1 . You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It's the idea that if children or even babies listen to music composed by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age is, there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart's music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you more clever, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase "the Mozart effect" was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that sparked real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it, we'll become more intelligent.
The idea took off, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart's music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them produce better milk.
I'll leave the debate on the impact on milk yield (产量) to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn't make us more intelligent.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Mozart composed many musical pieces for children. |
| B．There is little scientific evidence to support the Mozart effect. |
| C．There are few products on the Internet about Mozart's music. |
| D．Children listening to Mozart will be more intelligent. |
| A．people were strongly against the idea |
| B．Mozart played an important part in people's life |
| C．the idea was accepted by many people |
| D．the US government helped promote the idea |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
| A．What Music Is Beneficial? |
| B．Listening to Mozart, Necessary? |
| C．What Is the Mozart Effect? |
| D．To Be or Not to Be？ |
2 . Remember when your mom told you not to eat too many candy bars or sweets because they can cause tooth decay (蛀牙)? However, it turns out that chocolate can be more salutary to your teeth than you might expect. Recent studies show that chocolate can effectively fight against tooth decay, as if we need another excuse to eat chocolate.
Chocolate offers protection like fluoride, a main ingredient in most household toothpastes. Not only does chocolate protect our teeth, but it can do so very effectively. Studies show that chocolate has compounds that provide strong protection for teeth. One of the compounds in chocolate, CBH, is shown to protect even more effectively than fluoride.
Tooth decay happens when bacteria work to turn sugar into acids in our mouth. This is why eating foods with high sugar content can lead to more tooth decay. The compounds in chocolate, however, are anti-bacteria and can fight against bacteria in your mouth. The CBH compound in particular also works to strengthen tooth enamel (牙釉质), and protects against tooth decay.
Does this mean you can cat as much chocolate as you want without worrying about your teeth? It depends on the types of chocolate that you like. The protective effect of chocolate is most effective when you chew on cocoa beans. Of course, this option is not very appealing to; most people. A more tasty option is to choose dark chocolate with little sugar content, ideally no more than 6 to 8 grams per serving. For other types of chocolate with higher sugar content, the effect will be lessened. However, because of the protective compounds, it is still better for your teeth than other sweets and desserts containing the same amount of sugar.
1. The word “salutary” in paragraph 1 means?| A．Beneficial. | B．Harmful. | C．Familiar. | D．Useless. |
| A．It can help chocolate cure tooth decay. |
| B．It can effectively stop teeth from decaying. |
| C．It may protect teeth better than toothpastes do. |
| D．It may soon replace most household toothpastes. |
| A．By breaking down acids. | B．By building up compounds. |
| C．By fixing up tooth enamel. | D．By fighting against bacteria. |
| A．Chocolate plays the role of toothpaste. |
| B．Chocolate protects against tooth decay. |
| C．Chocolate is the best choice for teeth protection. |
| D．Chocolate is healthier to teeth than other sweets. |
3 . I’m a girl in my late twenties and I live in New York. I go from my 8-hour-a-day full-time job to my part-time job, where I work for at least 4 hours if I'm lucky. I have half an hour to get from one job to the next, and I spend that time driving to the job, changing into my uniform, and eating if I have time. Even on weekends, I work anywhere from 4-9 hours per day at my part-time job.
Every time I hang out with my friends or family, I’m never fully present. I’m either exhausted (精疲力竭的) or worried about my work. And when I’m with my family, everyone says that I work too much and should pay attention to my health. While I always argue that working hard is extremely valuable and admirable, I also believe that we all need to stop and smell the roses. Throughout the chaos (混乱) of my busy life, however, I’ve forgotten to do just that. Work has kept me so busy that I’ve missed everything that’s right in front of me.
Now, I’m making an effort to be present. I leave my phone in my purse when I’m with my friends and only take it out to take a few pictures. Sometimes, I go to a concert, watch movies or take a holiday to treat myself. I visit friends I haven’t seen for a while or try to call them, so we can talk for hours and catch up. And I make an effort to spend time with loved ones who I know won’t be around forever and I get to know the younger ones. Right now, I’m learning to do everything that makes me happy. I’m completely not guilty about my work-life balance because I know that enjoying life is truly worth my time.
1. Why does the author tell us about her work?| A．To show she lives a very busy life. |
| B．To complain she has a hard life. |
| C．To prove the pace of life is fast in her city. |
| D．To describe the ways to make money are various. |
| A．Buying roses. | B．Enjoying life. |
| C．Working hard. | D．Changing work. |
| A．Working as a leader. |
| B．Learning to take pictures. |
| C．Sparing time for her family and friends. |
| D．Taking long holidays with loved ones. |
| A．Learning to stay present in life |
| B．Leading a life without a cellphone |
| C．Stopping feeling guilty about work |
| D．Making use of every day to the fullest |
4 . If you walked by James Fasulo’s bedroom, in Queens, New York, you might hear the 8-year-old talking. You might think he was speaking with a friend, or with his 4-year-old sister, Anna. More likely, James would be talking to his smart speaker, an Echo Dot. “I use it daily,” he says.
James often asks his Dot to tell jokes, report the time and temperature, and play music. And his sister? “She asks it to play songs from Frozen,” he says.
As of December 2017, there were about 67 million smart speakers in households in the United States, according to a study by National Public Radio and Edison Research. A year later, that number had jumped to nearly 119 million. That’s a 78% increase.
“Families are very interested in trying these products,” says Caroline Knorr of Common Sense Media. Kids like James and Anna also love that they are fun.
Smart speakers include devices (设备) such as Google Home and Amazon Echo. Common Sense Media made a survey of more than 1, 000 parents with kids ages 2 to 8. The survey asked about how kids use smart speakers. It also asked about privacy.
Nearly half of the parents said their kids use the speakers, and half of those kids use them daily. Of parents who have, at some point, turned off a smart speaker’s microphone (麦克风), about one-third of them did it because they didn’t trust the device.
“A smart speaker might behave like a human in some of the ways it answers us,” says Florian Schaub, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. “But that’s really a company collecting data (数据) about you. Everything you say to a smart speaker is recorded by these companies.”
“Companies use the recordings in different ways,” Schaub says, “such as to personalize service or decide which ads to play.” If users don’t like this, he suggests they mute the speaker when it’s not in use and consider setting privacy controls.
James Fasulo says he doesn’t worry about privacy. But his mom, Nancy Ellwood, does. “Sometimes, the speaker flashes (闪现) its lights when we’re not talking directly to it, ” she says. “I wonder what it’s doing.”
1. What do we know about James Fasulo’s Echo Dot?| A．It can move around freely. |
| B．It can be controlled by voice. |
| C．It is mainly used to play music. |
| D．It is shaped like a human being. |
| A．Smart speakers are less helpful for kids. |
| B．Google Home is smarter than Amazon Echo. |
| C．Some users have less trust in smart speakers. |
| D．Smart speaker users have rapidly increased in number. |
| A．Fix up. | B．Talk to. |
| C．Turn off. | D．Research into. |
| A．Anna Fasulo. | B．James Fasulo. |
| C．Caroline Knorr. | D．Nancy Ellwood. |
5 . Disease-carrying mosquitoes can spread diseases without affecting themselves. Nearly 700 million people get a mosquito-borne illness each year, which results in over one million deaths. Humans experience continuous pressures from disease-carrying mosquitoes in many parts of the world, so we have to find ways to fight against those insects because they keep getting scarier.
Even though DEET remains the most commonly used, and most powerful, mosquito repellent (防护剂) ever developed, scientists are actively pursuing effective products based entirely on plant oils. While DEET is an effective contact repellent, many people dislike the oily feel and smell on their skin, and sometimes some people are sensitive to it. Consumers are always interested in alternatives to DEET and other synthetic (合成的) repellents, so there are numerous natural repellents on the market.
In my lab at Iowa State University, my team and I have been conducting research on natural products as possible insect repellents for the past 20 years. In the past few years, three of my Ph. D. students have contributed greatly to our research by designing, synthesizing, purifying, characterizing and testing more than 300 closely related chemicals coming from the best of natural repellents like citronellol, menthol and thymol.
These students have successfully tested these repellents against three species of dangerous mosquitoes. The first group of the new repellents act through the air. These chemicals have a vapor action that provides protection. These are potentially most useful in backyards, parks, houses, barracks and horse barns. The other group of the new repellents are the classic ones that stop insects from standing on a treated surface, such as human skin, clothing or tents; some researchers have conducted testing on some humans to confirm the effectiveness and identify the very best ones.
The new repellents were designed and made from the natural materials in plant essential oils. They maintain many of the advantages of the natural repellents: They are fully biodegradable (可生物降解的), with no ecological concerns or environmental wastes, and generally considered safe like the thousands of types of plant essential oils used in the flavor and perfume industries. However, thorough testing will be conducted to determine if they are truly non-poisonous because there is still no enough evidence.
1. What does the author mainly want to show in Paragraph 1?| A．The way mosquitoes spread disease. |
| B．The high death rate of mosquito-borne illness. |
| C．The difficulty of fighting disease-carrying mosquitoes. |
| D．The urgency of finding tools to fight against mosquitoes |
| A．It causes discomfort to the users. |
| B．It greatly harms people's health. |
| C．It can't be applied universally. |
| D．It won't be effective for long. |
| A．They can kill mosquitoes indirectly. |
| B．They are mainly used in the open air. |
| C．They are more effective on human skin. |
| D．They can prevent mosquitoes from contacting users. |
| A．Disapproving | B．Negative | C．Objective | D．Subjective |
6 . I grew up in an age when I had to wait for almost everything. Classic movies were shown on television. And, of course, one had to be home at the appointed time to watch them. “The Wizard of Oz” for example, was broadcast only once a year. The steadily heightening sense of expectation as the broadcast date approached was almost too much for my 10-year-old heart to bear.
And then there was money. The banks did business on weekdays only. They opened at 9 and closed at 4. You needed money but didn't make it to the bank on time? Well, check under the sofa cushions or borrow from family or friends.
Such was the world as recently as the 1970s. Everything seemed to operate on a strict clock, and the words “on demand” had no meaning. This was the way things worked, and it was all we knew.
And then, seemingly overnight, everything changed. It suddenly seemed as if I never had to be anywhere at an appointed time, because everything was available all the time. The changed times, on the other hand, have encouraged nothing less than a constant sense of urgency, which is ironic (讽刺性的): If we can have anything we want anytime we want it, should’t we be less hurried? The answer is that an “on demand” lifestyle has created an appetite for speed: If I can have something this fast, why can’t I have it faster? Recently I read a book that has “FSTR” (get it?) written across its cover. One of its metaphors (隐喻) was telling: First there was the fresh-squeezed lemon； then there was the lemonade mix; now we just buy the lemonade by the gallon (加仑).
And so, on this hot day, I went to the supermarket and bought three fresh lemons. I squeezed them into a tall glass. Then I filled the glass with cold water, ice, and a teaspoon of sugar. Fresh lemonade in hand, I went outside, sat in my lawn chair, and looked out over the river.
Yes, time passes quickly. But, now and then, it doesn’t have to.
1. How did the young author feel about watching The Wizard of Oz?| A．Surprised. | B．Excited. | C．Touched. | D．Worried. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Optimistic. | C．Opposing. | D．Cautious. |
| A．His enjoyment of spending a lazy day at home. |
| B．His disapproval of the demands of a hurried age. |
| C．His satisfaction of making use of modern technology. |
| D．His disappointment at the lemonade in the supermarket. |
| A．We waited, and it was worth it |
| B．We worry, but it makes no sense |
| C．Why does time pass quickly now? |
| D．How do we balance speed and happiness? |
7 . Rocky was a 65-pound dog. Rita was his eleven-year old owner. When Rocky was given to her, Rita immediately liked him. Whenever she was not in school,the two were always together and within touching distance. The family would lovingly call the pair “R and R”.
But Rocky had one shortcoming. He feared water very much because of a terrible experience. When he was at the age of seven weeks long before he met Rita,he was nearly drowned by a naughty boy who had been blamed by his father.
One late afternoon, Rita's mother took R and R to a shopping area near a lake. Rita was running along the wooden bridge over the water,enjoying the beautiful scenery around. Suddenly a boy on a bicycle hit Rita. She let out a cry of pain and fell into the lake.
Rita's mother was at the entrance of a store not far away. She rushed to the lake shouting for help. Rocky seemed to forget his fear and jumped into the water to save his owner. Rocky immediately swam to Rita and held her by the shoulder's clothes with his mouth. Rita's face was quickly out of the water and she could cough.Luckily,the water was calm,they were not far from the bank,and Rocky finally reached a depth where his feet were on solid ground. He pulled Rita hard until her head was completely out of the water, and then he stood beside her, licking (舔) her face.
Rita and her family firmly believed that it was only the big dog's love for the little girl that caused him to take action that might be life-dangerous.
1. From the text, we know __________.| A．Rita was once blamed |
| B．Rocky was eleven years old |
| C．Rita spent her spare time with Rocky |
| D．Rocky lived in Rita's home since his birth |
| A．Brave. | B．Honest. | C．Unkind. | D．Dangerous. |
| A．At noon. | B．At night. | C．In the morning. | D．In the afternoon. |
① Rocky came into Rita's life.② Rocky was nearly drowned.
③They were playing near the lake. ④ Rocky saved Rita from the water.
| A．①②④③ | B．②①③④ | C．③①②④ | D．④③②① |
8 . With over 4. 1 billion people, or around 55 percent of the world’s population, living in urban areas, cities and towns worldwide are getting increasingly congested. In addition to spending many hours stuck in traffic, residents are also exposed to high air pollution levels caused by transportation emissions. Now, Saudi Arabia hopes to revolutionize urban living with “The Line”— a city designed around nature, without cars and roads!
“The Line” is designed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Located in NEOM — a 10,000-square-mile high-tech planned development on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabu — The Line will be the cornerstone of MBS s Saudi Vision 2030. The plan aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy into other sectors, like tourism, and create exciting job opportunities for its citizens.
The 105-mile-long city, expected to cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, will be built along a straight line and is made up of several self-sustaining communities. To ensure all services are within a short, five-minute walk, each community will feature a three-layer infrastructure (基础设施).
The top “pedestrian layer” will be void of cars and roads, allowing residents to freely walk and bike in the surrounding green spaces. The second “service layer”, will include all essential daily services, such as schools, leisure facilities and grocery stores. The third “spine layer” will house high-speed subway and autonomous vehicles capable of transporting residents across communities in less than 20 minutes. The entire city will be powered with renewable clean energy sources such as solar and wind, and possibly even hydrogen.
If all goes according to plan t construction of this complex project will start before the 1st quarter of 2021. In addition to providing up to a million residents with a clean and stress-free living environment, The Line is expected to create 380,000 new jobs, start economic diversification, and contribute an astounding $ 48 billion to Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030. More importantly, MBS believes it will provide governments worldwide a “blueprint for how people and planet can co-exist in harmony.”
1. We can infer that “The Line” will be_________.| A．temporary | B．primitive | C．eco-friendly | D．conventional |
| A．Low crime rates. | B．High unemployment. |
| C．Super communities. | D．Diverse economic sectors. |
| A．Medical clinics. | B．Bus stops. |
| C．Underground trains. | D．Cycling lanes. |
| A．Saudi Arabia Has Created A Green City With No Cars Or Streets |
| B．“The Line” Will Be The Cornerstone Of MBS's Saudi Vision 2030 |
| C．“The Line”— Blueprint Of People And Animals Co-existing In Harmony |
| D．Saudi Arabia Announces “The Line”— A Low Carbon City Without Cars |
9 . When was the last time something important slipped your mind？Maybe it was the answer to a test question，the name of an acquaintance or where you left your keys. Fortunately，memory can be improved so they won’t happen that often. People’s memory has much to do with training and practice. Applying effective means will help improve your memory so that you can access everything you learn whenever you need it.
When students want to prepare for a test，they often try to study by simply reading over the material again，copying notes，etc. But these methods of remembering are not always helpful. People remember more when actively taking part in their learning rather than passively receiving it.
One great way to do this is to test yourself on the material. Come up with questions about the topic，and try to answer them without looking at your notes. It also helps to try to summarize the material in different ways. You could diagram the information，or you could write your own outline. The more you use the information，the more likely you are to remember it.
When I was 8，I began learning to play the flute(长笛)，and my music instructor said that it’s better to practice for five minutes a day，seven days a week，than for two hours on one day. The same goes for remembering information. The more you spread out the time you spend reviewing information，the more likely you are to remember it.
A psychologist named Hermann Ebbinghaus made an important discovery about memory and forgetting. He found that people tend to forget information in a regular pattern. They forget the most information shortly after learning it. The rate at which they forget then slows down over time. Every time people review the information，it causes them to forget less of it-which means they remember more. So it is vital to review things you want to remember shortly after learning them. Over time，you can review them less and less frequently.
1. What would happen if something slipped your mind?| A．You let your mind wander. |
| B．You think of the answer to a question. |
| C．You fail to remember certain information. |
| D．You keep a person’s name in mind. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving a summary. |
| C．By conducting experiments. |
| D．By offering examples. |
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Repeated revision is important. |
| C．It’s vital to insist on what you are fond of. |
| D．Efforts play a key part in learning. |
| A．An explanation of Ebbinghaus’s theory. |
| B．A description of the learning process. |
| C．The approaches to improving memory. |
| D．The relationship between time and memory. |
10 . An artist in Oakland, California is using his skills to help the homeless. Greg Kloehn builds very small shelters that make life on the streets a little more comfortable. The structures offer the homeless some safety and protection from bad weather. Each little house also has wheels on the bottom so it can go wherever its owner goes.
Greg Kloehn has given away at least 20 tiny houses. Several are on the roadside near an active railroad. On a recent day, Mr.Kloehn stops at one to visit Oscar Young. The two men hug. Inside his little shelter Mr.Young gets relief from cold nights on the streets. Mr.Kloehn also visits SweetPea, another friend who also lives in one of the little homes the artist built. She says it keeps her safe and protects her belongings.
In the mornings, Mr. Kloehn searches the streets for building materials. He gathers what he can and takes it to his studio. There, he puts the houses together. Empty coffee bags become roof material. A washing machine door and refrigerator part become windows. Nails,screws and the sticky glue hold all the pieces together. The artist also attaches a small electrical device to the house. The device is powered by the sun.
Some of the people living on the streets once had normal houses of their own. But some of the people say they have learned to live with less and they are thankful to that man.
Mr.Kloehn says his work is not a social project. He says he is just someone using his skills to help his homeless neighbors.
1. The following are the advantages of the small shelters EXCEPT ________.| A．saving power and energy |
| B．protecting possessions of the homeless |
| C．decorating the streets where they are |
| D．keeping the homeless safe and comfortable |
| A．Greg Kloehn has sold at least 20 tiny houses |
| B．an act of kindness has made people simple and grateful |
| C．the shelters are immovable |
| D．the government has got involved in the action |
| A．an official report |
| B．an art review |
| C．a science magazine |
| D．a news report |
| A．An artist creates homes for the homeless. |
| B．A more comfortable shelter on the streets. |
| C．A successful social project in Oakland. |
| D．An artist makes a living by designing small shelters. |
