1 . Some time ago, in my class I was about to fail a student for his answer to a physics question when the student claimed he deserved a better score. The examination question sounded “safe”.
“Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer（压表）.” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building.”
I argued that a high grade should prove his competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another try. Immediately, he worked out his answer: A second best way is to take the barometer to the top of the building. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula to calculate the height of the building.
I was shocked by his answer. His method gave me not only a broken barometer but a U-turn in my teaching philosophy. I gave him full marks.
On his leaving my office, I recalled that he suggested there could be a better answer. So I asked him what it was. “Oh, yes,” said the student, “There are many ways. Probably the best,” he said, “is to take the barometer to the basement and ask the superintendent （楼管）. You speak to him as follows: Mr.Superintendent, here I have a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of this building, I will give it to you.
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school instructors’ trying to teach him how to think, and to use the so-called “scientific method”. He just wanted to solve the problem in a practical manner, not just answer the question in an expected way. Hearing this, I really had nothing to do but give the boy a firm handshake, feeling thankful that I hadn’t failed him in the first place and even more thankful, neither had he.
1. Why did the author want to fail the student in the first place?| A．The student challenged his authority. |
| B．The student’s answer was not practical. |
| C．The student didn’t show his academic ability. |
| D．The student had a poor performance in physics class. |
| A．Without love, there is no education. |
| B．A man becomes learned by asking questions. |
| C．Teaching is to make two ideas grow where only one grew before. |
| D．You can lead your horse to the river, but you can’t make it drink. |
| A．Lack of physics-related knowledge. |
| B．Ignorance of the teacher’s expectation. |
| C．Intention to deeply impress his teacher. |
| D．Disapproval of existing teaching concepts. |
| A．The superintendent was a greedy person. |
| B．School education restricted this student’s thinking. |
| C．The teacher appreciated the student’s answers finally. |
| D．The examination question is a lough physics problem. |
2 . Children's Books That Teach Empathy and Kindness
Little Blue Truck
By Alice Schertle
Little ones are introduced to Blue, a little pickup truck that gets stuck pushing a dump truck out of the mud in this board book. Thankfully, Blue made a group of animal friends along the way that are happy to do whatever they can to help him get back on the road. The main themes are kindness and the benefits of helping others.
Most People
By Michael Leannah
The book is an amazing lesson for kids that want to do good in the world and that there are plenty of good people out there. Told in the third person, the book tells the story of two pairs of siblings (兄弟姐妹) and the people they meet.
If You Plant a Seed
By Kadir Nelson
A mouse and a rabbit teach children how to plant and grow food, while also passing along some valuable lessons. After learning that a carrot seed will grow a carrot, and a cabbage seed will result in a cabbage, children also learn the value of thoughtfulness and how a seed of kindness can bear sweet fruit.
Save Me a Seat
By Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan
Joe lived in the same town all his life and felt perfectly pleased until his best friend moved away. Ravi's family recently moved from India to the US and he's struggling to find where he belongs. Even though Joe and Ravi at first believe that they don't have much in common, they both realize they have a common enemy-the biggest bully (仗势欺人者) in their class. Save Me a Seat is a story about the true meaning of friendship and understanding.
1. What can children get from reading Little Blue Truck?| A．Happiness of helping others. | B．Importance of protecting animals. |
| C．Ways of dealing with trouble in mud. | D．Being friendly to strangers around you. |
| A．Little Blue Truck. | B．Most People. |
| C．If You Plant a Seed. | D．Save Me a Seat. |
| A．Joe was regarded as a bully by Ravi. | B．Ravi was used to living in India soon. |
| C．Ravi and Joe had nothing in common. | D．Ravi and Joe became friends at last. |
3 . TikTok has pushed a new safety update in November to its app that allows parents to take more control of their teenager's accounts, as social media companies come under increasing pressure to make their platforms safer for children.
The company said Tuesday that its “Family Pairing” feature now enables parents to turn off comments on their children's videos entirely or to limit them to friends only. Parents whose accounts are linked to their kids will also be able to set their accounts to private, turn off the search function for content, users or sounds, and limit who can see which videos their children have liked.
Launched (发布) in March, the Family Pairing tool lets parents see how long their children are spending on TikTok each day and limit the content they can see.
TikTok allows children to register and create an account if they're over the age of 13. All they need to do is provide their date of birth. However, because TikTok doesn't require registers to prove their identities, some children under 13 have registered by lying about their age，according to U. K. regulator Ofcom (英国通讯管理局).
Alexandra Evans, head of child safety public policy for TikTok in Europe, told CNBC that Family Pairing has “put itself in parents’ shoes” since it was launched.
“If we're thinking about it as a toolbox, we wanted to offer more tools,” she said on a video call ahead of the announcement.
1. What pushed TikTok to launch the new update?| A．The pressure from social media. | B．The concern about kids' online safety. |
| C．The force from government. | D．The increasing need of users. |
| A．The safety tips from TikTok. | B．New apps explored by TikTok. |
| C．New functions of Family Pairing. | D．The limits on Family Pairing. |
| A．The difficulty in opening an account. | B．The low age limit for users. |
| C．TikTok's failure to check identities. | D．The demand for users' birth dates. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Objective. |
| C．Disappointed. | D．Supportive. |
4 . On a break from his studies in the MIT Media Lab,Anirudh Sharma traveled home to Mumbai, India. While there, he noticed that throughout the day his T-shirts were gradually gathering something that looked like dirt."I realized this was air pollution，or sooty（像煤一样）particulate matter (PM)，made of black particles released from exhaust（尾气）of vehicles，" Sharma says. "This is a major health issue."Soot consists of tiny black particles, about 2.5 micrometers or smaller, made carbon produced by incomplete burning of fossil fuels.
Back at MIT,Sharma set out to help solve this air-pollution issue. After years of research and development, Sharma’s startup Graviky Labs has developed technology that attaches to exhaust systems of diesel generators（柴油发电机）to collect particulate matter.Scientists at Graviky then turn it into ink, called Air-Ink, for artists around the world. So far, the startup has collected I.6 billion micrograms of particulate matter.More than 200 gallons of Air-Ink have been harvested for a growing community of more than 1,000 artists, from Bangalore to Boston, Shanghai,and London.
Posted all over Graviky Lab's Facebook page today are photos of art made from the Air-Ink and pant, including street wall paintings, body art and clothing prints.At first, there was still no specific application for the ink. Then the startup decided to find new ways to further spread its mission.It chose to do so through art."Art helps us raise awareness about where the ink and paint comes from. Air pollution knows no borders. Our ink sends a message that pollution is one of the resources in our world that's the hardest to collect and use.But it can be done,"Sharma says.
1. What struck Sharma most during his break in India?| A．Dirt on his T-shirts. | B．Health issue of the locals. |
| C．Coal industry in Mumbai. | D．Incomplete burning of fossil fuels. |
| A．a cleaner of outdoor air | B．a product made from PM |
| C．a newly-founded company | D．a printing technology |
| A．It improves artistic effect. | B．It makes pollution acceptable. |
| C．It helps Sharma make a profit. | D．It raises environmental awareness. |
| A．Arts know no borders | B．Waste has no price |
| C．Less pollution, more art | D．Creative thinking, effective painting |
5 . Seventy-three-year-old Gary selected his food in Value Mart more carefully than NASA chose its candidates for the space shuttle. Skim milk was $2.99, on sale from $3.49; white bread, 89 cents with a discount; table salt, 99 cents, 20 cents off the regular price. Leaving the cashier(收银员), he estimated that he had saved 80 cents today. He was pleased that he had got good value for his money again.
At the exit, the cold wind reminded him of his gloves. “Now where are they?” Not in the coat pockets. Not in the grocery bag either. The worried man made a thorough search of all his pockets, again including the grocery bag. Now he was sure they must have been dropped somewhere inside the store.
Old Gary had bought the black gloves at a 25% discount ten years ago. His quick decision to buy the expensive gloves turned out to be a good one, which even promoted his social status on the bus, as poorer passengers stared at him enviously. Losing this favorite possession was almost like losing a child to him.
Gary re-entered the store with long steps. He followed the same route he had walked before. There were all open passages and it did not take long to be convinced that the gloves were not in sight.
“Society has changed, people have changed”, he murmured to himself. “Years ago, if somebody picked up something lost, they would give it back. Not any more!”
On his way out, he went over to the cashier to ask if she had received any lost gloves. She asked him what colour they were, and when he said “black”, there came a disappointing answer. He took his time now, finally walking out of the store.
Back home, Gary was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. He was very upset that people no longer returned things they found on the road.
After a month, Gary decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he stepped into Value Mart again to see if by any chance his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. “What colour are they?” the woman in the office asked again. “Black,” he gave the same answer. She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”
“Yes! Those are mine!” Gary exclaimed, his eyes glowing with joy.
1. According to the passage, Gary thought his buying the gloves to be ______.| A．unnecessary. | B．wise. | C．hot-headed. | D．adventurous. |
| A．He is not wealthy. |
| B．He is particular about food. |
| C．He holds a pessimistic attitude towards life. |
| D．He doesn’t get along well with his neighborhood |
| A．He was not careful enough. | B．The cashier forgot to return his gloves. |
| C．A customer took his gloves by mistake. | D．Someone picked up his gloves and kept them on purpose. |
| A．Searching for gloves. | B．The stolen gloves returned. |
| C．Declining moral standards | D．A forgetful but stubborn old man. |
6 . A shocking 53.6 million tons of electronic waste were discarded（丢弃）last year, a new UN-backed report has revealed. The report shows that e-waste is up 21%from five years ago. This isn't surprising, considering how many more people are adopting new technology and updating devices regularly to have the latest versions, but the report also shows that national collection and recycling strategies are nowhere close to matching consumption rates.
E-waste contains materials including copper（铜）, iron, gold and silver, which the report gives a conservative value of $ 57 billion. But most are thrown away or burned rather than being collected for recycling. Precious metals in waste are estimated to be worth $ 14 billion, but only $4 billion-worth is recovered at the moment.
While the number of countries with national e-waste policies has grown from 61 to 78 since 2014, there is little encouragement to obey and a mere 17% of collected items are recycled. If recycling does occur, it's often under dangerous conditions, such as burning circuit boards to recover copper, which "releases highly poisonous metals" and harms the health of workers.
The report found that Asia has the highest amounts of waste overall, producing 24.9 million metric tons (MMT), followed by Europe at 12 MMT, Africa at 2.9 MMT, and Oceania at 0.7 MMT.
But whose responsibility is it? Are governments in charge of setting up collection and recycling points, or should companies be responsible for recycling the goods they produce? It goes both ways. Companies do need to be held accountable by government regulations and have incentives to design products that are easily repaired. At the same time, governments need to make it easy for citizens to access collection points and deal with their broken electronics in a convenient way. Otherwise, they may turn to the easiest option-the landfill.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．What e-waste refers to. |
| B．Where e-waste is collected. |
| C．Why e-waste is increasing rapidly. |
| D．How many kinds e-waste includes. |
| A．The functions of policies. |
| B．The great damage to environment. |
| C．The change of consumption rates. |
| D．The urgency of recovering e-waste. |
| A．It does harm to the workers' health. |
| B．It lacks national policy support. |
| C．It hardly makes profits. |
| D．It takes too much time. |
| A．New technology should be used to update old devices. |
| B．Governments and companies should take responsibilities. |
| C．Non-poisonous metals had better be used in e-device. |
| D．Citizens must play a key role in recycling e-waste. |
7 . Earlier this month，6-year-old lsaac went on vacation to Fort Walton，Florida，with his family. While there，his mother Garrett learned about Lulu，a restaurant that offers food to customers with food allergies(过敏症).
At LuLu，Isaac could eat a salad and roast chicken with rice.“lsaac looked at me as if he was asking me，Is this ok？”Garrett said. Once his mom gave the OK，Isaac enjoyed for the first time the experience of ordering and eating at a restaurant.” “That look on his face seemed to show that this was the coolest thing he had ever done.” Garrett said.
Garrett and her family rarely eat out because of Isaac’s food allergies. When they do, she cooks something for Isaac at home before they leave and brings it with her to the restaurant. “It’s not fun and it feels unfair,” she said.
Their night at Lulu marked a celebration for lsaac. Isaac felt terribly fulfilled because of eating at the restaurant. Garrett shared the moment on the restaurant's Facebook page to thank them for helping her son. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving hi m this experience.” she wrote in her post.
Barnett，the restaurant's manager said，“When customers tell the staff that someone in their group has a food allergy，I help with the order by passing it to the kitchen，ensuring it's cooked in a separate station and offering the finished food to the guests. We have been improving this process over the last 10 years since our allergy program was started.”
On Garrett's Facebook post，Lulu thanked Garrett for sharing her story. “Thank you for sharing your experience with us.” the restaurant wrote in a comment. “We are excited to see your son so happy！””
Garrett is hoping her post's popularity will make other restaurants，especially the places near her family's home about 30 minutes away from Mashville， provide such a service.” Lulu offers quality services to the guests with food allergies. Nothing would make us happier than that.” She said.
1. Why do Garrett and her family hardly eat out at restaurants?| A．Because they are on a low income. |
| B．Because Garrett likes cooking herself. |
| C．Because Isaac easily suffers from food allergies. |
| D．Because they consider the food in restaurants unhealthy. |
| A．She leaves her son alone at home. |
| B．She orders some special food for her son. |
| C．She lets her son choose his favorite dishes. |
| D．She prepares some food for her son ahead of time. |
| A．He will help them order food. |
| B．He will offer services to them first. |
| C．He will provide private room for them. |
| D．He will introduce their allergy program. |
| A．LuLu's response to her post. |
| B．Her son's experience at LuLu. |
| C．LuLu's concern for the guests with allergies. |
| D．More restaurants' following in LuLu's steps. |
8 . By the year 2050, a fifth of the world’s cities will experience unprecedented climate conditions and environments that currently don’t exist in any major cities, according to new research. A team of scientists at the Crowther Lab in Switzerland produced the report, which described the climate for 520 major cities 30 years in the future.
The results showed that 77 percent of the world’s cities will experience a surprising change in climate conditions by 2050, and 22 percent of the 520 cities will see conditions that are not currently experienced by any existing major cities.
In China in 2050, the climate of Xi’an, in Shanxi province, will be similar to that of current day Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in southern Africa, with the maximum temperature of the warmest month likely to increase by 4.59℃. Chongqing in southwest China will resemble the climate of Swaziland capital Mbabane, as the warmest temperature is predicted to rise by 5.1℃.
Scientists predict summers in Europe will get warmer by an average of 3.5℃ and European winters will see temperature rises of 4.7℃. London’s climate will be more similar lo Barcelona, and Madrid’s to Marrakech.
The Crowther Lab hopes the analysis will motivate decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent or address some of the climate effects due to the threat of climate change. The report also found that cities in tropical regions will experience smaller changes in average temperature but will be controlled by shifts in rainfall regimes. This may lead to a noticeable increase in unexpected events, and severe droughts.
“Across all scientific fields, the greatest challenge in climate science is no longer the precise measurement of climate change impacts, but inspiring people to picture is actual effects in order to motivate action,” said Tom Crowther, senior scientist und founder of the Crowther Lab.
1. According to the research, among the 520 cities by 2050, about ________ cities will experience the climate conditions that no major cities currently have experienced.| A．400 | B．114 | C．260 | D．104 |
| A．By listing figures. | B．By making comparisons. |
| C．By doing experiments. | D．By explaining theory. |
| A．To compare the climate change of the major cities of the world. |
| B．To inspire people to picture its actual effects in order to motivate action. |
| C．To inspire decision-makers to take necessary steps to prevent some climate effects. |
| D．To show most word’s cities will experience a striking change in climate conditions. |
| A．World Temperature | B．Current Climate Change |
| C．Big Titles in the World | D．Future Climate Change in Most Big Cities |
9 . On the way to his home the child turned many times and beat the dog,declaring with childish gestures that he held him in contempt(茂视）as an unimportant dog.the dog apologized for being this quality of animal and expressed regret in fine form,but he continued stealthily to follow the child.
When the child reached his door-step,the dog was a few yards behind,moving slowly toward him.He became so anxious with shame when ho again faced the child that he forgot the dragging rope . He tripped(绊倒） upon it and fell forward.
The child sat down on the step and the two had another interview. During it the dog greatly exerted himself to please the child. He performed a few playful jumps with such abandon(尽情地） that the child suddenly saw him to be a valuable thing. He made a swift,greedy charge(猛冲）and seized the rope.
He dragged his captive(俘虏） into a hall and up many long stairways in a dark building. The dog made willing efforts, but he could not walk very skillfully up the stairs because he was very small and soft,and at last the pace of the child grew so energetic that the dog became panic-stricken. In his mind he was being dragged toward somewhere unknown. His ayes grew wild with the terror of it. He began to wiggle his head wildly and to brace his legs.
The child redoubled his efforts.They had a battle on the stairs.The child was victorious because he was completely absorbed in his purpose,and because the dog was very small.He dragged his acquirement to the door of his home,and finally with victory across the doorway.
No family member was in.The child sat down on the floor and made overtures to(向....示好） the dog.These the dog instantly accepted.He smiled with affection upon his new friend.In a short time they were firm and abiding(矢志不渝的）comrades.
1. What might have happened before the first paragraph?| A．The child had wanted to own the dog for a long time. |
| B．The dog had been someone else' s pet but lost his way. |
| C．The child had been looking for the lost dog for a long time. |
| D．The dog had been driven out of home by the child's family. |
| A．The dog's apology. |
| B．His first interview with the dog. |
| C．His pity on the dog. |
| D．The dog's pleasing performance. |
| A．The boy was naughty. |
| B．The dog was foolish. |
| C．The boy was a devoted friend. |
| D．The dog was a faithful friend. |
| A．Frightened-relieved-anxious-happy. |
| B．Worried-angry-scared-delighted. |
| C．Guilty-anxious-nervous-pleased. |
| D．Angry-regretted-scared-puzzled. |
10 . Faced with a declining population and workforce, Japan has been increasingly turning to robots for help. Over the years, the robots have carried out a large number of human tasks, including building products and providing care for the elderly.
However, the robots currently being used by companies, like Walmart and Amazon, are only able to perform single, repetitive tasks, such as stacking boxes. Model-T, on the other hand, has a wider range of movement and is able to hold, pick and place objects of several different shapes and sizes into different locations, making it ideal for convenience and grocery stores, which sell a large variety of items.
Model-T robots are operated from a distant location by human “pilots” wearing a virtual reality (VR) headset and special gloves, which allow them to feel the product the robot is holding in their hands and guide it to the right shelf.
The VR-controlled robots are ten times cheaper than automated robots, because they don’t require advanced programming and are easier to develop and maintain. And their easy-to-use controls require little training. Tomohiro Kano, a general manager in charge of development at FamilyMart, believes this will enable the chain to recruit workers who would typically not work in stores.
Though Model-T appears to be getting rapidly through the experiments, it is not quite ready to enter the workforce. Besides being a lot slower than humans, it is also only able to lift packaged items, and cannot get hold of things such as fruits and vegetables. The company is working to improve the weaknesses and hopes to introduce a faster, more skillful Model-T within the next two years. They believe that in addition to the stores, the robots could also be useful in hospitals, allowing doctors to do operations from remote locations.
1. What is one of the features of Model-T according to the text?| A．It works much faster than humans. | B．It can easily hold all kinds of objects. |
| C．It can be operated from a distance away. | D．It is harder to produce than an automated robot. |
| A．The low price of Model-T. | B．The easiness to operate Model-T. |
| C．The low-level programming of Model-T. | D．The strict training for maintaining Model-T. |
| A．Model-T is now being massively produced. |
| B．Japan’s workforce will be reduced by Model-T. |
| C．The weaknesses of Model-T have been overcome. |
| D．Model-T may be used in wider fields in the future. |
| A．Technology. | B．Economy. | C．Lifestyle. | D．Environment. |
