1 . Welcome here! The Southern Spring Home&Garden Show will be held at the conference center of The Park Expo. This show will last from Wednesday (March 2) to Sunday (March 6, 2022).
Admission: Adults $10.00. Teenagers under 15 free with a paying adult.
Join Lincolnton’s own Tammie Davis as she performs her original country songs at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5th.
Special Days: The Spring for Kids First Night Gala benefiting the Council for Children’s Rights will take place from 7 p.m. to 10 p. m. on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, Tickets are $50 and include an access to Freedom Hall, where you can enjoy delicious food, beverage (饮料) and entertainment free of charge.
Seniors Day (55+): Wednesday is for them. Cost is $ 7.00 but without coupons (优惠券)．
Hours: Wednesday, Thursday&Sunday:10 a.m.—5 p.m.; Friday & Saturday:10 a.m.—9 p.m.
Wheelchairs are available on a first-come-first-served basis for you. The cost is $1.00 and you are required to leave a valid driver’s license or ID.
Parking: All Day Parking $ 6.00; Half Day Parking $ 3.00; Every Hour Parking $ 1.00 For More Information: Come to visit Mardee Woodward in person.
E-mail:mwoodward@southernshows.com Telephone: 704-376-4085
1. We can learn from the text that the show will .| A．take place in a private house | B．offer free parking |
| C．have the only one singer | D．last only five days |
| A．$30. | B．$10. | C．$20. | D．$40. |
| A．old people can visit the show only on Wednesday |
| B．there are not enough wheelchairs for the disabled |
| C．the disabled can use the wheelchairs free of charge |
| D．kids’ tickets on Wednesday don’t include beverage |
2 . Thousands of people have headed to an area in the western United States to search for a hidden treasure. A wealthy art collector and businessman from the area named Forrest Fenn says he hid the treasure. The searchers follow nine clues (线索) from a poem that Fenn wrote. They consider the poem their “treasure map.”
The treasure hunters believe the prize could be hidden in an area that starts in New Mexico and stretches all the way to the northern state of Montana. Many believe the treasure is real. Others, however, think it does not exist.
An estimated 350, 000 hunters from around the world have come to the area seeking the treasure. One of them is Sacha Johnston. She is a single mother, “I have been hunting for the treasure for five years and I’m not regretful about my choice,” Johnston said. She thinks she has made good progress on guessing some of the clues. So, she’s happy and has kept her search going.
Forrest Fenn spoke to VOA from his home in Santa Fe. The house is filled with priceless art pieces collected over his lifetime. He talked about volunteering to fight in the Vietnam War in 1968 and narrowly escaping death several times during his service.
Fenn said doctors found cancer in his body in 1988 and told him he only had about six months to live. So he decided to put pieces of gold, jewels and other valuables in a bronze box and leave it for others to enjoy after he was gone. But Fenn ended up beating cancer. Years later, in 2010, he decided to hide the box. “I wanted to give people something to look forward to and everyone is hopeful,” he said.
When asked whether he thinks people are close to finding the treasure, Fenn said he really has no idea. “It is possible my treasure box could be found this afternoon, or it could be 100 years or 500 years. Who knows?” he said.
1. According to the first two paragraphs, what can we learn about the treasure hunt?| A．The clues are hidden in nine poems. |
| B．The searching area is very large. |
| C．Only a few people have taken part in it. |
| D．Most people don’t believe the treasure exists. |
| A．She is uncertain about her hunt. | B．She is tired of her hunt. |
| C．She is satisfied with her hunt. | D．She is relaxed by her hunt. |
| A．To bring people a goal as well as hope. |
| B．To celebrate his recovery from cancer. |
| C．To let more people know about his poems. |
| D．To draw people’s attention to war survivors. |
| A．introduce a successful treasure hunter to the readers |
| B．persuade the readers to join in a treasure hunt |
| C．show the readers how to be a good treasure hunter |
| D．tell the readers that a treasure hunt is going on |
3 . Do you still remember Jurassic Park, an amazing movie where science brings dinosaurs back from extinction? Now some very smart scientists are working on a way to revive, not dinosaurs, but other extinct species like the woolly mammoth （长毛象）using the gene editing technology known as CRISPR.
As an evolutionary biologist, obviously, it would be amazing to bring back extinct creatures. But even if we can bring them back, we are not going to be able to control how they evolve in the future. No man is an island and neither is any other creature. We need an ecosystem in order to survive. So we can think a lot about the examples of reintroducing species into the environment, like the gray wolves into Yellowstone. Ecology is very complicated and it certainly wasn't important when we first introduce rabbits into Australia, which was a total disaster eventually.
All animals like birds and mammals have to learn from their parents. If we bring them back to life, who are going to be around to teach them? We have examples where in California we've had the reproduction of the condors （秃鹰）.What scientists tried to do is to feed the babies using a mother condor puppet. When these poor creatures were released into the wild, they had an unnatural liking for humans. They didn't behave the way they should have, for condors.
According to Performing Animal Welfare Society, a healthy elephant costs about $70,000 per year to care for and an elderly elephant costs a good deal more. Of course, we are not talking about one. We're talking about many creatures. I don't think these creatures will have a future.
1. Why does the author mention the film in the first paragraph?| A．To recall an amazing movie. |
| B．To promote some extinct species. |
| C．To introduce the topic to be discussed. |
| D．To get to know some intelligent scientists. |
| A．Humans need a balanced ecosystem to survive. |
| B．To bring back extinct creatures was an unwise idea. |
| C．Helping endangered species proves to be beneficial for humans. |
| D．There were all sorts of positive effects about reintroducing species. |
| A．Condor. | B．Gray wolf. | C．Rabbit. | D．Elephant. |
| A．Is Jurassic Park an Amazing Movie? |
| B．What do Creatures Need to Survive? |
| C．Should We Bring Extinct Animals Back to Life? |
| D．How does an Evolutionary Biologist Protect Animals? |
4 . I am an active playgoer and play-reader, and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others. To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play.
Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright(剧作家) hopes to get across through dialogue and action. A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme. It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection, for that would, indeed, ruin the pleasure of reading, discussing, and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright. However, a variety of types is represented here. These include comedy, satire, poignant drama, historical and regional drama. To show the versatility(多面性) of the short play, I have included a guidance play, a radio play and a television play.
Among the writers of the plays in this collection, Paul Green, Susan Glaspell, Maxwell Anderson, Thornton Wilder, William Saroyan, and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater. More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book.
To get the most out of reading these plays, try to picture the play on stage, with you, the reader, in the audience. The houselights dim(变暗). The curtains are about to open, and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story.
1. What do we know about the author from the first paragraph?| A．He has written dozens of plays. | B．He has a deep love for the theater. |
| C．He is a professional stage actor. | D．He likes reading short plays to others. |
| A．Stating the plays’ central ideas. | B．Selecting works by famous playwrights. |
| C．Including various types of plays. | D．Offering information on the playwrights. |
| A．Control their feelings. | B．Apply their acting skills. |
| C．Use their imagination. | D．Keep their audience in mind. |
| A．A short story. | B．An introduction to a book. |
| C．A play review. | D．An advertisement for a theater. |
5 . My name is Matthew. I'm not someone who has many secrets，because I'm a terrible liar. But there is one huge secret that I kept for years- -I failed my driving test. I had never failed a test before, and had never even come close. Driving made me anxious , but my parents told me I had to. They signed me up for driving lessons. I had gotten a perfect score for my written permit exam , but getting behind the wheel was a different story.
But when October 30th rolled around ,my pride set in. I wanted to be like everyone else at my school , showing off the brand new license they'd gotten. Looking back on that special day,I can't remember if I was nervous. What I do remember is starting the test , pausing at a stop sign after a few seconds , and being asked by the instructor to pull over. I had received an auto-fail since my pause was indeed a pause and not a real stop. I wasn't upset that I was leaving without a license, but I was scared everyone would know that I had failed. So when I got to class, I told everyone I didn't want to take the test on my birthday.
One Friday a month later, I went to the test spot again and passed. Later that night I drove for the first time by myself, which brought to me an amazing feeling I've never experienced——but sill, I couldn't imagine ever telling anyone the truth. So I didn't. It wasn't until midway through college that I came clean. It turned out plenty of my college friends had failed too! And I gathered enough courage to speak the fact out. Yes ,I had also failed.
Now I realize failure and imperfection are two things everyone has to experience , without which one couldn't make a true man.
1. What can we learn about Matthew?| A．He was a slow learner of driving. | B．He relied heavily on his parents. |
| C．He was afraid of taking exams. | D．He was bored with telling lies. |
| A．To put an end to his lest. | B．To check his parking skills. |
| C．To give him a second chance, | D．To show him a better way of driving. |
| A．Failing to get a driving license. | B．Missing his birthday celebration. |
| C．Making his parents disappointed. | D．Losing face before his classmates. |
| A．Honesty is the best policy. | B．Failure is a way to grow up. |
| C．Truth stands the test of time. | D．Imperfection is another form of perfection. |
6 . People often ask how I decide where to go, and I usually get hesitated with my response, as I don’t actually have an answer to that. For more than three years, I have been making movements with the universe, traveling from location to location at seemingly random intervals.
A friend of mine posted a Facebook status asking if anybody was interested in a job teaching English in China. So I jumped on a coming plane. Walking into my first class, I was bombed by 16 strange children who couldn’t understand a single word out of my mouth. When I walked out of my last class, six months later, I had made a personal connection with them. Some of my students could barely speak Chinese or English. But somehow, through determination and force, we connected.
Every class was not only a lesson in English, but in good fellowship, being a role model, being a parent, and being a friend. I became a father to some, an older brother to others. I was loved and adored, feared and hated. I had to learn discipline, and not only how to deal it out, but how to discipline and conduct myself as a role model. But in between the discipline, I had to make learning a fun experience. And they forgave me when I yelled or got upset. And when they threw temper or bruised their knee or missed their mommy, I forgave them, kissed their bruises better, and gave them a shoulder to cry on.
Teaching English in China is, by far, the most emotionally rewarding and fulfilling thing I’ve ever challenged myself to do. I have walked away from this job with a softened heart, knowing that I have made a difference in so many lives. I want that. I want my teachings to be reciprocal because they taught me how to unconditionally open my heart and how to be a more 1oving and patient person.
1. What can we learn about the writer before he came to China?| A．He didn’t have a fixed job. | B．He was a professional writer. |
| C．He worked in a travel agency. | D．He taught in a language school. |
| A．Hard. | B．Exciting. |
| C．Touching. | D．Inspiring. |
| A．He was casual and patient. |
| B．He was responsible but sensitive. |
| C．He was cautious but bad-tempered. |
| D．He was self-reflective and considerate. |
| A．Beneficial. | B．Interacted. |
| C．Encouraging. | D．Acceptable. |
7 . Many people believe eating healthily is expensive and more costly than buying junk foods. But our new research, published in the BMC Pubic Health ,shows this isn’t the truth.
Less than 7% of Australians eat healthily. Most of the Australian family food budget is being spent on junk foods and drinks that are high in fat, sugar and salt. As a result, two-thirds of adults （63%）and one-quarter of children are overweight.
We used the Australian Health Survey 2016-2017 and the suggestions of the Australian Dietary Guidelines to model healthy diets for a family of two adults and two children every two weeks. We collected food prices in supermarkets and stores in high and low-socioeconomic（社会经济地位低的）areas in Brisbane, and compared the diet prices with family incomes.
In both areas, a family of two adults and two children spend about 18% more on present diets than would be required to buy healthy diets. About 58% of the food budget for present diets is spent on junk foods, including takeaway foods（14%）, and sugary drinks（4%）. In the low-socioeconomic area, a family of two adults and two children spend $640.20 every two weeks on their present diets, but could buy a healthy diet for $5560.93 every two weeks. In the high socioeconomic area, these numbers are S661.92 and $580.01.
Present diets cost more than healthy diets, so it is surely not the price that helps to drive preferences for unhealthy choices.
1. What did the researchers find?| A．Most Australians eat unhealthily. |
| B．Half Australians live on junk foods. |
| C．Most Australian kids have fat problems. |
| D．Australians have a preference for sweet foods. |
| A．By doing the study online. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By carrying out interviews. | D．By asking personal questions. |
| A．A healthy diet is actually cheaper. |
| B．Australian foods are becoming healthier. |
| C．People choose junk foods for their low prices. |
| D．Healthy foods are becoming more expensive. |
| A．The harm of junk foods. | B．How we can eat healthily. |
| C．Why people choose junk foods. | D．The advantages of a healthy diet. |
8 . Some cities and lawmakers are resisting crime-fighting tech owing to bias (偏见) and accuracy concerns. Police departments around the U.S. are asking citizens to trust them to use facial recognition software as a handy tool in their crime-fighting toolbox. But some lawmakers — and even some technology giants — are against it.
Take the western Massachusetts city of Springfield, where many residents are Latino or black. Springfield police say they have no plans to use facial recognition systems, but some City Council members are moving to block any future government use of the technology anyway.
At an October hearing on the subject, Springfield City Councilman, Orlando Ramos, defended the technology. “The facial recognition technology does not drop a net from the sky and put you to prison,” he said, noting that it could serve as a useful investigative tool. However, he doesn’t want to take any risks. “It would only lead to more racial discrimination.” he said, citing studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify women and people with darker skins.
Similar debates across the country are highlighting racial issues and concerns about the technology’s accuracy. Axon, which supplies body-worn cameras nationwide, had already formed an artificial intelligence ethics board (伦理委员会)that concluded facial recognition technology isn’t yet dependable enough to justify its use on police cameras. Axon Chief Executive Rick Smith said, “Even if facial recognition software was perfectly accurate, the ability to track people raises privacy concerns. “Do we want everybody who walks near a police officer to get their face identified and logged in a database?” he said.
Nevertheless, Todd Pastorini, general manager at biometric forensics (生物取证) company DataWorks Plus, said it’s the “extremely effective” method of running images through photos to help identify a suspect. “Society and the public are going to get frustrated, if governments refuse to adopt a technology that keeps improving”, he said. In his eyes, facial recognition hits are just one part of an investigation.
1. What is Orlando Ramos’ attitude towards facial recognition?| A．Hopeful. | B．Cautious. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Tolerant. |
| A．Gender discrimination. | B．Speed limit. |
| C．Accuracy rate. | D．Steadiness control. |
| A．It appears to cause prejudice. | B．It brings about privacy concerns. |
| C．Its technology is reliable. | D．Its accuracy needs improving. |
| A．Facial recognition tool meets with resistance. |
| B．All the people disapprove of facial recognition. |
| C．Facial recognition is the only tool of investigation. |
| D．Governments should ban facial recognition. |
9 . Camille Napier Bernstein
English Teacher
Natick Public Schools, MA
I was excited to discover CourseSites for my work as a public school teacher. I'm happy that my students also like your product. I need it even more this coming school year because I am required to teach different courses.
William Jackson
Assistant Professor
Pierce College, WA
I am most impressed with the flexibility（灵活性）of the Blog feature on CourseSites. This tool has enabled me to design group exercises, and will really support my students to have discussions. While I have not been able to test it for a live class, I have been able to design and review the process and I am confident that the Blogs will be a very valuable tool for my students.
Louis Tharp
Professor
Long Beach City College, CA
I have been using CourseSites for over 10 years, even while traveling all over the USA and halfway around the world. I have had students take my class from different places. During this time I had over 300 live chats, even in the middle of a typhoon （台风）！ So far CourseSites has always been online — up and running・
Nancy Mayer
Language Arts Teacher
Long Beach City College, CA
I want to thank you and your team for creating such a fine website and for providing it for K-12 teachers and students for free. I especially appreciate the flexibility the site has. I also love the test building area. I can use “correct" answers to further explain answers and "incorrect" answers to further teach students. I am very thankful for your work.
1. Who loves to use the Blog feature on CourseSites?| A．Camille Napier Bernstein. | B．William Jackson. |
| C．Louis Tharp. | D．Nancy Mayer. |
| A．He can use it any time. | B．It provides different products. |
| C．He can test his students online. | D．It allows 300 people to chat live. |
| A．They come from the same school. |
| B．They are workers of CourseSites. |
| C．They prefer CourseSites to a live class. |
| D．They are using CourseSites in their teaching. |
10 . Smart Home Products for Living a Connected Life
What makes something a smart home product? Generally, it’s defined by its ability to connect to a Wi-Fi network, allowing users to interact（互动）with it from their smartphones.We’ve rounded up some cool, diverse offerings that you’ll love to have in your home.
Nest Cam IQ
walmart.com
$299.00
The Nest Cam IQ is a beautifully designed home security camera that can recognize faces. It can warn you if there’s a stranger in your home. The device also supports two-way communication via built-in microphones and a powerful speaker.
Logitech Harmony Elite
amazon.com
$249.99
The Logitech Harmony Elite is one of the best universal remote controls available on the market. It can control just about every piece of electronics you own（it supports over 270，000 devices！）in every room of your house or apartment, including TVs，streaming devices, and sound systems.
Apple HomePod
bhphotovideo.com
$349.00
The Apple HomePod has better audio quality than any other smart speaker available today. Available in white or space gray, the Siri-powered device also allows you to control a number of devices with your voice.
August Smart Lock Pro
amazon.com
$279.99
The August Smart Lock Pro is compatible（兼容的）with most locks. A mobile app allows you to manage access to the lock, check its usage history, and get informed when someone opens the door. You can control it and check on the state of your door with voice commands.
1. What can the Nest Cam IQ help you do？| A．Properly use your smartphone camera |
| B．Control electronics with your voice. |
| C．Check the locks of your house. |
| D．Keep your home safe. |
| A．Nest Cam IQ. |
| B．Apple HomePod. |
| C．August Smart Lock Pro. |
| D．Logitech Harmony Elite. |
| A．Technology. |
| B．News. |
| C．Society. |
| D．Education. |
