1 . The first wave of a new class of anti-aging drugs have begun human testing. These drugs won't let you live longer but aim to treat specific illnesses by slowing a fundamental process of aging.

The drugs are called senolytics—they work by removing certain cells that accumulate as we age. Known as “senescent” cells, they can create low-level inflammation (炎症) that prevents normal systems of living cells repair and creates a poisonous environment for neighboring cells.

In June, San Francisco - based Unity Biotechnology reported initial results in patients with mild to severe osteoarthritis (关节炎) of the knee. Results from a larger clinical trial are expected in the second half of this year. The company is also developing similar drugs to treat age-related diseases of the eyes and lungs, among other conditions.

Senolytics are now in human tests, along with a number of other promising approaches targeting the biological processes that lie at the root of aging and various diseases.

A company called Alkahest injects patients with components found in young people's blood and says it hopes to stop conscious and functional decline in patients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The company also has drugs for Parkinson's and dementia in human testing.

And in December, researchers at Drexel University College of Medicine even tried to see if a cream including the immune-suppressing drug could slow aging in human skin.

The tests reflect researchers' expanding efforts to learn if the many diseases associated with getting older- such as heart diseases, arthritis, cancer, and dementia- can be dealt with to delay their outbreak.

1. Why do the researchers develop the drugs?

A．To rid inflammation.	B．To lengthen people's life.
C．To treat age-related diseases.	D．To remove cancer cells.

2. What does the underlined word “senescent” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Repairing.

B．Cycling.

C．Aging.

D．Dividing.

3. How does the text mainly develop?

A．By listing data.	B．By providing details.
C．By making comparisons.	D．By analyzing causes.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A diary.

B．A guidebook.

C．A novel.

D．A magazine.

2 . On July 24, 2020, Mike Stout launched his kayak（皮筏艇）just before 8：30 a.m. About 56 miles and 16.5 hours later, he landed on the sandy Michigan shore. It was his second time crossing Lake Michigan.

By chance, Stout said, he gave kayaking a try in 2016. Already in good physical condition, he considered kayaking a weekend escape. Then he was challenged by a client of his firm to think bigger. He did go big quickly. Weekend kayak trips were 40, 50 and 60 miles long over the next few months. Then his goal was to cross Lake Michigan that year. On August 3, Stout completed his first crossing of Lake Michigan in 15.5 hours. Since then, he’s finished countless long-distance trips on Minnesota rivers and lakes.

In heading back to Lake Michigan last summer, Stout thought he could become the first kayaker to make a round-trip crossing of the Great Lake. He felt capable. He’d put in 800 miles since March 1, 2020-when ice was still on the Minnesota River.

Stout wanted to do with manageable winds. Possibilities rose, only to become worse, the lake showing its mercurial nature. Stout realized a single crossing was his best hope. With local police informed of his plans and plenty of food aboard, Stout launched. His plan was to land on the Michigan shore 12.5 hours later. The lake thought otherwise. The winds and waves were working against him, too. Still, he was resolute. Finally he could hear waves crashing on shore.

“Never did I have a sense of doubt or fear or worry,” Stout said. Despite the constant, forceful wind, he said the crossing was easier than his others because of his experience. But no less meaningful. The stars, the chance to speak to the heavens, and the hope that his adventure would inspire others-all were fuel to finish.

1. What can we infer about Stout from paragraph 2?

A．He challenged his client.

B．He intended to escape real life.

C．He was organized and determined.

D．He set a goal bigger than his capability.

2. What forced Stout to change his journey into a single crossing in 2020?

A．His physical state.	B．The weather condition.
C．The freezing water.	D．Warning from local police.

3. What does the underlined word “mercurial” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Changeable.

B．Merciful.

C．Perfect.

D．Balanced.

4. In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?

A．Weather.

B．Adventure.

C．Geography.

D．Entertainment.

4 . Carbon is a chemical element which is present in organic compounds that make us organisms, plants as well as fossil. It is a vital component of the greenhouse gas CO₂, the highest percentage of the global warming gas in the atmosphere.

These Green House Gases (GIIGs) along with other factors are responsible for the most discussed issues affecting the planet, climate change. Climate change has and still releases a huge set of environmental disasters which are fueling the difficulty of survival on the planet. In order to eliminate, reduce and adapt to these risks of survival, individuals, organizations, and countries will have to adopt carbon neutrality measures. The main aim of carbon neutrality is to achieve a net-zero emission either by balancing the emission or absorbing of carbon or quit the production of carbon. However, to really understand carbon neutrality, the carbon cycle should be first understood

The carbon cycle is the transfer of carbon through different media. Carbon has the ability to move in different media in different forms at different rates and tines. These different factors (rate, time, and media) are the phenomena underlying carbon neutrality. For instance, carbon released into the atmosphere by the rapid burning of fossil fills back as rain in the form of carbonate (碳酸盐) and is absorbed by the reservoirs (oceans, surface water, and the earth surface). Even though the exchange of carbon between some of these reservoirs takes a long time, some over 100 years, carbon was absorbed until now. The main problem existing today is that the emissions of CO₂ are too high to be offset by the reservoirs, thereby leaving the offsetting task to us.

The European Union (EU) is taking all measures it can to offset carbon through Emission trading system which helps industries to manage their carbon footprints. Similarly, China, which is responsible for 25% of the world's CO₂ emissions due to its economic and industrial structure is currently decreasing its energy consumption/GDP and CO₂ emission/GDP, while increasing is forest cover and air quality through its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) carbon neutrality actions.

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

A．Experiencing.

B．Overcoming.

C．Increasing.

D．Ending.

2. How does the author explain the carbon cycle?

A．By giving an example.

B．By comparing media.

C．By analyzing data.

D．By describing a task.

3. What can be learned from the text?

A．GHGs take the whole blame for the climate change.

B．Carbon exchange takes little time.

C．The contribution of the EU is not obvious.

D．China las a clear goal in low-carbon efforts.

4. Which column is the text most likely taken from?

A．Politics.

B．Environment.

C．Commercial.

D．Lifestyle.

6 . Located in the southeast of Canada and with a population of approximately 6 million, Toronto is a big and beautiful city, which has developed from a relatively unknown place over the past half century to the center of culture, trade and communication in Canada.

With its colorful ethnic mix, rich history and breathtaking buildings. Toronto offers non-stop adventures to the tourists. To get a sense of how big, various and magical Toronto is, the best place to start is the CN Tower. From this point, visitors can get a bird's-eye view of the city's amazing scenery and unique geography.

In addition to being an important center of culture, trade and communication in Canada, Toronto is also a major muti-ethnic city. It is the most populous city in Canada and its citizens come from countries around the world and from different kinds of ethnic backgrounds. Every day, in most places of the city, a hundred different languages can be heard on the streets, from Hindi to Greek to French. This, perhaps, explains why former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once said that Canada is a mosaic（嵌合体）of cultures and languages rather than a melting pot.

Street signs in Toronto are mostly in English. Weekly and daily newspapers are published in various languages, and the city hosts the successful international film festival each September. It is also home to a popular baseball team the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto has something for everyone.

Moreover, Toronto has been rated one of the most livable cities in the world by United Nations Human Settlements Programme for many years. At the same time, Toronto is one of the safest, richest cities in the world with the highest standard of living.

1. What's the purpose of the text?

A．To draw more tourists to Toronto.

B．To introduce something about Canada.

C．To introduce some famous sights of Toronto.

D．To tell us how Toronto develops from the past.

2. What can we know about Toronto from the text?

A．Toronto is in the center of Canada.

B．Toronto is a city with a history of half a century.

C．The street signs in Toronto are all written in English.

D．From the top of the CN Tower we can see the whole Toronto.

3. How does the author like Toronto?

A．It's worth visiting.

B．It's just a common city in Canada.

C．There are too many foreigners in the city.

D．There aren't many places of interest to visit.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A personal diary.	B．A news report.
C．A tourist handbook.	D．A student's notebook.

7 . Vegan leather(纯素皮), a cruelty-free and environment-friendly substitute for animal leather has long been the ultimate goal of sustainable fashion. Now, an alternative may be making the jump from the lab to cupboards, and its source may surprise many people: the forest floor.

Mycelium(菌体丝), the fibrous roots of fungi(真菌), is being made into durable clothes and bags with a lower carbon cost than animal's skin or plastic, and it's a material that won't pile up in landfills. While products made from it aren't available to buy yet, industry experts say the material has great potential to influence the market for animal and synthetic(合成的)leathers. And it has a unique look and feel.

Leather production relies on skin from cattle and sheep, whose raising is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Leather processing also uses dangerous chemicals and generates large mounts of waste from treating raw skin. By contrast, fungi's growth is effectively carbon neutral since they catch and store carbon that would otherwise be emitted or remain in the atmosphere, according to Nature. Pure and untreated fungi-leather also breaks down easily.

A number of companies are relying on consumer's interest in a true fungi leather. Some 66% US respondents to a survey by the consulting firm Mckinsey & Company said they consider sustainability when making a luxury purchase. California-based Mckino is perhaps closest to producing a commercially available product called Reishi. "It has the same quality and artistic value as animal leather and it will be launched in partnership with top brands in the coming months," said Sophia Wang, the company's co-founder.

One of the challenges with fungi-leather is making a uniform "mat" with consistent thickness, appearance and color, according to Nature. It's also necessary to balance durability with biodegradability(降解).

1. What do we know about Mycelium?

A．Its products are available now.

B．It is likely to gain some market share.

C．It has a high carbon emission.

D．It accounts for a large part of waste.

2. How is Paragraph 3 mainly developed?

A．By making a comparison.

B．By reasoning and arguing.

C．By analyzing the research process.

D．By providing background information.

3. What can we infer from Paragraph 4

A．Most people like animal leather.

B．Consumers are indifferent to Reishi.

C．Sophia has confidence in Reishi.

D．Mckino ranks among top brands

4. In which part of a newspaper can we see the passage

A．Opinion.

B．Agriculture

C．Fashion.

D．Lifestyle.

8 . On a scale of 0 to 10, I’d say my happiness ranks at about 6. I’m glad to know I’m a 6, because, as a famous management saying puts it, “You can't manage what you don’t measure.” If you want to improve an aspect of your life, you need to be able to assess progress toward your goal-and that means measuring it.

The goal of this column is to help you manage and improve your happiness. A number of people have asked me whether quantitative happiness measures are really accurate and reliable-and it’s a reasonable question. So let’s take a look behind the curtain. But not just for intellectual curiosity; as you will see, understanding the measurement of happiness can itself make you better at improving your own well-being-and avoid some critical errors.

The best method scientists have to understand with confidence how something affects something else is a randomized, controlled trial. Think of the tests currently under way to find a vaccine for COvID-19. They take a long time because the drug companies with trial vaccines are conducting experiments that randomly assign people to a treatment group they get the vaccine and a control group (they get a placebo), and then waiting to seif the drug is effective and safe by comparing the two groups after enough time has passed.

In the research on happiness, this usually isn’t possible. Want to know if people are truly happiest in Denmark, as some studies suggest, and test it with a randomized experiment? You would need to randomly take two groups out of their homes, move one group to Copenhagen, and the other to, say, Dayton, Ohio- but make sure they think it might be Copenhagen and never get the truth. Follow up a few years later to see who is happiest. Obviously, that’s ridiculous. So with randomized controlled trials largely not available to them, happiness researchers instead rely on self-reported happiness surveys, where large groups of people anonymously report their levels of life satisfaction. Then, the researchers use fairly complex statistical techniques to mimic（模拟）a controlled experiment in order to show how different aspects of people’s lives affect-or at least are associated with-their happiness.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?

A．An aspect of life.

B．One's goal.

C．Happiness.

D．Progress.

2. Why is the test of CovID-19 vaccine mentioned in Paragraph 3?

A．To introduce a latest medical breakthrough.

B．To show the difficulty in finding the vaccine.

C．To illustrate the process of randomized experiments.

D．To prove the impossibility of randomized researches on happiness.

3. Why is it hard to conduct research on happiness with randomized experiments?

A．The experiment takes a long time.

B．It is difficult to analyze the data collected.

C．It is impossible to carry out the process strictly.

D．The subjects are unwilling to share their feelings.

4. Where is this text taken from?

A．A magazine.

B．A diary.

C．A science report.

D．A textbook.