1 . When I was first married to my wife, I lived and worked in Ontario, moving from small town to big city as I pursued my career as a radio broadcaster. We have two sons, both of whom were born in Toronto, but they moved, with us, to Ottawa when they were quite young. They grew up there, and then, chasing their own careers, they also moved. One went to Canada’s east coast near a city called Halifax and the other headed to the west coast to Vancouver. We had a dilemma; we were left in the middle.
At the time I was still working and my job was in Ottawa. However, as we began to consider retirement we wondered where we should spend our final years. We couldn’t be close to both of our children and there was no telling when they might again relocate. For several reasons we settled on a small town on Vancouver Island. At least we were close to one of them. However, he had his sights set on Hollywood and, when an opportunity presented itself, he left Canada and headed south. I helped him move.
So, there we were, and still are, in our little west coast town. We love our little corner of paradise but we have paid a price. We have not been there for some important events such as the births of two of our grandchildren. We have missed watching each of them grow up; we have missed the normal, noisy households that have young people in them. Our home, while very comfortable, is also very quiet.
Every fall we travel to see the children. We usually fly, first to California to see our son Scott and spend a week or more with him trying to catch up on everything we’ve missed. Then, usually in November, we make the even longer trip east across Canada to see Travis and our grandchildren, who are now teenagers, actually into their twenties. They seldom come to visit us. The distances are just too great and it is costly.
Fortunately, both our boys are doing well and our grandchildren are growing up straight and tall. We love all of them and we are secure in the knowledge that they love us but the reality is that they don’t need us. We have done our jobs and, at least in theory, we can sit back, relax and enjoy the time remaining to us. They have also missed having a set of parents and grandparents around.
Life has been good for our family but we have all paid a price.
1. What does the author mean by saying “We had a dilemma.”?| A．They were not happy about their sons’ absence. |
| B．They were unwilling to separate from their sons. |
| C．They were not yet prepared for retirement at that time. |
| D．They couldn’t decide which son to live close to. |
| A．They have lost lots of money because of his retirement. |
| B．They have to give a large sum of money to their sons. |
| C．They have been absent from their children’s life. |
| D．They have to afford very expensive fare to visit their sons. |
| A．They are quite occupied with their homework. |
| B．It’s not easy for the kids to visit their grandparents. |
| C．They don’t need their grandparents any more. |
| D．The weather of winter in Canada is very awful. |
| A．Grandparents’ Love | B．Suffering Separation |
| C．A Price to Pay | D．Hidden Emotions |
2 . Gold, oil and diomand are obviously worth a lot. But some valuable products are less obvious -- and much more off-putting. New research has shown that the waste produced by seabirds could be worth nearly half a billion dollars annually.
That's because seabird feces(排泄物), also known as guano, can be used as commercial fertilizer and is vital for contributing nutrients to marine ecosystems. In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of seabirds and protecting their habitats, scientists set out to quantify(量化) the contributions of seabirds and show the cost of declining seabird populations by valuing their waste.
Its value is estimated at more than $473 million each year and possibly much more, according to a new paper published today in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
"Guano production is an ecosystem service made by seabirds at no cost to us -- I can go to an island, collect the guano, and sell it at market price as fertilizer," study coauthor Marcus V. Cianciaruso, an ecology professor at the Federal University of Goiás in Brazil, said in a press release. "Because there is this scientific and biological importance, it's possible to quantify seabird ecosystem services in a language that the general public and policymakers can begin to understand."
Although only a few seabird species produce guano that is currently commercialized in Peru, Chile and other countries, the waste of other birds contributes vital nutrients to marine ecosystems and is also important for coastal economies.
In coral reef ecosystems, the nutrients from guano can increase the number of reef fish by up to 48%. That's important for fisheries and tourism in places like the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. "We made a very conservative estimate that 10% of coral reef fish stocks depend on seabird nutrients," said Plazas-Jiménez. "According to the United Nations and the Australian government, the annual economic returns of commercial fisheries on coral reefs is over $6 billion. So 10% of this value is around $600 million per year."
1. Which of the following word can best replace the word “off-putting” ?| A．exciting | B．discouraging | C．flexible | D．disgusting |
| A．Policymakers have understood the value of protecting seabirds very well. |
| B．The waste of seabirds can bring severe pollution to the ecosystem. |
| C．Seabirds can assist us in cleaning the environment. |
| D．Valuing seabirds’ waste can help people realize the importance of seabirds. |
| A．Giving examples | B．Providing figures |
| C．Making comparison | D．Analyzing cause and effect |
| A．Environmental Protection Counts |
| B．Waste can be Worth Millions |
| C．Fisheries Catch a Break |
| D．A New Business |
3 . Five days after the roadside incident, I took my first coronavirus test. I felt exhausted and fragile, my head and joints aching. "I've heard that it hurts," I said to the blue-gowned woman who held what resembled a very long Q-Tip."I wouldn't say it hurts," she said, "but it is uncomfortable, for sure." A tear rolled down my cheek. If indeed I had the virus, I knew of only one possible exposure. Had I done the right thing on that dark country road?
It was a Saturday in early September. At home in the pandemic（世界流行病） I sometimes felt trapped. I loaded our three children into the minivan and drove about 80 miles from metro Atlanta to Yonah Mountain, a remote peak near the end of the Blue Ridge. This was a wild mountain, rather than a tourist destination, but we enjoyed the view and the feeling of freedom. At dusk, we were hurrying down the mountain against the oncoming night when I heard a man calling for help.
During the pandemic, I didn't stop as much as I used to, especially when it might put the children at risk. But there was no telling what misfortune might have found him on this lonely road. I stopped the van and opened my window. A young man in a white T-shirt appeared at the front passenger window, his mask dangling from(悬于) one ear. Seeming a little drunk, he said he had a fight with his girlfriend and was forced out of the car, and now he needed a ride home.
I told the man we were being careful with the virus and all. But he insisted he was being careful too, and begged whether he could have a ride home. "Okay, if you say so." I said, and asked him to put on his mask.I prayed a silent prayer and kept the windows open. In a strange town on a strange night, the young man was mostly polite, but he did swear a lot, as some people do when they're drunk. I followed his directions and drove him to his destination.
Six days later, I got an email with an ominous(不祥的) subject line: Your COVID-19 Test Results. I'd felt sick and tired and guilty for much of the week, and my heart pounded as I clicked the link. Part of me wanted to be positive, to finally confront the monster that was stalking us all, to have the fight and survive it and just stop being afraid. I entered my date of birth and pressed the button.
1. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To show the author’s relationship with medical workers. |
| B．To arouse readers’ interest in the story. |
| C．To provide the backgroud information. |
| D．To explain the course of testing COVID-19. |
| A．Stress the importance of self-protection. |
| B．Remind him to take coronavirus test. |
| C．Start a conversation with the stranger. |
| D．Try to refuse him without saying no. |
| A．Impolite | B．Considerate | C．Indifferent | D．Independent |
| A．He wants to relieve the anxiety. |
| B．He wishes to escape from countless work. |
| C．He would like to take a vacation with his families. |
| D．He is guilty of staying at home for a long time. |
4 . What do you usually do to comfort your friends when they are feeling sad or depressed? You probably pat them on the back or shoulder, or maybe you give them a big, warm hug.
We used to think that knowing when and how to comfort others was an ability that only humans have. But scientists have discovered that apes （猩猩）have this ability, too. Two researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, US, went to an Ape Protection Centre in Congo to study bonobos （倭黑猩猩）,which are closely related to humans.
The researchers analyzed the bonobos' reactions after more than 370 cases of stressful situations, such as fights and losing temper, and found that some bonobos rushed to hug those that were screaming after being attacked, just like humans would have done.
However, researchers said that not all bonobos were able to comfort others. In the protection centre, many bonobos are orphans （孤儿）whose mothers were killed by hunters. They were found to be more anxious in times of tension and have greater difficulty controlling their own emotions, malting them worse at reaching out to help friends in need.
"Orphans, who have not had the benefit of a mother helping them handling their emotions, are much worse al comforting others,” Professor Frans de Waal, one of the researchers, told The Telegraph. "Bonobos with moms were able to curb their negative emotional reactions more quickly. Therefore, they pay more attention to others.” This pattern mirrors the way that human children have been found to react. Those who seem more capable of handling their own emotions—for example, the ones who can calm themselves down more quickly after upsetting experiences—are usually better at expressing their concerns for others .
1. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Orphan bonobos never give a hand to friends. |
| B．There were 370 bonobos involved in the research. |
| C．Moms play a significant role in handling kids' emotions. |
| D．The ability to comfort others is unique to human beings. |
| A．express | B．observe | C．hide | D．control |
| A．A science journal | B．A travel leaflet |
| C．A literature review | D．A science fiction |
| A．To uncover the mystery of Apes. |
| B．To inform readers of a new study. |
| C．To provide better protection for Apes. |
| D．To compare human behaviors with Apes. |
5 . Green Wave was one of the four apps to be recognized at the recent i-Way hackathon(编程马拉松)hosted in Israel by the car company Hyundai. The goal of the event was to discover new apps that could help improve the driving experience in new connected cars. And the winning apps were chosen for their ability to ensure the driving experience in a safe manner.
City driving means stopping every quarter of a mile at red lights. People tend to drive faster to “make” the next light, a practice that doesn't always work and which can endanger other drivers and pedestrians. Israeli developers Shlomo Shenzitz and Rafael Vianeti say their Green Wave app will tell drivers the suitable speed they need in order not to stop at a red light again.
To determine the right speed, the app would draw information from both the city and from its database of users, once enough people have started to use it. When a car is moving at a speed that guarantees it won't have to stop at a red light, a green wave will appear. When a red wave is shown, the driver needs to adjust their speed.
The “green” in Green Wave may stand as much for the environment as it does for “go”. Stopping at red lights is annoying for drivers and even worse for the environment. Researchers found that carbon emissions(排放)were four times higher when a car was moving away from a red light, compared to when it drove through the green light.
What it comes down to is the old saying --- slow and steady wins the race. You can either hurry up and wait, or slow down and never stop at another red light. Green Wave might not get you to your destination any faster, but it might increase road safety and reduce stress on drivers and the environment.
1. How can Green Wave help drivers?| A．By guiding a clear way. | B．By warning away pedestrians. |
| C．By missing the red traffic lights. | D．By improving the driving speed. |
| A．He is green with envy. | B．Try to adopt a green lifestyle. |
| C．The new workers are still very green. | D．Frightened, many passengers looked green. |
| A．To reduce traffic accidents. | B．To guarantee an average speed. |
| C．To stop drivers from falling asleep. | D．To remind drivers of road conditions. |
| A．Drive at a Faster Speed | B．Improve Your Driving Skills |
| C．Never be More Comfortable in a Car | D．Never Get Delayed by Traffic Lights Again |
6 . Peter Shankman travels for a living, delivering speeches around the country. The last thing he wants to do in his spare time is travel from his home in New York.
So for the fifth year in a row, Shankman is donating hundreds of thousands of miles to people in need-----those who can’t afford to buy a flight, but intend to be with sick loved ones, or a parent who would like to see a faraway child.
Shankman posts his contest on the social media site Imgur, and other Imgur users vote for winners of Shankman’s miles. After the initial year of the giveaway, other travellers started seeing Shankman’s posts on Imgur and began donating their miles to his contest, multiplying the gift.
One of those donors is Rhys Ford, whose reason for donating her extra miles to Shankman’s “Home for the Holidays” giveaway is simple and heartfelt. “ There are many of us who have so much, and there are others who are far away from their family and can’t make it back for financial reasons,” she said.
Shankman said one of the big advantages of giving away his miles is that it allows him to pass along a lesson about giving to his son. Shankman’s goal, he said , is to help children and adults with ADHD(多动症) realize that they are not broken, but gifted.
“They just need to learn how to channel and use that power. I have ADHD, but I believe it is a huge part of my success,” said Shankman.
“People ask me how I verify the stories of people who win the free miles,” Shankman said. “And I tell them, ‘I can’t.’ But if someone goes to all this trouble to get a free trip somewhere, maybe this will help them in some way. As long as my miles keep adding up, I’m going to continue to give them away.
1. How are the winners of Shankman’s miles chosen ?| A．People vote on them on the Internet. |
| B．Shankman chooses them by himself. |
| C．The social media site decides on them. |
| D．They ask for Shankman’s help in person. |
| A．Shankman’s speech | B．Her kindness. |
| C．Her own experience | D．Her simple mind. |
| A．His ADHD gets treated. | B．He becomes more famous. |
| C．He can stay at home much longer. | D．he gets a chance to influence his son. |
| A．Tell | B．Collect | C．Check | D．Know |
7 . What if we had the power to control time, instead of moving from the past to the present to the future? What if we could jump, loop and travel through time in a machine? What if we could go wherever and whenever we pleased?
This ability would allow us to witness historic wonders, change decisions and see people from the past. We could right wrongs and stop wars from starting.
The mysterious puzzle of time has kept people debating its nature for hundreds of years. Science fiction writers have turned it into imaginative stories. Some scientists have even attempted to explain it using math. This math tries to make the dream of time travel come true.
The scientist Albert Einstein said that time and space are one thing. He called it “spacetime.” Einstein said that there are three dimensions in space: height, width and depth. A scientist named Hermann Minkowski added time as a fourth dimension.
Einstein introduced two ideas that have led to theories about the possibility of time travel. The first is relativity. The idea of relativity is that the force of gravity causes space to bend, which causes time to twist. The second idea focuses on special relativity. The idea is that a traveler moving super-fast through flat spacetime will enter the future. Einstein considered time “relative” because it is measured based on where we are on Earth or in space.
Stephen Hawking is a famous scientist. He believes that a time machine will never be built. If it were possible, he thinks we would already know. If a time machine could be built, how come no one from the future has invaded us?
The first science fiction story with this theme is The Clock That Went Backward by Edward P. Mitchell, which was published in 1881. Since then, thousands of books, films and television shows have explored the idea of time travel, in which some tools such as phones, watches, photographs and old books take travelers backward and forward.
Will time travel ever happen? Who knows? Most important is to keep your eyes open and have a sense of wonder.
1. What is the author’s purpose of writing the first paragraph?| A．To show time and space are connected. |
| B．To show people’s interest in time travel. |
| C．To draw readers’ attention to time travel. |
| D．To make people believe time travel is possible. |
| A．Time travel is possible in the future. |
| B．People can’t move faster than light. |
| C．Time travel is against scientific rules. |
| D．Spacetime is not a real thing in theory. |
| A．The first science fiction story. |
| B．Some tools used in time travel. |
| C．Edward P. Mitchell, the pioneer. |
| D．Different works about time travel. |
| A．cautious. | B．pessimistic |
| C．sceptical | D．optimistic. |
8 . A Student Profile
Name: Kristin Lacey
Hometown: Merced, California, USA
School & College: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GRS) at MIT
Major(专业): English literature
Class year: 2021
Favorite book: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Favorite class: British Literature with Professor Anna Henchman
Favorite place to study on campus : Athan’s in Washington Square or Cafenation in Brighton Center
Favorite restaurant in Boston: Sweet Cheeks
Extra-curricular activities: President of the Graduate Student Association; leading the Graduate Student Fiction (小说) Group; Volunteering at Gifford Homeless Cat Center in Brighton
Study experience: I studied for four years and earned my undergraduate degree in English in 2015 at California State University, Fresno. I was the first in my family to attend graduate school and college.
When I graduate, I hope to teach literature at a local college and help the other first-generation college students to get higher education. It’s important to give a helping hand to those who need it.
Advice to other first-generation college students:
I know that being first-generation graduate means always pushing against your background and stepping out of your comfort zone. And it is important to take as many lectures as possible and be open-minded to good advice from your teachers, while know the line between helpful and bad recommendations. Be outgoing with your friends and build your support network by asking for help when you need it and giving help in return.
1. When did Kristin Lacey graduate from senior high school?| A．In 2011. | B．In 2015. | C．In 2019. | D．In 2020. |
| A．The Gifford Homeless Cat Center. | B．The British Literature Club. |
| C．The Graduate Student Association. | D．The Graduate Student Fiction Group. |
| A．Teach literature at a local college. |
| B．Work at a homeless animal center. |
| C．Build a support network for those in need. |
| D．Study British literature at a graduate school. |
9 . For the brave in the armed forces, being sent away from home for months at a time is just part of the duty. However, it's never an easy one to perform especially for those with children. So when I found out I was going to be stationed in South Korea for a year, I was nervous about how my five children, particularly my eldest daughter Abigail, would take the news since it meant I wouldn't be home to see her graduate from high school.
Incredibly, Abigail told me not to worry and even suggested we live stream the event among family members when I leaked the news. “We've been lucky you haven't had to be sent abroad yet. Anyway we can get connected through the Internet. See me on your phone on my spot,” Abigail said. She stepped into many of my roles when I was gone. I wanted to find a way to thank her and show her how proud I was of her. I started planning the special surprise when my request to return home a few weeks early to attend Abigail's graduation ceremony was approved.
When my time in South Korea finally came to an end, I flew home, rented a car, and stayed in a hotel. And on Abigail's graduation day, I hid in an office behind the stage waiting until I heard my daughter's name called. I just kept thinking “Don't cry. Don't trip in your heels. Don't fall over.” At last！Abigail was up on stage. I slipped up behind her, whispered in her ear, and around she turned! “I was just thinking, like, ‘You aren't supposed to be here. What? What? How？’ It was the biggest shock...I'm pretty sure my dad made people he didn't even know cry. Emotional for everyone,” Abigail cried.
You know what followed: Embraces, kisses, tears, laughs, flowers, wishes...Aren't they what a family has in store?
1. What worried the author most?| A．His duty in South Korea. | B．His five children's safety. |
| C．His eldest daughter's study. | D．His absence from a big event. |
| A．Plan. | B．Celebrate. | C．Prepare. | D．Broadcast. |
| A．Embarrassed. | B．Overjoyed. | C．Nervous. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．A soldier's personal sacrifice. | B．A father's love for his family. |
| C．The meaning of family bond. | D．The way to plan a big surprise. |
10 . While a man was passing by an elephant, he suddenly stopped. The elephant was held by only a small rope. The farmer ties the rope to the elephant's front leg. No chains, no cages. The man was very confused. He wanted to know why the elephant didn't run away.
He visited the farmer and asked why the elephant just stood there and didn't run away. "Well," the farmer said, "when it was very young and much smaller, we used the same size rope to tie it. At that age, the rope was strong enough to hold it. Of course it couldn't run away. When it grew up, it still believed the rope could hold it. So it never tried to run away."
The man was very amazed. In fact, the grown-up elephant could run away at any time. But it didn't run away just because it believed it couldn't. As a result, it was stuck right there.
We have such problems in our life. Sometimes we don't think we can deal with the problems. Sometimes we fail to deal with them. It's not wise to stop struggling. See? Failure is part of learning. We should never give up the struggle.
1. The farmer held the elephant by ________.| A．making a chain to tie the elephant | B．making a cage for the elephant |
| C．tying a rope to the elephant's front leg | D．tying a rope around the elephant's body |
| A．a stronger rope | B．a smaller rope |
| C．the same size rope | D．a longer rope |
| A．no one came to save it | B．the elephant couldn't run fast |
| C．it was not strong enough | D．it believed it couldn't |
| A．not to stop struggling | B．to give up the struggle in life |
| C．to learn from the farmer | D．to learn from the elephant |
