1 . Being a relatively new technology, VR technology is clearly just beginning to take off. There are companies producing their own VR headsets, but they are still not as big as other products that are meant to entertain. Apart from the limited choices, one more thing that is worth noting about the current state of VR is the fact that content is limited, as well as applications. Most of the products available on the market today are aimed at gamers and mostly special for high-end buyers because of its expensive price.
Despite being full of potential, however, there are also some challenges that should be dealt with in order to ensure the success of VR. Among others, one of the most significant would be the need for powerful devices that would complement the headsets. For Oculus Rift, for instance, a powerful video card is needed for a computer, something you might not have at home, making the VR technology inapplicable.
In addition, there are also challenges when it comes to beauty. Today's VR headsets look almost entirely the same-they are huge and heavy and they look silly. Producers must find a way in order to make the design more beautiful.
Producers will also be challenged to make VR headsets more affordable so that more people will be able to purchase them. Most of the models currently available are just too expensive for average buyers.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the challenge is to find more applications. It is currently being centered on game paste applications. Producers are challenged to come up with creative ways in order to increase the usefulness of such a promising device.
In sum while it is undeniable that VR is big in today's time, there's a lot of room for improvement. There are limited choices when it comes to VR products available on the market, and for many, it is still a bit expensive. Others lack knowledge on how it works, which results in hesitation. There are also some problems that have yet to be solved and more opportunities to be uncovered. It would be safe to say that it is new, still in its infancy, but hopefully it is getting to the top.
1. What is needed for your computer when you use Oculus Rift?| A．A useful videotape. | B．A powerful video card. |
| C．A powerful video camera. | D．A useful video phone. |
| A．To lower its price. | B．To simplify its headset. |
| C．To widen its application. | D．To beautify its appearance. |
| A．Worried. | B．Concerned. | C．Confident. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．The Challenges of VR | B．The Development of VR |
| C．The Popularity of VR | D．The Importance of VR |
2 . One day about eight years ago in the departure lounge (休息室) of a flight from New York's LaGuardia airport to O'Hare in Chicago, I found a young boy in tears and his mother at his side also appeared upset, I walked to them and invited them to our VIP lounge.
As it turned out, the boy, Miles and his mom were returning to their home in Kansas City. Miles has had some health problems. Though he had received more than thirty operations in a Jewish Hospital in New York, he would be back for more.
Miles enjoyed spending his time in our VIP lounge looking at the entire wall filled with the pictures of many celebrities (名人) who often came to our office. We soon added Miles' picture to the wall among those celebrities.
Among the celebrities, Miles like the country singer Garth Brooks best. Miles would just sit and stare at Garth's picture,
One day, Mr. Brooks was waiting in the lounge for his flight. As he looked at the collection of photographs, Garth asked about the youngster with the big smile. We told him about Miles. We also told him how much Miles loved and respected (尊重) him. He nodded and left.
About six months later, Garth was going to be performing in Kansas City and he asked our workers to help him get in touch with the family. He wanted Miles to be his guest. That evening, not only did Miles sit in the front row, but he and Garth also had a private meeting after the performance.
Although Miles would receive many more treatments after that special evening, his smile greeted us with every following visit. The face of a sick boy was changed by the joy of a stranger.
1. What does the author probably do?| A．A worker at an airport. | B．A killed photographer. |
| C．A country music singer. | D．A doctor in a Jewish hospital. |
| A．Interviewing celebrities he saw there. |
| B．Seeing pictures of celebrities on the wall. |
| C．Drawing pictures of the celebrities there. |
| D．Singing together with his favorite singer. |
| A．Determined and generous. | B．Proud and selfish. |
| C．Kind and helpful. | D．Powerful and rich. |
| A．Importance of Good Service | B．Kindness from Strangers |
| C．A Serious Health Problem | D．A Helpless Mother |
3 . At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, people living in San Francisco were awakened by a 40-second earthquake. After a 10-second stop, an even stronger earthquake struck, lasting 25 seconds. Survivors saw the ground move in waves as high as three feet. The earthquake damaged streets, and streetcar rails.
Fires broke out soon after the earthquake, caused primarily by overturned stoves (炉子) or damaged electrical wiring. Because the city’s water mains had suffered more than 300 breaks, no water was available (可用的) to fight the fires, which rapidly burned beyond control. To control the fire, firefighters began to dynamite (炸毁) buildings in its path. Unfortunately, this method sometimes spread the fire. By the evening of April 18, 1,700 soldiers had arrived in San Francisco to help both local people and the firefighters.
After burning uncontrolled for three days, the fire finally burned itself out by the morning of April 21. More than 28,000 buildings had been destroyed, resulting in about $500 million in damage.
Although the official number of deaths was 311, it is now believed that about 3,000 people were killed. About 250,000 people (two-thirds of the city’s population) were left homeless. They were forced to live in tents (帐篷) in public parks.
Among the earthquake’s survivors was the famous Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso. On the night of April 17, he had performed (表演) the role of José in Georges Bizet’ s 1875 opera, “Carmen,” and had been scheduled for another performance on April 18. Caruso was so shocked by the earthquake that he made up his mind never to return to San Francisco again.
Ansel Adams, age 4, survived the earthquake along with his family, though their house and many things were damaged. An aftershock threw young Adams face-first into a garden wall, giving him what his friend Cedric Wright would call an “earthquake nose.” Describing his broken nose, which was never repaired, Adams would later joke, “My beauty was damaged forever. But he felt the power of the quake, which he called his “closest experience with terrible human suffering.”
1. What made it difficult to control the fire?| A．Damaged streets. |
| B．Fallen buildings. |
| C．The big problem of getting water. |
| D．The low number of firefighters. |
| A．Dead bodies could be found in public parks. |
| B．More than half of the locals had to find shelter. |
| C．Over 250,000 people had to live on the street. |
| D．About 28,000 buildings survived with little damage. |
| A．Completely lost. | B．Very frightened. |
| C．Really annoyed. | D．Extremely sad. |
| A．He was laughed at by his friend. |
| B．His family members were hurt badly. |
| C．His looks were unexpectedly changed. |
| D．He got injured while trying to protect his nose. |
4 . 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| A．A scientific invention | B．A learning program |
| C．An creative method | D．A tech design studios |
5 . 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. |
| A．go up | B．die away |
| C．grow more pleasant | D．become less attractive |
| 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. |
6 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
7 . 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. |
| A．Objective | B．Convinced | C．Questioning. | D．Optimistic. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
8 . 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. |
| A．El Ateneo Grand Splendid. | B．La Caverne aux Livres. |
| C．The Book Barge. | D．Selexyz Dominicanen. |
| 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. |
9 . 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 |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
10 . People in Japan tend to live longer and stay healthier in their later years, with an increasing number of old people living alone. Japan is on a fast track to “ultra-age” with people aged 65 or above accounting for 28 percent of its total population in 2019；it was 26.7 percent in 2017. On the other hand, the number of births in 2019 fell to its lowest (about 941,000) since records began in 1899.
Demand for care services for elderly people has increased. A shrinking (缩小) working population means fewer able-bodied adults are available to look after the elderly. State-provided facilities for the elderly are not enough, which causes elderly people to turn to private ones but they are expensive.
The country will be short of 380,000 of health nurses by 2025. The government has to turn to advanced robots to meet the shortage. A study found that using robots encouraged one third of the people to become more active and independent. Yet there is no robot that can provide the emotional support to the elderly.
Japan provides a case study for China, which is also faced with a fast aging population. 17.23 million babies were born in China in 2019, about 630,000 fewer than in 2018. People aged 60 accounted for 17.3 of China’s population in 2019. With a shortage of elderly care facilities and unbalanced supply, China may find it hard to deal with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens.
To meet the challenge, the Chinese government should make policy changes, which Japan is unwilling or unable to do or even consider. China should pay attention to the signals its aging population is sending and take proper and timely action.
1. What do we learn about the old Japanese?| A．More and more old Japanese prefer to live on their own. |
| B．A lot of old Japanese have to continue working at old age. |
| C．Some old Japanese remain active with the help of robots. |
| D．Japanese aged 65 or above make up one third of its population. |
| A．They are expensive. | B．They are inconvenient. |
| C．They are affordable. | D．They are fashionable. |
| A．They hire foreign health nurses. |
| B．They employ advanced robots. |
| C．They set up more nursing schools. |
| D．They train the elderly to tend themselves. |
| A．Japan has to take action to deal with the aging population. |
| B．Robots can’t provide emotional support to the elderly. |
| C．China is now faced with a fast aging population. |
| D．Japan’s aging population issue is a timely lesson for China. |
