1 . Growing up in Taiwan as the daughter of a calligrapher（书法家），one of my most treasured memories was my mother showing me the beauty, the shape and the form of Chinese characters. Ever since then, I was attracted by this amazing language.
But to an outsider, it seems to be as impenetrable as the Great Wall of China. Over the past few years, I've been wondering whether I can break down this wall, so that anyone who wants to understand and appreciate the beauty of this complex language could do so. I started thinking about how a new, fast method of learning Chinese might be useful.
At the age of five, 1 started to learn how to draw every single stroke（笔划）for each character in the correct order. I learned new characters every day during the next fifteen years. You only need 1 ,000 to understand the basic communication. The top 200 will allow you to read 40 percent of basic literature-enough to read road signs, restaurant menus, to understand the basic idea of the web pages or the newspapers. Today I'm going to start with 8 characters to show you how the method works.
Open your mouth as wide as possible until it's square. You get a mouth---口. This is a person going for a walk with two legs. Person---人.The shape of the fire is a person with two arms on both sides, as if she was yelling crazily, u Help! I'm on fire!" ---火. This is a tree---木.This is a mountain--山.The sun---日. The moon---月.The symbol of the door looks like a pair of car doors---门.These eight characters are the building blocks for you to create lots more characters.
1. What does the underlined word " impenetrable " in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Available to learn about. | B．Worthwhile to access. |
| C．Difficult to get across. | D．Important to understand. |
| A．To prove her ability to learn. | B．To help her mother with her career. |
| C．To get better grades in exams. | D．To enable more people to enjoy Chinese. |
| A．read restaurant menus | B．understand newspapers well |
| C．communicate with natives | D．enjoy basic literature |
| A．How the eight characters build other characters. |
| B．What other meanings the eight characters have. |
| C．Where the eight characters can be used in daily life. |
| D．Why the eight Chinese characters are formed in this way. |
2 . Imagine a world where you move around in front of a personal computer in your own sound space. You listen to your favorite songs, play loud computer games or watch a movie—all without other people hearing the sound. That is the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company.
On Friday, the company presented a desktop device that sends sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones or a special receiver. Noveto Systems gave The Associated Press (AP) a chance to test its Sound Beamer 1.0 before its debut. The AP’s Louise Dixon writes that listening to the device is like something from a science fiction movie. The sound seems so close it feels like it is inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.
Noveto expects the device will have many uses. Office workers could listen to music or conference calls without others hearing. People could play a game, a movie or music without waking up others in the same room. Because the device does not use headphones, it is possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.
The device uses a 3-D technology that finds and follows the ear position of the listener. It sends ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or 3-D. The 3-D method creates sound on all sides of the listener The demo version of the device included nature videos of birds on a lake, bees flying and a quiet waterway. By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head. It also is possible to move out sound beam’s path and hear nothing at all.
While the idea of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology. Its chief executive officer Christophe Ramstein said a smaller version of the device will be ready for release to consumers next year.
1. What do we know about Sound Beamer?| A．It’s a device appearing in the science fiction movie. |
| B．Listeners got its sound through a receiver. |
| C．It can prevent other sound being heard. |
| D．The smaller one will be on market next year. |
| A．New version. | B．First appearance. | C．Another failure. | D．Some doubt. |
| A．How the device works. | B．How to use the device. |
| C．The device’s advantage. | D．Why the device is invented. |
| A．The introduction of a new device — sound beamer. | B．The usage of 3D technology. |
| C．The influence brought by sound beamer. | D．3D technology and listening experience. |
3 . Malaysia’s last rhinoceros(犀牛), Iman, died last November. Some skin, eggs and tissue are all that remain of her. Now, scientists plan to use experimental technology to try to bring back Malaysia’s rhinos by using cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos.
Muhammad, biologist at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, said, “If everything...well and everybody supports us, it’s not impossible.”
Malaysia’s rhinos, the smallest among the world’s rhinos, once lived across Asia. But hunting and forest losses reduced their numbers. There are about 80 such rhinos left in Indonesia. But, in Malaysia, the species disappeared from the wild in 2015. Iman was 25 when she died at her home in a protected natural area on Borneo island. Tam, the country’s last male rhino, died there in May of 2019. Efforts to get the two to mate and produce young had failed.
John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance has worked to save Malaysia’s rhinos for about 40 years. He said that Tam was likely too old to produce good sperm. “To increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos in Indonesia,” he said. But, Payne said Indonesia is not supportive of the idea.
The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to create an embryo. The embryo will then be placed into a living rhino, or a closely related animal, such as the horse. The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, of which there are only just two left. Even if it worked, the animals’ lack of diversity could create a threat to their long-term survival, Galli told Reuters.
Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia. Arief hopes that suecess there will help his country’s rhinos.
“It may take five, 10, 20 years. I don’t know,” Arief said. “But there has already been some success involving lab rats in Japan, so that means there is a chance.”
For now, however, Iman’s skin will be used to create a reproduction of the animal. It will be placed alongside a reproduction of Tam in a Borneo museum.
1. What do Muhammad’s words actually mean?| A．There are no chances of the successful rescue of Malaysia’s rhinos. |
| B．Indonesia government is to blame for rhinos’ rescue and extinction. |
| C．The world organizations should support the rhinos’ rescue. |
| D．There exists hope for the rebirth of Malaysia’s rhinos. |
| A．Unexpected disaster. | B．Shooting and narrowed habitats. |
| C．Broken food chain. | D．Climate changing continuously. |
| A．Scientists try to bring back Malaysia’s rhinos. |
| B．An experimental technology is facing challenges. |
| C．Welcome to team up to save wild animals. |
| D．Rhinos in danger are drawing attention. |
| A．Indifferent | B．Objective. | C．Ridiculous. | D．Pessimistic. |
4 . Cookies are small pieces of data, stored in text files, which are stored on your computer or other device when websites are loaded in a browser(浏览器). They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, identify popular news stories, and remember what you are logged in. The table below explains the types of cookies we use on our websites and why we use them.
Category of cookies | Why we use these cookies |
Functionality | These cookies are used to store preferences set by users such as account name, language, and location. |
Security | We use these cookies to help identify and prevent potential security risks. |
Analytics and Performance | Performance cookies collect information on how users interact with our websites, including what pages are visited most, as well as other analytical data. We use these details to improve how our websites function and to understand how users interact with them. |
Advertising | These cookies are used to display relevant advertising to visitors who use our services or visit websites we host or provide, as well as to understand and report on the efficacy of ads served on our websites. They track details such as the number of unique visitors, the number of times particular ads have been displayed, and the number of clicks the ads have received. They are also used to build user profiles, including showing you ads based on products you’ve viewed or acts you have taken on our (and other) websites. These are set by Automatic and trusted third party networks, and are generally persistent in nature. |
1. Which cookies are applied to remembering personalized usernames?
| A．Security cookies. | B．Advertising cookies. |
| C．Functional cookies. | D．Analytics cookies. |
| A．Delivering online ads according to users’ interest. |
| B．Encouraging users to visit more websites. |
| C．Storing advertising network. |
| D．Displaying the enrolled websites. |
| A．Cookies are merely stored in the computer’s hard drive. |
| B．Cookies are likely to distinguish the website you sign up. |
| C．Cookies may give away information easily. |
| D．Cookies are massive database. |
5 . As if attending college isn't expensive enough, the cost of textbooks has been rising rapidly in recent years. Textbooks are something students can't avoid, but thankfully a number of companies have stepped up with options to make them more affordable.
Chegg
Chegg has everything a student could ask for. You can rent or buy hard-copy and eTextbooks, with savings up to 90% off their list price. Shipping is free on all orders over $ 50, and if you order the wrong book, Chegg allows 21-day trouble-free returns.
AbeBooks
A be Books has more than just textbooks. It has a wide variety of fine art, rare books and special editions. Thousands of independent booksellers list their textbooks for sale on abebooks.com. The site has new and used textbooks, academic journals, classic literature, reference books and even international editions. Any book priced $ 15 or above has free shipping policy.
ValoreBooks
ValoreBooks offers deep discounts on millions of titles, with a fortnight free return shipping service. The site gives students the ability to buy or rent textbooks from over 18,000 sellers and rental providers. Plus, when you're done with the book, you can sell it right back through valorebooks.com, making the process as easy as possible.
eCampus
Through eCampus.com, students can buy, rent and sell textbooks and e-books. You can enjoy free shipping on orders over $35, plus a 25-day, trouble-free return policy. And the site runs an ongoing promotion where you can save an additional $ 5 on your order by texting the word BOOKS to 87955.
1. Which of the following do Chegg and AbeBooks both provide?| A．A variety of fine art. | B．Conditional free delivery. |
| C．90% discount. | D．Trouble-free returns. |
| A．7 days. | B．14 days. | C．21 days. | D．25 days. |
| A．By texting “BOOKS” to 87955. | B．By selling more e-books. |
| C．By purchasing more than $ 35. | D．By running a promotion. |
6 . Drone（无人机）Training for Recreational Flyers
When: Saturday 12 December 9 a. m. to 1 p. m
Website: www. drone-wise. com. Au
Where: Hall ACT
Cost: $ 285 pp（per person）
This is the perfect training course if you plan to buy a drone soon. Best of all, no experience is required and the drones will be provided，so you just need to book online and come along on the day. The training course is held at Hall ACT. The 4-hour beginners course is $285. This includes written material, use of the Drone-wise aircraft for flying and morning tea. If you are under 18 years of age, you will need to be accompanied by a parent or grown-up friend or relative. Book your place today at drone-wise. com. au/our-training-courses.
Led by Martin Bass and Tim Robinson, commercially rated drone pilots with considerable experience, this training course is a chance to get.
Basic Knowledge
Recreational drone flying and the law
Risks and how to manage them
Flying environment
Basic Flying Skills
Pre-flight planning and checks
Aircraft handling skills
Obstacle avoidance
Your Instructors:
Martin Bass. Martin is a pilot with over 20-year experience He is also a commercial drone pilot and enjoys recreational drone flying as well. In his other role as a consultant and trainer to local government, Martin is an experienced educator and holds an honorary position with the University of Western Sydney.
Tim Robinson: Tim is an experienced photographer as well as a commercial drone pilot. His photos are about nature and wildlife. Tim is also an experienced adult educator and has lectured at the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Canberra.
1. What do we know about this training course?| A．it will last for an hour. |
| B．It requires experience of flying drones. |
| C．It asks people to pay more for morning tea. |
| D．Adolescents are not allowed in with no companion. |
| A．High-level drone flying skills. |
| B．A chance to be a commercial drone pilot. |
| C．An understanding of different aircraft types. |
| D．Knowledge of dealing with risks of drone flying. |
| A．They work at the same university. |
| B．They are experienced in photographing. |
| C．They are good at commercial drone flying. |
| D．They pay much attention to wildlife protection. |
7 . These days there is so much tempting technology to look at: smart phones, tablets, computer games and TV screens. Much of children's entertainment and education comes from using them, so it's no wonder they spend so much time staring at them. But even if the saying that looking at a screen for too long gives you square eyes isn't true, there is still some concern. So, should we be worried?
Certainly for children who spend hours glued to a screen, there is a concern that their health might be at risk. Also there is a fear that their eyesight is declining too. Although there's not much evidence to prove this yet, recent findings have brought the problem into light.
Chris Hammond, consultant at St Thomas' Hospital, says “We find short-sightedness is becoming more common It has greatly spread in East Asia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea where approaching 90 of 18-year-olds are now short-sighted.”
But can this be linked to children's obsession with using electronic gadgets? Annegret Dahlmann, expert at Moorfields Eve Hospital in London. says lack of natural light seems to be the key issue. She's suggested that children in East Asia study a lot, using computers, smart phones or tablets, and they go outside less. Wearing glasses is one solution, but it's not ideal.
This leads to a dilemma: achieving short-term academic success or protecting your long-term eyesight. It's always going to be a challenge to drag children away from their screens and it's likely that more and more studying will be done online. But despite that, Professor Hammond says. “In countries like urban China, where 10% of children in each class per year are becoming short-sighted from about the age of six. there's an argument for saying we should be trying to prevent it.” It's evidence we can't turn a blind eye to. So, maybe it's time to hit the “off” button and get our children outside?
1. What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?| A．Recent findings have opened our eyes to the issue of eyesight. |
| B．Looking at a screen for too long will get you square eyes. |
| C．It has been confirmed that children's eyesight is failing. |
| D．Using electronic gadgets affects children's education. |
| A．Wearing glasses. | B．Heavy school work. |
| C．Lack of natural light. | D．Booming technology. |
| A．Learning online or offline. |
| B．Reading for pleasure or exams. |
| C．Focusing on study or protecting eyesight. |
| D．Protecting eyesight or promoting technology. |
| A．Study hard. | B．Head outdoors. | C．Quit computer. | D．Challenge more. |
8 . Bioluminescence, unlike other sources of light（the sun, fire, light bulbs）, which produce energy from heat, is defined as “the emission of light from living organisms（such as fireflies and bacteria）as the result of internal chemical reactions”. It is one of the wonders of nature that just about any of us can witness.
While a few organisms can produce bioluminescent light outside of the oceans（think fireflies）, most of the bioluminescence going on is in salt water. In fact, the vast majority of bioluminescent organisms evolved in order to provide light in deep sea marine ecosystems—either to light up prey or as a warning against predators（捕食者）—far below sunlight's reach into the water column.
Humans have been putting natural bioluminescence to work for a while—19th century coal miners would trap fireflies（instead of open-flame candles or lanterns that could cause explosion）in jars to light their way. But nowadays researchers are hard at work synthesizing（合成）the chemical reactions behind bioluminescence for a range of modern-day applications.
Using bioluminescence to help cure disease is a big focus of some biomedical research companies, given the promise of using heat-free organic light to detect metastasizing（转移的） cancer cells, stem cells, viruses or bacteria within living tissue. The military also has big hopes for applying the chemical reactions of bioluminescence to create light that won't cause the heat-seeking sensory equipment of the enemy whether on land，at sea or in the sky. Some other practical applications of bioluminescence include an effort to connect genes from bioluminescent organisms into trees that would light up when the sun sets.
While none of these “technologies” is yet ready to become mainstream, it's good to know that the future looks bright.
1. What exactly causes biolunninescence?| A．Heat energy. | B．Chemical reaction. | C．Salt water. | D．Living organism. |
| A．To ensure safety. | B．To seek comfort. |
| C．To provide convenience | D．To save money |
| A．The heat-seeking sensory equipment | B．A simple cure for all kinds of diseases. |
| C．An all-natural alternative to street lights. | D．An effective virus-killer within living tissues. |
| A．The good and bright future should be ours. |
| B．Bioluminescence is widely used in our life. |
| C．The technologies are good enough to apply. |
| D．The search is on for the use of organic light sources. |
9 . The spot of red was what first caught Randy Heiss's attention on December 16. He was biking on his ranch in Patagonia, Arizona, a town near the U. S. -Mexico border. Heiss walked toward it, and found on the grassland was a broken balloon with its string attached to a piece of paper.
“Dayami,” it read on one side, in a child's writing. It was a Christmas wish list, all in Spanish He suspected that a child had tried to send Santa Claus a Christmas wish list by balloon, something he used to do himself when he was a kid. And he wondered whether he could find the child who had sent this one.
It would be difficult, but based on the prevailing wind, Heiss was pretty sure where it came from—just across the border, the city of Nogales, Mexico.
Heiss then posted about his quest on Facebook, attaching photos, hoping his friends in Nogales might know the girl's family.
A few days passed with no leads. Heiss worried that time was running out before Chirstmas. On December 19. he sent a private Facebook message to Radio XENY. a radio station based in Nogales The next morning. Heiss awoke to a message from Radio XENY: They had located Dayami, an eight-year-old girl, and her family, who indeed lived in Nogales. “It just changed my entire day.” said Heiss. Having bought just about everything on Dayami's list and a few other toys, as they had learned that Dayami had a younger sister, Heiss and his wife. at the Radio XENY. met the family.
“Their eves were wide open with wonder.” Heiss said of the two sisters' reactions. “Like. ‘Oh my gosh, this really did work!’”
Not wanting to disappoint the girls who still believed in Santa Claus, Heiss and his wife told them they were “Santa's helpers”.
“It was a beautiful and healing experience for us...” Heiss said, “Since our only son died ten years ago, being around children at Christmas time has been absent in our lives.” Heiss said. “We now have friends for life. And, for a day, that border fence with its wire melted away.”
1. What did Heiss find when hiking on his ranch.| A．A Christmas wish list from a child | B．A mass of grassland. |
| C．A letter addressed to him. | D．A beautiful red balloon. |
| A．Examples. | B．Clues. | C．Suggestions. | D．Plans. |
| A．He wanted to make up for his lost son. |
| B．He wanted to make friends with Dayami. |
| C．He wanted to realize his childhood dream. |
| D．He didn't want to spoil Santa Claus for the girls. |
| A．Love knows no borders. | B．A bold attempt is half success. |
| C．God helps those who help themselves. | D．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
10 . Not very long ago, the question would have seemed absurd. Now it is on the lips of respected scientists; MPs（议员）are beginning to talk of “a war on sugar”, and even England’s chief medical officer has said sugar may have to be, like the old enemy tobacco, taxed in order to protect the nation’s health.
There came a time in the evolution of public attitudes to smoking, when the doctors had been shouting for long enough that the public was broadly aware of the risks and the only question left for Government was: What should we do about it?
Some believe we are now at the same point in our attitudes to sugar. Others—largely but not only representatives of the food and drink industry—say the entire debate has been skewed（歪曲）by those who spread stories deliberately to make people nervous.
More or less everyone agrees that eating too much sugar is bad for you. There is also no doubt obesity is a growing problem which is putting a significant, avoidable burden on the NHS by increasing the rates of diabetes, heart disease and other long-term conditions.
But to what extent is sugar—rather than saturated fats, or salt, carbohydrates or proteins, or any of the other devils of modern diets—the cause of obesity and how much should we worry about it?
Yesterday, hopes of achieving anything resembling clarity from the World Health Organization（WHO）were confused once again, which, widely expected to reduce the recommended sugar intake by a half in new draft guidance, instead said it would continue to recommend that sugar make up no more than 10 percent of the energy we consume, while adding that cutting this to five percent would have “additional benefits”. The decision will now go out to public consultation.
Simon Capewell, professor of the University of Liverpool, said that he suspected “dirty work” on the part of food and drinks companies might lie behind the WHO’s less than resounding（强有力的）message.
1. What does the author indicate by referring to smoking?| A．People must see the disadvantages of sugar immediately. |
| B．It is not easy for authorities to restrict or ban something. |
| C．Sugar has just turned out to be as harmful as smoking. |
| D．It is easy for people to see bad effects of something. |
| A．it thinks the danger of sugar to health is emphasized too much |
| B．it has been put under pressure by food and drinks companies |
| C．it believes certain amount of intake of sugar does us good |
| D．it finds it safe to take in as much sugar as people do now |
| A．remain objective | B．stand by those against it |
| C．believe it harmless | D．hold the view of “wait-and-see” |
| A．Is Sugar the New Evil? | B．How Much Sugar Do You Take Daily? |
| C．Is Sugar to Be Taxed? | D．How Much Do You Know about Sugar? |
