1 . Many bad things in life start with a lie. Perhaps it’s one of the lies you tell yourself, like I’m not good enough. That lie can hold you back from many things. Then there are the lies others tell you to manipulate their way to getting what they want. Perhaps the most devastating one is a lie that someone completely makes up to hurt you or try to ruin your life.
Sadly, there are now many people who believe that lying to get what you want is now the way of the world and perfectly acceptable. That woman who attacked the young black man in New York after falsely accusing him of stealing her iPhone is saying he attacked her-even though the truth is all on video. And there are people, mostly racist people, who believe her because they want to.
It is mistake to think that any belief has ultimate(终极的)power over the truth. But some beliefs are so popular and shared by so many people that they can cause an uprising(暴动)and make things horrible for the rest of us.
Unfortunately, the cultural lies that people tell themselves happen globally as well as in the school yard or on the job. On top of that, the personal lies that people spread about others can make life hard. When your value system is called into question, and you fear how this will make you look to the people in your world, it can make you crazy.
Lying is often a result of selfishness. Some people don’t care who gets hurt, as long as they get what they want.
I have watched good lives get put on hold because someone told a lie. I have seen people put in jail because of a lie. I have held the hands of a kind-hearted dying man who only wanted to know the truth about why his children were turned against him. Lies only hurt. Let’s remember that. Let’s not forget the damage that can be done, and maybe we will all get to live better lives, even though we are sharing a very difficult time. Lies are always uncovered. Always.
That may not help you night now, but it is something to hold onto.
1. What is the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．The harm lies can do. | B．The purpose behind lies. |
| C．Different types of lies. | D．The most devastating lies |
| A．To analyze how lies cause bad effects |
| B．To prove there are too many racists in America now. |
| C．To explain why truth is the ultimate power. |
| D．To show that many people lie to get what they want. |
| A．Cultural lies are often obvious. |
| B．Most personal lies result from hatred. |
| C．Wrong common beliefs can be powerful |
| D．People who spread lies should be put into prison. |
| A．Lies will grow and spread. |
| B．Lies are not acceptable. |
| C．Lies will be exposed sooner or later. |
| D．One truth is better than a hundred lies |
2 . Men hunted.Women gathered. But the discovery of a woman buried 9,000 years ago in the Andes Mountains with weapons and hunting tools challenges this widely accepted view. The woman, thought to be between 17 and 19 years old when she died, was buried with items that suggested she hunted big-game animals by spear (矛) throwing.
The objects accompanying people in death tend to be those that accompanied them in life. Although some scholars have suggested a role for women in ancient hunting, others have dismissed this idea even when hunting tools were uncovered in female burials.
To examine whether this woman found at this site was an exception, the researchers examined 429 skeletons at 107 burial sites from around 8,000 to 14,000 years ago. Of those, 27 individuals were buried with hunting tools—11 were female and 15 were male. The sample was sufficient to “justify the conclusion that female participation in early big-game hunting was likely nontrivial,” said lead study author Haas.
The findings add to doubts about “man-the-hunter” assumption about early humans since the mid-20th century. That theory assumes that it was men who went out and hunted, bringing home meat to feed women and children, who were responsible for gathering berries, plants and nuts to enrich the dict.
But recent research suggests hunting was very much a community-based activity, needing the participation of all able-bodied individuals to drive large animals, the study said. Meanwhile, the spears used at that time had low accuracy, encouraging participation, and using it was a skill learned from childhood. Women may also have been freed from child care demands by “allo-parenting”—raising children was a job shared by many.
“Our findings have made me rethink the most basic organizational structure of ancient hunter-gatherer groups, and human groups more generally,” Haas said.
1. The discovery of the buried woman shows ________.| A．she was killed by a big-game animal | B．she might use hunting tools when alive |
| C．women were good at throwing spears | D．women were buried alone after death |
| A．limited | B．direct | C．significant | D．passive |
①allo-parenting ②big-game hunting ③tasks of gathering ④less accurate tools
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①③④ | D．①②④ |
| A．most of our ancestors were buried with hunting tools |
| B．we should reconsider previous views on human groups |
| C．division of labor in hunter-gatherer society remains unchanged |
| D．the tomb found in the Andes justifies “man-the-hunter” assumption |
3 . If you've ever watched Planet Earth, you know the ocean is a wild place to live. The water is full of different ecosystems and organisms varying in complexity from an erudite octopus to a sea star. Unexpectedly, it is the sea star, a simple organism characterized by a decentralized (分散的) nervous system, that offers insights into advanced adaptation to hydrodynamic forces — the forces created by water pressure and flow.
Researchers found that sea stars effectively stay attached to surfaces under extreme hydrodynamic loads by altering their shape. Sea stars create a "downforce" due to their shape. This mean that instead of being lifted by the flow forces, the sea stars are pushed downward toward the rock or floor surface they are on.
"Sea stars are incredibly adaptive," said Luhar, assistant professor. “When there is high wave activity and high water forces, sea stars will grow skinnier and take on a lower profile (姿态). When the sea star is transported to a sheltered environment with lower hydrodynamic forces, they pop up a bit and their cross sections get bigger."
Understanding such shape shifting could help design underwater robots that can similarly adapt to extreme hydrodynamic environments, Luhar said.
The researchers tested this understanding of sea star shape and its impact on force in the water with both computational and 3-D printed models. “Right away what we noticed," Luhar said, "is that instead of the sea stars being pulled away from the surfaces they were on, they were being pushed down- simply because of their shape."
Luhar said the researchers saw this downforce effect as key to how the sea star- and in the future, an underwater robot could stay attched to a sea bed or a rock as opposed to being lifted up away from it, even in the most extreme conditions.
1. According to the first paragraph, what impresses us most about a sea star?| A．Its simple organism. | B．Its great adaptation. |
| C．Its nervous system. | D．Is physical appearance. |
| A．By creating upward force. | B．By shifting its shape. |
| C．By lifting itself upward. | D．By expanding its size. |
| A．We can develop 3-D printed models. |
| B．We can attach sea stars to the sea bed. |
| C．We can make technological advances. |
| D．We can change the extreme conditions. |
| A．Can we make a robot adaptive underwater? |
| B．Are sea stars incredibly advanced creatures? |
| C．Are scientists able to design underwater robot? |
| D．Can we transform sea stars' shape very flexibly? |
4 . Babies who frequently communicate with their caregivers using eye contact and vocalisations(发声)at the age of one are more likely to develop greater languages skills by the time they reach two,according to new research.
In the study, researchers looked at 11- and 12-month-od babies' vocalisations. gestures and gaze behaviours ,and at how their caregivers responded to them.To measure he interactions ,the researchers videoed infants(婴儿)and caregiver at home,and asked them to play as usual.They took those recordings back to the university
The scientists then used statistical models to find that the best predictor of vocabulary at 24 months was when infants were seen to use vocalsatioms while looking at their caregiver's face when they were about a year old.The benefits were even greater when these interactions were followed by responses from the caregiver.
The statistics showed that at 19 months,children had an average of about 100 words.Those who exhibited the beneficial interactive behaviour earlier in life were seen to have an average of about 30 extra words.
"The message of this paper is that it is the result of a joint effort; noticing what your child is attending to and talking to them about it will support their language development." said McGillion, a co-author of the work.
"The joy of this message is that that can happen in any context... across any part of your day.It's not something that requires special equipment or even lots of time.I can happen when you're doing the laundry,for example—when you're taking out the socks, you can talk about socks...in the park, in the car, at mealtimes,at bathtimes.This finding can be used in any context,"added McGillion.
"This is a developmental snapshot in the first year of life, but children are constantly growing and changing and so are their behaviours. It would be interesting to look at these sorts of behaviours again as children progress through the second year of life to see what's happening there,"said Donnellan,the lead author on the study.
1. How did the researchers get the findings?| A．By interacting with babies. |
| B．By asking babies to vocalize. |
| C．By analyzing relevant recordings. |
| D．By referring to the previous statistics. |
| A．Infants' eye contact. |
| B．Infants' larger vocabulary. |
| C．The response from caregivers. |
| D．The best predictor of vocabulary. |
| A．I's easy to perform. |
| B．It's complex to understand. |
| C．It's difficult to copy. |
| D．It's interesting to video. |
| A．Children's academic progress. |
| B．Children's growing environment. |
| C．Children's potential physical development. |
| D．Children's behaviours across more age ranges. |
5 . It appears to fit with most people's experience: how Christmas seems to come around quicker every year? Questionnaires by psychologists have shown almost everyone feels time is passing faster now compared to when they were half or a quarter as old. Most strikingly, lots of experiment have shown that, when older people are asked to guess how long the time is, or to ‘reproduce’ the length of periods of time, they guess a shorter amount than younger people.
In 1877, Paul Janet suggested the proportional theory, where a child of 10 feels a year as I 10 of his whole life while a man of 50 as 1/50, so the subjective sense of the 50-year-old man is that: these are insignificant periods of time which gallop.
There are also biological theories. The speeding up of time is linked to how our metabolism (新陈代谢)gradually slows down as we grow olden Children's hearts beat faster than They breathe more quickly. With their blood flowing more quickly, their body clocks “cover” more time within the space of 24 hours than ours do as adults. On the other hand, older people are like clocks that run slower than normal, so that they lag behind, and cover less than 24 hours.
In the 1930s, the psychologist Hudson Hoagland found body temperature causes different perceptions of time. Once, when he looked after his ill wife, he noticed she complained he'd been away for a long time even if only away for a few moments. Therefore, Hoagland tested her perception of time at different temperatures, finding the higher her temperature, the more time seemed to slow down for her, and that raising a person's body temperature can slow down his sense of time passing by up to 20%.
Time doesn't necessarily have to speed up as we get older though. It depends on how live our lives, and how we relate to our experiences.
1. What do the questionnaires and experiments find?| A．Time now is shorter than before. |
| B．Aging makes people think slowly. |
| C．The old feel time flies faster than the young. |
| D．The old value time more than before. |
| A．Fly swiftly. | B．Pause briefly. |
| C．Move slowly. | D．Pass stably. |
| A．A kid with slower metabolism. | B．A child with low body temperature. |
| C．A grown-up feeling freezing. | D．An adult with a high fevel. |
| A．How time flies! | B．To live a full life! |
| C．Why time passes at different speeds? | D．How to save more time? |
6 . Most of our everyday plastic items end up in landfill, left to rot away for many years. But some of it blows away, spoiling the countryside and causing damage to the natural environment and harming wildlife. The problem is most severe in our oceans. Research has found a deserted island in the South Pacific is littered with the highest density (密度) of plastic waste anywhere in the world.
The study described how remote islands act as a ‘sink’ for the world’s rubbish. They become collecting points for fishing items and everyday things including toothbrushes, cigarette lighters and razors-things that we throw away. Dr Jennifer Lavers from the University of Tasmania says “Almost every island in the world and almost every species in the ocean is now being impacted one way or another by our waste.”
This highlights the potentially deadly effect of our disposable (用后即丢弃) culture. When we throw something away, it doesn’t just disappear, it goes somewhere and because of the nature of plastic, it takes a long time to rot away and stays there causing great damage to the ocean’s ecology (生态). And worse still, plastic is broken down into tiny particles over a long period by the wind and the waves, then sea creatures at the bottom of the food chain swallow them. These creatures are eaten by the fish that we eventually consume.
The solution to this problem would be to use less plastic. Several countries now charge for using plastic carrier bags which reduces the amount used and some products now use natural and recyclable materials.
1. What does the author really want to tell us in the first parapraph?| A．It is a good idea to end plastic items in a landfill. |
| B．Plastic items blow away easily in the strong wind. |
| C．It is a bad habit to throw away plastics everywhere. |
| D．Plastic pollution in oceans is a most serious issue. |
| A．The islands begin to sink with much rubbish on them. |
| B．The islands have become gathering places for rubbish. |
| C．The islands are ideal places to hide the plastic products. |
| D．The islands are inaccessible due to the white pollution. |
| A．Impact on sea species. | B．Thrown-away rubbish. |
| C．The nature of plastic. | D．The ocean’s ecology. |
| A．Breaking the balance of ocean ecology. | B．Causing many sea creatures to die out. |
| C．Presenting potential risks to our health. | D．Cutting off the food chain of sea creatures. |
7 . I can remember when my daughter Maggie, who is now six, used to crawl into my lap and say, “Daddy, read me a story.” Last year she announced, “Daddy, I’m going to read you a story.”
Maggie was a television child. When she first became conscious of anything beyond eating and sleeping, the TV set was right there, and it soon commanded her attention.
A few years ago, we were worried not only that we’d never get the children away from the set long enough to learn to read, but that we’d forget how to read ourselves. But in 1955 there was not only more reading than before TV, but more reading than ever before in history.
Clearly, reading has survived television as it has survived a lot of other things. When I was six, a wail went up about menaces (威胁) to reading at home: motor cars and cinema. When Maggie came along, there was television. The motorcar, the radio, the cinema and television do take up a lot of time.
Well, we’ve got more time. When my mother was a girl, people worked about 60 hours a week. Now it’s 44. When Maggie grows up, it’ll be 30. And there’ll be numerous gadgets to do her housework. She’ll have to read. You can’t watch TV all day.
At present Maggie is reading about Johnny Woodchuck. Ahead of her — and I’m a little envious — are her first brush with Black Beauty, Alice stepping through the looking glass, Huck and Jim drifting down the Mississippi, the emotional storms of Shakespeare, the spiritual agonies of Tolstoy. For reading isn’t all joy. Like life itself, it’s mixed with many moods, from ecstasy (狂喜) to despair. Maggie will learn to take the rough with the smooth, gathering from the ancient wisdom of long-dead genius a little fire to enrich her spirit.
And some day, if she’s lucky, she’ll get the biggest thrill of all, when a little girl climbs into her lap and announces, “Mummy, I’m going to read you a story.”
1. Why do the young generation like Maggie have more access to reading?| A．They face less working pressure. |
| B．There is more time available for reading. |
| C．Their parents encourage them more often. |
| D．They have a stronger desire for knowledge. |
| A．Her exposure to classic reading. | B．Her productive works in writing. |
| C．Her wild imagination in daily life. | D．Her spiritual reflection on the books. |
| A．Maggie has rich experiences. |
| B．Maggie has a good plan for reading. |
| C．Maggie will benefit a lot from reading. |
| D．Maggie is on the road to becoming a genius. |
| A．Reading makes Maggie a fortunate girl. |
| B．More girls like Maggie enjoy telling stories. |
| C．Maggie’s daughter brings her the biggest thrill. |
| D．It is a blessing that reading can be passed down. |
8 . Remote technologies will play an increasingly-vital role in driving the education industry, as the COVID-19 pandemic(流行病) forced the world to go remote, according to an industry insider.
“Remote technology is continuing to empower (授权) online education, with large migrations online. With the continuous application of new technology methods such as big data and artificial intelligence, students’ learning outcomes have been significantly improved,” said Wang Yan, chief architecture officer at Zuoyebang(作业帮).
“Technology and outcomes are two major challenges that companies face when they transform from offline to online. The education industry is facing the largest traffic challenge ever,” Wang said.
To upgrade the infrastructure(基础设施), Zuoyebang has continued to upgrade its technology, changing from its original single cloud service to multiple cloud services and from mostly using third-party live broadcast systems to now relying on an independent system.
“For online classes, only live-streaming can achieve a real interacting(交互式的) effect, which can get both students and teachers more involved. It is impossible to achieve such outcomes through recorded and broadcast lessons,” he added.
The Beijing-based company developed a complete set of live-streaming architecture based on the ZRTC agreement. It can fully support classes, including one-on-one tutoring and six-to-six small interactive classes. In the five weeks from February 3 to March 9 last year, Zuoyebang has helped 275 teachers bring 1,832 classes to more than 33 million primary and middle school students across the country.
1. Which technique is most beneficial to students who have online classes?| A．broadcast lessons | B．live-streaming |
| C．face-to-face lessons | D．recorded lessons |
| A．Remote technology is a key driver for education. |
| B．The company has upgraded its technology to overcome its challenge. |
| C．The company that has livestreaming architecture can only support classical big classes teaching. |
| D．Zuoyebang has helped thousands of primary and middle school students to have online classes. |
| A．Worried | B．Negative | C．Opposed | D．Confident |
9 . Claire was set up to get her dream job working as a reporter at a popular news station. She went to visit her father before her interview. Her mother, who had always been her biggest supporter, had died a few years earlier.
As she visited her father, she told him about how nervous she was about the interview. Her father said, “You will do great because you are a lot like your mother, and your mother did great at everything.”
Claire pictured her mother, the most supportive person she had ever met, and had a realization. Was she really like her mother? She didn't think so. She was so focused on herself that she didn't even know about her family's struggles.
Suddenly, she felt ashamed. She left for the airport with a lot more to think about than her job. An hour before boarding, her sister called to wish her luck. She listened to her sister in a way she had never listened before. She asked her about her kids and her life. Her sister admitted that she wasn't doing very well. She was having a hard time.
Claire ended the conversation with her sister just before boarding started. She made a decision to be more like her mom and take care of what really matters in life. She spent the next few months living with her sister and helping her maintain her house and take care of the kids.
Claire found the courage to do what was right because of her mother. She realized that doing what was right brought on a type of happiness that looking out for herself could never bring. She never regretted her decision. Thanks to the decision, she and her sister grew closer than they had ever been. She learned a lot and felt much better when focusing on more than just herself. She easily got her dream job later that year.
1. Why did Claire visit her father before her interview?| A．To show her concern for his health. | B．To comfort him for the loss of love. |
| C．To find herself psychological support. | D．To ask him about her sister's situation. |
| A．She didn't know how to interview others. | B．She expected too much from her new job. |
| C．She failed to get her dream job as a reporter. | D．She didn't care about her family members. |
| A．Claire decided to follow in her mother's footsteps. |
| B．Claire gave up the chance of working as a reporter. |
| C．Claire finally helped her father out of the hard times. |
| D．Claire spent the rest of her life living with her sister. |
| A．Her family support. | B．Looking out for herself. |
| C．Her interview skills. | D．Being a supportive person. |
10 . Math holidays everyone should know
In recent years mathematicians and scientists have begun campaigns to mark certain dates in celebration of significant principles and here are a few to add to your calendar
Mole Day
Mole Day is celebrated yearly on Oct. 23 from 6: 02 a.m to 6: 02 p.m.. The idea of a celebratory day was put forward by a chemistry teacher in 1991 and has been honored every year since. It celebrates Avogadro's Number, which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Each Mole Day has a specific theme.
Pi Day
The grandaddy of mathematical and scientific holidays, however, falls every year on Mar. 14. The date, 3/14, represents the first three numerals in the calculation of pi, so the date is known annually as Pi Day.
Pi Day was founded in 1988 by a physicist. The observations spread to the point where on Mar. 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring Mar. 14 as National Pi Day.
Fibonacci Day
Nov. 23 marks Fibonacci Day, a special day that celebrates the man known as Fibonacci who developed a mathematical idea called the Fibonacci Sequence, in which every number is the sum of the previous two numbers. So, for example. 11/23 marks the day because 1+1 equals 2, and then 1+2 equals 3（the date being the 23rd）.
Square Root Day
Square Root Day is a holiday that heartily honors those dates where the combination of day and month and year form square roots: e.g. 2/2/04 and 3/3/09. The last Square Root Day was 4/4/16. The holiday was created by a high school teacher Ron Gordon. Square Root Day has its own website where celebrants can gather before the next holiday.
1. How is Mole Day similar with Pi Day?| A．They both have themes. | B．They are yearly holidays. |
| C．They fall on the same day. | D．They are created by a teacher. |
| A．Mole Day. | B．Pi Day. | C．Fibonacci Day. | D．Square Root Day. |
| A．10/23/22. | B．11/23/23. | C．3/12/29. | D．5/5/25. |
