2 . In a large survey of people's first memories, nearly 40% of participants reported a first memory that is likely to be fictional, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Current research indicates that people's earliest memories date from around 3 to 3. 5 years of age. However, the study from researchers at City, University of London, the University of Bradford, and Nottingham Trent University found that 38.6% of 6, 641 participants claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger, with 893 people claiming memories from age 1 or younger. This was particularly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults.

As many of these memories dated before the age of 2 and younger, the authors suggest that these fictional memories are based on remembered fragments(碎片) of early experience—such as a pram(婴儿车)，family relationships and feeling sad—and some facts or knowledge about their own infancy or childhood which may have been derived from photographs or family conversations.

“Further details may be unconsciously inferred or added, e. g. that one was wearing nappy when standing in the cot(幼儿床)," added Shazia Akhatr, first author on the study and Senior Research Associate at the University of Bradford.

“When we looked through the responses from participants we found that a lot of these first 'memories' were frequently related to infancy, and a typical example would be a memory based around a pram," explained Martin Conway, Director at the Centre for Memory and Law at City, University of London and coauthor of the paper.

“For this person, this type of memory could have resulted from someone saying something like 'mother and a large green pram'. The person then imagines what it would have looked like. Over time these fragments then become a memory and often the person will start to add things in such as a string of toys along the top,"   he added.

"Crucially, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional," Conway noted. "In fact when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it. This partly due to the fact that the systems that allow us to remember things are very complex, and it's not until we're 5 or 6 that we form adult-like memories due to the way that the brain develops and due to our maturing understanding of the world.

1. What does the underlined word "prevalent" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Unique.

B．Crazy.

C．Common.

D．Doubtful.

2. What can be concluded from the study mentioned in the passage?

A．Some people have clear knowledge about their own infancy.

B．Added details are an important clue to recall the childhood.

C．Most people claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger.

D．Talks between family members influence the earliest memories.

3. How does Martin Conway present his opinion?

A．By making comparison.	B．By setting examples.
C．By analyzing data.	D．By referring to documents.

4. What's the main idea of the text?

A．Many people's earliest memories may be fictional.

B．People's earliest memories can date back to 2 or younger.

C．The middle-aged and adults specialize in detailing their first memory.

D．Memories develop due to our maturing understanding of the world.

3 . New Deal Design, one of the world's leading tech design studios, has invented an artificial intelligence-equipped toy to fight the "distraction economy" by developing children's attention spans.

Called Spot, the toy is aimed at learning and discovery. It functions primarily as a handheld scanner that kids can point at an object around them, such as a flower or a bird, to hear it talk back.Using its AI software,Spot recognizes the object and voices a little monologue（独白）from it, processing information to suit children aged five to nine.

There's also a secondary function that comes into play at bedtime, when Spot uses its in-built projecto（r投影仪） to present a story made up around the day's discoveries.

Spot is a concept at this stage, one that grew out of the research New Deal Design conducted into children's development. The designers found that the right kind of toy could encourage focus,as opposed to instant satisfaction. They wanted to cultivate a kind of junior-level mindfulness that would set kids up with positive life skills.

In terms of appearance, Spot has a complicated look, with its 3D camera fixed   in   the   head.   The   models   are   smooth,   including   a   wooden   handle,a button and a base. The choice of materials was inspired by traditional kids' building blocks.

When Spot   recognizes an   object, it blinks   to signal   it has   locked the target. Its head also locks into place to avoid any shaking. As an example, New Deal Design describes a girl called Max, who among other things, encounters a robin while out with the toy. Via Spot, the bird says, "Hi Max, my name is Robin! Did you know ..."

At that night's Story Time, Spot starts "Once upon a time there was a little girl named Max who met a robin. One day, Max asked the robin ..." New Deal Design says that day summaries like this helps kids to relax and get better sleep. Seeing themselves at the centre of stories also helps to build self-confidence and self-awareness.

1. In which aspect do children benefit from the artificial intelligence-equipped toy?

A．encouraging focus	B．giving an instant satisfaction
C．learning self-control	D．developing positive life skills

2. According to the passage, which statement about Spot is right?

A．Spot tells stories programmed in advance.

B．Spot is beneficial to developing children’s attention spans.

C．Spot has already been used to fight the “distraction economy” now.

D．Spot’s appearance was inspired by traditional kids’ building blocks.

3. According to the text,who will the toy be useful for?

A．Tom, two years old, can’t recognize an object around him.

B．Max, eight years old, wants to make up a story about robin.

C．Tina, nine years old, can’t concentrate her attention on her class.

D．Mike,twelve years old, wants to learn something about artificial intelligence.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．A scientific invention	B．A learning program
C．An creative method	D．A tech design studios

4 . I was given a voice. That’s what people said about me I trained my voice, because it would be a shame to waste such a gift. I pictured this voice as a greenhouse plant and made sure it was provided with the right temperature, the right amount of water. I relieved its fears. I told it not to tremble. I nursed it, I trained it, and I watched it climb up inside my neck

My voice bloomed. People said I had grown into my voice. Invitations to perform flooded over us. All the best places wanted us. I was sought after, or rather my voice was. We went everywhere together and gave performances. Bouquets （花束）were thrown to it. Money was presented to it. Men fell on their knees before it. Applause flew around it.

Then my voice began to shrivel. People said my voice would bloom only for a certain term: finally it would drop off and gone with it would be all the fame and wealth. I have noticed it so far. Fear has entered me since my voice has used up most of my life. I’ve given it all my love. But my voice is still as greedy as ever. It wants more: more and more, more of everything it has had so far.

Now it’s evening: the bright lights come on, and excitement quickens in the streets. We sit in this hotel room. Soon it will be time for us to go out. We have to attend a grand occasion. The two of us chained together as always. I have to put on its favourite dress, its favourite necklace and wind a fur around it. Then I have to go out: shining like ice: my voice attached to my throat like an invisible vampire （吸血鬼）.

1. Why did the author compare her voice to a greenhouse plant?

A．To introduce her way to grow a plant.

B．To stress her hard efforts to train her voice.

C．To express her determination to show her gift.

D．To indicate her strong desire to improve her skill.

2. What does the underlined word “shrivel’ in paragraph 3 mean?

A．go up	B．die away
C．grow more pleasant	D．become less attractive

3. What can we infer from the last paragraph of the text?

A．The author totally ruined her fame.

B．The author gradually lost her freedom.

C．The author eventually accepted her voice.

D．The author greatly enjoyed her performances.

5 . I don’t ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what it’s like to work in a field controlled by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.

At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement — jobs, research papers, awards — was viewed from the angle of gender（性别）. So were my failures.

Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations（挑衅）: I don’t talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn’t want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist?

Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women’s college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And Idon’t dismiss those concerns. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that’s a sight worth talking about.

1. Why doesn’t the author want to talk about being a woman scientist again?

A．She finds space research more important.

B．She is not good at telling stories of the kind.

C．She is fed up with the issue of sexual discrimination.

D．She feels unhappy working in male-controlled fields.

2. According to Paragraph 2, what bothered the author constantly?

A．People’s fixed attitude toward female scientists.

B．Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.

C．Widespread misunderstanding about her space research.

D．Unfair treatment from both inside and outside her circle.

3. What does the underlined sentence convey?

A．Women should do science experiments while having a baby.

B．Women can balance a career in science and having a family.

C．Women now have fewer problems pursuing a science career.

D．Women have more barriers on their way to academic success.

6 . Severe plantar fasciitis (足底筋膜炎) meant I’d been a full-time wheelchair user since I was 12. By the time I was 16, I just wanted my leg off. It took six years for the doctors to operate as they insisted on waiting until I was older and in a good enough place mentally. I held off until I finished my degree. Afterward, with an artificial leg fitted, the world felt like a different place. I’d not walked in years. Suddenly I was a lot taller and no longer in any pain.

When I was in a wheelchair I discovered a real love for sport. I started to compete in wheelchair racing, and soon found I was good at discus (铁饼) throwing. I started competing in Tough Mudder (an endurance event series), progressing from walking with crutches to blade (小腿假肢) running. I now compete in sports internationally and have won the silver medal for adaptive judo at the World Judo Games.

At the time of the surgery I worked as an accountant, but I soon realized I didn’t want to be sitting in an office all day as I’d been in a wheelchair for so long. Therefore, as soon as the revision surgery was complete, I handed in my notice.

My career took a different path after I was asked to be a guest presenter for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. Now I speak to schools, colleges and organizations about a wide range of subjects such as disability, discrimination, disability in sport, and perseverance. I share my own personal stories, whether that’s how I lost my leg and what I learned from it, my perseverance, and how I followed my dream.

Now most of my income comes from working as a motivational speaker, which I’ve been doing full time for a year. I love what I do, and if I continue to inspire others to do what they want to in life, then I’m happy.

1. How did the author probably feel after his leg was cut off?

A．Anxious.

B．Relieved.

C．Hopeless.

D．Annoyed.

2. What is the second paragraph mainly about?

A．The author’s passion for sports.

B．Awards the author won playing sports.

C．What sports the author is good at.

D．How the author prepared for Tough Mudder.

3. What do the underlined words “handed in my notice” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Quit the job.

B．Asked for leave.

C．Got promoted.

D．Spread the news to others.

4. What’s the main reason for him to be a motivational speaker?

A．It was his dream during childhood.

B．He enjoys the fame it brings him.

C．It brings him money and a sense of fulfillment.

D．He wants more people to care about the disabled.

7 . “New and improved. “These words are put in so many marketing campaigns that we tend to accept them as linked. But many new drugs aren’t an improvement over the best existing drug for a given condition, and the fast drug-approval processes in recent years have added to the uncertainty about their advantages.

A recent report in the British Medical Journal, “New Drugs: Where Did We Go Wrong and What Can We Do Better? “Analyzed the issue. The authors looked at 216 drugs approved between 2011 and 2017:152 were newly developed, and 64 were existing medicine approved for new uses. Only 25%offered a major advantage over the established treatment, and fully 58%had no confirmed added benefit to reduce symptoms or improve health-related quality of life.

“This doesn’t mean there’s no added benefit, “lead author Wissler said. “It just means we have no positive proof. Either we have no studies or have studies not good enough. “Wissler and her co-authors work for a German institute which evaluates new treatments and advises on whether the country’s health care system should pay a premium(补贴)for them. Such organizations, known as health technology assessment(HTA)agencies, work a little differently in the US, says Sean Tunisia researcher in Baltimore: “If payers think a new drug isn’t better than an existing drug, these agencies will require that hospitals try the cheaper drug first.”

Germanys HTA demands trials to prove that a new treatment beats the existing standard. This isn’t always practical. For one thing, such studies can be expensive and time-consuming, with no guarantee of success. Secondly, it can discourage companies from attempting to develop new alternatives. This is already happening. Drug developers are increasingly focused on areas where there are no good treatments to compete with, such as rare diseases.

This lack of meaningful data to guide patients is a major point of Wissler’s paper. With accelerated approval, there are more products approved, with a greater amount of uncertainty about risks and benefits. But there are other solutions besides drug trials. One idea is to require postmarked studies to track the effectiveness of newly approved drugs—a step too often neglected.

1. What message does the recent report convey?

A．Improved drugs have advantages over old ones.

B．Many new drugs have no improved advantages.

C．Before 2017 no improvement was made to drugs.

D．The approval processes for new drugs are too fast.

2. What will US HTA agencies do when no advantage is found in new drugs?

A．Get hospitals to use the cheaper drugs.

B．Remove government premium on them.

C．Arrange financial support for the patients.

D．Put new drugs on further trials and studies.

3. What’s the disadvantage of Germany’s HTA trial demands?

A．Getting patients to depend on the government for support.

B．Making drug companies think of illegal ways to cut cost.

C．Holding companies back from improving existing drugs.

D．Pushing companies to try alternatives for existing drugs.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．The Advantage of Existing Drugs

B．A Dilemma with New Drug Alternatives

C．Misunderstanding of New and Old Drugs

D．People’s Preference for New or Old Drug

8 . Though plastic shopping bags are cheap and useful, they cause widespread pollution. Now, we may have an unlikely helper to help clean up our garbage — a small wax worm.

The worm’s hidden skills were discovered by accident. About two years ago, Federica Bertocchini, a developmental biologist at the Spanish National Research Council and an amateur beekeeper, was cleaning out bees’ nest that had been filled with worms. She removed the worms and put them in a plastic bag while doing the cleaning. After finishing, she went back to the room where she had left the worms, and found they had escaped from the bag. When she checked, she saw that the bag was full of holes.

Realizing she may have made an important discovery, Bertocchini teamed up with other researchers to conduct further research. They began by placing 100 worms on some plastic bags and discovered that over a 24-hour period, the worms managed to chew through 92 milligrams of plastic. The researchers make an appropriate judgment that at this rate, the group of worms could   degrade (降解) an average-sized 5.5-gram plastic bag within a month. To rule out the possibility that chewing was causing the degradation, the researchers spread the soft wet substance inside the body of some recently dead worms on a sheet of plastic. Sure enough, even the liquid was able to eat through the material, confirming that the worms have plastic-digesting enzymes (酶).

While the news is certainly encouraging, not everyone is convinced. The Michigan State University’s Ramani Narayan believes the tiny pieces of microplastics released by the plastic-eating worms would pick up harmful substances and transport them up the food chain, causing, even more, harm to the environment and human health. Susan Selke, director of Michigan State University School of Packaging, is concerned that the worms will not be able to survive in an oxygen-free landfills where large amounts of waste material are buried under the earth.

However, Bertocchini is not planning to transport worm armies to landfills. Instead, the researcher wants to identify the enzyme that helps degrade the plastic. The researcher says, maybe we can find the molecule (分子) and produce it on an industrial level, rather than using a million worms in a plastic bag.

1. What did the experiment of using dead worms find out?

A．Worms’ chewing may cause the degradation.

B．A plastic-eating chemical exists in wax worms.

C．Dead worms are effective in dealing with plastic.

D．It takes a long time for worms to degrade plastic.

2. What is Ramani Naravan's attitude to Bertocchini's finding?

A．Objective

B．Convinced

C．Questioning.

D．Optimistic.

3. What might Bertocchini focus her later research on?

A．The structure of plastic-degrading enzymes.

B．The use of other worms in disposing plastic.

C．Wax worms’ adaptability to the landfill environment.

D．The chance of producing wax worms on a large scale.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Can wax worms save the environment?

B．Wax worms have an appetite for plastic.

C．Why do wax worms have plastic-eating skills?

D．Hungry worms join the fight against plastic pollution

9 . To the book lovers, nothing beats walking through a bookshop and looking at all the covers, picking large heavy books up and turning them over, the smell of ink on paper, conversations with strangers about authors. With the coming of the online book buying and e-books, many have predicted(预测) that the bookstores will disappear. And we’re grateful that there are plenty of beautiful bookstores still out there.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

Designed for Max Glucksmann, a pioneer of the music and film industries, this wonderful theater space was opened in 1919. The former theater now serves as a flagship store; more than 1 million people visit El Ateneo Grand Splendid every year.

The Book Barge

The Book Barge is a 60-foot canal boat bookshop. Inspired by the Slow Food movement, the operator Sarah Henshaw says, “We hope to help develop a less hurried lifestyle of leisurely (慢悠悠的) pleasures, cups of tea, conversations, culture and something like these.”

Selexyz Dominicanen

For those who regard bookstores with great respect, welcome to Selexyz Dominicanen, which now offers many kinds of books. The big space was used to store bicycles not long ago. But then the building was given interior (内部的) decoration, and the result is really a great surprise.

La Caverne aux Livres

Few things make as romantic a pairing as books and trains. At La Caverne aux Livres in Auvers-sur-Oise, northwestern of Paris, an old postal train station and several train cars have become home to used books for sale. Visitors often spend hours looking at them, surrounded by an atmosphere (氛围) of old letters and dreams of faraway places.

1. What do the book lovers care much about in bookstores?

A．Getting certain experiences.	B．Having many more choices.
C．Getting the best service.	D．Finding the latest bestsellers.

2. Which of the following encourages a slow lifestyle?

A．El Ateneo Grand Splendid.	B．La Caverne aux Livres.
C．The Book Barge.	D．Selexyz Dominicanen.

3. What is special about La Caverne aux Livres?

A．It is set up on a boat.	B．It is a car-themed bookstore.
C．Its decoration style is modern.	D．It mainly sells second-hand books.

10 . Learning a second language is tricky at any age and it only gets tougher the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pinpointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency in a second language seem to plummet: 10.

The study, published in the journal Cognition, found that it’s “nearly impossible” for language learners to reach native-level fluency if they start learning a second tongue after 10. But that doesn’t seem to be because language skills go downhill. “It turns out you’re still learning fast. It’s just that you run out of time, because your ability to learn starts dropping at around 17 or 18 years old,” says study co-author Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College.

Kids may be better than adults at learning new languages for many reasons. Children’s brains are more plastic than those of adults, meaning they’re better able to adapt and respond to new information. “All learning involves the brain changing,” Hartshorne says, “and children’s brains seem to be a lot more skilled at changing.”

Kids may also be more willing to try new things (and to potentially look foolish in the process) than adults are. Their comparatively new grasp on their native tongue may also be advantageous. Unlike adults, who tend to default (默认) to the rules and patterns of their first language, kids may be able to approach a new one with a blank slate (石板).

These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical period for fluent language acquisition might be longer than they previously thought. Some scientists believed that the brief window closes shortly after birth, while others stretched it only to early adolescence. Compared to those estimates, 17 or 18 — when language learning ability starts to drop off — seems relatively old.

“People fared better when they learned by immersion (沉浸), rather than simply in a classroom. And moving to a place where your desired language is spoken is the best way to learn as an adult. If that’s not an option, you can mimic an immersive environment by finding ways to have conversations with native speakers in their own communities,” Hartshorne says. By doing so, it’s possible to become conversationally proficient — even without the advantage of a child’s brain.

1. The underlined word “plummet” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “__________”.

A．decrease	B．rise
C．end	D．vary

2. What can be inferred from Joshua Hartshorne’s words?

A．Children are too young to grasp a second language.

B．Age 10-18 is the best time to learn a second language.

C．Adults go beyond the critical period for learning a second language.

D．Communicating with native speakers enables you to master all the language skills.

3. Why adults can’t reach native-level fluency in a second language?

A．Adults are less influenced by their mother tongues.

B．Adults spend more time responding to new information.

C．Adults are only too willing to experience something awkward in the process.

D．Adults prefer an immersive environment to a classroom in learning a second language.

4. The passage is mainly about __________.

A．the best age to learn a second language

B．the approaches to learning a second language

C．why kids learn a second language more easily than adults

D．whether adults can learn a second language like their younger selves