1 . As spring arrives, farmers around the world are making decisions about what crops to plant and how to manage them. In the U. S., farmers typically have big data to help make these decisions. These data have a clear upside. They make farms more productive. In the U.S., the past five years have seen a series of good harvests for both corn and soybean. A big part is generated by effectively using data to produce more food from the same amount of land, seed and fertilizer.
In the poorer parts of the world, however, the picture is much different. Many farmers are guided only by their history with the land and their community's traditions. Their skills and knowledge are impressive, but they suffer from a poverty of data. They rely on technical advisors for advice from governments and academic centers who often have very little knowledge of the local area. For seeds and fertilizers and other materials used in the field, they rely on companies that lack data on how their products will perform in the local conditions.
About 10 years ago, East African officials and their development partners started to explore why so few smallholder dairy farmers made profits from growing demand from urban consumers. Surveys of farmers in the region suggested poor access to veterinary(禽畜的) care and breeding assistance. An effort to provide these services has helped farmers get more milk.
Data would matter little if farming was easy and the paths to productivity were obvious. But in reality, agriculture is a complex mix of many factors, including climate, biology, chemistry, physics, economics and culture—all of which vary from region to region. In this situation, good data is necessary.
1. How has big data benefited American’s farmers?| A．By producing more seeds and fertilizer. |
| B．By helping the farmers to make decisions. |
| C．By informing the farmers to plant crops earlier. |
| D．By increasing the amount of land for farming. |
| A．Big data. | B．Farming skills. | C．Technical guidance. | D．Farming materials. |
| A．To show that East Africa relies heavily on diary farming. |
| B．To illustrate cooperation between countries was a great success. |
| C．To serve as an example of how data helps farmers in poor areas. |
| D．To prove that city people in East Africa didn't like drinking milk. |
| A．Many changeable factors have influence on farming. |
| B．The American farmers can't decide what they will plant. |
| C．East African dairy farmers were experienced in raising cows. |
| D．The technical advisors in poor areas know the local areas well. |
2 . The idea of using a public bathroom with see through walls may sound like the stuff of nightmares. But a famous Japanese is hoping to change that view, using new technology to make restrooms in Tokyo parks more inviting.
“There are two things we worry about when entering a public restroom, especially those cated at a park,” according to architect Shigeru Ban’s firm. “The first is cleanliness, and the second is whether anyone is inside.”
The newly-invented transparent walls can turn off both of those worries, Ban says, by showing people what awaits them inside. After users enter the restroom and lock the door, the room’s walls turn a powdery paste) shade and are no longer see-through.
Ban’s are sure to make for great conversation among visitors to the park-and they’ll stand out even more after dark. “At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern,” the architect’s website says.
The group is behind the Tokyo Toilet project, world-famous architects to create toilets “like you’ve never seen. The project’s eye catching toilets are part of a plan to put people ar ease when isiting a public bathroom. The project may seem silly, but the 16 architects who are reimagining public toilets are some of the brightest names in Japanese architecture. The list includes four Pritzker Prize winners-Ban, Toyo Ito, Tadao Ando and Fumihiko Maki-along with international stars such as Kengo Kuma and Sou Fujimoto. The fashion designer Nigo is also contributing.
Ban’s colorful public bathrooms opened to the public this month in two parks: Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park. Other bespoke commodes will be opening in coming months.
1. Why are people often worried before entering a public restroom?| A．Its lock is usually useless. |
| B．It’s usually at a huge distance. |
| C．It’s not always clean. |
| D．It’s always occupied. |
| A．Easy to see through. |
| B．Not easy to see through. |
| C．Full of bright colors. |
| D．Thick and strong. |
| A．It’s and silly. |
| B．It’s rewarding and. |
| C．It has won the Pritzker Prize. |
| D．It’s the fruit of colleqtive wisdom |
| A．Should the public restrooms be upgraded? |
| B．The new high-tech walls of public restrooms are coming. |
| C．How do we live with see-through public facilities? |
| D．Some famous architects designed a silly project. |
3 . Rats and other animals need to be highly tuned to social signals from others so that they can identify friends to cooperate with and enemies to avoid. To find out if this extends to non-living beings, Loleh Quinn at the University of California, San Diego, and her colleagues tested whether rats can detect social signals from robotic rats.
They housed eight adult rats with two types of robotic rat — one social and one asocial — for 5 days. The robots rats were quite minimalist, resembling a chunkier version of a computer mouse with wheels — to move around and colorful markings.
During the experiment, the social robot rat followed the living rats around, played with the same toys, and opened caged doors to let trapped rats escape. Meanwhile, the asocial robot simply moved forwards and backwards and side to side.
Next, the researchers trapped the robots in cages and gave the rats the opportunity to release them by pressing a lever.
Across 18 trials each, the living rats were 52 percent more likely on average to set the social robot free than the asocial one. This suggests that the rats perceived the social robot as a genuine social being. They may have bonded more with the social robot because it displayed behaviours like communal exploring and playing. This could lead to the rats better remembering having freed it earlier, and wanting the robot to return the favour when they get trapped, says Quinn.
The readiness of the rats to befriend the social robot was surprising given its minimal design. The robot was the same size as a regular rat but resembled a simple plastic box on wheels. "We'd assumed we'd have to give it a moving head and tail, facial features, and put a scene on it to make it smell like a real rat, but that wasn't necessary," says Janet Wiles at the University of Queensland in Australia, who helped with the research.
The finding shows how sensitive rats are to social cues, even when they come from basic robots. Similarly, children tend to treat robots as if they are fellow beings, even when they display only simple social signals. "We humans seem to be fascinated by robots, and it turns out other animals are too," says Wiles.
1. Quinn and her colleagues conducted a test to see if rats can ________.| A．send out warning messages to their fellow | B．distinguish a friendly rat from a hostile one |
| C．attain sociable traits through special training | D．pick up social signals from non-living rats |
| A．It followed the social robot. | B．It played with some toys. |
| C．It moved around alone. | D．It set the trapped rats free. |
| A．tried to practice a means of escape | B．expected it to do the same in return |
| C．wanted to display their intelligence | D．considered that an interesting game |
| A．rats are more sensitive to social cues than expected |
| B．rats are more socially active than other animals |
| C．rats behave differently from children in socializing |
| D．rats appear to be adaptable to new surroundings |
4 . This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts(花生), while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; let the coin decide. I flipped(掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.
Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?
Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly: No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster’s office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip(跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.
1. The task I received was to find information about ________.| A．uses for peanuts |
| B．American War of Independence |
| C．George Washington |
| D．my headmaster Miss Lancelot |
| A．I was too proud of my homework |
| B．I mistook what the homework was about |
| C．the whole world suddenly became quiet |
| D．the teacher’s face turned to a stone |
| A．the headmaster didn’t like the writer at all |
| B．the writer’s classmates felt sad at his mistake |
| C．the writer knew little about American history |
| D．the writer’s grandpa was a very wise man |
| A．Seeing is believing. |
| B．Where there is a will, there is a way. |
| C．One is never too old to learn. |
| D．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
5 . A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms, though my teacher emphasized the importance again and again. But soon, the importance of English idioms was shown in an amusing experience.
One day, I happened to meet an Englishman on the road, and soon we began to talk. As I was talking about how I was studying English, the foreigner seemed to be astonished, gently shaking his head, shrugging his shoulders, saying, “You don’t say! ” “You don’t say! ” I was puzzled. I thought, “Perhaps this is not an appropriate topic. Well, I’d better change the topic. ” So I said to him, “Well, shall we talk about the Great Wall? By the way, have you ever been there? ”“Certainly, everyone back home will laugh at me if I leave China without seeing it. It is magnificent. ” He was deep in thought when I began to talk like a tourist guide, “The Great Wall is one of the wonders in the world. We are very proud of it. ” Soon I was interrupted again by his order, “You don’t say! ” I couldn’t help asking. I said, “Didn’t you say you don’t say? ” Hearing this, the Englishman laughed. He explained, “ ‘You don’t say’ actually means ‘Really? ’. It is an expression of surprise. Perhaps you haven’t learned that English idiom. ” Only then did I realize I had made a fool of myself. Since then, I have been more careful with idiomatic expressions.
1. A year ago, I paid no attention to English idioms because ______.| A．English idioms were too difficult to master |
| B．I had no interest in English learning |
| C．my teacher didn’t emphasize the importance |
| D．I cared little about the teacher’s instruction |
| A．the Englishman was only interested in the Great Wall |
| B．the Englishman was not interested in my English studies |
| C．I had talked too much |
| D．I had to stop talking at once |
| A．terrible | B．important |
| C．interesting | D．lucky |
| A．The Englishman was leaving China without seeing the Great Wall. |
| B．The Englishman wanted to see the Great Wall after I talked about it. |
| C．The Englishman wanted me to act as his guide. |
| D．The Englishman visited the Great Wall and thought it worth visiting. |
6 . Answering the Community Needs of Our City
The Siver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities in 2020. The followings shows how we have tried to make your life better.
Transport
☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.
☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January.
☆50 per cent of city bus-stops have been upgraded.
Communication
☆Broadband cableis now available to ll parts of the city.
☆All of the new Government buildings are smart-wired for better computer service!
Medical Facilities
☆The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June.
☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.
☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.
Education
☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2020!
☆Rental for private schools has been reduced.
Protection and Security
☆Extra police now patrol(巡逻)the tourist areas.
☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.
Entertainment/Recreation
☆The new Central Community Building opened in May.
☆5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.
1. What’s the notice mainly about?| A．The work carried out by the people of Silver City. |
| B．The facilities available in Silver City. |
| C．Some improvements in Silver City. |
| D．Information for interested tourists. |
| A．Travel books are provided in the new library. |
| B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City. |
| C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital. |
| D．There are more police officers on duty now. |
| A．the community | B．the local government |
| C．the Silver City Library | D．a travel agency |
7 . A books-for-food program in Guatemala is helping feed needy children as hunger rates rise during the pandemic(疫情). It is run by a local nonprofit organization that aims to feed nearly 400 children.
The program is simple. People choose a book they want from a list of donated titles, and in return give bags of Incaparina, a high-protein drink mix. Bonifaz Diaz works for the program. By bringing the books-for-food program directly to people's homes, Diaz makes sure donations keep flowing. He has traveled more than 2,000 kilometers on his bicycle, delivered loads of books and carried back thousands of kilograms of Incaparina for the nonprofit group 32 Volcanoes. Diaz sometimes pulls a small cart that helps him carry up to 57 kilograms of product. He has traveled as far as 60 kilometers for a delivery to a town in the Western Highlands, where road conditions are poor.
Nearly a year into the books-for-food program, two more cyclists have joined Diaz and donations keep flowing in. Ana Castillo is a 29-year-old high school teacher who recently received the sociology book from Diaz. She donates to the program often. The 1.8 kilograms of Incaparina she provided will help one family eat for a month.
Castillo looks forward to choosing her books from the titles Diaz posts on social media. She also loves the feeling of a "growing circle" of giving and receiving. "You might not get to those places, but your help can. "she says.
Diaz says he plans to continue cycling against hunger as long as the need exists. He has faced his own economic difficulties since the theater company he co-founded closed last spring. But the program has kept him active. "It's an opportunity to serve in which we all benefit. "Diaz said.
1. What is the purpose of the program?| A．To serve the readers. |
| B．To produce Incaparina. |
| C．To offer poor children food. |
| D．To fight the pandemic. |
| A．He set up a social media. |
| B．He made donations frequently. |
| C．He rented a cart to carry goods. |
| D．He traveled to deliver books and food. |
| A．More people are involved in it. |
| B．Only two cyclists work for it. |
| C．Over 400 adults benefit from it. |
| D．Financial difficulties put it to an end. |
| A．Indifferent. |
| B．Supportive. |
| C．Tolerant. |
| D．Unwilling |
8 . Have you ever wondered if you see the same colours as other people? Most people know what blue is when they see it. They call it "blue” because they were taught the word and connected it with what they saw. But how do you know what you see as blue isn't someone else's red?
The ability to perceive （感知）different colours is up to receptors （接受器）in our eyes. Light waves hit these receptors and they react depending on which colour the light is, sending signals to the brain. The brain then reads these signals to determine which colour light the eyes are receiving.
Some people's receptors are more developed than others. The inability of the receptor to feel the light waves correctly means that some people cannot tell the differences between similar colours. Those with more developed receptors can see more colours. We sometimes hear people having an argument about whether something is dark blue or black. It might be because one person has stronger receptors to feel the light than another.
In the past, most scientists would argue that everyone saw colours in the same way. However, research was conducted on monkeys, in which their receptors were changed. This enabled them to see more colours than usual. Normally monkeys can only see blue and green, but the change allowed them to see red. Their brains automatically got used to new colours. This suggests that our brains may find new colors of the things we see. Colours could be a very personal experience , unique to everyone.
So, the next time you talk about your favourite colour, just remember if yours is blue and your friend says red, you two might actually be thinking about the same colour. What if everyone in the world has the same favourite colour, but just calls it different names?
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．How we perceive colours. |
| B．The inability to see colours. |
| C．What the brain does with signals. |
| D．The connection between receptors and light waves. |
| A．Some people cannot feel colours with their developed receptors. |
| B．The more light people feel, the weaker receptors they have. |
| C．People with poor receptors usually have colour weakness. |
| D．People who have strong receptors can see dark blue. |
| A．To test the monkeys with colours. |
| B．To develop the receptors of humans. |
| C．To enable monkeys to find more colors. |
| D．To prove everyone sees colours in a different way. |
| A．A film review. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．An art journal. | D．A business newspaper. |
9 . If social distancing is driving you a little crazy, here are four world's most beautiful natural pools for you to get relaxed.
Devil's Pool
Victoria Falls in southeastern Africa measures 108 metres tall and more than 1676 metres wide. But for some brave people, the top of the Falls, known as Devil's Pool, is just another swimming hole. With water levels at their lowest from September to December, large numbers of swimmers adventure into the pool.
Barton Springs Pool
Barton Springs Pool in Austin, U. S. , covers three acres and maintains a temperature of about 20 degrees year-round. Admission to the 5-metre deep pool ranges from midMarch until the end of September. For local residents （居民）,the cost is $ 3 for adults and $ 1 for kids under 8 （non-residents pay $ 8 for adults and $ 3 for kids under 8）.
Bondi Icebergs Public Pool
A 15-minute drive from Sydney's CBD sits the Bondi Baths at Bondi Icebergs. The historic 50-metre public saltwater pool has been around for more than a century and features a small beach, where you can enjoy the sunshine. The entrance cost （ $ 7 for adults； $ 5 for kids） isn't much considering the million-dollar view.
Dudu Blue Lagoon
Want to float （漂浮）in a quiet 30-metre-deep freshwater pool? Then check out Dudu Blue Lagoon on the northeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. The lagoon also features underwater caves, making it a popular diving destination.
1. When is a good time to swim in Devil's Pool?| A．March. | B．June. | C．August. | D．October. |
| A．$7. | B．$9. | C．$19, | D．$24. |
| A．Sunbathe on the beach. | B．Float in a saltwater pool. |
| C．Have a good view of the waterfall. | D．Dive into the underwater caves. |
10 . Plastic remains one of the most-used materials for making many of the things we use in our everyday lives. Things made of plastic can be very strong and last a long time. They also do well in extreme heat and cold. Plastic is also much lighter than metal and can be easily formed into different shapes. This makes the material perfect for the uses across many different industries
But the widespread use of plastics is causing major problems for the environment. Plastic materials are causing serious damage to the world’s oceans.
Plastics can take hundreds of years to break down on their own. Very few kinds are highly recyclable. This is because of the way plastics are formed. Even when recycling is possible, the process is costly and can use a lot of energy.
But a team of researchers working at the U.S. Department of Energy say they have created a kind of plastic that could lead to products that are 100 percent recyclable.
The researchers say the new material is a plastic polymer(聚合物)called polydiketoenamine, or PDK. The team reports that the material can be broken down in parts at the molecular(分子的) level. It can then be built up again to form plastics of different shapes, colors and more. The researchers say this process can be repeated over and over again -without the plastic material losing any performance or quality.
“Most plastics were never made to be recycled,” lead researcher Peter Christensen said. “But we have discovered a new way to make plastics that takes recycling into consideration from a molecular point of view. Then we would be able to remove plastics from the oceans. It’s going to be a really exciting time.”
1. What's the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To show the advantages of plastic |
| B．To explore the future of plastic |
| C．To prove we can’t live without plastic |
| D．To introduce different plastic products |
| A．What they are used for | B．How they are formed. |
| C．The deep ocean | D．The high cost |
| A．It can be used repeatedly. |
| B．It can hardly be broken down. |
| C．It is a colorful plastic polymer. |
| D．It is used in some countries now. |
| A．Plastic and industry. |
| B．Pollution and environment. |
| C．Plastic: a most-used material. |
| D．PDK: a new recyclable plastic. |
