1 . The Adventures of Amilya Rose: The Lie
By Chavonne D. Stewart, Jasmine Mills, published in 2014
Enter for a chance to win a copy of the book.It is the first book in a surprising series of children’s books. That’s fun and exciting and teaches kids valuable lessons.
Chester and Gus
By Cammie McGoven, published in 2017
Chester has always wanted to become a service dog. When he fails his certification test, though, it seems that dream might never come true－until a family adopts him to be a companion for their ten-year-old son, Gus. But Gus acts so differently from anyone Chester has ever met. He never wants to pet Chester. Chester’s not sure how to help Gus, but he’s determined to figure it out and show he’s the right dog for the job.
Invisible Emmie
By Terri Libenson, published in 2017
The novel tells the story of two totally different little girls in a class — quiet, shy and artistic Emmie and popular, outgoing, athletic Katie — and how their lives unexpectedly connected one day, when an embarrassing note falls into the wrong hands. Emmie eventually learns to speak up for herself, realizing that being social isn’t as impossible as she thought.
Ocean Meets Sky
By Terry Fan, Eric Fan, published in 2018
“Young readers will be attracted.”— The Washington Post.
Finn lives by the sea and the sea lives by him. Every time he looks out of his window, it’s a constant reminder of the stories that his grandfather told him about the place where the ocean meets the sky. Finn’s grandfather has gone but Finn knows the perfect way to honor him. He’ll build his own ship and sail out to find this magical place himself! And when he arrives, maybe he’ll find something he didn’t know he was looking for.
1. What can we know about The Adventures of Amilya Rose: The Lie?| A．It’s the first children’s book in 2015. |
| B．It’s only for children’s fun. |
| C．It may be gained for free. |
| D．It’s mainly about teachers’ lessons. |
| A．The Adventures of Amilya Rose: The Lie | B．Ocean Meets Sky |
| C．Invisible Emmie | D．Chester and Gus |
| A．Chavonne D. Stewart and Jasmine Mills | B．Cammie McGovern |
| C．Terry Fan and Eric Fan | D．Terri Libenon |
2 . When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that her dad had left a book titled The Double Helix on her bed. She put it aside, thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved.
On a rainy Saturday, she picked up the book. As she sped through the pages, she became fascinated by the drama, which encouraged her to explore nature's wonders. Even though her high school teacher told her that girls didn't become scientists, she decided she would.
She worked with a biologist, Charpentier, to turn a curiosity of nature into an invention—an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as Crispr, the tool will transform the human race. James Watson, the author of The Double Helix, later told her it was the most important biological advance: since he and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA.
For this achievement, Doudna and Charpentier were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. Until now, only five women, beginning with Marie Curie in 1911, had won or shared the Nobel for Chemistry out of 184 award winners. When this year's prize was announced, Dr. Charpentier said it would provide a message specifically to young girls who would like to follow the path of science and to show them that women can also be awarded prizes.
A few decades from now, if it becomes possible and sate to edit DNA, should we allow parents to improve the IQ and physical strength of their kids? Should we let them decide eye color? Skin color? Height? After helping to discover Crispr, Dr. Doudna has become a leader in considering these moral issues. That's the main message we should take from this Nobel: New technologies can be a huge benefit to the human race, but in order to make sure they are used wisely, it's important for people to understand them.
1. Jennifer Doudna decided to become a scientist because,__________| A．her father pushed her | B．a book inspired her |
| C．her teacher encouraged her | D．James Watson motivated her |
| A．she wrote the book “The Double Helix" | B．she discovered the structure of DNA |
| C．she is a hardworking woman scientist | D．she helped invent a tool for editing DNA |
| A．The two women's success will inspire more girls to be devoted to science. |
| B．Since 1911, there have been 184 people who won the Nobel for chemistry. |
| C．If girls follow the path of science, they will surely achieve their goals. |
| D．Crispr will make a big difference to the human race. |
| A．Determined and responsible. | B．Ambitious and humorous. |
| C．Cruel and indifferent. | D．Fearless and stubborn. |
3 . After 7 long years since the cute cat named Chebon went missing, there was little hope that it could be found. Robert probably already came to peace with the thought that he would never see his little friend again until he received a life-changing call. Clearly, a kind stranger reached out to tell him that his beloved cat was safe and sound and couldn’t wait to see him again!
The cat went missing years ago, right before Robert was planning on moving from California to Ohio. The sad owner decided to give up his plans and stayed in California for the whole year looking for his missing friend, but in vain. “I remember at one point I was praying and I said, ‘God, I’ll do anything, just bring my Chebon back…’”, Robert said in a video posted on the Ventura County Animal Services. The cat seemed to have disappeared forever and Robert had no other choice than to move on.
Then 7 years later, a woman noticed a cat that looked ill, so she decided to catch the animal and take him to the vet (兽医). Luckily, the cat she found had a microchip (微型芯片), and in an instant, they knew who the owner of the 19-year-old cat was. That’s when Robert received a call saying that his cat was alive.
“I was afraid there was some kind of mistake,” Robert said in the reunion video. The man decided to ride on a plane and fly all the way from Los Angeles to see his old friend. After finally seeing the cat, Robert immediately recognized his cat and burst into tears. After all these years, the two friends were back together. The touching moment was recorded by the animal shelter and was quickly spread on the Internet, leaving so many people in tears.
1. What happened to Chebon 7 years ago?| A．It was ill. | B．It was hurt in an accident. |
| C．It was lost. | D．It was taken to the animal shelter. |
| A．without success. | B．for no reason. |
| C．in no time. | D．at no cost. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Worried. |
| C．Peaceful. | D．Hopeless. |
| A．A video moved many people. |
| B．A cat was saved by a woman. |
| C．A man reunited with his missing cat. |
| D．A man kept looking for his cat for 7 years. |
4 . The fast spread of the virus has led most Chinese citizens to wear face masks in public to help reduce infections. The Beijing-based Hanwang Technology Ltd. says it has created a new facial recognition system that is the first to effectively identify people even if they are wearing masks.
China is recognized as a world leader in the development of artificial intelligence and facial recognition system. The new system is based on the existing technologies developed over the past 10 years.
“When wearing a mask, the recognition rate can reach about 95 percent, which can ensure that most people can be identified,” Hanwang’s vice president, Huang Lei, said. He added that the system’s success rate for people not wearing a mask is about 99.5 percent. However, the new system struggles to identify people wearing both a mask and sunglasses. “In this situation, all of the key facial information is lost. In such cases recognition is tough,” Huang said.
Hanwang is now selling two main kinds of products that use the technology. One performs “single channel” recognition and the other is a “multi-channel” recognition, which can identify individuals in a crowd of up to 30 people “within a second”.
Huang said officials can use Hanwang’s technology to compare images with ministry (部门) records on individuals in order to identify and track people as they move about. The system can identify crime suspects (嫌疑人), terrorists or make reports or warnings, he added.
While some citizens have expressed opposition to such tools, more people seem to have accepted the methods as a way to deal with the current health emergency.
So far, Huang says most interest in the new system has come from within China. But he sees the interest likely expanding if the virus continues to spread and the use of face masks increases.
1. What do we know about the new facial recognition system?| A．It has no relation to the existing tech. | B．It is being used both at home and abroad. |
| C．It can record people’s temperature. | D．It can be used for many purposes. |
| A．international companies | B．colleges and universities |
| C．the Ministry of Public Safety | D．the Ministry of Manpower |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Uncaring. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．To show China’s technological advances. | B．To introduce a newly developed system. |
| C．To demonstrate the innovation of China. | D．To advertise a new tech-based product. |
5 . The sky is large place, and though it has been carefully examined for centuries, new features still turn up. Last March it was the rule of Uranus (天王星), and last week astronomers announced what may turn out to be a new planet, though a very small one, in the solar system.
The object was first sighted last month by Charles Kowal, an astronomer at the Hale Observatories in Pasadena, Calif. Mr. Kowal observed a faint trail of light on photographic plates, indicating that something was moving in relation to the background of stars. Other observers have confirmed the discovery.
The “mini-planet”, identified for the time being as “Object-Kowal”, appears to be about 1.5 billion miles away, between the orbit of Saturn and Uranus, and its diameter (直径) has been estimated at between 100 and 400 miles. Its orbit has not been determined yet, but if the orbit proves to be roughly circular, like that of the major planets, the new object would probably take 66 to 70 years to make a circuit of the sun.
Some astronomers have speculated that Mr. Kowal’s discovery may be the first indication of an asteroid (小行星) belt beyond Saturn.
1. What may have been found in the solar system according to the first paragraph?| A．A small new planet | B．A new solar system |
| C．A large new object | D．A large new planet |
| A．What the object is like |
| B．How the object was found |
| C．Where the astronomers live |
| D．Why the object was moving |
| A．Astronomy | B．Industry |
| C．Spaceflight | D．Agriculture |
6 . Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities).Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions.
Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.
1. What does the smile usually mean in America?| A．Love. | B．Politeness. |
| C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationship |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
