1 . Northeastern University in Northeast China's Liaoning Province said it will remove 52PhD students who failed to finish their studies within the permitted study period. One often has been studying for their PhD for 18 years and another two for 17 years, according to an announcement made by the university's College of Information Science and Engineering on Tuesday.
The students were admitted to the college from 2002 to 2012, a list on the college's official website showed. About 78 percent of them have been studying for their PhD at the college for over a decade. The study period for doctoral students in the university is three years, however, and the maximum length of schooling is six years with suspensions included, according to the management rules of the university.
Chinese universities have been seen clearing those postgraduate or PhD students who fail to graduate at the correct time in recent years. Xidian University in Xi'an of Northwest China, for example, removed 33 PhD students in August, some of whom had been studying for 15 years. Yanbian University in Northeast China's Jilin Province announced on November29, 2019, that it would delist 136 graduate students, including 14 PhD students.
A staff member of the university said that some of the students left without telling the school or going through the correct procedures. The difficulties in PhD study and the improving requirements for academic achievements have been found to be the main reasons resulting in students dropping out, experts said. Yang Liu, an associate professor who graduated with a PhD four years ago from a key university in Shanghai, told the Global Times that it is not strange for some PhD students to drop out under the strict academic review process. He also said that some may be scared off by the economic pressure of long-term schooling.
1. What is the permitted study period for a PhD at most?| A．A decade. | B．7 years or so. | C．6 years. | D．Within 3 years. |
| A．The long term of schooling. | B．The increasing requirements for study. |
| C．The economic pressure of schooling. | D．The mixed procedures for leaving universities. |
| A．The difficulties in PhD study scare off many students |
| B．Students fail to graduate from their universities |
| C．University in China's northeast delists over 50 PhD students |
| D．Chinese University is considering clearing some PhD students |
| A．Objective. | B．Worried. | C．Critical. | D．Hopeful. |
Douban rating: 7.3
IMDb rating: 7.0
Set in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the story happens between a farm boy Isa and his friend Kalbinur. Isa's mother, deaf and dumb, depends on her son to look after her. Kalbinur, though a smart Uyghur girl at school, finds the Chinese language hard to master at the village school. Isa reads a story called A First Farewell in school, and although he does not fully understand the idea of farewell, he will soon experience it himself.
The film won the Asian Future Best Film Award at Tokyo International Film Festival in2018 and a Crystal Bear at the 2019 Berlinale.
Sheep Without a Shepherd
Douban rating: 7.7
IMDb rating: 6.7
Li Weijie and his wife, A Yu, have lived in Thailand for 17 years and raised two daughters. At the age of 40, Li runs an internet company and is well liked by the townspeople. However, the family's peaceful life is suddenly interrupted by an unexpected guest. In this town filled with drug trafficking, fairness comes into a critical testing moment.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Douban rating: 9.1
IMDb rating: 8.0
This film is based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner. Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a “bone density scanner”. However, the devices do not sell. As Gardner works to make ends meet, his wife leaves him and he loses his apartment. Forced to live out on the streets with his son, Gardner takes on an unpaid internship as a stockbroker, with few chances for advancement to a paid position. Before he can receive pay, he needs to survive in the competition through six months of training, and to sell his devices to pay off debts.
Ne Zha
Douban rating: 8.5
IMDb rating: 7.5
The Primus(天尊) makes a Mixed Yuan Bead(珠) into a spirit bead and a demon bead. The spirit bead can be re-incarnated in a human to help King Zhou set up a new dynasty, the demon bead will create a devil and harm humans. Ne Zha is the one who should be the spirit bead hero but he becomes a devil incarnate, because the spirit bead and the demon bead are switched.
1. Which film is best received by viewers?| A．A First Fareveell. | B．Sheep Without a Shepherd. |
| C．The Pursuit of Happiness. | D．Ne Zha. |
| A．It won a Future Best Film Award in 2019. | B．It was highly recognized. |
| C．It tells of a story about a businessman. | D．It was first shown in Xinjiang province. |
| A．A First Farewell. | B．Sheep Without a Shepherd. |
| C．The Pursuit of Happiness. | D．Ne Zha. |
3 . Do you look for something to read while in London? If so, you’re lucky. The British capital happens to have an incredible collection of bookshops.
Foyles
If you will, dig the picture: four miles of shelves holding up to 200, 000 books. Let’s hope you have some time to read books when travelling in Foyles. This bookshop is impossible to leave empty-handed. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest bookshop on the planet.
Location: 107 Charing Cross Rd
Hatchards
In the year 1797, Thomas Paine published Agrarian Justice. It’s also the year this London bookshop, the oldest in the city today, first turned on its lights. It stocks an excellent selection of fiction, nonfiction, history and other sorts.
Location: 187 Piccadilly St
Libreria
This bookshop is one of the most pleasing of its kind in London. The yellow bookshelves add a touch of color and mystery and, well, you kind of just want to grab a book and a seat and stay a while. Mobile phone usage is strongly banned here.
Location: 65 Hanbury St
London Review Bookshop
This wonderful bookshop that opened in 2003 comes from the smart people of the London Review of Books. As you’d expect, there is an excellent selection of history, philosophy, politics, new fiction and many other sorts here. Plus, there’s a nice cafe in which you can have something to drink and start reading.
Location: 16 Bury PI
1. Where can you find the oldest bookshop in London?| A．16 Bury PI. | B．187 Piccadilly St. |
| C．107 Charing Cross Rd. | D．65 Hanbury St. |
| A．It has various books. | B．It is located in London. |
| C．It has yellow bookshelves. | D．It is the biggest one. |
| A．Foyles. | B．Hatchards. |
| C．Libreria. | D．London Review Bookshop. |
4 . There has long been a view that in ancient times men were the hunters-out getting the neat — while women were gatherers-searching for fruit, vegetables and wild plants.
However, this stereotype has been overthrown by an archaeological discovery. Scientists found the remains of a teenage girl, who lived around 9,000 years ago, at a site in Peru alongside a hunting toolkit(工具箱).There was a knife and fakes(薄片)of rock for removing internal organs(内脏), and other hunting tools.
"It took a strong case to help us recognize that the archaeological pattern indicated actual female hunting behavior," said Randy Has, he lead author of the study.
The remains were recovered in 2018 when an archaeological site was being excavated(挖掘). Actually, Haas' team didn't plan to study female hunters. They found six bodies in a burial pit, a site 3,925 meters above sea level, on a windy plateau in southern Peru. The researchers used a new method to determine the sex of the found bones. The technique analyzed a protein in the remains' tooth enamel(釉质)to tell their gender. It turned out that the remains with an impressive hunting kit belong to a female.
According to the study and previous records of 107 other burial sites throughout North and South America, the team thinks that between 30 percent and 50 percent of big-game hunters who lived more than 10,000 years ago in the Americas could have been women.
However, some people think the hunting tools could have been placed there for symbolic or religious reasons, so the girl might not be a hunter.
In response, Haas pointed out the 9,00-year-old tomb contains a wide variety of tools-some are very rare, some are common — so this suggests that these tools were not some kind of sacrificial(献祭的)offering. Rather, they were the object that individuals used regularly.
Haas said this debate has great significance in today's world. "This insight-for me at least-stresses that many of the gender inequalities we see today do not have a biological basis," he said.
1. What is the word "overthrown" in paragraph 2 closest in meaning to?| A．Established. | B．Supported. |
| C．Explained. | D．Challenged. |
| A．It was aimed at learning about ancient female hunting behavior |
| B．A total of six bodies were discovered in northern Peru |
| C．A protein in the remains' tooth enamel was examined to know their gender |
| D．It suggested that most females in ancient times were hunters. |
| A．For daily uses. | B．For sacrificial offerings |
| C．For symbolic practices. | D．For religious purposes |
| A．Males should be to blame for gender inequalities. |
| B．There were fewer gender inequalities in ancient times. |
| C．Many gender inequalities are not supported by biology. |
| D．We should ignore biological differences between males and females. |
5 . If the world wants to control global warming, water shortage and pollution, then we all need to welcome “flexitarian” diets, say scientists.
This means eating mainly plant-based foods, and is a key step toward an environment friendly future for all in 2050, they say. Food waste will need to be halved ad farming practices will also have to improve, according to the study arid out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Without action, the influence of the food system could increase by up to 90%
The authors say that he present food industry has a number of considerable environmental effects including being a great driver of climate change, using up freshwater and causing pollution through heavy use of chemical fertilizer. The study says that thanks to the population and income growth expected between 2010 and 2050, these effects could grow between 50-90%. This could push our world beyond is planetary boundaries, which the authors say represent a “safe operating space for humanity and the international community”.
However, the study finds that no single solution will avoid the dangers, so a combined approach is needed. So when it comes to climate change, the authors looked at what they called a “flexitarian” diet.
“We can eat a range of healthy dies but what they all have in common, according to the latest scientific evidence, is that they are all relatively plant-based,” said Dr. Marco from the University of Oxford. “You can go from a diet that has small amounts of animal products (some might call it a Mediterranean-based diet; we call it a flexitarian diet) over to a vegetarian(素食的) diet—we tried to stay with the most traditional one of these which in our view is the flexitarian one, but even this has only one serving of red meat per week.”
If the world moved to this type of diet, the study found that greenhouse gas emissions(排放物) from farming would be reduced by more than half.
Dr. Marco says that all measures combined can result in keeping both the planet and people healthy.
1. What is the IPCCs study about?| A．The role of modern farming practices. |
| B．The differences between various diets. |
| C．The effects of food industry on the planet. |
| D．The harmful consequence of global warming. |
| A．It is far too wasteful. |
| B．It has raised farmers’ income. |
| C．It contributes to the development of farming. |
| D．It is a key step to an environment-friendly society. |
| A．Eating a variety of food. |
| B．Eating a lot of animal products. |
| C．Eating vegetables grown without fertilizer. |
| D．Eating mostly plant-based meals and some red meat. |
| A．The water pollution will be controlled in 2050. |
| B．Less greenhouse gas will be produced. |
| C．Food waste will be reduced by half. |
| D．Much more money will be saved. |
6 . Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house. No card came with it. Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.
But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be. Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother contributed to these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter. As a girl of seventeen, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy whom I had met.
One month before my graduation, my father died of a heart attack. I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation party.
The day before my father died, my mother and I had gone shopping for a party dress. We’d found an impressive one, but it was the wrong size. When my father died, I forgot about my dress.
But my mother didn’t. The day before the party I found that dress—in the right size—over the living room sofa. I didn’t care whether I had a new dress or not. But my mother wanted me to have one. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia—lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery. My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.
1. Why did the writer stopped trying to know who the sender was?| A．In no way could she find the sender. | B．The shop didn’t answer the phone. |
| C．There was no card with the flower. | D．She was only interested in the flower. |
| A．Her father. | B．Her mother. | C．An old man. | D．A boy. |
| A．12 times. | B．22 times. | C．10 times. | D．9 times. |
| A．A Party Dress | B．My Gardenia |
| C．A Mysterious Boy | D．The Death of My Parents |
7 . Avoiding a handshake may have been considered impolite a couple of years ago, but it is now getting more and more common, especially because of the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus( COVID-19) .
Health officials have expressed the importance of completely washing our hands and maintaining proper hand hygiene. As a result, people around the world are creating alternatives for handshakes such as fist bumps and “elbow-bumps.”
Let’s take a look at some of the common greetings that are used around the world in place of the famous handshake and more of the alternatives people are using instead of shaking each others’ hands.
If you have ever traveled to Asian countries like China, India, or Cambodia, you may notice that it is common to see people bowing to greet each other. Bowing is a traditional sign of respect in many Asian cultures and has been a custom for centuries.
Meanwhile, in parts of Europe like France, Italy, and Spain; countries in Latin/South America like Mexico, Peru, and Brazil, the air kiss is more common. Various rules regarding gender, relationship, and form also exist within these different countries. Officials in countries including France are recommending people avoid direct kisses.
Some other unique greetings include sniffing one another’s faces in native cultures in the island nations of Greenland and Tuvalu, sticking out one’s tongue in Tibet (a region of China), and clapping one’s hands in the African countries of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
With the spread of COVID-19, people are getting creative with the ways they greet each other. A trend that has gained advantage is the “Wuhan Shake,” a greeting where two people gently bump each other’s feet with each foot.
Additionally, people, including famous figures like Prince Harry, US Vice President Mike Pence, and celebrities and athletes, have been giving up the formal handshake for elbow bumps.
Although officials have not clearly issued warnings against shaking hands, many doctors and health specialists have praised the handshake alternatives as a way to continue maintaining proper hygiene.
1. How do people commonly greet each other in India according to this passage ?| A．By hugging each other. | B．By formally shaking hands. |
| C．By bowing to greet each other. | D．By touching noses. |
| A．Sniffing one another’ s faces. | B．Sticking out one’s tongue. |
| C．Bowing with one’s hands. | D．Clapping one’s hands. |
| A．It is a greeting of tapping each other' s feet. | B．It is a greeting in which people do elbow bumps. |
| C．It is a greeting where social isolation happens. | D．It is a greeting where air kisses are recommended. |
| A．The Impact Of COVID-19 On Living | B．Good News On COVID-19 Vaccines |
| C．Formal Greeting Ways around the world | D．No Handshake? No Problem! |
8 . New observations of the Moon show that lunar water may be more accessible than originally thought. The new data is particularly exciting for NASA, which hopes to make use of the Moon’s resources — especially water ice existing in the soil — to help future astronauts live and work on the lunar surface.
In one study, researchers discovered water directly on the lunar surface, finding the molecule(分子) on areas of the Moon lighted by the Sun. A second study speculates （推测）that water ice might be trapped in tiny areas or small holes spread all over the Moon’s surface, making water more abundant (大量的) and more accessible than we could have imagined. The two studies were published in the journal Nature.
This isn’t the first time water has been discovered on the Moon. But the only water we’ve been able to find until now is really difficult to reach. It seems to be primarily located in large holes at the lunar south pole that are in continuous shadow. The freezing holes are dangerously cold — possibly reaching -400 ℉ — making them almost impossible to access with modern technology.
The research published today raises the possibility that astronauts can find water in other areas of the Moon that are far less deadly. “If we find that it’s abundant enough in certain locations, it would be easier to access versus going into these very cold, very dark places,” Casey Honniball, an expert at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and lead author on one of the studies, tells The Verge.
It seems to be good news for NASA. But there are still a lot of unknowns related to this research. Though the first study discovered water, the researchers didn’t find a lot. Besides, if the water is existing in the lunar dirt as expected, it’s going to take a lot of work to get it. “The method to get that water would be to melt the glass, so that the water can be released,” Honniball says. “This is a difficult process, compared to some other methods.”
1. Where can we read about the new studies？
| A．From NASA. | B．In The Verge. |
| C．From Space Flight Center. | D．In the journal Nature. |
| A．The only water found is located on areas lighted by the Sun. |
| B．The deadly cold situation stops people from accessing the holes. |
| C．It is the first time that people have found water on the Moon. |
| D．It can reach a temperature of -400 ℃ in the holes. |
| A．Great efforts will be needed to melt the glass. |
| B．There is not enough water on the Moon. |
| C．We don’t know where to find the water. |
| D．We don’t know how to get the water. |
| A．NASA plans to send astronauts to the Moon. |
| B．A lot of unknowns exist in making use of the Moon. |
| C．Using water on the Moon will be key to a future lunar base. |
| D．Water ice on the Moon may be easier to reach than we thought. |
9 . It all started because Lynn and her two teenage children needed to get from Georgia to Alaska, where Lynn’s husband, an American officer, is stationed (驻扎). Lynn packed up all their belongings, bought a 4x4 truck, and started a cross-country family adventure. The first 3,000 miles of the trip went well.
The farther north they traveled, the worse the weather got. Lynn, who was raised in the South, met her first winter white-out conditions. Then she used up windscreen wiping fluid. Slush (雪泥) covered her windows and she couldn’t see to drive. Even scarier — her tires seemed to be sliding on the ground.
After changing the summer tires at a tire store, Lynn decided to give up driving. She phoned her husband and asked if he could just come and get them where they were. Her husband was worried but he wasn’t legally able to get them himself. Then the family had to find a motel and went to bed. That’s when the kind people there put out a request on Facebook for someone to drive them the last 1,056 miles to the border.
Gary Bath was at home when he saw his friend’s post about the trapped family. After watching the post for a while and seeing no one was able to help, he and his wife made the decision that he would drive them the whole way to the border.
Both families met over the Internet, and when they decided they were all comfortable with the plan, the Baths drove to meet the family at the motel. It took Gary two days to drive them to a border checkpoint (边防关卡) where the family was greeted by Lynn’s husband and the new friends parted ways.
1. Why did the American family set off for Alaska?| A．To enjoy the beautiful scenery. |
| B．To visit an old friend. |
| C．To have an adventure. |
| D．To have a family reunion. |
| A．The birth place of Lynn. |
| B．The difficulties Lynn got into. |
| C．The direction of this journey. |
| D．The weather conditions on the way. |
| A．By asking for public help. |
| B．By telephoning the husband. |
| C．By offering them free meals. |
| D．By driving them to the border. |
| A．Serious and careful. |
| B．Smart and honest. |
| C．Kind and caring. |
| D．Brave and determined. |
10 . I was born with bad eyesight. At high school I couldn’t read the blackboard. By the time I got to the university of Bath to study Chemistry it had got to the point where I couldn’t really see images at all, only the difference between light and dark. And a few years later, once I was in the first year of my PhD, I was almost completely blind.
But climbing is my great passion. I started climbing when I was young. My dad taught me everything about climbing. When I was 11, I led my first climbing route outside. People are usually amazed when they discover that not only do I climb, but I also lead climbs.
At university I joined the Mountaineering Club and was able to climb much more frequently. We had regular trips to indoor walls and weekends away outdoors. I developed a great circle of climbing friends and went on several trips to Europe. After these I started Alpine climbing and ice climbing, too.
When my sight dropped to a level where I could no longer read, I thought I might have to give up leading. But I never thought I would stop climbing. I just learnt to adapt with the support of my friends.
People often ask me, “Why rock climbing? It doesn’t seem like a good activity for a blind person.”
But when I think about the danger, crossing the road is far more dangerous, and also, it’s something where I’m not in control.
It’s quite possible that I wouldn’t be such a good climber if I weren’t blind. If I didn’t have these challenges, it wouldn’t focus me. That determination is built through my disability.
When I reach the top of a climb, I don’t get to appreciate the view, but the feeling of achievement is extremely good.
Climbing is a way to prove my way of thinking in life — which is that I’m not disabled, I’ m blind and able.
1. When the author went to university, he .| A．couldn’t read the blackboard | B．couldn’t figure out light and dark |
| C．nearly couldn’t see images | D．was almost blind |
| A．He thought about quitting climbing. |
| B．He learnt to adapt with others’ help. |
| C．He continued leading climbs. |
| D．He went on several trips to Europe. |
| A．The author started climbing at the age of 11. |
| B．The author began ice climbing when he got his PhD. |
| C．The author is afraid of crossing the road. |
| D．The author views blindness in a positive way. |
| A．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| B．All things are difficult before they are easy. |
| C．Actions speak louder than words. |
| D．The eye is blind if the mind is absent. |
