2 . Have you ever heard about Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Surely, they are all about finding the best deals on holiday gifts for yourself and family members. And have you heard about GivingTuesday? Here is something about it!

GivingTuesday is observed annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which encourages people to help those in need by making financial donations or doing good in their local community. The “Global Day of Giving” was started in 2012 by New York City nonprofit 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation.

Unlike Black Friday, GivingTuesday serves a more altruistic purpose. In its first year, the movement brought in almost $10 million for charities, and things have only improved since. In 2019, many GivingTuesday social media campaigns worldwide helped raise an amazing $ 1.9 billion from 27 million donors! Over the past five years, many higher education institutions have also been using the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to ask alumni for donations. In 2019, the University of Michigan, which calls it Blueday, received 5887 gifts totaling over $4 million, while Pennsylvania State University raised $710 000 to benefit over 85 University programs.

Though donating money certainly helps, there are many other ways to support the great cause, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can video tutor kids struggling with online learning, or team up with an adult to get groceries or medications for an elderly neighbor. Alternatively, call on your peers to help you with a service project that addresses an issue close to your heart, or pick one from the several ideas suggested on the GivingTuesday website. You can also donate your gently-used clothes and toys to local shelters, or mail a handwritten note to a grandparent or a friend you miss seeing.

What are you going to do to make a positive difference in your community on GivingTuesday? Let us know by adding your comments below!

1. Why does the author mention Black Friday and Cyber Monday in Paragraph 1?

A．To make a comparison.	B．To lead to the topic.
C．To arouse readers’ interest.	D．To express his doubt.

2. What’s the aim of GivingTuesday?

A．To promote the development of economy.	B．To attract people to buy more holiday gifts.
C．To call on more universities to donate money.	D．To encourage people to help those in need.

3. What does the underlined word “altruistic” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Selfless.

B．General.

C．Specific.

D．Complex.

4. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Where people can offer their kind help.	B．What people can do on GivingTuesday.
C．How people can stay safe during COVID-19.	D．Why people need to support the great cause.

3 . Each year, about 250 billion to-go cups serve coffee and tea from places like Starbucks and McDonald’s are produced to satisfy the world’s love for hot drinks on the run. These paper-based cups have the inside surface covered with plastic to prevent water from escaping, and keep water from being absorbed into the material. Despite this, that also removes any opportunity for the cups to be biodegradable (可生物降解的).

The materials that created these cups of goodness and convenience are recyclable but only if separated. In addition, the demand for such resources is low, so they are worth next to nothing.

In response to this great challenge, NextGen Consortium, multi-year partnership led by Starbucks and McDonald’s launched their first big initiative (倡议)—NextGen Cup. The first step in NextGen Cup was an open competition where participants presented ideas for sleeves, cups, lids and other parts of the hot-cold paper-based takeaway coffee cup that would make it reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable; to finally be widely used. 12 winners, announced in 2019, shared a prize of $1 million, as well as personalized growth, and support from members of NextGen Consortium.

Later, they launched two pilot programs at independent coffee shops in California. In one case, customers were given “smart” reusable cups made mostly from recyclable plastic. They then could drop their empties into collection containers at key locations, for washing and reuse. These cups were printed with RFID chips or QR codes, through which coffee shops can know where there is the greatest need for collection containers and how many are not using them.

To reduce coffee cup waste, Cup Club is already replacing millions of takeaway cups in the UK, while Recup in Germany, has performed a deposit system that simply adds a small extra fee to any coffee cup which is returned to the buyer after the cup is deposited in any registered collection point.

1. What can we say about the paper-based cups?

A．They can absorb water easily.	B．They are not popular in life.
C．They can’t be easily recycled.	D．They are attractive in low price.

2. What’s the theme of the NextGen Cup?

A．Separating recyclable materials from the cups.

B．Making the cups green and easily available.

C．Reducing the unnecessary parts of the cups.

D．Gaining the support from their partners.

3. What’s the function of RFID chips or QR codes?

A．Knowing about customers’ preference for coffee shops.

B．Collecting the information on which shop is empty.

C．Helping choose where customer can drink coffee.

D．Making the recycling of cups more efficient.

4. What does the word “which” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．A collection point.	B．A deposit system.
C．A small extra fee.	D．Any coffee cup.

5 . In the past few decades, great progress has been made in the field of space exploration, which has enabled mankind to have a deeper understanding of the Solar System, our place in it and in the universe. “We sent probes(探测器) to every planet in the Solar System. This is by far the best one,” said Clayton, vice president of Blue Origin. “Let's focus right now on protecting the Earth environment, and then we'll go from there. Space science and technology should be people-centric and application-centric, and focus on improving human life. We need to have a strong footing on the Earth, learn to solve the day-to-day problems of the society.”

“Space technology can help achieve the 17 sustainable development goals to be achieved by 2030 set by the United Nations. Satellite monitoring can really help with agriculture. ” said Victoria, CEO of a company working on sustainable development, “Through Global Navigation Satellite System, animals' movement information recorded on self-recharging devices can be transmitted to the company server. Farmers can be alerted in real time if anomalies(异常现象）are detected. We can use it to ensure the traceability of the entire meat chain. As a result, it enables consumers to know that the beef they are eating does not come from protected areas or the cattle don't contribute to deforestation. ”

As early as 2007, Michael Griffin, former Administrator of NASA, put forward the concept of the “space economy” in a speech. He is very optimistic about the market prospect of commercial space and said, “According to the latest data, the global space industry could reach $1 trillion in 2040, up from $ 378 billion currently. I believe more business models and space activities will be created in the future to achieve the economic scale of $1 trillion. ”

As an entrepreneur(创业者）herself, Victoria thinks the thriving space market will bring countless opportunities for entrepreneurs. She mentioned future settlements on Mars or on the Moon. “If we are going to develop a new society outside the Earth, we will need all types of applications and all types of startups. But coming back to the Earth, there are so many problems that need to be solved, and space technology can really help with that.”

1. What does the underlined word “This” in Paragraph 1 refer to ?

A．A successful space exploration.

B．A probe sent to other planets.

C．The planet people are living on now.

D．The solar system people are exploring.

2. In Clayton's opinion, what should be the first concern about space technology?

A．Providing more financial support.

B．Improving people's life on earth.

C．Sending more probes in the universe.

D．The development of related technology.

3. How does Victoria support her statement about satellite monitoring in Paragraph 2?

A．By making reasoning.

B．By providing accurate figures.

C．By making comparison.

D．By illustrating from different aspects.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Necessities of space exploration.

B．Breakthroughs in space exploration.

C．Possible application of space technology.

D．Controversial issues about space technology.

6 . With the world’s attention on vaccines (疫苗), now feels like a good moment to sing the praises of an often forgotten contribution to their development. Three hundred years ago this month, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu got her daughter inoculated (接种) against smallpox, making her child the first person in the West to be protected in this way. Without Montagu’s willingness to adopt a practice she had learned from other cultures, the introduction of vaccines around 80 years later would never have taken place.

Montagu first witnessed inoculation when she accompanied her husband to Turkey in 1717. Inoculation had started in Asia, probably in China, as early as the 10th century AD. Montagu observed how older women in Turkey took a tiny amount of pus (脓) from a person with smallpox. They then used needles to make cuts on people’s wrists and ankles and added the pus to their bloodstream. This helped people gain immunity from future infection.

Like other visitors to the country, Montagu took steps to ensure that her son was inoculated in Turkey. This worked well, but she knew that trying it in England would be far more challenging. Inoculation performed by unlicensed amateurs would threaten doctors’ professional standing and potentially rob them of valuable income. Churchmen also disagree with the practice, as they saw it as going against nature.

Back in England, Montagu observed the increased severity of smallpox infections. Eventually, in April 1721, she decided to use the Turkish practice to have her daughter inoculated, because she believed that the rewards would outweigh the risks. After a safe time had passed following the inoculation, Montagu allowed doctors to examine her daughter.

Doctors in Britain gradually accepted the practice. About so years later, a pioneering physician found smallpox vaccines to destroy smallpox completely. As early as last century, academics argued that Montagu was no more than an enthusiastic amateur. In truth, she made a vital scientific contribution towards finding the cure for smallpox.

1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The origin of smallpox inoculation.

B．Montagu’s first access to inoculation.

C．The benefits from smallpox inoculation.

D．Turkish women’s invention of inoculation.

2. Montagu found it difficult to try inoculation in England because ________.

A．it was against human nature	B．it might harm doctors’ interests
C．it was beyond doctors’ abilities	D．it might shake churchmen’s belief

3. What led doctors in Britain to accept inoculation?

A．The increased severity of smallpox infections.

B．A physician’s discovery of smallpox vaccines.

C．The result of Montagu’s daughter’s inoculation.

D．Montagu’s focus on its rewards rather than its risks.

4. What might be the best title of the test?

A．An unsung hero	B．No limit to creation
C．Development of vaccines	D．A historic medical innovation

7 . A new research added brain degradation such as Alzheimer(阿尔茨海默症）to the growing list of effects of fine particles(微粒）. A study of 63 million adults older than 65 in the United States showed that from 2000 to 2016, first-time hospital admissions for Alzheimer's disease, and related diseases rose by 13 percent with every 5-microgram (per cubic meter of air) increase in annual concentrations of PM 2.5. Such particles are produced mainly during the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. The risk remained high even at concentrations below 12 micrograms per cubic meter, a level the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency currently considers safe.

“Our study builds on the small but clear evidence indicating that long-term PM 2.5 exposures are associated with an increased risk of worsening brain health, even at PM 2.5 concentrations well below the current national standards,” said Xiao Wu, a doctoral student in Harvard.

Antonella Zanobetti, a co-author of the study, said the new research results show that current U. S. regulations are inadequate to protect the aging American population, “highlighting the need for stricter standards and policies that help further reduce PM 2.5 concentrations and improve air quality overall”。

Women, white people, and urban populations, particularly in the Northeast, were particularly at risk, the research showed. The researchers figured that the increased effects on urban populations might be due to the “abundance of metal-bearing particles in the urban atmosphere, which have very smaller size and can access the brain directly”. They owe the increased risk to women and white people to longer life, which means the probability of death from other causes before developing Alzheimer is higher in men and nonwhites.

1. What can we learn about the new research in Paragraph 1?

A．It proved PM 2.5 was caused by fossil fuel.

B．It aimed at improving the elders' brain health.

C．It showed Alzheimer was linked to air pollution.

D．It focused on the effect of PM 2.5 on environment.

2. What is the researchers' attitude towards the current U. S. PM 2.5 national standards?

A．Supportive.

B．Disapproving.

C．Cautious.

D．Ambiguous.

3. Why do women and white people have higher risk of brain health problems?

A．They mainly live in cities.

B．They are in much worse condition.

C．They are affected by PM 2.5 more easily.

D．They live longer than men and nonwhites.

4. What's the purpose of the text?

A．To present findings of a new research.

B．To call on us to protect the environment.

C．To analyze various reasons for Alzheimer.

D．To draw our attention to the elders' health.

8 . A small bowl bought at a yard sale in Connecticut for just $ 35 has been identified as a rare 15th-century Chinese antique.

The blue-and-white bowl was made by China's royal court during the Ming dynasty. It is now expected to sell for up to $500,000, according to Sotheby's auction(拍卖)house in New York, where the auction will take place next month.

The purchase was made last year near New Haven, Connecticut. “I was just hanging around there aimlessly. But when I saw this bowl, I didn't even bargain over the $35 asking price,” the owner said. Shortly after the purchase, he sent photos of the bowl to auction specialists, who identified it as an item of historical significance.

Upon closer inspection, the artifact was found to have originated from the period of Yongle Emperor, who ruled from 1403 to 1424 - a period noted for its distinctive porcelain (瓷器)techniques. It's now valued between $300,000 and $500,000, with the top estimate nearly 14,300 times the amount it was purchased for.

“I was deeply attracted by the techniques. You can see why this bowl is so highly-valued from the very smooth porcelain body, silky glaze(上釉)and special blue coloring, which were never reproduced in later dynasties,” McAteer, an auction specialist, said.

“The Yongle Emperor improved the porcelain techniques and elevated the importance of porcelain from being an ordinary bowl into a true work of art. This small bowl has both practical and artistic value, ”McAteer said.

1. What can we infer about the bowl's owner?

A．He found the bowl by accident.

B．He hesitated during the purchase.

C．He doubted whether the bowl was real.

D．He bought the bowl because it was cheap.

2. What makes the bowl so precious?

A．The blue color on it.	B．The long history it has.
C．The people who made it.	D．The unique techniques used.

3. What does the underlined word “elevated” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Forsaw.	B．Promoted.
C．Assessed.	D．Acknowledged.

4. What's the best title of the text?

A．An Amazing Bowl	B．A Special Yard Sale
C．The Return of Porcelains	D．A Man Making Fortune

9 . VATNAJÖKULL NATIONAL PARK, ICELAND

Vatnajökull National Park is home to one of the largest glaciers in the world and two active volcanoes. A popular place to explore ice caves, you can experience here the breath-taking views of waterfalls, frozen rivers and herds of reindeer through cave tours, glacial hikes and jeep safaris.

Best time to visit: May to September.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RUINS OF LIANGZHU CITY, CHINA

Dating back to 5,300 years ago, the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City is considered as an important representation of early urban civilization based on rice plantation. The city ruins show the contributions made by the Yangtze River Basin to the origins of Chinese civilization.

Best time to visit: March to May & October to mid December.

BAGAN, MYANMAR

Located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, Bagan is the capital of the ancient Burmese empire and features a stunning range of Buddhist art and architecture. Visitors can get the best views at sunrise by taking a hot air balloon ride and witness hundreds of architectural treasures as far as the eye can reach.

Best time to visit: November to February.

JAIPUR CITY, INDIA

The walled city of Jaipur is one of the most colourful cities in the world and part of India's famous Golden Triangle. The city is not only famous for its pink coloured buildings, but also the houses, shops, restaurants and hotels which give you a feast for colors.   Besides, you can enjoy the city's layout, busy streets and large public squares.   

Best time to visit: November to March.

1. Which of the following is best recommended in April?

A．Bagan.	B．Jaipur City.
C．Vatnajökull National Park.	D．Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City.

2. What is special about Bagan?

A．It features views of volcanoes.

B．It is heavy with religious culture.

C．It has a history of over 5000 years.

D．It's known for colorful architecture.

3. In which part of a magazine can you most probably read this text?

A．Geography.

B．Culture.

C．Science.

D．Environment.