1 . I was so worried about handing my little boy over during his first week of school, but you made it easier. You smiled at him like a mother would at her own child.You showed warmth and your hugs were always on offer.After a day in class with you, Charlie would come home singing. Whenever I hear Do Your Ears Hang Low or see him stretching to the sky when singing about the days of the week, I will think of you.I didn't tell you at the time, but I loved your morning song so much that I implemented it in my own class (I'm a teacher, too).
When you saw I was troubled, you hugged me with your smile and I knew everything would be OK. You made parents feel as cared for as our children.In the short time I knew you; you taught me about the type of teacher I desire to be. You never seemed disturbed by the mountain of paperwork or impossible work-life balance that comes with the role. Instead, you appeared to embrace every minute.
I can't understand why you've been taken from us. Telling Charlie was one of the hardest things I've had to do.I'm not sure he fully understands, but he told me he loved you and has been asking whether your"robot powers"will work in heaven.
A friend once told me white feathers are angels telling us that loved ones in heaven are well. On the first day collecting the children without you，a white feather floated through the sleet (雨夹雪). Watching the younger ones bounce and gigle as they tried to catch it was beautiful.
I wish I had told you all of this when you were with us.I hope that you knew how you brought happiness to everyone you met and how loved you were. Goodbye, Dear Friend.
1. What does the underlined word "implemented" in Paragraph l probably mean?| A．Looked back on. | B．Looked forward to. |
| C．Thought highly of. | D．Made use of. |
| A．They need to sing songs before children. |
| B．They need to feel the affection as well. |
| C．They find it hard to handle their kids. |
| D．They find it necessary to hug the teachers. |
| A．inform us of the loved one's death |
| B．remind us it's time for a snowball fight |
| C．tell us the teacher stays in our mind after death |
| D．warn us of the falling snow when collecting children |
| A．To make a remark on Charlie's teacher. |
| B．To say goodbye to her fellow teacher. |
| C．To take pity on her fellow teacher. |
| D．To recall and show respect for Charlie's teacher. |
2 . Delivering medical supplies to hard-to-reach places has been an issue for years. Worldwide, more than two billion people lack access to essential life-saving supplies, such as blood and vaccines（疫苗）. In the African nation of Rwanda, for example, several remote health clinics do not have sufficient quantities of blood and other healthcare products. A company called Zipline is trying to address this problem. It uses drones（无人机）to transport medical supplies around Rwanda. A drone can now deliver medicine in 30 minutes.
Drones are also assisting emergency organizations after natural disasters. In 2015, for example, a powerful hurricane destroyed thousands of buildings in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. Around 75,000 people lost their homes, and at least 15 died. After the storm, drones photographed the damage. These surveys helped emergency workers assess the situation quickly and answer important questions: Which areas were hardest hit? Were crops damaged? What roads were affected?
Drones are also helping to protect wildlife populations in parts of Africa and Asia. Every year, poachers（偷猎者） kill thousands of elephants, rhinos, and other endangered animals. To stop them; the environmental organization World Wildlife Fund is using drones to find where poachers are hiding and if they are carrying weapons. Equipped with infrared video cameras, drones can easily identify people and animals at night. These drones are not only helpful, they are affordable.
As well as finding poachers, drones can be used to track animals. Scientists at Liverpool John Moores University （LJMU）plan to employ drones for an ambitious conservation project: documenting the world's wildlife. The long-term project will start with scientific surveys of animal populations. And animal species can then be identified using special software.
Ironically（讽刺地）, a tool originally created for military use is increasingly being used to save lives instead of taking then. Drones have the potential to provide solutions that will benefit both humans and animals.
1. What does the text focus on?| A．Importance of saving lives. |
| B．Development of drones. |
| C．Applications of drones. |
| D．Ways to protect animals. |
| A．Helping predict disasters. |
| B．Providing data for evaluation. |
| C．Organizing emergency workers. |
| D．Reporting local weather. |
| A．Track poachers. |
| B．Design new practical drones. |
| C．Record wild animals in detail. |
| D．Develop an assessing software. |
| A．They need to be fitted with video cameras. |
| B．They are unavailable to ordinary people. |
| C．They should be limited to military use. |
| D．They have a promising prospect. |
3 . Hidden beneath the surface in the roots of Earths astonishing and diverse plant life, there exists a biological superhighway linking together the members of the plant kingdom in what researchers call the "wood wide web".
The network is comprised of thin threads of fungus (真菌) that grow outwards underground up to a few meters from its partnering plant, meaning that all of the plant life within a region likely connected to one another. The partnership is beneficial for both parties involved, plants provide carbohydrates (碳水化合物) to the funguses and in exchange, the funguses aid in gathering water and providing nutrients to its partnering plant.
A study conducted by Rensen Zeng of the South China Agricultural University found that this also allowed for plants to warn one another of potential harm. The study showed Broad Beans used the fungal network to spy on one another for upcoming danger.
Like our Internet, this fungal connectivity is also full of crime. Some plants, such as Golden Marigolds have been found to release poisons into the network to slow down the growth of surrounding plants in the fight for water and light. Other plants, such as the Phantom Orchid, do not have the chlorophyll (叶绿素) and must get the necessary nutrients from surrounding plants.
Research suggests that animals such as insects and worms may be able to detect slight exchanges of nutrients through the network, allowing them to more easily find delicious roots to feed on; however, this has not been conclusively made clear in experimentation. The more we learn about this phenomenon, the more our understanding of the plant life of our planet will continue to change. Perhaps one day, we may be able to map out these complex networks entirely.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To explain the aim of the web. |
| B．To introduce the main topic. |
| C．To give definition of diverse life. |
| D．To show the importance of plants. |
| A．compete for survival |
| B．gather more water |
| C．take in sunlight |
| D．break natural rules |
| A．Animals can also feed on the fungus. |
| B．Nutrient exchanges are too slight to detect. |
| C．No experiment can prove the phenomenon. |
| D．More needs to be done to work out the network. |
| A．The Partnership between Plants |
| B．The Unknown Roots of the Earth |
| C．The Superhighway Linking the Plants |
| D．The Mysterious Map Changing the World |
4 . A decade ago, at the end of my first semester teaching at Wharton, a student stopped by for office hours. He sat down and burst into tears. My mind started cycling through a list of events that could make a college junior cry: his girlfriend had left him; he had been accused of cheating in exams; he forgot to turn in papers by the deadline. “I just got my first A-minus," he said, his voice shaking.
Year after year, I watch in sadness as students go all for straight A's. Some sacrifice their health; a few have even tried to charge their school after falling short. All hold the belief that top marks are a ticket to best graduate schools and high-paying job offers. I was one of them. I started college with the goal of graduating with a GPA of 4.0. It would be a reflection of my brainpower and willpower, revealing that I had the right stuff to succeed. But I was wrong.
The evidence is clear: academic excellence is not a strong predictor of career excellence. Across industries, research shows that the connection between grades and job performance is modest in the first year after college and unimportant within a handful of years. For example, a Google, once employees are two or three years out of college, their grades have no bearing on their performance. (Of course, it must be said that if you got D's, you probably didn't end up at Google.)
In a classic 1962 study, a team of psychologists tracked down America's most creative architects and compared them with their technically skilled but less original matches. One of the factors that distinguished the creative architects was a record of grades. “In college our creative architects earned about a B average," Donald MacKinnon wrote. “In work and courses which caught their interest they could turn in an A performance, but in courses that failed to strike their imagination, they were quite willing to do no work at all."
Academic grades rarely assess qualities like creativity, leadership and teamwork skills, or social, emotional and political intelligence. Yes, straight-A students master large amounts of information and reproduce it in exams. But career success is rarely about finding the right solution to a problem—it is more about finding the right problem to solve. This might explain why Steve Jobs finished high school with a 2.65 GPA, J. K. Rowling graduated from the University of Exeter with roughly a C average, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. got only one A in his four years at Morehouse.
1. Why did the author list the events that crossed his mind in the first paragraph?| A．To make sure he didn't misunderstand the student. |
| B．To make the real trouble of the student more striking. |
| C．To show sympathy for the student. |
| D．To describe an unusual meeting with a student. |
| A．Academic achievements don't always mean success in career. |
| B．Top marks meant well-paid job offers. |
| C．Nobody was to blame for falling short in school. |
| D．Marks didn't reflect willpower and brainpower |
| A．Straight A's don't necessarily lead to professional success. |
| B．Straight A's are a ticket to a number of opportunities. |
| C．Straight A's are of little value in future careers. |
| D．Straight A's can't help people find right solutions. |
| A．How to be a creative leader. | B．How to solve a challenging problem. |
| C．What is the right problem to solve. | D．What really interests them. |
5 . I decided to ski to the North pole. It was after I saw an advertisement in newspaper looking for people to join a team to ski 350 miles to the North Pole. Back in 1996, there had never been woman from the UK who had accomplished this challenge, I wondered what it would be like to survive in temperatures cold enough to freeze your flesh in seconds, so I sent off for the application form.
The application form full of pictures of male explorers arrived. The words “Are you man enough for the ultimate challenge?” made me angry and even more deter-mined to get on the team.
Over 500 individuals applied for a place in the team, and the selection process included physical and psychological tests designed to pick the best group. In one test, there was a huge rope ladder we had to climb, and I froze at the top because I have a fear of heights. I thought my hopes were fading as most other applicants sailed past, leaving me behind. But two others helped me over, and later I found out that the organizers were not looking for amazing individuals, but great team players, and this moment had shown them who would take care of others in the team.
I had revealed (显示) my weakness, and in a place like the Arctic, you have to be yourself, as there is nowhere to hide. These personalities of asking for help and showing weakness are necessary for women to master.
I realized that by being myself, I could succeed. I was selected for the team. I realized that I could achieve more than I ever imagined. More importantly, by sharing my story with others, I could inspire them to take a step into the new world and reveal more of their abilities.
1. How did the author react on seeing the advertisement?| A．She got cross. | B．She was uninterested. |
| C．She got frightened. | D．She was determined. |
| A．Spirit of teamwork. | B．Personal quality. |
| C．Individual ability. | D．Courage to challenge. |
| A．Shameful. | B．Beneficial. | C．Merciful. | D．Disturbing. |
| A．To inspire us to prepare for our future goal. | B．To advise women how to turn to others. |
| C．To encourage people to explore the unknown. | D．To make suggestions to her team members. |
6 . There has been a lot of publicity (宣传) recently surrounding 5G, the next generation of wireless technology for the world. But what is this technology and how might it change our lives?
What is 5G?
5G stands for fifth generation, meaning the next step in the progression of technology to replace the current 4G system. 4G was the replacement for 3G, which came after 2G, and so on. These systems are wireless computer networks. Earlier “G” systems were designed to improve mobile communication operations. Each new technology brought major improvements in speed and greatly increased network capacity. The new 5G system promises more of the same. It is expected to permit more users to do more things-at a faster rate. Higher internet speeds and larger network capacity should result in better performance for device users connected to 5G. However, technology experts say there is a major way that 5G is different than the earlier systems. It will move well beyond mobile network technology to affect many more devices and industries than other “G” versions.
When will it be available?
Before we can all use 5G, wireless companies and phone makers will have to complete and deploy (部署) a whole new system. New phones and communication equipment must be built. American wireless companies have been preparing for the new system for some time. They have been creating new network equipment and buying broadcasting space to carry 5G signals. They have built news G antennas(天线)to serve American cities and towns. Wireless providers will invest at least $275 billion n 5G-related networks in the United States, the industry group CTIA reported. The first U.S, launch of 5G is expected to happen sometime this year. Industry experts expect it will take a few more year to go nationwide. It will take even longer to reach rural areas. China is expected to launch 5G sometime in 2020, while European nations are likely to build their systems more slowly over time.
1. Which system is widely used nowadays?| A．5G. | B．2G. | C．3G | D．4G. |
| A．It will allow more users to do more things. | B．The internet speed will be much higher. |
| C．The users will spend much less money on it. | D．It will affect more devices and industries |
| A．5G system has nothing to do with phone makers. |
| B．There is much work to do before 5G comes into use. |
| C．New phones will be much smarter than those used now. |
| D．4G system will be stopped as soon as 5G comes into use. |
| A．USA→China→European nations. | B．China→USA→European nations. |
| C．USA→European nations→China. | D．European nations→China→USA. |
7 . We've all heard it before： to be successful, get out of bed early. After all, Apple CEO Tim Cook gets up at 3： 45 am, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne at 3： 30 am and Richard Branson at 5： 45 am ﹣and, as we all know, "the early bird's catches the worm. "
But just because some successful people wake up early, does that mean it's a trait most of them share？ And if the idea of having exercised, planned your day, eaten breakfast, visualized and done one task before 8 am makes you want to roll over and hit snooze till next Saturday, are you really doomed to a less successful life？
For about half of us, this isn't really an issue. It's estimated that some 50% of the population isn't really morning or evening﹣oriented, but somewhere in the middle. Roughly one in four of us, though, tend more toward bright﹣eyed early risers, and another one in four are night owls. For them, the effects can go beyond falling asleep in front of the TV at 10 pm or being regularly late for work.
Numerous studies have found that morning people are more self﹣directed and agreeable. And compared to night owls, they plan for the future more and have a better sense of well﹣being.
Although morning types may achieve more academically, night owls tend to perform better on measures of memory, processing speed and cognitive （认知） ability, even when they have to perform those tasks in the morning. Night﹣time people are also more open and more creative. And one study shows that night owls are as healthy and wise as morning types ﹣and a little bit wealthier.
Still think the morning people sound more like CEO material？ Don't set your alarm for 5 am Just yet. As it turns out, overhauling （全面改革） your sleep time may not have much effect
"If people are left to their naturally preferred time, they feel much better. They say that they are much more productive. The mental capacity they have is much broader, " says Oxford University biologist Katharina Wulff. On the other hand, she says, pushing people too far out of their natural preference can be harmful. When they wake early, for example, night owls are still producing melatonin （褪黑素）. "Then you disrupt it and push the body to be in the daytime mode. That can have lots of negative physiological consequence. " Wulff says, like a different sensitivity to insulin and glucose （葡萄糖） which can cause weight gain.
1. What does the author do in the first three paragraph？| A．raising the problem→analyzing the problem → solving the problem |
| B．leading in the topic→challenging a viewpoint → discussing about the topic |
| C．presenting a viewpoint → providing supporting proofs→making a conclusion |
| D．introducing a viewpoint →raising the question→presenting author's viewpoint |
| A．Morning types tend to have clear goals and better mood. |
| B．To beat night﹣time people ask them to do math calculation in the morning. |
| C．Night owls tend to sacrifice their health for their wealth. |
| D．Neither night owls nor morning persons perform better than the middle ones. |
| A．Don't fall sleep in front of the TV. |
| B．Avoid being regularly late for work. |
| C．Stop setting your alarm for 5 am. |
| D．Better not overhaul your sleep time. |
| A．To explain why some people are more successful. |
| B．To compare the differences between early risers and night owls. |
| C．To advise people to get up neither too early nor too late. |
| D．To argue against this view that the Carly bird catches the worm. |
8 . Researchers at the University of Scotland have discovered a protein that can influence viruses developing and even can control cancer. Now the fight is on to fully understand how it works in the hope of turning the laboratory research into a treatment.
The protein is called Hira. Technically it is a histone（组蛋白）complex, but it is easier to understand in terms of what it can do. Three years ago Dr Taranjit Singh Rai and colleagues at the Beatson Cancer Institute and Glasgow University reported that Hira could possibly suppress the division of cells that causes cancer. In the course of that research, Dr Rai found out something unusual. In the lab they have established that the Hira protein has a role to play in the anti-viral fight, thus, making it have a fundamental role to play in fighting against cancer.
The trick in using it to fight diseases may lie in increasing Hira levels in our cells. “I think what researchers might be interested in is how we can increase levels of this protein to deal with the viruses better, Dr Rai said.
Dr Rai has led an international study and support has come from Cancer Research UK and the results are published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research. But there is a major concern that the research is still limited to the laboratory.
It is going to take some time, probably years, before this work can move out of the lab and into clinics and hospitals. But the researchers are excited Hira will one day be the basis of a new approach in medicine.
1. What does the underlined word “suppress" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Motivate. | B．Monitor. | C．Control. | D．Improve. |
| A．Hira has been used in the medical treatment. |
| B．More studies should be done on Hira. |
| C．The levels of Hira in cells are unchangeable. |
| D．Hira can bring about side effects. |
| A．Cautious. | B．Optimistic. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．A new way to use the protein. |
| B．A new approach to improving the division of cells. |
| C．A new medicine that can fight diseases. |
| D．A protein that can stop viruses developing. |
9 . Cala didn’t like us. Any of us. We didn’t do anything to offend her and she didn’t know us but that didn’t matter; she still didn’t like us.
As new teachers in the Emirati school, we Westerners greeted her every day. She ignored us. She came into our rooms and bypassed us as she shook hands with all the non-Westerners. Whenever we saw her, she avoided eye contact with us. Eventually, we stopped trying to befriend her.
I wouldn’t say her nationality but her friends had been fired from the school. We had been employed in their places and that was enough for her to have nothing to do with us.
Well after 16 months in the school we had a secret friend gifting. To my surprise, I drew her name from the glass jar and that meant she was my secret friend. My role was to buy her a gift and say something about her when we publicly acknowledged who our secret friend was.
I decided to gift her a coloured bangle（手镯）. I added a postcard and wrote “Love and Blessings, Rose Marie.
Then came the day. We all gathered in the meeting room. When you gave your gift, you said a few kind words about your secret friend and passed the gift to her. What could I say? Everyone knew she didn’t like the Westerners. She taught music in the school so I said “My secret friend is someone who brings music to our ears every day.” She came forward with a huge warm smile. She hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks and accepted my gift.
Since then, she smiles often. We hug and shake hands when we meet. I have seen her wear my gift several times and I am so pleased.
1. Why didn't Cala like the Western teachers?| A．They replaced her friends' positions. |
| B．They were new comers. |
| C．They stopped befriending her. |
| D．They had once offended her. |
| A．With the help of her friends. |
| B．Through her love and blessings. |
| C．By showing her talent in music. |
| D．Through her sincerity and wisdom. |
| A．Exciting. | B．Beautiful. |
| C．Complex. | D．shocking. |
| A．Do nothing by halves. |
| B．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. |
| C．A good act will be well rewarded. |
| D．Without confidence there is no friendship. |
10 . The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS), scheduled to open in 2021 with a target of admitting 100 students, will abandon traditional academic subjects and offer a three year bachelor of arts and sciences degree designed to deal with real-world issues. The curriculum is built around interdisciplinary problems—knife crime, childhood obesity, plastic pollution, among others—as well as quantitative and qualitative research skills. Employers like the Met Police and Virgin will provide project ideas and offer five -week work experience for students.
“We’re going to try and create a really transformational educational experience where all the people in the institution are waking up every morning and saying, ‘How can we take these brilliant young people and give them an amazing learning experience?” says Ed Fidoe, a co-founder of the LIS. The idea is similar to a U.S. liberal arts (通识教育) degree but also more specifically focused on multiple subjects— economics, psychology, sociology, statistic, etc. — to solve complex problems like childhood obesity. In other words, the problem, not the subject, sits at the center of the curriculum. The skills students develop, the founders hope, will more closely come into agreement with what an Al-infused, automated world demands: collaboration(协作) between people and machines, critical thinking, speaking and writing skill, and data management, to name just a few things.
The challenges of building a new university from scratch are daunting(令人生畏的): students have to sign up for, and pay for, something untested; all the teachers will have to teach in a totally new and different way; and there’s a risk that an interdisciplinary curriculum will be interesting but thin. Fidoe says it’s a tall order. “Are any 17-year-olds going to be crazy enough to come to something that doesn’t exist yet against something that’s been around for 150 years?” he says.
In the U.K, students apply through an admissions service center, and exam results are more important than anything else. On the contrary, at the LIS, students will instead apply directly during a pre-determined “selection day” where everyone is invited to participate. This day will include a face-to-face interview so that the college can better understand a student’s background, motivations, and passions.
1. What is the aim of the LIS?| A．To provide more and more project ideas for students. |
| B．To take a real-world approach to higher education. |
| C．To help employers to develop the students’ skills. |
| D．To conduct qualitative and quantitative research. |
| A．It is subject-centered. | B．It is based on AI technology. |
| C．It centers around social concerns. | D．It covers every aspect of society. |
| A．It’s interesting to teach in a new approach. |
| B．It’s bound to put the curriculum in order. |
| C．It’s exciting to take on new challenges. |
| D．It’s hard to build the new university. |
| A．It pays more attention to exam results. |
| B．It focuses more on the face-to-face interview. |
| C．It emphasizes students’ personal experiences and qualities . |
| D．It stresses the importance of is pre-determined “selection day”. |
