1 . During the "golden week" national holiday that began on October 1st, hundreds of thousands of sightseers flocked to Lijiang, a picturesque historic town in the south-western province of Yunnan. Among its attractions are the symbols printed beneath the Chinese characters on road signs and shop fronts （Starbucks included）. They are Dongba pictographs, an ancient form of script（文字）that originated among the Naxi, a local ethnic group. It almost died until about a decade ago, when local officials began to realize its value and covered the town with it.
Dongba was never widely used by the Naxi, of whom there are about 300,000 living in the Himalayan foothills near Lijiang, as well as in Tibet and Sichuan province. The pictographs, which evolved as early as the seventh century, were developed by shamans （巫 师）of the Dongba faith, which has roots in Tibet.
Over 20,000 of these religious records survive. They provide rich insight into how Naxi people thought about war, geography, astronomy and agriculture. But they are extremely hard to read. Linguists are helped by the area's Dongba priests（神职人员）. There are about 600, most of them very old, including Yang Guoxing, who ran a school from 2010 to 2015 to teach Dongba to children living in the mountains. When Mr Yang was growing up, “everyone was too busy farming” to learn it. Now they are all busy soaking up the pop culture， he says.
Signs at bus stations in rural Yunnan encourage locals to use written and spoken Chinese. But the Naxi get off lightly compared with other ethnic minorities. Primary schools in Lijiang teach the Dongba script twice a week, as well as Naxi nursery rhymes. Li Dejing, head of the Dongba Culture Research Institute, says this is not just about keeping alive the pictographs, but letting children grasp “the very spirit of their own culture”. And this will also help tourism to develop in Lijiang.
1. What do we know about the Dongba script?| A．It is widely used by local people. |
| B．It was a tool used by certain people. |
| C．It was quite popular at certain periods. |
| D．It has a history of more than 3000 years. |
| A．Only priests can read it. |
| B．It's extremely hard to read. |
| C．Its value hasn't been fully recognized. |
| D．People are too busy to learn a new language. |
| A．New schools are opened to teach it. |
| B．Some tourists are invited to preserve it. |
| C．Only the Dongba script can be used in schools. |
| D．People are more exposed to this language than before. |
| A．The Dongba Script Is Dying | B．The History of the Dongba Script |
| C．The Dongba Script Survives in Lijiang | D．The Influence of the Dongba Script |
2 . It sounds like science fiction, but the world's first floating dairy farm(奶牛场 )the brainchild of Dutch company Beladon, will become a reality.
Though the project has been in the works for years, the farm only recently got the green light for construction. This summer, a 900-ton platform was pulled to its current position in Rotterdam's harbor. It will soon be a multi-level home to 40 cows.
According to Peter, owner of Beladon, animal welfare was important when they were designing the farm. The finished farm will feature a “cow garden"on the top floor, with artificial trees and bushes to offer shade. A team of robots will be hired，collecting about 800 liters of milk per day. The milk will then be processed on the floor below and sold locally. In their free time. however, cows can walk a ramp(斜坡) to reach the firm ground on the bank.Tasty waste from the city-cut grass, potato skins, etc.- will be their main food source And waste from the farm will be used as fertilizer throughout Rotterdam.
The building will attract many visitors, but the real focus is food security. Getting cows on the water is a great step towards creating healthier cities. The idea first came in 2012, while Peter was in New York. When Hurricane Sandy hit, he watched the city's transportation paralyzed (瘫痪的)as Manhattan's roads were filled with water. Trucks for food distribution couldn’t move anymore.After two days. there was no fresh food in the stores, Then Peter had a thought: To create a climate-adaptive method of producing fresh, local food, why not harvest right on the water?"You going up and down with the tide, and you don’t need the transport."
Though it's just one small farm the project can serve as a model for cities across the globe. A building on the water is transportable, so you can move it when necessary.
1. What do we know about the dairy farm?| A．It is meant to serve local citizens. |
| B．It is out of the question. |
| C．It is located in the deep sea. |
| D．It is owned by the government. |
| A．They feed on the plants grown on the farm. |
| B．They have access to the real land. |
| C．They can wander in the real garden |
| D．Their waste can be fully used aboard. |
| A．To improve the local environment. | B．To add a new scenic spot. |
| C．To help ensure food supply. | D．To reduce pressure on transport. |
| A．Indifferent. | B．Worried. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
3 . The number of British students going to US universities has been climbing steadily over the past decade. The latest available figures (from 2017- 2018) show 11,460 British students are choosing to study in US. This represents a small drop (0.3%) from the previous year, showing that American degrees remain a popular choice.
Among the most popular American universities for British students are, Harvard, Y ale, Princeton, Stanford and also institutions with convenient location-- New York University in New York City, or the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, for example.
Two factors motivate young people to head west for universities: academic opportunity and the increasing availability of financial aid for foreign students. Anthony Nemecek, an education expert, explains, “While there are many reasons British students consider higher education study in the US, the main reason is the wide range of choice on offer, both subjects and institutions, as well as not having to decide their *major/course' until the end of the second year."
One reason why the Brits may be unwilling to pursue a US degree is the cost. The University of Oxford, for example, estimates living costs of f14,850 in 2020, along with course fees of f9,250, so a total of f24,100. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a world-leading specialist in science, costs $73,1 60 (£59,447; more than twice as much as Oxford), but most students at MIT will get financial aid. MIT is home to a financial aid program for international students, making it a great place to apply if money is not enough.
1. How many British students went to US universities in 2016- 2017?| A．11,495. | B．11,460. |
| C．11,425. | D．14,898. |
| A．Its low cost. | B．Its location. |
| C．Its influence. | D．Its top institutions. |
| A．He will suffer financial problems. |
| B．The financial aid is not easy |
| C．The living costs will be twice as much. |
| D．He is likely to pay less than required. |
| A．British students studying in US universities. |
| B．Differences between US and British universities. |
| C．Why British students are going to US Universities. |
| D．Which are more attractive, US universities or British universities. |
4 . Summer Servers
Summer Servers contacts area nonprofits to determine the number of volunteers needed at the organizations throughout the summer weeks. Students sign up for volunteer expeditions with Summer Servers at the Activities Fair on Opening Weekend. Trips are scheduled throughout the summer on Saturdays. Visit the website or call (617) 495 — 3454 to learn more information.
Harvard Summer School Orchestra
The Harvard Summer School Orchestra is currently in its thirty-fifth season under the direction of Judith Zuckerman. Practise sessions are from 6:30 pm to 9 pm, in Sanders Theatre, on the following dates: Friday, June 28; Mondays, starting July 1; and Friday, July 26. The performance is scheduled for Saturday, July 27, at 8 pm, in Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall. For more information, please email hsso@verizon. net.
Harvard Summer Pops Band
The band is open to most instrument players from both Harvard and the Greater Boston area, regardless of age or experience. Practise sessions are Wednesdays in Sanders Theatre from 7:15 pm to 9:30 pm, starting June 24. The band will perform two concerts. The first on July 23 at 4 pm in Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard, and the second on July 26 at 3 pm at the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston. For more information, email meolson@fas. Harvard. edu.
Harvard Summer Chorus
The chorus, founded in 1936, is led by Andrew Clark, Harvard University's Director of Choral Activities. Practise sessions are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 pm to 9:30 pm, in Sanders Theatre, starting Tuesday, June 25. The final performance is scheduled for Friday, August 2,at 8 pm, in Sanders Theatre, Memorial Hall. Visit the Harvard Summer Chorus website or email Harvard summer chorus® gmail. com for more information.
1. Which of the following suits those who are only available on the weekend?| A．Summer Servers. | B．Harvard Summer School Orchestra. |
| C．Harvard Summer Pops Band. | D．Harvard Summer Chorus. |
| A．There are two practice sessions in total. | B．It's only suitable for experienced players. |
| C．Each practice session lasts nearly 3 hours. | D．The concerts will be held in different theatres. |
| A．They all date back to over three decades ago. |
| B．They all have performances in Sanders Theatre. |
| C．All of their activities are scheduled in the summer. |
| D．They all have practise sessions at least twice a week. |
5 . Big, old trees are dying faster than in the past, leaving younger, less biodiverse forests that store less carbon worldwide. They give us paper and fuel, as well as vital ecological services—like cleaning the air, storing carbon and providing habitat. We’re talking about trees, of course. But human changes to the environment appear to be causing profound changes to trees around the world.
In a new study, scientists reviewed global research on trends in tree seedlings growth and death. They combined those data with an analysis of deforestation. And they found that worldwide, older trees are dying at a higher rate than in the past due to factors like rising air temperature, wildfires, drought and pathogens(病原菌).
“And most of the drivers of that decrease in large, old trees are increasing themselves, such as temperature is going up, droughts are more severe, wildfires, windstorms and deforestation are all on the increase—although variable across the globe—they’re generally increasing. And so for both the loss has already occurred, but we expect more continued loss of big, old trees.” said Nate McDowell, an earth scientist at Pacific Northwest National Lab, who was one of the study’s authors.
“So if we have an increasing rate of death, particularly of the larger, older trees, what’s left are the younger trees. So that’s why, on average, through the loss of bigger, older trees, our forests are becoming inherently(天生地) younger and shorter.”
This trend is a problem, because old trees are vitally important.
“For sure, the increase in death does limit the carbon storage of an ecosystem and can force the system to become a carbon source to the atmosphere. The second reason we care is from a biodiversity perspective: old trees tend to house a higher biodiversity than young forests do. And the third reason is aesthetic: as a society, we care about these trees. We have national parks named after these big trees. So there’s a personal reason for people to care about this as well.”
1. What has the new study found about the forests?| A．Forests are getting younger and shorter. |
| B．Many factors cause the death of big old trees. |
| C．Old trees are beneficial to humans in many ways. |
| D．The death of big old trees influences biodiversity. |
| A．The death rates of big old trees. |
| B．The trends in the death of big old trees. |
| C．The human changes to the environment. |
| D．The factors causing high death rate of old trees. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By analyzing reasons. |
| C．By listing facts. | D．By providing figures. |
| A．To call on people to protect old trees. |
| B．To illustrate a phenomenon about old trees. |
| C．To share the findings of a new study about trees. |
| D．To analyze the reasons why some trees are dying faster. |
6 . Micro-plastics have occupied almost every part of the planet today, including the most distant reaches.
The Arctic is far from clean, though it s rarely stepped in by visitors. Melanie Bergmann, a marine ecologist (海洋生态学家) and her colleagues had been studying plastics on the Arctic seafloor since 2002. In deep sea, they found about 6,0000 particles (微粒) in every 2.2 pounds of mud. In sea ice, there were as much as 12,000 pieces per 34 ounces of melted ice.
Scientists measured micro-plastics in snow from this distant location and found a lot, which could only have caught rides on the wind. The study raises concerns about the pollution that micro-plastics brought to the air, bringing a health risk to people and animals that breathe them in. But they are less worried about the threat that breathed-in pollutants have to wildlife than about polluted snow going into water.
The science on the health effects of micro-plastics is still going on.“For human health, we now now very little," says micro-plastics researcher Chelsea Rochman, “There is a lot of concern. For wildlife, we know that micro-plastics may go into every level of the food chain." Laboratory studies find some physical and chemical effects from micro-plastics, but the findings vary by the plastic type, shape experiments will be carried out soon with use of equipment if financial support approves."
Even worse is the threat from airborne micro-plastics in the area---too small to be noticed and may actually enter cells. Research on that also has been done and it could be a bigger problem, according to Rochman.
1. What can you learn from the data in Paragraph 2?| A．Visitors rarely step into the Arctic. |
| B．Micro-plastics threaten the human beings. |
| C．Micro- plastics are everywhere in the world. |
| D．The Arctic suffers serious micro-plastics pollution. |
| A．Wildlife's threat by micro-pollutants. |
| B．Human beings breathing micro-plastics in. |
| C．Micro-plastics entering the water ecosystem. |
| D．Micro-plastics pollution worsening global warming. |
| A．Damage of micro-plastics to health. |
| B．Appeals for environmental protection. |
| C．Findings about airborne micro-plastics in the Arctic. |
| D．Measures to solve micro-plastics pollution. |
| A．Science. | B．Health. |
| C．Education. | D．Entertainment. |
7 . A high level of methane (甲烷) gas on Mars was found by NASA's Mars exploration vehicle. The discovery is exciting because the presence of methane gas could support the case for life on Mars:
NASA's Curiosity vehicle recently recorded the largest level of methane ever measured during its seven-year Mars mission.
Methane has no color or smell. A special instrument on Curiosity's Mars Science Laboratory recorded the increased gas level. Besides methane, the instrument can record levels of water and carbon dioxide.
Nearly all the methane gas found in earth's atmosphere is produced by biological activity. It usually comes from animal and plant life. But it can also be formed by geological processes, such as interactions between rocks and water.
It was not the first time Curiosity has found methane gas in the Martian atmosphere.. About a year ago, NASA announced that Curiosity had discovered sharp seasonal increases in the gas. This time, NASA said the measured methane gas level was clearly larger than any others observed in the past. NASA officials even temporarily stopped Curiosity's other activities to investigate further.
However, Curiosity's team carried out a follow-up methane experiment that showed a sharp drop in levels of the gas. The rise and fall of the methane gas levels left NASA scientists with more questions than answers. The scientists are continuing to study possible causes for the sudden increase.
Curiosity does not have instruments that can exactly identify whether the source of the methane is biological or geological. One leading theory is that methane is being released from underground areas created by possible life forms that disappeared long ago. Even though Mars has no active volcanoes, scientists believe it is also possible that methane is being produced by reactions involving carbon materials and water.
1. Why is the discovery of methane gas on Mars exciting?| A．It was first found on Mars. | B．It's evidence of life existence. |
| C．It can be used in further studies. | D．It proves the existence of water. |
| A．It is colorless and smelly. |
| B．It is mainly created by rocks and water. |
| C．It is as important as water and carbon dioxide. |
| D．It is produced by biological or geological, activity. |
| A．Discovering methane gas several times on Mars. |
| B．The failure of the follow-up methane experiment. |
| C．Having no exact instruments to identify methane gas. |
| D．Sharp changes in the amount of methane gas on Mars. |
| A．Explorations on Mars | B．Methane Level on Mars |
| C．Methane Mystery on Mars | D．The Sources of Methane on Mars |
8 . Do you want to really impress your friend with a birthday gift? How about flying a drone (无人机) made of chocolate?
It can be done, and it was done by a team of three Duke University students, with help from a chocolate maker called Chocolove. About a year ago, mechanical engineering student Anuj Thakkar and his friends were talking over coffee. “Wouldn't it be cool if we had eatable drones?" they wondered.
Over the summer, that idea began to take shape. "We tried cheese. We tried bread. Chocolate was what we settled on." said Thakkar. Chocolate is moldable, making the design process a little easier. Thakkar, Carlo Lindner and Ben Succop started designing. Eventually, to make their friend Kristine Stanner smile, they managed to build a fleet of drones out of chocolate. On Stanner's birthday, they flew a drone to her. She ate a piece of the one-of-a-kind drone at once.
However, they worked really hard for it. The summer in Durham, North Carolina, is very hot, and it's not a great time to work with chocolate. "The first drone — chocolate was falling from the sky," Thakkar said. “It was flowing in drops.” Hearing the news, Chocolove enthusiastically provided his high-quality dark chocolate for them. But the high-quality chocolate is more fragile than the cheap one, so the team had to fix it again. They put the plastic on the airframe at first and then put sweet vermicelli (细面条) to give the airframe more flexibility. The drone crashed a lot, but it always held. And it had a tendency to tear, which may be why real planes aren't made of chocolate.
Thakkar said, “I got tired of chocolate in the first day of designing, but I like to make strange gifts for my friends."
1. What does the underlined word “moldable" in paragraph 3 probably mean?| A．Delicious. | B．Flexible. | C．Soft. | D．Solid. |
| A．Planning a birthday surprise. | B．Advising some useful guidance. |
| C．Offering higher-quality materials. | D．Introducing some guests to them. |
| A．The lack of chocolate. | B．The change of the weather. |
| C．Their unprofessional skills. | D．The unstability of the airframe. |
| A．Creative. | B．Humorous. | C．Ambitious. | D．Strict. |
9 . There are apps for almost everything. Here are some of the best free apps that are well received by smartphone users.
StorySign
StorySign is designed to help deaf children learn to read. With a book in hand. just point your phone's camera at the page and an animated character in StorySign will read the page in sign language. And children will both enjoy the books and learn to read in the process. Even in its limited form,StorySign is well worth trying if you have a deaf child young enough to appreciate it,but we expect this app will keep getting better as its library grows.
PlantLet
Wherever you are.chances are there are hundreds of different plant species within walking distance .and most of us have no idea what all but the most common are called. PlantNet aims to make identifying them easier--simply take a photo and the app will attempt to identify what kind of plant you’re seeing.
Google Photos
Google Photos stands out among hundreds of photo apps.as it gives you unlimited storage for photos and videos. But with basic editing tools and the ability to make albums. it's more than just photo and video storage. It aims to be your first and last stop after taking a picture. To achieve that,it will need a few more steps. but it's well on its way.
Soon
Soon is an app that lets you create lists of books you want to read. movies you want to watch.restaurants you want to try and more. You can select from a number of categories, including games.shops, bars, museums and TV shows, and then make a list of the ones that interest you. It's a great app for anyone struggling to remember the things they want to watch, visit, read, play and listen to .
1. Who is Story Sign mainly intended for?| A．Children interested in sign language. | B．Any child fond of stories. |
| C．Children with hearing loss. | D．Any child who enjoys reading. |
| A．They both focus on photos and videos. |
| B．They both need improving. |
| C．They both allow users to share. |
| D．They both offer unlimited storage. |
| A．PlantNet helps users research into plants. |
| B．Users can learn to write and talk through StorySign. |
| C．Soon is especially suitable for forgetful people. |
| D．Google Photos can only be used to store data. |
10 . Next time you find yourself tending to your flower garden, you may want to stay quiet. The flowers are listening.
According to Israeli scientists, the plants could hear bees approaching and attempt to attract them with sweeter nectar(花蜜). In several experiments, they found that playing audio recordings of buzzing bees around certain flowers would cause the sugar concentration in the nectar to rise by about 20% in less than five minutes. Such a rapid reaction by plants to sound had never previously been reported. Just to compare, the researchers also tried a higher frequency noise-like that made by a mosquito or a bat-and the flowers did not respond.
This is not the first time that they' ve reacted to what they 're hearing around them. In a 2009 study. Britain’s Royal Horticultural Society found that women's voices helped make plants grow faster. In that experiment, tomato plants were found to grow up to two inches taller when they were tended to by a female gardener. More recently, an Australian study found that some flowers were able to sense noises, such as the flow of water through a pipe.
The ability of inanimate(无生命的) objects to hear what' s around them may seem like something out of a science fiction novel, but it's real. What if we told you that a potato chip bag left on the floor of a break room could listen in an office gossip? You'd think we were crazy. right?Think again. Researchers found that as people were talking around the potato chip bag. they were sending teeny-tiny sound vibrations(振动) into the air. Those vibrations then hit inanimate objects around the room. So next time you're at the gardens or in a grocery. be careful with what you say.Something might be listening.
1. What did Israeli scientists discover in their research?| A．What plants do to sense their environment. |
| B．How plants respond to certain sounds. |
| C．How plants make their nectar sweeter. |
| D．What plants do to protect themselves. |
| A．To indicate that plants can actually hear what's around them. |
| B．To stress the environment is important to plants' survival. |
| C．To tell us many scientists are interested in plant research. |
| D．To show that Israeli scientists are not the most experienced. |
| A．Some plants. | B．Sound vibrations. |
| C．Inanimate objects. | D．Potato chip bags. |
| A．Flowers can actually hear your voices |
| B．Wildlife has amazing survival skills. |
| C．Bees can talk with garden flowers. |
| D．Chip bags can uncover your secrets. |
