1 . Ostara, upon which Easter is based, is the Pagan celebration of the vernal equinox (春分).

The holiday is named after Eostre, a spring goddess of the Germanic tradition. There isn’t much written record of Eostre, and it is thought she was worshiped by tribes who used oral tradition rather than written words to record history. Eostre was a symbol of fertility—she may have been the original source of the association of eggs with springtime celebrations. She may also be responsible for the Easter rabbit—the spring equinox was a time when hares would come out and mate. A female hare can even conceive (受孕) while pregnant with another one—this remarkable fertility became a symbol of the season. Therefore, we get “Eostre rabbits” in the spring.

Growth and awakening are important parts of Ostara celebrations. Because the day marks the coming of the planting season, modern Pagans store seeds to later transfer outdoors after frost has disappeared. Caring for the seedling is like worshiping the goddess. Besides, drawings replace the pretty colors of new flowers.

For Pagans, Ostara is a time for spiritual awakening and rebirth. Walking meditation is a common practice and special attention is paid to the signs of nature coming back to life. New beginnings are coming, and there is much soul-searching and clearing away negative energy. This spiritual cleaning is also reflected in the practice of spring cleaning.

Whether you’re Pagan or not, you might have noticed many of your own springtime celebrations in Ostara celebrations, and there’s a reason why Pagan customs have been practiced pretty much in the same way because so much of it is simply human nature. Who could resist a springtime walk in a forest? Is there anyone who isn’t inspired by nature’s annual new beginning? So whatever your own tradition, honor the season with a spiritual cleaning and rebirth—to make room for beautiful things to come.

1. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．Ostara has a longer history than Easter.

B．Only Pagan celebrate Ostara nowadays.

C．Ostara is a celebration intended for females.

D．Most Ostara celebrations are not held outdoors.

2. What do you think is not an important part of Ostara celebrations according to the passage?

A．Growth.	B．Drawings.
C．Flowers.	D．Spiritual awakening.

3. What is the similarity between walking meditation and spring cleaning?

A．They can help to clean people’s spirit.

B．They are in need of some special attention.

C．It is common to hold the activities worldwide.

D．Written record of them is not talked about a lot.

4. Why do our own springtime celebrations have so much in common with many Ostara celebrations?

A．They have the same origin and history.

B．It is human nature to pursue beautiful things.

C．Pagan customs have been spread to the world.

D．Pagans are good at learning from other cultures.

2 . Standing in my office 25 years ago was an unknown young astronomer with a half-smile on her face. She had come with an impossible request that my team modify (修改) our thoroughly tested software to make one of our most important scientific instruments do something it had never been designed for, and risk breaking it. All to carry out an experiment that was basically a waste of time and couldn’t be done-to prove that a massive black hole lay at the center of our Milky Way.

My initial “no way” gradually gave way in the face of her cheerful but firm determination. Andrea Ghez, one of three winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics，impressed me with her work on providing solid evidence of a supermassive black hole with the mass of four million suns living at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

That determination and the willingness to take calculated risks has always characterized Andrea. For 25 years she has focused almost completely on Sagittarius (人马座) A *—the name of our own local supermassive black hole. It is remarkable that an entire field of study has grown up in the quarter century, of searching for and finding evidence of these monsters thought to lie at the heart of every large galaxy.

Andrea did her work at the W. M. Keck Observatory’s twin telescopes on Maunakea, Hawaii, in the calm and clear air almost 14000 feet above the Pacific Ocean. She started using the very first instrument fixed on Keck Observatory’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRC), now gracing the lobby at our headquarters.

Andrea is fond of pointing out that one of the reasons for her success has been this tight and rapid loop (循环) between the needs of the astronomers and the engineers who respond to the challenge.

This is my friend and longtime colleague, the one who refused to take “no” for an answer: Andrea Ghez, winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.

1. Which words best describe Andrea Ghez?

A．Determined and creative.	B．Confident and adaptable.
C．Brave and kind.	D．Cooperative and generous.

2. Why did the author gradually change the attitude of Andrea?

A．Because of Andrea’s determination.

B．Because of Andrea’s final success.

C．Because Andrea provided an experimental evidence.

D．Because Andrea modified their tested software.

3. What is the passage mainly about?

A．The Noble Prize for physics.	B．Friendship between colleagues.
C．How Andrea won the Nobel.	D．What makes Andrea different.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A research paper.	B．A website about scientists.
C．A science fiction.	D．A daily newspaper.

3 . Can a fish be depressed? This question has been on my head ever since I spent a night in a hotel across from a sad-looking fish. His name was Bruce Lee.

The pleasant woman at the front desk assured me that he was well taken care of. Was I incorrectly assuming his laziness was a sign of being upset?

When I sought answers from scientists, I assumed that they would find the question ridiculous. But they did not. New research has been totally shifting the way that scientists think about fish cognition (认知)，building a case that pet and owner are not nearly as different as many assume. The neurochemistry (神经化学）is so similar that it’s scary, said Julian Pittman，a professor. We tend to think of them as simple living things, but there is a lot we don't give fish credit for.

Dr. Pittman likes working with fish, in part, because they are so obvious about their depression. A zebrafish gets dropped in a new tank. If after five minutes it is hanging out in the lower half, it’s depressed. If it’s swimming up top, then it’s not.

Is depression the right word? There's the obvious issue that we cannot ask animals how they feel, says Dr. Diego A. Pizzagali . Neither fish nor rats can catch the entire range of depression as we know it.

There is a heated debate about whether anxious or depressed is a more appropriate term. But what has convinced Dr. Pittman, and others, over the past ten years is watching the way the zebrafish lose interest in just about everything: food, toys, exploration, just like clinically depressed people who are withdrawn. The same is true of fish.

One of the things we're finding is that fish are naturally curious and seek novel things out, said Dr. Braithwaite. In other words, your goldfish is probably bored. To help get rid of depression, she urges introducing new objects to the tank or switching up the location of items.

1. What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．Fish are considered simple living things.

B．Pet and owner are always assumed the same.

C．Scientists have learnt a lot about fish cognition.

D．Fish and human beings have something in common.

2. What does the underlined word “withdrawn” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．Quiet and shy.

B．Happy and excited.

C．Interested and careful.

D．Disappointed and surprised.

3. Why can fish become bored according to the text?

A．They need oxygen from the air.

B．They are not born to be curious.

C．They lack new things to explore.

D．They can’t locate the positions of items.

4. What might be the best title for the text?

A．Fish Depression Is not a Joke.

B．Fish Can Be a Boring Pet.

C．Fish Need Better Care More.

D．Fish Cognition Does not Exist.

4 . The new year always brings predictions. You know who gets them right?

BLUETOOTH

In his futuristic 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury anticipated Bluetooth, describing wireless earphones that allowed for "an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk" to be transferred through the air. Imagine how thrilled he would have been with a Bluetooth toaster! That was the idea behind Griffin's Connected Toaster, which warned you via smartphone when your toast was done. At $ 100, this baby cost a lot of bread, which may be why it was discontinued just two years after launch.

SMART WATCH

The Apple Watch lets you chat, play games, and watch videos on a device fastened to your wrist. Cool, huh? The Jetsons thought so… in 1962 — when Steve Jobs was still in second grade!

WI-FI

Nikola Tesla called it! In 1909, the famous electrical engineer told the New York Times, "It will soon be possible to send wireless messages all over the world so simply that any individual can carry and operate his own equipment." No doubt he was thinking of the Kérastase Hair Coach brush, which measured brushing speed and employed a micro-phone to listen to your hair, all to compute an overall hair-quality score sent to your smartphone. (Alas, it too is gone.)

GPS

Writer Arthur C. Clarke (2001: A Space Odyssey) saw a world in which no one got lost. In 1956，he wrote that satellites “could make possible a position-finding grid (铁网) whereby anyone could locate himself by means of a couple of dials on an instrument about the size of a watch.” Clarke didn't mention that his system might also track another person, such as a criminal. Last year, the New York City police arrested a robber who was wearing a GPS ankle monitor — because he was still on probation (缓刑) for a prior crime.

1. Which of the predictions is the earliest?

A．BLUETOOTH.	B．SMART WATCH,
C．WI-FI.	D．GPS.

2. Why did Griffin's Connected Toaster disappear?

A．Too expensive.	B．Out of date.
C．A little awkward	D．Energy-consuming.

3. What was Clarke’s prediction?

A．A GPS ankle monitor.

B．A robber-arresting instrument.

C．A watch that could see the world.

D．An instrument that could locate a person.

5 . Fertile Sichuan has long been one of China's major tea- producing regions. Chengdu had been noted for its teahouses by the Tang dynasty—as early as the ninth century. For centuries, teahouses were places for entertainment as well as tea, with performances of storytelling, music, and Sichuan opera in particular. That is a fading art these days, but Yuelai Teahouse beside Jinjiang Theater still hosts opera every Saturday afternoon.

You will find most of Chengdu's old-school teahouses in parks and temple compounds (大院). Heming Teahouse in Renmin Park buzzes with morning retirees, lunchtime office workers, and afternoon visitors. All of them sit under red lanterns by a lotus pond. When the loud confused noise gets too much, move on to Shaocheng Teahouse in the same park. Regulars are older and quieter. They bring songbirds on outings, hanging their cages in the branches of willow trees, and play mahjong in a pavilion covered with moss. In more recent years, however, increasingly elaborate(精致的) teahouses have opened to appeal to the younger generation. They tend to have a taste for superior teas in a more contemporary style. The most famous one of them is Mi Xun Teahouse in Taikoo Li, which is right in the city's most fashionable retail(零售) district.

As in all teahouses, the tea comes in individual packets with a thermos of water. Maofeng green tea from Mount Emei, south of Chengdu, is the traditional favorite. Shake the loose leaves into your palm-sized cup. The cup usually comes with a saucer and a lid that both functions to strain surface-floating leaves and to keep the tea warm. Don’t let the water level in your cup get too low, since any bitterness from the tea leaves is concentrated at the bottom. You can top up your tea all afternoon and needn't buy anything else.

1. What aspects of Chengdu's teahouses does the first paragraph mainly focus on?

A．Art & history.	B．Art & popularity.
C．Function & popularity.	D．History & function.

2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “regulars” underlined in Paragraph 2?

A．Tourists.

B．Owners.

C．Customers.

D．Waiters.

3. Which of the following teahouses would be your best choice if you wished to be left in peace for a while?

A．Yuelai Teahouse.	B．Mi Xun Teahouse.
C．Heming Teahouse.	D．Shaocheng Teahouse.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．Some useful tips for readers who want to visit Chengdu's teahouses.

B．Some interesting facts the author found in books on Chengdu's teahouses.

C．Some painful lessons the author learned from his trip to Chengdu's teahouses.

D．Some basic rules readers have to follow if they want to visit Chengdu's teahouses.

5. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To experience Chengdu's everyday life.

B．To introduce Chengdu's teahouse culture.

C．To stress the advantages of a slower pace.

D．To inspire readers to travel to Sichuang.

6 . Along the hallway (走廊), I saw mixed expressions on the faces of my students: excited, nervous, and worried.No doubt about it: they were this term’s freshmen. My own first day at high school flashed into my mind.

Since our family had just moved to the place, I didn’t know anyone at the school. On arriving, I picked up a map and my schedule (日程表). Oh, my goodness, what a large school it was! Nervously, I looked about for where my first class was to be held.

When I finally found my class, everyone was talking and laughing together, and I felt so lonely. Throughout the day, each period brought some new faces I had not seen before. But when my English class came around, I had a surprise: an old classmate! It was Ben, who had left my middle school right after sixth grade. We talked and joked about middle school and the clubs we were in together. My nerves eased (放松) a little.

Next was the P E. class. This was the first class that I found without difficulty. Sitting through the boring introduction to the class by the teacher, I started talking to a girl sitting near me. I found out that her family had just moved here too, and she didn’t know anyone either. As we talked, we discovered that we had a lot in common, and had a lot of classes together. This girl ended up becoming my best friend. I am so glad that I met her.

By the end of that day, I was full of optimism (乐观). I knew that high school would be an amazing experience.

1. The writer of this passage is a __________.

A．parent

B．college student

C．high school student

D．high school teacher

2. The writer felt nervous while looking for her first class because ____________.

A．the school was very large	B．the map did not show the way
C．the teacher would be serious	D．the first class would be difficult

3. The writer felt less nervous after she _________.

A．met her old classmate Ben	B．made friends with a girl
C．had P.E. class together with Ben	D．finally found her first class

4. How did the writer feel about high school by the end of the day?

A．Nervous.

B．Bored.

C．Hopeful.

D．Satisfied.

7 . Our ability to collect data gets far ahead of our ability to fully use it, yet data may hold the key to solving some of the biggest global challenges facing us today.

Take, for instance, the frequent outbreaks of waterborne diseases as a consequence of war or natural disasters. The most recent example can be found in the country, where roughly 10,000 new suspected cases of cholera(霍乱) are reported each week — and history is filled with similar stories. What if we could better understand the environmental factors that contributed to the disease, predict which communities are at higher risk, and put in place protective measures to stop the spread? Answers to this question and others like it could potentially help us prevent a catastrophe.

As a big data scientist, I studied data from wide-ranging, public sources to identify patterns, hoping to predict trends that could be a threat to global security. Various data streams are important because the ground truth data (such as surveys) is often delayed, limited, incorrect or, sometimes, nonexistent.

For example, knowing the incidence(发生率) of mosquito-borne disease in communities would help us predict the risk of mosquito-spread disease such as dengue, the leading cause of illness and death in the tropics. However, mosquito data at a global (and even national) level is not accessible.

To address this gap, we’re using other sources such as satellite pictures, climate data and population information to forecast the risk of dengue. Specifically, we had success in predicting the spread of dengue in Brazil at the regional, state and city level using these data streams as well as clinical observation data and online searchers that used terms related to the disease. While our predictions aren’t perfect, they show promise.

Similarly, to forecast the flu season, we have found that online searches can complement(补充) clinical data. Because the rate of people searching the internet for flu symptoms often increases during their beginning, we can predict a sharp increase in cases where clinical data delays. All of this shows the potential of big data. The information is there; now it’s time to use it.

1. What do the examples in paragraphs 2 and 4 show?

A．Big data is still hard to get and use.

B．People aren’t skilled at dealing with big data.

C．Big data is not always an imagined method.

D．Catastrophes might be prevented with big data.

2. According to the text, survey data        .

A．is a main form of multiple data streams

B．is an effective way to collect information

C．is sometimes unreliable and unavailable

D．is a timely alternative to multiple data streams

3. What does the underlined part “this gap” in paragraph 5 refer to?

A．The lack of big data on mosquitoes.

B．The lack of different data streams.

C．The risk of an outbreak of a disease.

D．The ignorance of how a disease spreads.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．How do we collect and use data?

B．What are the challenges facing us now?

C．How can big data help save the world?

D．What is the answer to preventing catastrophes?

8 . As reported in JAMA Surgery, the researchers discovered that e-scooter(电动摩托车) injury rates had increased dramatically in just four years, rising from 6 per 100,000 in the population to 19 per 100,000. Of the estimated 14,651 e-scooter-related injuries in 2018, 4,658, or 32%, involved the head. “While most people recover from head injuries, there is going to be a subset with long-term disability and life changes,” said Dr. Benjamin Breyer.

Dr. Benjamin Breyer of the University of California, Los Angeles, pointed to a 2019 analysis of the data from two hospitals in Southern California, which found just 4.8% of injured e-scooter riders were wearing helmets.

Dr. Joann Elmore, a professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, believed that most e-scooter users are probably unaware of the risks. To make the point, she described a photo taken by a colleague. “There were two riders on an e-scooter,” she said. “No one had shoes on. There were no helmets. And the woman in front had a baby in a baby carrier.”

The new report highlights the need for more research on new technologies, said Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology(流行病学).

“Just as there is a global network of experts working on infectious diseases, there needs to be a similar program devoted to the surveillance(监视，监察) and prevention of injuries caused by merging technologies products and lifestyles, such as e-scooters, e-sports, etc.,” Li said in an email.

“The challenge for researchers and policymakers is to keep up with the ever-changing society and protect the public from unnecessary harm caused by new technologies and products without hindering innovation,” he added.

1. What can we know from the passage?

A．E-scooter injury rates had increased due to speeding.

B．32% of injured e-scooter riders weren’t wearing helmets.

C．There is a program devoted to the prevention of injuries caused by advanced technologies.

D．Protection and innovation are of equal importance.

2. What can we infer from Dr. Joann Elmore’s comments?

A．She is an anti-scooter.

B．The woman in front was pregnant.

C．She is concerned about the e-scooter users.

D．Most e-scooter riders often drive at high speed.

3. What does the underlined word “hindering” probably mean?

A．Preventing.	B．Limiting.
C．Developing.	D．Making progress.

4. What’s the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?

A．To arouse people’s awareness of the risks and self-protection.

B．To introduce a new way of transport — e-scooters.

C．To ask people not to ride e-scooters any more.

D．To urge policymakers to make laws as soon as possible.

9 . Rainforests are home to a rich variety of medicinal plants, food, birds and animals. Can you believe that a single bush（灌木丛）in the Amazon may have more species of ants than the whole of Britain! About 480 varieties of trees may be found in just one hectare of rainforest.

Rainforests are the lungs of the planet-storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system for ensuring their own survival; the tall trees make a canopy（树冠层）of branches and leaves which protect themselves, smaller plants, and the forest animals from heavy rain, intense dry heat from the sun and strong winds.

Amazingly, the trees grow in such a way that their leaves and branches, although close together, never actually touch those of another tree. Scientists think this is the plants' way to prevent the spread of any tree diseases and make life more difficult for leaf-eating insects like caterpillars. To survive in the forest, animals must climb, jump or fly across the gaps. The ground floor of the forest is not all tangled leaves and bushes, like in films, but is actually fairly clear. It is where dead leaves turn into food for the trees and other forest life.

They are not called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can generate 75%of their own rain. At least 80 inches of rain a year is normal-and in some areas there may be as much as 430 inches of rain annually. This is real rain-your umbrella may protect you in a shower, but it won't keep you dry if there is a full rainstorm. In just two hours, streams can rise ten to twenty feet. The humidity（湿气）of large rainforests contributes to the formation of rainclouds that may travel to other countries in need of rain.

1. What can we learn about rainforests from the first paragraph?

A．They produce oxygen.	B．They cover a vast area.
C．They are well managed.	D．They are rich in wildlife.

2. Which of the following contributes most to the survival of rainforests?

A．Heavy rains	B．Big trees.
C．Small plants.	D．Forest animals.

3. Why do the leaves and branches of different trees avoid touching each other?

A．For more sunlight.	B．For more growing space.
C．For self-protection.	D．For the detection of insects.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Life-Giving Rainforests	B．The Law of the Jungle
C．Animals in the Amazon	D．Weather in Rainforests

10 . Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is road testing a new way to keep winter roads ice-free – by spreading on them cheese brine, the salty liquid used to make soft cheese, like mozzarella.

Wisconsin, also called "America's Dairyland," is famous for its cheese. The state produced 2.8 billion pounds of cheese last year! As a result, there was a lot of leftover cheese brine. Disposing of(处置)the brine can be expensive. So what should cheese makers do with the waste?

Normally, towns use rock salt to de-ice streets. The salt lowers waters' freezing point, causing ice to melt(融化). But using cheese brine could help both cheese producers and cities save money, while keeping roads safe. Cheese brine has salt in it, which, like the rock salt, helps lower water's freezing point.

In addition to saving money, cheese brine could also be a more environment-friendly option. Many people suspect that all the rock salt used every winter is harming the environment.

Rock salt is made of sodium chloride, the sane con-pound (化合物)in ordinary table salt. Sounds harmless, right? But while you probably add only a small amount of salt to your food, road crews spread about 20 million tons of salt on U.S. Roads every year!

The chemical washes off roads and goes into the ground. There it can pollute drinking water, harm plants. and eat away soil. By spreading cheese brine on streets before adding a layer of rock salt, Milwaukee may be able to cut its rock salt use by 30 percent.

Cheese brine has a downside too – a shell similar to that of bad milk. "I don't really mind it," Emil Norby told Modern Farmer magazine. He works for one of Wisconsin's county highway commissions and came up with the idea of using cheese brine. "Our roads smell like Wisconsin!" he said.

1. Why can cheese brine help keep winter roads ice-free?

A．It is soft.

B．It contains salt.

C．It is warm.

D．It has milk in it.

2. What is a benefit of using cheese urine on roads?

A．Improving air quality.	B．Increasing sales of rock salt.
C．Reducing water pollution.	D．Saving the cheese industry.

3. Milwaukee's new way to de-ice streets may be an example of_______________.

A．barking up the wrong tree	B．putting the cart before the horse
C．robbing Peter to pay Paul	D．killing two birds with one stone