4 . Next-generation fitness equipment and robots help you cook dinner. Those are a few of the countless new products expected to be shown next week at CES, the annual tech conference that typically sets the tone for the biggest trends of the year. Home automation（自动化）, health and 5G will once again be hot topics, but many companies will also introduce pandemic-specific features to reflect our increased time at home.

Each year, reporters, exhibitors and investors typically explore Las Vegas showrooms filled with giant TVs, smart cars and robots, but CES will be online only for the first time in its 54-year history due to Covid-19.

The Consumer Technology Association, the nonprofit behind the four-day event starting Monday, said 1,800 exhibitors from around the world will fill its "digital venue" this year—a number that's down significantly from 4,000 in-person exhibitors last year. The move will allow tech companies from countries which have never attended before to take part in the online exhibition, but could also make it harder for smaller companies to get noticed without a physical showroom.

Registered attendees will be able to stream and re-watch keynotes from companies such as Verizon (VZ) and General Motors (GM), tune in to breakout sessions -- about how, for example, technology is playing a role in vaccine deployment（疫苗的应用）—and search through a registry of exhibitors to watch new product presentations.

It'll lack some of the signature ingredients（因素）of the trade show, such as hands-on time with the latest small machines and networking. But the technology that makes our lives more connected and convenient will still gain popularity.

1. What are the new products mainly connected with?

A．The popularity of 5G.	B．Countless housework
C．People’s daily life.	D．Everyday busy work.

2. What do we know about the tech conference?

A．It attracts fewer exhibitors this year.	B．It takes place every two years.
C．It is usually held on the Internet.	D．It prohibits small companies to attend.

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards the move?

A．Disappointed.

B．Doubtful.

C．Ambiguous.

D．Supportive.

4. Where are the text possibly from?

A．A brochure.

B．A textbook.

C．A guidebook.

D．A newspaper.

5 . Answering the Community Needs of Our City

The Siver City Council recognizes that citizens have certain needs. To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities in 2020. The followings shows how we have tried to make your life better.

Transport

☆Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.

☆20 new buses for the southern line were purchased in January.

☆50 per cent of city bus-stops have been upgraded.

Communication

☆Broadband cableis now available to ll parts of the city.

☆All of the new Government buildings are smart-wired for better computer service!

Medical Facilities

☆The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June.

☆To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.

☆Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.

Education

☆Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2020!

☆Rental for private schools has been reduced.

Protection and Security

☆Extra police now patrol(巡逻)the tourist areas.

☆50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.

Entertainment/Recreation

☆The new Central Community Building opened in May.

☆5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.

1. What’s the notice mainly about?

A．The work carried out by the people of Silver City.

B．The facilities available in Silver City.

C．Some improvements in Silver City.

D．Information for interested tourists.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Travel books are provided in the new library.

B．More bus lines and stops are bought in Silver City.

C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital.

D．There are more police officers on duty now.

3. The public notice is from ________.

A．the community	B．the local government
C．the Silver City Library	D．a travel agency

6 . Two vaccines（疫苗）developed by a Maryland company are showing promise in the fight against malaria（疟疾）. One vaccine was 100 percent effective in preventing the deadly disease malaria.

Malaria is a disease caused by parasites（寄生虫）and carried by mosquitoes. Parasites are organisms that live on or in an organism of another species and feed off it or get protection from it. Mosquitoes spread the disease to people by biting on their skin. The World Health Organization says there are 214 million cases of malaria each year. And the deadly disease kills over 400,000 people a year worldwide. People who have malaria often have a fever, chills, and flu-like illness. Serious complications happen, including death, when the disease is left untreated.

The new vaccines work by preparing the immune system to fight the disease. Researchers do this by introducing live, but weakened, young parasites called sporozoites. They are injected into the body by infected mosquitoes. Both vaccines target Plasmodium Falciparum（恶性疟原虫），which is the most common and deadly form of the disease.

One successful trail was carried out in Germany. Different amounts of the vaccine were injected into 27 healthy people who volunteered for the study. Another group of 15 was given a placebo, which is a substance given to a patient like a drug, but t has no physical effect on the person. Eight to 10 weeks after the last vaccine amount, both groups were then exposed to the parasites that carried the malaria.

Stephen Hoffman is chief executive and scientific officer of Sanaria. He says the researchers were surprised by the results from nine of the people who received the highest vaccine amount. “We got 100% protection against malaria at ten weeks after the last amount of the vaccine. That is really beginning to look like something quite extraordinary and that's never been done before.”

1. What can we know about malaria?

A．It is a disease that can't be treated.

B．It kills people when left untreated.

C．It is a deadly disaster with a high death rate.

D．It is a flu-like disease caused by mosquitoes.

2. How do the new vaccines function to fight malaria?

A．By killing parasites in the mosquitoes.

B．By getting rid of most of the mosquitoes.

C．By injecting parasites into mosquitoes' body.

D．By restarting the immune system of people's body.

3. How does Stephen Hoffman think of the experiment effect of the vaccine?

A．Remarkable.

B．Unpredictable.

C．Unsatisfactory.

D．Unreasonable.

4. Which section of a magazine is the text probably from?

A．Science &technology.	B．Education.
C．Lifestyle.	D．Politics.

7 . Thinking about holidaying alone, but a bit concerned about the pitfalls? You needn’t worry if you consider these tips first.

Safety

Unless you positively invite danger—i.e. hanging around a remote park at 4 a.m. with headphones on—travelling alone isn’t actually that risky. The biggest danger is being taken for a ride. Literally, in the case of taxi drivers: always ask for an estimated fare before setting off. Otherwise, try to never look like a tourist. Ensure that someone else knows your journey and commit to regular contact with them.

Plan

Being alone means you can’t use your friends’ phones when yours runs out of juice, or rely on them should you lose your wallet. Put emergency systems in place: write down key numbers (friends, hotels, embassies, emergency services), have change for phone boxes and always keep some back-up money in your bag.

Making friends

This is another common and very valid worry when travelling alone: what if no one likes me? Acquiring new companions is always easier than feared, but still a scary subject. It helps to look approachable—smile at people, have open body language and lose the sunglasses. Read something interesting to start a conversation, or ask strangers a question.

More hands-on methods include visiting expatriate bars, joining tours or using apps designed to help people make friends, such as Meetup.

1. What can you do to ensure your safety when travelling alone?

A．Behave as a traveler.	B．Catch a lift when available.
C．Wander in a distant park in the early morning.	D．Make your travel known by someone close to you.

2. What preparations should be made in case of emergency?

A．Calling the police	B．Contacting your friends.
C．Asking strangers for help.	D．Setting aside some money in your bag.

3. Where is this text most probably from?

A．A travel website.	B．A health newspaper.
C．A project handbook.	D．A friend-making brochure.

8 . The River Thames has some of the highest recorded levels of microplastics for any river in the world.

Scientists have estimated that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down the river in places. The quantity is larger than that measured in other European rivers, such as the Danube and Rhine. Tiny bits of plastic have been found inside the bodies of crabs living in the Thames.

Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, are calling for stricter regulations on the labelling and disposal of plastic products. They warn that careless disposal of plastic gloves and masks during the coronavirus pandemic might make the problem of plastic pollution worse.

“Taken together, these studies show how many different types of plastic, from microplastics in the water through to larger items of debris physically altering the foreshore, can potentially affect a wide range of organisms in the River Thames,” said Prof Dave Morritt from Royal Holloway, “The increased use of single- use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic- containing cleaning products, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, may well make this problem even worse.”

Many forms of microplastics were found in the Thames, including glitter, microbeads from cosmetics and plastic debris from larger items. Most of the microplastics came from the break-down of large plastics, with food packaging thought to be a significant source. “Flushable” wet wipes were found in high abundance on the shoreline forming “wet wipe reefs”.

Study researcher, Katherine McCoy, said, “Our study shows that stricter regulations are needed for the labelling and disposal of these products. There is great range to further research the impacts of microplastics and indeed microfibres on Thames organisms.”

1. What did the researchers mainly suggest?

A．Stricter regulations should be made.	B．People shouldn't eat crabs for a while.
C．People should cut the use of plastic gloves	D．Plastic masks shouldn't be thrown away carelessly.

2. Where did most microplastics found in the River Thames come from?

A．Wet wipes.	B．Food packaging.
C．Cleaning products.	D．Single-use plastic masks.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．Wildlife Being Threatened by Microplastics.	B．Forms of Microplastics Found in the Thames.
C．River Thames Severely Polluted with Plastic.	D．Inappropriate Disposal of Single-use Plastics.

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

A．Science.

B．Environment.

C．Health.

D．Education.

9 . Marco Springmann and his colleagues, at the Oxford Martin School's Future of Food Programme, built computer models that predicted what would happen if everyone became vegetarian by 2050. The results indicate that if the world went vegan, the greenhouse gas emissions declines would be around 70%.

In the US, for example, an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meal they eat than from driving two cars——but it is cars, not steaks, that regularly come up in discussions about global warming.

Food, especially livestock, also takes up a lot of room. 68% of agricultural land in the world is used for livestock. When these lands become grasslands and forests, they would capture carbon dioxide and further ease climate change.

However, if the whole world went vegan, there would be negative effects too. First, it is necessary to keep livestock for environmental purposes. "I'm sitting here in Scotland where the Highlands' environment is very man-made and based largely on grazing by sheep," says Peter Alexander, a researcher in socio-ecological systems modeling at the University of Edinburgh. "If we took all the sheep away, the environment would look different and there would be a potential negative impact on biodiversity. "

Plus, meat is an important part of history , tradition and cultural identity. Numerous groups around the world give livestock gifts at weddings, celebratory dinners such as Christmas with turkey or roast beef.

And nowadays, moderation in meal-eating's frequency and portion size is key to solving these conflicts. "Certain changes would encourage us to make healthier and more environmentally friendly dietary decisions," says Springmann, "like putting a higher price lag on meat and making fresh fruits and vegetables cheaper. "

In fact, clear solutions already exist for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock industry. What is lacking is the will to implement those changes.

1. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?

A．Driving cars is more dangerous than eating steaks in the US.

B．Our dietary choices affecting climate change is often underestimated.

C．People compare the greenhouse gas emissions of the cars and steaks.

D．Cars affect the global warming more seriously than the steaks.

2. Why does Peter Alexander mention the sheep?

A．To show the important impact of livestock on the environment.

B．To show his work as a researcher in the socio-ecological systems.

C．To encourage people to take all the sheep back for environmental purpose.

D．To point out the negative impact of the sheep on the biodiversity.

3. Which saying can best show the author's attitude to livestock?

A．It is hard to please all.

B．Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

C．One cannnot see the wood for the trees.

D．Everything is a double-edged sword.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A biology textbook.	B．A health magazine.
C．A scientific journal.	D．An educational review.

10 . 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.

2. What driving habit is unacceptable in Ontario?

A．Changing lanes at random.	B．Giving way to fire trucks.
C．Listening to music in the car.	D．Driving within the speed limits.

3. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A local website.	B．A travel guide.
C．An advertisement.	D．A geography magazine