1 . Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. Das is in charge of a kitchen in Vrindaban. The town is about a three-hour drive from India’s capital, New Delhi. Das gets to work at 3:00 a.m. Thirty workers are already working to make tens of thousands of rounds of bread. It will be brought to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.
A Growing Problem
Going to school is difficult for more than 13 million children in India. They must go to work instead, or go hungry. That’s why India began the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world. A free lunch encourages children to come to school and gives them the energy they need for learning. The program began in the 1960s.
The kitchen in Vrindaban is run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation. It is one of the lunch program’s biggest partners. “Just $11.50 can feed one child for an entire year,” said Madhu Sridhar, president of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Lunch Is Served!
The Akshaya Patra food truck arrives at Gopalgarh Primary School. Since the program started, the number of underweight children has gone down. The children get foods they need — as long as they finish what’s on their plates.
1. What does Narasimha Das do？| A．A waiter. | B．A salesman. | C．A cook. | D．A shopkeeper. |
| A．the poor | B．school children | C．college students | D．the old |
| A．Because they have to work to make money. |
| B．Because there are not enough schools. |
| C．Because there are not enough teachers. |
| D．Because their parents refuse to send them to school. |
| A．It is to encourage children to go to school. |
| B．It has been carried out for about 50 years. |
| C．It is run by Narasimha Das. |
| D．It is the largest school-lunch program in the world. |
2 . Tabloids (小报) are newspapers that usually report news about people. However, the stories often leave readers wondering, “Could this really be true?” Read the following stories from the hottest tabloids in town.
Brasilia, Brazil. After Gilberto Carvalho — a million-dollar lottery (彩票) winner — told reporters that his luck had come from a particular fish in a park pond, more than 200 other Brazilians spoke up with similar stories. They had touched this fish and soon after had won a prize! Although this “magic fish” is being studied and off-limits to the public, many people have won money simply by touching its picture.
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. Bruce Zalmer, 32, is fireproof. His skin can withstand (禁得住) flames without pain or damage. And his lungs can take in oxygen from smoky air. Medical scientists are amazed that a human could have either of these qualities, let alone both. Although Zalmer sees himself as “just a regular guy”, he once saved a family of four from a burning building after firefighters had given up hope.
Nakuru, Kenya. As tourists in a bus looked on in amazement, a spaceship caught 11 elephants from a wildlife park. The bus driver had stopped at a watering hole and the tourists were watching the elephants when a huge spaceship appeared. The ship shot down a powerful beam of orange light that sucked up (吸走) the elephants and then flew off. Park officials confirmed that 11 full-grown elephants had disappeared.
Monterrey, Mexico. Doctors say that hundreds of people who had been old and sick became young and healthy again by drinking from a water fountain in a public park. Park officials removed the fountain because crowds were becoming a danger. Yet the people who had drunk its water remained young and healthy — and made others young and healthy, too, simply by hugging them!
1. In Brasilia, it’s said that there is a magic fish that ________.| A．brings people good luck |
| B．knows how to win prizes |
| C．can communicate with humans |
| D．can recognize different types of money |
| A．Smart. | B．Brave. |
| C．Dangerous. | D．Far-sighted. |
| A．reasonable | B．frightening |
| C．encouraging | D．unbelievable |
3 . Instagram has launched (发布) a machine learning technology to its app that better identifies self-harm and suicide (自杀) content in the UK after tragic death of a 14-year-old schoolgirl Molly Russell, who viewed Instagram content connected to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before ending her own life in November 2017.
Molly’s family later found she had been viewing content on social media, particularly pictures on Instagram, linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide, which her father, Ian Russell, believed to “help to kill her.” Ian has demanded that web companies should take more responsibility for filtering (过滤) harmful content from the Internet, which may possibly contribute to more young people’s deaths.
Concerns have been raised about self-harm and suicide content online, especially how platforms deal with such content and its impact on certain users, young people in particular. Social media platforms are now increasingly being pressured to develop technology to help remove harmful content as quickly as possible, rather than waiting for users to report it.
Now, the new tool from Instagram automatically searches for suicide-related images and words on the platform. It then makes the content less visible (可见的) in the app or, in some cases, removes it completely after 24 hours if the machine learning decides it breaks the app’s safety rules.
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said, “Our technology finds posts that may include suicide or self-harm content and sends them to human reviewers to make the final decision and take the right action.” Between April and June this year, around 90 percent of such kind of harmful content on Instagram was found by its own technology before any real user reported it to the platform. “But our goal is to get that number as close as we possibly can to 100 percent,” Mosseri added. “And I hope this could in some way help avoid tragic deaths like Molly Russell’s.”
1. What does Molly’s father mean by saying “help to kill her”?| A．Someone on Instagram helped her to kill herself. |
| B．She was suffering from cyberbully on Instagram. |
| C．Content on Instagram had negative effects on her. |
| D．She didn’t get any help from social media. |
| A．Social media platforms are all taking action to remove harmful content from the Internet. |
| B．Users can report harmful content online to the platform if they see any. |
| C．All images and words that the new technology finds will be completely removed. |
| D．Instagram has already achieved their goal to find 100 percent of harmful content in its app. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Worried. |
| A．A new technology brought out by Instagram after a teenager’s death |
| B．A schoolgirl’s tragic death after viewing harmful content online |
| C．Ways to prevent young people from self-harm and suicide |
| D．How to deal with depression, self-harm and suicide content online |
4 . One of the tallest wooden buildings in Europe, a 98m timber (木材)mixture skyscraper, is to rise in Berlin.
The 29-storey WoHo tower, to be designed by a firm of Norwegian architects, is intended to be a “light-house project” for low-carbon construction, towering over Potsdamer Platz and the Landwehr Canal.
Its core, including lifts and a staircase, is to be built around concrete structure but the rest of the building, including flats, offices, cafes and a kindergarten, will be fashioned down wooden beams (横梁)and panels.
“As Norwegians, we are used to working a lot with timber,” Nicolai Riise, CEO of the Mad Architects' Practice said.
“The thing about timber is that its carbon footprint is close to zero and that it's a fantastic material to build with. If you look at this in a broader way, it's one of the ways we are going to be able to beat the climate crisis.”
Wooden skyscrapers, once regarded as a pipe dream, have become realistic with the coming of cross-laminated (交叉叠合)building techniques and more flexible planning laws. Because these structures' parts are fit with care, they can be far lighter than their concrete equivalents (同等物)and are thought to be relatively resistant to fire. A cubic meter of wood can also take an estimated ton of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Larger wooden structures are planned elsewhere. London is examining blueprints for a 300-meter Oakwood Tower. A project in Tokyo could rise to 350m.
1. What is special about the WoHo Tower?| A．It will serve as a light house. |
| B．Its core is to be built with timber. |
| C．It is designed for a Norwegian firm. |
| D．It will be a tall timber mixture building. |
| A．It is a flexible material. | B．It is easy to collect. |
| C．It is environmentally-friendly. | D．It can be cut into pieces. |
| A．A nightmare. | B．Something practical. |
| C．A piece of cake. | D．Something impossible |
| A．Flexible ideas. | B．The concrete equivalents. |
| C．Fire resistant materials. | D．New building techniques. |
5 . Hubei Province has long been a favorite Chinese tourist destination because of its natural scenery, historic cities, and beautiful mountains. Here are some of the best places to visit in Hubei Province.
Yellow Crane Tower
Yellow Crane Tower is known as one of the Three Famous Towers South of Yangtze River, together with Yueyang Tower in Hunan and Tengwang Pavilion in Jiangxi. The history of Yellow Crane Tower dates back to the Three Kingdoms period (220-280) in Chinese history. The tower was used as a watchtower by the King of Wu's army in the beginning.
Enshi Grand Canyon
Enshi Grand Canyon can be China's answer to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the United States in beauty. The canyon runs 108 kilometers and occupies a land area of 3,000 square kilometers. The region where Enshi Grand Canyon is located used to be a vast sea with many limestone deposits 230 million years ago.
Shennongjia Scenic Area
It is famous for its varied plant species as well as mountains. Regarded as the “Lungs of Central China", the forest coverage reaches over 90 percent of the area. Due to the special climate, it is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. Sometimes clouds stretch around mountains, rewarding tourists with unforgettable views. Besides, the area is home to some rare animals such as golden monkeys, white bears and antelope.
The Three-Gorge Tribe scenic spot
Located in the area of the Xiling Gorge in the city of Yichang, it has the beauty of landscape paintings. The spot is a “Protected Center of the Popular Culture and Art of the Three Gorges”. Since ancient times, a lot of famous scholars have produced a great number of excellent poems praising the beauty of this place, some of which are carved on the stones along the Yangtze River.
1. What is special about Yellow Crane Tower?| A．It has a long history. |
| B．It offers a scenic view. |
| C．It once served war's purposes. |
| D．It is the best-known tower in China. |
| A．To explain its popularity in China. |
| B．To help readers know more about it. |
| C．To prove the beauty of the Chinese canyon. |
| D．To show differences between the two canyons. |
| A．Enshi Grand Canyon. |
| B．Yellow Crane Tower. |
| C．Shennongjia Scenic Area. |
| D．The Three-Gorge Tribe scenic spot. |
6 . What do you think of 80s pop music? Do the names George Michael, Madonna and Michael Jackson sound familiar? Well, these are just some of the names that were well-known in the music scene of the 80s and early 90s. The 80s pop music scene was an important step to the popularity (普及) of present-day music. A new wave in the music scene was introduced, which made such music styles as punk rock, rap music and the MTV popular. Although it was an end to the old 60s and 70s styles, it was also the beginning of something big. The popularity of music videos meant that artists now replaced their guitar-based music with visual displays. A new wave of artists came on the scene and the entire industry developed quickly.
The most famous 80s pop music video is Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Introduced in 1982, few people can forget the video not only because of its never-be-foreseen images, but also because of the popularity it received. Think of how 80s pop music changed the lives of people who grew up in the 80s. Ask a young man today to tell you the names of the “New Kids on the Block” and he will start talking about the neighbor kids who just moved in. These are not the answers you might have heard in the 80s. Though today’s young men do not recognize how cool 80s pop music was, most people will always remember it for what it was and these are happy memories they will always love.
Some of the 80s pop music legends (传奇人物) include Madonna, U2, AeroSmith and of course the King of Pop Michael Jackson. Let’s not forget Prince, Tina Turner, Phil Collins and Motown’s Lionel Ritchie. Some of these musicians played music that has stood the test of time. Undoubtedly, the 80s pop music scene will live on for many more years to come.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The characters of 80s pop music. | B．What made 80s pop music popular. |
| C．80s pop music’s steps to popularity. | D．The effects of 80s pop music. |
| A．guitar-based music | B．the MTV | C．rap music | D．punk rock |
| A．it changed the lives of people | B．he sang it in a special style |
| C．it was made into a music video | D．it left people with happy memories |
| A．80s pop music is and will remain popular | B．80s pop music has many faults |
| C．80s pop music is now out of date | D．we shouldn’t forget the great musicians of the 80s |
7 . When it comes to sitting properly, we all know the correct way even if we don' t do it to the letter. No crossed legs, bottoms touching the back of the chair and feet on the ground. But even if you' re doing it right, sitting for long periods is shockingly bad for you. It has been described as the new smoking, linked to heart disease and even cancer. There is no doubt we should all try to do less of it. But perhaps we could also do it better.
A classic survey, published in 1953, described 100 different sitting postures adopted by 480 cultures around the world. Among the most common were sitting cross-legged, kneeling and the deep squat (深蹲), with feet flat on the ground and bottoms resting on or just above it. Even in Western cultures, these are preferred sitting positions among young children. But Westerners tend to prefer chair use from an early age, insisting children sit on seats in school.
One big problem with this desire for chairs is that they make sitting so, well, sedentary (久坐不动的). Consider the Hadza, a group of hunter-gatherer people in Tanzania. They spend around 9 hours a day sitting. However, they squat and sit on the ground in various positions, and this involves high levels of muscle activity. The supportive nature of chairs, with their high backs and armrests, removes this effort perhaps the reason that people love them.
So what' s the best way to sit? Josette Bettany-SaItikov at Teesside University, UK has found that kneeling can help keep the spine in a better position as does squatting. We might also take inspiration from traditional cultures like the Hadza. "Use a variety of postures and preferably not just still postures but some which allow movement," says Bettany-Saltikov.
Bettany-Saltikov believes that we should be rethinking what it means to do a desk job. "We still need to design workplaces that enable people to be productive while being lightly active, like with under-table cycling or walking desks," she says. For now, if your job is sedentary, don' t forget to stand up regularly and move around.
1. What does the author think of sitting properly for long?| A．It still does some harm. | B．It improves body shape. |
| C．It can prevent heart disease. | D．It may cause smoking-related illnesses. |
| A．Children should sit in their preferred manner. |
| B．Children should take their seats while sitting. |
| C．Children should practice sitting cross-legged. |
| D．Children should learn different sitting postures. |
| A．They sit for short periods of time. | B．They sit for the purpose of exercise. |
| C．They use some muscles while sitting. | D．They remain generally still while sitting. |
| A．Combine exercise and their work. | B．Improve their productivity at work. |
| C．Kneel or go cycling as often as possible. | D．Start exercising as soon as they leave work. |
8 . As more and more people speak the global language of English, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic, other languages are rapidly disappearing. In fact, half of the 6,000-7,000 languages spoken around the world today will be likely to die out by the next century, according the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In an effort to prevent language loss, scholars from a number of organizations — UNESCO and National Geographic among them — have for many years been documenting dying languages and the cultures they reflect.
Mark Turin, a scientist at the Macmillan Center, Yale University, who specializes in the languages and oral traditions of the Himalayas, is following in that tradition. His recently published book, A Grammar of Thangmi and Their Culture, grows out of his experience living, working, and raising a family in a village in Nepal.
Documenting the Thangmi language and culture is just a starting point for Turin, who seeks to include other languages and oral traditions across the Himalayan reaches of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. But he is not content to simply record these voices before they disappear without record.
At the University of Cambridge Turin discovered a wealth of important materials —including photographs, films, tape recordings, and field notes — which had remained unstudied and were badly in need of care and protection. Now, through the two organizations that he has founded — the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project — Turin has started a campaign to make such documents, found in libraries and stores around the world, available not just to schools but to the younger generations of communities from whom the materials were originally collected. Thanks to digital technology and the widely available Internet, Turin notes, the endangered languages can be saved and reconnected with speech communities.
1. Many scholars are making efforts to ________.| A．promote global languages | B．rescue disappearing languages |
| C．search for languages communities | D．set up language research organizations |
| A．having detailed records of the languages | B．writing books on language users |
| C．telling stories about language speakers | D．living with the native speakers |
| A．The cultural studies in India. | B．The documents available at Yale. |
| C．His language research in Bhutan. | D．His personal experience in Nepal. |
| A．Write, sell and donate. | B．Record, repair and reward. |
| C．Collect, protect and reconnect. | D．Design, experiment and report. |
9 . When writing a complaint letter, you should keep it short and to the point to help ensure that your letter will be read in its entirety. If you write a seven-page complaint letter, it’s highly unlikely that someone will sit down and read all seven pages.
The complaint letter should be addressed to the customer service department. The address and contact information of the customer service department should be available on the company’s products or website.
A printed complaint letter should be written in the business letter format, while an e-mail should be sent in the same format but without the heading (your return address, their address, and the date).
In the first paragraph you should make clear what the issue is. Be sure to include the following information: the time of the issue, location, the name of the person on duty, the name of the product, what the problem is, your account number, model number, price and warranty(保修单) information. Be sure to stick with the facts and avoid putting emotions into your letter.
The next paragraph should state what outcome you would like of the problem, if you received poor service, you could request an apology or a coupon (优惠券). If a product malfunctioned, you could request that you could exchange the product for a new one or request a refund.
The last paragraph should thank the reader for the time. You can also politely express appreciation over something you like about their company’s product or service.
Be sure to keep a copy of the letter for yourself and include photocopies of all documents and envelop them with your letter. You should include your telephone number or e-mail address after your printed name so that they can get in touch with you as soon as possible if necessary.
1. Why should you keep the complaint letter short and to the point?| A．Because the longer it is, the more detailed it will be. |
| B．Because it can make sure that the letter is taken seriously. |
| C．Because longer letters can show my emotions. |
| D．Because short letters are more formal business letters. |
| A．In the heading. | B．In the first paragraph. |
| C．In the second paragraph. | D．After the printed name. |
| A．Failed to function well. | B．Met one’s need. |
| C．Was well produced. | D．Was wrongly delivered |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By showing differences. |
| C．By describing a process. | D．By following time order. |
10 . Two-time cancer survivor Tracy Pepper has developed an unlikely friendship — with a beautiful butterfly, which she called Fluffy.
Ms. Pepper found Fluffy in her garden struggling for life soon after birth. After feeding it on honey from a sunflower, Fluffy recovered but didn’t regain the use of its wings and has remained with Ms. Pepper ever since.
She has been recording the experience on social media. In one post, she wrote, “I’m the crazy butterfly lady! I just spent 3 hours playing with him, exercising him by walking him up and down my fingers and arms, feeding him and even giving him the feeling of flying! He sat on my hand and beat his wings as I moved my hand up and down pretending he was flying!”
Ms. Pepper said it was sympathy and empathy that drove her. After battling against cancer twice and keeping herself busy with aid work in Africa, she fell into a “depression” last year.
“When I found him helpless and unable to fly, I knew just how he felt. I went through burn-out last year. I wanted to give up… I felt really lonely.”
So she decided to help the insect, to which she has become attached. Ms. Pepper even advertised tickets of internationally-famous Cirque du Soleil’s act she had for sale because she thought staying at home to care for Fluffy was more important.
Unfortunately, Fluffy wouldn’t be around for long — the lifespan of a butterfly ranges from two to six weeks.
But she seemed to care little about it. She wrote on Facebook, “He has a wonderful life and when his time comes, he will die flat and happy and very very loved.”
1. What was the butterfly like when Ms. Pepper first saw it?| A．It was dying. |
| B．It was too old to fly. |
| C．It was struggling against an enemy. |
| D．It was feeding itself on honey from a sunflower. |
| A．Because she lost interest in the act. |
| B．Because she had to stay home to look after the butterfly. |
| C．Because she was busy with aid work in Africa. |
| D．Because she suffered from cancer twice and was too weak. |
| A．She felt sorry about it. | B．She remained calm about it. |
| C．She was rather disappointed with it. | D．She had some doubts about it. |
| A．Because she was interested and curious. |
| B．Because she loved small animals. |
| C．Because she showed sympathy and understanding for it. |
| D．Because she desired to get close to nature. |
