1 . After almost an entire year of not going shopping and vacationing, you find the numbers reflected by your bank account meet your heart’ s desire.
Now the most important question comes, what to do with the earnings? Should you fulfill dreams of the present, invest in preserving the future or perhaps keep saving it for a rainy day?
Our elders always try to teach us the value of money and its moral weakness. One may be on a winning streak (连续成功) now, but it will not always be so. One will have days when there will be no sunshine but only rain, and their luck will hide behind those thick grey clouds. Save for those rainy days, they say. Do not spend too much, live within a budget, refrain from credit no matter how small and save for the future.
Since the very first time we earn our own money from a summer job or earning our first salary, the lessons start. In fact, the pocket money that we receive when we are children begins the process of learning how to best manage one’ s money.
People often think like this — one day when I have enough money, I will travel the world. Then, once we do earn enough money, tomorrow’ s plans start shadowing our present ones. However, is it wise to keep living for that future? Will we still enjoy or even be able to backpack in our 50s? How will we ever enjoy our present if we are constantly living for the future?
Good questions, aren’ t they? I say travel but don’ t let yourself run dry, treat yourself to some luxuries but also keep enough for your necessities, and enjoy your present but with a plan for the foreseeable future. Life is for the living, so live it sensibly.
1. Why do elders teach us to save money?| A．Because there are more rainy days in life. |
| B．Because no one can win streak. |
| C．Because good days may end. |
| D．Because money can’t buy everything. |
| A．select from | B．hold back |
| C．rely on | D．prefer to |
| A．To enjoy yourself in the right time. |
| B．To wait to travel until we have enough money. |
| C．To go backpacking in our 50s. |
| D．To live for the future. |
| A．We should save all for rainy days. |
| B．We should fulfill our dreams. |
| C．We should entertain ourselves. |
| D．We should live the present wisely. |
2 . The sudden death of the 23-year-old female emplovee of Pinduoduo has sparked a heated debate, with many criticizing the overwork culture. Three experis share their views. Excerpis (节选) follow:
Labor laws compatible (兼容的) with digital era needed
This case should inspire society to reflect on how to better protect employees’ rights in the digital era. The relevant clauses in the Labor Law cannot be specifically applied to charge internet companies suspected of violating laborers' rights and interests.
The blurring (模糊) of the line between social and economic activities in the digital era makes it difficult to define fixed working hours.
Lawmakers should find out the new factors affecting labor relations due to the rapid development of internet and communications technology. This can pave the way for law-making on working hours in the digital era. “996” working schedule is against labor laws.
More than one year ago, it was shocking to hear e-commerce tycoons (巨头) Liu Qiangdong and Jack Ma publicly support the "996" working schedule to push their employees to work harder. A growing number of companies have been using different methods to exercise ever-increasing control over their employees.
To correct the situation, it is vital that the country bring in specific law on internet enterprises, especially in terms of labor contracts and work schedules, and make it clear that the “996” working schedule is illegal.
Death due to overwork needs legally definition
Work pressure and long working hours can seriously affect workers' physical and mental health, making. them more easily hurt by occupational and stress-related diseases.
But it is difficult to prove that a person dies of overwork. Only a person who dies at the workplace or of a sudden illness within 48 hours of getting off work is considered a victim of work.
China should issue guidelines explaining in detail what leads to death due to overwork.
1. What do the three experts agree on?| A．The Labor Law in China is non-effective. |
| B．It is difficult to define fixed working hours. |
| C．Supervision on companies should be tightened. |
| D．Improvement should be made to the current laws. |
| A．To highlight the models of e-commerce. |
| B．To introduce tycoons' attitudes to overwork. |
| C．To confirm their efforts to protect employees. |
| D．To express disagreement on “996” working schedule. |
| A．To make somebody anxious. | B．To do sports or other physical activities. |
| C．To use your power to achieve something. | D．To test or make experimental use of something. |
| A．Someone dies on his way to office. | B．Someone dies of a heart attack in his office. |
| C．Someone dies three days after work. | D．Someone dies after work without symptoms. |
3 . Zhang Ying, 23, could have been a news host after four years studying broadcasting and talk show hosting at the university. So could Du Xintong. Instead of just becoming talking heads on TV, they decided to use their knowledge to help millions of children with speech disorder to find their own voices. They co-founded Voice Changer，which offers language rehabilitation（复原）for teenagers in China through online and in-person service platforms.
According to Zhang, each child needs to finish at least one three-month course, which consists of three 40-minute sessions a week. The length of the overall training program is dependent on each child's condition upon their evaluation.
“When we are teaching in-person courses, the parents cannot accompany their children. The children may feel a bit nervous in a strange environment, but they soon get used to it and start to enjoy the training,” she says.
They also launched a mini program on WeChat that provides online services for families of children with speech disorders-parents can upload their child's information and recordings to the self-testing tool and get a report. As well as online speech therapy（治疗），there are also online courses for parents，including guidance for speech therapy at home.
“We insist that parents should accompany their children when taking online courses as they need to play the role of both teaching assistant and desk mate,” she says.
There are only 10. 000 speech therapists in China, many of whom are not full-time. Unlike common volunteer work, to be a speech therapist volunteer, complex training is required before services can be offered.
“Speech therapy is a complex subject which requires knowledge, including training in education, psychology, linguistics and so on,” Zhang says, adding that their team has developed a training system for the volunteers to grow into professional speech therapists. They prefer to employ college students majoring in related subjects. such as broadcasting, linguistics, Chinese languages and literature or special education.
1. What is Zhang Ying's occupation now?| A．A news host. | B．A speech therapist. |
| C．A psychologist. | D．A college student. |
| A．Each lasts three months. | B．They are intended for teens. |
| C．Parents' company is a must. | D．They vary from person to person. |
| A．To help their children learn better. |
| B．To have some knowledge of psychology. |
| C．To leave their children alone without interrupting. |
| D．To upload their children's information to a therapist. |
| A．Because speech therapy is a new industry. |
| B．Because being a speech therapist is demanding. |
| C．Because students majoring in related subjects are few. |
| D．Because people don't want to take it as a full-time job. |
4 . The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms (节气). The Spring Equinox (春分), as the fourth term of the year, starts on March 20 and ends on April 3 this year. Here are things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.
Swallows flying north
The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s”, or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou. It vividly reveals the climate feature during the Spring Equinox.
Egg-standing games
Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago. It is believed that if someone can make the egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.
Flying kites
The Spring Equinox is a good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. To pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on a paper kite. When the kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let the paper kite float away, symbolizing the flying away of diseases.
Eating spring vegetables
Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a commonly practiced custom in many regions of China. Spring vegetables refer to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggest that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Spring Equinox?| A．Time division. | B．Climate feature. |
| C．Customary activities. | D．Historical stories. |
| A．Stand eggs. | B．Fly kites. |
| C．Eat spring vegetables. | D．Observe the immigration of birds. |
| A．The general public. | B．Chinese farmers. |
| C．Culture researchers. | D．Weather reporters. |
5 . Renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind and solar farms, have so far been subsidized (资助) by government support schemes. This has led to some to complain that clean energy is pushing up bills.
However, the most recently approved offshore wind projects will most likely operate with ‘negative subsidies’ — paying money back to the government. The money will go towards reducing household energy bills as the offshore wind farms start producing power in the mid-2020s.
This is the conclusion of an analysis by an international team led by Imperial College London researchers published today in Nature Energy.
Lead researcher Dr Malte Jansen, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial, said: “Offshore wind power will soon be so cheap to produce that it will undercut fossil-fueled power stations and may be the cheapest form of energy for the UK. Energy subsidies used to push up energy bills, but within a few years cheap renewable energy will see them brought down for the first time. This is an astonishing development.”
The analysis for five countries in Europe, including the UK, focused on a series of government auctions (拍卖) for offshore wind farms between February 2015 and September 2019. Companies that want to build wind farms bid in the auctions by stating the price at which they will sell the energy they produce to the government.
These are known as ‘contracts for difference’ or CfDs. If a company’s bid is higher than the wholesale electricity price on the UK market once the wind farm is up and running, then the company will receive a subsidy from the government to top up the price.
However, if the stated price (规定价格) is less than the wholesale price, then the company will pay the government back the difference. This payback is then passed through to consumer’s energy bills, reducing the amount that homes and businesses will pay for electricity.
The winning companies said they could build new offshore wind farms for around £40 per megawatt hour (MWh) of power. This was a new record set by these wind farms with bids 30 percent lower than just two years earlier.
1. What does the passage mainly talk about?| A．Offshore wind farms to be built in the UK could reduce household energy bills by producing electricity very cheaply. |
| B．Offshore wind farms will not be subsidized by government in the near future. |
| C．The importance of CfDs. |
| D．The operation of negative subsidies. |
| A．will stop producing power in the mid-2020s |
| B．are paying money back to the government |
| C．will help reduce household energy bills |
| D．will all operate with ‘negative subsidies’ |
| A．make up |
| B．take up |
| C．cover |
| D．fill up |
| A．The renewable energy projects will lead to some to complain that clean energy is pushing up bills. |
| B．The company whose bid is less than the wholesale electricity price will receive a subsidy. |
| C．The stated electricity price is now higher than the wholesale electricity price. |
| D．Fossil-fueled power will be soon produced cheaply. |
6 . Opera is an art form that celebrates the human voice. No other art form creates excitement and moves the heart in the way that opera does, especially when performed by a great singer. Opera is an important part of the Western classical music tradition. It uses music, words, and actions to bring a dramatic story to life. Opera started in Italy at the end of the 16th century and later became popular throughout Europe. Over the years, it has responded to various musicals. In recent decades, much wider audiences have been introduced to opera through modern recording technology. Some singers have become celebrities thanks to performing on radio, on TV, and in the cinema.
However, in recent years, opera has been facing serious challenges. One current challenge to opera is economic. The shortage of money raises the broader question of how much should be paid to support opera singers and other artists. Society seems to accept the large salaries paid to business managers and the multi-million-dollar contracts given to sports athletes. But what about opera singers? Somehow, people have the idea that artists can be creative only if they suffer in poverty, but this is unrealistic. If artists, including opera singers, lack the support they need, valuable talent is wasted.
Not only the shortage of money, but also the way money is managed in the opera world has led to hardships. Principal (主要的)singers are generally paid performance fees once they complete a show. They typically receive nothing during the many weeks of rehearsal (排练) before a show starts.
Another problem faced by opera is how to meet the demands of audiences who are influenced by popular entertainment. Pop singers are often judged as much on the basis of how they look as how they sound. These demands may be unrealistic and possibly harmful. Opera singers simply cannot make a sound big enough to fill a large theater or concert hall without a microphone if their body weight is too low. Emphasizing physical appearance over singing ability may cause audiences to miss out on the human voice at its best.
There are no easy solutions to opera's problems and there are many different opinions about the value of opera. However, every year many young people register for music courses with hopes and dreams of developing their talents in this special art form. The fact that opera has survived many obstacles and continues to attract the rising generation shows that it remains a respected art form full of value.
1. Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Opera singers' life stories are dramatic. |
| B．Opera will soon appear on TV and in films |
| C．Opera fans thank celebrities for performing. |
| D．Opera develops by adapting to new conditions. |
| A．Opera singers are financially insecure. |
| B．Opera singers waste their valuable talent. |
| C．Opera singers get paid before the show. |
| D．Opera singers perform better if they are poor. |
| A．Popular culture has had a positive influence on opera. |
| B．Audiences know best how opera should be performed. |
| C．Microphones should be used to make opera more enjoyable. |
| D．Opera singers' voices should be valued more than their looks. |
| A．The Economic Challenge to Opera | B．Opera Faced with the Difficulties |
| C．Opera as Part of Popular Culture | D．The Historical Context of Opera |
7 . We've got to do a better job of stopping global warming, a new report says.
The report, released Wednesday by the United Nations, says the world isn't doing nearly enough to control fossil fuel production to the level that's needed to stop "catastrophic" levels of global warming, pointing fingers at both developed countries and developing countries.
However, developing countries currently cannot sustain (维持) themselves, let alone grow, without relying heavily on fossil fuels. To them, fossil fuels are still the cheapest, most reliable energy resources available. India, for example, is home to one-third of the world's 1. 2 billion citizens living in poverty. That's 400 million people in one country without sufficient food or shelter. India hopes to shift to renewable energy as its economy grows, but the investment needed to meet its renewable energy goals “is over ten times the country's annual spending on agriculture and infrastructure (基础设施).” Unless something changes, developing countries like India cannot fight climate change.
Yet the weather changes and consequences of global warming, like tons of droughts and poverty are already impacting economic growth in many countries. Is there a solution?
According to a World Bank report, “poor and middle-income countries account for just over half of total carbon emissions.” And this percentage will only rise as developing countries grow. In Sub-Sabaran Africa, the number of people living in poverty increased by 98% in the thirty years, while carbon dioxide on average decreased by 17%. Given the current energy situation, if sub-Saharan Africans are to escape extreme poverty, they will have to increase their carbon use unless developed countries step in to offer clean alternatives and financial aid.
After all, global warming is, by definition, a global crisis. Reducing this threat will require global cooperation and global solutions.
1. What does the writer want to convey in paragraph three?| A．India has difficulty in feeding itself. |
| B．India has the largest number of poverty. |
| C．India cannot afford to develop clean energy. |
| D．India relies heavier on fossil fuels than USA |
| A．They'll be rid of extreme poverty. | B．They'll stop developing economy. |
| C．They'll care much for carbon emissions. | D．They'll pursue economic growth at heavy cost. |
| A．Poverty is the root of global warming. |
| B．Huge gap does exist between countries. |
| C．Developing countries cannot afford global warming. |
| D．Global warming demands global effort and solutions. |
| A．Conflicts between countries. | B．Ways of global cooperation. |
| C．Potential crises on the earth. | D．The importance of clean alternatives. |
8 . It was a cold winter. The wind blew all night and the snow was blinding. When morning came, my three children and I got up and made our way to the windows. As we looked out the window, we saw that the henhouse was gone. Our three hens had been blown away.
I looked at the emptiness outside. Then I saw all three chickens sat around the edge of a white bucket. How was this violent wind not blowing them into the field beyond? I quickly pulled on long snow pants and heavy winter coat, wrapped a scarf and stuck my feet into very large boots.
I shouted at the wind as it blew. I was alone, save for my children. They stared out the window into the vast white sea of snow, their eyes peeled for any sign of movement. Outside I heard the sound of my boots as I walked against the wind.
The snow circling around me, I steadily made my way to the soft cluck-cluck-cluck sound my hens always made. When I reached them, I saw that their little feet were holding on to the edge of the bucket, heads bent forward and away from the wind. I gently lifted each hen and put it carefully into the warm inside. Then I began the freezing walk back to the small shed directly behind our house. One by one I laid my chickens on the cold floor, and they began to cluck softly.
As I shut the shed doors, my eyes went directly to the window where my children were watching. They jumped up and down cheering, and so did I! I wasn’t some dragon slayer (屠龙者) from a fairy tale. I was simply a mom, but the look on my children’s faces told me that they thought I was a hero mom.
1. What was the author’s feeling when seeing all three chickens sitting around the bucket?| A．incredible | B．worried |
| C．shy | D．confident |
| A．By searching for the white bucket. |
| B．By wearing protective clothes. |
| C．By following the sound of the hens. |
| D．By shouting at the henhouse. |
| A．The author’s children liked dragon slayers. |
| B．The children watched their mother all the way. |
| C．The author struggled to be a hero. |
| D．The author enjoyed herself in the snow. |
| A．Weather in extreme. | B．Hens in trouble. |
| C．Kindness in need. | D．Hero in the snow. |
9 . After two nights of staying in her apartment in Houston without power, Felicia Maten had no running water, her fingers and toes hurting from the cold. She huddled under blankets with her mother and daughter, together using their breath to warm themselves against freezing temperatures that weren't letting up.
She drove around looking for a hotel. But she couldn't find an available room, and the roads were dangerous. Finally, a neighbor suggested she go to Gallery Furniture. The owner, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, opened one of his local stores as a shelter for Texas residents displaced by the winter storms.
During the three days the makeshift shelter was open, thousands of people came in for food and warmth and hundreds slept over. "It meant so much to have somebody who doesn't even know us care that much," Maten said. "That man is full of love."
This isn't the first time McIngvale has opened his doors to people in weather emergencies. He did so during Hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Harvey in 2017.
McIngvale began preparing for the winter storm a week in advance by buying 15,000 gallons of diesel to power the store's generator for a week or so. He took Covid---19 precautions by providing security hand sanitization（杀菌）and masks.
McIngvale got the word out about the shelter through the business' social media following and news coverage. He and his employees made specific accommodations for people, such as those with babies who need bottles warmed or senior citizens who need oxygen tanks plugged in.
"He was serving food, handing out water, going around checking on people." said Jacy Wadhams, another Texas resident living in the area for 15 years. "He really takes pride in what he does. He's an amazing person."
"We believe that we all have responsibility for the wellbeing of the community and when times get tough we try to open our doors and let people come in and regroup," said McIngvale.
1. What does the underlined word "huddled" in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Warmed up. | B．Stayed hidden. |
| C．Kept calm. | D．Crowded together. |
| A．She had power failure and no running water at home. |
| B．The extreme freezing weather would continue. |
| C．Gallery Furniture opened for the residents. |
| D．Her mother and daughter asked her to find one. |
| A．He is always ready to help others. |
| B．He has a talent for managing. |
| C．He is a very considerate man. |
| D．He is a low---key person. |
| A．To be a businessman with conscience. |
| B．To be a loving and responsible person. |
| C．To create a well- known brand of product. |
| D．To fight bravely against bad weather. |
10 . In recent years computer scientists have come up with several different ways of creating false videos of people using Artificial Intelligence (AI). These videos are usually called “deepfakes”. Some deepfakes work by putting the face of one person onto a different person in a video. Others work by taking an existing video of a person and changing it so that the person says or does something they didn’t say or do.
At first, creating deepfakes was complex. It required special knowledge, hundreds of pictures of the person who was being faked, and lots of time. Now it’s much simpler. There are websites and apps that allow almost anyone to create deepfakes. An app recently came out which allowed users to put their faces into famous movie scenes. The process takes about eight seconds, requires one picture, and can be done on a mobile phone. One group of computer scientists created a program that allowed them to edit the words coming out of someone’s mouth in a video just like you might edit a document on the computer.
However, the popularity of deepfakes may cause anxieties. It’s one thing to change the faces of famous actors.But what happens if someone puts out a fake video of a politician, for example, making it look like he broke the law? There’s also the problem of the time it takes to figure out that something is fake. Even if a video is proven to be fake, it could be too late.Millions of people might have already seen and believed it.On the other hand, what happens if a video is actually real, but people don’t trust it because they’re told it’s a deepfake?
Many deepfakes are so good that only another AI system can tell that they’re fake. Experts are working hard to create new AI tools that can identify faked videos. Many people are confident that people can defeat deepfakes soon. However, personally, it is very challenging because this technology has always fallen behind the deepfakes.
1. What does the author focus on in the first paragraph?| A．The way deepfakes work. | B．The way to create false videos. |
| C．The way deepfakes are named. | D．The way to use Artificial Intelligence. |
| A．By making comments. | B．By following time order. |
| C．By providing examples. | D．By explaining the difference. |
| A．Positive. | B．Indifferent. | C．Worried. | D．Critical. |
| A．To stress technology development. | B．To introduce deepfakes and the effects. |
| C．To recommend a new application. | D．To explain the importance of deepfakes. |
