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.

2. Why do kids seem better than adults at learning new languages?

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.

3. What is Hartshorne's advice on becoming fluent in a second language?

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.

4. From which part of a newspaper is the text most probably taken?

A．Science.	B．Travel
C．Health.	D．Education.

3 . Do you like running enough to make it a habit? Tierney Wolfgram does; she has made running a lifelong career and isn't stopping.

In February, the 16-year-old from a high school, US, competed at the 2020 US Olympic Trials. She finished the marathon(42.195 km)with a time of 2:42:47 as the youngest competitor in the race and ranked 76th out of 390 runners. However, the cross-country(越野的)season was postponed to winter because of the COVID-19. So she jumped at the opportunity to train for another race-the Parkway Marathon in California. In November, Wolfgram broke the Women's American Junior marathon record with her time of 2:31:49. The old record was 2:34:32, which had stood since 1984.

“I'm completely stunned, ”said Wolfgram's coach.   “I knew she was going to break it, but she really showed out！”

During the run, Wolfgram once hit a wall pretty hard, but she overcame it to finish. “I guess I can say I gave it my all, ”she told Runner's World. “When I finished, all I was thinking was I felt super happy,” Wolfgram said This was only her third marathon. In 2018, when Wolfgram was 15 years old, she ran her first marathon just because she wanted to see if she had the ability to do it. “I believed that I would get faster as the distances got longer. . . I'm still glad that I did it. ”

When preparing for that first marathon, she ran up to 120 miles per week. Although her parents didn't have any background in running, they helped Wolfgram train. At first, her dad would take her out in the morning and run about 13 miles. The distance would gradually increase each day. On top of her runs in the morning, she would do cross-country practice after school.

Now Wolfgram will consider attending the Olympics Games in 2024 after it's scheduled.

1. What can we learn about Wolfgram from Paragraph 2?

A．She was the champion at the 2020 US Olympic Trials.

B．She put off the cross-country season for the COVID-19.

C．She broke an Olympic marathon record in November.

D．She prepared for the Parkway Marathon in California.

2. What does the underlined word “stunned”in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．Doubtful

B．Worried.

C．Shocked.

D．Interested

3. What inspired Wolfgram to run her first marathon?

A．Her parents' encouragement.	B．Her desire to prove she could do it.
C．Her coach's support and help.	D．Her hope to break the national record

4. Which section of a newspaper does the passage probably come from?

A．Sports.

B．Lifestyle

C．Culture.

D．Opinion

4 . Optimism (乐观) doesn’t mean paying no attention to things that cause stress. But when bad things happen, optimistic people are less likely to be unhappy about themselves and more likely to see the bad things as something that lasts a short time.

A new research has found a direct connection between optimism and healthier diet and exercise behaviors, as well as better heart health, a stronger immune system (免疫系统), better lung function, and lower death risk. “Optimistic people, regardless of sex, often have goals and the confidence to reach them,” Lee said. “Those goals could include healthy habits that contribute to a longer life.”

Studies find only about 25% of our optimism is controlled by our genes (基因), and the rest is up to us. It turns out we can actually train our brain to be more positive. Researchers studied the brains of monks (僧侣) and found surprising results: Tens of thousands of hours of meditation(冥思) had changed the function (机能) of their brains, which support positive qualities. And that may be key in producing the effect on the body.

There are simple mental exercises to develop an optimistic attitude. One of the most effective ways to increase optimism is called the “Best Possible Self” method. That is to imagine ourselves in a future in which we have achieved all our life goals. And keeping a diary in which we list the positive experiences we had can also help shape our attitude. Taking a few minutes each day to write down what makes us thankful can improve our view on life, too.

1. What is the meaning of Lee’s words?

A．Goals can lead to confidence.

B．Better lung function lowers death risk.

C．Optimism is connected with length of life.

D．Sex should be taken into consideration when studying optimism.

2. Why are the brains of monks studied?

A．To lengthen their life.

B．To improve their brains’ function.

C．To prove optimism can be learned.

D．To show genes’ connection with optimism.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．How to be a positive person.	B．How to make people thankful.
C．What to write about in a diary.	D．What to do to achieve the goals.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A．A science magazine.	B．A guidebook.
C．A novel.	D．A diary.

5 . Passenger pigeons were the most common birds in all of North America in the 1800s. It was common to see large groups of passenger pigeons — group that made a sound like a storm.

But today, they are extinct because of human behavior. Now, some scientists want to bring passenger pigeons back to life by using new technology and scientific ideas. They call this process de-extinction

De-extinction has not happened yet. It is still just an idea. The process of de-extinction is not easy. First, scientists must collect DNA from the bodies of extinct animals. Then they will put it in the eggs of similar animals species. When these animals become adults, they will have babies. And these baby animals will have the DNA of the extinct animals.

Scientists believe it is possible to bring back passenger pigeons and many other animals. However, not everyone think this is a good idea.

Stewart Primm is the world’s leading expert on modern animal extinction. He believes that bringing extinct animals back to life is bad for the earth. On the one hand, these animals no longer have a safe place to live. On the other hand, they could cause other animals to die.

Many other scientists do not agree with Stewart Primm. Stuart Brand, a writer and scientist, is one of them. He believes de-extinction is good for many reasons.

“The current generation of children will experience the return of some unusual animals in their lifetime. It may be part of what defines their generation and their attitude to the natural world. They will take their parents to zoos to see the growing populations of passenger pigeons, and maybe even dodo birds. This will provide a good deal of money for zoos busy with extinct species restoration (恢复). Humans killed off a lot of species over the last 10,000 years. So, it’s right to bring some back to life,” he said.

1. What can we know about the passenger pigeons from the text?

A．They were common sightings.

B．They suffered a lot from storms.

C．They lived mainly in North America.

D．They were the largest in American history.

2. What do we know about de-extinction?

A．It will change the DNA of the extinct animals.

B．It was first used in passenger pigeons.

C．It is difficult to carry out.

D．It proved to be useful.

3. Why is Stuart Primm against bringing back extinct animals?

A．They will die very soon.

B．They will create other problems.

C．They will do great harm to humans.

D．They will replace the similar species.

4. How does Stuart Brand feel about de-extinction?

A．Wrong	B．Difficult
C．Important	D．Wasteful

5. Where is the text most probably from?

A．A research paper.

B．A scientific magazine.

C．A travel guidebook.

D．A geography textbook.

6 . This is the story of three plastic bottles, empty and abandoned. Their journeys are about to diverge, more or less influencing the fate of our planet.

Bottle One, like hundreds of millions of tons of other plastic bottles, ends up in a landfill. This huge dump expands each day as more trash comes in and continues to take up space. As plastics sit there being pressed among layers of their junk, rainwater flows through the waste and absorbs the chemicals it contains, and some of those are highly poisonous. Together they create harmful matter called leachate (沥滤液）, which can move into groundwater, soil and streams, poisoning ecosystems and harming wildlife. It can take Bottle One 1,000 years to rot away.

Bottle Two's journey is strange. He floats on water that reaches a stream, a stream that flows into a river, and a river that reaches the ocean. After months lost at sea, he's slowly drawn where trash accumulates, a place known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Here the ocean's currents have trapped millions of pieces of plastic waste. There the water becomes a cloudy plastic soup. Some animals, like seabirds, get stuck in the mess. They, and others, mistake the brightly colored plastic things for food. Plastic makes them feel full when they're not, so they starve to death and pass the poisons from the plastic up the food chain. For example, it's eaten by fish, and the fish are eaten by us.

But Bottle Three is spared the cruel suffering of his brothers. A truck brings him to a plant where he and his companions are squeezed flat and pressed into a block. The blocks are cut and torn into tiny pieces, which are washed and melted, so they become the raw materials that can be used again. As if by magic, Bottle Three is now ready to be reborn as something completely new.

For this bit of plastic with such humble origins, suddenly the sky is the limit.

1. The underlined word “diverge” in paragraph 1 probably means

A．develop

B．disappear

C．conclude

D．vary

2. What can we learn about Bottle Two?

A．He will expand when pressed among layers of their junk.

B．He might poison or even endanger different forms of life.

C．He can be easily recognized by seabirds and taken for dangerous food source.

D．He will go through chemical changes and be recycled into new materials soon.

3. Where is the text probably from?

A．In a science magazine.

B．In a tour brochure.

C．In a product description.

D．In a geography textbook.

4. What can be the best title of the text?

A．Fates of Plastic Bottles

B．The Significance of Recycling

C．The Shame of Wasting

D．High-Tech of Dealing with Waste

7 . Rising numbers of older adults are unable to care for themselves, often leading to serious health problems and even death, according to state and local government agencies. So-called self-neglect cases generally involve the inability to perform basic self-care, such as providing oneself with food, personal health, medication and safety.

Seniors who no longer drive, for instance, are often unable to get to medical appointments, worsening health problems that can make them unable to care for themselves. A fall can result in body injuries leaving one bedridden and unable to care for oneself. Failure to pay bills for public services could lead to service cutoffs. Forgetting to pay rent could lead to the loss of a home.

Mr. Mc-Cormack, 75 years old, and his wife, 71, both had mental illness and stayed in hospitals from time to time, unable to care for their possessions. Despite repeated visits to their home by local officials, the Mc-Cormacks refused assistance. But after they were found living in their car parked outside their house in December 2017, officials removed them from their home and helped them settle in a nursing home.

Self-neglect cases, like above, involved 144, 296 people across the country in 2018, according to a report. The federal government doesn't have comparable data for previous years, but several state and local service providers say they are seeing the self-neglect problem rise.

The reasons seniors stop caring for themselves vary, including illness, depression and poverty. The loss of the spouse or a neighbor who previously kept an eye on an individual often starts a decline into self-neglect, experts say. And the key to reducing self-neglect cases is providing services to enable seniors to remain in their homes safely, such as reliable transportation for medical appointments and shopping, as well as affordable home help.

1. What is the function of Paragraph 2?

A．Give examples of self-neglect cases.	B．Introduce a new topic for discussion.
C．Arouse readers' interest.	D．Summarize the previous paragraph.

2. What can we infer about the Mc-Cormacks?

A．They accepted help from others.	B．They took good care of themselves.
C．They ended up living in the nursing house.	D．They couldn't afford to go to hospital.

3. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Self-care benefits greatly the seniors.

B．Investigations are conducted on self-neglect.

C．Self-neglect rises among the elderly.

D．The government promotes self-care of the seniors.

4. Where can the passage probably be found?

A．In a guidebook.	B．In a newspaper.
C．In a fairy tale.	D．In a science fiction.

8 . According to a recent study,a new genetically modified(转基因的）rice can prevent infections of HIV,the virus responsible for the disease AIDS.

The study reports the newly-developed rice produces proteins(蛋白质）that attach directly to the HIV virus. This process keeps the virus from mixing with human cells. The scientists say it can remove the effect of the virus and block its spreading.

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS reports that worldwide, nearly 37 million people were living with HIV in 2017. The organization says the largest number of those are in ·developing countries. Nearly two-thirds of HIV cases are in Africa. Now there is no cure for HIV/AIDS though there have been developments in oral drug treatments to slow the progression of the disease.

The new study predicts the rice-based method will lead to long-term use of the anti-HIV treatment across the developing world. Researchers said the "groundbreaking" discovery is “realistically the only way" that anti-HIV combination treatments can be produced at a cost low enough for the developing world.

They say the easiest and most cost-effective way to use the rice will be to make it into a cream to be put on the skin. The HIV-fighting proteins can then enter the body through the skin. People all over the world could grow the rice and make the cream themselves. This would prevent the cost and travel required for many patients to receive treatments and medicine.

The process of changing the genetic structure of food crops has been debated for some time. Critics of genetically engineered crops believe they can harm people. The scientific team says further testing is needed to ensure that the genetic engineering process does not produce any additional chemicals that could be dangerous to people.

1. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The terrible situations of HIV infections.

B．The rapid development of Africa.

C．The practical ways to cure AIDS.

D．The efforts made by the United Nations.

2. In which way will the rice be used at the lowest cost?

A．By transforming it into proteins.

B．By processing it into a cream.

C．By attaching it to the HIV virus.

D．By adding it to an oral drug.

3. What can we infer about the genetic engineering process?

A．It can prevent infections of HIV.

B．It has produced dangerous chemicals.

C．It is intended for the developed world.

D．It requires further testing to ensure the safety.

4. From which is the text probably taken?

A．A biology textbook.

B．A first aid brochure.

C．A social web page.

D．A health magazine.

9 . In September, a tragedy happened on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. As many as 380 pilot whales became stranded (搁浅) in shallow water there and later died. This might have been Australia’s largest stranding event on record, the BBC reported.

But mass whale stranding is not uncommon. For centuries, it has happened all over the world and has puzzled scientists. Scientists say the cause is often unknown. But they have offered many different explanations.

Some say the whales chase small fish for food and end up in shallow water because they are not paying attention to where they are going.

Others think the stranding has something to do with Earth’s geomagnetic field. They say that a geomagnetic compass in whales’ brains controls their position. Unusual changes in Earth’s magnetic field can affect the whales’ compasses and send them in the wrong direction.

Another explanation suggests that mass stranding is caused by the close relationships that whales have. Pilot whales travel in large groups. One lead whale might mistakenly lead the whole group to shallow water. “And if one gets into trouble, the others will not leave,” said Sheryl Gibney, a leading biologist from New Zealand. “Some will come in and try to help, they get trapped on the beach, then more will come.”

The whales are trapped by mistake or out of sympathy. Once they get stranded, they will likely die. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US, less than 10 percent of all stranded whales survive.

1. What do we know about the stranding?

A．It happened on the east coast of Australia.	B．It is commonly seen in September each year.
C．It caused the death of over 300 pilot whales.	D．It broke a world record.

2. What does the word “chase” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．run after

B．give up

C．help with

D．compete against

3. According to Gibney, what will other whales do if their lead whale gets in trouble?

A．They will change their direction.	B．They will stay and try to help it.
C．They will push it near the beach.	D．They will travel with another group.

4. What is the story mainly about?

A．How human activity has affected whales.

B．What might cause whale strandings.

C．How whales find their direction while traveling.

D．What scientists are doing to save stranded whales.

5. Where is the passage from?

A．Travel journal

B．Tourism magazine

C．News website

D．Science textbook

10 . SPORTS EVENTS

BASKETBALL

Central Sports Centre, City Road.

All Stars vs Rockets, Saturday 8:30 p.m. $12

Northerners vs Tigers, Sunday noon $14

BUSH WALKING

Meet at Wanda Station, Saturday 9:00 a.m. sharp for 3-hour walk to Canary Mountains. $7, call 341-5432.

Meet at Westley Station, Sunday 9:00 a.m. sharp for a full day walk to Wombak Valley. $5, call 341-8643: Bring your own lunch.

SOCCER

St Martins Sports Centre

St Martins vs Doonsberg, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $8

Eastside Central vs Light Hill, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $8

Neill Park Recreation Centre

Neill Park vs Robinson, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $11

Essen vs Springwood, Sunday 2:00 p.m. $11

LAWN BOWLS

Tans Town B.C

Tans Town vs White Vale, Saturday 9:00 p.m. $10

Wake Hill B.C.

Wake Hill vs Coils, Saturday 2:00 p.m. $9

1. _______ sports events are to be held at Saturday 2:00 p.m. according to the passage.

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

2. You may find the passage most probably in a ________.

A．handbook about tour	B．notice about sports
C．magazine about ball matches	D．blog about match reviews

3. If you have $18, you can go to both ________.

A．All Stars vs Rockets and the bushwalking at Westley Station

B．Wake Hill vs Colls and Essen vs Springwood

C．Neill Park vs Robinson and Eastside Central vs Light Hill

D．St Matins vs Doonsberg and Northerners vs Tigers