1 . A 3-year-old boy called Casey who was lost in the woods for two days is now safe at home with his family. But he told his rescuers that he was not alone in the rainy, freezing cold woods. He said he was with a friend — a bear.
The child went missing on January 22 while playing with friends at his grandfather’s house in the southern state of North Carolina. When the other children returned to the house and Casey did not, the family searched the area for almost an hour before calling the police.
Police formed a search and rescue team to look for the young boy in the nearby woods. But two days went by and still no Casey.
Then on January 24, someone called the police saying they heard a child crying in the woods. Police followed up on the information and found Casey at about 9:30 that night. They pulled him out of some briar (多刺野灌木). He was in good health.
Casey told the rescuers that he had hung out with a black bear for two days, a bear he called his “friend”.
Officer Hughes spoke with reporters from several agencies. He said Casey did not say how he was able to survive the woods for three days in the cold, rainy weather. However, he said, “Casey did say he had a friend in the woods that was a bear. And at no point do I think he was taken away illegally.”
Doctors at Carolina East Medical Center treated Casey for minor injuries. He was then released to his family on January 25.
His mother Brittany Hathaway talked with reporters from a local news agency and thanked everyone who joined in the search and rescue efforts.
“We just want to tell everybody that we’re very grateful that you took the time out to come search for Casey and prayed for him, and he’s good,” said his mother. “He is good, he is up and talking. He’s already asked to watch Netflix.”
1. What happened to Casey?| A．He was ignored by his friends. | B．He went missing in the woods. |
| C．He was attacked by a bear. | D．He was wanted by the police. |
| A．How Casey managed to survive. | B．When he was successfully rescued. |
| C．Why he was seriously injured. | D．How many hours he was trapped. |
| A．His mother cared about him. | B．His mother was very grateful. |
| C．Casey deserved a good rest. | D．Casey was in good condition. |
| A．survey | B．news report | C．advertisement | D．travel brochure |
2 . We are the products of evolution, and not just evolution that occurred billions of years ago. As scientists look deeper into our genes (基因), they are finding examples of human evolution in just the past few thousand years. People in Ethiopian highlands have adapted to living at high altitudes. Cattle -raising people in East Africa and northern Europe have gained a mutation (突变) that helps them digest milk as adults.
On Thursday in an article published in Cell, a team of researchers reported a new kind of adaptation - not to air or to food, but to the ocean. A group of sea-dwelling people in Southeast Asia have evolved into better divers. The Bajau, as these people are known, number in the hundreds of thousands in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. They have traditionally lived on houseboats; in recent times, they’ve also built houses on stilts (支柱) in coastal waters. “They are simply a stranger to the land,” said Redney C. Jubilado, a University of Hawaii researcher who studies the Bajau.
Dr. Jubilado first met the Bajau while growing up on Samal Island in the Philippines. They made a living as divers, spearfishing or harvesting shellfish. “We were so amazed that they could stay underwater much longer than us local islanders,” Dr. Jubilado said. “I could see them actually walking under the sea.”
In2015, Melissa Ilardo, then a graduate student in genetics at the University of Copenhagen, heard about the Bajau. She wondered if centuries of diving could have led to the evolution of physical characteristics that made the task easier for them. “it seemed like the perfect chance for natural selection to act on a population,” said Dr. Ilardo. She also said there were likely a number of other genes that help the Bajau dive.
1. What does the author want to tell us by the examples in paragraph 1?| A．Environmental adaptation of cattle raisers. | B．New knowledge of human evolution. |
| C．Recent findings of human origin. | D．Significance of food selection. |
| A．In valleys. | B．Near rivers. | C．On the beach. | D．Off the coast. |
| A．They could walk on stilts all day. | B．They had a superb way of fishing. |
| C．They could stay long underwater. | D．They lived on both land and water. |
| A．Bodies Remodeled for a Life at Sea | B．Highlanders’ Survival Skills |
| C．Basic Methods of Genetic Research | D．The World’s Best Divers |
3 . This is what's known as a 'Buddy' or Friendship Bench'. They're needed because playgrounds can be lonely places sometimes. And these benches can help pupils feeling lonely to find a friend. Benches like this have been around for a while now in many schools. But in Ireland, they are trying to do something a bit different with them.
This school in Cork in the south of Ireland is the 247th to get one from a social enterprise called Buddy Bench Ireland that doesn't just provide schools with benches, it also runs special workshops with trained child psychiatrists（精神病专家）.They use the bench as an opportunity to start conversations about mental well-being. They talk about the importance of being aware of your feelings and those of others. The children need to understand what the bench is about, what it symbolizes--- friendship, inclusion, listening to each other and the most important thing, that it's important to express feelings.
But do children actually use the bench? It's something an independent academic study has been looking at. We found that 40% of the children told us that they had actually used the benches at the time of the study. And over 90% said that they would talk to a child if that child was sitting on the bench. So, certainly there doesn't appear to be any issues around stigma. Children's mental health at school is increasingly a concern in many countries. In Ireland, they're hoping these benches will not only tackle issues like social isolation and bullying but also give a future generation the confidence to open up about their feelings.
1. Why the school in Cork in the south of Ireland uses the bench?| A．To start conversations about mental well-being. |
| B．To replace the old benches in school. |
| C．To cut the cost of school's facility. |
| D．To help children with psychological problems fully recover. |
| A．Teachers and parents encourage children to try it. |
| B．Most children are willing to express feelings. |
| C．All the children understand what the bench is about. |
| D．The bench helps children get rid of loneliness. |
| A．It will deal with social isolation and bullying completely. |
| B．It will motivate a future generation to bravely convey their feelings. |
| C．It will make children prefer the bench to old one. |
| D．It will spread in most schools in Ireland soon. |
| A．A fiction | B．A guidebook |
| C．A diary | D．A magazine |
The doll most loved by many and treasured by kids, Barbie, comes to life in this room as she brings about recall of childhood memories. Feeling like a princess yourself living in a giant dollhouse, mix and match clothes and shoes and make your Barbie fashion statement,
Underwater Room at the Talay Karon Beach Resort in Thailand
As if you're in a submarine, be attracted by the beauty of the sea in this splendid underwater room. Look outside and see a world full of sea creatures and water adventure. Find out how it feels to sleep in the middle and the bottom of the sea.
SpongeBob Room at the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando
Kids and adults alike laugh at the funny sound and sense of Spongebob. You will feel like playing in the cartoon film. Meanwhile, you will have the one of a kind opportunity to share a room with all his friends, Patrick, Bob and Mr. Krabs and kids will enjoy plenty of games to play.
Flintstones Room at the Melia Hotel in Spain
Have an unforgettable and enjoyable holiday, ideal for both children and parents, in this hotel located in Spain. The Flintstones is a classic and it will be wonderful to be surrounded with Dinosaurs!
Harry Potter Room at The Georgian House in London
Cleverly made by imaginative hotel owners, they have brought to life Hogwarts in this elegant room. Here you belong in the wizard world and must be lost in its magic!
1. When you are at the Hilton Hotel, you will ______ .| A．experience sleeping in the middle of the sea |
| B．experience a life in Hogwarts like Harry Potter |
| C．meet your princess or prince in your mind |
| D．see the beautiful Barbie in the dollhouse |
| A．room Underwater Talay Karon Beach Resort |
| B．Harry Potter Room at The Georgian House |
| C．Flintstnes Room at the Melia Hotel |
| D．Room SpongeBob Nickelodeon Hotel |
| A．The name of a famous ship. |
| B．The name of a captain of a ship. |
| C．The name of a character in a cartoon film. |
| D．The name of the owner of Nicklodeon Hotel. |
5 . It's said that in China millions of legal cases are now being decided by "internet courts" that do not require citizens to appear in court.
The "smart court" includes non-human judges powered by artificial intelligence, or AI. People seeking legal action can register their case on the internet. They can then take part in a digital court hearing. The system gives users the chance to communicate and receive court decisions by text or through major messaging services. Users completed more than 3.1 million legal activities through the court system from March to October in 2019, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.
China's first internet court was established in the eastern city of Hangzhou in 2017. Hangzhou is a center for major Chinese technology companies. Judicial officials recently invited reporters to the Hangzhou Internet Court to see how it operates. In one demonstration, citizens used video messaging to communicate with virtual, Al-powered judges.
"Does the defendant have any objection to the nature of the judicial block-chain （区块链） evidence submitted by the plaintiff 原告）?” a virtual judge asked during a pre-trial meeting. The non-human judge was represented in the system by an image of a man wearing a black robe. "No objection," the human plaintiff answered.
A Hangzhou court official told China's state-run CGTN television that the internet court system operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to ease the workload of humans and improve the speed and effectiveness of the legal process. Court officials say that even though virtual judges are used, human judges observe the process and can make major rulings.
The internet court in Hangzhou only deals with cases involving legal disputes over digital matters. These include internet trade issues, copyright cases and disputes over online product sales. Digital court cases in China have seen a sharp increase in recent years, as the number of mobile payments and internet-based businesses has grown. The growth is tied to China's huge number of internet users --- about 850 million.
After establishing the court in Hangzhou, China launched similar operations in the cities of Beijing and Guangzhou.
1. What can we infer about the internet court?| A．Human judges have played little role in the internet court. |
| B．Citizens can only place their cases on file on weekdays. |
| C．It will become a helper for the court system. |
| D．It has enjoyed great popularity all over China. |
| A．By Al-powered judges. | B．By receiving text messages. |
| C．By attending a court hearing. | D．By registering the cases on the internet. |
| A．Because there is a growing tendency in internet-based businesses. |
| B．Because it is efficient to deal with cases in the internet court. |
| C．Because legal disputes can only be handled in the internet court. |
| D．Because China has the perfect digital court system. |
| A．The Future of the China's Justice. | B．The Future Master of The Internet Court. |
| C．The Growth of Digital Court Cases. | D．The Rise of China's "Internet Courts5. |
6 . In Sao Paulo, a baby boy is smiling, unaware that a court is deciding his fate. If it finds in his father's favor, he is in all kinds of trouble. There may be a law in Brazil against giving your child a name that might cause him to be laughed at, but daddy wants to call his son Osama bin Laden. The same father, Osvaldo Oliveria Soares, has a habit of trying to use babies as political statements. Nine years ago, he was banned from naming a previous son Saddam Hussein.
Unlike Brazil, there is no law Britain that constrains a parent's right to name their child. "It's not for the officials to say if someone has picked a name they don't think is suitable," says Alison Cathcart, superintendent official at Westminster register office. "But if someone is from a different culture and wants to register a name that sounds like a swear word in English then we do advise them of that."
"Naming does matter," says Helen Petrie, a professor at the City University of London. "We have fixed beliefs of what sort of people are behind certain names. There are studies of teachers in primary schools in the US that show they rate children with certain names as less capable."
"The name is the first thing we find out when we meet someone. If you call your child an unusual silly name like Fifi Trixibelle, as did Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, it can make life hard for your child — especially if you want him to be smart and are not in the least bit superficial"
There's also the class factor. “Fifty years ago there was no cross-over of names between classes. Now everyone can buy Tatler and see the name Tarquin," says Petrie. "Until the 60s, Tracey was a fashionable Chelsea name. Now it has a terrible image fixed in people's mind. I've interviewed some Traceys who find their name a huge burden. However high up they may be in their profession, people hear their name and think they're the cleaner."
1. The Brazilian court may rule against Osvaldo Olveria Soares if he ______.| A．states that he admires Osama bin Laden | B．gives his son a name that will be laughed at |
| C．uses his babies as political statements | D．keeps his habit of interfering in politics |
| A．abolish | B．acknowledge |
| C．defend | D．restrict |
| A．the students do not perform well in class |
| B．they do not love those children's name |
| C．they think a name can reveal one' ability |
| D．they understand the psychology of naming |
| A．A person named Fifi is usually silly. |
| B．Paula Yates is a name which sounds superficial. |
| C．Tatler is a name of low grade. |
| D．Tracey is still a fashionable Chelsea name. |
7 . Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia, wants the world to know exactly where she’s been while she’s on her worldwide vacation in a special way. The traveler, who was born with a bone disease, had her right leg amputated (截肢) at the age of four. Although the amputation caused inconvenience for Gallagher early on, she now sees it as nothing short of inspiration for living her best life.
To spread that message. Gallagher has gone to social media, where she shares photos of her travels across the world, but instead of simply using a geo-tag(地理位置标签), she writes her location on her artificial leg before taking a picture.
Now she has been taking pictures across the Continent, which show her cycling over the canal in Amsterdam relaxing on a wall overlooking the city of Barcelona, posing with a waffle in Brussels, taking in the beautiful Parthenon temple in Athens and enjoying a river ride in Budapest, all with the well-known locations written on her artificial leg.
“I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden thought to get a chalk-board,” Gallagher said. “My mum and grandmother didn’t like the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did.”
Gallagher said people often stare when she’s writing on her leg, but once she shares the photos, she receives only positive feedback(反馈), “My leg hasn’t stopped me from doing anything I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s my determination to prove to myself that I can do it, anyway, I’ve been able to keep up with people at my age and lead a pretty great life.”
Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the way of your dreams. And if life gives you an artificial leg, make art.
1. What message did Gallapher want to spread in her special way?| A．She enjoys her travelling across the globe. |
| B．She suffers little from her leg’s amputation. |
| C．she looks on her misfortune as another form of blessing. |
| D．She has exactly fallen in love with posting photos online. |
| A．the continent | B．the pictures | C．the leg | D．the location |
| A．helpful and ambitious | B．friendly and generous |
| C．determined and creative | D．independent and sensible |
| A．Never Too Late to share | B．A Special Artificial Leg |
| C．An Outstanding Photographer | D．Gallagher’s Summer Holidays |
