1 . Sora observed in amazement as Weilun picked up two large metal cans. She followed Weilun with a pail (桶) of clothes, watching him carry the two cans effortlessly. They were large and were covering Weilun’s small frame.
Sora’s father had sent her to the village to learn about rural life. Sora had never once done any household chores back home. She did not understand why her father would always chant “Where is your willingness to learn?” whenever she asked him if she could stay home for the holidays. Her father had given her a checklist on the life skills that she needed to learn, one of which was to wash clothes. She recalled washing a table cloth after an art lesson in school. That was a piece of cake, she thought. So Sora refused Weilun’s offer to help. Weilun then went to fill the large cans with water at the far end of the river.
Suddenly, a big bird dived from the sky when Sora placed the last piece of clothing back in the pail. Sora released her grasp of the pail in shock. Then she was relaxed to find it was aiming for a worm near her. But the clothes were drifting in the river. Weilun immediately came to help and Sora shifted the blame to the bird.
He pointed at the detergent foam (洗涤剂泡沫) on the surface of the river. “Don’t tell me you rinsed (漂洗) the detergent from the clothes in the river. Don’t you know that it may kill the river creatures? You caused the problem, not the bird!” Sora looked down in shame. “You think that you know everything, but you actually don’t.”
Sora closed her eyes to let Weilun’s words sink in for a moment. She finally understood the meaning behind her father’s chants. She walked towards Weilun and whispered, “Could you teach me all the life skills that my father had planned for me to learn?”
1. Why was Sora amazed?| A．Weilun was too small in size for the two large cans. |
| B．Weilun was willing to help his parents do some chores. |
| C．Weilun managed to carry the two large cans easily. |
| D．Weilun was willing to accompany her to the riverside. |
| A．She thought it was an easy task. |
| B．She had learned how to do it. |
| C．She wanted her father to be proud of her. |
| D．She wanted to learn new things by herself. |
| A．The bird was diving for food. |
| B．The bird was attacking her. |
| C．Sora was rinsing the detergent in the pail. |
| D．Sora was shocked to find a worm in the pail. |
| A．She wasn’t capable of living on her own. |
| B．She really lacked the willingness to learn. |
| C．Life skills could be learned in the country. |
| D．Her father wanted her to learn from Weilun. |
2 . After beating bone cancer, Hayley Arceneaux thinks rocketing into orbit on SpaceX’s first private flight should be no problem at all. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced the 29-year-old doctor’s assistant will rocket into space later this year.
Arceneaux, a former patient at St. Jude, will become the youngest American in space, beating NASA record-holder Sally Ride by over two years. She will travel with businessman Jared Isaacman, who is using the spaceflight he bought to raise money for charity. Two other yet-to-be-chosen space flyers will join them. Arceneaux will be the first person to launch with a prosthesis an artificial device that replaces a missing or injured part of the body. When she was 10, Arceneaux had an operation at St. Jude to replace her knee and a piece of metal was put in her left leg. She still limps and has occasional leg pain.
“My battle with cancer really prepared me for space travel,” she recently told The Associated Press. “It made me tough, and then also I think it really taught me to expect the unexpected and go along for the ride.” Arceneaux wants to show her young patients and other cancer survivors that “the sky is not even the limit anymore.” “It’s going to mean so much to these kids to see a survivor in space.” she said.
Isaacman announced his space flight on February 1, promising to raise $200 million for St. Jude. As the flight’s self-appointed commander, he offered one of the four seats aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to St. Jude. The hospital chose Arceneaux from among its many workers who had once been patients. The idea was that one of them could represent the new generation, noted Rick Shadyac, president of St. Jude’s financing organization.
Arceneaux was at home in Memphis, Tennessee, when she got a surprising call in January. She was asked if she would represent St. Jude in space. As a lifelong space fan who loves adventures, Arceneaux has traveled widely and loves roller coasters. Isaacman, who flies fighter airplanes for fun, considers her a perfect fit. The launch is planned for this fall at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with the spacecraft orbiting Earth for two to four days.
1. Which statement is true about Hayley Arceneaux?| A．She works where she used to be a patient. |
| B．She is an adventure hater. |
| C．She is the youngest American in space. |
| D．She is the first woman space flyer. |
a. She received a surprising call. b. She was diagnosed with a serious disease.
c. She was chosen to rocket into space. d. She was operated on at St.Jude.
| A．a c d b | B．b c d a | C．b d a c | D．c a b d |
| A．To carry out medical research. |
| B．To explore space. |
| C．To expect the unexpected. |
| D．To collect money. |
| A．Generous and strong. |
| B．Caring and optimistic. |
| C．Brave and honest. |
| D．Patient and representative. |
3 . You can pay a fortune to travel around the world. Or you can pay nothing at all. Here are some places you'll never regret visiting. They won't cost you a dime.
The British Museum, London(U.K.)
You need to go here to see the Egyptian mummies, the ancient Greek Marbles and so many other treasures. It's open every day, and unlike most other attractions in England that cost much money, it's completely free.
National Mall, Washington D.C.(U.S.A.)
You can walk a pathway from the Lincoln Memorial to the severe Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to the Washington Monument with other sights in between. Do you know you can go up in the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument? Tickets are free, but pay a small fee to reserve them in advance to avoid being disappointed.
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris(France) .
This great treasure of the world simply can't be missed. The great stained-glass rose window alone is worth the visit. The Sunday Mass with the Gregorian chant was like stepping back in time. Admission is free every day, but you're welcome to leave a donation. There are also free tours a few times each week. You'll pay extra for tours of the bell tower or the crypt.
National Museum of Ireland , Dublin and Mayo (Ireland)
Want to see bog bodies, gold ornaments, Viking artifacts and learn about rural Irish life? All four branches of this museum are free to visit, including museums devoted to archaeology, natural history, decorative arts and history and country life. The museum of country life in Tur lough Park, Mayo, is devoted to Irish rural traditions, while the natural history museum is especially famous for its collection of insects.
1. Where can you visit the ancient Greek marbles from the passage?| A．National Mall, Washington D.C. | B．The British Museum, London. |
| C．Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris. | D．National Museum of Ireland, Dublin and Mayo. |
| A．Lincoln Memorial. | B．Vietnam Veterans Memorial. |
| C．Notre-Dame Cathedral. | D．The top of the Washington Monument. |
| A．National Museum of Ireland, Dublin and Mayo. | B．The British Museum, London. |
| C．Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris. | D．National Mall, Washington D.C. |
4 . A new product from Google may help people solve their sleep problems, but some privacy rights groups are concerned.
Google showed off its newest Nest Hub home assistant device on Tuesday. In addition to recognizing your voice, showing pictures, videos, news and weather, it can also track your sleep. The basic model costs about $100 and the sleep-tracking technology will be available for free for the rest of 2021. The sleep tracker makes Google’s product different from a similar home assistant from Amazon. If you put the Nest Hub beside your bed, it can follow how you sleep. That is because of a new computer chip called Soli, which can sense motion. Some people may like the new technology because they would not have to wear another device to bed. Some companies make products people can wear on their wrist to track their sleep.
Google says the new Nest Hub will create reports each week that show how long and how well a person sleeps. It will also show if they snore, cough or wake up often. The company said it studied 15,000 people over the course of 110,000 nights to develop the technology.
For people who want to know more about their sleep, the device sounds like a good idea. But, people who pay attention to privacy are worried what Google might do with the information it is gathering. Jeff Chester is one of those people. He is the director of the Center for Digital Democracy. “Google’s goal is to monetize every cell of your body,” he said.
Google recently bought FitBit, a company that makes a health tracker people can wear on their wrist. Some technology experts think Google may find a way for the Nest Hub to work with the FitBit.
Google says the sleep tracker has a lot of privacy protections. For example, it will only work if the user turns it on. The company said it will not use a person’s sleep information to try to sell advertising. But Chester said he is not so sure that promise will be kept.
1. Which is true about the Google’s new Nest Hub?| A．It’s the first device to track people’s sleep. |
| B．It has some functions as a home assistant. |
| C．It can be available for free for the rest of 2021. |
| D．It is the same as a health tracker produced by FitBit. |
| A．Because private information may be let out. |
| B．Because the sleeping problems can’t be solved. |
| C．Because sleep may be interrupted. |
| D．Because sleeping reports may be created each week. |
| A．Make money on. | B．Keep track of. | C．Take care of. | D．Give away. |
| A．Google’s New Soli |
| B．Google’s sleep problem solver |
| C．Google’s Newest Nest Hub |
| D．A Sleep Tracker |
5 . Scientists say baby sharks are at risk of being born smaller and without the energy they need to survive because of warming oceans from climate change.
Scientists working with the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts studied epaulette sharks. They found that warmer conditions sped up the sharks’ growing process. That meant the sharks were born earlier and very tired.
John Mandelman is vice president and chief scientist of the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium. He said it is widely believed that epaulette sharks are “hardy,” or able to survive difficult conditions. “What it means is this very resilient species is more vulnerable than we thought, and this could be true of other sharks,” he added.
The scientists studied 27 sharks using the New England Aquarium’s reproduction program. Some were raised in average summer water temperatures, about 27 degrees Celsius. Others were raised in higher temperatures around 29 degrees Celsius and 31 degrees Celsius. They found that the sharks raised in the warmest temperatures weighed much less than those raised in average temperatures. They also showed reduced energy levels.
Epaulette sharks can grow to a length of about one meter. Their name comes from large spots on their bodies that look like decorations on some military clothing. The sharks are listed as stable and a species of “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
One study this year found that worldwide numbers of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018. Overfishing is a main concern, while climate change and pollution also threaten sharks. Mariah Pfleger is an ocean scientist at the protection group Oceana. She said the study should serve as a warning to ocean governing agencies that careful supervision is needed to prevent the loss of more sharks. “This study further exemplifies that sharks will not be immune to a warming ocean,” Pfleger added.
1. The new study shows us that warming oceans may lead to baby sharks’ .| A．later birth and less weight. |
| B．later birth and more weight. |
| C．earlier birth and less weight. |
| D．earlier birth and more weight. |
| A．Climate change. | B．Pollution. | C．Overfishing. | D．Supervision. |
| A．They can grow to about one centimeter in length. |
| B．They are named after their body characteristics. |
| C．They are least endangered species. |
| D．They are able to survive all kinds of conditions. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. | C．Indifferent. | D．Arbitrary. |
6 . In previous recessions (经济衰退), billionaires were hit along with the rest of us; it took almost three years for Forbes’s 400 richest people to recover from losses caused in 2008’s Great Recession. But in the coronavirus recession of 2020, most billionaires have gotten richer than ever before.
Billionaires increased their new billions just as millions of other Americans ran into terrible financial problems. More than 20 million people lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic. Food banks across the country are preparing for another great increase in demand. Why are American billionaires doing so well while so many other Americans suffer? People may find part of the reasons from the following fact. Stocks (股票) are overwhelmingly owned by the wealthy, and the stock market has recovered from its early-pandemic depths much more quickly than other parts of the economy.
But some billionaires are also benefiting from economic and technological trends that were accelerated by the pandemic. Among these are the owners and investors of retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, which have reported huge profits this year while many of their smaller competitors were defeated completely as the coronavirus spread.
Then there are companies that have bet on the rapid digitization of everything Eric Yuan, the chief executive of Zoom, became a billionaire in 2019. Now he is worth almost $20 billion. Dan Gilbert, the chairman of Quicken Loans, was worth less than $7 billion in March, now he commands more than $43 billion. But there is a great deal of stratification (层化) even among billionaires—richer billionaires got even richer in 2020 than the poorer ones did. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s funder, was worth about $113 billion at the start of the pandemic. Now he is worth $182 billion. Two years ago, Bezos was the only “centibillionaire” on earth—the trendy neologism (a new word) for people whose wealth exceeds (超过) ￥100 billion.
1. What does the author mainly tell us in the passage?| A．Food banks are not enough in the United States. |
| B．The richest kept getting richer even in the pandemic. |
| C．The stock market recovered before the pandemic started. |
| D．400 richest people recovered from losses in the pandemic. |
| A．The American inequality. |
| B．The recovery of stock market. |
| C．The effect of the pandemic. |
| D．The food shortage across the country. |
| A．The decline of digital games. |
| B．More money lent to people by banks. |
| C．The trend of technology acceleration. |
| D．High profit earned by smaller companies. |
| A．It is a new title in the stock market after the recession. |
| B．It is a new way of solution to poverty through the world. |
| C．It is a newly established company during the pandemic. |
| D．It is a new term for people whose wealth exceeds $100 billion. |
7 . Morgan’s Wonderland, located in San Antonio, Texas, is a theme park mainly intended for mentally or physically disabled children. The park was built by Gordon Hartman, a former real estate (房地产) developer. The creation of the park was inspired by his daughter, Morgan, who suffers from severe cognitive delay and physical challenges.
The world’s first ultra-accessible family fun park, Morgan’s Wonderland opened in the spring of 2010. Admission for guests with special needs is free, and fees for the general public are set at a much discounted price so that people of all ages and abilities can come together and play in a fun and safe environment.
Completely wheelchair-accessible, the park features 25 acres of attractions including rides, playgrounds, a catch-and-release fishing lake, and picnic areas throughout the park. The rides are custom-designed to accommodate wheelchair riders so that every family member can enjoy the fun. The adapted rides include the Off-Road Adventure, where guests can test their driving skills in sporty vehicles. Moreover, each visitor is offered the option to wear a GPS Adventure Band, which allows them to keep track of each other while in the park. The band also enables them to take part in electronic activities. For example, when the riders scan the band at the Off-Road Adventure, a photo will be taken and sent to their email.
In June 2017, Morgan’s Wonderland celebrated the opening of Morgan’s Inspiration Island. The new expansion is composed of five themed splash pads and a River Boat Adventure Ride. The wheelchair guests can be moved out of their chairs into unique, waterproof chairs and enjoy the splash park without risking damage to their personal wheelchairs.
“Morgan taught me that there’s more to life in many ways than what I saw before,” said Hartman. “The blessing that Morgan has brought is beyond anything that I ever could have imagined and could explain.”
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The new addition to Morgan’s Wonderland. |
| B．The establishment and features of a special theme park. |
| C．The advanced technological devices in Morgan’s Wonderland |
| D．The needs of people who suffer from physical and mental disabilities. |
| A．It’s easy for all visitors to use the facilities. |
| B．Admission is free for people young and old. |
| C．Wheelchairs are provided for every featured attraction. |
| D．Morgan’s Wonderland is situated in a convenient location. |
| A．Safe Boats. | B．Water-resistant cloth. | C．GPS bands. | D．Special chairs. |
| A．Waterproof chairs enable visitors to wonder all over the park. |
| B．Morgan’s Inspiration Island includes 25 acres of attractions. |
| C．The success of the park is exactly what Morgan intended to achieve. |
| D．GPS bands allow visitors to enjoy the convenience of the electronic devices. |
8 . Turtles have an unfortunate habit of eating plastic objects floating in the sea. These then cannot be broken down and digested, and may ultimately kill them.
It is widely assumed that this special liking for plastics is a matter of mistaken identity. Floating plastic bags, for instance, look similar to jellyfish, which many types of turtles love to eat. Yet lota of plastic objects that end up inside turtles are not similar to jellyfish. Joseph Pfaller of the University of Florida therefore suspects that the smell of micro-organisms (微生物) which grow on floating plastic objects fools turtles to feed.
Researchers at the University of California noticed that certain chemicals, which are released into the air by micro-organism — colonised plastics, are those which many seabirds sniff to track down food. These chemicals mark good places to hunt because they indicate an abundance of the seaweed and bacteria. Since turtles are known to break the surface and sniff the air when swimming towards their feeding areas, Dr. Pfaller indicated that they are following these same chemicals, and are fooled into thinking that floating plastic objects are edible.
To test that idea, he and his colleagues set up an experiment. They arranged for 15 of the animals, each around five months old, to be exposed, in random order, to four smells delivered through a pipe to; the air above an experimental area. The smells were: the vapour from deionised (去离子) water; the smell of turtle-feeding meal; the smell of a clean plastic bottle; and the smell of a similarly plastic bottle that had been kept in the ocean for five weeks to allow seaweed and bacteria to grow on it. Two of the smells-the smell of meal and that of five-week-old bottles-proved far more attractive to the animals than the others.
On the face of it, then, the turtles were responding to the smell of old bottles as if it were the smell of food. In an unpolluted ocean, pretty well anything which had this smell would be edible-or, at least, harmless. Unfortunately, five-week-old plastic bottles and their like are not.
1. What is most people's opinion on turtles' special habit?| A．Turtles prefer jellyfish to plastics. |
| B．Turtles enjoy the taste of plastics. |
| C．Turtles like being fed with plastic tools. |
| D．Turtles choose to eat plastics for a mistake. |
| A．Fit to eat. | B．Pleasant to smell. |
| C．Far to reach. | D．Easy to digest. |
| A．Many seabirds can track the food. |
| B．Most animals find food through smells. |
| C．Two smells are especially favored by turtles. |
| D．The favored smell leads turtles to seek for food. |
| A．To explain why the ocean is polluted. |
| B．To ask for people to feed turtles proper food. |
| C．To arouse the awareness of protecting the ocean. |
| D．To show his agreement on Dr. Pfaller's research. |
9 . No matter where you go around the globe, everybody loves to celebrate. And when it comes to celebration, festivals offer something for everyone.
Mardi Gras （New Orleans, Louisiana）
Also known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a cultural event. Though the celebration
is held every year on the day before Ash Wednesday, the festivities last for months, banning in November throughout January and early February. And if you love music, check out the annual Galactic concert at the world-famous Tipitina’s on Lundi Gras (the day before Mardi Gras).
La Tomatina （Valencia, Spain）
Launched way back in 1945, La Tomatina is one of the oldest festivals on our list. It's also easily the happiest but the messiest, coming off like the world's biggest food fight.
Legend has it that the whole thing started when some local boys joined a parade alongside musicians. The boys made the performers so angry that they tried hit the boys, and a vendor's (小摊贩)vegetable stand fell victim to the incident.
If you go, please follow some simple rules: Don't throw hard objects, squash the tomato before throwing it, stay a safe distance away from tomato trucks, and stop in time.
Montreux Jazz Festival （Switzerland）
Founded back in 1967, Montreux is one of the oldest music festivals in the world. It's also the second largest jazz festival, after the Montreal International Jazz Festival. That Canadian concert may attract more visitors-around 2 million annually. But Montreux benefits from its pretty location on the attractive shores of Lake Geneva. The area is particularly beautiful in late June/early July, when the festival is held.
1. When is Galactic concert held?| A．On Mardi Gras. | B．On Lundi Gras. |
| C．On Montreux Jazz Festival. | D．On La Tomatina. |
| A．Punish naughty boys. | B．Enjoy musicians' performance. |
| C．Throw tomatoes without hurting. | D．Catch people who destroy tomatoes. |
| A．News report. | B．Academic journal. |
| C．Conceit brochure. | D．Travel magazine. |
10 . A shark that walks in water instead of swimming might sound like a creature straight out of a science fiction thriller. However, that is precisely how the four new species of the fish-found in the tropical waters of Northern Australia-move across the seafloor. The unique ocean animals were discovered by a team of scientists, led by Dr Christine Dudgeon from Australians University of Queensland, during a 12-year-old global conservation study.
The newly-found sharks have all evolved to survive in low oxygen environments, enabling them to hunt during low tides. The researchers believe their ability to use their fins to walk across the water affords the sharks substantial advantage over the unsuspecting smaller animals they prey on .
“Though they are super hunters in their shallow habitat, the tiny sharks are harmless to humans," says Dudgeon. "At less than a meter long on average, walking sharks present no threat to people. They're incredibly cute little animals and are really more like gecko than a shark.”
A DNA analysis of skin samples from the sharks suggests that walking sharks broke away from their brothers and sisters about nine million years ago and became a distinct species. Though that may appear to be a long time ago, it is relatively recent given that sharks have been around for more than 400 million years. In fact, Dudgeon and her team believe walking sharks are the youngest kind of sharks on Earth!
The researchers, who published their findings in The Marine and Freshwater Research journal on January 21, 2020, say that the sharks' small numbers and shallow habitat make them extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and overfishing. Three of the nine walking shark species , all of which live in the waters off Northern Australia, eastern Indonesia, and near the island of New Guinea, are currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, which lists species at risk. Dudgeon and her team believe sensible conservation management plans are urgently needed to protect the walking sharks and other endangered animals from further threats.
1. What is the most noticeable feature of the newly-found sharks?| A．They are cute and harmless to humans. | B．They can survive in their shallow habitat. |
| C．They walk on their fins across the seafloor. | D．They are the youngest kind of sharks on Earth. |
| A．The evolution of the sharks. | B．The behavior of the sharks. |
| C．The population of the sharks. | D．The DNA samples of the sharks. |
| A．Adjusting the methods of fishing. | B．Putting the sharks on the Nature Red List. |
| C．Changing the sharks' living environments. | D．Adopting necessary measures to protect the sharks. |
| A．A film guide. | B．A fashion magazine. |
| C．A news report. | D．A science fiction. |
