1 . When you hear the beginning of your favorite song from the radio, suddenly your neck is covered in goose bumps.
It's such a thing that a group of scientists call “skin excitement”—a feeling of cold caused not by a drop in temperature or sudden scare, but by the sense of beauty. “Skin excitement” can come from a song, a painting, a moving movie scene, or even a beloved memory-pretty much anything that causes the giving out of pleasure-soaked dopamine in your brain. But it does not come for all of us.
Your favorite music uncovers a lot about your personality，and so does how you respond to that music. Studies suppose that as few as 55 percent of people experience “skin excitement” when listening to music. And if you count yourself among this group, the goose bumps on your skin aren't the only giveaway—scientists can read it in your brain, too. In a new study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Harvard researchers performed brain scans on 10 students who said they reliably got cold when listening to music, and 10 students who didn't. They found that the cold-prone brains may really be excited by stronger emotions.
Cold-prone brains are generally more likely to show stronger emotional intelligence than no-cold brains. Cold-prone minds tend to have unusual active imagination, reflect more deeply on their emotions, and appreciate nature and the beauty of music and art to a stronger degree than no-cold brains.
So, what type of music causes the chills? It seems that the type is not so important; participants in the new study reported getting cold from songs of every kind. And any song connected with a strong emotional memory of the listener can produce the most reliable results. For me, that's the song Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler, which I listened to as a kid in the car with my dad, on the way to the summer camp.
1. What can we learn about “skin excitement” in the text?| A．It helps to produce doparmine. | B．It is caused by the pain in the skin. |
| C．It can be experienced by every music listener. | D．It is the human body's reaction to something nice. |
| A．The percentage of music lovers in students. |
| B．The solutions to the goose bumps on one's skin. |
| C．The differences between cold-prone and no-cold brains. |
| D．The relationship between one's music preference and personality. |
| A．Beautiful and intelligent. | B．Emotional and dishonest. |
| C．Imaginative and sensitive. | D．Brave and strong-minded. |
| A．Responses to Music Vary among People | B．A Feeling of Cold Is Caused by Horrible Music |
| C．Your Favorite Music Reveals Your Personality | D．Favorite Music May Bring Forth Goose Bumps |
2 . Scientists say baby sharks are at risk of being born smaller and without the energy they need to survive because of warming oceans from climate change. Scientists studied epaulette sharks, which live off Australia and New Guinea. They found warmer conditions sped up the sharks' growing process, which meant the sharks were born earlier.
John Mandelman, chief scientist of the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life said the findings could be used in the study of other sharks.
Mandelman said it is widely believed that epaulette sharks are "hardy," or able to survive difficult conditions. "What it means is that this species is more vulnerable than we thought, and this could be true of other sharks," he added.
The scientists studied 27 sharks using the New England Aquarium's reproduction program. Some were raised in average summer water temperatures. Others were raised in higher temperatures. They found the sharks raised in warmer temperatures weighed much less than those raised in average temperatures.
One study this year found that worldwide numbers of oceanic sharks and rays dropped more than 70 percent between 1970 and 2018. Overfishing is a main concern, while climate change and pollution also threaten sharks.
Carolyn Wheeler, a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the author of the epaulette shark study, said while all the sharks survived, those raised in warmer temperatures were not strong enough to survive for long in the wild. She added that if the sharks are born smaller than usual "they are probably going to have to start looking for food sooner — and they're going to have less time to adjust to their surroundings."
Mariah Pfleger, an ocean scientist said the study should serve as a warning to ocean governing agencies that careful supervision is needed to prevent the loss of more sharks." This study further shows that sharks will not be immune to a warming ocean," Pfleger added.
1. What does the author want to tell us in paragraph1?| A．Oceans get warmer because of climate change. |
| B．Climate change affects sharks’ growing process. |
| C．New finding on short life span of sharks is released. |
| D．Sharks are at risk of dying out. |
| A．They are sensitive to climate change. |
| B．They can survive any difficult situation. |
| C．Climate change has little effect on them. |
| D．The situation is serious even for them. |
| A．Overfishing and ocean pollution should be stopped. |
| B．Sharks have to adjust themselves to warmer surroundings. |
| C．Measures should be taken to prevent climate change. |
| D．The number of sharks will continue dropping. |
| A．Baby Sharks Struggle to Survive in Warming Ocean |
| B．Whether Sharks Can Survive or Not Is a Question |
| C．Climate Change Threatens Marine Organisms |
| D．The Premature Sharks Are Faced With Challenges |
3 . In Japan, some workers who regularly drink beer at the end of the day are giving their livers a rest by turning to beer that is free, or nearly free of alcohol.The liver is the organ that works to remove alcohol from the body. Masuda, one of beer lovers, said he is paying more attention to his health now that he is older.
Asahi is a large beverage company in Japan, which made 20 percent more money from low-alcohol beer in 2020 compared to the year before. Kirin is another company that makes things to drink. It saw sales grow by 10 percent last year and expects another increase this year.
The increase in sales of non-alcoholic beer might be the result of many Japanese people spending more time at home. In the past, they would order beers together while going out. More people are trying to stay healthy as well. Also, fewer people are drinking beer, as wine and other alcoholic drinks become more popular. But the new interest in low-alcohol beer has helped the beverage industry in Japan.
In recent years, many companies started making non-alcoholic beers. They caught on in places like Australia and Germany but not in Japan – until this year.
The chief of Suntory, another large beverage company in Japan, said people only responded to non-alcoholic beer advertising when the product started to taste better. Many people agree that today's non-alcoholic beers taste better than they used to. Asahi's "Beery" has very little alcohol. But it is supposed to have more taste than earlier versions of low-alcohol beer because of a new way of removing the alcohol. The company plans to offer more low-alcohol beers in coming years.
Kazuo Matsuyama is marketing chief for Asahi, who said most beer companies used to advertise to people who had a drink every day. That was about 20 million people. But there are about 80 million people in Japan between the ages of 20 and 60." But now we need to look at others." Matsuyama said.
1. Why do some Japanese workers turn to beers free of alcohol nowadays?| A．To appreciate a tasty flavor. | B．To ensure a healthier lifestyle. |
| C．To get rid of liver cancer. | D．To relieve stress in their life. |
| A．Beverage company traditions. |
| B．Financial reports. |
| C．Published statistics. |
| D．Public opinions. |
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．New lifestyles in Japan. |
| B．The development of Asahi. |
| C．Introductions of different beers. |
| D．Popularity of alcohol free beers. |
4 . Most solar panels acquire sunlight from only one side, meaning they can acquire more or less of it depending on where the sun is in the sky. In recent years, they’ve become far more effective typically turning around 22 percent of the light they acquire into energy. In a new study published in the journal Joule on Tuesday, scientists put forth a way to increase that percentage even higher: double-sided solar panels that can move to follow the sun.
Basically, these panels can acquire sun from not only their sun-facing side but also from the light reflected off the ground onto their dark undersides. At the same time, a GPS allows them to move on an axis from east to west in order to always be pointed at a best angle to acquire the sun’s rays. Though double-sided solar panels and sun-following solar panels are both in use currently, models that combine the two technologies aren’t widely available for commercial use, Solar experts predict explosive growth in the market soon, though.
The study authors determined that these two-sided sun-tracking panels produce an average of 35 percent more energy than immobile single-panel systems, and are 16 percent more cost-efficient. That holds true even when accounting for changes in weather conditions.
“This means that investing in double-sided and tracking systems should be a safe bet for the foreseeable future, Carlos Rodriguez-Gallegos,” the study’s lead author said.
The same warnings for solar panels and their effect on the local environment apply to the double-sided, moving systems as well, if not more so. Lead used in solar panels can be one source of local pollution, and Dustin Mulvaney, an associate professor of environmental studies, told Earther in an email double-sided panels could mean “twice as much lead” as traditional solar systems.
Since these new panels are more energy efficient, they could save not only money but also land. That would require restructuring how solar contracts currently work.
1. What does most solar panels rely on to acquire sunlight?| A．The amount of sunlight. | B．The location of the sun. |
| C．The quality of solar panels. | D．The size of solar panels. |
| A．The sun’s rays. | B．The panels’ undersides. |
| C．The double-sided panels | D．The panels’ sun-facing sides. |
| A．Uncertain. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Subjective. |
| A．Double-Sided Solar Panels that Follow the Sun | B．Advantages of the Double-Sided Solar Panels |
| C．Application of the Double-Sided Solar Panels | D．New Trends of Double-Sided Solar Panels |
5 . Have you ever loved a destination but couldn’t figure out why — or even a way ——to express your feelings? That’s my dilemma with Morocco.
In August, I traveled in a country that had long been, on my wish list. I rode a camel, got lost in Medinas, and ate more couscous (粗麦粉) than was humanly possible.
I loved the trip. Our friendly guide introduced us to the helpful locals. I made friends with my tour mates and my roommate (which, on a tour, is a huge blessing). I loved being lost in the smell of different spices, and the chaos of millions of people and the dark red of the Sahara were all I wanted them to be.
There were many moments when I felt like a fish out of water and things didn’t go my way. But I take pleasure in those moments because it’s when you are pushed out of your comfort zone that you grow. Morocco lived up to all my expectations, but for some reason, my experience has been hard to express. Why?
One constant in my travels is that of a touchstone, one defining point where the trip all comes together and acts as a prism (三棱镜) for everything the journey represented . In Costa Rica，it was getting lost in a jungle. In Thailand, it was meeting those five people who changed my life.
I’m so inconsistent about Morocco because I lack that touchstone. There’s no “whoa” moment. But I have thousands of little ones - staring at a million stars in the blackness of the desert, discovering new foods with some amazing Australians on my tour, and befriending the fish sellers.
1. What does the author regard as a huge blessing?| A．Going on a guided trip. |
| B．Having a helpful guide. |
| C．Being warmly received by the local people. |
| D．Getting along well with the fellow travelers. |
| A．To prove Morocco lacks the touchstone. |
| B．To show his reliance on the touchstone. |
| C．To compare Morocco with Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| D．To share his experience in Costa Rica and Thailand. |
| A．The lack of big moments. |
| B．The little “whoa” moments. |
| C．Meeting with five Thai people. |
| D．Making friends with Australians. |
| A．Unpleasant travel in Morocco. |
| B．Finding a touchstone on travel. |
| C．Reflection on traveling in Morocco. |
| D．Lack of special moments in Morocco. |
6 . What defines (定义) a generation? Often, experts say, members of a generation are defined by the events that shaped their lives as young adults.
“World events like wars, pandemics (大流行病) and racial unrest can be especially formative,” says Meg Jay, a psychologist and author of “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter — and How to Make the Most of Them Now”. Because our 20s are often when we have our first jobs and first relationships and first moves and first real-world experiences, these big events become important parts of our life stories.
In 2020, it was a pandemic.
For the last three months of 2020, the Monitor followed twelve 2l-year-olds from around the world. We wanted to understand how this global health crisis is encoding itself in the cultural DNA of a generation coming of age in its shadow. Their lives and circumstances as they rolled into 2021 varied wildly. But the lives of the 2l-year-olds we met had many obvious similarities. Separately, for instance, the internet was their collective lifeline to the world. In Mexico, an art student isolating in her family home posted a daily piece of art to Instagram to remind herself that time had not stopped altogether. In Germany, a labor organizer negotiated contracts and planned strikes via Zoom.
By the end of 2020, many of the world’s 21-year-olds had lost jobs; others wondered if they’d ever find one. In the U. S, youth unemployment doubled between July 2019 and July 2020. Also, the pandemic opened fault lines, and stressed old ones. In India, Jordan, and South Africa, our 21-year-olds wondered how they’d collect enough money for mobile data for online studies. In Mexico, Canada, and Germany, 21-year-olds reflected on loneliness as a privilege — that they were alone because they could isolate, their lives not dependent on doing otherwise.
We found a generation suspended (悬停) between the world they’d grown up in and uncertain arrival of their future.
1. According to Meg Jay, what determines the future of the people in their twenties?| A．Their fundamental changes of working circumstances. |
| B．Their great efforts of coping with uncertainties in life. |
| C．Their first experiences of the major events then. |
| D．Their deep reflections on the attitudes to life. |
| A．Significant employment challenges. | B．Potential social problems. |
| C．Special individual privileges. | D．Global health crises. |
| A．Approving. | B．Negative. | C．Critical. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The World Children Have Grown up in Defines a Generation |
| B．A Young Generation Was Suspended But Ready to Start |
| C．A Great Pandemic Has Brought Various Global Crises |
| D．World Events Changed the Lives of Young Adults |
7 . With a quick movement, the little creature vanishes in the air like it never existed and somehow appears dramatically-this is a part of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But in reality, “disappeared” fantastic creatures can also reappear.
The Global Wildlife Conservation(GWC) announced on Oct 30 they have rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon(变色龙)in Madagascar. The last time that the animal was seen was in 1913.
This discovery excited the researeh team, but the finding was not easy. The GWC organized an expedition as part of its Seareh for Lost Species program, an attempt to rediscover species that have not been observed by scientists for at least a decade. They headed into the forests of northwestern Madagascar in April 2018. But they didn't have much luck for a long time. Just days before the trip was to end. the tour guides spotted one of the chameleons. Ultimately, the team discovered three males and 13 females.
Male Voeltzkow's chameleons are up to 164 millimeters long and are light green with dark stripes, which get darker when they are angry or stressed. Females are smaller than males, growing to about 150 millimeters long. They can change their skin to a pattern of red dots and a stripe of purple against a background of black and white.
“The Voeltzkow's chameleon adds color and beauty to the planet, and reminds us that even when all seems lost, a great adventure can reawaken hope." said Don Church, president of the GWC. "Now we have so much to learn about this extraordinary reptile(爬行动物)・including how we can best save it from extinction.”
This isn't the only time a species thought to be extinct has been rediscovered. In fact, this year scientists discovered a frog that has been missing for more than 50 years in a Brazilian jungle. Another example is the Albany adder snake, which was rediscovered in 2016. The species had disappeared for over a decade and was generally believed to be extinct.
So how are these "lost" species able to make a comeback? If the environment changes in favor of certain species that have been considered extinct, the population size of those species may recover again. As they reach greater numbers, the chance of humans discovering them increases.
1. Why is the part of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them mentioned?| A．To lead to a discussion about animal extinction. |
| B．To warn of the difference between reality and fiction. |
| C．To demonstrate that magic can be found in real life. |
| D．To further discuss the reappearance of creatures. |
| A．How luck determined the fate of a lost species. |
| B．How the GWC rediscovered the Voeltzkow's chameleon. |
| C．An introduction to the Seareh for Lost Species program. |
| D．The solutions to make “lost" species come back. |
| A．They can change their colors to green and yellow. |
| B．Female chameleons are much longer than male ones. |
| C．The color of the males' skin can reflect their mood. |
| D．Male chameleons outnumber female ones by a lot. |
| A．The rediscoveries may be due to environmental changes. |
| B．The habitats of frogs and snakes are quite similar. |
| C．Human beings are to blame for species extinction. |
| D．Extinct reptiles would be the first group to be rediscovered. |
8 . Happiness is not a warm phone, according to a new study exploring the link between young life satisfaction and screen time. The study was led by professor of psychology Jean M. Twenge at San Diego State University (SDSU).
To research this link, Twenge, along with colleagues Gabrielle Martin at SDSU and W. Keith Campbell at the University of Georgia, dealt with data from the Monitoring the Future (MtF) study, a nationally representative survey of more than a million U. S. 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders. The survey asked students questions about how often they spent time on their Phones, tablets and computers, as well as questions about their face-to-face social interactions and their overall happiness.
On average found that teens who spent more time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested more time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interactions.
"The key to digital media use and happiness is limited use," Twenge said. "Aim to spend no more than two hours a day on digital media, and try to increase the amount of time you spend seeing friends face-to-face and exercising — two activities reliably linked to greater happiness."
Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, it's easy to find that the increase of screen devices over time happened at the same time as a general drop-off in reported happiness in U. S. teens. Specifically, young peopled life satisfaction and happiness declined sharply after 2012. That's the year when the percentage of Americans who owned a smartphone rose above 50 percent. By far the largest change in teens' lives between 2012 and 2016 was the increase in the amount of time they spent on digital media, and the following decline in in-person social activities and sleep.
1. Which method did Twenge's team use for the study?| A．Calculating students' happiness. |
| B．Asking students certain questions. |
| C．Analyzing data from a survey. |
| D．Doing experiments on screen time. |
| A．By making a comparison. |
| B．By giving an example. |
| C．By making an argument. |
| D．By introducing a concept. |
| A．To draw a conclusion from the study. |
| B．To offer some advice to the readers. |
| C．To prove social activities' importance. |
| D．To support the researchers' finding. |
| A．Quitting Phones Equals Happiness |
| B．Screen Time Should Be Banned |
| C．Teens' Lives Have Changed Sharply |
| D．Screen-addicted Teens Are Unhappier |
9 . Why humans make and appreciate music is an evolutionary (进化的) mystery. Recently David Schruth and his colleagues have a new explanation. They say the roots of human music can date back to the branches of trees more than 50 million years ago, when the first primates (灵长类) appeared. Early primates moved around forest by leaping (跳跃) from branch to branch, a very dangerous way to travel that relies on hand and eye working together and control over muscles.
Schruth argues that a primate that calls in a musical way is advertising that it has fine control over its vocal (声音的) muscles. This might have convinced other primates that the caller also had fine control over its body. His another research shows the species that leap the most tend to have more complicated calls, which the team jokingly named as ‘protomusical’.
Hagen, a worldwide famous scientist in this field, commented on the research: “Some people would not include what we see in primates and songbirds as music. But I do see a continuity between human music and primate vocalizations”.
Hagen doesn’t think human music has a single, simple explanation. He argues that human ancestors originally used music-like vocalizations in two ways: groups vocalized together to send
a signal of strength and unity to scare outsiders away, and mothers used vocalisations to communicate with babies. Also another idea: humans used music to strengthen social bonds.
All these ideas might be compatible, says Hagen. Protomusic could have evolved in primates both to attract companions and for territorial signaling. Later, as early humans began cooperating in large numbers, protomusic might have been repurposed so it could attract rather than frighten outsiders, while also strengthening social bonds within groups.
1. What is Schruth’s finding?| A．Primates have the most complex calls. |
| B．Human ancestors leap around trees skillfully. |
| C．Frequent movements sharpen early human calls. |
| D．Complicated vocalizations result from more leaps. |
| A．Negative. | B．Skeptical. | C．Supportive. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Clever. | B．Reasonable. | C．Misleading. | D．Contradictory. |
| A．Repurposed functions of music |
| B．Arguments on primates’ evolution |
| C．Origins of music linked to leaping |
| D．Discoveries about the human origins |
10 . Think about all those successful people in your life that you know. How many of them build their success overnight? How many of them didn’t care about their goals? How many of them gave up after the first failure?
Most of the people we know to be successful were very persistent and devoted to their dreams. In other words, they work hard towards their dreams and keep trying, even if their goals aren’t easy to achieve. They didn’t give up just because they faced barriers and problems. They might even get encouraged by them.
Persistence really matters. It can help build your character. Nothing builds your character more than overcoming failures and problems in life. You get tougher and can handle anything life might throw at you. Each time you win your urge to give up, you make your mind and personality a bit stronger. Each of those wins will build your character to be healthier and to handle more stress.
When you are committed to something, you are willing to learn what it takes to be successful. You will be required to learn new skills and solve new kinds of problems. When you are persistent about your goals, you will have to learn new ways of doing things. Sometimes you might notice that to solve a particular problem, you need to learn more about it. When you study more about the topic, you discover new exciting subtopics to know about. As you think more in-depth into that problem, you will be exposed to new ideas and thoughts. Persistence is the driver behind your ability to learn what you need to know.
When you keep building your persistence and willpower, you will face many failures. Things don’t always end up as you have planned. With persistence, you will learn how to solve those problems and get back up after a failure. You will learn that failure is not the end of the world. Life goes on, and so can you. Each time you decide to overcome your failure, you will learn something new, and you will be a bit stronger than before. Those changes won’t show daily, but slowly they will start to stack up. If you look back and analyze your process, you will discover that you handle the stressful situation more efficiently, and after failures, you won’t go into despair. You rather know how to handle each failure as you have accumulated experiences from them and handle challenging situations.
Persistence is a basic quality to develop in life because it is closely related to personal development and improvement. As you already know, it is not easy, but it is worthy of your effort.
1. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph refers to________.| A．dreams | B．successful men | C．most of the people | D．barriers and problems |
| A．Persistence builds your character. |
| B．Persistence teaches you how to manage failures. |
| C．Persistence improves your skills and abilities. |
| D．Persistence helps you handle a stressful situation. |
| A．People with persistence seldom suffer from failures. |
| B．Learning new skills will make you more persistent. |
| C．Persistent people are easier to get out of a bad mood. |
| D．Successful people usually have stronger personalities. |
| A．explain the importance of being persistent | B．analyze the character of successful people |
| C．offer some suggestions about being persistent | D．show how to deal with problems and face failures |
