2 . Babies are surrounded by human language, always listening and processing. Eventually, they put sounds together to produce a “Daddy” or a “Mama”. But what still confuses neuroscientists is exactly how the brain works to put it all together.

To figure it out, a team of researchers turned to a frequent stand-in (代替) for babies when it comes to language learning: the song-learning zebra finch. “We’ve known songbirds learn their song by first forming a memory of their father’s song or another adult’s song. Then they use that memory to guide their song learning,” said Neuroscientist Todd Roberts. “It’s been a long-term goal of the field to figure out how or where in the brain this memory is. This type of imitative learning that birds do is very similar to the type of learning that we engage in regularly—particularly when we’re young, we use it to guide our speech learning.”

Roberts and his team had a feeling that the interface (交叉区域) between sensory areas and motor areas in the brain was critical for this process, and they focused on a group of brain cells called the NIf.

“In order to prove that we could identify these circuits, we thought if we could implant a false memory.” First, they used a virus to cause the neurons (神经元) in the birds’ NIf to become sensitive to light. Then, using a tiny electrode as a flashlight, they activated (激活) the neurons. The length of each pulse of light corresponded with the amount of time the neurons would fire. And the birds’ brains interpreted that time period as the length of each note.

Soon enough, the birds began to practice the notes they had learned, even though they never really heard the sounds. Amazingly, the birds produced them in the correct social situations. The researchers say this is the first time anybody has found exactly a part of the brain necessary for generating the sorts of memories needed to copy sounds.

“This line of research is going to help us identify where in the brain we encode memories of relevant social experiences that we use to guide learning. We know that there are several neurodevelopmental disorders in people that have really far-reaching effects on this type of learning.”

1. The zebra finch is researched because its song-learning mode ________.

A．decides whether it will sing songs

B．helps it to say “Daddy” or “Mama”

C．is like the way babies learn speech

D．reflects its talent for imitating its father’s song

2. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．The interface in the brain.

B．Guidance from adults.

C．Imitative learning type like birds’.

D．The way of regular learning.

3. What can we learn from the research led by Roberts?

A．Scientists activated some neurons by using an electrode.

B．A bird only sings what it heard before.

C．The brain produces tiny electrodes.

D．Birds are sensitive to light.

4. What do the Roberts’ team expect of this line of research?

A．A change in our way of listening and processing.

B．A chance to have relevant social experiences.

C．A better knowledge of the secrets of learning.

D．Identification of neurodevelopmental disorders.

3 . Albert Einstein’s 1915 masterpiece “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity” is the first and still the best introduction to the subject, and I recommend it as such to students. But it probably wouldn’t be publishable in a scientific journal today.

Why not? After all, it would pass with flying colours the tests of correctness and significance. And while popular belief holds that the paper was incomprehensible to its first readers, in fact many papers in theoretical physics are much more difficult.

As the physicist Richard Feynman wrote, “There was a time when the newspapers said that only 12 men understood the theory of relativity. I do believe there might have been a time when only one man did, because he was the only guy who caught on, before he wrote his paper. But after people read the paper a lot understood the theory of relativity in some way or other, certainly more than 12.”

No, the problem is its style. It starts with a leisurely philosophical discussion of space and time and then continues with an exposition of known mathematics. Those two sections, which would be considered extraneous today, take up half the paper. Worse, there are zero citations of previous scientists’ work, nor are there any graphics. Those features might make a paper not even get past the first editors.

A similar process of professionalization has transformed other parts of the scientific landscape. Requests for research time at major observatories or national laboratories are more rigidly structured. And anything involving work with human subjects, or putting instruments in space, involves piles of paperwork.

We see it also in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Nobel Prize of high school science competitions. In the early decades of its 78-year history, the winning projects were usually the sort of clever but naive, amateurish efforts one might expect of talented beginners working on their own. Today, polished work coming out of internships(实习) at established laboratories is the norm.

These professionalizing tendencies are a natural consequence of the explosive growth of modern science. Standardization and system make it easier to manage the rapid flow of papers, applications and people. But there are serious downsides. A lot of unproductive effort goes into jumping through bureaucratic hoops(繁文缛节), and outsiders face entry barriers at every turn.

Of course, Einstein would have found his way to meeting modern standards and publishing his results. Its scientific core wouldn’t have changed, but the paper might not be the same taste to read.

1. According to Richard Feynman, Einstein’s 1915 paper ________.

A．was a classic in theoretical physics

B．turned out to be comprehensible

C．needed further improvement

D．attracted few professionals

2. What does the underlined word “extraneous” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Unrealistic.	B．Irrelevant.
C．Unattractive.	D．Imprecise.

3. According to the author, what is affected as modern science develops?

A．The application of research findings.

B．The principle of scientific research.

C．The selection of young talents.

D．The evaluation of laboratories.

4. Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．What makes Einstein great?

B．Will science be professionalized?

C．Could Einstein get published today?

D．How will modern science make advances?

4 . We’ve all had the experience of wanting to get a project done but putting it off to a later date. So why do we delay things? Are we built to operate this way sometimes?

These questions are central to my research on goal pursuit (追求). It all starts with a simple choice between working now on a given project and doing anything else. The decision to work on something is driven by how much we value accomplishing the project in that moment — what psychologists call its subjective value. And delay, in psychological terms, is what happens when the value of doing something else outweighs the value of working now.

This way of thinking suggests a simple trick to defeat delay. For example, instead of cleaning my house, I might try to focus on why grading papers is personally important to me. It’s simple advice, but sticking to this strategy (策略) can be quite difficult.

People are not entirely wise in the way they value things. For example, a dollar bill is worth exactly the same today as it is a week from now, but its subjective value — roughly how good it would feel to own a dollar—depends on other factors besides its face value, such as when we receive it. The tendency for people to devalue money and other goods based on time is called delay discounting. For example, receiving $100 three months from now is worth the same to people as receiving $83 right now. People would rather lose $17 than wait a few months to get a larger reward.

Getting something done is a delayed reward, so its value in the present is reduced: the further away the deadline is, the less attractive it seems to work on the project right now. The tendency to delay things closely follows economic models of delay discounting. One way to manage it is to make the finish line seem closer. For example, vividly imagining a future reward reduces delay discounting.

1. Which of the following best explains “outweighs” in Paragraph 2?

A．Is equal to.	B．Is greater than.
C．Is involved in.	D．Is central to.

2. What should we do to overcome delay in the author’s opinion?

A．Avoid setting a deadline too strictly.

B．Consider doing nothing temporarily.

C．Increase the subjective value of working now.

D．Realize great fun of working immediately.

3. Which proverb can best summarize the theory of delay discounting?

A．Time and tide wait for no man.

B．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

C．One of these days is none of these days.

D．Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

4. What is suggested to deal with delay discounting?

A．Asking for nothing in return.

B．Lowering our high expectations.

C．Searching for instant satisfaction.

D．Making future rewards more inviting.

5 . The vaccine (疫苗) news continues to seem very encouraging. Britain started its mass vaccination effort and the U.S. isn’t far behind.

But there is still one dark cloud hanging over the vaccines that many people don’t yet understand.

The vaccines will be much less effective at preventing death and illness in 2021 if they are introduced into a population where the coronavirus is still severe—as is now the case in the U.S.

A vaccine is like a fire hose (消防龙头). A vaccine that’s 95 percent effective, as Moderna’s and Pfizer’s versions appear to be, is a powerful fire hose. But the size of a fire is still a bigger determinant of how much destruction occurs.

At the current level of infection in the U.S. (about 200,000 confirmed new infections per day), a vaccine that is 95 percent effective—distributed at the expected pace—would still leave a terrible toll (伤亡人数) in the six months after it was introduced. Almost 10 million or so Americans would catch the virus, and more than 160,000 would die.

This is far worse than the toll in a different situation where the vaccine was only 50 percent effective but the U.S. had reduced the infection rate to its level in early September (about 35,000 new daily cases). In that case, the death toll in the next six months would be kept to about 60,000.

It’s worth pausing for a moment on this comparison. If the U.S. had maintained its infection rate from September and Moderna and Pfizer had announced this fall that their vaccines were only 50 percent effective, a lot of people would have panicked.

But the reality we have is actually worse.

How could this be? No vaccine can get rid of a pandemic immediately, just as .no fire hose can put out a forest fire. While the vaccine is being distributed, the virus continues to do damage.

There is one positive way to look at this: Measures that reduce the virus’s spread—like mask-wearing, social distancing and rapid-result testing—can still have great consequences. They can save more than 100,000 lives in coming months.

1. How does the author mainly present his argument?

A．By giving definitions.	B．By categorizing facts.
C．By drawing comparisons.	D．By appealing to emotions.

2. Which does the author think is a better way to save lives?

A．Improving the effectiveness of the vaccines.

B．Producing a greater variety of vaccines.

C．Looking at the situation in a positive way.

D．Wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

3. What does paragraph 6 tell us?

A．The vaccines are less effective than expected.

B．The US have controlled the spread of the coronavirus.

C．The death toll in the next six months will be about 60,000.

D．Fewer people will die if the infection rate is lower.

4. What can we infer from the text?

A．The vaccine is the hope of wiping out the pandemic.

B．The public are optimistic about the effects of the vaccine.

C．The public are concerned about the high infection rate.

D．The distribution of vaccine will end the pandemic quickly.

6 . It is an honor for me to deliver this speech and on behalf of the graduating students, welcome you to this special ceremony 2020.

This is a unique moment. We are stepping up to another phase of our lives at a time of great hardship and global difficulties. Hope this ceremony will help erase sad memories, refresh beautiful ones and add more splendid memories into our lives.

I was born in the middle of war, which caused my family to move to Serbia for three years. When the war ended, we returned to Bosnia. My mother, who is and will ever be my heroine, was the only figure who guided me, provided for me and kept me on the right track, in the hope for a better life. I owed her so much as she is responsible for huge part of my success. I will always remember her teachings “to complain less and always find solutions at the price of whatever it takes” ， which brought me to China, an ancient land of new hopes.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, I got the best opportunity to understand China. I saw millions of people united with one goal-to win the battle against this epidemic. I have never seen such a collective dedication from a nation, turning things for the better by sacrificing personal convenience on a grand scale. China's governance and health care system proves to be one of the most efficient in the world. With a population of 1.4 billion, China not only has successfully controlled the transmission of the corona-virus but also assisted many other countries across the globe.

Everyone has a role to play in the battle against the virus. In Tsinghua, I played a tiny but necessary role: Staying on campus, studying online, cooperating during temperature checks and respecting social distancing measures. The rules set by the university and Chinese government had everyone's health and safety as first priority. This made me feel safe and confident that China was on the right track towards victory. Throughout this time, despite the immense challenges, Tsinghua has facilitated many online conferences, which helped me nurture more skills in my field of study.

Friends, we are now graduating from one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Tsinghua has been like a mother to us over the past months and years, guiding and nurturing us along the way, providing us with great vision and placing on us high expectations. So what comes next? Actions speak louder than words. Let us accept new challenges, think beyond our limits and keep in mind the ethics of life.

Let's undertake everything we can for the sake of unity, humanity and the international community. Let's work together for a more promising future and prosperous world.

1. In the author's eyes, the special ceremony 2020 should

A．be a unique moment to mourn the sacrificed

B．be a time to wave a heartfelt goodbye to adversities

C．be a moment to open a new chapter of life

D．be a glorious time to embrace a beautiful past

2. Which statement is true according to the passage?

A．The author came to China so as to escape from wars

B．The author witnessed how the original virus spread swiftly

C．The author was requested to supply medical aid to the fight against COVID-19

D．Owing to dozens of timely measures,China had a ideal control of the virus

3. What impressed the author during her stay in Tsinghua?

A．The strict rules of the government.

B．The joint commitment of the nation.

C．The harsh circumstance in China.

D．The great transformation of the school.

7 . We all do it. We put off that dreaded task for five more minutes, then for thirty minutes, then for another hour, until it doesn’t get done at all. And the worst part is we still weren’t able to enjoy our day. We spend so much time stressing over that looming task that it deprives us from actually being able to focus on other tasks.

Why do we do it? We know it never ends well. The problem is that the cycle can feel nearly impossible to break. We get so caught up in the cycle of procrastination that we almost forget how to effectively tackle hard tasks.

Here are five tips for nipping procrastination in the bud and taking back control over your daily life.

Tackle the most difficult task first.

You’re probably thinking “Duh, I already knew that.” But you may not have realized that there’s scientific backing for this suggestion. We only have a limited supply of willpower. Once it’s been used up for the day, chances of us tackling hard tasks are pretty slim. Dive into your hardest task when your energy level is at its highest. This will ensure the best results.

When we push the hard tasks to the end of the day, it takes a toll on our energy all day long. In the end, stressing for hours over the task we’re procrastinating negatively affects all the other tasks on our list.

So next time you’re scheduling the items on your list, make sure to start out with worst one. It may not necessarily be the largest, but it should be the one you’re dreading the most. By accomplishing it so early in the day, you will feel energized and productive. You’ll know the rest of the day is all downhill and cruise through the list with remarkable speed.

Divide the task into smaller tasks.

We tend to get overwhelmed when a giant project looms ahead of us. We don’t know where to start or what to do first. Keep in mind that forests are made up of individual trees. Though you may not be able to take down a whole forest at once, you could certainly start with one tree (or even a branch).

If you need to organize your entire kitchen, start by working on just one cupboard. Organizing one cupboard is much more feasible than trying to get everything done in one swoop. Make a commitment to complete a small step each day, and you’ll find the task becoming less and less daunting with each new task that you accomplish.

Set a mid-day alarm.

There’s nothing more guilt-inducing than ending a day and realizing you haven’t accomplished a single task. We can avoid this rut by setting an alarm on our phone to ring every day around 1 p.m. When the ringer goes off, assess how many things on your list have been attended to.

Re-plan your schedule for the remainder of the afternoon and shift it around to take care of the most important item first. If necessary, you can indulge in a second cup of coffee to jumpstart your “second morning.” By doing this, you will avoid going to bed at night mulling over all the things you didn’t get done.

Dedicate yourself for a small period of time.

To stimulate productivity, there’s an old trick of setting a timer for ten minutes. By frantically racing the clock for that short period, you’ll likely find you become engrossed in your tasks and continue working.

The feeling of dread that has been on your mind will quickly be replaced with a sense of pride and satisfaction. Seeing what you can accomplish in ten minutes when you put your mind to it is quite motivating.

Schedule your tasks on the calendar.

Creating a game plan will help you move past the initial paralysis you feel. Instead of just writing the tasks down in a to-do list, take it a step further and identify when and how you’ll accomplish it.

For example, plan to go to the grocery store at 4:00 p.m. and start cooking dinner promptly at 4:30. By clearing up the anticipatory stress, you’ll avoid a large part of the dread that holds you back. Creating the plan is half the battle!

Though it feels impossible, you have it in you to accomplish everything that you need to every single day. With a fresh perspective, a little prodding (敦促), and a detailed plan, you’ll be well on your way to ending the procrastination cycle once and for all.

1. The word “procrastination” most likely means _______.

A．hesitation

B．delay

C．distinction

D．diminution

2. The phrase “nipping procrastination in the bud” suggests that one should _______.

A．fully realize the importance and severity of the problem of procrastination

B．make an effort to keep the problem of procrastination well under control

C．take our time to identify the root problem of the habit of procrastination

D．prevent and cope with the issue of procrastination in the early stage

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．If we put off the hardest task to the end of the day, we can be more energetic.

B．It is of greater importance for us to see the “forest” than attend to the “tree”.

C．A small and steady step on the daily basis will make the task less overwhelming.

D．Having a second cup of coffee will help you compete morning commitment better.

4. Setting a timer for ten minutes will _______.

A．trick you into being more anxious and desperate

B．keep you more concentrated and productive

C．help you move past the initial paralysis you feel

D．prevent you from feeling guilty when going to bed at night

5. The article concludes that _______.

A．Many people have slim hope to completely get rid of procrastination circle

B．creating a good plan can help you win the battle against procrastination

C．everybody may tend to procrastinate and there is little need for guilt

D．it is more than hopeful to conquer procrastination with the listed requirements

8 . When you hear “I have a dream…”, one of the most famous speeches in human history, you’ll never have the idea how the audience on the scene were fueled by emotional intelligence. When Martin Luther King. Jr. presented his dream, he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience. Delivering this electrifying(震撼性的) message required emotional intelligence—the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions.

Emotional intelligence has been highly recommended by leaders, policymakers, and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems. Emotional intelligence is important, but the uncontrolled enthusiasm has obscured (掩盖)a dark side. New evidence shows that when people sharpen their emotional skills, they become better at controlling others. When you’re good at controlling your own emotions, you can hide your true feelings. When you know what others are feeling, you can motivate them to act against their own best interests.

Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. In a research led by University of Toronto professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize (细察) the message and remembered the content. Ironically(讽刺 的是), audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it.

The authors call this the awestruck effect, but it might just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect. One observer reflected that Hitler’s persuasive impact came from his ability to strategically express emotions—he would “tear open his heart”—and these emotions affected his followers to the point that they would “stop thinking critically and just emote.”

Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our abilities to reason. If their values are out of step with our own, the results can be destructive. New evidence suggests that when people have self-serving motives, emotional intelligence becomes a weapon for controlling others.

Throwing light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff. According to these experts, emotional intelligence helps people disguise (伪装) one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Professor Kilduff’s team writes, “The strategic disguise of one’s own emotions and the controlling of others’ emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare’s stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded.”

Of course, people aren’t always using emotional intelligence for   nefarious ends. More often than not, high EQ is helpful in most aspects of our life. Emotional intelligence—like any skill—can be used for good or evil. So whether it is a gift or a curse lies in your hand.

1. Why does the author mention Martin Luther King, Jr?

A．To honor the great leader for his courage.

B．To recommend his speech to other leaders.

C．To introduce the major topic to readers.

D．To advocate a society with fewer problems.

2. Which of the following belongs to a dark side of emotional intelligence?

A．Developing the capability to control one’s own emotion.

B．Influencing people to do what brings disadvantages to them.

C．Appealing to the audience to concentrate and remember more.

D．Encouraging the moved audience to learn more of the speech.

3. What is the dumbstruck effect of Hitler’s emotional intelligence?

A．His followers would tear open their hearts to him.

B．His followers would express emotions strategically.

C．His followers would lose the ability to reason properly.

D．His followers would develop the self-serving motives.

4. How do people use their emotional intelligence for personal gain?

A．They disguise their true emotions and show another one.

B．They help their colleagues to build up confidence.

C．They present their strategic behaviors on the stage.

D．They lower their own dignity to gain popularity.

5. Which may mean the same as the underlined word in the last paragraph ?

A．Immoral.

B．Unimportant.

C．Illegal.

D．Uncontrollable.

6. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．The benefits of emotional intelligence.

B．The advantages and disadvantages of emotions.

C．The reasons for using emotional skills.

D．The dark side of emotional intelligence.

9 . I was given a voice. That’s what people said about me I trained my voice, because it would be a shame to waste such a gift. I pictured this voice as a greenhouse plant and made sure it was provided with the right temperature, the right amount of water. I relieved its fears. I told it not to tremble. I nursed it, I trained it, and I watched it climb up inside my neck

My voice bloomed. People said I had grown into my voice. Invitations to perform flooded over us. All the best places wanted us. I was sought after, or rather my voice was. We went everywhere together and gave performances. Bouquets （花束）were thrown to it. Money was presented to it. Men fell on their knees before it. Applause flew around it.

Then my voice began to shrivel. People said my voice would bloom only for a certain term: finally it would drop off and gone with it would be all the fame and wealth. I have noticed it so far. Fear has entered me since my voice has used up most of my life. I’ve given it all my love. But my voice is still as greedy as ever. It wants more: more and more, more of everything it has had so far.

Now it’s evening: the bright lights come on, and excitement quickens in the streets. We sit in this hotel room. Soon it will be time for us to go out. We have to attend a grand occasion. The two of us chained together as always. I have to put on its favourite dress, its favourite necklace and wind a fur around it. Then I have to go out: shining like ice: my voice attached to my throat like an invisible vampire （吸血鬼）.

1. Why did the author compare her voice to a greenhouse plant?

A．To introduce her way to grow a plant.

B．To stress her hard efforts to train her voice.

C．To express her determination to show her gift.

D．To indicate her strong desire to improve her skill.

2. What does the underlined word “shrivel’ in paragraph 3 mean?

A．go up	B．die away
C．grow more pleasant	D．become less attractive

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph of the text?

A．The author totally ruined her fame.

B．The author gradually lost her freedom.

C．The author eventually accepted her voice.

D．The author greatly enjoyed her performances.

10 . Great work is work that makes a difference in people’s lives, writes David Sturt, Executive Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute, in his book Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love. Sturt insists, however, that great work is not just for surgeons or special-needs educators or the founders of organizations trying to eliminate poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. The central theme of Great Work, according to Sturt, is that anyone can make a difference in any job. It’s not the nature of the job, but what you do with the job that counts. As proof, Sturt tells the story of a remarkable hospital cleaner named Moses.

In a building filled with doctors and nurses doing great life-saving work, Moses the cleaner makes a difference. Whenever he enters a room, especially a room with a sick child, he engages both patients and parents with his optimism and calm, introducing himself to the child and, Sturt writes, speaking “little comments about light and sunshine and making things clean.” He comments on any progress he sees day by day (“you’re sitting up today, that’s good.”) Moses is no doctor and doesn’t pretend to be, but he has witnessed hundreds of sick children recovering from painful surgery, and parents take comfort from his encouraging words. For Matt and Mindi, whose son McKay was born with only half of a heart, Moses became a close friend. As Sturt explains, “Moses took his innate (与生俱来的) talents (his sensitivity) and his practical wisdom (from years of hospital experience) and combined them into a powerful form of patient and family support that changed the critical-care experience for Mindi, Matt and little McKay.”

How do people like Moses do great work when so many people just work? That was the central question raised by Sturt and his team at the O.C. Tanner Institute, a consulting company specialized in employee recognition and rewards system.

O.C. Tanner launched an exhaustive Great Work study that included surveys to 200 senior executives, a further set of surveys to 1,000 managers and employees working on projects, an in-depth qualitative study of 1.7 million accounts of award-winning work (in the form of nominations (提名) for awards from corporations around the world), and one-on-one interviews with 200 difference makers. The results of the study revealed that those who do great work refuse to be defeated by the constraints of their jobs and are especially able to reframe their jobs: they don’t view their jobs as a list of tasks and responsibilities but see their jobs as opportunities to make a difference. No matter, as Moses so ably exemplifies (例证), what that job may be.

1. According to Sturt, which of the following is TRUE?

A．It’s not the nature of the job, but what you do that makes a difference.

B．Anyone in the world is responsible to delete poverty and change the world.

C．Anyone can make a difference in people’s lives no matter what kind of job he does.

D．Surgeons, special-needs educators and founders of organizations can succeed more easily.

2. According to this passage, how does Moses, a common hospital cleaner, make a difference in people’s lives?

A．By keeping optimistic and calm when facing patients and their parents at hospital.

B．By showing his special gift and working experience when working at hospital.

C．By showing his sympathy and kindness to patients when entering their rooms.

D．By pretending to be a doctor or nurse when entering a room with a sick child.

3. The word “constraints” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.

A．demands

B．advantages

C．disadvantages

D．limitations

4. What can we infer from the passage?

A．Great work is work that makes a difference in people’s lives no matter what you do.

B．If a boss has trouble recognizing his employees, he can ask O. C. Tanner for advice.

C．Moses makes a difference through his sensitivity and his practical wisdom.

D．Those who do great work are never defeated by others or their jobs themselves.