1 . Madison Williams was studying in her bedroom when her mother, Leigh Williams, came in and shouted, “A little boy fell into a septic tank (化粪池)!” Then she asked her 13-year-old daughter if she could help.
Madison and Leigh ran to a neighbor’s yard, where they found the boy’s mad mother and other adults around the septic tank. Madison quickly examined the situation. She was the only one who could fit through the small hole. Without waiting a second, she got on her stomach next to the opening, placed her arms out in front of her, and told the adults, “Lower me in.”
Leigh and others held her waist and legs. Inside, the tank was dark, and the air was terrible. In the process, she stuck her left wrist (手腕) against a pole, hurting the muscles in her wrist and arm so seriously that the hand was useless. Rather than deal with her pain, Madison looked for the boy in the water with her eyes and right hand. Minutes went by before she saw his foot. Madison shot her right hand out and held the foot tightly. “Pull me up!” she shouted to the others above.
As they were pulled up, the boy’s free foot got stuck inside the hole. “Lower me down!” she shouted. Then, ten minutes after Madison had entered the tank, they were lifted out. But the boy wasn’t breathing for the lack of fresh air. He was placed on his side, and an adult gave him several hard hits on the back. It was only when Madison heard him cry that she knew he was all right.
1. How did Madison know what had happened?| A．She saw it herself. | B．She heard a cry for help. |
| C．Her mother told her about it. | D．Her mother asked her to help. |
| A．The boy’s cry of surprise. | B．People’s call. |
| C．Her mother’s bravery. | D．Her own willingness. |
| A．He was saved finally. | B．He was drowned to death. |
| C．He wasn’t breathing. | D．He was sent to hospital. |
| A．A girl and her brave mother. | B．A drowning boy in the water. |
| C．A boy falling into a septic tank. | D．A girl voluntarily saving a little boy. |
2 . Forced by the COVID﹣19 outbreak， Pooja Chandrashekar spoke to mobile health﹣clinic （卫生所） workers across the city about their needs during the pandemic（大流行病）． The first﹣year Harvard Medical School student discovered that most information about the widespread virus was only available in English and a small number of other languages， leaving those who do not speak those languages in the dark．
"This makes it very difficult for immigrants（外来移民） and non﹣English﹣speaking communities to seek care for COVID﹣19，" Chandrashekar said． "We know from past epidemics like the swine flu（猪流感） that the lack of accessible information in one's native language places these populations at a higher risk of infection．"
She decided to take action， creating the COVID﹣19 Health Literacy Project． Chandrashekar brought together a group of students from more than 30 universities to create fact sheets in languages not commonly represented in the American health care system． She tweeted about her effort on March 14 and included an interest form in a following tweet that collected more than 500 responses． From there， she formed a still﹣growing team of over 175 medical students． Together， the students created seven fact sheets， in 35 languages．
"Our goal is to make sure we're producing accurate， evidence﹣based information，" Chandrashekar said． "When you're putting information out to the public and health care organizations are distributing it to their patients， you really want to make sure the information you're providing is correct．"
Going forward， Chandrashekar plans to keep building the network of partners and expanding the languages offered to serve the greatest number of people．
1. What does "their needs" in paragraph 1 probably mean？| A．The information about the the COVID﹣19． |
| B．The care for people in the dark． |
| C．The medical students coming from other countries． |
| D．The accessible information about the COVID﹣19 in more languages． |
| A．More than 30 universities． |
| B．Followers of Chandrashekar's tweet． |
| C．Students in medical teams． |
| D．Health care providers all over the world． |
| A．Providing correct and evidence﹣based information． |
| B．Offering accessible information in different languages to the people in need． |
| C．Working with health care providers around the world． |
| D．Displaying and distributing fact sheets to patients in their care． |
| A．Entertainment． |
| B．Lifestyle． |
| C．Community． |
| D．Advertisements． |
3 . An electric flying vehicle called Skai was on display yesterday near Los Angeles， California． Skai is made by Alaka'i Technologies． The vehicle has six rotors（旋翼） on top． Inside， there are seats for five passengers． To many people， Skai looks like a cross between a giant drone（无人机） and a car． Alaka'i Technologies hopes the vehicle will one day serve as a flying taxi， a cargo carrier， and an ambulance．
Other companies， such as Boeing and Airbus， are also designing electric aircraft． They are using batteries to power them． But batteries can weigh the vehicles down．
Skai uses hydrogen fuel cells to power its rotors． Hydrogen fuel cells are a lighter alternative to batteries． They allow the vehicle to transport 1，000 pounds． They might also be less damaging to the environment． "It's the cleanest form of energy on the planet，" Bruce Holmes told Digital Trends， a technology news website． Holmes is on the board of Alaka'i Technologies．
A test flight will take place near the company's Massachusetts headquarters． But it may be years before the autonomous aircraft is cleared to carry passengers． Skai must first meet regulations． These regulations are set by the Federal Aviation Administration （FAA）．
"The technology is interesting， but the regulatory （监管的） road will be very long，" Thaddeus Lightfoot said． Lightfoot is a lawyer． He helps companies deal with FAA rules．
Alaka'i Technologies is hopeful that Skai will get FAA approval to fly passengers soon． In the meantime， the company's CEO， Stephen Hanvey， says the craft could be used to transport food and water． It could also serve as a mobile cell tower in places struck by natural disasters．
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word "cross" in paragraph 1？| A．mixture． |
| B．container． |
| C．equipment． |
| D．instrument． |
| A．It costs a lot． |
| B．It saves energy． |
| C．It is not readily available now． |
| D．It will soon get approved by FAA． |
| A．It is quite light． |
| B．It uses batteries． |
| C．It transports food and water． |
| D．It lands autonomously． |
| A．Car with wings． |
| B．Car of less weight． |
| C．Car with hydrogen fuel． |
| D．Car in the sky． |
4 . People have different ways of dealing with a common cold. Some take over the counter medicines such as aspirin while others try popular home remedies(治疗) like herbal tea or chicken soup. Yet here is the tough truth about the common cold: nothing really cures it.
So why do people sometimes believe that their remedies work? According to James Taylor, professor at the University of Washington, colds usually go away on their own in about a week, improving a little each day after symptoms peak, so it's easy to believe it's medicine rather than time that deserves the credit, USA Today reported.
It still seems hard to believe that we can deal with more serious diseases yet are powerless against something so common as a cold. Recently, scientists came closer to figure out why. To understand it, you first need to know how antiviral drugs work. They attack the virus by attaching to and changing the surface structures of the virus. To do that, the drug must fit and lock into the virus like the right piece of a jigsaw(拼图), which means scientists have to identify the virus and build a 3D model to study its surface before they can design an antiviral drug that is effective enough.
The two cold viruses that scientists had long known about were rhinovirus(鼻病毒) A and B. But they didn't find out about the existence of a third virus, rhinovirus C, until 2006. All three of them contribute to the common cold, but drugs that work well against rhinovirus A and B have little effect when used against rhinovirus C.
''This explains most of the previous failures of drug trials against rhinoviruses,'' study leader Professor Ann C. Palmenberg at the University of Wiscons in Madison, US, told Science Daily.
Now, more than 10 years after the discovery of rhinovirus C, scientists have finally built a highly detailed 3D model of the virus, showing that the surface of the virus is, as expected, different from that of other cold viruses.
With the model in hand, hopefully a real cure for a common cold is on its way. Soon, we may no longer have to waste our money on medicines that don't really work.
1. What does the author think of popular remedies for a common cold?| A．They are quite effective. | B．They are slightly helpful. |
| C．They actually have no effect. | D．They still need to be improved. |
| A．By breaking up cold viruses directly. |
| B．By changing the surface structures of the cold viruses. |
| C．By preventing colds from developing into serious diseases. |
| D．By absorbing different kinds of cold viruses at the same time. |
| A．The surface of cold viruses looks quite similar. |
| B．Scientists have already found a cure for the common cold. |
| C．Scientists were not aware of the existence of rhinovirus C until recently. |
| D．Knowing the structure of cold viruses is the key to developing an effective cure. |
| A．Drugs against cold viruses | B．Helpful home remedies |
| C．No current cure for common cold | D．Research on cold viruses |
5 . A quarrel at home may result in you falling ill. Don't laugh, it's true. Family matters including living habits and even the way we speak have a big effect on our health, doctors say.
Wang Xiaoyu, a Senior 2 girl from Xichang, Sichuan Province, fainted (晕倒) in class when she heard her classmates quarrel at the top of their voices. Quarrels between her parents also put the girl into a coma. It is because she is suffering from depression , caused by bad relations at home, doctors explained."We don't get sick or stay well by ourselves," says Dr Robert Ferrer from the US. Ferrer shows that family forces may explain up to a quarter of health problems, in his recent research.
The genes you get from your family may cause illness. If one of your parents has a heart attack, your risk of being affected (影响) may double. But effects on health are not only written in our DNA.
Unrelated people who live under the same roof also get similar problems. Diet, lifestyle and environment affect our health, too.
Ferrer's research also found that if teenagers feel they are ignored (忽视) or unimportant at home they are more likely to get sick.
We may never fully understand all the effects that families have on our health. But just as individual problems can have effects on others, a small improvement can have big benefits , Ferrer said.
1. Which of the following can best explain why Wang Xiaoyu fainted in class?| A．Because her classmates often quarreled in class. |
| B．Because her parents used to quarrel. |
| C．Because of her depression caused by bad family relations. |
| D．Because her classmates shouted loudly at her. |
| A．We get sick or stay well by ourselves. |
| B．Only the genes we get from our family have a big effect on our health. |
| C．Our health has nothing to do with diet, life style and environment. |
| D．Teenagers who are ignored at home get sick more easily than those who are not. |
| A．embarrassment | B．faint | C．tiredness | D．sadness |
| A．Family relations. | B．The reasons why we get sick. |
| C．Happy family makes you healthy. | D．A research about teenagers' health. |
6 . Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature. However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses （球场） in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.
1. Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?| A．Cycling around a lake. |
| B．Motor racing in the desert. |
| C．Playing basketball in a gym. |
| D．Swimming in a sports center. |
| A．It is popular in Portugal and Spain. |
| B．It causes water shortages around the world. |
| C．It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes. |
| D．It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green. |
| A．it is an outdoor sport |
| B．it improves our health |
| C．it uses fewer resources |
| D．it is recommended by experts |
| A．show us the function of major sports |
| B．encourage us to go in for green sports |
| C．discuss the major influence of popular sports |
| D．introduce different types of environment-friendly sports |
The most famous hyper-polyglot was Giuseppe Mezzofanti, a 19th century Italian cardinal, who was said to speak 72 languages. This claim sounds absurd. If you assume each language had 20,000 words, Mezzofanti would have to learn a word a minute, six hours a day, for eleven years—an impossible task. But Mezzofanti was tested by critics, and they were all impressed.
Did Mezzofanti have an extraordinary brain? Or are hyper-polyglots just ordinary people with ordinary brains who manage to do something extraordinary through hard work?
U.S. linguist Stephen Drashen believes that outstanding language learners just work harder at it and then they acquire unusually strong language ability. As an example, he mentions a Hungarian woman who worked as an interpreter during the 20th century. When she was 86, she could speak 16 languages and was still working on learning new languages. She said she learned them mostly on her own, reading fiction or working through dictionaries or textbooks.
Some researchers argue to the contrary. They believe that there is such a thing as a talent for learning languages. In the 1930s, a German scientist examined parts of the preserved brain of a hyper-polyglot named Emil Krebs, who could speak 60 languages fluently. The scientist found that the area of Krebs’s brain called Broca’s area, which is associated with language, looked different from the Broca’s area in the brains of men who speak only one language. However, we still don’t know if Krebs was born with a brain ready to learn dozens of languages or if his brain adapted to the demands he put on it.
Although it is still not clear whether the ability to learn many languages is in born, there’s no doubt that just about all of us can acquire skills in a second, third, or even fourth language by putting our mind to it.
1. What does the underlined sentence imply?
| A．Mezzofanti could remember 360 words a day. |
| B．Mezzofanti had a special way to learn languages. |
| C．Mezzofanti’s achievement was ridiculous. |
| D．Mezzofanti language ability was astonishing. |
| A．good memory | B．unique brain | C．hard work | D．learning methods |
| A．had an unusual brain |
| B．was born with great talent |
| C．had worked hard at languages |
| D．expected too much of himself |
| A．it is not hard to learn foreign languages |
| B．hard work plays a part in language learning |
| C．there is no such thing as a talent for languages |
| D．hyper-polyglots have an inborn talent for language |
