1 . Mental health and happiness are important to student success in higher education but rarely get the attention they need. Colleges and universities in the United States have been seeing increases in mental illness among students for decades. Promoting student mental health and emotional happiness on campus requires more than a well-functioning counseling center. It calls for a campus-wide commitment action plan.
American undergraduate students have been reporting increasing rates of anxiety, depression and substance use for decades. In the 2018–2019 Healthy Minds Study (HMS) survey, 40% of about 300,000 students at some 300 colleges and universities reported experiencing a mental health problem, and 60% said they were having difficulty accessing mental health care on campus or in the community. Other studies estimate that the dropout rate for U.S. undergraduate students with mental health problems is over 40%, and that the popularity of mental health problems among graduate students is six times that of the general population.
Most academic institutions provide some mental health services, often through a counseling center. But no matter how good that center is, it alone cannot solve the problems. An important early step is for each institution to assess the extent of the crisis on its campus and whether there are enough treatment services either at the institution or in the local community. Another important question is whether there are elements of the institution’s own environment or culture that contribute to the problems that students are experiencing, like unreasonable workloads or deadlines for assignments.
Every college and university should carry out a comprehensive action plan to achieve this goal. This may require additional resources during a trying time for institutional budgets. But supporting the whole student is so important that financial priorities should be rearranged.
1. What happens to undergraduate students in America?| A．They pay little attention to higher education. | B．Increasing students suffer from mental illness. |
| C．They are lacking in a sense of happiness. | D．They lose confidence in the future careers. |
| A．Terrible dropout rates. | B．Decreasing general population. |
| C．Emotional happiness. | D．Mentally healthy problems. |
| A．Analyzing the present situation. | B．Opening more counseling centers. |
| C．Offering free mental health services. | D．Reducing unreasonable workloads. |
| A．By giving some useful advice. | B．By offering financial support. |
| C．By turning to the government. | D．By getting enough trying time. |
2 . Cindy Soule is a teacher in Portland, Maine, an area known to have extremely cold and snowy winters. But cold weather doesn't stop Soule and her students from continuing with outdoor learning during the COVID-19.
Earlier in the school year, students in Soule's fourth-grade class had outdoor lessons. Then, the snow came. Wearing warm clothes, the students took their school supplies outside in buckets. Then, they turned the buckets over, put them down in the snow, took a seat and went to work. The lesson that day centered on snow and the formation of snowflakes.
Schools across the U.S. have pushed for outdoor learning to keep students and teachers safe. Infectious disease experts worldwide have noted that the virus spreads less easily outdoors. Now, with temperatures dropping in much of the country, some schools have made plans to continue outdoor learning during the winter.
Anne Stires is an outdoor learning expert in Maine. She said "the outdoors is the healthiest, safest place for us to be right now. Anything that we can do to get kids outdoors for longer periods of time is vital," Stires added. "This is only where we need to be right now."
In the neighboring state of New Hampshire, fourth- and fifth-grade students are still learning outside at James Faulkner Elementary School in Stoddard. The school created an outdoor classroom by clearing some trees and building an area for warmth by fire. In the western state of Colorado, elementary school students in the Lake County school district study in usual classrooms for half the week. For the other half, they learn outdoors.
For educators, outdoor learning is yet another period of change. Last spring, it was distance learning. Then came mixed learning methods. Now, educators are trying to keep their students warm enough to learn outside.
1. What can we learn according to the second paragraph?| A．Cindy Soule prefers outdoor classes with her students. |
| B．The students had a good time when playing with snow. |
| C．Cindy Soule is creative and flexible in her teaching. |
| D．A bucket has more functions besides being a container. |
| A．It is likely that the virus disappears easily outdoors. |
| B．Dropping temperatures will bring the virus to an end. |
| C．Being outdoors is the perfect choice at present. |
| D．Getting kids in outdoor activities is very important. |
| A．Skeptical. | B．Objective. | C．Negative. | D．Optimistic. |
| A．Outdoor education continues in the cold weather. |
| B．Maine has suffered much more due to the COVID-19. |
| C．Cold weather stops the COVID-19 attacking students. |
| D．Teachers are worried about the safety of their students. |
3 . If your friend says she feels relaxed, but you see that she closes her hands into fists, you may doubt her words. Robots, however, might believe her. Body language says a lot, but robots have great difficulty in observing tiny body movements and can miss important social signals as a result.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a body-tracking system that might help solve this problem. The system called OpenPose can track body movement in real time. One important quality of the OpenPose system is that it can track not only a person's head, body, arms and legs but also his fingers. To do that, the researchers used a dome （圆顶状物）lined with 500 cameras, where they recorded body movements at different angles and then used those pictures to build a data set.
They then passed those pictures through a keypoint detector to identify and label specific body parts. The software also learns to connect the body parts with different people, so it knows, for example, that a particular person's hand will always be close to his or her upper arm. This makes it possible to track multiple people at once.
The pictures from the dome were recorded in 2D. But the researchers used 3D technology to help the system understand how each movement appears from different angles. With all of this data processed, the system can determine how the whole hand looks even if some fingers cannot be seen.
Now that the system has this data set to draw from, it can run with just one camera and one computer. It no longer requires the camera-lined dome to determine body poses, making the technology mobile and accessible.
The researchers say this technology could be used for interactions between humans and machines. It could play a huge role in VR （虚拟现实）experiences, allowing finer detection of the user's physical movement without any added hardware. It could also help with more natural interactions with a home robot. You could tell your robot to “pick that up"， and it could easily understand what you're pointing at. By interpreting your physical gestures, the robot may even learn to read emotions by tracking body language. So when you' re silently crying with your face in your hands because a robot has taken your job, it might offer you a tissue.
1. What does the underlined words “this problem" in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Humans are addicted to technology. |
| B．Human-robot relationship is poor. |
| C．Robots show too much trust in humans. |
| D．Robots fail to interpret physical gestures. |
| A．It tracks one person at a time. |
| B．It can track slight body movements. |
| C．It uses a dome to recognize people. |
| D．It can take 500 pictures in one second. |
| A．The data set. | B．3D technology. |
| C．A powerful computer. | D．A camera-lined dome. |
| A．What robots are expected to do in the future? |
| B．Why is body language so important? |
| C．Robots learn to read body language. |
| D．Robots can and will change our lives. |
4 . Two hours from the tall buildings of Philadelphia live some of the world’s largest bears. They are in northern Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, a home they share with an abundance (丰富) of other wildlife.
The streams, lakes, grasslands, mountain and forests that make the Poconos an ideal place for black bears have also attracted more people to the region. Open spaces are threatened by plans for housing estates and important habitats are endangered by highway construction. To protect the Pocono’s natural beauty from irresponsible development, the Nature Conservancy named the area one of America’s “Last Great Places”.
Operating out of a century-old schoolhouse in the village of Long Pond, Bud Cook, the president of the Conservancy, is working with local people and business leaders to balance economic growth with environmental protection. By forming partnerships with people like Francis Altemose, the Conservancy has been able to protect more than 14,000 acres of environmentally important land in the area.
Altemose’s family has farmed in the Pocono area for generations. Two years ago, Francis worked with the local branch of the Nature Conservancy to include his farm in a county farmland protection program. As a result, his family’s land can be protected from development and the Altemoses will be better able to provide a secure financial future for their 7-year-old grandson.
Cook attributes the Conservancy’s success in the Poconos to having a local presence and a commitment to working with local residents.
“The key to protecting these remarkable lands is connecting with the local community,” Cook said. “The people who live here respect the land. They value quiet forests, clear streams and abundant wildlife. They are eager to help with conservation efforts.”
For more information on how you can help the Nature Conservancy protect the Poconos and the world’s other “Last Great Places,” please call 1-888-564 6864 or visit us on the World Wide Web at www.tnc.org.
1. The purpose in naming the Poconos as one of America’s “Last Great Places” is to ________.| A．gain support from the local community. |
| B．protect it from irresponsible development. |
| C．make it a better home for black bears. |
| D．provide financial security for future generations. |
| A．the tourist industry is growing fast and has great influence on the Pocono area. |
| B．wildlife in the Pocono area is dying out rapidly. |
| C．the security of the Pocono residents is being threatened. |
| D．farmlands in the Pocono area are shrinking fast. |
| A．Financial contributions from local business leaders. |
| B．Consideration of the interests of the local residents. |
| C．The establishment of a wildlife protection foundation in the area. |
| D．The setting up of a local Nature Conservancy branch in the Pocono area. |
| A．The setting up of an environmental protection website. |
| B．Support from organizations like the Nature Conservancy. |
| C．Cooperation with the local residents and business leaders. |
| D．Inclusion of farmlands in the region’s protection program. |
5 . Blood-Doping Champion
Blood doping (违规输血) to improve performance is forbidden in professional sports. Athletes can use this technique to fuel their muscles with more oxygen-carrying red blood cells—for example, by receiving a transfusion. But many animals dope naturally: sheep, fishes and horses can boost their blood’s capacity to carry oxygen by 16 to 74 percent in physically demanding situations. Now a study shows that an Antarctic fish called the bald notothen can increase its carrying capacity by more than 200 percent to pursue an active life in cold waters.
Like most fishes native to Antarctica, the bald notothen’s blood contains anti-freeze proteins that help it withstand extreme cold. But these proteins, along with red blood cells (RBCs), can make blood sticky and hard to circulate. Some Antarctic fishes adapt by removing RBCs altogether, absorbing oxygen directly from the water via skin as they passively await prey (猎物). Bald notothens, however, actively swim below surface ice to chase other active life when avoiding seals and penguins. For this behavior, “you need to supply more oxygen to the muscles,” says Michael Axelsson, a physiologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and co-author of the new study.
The scientists compared RBC levels in samples collected from bald notothens relaxing in glass tanks with those in samples drawn from fish they “chased” using a plastic tube. RBC levels were at 9 percent in the resting animals but 27 percent in the exercised ones, showing a 207 percent increase in the latter’s blood oxygen carrying capacity. “No other fish we’ve seen can more than double their RBCs or drop their numbers to such a low level when resting,” Axelsson says. The fish’s spleen (脾) stores RBCs, and the researcher found that to release more into the bloodstream, the organ shrinks to weigh 41 percent less.
The enormous changes in RBC levels initially surprised Gerald Kooyman, a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who was not involved in the study. He notes, however, that these animals have fewer blood cells to begin with, so maintaining circulation with a tripled RBC count is less difficult. If a diving Weddell seal pushed its RBC levels from 40 to 90 percent, for instance, its blood would be dangerously hard to pump.
Yet bald notothens do face trade-offs for their ability. The scientists found blood pressure was 12 percent higher and the heart worked 30 percent harder in active individuals. Bald notothens can rest during quiet times, but when they need to use their abilities, Axelsson says, “these fish have to live with more RBCs because they need more oxygen.”
1. Compared with most fishes native to Antarctica, what is special about the bald notothen?| A．Its blood contains anti-freeze proteins. |
| B．It can absorb oxygen directly from water via is skin. |
| C．Its red blood cells can make blood sticky and hard to circulate. |
| D．It actively swims below surface ice when chasing other active life. |
| A．RBC levels. | B．Scientists. |
| C．Glass tanks. | D．Fishes. |
| A．the RBC levels in seals can increase from 40 to 90 percent |
| B．bald notothens’ blood pressure are 12 percent higher than other fishes |
| C．when bald notothens chase active life, there are more RBCs in their bodies |
| D．Gerald Kooyman, a marine biologist provided some suggestions on this study |
| A．To explain study methods on fishes. |
| B．To introduce some findings about a fish. |
| C．To present a way to improve athletes’ performance. |
| D．To raise people’s awareness to protect bald notothens. |
6 . The spa town of Cheltenham sits on the edge of the Cotswolds, in the county of Gloucester. Below is a look at four fabulous attractions that make Cheltenham such a terrific place to visit.
Cheltenham Festival
The festival is an annual, four-day feast of racing and, on the last day, features the famous Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeplechase. It's a dramatic race of around 3 miles and 2.5 furlongs. and the horses have to clear 22 fences. Anything can happen. In 2020,this last day of the festival drew in a crowd of 68,859.
Pittville Park
If you visit Pitville Park, you'll find it divided into two main parts by the Evesham Road. The eastern side is home to the children's play area and is where people can view wildlife. Meanwhile, on the western side of the road, you'll find the larger area of the park and small areas of woodland. There's also a lower lake at which you can fish during fishing season. That's not the only activity, however. There's a skate park, tennis courts and a small children's play area.
Holst Birthplace Museum
Cheltenham was the birthplace of the 19"century English composer Gustav Holst, and visitors can visit the home in which he was born. You'll receive a taste of what Victorian life was like, as the home boasts a working Victorian kitchen, scullery, and nursery. The museum also allows you to discover the composer's life and times by allowing you into his music room. Here is where he composed The Planets.
Sudeley Castle
This private castle, which is surrounded by views of the Cotswolds, holds the claim to fame of being the only castle in England to have a queen buried in the grounds. The castle has witnessed all sorts of drama throughout its history and is one of the most interesting Tudor castles you'll ever visit.
If you would like more information on Cheltenham Town, please visit the website: www.ctladiesyouth.co.uk.
1. Pitville Park is unique in its_______| A．game areas. | B．horse racing. | C．beautiful views. | D．children's performances. |
| A．Pitville Park. | B．Sudeley Castle. | C．Cheltenham Festival. | D．Holst Birthplace Museum. |
| A．A diary. | B．A novel. | C．A website. | D．A magazine. |
7 . Scientist at University College London have discovered sets of regulatory genes, which are responsible for maintaining healthy hearing. The finding, made in fruit flies, could lead to treatments for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in humans.
Globally, one-third of people aged over 65 experience hearing impairment, and while there are thought to be more than 150 genes that may affect hearing loss, there is no unified (统一的) view on how to use these to develop hearing loss treatments.
In the study, published in Scientific Reports, researchers are at the UCL Ear Institute assessed the hearing ability of the common fruit fly across its life span (around 70 days) to see if their hearing declines with age.
A fruit fly’s ears share many molecular (分子的) similarities with the ears of humans, making it an ideal tool for the study of human hearing loss.
Researchers found that the antennal ears of fruit flies also display ARHL with nearly all sensitive hearing measures starting to decline after 50 days of age. This made the researchers want to know if there were any “age-variable” genes in the flies’ inner ears which have kept the ears healthy for 50 days of their lives.
After closer examination, researchers identified a new set of regulatory genes-homeostasis genes. These genes are often responsible for picking up sound and the overall sensitivity of the ear. Using this information, scientists were then able to genetically modify (修改) the genes and prevent the flies from getting ARHL.
Professor Joerg Albert, lead author of the study, said: “While many studies have been conducted into the hearing function of fruit flies, ours is the first to look at the mechanistic and molecular detail of their auditory life course.”
“The fact that these genes are conserved in humans will also help to focus future clinical research in humans and thereby accelerate the discovery of new pharmacological or gene-therapeutic strategies.”
1. What did scientists at UCL discover?| A．One-third of people aged over 65 have hearing problems. |
| B．Homeostasis genes maintain one’s ability to hear. |
| C．There are regulatory genes that are related to aging. |
| D．Humans have over 150 genes that can affect hearing loss. |
| A．Their hearing system is similar to that of humans’. |
| B．Their hearing ability also declines with age. |
| C．They display ARHL during their lifespan. |
| D．They share many genes with humans. |
| A．The discovery of new treatments. | B．The significance of the study. |
| C．The result of the study. | D．The future commercial prospects. |
| A．Age-related hearing loss: fruit flies and humans |
| B．Hearing loss: a common problem for older adults. |
| C．Gene discovery could lead to hearing loss treatments. |
| D．The body’s ability can be unlocked to treat lost hearing. |
8 . 4 World Heritage (遗产)Sites in China
The Temple of Heaven
Located in the southern part of Beijing, the Temple of Heaven is a magnificent complex (综合建筑群) of fine cultural buildings set in gardens. The sacred (神圣的) place served as a complex of sacrificial (献祭的) buildings for the Ming and Qing emperors, and is the largest one in Beijing among several royal altars (神坛) to Heaven, Earth, the Sun , the Moon and other symbolic forces of nature. It symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven --- the human world and God’s world --- which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony (宇宙进化论).
Mogao Caves
Located on south-east of the Dunhuang oasis, Gansu province, the Mogao caves, also known as the Thousand-Buddha Caves, are the world’s largest and longest used treasure house of Buddhist art. According to historical records, the carving of the caves started in 366 AD and continued for about 1000 years. The 492 well-preserved cells and cave sanctuaries (内殿)in Mogao, housing about 45000 square meters of murals (壁画)and more than 2000 painted sculptures (雕塑), are well-known for their statues (雕像)and wall paintings.
Fujian tulou
Fujian tulou consists of (is made up of) 46 buildings constructed (built) between the 15th and 20th centuries. Several stories high, the earthen houses were built along an inward-looking , circular(圆形的) or square floor plan as housing for up to 800 people each. They were built for defense(防御) purposes around a central open courtyard (庭院)with only one entrance and windows to the outside only above the first floor. Housing a whole clan (家族), the houses functioned as village units and were known as “ a little kingdom for the family”.
The Leshan Giant Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha is said to be the biggest Buddha statue in the world. The way in which the cultural features (特色) have been integrated (成为一体)with the natural scenery is considered to be a precious legacy (遗产).The Giant Buddha statue, carved on the mountain, stands 71m high, with its back against Mount Jiuding. There are more than 90 stone carvings and Buddha shrines (神坛)on both sides of the Giant Buddha.
1. Which of the following served as a sacrificial place in the past ?| A．Fujian tulou. | B．Mogao. |
| C．The Temple of Heaven. | D．The Leshan Giant Buddha. |
| A．They are several stories high. |
| B．They can hold hundreds of people. |
| C．They have windows on the first floor. |
| D．They have only one access to the outside. |
| A．They were both royal places. | B．They were both found in caves. |
| C．They are both religious resorts (名胜). | D．They both have historic murals. |
9 . In an effort to fight the “throw-away culture” and promote reuse and repair, the city of Berlin has taken the unique step of opening its own secondhand department store.
This isn’t your grandma’s thrift shop (旧货商店). It resells perfectly good items that would otherwise be thrown away. A pun on the German words for “department store” and “conserving house”, B-Wa(h)renhaus sells a wide variety of products. Far from simply selling old items, the electronic goods have been fixed by expert technicians and come with a year’s guarantee. And, to reach more secondhand shoppers, the store was set up right in the middle of the famous Karstadt department store.
With the success of its initial six-month trial run, the city plans to open four more similar operations in other parts of Berlin. By 2030, it hopes to have at least one location in each of Berlin’s 12 districts. Since 2008, city policies and educational campaigns have reduced average annual household waste by about 25 pounds per resident. It also recycles about 49% of its mineral construction waste. Currently, the city estimates that 8% of abandoned electronic goods and 6% of huge items thrown away can actually be reused. The goal is to expand the market for these items beyond the usual bargain hunters and eco-conscious consumers.
“Three years ago, we started collecting all kinds of used goods,” city spokesperson Dorothee Winden said. “There are lots of things that are well-preserved and functioning but aren’t being used anymore. The goal is to give these things a new life with somebody who can use them.” The store also includes an education center to encourage more sustainable lifestyles — and also gave an award to a project that recycles school uniforms, so that parents don’t have to buy new ones every year.
1. Why has Berlin opened its own secondhand department store?| A．To attract more shoppers. | B．To promote recycling. |
| C．To foster traditional culture. | D．To expand secondhand market. |
| A．The variety of the goods. | B．The location of the store. |
| C．The quality of the products. | D．The operation of the store. |
| A．Berlin currently has 4 second-hand stores in construction. |
| B．Berlin has been successful in cutting its waste since 2008. |
| C．It is not easy to make the goal to expand the market a reality. |
| D．It is estimated that Berlin will be a zero-waste city by 2030. |
| A．To introduce Berlin’s new reuse shop operation. |
| B．To raise people’s awareness of reasonable shopping. |
| C．To persuade people to become eco-friendly shoppers. |
| D．To encourage more people to donate to secondhand shops. |
10 . Having worked for more than a decade in finance in the oil industry in Canada, Tori Fahey found herself wanting more from life. But it wasn't through desperation that her circumstances changed: “I didn't get fed up and storm off, nothing like that; it was curiosity about other interests and wanting to experience something new.”
Fahey left her job and completed an MBA before setting up a move to New York to begin a degree. However, the opportunity of an open year between the MBA and the degree came up, and as a keen touring cyclist, Fahey realised that a much dreamed-about adventure was now becoming a possibility: "The ride in Africa had been on my fantasy list. It was a moment when I realised that I could do anything, so I should."
Fahey rode across Africa, a 7,500-mile trip that took four months. The whole experience had a life-changing impact. Fahey said: “Bicycles provide a literal freedom. You don't allow yourself to feel like that in everyday life because there are so many distractions. But when you' re out on the bike and there's nothing else, you' re really free to experience what life is.”
Post-degree, Fahey worked on projects with the UNDP(United Nations Development Project) in Montenegro with the aim of bringing investment to rural communities.
It was while working on these projects that the seeds were sown for the next new investment. “It was through my trip across Africa that I discovered pannier and rack systems inconvenient and I was never going to use them again.” Little did she know this would lead her to start up her own company.
In 2013, Apidura was born, producing storage solutions for people looking to travel the world by bike, race across continents and carry all they need to do so. It's now a successful global brand, but Fahey remains reflective about what else the company can do for people.
1. Why did Fahey leave her job in Canada?| A．She was bored with the job. | B．She was disappointed with life. |
| C．She wanted to add new dimensions to her life. | D．She found it hard to adjust to the circumstances. |
| A．Demanding. | B．Liberating. | C．Eventful. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．To encourage bicycle traveling. | B．To make her investment profitable. |
| C．To help cyclists carry traveling stuff. | D．To increase the pleasure of riding bikes. |
| A．A tough path to fame. | B．An adventure across Africa. |
| C．The benefits of green travelling. | D．The story behind the birth of Apidura. |
