1 . CLIMATE CHANGE REQUIRES THE WORLD’S ATTENTION
We have known about climate change for decades. There is little doubt that Earth is getting warmer and warmer (see the graph). A warming ocean and atmosphere along with melting ice and rising sea levels provide evidence of a dramatic change in the global climate.
In 2013, a lot of people were shocked by a news photo of a dead polar bear that was found on Norway’s Arctic island of Svalbard. According to the scientists who found its dead body, all that remained of the polar bear was “skin and bones”. An expert who has studied polar bears for many years said that from the position of its dead body, the bear appeared to have starved and died. Experts claimed that low sea-ice levels caused by climate change meant the bear could not hunt seals as before, so it had to travel greater distances in order to find food. This alarming case showed how the increase in temperature had an impact on Earth’s ecology.
Then what is causing the increase in the global average surface temperature? Climate scientists often mention a key climate process called the “greenhouse effect”, which has two common meanings: the “natural” greenhouse effect and the “man-made” greenhouse effect. The “natural” greenhouse effect refers to the fact that heat from the sun enters the atmosphere and warms Earth’s surface as short-wave radiation. The heat is released back into space at longer wave lengths. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as methane and carbon dioxide, trap some of the heat, keeping Earth’s climate warm and habitable. Without this process, Earth could not sustain life. However, the “man-made” greenhouse effect has now become a big problem. When people produce huge amounts of extra greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels, more heat energy is trapped in the atmosphere and causes Earth’s surface temperature to rise quickly.
There is strong and comprehensive evidence that the rise in temperature has led to an increase in extreme weather and natural disasters worldwide, not only causing serious damage, but also costing human lives. Climate scientists have warned that if we do not take appropriate actions, this warming trend will probably continue and there will be a higher price to pay. In fact, news reports are frequently broadcast about extreme rainstorms and heatwaves causing deaths and economic losses.
Continued greenhouse gas emissions will result in further warming and long-lasting changes to the global climate. This requires the attention of people all over the world. Governments need to consider making policies and taking appropriate actions and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We as individuals can also reduce our “carbon footprint” by restricting the amount of carbon dioxide our lifestyles produce. It is our responsibility to seize every opportunity to educate everyone about global warming, along with its causes and impacts, because this is the most serious issue affecting all of us on this planet. So what will you do to help?
1. What type of writing is this passage?| A．Argumentative writing. | B．Narrative writing. |
| C．Expository writing. | D．Advertising writing. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Economy. |
| C．Education. | D．Environment. |
2 . The shark was not an accident. He had come up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood had settled and dispersed in the mile deep sea. He had come up so fast and absolutely without caution that he broke the surface of the blue water and was in the sun. Then he fell back into the sea and picked up the scent and started swimming on the course the skiff and the fish had taken.
Sometimes he lost the scent. But he would pick it up again, or have just a trace of it, and he swam fast and hard on the course. He was a very big Mako shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. His back was as blue as a sword fish’s and his belly was silver and his hide was smooth and handsome. He was built as a sword fish except for his huge jaws which were tight shut now as he swam fast, just under the surface with his high dorsal fin knifing through the water without wavering. Inside the closed double lip of his jaws all of his eight rows of teeth were slanted inwards. They were not the ordinary pyramid-shaped teeth of most sharks. They were shaped like a man’s fingers when they are crisped like claws. They were nearly as long as the fingers of the old man and they had razor-sharp cutting edges on both sides. This was a fish built to feed on all the fishes in the sea, that were so fast and strong and well armed that they had no other enemy. Now he sped up as he smelled the fresher scent and his blue dorsal fin cut the water.
When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished. He prepared the harpoon8 and made the rope fast while he watched the shark come on. The rope was short as it lacked what he had cut away to lash the fish.
1. Which of the following books is the excerpt from?| A．Charlotte’s Web | B．The Old Man and the Sea |
| C．Tow Sawyer’s Adventure | D．Robinson Crusoe |
| A．To show what a shark is like | B．To draw readers’ attention |
| C．To demonstrate the coming danger | D．To introduce a sea monster |
3 . Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity-or extreme overweight-among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17%-and is growing.
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A TV interview | B．A food advertisement | C．A health report | D．A book review |
4 . Monkeys seem to have a way with numbers.
A team of researchers trained three Rhesus monkeys to associate 26 clearly different symbols consisting of numbers and selective letters with 0-25 drops of water or juice as a reward. The researchers then tested how the monkeys combined—or added—the symbols to get the reward.
Here’s how Harvard Medical School scientist Margaret Livingstone, who led the team, described the experiment: In their cages the monkeys were provided with touch screens. On one part of the screen, a symbol would appear, and on the other side two symbols inside a circle were shown. For example, the number 7 would flash on one side of the screen and the other end would have 9 and 8. If the monkeys touched the left side of the screen they would be rewarded with seven drops of water or juice; if they went for the circle, they would be rewarded with the sum of the numbers—17 in this example.
After running hundreds of tests, the researchers noted that the monkeys would go for the higher values more than half the time, indicating that they were performing a calculation, not just memorizing the value of each combination....
In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?
| A．Entertainment. | B．Health. | C．Education. | D．Science. |
5 . As data and identity theft becomes more and more common, the market is growing for biometric(生物测量) technologies—like fingerprint scans—to keep others out of private e-spaces. At present, these technologies are still expensive, though.
Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low-cost device(装置) that gets around this problem: a smart keyboard. This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence(节奏) with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key. The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user’s typing and the time between key presses. These patterns are unique to each person. Thus, the keyboard can determine people’s identities, and by extension, whether they should be given access to the computer it’s connected to—regardless of whether someone gets the password right.
It also doesn’t require a new type of technology that people aren’t already familiar with. Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently.
In a study describing the technology, the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word “touch” four times using the smart keyboard. Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed, with very low error rates. The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive, plastic-like parts. The team hopes to make it to market in the near future.
Where is this text most likely from?
| A．A diary. | B．A guidebook | C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
6 . Wine and beaches, fireworks and music... our readers recommend some fantastic festivals.
Festa delTUva e del Vino, Italy
Set on the beautiful shores of Lake Garda, this grapes and wine festival takes over the small town of Bardolino for four days every October. With local wines, food, art projections, fireworks and live music. people come from miles around to celebrate. First and foremost，it’s about great wine，but it’s worth visiting to soak up the great atmosphere.
Free，1-5 October
Quest festival, Vietnam
This is a weekend camping festival held just a 40-minute drive from Hanoi, bringing together locals and visitors in a celebration of underground live and electronic music culture. Held in the beautiful Son Tinh campsite, there are usually about 30 local and international DJs and 10 bands. There are also workshops, pop-up cafes, fire performances, dancing and much more.
Weekend tickets about £25, 6-8 November
Estiv al Switzerland
This is a free festival of jazz which takes place in the first weekend in July in the pretty squares and lakeside beaches and parks around the southern Swiss town of Lugano. The palm trees and summer air to see some of Europe’s up and coming jazz bands and enjoy Swiss
Free, every July
Irish Redhead Convention, County Cork
A friendly gathering for all red-haired people is held in the small seaside village of Crosshaven where redheads from all over the world take part in light hearted events. There’s live music, art exhibitions, lectures and of course the traditional Parade of Redheads through the village led by the newly crowned Redhead King and Queen.
Free, Every August
1. Jennifer, a girl with red hair, may be interested in ________.| A．Estival. | B．Quest festival. |
| C．Festa deirtlva e del Vino. | D．Irish Redhead Convention. |
| A．They offer local food. |
| B．They have fireworks. |
| C．They are free of charge. |
| D．They have music activities. |
| A．In a textbook. |
| B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a news report. |
| D．In a research paper. |
7 . Who're happier, men or women?Research shows it's a complex question and that asking whether males or females are happier isn't really that helpful, because basically, happiness is different for women and men.
Women's happiness has been declining for the past 30 years, according to recent statistics.And research shows that women are twice as likely to experience depression compared with men.Gender（性别） differences in depression are well confirmed and studies have found that biological, psychological and social factors contribute to the difference.
Early studies on gender and happiness found men and women were socialized to express different feelings.Women are more likely to express happiness, warmth and fear, which help with social bonding and appear more consistent with the traditional role as a primary caregiver, while men display more anger, pride and disrespect, which are more consistent with a protector and provider role.
Recent research suggests that these differences are not just socially, but also genetically related.Studies have looked into these findings further and discovered that females use more areas of the brain containing mirror neurons（镜像神经元）than males when they process feelings.Mirror neurons allow us to experience the world from other people's view, to understand their actions and intentions.This may explain why women can experience deeper sadness.Women tend to experience more negative feelings, such as more guilt, shame and to a lesser degree, embarrassment.
Psychologically it seems men and women differ in the way they process and express feelings.With the exception of anger, women experience feelings more strongly and share their feelings more openly with others.Studies have found in particular that women express more appreciation﹣which has been linked to greater happiness.This supports the theory that women's happiness is more dependent on relationships than men's.
1. Which feeling are men more likely to show compared with women?| A．Warmth. |
| B．Depression. |
| C．Happiness. |
| D．Disrespect. |
| A．Psychological factors. |
| B．Biological factors. |
| C．Educational factors. |
| D．Social factors. |
| A．a science fiction |
| B．a culture brochure |
| C．a nursery guide |
| D．a health magazine |
| A．Men and women differ in biology and psychology. |
| B．Men and women experience happiness differently. |
| C．Social roles have a great effect on men and women. |
| D．Women's happiness has declined in the past years. |
8 . When he was two years old, Ben stopped seeing out of his left eye. His mother took him to the doctor and soon discovered he had cancer in both eyes. After possible treatments failed, doctors removed both his eyes. For Ben, vision was gone forever.
But by the time he was seven years old, he had developed a technique for feeling the world around him: he clicked with his mouth and listened for the returning echoes. This method enabled Ben to determine the locations of open doorways, people, parked cars, garbage cans, and so on. He was echolocating: bouncing his sound waves off objects in the environment and catching the reflections to build a mental model of his surroundings.
Echolocation may sound like an improbable feat for a human, but thousands of blind people have perfected this skill, just like Ben did. The event has been written about since at least the 1940s, when the word ''echolocation" was first invented in a science article titled “Echolocation by Blind Men , Bats, and Radar.”
How could blindness give rise to the amazing ability to understand the surroundings with one's ears? The answer lies in a gift on the brain; huge adaptability.
Mother Nature filled our brains with flexibility to adapt to circumstances. Just as sharp teeth and fast legs are useful for survival, so is the brain's ability to reset, which allows for learning, memory, and die ability to develop new skills.
In Ben's case, his brain's flexible wiring repurposed his visual cortex for processing sound. As a result, Ben had more neurons available to deal with listening information, and this increased processing power allowed Ben to interpret soundwaves in shocking detail. Ben's super-hearing proves a more general rule: the more brain area a particular sense has, the better it performs.
1. How did Ben “see” after he had his eyes removed?| A．By using a walking stick. | B．By asking others for help. |
| C．By inventing a new system. | D．By echolocating surroundings. |
| A．Skill. | B．Task. | C．Sense. | D．Invention. |
| A．He laughs best who laughs last. | B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．God shuts one door but he opens another. | D．Man becomes learned by asking questions. |
| A．Culture Shock. | B．Human Biology. |
| C．Scientific Technology. | D．Environmental Protection. |
9 . 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| A．A personal diary. | B．A news report. |
| C．A tourist handbook. | D．A student's notebook. |
10 . When Earth was just a tiny young thing，it birthed many new continents - then it swallowed them all up, leaving just a few traces behind, a new study shows.
These first continents had a special skill for living fast and dying young, but in doing so, they paved the way for solid continents that eventually led to the emergence of plate tectonics（版块运动）， the new study suggests.
For hundreds of millions of years, the current continents have been more or less stable. But very little is known about the continents that existed early on in Earth's history.
To learn more about that early history, the researchers used computers to model the interactions of rock and magma（岩浆） in the Earth’s crust（地壳） and below. The modeling showed that the earliest continents, known as the Hadean (4.6 to 4.0 billion years ago), were weak and likely to destruction. Modern continents have a comprehensive high tensile strength, meaning it’s hard to tear them apart by stretching.
By the time the Archean (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) began ending the Hadean, the crust which had first formed was almost entirely replaced by the seeds of the modern continents.
In a sense, the researchers found, those lost Hadean continents made the later, more stable continents possible.
The emergence of continents at the close of the Hadean also contributed fertilizer that would later help seed life on Earth, the researchers wrote. Bits of them broke off and entered the atmosphere and oceans, providing necessary nutrients for the life forms that soon emerged.
1. Compared with the modern continents, the Hadean was________.| A．younger | B．firmer | C．weaker | D．bigger |
| A．It existed 4.0 million years ago. | B．It disappeared before the Archean began. |
| C．It helped make more stable continents. | D．It provided all the necessary nutrients. |
| A．By listing researchers’ findings. | B．By giving a lot of examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By listing a lot of numbers. |
| A．A science fiction. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．A travel brochure. | D．An encyclopedia. |
