1 . The 2020 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to former U.S. Poet Laureate（桂冠诗人）Louise Gluck. The prize committee cited “her unique poetic voice that with plain beauty makes individual existence universal”. Gluck is the first American woman to win the award since Toni Morrison in 1993. Gluck, 77, joins a list of literary giants and previous Nobelists who include, in this century, Canadian short-story master Alice Munro, Chinese magical-realist Mo Yan, etc.
Gluck’s work includes 12 collections of poetry and a few volumes of essays on literary writing. “All are characterized by a striving for clarity（清晰）. Childhood and family life, the close relationship with parents and siblings, is a theme that has remained central to her,” Anders Olsson, the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Literature, said. “She seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs,” Olsson added, citing her 2006 collection Averno, which the committee described as “masterly” for its “visionary interpretation of the myth of Persephone’s (珀尔塞福涅) fall into hell in the captivity (囚禁) of Hades(哈得斯), the god of death”.
Being a professor at Yale and a resident of Cambridge, Gluck also served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2003 to 2004 and is no stranger to awards. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection of poems titled The Wild Iris, in which “she describes the incredible return of life after winter in the poem Snowdrops,” the Nobel literature committee said Thursday. She also won the 2014 National Book Award for the poem Faithful and Virtuous Night. In 2016, President Obama awarded the National Humanities Medal to Gluck in a White House ceremony.
The publicity-shy Gluck did not immediately issue any comment about the latest honor for her body of work, which spans more than half a century. In a 2012 interview, she acknowledged that prizes can make “existence in the world easier” but did not amount to the immortality(不朽) of a true artist.
1. What can we know about Gluck from Paragraph 1?| A．She is as popular as the Chinese novelist Mo Yan. |
| B．She won the Nobel Prize for her special literary style. |
| C．She is the first American to win a Nobel Prize in literature. |
| D．She is the only Poet Laureate in modern American history. |
| A．Daily life. | B．Nature. |
| C．Careers. | D．Classical myths. |
| A．To show Gluck’s contributions to literature. |
| B．To prove Gluck’s great passion for writing. |
| C．To present Gluck’s outstanding achievements. |
| D．To stress Gluck’s influence on other poets. |
| A．She is content with it. |
| B．She takes it very seriously. |
| C．She deserves a higher honor. |
| D．She doesn’t attach great importance to it. |
2 . The grey squirrels(松鼠)and Mary Krupa became friends during Mary Krupa's first week at Penn State University. After seeing them running around, she wondered what they would look like with tiny hats on their heads. Today, everyone at the university knows her as the “Squirrel Girl".
Mary started bringing them food, and gradually they began to trust her. She managed to put a hat on a squirrel and take a picture. Thinking that her friends could use something to lift their spirits, she started posting those photos on Facebook. The response(回应)was greatly positive, and before long Mary and her squirrels became very famous on the Internet.
Growing up in a neighbourhood outside State College, Mary was always fond of birds and animals around her home, but she didn't communicate with people very much. She was later diagnosed(诊断)with Asperger's syndrome(埃斯伯格综合征)，but the squirrels changed that. “Being together with the squirrels is actually a good way to break the ice, because I'll be sitting here touching a squirrel and other people will come over and we'll just start like feeding the squirrels together and chatting about them," she said. “I am a lot more outgoing.
Perhaps you're wondering how Mary is able to get the squirrels to do what she wants for her photos. Actually, it has a lot to do with food. For example, whenever she wants them to hold or play with something, she puts peanut butter on a plate, and they'll grab(抓住)it. But getting to that part took a while. In the beginning, she would throw peanuts up the trees on campus and invite the squirrels to come down and get them, but they didn't want to approach(接近)her. She had the patience to earn their trust, though.
This year, Mary graduated with a degree in wildlife science. She wants to be a science writer and educate people about how to protect the environment. As for her furry friends, Mary plans to stay in the area and visit them as often as she can.
1. How did Mary manage to make the squirrels trust her?| A．By playing music for them. |
| B．By providing them with food. |
| C．By playing together with them. |
| D．By building a small house for them. |
| A．She is friendlier to others. |
| B．She is more interested in animals. |
| C．She is more outgoing than before. |
| D．She is more willing to share her secrets. |
| A．She is studying medicine in the university. |
| B．She is making a study on the life habits of squirrels. |
| C．She is very patient when getting close to the squirrels. |
| D．She likes animals because she can take photos of them. |
| A．The Squirrel Girl of Penn State University |
| B．How Mary Made Friends with Wild Animals |
| C．How Mary Helped Squirrels in Her Neighbourhood |
| D．Mary's Studying Experience in Penn State University |
3 . Later this month, Tate Britain will host its first Van Gogh exhibition since 1947. Here we've rounded up 4 of his best paintings before the show.
Potato Eaters
Potato Eaters was Van Gogh's first major work and, despite a distinct lack of colour, it was one that he was most proud of. His aim was to represent the difficulties of country life, so the farmers are painted in earthy tones with rough faces and bony hands. He was more concerned with conveying his message than achieving technical perfection in this painting.
Irises
Van Gogh finished almost 142 pieces during his stay in the Saint Remy de Provence asylum (精神病院), where he was a voluntary patient from 1889 to 1890. This piece was started shortly after he arrived there. The hospital garden provided much inspiration for the artist during his stay there. Originally, the flowers in this work were painted purple but the red pigment (色素) faded over time and has now turned blue.
Cafe Terrace at Night
Despite being painted more than 130 years ago, this cafe still exists in France and has since been renamed the Cafe Van Gogh. This artwork marks the first time Van Gogh's famous post-impressionistic star-filled sky was seen in a piece, and it was painted on the ground, in person, rather than from memory. While the artwork doesn't bear his signature, it's widely known to be Van Gogh's, as he mentioned Cafe Terrace at Night in a number of his letters.
Wheat Field With Cypresses
This piece was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's asylum window and was finished on the spot. The work was the title of three paintings that offer an insight into his stay at the hospital.' Van Gogh was 80 pleased with the summer landscape that he made three copies there, one of the same size—which hangs in the National Gallery and two smaller copies which he planned to gift to his mother and sister.
1. Which painting did Vincent van Gogh take most pride in?| A．Irises. | B．Potato Eaters. |
| C．Cafe Terrace at Night. | D．Wheat Field With Cypresses. |
| A．Purple. | B．Blue. | C．Red. | D．Yellow. |
| A．They were the same in size. | B．They had more than one copy. |
| C．They were signed by the artist, | D．They were painted on the ground. |
4 . Earthquake rescue robots experienced their final tests in Beijing. Their designers said with these robots, rescuers would be able to buy more time to save lives during an earthquake.
This kind of robot looking like a helicopter is a flying robot. It’s about 3 meters long, and it took about 4 years to develop the model. Its main functions (功能) are to collect information from the air, and send goods of up to 30 kilos to people trapped by an earthquake. It has a high-definition 360-degree panoramic (全景的) camera. It can work day and night and is also able to send the latest pictures from the quake area.
Dr Qi Juntong, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, “The most important feature of this flying robot is that it doesn’t need a distant control. We just set the destination information on it, and then it takes off, and lands by itself. It flies as high as 3, 000 meters, and as fast as 100 kilometers per hour.
This robot has a different function—it can change as the environment changes. Its main job is to search for any signs of life in places where human rescuers are unable to go. As well as a detector (探测器) that finds victims and detects poisonous gases, a camera is placed in the 3-metre-long robot, which can work in the dark. Another use for the rescuers is the supply bot. With its 10-metre-long pipe, people who are trapped in the ruins will be able to get supplies including oxygen and liquids.
Experts have said that the robots would enter production and serve as part of the national earthquake rescue team as soon as possible.
1. What does Dr Qi Juntong think makes this robot mainly different from the others?| A．It has more functions. | B．It has a unique shape. |
| C．It has more advanced cameras. | D．It can work by itself once given the information. |
| A．A camera. | B．A detector. | C．A rescuer. | D．A supply. |
| A．It is carried by the helicopter. | B．It weighs about 30 kilos. |
| C．It is a machine with a length of 10 meters. | D．It hasn’t been put into production so far. |
| A．What the robot looks like. | B．An introduction to a robot. |
| C．How the robot is made. | D．Information about earthquakes. |
5 . O'Plerou Grebet is a 22-year-old graphic design student in Côte d'Ivoire, Africa. Everywhere he looks, he sees signs of Western influence — from the glass skyscrapers and malls lining the streets in his home city to the way his fellows speak and dress. “We are living like we’re Western people,” he says. That even applies to the keyboard culture — when his friends text using the messaging apps, they especially love to use the “tears of joy” face emoji (表情符号). So he used his design skills to create digital stickers that show what he thinks is missing: symbols of history, life and culture in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries.
In 2018, he released a free pack of over 360 stickers in a mobile app called "Zouzoukwa”, which means "image" in the local Bété language. Available on Android and iOS, it now has over 120,000 downloads. It's more impressive than other emoji apps, with the feature of connecting to the realities of Africans using it. “ It would make their jokes even livelier,” says Grebet. The stickers include traditional masks, African instruments like the djembe drum and people dressed in a variety of prints and clothing that can reflect local tradition.
Some of his favorite designs are a series of facial expressions commonly used in his area, but not available as standardized emojis. There’s a woman with lips pursed, giving some serious side-eye—a sign you can use when your friend keeps you waiting long for no reason. It's common in Côte d'Ivoire and also translates across cultures, Grebet says.
The next step, Grebet says, is to try and get some of his designs into the official emoji set, where they’d reach more than 2 billion people worldwide, as usable ones on smartphones everywhere. Grebet also plans to keep traveling and expanding his experiences and his sticker pack. His designs so far are drawn from his experience and research into a few African countries.
1. How does Grebet find their local culture according to paragraph 1?| A．It's very similar to Western culture. | B．It's absent in many aspects of their life. |
| C．It's full of inspirational ideas and symbols. | D．It's influential in local people's lifestyle. |
| A．It provides a better source of jokes. | B．It's designed based on daily items. |
| C．It's related more closely to the locals. | D．It applies to both Android and iOS. |
| A．Curiosity. | B．Sorrow. | C．Annoyance. | D．Disappointment. |
| A．Be on tour to advocate his designs. | B．Create an official emoji set. |
| C．Research into more African countries. | D．Standardize some of his emojis. |
6 . Somewhere in the warm, clear waters off the coast of Australia, a mature bottlenose dolphin is swimming with her daughter. It's dinnertime. But, instead of chasing down a fish in open waters like she usually does, mom swims over to a basket sponge (海绵)growing on the ocean floor. In a quick move, she breaks off a piece of the sponge, then fits it closely over her mouth. It's hard not to wonder what that watchful youngster might be thinking about all this. Are you going to eat that sponge? Are we playing?
With the sponge secured on her beak, the older dolphin starts sweeping her head back and forth across the ocean floor. She's looking for fish like the sand perch （沙鲈），which hide themselves on the floor of the sea under the sand. As for the sponge stuck onto her mouth, it allows her to clear away the sand without injuring herself on broken pieces of coral, or maybe even suffering the sting （刺痛）of the scorpion fish. The extra work it takes to catch a fish like the sand perch is worth it because they tend to be fattier. And for a dolphin, fattier means more nutritious.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, a sand perch comes out. The fish dashes off for a few yards and then hesitates, waiting for a moment before burying itself in the sand again. In that brief pause, the elder dolphin shakes off the sponge, surfaces for a breath, and then comes down and catches the sand perch before it can rebury itself. She then passes it to her daughter. And with that, the younger dolphin hasn't just gotten a good meal ； more importantly, she's learned a powerful hunting technique - one that years from now, she'll pass along to her own children.
1. Which word best describes the young dolphin's feeling in the first paragraph?| A．Anxious. | B．Curious. |
| C．Scared. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．To chase down fattier fish. | B．To play with her children. |
| C．To protect herself from being hurt. | D．To hide herself under the sand. |
| A．She waits for the right time. | B．She hides under the sand. |
| C．She sets a trap for it. | D．She makes use of space. |
| A．Guidance of an experienced elder. | B．Reliance of a young dolphinonher mom. |
| C．Theprocess of catching fat fish. | D．The powerful hunting technique. |
7 . Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares, but many publishers are too cautious about piracy（盗版） and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.
Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers（电子阅读器） are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money. If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. The files disappear from the device when they are due.
E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible（不兼容的）e-book formats devices and licenses. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s global market dominance the company can control fees and conditions. Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon, the world’s biggest online bookseller, last year. Owners of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon’s website, where they must use their Amazon account to secure a loan.
According to Pew, an opinion researcher library users are a perfect for market for Amazon. Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.
Library supporters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.
So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.
Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.
1. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that __________.| A．libraries and publishers face the same problem of e-books’ piracy |
| B．libraries are eager to keep strong relationship with publishers |
| C．most publishers are hesitant to cooperate with libraries |
| D．several big publishers have sold e-books to libraries |
| A．Book sales may drop sharply because of convenient electronic borrowing. |
| B．There are lots of different and incompatible e-book formats available |
| C．There is no time limit for the book files downloaded on the device. |
| D．E-books must be checked out and returned to libraries regularly. |
| A．e-books can be lent at libraries as many times as you like |
| B．OverDrive distributes e-books and audio files to publishers |
| C．over half of Americans are borrowing e-books from libraries |
| D．Amazon is adopting measures to win more customers |
| A．The Hopeful Future of Publishing Business |
| B．The Uncertain Economics of Lending E-books |
| C．The Dull Relationship between Libraries and Publishers |
| D．The Close Cooperation between Over and Amazon |
8 . Everybody knows that Coca Cola is red and Starbucks is green. Most of us can name companies and their own brand colors. What we may not know about is the science behind these companies' choices of these colors. Color psychology is the study of how colors affect people's feelings, actions, and decision-making. Companies use color psychology when they develop their brands and advertisements in order to encourage us to buy. In fact studies have shown that around 90 percent of people spend money depending on color and appearance. Because of this, companies use colors to influence how we feel about their products. For example, it’s no accident that many tech products use white; it's simple and clean. At the same time, cosmetics companies prefer colors like purple, black, or pink that mean love, comfort, and romance.
Companies often choose active colors that make you buy right now. Red, for example, is a high-energy, exciting color that moves people to take action. Yellow is the color of summer, and it’s bright and remarkable. In fact, most big companies have something to do with certain specific colors. Studies show that customers prefer brands that they know. Then those with a proper color plan, such as LEGO or Facebook are likely to perform more strongly on the market. Research has also shown that men and women like different colors. Men prefer blue, green, and black while women prefer like purple and pink.
1. What products are usually made white?| A．Food and drinks. | B．Clothes for women. |
| C．Computer and earphones. | D．Starbucks |
| A．They pay attention to the color plan. | B．They may be popular on the market. |
| C．They may be bright and remarkable. | D．They decide to choose red and yellow for the plan. |
| A．A coat in pink. | B．A pair of shoes in green. |
| C．A handbag in black. | D．A T-shirt in yellow |
| A．Few companies use color psychology. |
| B．Colors influence our shopping habits. |
| C．We should buy something according to it's color. |
| D．colors don’t affect people's feelings, actions, and decision-making. |
9 . It is 40 meters long and 6 meters wide. This must be the biggest bus you have ever seen. It can carry 1,200 to 1,400 people.
It is China’s new Super Bus. It is going for a test run in Beijing at the end of this year. Some other cities are also interested in running the Super Bus. They hope the traffic problems will be solved.
The Super Bus runs along fixed tracks (固定轨道) . The bus sits on top of two 2.2-meter-tall legs. The legs have wheels at one end. Small cars can drive under the bus, so the Super Bus does not take up road space.
The bus runs on electricity and solar power. It can travel up to 60 km every hour. Its creator, Song Youzhou, says a lot of traffic jams (堵塞) will be reduced.
The Super Bus can do the work of 40 buses. In that way, it can save 860 tons of fuel (燃料) every year, according to Song.
“To build a Super Bus and its track costs less than building subways. Subways are nearly ten times more expensive to build.”Song said.
Some people worry that the Super Bus may not be safe. However, Song says there’s no need for concern. The Super Bus has laser scanners (激光扫描仪) between its legs. The scanners make sure the cars keep a safe distance.
1. The Super Bus can carry ________ people.| A．1,300 | B．1,500 | C．1,700 | D．1,900 |
| A．the bus doesn’t take up road space |
| B．the bus can do the work of 40 buses |
| C．the bus is very easy to build and drive |
| D．the bus can save a lot of energy every year |
| A．the bus is tall enough |
| B．the road is wide enough |
| C．there are caser scanners between its legs |
| D．the bus travels at 60 km per hour |
| A．the normal bus | B．the small car | C．the subway | D．the Super Bus |
10 . School Programs
Hillbrook School Music Program is offered all year round to students of grades 1-5. You can choose violin lessons or piano lessens. Enjoy our beautiful school with grades and playgrounds. TEL: 650-968-5957 www.hillbrook.com |
Emerson School Sports Program for students of grades 1-3 starts in January ! Woodshop Program starts on January 15th. Students of grades 4-6 are welcome. TEL:650-903-0986 www.emerson.com |
Monarch School Group classes in art are offered every day. Nice and patient teachers are waiting for you. Monthly shows and weekly classes with guest artists. Art Program is only for beginners. TEL:650-720-1677 www.manarch.com |
Almaden School Every child can be different and special. Our-Development Program helps students of grades 1-6 improve thinking skills through math, science, life skills, cultural activities and fun games TEL:650-403-3575 www.almaden.com |
1. Which school offers Music Programe?
| A．Hillbrook School | B．Emerson School | C．Monarch School | D．Almaden School |
| A．650-968-5957 | B．650-903-0986 | C．650-403-3575 | D．650-720-1677 |
| A．Sports Program | B．Art Program | C．Development Program | D．Woodshop Program |
