1 . For many white-collar workers around the world, the recent pandemic has meant having to work from home. Their usual office location has been out of bounds . This means different working practices, which have advantages and disadvantages for employees. But the big question is, “Will they ever see their offices again?”
Home working has made people realize what tasks they can perform at home, rather than enduring a commute to the office to do the same thing. It has given them more time with the family; they’ve been sleeping better and have saved money by not travelling or buying lunches on the go . And recent research suggests the majority of people working from home are just as productive.
For some people, this could be a permanent arrangement. In the UK, fifty of the biggest employers questioned by BBC, have said they have no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future. Of course, one main reason is that firms couldn’t see a way of accommodating large numbers of staff while social distancing regulations were still in place. But BBC also heard from some smaller businesses who are deciding to abandon their offices altogether. Other bigger companies are also looking at shutting offices to save money as many jobs can be performed remotely. Peter Cheese, head of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, told BBC: “We’re at a moment of real change in the world of work, driven by big existential crises. ”
But this isn’t great news for everyone. Some employees can feel isolated at home, and there’s less opportunity to network or learn from other people, especially if they’re a new recruit. Also, city centers may suffer most from a change in working habits. Shops and cafes rely on the footfall of office workers, and without them, they face closure. The future is still uncertain, which is why it may be too early to say where our desks will be permanently located. But the office of the future may be your home.
1. What does the underlined phrase “a commute to the office” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．The journey to and back from the office. |
| B．The distance between the office partners. |
| C．A communication from the office. |
| D．A call at the office. |
| A．More time to accompany the family. |
| B．Less money on lunches on the go . |
| C．A better sleep. |
| D．Higher efficiency. |
| A．Half employers will tire their staff. |
| B．Large numbers of staff will leave office. |
| C．Some employees won’t see their offices again. |
| D．Firms couldn’t deal with social distancing regulations. |
| A．Does Working From Home Benefit a Lot? |
| B．Will Offices Disappear in the Future? |
| C．The Usual Office Location Has Been out of Bounds |
| D．Different Working Practices Have Advantages and Disadvantages |
2 . While I was growing up, I often heard my teachers say, “Oh, Tina is gifted in algebra.” While watching the Olympics, my parents would say, “These gymnasts are born with such ability.” Statements like these made me believe people were born with certain talents and if they didn't have a particular one at birth, then they never would. Therefore, I rarely focused on algebra. Nobody told me that if you keep trying and trying, one day a difficult task will seem easy.
Actually, I learnt this from my young daughter, Samaya. One day, I was finishing some paperwork and I said, “Oh no, how could I have made that mistake!” Samaya instantly said, “Mum, don't worry. Mistakes make your brain grow bigger.”
Actually, we all need to be reminded that mistakes or failures are just fine and that they are a huge part of growth and success. However, the regular belief is the opposite. We must correct this with our children. We must encourage them to make mistakes because that means they are trying out new ideas.
Billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of the shapewear business Spanx, has seen many failures. She made a living by selling fax machines for seven years. Knocking on many doors and making a lot of mistakes was a journey she calls educational. Sara Blakely owes her risk-taking skills to the weekend talk she had with her father.
As a child, her father would ask her the same question every weekend. "What did you fail at this week, Sara?" He did not care how high her scores were. He wanted to know what she had tried but failed at. When she told him about her failures and mistakes, he would give her a high five. He was reprogramming her mind to believe that mistakes and failures are fine.
So go ahead and ask yourself and your children, “What did we fail at this week?”
1. What discouraged the author from efforts in algebra?| A．She wasn't interested in it. | B．She thought she was not gifted. |
| C．She thought it was useless. | D．She was not allowed to learn it. |
| A．Keep trying is necessary. | B．Failure is a path to success. |
| C．Mistakes are not acceptable. | D．Encouragement is significant. |
| A．To rebuild her mindset. | B．To keep her from failures. |
| C．To know what she hadn't tried. | D．To prevent her getting high scores. |
| A．A Secret to Success | B．A Method of Education |
| C．The Magic of Mistakes | D．The Power of a Fixed Mindset |
3 . Dogs can’t speak, but their brains respond to spoken words. Every dog owner knows that saying “Good dog!” in a happy, high voice will make their pet joyfully wag its tail. That made scientists curious: What exactly happens in your dog’s brain when it hears praise, and is it similar to the way our own brain processes such information?
When a person gets others’ compliment, the more primitive, subcortical auditory regions (皮层下听觉区) first reacts to the intonation — the emotional force of spoken words. Next, the brain taps the more recently evolved auditory cortex (听觉皮层) to figure out the meaning of the words, which is learned.
In 2016, a team of scientists discovered that dogs’ brains, like those of humans, compute the intonation and meaning of a word separately — although dogs use their right brain to do so, whereas we use our left one. Still, a puzzle remained: Do their brains go through the same steps to process approval?
It’s an important question, because dogs are a speechless species, yet they respond correctly to our words. For instance, some dogs are capable of recognising thousands of names of individual objects, and can link each name to a specific object.
When the scientists studied scans of the brains of pet dogs, they found that theirs, like ours, process the sounds of spoken words in this manner — analyzing first the emotional component with the older region of the brain, the subcortical regions, and then the words’ meaning with the newer part, the cortex.
See why dogs are so successful at partnering with us? Dogs and humans last shared a common ancestor some 100 million years ago, so it’s likely that our brains respond to sounds in a similar way. As domesticated animals that have evolved alongside humans for the past 10,000 years, dogs make special use of it to process human emotions. You know, what we say really matters to dogs!
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “compliment”?| A．Reply. | B．Praise. | C．Warning. | D．Advice. |
| A．Linking it to an object. | B．Analyzing the emotion. |
| C．Working out its meaning. | D．Tapping the auditory cortex. |
| A．By comparing opinions. | B．By raising examples. |
| C．By providing answers to questions. | D．By analyzing causes and effects. |
| A．Dogs—good listeners |
| B．Dogs—perfect partners |
| C．Dogs and humans share a common ancestor actually |
| D．Dogs understand spoken words the same way we do |
4 . An amazing occurrence happened in South Africa when 31 elephants made a "Journey To Pay Their Respect" to their hero who had saved their lives and many other animals. Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012), a legend (传奇人物) in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and elephants all over the globe, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals in 2003. On March 7, 2012, Lawrence Anthony died.
Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two old female elephants. Separate wild groups arrived to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend. A total of 31 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to reach his South African House. Witnessing this sight, humans were obviously in awe (敬畏) because of not only the precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence's passing, but also because of the deep memory and emotion the beloved animals showed in such an organized way.
Walking slowly — for days — they made their way in a one — by — one queue from their home in the wild bush to his house. Lawrence's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to (在……前面的) that day for well over 3 years!
They knew where they were going and they seemed to know why they were going to Lawrence's home. The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their human friend who had saved their lives — so much respect that they stayed for 2 days and 2 nights without eating anything.
After honoring Lawrence Anthony in the only way they could, then one morning, they left, making their long journey back home.
1. When did the elephants appear at Lawrence Anthony's house?| A．On March 5, 2012. | B．On March 7, 2012. |
| C．On March 9, 2012. | D．On March 11, 2012. |
| A．Paragraph 1. | B．Paragraph 2. |
| C．Paragraph 2 and 3. | D．Paragraph 3 and 4. |
| A．The bestseller The Elephant Whisperer. |
| B．The wild elephants' amazing occurrence. |
| C．His rescues of wildlife all over the world. |
| D．His special way of living with wild animals. |
| A．An honorable legend | B．A long journey back home |
| C．Well-organized wild elephants | D．The day they remembered |
5 . The death of soccer legend Diego Maradona has shocked fans worldwide and drawn an outpouring of grief. Maradona, 60, died of a heart attack on Nov 25,2020.
Argentina's president, Alberto Fernandez, declared three days of national mourning upon Maradona's death. "You took us to the top of the world," he wrote on the social networking platform Twitter, "and you were the greatest of Indeed, Maradona lived a life that showed that soccer at its peak can have passions that move entire nations. He was a man who was deified (奉若神明)in Argentina and the Italian city of Naples.
Maradona reached legendary position during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico after scoring two winning goals against England in the quarterfinal. That was a redemption (救赎)for the nation, which was defeated in a war over territory (领土)conflict by the UK just four years earlier. But his magic didn't stop there. At a time when teams were largely domestic, Maradona became the first truly global soccer superstar. Before his arrival in Napoli in 1984 they never won the Serie A title. The city took him in, regarding him as the man to bring back pride and respect to Naples. The club won the championship for the first time ever in the 1986-87 season.
Magician though Maradona may have been, he was deeply human, thus deeply flawed. He appeared in newspapers more for his drug habit than for his soccer skills in the late 1990s. After he played his goodbye game in 2001, Maradona stated, "The ball does not show the dirt."
As a symbol and idol he shone brighter than any other athlete in the last century. Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi wrote, "He leaves us but does not leave, because Diego is eternal (不朽的)
1. Why was Maradona regarded as "the greatest of all"?| A．Because he was an international superstar. |
| B．Because he played soccer to the death of his life. |
| C．Because he lit the passion that moved the country with his soccer life. |
| D．Because he won back the territory tor the country after the 1986 World Cup. |
| A．Imperfect. | B．Athletic. | C．Noted. | D．Influential. |
| A．He was a perfect human respected by people. |
| B．He built his legendary status in soccer in his 20s. |
| C．He was a great soccer player as well as a magician. |
| D．He was the brightest soccer star in the 19th century. |
| A．The Rise of a Superstar. | B．The Biography of a Soccer Player. |
| C．An Intense Soccer Match. | D．Passing of a Legend. |
6 . A cozy environment fostering focused thinking and concentration on books is what study lounges are all about. Ideal for students with limited options as after-school study spaces. And relatively cheap.
The demand for study lounges rose in China because students can hardly find a peaceful place to study after finishing classes. Before 2018, there were few study lounges in China, and the few that existed were mainly in first- and second-tier cities such as Guangzhou, Suzhou and Tianjin. Yet by 2019, they had become popular nationwide.
But the pandemic (流行病) has dealt a blow to the industry. Since personal contact in a closed environment is unavoidable, the pandemic forced all study lounges to shut down for several months. Lou Qingxiao, founder of Xinliuzaowu, one of Beijing’s earliest study lounge brands that opened in 2018, said their first study lounge near Renmin University of China had made ends meet before the pandemic. Li Hang and Zhang Yang, co-founders of Sishiloushi, a Beijing-based independent study lounge, said that even before COVID-19 broke out, the industry’s profit was neither promising nor clear, let alone in such a particular period.
“Rent is a major fixed cost for study lounges, especially in first-tier cities,” Lou said. In a first-tier city such as Beijing, rentals comprise more than a half of a study lounge’s monthly operation cost. But Lou sounds optimistic about the industry commercial prospects, “because it’s a blue ocean with less competition.”
Study lounges provide a better learning experience that people cannot get in free public libraries. “Privately operated study lounges like ours actually make up for the shortage of public infrastructure (基础设施) and public services and we are willing to cooperate with the government to better serve the public.” Li said.
1. What contributes to the rise of study lounges in China?| A．The rapid development of cities. |
| B．The shrinking number of libraries. |
| C．The need for a peaceful study environment. |
| D．The lack of alternative after-school activities. |
| A．The earliest study lounge brands in China. |
| B．A guideline on finding famous study lounges. |
| C．An introduction to the founders of study lounges. |
| D．The influence of the pandemic on study lounges. |
| A．It is promising. | B．It is unclear. |
| C．It will be full of competition. | D．It will be free of rent. |
| A．Government involvement is welcome. |
| B．The infrastructure construction is needed. |
| C．Study lounges should be privately operated. |
| D．Cooperation with public libraries has been achieved. |
7 . The world's largest iceberg (冰山)is floating toward the island of South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Scientists fear the iceberg could crash into the island and block major feeding areas for a large population of penguins (企鹅)and seals.
Satellite images show the iceberg has remained in one piece. It is estimated to be about 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide. It is traveling at one kilometer an hour and is on a path to hit South Georgia in around 30 days.
The British Antarctic Survey says it is concerned that if the iceberg hits the island, it could prevent the penguins and seals from reaching food supplies.
Professor Geraint Tarling, an ecologist with the Antarctic Survey, says right now is the time of year when seals and penguins spend a lot of time caring for their young. This means the distance that parents have to travel to find food is important.
"That means they have to go a lot further, they have to go around the iceberg, or to actually go further to find sources of food," Tarling said. "And that time is quite important at this particular period of their life cycle."
The breaking off of icebergs from Antarctica is a natural process. But the process is changing with climate change. " What we 're seeing with models and some observations now is the rate at which this is happening is increasing. And so, this might become more of a usual thing into the future," Tarling said.
The iceberg also could damage South Georgia's valuable fishing industry. Fishers pay for the rights to catch Patagonian toothfish, icefish and krill (磷虾)in waters off the island.
Officials are hoping that changing weather patterns could direct the iceberg out into the open ocean, where it would, in time, break up and melt.
1. What will happen if the iceberg hits the island of South Georgia?| A．Wildlife will lose their homes. |
| B．The iceberg will remain in one piece. |
| C．The island of South Georgia will disappear. |
| D．Feeding will be challenging for penguins and seals. |
| A．Icebergs are coming off faster than before. |
| B．Penguins and seals' birth rates are increasing. |
| C．The iceberg's breaking off is caused by human. |
| D．It's unusual to see the iceberg melting is speeding. |
| A．The present situation is beyond hope. |
| B．The weather patterns are controllable. |
| C．The iceberg is bound to melt very soon. |
| D．The crash of the iceberg may be avoidable. |
| A．The changing climate in Antarctica. | B．The potential problems of the iceberg. |
| C．The island of South Georgia. | D．The population of sea animals. |
8 . In 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly made himself a guinea pig for NASA's "twins study," designed to see what spaceflight does to the human body. It was for all the people who dream of human journeys to Mars and other destinations in space. Kelly rode a rocket into space and spent nearly a year on the International Space Station in low Earth orbit, while his identical twin brother, Mark Kelly, served as the comparison subject and stayed on Earth's surface.
The full results, published Thursday in the journal Science, showed that Scott Kelly experienced numerous physiological and chromosomal（染色体的）changes during his long stay in orbit, including changes in gene expression. His immune system went on high alert, both when he went to space and upon returning to Earth. His body acted as if it were under attack.
One of the most dramatic findings concerned epigenetics（实验胚胎学） — how genes are turned on or off to produce proteins. Gene expression changed in both Kellys during the study but in significantly different ways. The study found that more than 90 percent of Scott Kelly's gene expression changes returned to normal when he landed on the surface. His telomeres（染色体端粒）, structures which break over time as part of the natural aging process, lengthened in space. But that didn't necessarily mean being younger, the study found, because most telomeres shortened dramatically when he returned to Earth.
Months later, tests showed that slight changes in telomeres length still remained and left some influence on Scott Kelly, which means he and his brother are no longer identical twins. "He might be at some increased risk for cardiovascular disease or some types of cancer," said Susan Bailey, a biologist at Colorado State University who led one of the investigations in the study.
However, the researchers, echoing what NASA has suggested previously, said the twins study turned up no showstoppers — no shocking health consequences that would surely prevent a human mission to Mars or similar long-duration mission.
1. What does the underlined expression "a guinea pig" in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．a person who is strong enough to become an astronaut. |
| B．a person who is a leader of space exploration. |
| C．a person who is picked out for a scientific experiment. |
| D．a person who is faced with the harsh effects of space flight. |
| A．The permanent changes in gene expression. | B．The aging of cells. |
| C．The lengthened telomeres. | D．The failure in immune system. |
| A．Scott Kelly will appear younger because his telomeres lengthened in space. |
| B．A long-duration spaceflight will be banned because of the damage to health. |
| C．Scott Kelly's gene expression changes were normal when he returned to the surface. |
| D．Scott Kelly might be more likely to develop cardiovascular disease or some types of cancer. |
| A．Gene expression: Physiological Change of Proteins. |
| B．Space Experiment: Changes in Both Kellys. |
| C．Mars Exploration: an Unstoppable Human Mission. |
| D．Shortened Telomeres: the Killer of Astronauts. |
9 . Poaching has been threatening the survival of the African black rhino for long. But thanks to conservation efforts, the population of this endangered animal is slowly increasing, according to a recent update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Between 2012 and 2018, the number of black rhinos in Africa has increased moderately, at annual rate of 2.5%, The population in the wild has grown from approximately 4,845 to 5,630. As IUCN's update suggests, the population models predict the number will continue to rise slowly over the next five years.
The white rhino, Africa's another rhino species that exists in greater numbers, has been on the IUCN Red List categorized as Near Threatened. Compared to the black rhino, the white rhino is at higher risk of being poached as it has larger horns and prefers more open habitats, which makes it easier to spot.
The threat to the two species mainly comes from poaching for the illegal international rhino horn trade. Fortunately, in recent years, a number of groups including range states, private landowners, and communities have been making efforts to protect them, and the measures are working. In 2015, there were at least 1,349 rhinos poached—an average of 3.7 rhinos hunted per day. Since then, the poaching numbers have decreased every year. In 2018, there were at least 892 rhinos poached, meaning approximately 2.4 African rhinos poached per day, or one every 10 hours. The data for 2019 looks promising as the poaching levels appear to have further gone down.
Although the levels of rhino poaching have been declining slightly in recent years due to conservation efforts, the costs of keeping rhinos safe have greatly gone up and sale prices for live rhinos have decreased considerably over the last 10 years, making private landowners and communities less motivated to protect rhinos. This trend could delay the continued progress of expanding the species range and numbers.
1. Which of the following can best describe the number of the African rhinos now?| A．Slightly declining. | B．Slowly expanding. |
| C．Greatly increasing. | D．Considerably decreasing. |
| A．The better situation for the African white rhinos. |
| B．The reason for protecting the African white rhinos. |
| C．The process of the white rhino being on the IUCU Red List. |
| D．The reason why the African white rhino is more likely to be poached. |
| A．In 2015. | B．In 2016. | C．In 2018. | D．In 2019. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Confident. | C．Concerned. | D．Uninterested. |
10 . Many of us have had this annoying experience: You are waiting at a bus station when someone nearby begins to smoke a cigarette. You frown and move, but it seems that there isn't much you can do about it.
The situation is changing now, as in Beijing, a new ban is set to fight against smoking. Seen as the toughest anti-smoking regulation in China's history, the law makes smoking in Beijing locations such as offices, restaurants, hotels and hospitals punishable by fines.
Businesses that fail to rein in smoking can be fined up to 10,000 yuan and repeat offenders could have their licenses revoked (吊销).
Individual smokers themselves can be fined up to 200 yuan. As well as indoor smoking, the law prohibits lighting up in some open-air spaces close to schools, hospitals, and sports stadiums. Tobacco advertisements are not allowed to appear outdoors.
Health commission inspectors will be in charge, carrying out spot checks and acting on tip-offs from the public — posters in the capital advertise a hotline number, and the city government has launched a social media account allowing observers to upload images of smokers caught in the act.
"Since previous anti-smoking laws have been poorly carried out, we don't expect it will be entirely smooth running," said Bernhard Schwartlaender, the WHO's representative in China. "The key point is enforcement (强制实行)."
"I don't think you can just rely on policy," Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, said of the law. "Parents and teachers who smoke have a strong influence on children. Smoking scenes in films and TV programmes also make young people wrongly connect tobacco use with glamour(魅力) and a cool image."
1. The best title for the passage is probably _______.| A．No more smoking, Beijing |
| B．Anti-smoking movement |
| C．Fight against indoor smokers |
| D．Get rid of tobacco in China |
| A．Promote. | B．Control. | C．Advocate. | D．Quit. |
| A．There used to be some anti-smoking laws in the past. |
| B．Experts are positive about the new anti-smoking law. |
| C．Beijing is the first city in China to produce a ban on smoking. |
| D．The most effective way to ban smoking is to get smokers fined. |
| A．family members are the decisive factor |
| B．teachers hold the key to fighting against smoking |
| C．education matters in discouraging people from smoking |
| D．media are responsible for the failure of banning smoking |
