1 . The practice of encouraging laughter with the sound of laughter itself dates back to the 16th century. During performances of Shakespearean plays, there were people who laughed at just the right moments. This would cause other members of the audience to laugh in a similar way, thus making the show seem funnier.
Centuries later, when comedy programs were popular on radio, the sound of a laughing audience was a natural part of performances that were aired live. To make sure his performances were aired at the same time in each time zone, actor Bing Crosby had his show prerecorded. Eventually, one of the show's writers realized that big laughs from old recordings could be added in to follow new jokes. So the world was introduced to canned laughter.
When TV came along, laugh tracks were recorded from the live studio audience that was present at a show. But sometimes, the audience didn't laugh at the expected time, making these moments seem dull to those watching at home. To fix this problem, TV audio engineer Charley Douglass invented a machine called the Laff Box.
Douglass' Laff Box was a collection of tapes connected to different keys. Each tape contained canned laughter that-was-carefully selected by Douglass for its particular quality. For example, one tape might have produced very soft laughs, while another produced loud cackles(咯咯笑). The machine could be played almost like a musical instrument: if the live audience didn't laugh enough, Douglass would “sweeten” the audio by adding the right amount and type of canned laughter. This technique could even be used when no audience was present, as with cartoons. Critics have long claimed that canned laughter is merely a trick to make people laugh at bad jokes. Live laugh tracks, however, can still be heard on popular modern shows like The Big Bang theory. Sometimes it's just more fun to share in the laughter - canned or otherwise.
1. What is mentioned about Shakespearean plays?| A．They were sometimes broadcast on radio. |
| B．Most of these plays weren't funny enough. |
| C．Some viewers were purposefully arranged to laugh. |
| D．Canned laughter was used during the performances. |
| A．Bing Crosby's older jokes got more laughs. |
| B．Bing Crosby' show was aired live worldwide. |
| C．Bing Crosby's team made comedy programs popular. |
| D．Bino Crosby's team brought canned laughter into existence. |
| A．It can offer many types of laughter. |
| B．It is inconvenient for people to use. |
| C．It isn't allowed by law today. |
| D．It can make bad jokes funny. |
| A．By giving examples. | B．By analyzing reasons. |
| C．By following time order. | D．By making comparisons. |
Shooting down an ice-covered track, a bobsled（大雪橇）can go faster than 80 miles an hour, and riders can feel force five times stronger than the pull of gravity. A race can be won or lost by one hundredth of a second. How do bobsleds go faster than cars on a highway? The answer is a combination of athletics and science.
At the start of a race, the crew push their sled, building up speed before they jump in for the ride. For months before the race, the crew have built up power in their legs. The push is the crew's only chance to add speed. All other work goes into keeping friction and drag（摩擦力和阻力）from slowing the sled down.
The design of the sled's runners（滑板）reduces their friction with the ice. The friction of a moving runner melts a little ice right under the runner, and the runner rides on that thin layer of water. The runners are rounded on the bottom. Runners that are too flat may not melt enough ice for fast ride. Runners that are too round may become too warm, softening the ice and slowing the sled down. No amount of rounding is perfect for all races because the hardness of the ice depends on the weather on race day.
Bobsleds used to be open. The riders did not sit inside a hull（外壳）. As the crew sped down the track，the air would create drag. Today, a sled's hull reduces drag by splitting the air in front of the sled and making it flow smoothly along the slides. As with the runners，strict rules apply to the hull. For example，no team may add any part that would create helpful air currents.
Reducing friction and drag creates another challenge: high speeds. “The faster the sleds car travel on the run, the more thrilling the race,” one research team wrote. “But the track must not be too fast: he crew still need to be able to reach the bottom safely.”
1. What's the text mainly about?| A．The shape of the sled. | B．The design of the runners. |
| C．The safety rules applying to the sled. | D．The elements relating to the sled's speed |
| A．Proper amount of melted ice is needed for a fast ride. |
| B．The rounder the runners are, the faster the sled goes. |
| C．Thin layer of water would drag the runners backward. |
| D．A sled's movement has nothing to do with weather. |
| A．It's comfortable to sit in. | B．It leads to beneficial air flow. |
| C．It helps to create a safe ride. | D．It's free from strict rules. |
| A．Safety is the most important. | B．Keeping high speed is difficult. |
| C．Riders' desire to win is understandable. | D．The crew's cooperation is necessary. |
3 . 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. |
4 . Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you’ll hear people say that you can’t expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way, you’ve got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we’re the apple of our parents’ eyes, and that our Grandmas think we’re great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will go to the Olympics, but sometimes it’s a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time that you built a positive self-image and learn to love yourself.
Self-image is your own mind’s picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our self-images are often quite different from the images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be. Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your self-image and your whole world.
The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don’t allow doubts to occur in it.
It very well might be that you are having a negative self-image because you can’t move past one weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves(卷起你的袖子) and make a change of it as your primary task. If you think you’re silly because you aren’t good at math, find a tutor. If you think you’re weak because you can’t run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you’re dull because you don’t wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true.
The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat yourself on the back, you’ll know you’re well on your way. Good luck!
1. You need to build a positive self-image when you ________.| A．dare to challenge yourself. |
| B．feel it hard to change yourself. |
| C．are unconfident about yourself. |
| D．have a high opinion of yourself. |
| A．have positive effects. |
| B．are probably untrue. |
| C．are often changeable. |
| D．have different functions. |
| A．To keep a different image of others. |
| B．To make your life successful. |
| C．To understand your own world. |
| D．To change the way you think. |
| A．How to prepare for your success. |
| B．How to face challenges in your life. |
| C．How to build a positive self-image. |
| D．How to develop your good qualities. |
| A．Adolescents. | B．Parents. | C．Educators. | D．Grandparents. |
5 . When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems blurry. Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near—sighted. Then People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading , they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism. This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts. Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distance as people with two eyes.
1. What problem might a person have when things far away seem unclear?| A．Near-sighted. | B．Far-sighted. | C．Astigmatic. | D．Suffering from cataracts. |
| A．only when we can see well. | B．only when we cannot see perfectly. |
| C．even if we can see well. | D．only when we realize how important our eyes are. |
| A．seeing at night | B．seeing objects far away |
| C．looking over a wide area | D．judging distances |
| A．One eye bigger than the other. |
| B．Eyes that are not exactly the right shape. |
| C．A difficulty that can be corrected by an operation. |
| D．An eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses. |
6 . Scientists are urging that deep sea metal mining should be stopped temporarily. They warn in a report that it can cause severe damaging effects on Pacific Ocean areas.
The recently-released report examined more than 250 published studies on deep-sea mining. The research was examined by the Deep Sea Mining Campaign — a collection of not-for profit organizations. The report centers on mining activities related to small metallic particles(金属颗粒)，called nodules, found on the seabed. The material can contain different metals. Increasing demand for these metals has led to a rise in deep-sea mining operations. The metals are commonly used in battery manufacturing and other technology products.
However, the scientists warn that mining for these nodules will cause irreversible(不可逆的) damage to an ocean already under pressure. The operations will affect areas across the South Pacific, including the nations of Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
The report notes that a moratorium is the only responsible way to move forward until certain conditions surrounding deep-sea mining can be met. The scientists are calling for additional study to fully understand the environmental, social and economic risks.
Andrew Chin is the report's lead researcher. He says in a statement that nodule mining will likely result in the loss of sea life and cause damage to deep seabeds for thousands of years. He adds that the operations can put people at risk who depend on the ocean and its continued health.
A company planning to be one of the first to carry out mining operations in the area is Canada's DeepGreen, which aims to begin by 2024. It seeks to mine metallic nodules to be used in power systems for electric vehicles. DeepGreen Chief Executive Officer Gerard Barron defended the company's plans in reaction to the report. He said deep-sea mining offered the best alternative to surface mining, which has long history of pollution and destroying forests and wildlife.
1. Why are deep-sea mining operations on the rise?| A．More metals are needed. | B．Surface mining is banned. |
| C．Battery industry is falling. | D．The seabed is easy to find. |
| A．Loose measure. | B．Thorough study. |
| C．Permanent deal. | D．Temporary stop. |
| A．Conditions surrounding deep-sea mining are great. |
| B．The damage caused by nodule mining is reversible. |
| C．Nodule mining can cause harm in various aspects. |
| D．People sure less likely to be affected by nodule mining, |
| A．Opposed. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Ambiguous. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．introduce a new mining technology |
| B．inspire deep-sea mining |
| C．draw attention to environmental protecting |
| D．call on the stop of mining in the sea |
7 . 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 |
8 . We’ve known that sitting for long periods of time every day has countless health consequences, like a higher risk of heart disease. But now a new study has found that sitting is also bad for your brain.
A study published last week, conducted by Dr. Prabha Siddarth at the University of California, showed that sedentary(久坐的) behavior is associated with reduced thickness of the medial temporal lobe(中颞叶), a brain area that is critical to learning and memory.
The researchers asked a group of 35 healthy people, ages 45 to 70, about their activity levels and the average number of hours each day spent sitting and then scanned their brains. They found that the subjects who reported sitting for longer periods had the thinnest medial temporal lobes. It means that the more time you spend in a chair the worse it is for your brain health, resulting in possible damage to learning and memory.
What is also interesting is that this study did not find a significant association between the level of physical activity and thickness of this brain area, suggesting that exercise, even severe exercise, may not be enough to protect you from the harmful effects of sitting.
It then surprisingly turned out that you don’t even have to move much to enhance cognition(认知); just standing will do the trick. For example, two groups of subjects were asked to complete a test while either sitting or standing. Participants are presented with conflicting stimuli(刺激) , like the word “green” in blue ink, and asked to name the color. Subjects thinking on their feet beat those who sat by a 32-milicond(毫秒) margin.
The cognitive effects of severe physical exercise are well known. But the possibility that standing more and sitting less improves brain health could lower the bar for everyone.
I know, this all runs counter to received ideas about deep thought, from our grade school teachers, who told us to sit down and focus, to Rodin’s famous “Thinker,” seated with chin on hand.
They were wrong. You can now all stand up.
1. What can we infer from Paragraphs 3 and 4?| A．Severe exercise can lessen the damage of sitting. |
| B．Severe exercise can greatly improve our brain health. |
| C．Sedentary behavior will possibly damage our brain. |
| D．Brain health has nothing to do with sedentary behavior. |
| A．Blank. | B．Edge. |
| C．Decrease. | D．Difference. |
| A．Sitting more is good for our mental health. | B．Sitting is better when we think. |
| C．Exercise more can improve our cognition. | D．We should stand while thinking. |
9 . I go to a gym in west London, always unwillingly. Exercise is too exhausting and boring. Always was. At school I made believe that I had headaches and parental notes too, to get out of PE classes and compulsory games. Now, twice a week, I dutifully get on cycling machines and other equipment and make myself work out for an hour. To get through the difficult hour, I people-watched: young and old, fit and unfit and Clayton Rose, one of the instructors.
Clayton is a personal trainer not only to body perfectionists, but to people who are mentally and physically disabled, the obese and hopeless. He treats them all the same. I have witnessed him listening keenly to a middle-aged working-class woman who goes on and on about her life, holidays, everything. Slim and attractive now, she was once so heavy that she was in a wheelchair. I have seen him calm down a young man with Tourette's syndrome(抽动症)and get him on a treadmill. I have also watched him pushing and coaching strong, cool men.
Clayton was shocked when I said I wanted to write about him. “Why? You know I'm not educated? I'm not clued up about politics and all that. Just an ordinary guy.”
He grew up in Twickenham, where his dad worked in a timber yard, his mum in an office. After college, the young man got into personal training and found his work. One of his best friends got seriously ill and was given months to live. Clayton put him on a program that kept him alive for almost five years: “I don't earn much, but I love my work; training and talking really helps people who don't have confidence, who are lonely, afraid, sick. Lots of people can't step into a gym. They need someone they can trust, someone who will be on their side.
The gym recently updated its equipment. The flashy new stuff confuses and upsets disabled customers. Me too. The private firm running these centers made decisions without considering these needs. Clayton is managing the chaos with grace and strength. Last week, when a young woman in a wheelchair started sobbing loudly, he calmed her down, restored her dignity, superhumanly contained his anger.
One of his colleagues thinks Clayton's “a legend”. He is, and doesn't know it—a rare thing in this age of extreme narcissism(自恋)and monetized(货币化) everything.
1. Why was I unwilling to go to a gym?| A．Because I suffered from headaches. |
| B．Because I had bad memories of PE classes. |
| C．Because I had to watch a large crowd exercising |
| D．Because I felt it tiring and no fun |
| A．He brings out the best in them. | B．He helps them with illness advice |
| C．He treats them differently. | D．He focuses on body perfection. |
| A．Reasons to go to a gym. | B．An instructor inspiring confidence. |
| C．Exercise with push and inspiration. | D．Rays of hope in the age of narcissism. |
10 . When Kristin Peck became CEO of Zoetis in January, the animal health company was growing rapidly, thanks in part to steady growth in spending on pets. Just a few weeks later, coronavirus lockdowns turned the global economy upside down. But they also got Americans to adopt pets in record numbers, enabling Zoetis and Peck to face their first big crisis with what you might call a tailwind.
Zoetis, which makes medicines and other products, was removed from Pfizer in 2013 and joined the Fortune 500 in 2019. (It' s now. No. 472.) It's the market-share leader in “companion” animal health, with 22% of the market, and in several livestock (家畜) categories too. With the coronavirus doing only minor damage so far to commercial livestock or pet spending, Zoetis's business has held up relatively well. The company' s stock is down roughly 5% this year, while the S&P 500 has fallen more than 9%.
The drug-maker has an “incredibly diversified business,” says James Tierney, chief investment officer of concentrated U.S. growth at AllianceBernstein. Its portfolio (产品组合） is split roughly 50/50 between companion and livestock, with about the same split between U.S. and international sales. And unlike many human drug companies, notes Tierney, it isn't dependent on blockbuster drugs (畅销药）. Zoetis' s best-selling product, dog itch medication Apoquel, generated less than 10% of its total sales of ＄6.3 billion in 2019. Another promising product is a new combination of flea, tick, and heartworm medicine for dogs, Simparica Trio - currently the only such combo (组合套餐) product available in the U.S.
Peck, who grew up around animals (“We had horses, four dogs, two cats, birds,” she recalls), was an executive at Pfizer before joining Zoetis. She's adjusting to the new reality in part by putting more effort into advertising for pet products and building veterinary telemedicine partnerships. Peck says the new pet owners of the coronavirus period “engage differently”： They're largely digital-first people, she says, and are more likely to heavily research products before buying.
Like pet spending itself, Zoetis isn't entirely recession-proof, and the company recently lowered its growth forecasts for the year. Its livestock business faċes short-term challenges, especially in beef and dairy, where supply-chain problems have caused hardships. But Peck says she doubts the coronavirus will affect the long-term trend toward eating more protein. And if difficult times lead consumers to focus on cheaper meats, Zoetis could benefit from products like Zoamix, an additive that takes the place of antibiotics (抗生素）in chicken feed - one more example of diversification feathering the company' s nest.
1. How was Zoetis' s business going this January?| A．It was disappointing. |
| B．It was developing very fast. |
| C．It turned Zoetis upside down. |
| D．It enabled Zoetis to join the Fortune 500. |
| A．To stress it is a blockbuster. |
| B．To explain its contribution to Zoetis. |
| C．To uncover the reason for its unsatisfactory sales. |
| D．To reveal Zoetis' s profits are from various sources. |
| A．They enjoy shopping for best-selling products. |
| B．They prefer to raise horses rather than keep birds. |
| C．They usually choose digital pets instead of real ones. |
| D．They do a lot of research online before buying something. |
| A．To reduce the cost of meat. | B．To make chicken feed tasty. |
| C．To serve as better antibiotics. | D．To increase protein in meat. |
