1 . Some of the best museums across China are putting their exhibitions online in VR format for free. While stuck at home due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, why not take a detailed online tour at museums that you would not otherwise have time for?
The Palace Museum
The Palace Museum is known as the Forbidden City. Although the museum is now closed due to the current epidemic prevention, it's possible for visitors to take a virtual tour of parts of the museum without actually setting foot on the majestic grounds.
Visitors can browse all the buildings of the Palace Museums. More than 400,000 imperial artifacts have been digitized online, which can definitely help you gain knowledge and immerse yourself in a cultural atmosphere.
The websites: https://pano.dpm.org.cn/gugong_app_pc/index.html
https://www.dpm.org.cn/shuziduobaoge/html
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Museum is a large and famous museum, which collects over 120,000 precious artistic relics from more than 5,000 years ago to the Qing Dynasty. The marvelous bronze, ceramics, paintings and calligraphies offer a visual feast for the eyes, and also provide a good chance for people to learn the profound Chinese history and culture.
If you are into ancient Chinese arts and crafts, then the online Shanghai Museum is definitely worth your time.
The website: https://www.shanghaimuseum.net/treasure/show/show
Mogao Caves
The Mogao Caves, also known as Thousand Buddha Grottoes, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Dunhuang in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Now visitors can directly browse dozens of classic caves and appreciate the murals(壁画) by cave rooms through the “Digital Dunhuang”, the website of the Mogao Caves. The development of “Digital Dunhuang” not only shocks visitors in a visual sense but also “moves” the Mogan Grottoes outside.
The website: https://www.e-dunhuang.com/index.html
1. The people interested in ancient Chinese arts and crafts should visit ________.| A．https://www.e-dunhuang.com/index.html |
| B．https://www.dpm.org.cn/shuziduobaoge/html |
| C．https://pano.dpm.org.cn/gugong_app_pc/index.html |
| D．https://www.shanghaimuseum.net/treasure/show/show |
| A．Precious imperial artifacts. |
| B．Classic caves and the murals. |
| C．Ancient people living in the caves. |
| D．All the artistic relics of Dunhuang. |
| A．To guide what to do at home. |
| B．To recommend an online tour. |
| C．To support the sickness prevention. |
| D．To invite visitors to real scenic spots. |
2 . We have some practically secret national parks on our lists that you'll want to visit this spring.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
The most visually striking point here is El Capitan. The massive cliff (悬崖), 2.5 times as tall as the Empire State Building, towers over the rest of the park, which offers you a perfect spot for taking impressive pictures. You can also wander the Salt Basin Dunes, 2,000 acres of shockingly white sands. If you're taking very long hikes, bring plenty of water and some protein-rich snacks.
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument preserves more than 87,500 acres of wild rivers and thick forests. In addition to hiking and camping, Katahdin is a great spot for hunting and fishing. Bring some hiking boots and perhaps trekking poles (登山杖)to cross these rocky forest trails. The park has a day use fee of $5, and the first-come, first-serve campsites cost $8 per night.
North Cascades National Park
Though the snowy peaks of the North Cascades are dangerous in the winter, it turns into a thick and green park in the warmer months, filled with beautiful mountain valleys and clear lakes. You can take a guided nature hike or go fishing. Winter driving conditions in the North Cascades can be dangerous, due to water, frost, snow, or ice on the roads.
Organ Mountains.—Desert Peaks National Monument
This is not a national park，but is a national monument. It is home to several rare species of plants and animals，and lava (炫岩)flow. There are excellent chances for hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and nature photography, as well as overnight hiking. You can also go primitive camping anywhere in the monument for free. It's highly recommended that you should bring plenty of water and sunscreen, and know your fitness level ahead of time.
1. What may attract a photographer most to go to the first park?| A．The steep cliff. | B．The low ticket price. |
| C．The towers in the park. | D．The particularly white sands. |
| A．$15. | B．$18. |
| C．$21. | D．$24. |
| A．you are only allowed to camp in daytime |
| B．you can only stay one night there for free |
| C．you can feed rare animals |
| D．you should be well-prepared |
3 . An increasing number of students worldwide are considering studying abroad. The application process varies from country to country. If you’re looking for a university with a strong international outlook but feel swept over by all the application options, here is some guidance to get you started.
UK
International students must apply to universities in the UK through a system known as Ucas. This system allows students to apply to up to five universities with just one application. It costs £20 for a single choice or £25 for more than one choice.
The application consists of a series of questions to determine the student’s schooling and predicted grades. The biggest part of the application form is the personal statement, in which applicants should describe their personal interests and related experiences.
Switzerland
Switzerland has four official languages and is bordered by five countries so it is no surprise that its universities are among the most international in the world. International applicants may need to take an entrance exam if they have a foreign school certificate, and must also prove that they have a good grasp of the French language, usually through taking a language exam. The full application costs 50 Swiss Francs for a holder of a Swiss diploma and 150 Swiss Francs for holders of foreign diplomas.
Canada
International applicants have to write up a personal profile as part of their application, which is very similar to the personal statement required for a UK university application. Students will also have to prove their English-language competency—there are nine ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard, which are listed on many university websites.
Singapore
The process of applying to a Singaporean university is very much alike, but overseas students may be delighted to find that the domestic applicants have to cover the same procedures: filling out an online application form and submit identification documents, supporting documents and an application fee of S$20.
1. Which country requires international applicants know French well?| A．UK. | B．Switzerland. |
| C．Canada. | D．Singapore. |
| A．The application system. | B．The number of universities. |
| C．The application cost. | D．The personal statement. |
| A．Applicants need to pay a lot. | B．It is much simpler than elsewhere. |
| C．It’s no different for native students. | D．The competition is even more fierce. |
4 . Not all bad emotions (情感) are necessarily bad. In fact, they can direct your behaviour in useful ways. If you’re stuck in traffic, anger with the situation might motivate you to find an alternative route (线路), which will then relieve your stress. But anger is less useful if you’re in the same situation, but stuck on a motorway with no option to alter directions.
Emotions have physiological effects, such as raising the level of cortisol in your bloodstream, which can affect your health. Indeed, a new study, published in Psychology and Aging, shows that high levels of anger are associated with poor health in older people.
The Canadian study did the study on 226 adults aged 59-93. They took blood samples to assess levels of chronic (慢性的) low-grade inflammation (炎症) and asked the participants to report any age-related chronic illnesses they might have. The participants also completed a short questionnaire about the level of anger or sadness they experienced in three typical days over a one-week period.
For the analysis, the researchers considered whether age could affect the results. They found that higher levels of anger were associated with inflammation and ill health in the oldest participants (aged 80 and above), but not the youngest ones (59-79 years). Sadness was not associated with inflammation or ill health in either age group.
The study is cross-sectional, meaning that it assessed a group of people at a single point in time. To get a fuller understanding of the relationship between bad emotions and health, we need studies that follow participants for a period of time — so-called prospective observation studies. Future studies should also take into account other factors that might relate, such as other emotions, stress and personality.
Although this new research shows a link between emotion and health in older age, we do not know whether anger causes inflammation and illness or whether health problems make people angrier.
1. What does the underlined word “alter” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Change. | B．Control. |
| C．Measure. | D．Operate. |
| A．To analyze their levels of health. |
| B．To fill in the form of questionnaires. |
| C．To know the levels of some inflammation. |
| D．To compare the change of anger in three days. |
| A．Anger is the greatest danger to health. |
| B．The influence of anger on illness is unclear. |
| C．People in poor health are easy to get angry. |
| D．Evidence is needed to prove the effect of health. |
| A．Adjusting Our Emotions Is Necessary |
| B．Bad Emotions Affect People’s Feelings |
| C．New Conclusions Make People Amazed |
| D．Anger Is Linked to Illness in Old Age |
5 . Michele Gentile, an Italian bookseller, is offering free books to children in exchange for plastic bottles to recycle.
Michele owns Ex Libris Cafe in Polla，a small town in southern Italy. He said he thought of the recycling program, because he wanted to inspire children in the small town to read and pay attention to the environment.
''My goal is to spread the passion and love for books among those people in Italy who do not usually read while at the time helping the environment," Gentile explained.
The idea for the initiative (倡议) came after Gentile collaborated with a nearby middle school on an aluminum recycling project. Working together, the schoolchildren and Gentile collected enough cans to purchase books for an entire classroom. His new program too off from there and has already spread into northern Italy: Gentile's hopes his work will continue to make headlines and become a worldwide initiative.
The free books come from customers in Gentile's shop who have donated money to purchase a ''suspended" book. The idea comes from a World War II practice in which customers would buy two Coffees: one for themselves and another for the next person in line. Gentile has been using the extra books as part of his recycling initiative,
While Gentile's program is a great way to recycle and get kids to read, it also brings awareness to the growing problem of plastic waste. Single-use plastics make up around 26 percent of all the plastics in the world, only 14 percent of which are recycled. Plastics that end up in landfills take around 500 years to decompose (分解),is a major concern for environmentalists.
Cutting down on plastic waste is important if we want to better the environment for future generations, and recycling programs like Gentile's book giveaway are a great way to meet that goal.
1. What is the purpose of Gentile's book giveaway?| A．To sell more coffee and books. | B．To attract more customers. |
| C．To collect money for a new project. | D．To inspire reading and recycling. |
| A．Working with a school to recycle cans. | B．Seeing school kids don't like reading. |
| C．Donating books for a local school. | D．Buying a “suspended” book for a child. |
| A．The local government. | B．Gentile himself. |
| C．Some publishers. | D．His customers. |
| A．An Italian's Reading Initiative | B．Recycling Can Get Kids Free Books |
| C．Michele's Way of Doing Business | D．A New Way to Deal with Plastic Waste |
6 . As they reach school age, about 90 percent of children will have experienced a condition in which fluid (液体) fills the middle ear, muffling (使模糊) sound and sometimes causing infection. The fluid usually clears on its own, but if not, it can lead to a painful ear infection called acute otitis (中耳炎) media. In some cases the fluid can persist for more than a year, causing hearing loss during this period, and slowing down their development of language and social skills.
Diagnosis usually requires a visit to a specialist—but researchers have now developed an app that detects this fluid just as accurately, with only a smartphone and a paper funnel (漏斗).
Doctors typically detect the problem by peering into the ear for a visual assessment. Yet, this method has only a 50 percent accuracy rate. “Right now, if you bring your child to a pediatrician, or to any urgent care family doctor, the way they look at whether or not there’s fluid in the middle ear is by looking at the eardrum,” says Sharat Raju, a surgeon in the department of head and neck surgery at the University of Washington.
For a cheaper and more accessible alternative, researchers at the University of Washington turned to smartphones. First the user follows a template to cut and tape a piece of paper into a funnel, which can be placed between a smartphone and the patient’s ear. Next the app plays a chirping sound through the phone’s speaker; the sound waves bounce off the eardrum and hit the phone’s microphone, where they register and are analyzed by the app. An eardrum with fluid behind it will vibrate (振动) differently than if the middle ear is full of air, as it normally is.
To develop the app, the researchers first played chirps for patients with and without fluid in their ears. They recorded the echoes (回音), which indicate the eardrum’s mobility. Then they used a machine learning model to classify the returning sound waves, determining which audio characteristics indicated a normal ear and which suggested the presence of fluid. Once they tested the app on 98 children, ranging from 18 months to 17 years old, at Seattle Children’s Hospital. It correctly detected fluid in 85 percent of cases, and correctly identified fluid-free ears in 82 percent.
The researchers are currently trying to get FDA approval for the app, and have founded a company to commercialize it. They hope to make it available by the end of the year, to help parents track children’s ear health at home.
1. What do we know about the fluid from the first paragraph?| A．It is mostly part of children’s growth. | B．It is unavoidable for any child. |
| C．It is a permanent physical condition. | D．It is beyond any medical means. |
| A．A hospital. | B．A specialist. |
| C．A relative. | D．An app. |
| A．The application of the app. | B．The causes of the kid’s ear problem. |
| C．The purpose of developing the app. | D．The experiment of the smartphone. |
| A．It will upgrade the medical technology. | B．It will hit the market in the near future. |
| C．It will help children do better academically. | D．It will save doctors medical operations. |
7 . It has been four years since Grandma Joy told her grandson that she had never seen the most beautiful views of America. Since then, they have gone on many cross-country trips.
Brad Ryan had been feeling tired of studying in a vet school when he visited his 85-year-old grandma in 2015. He hoped that spending some quality family time would help lift his spirits.
As he was telling his grandma stories of his travels, however, he was heartbroken to hear that she had never seen the ocean or mountains. Ryan then asked his grandmother if she would like to go hiking with him. Needless to say, she was more than happy to agree.
They have since visited 29 different national parks across America---from the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado to the Acadia National Park in Maine. Over the four years, Ryan and his grandma have driven 25,000 miles through 38 states. And it has greatly affected his quality of life. “Seeing it through my grandmother’s eyes, who every morning wakes up and is thankful to be alive has taught me how to live,” Ryan said. “With her, I’ve had to slow down and see life in a different way, which has made it a lot richer.”
“I love my grandma so much, and it’s just really giving me a lot of peace when she passed away. I can go back to these places, feel her spirit, and feel connected to her,” he added.
Ryan posted all of their trips on Facebook. He hopes more young people will spare time to be with their elders. “I want young people to know that hanging out with your grandparents is cool. And there’s so much we can learn from our elders,” Ryan said.
1. Why did Brad Ryan visit his grandma in 2015?| A．To cheer himself up. |
| B．To please his grandma. |
| C．To take his grandma to travel. |
| D．To share his travelling experiences. |
| A．Shocked. | B．Sad. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Excited |
| A．She made him live a better life. |
| B．She helped him find his life goal. |
| C．She told him to have peace of mind. |
| D．She gave him a lot of encouragement. |
| A．To advise young people to take a trip. |
| B．To share his joy of travelling with his grandma. |
| C．To encourage the young to keep their elders company. |
| D．To show young people what they can learn from their elders. |
8 . Osaka, Japan — Defending champions China lifted the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup trophy（奖品）with perfect 11 straight wins after easing past Argentina 3-0 here on Sunday. With their eleventh win at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup, China won the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup.
This year, the World Cup has been played across different cities, and Team China had training sessions even on traveling days when some participating teams chose to rest up after a tiring flight. “Coach Lang focuses on details of the technique in the training sessions, and I feel our team has become more balanced.” Captain Zhu Ting said. This firm approach explains how China managed to turn the table against the United States at the World Cup. Never giving up, especially in adversity, that’s what the spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball means.
When the team struggled, Zhu was always there, doing whatever was needed to carry the team forward. That’s why she has become a national volleyball icon, just like “Iron Hammer” Lang. As for Lang, she took over the flag from her former coach Yuan Weimin, who was behind China’s rise in the beginning. From coach Yuan to coach Lang, and spiker（主攻手）Lang to spiker Zhu, the flag bearers may have changed over time, but the craving for championships and the steely desire and determination remain the same.
Volleyball is a team sport and behind the on-court team. There is always a supportive coaching team and staff. Lai was one of the members. Shouldering responsibilities as both vice director of China’s Volleyball Management Center and as assistant coach. Apart from coordinating between coaches and players, Chinese coaches and foreign coaches and sometimes within Chinese coaches, she also has to do chores. During Rio 2016, assistant coach Yuan Lingxi headed for the arena（竞技场）at 6 am every day to film the matches and would return to the Olympic Village at 2 am when he would start analyzing China’s opponents and file reports. There are many Lais and Yuans that are not known by the public, but who remain indispensable for the team to overcome difficulties and reach their peak.
1. What does the underlined word “lifted” probably mean in paragraph 1?| A．Raised. | B．Won. |
| C．Beat. | D．Expected. |
| A．Being a special team. | B．Sticking to the end. |
| C．Winning every game. | D．Training hard every day. |
| A．She wins many awards in the World Cup. |
| B．She keeps strong desire and determination. |
| C．She takes lots of training after the tiring fight. |
| D．She does almost everything to help the team forward. |
| A．Hard work is vital in volleyball matches. |
| B．The coach has a great influence on players. |
| C．The staff behind the on-court team is also important. |
| D．Understanding opponents is necessary to win the game. |
9 . Engineers in Upstate New York have invented a folded paper device that looks like a decorated art project. But don't be fooled. This is actually a paper-based battery. No, it doesn't look like any of those metal batteries running flashlights or smartphones. In these systems, the battery can be printed on a page. The battery 's power consists of living bacteria.
Paper electronics are simple to make and inexpensive, notes study leader Seokheun Choi, an engineer at Binghamton University. They need no electrical outlet to recharge. They just need more bacteria, which can be found everywhere — including dirty water.
“ Most batteries use chemicals to generate electricity. Substituting bacteria can be an advantage,” Choi says.“They are cheap and self-repairing.” What paper-based batteries won't do is generate much power. They do, however create enough to run small devices in faraway or dangerous places — such as a battlefield . They might also find use in medicine . For instance, they might power tiny sensors, such as the types used to measure blood sugar.
This invention is based on an observation made more than a century ago — that microbes （微生 物） produce electricity as they digest food. Scientists refer to the bio-batteries based on this principle as microbial fuel cells. A fuel cell generates electricity like a regular battery. But a regular battery stops producing electricity when its inner chemical reactions stop. A fuel cell uses fuel that can be refilled. In this case, bacteria serve as the fuel. By refilling more microbes, as needed, scientists can keep these fuel cells running.
Lab tests have shown that the new battery can produce a current. Now, Choi and his team are looking at ways to increase the power. They're studying different shapes and materials for the anode and cathode （正负 极）. They're also looking for the best ways to combine batteries for more power. The beauty of the paper devices is that you can simply fold them to connect them. And they surely will be a trend in the near future.
1. What makes the paper-based batteries different from other batteries?| A．They are mainly used to run smartphones. |
| B．They use bacteria to generate electricity. |
| C．They are used to decorate small devices. |
| D．They take a much shorter time to recharge. |
| A．Power tiny devices. | B．Lower blood sugar levels. |
| C．Produce much electricity. | D．Change chemicals in the paper. |
| A．The application of the new battery. |
| B．The characteristics of the paper batteries. |
| C．The intention to invent the device. |
| D．The working principle of the invention. |
| A．Defensive. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Ambiguous. |
10 . Darrell Blatchley, a marine biologist and environmentalist based in the Philippine city of Davao, received a call from the Philippines, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (渔业与水产资源局) early Friday morning reporting a death of a young whale.
When the necropsy (尸检) was performed, Blatchley told NPR, he was not prepared for the amount of plastic they found in the whale’s stomach. “It was full of plastic nothing but nonstop plastic.” he said “It was filled to the point that its stomach was as hard as a baseball.” That means that this animal has been suffering not for days or weeks but for months or even a year or more,” Blatchley added.
Blatchley is the founder and owner of the D’Bone Collector Museum, a natural history museum in Davao. In the coming days, the museum will display all the items found in the whale’s system. Blatchley and his team work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other organizations to assist in rescue and recovery of marine animals.
“Within the last 10 years, we have recovered 61 whales and dolphins just within the Davao Gulf,” he said. “Of them, 57 have died due to man whether they took plastic or fishing nets or other waste, or gotten caught in pollution — and four were pregnant.”
Blatchley said he hoped that the latest incident would launch the issue of plastic pollution in the Philippines and across the globe. “If we keep going this way, it will be more uncommon to see an animal die of natural causes than it is to see an animal die of plastic,” he said.
1. What can be inferred from the second paragraph?| A．The whale was starved to death. |
| B．Blatchley was shocked at what he found. |
| C．The dead whale must have swallowed a baseball. |
| D．Blatchley didn’t make preparations for the necropsy. |
| A．Waste collected from the ocean. |
| B．The whole system of the whale. |
| C．Things found in the whale’s body. |
| D．Many different tools of whaling. |
| A．Uncommon. | B．Worrying. | C．Inspiring. | D．Mild. |
| A．A Whale Found Dead of Plastic |
| B．Stand Up for Protecting Whales |
| C．Plastic Threatening Our Existence |
| D．Natural Death or Merciless Murder |
