1 . Last year, 138,000 San Francisco residents used Airbnb, a popular app designed to connect home renters and travelers. It’s a striking number for a city with a population of about 850,000, and it was enough for Airbnb to win a major victory in local elections, as San Francisco voters struck down a debatable rule that would have placed time restrictions and other regulations on short-term rental services.
The company fiercely opposed the measure, Proposition F, with a nearly $10 million advertising campaign. It also contacted its San Franciscan users with messages urging them to vote against Proposition F.
Most people think of Airbnb as a kind of couch-surfing app. The service works for one-night stays on road trips and longer stays in cities, and it often has more competitive pricing than hotels. It’s a textbook example of the “sharing economy”, but not everyone is a fan.
The app has had unintended consequences in San Francisco. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year, a significant amount of renting on Airbnb is not in line with the company’s image: middle-class families putting up a spare room to help make ends meet. Some users have taken advantage of the service, using it to turn their multiple properties into vacation rentals or even full-time rentals. Backers of Proposition F argued that this trend takes spaces off the conventional, better-regulated housing market and contributes to rising costs.
“The fact is, widespread abuse of short-term rentals is taking much needed housing off the market and harming our neighborhoods,” said ShareBetter SF, a group that supported Proposition F. Hotel unions have protested the company’s practices in San Francisco and other cities, saying that it creates an illegal hotel system.
San Francisco is in the middle of a long-term, deeply rooted housing crisis that has seen the cost of living explode. Actually, explode is a generous term. The average monthly rent for an apartment is around $4, 000. Located on a narrow outcropping of land overlooking the bay, San Francisco simply doesn’t have enough space to accommodate the massive inflow of young, high-salaried tech employees flocking to Silicon Valley.
As the Los Angeles Times reported, some San Francisco residents supported the measure simply because it seemed like a way to check a big corporation. Opponents of Proposition F countered that the housing crisis runs much deeper, and that passing the rule would have discouraged a popular service while doing little to solve the city’s existing problems.
1. The intention of Proposition F is to ________.| A．place time limits in local election. | B．set limits on short-term rental. |
| C．strike down a controversial rule. | D．urge users to vote against Airbnb. |
| A．It shrinks the living space of middle-class families. |
| B．Users are taken advantage of by the service financially. |
| C．It makes the house market more competitive. |
| D．It indirectly leads to high house rental price. |
| A．explosion of the living cost | B．its geographic characteristics |
| C．generosity of local enterprises | D．inflow of migrant population |
| A．objective | B．supportive |
| C．negative | D．indifferent |
2 . My dad passed away peacefully at home yesterday, surrounded by his family.
We are feeling grief but also gratitude. My dad’s passing was not unexpected - he was 94 and his health had been failing-so we have all had a long time to reflect on just how lucky we are to have had this amazing man in our lives for so many years.
My dad had a great influence on my drive. When I was a kid, he never let me put very little effort into things I was good at, and he always pushed me to try things I hated. He modeled an amazing work ethic（道德准则）as one of the hardest-working and most respected lawyers in Seattle.
My dad's influence on our philanthropy（慈善行为）was just big. Throughout my childhood, he and my mom taught me by example what generosity looked like in how they used their time and resources. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would not be what it is today without my dad. More than anyone else, he shaped the values of the foundation.
Finally, my dad had a positive influence on my most important roles - husband and father. When I am at my best, I know it is because of what I learned from my dad about respecting women and guiding children's choices with love and respect.
Dad wrote me a letter on my 50th birthday. “Over time, ” he wrote, “I have told you and others not to overuse the adjective incredible. This is a word with huge meaning to be used only in extraordinary settings. What I want to say, here, is simply that the experience of being your father has been…incredible.”
I know he would not want me to overuse the word, but there is no danger of doing that now. The experience of being the son of Bill Gates was INCREDIBLE. People used to ask my dad if he was the real Bill Gates. The truth is, he was everything I try to be. I will miss him every day.
1. The underlined part “my drive” in paragraph 3 refers to________.| A．my attitude to wealth | B．my interest in what is round |
| C．my choice of work | D．my effort to something |
| A．Honest. | B．Creative. | C．Generous | D．Confident. |
| A．he regarded his father as his role model |
| B．his father developed a strict parenting style |
| C．people annoyed him by asking who the real Bill Gates was. |
| D．the family were not allowed to use the adjective “incredible” |
| A．To remember his beloved father |
| B．To inform people of his father’s death. |
| C．To reflect on his relationship with his father. |
| D．To explain how his father got on with the family. |
3 . I have an amazing connection with marathons. I didn’t realize until I started running in my 30s that running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of will!
I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P. E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later informed me that I was not athletic. Though he didn’t mean it, that stuck with me for years.
A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks，leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead. The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.
Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe ties became undone. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted !
At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”
By mile 17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.
By mile 21, I was starving!
As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 am or questioned my expenses on running.
I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.
Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels, I can now call myself a marathon winner.
1. What does the underlined “that” in Para. 2 refer to?| A．His teacher’s request. | B．His failed sports. |
| C．His no-talent in sports. | D．The awkward memory. |
| A．He made it eventually. | B．He has lost confidence. |
| C．He gave up halfway. | D．He was too nervous to finish. |
| A．Doubted. | B．Supported. | C．Indifferent. | D．Unconcerned. |
| A．One is never too old to learn. | B．Failure is the mother of success. |
| C．A winner is one with a great effort of will. | D．A man owes his success to his family support. |
4 . Smoking in your own home in Thailand may now be considered a crime, if the smoke is considered harmful to other people in the house.
The new law, Family Protection and Development Promotion Act, was initiated (启动) by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and was announced in the Royal Gazette on May 22, 2019. The law aims at limiting smoking at home which might be hazardous for others’ health living under the same roof. In that case, it will be considered as “domestic violence”. The new law came into force on August 20.
According to the center for research and knowledge management for tobacco control, at the Faculty of Medical Science of Mahidol University, there are about 4.9 million households where one or more family members smoke. An average of 10.3 million people have unconsciously become passive smokers because they’ve been breathing in smoke at home. Scientific studies show that passive smokers are at greater risk of being affected by cancer.
Of 75 child patients from houses where smoking is practiced, 76% of them were found to have nicotine traces in their urine (尿液), with 43% of them having nicotine content going beyond permitted levels. Smoking at home also may lead to physical or emotional violence because of aggressiveness (攻击性) when there is a lack of smoking, and might as well ruin relationships between smokers and non-smoker family members.
According to the new law, anyone who thinks they are affected by domestic smoking can report to officials concerned so that inspectors will be sent to investigate and take legal action against the smokers. Once confirmed, the court may order a person to receive treatment to quit smoking in an attempt to protect the person’s family. In February in 2019, Thailand had banned smoking at six of its airports along with a ban in public places.
1. What do we know about the new law in Thailand?| A．It came into effect on May 22. |
| B．It aimed at protecting the health of non-smokers. |
| C．It regarded smoking at home as a kind of domestic violence. |
| D．It clearly claimed that smoking at home is a crime. |
| A．Anxious. | B．Harmful. |
| C．Beneficial. | D．Essential. |
| A．The purpose of initiating the law. |
| B．Responses to the new law. |
| C．Actions to quit smoking. |
| D．Bad consequences of smoking at home. |
| A．Smoking is illegal anywhere in Thailand. |
| B．Passive smokers are not likely to suffer from cancer. |
| C．People tend to be more aggressive when they are smoking. |
| D．Thailand is making efforts to create a smoke-free environment. |
5 . A few weeks ago, I bought a locally-grown salad from a vending machine（自动售货机）. But then I immediately realized that it was packaged in a plastic jar. "I guess I live with this jar now and forever." I thought sadly as I stared down at my new child.
The salad jar was only the latest in a long line of examples of how I am addicted to the responsibility of reusing everything, trying to never throw anything away. Water bottles have been given second lives, and berry containers are transformed into Tupperware. I recently even looked at a plastic straw in my fruit juice: Could I reuse it too...?
Yet trying to squeeze my salad jar under my kitchen counter this weekend, I finally had to admit: Being an environmentalist has turned me into a hoarder（囤积者）. While keeping a certain number of jars and vegetable bags will allow me not to buy new containers, at a certain point those 30 berry containers begin to get a bit unnecessary. Who am I kidding? Then one day I came across a blog post that asks accusingly. "Are you turning your own home into a landfill（垃圾填埋场）? "
In my opinion, there is absolutely no excuse not to be a conscious consumer. The solution is painfully obvious, but hard to admit: Delaying waste is not, in fact, rejecting waste. In an over-packaged, over-consuming culture, this can feel like a burden. While I refuse to throwaway packaging, the fact remains: I already have it. The damage is done. I've been ignoring one of the most essential and difficult parts—reduce, reuse, recycle. Even if I go out of my way to reuse the waste I do have, I need to reduce what I am bringing home in the first place.
While I might not be ready to go full zero-waste, it's a goal that is admirable to work toward. Until then, my salad jar child is going to make a great overnight oats jar.
1. What can we infer about the author from Paragraph 2?| A．She is addicted to shopping. |
| B．She has bad living habits. |
| C．She is enthusiastic in reusing. |
| D．She makes good use of plastic straws. |
| A．She saved far more containers than she actually needed. |
| B．She was responsible for saving fine packages. |
| C．She enjoyed collecting a variety of jars. |
| D．She lived far away from the landfill. |
| A．Being an environmentalist. | B．Delaying waste. |
| C．Being a conscious consumer. | D．Rejecting waste. |
| A．Store less vegetable bags. | B．Avoid unnecessary consumption. |
| C．Reuse materials as much as possible. | D．Go full zero-waste from now on. |
6 . Popularly known as the "Oriental Hawaii, Sanya in South China's Hainan province is considered as one of the best diving resorts in the South Pacific Ocean. The followings are the top four places for diving in the city.
Wuzhizhou Island
Wuzhizhou Island is regarded as the best place in Hainan province for underwater diving. It is one of the few islands in the world without rocks or pebbles. The island covers an area of 1.48 square kilometers and is in an irregular butterfly shape. The sea around the island is clear and transparent, providing a visibility of 6 to 27 meters.
Yalong Bay
The underwater world at Yalong Bay is one of the earliest diving bases in Sanya. It is thought as one of the best scenic spots in China to carry out undersea tourism, with the world's largest and most complete soft coral. Colorful hard coral, tropical fish, and other marine life in the nearby waters also add to the beauty and attraction of the bay.
Xidao Island
Xidao Island is shaped like a turtle living in the tropical area. The island enjoys pleasant surroundings of sandy beaches, rocky caves, and palm trees. It also boasts crystal clear waters with a wide range of marine life and extensive coral reefs（珊瑚礁）to explore.
Fenjiezhou Island
Fenjiezhou Island is also called the Sleeping Beauty Island for what it looks like from a far. The island boasts extremely clean beaches and rich marine ecological resources. It is the only site in the country that allows visitors to dive with dolphins. In addition to possessing a range of marine recreational programs, the island has the only sightseeing submarine in China.
1. Why is "Oriental Hawaii mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce diving spots in Hawaii. |
| B．To encourage people to travel to Hawaii. |
| C．To show that Sanya is such a popular resort in China. |
| D．To compare Hawaii and Sanya. |
| A．Wuzhizhou Island. | B．Yalong Bay. |
| C．Xidao Island. | D．Fenjiezhou Island. |
| A．Xidao Island is shaped like a butterfly. |
| B．There are lots of rocks and pebbles in Wuzhizhou Island. |
| C．Various marine life contribute to the beauty of Yalong Bay. |
| D．Visitors are allowed to explore coral reefs in Fenjiezhou Island. |
Goodbye! You have been a long year. I have felt your effect in many ways. I can say that I’ve learned quite a few things somewhere within the eternity of your 12 months.
One of the things I’ve learned is to cherish the time I spend with others. I often think of our lives before quarantine (隔离), the simple pleasures, such as going to grab a coffee with a friend or settling in for a movie night. I realize now that I took this time for granted. Looking back, these simple pleasures are the times I cherish the most.
I’ve also learned to appreciate the people around me. I now cherish my parents and appreciate their love and support more than ever before. I cherish my friends and their ability to make me laugh no matter the circumstances. And I’ve learned how to cherish myself. Spending months and months stuck in my home, I’ve had ample time to work on the person I am and gain a little more appreciation for my body and my mind.
Within the long months of quarantine, I have also found things to be grateful for. Personally, I’m thankful for the shows, movies and music that I’ve discovered, the creativity I’ve found in the world now that our doors are closed and our minds are open. Overall, most importantly, 2020, you have taught me how to look for the good hidden among the bad.
However, I won’t miss the goodbyes you have forced us to say or the losses that others have gone through. I won’t miss the darkness of you, 2020, and the great pain you have caused.
We have felt the lows and the highs and everything in between. We will feel the impact of you long after you end, but we will learn to live beyond it and grow into something better.
Goodbye, 2020. It is your time to end.
Sincerely,
A writer from the Clog
1. What was the most important thing did 2020 teach the author?| A．Cherish the time spent with others. |
| B．Realize the simple pleasures. |
| C．Appreciate the people around her. |
| D．Look for the good hidden in the evil. |
| A．Annual. | B．Enough. | C．Awesome. | D．Optional. |
| A．She enjoyed it all the time. |
| B．She was sick of the stuck time. |
| C．She felt ups and downs. |
| D．She missed all the past in 2020. |
| A．The sufferings of 2020. |
| B．A farewell to 2020. |
| C．A regret in 2020. |
| D．The expectations for 2021. |
8 . One day I was calculating my household expenses when I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door and saw two ragged（衣衫褴褛的） children huddling（蜷缩） together.
“Any old papers, lady?”Asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say“no”until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin lttle sandals（凉鞋）, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa. ”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside.
The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. Then she asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”The girl put her cup back in its saucer（茶杯托） carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers. Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply.
They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.”They didn’t need to. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful. Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched. I tasted the potatoes and stirred（搅动） the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup; a roof over our heads, my husband with a good steady job- these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.
1. Why did the children come to the writer’s house?| A．They wanted to beg for some food. |
| B．They wanted the writer s pity on them. |
| C．They wanted to sell old papers to the writer. |
| D．They wanted to see how rich the writer was. |
| A．The children were impolite. |
| B．The children inspired her mind. |
| C．It’s her pleasure to help them. |
| D．She did not care about it. |
| A．How much money you have had. |
| B．What job your husband is doing. |
| C．How you have helped others. |
| D．How you feel about your life. |
| A．To show her husband that someone had come. |
| B．To remind her that she had helped two children. |
| C．To remind her how happy her life is. |
| D．To remind her that she was very rich in the neighborhood. |
9 . Whether it's studying for exams, working on a project or struggling with an essay, we've all been under huge stress at some point. When it gets hard for us to bear, we can reach a level of exhaustion — the terrible burnout (倦怠). However, that feeling of exhaustion is not just physical; it can be mental as well.
According to Psychology Today, burnout isn't just caused by working long hours; it is more about prolonged or repeated exposure to a stressful situation.
Its result can be feelings of cynicism, depression and lethargy (嗜睡). Suffering from burnout can stifle (扼杀) our creativity and productivity. Ironically, this means that striving to be more efficient can result in a reduction in our productivity. But what can we do to avoid the evils of burnout? Well, there are some tips that may help you.
Psychologist Albert Bandura's idea of self-efficacy — which is the theory that you should believe in your ability to complete a task at hand — may assist you. A feeling that the task is achievable and that you are capable of succeeding might make a difficult task less tiresome.
Finding ways to express your creative side may help. Not everyone has creative aspects to their jobs, therefore, they need to find other outlets. They could paint, write or take part in local theatre. All of this may help to free them from the stress that may exist in their working life.
Looking after yourself and your surroundings can also be beneficial. The consequence is that you are surrounded by a cleaner and more positive environment. This, in turn, leads to another tip, which is to have healthy and positive thoughts. Being negative can be incredibly draining (心力交瘁的). Having a positive mental attitude towards everything you do means that you may feel more capable as well.
Burnout is a common condition associated with the pressures of the modern world. It's not just a physical condition; it has psychological effects that can impact heavily on your work and life in general. Taking steps to avoid burning out can benefit not just us, but our bosses and families.
1. What is the main reason for burnout?| A．Lack of sleep. |
| B．Working long hours. |
| C．Struggling with an essay. |
| D．Being under stressful situations. |
| A．Making a task easier. |
| B．Being less creative. |
| C．Working more efficiently. |
| D．Completing work quickly. |
| A．Focus on your work anyway. |
| B．Doubt your ability in working. |
| C．Expose yourself to positive surroundings. |
| D．Find your creative aspects in the job. |
| A．Burnout: A mental condition that deserves attention |
| B．Burnout: A physical condition that can be ignored |
| C．Why are people under huge stress in modern life |
| D．Why can stress affect your work and life |
10 . A bicycle may be seen by most people as just another vehicle(交通工具), but for many Londoners, cycling is a way of life.According to an official UK government survey in 2017, about 570,000 bike journeys are made every day in London.In fact, almost half of the vehicles that pass over London Bridge each day are bikes.
London introduced a public bikesharing system in 2010. “There can be no doubt that our trusty bicycles have changed the way people get around our great city,” Johnson told The Guardian in 2015.
In London, bikes are used for more than just taking short trips to and from the subway.No matter where you want to go in the city, taking a bike is usually the quickest and easiest choice.
And it's not just shared bikes that the government is encouraging people to ride.In many companies across the UK, the UK government's Cycle to Work scheme(骑行倡议) allows employees to buy a brand new bike without having to pay any tax(税)．This means that it's common to see many people cycling to and from work, and some employers even provide workplace showers and lockers(储物柜) for their workers.More importantly, a cycle-friendly boss may let you off for being late if you rode a bike to work.
Not only is it great for the environment and our body, cycling is also good for the mind.According to National Geographic Magazine, “Bike riding can improve people's happiness.”
1. How does the author show the popularity of cycling in London?| A．By making comparisons. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By using numbers. | D．By using famous sayings. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Supportive |
| A．A tax-free bike. | B．Free bike-sharing services. |
| C．Shorter working hours. | D．Workplace showers and lockers. |
| A．不惩罚 | B．奖赏. |
| C．请假 | D．使爆炸 |
