1 . 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”? Yes, if it is proven to be effective, even if we have no idea why it works. In fact, quite a few common medications used today have their origin in folk treatments, and we are still not sure how they work. This does not imply that folk treatments are generally effective. To the contrary, many of them are not. What distinguishes scientific medicine is the readiness to seriously test a treatment and to be ready to change our minds if something is shown not to work. A research doctor in a modern hospital must be ready to change his theory if a more effective way of understanding illness, or treating it, becomes available.
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.”
1. Why does the author raise the two questions in paragraph 1?| A．To add some fun. | B．To express doubts. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To provide background. |
| A．It can be timeless. | B．It can be improved. |
| C．It is of little value. | D．It is the best at any moment. |
| A．Dismissive. | B．Objective. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Sympathetic. |
| 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. |
2 . Creativity at Work
“People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”— Daryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, commenting on television in 1946.
The need for creativity is changing how the workplace is organized and what people do. These changes centre on the use and
Yet how workers interpret that information is as important as the information itself. Interpretation is, in fact, a
There are many ways in which the creative spirit can find expression in the workplace: innovations in management,
Since creative problem-solving requires the psychological
| A．origin | B．interpretation | C．analysis | D．point |
| A．acquires | B．requires | C．draws | D．arouses |
| A．going on | B．focusing on | C．bringing about | D．forming into |
| A．appreciative | B．positive | C．creative | D．constructive |
| A．supported | B．loved | C．betrayed | D．trusted |
| A．depend on | B．pick up | C．respond to | D．set up |
| A．identifications | B．assessments | C．improvements | D．cooperations |
| A．weaken | B．strengthen | C．create | D．satisfy |
| A．initiative | B．creativity | C．attention | D．effectiveness |
| A．improve | B．limit | C．discourage | D．deny |
| A．share | B．collect | C．spread | D．discuss |
| A．helps | B．teaches | C．pushes | D．devotes |
| A．eliminate | B．earn | C．return | D．reduce |
| A．satisfaction | B．commitment | C．stress | D．contribution |
| A．monitoring | B．consuming | C．changing | D．pioneering |
3 . Marilu Arce loves her job, but for a time she considered leaving. The traffic-plagued commute from her home to her office, nearly two hours each way, meant her daughters couldn’t enroll in after school activities because she couldn’t get home in time to take them.
Then her employer adopted a policy permitting her to work from home two days a week, and “I feel like it changed my life,” she said. Her stress level has dropped. Her daughters are thrilled. She likes her job more. That’s the type of reaction Arce’s boss likes to hear as the company measures the success of the work-from-home policy which was instituted three years ago in hopes of improving employee retention. So far, it seems to be working: turnover was less than five percent last year—its lowest ever.
Flexible work policies top employee wish lists when they look for a job, and employers increasingly have been offering them. Studies have shown working remotely increases employee engagement, but in moderation because there is still value in the relationships nurtured when colleagues are face to face. The key, advocates of flexible work policies say, is to match the environment with the type of work that needs to be done.
The flexibility hasn’t hurt productivity, which is up 50 percent. There is “something lost” when colleagues don’t gather at the water cooler, but it’s outweighed by the retention and happiness gains, he said. As jobs that require physical work decline, thanks to technological advances, life superficially appears to get better. Consumers benefit in the form of cheaper prices. Labor-saving appliances all make things easier and suggest that even more and better benefits are on the horizon. But is something lost?
Talk long enough to the most accomplished academics, they will brag about a long-ago college summer job waiting tables or repairing hiking trails. They might praise the installer who redid their kitchen. There seems to be a human instinct to want to do physical work. The proliferation of hard-work reality-television programming reflects this apparent need. Indeed, the more we have become immobile and urbanized, the more we tune in to watch reality television’s truckers, loggers, farmers, drillers and rail engineers. In a society that supposedly despises menial jobs, the television ratings for such programmes suggest that lots of Americans enjoy watching people of action, who work with their hands.
Physical work, in its eleventh hour within a rapidly changing Western culture, still intrigues us in part because it remains the foundation for 21st century complexity. Before any of us can teach, write or speculate, we must first have food, shelter and safety. And for a bit longer, that will require some people to cut grapes and nail two-by-sixes. No apps or 3D printers exist to produce brown rice. Physical labour also promotes human versatility: Those who do not do it, or who do not know how to do it, become divorced from—and, at the same time, dependent on—labourers. Lawyers, accountants and journalists living in houses with yards and driving cars to work thus count on a supporting infrastructure of electricians, landscapers and mechanics. In that context, physical labour can provide independence, at least in a limited sense of not being entirely reliant on a host of hired workers.
1. The author mentions the example of Arce to show that________.| A．she dislikes the present job for the long commuting time |
| B．she is having trouble balancing work and school life |
| C．people usually don’t work hard outside office |
| D．employers are facing the problem of staff drain |
| A．it helps to increase job satisfaction for the employees |
| B．it improves harmonious relationship among colleagues |
| C．the decline in physical work gives employees more mobility |
| D．employees are entitled to request it according to their work |
| A．They entertain those employees burned out with overwork. |
| B．People can learn some basic labour skills from these programmes. |
| C．There’s an ongoing need for physical labour skills that technology doesn’t possess. |
| D．They offer instructive information for both employers and employees. |
| A．The Emergence of Alternative Work Arrangements |
| B．The Rise of Automation, the Decline in Need for Labour |
| C．Time to Rethink in the Face of the Evolution of Work |
| D．New Challenges for Today’s Employers and Academics |
4 . The world is experiencing a major health crisis. As the new coronavirus spreads, many countries are limiting their citizens’ activities. Travel has been
Public emergencies
So, if you have never made bread, now may be a good time to learn. Bread making is a
Baking is not just a useful survival skill. It can make you feel better at
Julie Ohana is a(n)
Baking requires mindfulness. “So when you’re in the kitchen —whether you’re cooking or you’re baking—it really requires a certain level of mindfulness, of being
Baking is a labour of love. Ohana also says baking is a process filled with love. It not only makes you feel good, it produces something tangible—something you can touch and eat!
Baking is emotional. Often our food experiences are
Ohana says something that all bakers know—giving delicious, baked goods makes the giver feel as good as the receiver. So, she calls baking a win-win.
1.| A．promoted | B．restricted | C．abandoned | D．recognized |
| A．bring out | B．bring up | C．bring down | D．bring about |
| A．Besides | B．However | C．Otherwise | D．Therefore |
| A．management | B．survival | C．medical | D．communicative |
| A．buy | B．sacrifice | C．bake | D．consume |
| A．stressful | B．crucial | C．optimistic | D．miserable |
| A．In addition | B．As a result | C．By contrast | D．In fact |
| A．office | B．social | C．rescue | D．research |
| A．anxious | B．depressed | C．good | D．committed |
| A．works | B．adopts | C．lacks | D．affects |
| A．absent | B．present | C．greedy | D．recognized |
| A．recipe | B．rule | C．theory | D．composition |
| A．put on | B．put up | C．put aside | D．put off |
| A．reduce | B．decrease | C．release | D．increase |
| A．connected | B．associated | C．tied | D．drawn |
5 . Nowadays, with the popularization of science and technology, people seem to have a painless, cost-effective new way to become pretty-photo retouching, currently a universal way to beautify photos through digital devices.
Even those who believe themselves to be unattractive can become easy on the eye with the push of a button. Some may say that retouching allows people to see a better side of themselves sand can help people build their confidence. However, it is more likely to deepen people’s anxieties regarding their appearance.
After you have taken a selfie and used a retouching program such as Photoshop or Meitu to glamorize yourself, you may finally see the more perfect self you’ve always desired to be. As a result, you may be boastful about yourself for a while, but when you turn your head and look at your real, imperfect self in the mirror, you will soon suffer from a strong sense of loss. Even though retouching can bring you short-term happiness and self-confidence, it can never change your actual appearance in real life. Eventually, the fantasy you had created for yourself by retouching your images will only come to make you feel more depressed after you are once again faced with the reality of how you actually appear.
Photo retouching may also lead to personal anxiety and low self-dignity. Before retouching technologies were invented, only a few celebrities and bloggers looked appealing on social media. Most people posted pictures of themselves on the internet that were very close to how their real, ordinary, everyday selves would appear in reality. They didn’t have to worry about whether their nose was delicate enough or whether they had any acne (痤疮) on their face because most of the others didn’t look flawless in pictures, either.
However, with the continuous emergence of retouching technologies, you may one day suddenly discover that all of the selfies of the people around you have become stunningly gorgeous. The delicate body curve, the doll-like enormous eyes and the supermodel-sized long legs are no longer exclusive to beauty-pageant (选美比赛) winners or movie stars.
Imagine yourself lying on the sofa while idly checking your WeChat Moments. You can’t take your eyes off these charming photos that have been posted by your colleagues, friends and classmates. Then you may have a glance at your own chubby belly and dark skin. Shame, anxiety and self-doubt begin growing in your heart. You plunge into deep fear and self-blame since you cannot figure out why everyone else looks so beautiful, while you are not. But actually, deep down in your heart, you know why, but you just can’t shake off this envy that’s going to drown you.
1. What does the underlined word “glamorize” in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．make somebody appear attractive | B．beautify oneself with more make-up |
| C．publicize the image that one is good-looking | D．present somebody’s image in a reasonable way |
| A．Becoming beautiful was an exclusive right for celebrities and bloggers. |
| B．There is no tolerance of one’s imperfection in contemporary society. |
| C．People posting selfies online used to enjoy the life without trouble. |
| D．Retouching causes an unhealthy mentality in one’s appearance. |
① a sense of seeming happiness and temporary confidence
② ever-worsening depression, anxiety and fear
③ inability to change one’s actual situation
④ bad influence on social relationships and information distribution
| A．①② | B．①②③ | C．②③ | D．②③④ |
| A．Ways to Decode the Retouching | B．Retouching: Causes and Treatment |
| C．Navigating Life without Retouching | D．Retouching: A Lift or a Lie? |
6 . Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life. We’ve heard that opinion countless times. But does it even ring true? In fact, I think it’s perfectly normal to love your job and simultaneously(同时发生的) recognize the fact that it’s hard work. That’s right! Sometimes you may feel stressed, overwhelmed or even tired out. It doesn’t mean that you’re in the wrong line of work.
Think back to when you were a little kid. Do you remember what your answer was when people leaned forward and inquired about what you wanted to be when you grew up? Well, I always told people I wanted to be a bird. Having passions and interests is encouraged. But finding what you love is only half the equation. You need to be able to make a living doing it. Real-life pressures require us to pursue avenues that are able to provide us with a decent and comfortable standard of living.
Work and play are two vastly different things. Work requires effort in order to pay the bills and put food on the table, whereas play is all about fun and enjoyment. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to incorporate some of that joy and passion into your daily routine. But that definitely doesn’t mean that your entire career will be a walk in the park. Adding in that pressure and the expectation of payment is exactly what separates your job from everything else. Unlike fun, work isn’t always something that you want to do—it’s something that you need to do. And, chances are, when what you love turns into your job, you might not love it as much anymore.
Pretty much every position comes along with at least a few demanding tasks or responsibilities that will simply never be enjoyable. Maybe you hate the quarterly board meeting. Perhaps you simply can’t stand filling out your monthly expense report. Whatever it is, there’s undoubtedly a certain aspect of your daily routine that makes you say, “Ugh.”
But remember that loving your job is a wonderful thing. Loving your livelihood requires a great deal of effort. It’s pretty much human nature to enjoy the things we’re good at. And in order to be good at your position, you need to put in some elbow grease. Oftentimes, it’s not just the work that we love. It’s the reward and satisfaction we get after doing it well: And we all know that getting things done well involves exerting ourselves. It’s an ever-ending cycle.
1. Why does the author mention the childhood dream in Paragraph 2?| A．To stress the importance of interests. |
| B．To remind the good times of childhood. |
| C．To make a comparison with a realistic career. |
| D．To encourage people to stick to original dreams. |
| A．People’s daily routine of work. |
| B．Some rules of the workplace. |
| C．Tasks for different positions. |
| D．The annoying part of work. |
| A．Hard work. | B．Rich rewards. |
| C．Personal interests. | D．Good experiences. |
| A．The truth about work. | B．The dangers of work. |
| C．The necessity of work. | D．The difficulty of work. |
7 . The cloning technology has aroused heated discussions among people. Some of them speak highly of the technology by claiming that it offers a way for human beings to conquer their own genetic defects. Others consider it an ogre (食人恶魔) who will destroy us all in the end.
FOR
◆ Cloning is important for women who are single to have a child, using cloning instead of artificial insemination (授精). Cloning could also provide a copy of a child for a couple whose child died.
◆ Another goal of cloning is to produce livestock (家畜) with ideal characters for agriculture and industry and to be able to manufacture biological products such as proteins for humans.
◆ Cloning could be used in various ways to benefit the lives of humans.
◆ It may provide a way for completely sterile individuals to reproduce! It may provide a way for homosexual couples to reproduce themselves, and it will probably provide a valuable basic research and possibly spin off technologies related to reproduction and development.
◆ Cloning would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect organs for transplant. This surely would be immensely beneficial to millions of unfortunate people who are expected to lose their lives due to failure of a single organ or more organs.
AGAINST
◆ Cloning would intervene in the normal cycle of life. There would be a large number of identical (相同的) genes, which minimizes (使减少到最低限度) the chances of mutation (变异), and, in turn, evolution—the fundamental reason why living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment.
◆ With genetic engineering and human cloning it is possible to use these in the arsenal (兵工厂) of ethnic cleansing (清洗) creating inequality in our society, which would be the beginning of many wars.
◆ Another argument against cloning is that it would be available only to the wealthy and therefore would increase social inequality.
◆ If the technology were to be so, scientists could transfer human genes into animals’ and vice versa, which would heighten the danger of developing zoonoses, diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans. It could create a worldwide catastrophe that no one would be able to stop.
◆ Genetic engineering will cause unseen disasters spiraling our world into chaotic darkness.
◆ Cloning dead loved ones will not bring them back; they may look like them, but they will have a different personality.
1. If a single lady wants a baby but she does not accept artificial insemination, she might ________.| A．think about cloning technology to copy one |
| B．be against having a child from cloning technology |
| C．produce livestock with ideal characters |
| D．speak little of the cloning technology |
| A．encourage us to support the ideas of FOR |
| B．advise us to accept the ideas of AGAINST |
| C．tell us to understand the ideas of FOR and AGAINST correctly |
| D．introduce us to remember the ideas of FOR and AGAINST |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．How many advantages are there? | B．How many disadvantages are there? |
| C．Which side is wrong? | D．Which side are you with? |
8 . Nearly 10,000 protesters came out in support of the Black Lives Matter rally in London. Londoners filled Victoria Park in support of the Black Lives Matter movement against the systemic racism and police brutality (暴行) happening in the United States and Canada.
The Black Lives Matter movement has seen thousands of people across Canada, the United States and the world join together following the death of George Floyd, a black man died in police custody after a white police officer was filmed kneeling on his neck. Floyd’s death in Minneapolis was only the latest in a number of cases of Black men dying while in police custody.
“Racism happens here, it happens to me, it happens to my son, it happens to my friends, and we have just been quiet and silent for far too long,” said Alexandra Kane, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter London movement. She is hoping that from the Black Lives Matter movements they can see reform and changes within the government so that both Black and Indigenous people are “viewed and treated fairly”. “We want people within our own Black community to know we support each other. We don’t often congregate and come together, but now we can do so safely without the fear of being put into a stereotypical category.”
“I can’t even begin to name all of the times in the 18 years of my life that someone or something has made me feel less than because of the color of my skin,” one of the organizers, Simone Schacht, said when speaking at the rally. Meanwhile, “It disgusts me because we are human beings just like anyone else and we should not be treated differently,” cried 10-year-old Noah.
Nichelle Samuel was there with her husband and daughter in solidarity with her fellow Black Canadians calling for change. “Every time my husband leaves the house, it’s a constant worry something may happen,” she said. “Seeing what happens in the states only kind of effects here on a silent level. I want this rally to let people know this stuff happens silently, and if you see it, you hear it, do something about it.”
1. What does the author indicate to us by the example of Floyd in Paragraph 2?| A．American police are very violent. |
| B．Floyd’s tragic death was caused by a white cop. |
| C．People all over the world sympathized with Floyd. |
| D．Black people have long suffered from racial discrimination. |
| A．Nichelle Samuel. | B．Alexandra Kane. | C．Simone Schacht. | D．Noah. |
| A．unite | B．defeat | C．transform | D．congratulate |
| A．The government should not be blamed for the failure of white police. |
| B．The death of Floyd was a trigger for the Black Lives Matter. |
| C．Discrimination based on skin color is bad but inevitable. |
| D．Black Lives Matter rally may not work. |
9 . Teacher-Centred Versus Student-Centred Classes
Over the past few decades, teaching styles have changed significantly. Many teachers no longer feel satisfied with lecture-style, teacher-centered learning. A student-centered teaching style has been shown to have
Student-centered learning can help students take an active interest in their education. Attendance is a(n)
At first glance, student-centered learning tends to make teaching a more
Another
Student-centered learning helps teachers do a better job of planning what material they are going to teach and how best to present it to their students. Students find this type of learning not only more
| A．valueless | B．substantial | C．unconditional | D．unpredictable |
| A．barrier | B．contributor | C．priority | D．problem |
| A．tend to | B．fail to | C．struggle to | D．desire to |
| A．For example | B．In addition | C．In contrast | D．Therefore |
| A．carefully | B．helplessly | C．randomly | D．simply |
| A．imaginary | B．creative | C．difficult | D．effortless |
| A．engage | B．appeal | C．ask | D．praise |
| A．however | B．meanwhile | C．likewise | D．consequently |
| A．in moderation | B．in chorus | C．on the spot | D．in the short term |
| A．way | B．outcome | C．disadvantage | D．advantage |
| A．management | B．language | C．computer | D．social |
| A．As a result | B．Furthermore | C．Instead | D．On top of that |
| A．transition | B．transfer | C．transmission | D．transplant |
| A．compare | B．foster | C．sharpen | D．employ |
| A．sensitive | B．reliable | C．enjoyable | D．knowledgeable |
10 . “Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching,” Thomas Jefferson said. Never envisioned that two centuries later, the whole world would be watching indeed.
From license-plate cameras to secret videotapes, from white-hat hacking to social media checks by employers, never have Americans been so
Jefferson presumed that if the world were watching, people would behave better; we would strive to be our
When my youngest daughter was three years old and unable to grasp that she could be seen even if she closed her eyes, she’d cover her eyes with her hands and shriek “Don’t see me!” When I’d
To feel shame, and to instinctually try to conceal it, requires a(n)
Ultimately, however, morality is shaped not by either invisibility or exposure, but by personal
| A．observed | B．shared | C．understood | D．exposed |
| A．anxious | B．sensitive | C．good | D．protective |
| A．noblest | B．proudest | C．simplest | D．wisest |
| A．suggestion | B．evidence | C．data | D．determination |
| A．decision | B．imagination | C．implication | D．procedure |
| A．scanned | B．astonished | C．searched | D．prevented |
| A．left out | B．come across | C．lived with | D．gone for |
| A．drama | B．fear | C．truth | D．difficulty |
| A．solid | B．moral | C．psychological | D．emotional |
| A．Unfortunately | B．Honestly | C．Decisively | D．Surprisingly |
| A．separates | B．motivates | C．alerts | D．lightens |
| A．impossible | B．distant | C．inevitable | D．irrelevant |
| A．will | B．persistence | C．affairs | D．abilities |
| A．promoting | B．preserving | C．adjusting | D．challenging |
| A．value | B．foundation | C．price | D．hope |
