1 . Electric cars with heavy batteries should face higher taxes due to harmful particles(小颗粒) released by their tyres and their impact on the road surface, experts have recommended.
It is known that switching to electric cars will remove pollutants from exhausts(废气). However, models with large batteries capable of travelling 300 miles between charges emit(排放）up to 8 percent more particles from tyres and road wear than petrol cars, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It says electric vehicles should also be charged tolls(过路费) aimed at reducing emissions.
Drivers could also be encouraged to buy lighter electric cars by linking vehicle taxes to weight, the Paris-based think tank(专家组) adds. It calls for a “reevaluation of the net environmental benefits” of electric cars and suggests that they should not be given “blanket support”. “Road traffic regulations should consider both exhaust and non - exhaust emissions from all vehicles and should take into account factors like vehicle weight and tyre composition, it says. “While exhaust emissions are heavily regulated, there are no limits on the pollution a car can cause from tyres, brakes and road surfaces. With strict controls on tailpipe emissions and rapid development of electric vehicles, non — exhaust emissions are quickly becoming the major source of particles from road transport,” the think tank says.
Electric cars are almost £90 cheaper to insure than petrol cars due to electric cars having fewer moving parts, which makes them less likely to break down, according to a study by Compare the market, the price comparison website.
1. Why should electric cars with heavy batteries face higher taxes?| A．Because they are more expensive. |
| B．Because they release more exhausts. |
| C．Because their tyres threaten the environment. |
| D．Because their batteries need charging frequently. |
| A．Their drivers don’t pay tolls at present. |
| B．They emit 8 percent less particles than petrol cars. |
| C．They can remove pollutants from exhausts and batteries. |
| D．Their power can be switched between electricity and petrol. |
| A．Electric vehicle taxes should be decided by its cost. |
| B．The pollution caused from car brakes can be ignored. |
| C．Tailpipe emissions are still the major source of particles. |
| D．The benefits of electric cars to the environment are over estimated. |
| A．Fewer vehicle failures. | B．Better tyre composition. |
| C．Lower vehicle weight. | D．More advanced functions. |
2 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it’s raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head—you’re fully aware of both things, and don’t require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfil, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.
Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it’s much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won’t find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.
Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person’s character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.
As more of a person’s character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to broach more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.
1. What is described in the first paragraph?| A．The first stage of human interaction. |
| B．Ridiculous human behavior in communication. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．The difficulty of having deep conversations. |
| A．Because they are fond of heavy subjects. |
| B．Because they are enthusiastic about politics. |
| C．Because they are too sensitive about topics. |
| D．Because they fail to manage interpersonal distance. |
| A．The length of the answer. | B．The quality of the voice. |
| C．The position of the head. | D．The distance between speakers. |
| A．Reputation of Small Talk | B．Ways of Understanding Personality |
| C．Significance of Small Talk | D．Challenges of Deep Conversation |
3 . The biggest and the smallest of the world’s animals are most at risk of dying out, according to a new analysis, with vertebrates (脊椎动物) in the so-called “Goldilocks zone”—not too big and not too small—winning out. Action is needed to protect animals at both ends of the scale, they say. The research adds to evidence that animals are dying out on such a scale that a sixth extinction is considered under way.
One clue is body size. Research on birds and mammals has shown that those with larger bodies are more likely to go extinct. Yet, when the researchers made a database of thousands of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians (两栖动物) and reptiles (爬行动物) at risk of extinction, they found disproportionate (不成比例的) losses at the large and small ends of the scale.
“Surprisingly, we found that not only the largest of all vertebrate animal species are most threatened, but the very tiniest ones are also highly threatened with extinction,” Prof. Ripple told BBC News.
Large animals, such as elephants, rhinos (犀牛) and lions have long been the target of protection efforts. However, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians that are the giants of their kind, such as the whale shark, Somali ostrich (鸵鸟) and the Chinese giant salamander (蝾螈), tend to be overlooked. Meanwhile, small species at risk--such as frogs and shrews (鼩鼱)--receive very little attention.
“I think, for the smallest species, first of all we need to bring higher awareness to them, because the larger ones get a lot of attention, but the smaller ones get very little,” said Prof. Ripple.
In the study, vertebrates with the smallest and the largest bodies were found to be most at risk of disappearing, whether they were on land or living in oceans, streams or rivers.
Heavyweights are threatened mainly by hunting, while featherweights are losing out to pollution and cutting down forests. “Ultimately, reducing global consumption of wild meat is a key step to reduce negative impacts of hunting, fishing, and trapping on the world’s vertebrates,” they write in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
1. What made the researchers feel surprised?| A．A sixth of animals are dying out. |
| B．Small animals are in great danger. |
| C．Great losses of birds and mammals. |
| D．Big animals are at risk of disappearing. |
| A．Transform our habits. | B．Change our concepts. |
| C．Find ways to save small animals. | D．Take measures to stop pollution. |
| A．Loss of forests. | B．Climate change. |
| C．Human activities. | D．Environmental pollution. |
| A．Size Matters When It Comes to Extinction Risk |
| B．Large Animals Are Badly in Need of Protection |
| C．Why a Great Number of Animals Are Dying out |
| D．What We Should Do to Protect Endangered Species |
4 . LAS VEGAS — It was different in the light of day.
There was no “pop, pop, pop” of gunfire, no screams. Just a quiet lot of cars abandoned by those, like Kassidy Owen, who escaped with their lives.
“It’s strange to hear the silence,” Owen said, “because all I remember was the noise.”
The 22-year-old was one of dozens of concertgoers who returned to the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Wednesday morning to fetch the vehicles they left behind as they fled from a gunman raining down bullets from high above in the tower of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino across the street.
Survivors of the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday needed their cars to move on with their lives -- to get back to work, to school, home. It was the first time they were returning to a scene that would forever change them, when joy and celebration and music turned into killing and horror.
Before they could move forward, they had to go back to the place where they thought they were going to die.
Owen had run to her car to hide and had tried to drive away, but she couldn’t. People were running, bodies dropped to the ground, and cars bottlenecked in the parking lot. During a brief pause after more than 10 minutes of gunfire, she worried the lights of her SUV made everyone inside a shining target.
“They’re shooting again!” her best friend’s brother screamed. “Turn off the car!”
That’s when she got out and fled.
“I just remember shutting the door and running,” Owen said.
Now, nearly three days later, she was back, sitting in the driver’s seat of her SUV. Her eyes were swollen and red. This was a long way from over.
“You just keep hearing the gunshots in your head,” Owen said.
1. Why did Kassidy Owen return to the scene of terror?| A．To get back her car for daily life. | B．To show sympathy to the victims. |
| C．To search for her missing friends. | D．To look into the cause of the shooting. |
| A．abandoned | B．jammed |
| C．stopped | D．left |
| A．Because she had escaped being caught. |
| B．Because she wanted to find the gunman. |
| C．Because she couldn’t rid herself of those terrible scenes. |
| D．Because she had saved others’ lives by turning off the car. |
| A．Going back to where they would die | B．Owen’s experience in Las Vegas |
| C．How to survive in a mass shooting | D．Return to the unforgettable scene |
5 . George, once known as “Midnight Memory Maker,” had been given away after his original owner, Todd Mathieson, died and his wife, Diane, could no longer care for him. She found a new home for George so that he could continue to race for a number of years.
In September, 2018, George was turned over to the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Boston. When he arrived at the league’s adoption center in Dedham, he was slightly underweight, and in need of medical care. But, over all, he was in good health, the league said.
George recuperated (休养) for a few months in Dedham before being put into foster care. “He was highly intelligent, elegant, well-trained and had clearly known love. He was very engaged with humans,” Cordula Robinson, George’s foster parent, said in the statement.
Robinson wanted to help George go home. She contacted animal rescue agencies up and down the East Coast to see if anyone recognized him. To her surprise, someone from New Jersey recognized George as once belonging to Todd Mathieson. He was well known and owned a stable in Connecticut, said Michael DeFina, a spokesman for the ARL. George is notable for his distinctive colors, such as white patches on his hooves (蹄子) that look “like socks,” DeFina said. They went through show photos to confirm George’s identity and contacted his original hostess.
Diane Mathieson was “overwhelmed and ecstatic (欣喜若狂)” about the possibility of reuniting with George.
After 13 years apart, George was transported to his family in Ocala, Florida, where he will enjoy his retirement. “He seems to be walking taller,” Diane said.
1. Why was George given away by his original family?| A．He was a trouble-maker in the community. | B．He often got lost for his poor memory. |
| C．The family couldn’t provide enough care. | D．His wife had found him a new home. |
| A．Bring him to the adoption center. | B．Help his reunion with the family. |
| C．Take some show photos for him. | D．Build an elegant stable for him. |
| A．Todd Mathieson. | B．Cordula Robinson. |
| C．Michael DeFina. | D．Diane Mathieson. |
| A．He used to be a race horse. | B．He enjoyed his retirement. |
| C．He lost both of his parents. | D．He was hard to recognize. |
6 . Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running, research shows, while most likely contributing to fewer injuries. It does, however, have its own problem.
Race walkers are conditioned athletes. The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk, which is about five miles longer than the marathon. But the sport’s rules require that a race walker’s knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact (接触) with the ground at all times. It’s this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity, however, says Jaclyn Norberg, an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem, Mass.
Like running, race walking is physically demanding, she says, According to most calculations, race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories(卡路里) per hour, which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking, although fewer than running, which would probably burn about 1,000 or more calories per hour.
However, race walking does not pound the body as much as running does, Dr. Norberg says. According to her research, runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step, while race walkers, who do not leave the ground, create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step.
As a result, she says, some of the injuries associated with running, such as runner’s knee, are uncommon among race walkers. But the sport’s strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips, so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport. In fact, anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique, she says. It takes some practice.
1. Why are race walkers conditioned athletes?| A．They must run long distances. |
| B．They are qualified for the marathon. |
| C．They have to follow special rules. |
| D．They are good at swinging their legs. |
| A．It’s more popular at the Olympics. |
| B．It’s less challenging physically. |
| C．It’s more effective in body building. |
| D．It’s less likely to cause knee injuries. |
| A．Getting experts’ opinions. |
| B．Having a medical checkup. |
| C．Hiring an experienced coach. |
| D．Doing regular exercises. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. |
| C．Tolerant. | D．Conservative. |
7 . Japan’s biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn’t traveling at all.
For the last month, a married couple has been interacting with a robot—called an Avatar—that’s controlled by their daughter hundreds of miles away. Made by ANA Holdings Inc., it looks like a vacuum cleaner (真空吸尘器) with an iPad attached. But the screen displays the daughter’s face as they chat, and its wheels let her move about the house as though she’s really there.
“Virtual travel” is nothing new, of course. Storytellers, travel writers and artists have been inspiring the senses of armchair tourists (足不出户的旅行者) for centuries. It’s only in recent decades that frequent, safe travel has become available to the non-wealthy.
Yet even as the worlds middle classes climb out of the armchair and into economy-class seats, there are hints of a post-travel society coming. Concerns about sustainability (可持续发展) are causing a loss to carbon-intensive airlines, which do harm to our environment. And the aging of wealthy societies is both limiting physical travel and creating demand for alternative ways to experience the world. For the travel industry, virtual reality offers an inviting response to these trends.
Of course, far-out technologies encourage far-out claims. ANA doesn’t plan to start selling Avatars until next year. Profits, too, will probably be a barrier. By one estimate, the global market for this kind of technology will be worth only about $300 million by 2023. By contrast, ANA’s traditional travel business brought in more than $19 billion last year.
But if the business case for virtual vacations is still weak, the market for technologies that bridge physical distances between families and coworkers seems likely to only expand. ANA’s robots may not replace its airplanes any time soon, but they’ll almost certainly be a part of travels high-tech future.
1. What do we know about Avatar?| A．It’ll take the place of ANA’s airplanes soon. |
| B．It s a kind of the latest vacuum cleaner. |
| C．It is invented by ANA Holdings Inc. |
| D．It’s on sale right now. |
| A．Lower Profits. | B．Aging society. |
| C．Physical distances between families. | D．Concerns about environment. |
| A．Critical. | B．Objective. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
| A．Difficulties for the armchair tourists |
| B．The coming trend of virtual vacation |
| C．Something about virtual reality |
| D．The popularity of Avatar |
8 . Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.
Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in Wyomissing. Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Andrea Gardner, a housewife who previously worked in finance, and Scott Kingsley Swift, a stockbroker. Her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, was an opera singer. Swift has a younger brother, Austin. She grew up on a Christmas-tree farm.
When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem, “Monster in My Closet”. At the age of ten, a computer repairman showed her how to play three chords (和弦) on a guitar, arousing her interest in learning the instrument. Afterwards, Swift wrote her first song, “Lucky You”. When Swift was 12, she devoted an entire summer to writing a 350-page novel, which remains unpublished. She began writing songs regularly and used it as a way to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Swift was a victim of bullying (欺凌), and spent her time writing songs to express her emotions. She also started performing at local karaoke contests, festivals, and fair.
Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, Tennessee, and work with local songwriters. When she was 14, her family moved to Nashville. Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg Fair. In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School, but was then homeschooled for her junior and senior years. In 2008, she earned her high school diploma.
Swift’s greatest musical influence is Shania Twain. Her other influences include Leann Rimes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, and Swifts grandmother. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer, Swifts tastes always leaned more toward country music. In her younger years, she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. She also credits her love for music in her teens to the influence of the Dixie Chicks.
1. What can we know about Swift from the passage?| A．Her first novel came out in 2001. |
| B．She showed her music talent in her teens. |
| C．Her first major show was in Hendersonville High School. |
| D．Her mother influenced her a lot in her later music career. |
| A．Colorful. | B．Busy. |
| C．Successful. | D．Unhappy. |
| A．film star | B．novelist |
| C．opera singer | D．country music star |
| A．family life | B．achievements |
| C．early life | D．contributions |
9 . English is full of funny expressions that don’t always make sense. What do they mean? How do we use them? And where did they come from? Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of each word you see or hear, you may not understand the idiom because you don’t understand the culture behind it. Here are some English idioms based on animals.
When children jump around and act silly, for example, their parents may tell them to stop “monkeying around”. To “monkey around” means to do things that are not useful or serious, or to simply waste time.
But spending time playing with their family pets wouldn’t count as “monkeying around”. Many American families have a pet dog, which keeps the children company and makes them happy. Bu for some reason, which American language experts do not know, Americans use “dog” in a phrase that means to feel unwell. If you are “as sick as a dog”, you’re really, really sick and will have to stay home and rest or even go and see a doctor.
Apart from dogs, cats are also beloved in U.S. households. Sometimes you may hear them mentioned in Americans’ conversations, “I told you to keep that secret, but you have just ‘let the cat out of the bag’!” You probably guessed it — that idiom means to reveal a secret or tell facts that were previously unknown.
Dogs and cats don’t always get along, but they appear side by side in a commonly used idiom. When it rains heavily, people might say it’s “raining cats and dogs” outside.
Bad weather often ruins people’s plans for outdoor activities. But on a lovely day, they can go on an outing or have a picnic in the park. If a swarm of tiny bugs decide they love your picnic food and start to hover (盘旋) around you and your friends, then it would be really annoying, wouldn’t it? That experience perfectly explains why people often tell someone who keeps bothering them to “stop bugging me”.
Idioms are very common in both spoken and written English, so learning them is very important. If you need to understand English, or if you want to speak or write natural-sounding English, you have to learn idioms.
1. According to Paragraph 1, idioms are_____.| A．phrases and sentences based on animals |
| B．expressions with rich cultural background |
| C．funny expressions that always make sense |
| D．the total sum of the meanings of the words |
| A．jumping around and wasting time |
| B．doing something useful and serious |
| C．playing with monkeys with their parents |
| D．spending time playing with their family pets |
| A．Dogs and cats are friends by nature. |
| B．Bugs can be used to show your annoyance. |
| C．Americans believe cats can give away secrets. |
| D．Americans know the origin of the idiom “as sick as a dog”. |
| A．By sharing experiences. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By providing examples. | D．By quoting experts' words. |
10 . If I scratch your back and you scratch mine, then we're both better off as a result — so goes the principle of reciprocity. As humans, we are familiar with the concept. But do animals also help those who help them? The answer may be yes. A paper by Dolivo and Taborsky shows that Norway rats will only give as good as they get.
In their laboratory, Dolivo and Taborsky first trained rats to pull on a stick that drew a food item within reach of a rat in a neighboring cage separated from them by wire mesh (钢丝网).
They then introduced a further treatment in which an experimental rat was placed in a cage with other caged rats on either side. On one side the rat pulled a stick that provided pieces of carrot to the rat in the central cage, while the other pulled a stick that produced banana pieces.
In the following trials the focal rat (the one in the central cage) had the opportunity to repay the other rats using the same stick tool to deliver food items.
Now, the rats had typically turned their noses up at the carrot and showed a strong preference for the more desirable banana. On the basis that the banana-providing rat should therefore be remembered as the superior partner, the authors predicted that in the test phase (阶段) the focal rat would more readily provide help for banana-offering rats than for carrot-offering rats. This proved to be the case: the rats that had provided better help in the past received greater rewards - it seemed that they were behaving reciprocally.
Dolivo and Taborsky's experiments show that rats can recall the quality of help provided and by which rat, and adjust their behavior so as to invest more time and energy in helping those that helped them. It is apparent that we shouldn't undervalue the ability of animals to engage in reciprocity.
1. What does the underlined word ''reciprocit'' in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?| A．The act of being kind to other people. | B．A cooperative exchange of favors. |
| C．A positive attitude to everything. | D．The quality of being generous. |
| A．It would find some food in its own cage. |
| B．Other rats would be able to enter its cage. |
| C．Another rat in another cage would get food. |
| D．It would be able to enter a neighboring cage. |
| A．The rats that preferred carrot pieces. |
| B．The rats that preferred banana pieces. |
| C．The rats that had provided carrot pieces. |
| D．The rats that had provided banana pieces. |
| A．Some animals may return others' help. |
| B．Norway rats have very poor memories. |
| C．It is hard to explain the ability of animals. |
| D．Rats behavior is very uncommon. |
