1 . A glimpse at Spring Festival Chinese film releases
The clock is ticking down to 2021! We’ve handpicked some films to help you get in the spirit of the season.
Hi, Mom
The film is widely regarded as the top dark horse thanks to its tear-jerking narration of mother-daughter affection, which is directed by Jia Ling.
Time： Feb. 12—14 9：30 a. m.〜11 ：30 a.m.
Place： Room 1
Treats： Popcorn, Ice cream
Price： ¥80
Detective Chinatown 3
Directed by Chen Sicheng, this movie topped the list of the most-anticipated holiday films sent by movie ticketing platform Maoyan.
Time： Feb. 14-16 1：00p. m.〜3：00P.m.
Place ： Room 2
Treats： Popcorn, Ice cream （for free）
Price： ¥75
A Writer\ Odyssey
Director Lu Yang showed a boldly imaginative visualization of a horrible fantasy world, taking the third seat with 410 million yuan.
Time： Feb. 13—17 9 ：30 a. m. 11 ：30 a. m.
Place： Room 3
Price： ¥65
Endgame
The film illustrates a comical up and down fate between an unsuccessful theater actor and a famous professional assassin（刺客）who loses his memory accidentally.
Time： Feb. 15 — 18 3：30 p. m.〜5：30 p. m.
Place： Room 4
Price： ¥60
Welcome to book through the WeChat account!
1. Which room will show a film about family love?| A．Room 1. | B．Room 2. | C．Room 3. | D．Room 4. |
| A．Feb. 16 3：00 a. m. | B．Feb. 15 2：00 p. m. |
| C．Feb. 18 2：00 p. m. | D．Feb. 14 11 ：00 a. m. |
| A．A report. | B．A poster. | C．A journal. | D．A guidebook. |
2 . Learning a second language is difficult at any age and it only gets harder the longer you wait to open that dusty French book. Now, in a new study, scientists have pointed the exact age at which your chances of reaching fluency（流利）in a second language seem to rise： 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 language 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. "
These findings may seem discouraging, but it was heartening for scientists to learn that the critical （关键的）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 old.
“People progress better when they learn 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 create 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 fluent——even without the advantage of a child's brain.
1. What is the most important finding of the new study?| A．The best age to learn a second language. |
| B．The possibility of speaking fluent language. |
| C．The change of language skills over the time. |
| D．The great approaches to learning a language. |
| A．Their focus is language learning only. |
| B．They are more interested in languages. |
| C．They are more adaptable to new things. |
| D．Their brain always ignores big changes. |
| A．Joining friends in their learning. | B．Turning to immersive learning. |
| C．Studying in a quiet classroom. | D．Training the brain to a kid's brain. |
| A．Science. | B．Travel |
| C．Health. | D．Education. |
3 . Located at a depth of 20 feet below the surface, the sand of the ocean floor off the coast of the Florida Keys might be an unlikely spot to host a music festival, but that hasn’t stopped music enthusiasts from diving underwater to rock out.
For the past 35 years, the Underwater Music Festival, an event that pairs music with conservation, has been hosted. Equipped with guitars, drums and other musical instruments, divers go down to the depths and play along to a playlist of water-inspired songs that are piped underwater via speakers. Over the years the event has gone from being a small grassroots effort put together by few locals, with the idea that once people see what’s going on beneath the surface, the more likely they would be to protect it, to a two-day festival that draws dozens of divers, boaters, and musicians to the Keys from around the world.
“Thirty-five years ago a few Keys locals sat down and wanted to figure out a way to bring awareness to our coral reefs （珊瑚礁）that would preserve, rebuild and restore them in any way,” says Dave Turner, executive director of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce. “They came up with this idea of playing music underwater and invited people to listen while also enjoying the local sea life.”
“The preservation of the reef is our main purpose,” Turner says. “To avoid any further damage, the festival takes place in a nearby sandy area so that the musicians don’t disturb the coral when they’re performing.”
Although holding a music festival underwater may seem a bit out there, Turner is quick to point out that it is actually achievable. “The music is obviously not as clear as when you’re sitting in room with stereo （立体音响）but you can still hear it and understand the lyrics and music,” he says. “If you were to go underwater you would recognize the song and it would sound the same. It just has little different tone to it. Plus, sound travels faster and farther underwater.”
1. What is special about the festival?| A．It hardly has any live music. |
| B．It takes place completely underwater. |
| C．It hardly wins support at grassroots level. |
| D．It exhibits all kinds of musical instruments. |
| A．To draw attention to coral reef conservation. |
| B．To raise money for local divers. |
| C．To improve the locals’ life. |
| D．To promote local tourism. |
| A．Attending the festival is an important experience. |
| B．Holding the festival makes some sense. |
| C．The future of the festival is uncertain. |
| D．It is challenging to hold the festival. |
| A．Environment. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Science. |
4 . In the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest fear was that the human race, and possibly all advanced life forms on the planet, could be wiped out by nuclear missiles. Today, however, environmental problems have taken over as the greatest risk to life on Earth. Scientists are thinking of ways to lower this risk, such as replacing coal and oil with forms of renewable energy. But they are also preparing for the worst: what can we do if the terrifying scenes in films such as The Day After Tomorrow happen in real life? What is our plan B for Earth?
One option is to explore other planets to see if we could live on them. The most likely choice is Mars, which is relatively close to Earth and has an environment less hostile than that of other planets. Mars has fascinated people since ancient times, and today our interest in Martian exploration is greater than ever before. Besides, more governments are making efforts to educate the public on the Red Planet.
There is no doubt that humankind is drawn towards Mars. However, sending people there will require all the skill, courage and intelligence. While the Moon can be reached within days, it would take months to reach Mars, travelling through dangerous solar radiation. And even if the first settlers do reach Mars safely, they may not be able to return to Earth — ever. Staying alive will be a daily challenge, but as proved by the Biosphere 2 experiment, not impossible. As early as the 1980s, scientists were building Biosphere 2 in the Arizona desert, consisting of a closed space in which people, animals and plants could live together. Although the two-year experiment was not a success, it did provide us with a better understanding of how humans might be able to live on another planet.
For now, human settlement of Mars is still decades away. Until we are finally able to live on another planet, we need to take much better care of our own. Right now, it's the only one we have!
1. What was the biggest threat to humans in the 1960s and 1970s?| A．Human race themselves. | B．All advanced life forms. |
| C．Nuclear missiles. | D．Environmental problems. |
| A．It's closest to the earth. |
| B．It has relatively appropriate living conditions. |
| C．It has drawn the public's attention in recent years. |
| D．It has a more hostile environment. |
| A．Humans have visited Mars. |
| B．The Biosphere 2 experiment proved to be valueless. |
| C．Humans will have to go and live on another planet. |
| D．Our Plan A includes developing renewable energy resources. |
| A．The Traveler. | B．Environmental Concerns. |
| C．All About Space. | D．Biology for Fun, |
5 . Today we communicate over the Internet all the time. In this blog post, I want to discuss how we keep our Internet communications well protected.
"How are the mobile apps safe?" I can hear you ask. It is a good question. They all use encryption（加密）to make sure no one else can eavesdrop on your messages with your friends, family, and business partners. Apple is one of the first to do this for its users; however, it started encrypting the message between iCloud users and the shortcoming is that the encryption only works between iCloud users.
Many of us are used to being able to take our computers down to the local coffee shop or with us when we travel, connect to any Wi-Fi, and then keep doing what we always do on the Internet. What you may not be aware of, however, is that public Wi-Fi is not encrypted. Anything done on those wireless networks can be known by some bad people. So how do you protect the wireless? It can be protected by using a Virtual Private Network（VPN）.
As with the encryption protection for E-Mail and messaging, there are a lot of VPN providers out there that don't cost a lot of money. Any person or organization can research and decide which one is best for their needs. Using a free VPN isn't suggested. Free VPN providers can be uncertain because they get much of their pay through pushing ads to their users. And they can follow and record what to do, which kind of fails the purpose of using a VPN in the first place.
Returning to how a VPN can protect your communications, we could go into a lot of details about what a VPN does, but we will keep it simple instead. Unlike the protection above, which is very specific, a VPN works by creating a passage between you and a distant server. This passage is encrypted, which means that everything you send through it is protected from being listened. This can be especially useful if you are working at a coffee shop or an airport.
1. Where does the text probably come from?| A．A website. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A personal diary. | D．A scientific magazine. |
| A．Care about. | B．Miss out on. |
| C．Get something by accident. | D．Listen secretly to something. |
| A．It works slowly. | B．It costs you too much. |
| C．It is unsafe sometimes. | D．It is limited to certain user. |
| A．requires extra fees for long-time usage |
| B．may cause risks to personal information |
| C．pushes ads according to your interest |
| D．fails to be encrypted sometimes |
6 . Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed an affordable, easy to use system to track the location of flexible surgical robots inside the human body. The system performs as well as current state of the art methods, but the whole system, including the robot, magnets and magnet localization setup, costs around $100. Many current methods also require exposure to radiation, while this system does not.
The system was developed by Tania Morimoto, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, and mechanical engineering Ph. D. student Connor Watson.
“Continuum medical robots work really well in highly constrained (受限的) environments inside the body,” Morimoto said. “But it becomes a lot harder to track their location and their shape inside the body.” The researchers used existing magnet localization methods, which work very much like GPS, to develop a computer model that predicts the robot’s location.
GPS satellites ping (发送) smartphones and based on how long it takes for the signal to arrive, the GPS receiver in the smartphone can determine where the cell phone is. Similarly, researchers know how strong the magnetic field should be around the magnet placed in the robot. They rely on four sensors that are carefully spaced around the area where the robot operates to measure the magnetic field strength. Based on how strong the field is, they are able to determine where the tip of the robot is.
Morimoto and Watson went a step further. They then trained a neural network to learn the difference between what the sensors were reading and what the model said the sensors should be reading. As a result, they improved localization accuracy to track the tip of the robot. “Ideally we are hoping that our localization tools can help improve these kinds of growing robot technologies. We do want to push this research forward so that we can test our system in a clinical setting and eventually translate it into clinical use,” Morimoto said.
1. What be learnt about the system according to the text?| A．It’s complex. | B．It’s low-cost. |
| C．It’s delicate. | D．It’s radioactive. |
| A．The system’s working principle. |
| B．The function of GPS satellites. |
| C．The reason for inventing the system, |
| D．The necessity of inventing the system. |
| A．It’ll be environmentally-friendly. | B．It’ll be sold on the Internet soon, |
| C．I’ll be easy for us to operate. | D．It’ll be tested with real patients. |
| A．A diary. | B．A guidebook. |
| C．A magazine. | D．A novel. |
7 . Drive in Ontario
Welcome to Ontario! Here's what you need to know if you are, or will be, visiting Ontario — and want to drive while you're here.
Visiting: less than 3 months
If you are visiting Ontario for less than 3 months and want to drive while you're here, you can use a valid driver's licence from your own province, state or country.
Visiting: more than 3 months
If you will be visiting from another country for more than 3 months, you will need an International Driver's Permit (IDP) from your own country. This is a special licence that allows motorists to drive internationally when accompanied by a valid driver's licence from their country. You need to have this permit with you when you arrive in Ontario. You cannot apply for one once you are here.
Rules of the road
As a visitor, you are responsible for knowing Ontario traffic laws. Here are just some:
• keep to the right of the road
• obey posted speed limits (e.g. 50 km/hour)
• do not use handheld devices while driving (e.g. cell phones, tablets or music players)
• slow down and pull to the right, if an emergency vehicle is driving behind you with their lights and sirens (e.g. an ambulance, fire truck or police car)
If you break a traffic law, you will face a penalty. Penalties range from fines to making your licence invalid or your car taken away. For more information, please click here.
1. l. Who is the text intended for?| A．Potential immigrants. | B．General visitors. |
| C．Exchange students. | D．Ordinary drivers. |
| A．Changing lanes at random. | B．Giving way to fire trucks. |
| C．Listening to music in the car. | D．Driving within the speed limits. |
| A．A local website. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．A geography magazine |
8 . Applying to Stellinga College
Why Stellinga?
Thank you for your interest in Stellinga International College. As an international student, we are sure you will find our college an exciting place to study, with like-minded and ambitious people.
Preparing and submitting your application
We have tried to make the application process as easy as possible for you, but there are a number of procedures you must follow.
All our courses are taught in English, so first of all you will probably need to submit evidence of your English language ability. We require an IELTS score of 6.5. You will also have to send us your secondary school diploma, so that we can evaluate it.
We will also require a personal statement. This is a text of up to 1,000 words in which you introduce yourself, explain your interest in our college, and why you want to study your chosen course.
If you are from outside the European Union (EU), it is important that you have an entrance visa before you come to study in the Netherlands, but we will apply for this for you.
We now only accept online applications, so please ensure that you have all your documents ready to upload before you begin. Any documents that are not in English originally will also need to be translated and the translation also uploaded.
You will need a passport photograph; a copy of your passport; copies of all your certificates and diplomas; your proof of language ability; and your personal statement in English.
What happens next?
Your application will then be considered. If your initial application is successful, you will be invited for an interview. This will be conducted in English via skype, over the phone or on site. You will talk to two or three members of staff for up to 30 minutes. We aim to inform you of our decision in writing, within 4 weeks. There are several possible outcomes: you may not have been successful; you may be offered a place on the waiting list. You will need to reply to any offers within two weeks, otherwise your place may be offered to somebody else.
Good luck with your application.
1. Which is unnecessary for people inside the EU when submitting applications?| A．A personal statement. | B．An entrance visa. |
| C．Evidence of English ability. | D．A secondary school diploma. |
| A．You will have an interview in English. | B．You will get the reply over the phone. |
| C．You should make a decision within 4 weeks. | D．You should reply to the offer the moment you get it. |
| A．In a science magazine. | B．In a tourist brochure. |
| C．In an English teaching book. | D．On a university’s website. |
9 . 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 |
10 . Fear, anxiety, panic — those are the words Elaine Peng used to describe the state of her service’s recipients (接受者) who are fighting mental health problems through lectures and support groups on WeChat. President Donald Trump’s transaction (交易) ban on the social networking app has worsened their emotional state.
Since Peng founded the organization in 2013 with the mission of raising mental health awareness within the Chinese community, she has gradually built up her network. Now she has two WeChat groups of more than 500 people, including service recipients and volunteers.
Peng said, “WeChat is the organization’s primary communications tool because it is much friendlier than other US-developed apps. We also respond to emergency situations through WeChat. For instance, we recently rescued a patient from a parking lot, using the app’s real-time location feature, where his condition suddenly worsened and he didn’t know where he was,” she said.
Seeing that her group’s mission and operation will be affected in a significant way, Peng joined a legal challenge filed by the nonprofit US WeChat Users Alliance, seeking to block the ban. The presidential executive order does not define the word “transaction”, and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has not defined which particular transactions would be illegal. Ross may issue the definitions by Sunday, or he may not say anything for a long time, but the situation is already harming people who depend on WeChat. If the judge does not prevent the order from taking effect, then the law goes into effect Sunday, and no one knows exactly what it means.
We Chat has roughly 19 million daily active users in the US, most of them of Chinese descent, according to the complaint filed by the plaintiffs (原告) last month. The lawsuit argues that the order is illegal because it violates (侵犯) users’ free speech rights. It also argues that the ban targeted Chinese Americans, who rely on the app for work, worship and staying in touch with relatives in China.
1. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?| A．Entertainment. |
| B．Science. |
| C．Education. |
| D．News brief. |
| A．To arouse mental health awareness. |
| B．To build up her network. |
| C．To provide service for recipients. |
| D．To keep in touch with relatives. |
| A．Subjective. |
| B．Objective. |
| C．Indifferent. |
| D．Doubtful. |
| A．Wechat ban-users’ expectation |
| B．Wechat ban-users’ demand |
| C．Wechat ban-users’ concern |
| D．Wechat ban-users’ disaster |
