1 . The TV series, The Longest Day in Chang'an, which was shown on Chinese online platforms last summer became a hit soon. Since then, it has been shown on partnering streaming platforms and TV networks abroad. Some websites overseas also offered the program to their users paying for it — the first time a Chinese series was broadcast as paid content abroad.
"I was amazed by the overseas audience's love for this show," Cao Dun, director of The Longest Day in Chang'an, told Bejing Review. "I was worried that they wouldn't understand the complex political structure of the Tang dynasty. But in reality the show is prompting foreign audiences to research Tang dynasty's history to better understand the plot. "
The unique culture in ancient China is not a barrier but a bridge to connect with foreign audiences. In the TV series, every figure is given enough space to flesh out his or her character. Telling stories of ordinary Chinese people that resonate (引起共鸣) with the audience might be the way to communicate with the world. "The success of the TV series shows that beauty is a universal language crossing borders," he told Beijing Review.
His ambition is to distinguish Chinese dramas from the TV shows in the rest of the world. "The TV series is a step in my plan to tell Chinese stories to the world," Cao said. "After describing the impressive beauty of the Tang dynasty, I am looking for several plays that tell stories of today's China. I don’t want to copy any country's production. Chinese dramas have to be built on our rich culture and Chinese people's everyday life," Cao added.
1. What do we know about the TV series?| A．It was first put on overseas. |
| B．It can be appreciated for free. |
| C．It is about the development of the Tang dynasty. |
| D．It was very popular once it was shown. |
| A．Requiring. | B．Reminding. |
| C．Encouraging. | D．Informing. |
| A．Stories of ordinary people. | B．Recognition of beauty. |
| C．Diversity of Chinese culture. | D．Personalities of every figure. |
| A．To tell Chinese stories to the world. | B．To make a successful TV series. |
| C．To show China’s different nationalities. | D．To learn the ancient political structure. |
2 . Most teenagers are still trying to find their passion and purposes in life. However, not Gitanjali Rao. The 15-year-old girl has been coming up with innovative solutions to worldwide problems since she was ten. It is, therefore, not surprising that the teenager has won the honor of “America's Top Young Scientist”.
In the third grade, Rao was inspired to build a device after witnessing the shocking story unfold in Flint, Michigan, where cost-cutting measures led to the use of a polluted river as the city's primary water supply and incredibly high levels of lead made their way into people's drinking water.
After two months' research, Rao designed a small and portable device that used sensors to instantly detect lead in water. Called Tethys, after the Greek Goddess(女神) of freshwater, it attaches to a cellphone and informs the residents via an app if their drinking water contains lead. The design earned her the 3M Young Scientist Challenge in 2017. She is currently working with scientists and medical professionals to test Tethys' potential and hopes the device will be ready for commercial use by 2022.
Later, Rao took on another social issue-drug addiction. Her app, called Epione, which won the Health Pillar Prize at the TCS Ignite Innovation Student Challenge in May 2019, is designed to catch drug addiction in young adults before it's too late.
More recently, the teenager has developed an app named Kindly, which uses artificial intelligence technology to detect possible signs of cyberbullying(网上欺凌). When users type in a word or phrase, Kindly is able to pick it up if it's bullying, and then it gives the option to edit it or send it the way it is. It gives them the chance to rethink what they are saying so that they know what to do next time.
All kinds of awesome, Gitanjali Rao has been selected from 5,000 equally impressive nominees(被提名人) for TIME Magazine's first-ever “Kid of the Year”.
1. What gave Rao the idea of inventing the device Tethys?| A．The incident of lead pollution. |
| B．The issue with drug addiction. |
| C．The shortage of water supplies. |
| D．The high cost of purifying water. |
| A．It'll remove metal from water. |
| B．It'll make it to market soon. |
| C．It'll win her a higher prize. |
| D．It'll be fitted to cellphones. |
| A．Receive pre-warning signals of threat. |
| B．Input words into a computer automatically. |
| C．Choose from secure social networking sites. |
| D．Weigh their words before posting them online. |
| A．Ambitious and humble. | B．Optimistic and adventurous. |
| C．Talkative and outstanding. | D．Creative and productive. |
3 . With unfamiliar environments, a heavier workload (工作量), and social challenges, the change from primary school to high school is difficult.
When 800 new high schoolers graded their feelings of worry on a scale (量表) of one to ten, one quarter said seven or more, suggesting serious stress (压力). Disturbingly, these uneasy youth were the most likely to cut classes, start smoking or even get involved in (卷入) self-harm, according to McGill University researcher Dr. Nancy Heath, who has studied the students for three years.
Luckily, there’s a good cure for your high schooler’s worries — volunteering. Parents are already struggling with over-scheduled kids, but the mental-health benefits of this particular after-school activity are widely recognized. “There’s clear evidence (证据) that doing something for others can help people manage stress,” Heath says. The biggest benefit is making new friends. High school is a social minefield (雷区). Teens struggling to find new friends can feel lonely.
They need a back-up social scene outside the classroom, Heath suggests. “Volunteering and getting involved gives a sense of community and belonging.” Team sports and some hobbies are social, but they can’t match the other benefits of volunteering. Serving food in a soup kitchen or chatting with lonely old people forces a teenager to focus on the needs of others, instead of thinking about their own worries.
We’ve found that, among youth who volunteer through our service programs, 61 percent report feeling increased self-respect. They’re 1.3 times more likely to have a strong sense of self than their peers (同龄人), and are more comfortable adapting to (适应) changes, according to an independent study by research firm Mission Measurement.
This winter, encourage the new high school student in your house to find a cause they’re interested in and get involved. It won’t help them find their locker, but it will ease the stress.
1. What would anxious high schoolers probably do according to Heath?| A．Disturb their schoolmates. | B．Damage the environment. |
| C．Stay away from school. | D．Harm other students. |
| A．It may reduce their mental pressure. |
| B．It may be good for their physical health. |
| C．It may help improve their learning skills. |
| D．It may free them from their busy schedules. |
| A．They are glad to help their peers. |
| B．They begin to respect other people. |
| C．They are able to fit in with the new conditions. |
| D．They know more about their problems than peers. |
| A．Researchers. | B．Teachers. |
| C．Students. | D．Parents. |
4 . When Hurricane Florence landed in North Carolina on the morning of September 14, it wasn’t 90-mile-an-hour winds that officials feared most. It was water. The 400-mile-wide-storm brought heavy rain and a 10-foot wave of seawater. Roads were destroyed. Trees fell down. More than 600,000 homes and businesses on the East Coast lost power. And it was just beginning.
By afternoon, the winds had slowed. But as the storm moved west, it brought great amounts of rain to North and South Carolina. By the end of Florence’s second day on land, North Carolina had gotten more than 30 inches of rain, a new record. The National Center said the results would be “catastrophic”.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper surveyed the situation in his state on September 15. “Floodwater are still spreading,” he said afterwards, “and the risk to life is rising.”
It is hard to tell how many of the 1.7 million people along the East Coast who were ordered to leave actually did, or could. Even when skies cleared, on September 17, people were dying for help. Floodwaters trapped people on rooftops. Federal and state authorities(官方) in the Carolina saved hundreds of people by plane, boat, etc. Others were saved by volunteers.
By September 18, Florence had left at least 32 people dead. There was more trouble on the way. “Wilmington, North Carolina, was cut off by floods. The hardest-hit areas will remain underwater for days to come,” Chris Vaccaro, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told TIME for Kids. “Rivers that have already flooded areas may continue to rise as more water flows down.”
Brock Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said, “Recovery is always a very hard thing for people when they’ve lost their livelihoods,” he said. “But we’re going to be okay.”
1. What did officials fear most when Hurricane Florence hit the city?| A．Its high traveling speed | B．The area it affected |
| C．The water it brought | D．Its strong wind |
| A．Extremely bad | B．Totally different |
| C．Far more common | D．A little disappointing |
| A．The hurricane grew stronger than ever. |
| B．Communication was totally cut off. |
| C．Rivers and streams stopped rising. |
| D．Most trapped people were saved. |
| A．By providing examples |
| B．By making comparisons |
| C．By following the order of time |
| D．By following the order of importance |
5 . What do you want to be when you grow up? My answer has always been a vet.
We didn’t have pets growing up because my mother was scared of animals. She transferred(转移) some of this fear to me. It’s not common you find someone who’s scared of animals but wants to be a vet. Still, I knew this is what I wanted.
Vet school was nothing like I had imagined. Within the first few weeks, any fears I had about being a vet vanished. In the fourth year, we were introduced to surgery. I loved it. Stitching(缝) wounds was like a satisfying game of Tetris(俄罗斯方块), where all the pieces fit beautifully together to make something broken whole again. It solidified(使坚固) my belief that this was the right fit for me.
These were the most challenging and rewarding two years of my life, and before I knew it, they were over. I was officially a veterinary surgeon(兽医). Surprisingly, I felt empty after I finished. Why wasn’t I excited to move on? I had completely forgotten to think about what comes next. I felt as if I had spent the last decade of my life writing exams and working crazy hours only to come out on the other side, completely clueless.
There were so many options to choose from. I could start a clinic, work at another practice or even pursue further studies. It was my father who suggested I travel to gain some perspective. I hesitantly decided to spend some time in New Zealand with my aunt who also happens to be a vet.
New Zealand was beautiful! I finally had a chance to think about what I wanted. One of the vets there allowed me to observe their practice. Working with vet nurses really stood out for me. We don’t have vet nurses in India! It is a blessing to have such experienced and dedicated individuals as a part of your support system. After a whole year of what felt like aimless wandering, this experience helped me decide I wanted to work overseas.
So, to all the other confused vets out there who haven't figured things out: It’s completely okay to feel confused! Most people feel the same way at some point in their careers. Don’t be afraid to try new things even if you feel difficult or impossible.
1. Why didn’t the author consider raising a pet of her own before?| A．Because she had been wounded by a pet. |
| B．Because she was not interested in animals. |
| C．Because her family couldn’t afford to buy her one. |
| D．Because her mother passed on her fear of animals to her. |
| A．Erupted. | B．Disappeared | C．Increased. | D．Realized. |
| A．Lost. | B．Ashamed. | C．Confident. | D．Excited. |
| A．Different people have different dream jobs. |
| B．How the author became a vet with the help of her aunt. |
| C．By traveling abroad, people can broaden their knowledge circles. |
| D．People will find what they really want if they are brave enough to try. |
6 . Looking for a place to take a rest，sip a cup of coffee and have a furry companion? Welcome to animal-themed cafes.
In recent years，the combination of pets and catering has become incredibly popular in many cities throughout China. While many cafes started out offering the company of cats and dogs，others are expanding their range. Some cafes include animals like squirrels，raccoons and even capybaras.
In reviews，internet users have commented that their main reason for visiting these businesses is to interact closely with animals they have only seen from afar.
“The customers love animals. They are curious about these pets and want to raise one at home，but circumstances don’t allow it，”said pet cafe owner Tian Rui，Liu Jing，a Beijing resident who works in finance，loves pigs，but her parents would not endorse her getting one as a pet. The 24-year-old had to admire the animals through videos and images. But now，she can have close contact with an adorable pig every weekend in a pet cafe.
Also，these pet cafes serve as a shelter for those who find comfort in being around animals. “In this place，you can get close to the cute little ones in a very comfortable way without having to worry about safety and hygiene(卫生)—overall，it is an extremely comfortable experience，”said Zhao Ming from Tianjin，30，a frequent pet cafe visitor.
Animal lovers also expect the pet cafes to change people’s attitudes toward pets. Animals like ducks，pigs and sheep have been served as food for many years. People hardly see them as pets. But the pet cafes help shift their attitude from seeing them as playthings to regarding them as family members or close friends.
“Whether at home or in stores，these little animals are there for companionship and they bring warmth to our hearts. They care and understand just like family members. They give us much more than the love we give to them，”Zhao said.
1. Why do people visit pet cafes?| A．To pursue inner peace. | B．To appreciate animal images. |
| C．To experience a clean environment. | D．To have close contact with animals. |
| A．Believe in. | B．Approve of. | C．Prevent. | D．Suspect. |
| A．change our views of animals |
| B．teach us how to look after pets better |
| C．show us the importance of having pets |
| D．remind us to value our family and friends |
| A．Cafes Enjoy Great Popularity | B．Ideal Shelters for Lovely Animals |
| C．Animals Turn into Companions | D．Animal Lovers from Different Cities |
7 . Lizzy Brown, a 42-year-old mother of three from East Riding, Yorkshire, was diagnosed with cancer when she was 14 years old. Ms Brown received the diagnosis having woken up frightened on her 14th birthday. She was admitted to a hospital in Cambridge in 1989, where she was told that she shouldn’t expect to survive into adulthood.
While being monitored (监护) at the hospital, Ms Brown was looked after by a kind nurse called Debbie Bye. Ms Brown has never forgotten the good care that Ms Bye provided during her time of need. “My prognosis (预断) was very poor,”' Ms Brown said. “I wasn’t expected to live more than five years, but now I’m 42 with three children and there’s not a wheelchair in sight. She might have thought she was doing her job but it went above and beyond that. I remember watching Debbie work and being so inspired by the way that she did things. She showed me that children are children no matter what is wrong with them and she treated us all the same.”
The childhood cancer survivor always wondered what had happened to the nurse over the years,which is why she decided to put a call out on Twitter. Ms Brown tweeted an appeal to find Ms Bye, with her tweet being shared more than 1,000 times. Her action proved successful, as the two women were eventually able to make contact (取得联系) thanks to the power of social media.
“To be there when Lizzy was given her prognosis was something I will never forget,’’ said Ms Bye, who has since retired (退休) from hospital work and now works part-time in a school. “She was a teenager in denial and over the years I have often wondered what happened to her and came to the only conclusion I could and thought she had passed away. I am blown away.”
1. What do we know about Ms Bye?| A．She is in poor health now. |
| B．She still works in the same hospital. |
| C．She forgot about Lizzy Brown’s situation. |
| D．She once worked whole-heartedly as a nurse. |
| A．She turned to the Internet. |
| B．She visited quite a few places. |
| C．She asked many relatives for help. |
| D．She made a public appeal in local papers. |
| A．scared | B．excited | C．pitiful | D．nervous |
| A．To report a moving reunion. |
| B．To warn us of the danger of cancer. |
| C．To show us how to live a healthy life. |
| D．To give advice on how to treat nurses. |
8 . We will all probably know both some introverts （内向的人）and extroverts （外向的人）in life, and yet we can gain a wrong impression about both types of people. For example, some introverts can be extremely confident and they can be able people. However, some extroverts aren’t as confident as they'd like to appear to be and often try to hide their true identities behind a false appearance.
Shyness can affect both introverts and extroverts and anybody else too. It can be very debilitating （使衰弱的）and, if severe, can have a huge negative influence upon our ability to form meaningful relationships and it can also affect our careers or jobs.
A lot of people feel shy because they have low self-respect and feel unworthy when comparing themselves to others. They find it difficult to communicate with others whom they don't know. In that case, one of the best ways of overcoming the shyness is to focus the attention on the other person instead. Shy people can try changing people's focus on someone else， so that they don't need to talk about themselves too much.
If you recognize that you are shy and see that as a lion in the way of enjoying your life. you should first overcome it by accepting that it's causing a problem for you. Trying getting into conversations with strangers is helpful. Shy people are challenging themselves and over- coming their shyness. In this way, shy people can get their own self-respect. Each time they do it, this will be repeated until they feel confident enough.
Like any negative thought， determination can also help you beat shyness and having a positive attitude is the key to overcoming the shyness.
1. What does the author intend to tell us in paragraph 2?| A．The difference between introverts and extroverts. |
| B．The relationship between ability and shyness. |
| C．The harmful effects of shyness. |
| D．The cause of shyness. |
| A．They are afraid of learning from others. |
| B．They are often made fun of. |
| C．They are short of confidence. |
| D．They have to talk too much. |
| A．Do sports as much as they can. |
| B．Listen to the voice in their heart. |
| C．Have a good talk with their parents. |
| D．Keep a strong belief in supporting themselves. |
| A．How to Overcome Shyness |
| B．Tips of Expressing Shyness |
| C．How to Understand Introverts |
| D．Tips of Talking with Extroverts |
9 . James Harrison is called “The Man With the Golden Arm”. The Australian man has saved the lives of more than 2.4 million babies by donating blood nearly every week for 60 years.
At the age of 14, Harrison had an 11-hour operation to remove a lung. “I received 13 units of blood and my life was saved by unknown people,” Harrison said. “When I’m old enough, I’ll become a blood donor.”
That is exactly what Harrison did Soon afterward, the doctor told him that his blood contains the rare antibody that can help mothers who have rhesus disease, a condition where a pregnant woman’s blood attacks the blood cells of her fetus(胎儿). In the worst case, it can result in brain damage or death of the baby. And until about 1967, thousands of babies died each year in Australia.
Before long, researchers had developed an injection(注射剂), called Anti-D, using Harrison’s donated blood. Because about 17 percent of pregnant women in Australia require the Anti-D injections, the blood service estimates Harrison has helped about 2.4 million babies in the county. At the age of 81, he had already passed the age limit allowed for donors, and the blood service had suggested Harrison should stop donating to ensure his health.
Harrison was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his extraordinary efforts and generosity, but he doesn’t consider himself a hero. He has donated his blood 1,173 times, which breaks the Guinness World Records. But in all those times of donating blood, he has never once watched. “I look at the celling or the nurses and maybe talk with them. I feel faint at the sight of blood, and I can’t stand the pain.”
1. What contributed to Harrison’s becoming a blood donor?| A．The rare antibody in his blood. | B．His gratitude to the blood donors. |
| C．The request from the blood service. | D．His pain during the removal of his lung. |
| A．Save babies by giving them injections. | B．Protect babies from common illnesses. |
| C．Cure pregnant mothers of rhesus disease. | D．Prevent women’s blood from being attacked. |
| A．The age among blood donors. |
| B．The amount of blood he donated. |
| C．The number of donations he made. |
| D．The number of babies he saved by donating. |
| A．He is kind and curious. | B．He is generous and modest |
| C．He is selfless and shy. | D．He is sympathetic and cautious. |
10 . Global warming does more than just kill plant species — it also changes the way plants grow. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle — Wittenberg(MLU) joined forces with the Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry(IPB) to discover the molecular (分子) process of plant growth. In Current Biology, a scientific journal, they presented their findings on high-temperature plant growth. This could lead to developing plants that can survive global warming.
Plants react to even small temperature changes, but they are unable to move to new locations. “When temperatures rise, plants grow taller ... to cool themselves off. Their stems become taller, and their leaves become narrower and grow farther apart. Yet, this makes the plant more unstable overall,” explains Professor Marcel Quint, an agricultural scientist at MLU. Unstable plants bend faster in the rain and produce less food that’s also less nutritious.
There’s still lots to learn about plant reactions to temperatures. “We are just starting to understand how plants feel the changes in temperature ...,” Quint says. Earlier studies have shown that the protein (蛋白质) PIF4 directly controls plant growth and is also dependent on temperature. When it’s cold, PIF4 is less active, meaning the plant doesn’t grow. At higher temperatures, PIF4 activates growth-promoting genes, and the plant grows taller. This is new information, says Quint.
To understand it, they studied the growth of thale cress (拟南芥) seedlings. Normally, its seedlings form short stems at 20℃. These stems become much longer at 28℃. They discovered a hormone (荷尔蒙) that activates the PIF4 at high temperatures, thus producing the protein.
The findings may help to develop plants that remain stable even at high temperatures and produce many crops.
1. Why did the researchers at MLU and IPB conduct their research?| A．To study the negative effects of global warming. |
| B．To find out how plants help reduce global warming. |
| C．To observe how global warming affects plant growth. |
| D．To understand the ways that plants cause global warming. |
| A．Low temperatures have little impact on plants. |
| B．Plants prefer dry weather to rainy weather. |
| C．Plants are very sensitive to change in soil. |
| D．High temperatures reduce crop production. |
| A．It mainly exists in thale cress seedlings. |
| B．It works differently at different temperatures. |
| C．It is a kind of gene that controls plant growth. |
| D．It is a plant hormone that works at high temperatures. |
| A．Farmers. | B．Teachers. |
C．Researchers.  | D．Environmentalists. |
