1 . With over 4. 1 billion people, or around 55 percent of the world’s population, living in urban areas, cities and towns worldwide are getting increasingly congested. In addition to spending many hours stuck in traffic, residents are also exposed to high air pollution levels caused by transportation emissions. Now, Saudi Arabia hopes to revolutionize urban living with “The Line”— a city designed around nature, without cars and roads!
“The Line” is designed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Located in NEOM — a 10,000-square-mile high-tech planned development on the Red Sea coast in the northwestern Saudi province of Tabu — The Line will be the cornerstone of MBS s Saudi Vision 2030. The plan aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy into other sectors, like tourism, and create exciting job opportunities for its citizens.
The 105-mile-long city, expected to cost between $100 billion and $200 billion, will be built along a straight line and is made up of several self-sustaining communities. To ensure all services are within a short, five-minute walk, each community will feature a three-layer infrastructure (基础设施).
The top “pedestrian layer” will be void of cars and roads, allowing residents to freely walk and bike in the surrounding green spaces. The second “service layer”, will include all essential daily services, such as schools, leisure facilities and grocery stores. The third “spine layer” will house high-speed subway and autonomous vehicles capable of transporting residents across communities in less than 20 minutes. The entire city will be powered with renewable clean energy sources such as solar and wind, and possibly even hydrogen.
If all goes according to plan t construction of this complex project will start before the 1st quarter of 2021. In addition to providing up to a million residents with a clean and stress-free living environment, The Line is expected to create 380,000 new jobs, start economic diversification, and contribute an astounding $ 48 billion to Saudi Arabia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030. More importantly, MBS believes it will provide governments worldwide a “blueprint for how people and planet can co-exist in harmony.”
1. We can infer that “The Line” will be_________.| A．temporary | B．primitive | C．eco-friendly | D．conventional |
| A．Low crime rates. | B．High unemployment. |
| C．Super communities. | D．Diverse economic sectors. |
| A．Medical clinics. | B．Bus stops. |
| C．Underground trains. | D．Cycling lanes. |
| A．Saudi Arabia Has Created A Green City With No Cars Or Streets |
| B．“The Line” Will Be The Cornerstone Of MBS's Saudi Vision 2030 |
| C．“The Line”— Blueprint Of People And Animals Co-existing In Harmony |
| D．Saudi Arabia Announces “The Line”— A Low Carbon City Without Cars |
2 . I walked into my daughter's room as she was working on a science project. Normally,I would have been pleased about such a sight. But this time, her project involved much sand. While she'd put sheets of plastic under her work area, the sand was spreading all over our new floor.
My daughter felt my displeasure and began to defend herself. "I used sheets of plastic!" she responded irritably. I responded more angrily, "But the sand is gettlng all over ! "
"Where else am I supposed to do it?" she shouted.
"Why didn't she admit that she had done something wrong?” I thought to myself. I felt my fear, thinking of what her life would be like in the future if she couldn't realise her mistakes?
My fear was translated into more anger, this time about how important it was to admit mistakes. We had a quarrel. She said something disrespectful to me and raised her voice.
I wished this had never happened before. But my daughter and I were in embarrassment and felt terrible.
So I thought that I needed a good way to respond to my daughter. So I went to my wife and asked how I should have handled it.
"Sweetie, " she said, role-playing in the conversation with my daughter, "there's a lot of sand here and we need to clean it up before it destroys the floor. How can I help you?"
That's really a great way to deal with it: first identify the problem, next state what needs to be done and then offer to help. It's simple, right?
1. Why did the author feel displeased at the sight?| A．The daughter's project involved much sand. |
| B．The daughter worked too long on the science project. |
| C．The daughter put sheets of plastic under her work area. |
| D．The daughter spread the sand all over the new floor. |
| A．He was worried about his daughter' future life. |
| B．The new floor was covered with sand everywhere. |
| C．The daughter was angry with him. |
| D．The author didn't know how to handle the situation. |
| A．Indifferent and cold. | B．Understanding but worried. |
| C．Pleased and relaxed. | D．Annoyed but modest |
| A．Learn to deal with problems calmly and wisely. |
| B．Working on science projects does good to people. |
| C．Conduct Role-play in the conversation |
| D．Communicate with children patiently |
3 . A 15-year-old scientist and inventor has been named as Time's first ever Kid of the Year.
Rao is a high school student from Colorado. She was chosen from 5,000 U.S.-based nominees ( 提 名 ). Time said in a statement that Rao stood out for her ability to apply scientific ideas to real-world problems and her efforts to motivate other kids to take up their own causes. Rao told the Associated Press that the prize is “nothing that I could have ever imagined. And I'm so grateful and just so excited that we're really taking a look at the upcoming generation and our generation, since the future is in our hands.” She insists that starting out small doesn't matter, as long as you're enthusiastic about it.
It's just the latest recognition for the teenager, who was named last year to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Rao won praise in 2017 after she developed a portable device（设备） to detect lead (铅) in water. She went on to cooperate with scientists in the water industry to try to get the device on the market.
The young scientist has also developed an app called Kindly that uses artificial intelligence to help prevent cyberbullying (网络欺凌). It allows teens to type in a word or phrase to find out if the words they're using are hurtful and amount to（等于）bullying, and thus should be avoided.
In an interview with Time, Rao said that her pursuits（追求） in science started early as a way to improve conditions in society. In a world where science is increasingly questioned or challenged, Rao insists that its pursuit is an important act of kindness. It is the best way that a younger generation can better the world. Science and technology are being employed as never before to handle various issues, such as global warming, the outbreak of disease and so on, she noted.
“We have science in everything we're involved in, and I think that's the biggest thing to put out there, that science is cool, invention is cool, and anybody can be an inventor," Rao said.“ Anybody can do science.
1. What is one of the reasons for Rao being honored by Time?| A．The up-to-date ideas she had come up with. |
| B．The large amounts of time she had devoted. |
| C．The influence she has on young generations. |
| D．The optimistic attitude she holds to the future. |
| A．functional | B．environment-friendly |
| C．efficient | D．money-saving |
| A．Her tolerance for problems. | B．Her amazing brain power. |
| C．Her exposure to challenges. | D．Her concern about society. |
| A．High School Student Struggling for Big Dream |
| B．Young Scientist Named TIME's Kid of the Year |
| C．Scientific Achievements Applied to Our Real Life |
| D．Advanced Inventions Used in Bettering the World |
4 . Two unusual groups — the same companies that are causing the most pollution, the BP oil company and Delta Air Lines, both announced plans to become carbon neutral (碳中和) by 2050 through decreasing resource usage as well as applying useful technology. Several other large oil companies, like Shell, Total, and Eni, have announced similar goals. Other airlines, like Qantas and JetBlue, are working on the same plan. Since airline travel causes around 2- 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases, making airlines carbon neutral would be a great step. Some people believe the companies are “greenwashing”. They are running the businesses the way they used to perform, and none plan to stop their polluting activities right away. Or some companies plan to meet some climate goals by buying “carbon offsets (补偿)”which means paying someone else to cut pollution or remove greenhouse gases. But it’s not always clear that offsetting truly lowers pollution.
Global heating is a huge part of the climate emergency. The world is getting hotter mainly because humans are burning “fossil (化石) fuels” like coal and oil. These fuels give off pollutants often called greenhouse gases. To become carbon neutral, it’s necessary to stop burning fossil fuels. Climate experts have said the best solution is to leave oil and coal in the ground, although it’s still hard to reach for the moment. The usual way most companies adopt is planting trees and allowing more areas for forest. “It’s slow but good,” said an expert from UNEP.
Man-made technology to remove large quantities of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere doesn’t exist yet. The idea behind this technology is that polluting gases could be removed from the atmosphere, caught, and stored somehow — usually underground. Though many questions remain about how the companies hope to meet their goals, since the main technology they expect and need is inaccessible, their planned changes are actually keeping up with the development of modern society. What’s more, they are putting billions of dollars into the effort to make carbon catch technology happen.
1. Why do some people say the companies mentioned in paragraph 1 are greenwashing?| A．They just buy carbon offsets. | B．They pay lip service to environmental issues. |
| C．They all plan to be carbon neutral. | D．They do not share a common plan and goal. |
| A．Expanding forest coverage. | B．Stopping burning fossil fuels. |
| C．Catching and storing the gases. | D．Closing down polluting factories. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Skeptical. | C．Positive. | D．Critical. |
| A．What Possibly Leads to Global Heating |
| B．Companies Take on Climate Emergency |
| C．Who Are Responsible for Greenhouse Gases |
| D．Technology for Climate Change Is on the Way |
5 . A boy was dying of terminal leukemia (白血病). His mother took his hand and asked, “Bopsy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be when you grew up?”
“Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.”
Later that day she went to the fire department, where she met Fireman Bob. She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. We’ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And, we’ll get a real fire uniform made for him.”
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Bopsy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted (护送) him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Bopsy was in heaven. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished (慷慨给予) upon him, Bopsy lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.
One night all of his vital signs began to drop and the head nurse called the fire chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Bopsy as he made his transition. The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens (警报器) screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that it’s just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time? And will you open the window to his room?”
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital, extended its ladder up to Bopsy’s third floor open window and 14 firemen and two fire-women climbed up the ladder into Bopsy’s room. They hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Bopsy looked up at the fire chief and said, “Chief, am I really a fireman now?”
With those words, Bopsy smiled and closed his eyes for the last time.
1. Why did Bopsy’s mother go to the fire department?| A．Her son wanted to get a fire uniform. |
| B．Her son wanted to ride on a fire engine. |
| C．She wanted her son to become a real fireman. |
| D．She wanted to help her son to realize his dream. |
| A．The fire engine was nine yards long. |
| B．The whole journey that day was very upsetting. |
| C．Bopsy could experience everything as a fireman. |
| D．All the sirens of the fire engines would scream that day. |
| A．Because Bopsy begged her to do so. |
| B．Because Bopsy saw the firemen as his family members. |
| C．Because she wanted Bopsy to be approved as a real fireman. |
| D．Because she wanted to do something for Bopsy before he died. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| B．Sometimes there are miracles because of love. |
| C．Great things may be done by painstaking efforts. |
| D．A mother understands what a child does not say. |
6 . Most people hate change, which is sad since We often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard?
Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry.
But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don't know how those changes will affect our future.
People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible. When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job.
When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don't merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it's up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. You never know—your next change may be your life's Eiffel Tower!
1. Why did the building of the Eiffel Tower make the Parisians unhappy?| A．Because they didn't like the design of the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．Because they couldn't avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower. |
| C．Because it was no use building the Eiffel Tower. |
| D．Because the Eiffel Tower seemed strange. |
| A．We are not supposed to face the changes and let them alone. |
| B．We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance. |
| C．We should not take the changes seriously and avoid them as much as possible. |
| D．We should know that the changes merely bring us bad influence. |
| A．The change will probably make you fail like the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．The change is like the Eiffel Tower which is not good for our future life. |
| C．Your future life is never known just like the Eiffel Tower unknown to the Parisians. |
| D．Your future life is likely to be a great achievement due to the change. |
| A．The Psychology of Change |
| B．The ways to Overcome the Fear |
| C．Changes That Disturb Us |
| D．The Bad Effect of Changes |
7 . Bradley McConachie, a 33-year-old Australian is actually a student in international relations completing his PhD through Griffith University. He came to Beijing for a cooperative research at Beijing University two years ago. Such an academic life was colorful with a chance offered by the cultural exchanges project, “I'm in China".
Bradley was lucky to win the most "likes" for his photo story about his life in China and became one of 20 winners to visit locations by the project this summer. All the winners’ experiences were filmed to produce a reality show, My Chinese Working Day, which will be broadcast by mid-September.
Bradley was chosen to work as a recreational manager for a Chinese wedding. The film crew took them to many “amazing sites" and the staff at the resort taught them a lot about how to incorporate modern Chinese features while still keeping traditional customs.
“I would have to say two things stick out as the most memorable： the helicopter ride and talking with the staff at the hotel about how they organize weddings here in China," he said. That was Bradley's first time to be in a helicopter, and he was too absorbed with the “stunning" view of the coastline.
“I think it is so important to show other Australians the different landscapes China has to offer. I think so many Australians, when they think about China, imagine the historical sites of Beijing and the exciting things to see in Shanghai but have no idea about other beautiful places, like Sanya or the many other places people have been taken to in this TV series. It was nice to experience these little touches. I was happy to be a part of that experience!” Bradley said.
1. What made Bradley's life more colorful?| A．Obtaining his PhD. |
| B．The cultural exchanges project. |
| C．The research about Beijing University. |
| D．The interest in international relations. |
| A．He produced the reality show. |
| B．His life in China was interesting. |
| C．He was one of the top 20 winners. |
| D．He liked photo stories most. |
| A．Fantastic. | B．Confusing. |
| C．Agreeable. | D．Extreme. |
| A．It's difficult to produce moving TV series. |
| B．Beijing and Shanghai are historical sites. |
| C．Sanya is worth visiting for foreigners. |
| D．Many Australians know little about China. |
8 . Music. We hear it everywhere, every day. Getting into a lift, going around a supermarket or simply relaxing at home, music is our constant companion. And music can have a significant effect on the way we think and feel, so it's worth paying attention to what we're listening to.
Music can have a powerful effect on our moods, in terms of both reducing and increasing stress. Listening to calm gentle music in bed can help us drop off to sleep. Some airlines play smoothing music on board planes at take-off and landing, to calm nervous travelers. Athletes often listen to fast loud music to help them prepare for games. The American swimmer Michael Phelps is known to listen to rap music before important races to help pump him up.
The mood-altering effect of music can be especially acute for the people who actually play the music. Musicians who do not have high self-esteem (自尊心) can suddenly overflow with confidence once they go on stage. It's as though the music gives them a different personality.
And it's not only those who feel ill at ease with themselves who can benefit. Scientists have conducted research into the effect of music on students studying for exams. They found that listening to calm music with a regular beat can actually help students recall facts and improve their performance in exams. Classical music, preferably something by Mozart, seems to have the most beneficial effect. A word of caution, however: it's best not to over-rely on this method, as you won't be able to listen to music in an exam.
For most of us though, music is one of life's great pleasures. And it's a pleasure that endures. Researchers have found that we don't often grow out of the music that we love as teenagers, because our musical tastes are such a huge part of our identity, personality and outlook on life. So don't delete those songs you downloaded when you were fifteen - you'll probably still love them when you're fifty.
1. What would be the best kind of music to play to nervous drivers stuck in traffic jam?| A．Rap music. | B．Gentle classical music. |
| C．Cheerful folk music. | D．Heavy metal music. |
| A．powerful | B．controllable |
| C．complex | D．opposite |
| A．Pop music improves students' academic performance. |
| B．Music has magic power to change musicians' personality. |
| C．Music generally influence people's thoughts and emotions. |
| D．Sportsmen listen to fast music to relieve their stress before games. |
| A．Musical tastes affect our characters to a great extent. |
| B．We have to find ways to make the pleasure of music last. |
| C．We will be fond of different kinds of music as we grow up. |
| D．A part of our personality and tastes are well developed in our teens. |
9 . Coral reefs (珊瑚礁) are an integral part of sea life and sustain it by providing shelter and habitat to various organisms. They also supply and recycle nutrients as well as enable a growing fish population, along with other species, for a healthy and diverse ecosystem. However, the rise in average water temperatures due to climate change has resulted in more frequent and longtime coral bleaching (白化现象) events that damage their health, causing fish and other sea species to abandon them.
In order to restore this delicate ecosystem, scientists from the UK and Australia conducted a study that involved using loudspeakers underwater near damaged coral reefs to make them sound healthy and attract fish, potentially kick-starting the natural recovery process of coral reefs and their dependent life forms. The location for this experiment was the Great Barrier Reef in the Coral Sea, found alongside the east coast of Queensland, Australia. The site is noted to have the largest coral reef system in the world.
“Healthy coral reefs are remarkably noisy places-the crackle of snapping shrimp and the whoops and grunts of fish. Young fish concentrate on these sounds when they're looking for a place to settle,” said Steve Simpson, study co-author and a professor at the University of Exeter, UK.
By using loudspeakers to copy such sounds, parts of dead coral reefs were found to attract twice as many fish, compared to places where no sounds were played. “These returning fish, are crucial for coral reefs to function as healthy ecosystems. Boosting fish populations in this way could help to kick-start natural recovery processes, preventing the damage we're seeing on many coral reefs around the world,” said lead author, Tim Gordon.
1. What causes the phenomenon of coral bleaching?| A．Diverse species. | B．Noise pollution. |
| C．Fishing industry. | D．Climbing temperatures. |
| A．Removing damaged coral reefs. | B．Using loudspeakers to keep fish away. |
| C．Building new homes for sea species. | D．Playing certain sounds to appeal to fish. |
| A．To provide some findings of the study. | B．To show the progress of the experiment. |
| C．To explain reasons for the new approach. | D．To give another solution to the problem. |
| A．The attempts are in vain. | B．Natural recovery is impossible. |
| C．Initial success has been achieved. | D．The coral reefs have returned to normal. |
