1 . A mother has taken her celebration（颂扬）of great women in history to the next level—by dressing her baby daughter up as some of the most famous women of all time. Jenelle Wexler, a hair stylist from Chicago, the USA, came up with the idea when she noticed similarities in appearance between her four-month-old baby, Liberty, and a Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Wexler took photos of Liberty who was dressed up as the Mexican artist. And after that, Wexler wanted to go on with what she did. "The pictures came out wonderfully, and soon after that, I thought about other women in history that contributed to the benefit of women and people as a whole," she says.
Wexler takes the photos with her iphone. Up until now, she has dressed Liberty up as a series of famous women, including Marie Curie, Coco Chanel, Madonna and Amelia Earhart.
Once she decides which woman she would like Liberty to play, she researches the person and learns about some of the historic achievements this woman has made. Wexler checks photos of each woman, which she then uses to design clothing and setting that will show their character and achievements.
It takes Wexler around 20 minutes to take each photo, and for every dress-up activity, Wexler usually takes nearly 50 pictures in total. "Liberty has acted 34 women of influence," she says. She just wants to draw people's attention to those who should really be admired in our society—there are so many great women who need to be remembered and have their stories told.
1. What made Wexler dress Liberty up as Frida Kahlo?| A．Frida Kahlo is popular among women. |
| B．Wexler admires Frida Kahlo very much. |
| C．Liberty and Frida Kahlo looked like each other. |
| D．Wexler wanted Liberty to be an artist like Frida Kahlo |
| A．Show how the dress-up activity goes on. |
| B．Offer some suggestions on picture-taking. |
| C．Value women's contributions to the world |
| D．Introduce some research on famous women |
| A．She enjoys taking photos to record life. |
| B．She devotes all her time to her daughter. |
| C．She works hard to protect the rights of women |
| D．She puts lots of effort into the dress-up activity. |
| A．To introduce some excellent women. |
| B．To advise people to take pictures of kids. |
| C．To call on people to remember famous women. |
| D．To choose proper role models for young people. |
2 . Best Ski Resorts (胜地)
Stevens Pass—Washington
While American families have different choices when it comes to winter snow sports, many choose Stevens Pass. For some fun after the sun goes down, Stevens Pass offers night skiing under the lights until 10 p. m. If you need to get some work done, you can head to the Visitor Center where free Wii is offered for work from mountain experience.
Good to Know: Buy tickets 7+days earlier for the biggest savings.
Beaver Creek—Colombia
With full childcare choices and the best ski school for beginners, Beaver Creek is a perfect ski resort for families. For kids who aren't quite ready to ski, the Small World Play School is a good place to go to. Add in a Cookie Cabin, and you may never want to go down this mountain!
Good to Know: Every day at 3 p. m. enjoy Cookie Time—where cooks serve warm, delicious chocolate cookies!
Big Sky Resort-Montana
Big Sky is greatly designed for skiing lovers. The Lone Peak Playhouse offers childcare to kids aged six months to eight years old, so you can enjoy skiing while your kids play. Or, head to Chet's for board games and live music.
Good to Know: Kids aged six and under ski free.
Mt. Hood Meadows—Oregon
For beginners, start with Buttercup and Ballroom Carpet. Or, head to the Children's Learning Center, where kids as young as four can sign up for lessons. If you add in the healthy lunches, you can rest easy while your kids have a great full-day lesson.
Good to know： Kids can get a special two-hour beginner lesson for just $ 25, and equipment rental (设备租用)can be added for $10. Tickets can only be bought ahead of time.
1. What can visitors do at Stevens Pass?| A．Take skiing lessons. | B．Play indoor games. |
| C．Do voluntary work | D．Ski at night. |
| A．Both offer snacks. | B．Both offer childcare |
| C．Both offer live music. | D．Both offer board games. |
| A．$ 10. | B．$ 25. |
| C．$ 35 | D．$ 45. |
3 . While it's not impossible for birds to fly in the rain, they usually choose not to. You may see birds fly for a few seconds in poor weather, but most of them prefer to stay put on rainy days.
Why does rain make it harder for birds to fly? You might imagine that moving through the air while being pelted by raindrops would be pretty unpleasant. However, it's not the rain itself that makes flying difficult. Instead, birds are influenced by the drop in the air pressure that comes with most rainstorms. When pressure drops, the air is less thick, which makes it harder for birds to fly. Moving through the sky in areas of low air pressure takes a lot of energy.
Most birds need to eat several times a day—rain or no rain. Luckily, most birds' feathers（羽毛）are highly waterproof（防水的）, protecting the skin beneath. Many birds can also make oil that they can spread over their feathers to further protect themselves from the rain. Most birds don't like rain. In fact, in a 2010 study, a team of researchers studied birds living in a Costa Rican rainforest. They found that the birds had higher levels of stress hormone（应激激素）on rainy days. That may not surprise you. After all, many animals feel stressed out during storms. Pet owners often find that rain and thunder make their animals nervous. Some animals are so strongly influenced by nature that they almost seem to forecast the future.
No one really knows how many birds die during a storm or series of storms. But the number is certainly higher than usual. They fly into trees or windows; they get lost over the ocean or a large lake; their food sources are made more difficult to get but, at the same time, they need more food to get warm. However, if rain continues for some time, birds will have to challenge the storm.
1. What makes it harder for birds to fly in the rain?| A．The wet air. | B．Food shortage. |
| C．Raindrops. | D．The low air pressure. |
| A．Cleaned. | B．Hit. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Protected. |
| A．Why birds can fly in the rain |
| B．How birds are influenced by rain. |
| C．How birds survive long rainy days. |
| D．Why birds' feathers are waterproof. |
| A．Birds will develop the ability to fly in the rain |
| B．Birds fly only when necessary on rainy days. |
| C．Birds have nowhere to hide in rainstorms. |
| D．Birds need less food on rainy days. |
4 . Covid-19 has brought a great deal of trouble for all of us since March 2020. During this time, mobile phones have been the solution for the boredom and restlessness caused from staying indoors. The most downloaded apps on play store 2020 are;
TikTok
TikTok was the most downloaded app. With over 111.9 million downloads, TikTok has seen a huge growth in 2020, twice more than what it got in 2019. 20% of its total downloads were from India and around 9. 3% of the total downloads were in the US.
Zoom
Zoom was the second most installed app in the overall downloads category. With nearly 94. 6 million installs, Zoom is the most used app for online meetings and virtual classrooms. 17% of its downloads were in the US and India. Offices and educational institutes were shut down and to continue working and studying from home, people relied heavily on Zoom for video conferencing and calling.
WhatsApp ranked third in overall downloads with more than 100 million downloads. It is one of the most popular and widely used chat applications; WhatsApp also supports communication between international phone networks.
It ranked fourth in the overall downloaded list. Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking application. Facebook builds technologies that give people the power to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses.
1. What do we know about TikTok?| A．It is an India-based app. | B．It has most users in America. |
| C．It is used for growing business. | D．It has doubled its download than in 2019. |
| A．TikTok. | B．Zoom. | C．WhatsApp. | D．Facebook. |
| A．Communication. | B．Training. | C．Teaching. | D．Payment |
5 . Exercise helps to keep us in good health. Doctors at the American Heart Association suggest getting at least 150 minutes of proper physical activity every week. Many people exercise for a few minutes every day or every other day. So, getting 150 minutes every week is easy.
But what about those times when you are sick? If you do not feel well, should you keep following your exercise habit? Following are the answers from health experts.
Edward R. Laskowski is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic. He and other experts have a general rule about exercising when you are sick. It is usually fine to exercise properly (not hard), he explains, if your symptoms are all “above the neck”. These signs may include a runny nose, sneezing or a sore throat.
Geralyn Coopersmith, a physical fitness trainer who has written several books on exercise offers similar advice. However, both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest taking a break from exercising if signs of your illness appears “below the neck”. Pay special attention to symptoms such as chest congestion, bad cough or pain in the stomach.
There are other symptoms that can tell you to avoid exercise. They include a higher than normal body temperature, a sense of feeling very tired, and widespread muscle pain.
Both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest listening to your body. If you feel really bad, take a break and let your body rest. If you don’t feel too bad, these experts both suggest cutting down the amount of exercise. For example, if you usually run, take a quick walk instead.
1. How long should people do exercise according to doctors?| A．No less than two and a half hours a week. | B．One hundred and fifty minutes each day. |
| C．At least a few minutes every day. | D．About 150 minutes every other day. |
| A．stop exercise | B．walk instead of run |
| C．ignore the symptoms | D．do less exercise |
| A．Taking good care of yourself. |
| B．Learning to take advice of your body. |
| C．Making decisions according to your physical condition. |
| D．Listening to music when exercising to keep healthy. |
| A．Warnings against exercise when you are ill. |
| B．Harmful results of exercise when you are ill. |
| C．Time for exercise when you are ill. |
| D．Professional suggestions on exercise when you are ill. |
6 . An early morning winter storm had brought several inches of snow in my small town in the mountains.Schools were canceled,roads were dangerous and all I wanted to do was to stay in bed.Still,I knew I had to get the day started so I put on warm clothes and walked outside.The snow got all over my shoes.The cold wind dried my lips and my eyes.My 47 year-old back ached in anticipation（预想）of the shoveling（铲雪）I would have to do if the snow didn't stop soon.
Yet,when I looked out on the white blanket that covered the ground,I couldn't help but smile a bit.It was so beautiful.It softened the bare trees and hid the dead grass.In the distance I could hear the sound of the snowplow on the road,the barking of a happy dog and the laughter of children playing outside,enjoying their way off from school.
The sweet music of that laughter brought back a hundred memories of winters past.I remembered catching snowflakes(雪花)on my tongue,building snowmen,making snow angles,running down hills and always losing snowball fights with first my brothers and then my own children.Standing there in that warmcoat of memories made the wind a little less cold and my back a little less sore.I turned up my head,stuck out my tongue and for the first time in years caught a snowflake on it.It tasted so fresh and clean.It tasted like youth,like joy and like love.
May you always feel young in spirit,no matter how old or achy your body may be.May you always delight in the simple joys of life.May you always share your happiness with the hearts of children.And may you always give your love,your light,your laughter and your warmth to others even on the coldest days.
1. What was the author’s first reaction when he knew it snowed heavily?| A．He was upset. | B．He was happy. |
| C．He was thankful. | D．He was moved. |
| A．my back ached because of the cold weather. |
| B．I didn't want to start my day on such a snowy day. |
| C．my back would ache upon thinking of cleaning up the snow. |
| D．the snow didn't stop and I felt too cold. |
| A．Taste and smell. | B．Sight and smell. |
| C．Smell,hearing and taste. | D．Sight,hearing and taste. |
| A．Appreciate every snowstorm you spend with your family. |
| B．Snow brings both fun and trouble. |
| C．Memories can change our opinion. |
| D．We should stay young at heart. |
Different cultures emphasize(强调)the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree.For example,business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust.Even with people at work,it is necessary to spend a lot of time in “small talk”,usually over a glass of tea,before they do any job.In many European countries—like the UK or France—people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafés rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures.I once made a speech in Thailand.I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion;instead there was an uncomfortable silence.The people present just stared at me and smiled.After getting to know their ways better,I realized that they thought I was talking too much.In my own culture,we express meaning mainly through words,but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe,cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values;however,Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly.We think that they are rude.In fact,this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values,and sometimes these values are quite against each other.However,if we can understand them better,a multicultural environment(多元文化环境)will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.
1. In some countries,eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to .
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
| A．By sharing different ways of life. |
| B．By accepting different habits. |
| C．By recognizing different values. |
| D．By speaking each other’s languages. |
| A．Multicultural Environment |
| B．Cross-Cultural Differences |
| C．How to Understand Each Other |
| D．How to Build Up a Relationship |
8 . Most Chinese people these days know what it is like to have an "English teacher",since almost all pupils study English from their third year.Usually that first English teacher will be a young and lovely lady in primary school.But my first English teacher is no other than my father.Looking back,I can see that,when I was only a little girl,he created an English environment by providing me with flashcards（识字卡）,fun English-language toys and even dolls which can sing English songs!My interest in English had certainly been awakened（唤起）when I began to learn English at school.Just imagine,he went a step further and asked me to learn New Concept English by myself!I was confused（迷惑不解）and had much anger.I could not understand why a father could be so strict with his little girl.All the same,he never gave up and he gently insisted that I follow through with his ideas.At first,I read stories with tears in my eyes and I actually hated them because they were too difficult for me.In the end,I came.to love the funny stories and,to be honest,my father was always there with a helping hand.I am sure that my English would never have got so far without his support.And that's why my father is not only my first English teacher but also my lifelong teacher.He is the one who awoke my interest,who gave me confidence and who offered me much needed help.
1. Which of the following wasn't used by the father to create an English environment?| A．Flashcards. | B．Fun English-language toys. |
| C．Dolls singing English songs. | D．English books. |
| A．Happy. | B．Angry. |
| C．Excited. | D．Amazed. |
| A．the author's father is an English teacher |
| B．the author was interested in English after she learned New Concept English |
| C．the author's English wouldn't be so good without her father's help |
| D．the author had no difficulty when she first learned New Concept English |
| A．My First and Lifelong English Teacher | B．Different Ways to Learn English |
| C．My Good English | D．Learn English or Not? |
Listen — Listen when they are talking. Don’t say anything unless they ask you a question. Sometimes it’s not necessary for you to have anything to say; they just need someone to talk to about their feelings.
Help them — If your friend is ever in need of something, be there to help them. You should try to put them first, but make sure you don’t do everything they want you to do. Try to take an extra (额外的) pencil or pen with you to classes in case (以防) they forget one. Have a little extra money in your pocket in case they forget something they need.
Be there for them — Try to make something for your friend to help make them feel better in hard times. Making cards and encouraging them are among the nicest things you can do for a friend. Marilyn Monroe, a famous U.S. actor, once said, “I often make mistakes. Sometimes I am out of control. But if you can’t stay with me at my worst, you are sure not to deserve (值得) to be with me at my best.” Always remember this! If you don’t want to stay with your friends when they’re in hard times, then you don’t deserve to be with them when they’re having a good time!
______ — Try to make plans with your friends. Go shopping, go for ice cream, have a party, go to a movie and so on. Take time to know each other even better by doing something you both enjoy. By planning things together, you both can have a good time. And you’ll remember these things when you’re all old!
1. While your friend is talking to you about his or her feelings, you should _____.
| A．give him or her some advice |
| B．just listen unless asked |
| C．calm him or her down |
| D．share your feelings as well |
| A．try to do everything for them |
| B．put them before ourselves |
| C．change their bad habits first |
| D．ignore their faults |
| A．Life without a friend is death. |
| B．A friend is easier lost than found. |
| C．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
| D．A man is known by his friends. |
Here’s an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk’s mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don’t tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate that we cannot lie trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk’s attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action, we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility.
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it’s easy to think and act honorably again when we’re happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it’s started, it’s easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
1. According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our ________.
| A．self-respect | B．financial rewards |
| C．advertising ability | D．friendly relationship |
| A．lying | B．stealing |
| C．cheating | D．advertising |
| A．telling the truth to the clerk |
| B．offering advice to the clerk |
| C．asking the clerk to be more attentive |
| D．reminding the clerk of the charged item |
| A．How to Live Truthfully |
| B．Importance of Peacefulness |
| C．Ways of Gaining Self-respect |
| D．Happiness through Honorable Action |
