1 . In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, there's a famous saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. The surprise is part of the fun. Now blind box toys（盲盒)are bringing the magic of surprise to online shopping.
A blind box toy is hidden inside similar boxes but invisible from the outside. You don't know what will be inside, although the toys typically come from pop culture, ranging from movies to comics and cartoons.
Blind boxes have become popular since they were first introduced from Japan to China in 2014. According to a 2019 Tmall report, the mini-series of Labubu blind box designed by Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, was named Champion of Unit Sales with 55, 000 sold in just 9 seconds during the Singles Day shopping event. Most customers for blind boxes are young people aged 18 to 35.
According to The Paper, blind box toys are popular in part because of their cute appearances. The typically cute cartoon figures(人物)come in small sizes, making them suitable for display almost anywhere.
Even if blind boxes are not their top choice for decorations, the mystery and uncertainty of the process also attracts people. It's the main reason why people buy blind boxes one after another.
"Expecting the unknown is always a part of the box-opening process," said Miss Cao, 24, who lives and works in Shenyang. Speaking to Sina News, she said: "Until you open all the boxes, you cannot know what it is inside."
Opening a blind box is a delightful little surprise for our mundane daily lives, something small but fun to wait for each day, week or month. When people open this simple little box, they may be disappointed, but the uncertainty is part of the fun. People will open more blind boxes and hope for a better outcome.
When someone re-makes Forrest Gump, don't be surprised if he says, "Life is like a blind box."
1. What do we know about blind boxes?| A．They may bring surprise to our life. | B．They are visible from the outside. |
| C．They are popular among all ages. | D．They were first designed in 2014. |
| A．Because blind boxes are fashionable gifts. |
| B．Because blind boxes are educational gifts. |
| C．Because people enjoy box-opening process. |
| D．Because people prefer the colorful boxes. |
| A．Wonderful | B．Interesting | C．Amazing. | D．Boring. |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. | C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
2 . A troop of a million walking robots could enable scientific exploration at a microscopic level.
Researchers have developed microscopic robots before, but they weren't able to move by themselves, says Marc Miskin at the University of Pennsylvania. That is partly because of a lack of micrometre-scale actuators（微米级致动器）---components required for movement, such as the bending of a robot's legs.
Miskin and his colleagues overcame this by developing a new type of actuator made of an extremely thin layer of platinum, a very valuable silvery-grey metal. Each robot uses four of these tiny actuators as legs, connected to solar cells on its back that can make the legs bend in response to laser light（激光）and push their square metallic bodies forwards.
“Each solar cell is connected to a specific leg and by shooting the solar cells with a laser, you make the legs move in the way you want,“ says Miskin. "It's really cool.”
Through a process similar to that used in creating circuit（电路）boards, Miskin and his team were able to mass-produce more than a million of the microrobots, each of which could only be seen under a microscope.
The robots are only able to walk around, but Miskin says they provide important evidence of concept, showing that it is possible to develop and mass-produce microrobots with on-board electronics. The next step will be to put additional functions together, he says. "We're developing things where we'll have sensing capabilities and well have programmability.”
He also wants to develop microrobot groups that work together. “There's all sorts of cool stuff that happens when you wind up with a lot of robots working together,“ he says.
In the future, these robots could let us explore the world at a microscopic scale. They could potentially be developed to wander inside the human body. "The hope is that these robots are really going to take us into the micro-world," says Miskin.
1. What is the problem with previous microscopic robots?| A．Their lack of adjustable metal legs. | B．Their wrong way of walking alone. |
| C．Their insensitivity to tiny actuators. | D．Their inability to move automatically. |
| A．Solar cells. | B．Circuit boards. |
| C．A normal metal. | D．Natural sunlight. |
| A．To train an army made of microscopic robots. |
| B．To replace human employees with microscopic robots. |
| C．To change present microscopic robots into smaller ones. |
| D．To mass produce walking microscopic robots with on-board electronics. |
| A．Robots Are Exploring the Micro-world |
| B．An Army of Tiny Robots Are in Concept |
| C．Walking Microscopic Robots Are Created |
| D．Robots Will Walk Inside the Human Body |
3 . Growing up in America, I enjoyed the convenience of eating the most attractive, well-packaged foods of the 20th century, including all the candies we often see near the cash register. During those times I wasn't aware how bad sugar was, and in fact, neither was anyone around me. So J continued to spread jam on my toast and eat ice cream daily.
Strangely enough, I felt that sweet was some sort of wonderful drug which gave me the energy to function properly, to feel good and to perform at my best, all of which seemed necessary for growth. So why should I avoid it?
Years later, huge food companies, like General Mills and Post, began pumping more sugar into their products, and then more and more people appeared with bigger bellies(腹部). It finally came to my awareness that our society was becoming more miserable and unfit. And from what? From sugar! I began to do some research into sugar and what it did exactly to our bodies. To my amazement, I found its damage was just as bad as, if not worse than, what alcohol and cigarettes brought about. You see, when you take in more sugar than you need or burn, your body and brain become over-active. This, in effect, causes your cognitive(认知的) abilities to slow down, your mood to get to the extremes, your skin to age faster, your blood to become thicker and your liver and kidneys to be worn out.
But what surprised me most, out of all of these horrible side effects, was that sugar adds extra pounds to your waistline, even if you do exercise regularly. And what I've always wanted, for the past few years, is to remove that extra fat around my belly so that I could finally see my abs(腹肌).
I just didn't know, this whole time, what damage I had been doing to myself and my dreams , but I knew I had to do something I had never done before.
1. What did the author use to do?| A．He took in much sugar. | B．He learnt to cook foods. |
| C．He sold ice cream daily. | D．He had candies packaged. |
| A．Sugar was unable to provide necessary energy. |
| B．More people eating sugary foods became unfit. |
| C．Some companies avoided adding sugar to foods. |
| D．Many customers stopped buying sugary products. |
| A．The author's comments on sugar. |
| B．The detailed process of the research. |
| C．The harmful effect of sugar on health. |
| D．The reasons why the research is done. |
| A．Eat less food. | B．Cut down sugar. |
| C．Do more exercise. | D．Add extra pounds. |
4 . Mauro Colagreco is the only Argentinean chef who has been awarded three Michelin stars, the highest distinction for international cuisine(烹饪). His restaurant on the French Riviera, Mirazur, is considered one of the best in the world, but when it was forced to close its doors temporarily, Colagreco found a way to use his cooking skills to serve the community.
During normal times, Mirazur does great business. But in March, Mirazur had to close its doors due to the coronavirus lockdown. Within days of the reopening in June, Mirazur had already filled up all its reservations for the rest of the year.
The months of closed doors were not a rest for Mirazur’s staff, however. Colagreco and part of Mirazur!s team, instead of standing by, used this time and their talents to aid in the fight against the virus. On April 2, Mirazur’s kitchen, so unique that its menu is a surprise every day, moved its headquarters to nearby La Palmosa Hospital to cook for the health care staff.
Twice a week for two months, the cooks prepared meals to honor those who were facing the pandemic on the front lines. They gave these hospital meals the same elegance and combination of flavors as their dishes at Mirazur. Everything was made with products from the restaurant’s garden, from which its menu is usually nourished, and donations from local suppliers.
A native of La Plata, and trained by Argentine chefs Beatriz Chomnalez and Carlos Alberto “Gato” Dumas, Colagreco has been living in France since 2001. As time went by, his name began to stand out and great new restaurants started to bear his signature. In addition to Mirazur, for example, he opened Grand Coeur in Paris, and L'Estivale by Mauro Colagreco at Nice Airport, Cote d'Azur.
Although he has been an expert in cooking, Colagreco’s work for good causes shows that, like the produce he grows, his roots are firmly in the ground.
1. What can we know about Mirazur?| A．It has enjoyed its popularity. | B．It set limits on reservation. |
| C．It was a non-profit restaurant. | D．It was only nationally famous. |
| A．They turned a restaurant into a care center. |
| B．They stood by and ran their own restaurant. |
| C．They sold hospital meals to the community. |
| D．They offered to cook for the health care staff. |
| A．Designed. | B．Consumed. |
| C．Supported. | D．Stored. |
| A．Imaginative and adventurous. | B．Easy-going and hard-working. |
| C．Remarkably successful and modest. | D．Professional and socially responsible. |
5 . The language Centers first Trivia Night tested students' knowledge on different languages and their histories last Friday at Douglass commons.
"We have decided to conduct this event when the weather is bad so that students who have nowhere to go and stay on campus can come and find a comfortable shelter during a cold winter day," Language Center Director, Teresa Valdez said. According to Valdez, the idea for Trivia night came a year ago from a junior and team-member called Elizabeth de Los Reyes. The event engaged students' interest in languages and showed the high-quality services that the Language Center provides.
Participants competed in small groups that each represented a different language and country. There were five teams in total: Russia, China, Japan, Spain and France. The competition consisted of four rounds with each round consisting of three questions relating to the following topics literature, language, geography, culture and history.
After a few warm-up questions about how people greet each other in different languages, what continent Turkey is found in, and who is the first man to fly to the moon, the questions became increasingly difficult. Each round offered an increasing amount of points a team could receive. The final question was worth 20 points. If a team did not answer it correctly, the points were taken from the total.
In the meantime, students enjoyed pizza, snacks, and drinks while sharing their linguistic (语言的) interest. Most of the participants knew two or three languages. Others knew more, such as first-year Bartek Jezierski from Poland, who can speak English, Polish, German, Spanish, and Russian.
The winners from first to third place were France, Japan and Russia respectively. All five teams were given some prizes—a blue shopping bag, a cup and stuffed toys. However, students believed the most important prize of the evening was the process of the competition—how students from diverse backgrounds and cultures were able to participate in a friendly competition, and shared their mutual (相互的) love of languages.
1. What is one of the purposes of Trivia Night？| A．To attract students to learn languages. |
| B．To help the students suffering from coldness. |
| C．To collect opinions from the students on its services. |
| D．To select the best students for the Language center. |
| A．3 | B．4. | C．12. | D．20. |
| A．Quiet. | B．Relaxing. | C．romantic. | D．Depressing. |
| A．Some snacks and drinks. |
| B．Various prizes for winners. |
| C．The course of the competition. |
| D．The services provided by the language center. |
6 . A few years ago, my sister-in-law started to feel concerned about her teenage daughter. What was she doing after school? Where was she spending her time? My niece was an excellent student, and took part in all kinds of after-class activities. Even so, her mom decided to put a tracking app(跟踪应用程序)on the kid's phone.
At first, this made my sister-in-law “feel better”. Then the good situation suddenly ended. She recalled, “I found out that she was someplace that she said she wasn't. I went out in the middle of the night and found her walking without shoes in the middle of the street with some friends. " Things went quickly downhill for the mother and the daughter after that.
With 73 % of teens having their own smart phones now, according to a 2015 Pew study, more and more of their parents are facing the question: To watch or not ?
Ana Homayoun, founder of Green Ivy Educational Consulting, has advised many parents and their kids about this. "I've found teens are more acceptable to tracking apps when it is included as part of a family agreement to improve safety than when it is placed as a secret tool to watch them,“ she said.
Mark Bell, a father of a teenage girl, said, “We don't have tracking apps, but we have set some ground rules that my daughter must follow in exchange for us providing a smart phone,“ he said. For example, his daughter must “friend“ him on social media so that he can read posts, and must share all passwords.
When you're trying to build trust, you need to create an environment that encourages it. So, to win their trust, you always need to be straight with your children. "Parents must let children know how and when they'll be watching them,“ said Doctor Pauleh Weigle. If they're not open about it, he warns, it can “greatly damage the parent and child relationship”.
1. Why is the author's sister-in-law and her daughter referred to in the first two paragraphs?| A．The author wants to give an example of the failure use of the tracking app. |
| B．The author wants to introduce he had more communication with her daughter. |
| C．The author wants to say that she wasn't worried about her daughter any more. |
| D．The author wants to express he felt good with knowing more about her daughter's activities. |
| A．They doubt family agreements. |
| B．They dislike being watched secretly. |
| C．They are worried about online safety. |
| D．They welcome the use of tracking apps. |
| A．To show how to use smart phone safely. |
| B．To teach how to put tracking app on phones. |
| C．To give some suggestions on how to make children accept it. |
| D．To tell the importance of being children's friends instead of tracking. |
| A．Check the kid's phone. |
| B．Teach the kid how to use it. |
| C．Advise the kid to use his phone less. |
| D．Discuss with the kids and have an agreement with them. |
7 . There are some special traditions in Hawaii. People are very friendly and always welcome visitors. They give visitors a lei, a long necklace of beautiful fresh flowers. Men wear bright flowered shirts, and women often wear long flowered dresses. There are traditional Chinese, Japanese and Filipino holidays and all the holidays from the United States. They call Hawaii the Aloha State. Aloha means both hello and goodbye. It also means “I love you”.
Usually when people from different countries, races and traditions live together, there are serious problems. There are so many people living in Hawaii, but in general, people have learned to live together in peace.
Hawaiians get most of their money from visitors, and most of the visitors come from the mainland and from Japan. There are so many people living in Hawaii now that there are residential areas(住宅区) where there used to be farms. Some of the big sugar and pineapple companies have moved to the Philippines, where they do not have to pay workers as much money. The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies. Japanese are also buying or sharing businesses here.
1. The author wants to show that_________.| A．all the people in the world have to go to Hawaii |
| B．it is possible to learn to live together in peace |
| C．it is not possible to live together in peace |
| D．Hawaii is the only place where there is peace |
| A．Modem industry | B．The bank | C．The airline | D．Tourist trade |
| A．Hawaii, the Aloha State | B．The Businesses of Hawaii |
| C．The Flowers of Hawaii | D．The Problems of Hawaii |
8 . Thanks to more than two decades of environmental recovery efforts, various species of wild birds have begun to gather at the mouth of the Yellow River. The Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve in Shandong province covers about 153, 000 hectares, with wetland making up over 70% of the total area.
Wang Andong, a researcher in the reserve, said 315 oriental storks, an endangered species, were born there this year. The species is under first-class national protection in China. Wang said that, decades ago, the oriental storks only made a brief stop at the reserve before they traveled to China's warm south, but an increasing number of the birds are choosing to live in the area throughout the year.
The reserve has seen the birth of 2, 000 oriental storks since 2003 when the birds first nested there. The increase in the number of wild birds in the reserve, especially endangered species, reflects the area's improved ecology.
Wang owed the improvement to a number of wetland recovery projects, such as water replenishment and turning farmland back into wetland. A total of 155 million cubic meters of water was supplied to the reserve in July to replenish groundwater. Water replenishment, started in 2008, helps bring back the wetland and creates a better environment for fish. It ensures enough food supplies for the birds.
The rising number of wild birds in the reserve has become a feast for the eyes for bird-watchers, who are able to spot oriental storks and other wild birds even outside the reserve.
1. Why did the oriental storks fly to the reserve decades ago?| A．To lay eggs there. | B．To have a short stop there. |
| C．To live there forever. | D．To make nests there. |
| A．Enough food supplies. | B．The increase of wild birds. |
| C．Many wetland recovery projects. | D．The increased area of the reserve. |
| A．Condition. | B．Shortage. | C．Pollution. | D．Supply. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Unconcerned. | C．Doubtful. | D．Worried. |
9 . One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw my classmate Kyle walking home from school. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.”
As I went on walking, I saw five kids running toward him. They knocked all his books down and tripped him, so he fell into the dirt. His glasses went flying. He looked up, and I saw the terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So I walked to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw tears in his eyes. Then I handed him his glasses. He thanked me with a smile. I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. Surprisingly, he lived near me, so we talked all the way home.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
On graduation day, Kyle was chosen to speak, “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers—but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.”
I just looked at Kyle with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to run away from home over the weekend, He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker and was carrying all his things home so his mom wouldn't have to do it later. He gave me a little smile. Not until that moment did I realize the depth of his smiles. “Thankfully, my friend made me give up the idea of running away from home.”
1. What did the author think of Kyle when they first met?| A．He was too weak. | B．He was easy-going. |
| C．He was a little bit unusual. | D．He was too shy to speak to strangers. |
| A．He never imagined saving someone's life. |
| B．He didn't realize that he was Kyle's best gift. |
| C．He didn't realize he made a big difference to Kyle. |
| D．He never thought that Kyle would behave that well. |
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed. | B．One can kill two birds with one stone. |
| C．Things of one kind come together. | D．With one small act, one can change a person's life. |
| A．The Power of Your Ideas | B．A Meaningful Graduation Speech |
| C．The Best Gift from My Friend | D．An Encouraging Story on Friendship |
10 . Recently I’ve had two good roles on television. But when I was just getting started in theater work 17 years ago, I never thought I’d make it. Back then I was recovering from surgery and had been off work for six months. Even worse, as a single mother with three youngsters, I had no place to live in. I felt hopeless.
One Sunday morning I saw actor Robert Young on the television talking about his faith: Believe yourself! If we confidently take that first step, well take the next, until we reach our goal.
The first step was scary. After I went working part-time, I looked for an apartment. The ones I saw were either too expensive, or I couldn’t raise my children in them. I knew a house, not an apartment, was more suitable for me. However, after seeing several houses, my confidence was shaken. I found two seemed right, but when I was about to make an offer, someone else had ordered.
I remembered a saying, “When one door closes, a better one opens.” I wouldn’t just sit staring at the closed one but got up and struggled on. In a real estate (房地产) agent, I found a small house with proper price. To buy it, I had to borrow $ 3,000 for a down payment and get a mortgage (按揭). Common sense argued that a mortgage for a single mother working part-time was impossible. But I had enough self-confidence without following common sense.
After getting the house, my new self-confidence grew. Later , when I began filling small parts in television productions, that self-confidence showed. I'd always played the role as the director wanted. Now I find myself freer to interpret (演绎) it.
Self-confidence has made it through life. Trouble can be scary at first, but each time I take that step, I believe I will win the next.
1. How did the author feel when entering television industry at first?| A．Hopeful. | B．Embarrassed. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Aggressive. |
| A．To show the value of self-confidence. |
| B．To share her different life experiences. |
| C．To introduce her toughest part of life. |
| D．To tell us her ways to get over difficulty. |
| A．Her sense of confidence. | B．The difficulty in her life. |
| C．The director’s good direction. | D．Her success in her first attempt. |
| A．Appear on the Stage | B．Struggle with Life |
| C．Stick to Your Plan | D．Believe in Yourself |
