1 . 
Video calls are a common occurrence, but have you imagined being able to touch the person on the other end of the line? Scientists are making this a reality.
Researchers at the University of new South Wales, Australia have invented a soft skin stretch device(SSD). A haptic device that can recreate the sense of touch. Haptic technology mimics the experience of touch by stimulating localized areas of the skin in ways that are similar to what is felt in the real world, through force, vibration or motion.
Vibration is the most common haptic technology today and has been built into many electronic devices such as one attached to the back of the trackpad(触摸板) in laptops, which simulates a button clicking. However, haptic feedback with vibration becomes less sensitive when used continuously. The existing technology also has great difficulty recreating the sense of touch with objects in virtual environments or located remotely. According to Mai Thanh Thai, lead author of the study.
The new technology overcomes issues with existing haptic devices. The research team introduced a novel method to recreate the sense of touch through a soft artificial “muscles”.
“Our three-way directional skin stretch device, built into the fingertips of the wearable glove we also created is like wearing a second skin-- its soft stretchable and mimics the sense of touch-- and will enable new forms of haptic communication to enhance everyday activities”said Thanh Nho Do, senior author of the study.
Imagine you are at home and you call your friend who is in Australia. You wear a haptic glove with the SSDs, and your friends also wears a glove with integrated 3D force sensors. If your friend picks up an object, it will physically press against your friend’s fingers. And their glove with 3D force sensors will measure with interactions. The force signals can be sent to your glove so your device will generate the same 3D forces. Making you experience the same sense of touch as your friend.
The haptic devices could be applied in various situations, allowing users to feel objects inside a virtual world or at a distance. It could also be used in medical practices. Doctors can feel a patient's organ tissues. With surgical tools without touching them.
1. What does the passage imply?| A．SSDs become less sensitive when used continuously. |
| B．SSDs can recreate the sense of touch without vibration. |
| C．SSDs have great advantages over existing haptic devices. |
| D．SSDs can help users touch the person through video calls. |
| A．How the device works. |
| B．Why the device is used |
| C．What the device creates |
| D．How the device is invented |
| A．hopeless | B．uncertain. |
| C．worrying. | D．cheerful. |
| A．A glove that can measure some interactions. |
| B．A sensor that can imitate touch at a distance. |
| C．A device that can recreate the sense of touch. |
| D．A tool could be applied in medical practices. |
2 . Social media is taking over our lives: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now, TikTok. These social media platforms have transformed from a way to stay connected to an industry where even kids can make money off their posts. While this may seem like another opportunistic innovation, it’s really full of hidden false realities.
The median income (中位收入) recorded in the United States of America was about $63,000 in 2018. TikTokers can make anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 for a TikTok brand partnership, and TikTokers with over a million followers can make up to $30,000 a month — $360,000 a year. They are making more than the average person trying to feed their family and keep a roof over their heads, simply by posting a 15-second video.
This is mad in more ways than one. Not only is it an overpaid “job”, it promotes undeserved admiration from viewers and a false sense of reality. Many of these famous TikTokers are still teens, and the effects of fame at such an early stage in life might cause issues later in life, such as mental illness. Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 make up 27% of TikTok viewers, who can be easily influenced by what they are watching. They can put a false sense of self-value into who they look up to and what they represent: money, fame, being considered conventionally attractive.
While TikTok has become a great tool for marketing, it’s important to understand how this content affects young viewers. If we’re constantly consuming content that hsows us all we need to do to be successful is be conventionally attractive and post a 15-second video featuring a new dance, it will challenge our knowledge of what really makes someone successful and will in turn affect our individual work ethics (伦理). What about the people who miss birthdays and family holidays due to their jobs and aren’t getting paid nearly as much as these TikTokers?
Richard Colyer, president and creator of Metaphor, Inc., had his own view on this issue.
“It sounds great that kids can make money for doing the latest dance moves in a 15-second video, but we should feed the minds of kids and not just their bank accounts. TikTok can be great if used properly. Money alone is not good, technology alone is not good and connectedness can be bad if it’s only online.”
Again, as a fellow consumer of TikTok, I do enjoy the app when I have some time to kill and need a good laugh. I’m not against someone making a living on entertainment, but what does getting famous of a 15-second video teach young people?
1. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Social networking. | B．Making money on social media. |
| C．A job offered by TikTok. | D．Staying connected to the Internet. |
| A．They tend to live an adult life too soon. |
| B．They are forced to pay for certain services. |
| C．They may abandon other social media. |
| D．They are likely to develop false values. |
| A．TikTok can be a positive influence if teens employ it wisely. |
| B．Young TikTokers should be banned form making money. |
| C．It is better to involve education on investment in TikTok videos. |
| D．Contents of videos need checking before their release online. |
| A．Say No to TikTok. | B．Join Young TikTokers |
| C．TikTok — A Mine of Money | D．A Job vs An Entertainment |
3 . Recently, as I watched my son Nathan play basketball for his school team, I was feeling sorry for myself and for him. His team was facing adversity (困境) on the court and he was playing in a hostile environment — it was the opponent’s home gym filled with their supporters, and Nathan’s team was trailing (落后) for three quarters of the game. As for me, I had just been dismissed (解雇) from my job earlier in that day.
During the drive home, I kept telling myself that I would find work again in a short time — I was always confident in my experience and abilities, but self-doubt was still sticking its foot in the door.
The basketball game entered the fourth quarter with Nathan’s team still trailing. I saw the determination on his face as well as his teammates’ as they fought back to not only tie the game, but then go ahead by three points. Then, a player from the other team made an unbelievable shot to make the game tied again. With the tied scores and seconds on the clock, Nathan found himself with the ball and with skill and confidence, he made the basket with a defender hanging all over him. The other player was called for a foul (犯规).
As Nathan stood preparing for a shot that would put his team up by three points, I saw the focus and determination on his face, with no room for self-doubt. Nathan was able to tune out all the distractions and nail the free throw with such skill, as if he had done it a thousand times.
As I sat there, my heart bursting with pride, it dawned on me that I had taught him perseverance (毅力) in the face of adversity, and he had just taught me the same lesson. That brief moment of self-doubt and feeling sorry for myself was blown away by the actions of my son on the basketball court. He will play in the finals, but it doesn’t matter if he wins or loses. At this moment, we both won.
1. What did the author estimate his son’s team would be like at first?| A．The team would finally win. |
| B．The team would lose at away court. |
| C．The team would lose at home court. |
| D．The team would tie with the opponents. |
| A．Avoid. | B．Focus. | C．Create. | D．Receive. |
| A．My son would win in the finals and I would find a job soon. |
| B．I had once taught my son face to face that we should never give up. |
| C．It was my encouragement and help that made my son win the game. |
| D．I would become more confident about my future after this experience. |
| A．Life Goes Just Like Playing Basketball |
| B．It Matters Whether to Win or Lose |
| C．A Lesson in Life and Basketball |
| D．A Moment of Self-doubt |
4 . If you’ve ever had trouble getting your teen up in the morning or you’ve seen your teen fall asleep during the school day, you’re not alone. Many teens have difficulty in waking up early for school, and that’s because they sleep late at night.
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Adolescent Sleep Working Group reviewed studies about sleep in teens. Researchers studied the harmful effects of not getting enough sleep-anything less than 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep on school nights-could have on young people. They discovered not getting enough sleep may cause poor grades at school. Not getting enough sleep has also been connected to a higher risk of car accidents in teens.
It may seem as though the way to solve the problem would be for teens to just go to sleep earlier. But researchers say that isn’t likely to work. Teens experience physical changes that make falling asleep earlier difficult. Their biological (生物的) clocks just won't allow them to fall asleep at 8 p.m., even when they’re tired.
Studies have shown that just delaying (推迟) school by 30 minutes can have a great effect on a teen's health and performance. So most researchers suggest the school start time be delayed until at least 8:30 a.m. for teenagers.
Some of the benefits could include:
·Teens may be more likely to get the necessary amount of sleep.
·The delayed start time could help teens sleep during their natural sleep.
·Teens may be less likely to depend on coffee to stay awake during the day.
·Enough sleep could help teens study better in class, which could help them do better in exams.
·Sleeping longer could reduce health problems caused by a lack of sleep in the long run.
·Getting home later in the afternoon may reduce the amount of time when some teens are home alone, and could reduce the possibility that tens will take part in unhealthy activities.
But doing that can also cause some problems.
1. What does Paragraph 1 show?| A．Many teens find school too boring. |
| B．Many teens fail to get enough sleep. |
| C．Today’s teens have many difficulties. |
| D．Today’s teens are too lazy to get up early. |
| A．Today’s teens have poor grades at school. |
| B．Teens should get at least 8.5 hours of sleep daily. |
| C．Today’s teens are in danger because of car accidents. |
| D．Teens can be negatively influenced by not getting enough sleep. |
| A．Because their homework is too much, |
| B．Because they love staying up late at night. |
| C．Because their physical changes make it hard. |
| D．Because they have unbalanced biological clocks. |
| A．The disadvantages of starting school later. |
| B．The benefits of getting enough sleep for students. |
| C．The methods of helping students get enough sleep. |
| D．The advantages of putting off the school start time. |
5 . Dancing with your grandma for 15 minutes a week promotes positive feelings and improves her state of mind, a study claims. Doctors from Israel are encouraging younger family members to have a regular visit to their grandmas and have a dance with their grandmas.
And they found a 15 minute boogie (布吉舞) once a week lifted the spirits of the elder family members and helped strengthen the familial bond. In fact, it is called Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). DMT across the generations, complete with eye contact, was found to promote positive feelings and improve spirits for the elderly.
The grandparents reported a bright state of mind, happy memories and uplifted spirits. Dancing has also previously been linked to improved muscle strength, balance and endurance (耐力). For the grandchildren in the study, the weekly boogie changed how they view aging and allowed them to come to accept the eventual death of their elderly relatives.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, assessed how dance affected general health of 16 dance movement therapists (治疗师) and their grandmothers. DMT was taken seriously due to the fact that it is easily accessible and does not cost more to practice. The researchers were eager to examine a low-cost method to treat issues commonly faced by an aging population— such as limited mobility and depression(抑郁症). Grandchildren were instructed to make eye contact and encourage playfulness and touch. They were also told to mirror their grandmothers’ movements and give them time and space to rest when needed.
The sessions were recorded and then analysed while diaries and interviews captured the opinions and feelings of the participants. As well as the benefits to the health of the senior, the experiment also changed the idea of the younger family members.
1. What should the young people do when dancing with their grandmas?| A．Follow the grandmas’ steps. |
| B．Look at the grandmas’ eyes. |
| C．Move the bodies as long as possible. |
| D．Talk with their grandmas in gentle voice. |
| A．Dancing brings the young happy memories and uplifted spirits. |
| B．Dancing enables the senior to accept aging and death of their old relatives. |
| C．Dancing benefits both the senior and the young in the new study. |
| D．Dancing is linked to improved muscle strength and balance in the new study. |
| A．Inexpensive. | B．Relaxing. |
| C．Attractive. | D．Pleasant. |
| A．What does DMT Mean? |
| B．Dancing: a Good Way to Stop Being Senior. |
| C．Why Don’t You Dance 15 Minutes Every Week? |
| D．Dancing with Grandparents is Good for Health and Family Ties. |
6 . If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and
philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺陷)of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.
1. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to______________.| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers' interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
| A．a personal biography | B．a history paper |
| C．a cultural newspaper | D．a philosophy textbook |
7 . A few days before Christmas, the crowded shopping downtown was starting to annoy us. Most of us were loaded down with packages, and it looked like many of us were beginning to wonder if all those countless friends and relatives actually deserved so many gifts. This was not the Christmas spirit I’d been raised with.
When I finally got on a jammed streetcar, the idea of standing there packed like a sardine the whole way home was almost more than I could take. Suddenly I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A small, dark-skinned boy pulled a woman’s sleeve and asked, “Would you like a seat?” He quietly led her to the closest free seat he could find. Then he set out to find another tired person. As soon as each rare new seat became unoccupied, he would quickly move through the crowd in search of another burdened woman.
When I finally felt the pull at my own sleeve, I was absolutely struck by the beauty in this little boy’s eyes. He took my hand, saying, “Come with me, ma’am.” As I happily settled down, the little angel of love immediately turned to help his next subject.
The people on the streetcar, as usual, had been deliberately avoiding each other’s eyes, but now they began to exchange shy glances and smiles. That little boy had obviously changed something—we all relaxed into a feeling of warmth and actually enjoyed the trip.
I didn’t notice when the child got off. When I reached my stop I practically floated of that streetcar, admiring the sparkling Christmas lights on my street in a fresh, new way. Or maybe I was seeing them in an old way, with the same wonder I felt when I was five or six. Anyway, it is the little child that shall lead the ways for me.
1. What can we infer from the underlined part in Paragraph 1?| A．The gifts were too heavy to carry home. |
| B．Friends and relatives always deserve gifts. |
| C．People wondered where to buy Christmas gifts. |
| D．The author was fed up with buying Christmas gifts. |
| A．Uncomfortable. | B．Warm. |
| C．Astonished. | D．Excited. |
| A．Because he was dark-skinned. | B．Because he occupied free seats. |
| C．Because he helped tired persons. | D．Because he took her hand gently. |
| A．They got to know one another. |
| B．They admired the boy when he got off. |
| C．They became more friendly to each other. |
| D．They changed the lights on the old streets. |
8 . One of the problems damaging our planet is the number of things we throw away. Rubbish of all kinds is piling up in landfill and polluting our rivers and oceans. A more recent addition to the list of things we chuck away is e-waste — electronic items that are broken and not recycled. Now solutions are being found to give this stuff a new life.
Many millions of tonnes of televisions, phones, and other electronic equipment are discarded each year, partly because it’s cheaper to replace them than fix them, but also because we lack the skills to repair them. A UN report claims the 50 million tonnes of e-waste generated every year will more than double to 110 million tonnes by 2050, making it the fastest growing waste stream in the world.
However, there’s a growing trend for repair events and clubs which could be part of a solution to the growing amount of electrical and electronic junk. The BBC visited a Restart Project in London, which is one of many founded around the world. One of its volunteers, Francesco Calo, said that “this project allows you to reduce waste, extend the life of objects, and it helps people who cannot afford to get rid of items that have developed a fault.”
As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another idea is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales involves extracting (提取) these materials from electronic gadgets. It’s thought that doing this could be more profitable than traditional mining. With phones typically containing as many as 60 element, this could be part of the solution to our appetite for new technology.
These projects make total sense — collections of e-waste for recycling are “stagnating (停滞不前) or even decreasing” according to Ruediger Kuehr, of the United Nations University And in countries where there is no legislation, much of it just gets dumped. However, the European Union, for example, is trying to tackle the problem by insisting manufacturers have to make appliances longer-lasting and will have to supply spare parts for machines for up to 10 years.
1. According to the passage, electronic items are thrown away because ________.| A．they are totally useless |
| B．we have to recycle them |
| C．they will pollute our rivers and oceans |
| D．it’s cheaper to replace them than fix them |
| A．Growing trend for repair events. |
| B．E-waste generating cleaner energy. |
| C．Our being hungry for new technology. |
| D．Mining valuable metals in electrical items. |
| A．E-waste used to be the fastest growing waste stream in the world. |
| B．Tremendous amounts of e-waste are thrown away each year. |
| C．We can’t find the solution to the problem of c-waste. |
| D．Land-filling allows us to reduce e-waste. |
| A．Solving the Problem of E-waste |
| B．How to Stop Damaging Our Planet |
| C．Saying No to Throwing Away Things |
| D．How to Collect E-waste for Recycling |
9 . Those who work on the “996” model (where employees work from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week) must envy their counterparts (对应的人)in an American company, because they have a shorter work week. Basecamp, a Chicago-based web application company gives all his employees a short work week: just four days—a total of 32 hours, between May and September every year. Also, they usually work five days a week for the rest of the year.
“That’s plenty of time to get great work done. This is all we expect and all we want from people,” says Jason Fried, a co-founder. “Working 60-plus, or 70-plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 60-plus or 70-plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”
The company’s summer workload must fit reduced hours, Mr. Fried insists, otherwise the benefits of a shorter week - to recover from work, enjoy time with family and develop outside interests - would be undone.
His new research finds that it is not just long hours that are harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. It is also the intensity (强度)of work. Moreover, it suggests that intensity work harms career prospects (前景).That is because unbearable hours and intensity are in the opposite direction, reducing the quality of the work.
The research concludes that the level of intensity we apply to the work we do is generally “a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than overtime work”. The research compared people of similar jobs and education levels, and found they were more likely to suffer poorer happiness and worse career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods.
1. What do we know about Basecamp’s four — day work week?| A．It lasts nearly half a year. | B．The work pressure is too high. |
| C．There are some management problems. | D．Employees work more than 8 hours a day. |
| A．Given plenty of time, people can do more. |
| B．To get work done well needs plenty of time. |
| C．People can do a job very well in a short work week. |
| D．A long work week is appropriate for reduced workload. |
| A．Getting much more rest. | B．Improving work quality. |
| C．Refusing a five-day work week. | D．Avoiding working too intensely. |
| A．More Work, More Profits | B．Shorter Week, Better Reward |
| C．Less Work, Less Benefits | D．Longer Hours, Higher Intensity |
10 . Journey Back in Time with Scholars
Classical Provence(13days)Journey through the beautiful countryside of Provence，France，with Prof. Ori Z. Soltes. We will visit some of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the world. Our tour also includes a chance to walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Fields of flowers, tile-roofed(瓦屋顶)villages and tasty meals enrich this wonderful experience.
Southern Spain(15days)
Spain has lovely white towns and the scent(芳香)of oranges，but it is also a treasury of ancient remains including the cities left by the Greeks，Romans and Arabs. As we travel south from Madrid with Prof. Ronald Messier to historic Toledo，Roman Merida and into Andalucia, we explore historical monuments and architecture.
China’s Sacred Landscapes(21days)
Discover the China of “past ages,” its walled cities，temples and mountain scenery with Prof. Robert Thorp. Highlights(精彩之处)include China’s most sacred peaks at Mount Tai and Hangzbou’s rolling hills，waterways and peaceful temples. We will wander in traditional small towns and end our tour with an exceptional museum in Shanghai.
Tunisia(17days)
Join Prof. Pedar Foss on our in-depth Tunisian tour. Tour highlights include the Roman city of Dougga，the underground Numidian capital at Bulla Regia, Roman Sbeitla and the remote areas around Tataouine and Matmata，uique for underground cities. Our journey takes us to picturesque Berber villages and lovely beaches.
1. What can visitors see in both Classical Provence and Southern Spain？
| A．Historical monuments. | B．Fields of flowers. |
| C．Van Gogh’s paintings. | D．Greek buildings. |
| A．France. | B．Spain. | C．China. | D．Tunisia. |
| A．White towns. | B．Underground cities. | C．Tile-roofed villages. | D．Rolling hills. |
