1 . Do you know you can learn to program computers at any age？ People might think you need a special mentality to learn computer programming， but anyone can learn. There are even programming languages created for kids. Scratch is a visual programming language developed by MIT. It is designed to teach kids aged 8 and up how to write code. They use easily combined block commands and start programming right away!
Today， even small computers can do complex calculations quickly， but they need clear commands in binary（二进制. form. A programming language is a series of commands with special syntax that is converted into binary， the machine language. Different programming languages are used to convert code into binary for different applications， like creating websites or controlling the brakes in your car.
There are many different ways to write code， but they all share some basic principles. Once you understand those principles， the sky is the limit. Bill Gates， the founder of Microsoft， started coding when he was 13. He created a simple program to play tic﹣tac﹣toe. According to Gates， all you really need to get started is a basic comprehension of addition and subtraction.
Programming is now used for everything from creating apps to running household appliances.
The demand for programmers is growing. To help people to create their own code， nonprofits like code.org and major companies like Google have created free resources to help teach basic programming. Using the popular game Minecraft or characters from Star Wars， anyone， even kindergarteners， can start learning how code works. But these resources aren't just for kids， people can start at any age.
Maybe you are thinking to yourself，"I'll never get a job as a programmer. Why should I learn to code？" There are a number of answers to that question. Above all， as technology becomes more and more prevalent， reading and writing code will be a way to understand how the world around you works.
Just like reading and writing in any language， the first things you learn will be simple and even crude. But stay diligent， learn a little every day， and soon you will find yourself programming a computer to do things you would never do by hand. Then you might just become a programming convert.
1. Even small computers can do complex calculations if they have________.| A．clear commands in the machine language |
| B．special syntaxes |
| C．a series of commands |
| D．different applications |
| A．ways of coding |
| B．success of Bill Gates |
| C．key to writing code |
| D．content of basic rules |
| A．Those who want to learn to program should have professional knowledge. |
| B．People can learn basic programming with some free resources. |
| C．Reading and writing code is a way to show how you understand the world. |
| D．Learning how to program computers will cost a lot of money. |
| A．To promote Scratch to kids. |
| B．To discuss the importance of programming. |
| C．To explain how to program a computer. |
| D．To encourage people to learn programming. |
2 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance curiosity and discontent, I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.
Together, these deep human urges count for much more that ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent, “Why? Why? Why?”
Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don't have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.
“The great man,” said Mencius “is he who does not lose his child's heart,” Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd. And the crowd desires restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.
Most of us meet new people and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.
How should you start? Modestly, so as not to become discouraged. I think of one friend who couldn't arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. Now she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.
One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven't any special ability? Most people don't. There are only a few geniuses. You haven't any time? That's good, because it's always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts of Uncle Tom's Cabin while cooking. You're too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.
However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you'll never be more alive than you are at this moment.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to________| A．propose a definition | B．make a comparison |
| C．present an argument | D．reach a conclusion |
| A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth | B．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore |
| C．Creativity results from challenging authority. | D．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious. |
| A．Curious Minds Never Feel Contented | B．Reflections on Human Nature |
| C．The Keys to Achievement | D．Never Too Late to Learn |
3 . Improve Cloud Security
Sensitive customer data has constantly been found exposed on cloud servers without password protection. To ease the problem, database software makers have been trying to make security easier for cloud database managers. At the Enigma Conference in San Francisco, Kenn White, a security manager at database software maker MongoDB, will describe a new technique, called field level encryption, to make data safer on the cloud.
Field level encryption works by scrambling data before it’s sent to a cloud database and rearranging it in order when the data is needed for use. The promise of the product is to protect the contents of a cloud database, even if bad guys access it.
MongoDB’s new feature comes as more and more companies move user data to cloud servers, rather than run their own costly data centers. It was predicted that cloud computing would be a $214 billion industry by the end of 2019. That would be up more than 17% from 2018, when it was $182 billion.
Companies have rushed to the cloud without understanding all of the possible security consequences. Many companies have left countless databases exposed, revealing personal data. A database containing details about who lives in 80 million US households was left unprotected in 2019, just like the data on Facebook users.
Database managers want to store their data in an unreadable form, but they also want to be able to find specific pieces of information in the database with a simple search term. For example, someone might want to look up health care patients by their Social Security numbers, even if those numbers are stored as random characters. To make this possible, field level encryption lets database managers encrypt a search term on their machine and send it to the database as a query. The database matches the encrypted version of the search term with the record it’s storing and then sends it back to you.
This approach only works with specific kinds of data. For example, field level encryption isn’t useful for long text entries, like notes in a patient’s medical chart, because you can’t search for individual words.
Still, for data like account numbers, passwords and government ID numbers, field level encryption protects data and maintains a usable database.
Most importantly, White said, it’s simple to set up. Database managers turn it on with a one-time configuration change when they set up the database. “That’s really powerful,” he said in an interview.
1. The underlined word “scrambling” in paragraph 2 probably means________.| A．mixing | B．collecting | C．hiding | D．storing |
| A．Secure the safety of Internet pages. | B．Protect files with a unique style of storage. |
| C．Stop bad guys from accessing the database. | D．Enable companies to store files on the cloud. |
| A．Companies should move user data to cloud servers. |
| B．Cloud computing achieved a 17% increase in 2019. |
| C．Companies may be unaware of the risks of the cloud. |
| D．No companies were willing to run their own data centers. |
| A．present some facts | B．offer security advice |
| C．introduce a technique | D．recommend a product |
4 . That summer, I went to a small and rather remote village of Manitoba’s as a substitute for a sick teacher. It was a very poor village with a few humble wooden houses. There was nothing but the spruce around me. Could I leave a deep impression on the children in just a month? Is a month really worth the effort? I was really doubtful about these two questions.
Maybe the children had the same ideas, because I had never seen so depressing, sad, and even bitter facial expressions. I had little experience in teaching, and my age was like that of those children.
Most of them had thin eyes, dark skin, and shiny black hair, which indicated they were mixed blood children of French and Indian.
At nine o’ clock, the classroom was already as hot as a stove. I didn’t know where I should start. Then I called from a list of names, expecting the response. They stood up, and gave me the reply. However, when Yolanda was called, there was no response …Still no response …About 15 seconds later, a voice came from the back of the classroom with the buzzing of flies. “She’s dead. She died last night.”
The tone of the child’ s voice was astonishing but plain, and perhaps nothing could be more painful than to narrate in that tone. “Ah!” I cried out, not knowing what to say. The children and I looked at each other for a long time and we were silent. I understood that what I had seen from the children’s eyes and faces, which I had thought was the expression of indifference, turned out to be a great pain.
“Since Yolanda was your classmate, would you like to see her at four o’ clock after school?” There was a smile on the children’s serious little faces. It was a smile, though formal and sad.
After four o'clock, I saw that many children were waiting for me at the school gate. There were more than 20 children in total. Some of them walked in front to guide me. The others held me tightly, which almost made me unable to walk. Five or six younger children took my hand and gently led me forward, just like leading a blind guy. I unconsciously remembered those names, and they are still fresh in my memory, including Yolanda.
1. The author went to a small remote village to________.| A．have a summer trip |
| B．teach for a short time |
| C．have a good time with children |
| D．achieve more teaching experience |
| A．Unconcern. |
| B．Dissatisfaction. |
| C．Disagreement. |
| D．Friendliness. |
| A．The children were unwilling to see Yolanda after school. |
| B．The children were upset about their mixed blood identity. |
| C．The author was moved by the love of the poor children. |
| D．The author was confident about his teaching at first. |
5 . With over 250 registered art institutions，London is one of the world's greatest cultural capitals. The city's museums are a huge draw — especially for first-time visitors.
British Museum
PHONE +44 20 7323 8299
If there's one museum to see in London, this is it. From Egyptian mummies and pieces of the Parthenon to the game﹣changing Rosetta Stone and an enormous Easter Island figure, the British Museum — covering 18.5 acres — is not just one oi London's best museums, but one of the world's. Organized by geographic territories, modern-day Indiana Joneses could spend weeks exploring these halls, which back to 1753. Plan your visit in advance by mapping out the highlights.
Victoria and Albert Museum
PHONE +44 20 7942 2000
The V&A knows how to make a good first impression. Hanging in its entrance hall is a blue -and-green Dale Chihuly blown glass chandelier, and that's just the beginning. Established in 1857, the museum's collection is spread over seven floors and consists of decorative arts and design from every time period. Highlights include the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, arts by Picasso, a copy of the first edition of the collected works of Shakespeare, art treasures from Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and one of the most comprehensive jewelry collections in the world.
Tate Modern
PHONE +44 20 7887 8888
Housed in a former industrial power station at the foot of the River Thames,the Tate Modern is one of the world's largest and most modern art museums. Exhibiting British and international works dating from 1900 to today, the Tate Modern displays the works of masters like Rothko, Matisse, Picasso, and Dali, alongside Yayoi Kusama, Tracey Emin, and Marina Abramovic.
Tate Britain
PHONE +44 20 7887 8881
The sister gallery to the Tate Modem is the Tate Britain. With its old-world marble floors, spiral staircases, and Grecian columns, the Tate Britain is a veritable temple of British art from 1500 to today.
1. If you are interested in Egyptian mummies you should visit________.| A．V&A Museum |
| B．British Museum |
| C．Tate Modern |
| D．Tate Britain |
| A．44 20 73238299. |
| B．44 20 78878888. |
| C．44 20 79422000. |
| D．44 20 78878881. |
| A．Health. |
| B．Sports. |
| C．Business. |
| D．Tourism. |
6 . Climate change is threatening our future as more and more greenhouse gases like CO2 are gathering in the atmosphere and heating up the planet. To fight the problem, both scientists and economists have suggested some good solutions. It turns out that whales, animals we’ve hunted to near extinction, are excellent at taking away CO2.
Whales remove CO2 from the air in two ways. First, they move nutrients(营养物) from their feeding areas deep in the ocean back to the surface, where they release them in their waste. Those nutrients aid the growth of phytoplankton(浮游植物), which, like other plants, takes away CO2 from the air. Second, whales themselves collect CO2 in their bodies when they eat other animals. The total amount of the gas adds up to about 33 tons over a whale’s lifetime. When whales die, they take away all that CO2 with them down to the ocean floor.
Saving the whales could also be more cost effective than planting trees. Financial experts say that one whale, taking away CO2 and tour value, would be worth about US$2 million over its lifetime. Compare this to the high costs needed to plant and keep forests for removing CO2, and you’ll see why whales might be an effective solution.
At one time, millions of whales swam the world’s oceans. Unluckily, commercial whaling between the 1600s and the mid-1900s brought many whale species close to extinction.
Starting in the 1970s, careful management of whaling began. Many species are recovering, but the giant animals still face major threats. One threat is continued hunting despite international regulation. For example, in Japan, “scientific” kills are carried out—often an excuse to get whale meat, which is considered delicious food. Public outcry has pressured many countries to limit or end whaling, and experts believe a new way to make money from whales—whale watching—will also be effective. However, another is more difficult to solve—pollution. Whales are affected by pollution from chemicals, noise, and the huge amounts of plastic and garbage that end up in the oceans.
These giants of the sea are important to the future health of our planet. If whale populations increased to where they were before commercial whaling, whales could remove an estimated 1.7 billion tons of CO2 per year. It might be an impossible dream, but it’s one definitely worth fighting for.
1. Which of the following is NOT true about how whales remove carbon from the air?| A．They move nutrients from deep in the ocean to the surface. |
| B．Many species of whales don’t release CO2. |
| C．Whales collect CO2 in their bodies through the food they eat. |
| D．When whales die, the collected CO2 remains in their bodies. |
| A．The commercial hunting of ocean animals. |
| B．The financial value of ocean tourism. |
| C．The high costs of tree planting and forest protecting. |
| D．The ability of phytoplankton to remove CO2 from the air. |
| A．Pollution. | B．Scientific kills. |
| C．Whale watching. | D．Continued hutting. |
| A．To analyse the benefits whales bring. |
| B．To explain why whales are endangered. |
| C．To evaluate the effect of commercial whaling. |
| D．To call on people to save whales so as to protect the world. |
7 . In “Social Robots for Education”, a study published last August in Science Robotics, the summary is: “Social robots can be used in education as private teachers or peer learners. They have been shown to be effective in increasing cognitive（认知的） and emotional results and have achieved results similar to those of human teaching on some tasks. This is largely because of their physical presence, which traditional learning technologies lack.”
The study showed a few reasons why educational robots are becoming a teaching fashion. Firstly, they can help cut school budgets. Secondly, teachers seem at a loss as there are growing numbers of students per classroom. Besides, educational robots can meet the demand for greater personalization of students. Instead of just seating students in front of a computer screen with software to teach them，many teachers can choose a more interactive（互动的） educational experience through robots.“Robots are an ideal choice when the material to be taught requires direct physical presentation. For example, teaching physical skills, such as handwriting or basketball free throws, the study expressed. But, don’t expect Siri or Alexa to replace real teachers right away.
“Although robots can operate independently in certain contexts, fully autonomous social teaching behavior in all environments remains difficult to achieve,” the study said. “Although automatic speech recognition and social signal processing have improved in recent years, speech recognition for younger users, for example, is still not strong enough for most interactions.”
Robots are already used for science, technology, engineering and math, which is called STEM education. “More and more educational robots are being developed because they’ve been largely effective in teaching users topics like computer programming, AI and engineering, in a handson, engaging way,” said Maria Jung, product public relations manager at DJI, developer of the RoboMaster S1.
She said the Rob Master educational robot was created with the purpose of benefiting middle to high school students learning, both inside and outside of the classroom. It helps students become familiar with the basics of robotics through simple controls.
“The main functions of an educational robot are to provide an opportunity to see lessons come to life, educate users in an interesting way and provide an on going stream of learning with new content,” she added.
1. According to the passage, what can we know about educational robots?| A．They keep students learning in front of a computer screen. |
| B．They can be fully independent in recognizing speech. |
| C．They can carry out autonomous social teaching wherever possible. |
| D．They provide a more interactive educational experience for students and teachers. |
| A．Teachers won’t be needed anymore. |
| B．More subjects can be taught in an effective way. |
| C．Students will be disturbed by the educational robots. |
| D．Students can have free communication with the robots. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Disapproving |
| C．Objective | D．Supportive |
“What’s that?” my ten-year-old daughter, Genie, asked. She’d caught me laughing at a piece of mail I’d just opened. “Wake-up service; $2.50 per call.” At the bottom was a phone number and a drawing of a rotary phone, like the one my great-aunt Sara had owned 40 years ago.
“Is that mail funny?” Genie asked.
“Not really,” I admitted. “It’s just outdated.”
“What’s a wake-up call？” She frowned (皱眉). I explained how, before smart-phones, people sometimes paid someone to wake them with a call.
“Who sent this flyer?” she pressed.
“Probably someone older,” I said, “and could use some money.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can we order a wake-up?” she asked.
“We don’t need it.” I picked it up and headed for the recycling bin.
“Wait!” she shrieked.
“I feel sorry for the wake-up man, if he needs some money,” she said, tearing up. “Can’t we order?”
I looked at the flyer with its drawing of a rotary phone. I remembered, again, my great-aunt Sara and her rotary phone. As a kid, I’d visited her over Labor Day, when Jerry Lewis would host his charity event for the disabled kids. Aunt Sara would squeeze my hand, then reach for the rotary phone, dialing the number on the screen. Holding the receiver between us, we’d announce to the operator, “We’d like to help those kids.”
Now here was my own child, showing the same big heart I’d once been encouraged to have, and how could I ignore her? I Googled the flyer’s return address. The address belonged to a man called Raymond. He was in his mid-60s. We called him and, holding the receiver between us, the way Aunt Sara and I used to, told him we needed his services. “Great!” Raymond said in a shaky but friendly voice, clearly amazed at receiving an order from a child. When I asked how to pay the $2.50, he answered, “Mail a check.”
Genie was happy all week. Friday night, I put the phone by her pillow so she could answer Raymond’s call. She bounded to my bedroom to tell me all about how he’d wished her a good morning and told her to have a great day, which she did.
Technology has made some things outdated. But there are still other things the world will always require. In the rush and hustle of my daily life, I’d temporarily forgotten that. I guess I just needed a wake-up call.
1. The author laughed at the mail because ________.
| A．it was printed roughly |
| B．the drawing in it was poor |
| C．the wake-up call cost too much |
| D．the service it offered was outdated |
| A．Throw it away. |
| B．Let Genie read it. |
| C．Find out who sent it. |
| D．Keep it away from Genie. |
| A．Her own childhood experience. |
| B．The less fortunate wake-up man. |
| C．Genie’s curiosity about the service. |
| D．The information she found on Google. |
| A．Bravery and curiosity. |
| B．Confidence and patience. |
| C．Honesty and humor. |
| D．Generosity and kindness. |
9 . ''I'd like to play a game. That is so much fun. It's not so very hard to do.''
As soon as I hear ''Simple Simon says put your hands on your head'', I am back in my grandfather's living room on New Year's Day in the early 1970s. It was our family's favorite song to get the party started.
Grandfather's house was the gathering place for my mum, dad, aunties, uncles and cousins to meet up. My mum comes from a big family, so there was always lots of chatter and laughter. Whenever someone told a story they would get up and do all the actions to illustrate it, which was great fun.
Grandfather had a coal fire, so it was always warm, even if it was freezing outside. He sat in his armchair and happily watched everyone dancing while he smoked a pipe.
Once Simon Says had got the party going, other records would follow, such as Sugar, Sugar by the Archies.
Later there would be a sing-along, with everyone taking turns to sing old folk songs such as A Warship Had Landed. I would put my hands over my ears at this one as it was so sad.
Grandfather drove us home as he didn't drink. The road we travelled on was dark. There was one big bump(隆起物) that made us feel as if we were on a roller coaster(过山车). As we approached it, we would shout, ''Go faster, Grandfather! ''
I've been to many New Year parties, but none can match those family get-togethers at Grandfather's. You can keep your Gangnam Style moves—it's much more fun to dance along to Simon Says!
1. According to the text, the song Simon Says _______.| A．was written by the author's grandfather |
| B．was the only song the author could sing |
| C．was the first song the author learnt |
| D．was often played at the author's family's New Year parties |
| A．Explain. | B．Retell |
| C．Represent | D．Comment. |
| A．They never sang sad songs at their parties. |
| B．They were kept warm by a coal fire. |
| C．The author's grandfather liked drinking alcohol. |
| D．Smoking was forbidden at the author's grandfather's house. |
| A．A Beautiful Song |
| B．My Kind Grandfather |
| C．Unforgettable Family Parties |
| D．My Happy Childhood |
10 . The world's best largest bicycle park
Ector Hoogstad Architecten has completed a three-storey bicycle park to store 12,656 bikes below Utrecht Central Station in the Netherlands.
The project begins as part of a wider redevelopment of the area surrounding the city's railway station, and is designed to enable cyclists to ride from the street level to the bike store, from which they can quickly access the station. It is hoped that the project will encourage locals to commute (通勤) using bikes and public transport instead of cars and make Utrecht a more sustainable(可持续的) city.
''Our comfortable bicycle parking is the answer to a major problem in the inner cities worldwide：pollution,'' explained the Rotterdam architecture studio. ''We created such a park that favors cyclists and pedestrians and make scar useless attractive.''
Ector Hoogstad Architecten won a competition to design the bike park at Utrecht Central Station in 2011.The first phase was finished in August of 2017, opening with space for 6,000 bikes. Now completed, the bike park accommodates three levels of underground stores for 12,656 bicycles-overtaking the world's former largest bike parking lot in Tokyo that houses 9,000.
Besides the storage, the project has a repair service and a bicycle hire shop. It also relies on a digital system to guide cyclists to a parking spot that provides the quickest access to the platforms.
The three-storey bike parking sits directly below Utrecht Central Station, accessed by pink cycle lanes(车道) that continue down inside and wraparound the edges of the structure.
The bike lanes connect to the parking across three levels. They are also color-coded(用颜色区分的) to guide cyclists through the space and to their parking lot.
Each parking spot branches off from the cycle paths, designed to provide plenty of space for people to dismount from their bikes without getting in the way of other cyclists. The concept is about speed and safety.
''The building is more than just the basic service system,'' added Ector Hoogstad Architecten. ''It adds an exciting and surprising architectural aspect to the city. Cycling through the garage has become a unique experience-not just another part of everyday life in the city, but almost an attraction in its own right. ''
1. Why do the Netherlands build the bicycle park?| A．To cut down on car use. |
| B．To promote sales of bikes. |
| C．To create more public parks. |
| D．To provide unique public services. |
| A．It guides cyclists to a parking lot. |
| B．It offers easy access to bike repair service. |
| C．It enables people to hire a bicycle. |
| D．It provides plenty of space for car drivers. |
| A．Get on. | B．Get off. |
| C．Keep from. | D．Remove from. |
| A．There are three large bike stores below the station. |
| B．Cyclists can park their bikes wherever they like. |
| C．Each parking spot forks off from the bike paths. |
| D．The bike park opened with space for 6,000 bikes in 2011. |
