1 . Bikes are the most common means of transportation in our daily life, but have you ever noticed that a man’s bike is quite different from a woman’s bike? The traditional difference between a man’s bike and a woman’s bike is the top tube design. A man’s bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman’s bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down. This was originally to make it possible to ride a bike while wearing a skirt without exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike. A consequence of this is that traditional women’s frames are weaker than men’s, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider.
If you’re looking for a performance-based difference, then women often have shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes. Others merely think a “cute” paint scheme (组合) on the smaller sizes of their standard frames will be called a woman’s bike. Do note that the difference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the man’s bike and the woman’s bike standard. There are also a few other ways of fitting a bike to the rider. For example, handlebars can be replaced for some adjustments of riding position.
While it’s nice to have a well-fitting bike, for an ordinary rider it’s not as important for a MTB (山地车) as it is for a road bike. On a MTB the rider spends more time out of the saddle (鞍). While riding a road bike the rider spends more time on the saddle, so the position has to fit better. And if it’s just for wandering around the block, then most riders would prefer a “woman’s” bike. They will usually provide a more upright riding position, which is more comfortable for casual riding.
1. What is the traditional difference between a man’s bike and a woman’s bike?| A．The design of paint. |
| B．The design of saddle. |
| C．The design of top tube. |
| D．The design of handlebars. |
| A．To improve its safety. |
| B．To decrease its weight. |
| C．To make it more comfortable to ride. |
| D．To avoid exposing some of the riders’ body parts. |
| A．A woman’s bike is much cheaper. |
| B．A woman’s bike is easier to control. |
| C．A woman’s bike is more fashionable. |
| D．A woman’s bike is more comfortable. |
| A．The Safer, The Better |
| B．How to Choose Your Own Bike |
| C．Differences Between Man’s Bikes And Woman’s Bikes |
| D．Let’s Protect The Environment by Riding Bikes Every Day |
2 . In 2012, Miyashita, a scientist at Meiji University in Tokyo, developed an “electric fork” that was originally intended to improve the flavor of hospital food—the idea being to make food taste saltier, for instance, without actually adding salt.
That was an early step for Miyashita, who had bigger plans. His new invention, the Taste Display, could reproduce any flavor one might care to think of.
The human tongue has separate receptors for detecting sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. Miyashita's device has five different gels (胶体),each containing an electrolyte solution (电解液) that causes the tongue to sense one of those flavors. Each gel is connected to a separate electric current, and the taste associated with that gel weakens when the current is turned up. By adjusting the current strengths for the gels, which can be done automatically, the taste of a chocolate milkshake or a sirloin steak or any other desired treat can be experienced through the use of this device.
The Taste Display initially took the form of a rod (棒) that resembles a hand —held microphone with a surface that s designed to be licked (舔) rather than talked into. But Miyashita already has an early version of a mask, which affords a user continuous contact with the flavor giving surface, as part of a virtual reality system. He also has developed a "lickable screen" that can be incorporated onto a cell phone, allowing a person to watch cooking shows while tasting various samples.
Miyashita is exploring a new way of taste recording perhaps through the use of a device that can be dipped into food, giving quick readouts of the flavors. A portable “salt meter” like this already exists, and it could be adapted to measure other flavors too. “Within 10 years,” he predicts, “we should be able to instantly record and reproduce taste information.”
1. What is Miyashita's new invention?| A．A salt—meter. | B．An electric fork. |
| C．A flavor reproducer. | D．An electrolyte solution. |
| A．How the new invention works. |
| B．What it is like to experience desired flavors. |
| C．What are the functions of the human tongue. |
| D．How to adjust the current strengths for the gels. |
| A．The mask. | B．The lickable screen. |
| C．The microphone like rod. | D．The taste producing gels. |
| A．He used to be a doctor. |
| B．He has a special taste for food. |
| C．He enjoys watching cooking shows. |
| D．He is an ambitious and creative person. |
3 . MEXICO CITY, April 1（Xinhua）——Discoveries at the legendary Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu state civilization shared similarities with the Maya, according to the director of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, Marco Antonio Santos.
The Sanxingdui ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4,800 years ago and lasted more than 2,000 years. China announced on March 20 that archaeologists uncovered gold, ivory and jade objects dating back about 3,000 years in six sacrificial pits.
Santos told Xinhua that the bronze-made remains of trees buried at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom recall the Maya’s sacred ceiba tree, which symbolized the union of heaven, earth and the underworld for the civilization that flourished in Mesoamerica. “They are very important similarities.” said Santos, stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provide us with a symbolism that is very similar”.
“One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the interdisciplinary（跨学科的）work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists.” said Santos. “The technology allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains, which other types of less careful excavation methods would not have been able to manage.” he said. “Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Maya world, where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of objects.” said Santos.
“Every time our cultural knowledge increases, regardless of whether we speak one language or another, what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures, and, therefore, the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental.” said Santos.
1. What does the underlined word “excavation” in Paragraph 4 mean?| A．research | B．examination | C．digging | D．discovery |
| A．The sacred ceiba tree is also found at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom. |
| B．The recent discoveries at Sanxingdui featured interdisciplinary work and technology. |
| C．Only the unearthing of silk remains needs to be managed with more careful methods. |
| D．The language barrier is an issue that affects the cooperation between China and Mexico. |
| A．China and Mexico continue to exchange cultural knowledge. |
| B．The discovery of the Sanxingdui ruins in south west China shocks the world. |
| C．Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists benefits projects in both countries. |
| D．The discovery of the Sanxingdui ruins shows similarities between ancient Shu state and the Maya. |
| A．A newspaper. | B．A historical novel. | C．A research review. | D．A guidebook. |
4 . As a high school student, I learned this the hard way last year,when a student I didn't expect to bested me on the math PSAT. He soon admitted the secret to his success: the CAS calculator. He made clear that the CAS was able to solve all of his SAT equations (方程式). He claimed all he needed was his knowledge of seventh-grade math and the calculator did the rest.
From experience, I know it isn't that simple. A fancy calculator that costs about ＄150 is not that useful if you don't understand what the question is asking. But it does feel like cheating. Aside from being financially out of reach of many students， CAS calculators have the potential to misrepresent math ability and problem-solving skills.
It's unfair to allow such an incredibly helpful advanced calculator unless every student has access to it. Especially when the test has the potential to affect a student's educational path. In response to an email asking whether the College Board, which owns the SAT, is aware that the CAS is seen as greatly helping those who use it and whether it has considered banning such calculators, a communications officer sent a link to the SAT calculator policy, which spells out the permitted calculators, CAS among them.
If all students had access to a better calculator, how many could improve their test scores enough to get into their dream school? How many students get into better schools because of this privilege hack? It isn't right and shouldn't stand.
The simplest solution would be to leave out the math section that allows calculator use or permit test-takers to use only the most basic calculators, provided by the College Board. The equation for fairness is simple: You know it when you see it, and this calculator inequity (不公) isn't it.
1. The example of a student doing better than the writer in the math PSAT is used to________.| A．introduce the topic |
| B．compare their math achievements |
| C．show the writer's envy |
| D．blame his cheating in the exam |
| A．Because every student can not use one in SAT. |
| B．Because he didn't use one as early as others. |
| C．Because his model was less powerful than others'. |
| D．Because the College Board didn't provide one to him. |
| A．Favorable. |
| B．Disapproving. |
| C．Ambiguous. |
| D．Cautious. |
| A．CAS calculators-cheating in SAT |
| B．Solution to stopping cheating in SAT |
| C．Calls on banning the calculators |
| D．Calls on using basic calculators |
5 . French children 15 and under will no longer be allowed to bring smart devices to school. Lawmakers in France voted recently to ban all phones, tablets, and other Internet-connected devices from school grounds. The ban will start in September, “These days, the children don't play at break time anymore,” Jean-Michel Blanquer, France's education minister, said. “They are just all in front of their smartphones, and from an educational point of view, that's a problem. Some strict measures must be taken immediately.” A 2010 law bad already banned smartphones during "all teaching activity" in France. But the new rules say smartphones and tablets are not allowed even during breaks. Students who bring these digital devices to school have to keep them in their backpacks and turned off, If they want to call their parents, schools will help. However, the new law doesn’t forbid students to turn to them during extra-curricular activities. It also makes an exception for disabled students.
Alexis Corbiere is a French politician. He said the effort to make such a law should have been put to something else because teachers have already carried out this rule so far. “I don't know a single teacher in this country that allows the use of phones in class and in school, ” he told French news channel BFMTV.
How about smartphones in American schools?According to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, about 66% of public schools banned devices in 2019, which was down from 91% in 2009. Why the change? Liz Kolb, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Education, said that parents are concerned about security in schools. "In the rare case that something may occur, " she said, "the belief by some parents is that a cell phone could be a useful tool for safety."
1. What does the underlined word "them" in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Disabled students. |
| B．Digital devices. |
| C．Backpacks. |
| D．Students' parents. |
| A．It's unnecessary. |
| B．It's rewarding. |
| C．It's impossible. |
| D．It's unexpected. |
| A．It's made a comeback. |
| B．It's helped parents a lot. |
| C．It's done good to students. |
| D．It's followed the French ban. |
| A．Students Must Turn off Smartphones. |
| B．Digital Devices Won't Be Popular. |
| C．France Makes the Call in School. |
| D．Parents Value Children's Safety. |
6 . Both African elephants and Asian elephants face serious threats to their long-term survival, although the risks vary widely from place to place. Several million African elephants roamed across the continent as recently as the early 20th century, but today only about 350, 000 remain. Asian elephants were less abundant to begin with, reportedly numbering about 200,000 a century ago. There are now fewer Asian elephants left in the wild, maybe close to extinction unless something can be done to save them.
The main threat to elephants is a familiar one for wildlife around the world: loss and destruction of their habitats. Many elephants also face additional dangers, though, including both direct and indirect conflict with people.
On top of occupying and altering elephant habitats, people also commonly plant food crops there. As more farms appear in forests and plains where elephants are accustomed to roaming, their crops often become easy targets for hungry elephants. A herd can destroy a year’s harvest in one night, leading to understandable hostility among farmers, many of whom are living a poor life and have little income to make up the loss. This sometimes leads to certain killings of elephants, interactions that are dangerous for everyone involved. These clashes lead to hundreds of deaths across Asia and Africa every year, both elephant and human.
Many people around the world are committed to preserving these ancient creatures. Elephants are important keystone species shaping and maintaining the ecosystems around them. Since the main threat to elephants is habitat loss, it makes sense to focus our conservation efforts on preserving what’s left of their natural environment. The fate of elephants is also more broadly linked to the human communities around them, since people with enough legal opportunities to support their families might be less likely to depend on hunting for income. And where farmers clash with elephants on the edges of their remaining habitat, conservationists are trying a variety of creative techniques to help both creatures coexist. For example, many small farmers can’t afford fences strong enough to keep out elephants, but some now surround their crops with beehive fences, which take advantage of elephants’ natural fear of bees. As a bonus, the bees also provide fresh local honey.
1. What can we learn about the situation of elephants?| A．Asian elephants have died out. | B．They are going through a tough period. |
| C．African elephants are threatened by climate. | D．They were abundant in the early 20th century. |
| A．Communication. | B．Connection. | C．Unfriendliness. | D．Appreciation. |
| A．The threats to humans. | B．The living habits of elephants. |
| C．The challenges elephants face in nature. | D．The conflict between humans and elephants. |
| A．Humans stop attacking elephants. |
| B．Elephants are forbidden to disturb humans. |
| C．Humans and elephants can make use of each other. |
| D．Humans and elephants can live in harmony with each other. |
7 . Your best friend that follows you around when the sun comes out - your shadow - doesn’t serve an important function like your heart or brain, but what if you could use shadows to create electricity? When using solar panels (电池板) that are powered by light, shadows can be boring because it means electricity can’t be created. However, researchers from the National University of Singapore have engineered a way to create power from the shadows present everywhere.
A team of the university created a machine that can collect energy from shadows. It is created by placing a thin coating of gold onto silicon (硅). Like in a normal solar panel, when put in light, the silicon electrons (电子) become energized and the energized electrons then jump from the silicon to the gold. The voltage (电压) of the part of the machine that is placed in the light increases relative to the dark part and the electrons in the machine flow from high to low voltage. They are sent through an external circuit (外电路) creating a current that can be used to power another machine. The greater the contrast between light and dark, more energy is provided by the machine.
The team is working on improving the performance of the machine, borrowing approaches from solar panels to gather light. Increasing the amount of light the machines can receive allows them to better make use of shadows, as well as developing shadow energy collecting panels that can successfully gather from indoor lighting. The team is also researching the use of other materials other than gold to drop the price of the machine, meaning they would be more cost effective and easier to apply in society.
Shadows are present everywhere and perhaps one day in the future we will be able to collect energy from them by placing the shadow-effect energy machine around the world in places that have been considered unfit for solar panels to work, or indoors. “A lot of people think that shadows are useless,” Tan says, but “anything can be useful, even shadows.”
1. What is Paragraph 1 mainly about?| A．Your best friend always stays with you after the sunrise. |
| B．The shadow has the same function as the heart and brain. |
| C．Shadows can stop solar panels from creating electricity. |
| D．Researchers have found a way to create power from shadows. |
| A．The silicon produces electricity when it is in the light. |
| B．The gold produces power with the help of the silicon. |
| C．The energized electrons flow from high to low voltage. |
| D．An external circuit creates current using another machine. |
| A．Using solar panels in the machine. |
| B．Increasing the amount of light received. |
| C．Developing light energy collecting panels. |
| D．Bringing down the price of gold. |
| A．A gym. | B．A park. | C．A farm. | D．A playground. |
8 . When ads for the Netflix show Stranger Things first appeared in 2016, the shinning, colorful font (字体) that spelled out the title told viewers exactly what they could expect. Hollywood has long known this marketing trick. And in a crowded marketplace, many mainstream consumer brands have placed more focus on fonts as a crucial part of their marketing.
When Southwest Airlines upgraded its brand in 2014, it changed its font and logo as part of the project.
The company wanted to create the image of an airline that cared about customer loyalty. So, Southwest changed its Helvetica font to a thicker, custom﹣made Southwest Sans font, which also added a tricolor (三色的) heart to the logo. All these changes were meant to convey a softer, friendlier tone.
A survey of Southwest customers showed that 95 percent found the new identity appealing. "We've definitely seen an increase in bookings." said Helen Limpitlaw at Southwest Airlines. "We're in a very competitive world and we're trying to avoid that sameness."
The right fonts can help brands stand out in a competitive market. However, they need to know whom they are targeting and what they want to say. Monster Beverage is a good example. In 2002, it rolled out its Monster Energy drink logo, featuring three neon﹣green claw marks in the shape of an "M" on a black background. The eye﹣catching logo and colors connected with fans of sports, who were exactly its target customers. Now, 17 years later, Monster's logo remains valuable and recognizable.
It is not always wise of legacy companies (老牌公司) to make changes in fonts and logo. When the clothing retailer Gap changed its iconic spire-like font to Helvetica as part of a 2010 rebrand, customers pushed back hard. "The new logo lost all the personality the original mark had acquired over the years," said Matt See, senior art director at a branding and communications firm. "And it was released without explanation. It felt like no thought was put into it." The company ultimately switched back to its original logo.
Experts recommended that companies conduct plenty of surveys before making a change to their logos. Done right, fonts allow brands to show their human side and personality, which can then connect with consumers emotionally.
1. The function of Para 1 is________.| A．to introduce the topic |
| B．to promote the Netflix show |
| C．to show the background |
| D．to present the unevenly shaded font |
| A．it deleted its tricolor heart logo |
| B．it conveyed a strong and cooperative tone |
| C．it drew on its experience gained from the real life |
| D．it chose a special font that reflected its personality as a brand |
| A．a company should think twice before rebranding itself |
| B．there is no need for a legacy company to upgrade its brand |
| C．a company should ignore customers' advice when it comes to rebranding |
| D．it's possible for a company to attract new customers by changing its logo |
| A．Fonts should avoid the sameness. |
| B．Fonts matter in upgrading the brand. |
| C．Changes of fonts are out of date. |
| D．Companies need to change fonts. |
9 . Many students of the past and present would agree that their favorite thing on campus is the vending machine. Whether it’s serving up snacks or drinks, beholding the grand machine full of popular options with the luxury of money in your pocket and the power to choose whatever suits you most in that moment is a cherished feeling. If only, so many people wonder, it was this easy and affordable for kids to get their hands on new books? Well...it could be, in fact.
And that's why this school just opened its first scholastic vending machine. In a bid to get kids reading more, this school is taking a new approach: present the best-selling page-turners of the world in a kid-friendly package. With racing imaginations that never turn off and a hunger for any excuse to do anything except their homework, it's more often than not that kids just need to open up a book in order to get sucked in and start flipping through pages left and right. And pretty much no kid can resist the temptations of a vending machine.
But this vending machine gets even better: the books inside are available through the purchase of tokens—not money. And these tokens are earned through a system that rewards kids from visiting and finishing other books. Through a partnership with the local library, students can check out and return books there for free to qualify themselves for the book vending program, which prevents difficulties affording books independently from becoming an issue for these students.
Once the students have earned a token, they've earned a free book—from a machine stocked with $1,000 worth of books inside. The vending machine even features books from every genre to ensure that there's something for everyone.
1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?| A．How a vending machine functions. | B．What makes students excited on campus. |
| C．What inspires the vending machine program | D．How a vending machine brings convenience. |
| A．It provides a limited category of books. | B．Students earn its tokens by reading books. |
| C．Children can borrow books from it for free. | D．About 1000 books are available in each machine. |
| A．Advanced but complex. | B．Traditional and effective. |
| C．Pioneering but impractical. | D．Creative and considerate. |
| A．To advertise a vending machine that serves books. |
| B．To introduce a new way to encourage children to read. |
| C．To promote a system designed to improve reading ability. |
| D．To suggest a new approach to dealing with learning difficulty. |
10 . Standing outside the enclosure (围场) at Polar Park, somewhere behind the wire are five Norwegian grey wolves. These are just big dogs, I keep thinking to myself. And they've probably had breakfast already.
Stig Sletten, Polar Park's animal manager, says, "Once you're in with the wolves, lie down and don't stare them in the eve. Let them approach you. Don't stick your hands out. And absolutely don't stick your tongue out." That we're about to enter a cage full of "socialized" wolves is all down to Stig and his devoted team. It was Stig who founded Polar Park—way back in 1994. And it was Stig and his team who raised the park's wolves from birth.
"These wolves have all been brought up to be comfortable among humans," he explains. “Allowing them to meet visitors is actually a good way to reduce boredom and stress." Confident that we understand the strict rules of engagement, Stig opens the enclosure and we all follow him. Within seconds the pack is running toward us, eyes forward, long noses down. For an exposed human, the first approach of five grey wolves, socialised or not, is a slight unrest, heart-quickening experience.
But any sense of trepidation (惶恐) is quickly replaced by delight. The five wolves turn out to be fun and curious, as eager to check us out as we are them, Soon humans and wolves are bonding well, and I can't believe I'm touching the stomach of a fully grown female wolf.
"There are a lot of negative impressions about wolves. both in Norway and across the world," says Stig, as we sit around the table. "One of our main aims here is to educate both locals and visitors about Arctic animals and the value of preserving Norway's natural heritage. Once they've got touch with the wolves of Polar Park, many of our visitors will leave with a different view.”
That night one wolf of the pack from our morning encounter approaches our base camp and stares into the tent, but none of us are afraid.
1. How does the author feel before approaching wolves?| A．Desperate. | B．Nervous. |
| C．Peaceful | D．Puzzled. |
| A．Lie down without panic | B．Reach out hands quickly. |
| C．Look wolves in their eyes. | D．Stick out tongues occasionally. |
| A．Grey wolves are endangered |
| B．Wolves bring people more hurt |
| C．Stig's aim has changed completely. |
| D．Stig has changed people's opinion on wolves. |
| A．Stig: A wolf enthusiast |
| B．Norway: A wolf at the door |
| C．Norway: A wolf's final destination |
| D．Wolves: A kind of endangered species |
