1 . A roadside system that detects if a mobile phone is in use in a passing vehicle is being tested in the UK first. Despite being unable to tell whether the driver is using the phone, it is hoped that it will act as a warning to people who make calls behind the wheel. The technology picks up the phone signal in the vehicle and activates(激活) a roadside warning sign of a mobile phone with a red line through it.
The system can’t tell the difference between a driver and a passenger on a bus, but to some degree it can warn drivers that they can be detected using their phones. Using a directional antenna(天线)，the detector picks up radio waves produced by a phone handset , and measures the signal strength and length of them. When a signal is detected of duration(持续时间) long enough and signal strength strong enough to set off the system， the detector activates the warning sign. The detector is able to distinguish Bluetooth connections or hands- free devices which, when picked up，will prevent the activation.
While this new system is no replacement for a police officer catching someone in the act， it could be enough to make some drivers think twice- and that has to be a positive step forward. However, just as technology has enabled the problem of drivers using mobile phones illegally, it can also be a big part of the solution in getting people to stop. Statistics from the devices will be shared with Norfolk Police， the county council said. The council said that enabling the system to record specific number plates could be a“future development”.
Using a mobile phone at the wheel is one of the four road crimes which can have horrible consequences if it causes a deadly or serious car crash. Law enforcement(执行) technology has been falling behind for a decade and not made any easier by motor producers that encourage users to plug in their phones even before driving.
1. What is the function of the roadside system according to Paragraph 1?| A．To collect information for future use. |
| B．To send out cellphone signals to drivers. |
| C．To detect passengers' wrong use of phones. |
| D．To warn people against using pones while driving. |
| A．It measures the length of the phone. |
| B．It warns drivers with a phone in hand. |
| C．It picks up radio waves from handsets. |
| D．It activates the vehicle's Bluetooth system. |
| A．Swift to Bluetooth while driving. |
| B．Have a close watch of road signs. |
| C．Avoid being picked up by detectors. |
| D．Stop using a hands- free mobile phone. |
| A．Share the devices with the police. |
| B．Make the system more advanced. |
| C．Replace the police with the new system. |
| D．Take steps to settle road safety problems. |
2 . Researchers at the DogStudies lab at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History have shown that dogs may possess some metacognitive (元认知) abilities. Specifically, when they do not have enough information to solve a problem, they will actively look for more information, similarly to primates (灵长类).
In a recent study, project leader Julia Belger explored whether dogs have metacognitive abilities. To test this, the researchers designed a device involving two V-shaped fences. A reward, either food or a toy, would be placed by one researcher behind one of the two fences while another researcher held the dogs. In some cases, the dogs could see where the reward was placed, while in others, the dogs could not. The researchers then analyzed how frequently the dogs looked through the gap in the fence before choosing an option.
The researchers found that the dogs did check significantly more often for the reward when they had not seen where it was placed. These results show that dogs do tend to actively seek extra information when they have not seen where the reward is concealed.
The results did not allow the researchers to say definitively whether dogs possess meta-cognition, though they displayed some evidence for it. Julia said, “For humans, vision is an important information gathering sense. In this case, our experiment was based on a checking action relying on sight, but the dogs probably also used their sense of smell when checking through the gap. We know that smell is very important to dogs and we could see that they were using it.”
Julia added, “In future, we would like to develop an experiment to investigate under what circumstances dogs decide to use their sense of smell versus sight. This may give us additional insights into their information seeking abilities.”
1. What ability may dogs have according to the study?| A．To offer information like primates. | B．To use their skills to find more food. |
| C．To seek information to solve a problem. | D．To ask for help before choosing an option. |
| A．Decorated. | B．Hidden. | C．Produced. | D．Purchased. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Friendly. | C．Negative. | D．Critical. |
| A．Environment and technology. | B．Humans and nature. |
| C．Literature and culture. | D．Society and life. |
3 . Have you ever loved a destination but couldn’t figure out why — or even a way ——to express your feelings? That’s my dilemma with Morocco.
In August, I traveled in a country that had long been, on my wish list. I rode a camel, got lost in Medinas, and ate more couscous (粗麦粉) than was humanly possible.
I loved the trip. Our friendly guide introduced us to the helpful locals. I made friends with my tour mates and my roommate (which, on a tour, is a huge blessing). I loved being lost in the smell of different spices, and the chaos of millions of people and the dark red of the Sahara were all I wanted them to be.
There were many moments when I felt like a fish out of water and things didn’t go my way. But I take pleasure in those moments because it’s when you are pushed out of your comfort zone that you grow. Morocco lived up to all my expectations, but for some reason, my experience has been hard to express. Why?
One constant in my travels is that of a touchstone, one defining point where the trip all comes together and acts as a prism (三棱镜) for everything the journey represented . In Costa Rica，it was getting lost in a jungle. In Thailand, it was meeting those five people who changed my life.
I’m so inconsistent about Morocco because I lack that touchstone. There’s no “whoa” moment. But I have thousands of little ones - staring at a million stars in the blackness of the desert, discovering new foods with some amazing Australians on my tour, and befriending the fish sellers.
1. What does the author regard as a huge blessing?| A．Going on a guided trip. |
| B．Having a helpful guide. |
| C．Being warmly received by the local people. |
| D．Getting along well with the fellow travelers. |
| A．To prove Morocco lacks the touchstone. |
| B．To show his reliance on the touchstone. |
| C．To compare Morocco with Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| D．To share his experience in Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| A．The lack of big moments. |
| B．The little “whoa” moments. |
| C．Meeting with five Thai people. |
| D．Making friends with Australians. |
| A．Unpleasant travel in Morocco. |
| B．Finding a touchstone on travel. |
| C．Reflection on traveling in Morocco. |
| D．Lack of special moments in Morocco. |
4 . I saw my first tree today. Dad used to tell me stories about the trees that still existed when he was a boy. There weren’t very many even then, with the urbanization program in full swing.
The O’Brien home was one of the few examples of old-style wooden structures that hadn’t been destroyed in Boston’s urban-renewal campaign. The family had been able to avoid this because of its wealth and political influence, and the house was passed on through generations to the present. Old man O’Brien had no children, so when he died, the Urban Center bought it. Then an official discovered that the house had a backyard-in the yard was a live tree!
When the news of the tree’s discovery leaked out, quite a few sightseers stopped by to have a look at it, and the local government, realizing the money-making potential, began charging admission and advertising the place. By now it had become a favorite spot for family trips like ours.
Dad paid the fee and we walked through a doorway hidden in a bookshelf and into the backyard. I just couldn’t help noticing the tree!
It was located at one end of the yard, with a fence around it for protection. It was similar in form to the plastic trees I’d seen, but there was much more. You could see details more delicate than in any artificially made plant. And it was alive. But best of all was the smell-fresh, living smell, unfamiliar to the world outside with metal, plastic, and glass. I wanted to touch the bark, but the fence prevented me from doing so.
On the way back, I read through the brochures. One part said the O’Brien home would be torn down next year to make room for some insurance building, and the tree will have to go, too.
I just sat still, fingering the object in my pocket that I had picked in the O’Brien’s backyard. I think it’s called an acorn (橡子).
1. Why could the tree in the O’Brien’s backyard survive till today?| A．It possessed some special characteristics. |
| B．It had a very strong fence around to protect it. |
| C．It was preserved together with the house by its owner. |
| D．It got the local government’s attention as a tourist attraction. |
| A．Annoyed. | B．Calm. | C．Excited. | D．Upset. |
| A．Social progress and urbanization come at a cost. |
| B．Social progress should give way to nature protection. |
| C．Humans value nature protection over social progress. |
| D．Urbanization has more advantages than disadvantages. |
5 . We have studied in Songpu High school for several months. When I first went into the school gate and saw my new classroom and teachers, I thought I would have a new start. The school life is very busy and exciting. There are many activities in our school, such as Sports Meeting, Science Week, Art Week and so on. We all take an active part in them. I have made many new friends and we often help and learn from each other in study.Our teachers have taught us a lot. They not only teach us how to study but also teach us how to be a useful person in society. They tell us which thing is worth doing.Habit is a second nature.Our teachers often remind us to form a good habit.
People often said: There is no royal to learning. Now I feel it is true. The study now is far more different than before. I often find there is something difficult to understand at once. At this time, you must spend a lot of time studying by yourself or you won't make progress. Of course study is hard but when you make progress you'll find it is interesting.
Our school is clean and beautiful. There are many trees and flowers around it.In order to make our school more and more beautiful we should try our best to keep it clean.
Today we are proud of Songpu. Tomorrow Songpu will be proud of us.
1. ________ is also important besides studying hard according to this passage.| A．Being a useful person | B．Good studying habit |
| C．Taking part in activities | D．Making progress |
| A．thankful | B．enthusiastic |
| C．loving | D．exciting |
| A．boring | B．harmonious (和谐的) |
| C．terrible | D．quiet |
| A．An Attractive School | B．My School Life |
| C．I Like My School | D．My Teacher |
6 . This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts(花生), while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; let the coin decide. I flipped(掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?
Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly: No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster’s office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip(跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.
1. The task I received was to find information about ________.| A．uses for peanuts |
| B．American War of Independence |
| C．George Washington |
| D．my headmaster Miss Lancelot |
| A．I was too proud of my homework |
| B．I mistook what the homework was about |
| C．the whole world suddenly became quiet |
| D．the teacher’s face turned to a stone |
| A．the headmaster didn’t like the writer at all |
| B．the writer’s classmates felt sad at his mistake |
| C．the writer knew little about American history |
| D．the writer’s grandpa was a very wise man |
| A．Seeing is believing. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．One is never too old to learn. |
| D．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
7 . Every Bachelor of Arts major faces the dilemma about the language they have to take to meet the foreign language requirement. JMU offers a variety of languages, from French to Ancient Greek and Italian. Any of them would be great, but Spanish is the most beneficial language to learn.
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, with around 460 million native speakers. It’s the official language of over 20 countries, and in the United States, there are 41 million speakers. These statistics give you the perfect reason to learn Spanish as an international language.
One of the best reasons to learn Spanish is that it makes one more employable. There’s a place for Spanish in every career field. Doctors will have patients that speak Spanish, financial traders will buy stocks from Latin American companies and journalists will provide content written in Spanish.
Spanish is known as the starting block for learning other Romance languages. Many of the words and phrases used in Italian, French and Latin are similar to each other. For example, the Italian word for "thank you" is "grazie". and the Spanish word for "thank you" is“gracias". The Portuguese word for "hello" is "ola "，and the Spanish word for "hello" is “hola”.
There are so many amazing resources available for learning Spanish. A popular method that most people use is the app Duolingo because it’s convenient and great. A similar method is listening to a podcast (播客)，like Coffee Break Spanish that tailors podcasts for different Spanish levels. Both of these options don't break the bank either because they' re free.
JMU also offers opportunities to practice Spanish speaking. The Spanish Club meets every week to discuss culture, practice speaking Spanish and plan events. The Foreign Language Department organizes language tables where students can practice conversational Spanish with other students. Sigma Delta Pi is a Spanish honor society for students who study Spanish.
1. What 's the difficulty for the Bachelor of Arts students?| A．Meeting all the requirements of their school. |
| B．Choosing the foreign language they should take. |
| C．Knowing about the benefits of learning Spanish. |
| D．Finding the best ways to learn a foreign language. |
| A．good Spanish speakers can get better jobs |
| B．every career has strict rules for its workers |
| C．Spanish has wide applications in different fields |
| D．employable people are often multi-language speakers |
| A．Romance languages are some ancient languages |
| B．a word has many different meanings in Spanish |
| C．there is quite much polite speech in Spanish |
| D．Italian speakers can learn Spanish easily |
| A．Popular customs in Spain. |
| B．Some online Spanish resources. |
| C．Some ways of learning Spanish. |
| D．The advantages of learning Spanish. |
8 . The best festivals in August
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world. Last year, the festival lasted 25 days, including 55,000 performances of 3,548 shows in 317 places. The festival started in 1947. Anyone can join in with the performance of their choice.
Wilderness Festival
Wilderness Festival takes place in one of the oldest woods in England. Taking place over four days in nature, people will experience music, comedy, theatre, and dance from Sadler's Wells. All the campsites are made-to-order for different needs, including family camping.
Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival takes place on the streets of Notting Hill in London, England in each August lasting three days. Attracting around one million people each year, it's one of the biggest street festivals in the world. Happening since 1966, Notting Hill Carnival is an essential cultural experience in London.
La Tomatina
Each year, the Valencian town of Bunol gets changed into a red mess as locals and tourists take to the streets and throw tomatoes at each other, creating the biggest food fight in the world, all for fun. This tomato festival has been happening since 1945 and is held on the last Wednesday of August each year.
1. Which festival lasts the longest?| A．Wilderness Festival. | B．Edinburgh Festival Fringe. |
| C．Notting Hill Carnival. | D．La Tomatina. |
| A．The campsites are specially offered. | B．People can dance with famous stars. |
| C．People will experience wilderness adventure. | D．It is the biggest street festival in the world. |
| A．Get dressed in red. | B．Experience classic music. |
| C．Eat as many tomatoes as possible. | D．Throw tomatoes at each other for fun. |
9 . Friday was "Chatty Bus day", an experiment aimed at getting people to talk to each other on public transport. This is not an idea that would appeal to those who commute in the rush hour, because there is a smaller distance within which it's just as uncomfortable to talk. Elbow(肘) room is a precondition for sociability. It is no coincidence that the first truly personal music player, the Sony Walkman, was invented in Japan where the commuter trains are literally crowded with people.
We will also not talk to strangers who are physically too far away, of course. No one wants to shout their small talk. Only on country buses or similar unhurried and uncrowded forms of public transport can people reach out to their neighbors, confident that they are doing so from a position of strength and autonomy.
For all these drawbacks, the idea of talking to strangers is still a good one, and the promotion of sociability is good for society. Although it does seem to be a general rule that people are friendlier the fewer there are of them and more hostile and indifferent as cities get more crowded, there are still considerable cultural variations. And there is evidence that friendlier places are also healthier, and their inhabitants happier.
It is true that the apparent loneliness of many people on public transport is a false impression.
Many will be caught up with conversations with distant friends on their phones; some will be talking to the people in books. Some may be in willed solitude with their headphones. But there are always people who would be interested in an unexpected conversation with a stranger. This need not go on for too long.
It is not large and possibly life-changing conversations that are what most people in loneliness miss most. What they really need is not deep thought but superficiality. The kind of conversation that you could have with anyone reminds you that you yourself might be anyone. It is a release from the prison of the self, which is where lonely people serve their sentences, uncertain whether they ever can be paroled(假释). Friendship may be too rare a gift to hope for, but sometimes the kindest thing to say is also the simplest: "Don't be a stranger"-and sometimes that's also enough.
1. According to Paragraph 1, why the first Walkman appeared in Japan partly?| A．its corporate culture |
| B．its overcrowded public transport |
| C．its people's creativity |
| D．its people's desire for personal space |
| A．"Chatty Bus day" has not been introduced to other areas. |
| B．Walkman prevents passengers from talking to each other. |
| C．Passengers are unwilling to make small talk with strangers. |
| D．Improper physical distance discourages casual communication. |
| A．Small talk to strangers will help ease loneliness on the road. |
| B．Lonely people are in desperate need of deep conversation. |
| C．People in less populated cities tend to be cold and distant. |
| D．It's inadvisable to talk to strangers who are physically too close. |
| A．To cast new light on human loneliness. |
| B．To introduce an experiment and its effects. |
| C．To advocate striking up conversations with strangers. |
| D．To explore the relationship between physical distance and willingness to reach out. |
10 . If you live near a park, you’ve probably observed this unique squirrel behavior. As winter approaches, these creatures begin what looks like preparation for a wide scavenger（觅食）hunt. In great numbers, these squirrels begin to bury nuts! This kind of behavior raises a lot of questions for squirrel enthusiasts—the most pressing being how the squirrels find their nuts again. Eastern gray squirrels, in particular, bury their nuts far and wide. Scientists themselves aren’t even quite sure of everything that goes into this hiding behavior, but they have some ideas.
For one, scientists have observed gray squirrels frequently burying and reburying their nuts. The scientists assumed that this behavior was to help always keep a fresh memory of the nuts! locations. However, it’s not only memory that the squirrels need to combat（战斗）in order to find their nuts! The gray squirrel community is rampant(猖獗的)with nut stealing. The squirrels can lose up to 25% of their hidden nuts to such thieves! Luckily, the squirrels have developed some clever methods to protect their nuts. Scientists have observed the squirrels creating false caches（储藏）in order to trick thieves. If the squirrels are worried about thieves, they will also start to hide their nuts in difficult-to-reach places（like under bushes or in muddy areas）.
While it might be frustrating for squirrels to lose their carefully hidden nuts, it can be beneficial for other organisms. In particular, it can help the forest itself! A study done at the University of Richmond reports that squirrels fail to recover up to 74% of the nuts they bury. This misplacing of so many acorns (the seeds of oak trees), the study says, is likely responsible for oak forest regeneration. When squirrels misplace these buried acorns, they allow for these seeds to eventually grow into full oak trees! The squirrels’ habit of widespread caching is also important to the growth of the forest, as it allows the genetic（基因的）information to spread far.
What seemed like a harmless scavenger hunt is actually part of an endless complex ecosystem in our forests!
1. In what aspect do squirrels puzzle people most?| A．The way they search for food. | B．The places they hide in winter. |
| C．The location of their hidden food. | D．The way they recover hidden nuts |
| A．They often fight with each other for food. |
| B．They tend to feel more secure in bushy places. |
| C．They are cautious about storing food for winter. |
| D．They survive largely thanks to their team spirit. |
| A．Squirrels can starve due to lack of food. |
| B．It can be beneficial that squirrels lose their nuts. |
| C．It’s easy to get squirrels’ genetic information. |
| D．Squirrels always misplace their nuts deliberately. |
| A．Why do squirrels steal nuts? |
| B．How do squirrels survive the winter? |
| C．The secrets behind squirrels’ burying nuts. |
| D．The ecosystem in the forest. |
