1 . My 12-year-old daughter, Lauren, came home from school yesterday, proudly waving her grade book to me. She had been awarded A-1 in most subjects such as mathematics, language arts and science—a great achievement! Then she sadly pointed out that her perfect score was damaged by a B-1 in French and a C-1 in Physical Education.
I asked her what the scores meant. She said that the letter showed the achievement(成绩) and the number showed the effort. That moment I realized that the grades were misleading. I reached out my hands and gave her a big hug and told her in my mind she had a perfect score. It didn’t matter that her grade in French was a “B”—the “l” showed that she had tried her best. That is something to make any parent proud.
Everybody is different. Everybody has different potential(潜能). Not all of us will become linguists(语言学家) or sports stars. But without 100％effort no potential can be achieved. If I see a salesperson fail at sales, the first thing I want to examine is the effort being put in. If there is a problem with effort, the salesperson has no future. But if I see a salesperson isn’t successful with l00％effort, he or she is worth my effort in helping. Maybe a bit of training or some advice from a more successful person will help. I know that 100％effort, focus in the right direction, will always bring a result whether that is an “A” or a “C”. As long as you make 100％effort, you are great.
1. The author’s daughter was weak in _______.| A．maths. | B．science. | C．chemistry. | D．physical education. |
| A．High grades make parents proud. |
| B．Grades are important to children. |
| C．People hold a wrong idea of grades. |
| D．High grades show great achievements. |
| A．will give him training. |
| B．is willing to offer help. |
| C．will find an easy way for him. |
| D．may think he has no future. |
| A．trying his or her best. |
| B．achieving good grades. |
| C．having different potential. |
| D．giving other people useful advice. |
2 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U. S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their Phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
On average found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
"The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use," Twenge said. "Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness."
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it's easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U. S. teens. Specifically, young peopled life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That's the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens' lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge's team use for the study?| A．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
3 . The National Gallery
Description:
The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.
Layout:
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th- to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.
The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci , Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van de Dyck, Velázquez, Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18th- to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours:
The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm (Fridays 10 am to 9 pm ) and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There:
Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).
1. In which wing can you see religious paintings?| A．In the West Wing | B．In the North Wing |
| C．In the East Wing | D．In the Sainsbury Wing |
| A．The National Gallery is the biggest British national art museum. |
| B．The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. |
| C．The Gallery is completely free. |
| D．There are four exhibition areas in the National Gallery. |
| A．A museum guide. | B．An artist magazine. |
| C．A news report. | D．A tourist map. |
4 . An advance in electronic publishing could make the e-book you are reading seem as dated as a silent film. Publishers hope to explore the growing success of e-books by releasing versions with added soundtracks（电影配音）and musical accompaniments.
The noises in the first multimedia books — released in Britain on Friday - include rain hitting a window in a Sherlock Holmes tale. When the plot of a book reaches the most exciting part, background scores will create tension.
Supporters argue that sound effects are the next logical development for e-books and will add excitement for younger readers. Critics, however, will argue that the noise will ruin the simple pleasure of having the imagination stimulated by reading.
Caroline Michel, chief executive of the literary agency, said the new generation of computer- literate readers was used to multiple sensory input. She said, “Young people have split computer screens where they may be watching television and replying to an email at the same time. If that's what the market wants then we should respond to the market.”
Book track's sound effects work by estimating the user's reading speed. Each lime you turn a page, the software reassesses where you have reached in the text and times the sounds to switch on accordingly. If the soundtrack becomes out of synch （同步），a click on any word will reset it.
Some authors fear that a soundtrack could destroy the peace and quiet of libraries and ruin the pleasure, of reading. David Nicholls, author of Our Day, the bestseller now released as a film, said, “This sounds like the opposite of reading. I have enough trouble reading an e-book because I'm constantly distracted by emails.
Stuart MacBride, the crime writer whose novel Shatter the Bones was an e-book bestseller, sells 18% of his books as electronic downloads. He said, “If I'm reading, I will do the noise in my head. I don’t need someone to tell me what lea cups clinking sounds like. That would irritate （激怒）me.”
1. What do publishers expect an e-book soundtrack to do?| A．Help to release an e-book as a film. | B．Help readers improve reading speed. |
| C．Add tension at a book's exciting point. | D．Get readers familiar with the background. |
| A．Mr. Darcy. | B．Caroline Michel. |
| C．David Nicholls. | D．Stuart MacBride. |
| A．He was a person who was easy to get angry. |
| B．He knew a great deal about tea and tea culture. |
| C．Eighty-two percent of his books described crime. |
| D．He imagined sounds related to the story when reading. |
| A．Opinions about e-books with soundtracks. |
| B．Response to the need of the book market. |
| C．Reasons for traditional e-books becoming outdated. |
| D．Suggestions on encouraging readers’ imagination. |
5 . Canadians have a global reputation（名声）for being polite. A survey ranked Canada first out of 50 countries. Most Canadians think that while being polite can be a superficial attitude when people are communicating with friend and strangers, being “kind” to others generally requires a much greater effort and truly knows who you are as a person.
A national survey made by Environics Research Group for Coca-Cola Canada shows that on average each Canadian has shown kindness to others through random（随意的）actions four times in the last four weeks. Examples of their kindness include things such as opening a door for a stranger, offering to carry heavy items or giving up your seat for someone else in a public bus.
With millions of acts of kindness happening every day, most Canadians surveyed felt kind folks deserved more recognition for their actions. Coca-Cola Canada has decided to praise some very special individuals who make others happy with good acts in their own communities. The goal is to share their stories to help inspire（鼓舞）others to give a little kindness too.
“When it comes to kindness, seeing really is believing,” says Carolyn Harty, Senior Brand Manager of Coca-Cola. “More than half of Canadians are inspired to pay it forward themselves when they see others making a kind gesture. It is these small acts of kindness that make a large difference and inspire people and create happiness.”
Sixteen-year-old Sheliza Kassam, from Canada, decided on her thirteenth birthday that instead of gifts, she and her family would help feed families in need. Her small action became larger and developed into a non-profit organization that Sheliza now runs to hold birthday parties for children living in shelters who otherwise would not be able to celebrate their special day.
Another teen Nathan Unrau started out with a one-time school charity project that just couldn’t help. With the support of his parents, Lunches with Love has become a non-profit organization that makes and gives away 450 paper bag lunches to the local homeless people every other Saturday.
1. For what are Canadians famous all around the world?| A．Working hard. |
| B．Being grateful for others’ help. |
| C．Behaving well in public. |
| D．Having good manners. |
| A．Why Canadians show kindness. |
| B．What kindness means. |
| C．How kind Canadians are. |
| D．When Canadians show politeness. |
| A．To encourage all the people to spread kindness. |
| B．To celebrate the great events of kindness. |
| C．To show the ways of making others happy. |
| D．To remind people of the importance of kindness. |
| A．They were once supported by others. |
| B．They came from the non-profit organizations. |
| C．They enjoyed staying with poor children. |
| D．They offer others some food. |
6 . A car weighing only a few hundred pounds, can travel 500 miles per hour, repair itself and cost less than other cars. It might be hard to imagine such a cat, let alone a spaceship. But NASA is trying to make a spaceship that is much better than other ships.
The spacecraft has to be as light as it can be. Weight costs money! A new discovery might allow spacecraft to be lighter. A new material called a "carbon nanotube（碳纳米管）" might be the answer to the weight problem of building a super spaceship. This material is 600 times stronger than steel.
One of the big problems with space travel is space radiation （辐射）.In space, astronauts need protection against harmful rays. You might think that the metal on a spaceship is the answer. But, metals are the worst for protecting against very dangerous space rays. These rays are made of little pieces called ions （离子）.When the ions hit metals at very high speed, they can break an atom and cause another type of ray to form. These new rays can be worse than the radiation the metal skins were supposed to stop. Thus, it is very important to block these rays.
But we could use carbon nanotubes to make the skins of spacecraft. Things that are light in weight seem to work the best against these ions. The rays are stopped outside the spacecraft and new rays aren't made.
In addition, our super spaceship needs to be able to repair itself. Humans can feel the smallest pinpricks （针刺）because of tiny sensors that send signals to our brains. Tiny sensors like ours could be built in the new ships. Each sensor could send messages to the computer “brain" of the spacecraft. If something needed to be fixed, the computer could tell the ship to do it.
Just as amazing as a car would be to someone 200 years ago, our nanotube spaceship might seem to us. We might actually make the spacecraft of tomorrow, using the technology of today.
1. What are the features of carbon nanotubes?| A．Light and strong. | B．Thin and radioactive. |
| C．Self-repairing and weightless. | D．Sensitive and protective. |
| A．Space radiation can't be blocked at all. |
| B．Space rays can break ions to form new rays. |
| C．Carbon nanotubes can prevent radiation effectively. |
| D．Metal skins aren't a good choice for their strength. |
| A．Humans can feel the smallest pinpricks. |
| B．The computer "brain" can repair itself. |
| C．Signals can be sent to humans' brains. |
| D．The computer can be informed of what to repair. |
| A．A New Discovery in Space |
| B．NASA Made a Breakthrough |
| C．Nanotubes Help to Repair Spacecraft |
| D．NASA's Attempt to Make a Super Spaceship |
7 . It is quite apparent that competition surrounds every aspect of human life whether in the United States or the Amazon rainforest. Without it we would not have grown into primates (灵长类动物) . Or we would probably still be struggling to sharpen a bronze tool while crawling around on four legs in search of meat. Without competition, Columbus wouldn’t have discovered America and Edison would never have invented the light bulb.
Friendship, like all relationships between two people, involves competition. It isn’t competition in a traditional sense because there are no goals to be scored and no prize. Perhaps the ecological definition --- the simultaneous (同时) demand by two or more organisms for limited environmental resources, such as nutrients, living space, or light --- better explains it.
As in nature, high school life is governed by a set of laws, similar to a shortened version of Darwin’s theory of evolution, overpopulation, and competition. There is an abundance of high school students and to distinguish them, ranking and categorizing (分类) take place. In high school, friendships learn to coexist with competition even though at times the relationship is rough. In fact, in some circumstance, competition is too much of a burden for a friendship to bear, causing it to fall apart. College admission is the final high school objective. Four years of hard work is to achieve good grades, and a student’s fate is determined not only by these achievements, but by the records of thousands of other seniors trying to achieve a similar recognition.
Nevertheless, by necessity, competition between students exists in all aspects of high school life. It sets and improves the standards in everything from sports to schoolwork. A healthy, friendly competition can have only benefits, but when it becomes too fierce, jealousy (妒忌) can tear friendships apart. Yet, despite all this, without competition, we would be lost.
1. What does the ecological definition mainly explain?| A．How to win the competition. |
| B．How friends compete with each other. |
| C．What competition exactly is. |
| D．What the result of competition is. |
| A．they know the laws of nature well. |
| B．they are divided into different groups. |
| C．friendship is a burden for them. |
| D．the number of them is too large. |
| A．Friendship is always based on competition. |
| B．The degree of competition is vital to friendship. |
| C．Competition is a result of lost friendship. |
| D．Competition is terribly harmful to friendships. |
| A．The result of competition are out of control. |
| B．Competition becomes fierce in high school. |
| C．Competition is certain to happen at school. |
| D．Friendship is not as important as competition at school. |
8 . A customer stands on the other side of the counter at my work, eyeing the menu. “The food here is so caloric,” she complains, and then looks at me. “You don’t eat here, do you? It certainly doesn’t look like it.” My face turned red.
I’m not quite used to how others see me. Since June 2018, I’ve lost almost 50 pounds. When I made the choice to change my body physically, everyone around me told me that I would be happier: Skinny meant pretty, and pretty meant happy and satisfied. After looking through dozens of before-and-after changes on Instagram and other social media, I was more eager to make myself smaller, to better fit into the world. But none of that happened. I didn’t feel more whole, or more peaceful. More than anything, I felt lied to.
Human health is unbelievably complex, and there’s so much more to our well-being than caloric balance. For several months, I often felt very tired and got angry easily, convinced that my body was a machine and I had to hard-wire it to look as physically perfect as possible. But at the end of the day, I realized that saying no to my body’s natural desire only left me feeling upset.
Our world is filled with losing weight. Nearly every time I listen to the radio, I hear some ads criticizing empty promises of giving you a better body, achieved only by this gym membership/ this prepackaged Keto shake/ this waist trainer. These all live by the same message: That food is dangerous, and the less we eat, the better off we are. In extreme cases, this message can lead to eating disorders, which will affect over 30 million people in their lifetimes, according to the Body Image Therapy Center.
These ideas could not be further from the truth. We eat food for a reason: It gives us energy, it keeps our body functioning, and it makes us human. I urge everybody to adopt a diet based on sustainability (可持续发展), to eat for energy, based on what makes us happy. We all deserve healthy relationships with food and mindful eating is the best place to start.
1. How did the author feel when hearing the customer’s words?| A．Quite proud. |
| B．A bit angry. |
| C．Rather guilty. |
| D．A little embarrassed. |
| A．She was laughed at by others. |
| B．She got encouragement from her family. |
| C．She was attracted by pictures on the Internet. |
| D．She got tired easily when being overweight. |
| A．It made her disbelieve others. |
| B．It did harm to her well-being. |
| C．It helped lift her confidence a bit. |
| D．It taught her about determination. |
| A．They are far from creative. |
| B．They hurt human’s relationships with food. |
| C．They cause many people to do too much exercise. |
| D．They mislead some youths into having wrong ideas of beauty. |
9 . There are nearly 2,800 working satellites in space, which we depend on for technology we use every day, such as video calls, online maps, satellite TV, and weather tracking. Scientists use them to study space and learn more about our planet.
But there are many other satellites in orbit (轨道) that are no longer working. They're among the objects cluttering (使杂乱) up space. Some of these eventually fall back toward Earth, either landing or burning up in the atmosphere. But much of this space junk (垃圾) circles Earth for years. Space junk is a problem. Debris (残骸) floating around Earth puts technology and future space tasks at risk. Experts are working on ways to solve it.
Orbital debris, a type of space junk, is any human-made object that has slopped working but continues to float around the Earth. This includes satellites that are no longer used and pieces of spacecraft, such as rocket stages. It has been a large problem since the 1960s.
Space junk also includes broken pieces of objects. These occur when satellites hit against things. They also result from an object crashing into an old rocket stage that still contains fuel, causing an explosion (爆炸) . There have been more than 250 space explosions since the 1960s. These tiny broken pieces can damage working satellites, which can affect research in space.
Companies all over the world are working to clean up the area surrounding our planet. A company based in Japan will test the method of using magnets (磁石) to collect space debris. Another mission is led by a company based in Switzerland. It plans to carry out a debris-removal spacecraft in 2025. The craft will get hold of a piece of an old rocket, slow it down, and move it back to Earth. Eventually, the debris will burn out like a shooting star.
Governments are trying to help too. Some are updating their country's space guidelines to limit the amount of debris created. Space is so large that the problem won't be solved by a single organization or a single country. We have to work on this together.
1. What is the biggest harm that space junk does to human beings?| A．It will fall back toward the Earth. | B．It circles the Earth for years. |
| C．It puts other space objects in danger. | D．It will burn up in the atmosphere. |
| A．By making the orbital debris fall back to Earth. | B．By putting the pieces all together. |
| C．By collecting space junk with magnets. | D．By sending space junk into deep space. |
| A．Strict laws. | B．Global efforts. |
| C．Stopping in space exploration. | D．Setting up professional organizations. |
| A．Earth and its satellites. | B．The problem of space junk. |
| C．Ways of cleaning up space junk. | D．The various uses of man-made satellites. |
10 . Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Siver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities in 2020. The followings shows how we have tried to make your life better.
Transport
☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.
☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January.
☆50 per cent of city bus-stops have been upgraded.
Communication
☆Broadband cableis now available to ll parts of the city.
☆All of the new Government buildings are smart-wired for better computer service!
Medical Facilities
☆The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June.
☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.
☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.
Education
☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2020!
☆Rental for private schools has been reduced.
Protection and Security
☆Extra police now patrol(巡逻)the tourist areas.
☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.
Entertainment/Recreation
☆The new Central Community Building opened in May.
☆5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.
1. What’s the notice mainly about?| A．The work carried out by the people of Silver City. |
| B．The facilities available in Silver City. |
| C．Some improvements in Silver City. |
| D．Information for interested tourists. |
| A．Travel books are provided in the new library. |
| B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City. |
| C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital. |
| D．There are more police officers on duty now. |
| A．the community | B．the local government |
| C．the Silver City Library | D．a travel agency |
