1 . Bookstores are fascinating places. That’s because the books on the shelves can take you away to magical lands, help you learn a foreign language, or cook a delicious meal. But when your community is too small to house a real brick bookstore, sometimes you have to make a compromise. A mobile bookstore that brings books around the country was the result. That is the case for Rita Collins, 70, who dreamed of opening a used bookstore after retiring from teaching.
A business planning class from the American Booksellers Association convinced Collins to abandon her idea that opening a bookstore in the small town where she lives, which would not be sustainable. Eureka, Montana, located just seven miles from the Canadian border, only has a population of 1,517. Collins asked her instructors about a traveling bookstore on wheels and they were skeptical. But she persevered.
Collins was inspired by Dylans Mobile Bookstore, a traveling bookstore in Wales run by Jeff Towns. She contacted Jeff for advice but she was largely on her own when it came to building her bookstore. First, she had to find a vehicle large enough to stand in. Then she had to have it refitted with shelves that would hold the books at a 15-degree angle so that they would stay in place while in transit. Collins named her bookstore St Rita’s Traveling Bookstore, which has been on the road since 2015.
At first, she drove through Montana and then she made her first cross-country trip in 2016. After she retired in 2017, it became a full-time job all year round. Collins and her mobile bookstore have visited 30 states, stopping at festivals and events along the way. While the locations change, some things always stay the same. Collins loves meeting people and making connections. While she loves what she does, Collins doesn’t think she can keep doing it. In several years, she hopes to pass her traveling bookstore onto another bibliophile who shares the same interest and will keep it on the road.
1. Why did Collins abandon opening a bookstore?| A．It would cost a lot of money. | B．It was not promising. |
| C．It would be out of date. | D．It was not approved. |
| A．To beautify the mobile bookstore. |
| B．To make full use of space of the shelves. |
| C．To keep the bookstore’s balance. |
| D．To protect the books from falling down. |
| A．Merciful and delightful. | B．Intelligent and reasonable. |
| C．Determined and social. | D．Generous and lovely. |
| A．A book lover. | B．A publisher. |
| C．A famous writer. | D．An editor. |
2 . Kate Wilson, a 16-year-old girl from England, holds up a book and smiles. “This is Day One of my reading The Little Prince,” she says. Then the video jumps forward. “And now”, she sighs deeply, her face covered with tears, “I end up crying so much that I have to change my shirt”.
This is BookTok, a collection of TikTok book-related videos on the short video platform. It has been an official reading community since April 2020. Bookworms gather on the platform to share their reading experiences by editing a video carefully at the length of less than 3 minutes. They “play”, “read” and “recommend” their favorite books, or recommend treasure writers who have never been discovered. It may sound like a simplified way to talk about books, but the most appealing point is that they can visually record videos to share the feelings of reading moment, and arouse a strong emotion, which written reviews cannot express instantly. So BookTok offers book lovers special reading experiences.
It has also driven a wave of old book sales in the market. A list of bestsellers from 20 years ago has been dug out, which most readers have never heard of. In fact, many of the books like It Ends With Us should not have been forgotten. On Amazon, BookTok is so influential that it has been added into the titles of books themselves. For instance, the novel It Ends With Us: BookTok made me buy it! is now riding high in the top 100. Under its influence, old titles were returning to the bestseller charts. Therefore, BookTok is devoted to bringing these classic books back.
Eventually, a great book finds its faithful readers. Thanks to BookTok, not only can more original works be appreciated, but the authors can attach more importance to literary creation. It is BookTok that offers such books “a second lease of life”.
(以下是A种题型)
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?
| A．The importance of reading. | B．The influence of great books. |
| C．An example of using BookTok. | D．A story of a teenager booklover. |
| A．Users can apply editing skills. |
| B．Bookworms can gather regularly. |
| C．It can give instant book reviews visually. |
| D．Users can share reading experiences freely. |
| A．BookTok is added into their titles. |
| B．Book publishers find a new market. |
| C．They' re recommended by the treasure writers. |
| D．BookTok brings them back to people’s attention. |
| A．Classics Back to Life | B．Young People 's Favorites |
| C．A New Market for BookTok | D．A Platform for Visual Reading |
(以下是B种题型)
5. Where does Kate share her feeling of reading The Little Prince?
6. How do the bookworms share their reading experiences on BookTok?
7. What benefit does BookTok bring to the novel It Ends With Us?
8. Why do we say BookTok offers books “a second lease of life”?
3 . No matter where you go around the globe, everybody loves to celebrate. And when it comes to celebration, festivals offer something for everyone.
Mardi Gras （New Orleans, Louisiana）
Also known as Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a cultural event. Though the celebration
is held every year on the day before Ash Wednesday, the festivities last for months, banning in November throughout January and early February. And if you love music, check out the annual Galactic concert at the world-famous Tipitina’s on Lundi Gras (the day before Mardi Gras).
La Tomatina （Valencia, Spain）
Launched way back in 1945, La Tomatina is one of the oldest festivals on our list. It's also easily the happiest but the messiest, coming off like the world's biggest food fight.
Legend has it that the whole thing started when some local boys joined a parade alongside musicians. The boys made the performers so angry that they tried hit the boys, and a vendor's (小摊贩)vegetable stand fell victim to the incident.
If you go, please follow some simple rules: Don't throw hard objects, squash the tomato before throwing it, stay a safe distance away from tomato trucks, and stop in time.
Montreux Jazz Festival （Switzerland）
Founded back in 1967, Montreux is one of the oldest music festivals in the world. It's also the second largest jazz festival, after the Montreal International Jazz Festival. That Canadian concert may attract more visitors-around 2 million annually. But Montreux benefits from its pretty location on the attractive shores of Lake Geneva. The area is particularly beautiful in late June/early July, when the festival is held.
1. When is Galactic concert held?| A．On Mardi Gras. | B．On Lundi Gras. |
| C．On Montreux Jazz Festival. | D．On La Tomatina. |
| A．Punish naughty boys. | B．Enjoy musicians' performance. |
| C．Throw tomatoes without hurting. | D．Catch people who destroy tomatoes. |
| A．News report. | B．Academic journal. |
| C．Conceit brochure. | D．Travel magazine. |
4 . We often hear friends ask why they should read fiction. There is so much to learn from history, from what is going on at the frontiers of science, and from contemporary studies of human behavior. Why should they spend their scarce "free time" reading fiction, the purpose of which, at best, is only entertainment?
We are disappointed about such comments. Yes, we respond, we do find pleasure in reading fiction. But we also learn much about how to best live our lives in ways that can only be captured by fiction. We recognize that some novels are entertaining, but leave no lasting impression. What makes a novel more than entertainment?
Our answer is that we don't just read great books - they read us as well. The human condition is complex and contradictory, layered like an ice-cream dessert, with flavors mixed among the layers. A great novel reflects that complexity. We may read it several times, as we do with our favorites, and each time it is like finding an old friend and gaining new insights from that friend. We put it down with new understandings of the world around us and, most important, of ourselves.
Let's look at the novel Frankenstein, written in 1818 by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is not the monster, but a young man seeking out the secrets of the universe. He collects body parts and charges it with life. When the dull yellow eyes open, however, Frankenstein, shocked by what he has done, abandons the creature, which ultimately kills Frankenstein's brother, his bride, and his best friend.
On one level, Frankenstein is entertaining - a good horror story, though a little dated. But Shelley writes more than just that. On a deeper level, her book forces us to ask whether humans reach too far to gain knowledge that is as forbidden as the fruit of the Garden of Eden. This theme, as old as the legend of Prometheus （普罗米修斯），dominates Frankenstein. Shelley, of course, knew nothing of genetic （遗传的）engineering that happens today. She was deeply troubled by what human beings might discover about themselves, and the effects of those discoveries on society. Our reading of great literature can also be enriched by understanding the author's personal interests and anxieties.
1. How does the author feel about fiction reading?| A．It is a window to a whole new world. |
| B．It helps us discover the frontiers of science. |
| C．It offers insight into how to live best lives. |
| D．It holds some clues to understanding our memory. |
| A．Because they deserve reading several times. |
| B．Because they lead us to a rich and colorful life. |
| C．Because they explore humans' complex reality. |
| D．Because they improve the writer-reader relationship. |
| A．It is based on a grand theme. |
| B．It is a record of a historic event. |
| C．It is merely a great horror story. |
| D．It is about the legend of Prometheus. |
| A．Why should we read fiction? |
| B．Can novel reading last long? |
| C．Read for fun or read for none? |
| D．Is Frankenstein really entertaining? |
5 . Windows are a key component in a building's design, but they are also the least energy- efficient part. According to a 2009 report by the United Nations, buildings account for 40 percent of global energy usage, and windows are responsible for half of that energy consumption. If conventional windows are used to better block sunlight passing into a building, they need expensive coatings. Even so, they can not adjust the indoor temperature effectively.
Scientists at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) have developed a smart liquid window panel that can help. By creating a mixture of micro-hydrogel (水凝胶), water, and a stabilizer, they found that it can effectively reduce energy consumption in a variety of climates. Thanks to the hydrogel, the mixture becomes hard-to-see- through when exposed to heat, thus blocking sunlight, and, when cool, it returns to its original clear state. The high heat capacity of water allows a large amount of heat energy to be stored instead of getting transferred through the glass and into the building during the hot daytime when office buildings mainly operate. The heat will then be gradually cooled and released at night when the staff are off duty.
As a proof of concept, the scientists conducted outdoor tests in hot (Singapore, Guangzhou) and cold (Beijing) environments. The Singapore test revealed that the smart liquid window had a lower temperature (50°C) during the hottest time of the day (noon) compared to a normal glass window (84°C), The Beijing tests showed that the room using the smart liquid window consumed 11 percent less energy to maintain the same temperature compared to the room with a normal glass window. They also measured when the highest value of stored heat energy of the day occurred. This "temperature peak" in the normal glass window was 2 pm, and in the smart liquid window was shifted to 3 pm. If this temperature peak shift leads to a shift in the time when a building needs to draw on electrical power to cool or warm the building, it should result in lower energy charges for users. The research team is seeking ways to cut down the cost of producing the smart window and so far, they have found several industry partners to commercialize it.
1. What is the disadvantage of conventional windows?| A．They are expensive. |
| B．They are not heatproof. |
| C．They contribute less to energy saving. |
| D．They can't block light into the building. |
| A．By taking in much of heat energy. |
| B．By returning to its original clear state. |
| C．By getting most of sunlight transferred. |
| D．By spreading sunlight in different directions. |
| A．It will make the windows long-lasting. |
| B．It could help the building users reduce costs. |
| C．It makes the buildings rely on no electrical power. |
| D．It helps the windows maintain a constant temperature. |
| A．It will be unaffordable. |
| B．It needs to be further improved. |
| C．It will be widely used in the city. |
| D．It will come onto the market soon. |
6 . With the world’s attention on vaccines (疫苗), now feels like a good moment to sing the praises of an often forgotten contribution to their development. Three hundred years ago this month, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu got her daughter inoculated (接种) against smallpox, making her child the first person in the West to be protected in this way. Without Montagu’s willingness to adopt a practice she had learned from other cultures, the introduction of vaccines around 80 years later would never have taken place.
Montagu first witnessed inoculation when she accompanied her husband to Turkey in 1717. Inoculation had started in Asia, probably in China, as early as the 10th century AD. Montagu observed how older women in Turkey took a tiny amount of pus (脓) from a person with smallpox. They then used needles to make cuts on people’s wrists and ankles and added the pus to their bloodstream. This helped people gain immunity from future infection.
Like other visitors to the country, Montagu took steps to ensure that her son was inoculated in Turkey. This worked well, but she knew that trying it in England would be far more challenging. Inoculation performed by unlicensed amateurs would threaten doctors’ professional standing and potentially rob them of valuable income. Churchmen also disagree with the practice, as they saw it as going against nature.
Back in England, Montagu observed the increased severity of smallpox infections. Eventually, in April 1721, she decided to use the Turkish practice to have her daughter inoculated, because she believed that the rewards would outweigh the risks. After a safe time had passed following the inoculation, Montagu allowed doctors to examine her daughter.
Doctors in Britain gradually accepted the practice. About so years later, a pioneering physician found smallpox vaccines to destroy smallpox completely. As early as last century, academics argued that Montagu was no more than an enthusiastic amateur. In truth, she made a vital scientific contribution towards finding the cure for smallpox.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The origin of smallpox inoculation. |
| B．Montagu’s first access to inoculation. |
| C．The benefits from smallpox inoculation. |
| D．Turkish women’s invention of inoculation. |
| A．it was against human nature | B．it might harm doctors’ interests |
| C．it was beyond doctors’ abilities | D．it might shake churchmen’s belief |
| A．The increased severity of smallpox infections. |
| B．A physician’s discovery of smallpox vaccines. |
| C．The result of Montagu’s daughter’s inoculation. |
| D．Montagu’s focus on its rewards rather than its risks. |
| A．An unsung hero | B．No limit to creation |
| C．Development of vaccines | D．A historic medical innovation |
7 . Beijing will provide COVID-19 vaccinations (接种疫苗) for certain groups in nursing homes, including the elderly and caregivers, on a voluntary basis to prevent a renewed outbreak at nursing homes during autumn and winter, the local government said.
Those who will receive the vaccines include nursing home kitchen workers, security guards and cleaners, Beijing Daily reported on Friday.
Xing Yinli, director of Jingkangyuan, a nursing home in Fengtai district with about 290 elderly residents (居民), said they have received the document (文件) recently and will strictly follow its guidance.
“It’s our top duty to strengthen prevention and control,” Xing said, adding they have been using methods such as keeping detailed records of resident contacts outside the nursing home, and encouraging online visits for family members.
As to vaccinations, she said they will ask for permission from residents, their family members and workers before giving vaccines.
In late October, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province carried out an emergency COVID-19 vaccine program, allowing the public to ask for injections (注射) in advance, with key groups first. A similar program was also organized in Jiaxing, Ningbo and Yiwu in Zhejiang.
Nationwide, emergency use of home-grown COVID-19 vaccines was approved in June and launched in late July. China now has four coronavirus candidate vaccines in the third stage clinical trials (临床试验).
The document from Beijing also said nursing homes should conduct nucleic acid testing (核酸检测) every month among kitchen workers and residents who leave the nursing homes to see a doctor. Tests will cover all people in nursing homes considered at high risk if new infections are reported in the city. Besides, routine disinfections (消毒) should be strengthened in kitchens, storerooms and restrooms, it said. The document also recommended non-contact visits from family members.
1. Where can you probably find this article?| A．In a newspaper. | B．In a fashion magazine. |
| C．In a book review. | D．In a travel journal. |
| A．China is providing vaccinations nationwide. |
| B．The four candidate vaccines have finished clinical trails. |
| C．China has taken the lead in coronavirus vaccines worldwide. |
| D．China has made great progress in coronavirus vaccines. |
| A．Nursing homes should conduct nucleic acid testing. |
| B．Beijing nursing homes are to be provided vaccines. |
| C．Certain groups will have vaccines first in late June. |
| D．Routine disinfections should be strengthened in kitchens. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Curious. | C．Doubtful. | D．Dissatisfied. |
8 . Chimps use loud calls and gestures to make their feelings known but until now, the exact meaning for individual movements has remained a mystery. Now researchers believe they have translated the key gestures used in the chimp community and identified their intentions for the first time.
From 4,351 gestures, experts were able to identify 66 that are used for 19 specific message meanings, including showing a foot to tell a child they can climb on their back. The researchers were able to narrow down these 66 gestures to 36 that are used intentionally to achieve 15 purposes. The translations were made by Dr Catherine Hobaiter and her colleagues at St Andrews University in Scotland.
Dr Hobaiter used behavior sampling and filmed all recorded cases of gestural communication. Other gestures include stomping their feet to ask another chimp to stop what they are doing, and slapping objects together to ask another to follow them. Of the 19 meanings,17 encouraged interactions to start, or to develop, such as “move closer,” and “change play”. Some of the gestures were found to have more than one meaning. and only 10 of the 66 gestures were used for only a single meaning.
Researchers collected a total of 471 video clips from two social groups of chimps at a shelter near Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. As well as identifying what the gesture means, they also discovered the technique needed to increase the chances of success.
“Human children use gestures to communicate before they produce their first words, and their earliest gestures typically appear around 10 months of age,” explained the researchers. “In great apes, there is good evidence that language-trained individuals are capable of acquiring and understanding signals, but this is far less clear in their natural communication. ”
1. Chimps slap the objects to____________.| A．tell others to stop what they are doing | B．ask others chimps to join them |
| C．gather other chimps to move closer | D．encourage interactions to start |
| A．Chimps trained in language are good at understanding signals. |
| B．Two social groups of chimps live at a shelter near Kinshasa. |
| C．Language-trained individuals do well in natural communication. |
| D．Chimps’earliest gestures appear around 10 months of age. |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By examining differences. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By following time order. |
| A．A New Research on Chimps | B．Human Children and Chimps |
| C．Getting the Chimps Trained for Language | D．Translating the Sign Language of Chimps |
9 . Movies were more than photographs and different from books. They transmitted romance, danger and comedy straight into your emotional bloodstream, with no need for translation and no cultural barriers. They were creating another world out there on the screen, a world of joy and sadness, laughter, romance, places far away in space and in time, heroes and heroines and ordinary people — a world that moviegoers could enter and live other lives. They were giving our audience a common culture.
Over the decades, movies and movie theaters have survived many competing technologies that threatened their extinction, among them television, VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-rays, and streaming. Through all of these worthwhile advances, people continued to leave their homes to watch movies in theaters. From 2010, just after streaming became important, to the beginning of 2020, the number of movie theaters nationwide remained nearly constant, going from 5,773 to 5,798. Annual ticket sales dropped by only 7 percent, from about 1.33 billion to about 1.24 billion.
Seeing a movie in a public theater on a giant screen, surrounded by other people, is not only entertainment. It is also an experience, a communal activity, a night out of the house almost everyone can afford.
Then came the covid-19 pandemic. Few industries have suffered more than movie theaters. The small number of theaters that remain open have seen attendance decline dramatically. If theaters do not survive, something irreplaceable will have been lost. We are social creatures. No matter how comfortable our living rooms and complex our technology we need community, we need physical contact with one another.
On the screen were the enduring themes of chivalry, good vs. evil, conquest and dominion, fashioned for our technological age. We moviegoers left the theater in crowds, talking to each other, sharing impressions, some of us speechless. But all of us felt that we now shared some magical bond. Lawmakers should act to save that magic.
1. In what respect are movies different from books?| A．They stand the test of time and space. | B．They create a world of joy and sadness. |
| C．They bring emotions into your bloodstream. | D．They are shared across languages and cultures. |
| A．To show the decline of film industries. | B．To give evidence on the new social trend. |
| C．To indicate movie theaters remain popular. | D．To prove the advances in other technologies. |
| A．A form of social bond between us. | B．The level of comfort on the screen. |
| C．A dancing style of physical contact. | D．The great joy of advanced technology. |
| A．To make laws to control them. | B．To take action to support them. |
| C．To lay out plans for their expansion. | D．To let them be part of our sweet memory. |
10 . Albert was mad about computer games. He could spend hours in front of the computer. When people encouraged him to leave the screen to have a normal life, he would respond “this is my window to the world. There is much more here than you realize.”
Among all his games, he especially liked a rabbit-catching game. He was a real expert at it. He once even won the champion of an online rabbit-catching competition.
One day, as usual, as soon as he got home, he ran to his room to play computer games. But this time he found the computer was not there. Yet in its place there was a box, on which a card said, “Gift for Game Winner.” When he opened the box, he found a real rabbit in it. His parents then came in to tell him that they bought him the rabbit in place of the rabbit game because his computer was sent for repair.
Albert loved the little rabbit immediately. He liked playing with it and even gave it a name. He studied its diet and habits. Days later, he actually began to enjoy the company of the rabbit. And he also enjoyed sharing his stories and his growing knowledge about rabbits with his parents, friends and teachers.
Now, Albert is no longer mad about computer games. He prefers learning and discovering new things about animals. He also uses the computer to do that. When someone asks him why he stops playing computer games, he points to his pet and says. “This is my window to the world. There is more than you realize.”
1. Albert used to be _______.| A．mad with his parents. |
| B．interested in rabbit stories. |
| C．good at catching rabbits. |
| D．crazy about computer games. |
| A．catching rabbits in the woods. |
| B．keeping different kinds of pets. |
| C．online computer game competitions. |
| D．computer game of rabbit-catching. |
| A．They gave him a real rabbit as a gift. |
| B．They bought him a new rabbit game. |
| C．They replaced his computer with a box. |
| D．They told him to stop playing computer games |
| A．He starts to like the shop that sold the rabbit. |
| B．He prefers discovering new things about animals. |
| C．He likes playing computer games with the rabbit. |
| D．He is no longer good at playing computer games. |
