development of DNA. |
| C．An inspired guess of de-extinction. | D．The application of PCR technology. |
| A．DNA is hard to keep for long. | B．Computational power is limited. |
| C．Biologists are opposed to it. | D．Living cells cant be sequenced. |
| A．They expect to seek hunt fun. | B．They lack sources of modern art. |
| C．They need them for research. | D．They want to see biodiversity. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Unclear. | C．Dismissive. | D．Approving. |
10 . ......
What makes modern science uniquely powerful is its refusal to believe that it already possesses ultimate truth. The reliability of science is based not on certainty but on a complete absence of certainty. As John Stuart Mill wrote in “On Liberty” in 1859, “The beliefs which we have most warrant (依据) for, have no safeguard to rest on, but a standing invitation to the whole world to prove them unfounded.”
......
What is the main idea of paragraph 4?| A．It is unwise to believe in science. |
| B．Too much uncertainty lies in science. |
| C．The foundation of science is unfounded. |
| D．The lack of certainty makes science credible. |
