1 . Now the reason why cooking has become so popular, especially among men, is that the kitchen is the new workshop. Deprived (剥夺) of the requirement to practice his hands-on skills in wood or metal, the modern man turns to the chopping-board worktop instead — previously this was more likely to be the woman’s area. It involves tools, process and planning, and satisfies a natural desire to produce something.
I like fooling about in the kitchen, to be honest. Last night, tired of too many visits to over-priced restaurants, I tried to do something a bit clever with meats and vegetables. It was all right, I suppose. I mean, my guest and I both ate it, but in a slightly awkward sort of way. It was all a bit brown. More to the point it took hours and hours that could have been spent on something more meaningful, such as mending the cooker. There are also three dead motorcycles in the garage, and they’re not going to repair themselves. I therefore recommend the “Strength Through Simplicity” cooking style-the new stage of culinary (烹饪的) progress shall be the garage.
I’m hoping to introduce the idea of garage cooking in a new TV series and, as usual, would welcome any suggestions; anything suitable for consumption by a man who has one reasonably clean hand and one coated with machine oil he'd rather not put near his face. This is not, in fact, without precedent (先例) I’ve been in a factory in India where the workers baked bread on the tops of hot machines, and they somehow tasted better for being a by-product of industrial effort.
Tonight I’ve had an oil change with side of chain adjustment accompanied by beans and sausages.
1. According to the author, why are men increasingly increased in cooking?| A．They find it more enjoyable than working in a workshop. |
| B．They now have fewer opportunities to create things. |
| C．It is now more socially acceptable for men to cook. |
| D．Women are gcnerally spending less ime cooking. |
| A．He didn’t practice his cooking skill well. |
| B．He should have used the restaurant recipe. |
| C．He could have used the cooking time better. |
| D．He didn’t receive any encouragement from his guest. |
| A．A media worker. | B．A restaurant critic. |
| C．A cook. | D．An athlete. |
| A．The wisdom of industrial workers has been overlooked. |
| B．Skills learnt in a factory can be applied in cooking a meal. |
| C．Food cooked in a garage tastes as delicious as that from a kitchen. |
| D．Meals have previously been prepared in unusual workplace settings. |
2 . Record fires sweeping across the Amazon recently have been making the headlines as scientists and environmental groups are worried that they will worsen climate change crisis and endanger biodiversity(生物多样性）。
As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called"the lungs of the world”. It is also home to about 3 million species of plants and animals, and 1 million local people. The vast area of rainforest plays an important role in the world's ecosystem because it absorbs heat instead of reflecting heat back into the atmosphere. It also stores carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, ensuring that less carbon is released, reducing the effects of climate change.
＂Any forest destroyed is a danger to biodiversity and the people who use that biodiversity," Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University told National Geographic."The great danger is that a lot of carbon goes into the atmosphere,"he stressed."In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity.The Amazon must be protected,"UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Data from the National Institute for Space Research(INPE)show that the number of forest fires in Brazil quickly increased by 82 percent from January to August a year ago.A total of 71,497 forest fires were registered in the country in the first 8 months of 2019,up from 39,194 in the same period in 2018,INPE said.＂We estimate that the forest areas in the Brazilian Amazon have decreased something between 20 and 30 percent compared to the last 12 months," Carlos Nobre, a researcher at the University of Sao Paulo, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Brazil owns about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest,whose degradation(恶化）could have severe consequences for global climate and rainfall.The extent of the area ruined by fires has yet to be determined, but the emergency has gone beyond Brazil's borders.
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about?| A．The great role of the Amazon rainforest. |
| B．The effects of consistent climate change. |
| C．The causes of the decreasing biodiversity. |
| D．The results of the Amazon rainforest fires. |
| A．To explain the process of the research. |
| B．To present the bad influence of forest fires. |
| C．To prove the great importance of the rainforest. |
| D．To show the emergency of protecting the rainforest. |
| A．The dry weather leads to the rainforest fires. |
| B．The biodiversity makes the rainforest unique. |
| C．The rainforest fires result in serious consequences. |
| D．The global climate crisis brings more rainforest fires. |
| A．Climate and life. |
| B．Nature and geography. |
| C．Humankind and society. |
| D．Science and technology. |
3 . Four Useful Products for Your Life
Electric Wine Opener
Cost: $19.89
Once you've tried this tool, you'll never go back to the old fashioned kind. This electric wine opener will remove the cork (瓶塞) easily within seconds, and can open up to 30 bottles with a single charge.
Fantastic Ice Cream Spoon
Cost: $14. 99
It’s always disappointing when you're really in the mood for ice cream, but have to wait forever for the ice cream to get to just the right softness. Well, this heated ice cream spoon exactly conducts heat from your hands, and will help soften the ice cream to make it ready to eat right away.
Express Baker
Cost: $58. 99
Making your own bread seems like a quite difficult job. But this baker makes it easier—within an hour. It has 12 different bread settings, and three different crust settings, so you can make bread, pizza and more. A quick look through the reviews shows that customers are pretty happy with it, too.
Corn Stripper
Cost: $7.99
There's no denying that corn on the cob (棒) is delicious But eating corn on the cob and dealing with all the little bits that get stuck in your teeth afterwards is a painful experience. This little device takes all the corns from the cob, by letting you strip (剥) your corn easily, without making a total mess.
1. What can people do with Express Baker?| A．Make some food. | B．Soften food. |
| C．Classify food. | D．Keep food fresh. |
| A．Electric Wine Opener. | B．Fantastic Ice Cream Spoon. |
| C．Express Baker. | D．Corn Stripper. |
| A．They are of the same price. |
| B．They are difficult to operate. |
| C．They make food more delicious to eat. |
| D．They make people's life easier. |
4 . Today we know Antarctica as an extreme environment containing ice and snow. But new research provides evidence that the area was very different in the past.
The evidence was found inside a piece of earth sediment(沉积物) collected by researchers from a depth of about 30 meters below the ocean floor off the coast of Antarctica. In the sediment, they found forest soil estimated to be about 90 million years old. This would have been in the Cretaceous Period, when dinosaurs were the main land animals.
Johann Klages is a geologist, working in the Institute's Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany. He said an examination showed that the material formed on land, not in the ocean.
The researchers estimate that the area – about 900 kilometers from the South Pole – had average yearly temperatures of about 12 to 13 degrees Celsius. During the warmest summer months, average temperatures likely reached between 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. The average yearly temperature in that area is about 40 degrees below zero Celsius.
The examination results showed “a dense network of roots that spread through the entire soil layer,” the Helmholtz Center said in a statement.
The dark brownish-gray soil included fine dirt particles and hard clay, as well as substances linked to at least 65 different kinds of plants, the study found. Klages put that the plants included trees, ferns and flowering plants and while no animal remains were found, there were likely dinosaurs, flying reptiles and many insects in the environment.
The researchers said that the rainforest environment in Antarctica was especially surprising because each year, the area experiences a four-month polar night when there is no sunlight to fuel plant life.
1. According to the passage, we can learn that ________.| A．dinosaurs were from Antarctica |
| B．Antarctica was always extremely cold |
| C．the ocean floor is made up of sediment |
| D．the area has been experiencing climate changes |
| A．No animals left. |
| B．No fertilizer to fuel plants. |
| C．Roots spreading through the soil. |
| D．The rainforest experiencing polar night. |
| A．Science. | B．Entertainment. | C．Society. | D．Fiction. |
| A．Antarctica, Once a Warm Rainforest |
| B．Earth Sediment Found in Antarctica |
| C．Antarctica - an Extreme Environment |
| D．New Antarctica Found by Researchers |
5 . Laurie Santos greeted her Yale University students with slips of paper that explained: No class today.
It was mid-semester (学期). With exams and papers coming, everyone was exhausted and stressed. There was one rule: They couldn’t use the one hour and a quarter of unexpected free time to study, and they had to just enjoy it. Nine students hugged her. Two burst into tears.
Santos, a professor of psychology, had planned to give a lecture about what researchers have learned about how important time is to happiness, but she created a special class on the psychology of living a joyful, meaningful life and she wanted the lessons to stick. All semester, she explained why we think the way we do. Then, she challenged students to use that knowledge to change their own lives.
On that spring afternoon, nearly a quarter of the undergraduate students were enjoying an unexpected break at the same time. No, not just enjoying it-really loving the gift they had been given. Skyler Robinson, a sophomore, had been confused for a moment by all the possibilities it opened up. He felt very, very happy. Then, he took a nap. “That nap,” he said, “was fantastic.”
Santos designed this class after she realized, as the head of a residential college at Yale, that many students were stressed out and unhappy, struggling through long days that seemed to her far more crushing (惨重的) and joyless than her own college years.
Santos said students were most skeptical of the idea that good grades aren’t essential to happiness. And when she joked she was going to teach them that by giving everyone “D”, she was flooded with calls from frightened students and parents. Santos told them she was creating a center for the good life at the college she leads at Yale. As for the good life, she told them they already know how to live it-they just have to practice and put in hard work.
So many students have told her the class changed their lives. “If you’re really grateful, show me that.” she told them. “Change the culture.”
1. What did Santos ask her Yale students to do that day?| A．Study for the coming exams. |
| B．Enjoy the free time in her class. |
| C．Apply their way of thinking to life. |
| D．Realize the importance of time. |
| A．They care nothing about grades but happiness. |
| B．They are stressed into a hopeless generation. |
| C．They are living a joyful and meaningful life. |
| D．They suffer great pressure from learning. |
| A．Popular. | B．Discouraging. |
| C．Humorous. | D．dull |
| A．Yale has a special course about social life. |
| B．Yale teaches its students about good grades. |
| C．Yale has a course all about living happily. |
| D．Yale helps its students reduce learning pressure. |
6 . The U.S. is still out in front of global competitors when it comes to innovation (革新), but American universities-where new ideas often spread-have reason to look over their shoulders.
That's especially true for technologies like 5G phone networks and artificial intelligence. In President Donald Trump's opinion, they're exactly the fields where the U.S. has to lead - and also the ones where Asia, especially China, is catching up. Universities from China get more patents than their U.S. peers in wireless communications, according to research firm GreyB Services. In AI, 17 of the top 20 universities and public research organizations are in China, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences topping the list, says the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.
There's a special place for universities in the development of science. Universities educate future scientists and can be incubators (孵化器) for pie-in-the-sky ideas-some of which turn out to be game-changers. The list ranges from Google's search engine to DNA technology that's behind a whole industry of gene-manipulating (基因编辑) treatments.
However, government aids to universities haven't been growing for more than a decade, meaning they've declined in real terms and as a share of the economy, leading to the cost increase for universities and meanwhile somehow discouraging the teaching staff from putting all their hearts into their scientific research.
“If you look at the federal dollars, they've not really changed considerably,” says Stephen Susalka, head of AUTM, a technology transfer association whose members include 800 universities. “Other countries are catching up. We can't be satisfied with what we have achieved.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “look over their shoulders” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Watch out | B．Take off |
| C．Stand up | D．Hide away |
| A．Chinese universities have obtained more patents than other countries |
| B．the Chinese government provides aids to Chinese universities |
| C．wireless communications are changed dramatically these years |
| D．U.S. universities may lose their lead in some high-tech fields |
| A．Universities can be birthplaces of game programmers. |
| B．Pie-in-the-sky ideas from universities can be revolutionary. |
| C．Universities play an important role in science development. |
| D．Gene-manipulation helps to develop DNA technology. |
| A．Worried. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Positive. | D．Unconcerned. |
7 . Imagine turning on the GPS and seeing an image of your car from above. As the car drives, the map follows along in real time, informing you of any traffic, pedestrians, animals or other things nearby. Routes and names of road appear over the live stream. It's like the map has come to life.
This type of map isn't available yet. But it could be very soon. In 2014, the WorldView-3 satellite was sent into space. Even though it orbits Earth at more than 370 miles (600km) away, it can take images of objects on Earth that are just 10 inches (25cm) across. Looking all the way from outer space, it can make out a smart phone held in your hand. It can tell what types of cars are travelling down a road. But it can't identify your face or read the cars' license plate numbers.
According to some reports, this satellite and other US satellites have the technology to take even sharper images, with a resolution of up to around 4 inches (10cm). But US law forbids making these super-sharp pictures public. But the idea that anybody might be able to spy on the entire Earth in such detail may seem scary. Live, high-detail satellite mapping could be used to keep tabs on anybody at any time, without the person's knowledge. Ray Purdy of University College London told CNN that he couldn't imagine what this could mean for privacy. "Most satellites are commercially owned, so if you have money, you can have that imagery. It means anyone can spy on anyone." he said.
At the same time, live, detailed maps of the Earth's surface could aid humanity in amazing ways. Satellite images can help experts track storms as they form and chart their paths. At high detail, live maps of a disaster area could quickly reveal people in need of rescue as well as the safest routes in or out. Satellites images are already helping the police catch illegal fishing operations. Higher detail may make it possible to catch other criminals in the act. The images could also make it easier for farmers to watch over their crops or for scientists to find minerals. Also, these images play a very important role in monitoring the health of forests and other landscapes.
What do you think? Would you like to see everyone accessing high-detail live maps of the Earth's surface? Please share your idea with us on the website.
1. How does the author introduce the topic of the passage?| A．By telling a story. |
| B．By supposing a situation. |
| C．By making a comparison. |
| D．By using a research finding. |
| A．Tell how a person looks. |
| B．Identify what a pedestrian is holding. |
| C．Help farmers sow seeds for their crops. |
| D．Read a running car's license plate number. |
| A．Regret. |
| B．Excitement. |
| C．Concern. |
| D．Sympathy. |
| A．Anyone can spy on anyone |
| B．Criminals have nowhere to hide |
| C．More satellites into space: good or bad? |
| D．A live map of everywhere on Earth:scary or cool? |
8 . In the future, when robots can be used both in homes and in other areas, they could improve the living standards of people. Many people burn their energy on their daytoday tasks like cooking, cleaning after work, etc. When robots can complete such jobs, people can spend more time with their family and friends. Experts say that many major problems in the modern world are caused by miscommunication. When people have more time, they can talk freely to solve such issues and eventually create a happy society.
Robots can be used on certain jobs to avoid accidents caused by careless behavior of some people. When robots are used on such work, it does not risk any human life due to accidents at the workplace. Human resources can be efficiently used by performing tasks which demand human skills like critical thinking and problem solving. Robots can be used on lowend jobs like moving heavy things and heavy weight lifting.
While some people talk about how robots can be useful to humans, others voice their concerns. When robots become cheaper to produce, employers may prefer to use more robots than humans. As the technology constantly improves the abilities of robots, it could weaken the value of humans. Many people may rely on robots heavily. Some may even develop the habit of using robots on tasks that they can easily do. This could create a lazy society.
As an aging society, Japan sees it as a must to build robots that take care of elderly people at their homes, because without them, the nation’s health care system can’t cope. There will simply be too many elderly people to care for as the nation faces a decreasing birth rate, an aging population, and the loosening of family ties. However, many of Japan’s elderly people would prefer human helpers rather than robots. Above all, Japan needs its dreams of robots in the home to come true because its immigration policy is antiimmigration.
1. According to the first paragraph, when robots can be used in homes, ________.| A．people will spend more time on their work |
| B．there would be more misunderstandings between humans |
| C．people’s living standards will be improved |
| D．people may communicate more with robots than human beings |
| A．problem solving |
| B．communicating with others |
| C．critical thinking |
| D．working safely |
| A．people will be unwilling to work hard |
| B．human resources won’t be needed at the workplace |
| C．it will be harder to improve the abilities of robots |
| D．robots will be beyond our control |
| A．Japan will try to develop robots to be used in the home. |
| B．The robots are well received by elderly people in Japan. |
| C．The Japanese government encourages foreigners to move to Japan. |
| D．Most Japanese citizens are against robots in the home. |
9 . There are actually three common types of pink eye (红眼病), medically known as conjunctivitis (结膜炎). Two-viral and bacterial-can spread from person to person. The third, allergic, involves your surrounding environment.
How does pink eye start? An infected person touches his or her eyes, then touches something else. If you touch that person or object and then your eyes, you can contract the same infection. That includes shaking hands, sharing towels or pillows, or even papers if you work in an office job. So when it comes to how to get pink eye, not washing your hands-and frequently touching your face-can both play a big role. Pink eye can also spread when you use old makeup or share makeup. In fact, if someone in your household develops bacterial or viral conjunctivitis, replace or at least wash everything you can, including sheets, towels, taps, and other bathroom equipment.
Contact lens (隐形眼镜) is another common way to develop bacterial conjunctivitis. Always wash and dry your hands before handling your contacts. Use the solution and storage methods recommended by your eye doctor. All these steps become even more important if someone in your household already has pink eye. If you do develop conjunctivitis yourself, take your contacts out and throw them away. Wear glasses until your doctor gives you the OK to put your lenses back in. And clean your glasses frequently too. When it’s time to wear contacts again, start with a new pair.
Unlike bacterial and viral conjunctivitis, allergic conjunctivitis is caused by something in your surrounding environment. You might develop symptoms during allergy season in the spring or fall, caused by the same flowers or trees that cause hay fever. This adds the difficulties to the prevention of conjunctivitis.
While not every case of pink eye requires medical treatment, doctor recommends that anyone with a sudden start of these symptoms see a doctor. Some cases can turn serious, and symptoms can be similar to those of other vision-threatening eye conditions
1. Where is this text most likely from?| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
| A．Stopping working indoors. |
| B．Taking exercises in advance. |
| C．Washing your face frequently. |
| D．Separating from any infected person. |
| A．He has to throw them away and get a new pair after recovery. |
| B．He must abandon them and wear glasses ever since. |
| C．He should clean them up more frequently. |
| D．He may give them away to others. |
| A．Conjunctivitis patients have different symptoms. |
| B．Every case of pink eye requires medical treatment. |
| C．Some serious eye diseases have symptoms similar to conjunctivitis. |
| D．Conjunctivitis sufferers have to be separated in hospital. |
10 . Tyler Skiuzacek’s father, Patrick, could not sleep through the night. It was 2007, and Patrick had just returned from a year in Iraq, where he served in the U. S. Army. Patrick Skluzacek was energetic and happy when he left for Iraq, Tyler says. But when he returned, he was unhappy and drinking alcohol too much. It turned out Patrick was suffering from sleep panic attacks. Patrick would wake up every night. His heart would beat too fast. He would sweat. The nighttime panic attacks prevented Patrick from feeling good the next day, because he was so tired.
Almost 10 years later, Tyler was in a position to help his father. He thought he could make a computer program that might help his father. So he entered a competition in Washington, D. C, trying to solve the problem Tyler’s father and other U. S. war veterans (老兵), were having. People called them”night terrors. ”The students had 36 hours to come up with a program. They called it myBivy—That name comes from bivouac, a military term for a safe place to sleep.
The application uses a smart watch and a smart phone together. The watch tracks the wearer’s heartbeat. It sends the data to the program on the smart phone. Research shows that a person’s heart rate will increase right before a night terror. So if the wearer’s heartbeat started to rise, myBivy would respond. The smart watch would vibrate and gently wake up the sleeping person. That was enough to prevent a night terror from happening.
Patrick wore the watch for two weeks to get used to it. Then, Tyler turned on the application. On the first night, the vibrations from the watch prevented 10 nightmares. Patrick said he had not slept that well in many years. Tyler and his team won the contest in Washington, D. C. The prize was $1,500. Then the group tried to raise more money from investors, and they were surprised when they took in over$25,000. By the spring of 2016, Tyler and his team were testing the app with volunteers, and hoped to make it available to the public soon.
1. What might be the cause of Patrick’s problem?| A．His experience in the war. | B．His drinking habit. |
| C．His family troubles. | D．His sleeping disorder. |
| A．the US government tries to help war veterans |
| B．people look down upon the night terrors |
| C．many other veterans suffer similar problems |
| D．myBivy was named after a great soldier |
| A．How effective the app is. | B．How to download the app. |
| C．How to design the app. | D．How the app works. |
| A．Valueless. | B．Promising. |
| C．Tough. | D．Controversial. |
