1 . Something strange happened when I was 14 years old. Every previous year on Thanksgiving Day I’d woken up early, filled with excitement. But that Thanksgiving, for some reason I saw no reason to celebrate. None of my family were really thankful, I realized. The whole thing was a lie!
During the dinner time, I left, hiding in the guest room and cried. My mom came to see what was wrong. “No one is really thankful!” I sobbed, “They just pretend for one day because that’s what they’re supposed to do!”
After I finished talking, she nodded. “You’re right,” she told me. “It’s fake until you find the truth for yourself.” She said it was my choice whether to celebrate with them or not. She said Thanksgiving is a time to reflect because we don’t always get to see loved ones and eat a good meal. Then she left.
I didn’t listen to her, thinking that every holiday was a lie and I could never find joy celebrating again. But giving in to my starving stomach, I went back to the dining room in a few minutes. I couldn’t believe what I saw. My entire extended family was waiting for me with wide smiles and concerned looks, and the table was covered with untouched plates.
“Andy,” my aunt said, “We can’t eat without you. We’re waiting for your turn. Now you can start it.” I didn’t know what to say first. Finally, I said I was thankful for having a younger brother to teach, play with, and see grow.
The family shared, and everyone had something beautiful to say. Listening to what they said, I suddenly understood what my mom meant about finding out my own reason for celebrating. For me, this holiday was a chance to pause and reflect on everything I cared about.
And with that, I took a huge and satisfying bite of food.
1. Why did the author hide himself and cry on the Thanksgiving Day?| A．Because he got up too late |
| B．Because some of his family were absent. |
| C．Because he thought the dinner was tasteless. |
| D．Because he doubted the sincerity of others’ thankfulness. |
| A．She is very understanding. | B．She is strict with the author. |
| C．She disagreed with the author. | D．She showed great worry about the author. |
| A．Having dinner. | B．Expressing thankfulness. |
| C．Giving a performance. | D．Making a wish. |
| A．My loving mother | B．Love and lies |
| C．An inspiring Thanksgiving | D．An unforgettable dinner |
2 . It was the 50th anniversary (周年) of the moon landing last year. Astronomy lovers are not the only ones who are excited about it; publishers(出版商) are also offering a number of books to mark the event.
Shoot for the Moon James Donovan
Little, Brown and Co. $30
This retelling of the space race begins with the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite in 1957 to the historic Apollo 11 program twelve years later. The book offers details about the characters of the spacemen, engineers and others who made the U. S. space program a success.
One Giant Leap
Charles Fishman
Simon & Schuster, $29.99
Getting to the moon required a million hours of work, this book says. Accordingly, the story centers on the engineers, project managers and others who worked long and hard to get the Apollo program off the ground.
Picturing Apollo 11
J. L. Pickering and John Bisney
Univ of Florida, $45
Packed with hundreds of photos (some are published for the first time), this book reads like a photo book of the Apollo 11 program. The photos are moments from spaceman training, as well as the excitement of liftoff, the historic landing and the return home of the three men.
Apollo’s Legacy Roger D.
Launius Smithsonian Books,
$27.95
A space historian examines the Apollo program in different ways: as a political (政治的) machine in the Cold War and an important cultural moment. The book explores different views on the U. S. moonshot project from scientists, politicians, the media and the public during the space race and beyond.
1. What is Shoot for the Moon mainly about?| A．History of the space race. | B．The shoot of two satellites. |
| C．Cooperation of different countries. | D．Humans’ understanding of the moon. |
| A．James Donovan’s | B．Charles Fishman’s |
| C．J. L. Pickering and John Bisney’s | D．Roger D. Launius’s |
| A．Shoot for the Moon | B．One Giant Leap |
| C．Picturing Apollo 11 | D．Apollo’s Legacy |
3 . A Time for an adventure?
Are you a bit bored with your nine-to-five routine? Have a look at our exciting range of holidays and decide what type of adventure you'd like.
Activity holidays
Our activity holidays are for everyone, people who love danger or who just like sports. We have a huge variety of water, snow or desert holidays. We'll take you SCUBA diving in the Red Sea or kayaking and white water rafting in Canada. If you prefer snow, you can try skiing or snowboarding in the Alps. For those who like warmer weather, we also have sandboarding-he desert version of skateboarding.
Polar expeditions
Take a cruise to the Antarctic or the Arctic; explore a land of white natural beauty and wonderful wildlife. Our experts will explain everything about the two poles as you watch the penguins in the Antarctic or whales and polar bears in the Arctic.
Cultural journeys
Our cultural journeys will help you discover ancient civilizations: India, Thailand, Egypt and many more. Visit temples, palaces and ancient ruins-just remember to bring your camera! Get to know local ways of life by exploring markets, trying foreign foods and meeting local people.
Trekking tours
We have trekking holidays to famous places such as Machu Picchu or the Everest Base Camp Trek, as well as some nearer to home in the Highlands of Scotland. You don't need to be very sporty, just fairly fit. You'll have a great time enjoying nature with a group of new friends. Some of the holidays include camping, but we'll transport the tents for you!
1. Which tour will you choose if you want to watch animals in nature?| A．Activity holidays. | B．Polar expeditions. |
| C．Cultural journeys. | D．Trekking tours. |
| A．Do some sports. | B．Enjoy sandboarding. |
| C．Camp on the mountains. | D．Try snowboarding in the Alps. |
| A．Senior retirees. | B．Young teenagers. |
| C．Regular workers. | D．Successful businessmen. |
4 . There is certainly evidence that actors experience a blending of their real self with their assumed characters. For instance, Benedict Cumberbatch said, “My mum says I'm much more impatient with her when I'm filming Sherlock.”
Mark Seton, a researcher at the University of Sydney, has even coined the term “post-dramatic stress disorder” to describe the lasting effects experienced by actors who lose themselves in a role. “Actors may often prolong habits of the characters they have embodied,” he writes.
A recent finding doesn't involve acting, and it indicates that merely spending some time thinking about another person seemed to rub off on the volunteers’ sense of self led by Meghan Meyer at Princeton University. Across several studies, these researchers asked volunteers to first rate their own personalities, memories or physical attributes, and then to perform the same task from the perspective of another person. For instance, they might score the emotionality of various personal memories, and then rate how a friend or relative would have experienced those same events.
After taking the perspective of another, the volunteers scored themselves once again: the consistent finding was that their self-knowledge was now changed—their self-scores had shifted to become more similar to those they'd given for someone else. For instance, if they had initially said the trait term “confident” was only moderately related to themselves and then rated the term as being strongly related to a friend's personality, when they came to rescore themselves, they now tended to see themselves as more confident. Remarkably, this morphing of the self with another was still apparent even if a 24-hour gap was left between taking someone else's perspective and re-rating oneself.
“By simply thinking about another person, we may adapt our self to take the shape of that person” said Meyer and her colleagues. That our sense of self should have this quality might be a little discouraging, especially for anyone who has struggled to establish a firm sense of identity. Yet there is an optimistic message here, too. The challenge of improving ourselves—or at least seeing ourselves in a more positive light—might be a little easier than we thought. By roleplaying or acting out the kind of person we would like to become, or merely by thinking about and spending time with people who embody the kind of attributes we would like to see in ourselves, we can find that our sense of self changes in desirable ways.
“As each of us chooses who to befriend, who to model, and who to ignore” write Meyer and her colleagues, “we must make these decisions aware of how they shape not only the fabric of our social networks, but even our sense of who we are.”
1. The first two paragraphs mainly ______.| A．state that acting requires skills |
| B．explain the stress that an actor faces |
| C．show that a role leaves a mark on the actor |
| D．stress the importance of devoting oneself to a role |
| A．Influence. | B．Strengthen. |
| C．Confuse. | D．Determine. |
| A．brings changes to one's self-knowledge |
| B．motivates one to better understand himself |
| C．helps people deal with their identity problems |
| D．produces temporary effects on one's character |
| A．It offers instructions on making friends. |
| B．It proposes a means to improve ourselves. |
| C．It gives advice on adjusting one's emotions. |
| D．It presents a way to deal with stress disorder. |
5 . On a Saturday afternoon, Tasi Lama had just finished lunch and was going to wash his hands when the ground under his feet started shaking violently. Objects began to fall down from overhead and rising above the crashes, he could hear terrified screams all around him. Several months later, the painter from Nepal's Kathmandu Valley remembers that day more vividly than his wedding day or the birth of his son.
It was on April 25, 2015 that an earthquake hit Nepal, the former Himalayan kingdom out of sight between its giant neighbors China and India, 81 years after a similar disaster. This killer quake and aftershocks that continued for more than a month afterward killed over 8,000 people, destroyed thousands of houses, and ruined an economy already damaged by many other reasons.
It was also of consequence for the ancient art style Nepali painters such as Lama have been practicing for generations. “We left our homes and lived in the open fields outside the city, under tarpaulins（防水油布）for a month," Lama said. Many of the houses, built of mud and bricks, were in ruins and the aftershocks continued, though less frequently. One day, I went to my showroom to get some of the paintings out and the Earth started shaking again. I dropped everything and ran out for my life. ”
Dinesh Lama, a 32-year-old artist from Nepal's capital city, Kathmandu, said his Boudha Stupa Thangka Center, which functions as his showroom as well as his studio, has remained shut since the earthquake, as his artisans(工匠）are too traumatized （心理受到创伤的）to take up the brush again. “We lived in temporary tents for more than a month," he said. “When they try to sit inside the studio and paint, fear makes their hands shake. Luckily, we have got a lot of aid from China. I believe we will come back to our home soon. ”
1. What can we conclude from the second paragraph?| A．The April 25 earthquake made Nepal disappear for long. |
| B．This quake caused more deaths than the one 81 years ago. |
| C．Nepal also suffered a serious disaster due to the 1934 quake. |
| D．The earthquake is the only reason for Nepal being backward. |
| A．Many Nepali painters lost their lives in the quake. |
| B．Only the houses built of mud and bricks broke down. |
| C．His showroom fell into ruins after the quake. |
| D．He had no choice but to stop working for long. |
| A．That his showroom had been totally destroyed. |
| B．That his artisans were incapable of working. |
| C．That he couldn't sell his works as usual. |
| D．That he would never pick up his brush to draw. |
| A．Earthquake Brings Damage to Ancient Art |
| B．Earthquake Causes Many Artists Out of Job |
| C．China Gives a Timely Hand to Nepal |
| D．Nepal Suffers from Two Nonstop Quakes |
6 . Scientists say they've developed a system using machine learning to predict when and where lighting will strike. The research was led by engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland.
European researchers have estimated that between 6,000 and 24,000 people are killed by lightning worldwide each year. The strikes can also cause power outages, destroy property, damage electrical equipment and start forest fires. For these reasons, climate scientists have long sought to develop methods to predict and control lightning. In the United States and other places, ground-based sensing devices are used to identify strikes as they happen. But, no system has been created to effectively predict lightning.
The system tested in the experiments used a combination of data from weather stations and machine learning methods. The researchers developed a prediction model that was trained to recognize weather conditions that were likely to cause lightning.
The model was created with data collected over a 12-year period from 12 Swiss weather stations in cities and mountain areas. The data related to four main surface conditions: air pressure, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed.
The atmospheric data was placed into a machine learning algorithm（算法）, which compared it to records of lightning strikes. Researchers say the algorithm was then able to learn the conditions under which lightning happens.
Amirhossein Mostajabi is a PhD student at the institute who led the development of the method. He said, “current systems for gathering such data are slow and complex and require costly collection equipment like radar or satellites.”
“Our method uses data that can be obtained from any weather station,” Mostajabi said. “This will improve data collection in very remote areas not covered by radar and satellite or in places where communication systems have been cut,” be added.
The researchers plan to keep developing the technology in partnership with a European effort that aims to create a lightning protection system. The effort is called the European Laser Lightning Rod project.
1. Why have climate scientists tried to predict and control lighting?| A．To collect relative data. |
| B．To reduce the destruction lightning has been causing. |
| C．To create a scientific system. |
| D．To do research in relation to machine learning. |
| A．air pollution | B．wind speed |
| C．relative humidity | D．air temperature |
| A．lighting. | B．the system being tested. |
| C．the atmospheric data. | D．the machine learning algorithm. |
| A．He developed the method and the system himself. |
| B．He thinks the current systems are too slow and simple. |
| C．He is a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. |
| D．He believes their system does much better in data collection. |
7 . Isabel Allende doesn’t take anything for granted. The celebrated author grew up moving from place to place as the child of a diplomat; as an adult, she was forced out of her native Chile by political upheaval (动乱). Recently, Allende was honored by the National Book Foundation for her distinguished contribution to American letters—the first such award given to a Spanish-language writer.
Allende’s story is typically American: She came to the U.S. for a new start after living for more than a decade for political shelter in Venezuela. By that time, Allende had already gained international fame for The House of the Spirits, a novel inspired by her family history. Actually, most of her writing comes from the “incurable desire to belong to a place”. Moving from place to place, and surrounded by people with varied lives, she realized that writers need not feel the pressure of making up stories. After all, Allende asks, “What is writing if it’s not an attempt to sort out the confusion of life?”
In her acceptance speech, she said, “As a stranger, I observe and listen carefully. I ask questions, and I question everything. For my writing, I don’t need to invent much; I look around and take notes. I’m a collector of experiences.”
All of this is hardly new advice, but it’s advice that, deserves repeating and listening to. Because in this way, writers and readers can turn weak and uncertain connections into strong and secure ones. “If we listen to another person’s story, if we tell our own story, we realize that the similarities that bring us together are more than the differences that separate us.”
1. Where was Isabel Allende born?| A．Chile. | B．Spain. | C．America. | D．Venezuela. |
| A．A need to live a different life. | B．A desire to belong to a place. |
| C．A wish to move constantly. | D．An effort to solve puzzles of life. |
| A．She enjoys inventing. | B．She has accumulated much before writing. |
| C．She likes collecting notes. | D．She has experienced all kinds of life. |
| A．It encourages people to follow others. |
| B．It inspires people to question their stories. |
| C．It makes people find differences between each other. |
| D．It helps people build close connections with others. |
8 . Some of the best cycling routes in the world pass through its most beautiful scenery. Here are some of world’s best bike routes for cyclists who either are up for breaking a good sweat or simply seeing the world without leaving an ugly carbon footprint behind.
The Great Windy Road, Victoria, Australia
If you like a challenge, take on this 243-kilometer windy road along Australia’s south-eastern coast. If a day is all you’ve got, take the 60-kilometer route from Torquay to Bells Beach. There you’ll cycle through rural farmland, enjoy the sweeping ocean views from cliff tops, and snake past the wetlands around Lake Connewarre.
Udaipur City Tour, Rajasthan, India
Biking is arguably the best way to explore Udaipur, Venice of the East.
Cyclists often need to cycle past herdsmen and their goats and camels, sharing narrow, old pavements in this romantic place. But surrounded by ancient castles, temples and grand palaces, Udaipur brings about one of the best biking experiences, allowing cyclists to truly discover rural India.
The Karakoram Highway, China-Pakistan
The Karakoram Highway is the highest international road in the world, reaching an altitude of 4,700 meters at the Khunjerab Pass. Starting in Kashgar, China, cyclists can travel up to 1,200 kilometers on mostly unpaved roads, but the views are as breathtaking as the riding.
Route of the Hiawatha, Idaho-Montana, United States
Take your family out to Montana this summer and cycle along the most scenic disused railroad in the country. The railroad turned bike trail turns into 24 kilometers of leisure biking that takes you over seven trestles(高架桥) and through 10 tunnels, with the longest one, the Taft Tunnel, stretching for 2.7 kilometers.
1. In which tour can you enjoy the seaside scenery?| A．The Great Windy Road. | B．Udaipr City Tour. |
| C．The Karakoram Highway. | D．Route of the Hiawatha. |
| A．Go to Venice. | B．Feed wild animals. |
| C．Visit cultural relics. | D．Enjoy modern architectures. |
| A．It is a totally undeveloped route. | B．It goes along an abandoned railway. |
| C．It owns the longest tunnel in the world. | D．It lies higher than other international roads. |
9 . Deciding to get her money's worth out of the wedding dress on which she spent over $1,000, an Australian woman has been wearing her wedding dress, a year after her wedding.
43-year-old Tammy Hall adopted a new lifestyle-anti-consumerism (反消费主义) lifestyle in 2016, after a trip to India opened her eyes to how much we as a society consumed. She decided not to buy any new clothes or footwear for a whole year after she returned home to Adelaide, in Southern Australia, and she managed to make it.
But last year, as her wedding day approached, she faced a dilemma. She wanted to look good on the most important day of her life, but how could she spend a small fortune on the wedding dress she would only wear on that day?
"In the end I decided that if I was going to get a wedding dress, I'd make sure I could get my money's worth," Hall tells PA Real Life.
"The first time I wore it after the wedding was to vote in the Australian election in early 2019," the 43-year-old adds. "Since then, it's been to all sorts of places. Wearing it on a crowded train was especially funny, but I've worn it to do housework, to football games and to the gym."
Hall says that she has gotten some strange looks from people, but no irritating comments. It may have something to do with the fact that the dress is not the fanciest, but she believes people are just too reserved to say anything. Anyway, she doesn't really care, because she knows she has to hit the goal she has set and wearing the dress multiple times is the most reasonable way she could think of to make the most of her wedding dress.
Hall now plans to wear her wedding dress on a trip to Iceland that she and her partner will take next summer.
1. Why did Tammy Hall adopt a new lifestyle?| A．To adapt herself to Indian life. | B．To cut down her consumption. |
| C．To save money for her next trip. | D．To get prepared for her wedding. |
| A．She brought fun to people with it. | B．She tried to wear it to earn money. |
| C．She wore it repeatedly in daily life. | D．She got it exchanged again and again. |
| A．Thrilling. | B．Annoying. |
| C．Amusing. | D．Confusing. |
| A．She is determined to turn her ideas into practice. |
| B．She values her wedding dress less than her trips. |
| C．She has been struggling to make the ends meet. |
| D．She has influenced people's lifestyle widely. |
10 . A new device (设备) works like a solar panel, except it doesn't harvest energy from the sun to produce electricity. Instead, it uses energy from the cold night sky.
In the center of this device is a thermoelectric generator (热电发电机), which uses the temperature difference between Earth and outer space to create electricity.
As long as one side of it is cooler than the other, the generator can produce electricity. The cooler side faces the sky and is attached to an aluminum plate. That plate is sealed under a transparent cover and surrounded with materials that keep heat out. It stays cooler than the surrounding air by getting rid of any heat it absorbs as infrared (红外线的) radiation. That radiation can zip up through the transparent cover and on toward outer space.
The bottom of the generator is attached to an exposed aluminum plate, which is warmed by the local air. At night, the top plate can get several degrees centigrade cooler than the bottom of the generator.
Researchers tested the device one clear December night in Stanford, Calif. The generator produced up to about 25 milliwatts of power per square meter of the device. That was just enough power to light a small electric lamp. Further improvements might develop its production to at least 500 milliwatts per square meter.
"It's a very clever idea," says Yuan Yang, a materials scientist who works at Columbia University in New York City. "The device still needs improving," he notes. "But this new device may be useful for backup power," Yang says. "It might also provide a bit of energy to people living in areas that lack electricity."
"The device could help power remote weather stations or other environmental devices," says Aaswath Raman, a materials scientist who worked on the device at the University of California, Los Angeles. What's more, this may be useful in areas that don't see sunlight for months at a time, Raman adds.
1. How is the device designed?| A．It includes two aluminum plates with different functions. |
| B．It is equipped with a heat resistant generator in the center. |
| C．Its two aluminum plates are exposed to air to keep heat out. |
| D．Its generator is sealed by a transparent cover to remain cool. |
| A．It won't be expanded to be much larger. |
| B．It fails to produce electricity fast enough. |
| C．It is unable to power small electric lamps. |
| D．It produces a limited amount of electricity. |
| A．evaluate the device on a positive basis |
| B．point out the problems with the device |
| C．explain the research work for the device |
| D．comment on Aaswath Raman's prediction |
| A．Lamps Are Powered by the Energy From the Cold Night Sky |
| B．A Generator Producing Electricity Has Been Applied in Many Areas |
| C．Scientists Have Made a Breakthrough in Harvesting Green Energy |
| D．A Device Uses Energy From the Cold Night Sky to Produce Electricity |
