2 . On paper, hydrogen（H2）looks like a dream fuel. Coal, oil, and natural gas produce carbon dioxide, which warms the earth when burned, Hydrogen produces pure water. Hydrogen packs more energy into less space than a battery（but certainly less than petrol）. Also, empty tanks（燃料箱）can be refilled with hydrogen much faster than refilling empty batteries with electricity.

While in practice, things are trickier. Storing a meaningful amount of hydrogen gas requires pressing it several hundred-fold. Changing it into the liquid form is another option, but it should be cooled to-253C. Both processes require a heavy and strong tank. While a 700 bar tank is acceptable for a city bus or a truck, adapting it for use in small vehicles is very difficult because the pressure during refilling would be too great.

The solution? Powerpaste.

A German team of researchers, led by Marcus Vogt, have come up with an interesting "powerpaste", which can store hydrogen energy at atmospheric pressure, ready for release when needed. It is so named because it comes in tubes and looks like toothpaste（牙膏）, not in its traditional form of gas.

The main ingredient（原料）of the paste is magnesium hydride, a substance that reacts with water to form hydrogen. The escaped hydrogen can then be directed into a fuel cell, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electric power.

Refueling is very simple, as instead of going to a filling station, drivers and riders can simply replace an empty tube with a new one and refill the water tank.

Given that powerpaste only begins to break down at temperatures of around 250℃ it remains safe even when a vehicle stands in the baking sun for hours.

However, we will have to be patient. Just because researchers have succeeded in developing a new fueling way does not mean that we can expect to see such vehicles on the road anytime soon. It will indeed be several years before this concept is turned into reality.

1. As a fuel, what is the advantage of hydrogen over oil?

A．Refilling empty tanks will be more convenient.

B．It is less likely to worsen global warming

C．More energy can be packed in the same space.

D．It will produce pure water for people to drink.

2. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．The practical difficulties to use hydrogen as fuel in small vehicles.

B．The detailed processes of adapting a strong tank in small vehicles.

C．The differences in fueling between large vehicles and small ones.

D．The tricks of building strong tanks in small vehicles.

3. The author mentions the refueling process to show that powerpaste is______________.

A．inexpensive

B．powerful

C．convenient

D．environment-friendly

4. Why does the author call on the readers to be patient?

A．Powerpaste-driven vehicles sometimes move very slowly on the road.

B．Practical use of powerpaste-driven vehicles will not come very soon.

C．Powerpaste-driven vehicles can only work after being in the sun for hours

D．It will be years before the researchers work out the concept of powerpaste.

3 . In the age of online shopping and e-readers, devoted staff and customers keep the doors of Auntie's Bookstore open for 40 years. “When you're in Portland, you go to Powell's Books. When you're in Seattle, you go to Elliott Bay. When you're in Spokane, you go to Auntie's,” said John Waite, the owner of the bookstore. “I can't imagine Spokane without Auntie's,” he said. “A lot of people can't imagine Spokane without Auntie's, either,” Waite said.

Turning visitors into regular customers is important to the store's success. Auntie's markets itself as a destination. A half-dozen book clubs meet there. Most weeks, the store hosts two to four author readings or literary events. “We want people to come down, hang out and experience the feel of having a book in their hands,” Waite said.

Eager readers not only want to read books, but want to discuss them, said Kerry Halls, the store manager. Auntie's offers them that chance, she said.

“You can't go to Amazon and talk to someone about your favorite novel, or discuss what you think of the latest Stephen King's book compared with Pet Sematary,” she said.

To compete with the convenience of shopping online, Auntie's tries to predict what books will become a trend. They store these books in advance. But Waite doesn't sugarcoat the realities of selling books in the era of Amazon and other online retailers (零售店). “Even the big guys can’t make it,” he said, noting physical retailers are striving nationally. As the United States' oldest national bookstore chain, Barnes&Noble has to constantly reorganize to stop the declining sales.

At Auntie's, regular customers are very important to its survival and development. Sales of children's and young adults' books are increasing in recent years. Waite said. “For a long time, older customers have kept bookstores alive, "he said. "Now, it's starting to attract younger people.” Another reason of Auntie's longevity (长寿) is Northwest culture, which Waite said encourages new ways of thinking and the diversity of ideas. "I think it's a great book town, “Waite said. "People are enthusiastic about reading.”

1. What can we learn about Auntie's from Paragraph 1?

A．It is very popular in the local area.

B．It is a highly profitable physical bookstore.

C．It takes full advantage of the e-business platform.

D．It has a longer history than Powell's Books and Elliott Bay.

2. What is Auntie's goal?

A．To set up a literary environment.

B．To have more regular customers.

C．To awaken people's interest in reading.

D．To encourage readers to learn about more authors.

3. What does the underlined word “striving” in Paragraph 5 probably mean?

A．Celebrating.

B．Progressing.

C．Struggling.

D．Compromising.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The future of Auntie's.

B．The major customers of Auntie's.

C．The influence of Auntie's.

D．The reasons for Auntie's longevity.

4 . Christmas is on the way: 4 gift ideas from Stanford's bookshop.

Shipping Areas Tea Towel, £9. 99 (enjoying a 10% discount)

We are a nation of sailors who rely on weather forecasts to keep safe. This book will help you understand the shipping forecast, with the 30 shipping areas mentioned in the National Weather Service. So, the next time you turn on the radio and hear about high winds in Cromarty, Forth and Tyne, you'll know that they mean strong winds in these areas. You'll be wiser to make some preparations.

The Writer's Map, £30 (enjoying a 5% discount)

The Writer's Map combines maps and literature. Many writers use maps to plan out their stories. This book collects maps that appear in fiction and non-fiction. JRR Tolkien, a fantasy novel writer, said, “The fact that many books choose to contain one map is evidence to the importance of maps. I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit.”

Brutalist London Map, £8 (enjoying a 5% discount)

You either love it or you hate it. Said to have been coined (创造) in the late 1950s from the French raw concrete, brutalism (野兽派艺术) was a big influence on the 1960s London’s finest examples of brutalism. Brutalism maps of other cities, including Paris, Washington and Sydney, are also available.

The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book, £14. 99 (enjoying a 10% & discount)

The national mapping agency, Ordnance Survey, has been mapping the Great Britain for many years. The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book includes word puzzles and various mathematical challenges. It includes maps containing rare geographical characteristics or places of special cultural interest. It will make you look more closely at every map and test your map-reading knowledge.

1. Shipping Areas Tea Towel can help sailors ________.

A．know world-famous shipping areas

B．prepare for bad weather in advance

C．have the ability to predict weather

D．judge the quality of various ships

2. What do Brutalist London Map and The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book have in common?

A．They are both brought out by the same publisher.

B．They both aim to test readers' map-reading skill.

C．They can both reflect the history of Britain.

D．They both include challenging puzzles.

3. What's the writer's purpose of writing the text?

A．To advertise four books.

B．To compare four books.

C．To appeal to people to read.

D．To show different maps.

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

2. What is a disadvantage of DEET?

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.

3. What can we learn about the second group of the new repellents?

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.

4. What's the author's attitude to the new repellents?

A．Disapproving

B．Negative

C．Objective

D．Subjective

6 . The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found.

Keeping the mind occupied with tasks — no matter how meaningless — keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that approximately two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

Prof. Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications.

“Governments may increase the happiness of idle citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

At the individual level, he advised, “Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it.” He added, “Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too.”

“You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”

1. Keeping busy can make people happy because________.

A．it can help people get rid of laziness	B．it can make people sleep better
C．it can help get rid of negative emotions	D．it can give people a sense of achievement

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The finding may contribute to politics.

B．The officials have taken Prof. Hsee’s advice.

C．In the study half students handed in the first survey nearby.

D．Governments can increase citizens’ happiness by building bridges.

3. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Everybody is born to be happy.

B．Only by keeping working all the time can you gain happiness.

C．Prof. Hsee’s finding was published in Psychological Science.

D．Keeping busy goes against human nature.

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To explain what happiness is.

B．To advise people not to sit around.

C．To advise people to do what they like to.

D．To show people how to take life correctly.

7 . Social distancing is not a new concept in the natural world, where infectious diseases are commonplace. Through specialized senses animals can detect certain diseases and change their behavior to avoid getting ill.

In 1966, while studying chimps (猩猩) in a Tanzanian national park, zoologist Jane Goodall observed a chimp named McGregor who had caught a highly infectious virus. His fellow chimps attacked him and threw him out of the troop. In one instance, McGregor approached chimps in a tree. He reached out a hand in greeting, but the others moved away without a backward glance.

“For a full two minutes, old McGregor sat motionless, staring after them,” Goodall notes in her 1971 book In the Shadow of Man. “It’s really not that different to how some societies react today to such a tragedy.”

Not all animals are so aggressive toward their ailing neighbors. Sometimes it’s as simple as avoiding those who may infect you.

When Kiesecker, a lead scientist in America, studied American bullfrog in the late 1990s, he found that bullfrogs could not only detect a deadly smell of infection in other bullfrogs, but healthy members actively avoided those that were sick. Bullfrogs rely on chemicals signals to determine who is sick or not.

Caribbean lobsters also shun diseased members of their community, well before they become infectious. It takes about eight weeks for lobsters infected with the deadly virus Panulirus argus mininuceovirus to become dangerous to others. Normally social animals, lobsters begin keeping away from the diseased as early as four weeks after infection – once the lobsters can smell certain chemicals released by sick individuals.

Overall, it’s important to note that, unlike us, animals don’t realize if they stay home, they might actually reduce the infection rate,” Kiesecker explains. “As humans, we have that ability. It’s a big difference.”

1. What can we learn about the chimps from Goodall’s observation?

A．They kept a distance from one another.

B．They became aggressive when infected.

C．The infected avoided contact with others.

D．The infected were forced to leave the group.

2. What does the underlined word “shun” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Avoid.

B．Cure.

C．Get rid of.

D．Get along with.

3. How are humans different from animals according to Kiesecker?

A．Humans are more sensitive to virus.

B．Humans are less likely to get infected.

C．Humans treat infectious diseases in a wiser way.

D．Humans can detect chemical signals more quickly.

4. Which might be the best title for the text?

A．Help Me Out

B．Leave Me Alone

C．Stay Away From Us

D．Stay Home Stay Healthy

8 . 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.

2. The underlined word “curb" in the 5th paragraph probably means

A．express

B．observe

C．hide

D．control

3. Where are you most likely to find the passage?

A．A science journal	B．A travel leaflet
C．A literature review	D．A science fiction

4. What's the main purpose of this passage?

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.

9 . 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.

2. Which “green” has the similar meaning to the word “green” in Green Wave?

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.

3. What is the advantage of Green Wave?

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.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

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

10 . 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.

2. What is the probable meaning of the underlined phrase“ live stream”？

A．Plan.

B．Celebrate.

C．Prepare.

D．Broadcast.

3. How did Abigail feel when meeting the author?

A．Embarrassed.

B．Overjoyed.

C．Nervous.

D．Satisfied.

4. What does the author mainly intend to express by telling the story?

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.