1 . A 3-year-old boy called Casey who was lost in the woods for two days is now safe at home with his family. But he told his rescuers that he was not alone in the rainy, freezing cold woods. He said he was with a friend — a bear.
The child went missing on January 22 while playing with friends at his grandfather’s house in the southern state of North Carolina. When the other children returned to the house and Casey did not, the family searched the area for almost an hour before calling the police.
Police formed a search and rescue team to look for the young boy in the nearby woods. But two days went by and still no Casey.
Then on January 24, someone called the police saying they heard a child crying in the woods. Police followed up on the information and found Casey at about 9:30 that night. They pulled him out of some briar (多刺野灌木). He was in good health.
Casey told the rescuers that he had hung out with a black bear for two days, a bear he called his “friend”.
Officer Hughes spoke with reporters from several agencies. He said Casey did not say how he was able to survive the woods for three days in the cold, rainy weather. However, he said, “Casey did say he had a friend in the woods that was a bear. And at no point do I think he was taken away illegally.”
Doctors at Carolina East Medical Center treated Casey for minor injuries. He was then released to his family on January 25.
His mother Brittany Hathaway talked with reporters from a local news agency and thanked everyone who joined in the search and rescue efforts.
“We just want to tell everybody that we’re very grateful that you took the time out to come search for Casey and prayed for him, and he’s good,” said his mother. “He is good, he is up and talking. He’s already asked to watch Netflix.”
1. What happened to Casey?| A．He was ignored by his friends. | B．He went missing in the woods. |
| C．He was attacked by a bear. | D．He was wanted by the police. |
| A．How Casey managed to survive. | B．When he was successfully rescued. |
| C．Why he was seriously injured. | D．How many hours he was trapped. |
| A．His mother cared about him. | B．His mother was very grateful. |
| C．Casey deserved a good rest. | D．Casey was in good condition. |
| A．survey | B．news report | C．advertisement | D．travel brochure |
2 . In a recent study, researchers at Germany’s Technical University of Munich（TUM）find that trees in cities can grow up 25% faster than their country cousins. This is believed to be a direct result of the heat island effect, which is a situation where the temperature of the city is higher than the nearby rural areas. It’s mostly caused by the fact that buildings, roads, and many other things in the city take in a lot of sunlight and send out the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. A secondary cause is waste heat produced by heavy uses of energy.
For the study, TUM researchers studied 1,400 trees in 10 cities around the world, which were found in both city centers and nearby rural areas. Based on tree ring study, researchers found that city trees are growing faster than their rural cousins. But before the 1960s, both city and rural trees grew at about the same speed.“We can show that city trees of the same age are generally larger than rural trees because they grow faster. While the difference is about a quarter at the age of 50, it is still just under 20% at a hundred years of age,” lead author Hanz Pretzch says.
Researchers from TUM also found that in some cities, higher-than-normal temperatures have led to growing seasons that are more than eight days longer than the norm. This sounds like a good thing. But while fast -growing city trees are busy taking in CO2and providing relief from the heat, they’ re also aging and dying at a faster speed than rural trees. As a result, these trees need to be replaced and replanted more frequently.
Considering the valuable “ecosystem services” that city trees provide, planning and management should follow to make a change with today’s tree growth speed. Pretzch and his team set out to perform the study largely in response to United Nation’s report that the world’s cities will experience population growth of more than 60% by 2030. And with such fast growth comes a great need for city trees that make these cities better places to live in.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly tell us?| A．Cities need more trees to reduce the temperatures. |
| B．Humans lead to trees growing faster in cities. |
| C．Trees need scientific planting in rural areas. |
| D．Greenhouse effect is too serious in cities. |
| A．Rural trees live twice longer than city trees. |
| B．City trees live for about 100 years at most. |
| C．Rural trees live much longer now than in the 1960s. |
| D．City trees grow faster at early years. |
| A．Cities suffer more easily from natural disasters. |
| B．The temperatures in cities will fall greatly. |
| C．City trees have a shorter life circle. |
| D．More people move to rural areas. |
| A．Taking better care of urban trees |
| B．Planting more trees in urban areas |
| C．More researches to be done on urban trees |
| D．Urban trees growing faster than rural trees |
3 . In New Brighton, Minnesota, the Bartz brothers（Connor, Austin, and Trevor）have built beautiful snow sculptures in their front yard for the past five years. But they’re not ordinary snowmen--they’re huge and sea-themed!
The tradition began in 2012, after a family fishing trip in Florida, where Connor, then 17, caught a puffer fish. It encouraged the boys to make a super-sized fish out of snow. So they got to work, collecting as much snow as possible from around their neighborhood. After eight hours of shoveling（用铲子铲）and sculpting snow their 5-foot-tall puffer fish was complete. And it was a big hit! Before long. the locals and TV reporters began stopping by their front yard to enjoy their creation.
“Each winter, we decide which sea animals would work best and be the most fun to build,” Trevor said. Since 2012, they’ve made a shark, a turtle, an octopus（章鱼）and so, on, Their favorite is the octopus, which they built in 2016. It is their biggest sculpture yet, taking nearly 500 hours（and 150 tons of snow）to make!
The brothers also made sure it was just as much fun for visitors. “We liked that it was kid-friendly, with tentacles（触须）you could slide under,” Connor said. Named by Facebook fans, Octavius the octopus was a star appearing on national news stations.
To make the most of their project, the boys decided to raise money for a good cause. “Given that our work is made from snow, it made sense to collect money to help provide drinking water to people in need,” Austin said. They teamed up with One Day’s Wages, an organization that provides clean water to people in Haiti. By the end of winter, the brothers had raised $17, 263!
Their advice for anyone with big dreams: “If you want to be successful, work hard and have a good attitude,” Austin said. “Success might not come immediately. but take joy in what you are doing now. When we were younger, we made many snow creations that did not make the news, but we still had a pleasurable experience!”
1. What inspired the Bartz brothers to start their creations?| A．Their family traditions. | B．A fish caught by Connor. |
| C．Austin’s snowmen | D．Their neighbors’ praise. |
| A．It was the boys’ first creation. |
| B．It was the boys’ smallest sculpture. |
| C．It helped the boys make a lot of money. |
| D．It attracted wide attention. |
| A．Think twice. | B．Learn to be creative. |
| C．Start small and enjoy it. | D．Make use of everything. |
| A．Imaginative and caring. | B．Childish and friendly. |
| C．Open-minded and smart. | D．Hard-working and courageous. |
4 . Kailash knows the thought of public speaking is enough to send many people into a cold sweat-he’s been there. He made his first public speaking in Year 4 at a time when his confidence had been broken down by a bully(霸凌者). He still gets scared thinking about it today because he had to go in front of the whole class and recite a poem that made no sense whatsoever.
By Year 5, Kailash started to hone his skills with the help of his father so that he could run for school captain in Year 6, but he was very shy and he couldn’t speak very well. So he started to practise and practise. That’s a good point for kids-they don’t apply for leadership positions because they are nervous, even though they’d make great leaders.
Kailash went on to score the role of vice-captain, despite his speech not going to plan. He made a joke but he made it so poorly that they laughed at him, not at the joke. But he said making mistakes is a key part of the public speaking learning. Things like that happen and it’s OK. You have to have the confidence to be OK with that and the resilience(弹性)to get back up.
Kailash, who counts a 4000-strong Sydney Opera House crowd and a community-based TEDx event among his public speaking credits, said public speaking skills have huge benefits in day-to-day life, from interacting with teachers to going for a job interview. Public speaking teaches young people to be comfortable in themselves. So it teaches you about self-esteem, to accept who you are. Making eye contact and smiling to connect with your audience are other key steps in pulling off public speaking, along with wearing something that makes you feel comfortable and confident.
1. What does the underlined word “hone” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Test. | B．Review. | C．Perform. | D．Exercise. |
| A．He made it. | B．He failed in it. |
| C．He gave it up halfway. | D．He missed it. |
| A．Conservative. | B．Skeptical. | C．Oppositional | D．Tolerant. |
| A．The benefits of public speaking. |
| B．The importance of eye contact and smiling. |
| C．Kailash’s achievements in public speaking. |
| D．The comfort and confidence suitable clothes bring. |
5 . The weather is getting hotter. You are thirsty playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you are drinking. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health. There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market. Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names. The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health. Sounds great!
But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine(咖啡因) in them. These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players. Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake.But be careful not to drink too much. Caffeine makes your heart beat fast. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(OC) has limited(限制) its use. Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea. Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks. Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems.Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them.
1. Many people like drinking energy drinks because of the following EXCEPT that______.| A．they have beautiful colors and cool names |
| B．they have lots of caffeine |
| C．they can keep them awake and better at sports |
| D．they are said to be helpful to health |
| A．Encouraged. |
| B．Stopped. |
| C．Helped. |
| D．Disliked. |
| A．Advertisements are important in getting people to buy energy drinks. |
| B．Energy drinks are helpful to teenagers' study. |
| C．Sports players need to drink a lot of energy drinks. |
| D．Energy drinks are especially aimed at teenagers. |
| A．What's the Use of Energy Drinks? |
| B．Who Can Drink Energy Drinks? |
| C．What's That in Energy Drinks? |
| D．Why Can't We Buy Energy Drinks? |
6 . A new study, a project of the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, finds that a fitness tracker (健康追踪器) probably does not help with weight loss.
The trackers are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist (手腕), where they record a person's heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of people. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health consultation with experts for best weight loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health consultation.
The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic the lead researcher, questioned the use of these trackers for weight loss.
The study involved 470 people age between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese. Over three fourths of them were women. All were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly consulting, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups showed great improvements in fitness, physical activity and diet, with no big difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.
Jakicic said, “The study's findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to deal with America's obesity.”More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these trackers to help adults who want to lose weight.
1. Both groups of people in the study were asked to .| A．start on a high-calorie diet. | B．wear a fitness tracker |
| C．consult experts | D．record their heart rates |
| A．Wearing fitness trackers hardly helps people lose weight. |
| B．Physical activity and diet have no effect on weight loss. |
| C．Dealing with obesity needs effective long-term treatments. |
| D．There are great differences in health between both groups. |
| A．The study went on for about two years. |
| B．More than 120 men took part in the study. |
| C．Health consulting helps lose almost 6 kilograms. |
| D．Wearing a fitness tracker is useful for keeping slim. |
| A．describe how the researchers carried out the study |
| B．show regular consulting for weight control is necessary |
| C．persuade readers to wear fitness trackers for weight control |
| D．warn women are more likely to suffer from weight problems |
7 . Belly fat（stomach fat） has long been thought to be especially bad for your heart, but now, a new study adds more evidence to the idea that it may also be bad for your brain.
The study, from the United Kingdom, found that people who were overweight and had a high waist — to — hip ratio （a measure of belly fat） had slightly lower brain volumes （容量），on average, compared with people who were just over weight or had a healthy weight. Specifically, belly fat was connected with lower volumes of gray matter, the brain tissue （组织）that contains nerve cells.
“Our research looked at a large group of people and found obesity （肥胖）,specifically around the middle， may be linked with brain shrinkage （萎缩），” lead study author Mark Hamer, a professor at Loughborough University, said in a statement.
Lower brain volume， or brain shrinkage， has been linked with a higher risk of memory recession， which leads to being forgetful.
The new findings, published on Jan. 9 in the journal Neurology ， suggested that the combination of obesity （as measured by body mass index, or BMI） and a high waist—to—hip ratio may cause brain shrinkage.
However, the study found only a connection between belly fat and lower brain volume, but couldn't prove that belly fat actually caused brain shrinkage. It could be that people with lower volumes of gray matter in certain brain areas are at a higher risk of obesity. Future studies are needed to find out the causes for the connection.
1. What can we infer about belly fat from the new study?| A．Belly fat may have a bad influence on our brain. |
| B．Belly fat can help increase brain volumes. |
| C．Belly fat affects people's diet. |
| D．Belly fat is bad for our eyes. |
| A．A tall and thin man. |
| B．A man with too much belly fat. |
| C．A short and thin man. |
| D．A man with normal body weight. |
| A．Going ahead. | B．Getting poor. |
| C．Getting active. | D．Going around. |
| A．The real cause of getting obesity. |
| B．The danger of getting too much fat. |
| C．The bad effect caused by belly fat and brain shrinkage. |
| D．The reasons for the connection between belly fat and brain shrinkage. |
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 . There are one to two billion mothers around the world caring for children and other people every day of the year. Hopefully they feel appreciated every day, but Mother's Day is a good yearly reminder to say thanks to the mums and other special carers who help us be our best.
In the US, the first modern Mother's Day was in 1908 and was the idea of Anna Jarvis， the daughter of one of the earlier anti-war campaigners. The white carnation （康乃馨）---often regarded as the flower symbol of Mother's Day—was the favourite flower of Ms Jarvis's mother, Ann Jarvis, who had nursed soldiers in the Civil War. The US President Woodrow Wilson announced the second Sunday in May of 1914 to be America's first official Mother's Day.
Australia first officially celebrated Mother's Day in 1924. Sydney woman Janet Heyden began the tradition because she wanted to help the lonely, elderly mothers at a hospital she visited. Ms Heyden asked schools and businesses to contribute gifts to the women at the hospital , many of whom had lost their husbands and sons in World War I or had never been wives or mothers because of the war. Mother's Day in Australia is the second Sunday of May. It's not an official holiday but many families have their own traditions of visiting or calling their mothers? giving gifts or going out for lunch together.
There are many different dates for modern mother's days around the world. Most Arab countries celebrate on March 21. Russia celebrates on International Women's Day on March 8. In Thailand, the day is celebrated in August on Queen Sirikit's birthday.
1. What does the author think of Mother's Day?| A．Political. | B．Necessary. | C．Indifferent. | D．Meaningless. |
| A．Woodrow Wilson. | B．Ann Jarvis. |
| C．Anna Jarvis. | D．Janet Heyden. |
| A．To remind people to go back home for lunch together. |
| B．To remind people to visit or call one's own mothers. |
| C．To remind people to give the white carnation to mothers. |
| D．To help the suffering women in hospital. |
| A．It is not an official festival in the US. |
| B．It will be an international festival soon. |
| C．It is rooted in wars in the US and Australia. |
| D．It is celebrated at the same date in Arab and western countries. |
10 . This year, the hole in the ozone layer (臭氧层）over Antarctica has expanded to one of its largest sizes and deepest levels in years.
So how big is the ozone hole? On Sept 20, the hole over Antarctica peaked (达到高峰) at 24.8 million square kilometers, which is three times the size of the United States. It has increased by 8.4 million square kilometers since 2019.
That puts it in about the same ballpark (范围) as ozone holes in 2015 and 2018, which respectively recorded peaks of 25.6 and 22.9 million square kilometers.
"The 2020 ozone loss shows that we have to remain vigilant (警觉的) and maintain continuous observations (观察)," said World Meteorological organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
The ozone layer is important because it acts like a sunscreen, blocking harmful ultraviolet light (紫外线) from reaching our planet's surface. Without it, humans and animals will be more likely to experience skin cancers, immune suppression (抑制), cataracts (白内障) and premature (提前的) aging.
Of course, humans play a large role in the depletion (消耗) of the ozone layer. The loss of ozone in the Antarctic, as well as the Arctic, is due to the large amounts of ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity. Once released into the atmosphere, these gases can remain for decades. In extremely cold weather conditions, they trigger (激发) chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer.
"The Arctic stratosphere (平流居) continues to be vulnerable (脆弱的) to ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities," said Taalas.
Marcus Rex, a scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, told Nature that the ozone hole doesn't threaten human health but that over next month, there is a possibility that it might move to more populated areas. In that case, he recommends more sunscreen.
Although it seems bad, scientists are hopeful that Earth can heal (治愈) itself. Researchers believe the ozone hole will eventually heal and around 2050, Earth's ozone layer will return to normal.
1. What does the underlined word "That" in Paragraph 3 mean?| A．The ozone layer. | B．The growing of ozone hole. |
| C．The ultraviolet light. | D．The size of ozone hole. |
| A．It contains resources on which mankind rely for living. |
| B．It can prevent human from experiencing skin cancers, immune suppression, cataracts and premature aging. |
| C．It can protect ultraviolet light from harming people. |
| D．It can help deplete ozone-destroying gases caused by human activity. |
| A．To show that Arctic stratosphere is too vulnerable to protect the Earth. |
| B．To introduce several ozone-depleting substances linked to human activities. |
| C．To prove that human activities have a great effect on the depletion of the ozone layer. |
| D．To discuss why Arctic stratosphere is vulnerable. |
| A．Human activities' great effect on nature |
| B．Researches on the ozone layer |
| C．The harm of the depletion of the ozone layer |
| D．Rapidly growing ozone hole |
