1 . The company SpaceX has already launched hundreds of its Star-link satellites, with plans to put as many as 42,000 of them in Earth orbit. Its goal is to provide high-speed Internet to billions of people. Moving toward that kind of access is important, but it comes at a cost. Glittering with reflected sunlight, these first orbiters, sent up in the past year, are brighter than 99 percent of the 5,000 or so other satellites now circling Earth, and obviously there are going to be a lot more. This sudden increase is bad for astronomy: the probability of a Star-link satellite crossing a telescope’s field of view and ruining an observation will be quite high near sunset. For that reason, my fellow astronomers have signed a petition (请愿书) calling for governments to protect the night sky from this invasion.
In response to protests, SpaceX has promised to address the visibility problem by, for example, applying experimental coatings — essentially painting the satellites black — but the company’s aggressive launch schedule remains unchanged. And the satellites’ illuminated (被照亮) surfaces are mostly their solar panels — exactly the part that cannot be painted over.
Unfortunately, at present no regulations govern how bright a single satellite can be, let alone thousands of them together. Even if there were such regulations, one nation’s laws can not hinder (阻碍) another country’s launches. Space literally has no borders, and the sky will need to be protected at an international level. As a consequence, we hope that the United Nations will find a way to think outside of the box to save the sky for everyone.
When I was growing up in Montana, it was a game to be the first to find a moving satellite among the host of stars in the night sky. Soon it could be a game to recognize the constellations (星座) behind a swarm of moving points of light.
1. What is the writer’s attitude toward Space X’s launching plans?| A．Indifferent. | B．Doubtful. | C．Optimistic. | D．Disapproving. |
| A．SpaceX plans to send too many Star-line satellites into space. |
| B．The Star-line satellites will possibly ruin an observation near sunset. |
| C．The first orbiters are brighter than most of other satellites circling Earth. |
| D．Space X fails to provide high-speed Internet to people around the world. |
| A．The United States. | B．The United Nations. |
| C．The company SpaceX. | D．Just one nation. |
| A．Preserve the Night Sky | B．Ban Star-line Satellites |
| C．Observe the Stars Attentively | D．Protest against Space X |
2 . Do you like running enough to make it a habit? Tierney Wolfgram does; she has made running a lifelong career and isn't stopping.
In February, the 16-year-old from a high school, US, competed at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. She finished the marathon(42.195 km)with a time of 2:42:47 as the youngest competitor in the race and ranked 76th out of 390 runners. However, the cross-country(越野的)season was postponed to winter because of the COVID-19. So she jumped at the opportunity to train for another race-the Parkway Marathon in California. In November, Wolfgram broke the Women's American Junior marathon record with her time of 2:31:49. The old record was 2:34:32, which had stood since 1984.
“I'm completely stunned, ”said Wolfgram's coach. “I knew she was going to break it, but she really showed out！”
During the run, Wolfgram once hit a wall pretty hard, but she overcame it to finish. “I guess I can say I gave it my all, ”she told Runner's World. “When I finished, all I was thinking was I felt super happy,” Wolfgram said This was only her third marathon. In 2018, when Wolfgram was 15 years old, she ran her first marathon just because she wanted to see if she had the ability to do it. “I believed that I would get faster as the distances got longer. . . I'm still glad that I did it. ”
When preparing for that first marathon, she ran up to 120 miles per week. Although her parents didn't have any background in running, they helped Wolfgram train. At first, her dad would take her out in the morning and run about 13 miles. The distance would gradually increase each day. On top of her runs in the morning, she would do cross-country practice after school.
Now Wolfgram will consider attending the Olympics Games in 2024 after it's scheduled.
1. What can we learn about Wolfgram from Paragraph 2?| A．She was the champion at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. |
| B．She put off the cross-country season for the COVID-19. |
| C．She broke an Olympic marathon record in November. |
| D．She prepared for the Parkway Marathon in California. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Worried. | C．Shocked. | D．Interested |
| A．Her parents' encouragement. | B．Her desire to prove she could do it. |
| C．Her coach's support and help. | D．Her hope to break the national record |
| A．Sports. | B．Lifestyle | C．Culture. | D．Opinion |
3 . Listening looks easy, yet hard to master. Don’t worry. Here we’ve collected four books to help you to be a good listener.
The Good Listener by James E. Sullivan
The book points out how our poor listening hurts others and how much we can heal（使……好受些）a person just by listening and understanding his/her feelings. It also gives suggestions on how we can improve our listening and how we can share so others will understand us better.
Just Listen by Mark Goulston
This book is about listening and giving responses. Just Listen is a good how-to guide to becoming a better face-to-face communicator. It reveals（揭露）how to make a powerful first impression, how to respond positively and more. If you deal with difficult people around you, this is a must-read for you to not only understand them but also make them feel understood.
Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari
Poor listening can lead to poor business decisions. The book focuses on corporate（团体的）listening. It’s great for anyone who leads groups through decision and design. The author offers a step-by-step guide to turn readers into active listeners.
The Lost Art of Listening by Michael P. Nichols
What is it that keeps so many of us from really listening? Nichols answers the question. The book is filled with real-world examples that show easy-to-learn techniques for becoming a better listener. The techniques enable us to break through misunderstandings and conflicts in our relationships.
1. Who gives helpful guides on listening and responding?| A．Mark Goulston | B．James E. Sullivan |
| C．Bernard T. Ferrari | D．Michael P. Nichols |
| A．Just Listen | B．Power Listening |
| C．The Good Listener | D．The lost Art of Listening |
| A．They are based on the author’s experience. |
| B．They are written in the same style. |
| C．They provide real-life stories. |
| D．They share the same theme. |
4 . Some time ago, I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn’t think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there were a whole lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn’t even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth — so I decided that my approach must be wrong.
I went into the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, “Would you like to buy a chair?” He looked it over carefully and said, “Yes, not a bad chair. How much do you want for it, sir?” “Twenty pounds,” I said. “OK,” he said, “I’ll give you twenty pounds.” “It’s got a slightly broken leg,” I said. “Yes, I saw that, but it’s nothing.”
Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. “What will you do with it?” I asked. “Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done.” “I’ll buy it,” I said. “What do you mean? You’ve just sold it to me,” he said. “Yes, I know but I’ve changed my mind. I’m sorry; I’ll give you twenty-seven pounds for it.” “Your must be crazy,” he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. “I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair.” “You’re right,” I said. “And what would you have done if I had walked in and said would you mend this chair for me?” “I wouldn’t have agreed to do it,” he said. “We don’t do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But I’ll mend this for you, shall we say for a fiver (五镑钞票)?” He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.
1. We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer ________.| A．was rather impolite |
| B．was warmly received |
| C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
| D．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
| A．changed his mind |
| B．accepted the offer |
| C．saw the writer’s purpose |
| D．decided to help the writer |
| A．￡5. | B．￡7. | C．￡20. | D．￡27. |
| A．smart | B．careful | C．honest | D．funny |
5 . Far from the land of Antarctica, a huge shelf of ice meets the ocean. At the underside of the shelf there lives a small fish, the Antarctic cod.
For forty years scientists have been curious about that fish. How does it live where most fish would freeze to death? It must have some secret. The Antarctic is not a comfortable place to work and research has been slow. Now it seems we have an answer.
Research was begun by cutting holes in the ice and catching the fish. Scientists studied the fish’s blood and measured its freezing point.
The fish were taken from seawater that had a temperature of -1.88℃ and many tiny pieces of ice floating in it. The blood of the fish did not begin to freeze until its temperature was lowered to -2.05℃. That small difference is enough for the fish to live at the freezing temperature of the ice-salt mixture.
The scientists’ next research job was clear: Find out what in the fish’s blood kept it from freezing. Their search led to some really strange thing made up of a protein never before seen in the blood of a fish. When it was removed, the blood froze at seawater temperature. When it was put back, the blood again had its antifreeze quality and a lowered freezing point.
Study showed that it is an unusual kind of protein. It has many small sugar molecules held in special positions within each big protein molecule. Because of its sugar content, it is called a glycoprotein. So it has come to be called the antifreeze fish glycoprotein. Or AFGP.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The terrible conditions in the Antarctic. |
| B．A special fish living in freezing waters. |
| C．The ice shelf around Antarctica. |
| D．Protection of the Antarctic cod. |
| A．The seawater has a temperature of -1.88℃. |
| B．It loves to live in the ice-salt mixture. |
| C．A special protein keeps it from freezing. |
| D．Its blood has a temperature lower than -2.05℃. |
| A．A type of ice-salt mixture. | B．A newly found protein. |
| C．Fish blood. | D．Sugar molecule. |
| A．sugar | B．ice |
| C．blood | D．molecule |
Newsmagazine of science, devoted to the wonders and stories of modern science, is written for the educated general reader. Published(出版) by Disney Magazine Publishing Co., Discover tells many of the same stories professionals(专业人员) read in Scientific American. A truly delightful family science magazine, each issue(每期) brings to light new and newsworthy topics to make dinnertime and water-cooler conversations interesting.
Cover Price: $59.88
Price: $19.95($1.66/issue)
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Issues: 12 issues/12 months
Self
Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Self is a handbook devoted to women’s overall physical and mental health. Every issue contains usable articles such as “Style Lab”, in which wearable clothes are mixed and matched on non-models and the “Eat-right Road Map”, with tips on how to eat properly.
Cover Price: $35.86
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Issues: 10 issues/12 months
Instyle
Instyle is a guide to the lives and lifestyles of the world’s famous people. The magazine covers the choices people make about their homes, their clothes and their free time activities. With photos and articles, it opens the door to these people’s homes, families, parties and weddings, offering ideas about beauty, fitness and in general, lifestyles. Publisher: The Time Inc．Magazine Company.
Cover Price: $47.88
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Wired
This magazine is designed for leaders in the field of information engineering, including top managers and professionals in the computer, business, design and education industries. Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Wired often carries articles on how technology changes people’s lives.
Cover Price: $59.40
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Issues: 10 issues/12months
1. Which of the following magazines is published monthly?
| A．Discover | B．Self | C．Instyle | D．Wired |
| A．Wired and Instyle | B．Discover and Instyle |
| C．Self and Discove | D．Self and Wired |
| A．Instyle | B．Wired | C．Discover | D．Self |
| A．Instyle | B．Self | C．Wired | D．Discover |
