1 . Slowly but surely, we’re moving closer and closer to 5G world. From smart-home security(安全) to self-driving cars, all the internet-connected devices in your life will be able to talk to each other at lightning-fast speeds. Objectively speaking, the fastest 4G download speeds in the US top out at an average of 10.42 Mbps. But by comparison, 5G promises gigabit(千兆) speeds.
“5G is one of those signs, along with artificial intelligence(人工智能)，of this coming data age,” said Steve Koenig, senior director of market research for the Consumer Technology Association. The self-driving vehicle(车辆) is a great emblem of this data age, and that is to say, it is a sign of time, because with one single task, driving, you have a large number of data coming from the vehicle itself, and a variety of sensors(传感器) are collecting a lot of information to model its environment as it moves. It’s pulling in data from other vehicles about road conditions down the lane(车道). It could be weather information, but also connected infrastructure (基础设施)construction. There is lots of data behind that task, which is why we need high speeds.
Augmented reality glasses and virtual headset haven’t yet broken the mainstream, but tech companies are joyfully betting(打赌) that these devices will eventually replace our smartphones. With 5G, that could actually happen. This is notable(显著的) because companies such as Apple are reportedly developing AR glasses to assist--or perhaps even replace--smartphones.
Ericsson stated at February' s Mobile World Congress how smart glasses could become faster and lighter with a 5G connection, because instead of being weighed down with components(部件), the glasses could rely on hardware for processing(处理)power.
But don't get too excited. There's still a lot of work to be done in the meantime, including various trials to make sure the radios play nicely with hardware and infrastructure construction, so 5G isn’t concentrated(集中) only in big cities.
1. What does the author want to stress in Paragraph 1?| A．The lightning- fast speeds of 5G. | B．The expectation of 5G world. |
| C．The difference between 4G and 5G. | D．The internet-connected devices in our life. |
| A．Exhibition. | B．Success. | C．Symbol. | D．Explanation. |
| A．How to fully expand 5G coverage(覆盖范围). | B．Smart glasses will become faster and lighter. |
| C．Why 5G isn't concentrated in big cities. | D．The importance of infrastructure construction. |
| A．A science fiction. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A business report. | D．A film documentary. |
2 . The cultures of the East and the West are really different from each other a lot. This is because the culture systems are two separate ones on the whole.
The origin (起源) of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers — the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.
When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was up on the Mesopotamian Plain — the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture. Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t have much difference from the European culture.
At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic (象形) language while the western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what’s more, due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the west, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.
The differences are everywhere. They are obvious and make people’s ways of thinking and their views of the world different. But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural difference should not be the obstacle (障碍) to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the driving force of our going farther.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The origin of cultures. | B．Culture differences. |
| C．Language systems. | D．Colorful world. |
| A．Both of the two cultures have a very long history. |
| B．They have the same mother rivers as the Chinese culture. |
| C．The early settlers from Britain brought their culture to America. |
| D．Both the British and the American live along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. |
| A．difference | B．influence |
| C．confidence | D．environment |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. |
| C．A novel. | D．A guidebook. |
3 . A new social media superstar has arrived on the Chinese Internet.
On Oct 8 Leonardo DiCaprio joined Sina Weibo posting: "Hello China! I'm Leonardo.", which was warmly welcomed by Chinese users. Many users sent humorous memes(表情包), including photoshopped pictures of the US actor to DiCaprio's account.
The Chinese are not the only ones who love to use memes. Memes have become a humorous means of communication and expression across cultures.
What has made memes so popular?
Memes can be a funny way to refer to (谈论) real people or events. For the coming 2020 US presidential election, a lot of memes have been created about the candidates (候选人) Donald Trump and Joe Biden, meaning that memes have the ability to show political views.
“Perhaps it is not the humor of the meme itself that gets people to post and share but the fact that only people 'in the know' will get its meaning, which means they don't feel excluded (排除)” the Plainsman website mentioned.
We are living in a time when we have everything at our fingertips. We are no longer satisfied with reading texts; we want to produce something by ourselves too. Memes are produced because they can sum up popular culture, politics, sports, fashion and art.
“Memes give us immediate satisfaction (满足). They give us information in an easy, humorous way.” Hunger magazine said. “People would rather repost a meme that give their opinion than read and repost a piece of text on the same topic.”
1. The author mentions DiCaprio's story at the beginning of the text to__________ .| A．make the passage interesting | B．show people's attitude to it |
| C．introduce the following topic | D．put forward a suggestion |
| A．Memes are always about important matters. |
| B．The popularity of memes only lies in their simple humor. |
| C．People prefer reposting a text to reposting a meme. |
| D．Memes are used in different fields and give information in a humorous way. |
| A．to tell what memes are used for | B．to explain why memes are so popular |
| C．to persuade people to use memes | D．to show different opinions of memes |
| A．Health | B．Education |
| C．Popular culture | D．Science |
4 . Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl (爬), while boys will head for cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged 9 months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were typically boys’ toys—a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys; and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (9 to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr. Brenda Todd said, “Children of this age are already exposed (显示出) to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution (进化，发展) have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts (本能), while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”
1. Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because ________.| A．baby boys are much more active | B．baby girls like bright colors more |
| C．their parents treat them differently | D．there is a natural difference between them |
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls. |
| C．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys. |
| D．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| A．health | B．science |
| C．education | D．culture |
5 . A severe drought (干旱) has caused water levels in Southeast Asia's Mekong River to drop to their lowest in more than 100 years. It may have harmful effects on fish, as well as the tens of millions of people living and working along the river, experts warn.
This year, the dry conditions in the Mekong region happened due to warm Pacific Ocean-currents (洋流) known as the El Nino effect. But climate change is also a driving factor, experts say, causing the monsoon (季风) season to shorten sharply. The situation was made worse by water dam operators upstream, withholding water for their own purposes.
Many rice farmers in the area have been unable to plant their main crop, raising fears of a heavily decreased harvest this fall. Less water flow could also have a bad influence on fish reproduction in the Mekong River basin. This is normally the time when fish use rising water levels to reproduce their young, but there is little sign of this happening so far this year.
Perhaps even more alarming, experts expect that droughts and damage to the water flow of the Mekong will become more common, and they warn that it could eventually destroy the entire ecosystem.
Starting from the Tibetan highlands, the Mekong River flows through six Asian countries, including China, Myanmar, Thaland, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, before emptying into the South China Sea. The river basin is home to the largest inland fishery in the world and more than 60 million people depend on it to make a living.
Few rivers in the world rise and fall with the seasons as much as the Mekong, which can drop up to 40 feet in some places at the end of the dry season. When the monsoon rains arrive, they normally produce a flood that brings with it sediments (沉积物) to agriculture as well as enormous amounts of larvae (幼虫) and tiny fish, including many endangered species, such as the Mekong giant catfish, that are swept into the Tonle Sap Lake where they can grow.
1. How many reasons are there for the drought of Mekong River this year?| A．One | B．Two |
| C．Three | D．Four |
| A．Droughts are likely to happen more frequently in the future. |
| B．The water levels of the Mekong River is becoming lower and lower |
| C．The Mekong River starts from the Tibetan highlands and ends in the Tonle Sap Lake. |
| D．The harvest of fish in the river hasn't been greatly affected because of the droughts. |
| A．Positive | B．Unconcerned |
| C．Worried. | D．Negative |
| A．National Geography | B．Scientific American |
| C．Overseas English | D．Tourism |
