1 . People think of cats as cute. But research published in a psychology journal calls them neurotic (神经质的) and unstable. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the Bronx Zoo in New York compared the personalities of domestic house cats with those of four different types of wildcats.
To better understand their personalities, the researchers rated a number of animals behaviors on what psychologists call the Big Five human personality traits (特征).
Domestic house cats have similar personality structures to African lions. “It’s what cats do pretty much on a daily basis, things like being anxious, being timid, being excitable, being aggressive toward humans, being aggressive toward each other, ”said Max Wachtel, a Denver psychologist who didn’t participate in the study. “All of those are characteristics you see in those cute little house cats, and you also see them in lions.”
If you ever thought your cat was anxious, insecure, tense, suspicious or aggressive toward you, you aren’t making it up, he said. If they were bigger, they probably would consider killing you.
But the news isn’t all bad: Just like lions, house cats are also playful, excitable and impulsively funny. They just aren’t very predictable. One moment cats will be enjoying bell scratches, and the next they will be biting you to make you stop.
“It is good to understand the personality characteristics of our pets,” Wachtel said “Different cats have different personalities, but as a species, there are a lot of commonalities.”
The researchers also studied personality traits of Scottish wildcats and some other animals “Across the five species we assessed, personality structure was strikingly similar and also seemed to be related to other studies’ findings, such as in tigers,” the researchers wrote in their study in the November 2014 issue of the Journal of Comparative Psychology. But house cats were most like lions, potentially because they live in semi-social surroundings and lions are the most social of cats.
“They’re cute and furry, but we need to remember when we have cats as pets, we are inviting little predators into our house,” Wachtel said. “Cats can be fantastic, sweet companions—until they turn on you.”
1. Cats can be described as _____.| A．funny and safe |
| B．playful and stable |
| C．fantastic and devoted |
| D．neurotic and unpredictable |
| A．By making comparisons. | B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By giving examples. | D．By providing explanations. |
| A．The book really turned me on to science. |
| B．Upon entering the room, he turned on the light. |
| C．The hungry suddenly turned on each other for food. |
| D．The trial turned on the medical evidence presented by the defense. |
| A．Cats are best pets. |
| B．Domestic cats and wildcats. |
| C．Your cat may want to kill you. |
| D．Different cats, different personalities. |
2 . Surrounded by the sea off the coast in Mid-Norway, lies an island called Myken. This small island has about ten permanent residents, and for more than 50 years has been supplied with electricity via a 32-kilometer undersea cable (电缆). A break that appeared in the cable last autumn resulted in two months without power, so the island community started looking into a better way of sourcing their electricity.
“Myken is far out at sea, so as far as possible it should be taking care of things itself,” says Kyrre Sundseth, who is a hydrogen (氢) researcher in Norway and also the project manager for Myken’s energy project. “This is why we want Myken to become entirely self-sufficient in energy. It is also important to take the environment into consideration,” he says.
Much points to the idea that the solution may lie in a Hydrogen plant, specifically tailored for small islands. The “raw materials” for hydrogen production come from nature itself in the form of the sun and wind. Researchers have calculated that energy costs will be lower by using hydrogen production than the undersea cable option. And it is possible to store energy in the form of hydrogen for longer periods. This means that supplies will not have to rely on a lot of expensive batteries or external energy sources, even during periods when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing.
The Myken project has attracted several technology companies. They are currently working on a pilot project. The pilot involves experiments on the feasibility (可行性) of the hydrogen system in which electricity is generated from solar and wind sources. The electricity can be used immediately, but during periods when all the energy generated is not required, the spare energy can be used to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored in a tank, and used later to generate electricity. The pilot will help researchers know more about how effectively the system will work in the hydrogen plant. Since the island has a distillery (酿酒厂), where the distillation (蒸馏) process relies on energy, a hydrogen plant on Myken offers an even greater environmental benefit. Spare heat from the hydrogen system can also be used for the heating part in the distillation process.
“In Norway alone there are about 300 island inhabited all year round by small populations,” says Kyrre Sundseth. “All of these islands may be candidates for using this technology. In global terms we’re talking about 10,000 similar islands.”
1. Why is a hydrogen plant suitable for Myken?| A．It is perfect in size for small islands. |
| B．It can send electricity to faraway places. |
| C．It will restore local natural environment. |
| D．It provides green and sustainable energy. |
| A．The study on the energy storage. |
| B．The test on the hydrogen system. |
| C．The experiment on the raw materials. |
| D．The research on the innovation of the pilot. |
| A．produce purified seawater |
| B．prove more technically reliable |
| C．contribute in more than one way |
| D．benefit from the distillation process |
| A．Promising. |
| B．Systematic. |
| C．Irreplaceable. |
| D．Time saving. |
3 . Our culture is the system we use to build our identity. All living things are part of a culture. Even animals have a culture! So what is culture? It's the way we behave in a group. It begins with each individual (单个的) family. Within our families we do things to build relationships with each other. This can include routines like daily housework and weekly shopping. It also includes traditions. Traditions are activities that are repeated on a regular basis.
Culture is not limited to individual family groups. The real strength of culture is in larger community groups. These larger groups are called societies. Every society makes rules for itself. It decides how people should act in different situations. Some of these rules are written down. Some are just things that are naturally expected of all members of that society.
Often, cultures can be recognized by what the people believe. Cultures are also known by what they choose to include in their art. Sometimes cultures may be formed by people who speak the same language. Cultures may also be known for their customs, including the foods they make and the things they do.
Our cultures help us understand who we are and what we believe. There are very strong feelings connecting us to our own society. Two different cultures may disagree on something, especially if they both feel strongly about it. When that happens, war is a common result.
People are learning better ways to communicate with each other. The more we communicate, the more we appreciate the differences in cultures.
1. The underlined word routines in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.| A．hobbies | B．behaviors |
| C．formal activities | D．daily activities |
| A．In arts. | B．In societies. |
| C．In families. | D．In languages. |
| A．Culture doesn't exist in animals. |
| B．Culture is the way we behave. |
| C．Cultures may not agree with each other. |
| D．Cultures help us understand ourselves. |
| A．By building a wall. | B．By preparing to fight. |
| C．By communicating. | D．By making friends. |
| A．What Is Culture? | B．What Is Society? |
| C．What Is Tradition? | D．What Is System? |
4 . Ann started to work last summer. In order to have a holiday, she saved as much as she could and, this January, she booked a package tour to Spain. She left London airport early on the morning of the first Saturday in August. She was very excited, as this was her first trip abroad. When she arrived at Barcelona airport, the weather was beautiful.
At the hotel, she found that her Spanish money wasn't in her handbag. All she had was a small purse with ten English pounds in it!
Ann found a place to change her English money for Spanish money. She would stay here for two weeks. After changing her money, Ann bought some cheese, some bread and some oranges. When she got back to the hotel, she told the tour guide that her doctor had told her not to eat much food, so she'd just have breakfast each day. This was all right, as she knew breakfast was included in the price of hotel.
For the rest of her holiday, Ann swam in the hotel or lay on the beach. She also went for long walks with Jane, a Scottish girl. However, when the others went to interesting places,Ann always said she wasn't well. In fact, her holiday wasn't bad, except that she was always hungry.
On the last day, Jane asked her why she never ate with them in the hotel restaurant. The food was excellent. Ann told her all about her money problem. Jane looked at her for a minute, and then said, “But didn't you know? The price of this tour includes everything!"
1. Why was Ann so excited about the trip?| A．Because she had never been abroad. | B．Because she had saved enough money. |
| C．Because she had booked a cheap tour. | D．Because she had found a good job. |
| A．She didn't find her purse. |
| B．She couldn't find a place to change money. |
| C．She couldn't find her Spanish money. |
| D．She didn't understand Spanish. |
| A．she wanted to see a doctor | B．she doubted the price of the hotels |
| C．she had bought some food for her meals | D．she would only take breakfast |
| A．go to interesting places | B．see the beautiful beach |
| C．take long walks | D．swim in the hotel |
| A．Ann was not allowed to eat much. |
| B．Ann's Spanish money was stolen. |
| C．Ann missed some meals included in the tour. |
| D．Ann didn't like the restaurant and the holiday. |
5 . 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. |
| A．His parents. | B．Computer games. |
| C．His pet rabbit. | D．Knowledge about nature. |
6 . How much sleep do we need? It’s a fundamental question about a basic human function we’ve been practicing for long, but there’s still no simple answer. But whether you’re a morning or evening person could be guided by your genes. That said, your sleeping pattern will change naturally with age, which is also reflected in the National Sleep Foundation recommendations: it suggests 14-17 hours of shuteye a day for newborn babies and only 7-8 hours for over-65s.
But scientists said it’s about more than simple duration. Teens and people in their early 20s do want to go to bed later and get up later too, something researchers suggest might be to do with changing hormones(荷尔蒙). “On average, there’s about a two-hour difference in preferred sleep times of somebody in their late teens or early twenties to somebody in their late 50s or early 60s,” he said. “So asking a teenager to get up at 7 o’ clock in the morning is the equivalent of asking a 55-year-old to get up at five in the morning.”
At the end of the day, the best way to measure how much sleep you each need is to listen to your own body. Do you rely on an alarm clock to wake up? Do you take a long time to feel awake? Are you dependent on coffee drinks to keep you focused during the day? Are you overly impulsive(冲动的) or do you find yourself running a lot of traffic lights, for instance? All these could be signs that you’re not getting enough sleep.
And that, we know today, is bad. The environment can affect your sleep preferences but your genes stay. Scientists said that the understanding of the importance of sleep was “one of the great achievements of modern neuroscience(神经科学),” and that society was moving away from the all-nighter culture to respect the need for sleep.
1. What’s the writer’s intention of writing the passage?| A．To report his research results. | B．To express the importance of sleep. |
| C．To list some sleeping patterns. | D．To persuade people to have enough sleep. |
| A．Age. | B．Genes. |
| C．Hormones. | D．Sleeping pattern. |
| A．Not getting enough sleep. | B．Listening to your own body. |
| C．Running a lot of traffic lights. | D．Not understanding of the importance of sleep. |
| A．Sleeping Patterns |
| B．The Importance of Sleep |
| C．A Great Achievement of Neuroscience |
| D．Different People Need Different Amounts of Sleep |
7 . I was always pretty independent, but living alone made me even more at peace. Living alone helped me grow as a human being. Caitlin Moscatello had a similar experience:
“I was the queen of my own 400-square-foot-castle for three years, and looking back, I can see that that short stretch of time was crucially important to establish my independence. It started with small things: I negotiated my rent on my own, created a household budget (预算) on my own, hashed out a savings plan on my own. I signed up for half-marathons, and actually ran them. I tried hot yoga, and hated it, but whatever, I tried it. And then, the results had a bigger payoff: I put in late hours at work, because I didn’t have anyone asking me ‘Will you be home for dinner?’ and got promoted. I met a guy on one of many fun, little dates, and he turned out to be the love of my life. I also got gutsier(有勇气的): I traveled abroad alone, several times, without thinking twice about it.”
I also think my time alone makes me a better partner now that I share my life (and my space) with another person. The real secret of living alone? You’re not living alone, you’re living with yourself. And the better you know yourself — what truly makes you happy, melancholy, frustrated or bored — the better you can deal with it without depending on others. Which means you won’t be putting pressure on other people in your life to do that work for you.
Living alone doesn’t mean you become a hermit(隐者, 逸士). In fact, you’ll likely find yourself more excited to see people and go out when your home space is all your own. And studies have shown that single people get out more — to social gatherings, community events, volunteering — than those who are coupled up. Or as Aletheia Luna writes, “It’s human nature to take our friends, family and loved ones for granted. Living alone, devoid of the presence of others, helps us to appreciate these people more when they are around.”
1. According to the 2nd paragraph, living alone is not good for ________.| A．making decisions | B．keeping up one’s health |
| C．getting off work on time | D．having one’s independence |
| A．Caitlin Moscatello was a queen. | B．The writer got married. |
| C．Living alone can avoid feeling sad. | D．Aletheia Luna is a hermit. |
| A．full of | B．free of |
| C．short of | D．because of |
The success of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games depends on your contribution！Join us as a Games Volunteer！
Games volunteers will be directly involved in assisting Games operations before, during and after the Tokyo 2020 Games. Games volunteers will guide athletes around, welcome important people and help lost visitors.
Number of Volunteering Days and Daily Hours
※The Tokyo Olympic Games will be held from Friday 24 July to Sunday 9 August 2020. In principle, Games volunteers will be required to work for at least a fortnight before, during and after the Olympic Games.
※Games volunteers will work eight hours per day including rest breaks. Actual shift lengths depend on event schedules, activities, activity sites, etc.
Age and Residential Requirements
Applicants must fulfill the following two requirements:
※Born on or before April 1, 2002.
※Japanese national or person with valid visa permitting residence in Japan during the volunteer period (temporary visitors included). Native speakers of English will be preferred.
Number of Games Volunteer Opportunities
80,000.
Method and Applicant Categories
※Applications will be submitted online.
※Individuals only.
Offers and Confirmation
Those applicants who attend the training sessions(会议) and are assigned a volunteer role will be offered to become a Tokyo 2020 Games volunteer.
Please note that the above offer will be cancelled in the event of any of the following:
※If the volunteer engages in any activity that damages the image of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
※If the volunteer engages in any activity that severely damages teamwork.
※If any information contained in the original application form is clearly found to be false.
Items and Welfares Provided to Volunteers
Volunteers will be provided with a set of free Olympic Games volunteer uniforms and meals during the work day.
1. How long will a Games volunteer be required to work at least?| A．One week. | B．Two weeks. |
| C．Three weeks. | D．Four weeks. |
| A．A Chinese. | B．A Russian. |
| C．An Australian. | D．A German. |
| A．Clothing. | B．Accommodation. |
| C．Transportation. | D．Amusements. |
When your Laker dream comes true tomorrow， you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family． This sounds simple， and you may think it's a no﹣brainer， but take some time to think on it further．
I said INVEST．
I did not say GIVE
Let me explain．
Purely giving material things to your siblings（兄弟姐妹） may appear to be right decision． So you buy them a car， a big house， pay， all of their bill． You want them to live a beautiful comfortable life， right？
But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing， you were actually holding them back．
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good， it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world ﹣ and that was extremely selfish of you． While you were feeling satisfied with yourself， you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions． You were adding material things to their lives， but subtracting the most precious gifts of all．
Invest in their future， don't just give．
Use your success， wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose． Put them through school， set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right． Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now， and where you will eventually go．
I'm writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately， and so that you don't have to deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning（断绝） them off of the addiction that you facilitated That addiction only leads to anger， hatred and jealousy from everybody involved， including yourself．
As time goes on， you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and their own lives， and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result．
Trust me， setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and headache， some of which remains to this day．
Much love，
1. What might be the best title of his letter？| A．To My Younger Self |
| B．For My Dear Family |
| C．To My Beloved Son |
| D．For My Older Self |
| A．Independence and growth |
| B．wealth and health |
| C．love and dedication |
| D．success and leadership |
| A．The writer will stop offering his siblings help in the future． |
| B．The writer didn't think it a good fortune to become successful early． |
| C．The writer intends to remind others not to care too much about materials |
| D．The writer was once troubled by the relationship between him and his family． |
10 . Fifteen years ago, I took a summer vacation in Lecce in southern Italy. After climbing up a hill for a panoramic (全景的) view of the blue sea, white buildings and green olive trees, I paused to catch my breath and then positioned myself to take the best photo of this panorama.
Unfortunately, just as I took out my camera, a woman approached from behind, and planted herself right in front of my view. Like me, this woman was here to stop, sigh and appreciate the view.
Patient as I was, after about 15 minutes, my camera scanning the sun and reviewing the shot I would eventually take, I grew frustrated. Was it too much to ask her to move so I could take just one picture of the landscape? Sure, I could have asked her, but something prevented me from doing so. She seemed so content in her observation. I didn’t want to mess with that..
Another 15 minutes passed and I grew bored. The woman was still there. I decided to take the photo anyway. And now when I look at it, I think her presence in the photo is what makes the image interesting. The landscape, beautiful on its own, somehow comes to life and breathes because this woman is engaging with it.
This photo, with the unique beauty that unfolded before me and that woman who “ruined” it, now hangs on a wall in my bedroom. What would she think if she knew that her figure is captured (捕捉) and frozen on some stranger’s bedroom wall? A bedroom, after all, is a very private space, in which some woman I don’t even know has been immortalized (使……永存). In some ways, she lives in my house.
Perhaps we all live in each others, spaces. Perhaps this is what photos are for: to remind us that we all appreciate beauty, and that we all share a common desire for pleasure, for connection, for something that is greater than us.
That photo is a reminder, a captured moment, an unspoken conversation between two women, separated only by a thin square of glass.
1. What happened when the author was about to take a photo?| A．Her camera stopped working. | B．A woman blocked her view. |
| C．Someone asked her to leave. | D．A friend approached from behind. |
| A．enjoying herself | B．losing her patience |
| C．waiting for the sunset | D．thinking about her past |
| A．The rich color of the landscape. |
| B．The perfect positioning of the camera. |
| C．The woman’s existence in the photo. |
| D．The soft sunlight that summer day. |
| A．a particular life experience | B．the pleasure of traveling |
| C．the art of photography | D．a lost friendship |
