1 . It is not easy to find success in life, but if you have the right knowledge and mindset, there is no reason why you cannot seek out your goals in life. To help you out, we have put together a list of books that you absolutely must read to achieve success.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleStephen R. Covey
This is one of the best self-help books that you will find when you are looking to achieve success. The author informs the reader that the key to success is finding the right balance in your personal and professional life.
What makes the Great Ones GreatDon Yaeger
The author of this self-help book asked more than 2,500 highly successful people how they managed to reach the top. The end result was a lot of inspiring motivational quotes and insights that focus on not only being good but always seeking out more goals and challenges.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves
This is an inspirational book because as its reader you begin to realize that the key to success is in the ability to develop the ability of self-reflection. As a result, you will have full control over your emotions and therefore will be equipped with the ability to identify problems and find solutions that bring happiness.
How to Win Friends and Influence peopleDale Carnegie
A groundbreaking book written in 1937, it remains required reading at colleges and universities everywhere, especially in business schools. The key takeaway is that success comes when you are able to handle people the right way. This means using powers of persuasion to get them to see your point of view.
1. Who believes a work-life balance is essential to success?| A．Don Yaeger | B．Dale Carnegie | C．Travis Bradberry | D．Stephen R. Covey |
| A．Emotional Intelligence 2.0 | B．What makes the Great Ones Great |
| C．The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | D．How to Win Friends and Influence people |
| A．Setting realistic goals. | B．Practicing self-reflection. |
| C．Keeping a positive mind. | D．Having good communication skills. |
2 . A joint research team recently have developed a new electronic skin that is similar to human skin in strength, durability(耐久性) and sensitivity. The skin or e-skin may play an important role in next-generation personalized medicine, soft robotics and artificial intelligence.
“The ideal e-skin will mimic(模仿) the many natural functions of human skin, such as sensing temperature and touch, accurately and in real time,” says leading researcher Yichen Cai. However, making suitably flexible electronics that can perform such delicate tasks while also used repeatedly is challenging, and each material involved must be carefully engineered.
Most e-skins are made by putting an active sensor on the surface that attaches to human skin. However, the connection between them is often too weak, which reduces the durability and sensitivity of the material; otherwise, if it is too strong, it won’t be flexible enough, making it more likely to break the circuit.
“The landscape of skin electronics keeps shifting at a remarkable pace,” says Cai. “The discovery of 2D sensors has accelerated efforts to turn these quite thin but strong materials into functional, durable artificial skins.”
The new man-made skin built by the researchers could sense objects from 20 centimeters away. It could further make a quick response when touched in less than one tenth of a second. “ It is a striking achievement for an e-skin to maintain toughness after repeated use,” said Shen, “which mimics the softness and rapid recovery of human skin.”
This type of e-skin could monitor a range of biological information, such as changes in blood pressure, which can be detected from movements of arms and legs. This data can then be shared and stored on the cloud via Wi-Fi.
“One remaining problem to the widespread use of e-skins lies in mass production of high-resolution sensors,” adds group leader Vincent Tung “ however, the latest technology offers new promise. ”
1. What’s the feature of the new e-skin?| A．It can store information. | B．It’s quite hard and tough. |
| C．It’s flexible and sensitive. | D．It can replace human skin. |
| A．To stress the challenges of making e-skins. |
| B．To introduce the popularity of e-skins. |
| C．To show the process of making e-skins. |
| D．To compare the similarity between e-skins. |
| A．Adjust the blood pressure. | B．Recover the wounded skin. |
| C．Work as a remote controller. | D．Sense the outside temperature. |
| A．A Breakthrough in Hi-tech | B．Man-made Skin, Improved |
| C．E-skin, A Promising Business | D．The Widespread Use of E-skin |
3 . Welcome to the Sydney Opera House
Ticket Info and Guided Tours
Visitors can enjoy the Sydney Opera House foyer for free, but for a more insightful visit, you'll need to book a tour.
There are several different ways to experience the Sydney Opera House, and multiple tours are available including back-stage passes and walking tours.
Tour Type Adult （AUD $ ） Child
Guided Walking Tour $ 42 $ 22
Guided Walking Tour + Dinner $ 73 $ 52
Guided Walking Tour + Tasting Plate $ 82.20 $ 64. 80
Backstage Tour $ 175 $ 175
Opening Hours and the Best Time to Visit
The Sydney Opera House is open year-round with the following opening hours：
● Monday—Saturday ： 9am—8 ： 30pm
●Sunday： 9am—5pm
As for the best time of day, it's recommended to book the earliest Sydney Opera House tour of the day to beat the crowds. To enjoy sunny weather with fewer crowds, try visiting in the shoulder season (October, November, February, or March )
Points of Interest
●The Steps
Before entering the Opera House, take a picture of the building from the steps outside.
●The Sails
Step beneath the sails on a guided tour and enjoy harbor front views.
●The Concert Hall
The Concert Hall is the largest venue with seats for more than 2000 people. It features contemporary live music shows and highly -regarded orchestral (管弦乐的)performances. It is also here that you will find the world's largest mechanical tracker-action pipe organ.
● Opera Bar
After your tour, head to the Opera Bar for a bite to eat or drink in the sun.
● Badu Gili
Badu Gili, which is ‘water light’ in the language of the Gadigal people-takes place most evenings after sunset at 9pm, 9：30pm, and 10pm. The seven-minute display is free to view.
1. How much will a guided walking tour for two adults cost?| A．$ 64. | B．$ 84. | C．$ 128, | D．$ 168. |
| A．9：30 am, a Monday in February. | B．10：00 am, a Sunday in December. |
| C．5：00 pm, a Friday in September. | D．6：00 pm, a Saturday in March. |
| A．A local language. | B．A pipe organ. | C．A light show. | D．A dinning area. |
4 . Sugar cane（甘蔗）contains around 10% sugar. But that means it contains around 90% non-sugar—the material known as bagasse （甘蔗渣）which remains once the sugar-bearing juice is squeezed out. World production of cane sugar was 185 million tonnes in 2017 , which results in a lot of bagasse.
At the moment, most of it is burned. But Zhu Hongli, a mechanical engineer at Northeastern University, in Boston, thinks it can be put into better use. As she, and her colleagues describe, in Matter this week, with a bit of improving bagasse makes an excellent and biodegradable （可生 物降解的）replacement for the plastic used for disposable food containers such as coffee cups.
Dr. Zhu is not the first person to have this idea. But previous attempts tended not to survive contact with liquids. She knew from previous research that the main reason why past efforts fell to pieces when wet is that bagasse is composed of short fibres which are unable to hold the finished product. She therefore sought' to insert a suitably long-fibred substance.
Bamboo seemed to be the best choice. It grows quickly /degrades readily and has appropriately long fibres. And it worked. When the researchers blended bamboo remaining into bagasse, they found that the result had a strong crossing of short and long fibres.
To put their new material through its paces, Dr. Zhu and her colleagues first poured hot oil onto it and found that, rather than passing through the material, as it would have with previous, bagasse products, the oil was resisted by their invention.
They also found that when they made a cup out of the stuff and filled it with water heated almost to boiling point, the cup remained unbroken for more than two hours. Though this is not as long as a plastic cup would Hast, it-is long enough for all practical purposes.
1. What do we know about bagasse?| A．It is widely used. | B．It is usually wasted. |
| C．It can not be degraded. | D．It takes up 10% of sugar cane. |
| A．The cups are not disposable. | B．The fibres of bagasse are short. |
| C．The plastic can not be replaced. | D．The material is not biodegradable. |
| A．It can let oil pass through. | B．It can be boiled in the water. |
| C．It can hold liquid and resist heat. | D．It can reduce the use of bamboo. |
| A．New Bamboo Containers | B．A New Application of Fibres |
| C．Young and Promising Materials | D．A Perfect Mix of Cane and Bamboo |
5 . For years, Hainan, China's southernmost island province, has been an attractive tourist destination for people around the world because of its pleasant environment. Beginning this year, the beautiful island will have a new identity — an open and distinctive free trade port.
The Hainan Free Trade Port will serve as a special functional economic area and its level of openness will be better than any other port in the world. Products and funds from abroad will have free access to the port, and most goods will be duty-free. The decision shows China's willingness to further open up to the world.
The province of Hainan was founded in 1988. Later it became an appointed special economic (SEZ) to attract foreign investment. In 1992, the Yangpu Economic Development Zone, which was the first area in China to be comprehensively developed by foreign investors, was established. After eight years, in 2000, Hainan took the lead in carrying out a policy of visa on arrival. In the following years, a series of similar initiatives have been implemented for Hainan's continuous development, including a pilot zone for free trade founded in 2018.
Apart from an attractive landscape, Hainan's industrial structure features tourism and modern services. Not only will they become the highlights of the free trade port, but also they are in line with the rapid trade growth in global services as well as the development of many ports toward the service sector. In addition, as a free trade zone and port at provincial level, Hainan has a satisfying scale and full experience. All these advantages will enable Hainan to become a global trade center.
From SEZ to free trade pilot zone, and now today's free trade port, Hainan's development and its determination to build an open economy are evident to all. It's hoped that it will seize the chance of free trade and attract more business and experienced professionals from around the world to come to the island.
1. What's Hainan's future plan?| A．To construct a free trade port. |
| B．To boost Hainan's tourism and services. |
| C．To remove the tax on all imports and exports. |
| D．To strengthen environmental protection. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By giving descriptions. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By making comparisons. |
| A．Its slow trade growth. | B．Its traditional services. |
| C．Its development of IT industry. | D．Its distinctive service industry. |
| A．Hainan: A Push for Global Economy |
| B．Hainan: A Witness to China's Opening-Up |
| C．Hainan: An Island Full of Ups and Downs |
| D．Hainan: An Unforgettable Tourist Destination |
6 . English is changing faster than ever with the development of society. Do you long to keep up with the times? If so, here are some old-fashioned words you should remove from your vocabulary list.
Whippersnapper
As an alteration of the term "snippersnapper'', the word first appeared in the 17th century, expressing our ancestors' annoyance at ill-mannered children. In its more contemporary version, the word relates to a young person who is too confident and does not show enough respect to older.
Tape
Are you born in the 1980s? If so, you may still be using the term "tape" when speaking of recording music or TV shows. Today, though digital media has made data storage on magnetic an outdated thing, this old linguistic habit still exists.
Stewardess
In the earlier age of air travel, female crew members serving airline passengers were called stewardesses. It was the development of women's rights movement in the 1960s that the word fell out of use. "Stewardess" was replaced by a more gender-neutral term, "flight attendant”. Dungarees
What we know as "jeans" today were once called “dungarees" to refer to trousers made of denm （蓝粗棉布）.As traders began importing the cloth from Genoa in Italy, this kind of trousers got a new name ’jeans”. So don't be surprised if you catch your grandpa saying dungarees.
1. Who can be described as a whippersnapper nowadays?| A．A child who is bad-tempered. |
| B．An elder who doesn't like children. |
| C．An elder who has confidence and influence. |
| D．A teenager who is overconfident and impolite. |
| A．Whippersnapper. | B．Tape. | C．Stewardess. | D．Dungarees. |
| A．To show readers how to stay young. |
| B．To explain how to keep up with the times. |
| C．To analyze the differences among modern words. |
| D．To advise readers not to use some old-fashioned words. |
7 . Arinze Stanley is a talented young Nigerian artist whose works often leave people asking themselves if they’re looking at a pencil drawing or a high-definition black and white photograph. Yes, his drawing skills are that good!
Arinze’s interest in art, and drawing in particular, was started at a young age, primarily by the fact that he was always surrounded by paper. His family ran a paper company, so he would often kill time by grabbing a piece of paper and trying his hand at drawing. But he only started exploring hyper-realism in 2012, and became a professional artist a year later. He has never taken any professional art classes, and says that the level of detail he is able to produce is only the result of years of practice, Looking at his fantastic artworks, it's safe to say that he has come a long way in very little time.
“I’ve got a motto I work with and that’s‘Practice, Patience,and Persistence’,” Arinze said.“Constant practice makes me better at what I do but it will not have been possible without persistence and patience, as it takes over 200 hours to complete a drawing and I only have time to work during the night due to my busy schedule at work during the day.”
Arinze says that he takes inspiration for his artworks from everything around him and takes reference photos himself using a camera, but focuses primarily on portraits. He acknowledges that he often ends up staring at people's feces unconsciously, and adds that being a portrait artist has made him appreciate the varieties of human facial structures and details.
1. What does the author think of Arinze’s works?| A．They are contradictory. | B．They are controversial. |
| C．They are quite true to life. | D．They make the audience less confident. |
| A．He used to take art classes. | B．He had easy access to paper. |
| C．He was interested in paper folding. | D．He was able to take amazing photos. |
| A．His real life. | B．Art books. |
| C．Masters’ drawings. | D．His wild imagination. |
| A．is still an amateur artist | B．draws extremely quickly |
| C．is born to be detail-focused | D．has progressed quickly in drawing |
8 . Most sea turtles, whales and fish may have plastic in their bodies. To determine the various forms and colors of this material in marine animals, Marga Rivas at the University of Almeria in Spain and her team analyzed data from 112 studies published in the past decade. These looked for microplastics and larger macro plastics in marine species globally.
Of the studies, 80 examined the gastrointestinal tracts (胃肠道)of animals to see what they had taken in. The others also looked at wider animal tissues to identify plastics that end up in other parts of the body. After examining all of the data, Rivas and her team concluded that 66 per cent of sea turtles have white-colored macro and microplastics in their systems, while 55 percent have a distinct class of plastic called microfibers, which are shed by some fabrics (织物). The high amount of white plastic in turtles was unsurprising, says Rivas, given that plastic of this color, particularly larger pieces, may resemble jellyfish, a large part of the animals' diets.
Microfibers were also present in 80 percent of whales and dolphins - and white macro and microplastics in 38 percent of them. The researchers also concluded that clear fiber microplastics are probably the most common form of this waste that is taken in by large marine animals globally. Rivas and her colleagues also discovered that the animals with the highest rates of plastic were those in the Mediterranean and the northeast Indian Ocean.
“The Mediterranean is the most contaminated sea in the world, so we expected to find these results,” says Rivas. Marine plastic pollution has increased roughly 10-fbld since 1980, and Rivas says the problem is worsened by inadequate water treatment systems. In parts of India and the southeast Mediterranean, waste water isn’t adequately treated or recycled, she says. This means that microfibers shed by fabrics in washing machines, and larger pieces of rubbish, enter the sea. “It’s possible to introduce management strategies to control these huge threats,” says Rivas.
1. How did Rivas and her team conduct the study?| A．By doing comparative experiments. |
| B．By analyzing data from previous studies. |
| C．By determining the forms and colors of plastics. |
| D．By looking for plastics in global marine animals. |
| A．White plastic looks like the food sea turtles consume. |
| B．More while plastic was in the sea than that of other colors. |
| C．White plastic is the most common form of the plastic waste. |
| D．White microfibers from fabrics were abundant in the oceans. |
| A．Researched | B．Conserved | C．Examined | D．Polluted |
| A．Health. | B．Lifestyle. | C．Science. | D．Education. |
9 . Inventions That Changed the World
The medieval era was not short of groundbreaking ideas. As we'll explore here important scientific leaps and popular new products were invented in this era, some of which remain important to this day.
The Printing Press
Date 11 th—15th Century
Use: Publishing
Well before Johannes Gutenberg brought the idea of mass production of printed text to Europe with his Gutenberg Bible, the moveable type printing press was already in use in China. Before this, in Asia as in Europe, books were handwritten to be copied. In 1440 Gutenberg applied similar technology to mass produce books for the general public. Freeing up access to knowledge in a cheap and efficient way was a game changer.
Coffee
Date: 15tlh Century
Use: Drink
The exact timing and origin of coffee bean cultivation is greatly disputed, but we can say with some confidence that by the 15th century coffee beans were being grown and roasted for the production of coffee in the Yemeni region of Arabia. From there it would spread to Egypt and eventually to Europe. First though it took root in the Near East where the stimulating drink became a popular alternative to alcohol. The secondary offshoot of coffee drinking became the spread of coffeehouses where men would meet to play games like chess as well as discuss politics, smoke and listen to music.
Gunpowder
Date: 10th Century
Use: Entertainment, Firearms
The black powder was an incredibly important milestone for humanity. This relatively simple explosive mixture might be best known for its use in weapons and fireworks, but it also offered new means of mining for resources, which was a massive time — and energy-saving innovation. The formula originates in China where the mixture was first used for setting fires. The impact of this technology on the world of weaponry is well known to us now.
1. What does the Printing Press and Gunpowder have in common?| A．They have similar uses. | B．They were related to China. |
| C．They appeared at the same period. | D．They were time-saving innovations. |
| A．It produced books in Europe. | B．It freed up lots of human labor. |
| C．It changed the game of printing. | D．It made knowledge accessible affordably. |
| A．Another choice to alcohol. | B．Means of mining for resources. |
| C．A place to meet and play games. | D．Important milestones for humanity. |
10 . Though it is not good for us to expose ourselves to sunlight for too long, allowing ourselves appropriate amount of exposure to sunlight gives us many benefits and affects us in a number of ways.
Without the sun, life would not have developed. It gives us energy and heats our world. The sun gives us light and thus in turn we are able to see the beautiful colors in our world. It makes us feel good when we feel the warmth of its rays on our shoulders. We store the energy from the sun to help build and heat our houses.
Without sunlight we would not be able to survive. Sunlight gives balance. All living things live in a food chain and at the beginning of the food chain conies the plant which absorbs sunlight and transforms light energy into chemical energy ,which will then be absorbed by another life to be turned into a new kind of energy and so on.
One of the benefits that we can get from sunlight is that we can receive vitamin D from sunlight. It helps us to keep a healthy body, control the amount of minerals in the body, which is needed to help keep our bones and teeth in good condition and helps to keep a well-balanced mind.
Different places on the earth receive varying degrees of sunlight, which will decide the region's climate. For example, the farther away it is from the equator （赤道）,the sharper the angle of the sun's rays that reach it, which means that sunlight coverage will be more spread out, and receive less heat than lower latitude（纬度）areas nearer the equator.
1. Why does sunlight give balance?| A．It helps to pass energy. | B．It helps to absorb energy. |
| C．It helps to form new lives. | D．It helps to protect new lives. |
| A．Reducing the amount of minerals. | B．Improving the nerve system. |
| C．Keeping the bones and teeth healthy. | D．Obtaining a well-balanced diet. |
| A．Which place is the hottest. | B．How sunlight affects the climate. |
| C．How to get more sunlight. | D．How much sunlight a place needs. |
| A．Avoiding Being Exposed to Sunlight Too Long |
| B．Varying Degrees of Sunlight on the World |
| C．Benefits of Sunlight on the World |
| D．Making Full Use of Sunlight |
